frenchie23

Hello everyone, I am new to Simtropolis, but I have been playing Cities XL for little while, and finally thought it was time to display a city I've been working on recently I ask for some imagination when you are looking through the photos because I am playing on an outdated graphics card so forgive the poor quality of the posts the point is more to show the history, layout and features of this mid-sized metropolis, so there won't be many glamour shots in this CJ I'm sorry! My intention in this first journal entry is to display the central city and immediate neighborhoods, then if anyone is interested in learning more about a specific district, i can feature it in the next journal entry and further detail it so without further ado: SATURNA population: 1.1 million people Downtown skyline visible in the afternoon; rural areas in foreground (I apologize the water doesn't render correctly and the resolution is so low) but you can get the form of the city. Central Saturna's traffic map A guide to the districts and neighborhoods so far completed in Saturna; more are on the way and will be released shortly (the city is still growing) For more information on any of the 'hoods please comment and I can go into further detail on the characteristics of any that in interest you For starters I will show downtown Saturna: Early settlers to Saturna in the industrial 1800's quickyl established it as a regional center for commerce and inhabitation. The conditions were favorable so the population grew, and the center around which this population functioned also grew, both in reputation and size. Downtown today is a massive center for offices and highrise residences along the luxurious waterfront of the Memphis River, framed by Middleton Park and the city's finest boulevards. Around here generally reside Elites and Executives, though Skilled workers can sometimes find residences tucked away in quiet corners (for a high price). Labeled: The Skyline continues North out of this picture, but City Centre will be another day :-) I hope you enjoyed the beginning, here is a parting shot of the city from over the University District: Ciao!

Thank you I'll see what I can do!

wow I really like what I see in this thread... good work guys! Here are a couple "in progress" shots from a few I'm working on.... Sorry the trees aren't rendered in a few of these... believe me they're there, I'm just too impatient to wait until they show up to take screenshots sometimes whoops! Fortuna: Mercuria: Les Belles: Enervus: Parnassus: Messus Torra: And finally.... Sourvence! I guess Sourvence can have another.....

Welcome to the city of St. Francis! The current population is approximately 160K, but growing rapidly, with developments now beginning to cross the Jubilee River. A city awakes: The view East at sunrise Beginning the drive to work, I cross West Vinceton. The District has grown a lot recently, but the bad areas still haven't improved. Hopefully the new mayor will have a thing or two to say about the situation out here. For now, onward to downtown This is the view west from one of the overpasses of the River Freeway. The visible districts are West Vinceton immediately to the front right, and in the back left we can see Belmont rapidly expanding. It seems new condos are put up almost every month Finally I arrive to the district in which I work; Urban West. The density is striking, but this area is nothing compared to the Financial District and City Centre. I enjoy Urban West for the short commute and the beautiful stadium visible at the end of the Avenue. Here I pass by the Stadium. I can't often afford tickets to attend the matches, but they are quite amazing when I do. The city recently fronted millions to retrofit the new arena. Hopefully championships are to come. Downtown is somewhat visible far down the street. Ah, the day finally ends and it is time for me to head home. This is a parting view from my office before the drive home. The traffic shouldn't be too bad....... Thank you very much for visiting! Good night from lovely St. Francis....... Come back soon for the next update: More of downtown and the river front!

Thank you all for the kind comments! I had taken a small break from St. Francis to start some new cities on 2011, but still have enough for a very short update I think The population today is close to 650,000 people, and several of the outlying districts of the city have begun to be populated. Here is a good overview of the city right now, with the church of St. Francis sitting in the foreground. I will finish this area soon This is the famed University of St. Francis (USF) which provides an excellent higher education to the citizen, and their sports teams are very popular with the city. Also of note is Yllsandra Island, the location of the tourism district and many of the city's most famous hotels and residences. The best view in the city is from the top of the Olmstead Needle; at sunset it simply can't be beat! Yllisandra's small skyline: This is the updated road map.... it is really time for some transit I'm thinking Thank you again! See you soon!

Welcome back! St. Francis now sits at a lovely 380,000 people and growing! The downtown has recently been completed, and the glistening skyscrapers seem to peer down at the housing across the incomplete riverfront...... Riverside Medical Center (RivMed) is one of the biggest in the entire region; it is located near the City Hall in City Park, which runs the stretch of the river East of the Interstate Magnificent City Hall! The pride of every citizen in St. Francis. It is also in City Park on the Jubilee River, on the fringes of the Financial Quarter. And downtown. The buildings just seem to go on forever.... This is the heart of the Financial Quarter, where all the business goes on for the city. St. Francis still yearns to break onto the international scene as an economic powerhouse, but Corporations face fierce regulation from the strong central government here. (St. Francis is a regional capitol city, and the seat of the Congress.) The River Jubilee. This is a view West at noon towards the far suburbs of the city (and as of yet the wilderness beyond) RivMed is visible at the lower right. The powerful Fuel Cartel is a formidable economic force within the city, and generates massive exports for this growing metropol. They have set up their headquarters in one of the most expensive real estates in the entire city, and crowned their achievements with three massive office towers and a beautiful plaza to commemorate. This is an overview of downtown. This is a good look at the unique "courtyard" block construction that is popular in St. Francis. The Citizens here are extremely environmentally conscious (except the fuel Cartel) and recently passed a law that requires high density buildings to leave the middle of their blocks as natural spaces and open greenery. The area in this picture is the very center of the city, the busiest streets in town.. Here is another shot of the waterfront, with City Park extending the length of the major development. The St. Francis skyline looking East. And at long last...... the Traffic Map! Obviously some of these streets need work, and i have yet to add any bus options for citizens. so hopefully this will see further management and attention in the future. I am not too proud of the overuse of grid, but I haven't had much luck experimenting with other methods yet. Maybe my next city will be less "straight".... Thanks again for visiting! Come back next time Ciao!

very cool concept to start with! I'll be excited to watch this develop!