Eldaldo

Replies: Shulmanator: Thanks for the read! And I will most certainly watch out for firey devil horses! Simmytu: Thanks! Hope you enjoy todays's update. Well, it's been forever since my last post (not true on simtropolis (i got behind here)). The holidays came and went and the new year came in like a fury. I have had very little time for actually playing SC4, which is really disappointing because I have all the writing done for this enormous series of updates. However the updates required the building of a new city (Arnett), and some serious building in Mariston. And since my brand of semi natural growth takes so long, I have been unable to really get the cities to presentation quality yet. Hopefully, I will finish Arnett soon and be able to get that update out before too long. February 23rd marks the 1 year anniversary of this UB, I am going to try and get some sort of cool sideshow or something set up for that maybe. This update itself is not as finished as I wanted it to be. After about a month of sitting on it, I decided to just get it off my shoulders and move on. Hope you enjoy it anyway. As with all my updates there are some plot developments. About six months after he was re-elected as mayor of Lake Maureen, Mckinley Morganfield set out on a trip to Mariston. The goal of this trip was to hire a faculty for the college that he was in the process of starting in Lake Maureen. He had already received a small grant from the federal government (which was interested in creating higher education throughout the country), and with the rest of the money coming from the Evanson Family (of the Evanson Distilling company), the Julian Motor comapny (who had opened a plant in the town last year), and town tax money, Morganfield set about commissioning an architect to design the building, and forming a board of trustees from some educationally leaning business owners in the town. A charter was written up. Everything was ready to allow students to apply, except that there were no teachers or classes. Since so much money was coming from industry, it was clear that the school would have a technical leaning, at least to begin with. Qualified teachers needed to be found, and a head of the college needed to be hired. To do this, Morganfield had arranged for himself to go to Mariston and speak to the administrators of both the large and respected Mariston University, and the newer and much smaller Beleza College. He was hoping he could at least make some contacts who would help him find teachers. The trip would take several days due to a stop in Arnett and the fact that the only steamer service that came out this far had slower ships than the ones that traveled between Auen, Duluth, and Mariston. Morgnafield took the ferry from Lake Maureen to Wyant's Landing, Which had become the main port for passenger ships in the region (the Solace Bay port was too dirty). Morganfield thought about how he would have to get a passenger ship company to service Lake Maureen somehow. Well, one thing at a time Mckinley, right now, you're working on bringing higher education to your town. The steamship was relatively small as far as steam ships go, but to Morganfield it looked large enough. It had one stack and a dining hall above deck. the quarters were below. He traveled light. one bag, which he took below to his absolutely tiny quarters. there was a small bed and a window. Spartan to say the least, and cramped to say more. As the ship left port that afternoon, Morganfield went above deck to watch the bay recede behind him. He could see the smoke of Solace Bay from a long way off. the wind off the north ocean was cold and made him pull his coat around him tighter. He decided to go sit in the dining room and get some tea and read the paper. The room had perhaps a dozen tables and stools that were bolted to the floor. it was not a fancy dining room, but to a man who did not know much luxury it seemed nice. He sat down and ordered his tea. A copy of the Wyant's Landing Daily was in a box at the door so he went and picked it up. The Wyant's Landing Daily was a pretty crappy