DavidB_

Erm, I still haven't done a jumping rainbow "DAB"! I killed the sheep, sorry :L

SC4 is 2 1/2 D. That is, full 3D but with only 4 orthogonal views at five magnifications. Good enough for a city simulator. When you create a model for a BAT, I assure you, you are doing 3D modeling. A full panning camera would make the game even slower than it is. I've used SolidWorks (professional CAD software) but I haven't yet tried gmax/BAT! I'm assuming that it's somewhat similar to CAD?

Agreed, I'm getting that with my new transport routes (Simford Airport High-Speed and parts of the West Simford Tram), which you will be able to see in my city journal soon... Glad to see that the scenic coastal route has been chosen for the UCCRL!

Shouldn't this go into the City-Building Games forum? Nice to see someone talking about SC3000, I don't suppose there was a NAM-esque addon for it? I gave my copy to charity! (Albeit, it was only the basic, original version.)

Can't say that. EA used to make great games back then, after 2003, they were all disasters. Another franchise ruined for the cash is Need for Speed series. The original game aims for simulation-like racing while still maintaining all the fun. Then the simulation part was toned down a bit in series by series after the first game, until it feels just right in NFS 4: High Stakes and then Porsche Unleashed, and finally Hot Pursuit 2. After that, it went down into Underground series just like SC4 to SCS: pure gaming by dumbing down. It is just a fancy graphic for depicting real world cars, excessive customization, and silly physics. Then suddenly in 2009, they decided to throw in the realistic version (NFS Shift) after the success of GT and Forza series. If anything embodies the true spirit of NFS, it is the Shift, not the continuation of its arcade siblings (Hot Pursuit). However, fans who jumped on NFS bandwagon nowadays are mostly from the Underground era, which undoubtedly attracted many new fans. And I see that some of them began denouncing the Shift series. EA has created a big gap within its major title fans. However, they are unlike SC communities, we are not going to jump into SCS or any other silly sequels EA trying to push. We are waiting patiently. EA went profit only a couple years back. period. all these halfbutted games they release on annual bases with basically 2-3 changes to the previous version proof it enough. I mean, do we really need a full-blown new version of all those EA Sports games on an annual basis, just to cater for the new team setups and a different rule here or there? Upadating or patching the new rosters and release a "real" new version of the game when there's big changes in visuals or physics or coding would do the trick easily imho. as for NFS, of course it went down the tuning lane back when underground was released and attracted a hell of a lot of new gamers. It was time for that. The tuning niche existed ever since and grew more and more and with the enormous success of the first "the fast and the furious" the whole tuning thing got a whole new attention in public. all of a sudden folks wanted to pimp out their ricers even more than before. car customization in terms of performance was nothing new in gaming (the GT series allowed that ever since, just to name big title), but visual customization had to be the new trend to gaming. Thats why NFS UG was so successfull (and the fact that it allowed those who couldnt afford a GTR34 to still trick it out the way they wanted) And of course people who loved these tuning features got angered as they slowly disappeared again as the games got back to more realistic racing and the afore mentioned movie turned from a tuning showcase to a normal action movie. I'm one of those who didn't like it that much and I dare to say that to a certain extend that this is due to the feeling of responsibility. its a fact that all these illigal street racing themes boosted them in real life. wow so much off topic... anyways, I honestly doubt we'll ever see a true sim city 5, unless EA sells it's rights. And I'm still playing NFS Underground/Underground 2/Most Wanted!!! Logitech G25 is the best wheel EVER I do agree with you, it needs to be something completely new if EA/Maxis are even going to hint at releasing a SimCity 5/6 (remember SimCity Societies...). Maybe they should ask the NAM Team to help them work on transport features. Ah, now that's what's needed: a core SimCity with all the basic features (Road/Street/OneWay/Avenue/Highway, basic schools, hospitals, police and fire station etc.), and an optional "addon pack", which provides NAM-like features for us die-hard roadgeeks (RHW, NWM, RAM etc). I could launch into a massive monologue now about my thoughts, but I won't...