newspaper. it had all sorts of propaganda about how wonderful the Solace Bay Co. was. But Morganfield Just wanted to read something, so he opened it up. Excerpt- "The Man In The Overalls Heals Havalina Again - Over the past year or so, rumors of a mysterious man wearing overalls have spread through the region. He has appeared in local small towns several times and has invariably helped or healed someone every time. Earlier this week (Tuesday the 3rd of November), this man appeared in Havalina for the second time since he first appeared about a year ago. He prefers to be called Farmer, but has been colloquially named "the Man in the Overalls." This man was greeted warmly by the people of the town. several sick were brought to him and he prescribed strange herbal remedies for each of their illnesses. Miraculously, each of them worked within a few days. The "Farmer" was hosted by several households of the town before he moved off into the woods yesterday. Apparently three citizens of Havalina followed him to learn his method of healing. While tales of this man are spreading through the small towns and countryside, he has yet to show himself in Solace Bay or Wyant's Landing for that matter. Why, I ask, would he avoid a place where there are plenty of people who need healing? Perhaps he lacks the resources to heal so many? Perhaps he is afraid of cities? Or perhaps, his "healing" is all a trick that he plays on uneducated country folk from two horse towns. we may never know . . . -Charles Fox, The Wyant's Landing Daily. Morganfield had heard of this man when He last visited Mayor Toure of Havalina. Apparently he had healed a child dying of pneumonia and a man whose broken leg was infected and was about to be amputated. "I don't know how you could fake that." he thought to himself. He wanted to meet again with Toure to hear if he had any new stories from this second visit. This Man in the Overalls really was intriguing. ---------------------------------------------- At Dinner, Morganifield Noticed that Daniel Johnson, the "mayor" of Solace Bay was also on board. Johnson waved to Morganfield and sat down at his table. Johnson: Hello Mckinley. I guess it is a boat full of mayors eh? Morganfield: Ah yes Daniel, I do recall you winning some election of sorts. If I recall correctly it caused quite a bit of trouble . . . Johnson frowned. Morganfield was referring to the fact that The Solace Bay elections were rigged and that, when the workers found out about this, they rioted. causing one of the bloodiest incidents ever to occur in the nation of Inakaye. Johnson: Yes, you are right. I want you to know, that I don't feel proud of that in any way. If I could go back and change it I would. Morgnafield: I should hope that you would feel that way. Alot of people died. Even your Co-boss died, isn't that so? Johnson: James' brother Robert disappeared after the riot actually. We assume he killed himself at sea. Morganfield: hmmm, word on the street was that he died during the brave re-taking of the streets by the wealthy educated, rightful ruling class . . . Johnson: yes, that is the story, but most everyone knows that he never left for the re-taking of the city. and when we returned from the city he was gone. In fact, I'd rather not talk about it. He was my closest friend. so much different a person than James is. Morganfield: Well, I am sorry that you lost your friend. But let me make some things clear to you. Our two cities are run on two completely different principles. And while I do my best to maintain a working relationship between our cities. A relationship where my town provides food for yours, I honestly cannot sit here and talk with you when we believe in such different notions of what it means to be a human. I do not find it enjoyable for us to sit here and talk as if we were friends, when we are really nothing of the sort. Now if you'll excuse me, I will retire to my room. I wish you well on the rest of your journey, goodnight. And so, Morganfield picked up his things and left the room, and Daniel, wearing an incomprehensible look on his face, watched him go.

hey nice update.  i really like your style!

I remember when you started this!  You've really come a long way!

Reply: Thanks Mighty Goose! I'm glad you liked it! Today is kind of a showcase update of some work that I did on Inakaye's capitol city. The huge Solace Bay update i am working on will probably be split into three parts, most of the writing is done, but I still need to play alot of SC4 before it's ready. Unfortunately I'm really busy, Hopefully I can get part 1 up before Xmas. Thanks for reading and here's today's Update. Auen was the first city of Inakaye, and this gives it the honor of also being the government's capitol. It was founded by Paidrig Cassidy, whose original party settled on the very island which Downtown Auen stands today. The City was the largest in Inakaye until Duluth overtook it in the 1850's. It is still the third largest City after Duluth and Mariston with a total population of 265,000. It has the oldest University in the country, and is the leading scientific city in the country. The local political climate is quite left leaning for the times, and this is mostly due to the enormous middle class and intellectual community present in the city. While it's hard to tell exactly from the map, the roads in Auen make absolutely no sense! The city is not without it's own issues though, being the first city of the country, it was very poorly planned. it has an almost incomprehensible road system. It was almost as if the city council had given control of the city to a blundering fool who knew hardly anything about building cities and said, "here, do what you want . . . seriously, go nuts." The old Parliament Building is seen above center, with the federal courthouse above it and the old city hall below also, as the country grew, the tiny governmental buildings (which had been in the heart of downtown), that housed the parliament, the courts, and all the different federal departments and bureaus became overcrowded to the point where the parliament building burned down and killed half of the parliament in the fire because the fire exits were all blocked. in fact, there was not even fire exit legislation in place to be violated by how blocked the fire exits were. I think one representative actually parked his horse in a fire exit, and many representatives were crushed beneath it when it went crazy because of the fire. AAAGGGHHHH!!!! the Firey Devil Horse Dosth Trample us ALL!!!! Needless to say, larger and much less flammable buildings were needed. The government decided to build a new capitol district in the neighborhood of Connor's Point. Connor's point Pre-Demolition It was a wealthy Neighborhood on Delmont Island, the largest Island of the Auen Archipelago. The neighborhood had just gotten it's own tram line and was the perfect place to set up a center of government, all that needed to be done was to demolish a half dozen mansions of some of the richest businessmen in Auen. This was alot of trouble, but after several bribes and unique government appointments, the new capitol was ready to be built. The building begun in 1903 and finished a year before the current First Minister, Guy Picciotto, was elected. in the few years since then, the neighborhood has seen a flurry of growth and has become one of the nicest parts of the city. Following is a sort of tour around the neighborhood that showcases the Capitol District as it is now being called . . . Overview of the Capitol District, with the large new parliament building top center. the Conway Tower is also visible. This tower was built in honor of Darren Conway, the original first minister of Inakaye. a closeup of the Capitol square with all the federal buildings visible. The waterfront of Connor's Point was also built with some beautiful waterfront parks. It is really expensive to live here!