Simford Airport High-Speed (SAHS): As you may have noticed, there is a (relatively busy!) railway line along the back of Simford International Airport. You may be wondering, what is this? Well, this airport was built partially on top of a former railway freight depot. It fell into disuse many years ago, but some bright spark in the transport department (sorry, it has to be me! ) came up with an idea for the first high-speed railway in the region. The possibility of reusing some of the old track became apparent, although the trackbed and rails making up the high-speed section would need to be relaid. This idea has since been taken up, and so the HSR track that you now see running along the back of the airport is the new Simford Airport High-Speed (SAHS) railway. See the route map below for further details on the high-speed line: I have also posted this map on the Show us your city, road or transit maps thread. (The image does not want to embed, see this link for now! ) As you can see, there are only two high-speed lines operating on the route. The railway junction that you can see on the right of the picture is the Widened Airport Approach, the restored ralway running alongside Simford International Airport. The express service, as detailed, stops at Simford International Airport (Station) and Greater Timbuktu (Central) only, and then continues along an existing, upgraded route to a residential area, Terrainian Hills. The local line stops at all stations aside from Terrarian Hills, but instead branches off through a tunnel to Terrain Naught, a four-platform terminus interchange. There is a limited service on the local line carrying on to Canal Depot West, running on standard tracks; there is no room or requirement for a high-speed upgrade. Looking at Simford International Airport (Station), SFD-IAS from the east. The original plan for this brand-new station was to have two platforms for local services (WST and SARSS, which I will explain later), two for terminating services and two for through services (TR and SAHS). However, the plans have since been modified, and so there are now two for SARSS alone, two for WST, two for SAHS (through and terminating) and three for TR. The station will (would have!) probably be remodelled again in the future, with two more platforms for WST, and several more for SAHS. SFD-IAS would probably end up looking like this eventually: |---------------------| |<><><><><><>|<<<<<< |SARSS | SARSS towards Airport South (including WST link) |<><><><><><>|>>>>>> |---------------------| |<><><><><><>|<<<<<< |WST | WST towards Airport |<><><><><><>|>>>>>> |---------------------| |<><><><><><>|<><><> |WST/TR | WST connects above, TR connects below... |<><><><><><>|<><><> |---------------------| <<<<<<|<<<<<<<<<<<<|<<<<<< *1 |TR | TR towards Stansted Interchange >>>>>>|>>>>>>>>>>>>|>>>>>> |---------------------| <<<<<<|<<<<<<<<<<<<|<<<<<< *2 |SAHS | SAHS towards Simfordian Hills >>>>>>|>>>>>>>>>>>>|>>>>>> |---------------------| |<><><><><><>|<><><> |SAHS | SAHS connects above |<><><><><><>|<><><> |---------------------| *1: TR towards Canal Depot (West Station), Simford West and Carriage Sidings *2: SAHS connects to TR above; limited service to Canal Depot (West Station) only. The west side of SFD-IAS. From bottom to top, at the left side of the picture; towards SFD-CSW, westwards to planned industrial city, siding numbers 1, 2, 3, 4. The T-Junction between the West Canal Railway and the Simford Airport branch. The curved track carries a part-time high-speed extension service from SFD-IAS to SFD-CSW. The two west tracks are sidings, along with the four at the top-right. Entering Canal Depot (West Station), SFD-CSW. The curved railway at the top (west of the station) leads from SFD-IAS. Simfordian Hills [P+R], SFD-HLS. The first station on the site, serving a limited [P+R] route along SAHS. WST lines will soon meet here, and the dirt road at the right of the picture is a safeguarded area for a future upgrade to Ferry Avenue Parkway. This upgrade had been completed before the closure of the tour.

Ehehehe, I'm surprised my father can cope with the confusion! He commutes to London every day, but it's simpler from Kings Cross to Moorgate... Speaking of confusion and branch lines, I need to upload the map for the West Simford Tram, starting at Simford Intl' (see my original SAHS Map) and branching into 5 different lines!

It must be confusing with all those lines that split up into different sections (including your other maps). Which reminds me, the Northern Line in the London Underground will eventually be split into two fully independent routes, it seems, to increase capacity and reduce confusion!

Looks good, but I'm wondering something; where did you find the train stations and skins, or did you mod them yourself?

Just a simple map from my up-and-coming Timbuktu Region Diary entry, although it's not half as good as what some of you guys can do! Simford Airport High-Speed (SAHS): P.S. I'm currently using Create, but I may think about upgrading to a dedicated mapping tool. And if anybody has a bit of free time on their hands, I could really use some semi-professional logos for my region-wide transport system! Please let me know what you think.