oh man, I've been following your journal for months.  Wonderful journal!  I really like your midwest style! If you would have talked to me about it in september, the last two teams I would have thought would play in the superbowl were the steelers (my team) and the packers (your team).  It was a dissapointing loss, but you guys played better and we had so many turnovers, sigh.  congratulations!

nice city!  Makes me want to buy CXL.  Have to resist the urge though, I somehow feel commited to SC4. 

I came here to just personally tell you that you are probably my favorite BATter. I use almost every single building you've made in my cities (specifically the older ones), and whenever i see one grow it is such a great occasion. Keep up the good work! I eagerly await every release!

I like your use of terraces.  Very unique!

replies: Reikhardt: Thanks so much for your comment! I hope you continue to follow along! Today we have a smaller plot based update. There is a huge update that i am currently working on, but it requires some work on two cities, one of which is Mariston, which has become so big that any kind of work on it takes forever. Natural growth is like that. It gets slower and slower the larger your city gets. Even though my journal is very far from CSG's "natural growth" these days, I still try to grow my cities as naturally as possible. little by little here and there. I have another mini update almost ready to hold us over until the giant one comes, hopefully I'll get that one out next week. Anyway, hope you like today's update . . . Inakaye is a huge country. But it has had few inhabitants because of it's great distance from every other place in the world. However, in the past few decades innovations in transportation have allowed immigrants by the millions to flock to this distant land. Above is collection of photos illustrating the growth of Solace Bay over the last 25 years. Right click and select "view image" for the whole thing. whoever is in charge here seriously slacked with this one. what is this!? Amateur Hour!? Anyway, small towns have grown into bustling cities and people are settling anywhere where they can fit. However, most of the country is still considered frontier. And most cities are quite spread out from each other. In most cases, water and woodland trails are all that connects distant cities to each other. This has led to the prominence of a complex ferry and steamship system. For example, the Cervantes Steamship Co. runs ferries each day from Duluth to Mariston. The trip takes almost two days, but it is certainly the fastest way between the cities. While the Water ways are the great transportation veins of the country, railways are becoming much more common. Each major city has laid tracks to facilitate the shipment of industry and agriculture to it's own specific waterway, the Iron Hills line in the Solace Bay region is a perfect example. It simply connects the mine to the city allowing the transport of workers and raw materials between the two. Unfortunately, the mountainous terrain of Inakaye has made it difficult for rails to be laid on a larger scale. Above is the Hoerner River gorge between Auen and Duluth. This river would somehow have to be crossed in order to connect the two cities. Currently the only Intercity Rail line is the Allegheny Central line that runs along the Allegheny river valley and connects Auen with Cassidy and Holbrook. The Holbrook and Prairie Line Further connects Holbrook to Collins, which has access to the Prairie River that leads to Duluth. This line passes over the Eleverdy highlands. The Holbrook and Prairie Is buying up land to expand its line all the way to Duluth, or at least to some of the Duluth Local lines. Regardless, the "Three Cities" have yet to be connected by rail, and all of the smaller emerging cities are even more isolated. The major news this week is that First Minister Guy Piccioto has announced that the federal government is going to fund the creation of a national Rail line designated the Federal Rail Project (FRP). above is the Auen National Mall. Almost all of the Federal Administration buildings are pictured. he is calling for a consortium of engineers from around the Nation to come to Auen to plan and design the massive railway that will ultimately have to traverse quite difficult terrain in order to connect the three cities and the frontier cities in a network that will bring the nation much closer. This is another act by the controversial first minister to bring the disparate cities and Island of inakaye into a closer unified nation. as the regions have grown, each major city has developed it's own sort of government and culture. It has been mentioned before how drastically different the almost despotic Duluth and Solace Bay are when compared to the liberal and intellectual city of Auen. In bringing the nation closer together, First Minister Picciotto is bringing these conflicting ideals into conflict. Piccioto is from Mariston, which is very middle of the road when it comes to political ideals. His national post has been deemed a sucess as it has greatly increased the ability for intercity trade. This new project appears from the outset as only a positive thing for the country as a whole, but how will it affect the relationships between the governing parties of each city when they are forced into closer contact with each other. Only time will tell . . . We will be sure to keep an eye on what effect this will have on the solace bay region. currently no plans have even been announced as to whether a city as far from the three cities region as Solace Bay will even be connected to the rail system, but James Wyant and Solace bay's four Parliamentary representatives are going to lobby as much as possible for a rail connection to greater inakaye that would allow for faster than boat transportation, and trade, to the large cities.

Your Cj is the epitome of grimy slums.  I definitely take inspiration from it.  I've missed the last few updates, and they are all very enjoyable!

haha, oh man.  Schulmanator, you always make me laugh.  The insects can have their day.  But, I hope schulmania comes back with vengance!  Also, i missed your last update bofore this one.  I liked east village, if I were a Cat i'd live there!

so. i was going to reccomend a slope mod too, But there are times when you really make this hills work!  pictures 4-7 are really nice.  There are a few places, like the train in picture 2 that are a little surreal, but it's almost kinda fun imagining a ride on that train!

that's a cool beach town.  i like the oceanographic institute.

Very unique way of building on islands.  I like it!

oh man.  nice entry.  i really really love those wall to wall rowhouses in pictures 1, 3, and 4.  please, what are those?? i really want to use them in my cities . . .  thanks!

(click for larger picture) It was 6am August 13th in 1913. The sun was rising but Boris could not see it. There were no windows in his room. Still, a little light from the windows in the hallway came in cracks around the edges of his door. it was by this dim light that he awoke. The morning bell was about to sound he knew. He always woke up a minute before the bell clamored and woke the city from its slumber. He could not see them, but his wife Tanya lay next to him, and his two daughters lay on a mattress on the floor at the foot of their bed. Boris sighed, and recounted the events that had brought him here . . . He was born to peasant parents on the Don river in southern Russia. Things were rough growing up there, his family lived in a very small house, and hardly had enough food to eat, and was constantly in debt to the landlord who would occasionally have his servant come and beat Boris' father to try and get money out of him. Boris was educated at the new mandatory government school and became friends with a kid named Dimitri Vyhosky. He Married Tanya when he was 17 and she was 15. He and Dimitri became very close. Dimitri was a very intelligent man and became politically radical as he grew up. just a few years ago he began to speak out against the government. This made Boris nervous because he knew what happened to peasants that criticized the government. It ended up happening that Dimitri and Boris were both arrested for conspiracy because they were friends. For 2 months they were starved in a government prison, and were scheduled to be sent to Siberia, but the day before their transfer a rebel organisation sprung them and the entire prison in a midnight attack. in the confusion that ensued, Boris raced home and snuck his family out of the town and down the river to the city of Azov. In Azov, they hired a vessel to take them throught the black sea to Constantinople, and from there they got on a crowded ship to Inakaye. Their flight from their homeland was one wrought with danger and fear each step of the way. It forced them to run without looking back. as Immigrants to Inakaye they came penniless, but were finally free of the oppression of their homeland. It was spring when they arrived in Mariston and they quickly found themselves sleeping in the Arroyo Compassion House, on Arroyo Point, and begging for food to feed themselves and their two young kids. When a man in a suit came by with a contract to move to the frontier and work for the Solace Bay Co. offering housing, food, and a wage for 5 years of employment, Boris gladly signed the contract and got on another crowded boat for the second time in months. Boris for the first time since he left Constantinople felt lighthearted and hopeful. Here was a new life and an opportunity to make something for his family finally. Tanya and him would no longer fight because she felt ashamed of their poverty. But his heart sank when the ship pulled into the harbor and he saw the filthy smoke of Solace Bay filling the sky. It was three years ago that he signed that five year contract, and he is nearly broken. He wonders if he will make it two more years. He has had two near death accidents so far in the factory. "What would happen to Tanya and the girls should i die in an accident?" he wonders. He knows that they would have no chance and would become beggars or worse in these filth ridden streets. The morning bell rang across the city. It sounded distant and muffled here in the heart of his apartment building. Tanya stirred next to him and he sat up in bed. Boris rose and opened the door a crack to let some light in. He had thirty minutes to get to the wood factory before the next bell rang. if you were late you got docked your salary for the week, and if it happened too much you got fined. you did not want to be late. Each member of the Kurshin family set to putting on their work clothes and preparing themselves for the day. After a brief meal including some stale bread and metallic tasting water, Boris Kissed his wife and Daughters before they all parted for work. Boris worked just down the street at the nearby Lathe Factory. He spent the day making chair legs. on the template machine. Tanya and the girls worked near the docks at the food sorting facility. With over 22,000 workers, sorting and delivering rations to the masses was a huge job, and also had its benefits. Whenever there was a shortage, Tanya was able to hide some away for the family so that they would not go hungry. This was very risky though, because if they were caught then Tanya would be fired and possibly thrown in prison. As Boris walked to work, tanya and the girls hopped on one of the slow trains headed for the docks. Because of the huge migration of workers at the beggining and end of the workday, the company ran flatbed trains at a slow pace up and down the main tracks that workers could hop on and off as they needed. this was quite dangerous because the trains stopped for nothing, but accidents only happened every couple of days and people weren't killed very often, usually someone just lost a foot or a hand. The day started and Boris was handed his morning queue of logs to shape. his basic job was to set up the machine and make sure it worked. there was very little skill involved. if the machine jammed he had to clear it, but basically all he had to do was place the log, start the machine, stop the machine, remove the product, clean the product, Inspect the product, either keep or discard the product, and repeat . . . at lunch time he had nearly completed his queue, but he could not take lunch until his queue was finished. Boris rushed out the next three legs and was able to