Hello, and welcome to another entry in the Timbuktu Region Diary. Today, we shall be taking a closer look at several great transport ideas, which are currently being implemented in the Stansted area of (Greater) Simford. A major international airport is currently being constructed in the area, serving the central Timbuktu population, and these other transport developments will be closely linked, bringing travellers from near and far. Simford International Airport - Background (Plan 1): Originally, the plan was for a central international airport to be constructed in Greater Timbuktu (see the hovering arrow!). Unfortunately, land space within the capital has been becoming even more cramped and valuable, and the effects of the air pollution could stall the explosive growth of the city. Furthermore, Greater Timbuktu would not be able to sustain the costs of such a large airport. In the end, the idea was downgraded to a basic airfield, in order to open up more land space, but even as the plans were formally downgraded, terrain levelling in the area had already been completed (see Greater Timbuktu after the Airport). Plan 2 - Relocating the Airport: After the collapse of the initial plan, Timbuktu authorities decided to relocate the planned airport. The Camford suburbs were considered too small and valuable for such an airport, Sealook Bay would never accept an airport and areas further north would not be central enough for effective use. Therefore, several different sites in Simford were considered, before a decision was made to locate the airport to the Timbuck River bank, at the west of the extended town. This site has been chosen because A) the area was a brownfield, run-down industrial estate, B) the site is just downstream from Greater Timbuktu, and C) the residential area is far enough away to be mostly unaffected. Simford International Airport, with the terminal building under construction. In the background, behind the site, is a reused railway line, which I will explain next time. Greater Timbuktu after the airport: After the airport was relocated, the original planned site was instead reused for a smaller airfield. The rest of the site is instead to be used as extended commercial land, along with a small railway terminus, which I will also explain later. The site, owing to the former hills (which still exist to the west), was nicknamed Terrain Naught. (BTW, I will not be considering a modular airport... Please don't ask me! )

Looks good, but I'm wondering something; where did you find the train stations and skins, or did you mod them yourself? P.S. I vote Route One for the UCCRL, I can't find the poll, but a scenic route is always nice in a CJ!

Looks great [img]https://www.simtropolis.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/9.gif[/img]

Awww, paperwork... What's D-SK doing there??? [img]https://www.simtropolis.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/47.gif[/img]

Very touching speech there... You do have a point with the price points, Apple are, in a way, the Audi (premium VW car brand) or the Waitrose (labelled 'premium' UK supermarket) of consumer electronics. In a way, I've been 'raised' with the Macintosh. I have a custom PC for SimCity and other games, but the difference in quality is unbelievable! I'm typing at a Mac right now, eight years old, a D2GHZ Power Mac G5 but still holding up to the job. An equivalent PC would be 100% obsolete by now! AND there is (to an extent) native SC4. Although the Macintosh should be facing troubled times, especially with the decline in computer usage and our economic situation, Steve Jobs has started a revolution, not once, but twice, each time from virtually nothing, with the Macintosh at the center both times (iOS, the software for the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and AppleTV, is based upon Mac OS X, the native software for Macintosh computers). We definitely do get what we pay for! I can't explain my thanks to the late, great Steve Jobs and his company. "In a sense, it's like he did what he was brought into this world to do, and then he had to go. And what an enormous duty it was." Interesting way of thinking about it... R.I.P.

Anyone see the recent Supernatural episode during which the WBC got their just desserts from "god"? I reserve a special place in my private hell for people like that. It involves pits of flaming tar, and pushing rocks up hill, forever while being coated with it and razor sharp feathers. Healing occurs routinely. God; not these people again. If Gandhi had recently died, I suppose they would have protested his funeral too. But I love Gandhi! We call one of our friends "Gandhi"!!!

My father's got two old Apple II computers, the original Macintosh (a distant grandchild of which I am typing on!) and many more old machines. It's a shame that he has died, I have heard that the same (or a similar) pancreatic cancer that he recovered from in 2004 has struck him again? One news website (I can't remember which) showed a picture of him at the end of August, and I was shocked. He has seemed to age 30-40 years in the space of a few months! R.I.P. P.S. Your quote reminds me, although I am too young myself to know precisely... Ayrton Senna, Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Sladen, Amy Winehouse particularly, to name but a few.