take a full 15 minutes for lunch. quite a lucky day. He wolfed down as much stale bread as he could and chewed on a mealy apple, washing both down with some warm water. Then the next bell rang and it was back to work for the afternoon shift. His afternoon queue of logs had already been delivered when he got to his machine. At about three o'clock, the power went off in the factory, and the great roar of the factory slowly whirred to a quiet. this was not uncommon because of the massive amount of drain that the city of solace bay placed on it's power plants during the daytime hours. But this was different from the normal power outage. He could see other workers looking towards the office on the second floor of the plant that overlooked the factory floor. There was a group of men in there in addition to the normal managers. they were wearing the uniforms of the Department of Security. Boris heard other workers murmuring about trouble, but Boris had no idea why these men were here. Finally after much nervous chatter a man stepped out onto the platform that overlooked the factory floor. "good day citizens, I am the Director od the Department of Security, Alda Rent. You can call me Director Rent. I am here today because of an anonymous tip that someone, or a group of people in this factory are members of the Brotherhood of Derrik." Everyone looked around at each other. Boris thought to himself, "This can't go well." "We will be searching the factory for any kind of evidence to link someone to the organization, and will be asking each of you some questions." continued Director Rent. "If you are patient and innocent, then this should go smoothly. No one is permitted to leave until the investigation is over. Any attempt to leave will result in imprisonment." A mix of annoyance, and fear came across all the workers in the factory. No one knew what to expect. It was common in this city to be arrested for the slightest thing. A misplaced word, a nervous gesture, even looking at an officer the wrong way could put you in the prison camp (which is almost overflowing now, I hear they're starting to send prisoners to the Iron Hills mines because the mortality rate of the miners is too high). Boris just tried to be calm as maybe 20 officers descended to the factory floor. Some began searching through the various benches and drawers surrounding each lathe. Others actually began phisically searching workers, while other began taking down names, asking questions, and writing notes on a pad. They were making a huge mess, piles of logs and table legs were being toppled over and looked through. Boris did his best to remain calm and stand still. Eventually the Officers made their way over to him. He saw as they tore open the drawers beneath his workstation and emptied the contents of tools and random detritus onto the floor. he felt as an officer began patting him down to feel if there was anything concealed in his clothing. he lifted his arms. and they patted down his torso. He had nothing on him except a billfold where he kept his money and identifacation papers. he gave it to the officer who was now interrogating him and the officer flipped through it, scrutinizing everything carefully. "Name?" Aked the officer. "Boris Kurshin." "age?" "23" "Residence?" "435 Wallgate unit 346" "Any relations?" "Wife, Tanya Kurshin. I have two daughters, Sasha, and Katya Kurshin" . . . After a couple of minutes they moved on to the next workstation, leaving Boris amidst the scattered things of his own station. "well, that went painlessly, or at least as painlessly as could be expected," thought Boris as he started to clean up his things. Not two minutes later he heard some yelling and shouting from two stations over, "that's not mine, I have no idea how it got here! other people work at this station!" it was one of his co workers, Reginald Basset. As boris looked, it seemed that they had found something incriminating, they were holding it in his face, it actually looked like a small handgun. Weapons were outlawed for workers since the 1910 riots. But this didn't make sense to Boris. Reginald was a good friend of his. He knew Reginald better than any of his other co-workers. they lived across the street from each other. on weekends they would go drinking together and on holidays their families would get together and celebrate. Reginald wasn't in a secret society, Boris knew that. Boris was about to speak in defense of his friend when the officers found something else that seemed to make Reginald even more guilty. They kept on holding this paper in his face demanding that he explain what it is. He just kept yelling that he had no idea where it came from. All of the sudden Boris had a sinking feeling in his heart. there was nothing that could be done. they had found something and boris would be tortured until he was dead or until they found something out from him, which would be nothing because he was not in the brotherhood. This evidence had clearly been planted by them, intentionally or acidentally. Boris also realised that if he said anthing he would be brought in as well. So boris just stood there as Director Rent walked slowly into the workspace and briefly looked at each item and then looked intently at Reginald. there was a short silence. Then he spoke. "Bind him and take him to the truck, the rest of you continue the investigation. There may be more then one . . ." Boris then noticed him glance back up to the platform where the factory office was and where the factory managers were. There at the railing viewing the whole scene, was a middle aged man with glasses and a mustache. He had a smile on his face as he watched the guards drag Reginald away to the truck. Boris knew this man. It was James Wyant. He also noticed behind James, the head manager of the factory had a much different expression on his face. it was hard to discern, but it almost looked like rage. It struck Boris as interesting, because when James turned to him, he immediately changed his expression to a smile. The manager had hid his feelings from James . . . The manager was hiding something. Boris too, felt great rage in his heart. His good friend was certainly gone from his life, but not before he endured great suffering at the hands of James Wyant and His goons. Boris wasn't sure who he was more upset with. The evil of the Solace Bay Company, or the fact the the Brotherhood had framed one of his closest friends in this awful city. As the sun set several hours later and he finally left the factory to return to his soot covered, dark apartment. He had made a decision in his heart. He would be different now.

I don't think you need a ton of coustom content to make an interesting city.  CSG's boston V2 is the prime example of this.  It's all about how you design the city.  you do a nice job, keep it up!

Reply: Schulmanator: Thanks for the comment, and I assume that Washam, would be the only one who'd pay for votes, unfortunately all the guys on CSG forums voted for morganfield, so . . . But every vote counts right!? It's been forever since I've updated, but that's the way things go sometimes. I have not forgotten Inakaye and plan to continue working on it when I can. I hope you all enjoy today's update. very plot heavy but necessary. I hope to have some nice sc4 heavy updates soon. there's lots of exciting stuff going on in inakaye! Many people were excited to hear this morning that Mckinley Morganfield has been re-elected as the Mayor of Lake Maureen. Especially since the the last ditch efforts of opponent Rey Washam to fear the town's citizens into voting against Morganfield. Morganfield ended up winning by quite a landslide getting 72% of the votes. He is holding a town meeting tonight in downtown to give an re-election speech. We go now to the Morganfield residence where he discusses his feelings about his victory with his wife and good friend/store owner, Matt Redfelt: Matt: You seem surprised Mick, did you think Washam had a chance? Mckinley (Mick is his nickname): It was hard to tell, he certainly got pretty dirty at the end trying to appeal to the farmers. As if my entire family aren't farmers . . . but now i am relieved. I believe in this democratic vote, but I really don't trust Washam anymore, and I'm glad that he lost. there was a time a couple years ago when I started the LMBA (Lake Maureen Business association), when he seemed quite upstanding, but recently, with the parties and the yacht . . . Laura Morganfield: I've heard that he holds secret meetings of the business association with his closest friends. They're just rumors of course, but it makes you wonder what he's really up to. Matt: well he certainly doesn't invite me to any secret meetings. The business association has certainly split over the past year. there's Washam's group and then everyone esle. He has a big pull with the wealthy. He says alot about protecting Lake Maureen from the monopolistic and despotic Solace Bay Company, but part of me wonders how much he just wishes that he was the one with all the power. The Lake Maureen Business association's offices were recently moved to a larger and considerably nicer building. This is a reflection of how far the town has come in the last few years Laura: And seriously, Farmers? What has he ever done to improve the conditions of the farmers who supply his granary? He runs that company almost as iron-fisted as James Wyant does. Seriously Mick, he is only going to present more problems as time goes on. The LMBA was supposed to keep this town's businesses honest, but I fear he's turning it into something else. Matt: Laura is right, you've defeated Washam for now, but he isn't going away, and as our town gets wealthier so will he. and with wealth comes power . . . Mckinley: you have good points, but I don't know what you want me to do. as far as I know, he hasn't done anything illegal, we would have to prove that he us up to no good before we could do anything to him. he is a pain in the ass, and I will keep my eye on him, but for now i have to just keep doing what I have been and try to get this town to a population of 12,000 in two years. It shouldn't be that difficult with the way the city has been growing. If we can attract maybe 2 smaller manufacturing companies then we can probably reach that goal. Matt: well what about starting that college of yours? have you changed your mind about how to improve education at all? Mckinley: I haven't. The problem is going to be getting a faculty. none of our teachers are qualified as professors, and there are very few scholars out this far. But in a month I am going to take a trip to Mariston and visit the university there to see if I can get any professors to move out here and start a frontier college. I also want to visit Inakaye University in Auen. I doubt there will be any professors there willing to leave the best school in the country, but perhaps we can get some young graduates willing to teach for our college. If we can get the school started, then we will be the only higher education in the frontier and as the frontier grows so will our school, and following suit, Lake Maureen will be a center of knowledge. you know i have always believed that education is the key to a healthy and prosperous community. Matt: you are certainly right there, but I think there is alot more to it than that. there are certainly thing you wouldn't want in a prosperous community . . . Mckinley frowns at matt but says nothing Matt changes the subject: Well, has that man contacted you again about building a park in Southlake? what's his name? Newsom? Mckinley: Yeah, he just got elected to the town council by southlake. Owns that store on Havalina road. He's young but seems very capable. I like seeing him become a leader in that neighborhood. it's been getting bigger every year . . . for more backstory on the young but promising Jake Newson, check out the entry Homesteading Heroes under "Nelson and Hudson" viewtopic.php?f=24&t=227#p2161 Their conversation from here wandered across the happening of the town and what Mckinley felt about them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ We now go to Rey Washam's house to hear what he says about Morganfield's win. With him are his usual crew of close confidants: Duane Denison, Edward Ingleson, and Brendan Canty. The are sitting around a small circular card table sipping premium Evanson Cottongrass Liqueur. Rey is noticeably perturbed. Washam: This loss was to be expected. That man has such a golden reputation no one could have beat him. It just means we have to take more drastic measures. I told you a while ago about a contact I had made who would prove useful in our battle against the Solace Bay Co. Well, I have another meeting with him soon and I am hoping that we can come up with a plan together for the betterment of this region. Edward Ingleson: Rey, you are so mysterious, won't you share your secret contact with us? Washam: Not yet, his name is unimportant as of now, but soon, once we formulate a plan all of you will be implicated in the details I assure you. How did the rest of the elections turn out? did we get our friends on the council? Brendan Canty: Everyone except the Southlake candidate. Some young guy named Newsom won that election. Washam: young eh? well if money won't turn him to our side then I'm sure we can find some way. If the Association has a majority in the council then it will make my loss to Morganfield sting less. We must lay low for now though. Duane: pick our battles . . . Washam: exactly. And Duane, you still haven't told me, did you get director of police? Duane: of course. who wouldn't vote for a handsome man like me? Brendan laughs and Washam gives a wry smile. Edward however almost imperceptibly frowns at the young man. Edward: well then it seems that things haven't turned out so badly for the Association after all. Morganfield can have his mayor-ship, but we have a majority power in the Town now. Washam: Yes, I almost feel relieved. (he chuckles) I feel bad for Morganfield. He has no idea about our plans, but he is going to find out whether he likes them or not. Well, I suppose we can meet again in a week. remember to leave casually and cordially. this was a friendly business call, remember? The four men go about the business of standing and adjusting themselves before shaking hands and exiting Washam's manor in a very carefree way, laughing and cajoling out the door, leaving Rey Washam in his parlor lost in thought. What is he thinking about? I wish I knew . . .

Schulmanator you make me laugh every time.  your sc4 pics are good too.  I wonder what those strange mines are?

i like the story you have going even if it is a little scattered

Hey I really like your small towns!  You have a great natural way of laying them out!

Replies: Tigeria: Thanks for stopping by! Someday we'll probably check in on Daniel and see how he is . . . There is a major election happening in Lake Maureen now. Mckinley Morganfield has done such a great job as the town's first mayor. But his term is up, and he is running for re-election. His opponent is the wealthy Rey Washam of the Lake Maureen Business association. In the past few years, Morganfield has helped this tiny little farming community grow to a bustling town with a population of nearly 9,000. He has taxed the citizens, but in exchange brought trade to the area via the Havalina Road and the creation of the Lake Maureen Business Association. Brought education to teach the children, and a police force to protect the citizens. He has also kept his promise to keep the dirty industry and the politically oppressive shadow of the extremely close neighbor city Solace Bay, out of Lake Maureen. He has been truly a great public servant, and has a strong support among the locals. especially in the newer neighborhoods like the neighborhood of Shilka seen below. This neighborhood is named after the man, Hans Shilka. Whose farm used to be located on this site. Last year he sold his farm to developers and opened a "frontier style" clothing store in Downtown Lake Maureen. Rustic "Frontier" clothing is becoming popular among the wealthy of the nation. Shilka's business is hoping to expand and open a warehouse to produce his own line of frontier clothing. Morganfield's platform for re-election is: to reduce the pollution that comes from Solace Bay by planting a huge park on the abandoned farms that separate the cities. This is what the border between solace Bay and Lake Maureen looks like now Above is a concept image of what the park will look like He also wishes to make Lake Maureen the center for learning in this whole frontier region by chartering a university or at least a college to draw students and intellectuals into the city. He also promises to continue to regulate industry so that highly pollutive industries are not permitted to build in city limits. Solace Bay's "Company Main" Factory complex, not a good skyline Lastly, at a population of 8,946, Lake Maureen is just 3,000 inhabitants from being able to elect a representative to parliament next term. The Parliament Building in the Capital city of Auen So he vows to do all he can to encourage immigration to the town. And there is an urgency for this as well, because with the explosion of immigration the country has seen in the past five years, towns in the dozens are reaching the 12,000 population mark (which is how many citizens you need in a town for it to elect a representative), and the parliament is filling up. so the first minister Piccioto is discussing with the parliament on raising the cap to 36,000 to elect a minister to parliament. All cities that already have a representative would keep them, but new cities would have to reach 36,000 before they could be represented. This means that two years from now might be the last chance that Lake Maureen has for representation in parliament, because 36,000 inhabitants is science fiction to the Lake Maureen of today. It would seem with a platform like that and a track record like he has, McKinley Morganfield would have no trouble getting re-elected. But, Rey Washam of the Lake Maureen Business Association has alot of people on his side. There is a new, wealthier, class of people living in the town, and Rey is to be found at the center of all the wealthy class happenings in the town. Rey Washam's House He owns the biggest house and holds the finest parties. His car is the finest Julian model available, and he owns his own steamer to travel to Mariston or Auen on business or for pleasure. Therefore, He is very well respected by the Higher class, and has found ways to poke holes into Morganfield in the eyes of the lower classes and farmers. He says that Morganfield does not fully appreciate the threat that Solace Bay presents. That more measures need to be taken to ensure that Solace Bay workers, should they riot again, can never destroy Lake Maureen. and to make sure that the anarchist Brotherhood of Derrik never is able to infiltrate the town of Lake Maureen. He suggests that a wall is built around Lake Maureen, and that the militia is made full time to keep watches of those entering and leaving the city. This rhetoric of fear has much more weight due to a recent pipe bomb explosion at the Solace Bay docks attributed to the Brotherhood of Derrik. Washam also says that Morganfield is more interested in business and education than he is the common farmer. and that agriculture is the backbone of Lake Maureen and efforts must be made to bolster agriculture. Restor creek and it's location in relation to Lake Maureen He suggests building an irrigation resovior out of restor creek in the western edge of town to increase the irrigation capacity and thus the agriculture capacity of the town. He also proposes to tax Solace Bay for the crops they buy from Lake Maureen and use some of this money for agriculture benefits and give the rest to the farmers. These platforms have gathered a large support for Washam in Lake Maureen so that it is now unclear who will win. With the election two weeks away, and the fate of lake Maureen in the sway, it is a tense time. If you lived in Lake Maureen, who would you vote for? Downtown Lake Maureen

this is one of my favorite cjs in terms of pure visual effect.  you certainly are good at sticking with your theme.