vgcpapa

Just after I released my only BAT on the STEX in June, I suddenly stopped playing Simcity. I think it was a combination of many factors, two of them being the creation and release of a BAT, and trying out and hating SCS, that really turned me off from Simcity. I lost the urge to play Simcity, I lost the urge to BAT, I lost the urge to visit the CJ section. I didn't have the desire to do anything Simcity related. And since Simcity4 was one of the only games I played, I literally just stopped playing videogames alltogether. However there is good news in that there is still one way that I can enjoy Simcity, and that is through its soundtrack. One of my favorite songs is Urban Underground. It has such a great bass line. And since I have a bass, I thought I would give it a try. Enjoy: "> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGJJMMOWt3M Does anyone else play songs from Simcity? (any instrument) Also from anyone else who plays bass, I will glady accept any tips or suggestions.

The Ten Busiest Amtrak Stations in 2007

Here are a few of my thoughts: - Why is this an issue of gun control or gun bans? Arms are not restricted to pistols or shotguns. Arms (armaments) can be any type of weapon: ie. knifes, small firearms, tanks, grenades, nuclear missiles and the list goes on. note: I don't use the term WMD, because I believe that any W is capable of MD. - I am not an expert on Arms rights... so my question here is: What are the differences between my right to keep a M1 Abrams tank? My right to own a handgun? My right to a machete? My right to a hunting rifle? My right to an assualt rifle? My right to a nuclear warhead? My right to a piece of paper (in a case were I could protect myself by inflicting papercuts)? My right to a grenade (If I wanted to go hunting or fishing with grenades)? My right to a car? My right to a crossbow? My right to a horse or war elephant? My right to a yo-yo? - I think that most of these can reasonably be considered weapons/arms; and I think it is reasonable to say that the second amendment says that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. - So with all that said: My right to own a fighter jet shall not be infringed. My right to a tank shall not be infringed. Note: In such a case were I am demographically suspect and consequentially my internet use is being monitored: The above post is for speculative purposes only. In no way do I endorse the unlawful possession or use of weapons, including but not limited to firearms, combat vehicles, explosives, battle llamas, or any instrument capable of inflicting harm or damage to persons and/or property.

xxbydesign: That's a really great but long post. I agree with some of the points you've made, but there are a few things that I should point out. I thought it might be a good idea to actually post the 2nd amendment here, to distinguish between what it is believed to say as opposed to the actual text: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." quote> It's a good idea to post the actual second amendmet. However the text you've posted is not exactly right. The Official second amendment is: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." You got the punctuation correct, just not the capitalization. There are implications which I don't want to go into of what the different capitalizations mean. That whole life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness thing? Yeah, that's the Declaration of Independence, not an actual binding legal contract; the Constitution of the United Sates does not say that you have a right to exist. Bummer.quote> 14th amendment: "... nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. " Also 10th amendment. But also if you are going to examine the constitution from a historical perspective, it doesn't seem right to isolate it from other colonial/revolutionary/early America. 3. One last thing I want to point out is that: yes the Bill of Rights are amendments and the constitution can be changed (amended). But the constitution and most amendments restrict the power of the gov't and grant/protect the rights of people. As far as I am concerned only one amednment attempted to do the reverse and we all know how that ended. For those of you who might not know what I am talking about: 18th amendment/ Prohibition, which was repealed by the 21st amendment. I guess I will conclude that the constution can be changed, but it SHOULD NOT be changed if it prohibits or infringes the rights of people. As for my take on the the whole gun issue thing, well that can be discussed later.

From simcity.com Choose from more than 350 unique buildings which can be combined, connected and re-arranged in almost limitless combinations.quote> Disregarding the "choosing from 350..." this seems like a very interesting feature. That is if I am interpreting it correctly. I am optimistically wishing that this means being able to stack buildings on top of each other, or make them W2W. If you could stack buildings on top of each other, I believe it would be the best feature in the game and could bring a feature of realism that was missing in Simcity4: mixed use zoning, placing. Apartments on top of businesses and mixed use buildings was definitely one feature missing from previous simcities. And if they mean what they truly are saying, then atleast they will make a worthy progression in one aspect of simcity. It's just too bad so much else was lost. However given that the gameplay videos do not stress this idea, I have a feeling that the statement is misleading. I want to believe that they mean mixed use buildings and combining buildings in almost limitless combinations. But I believe that they are describing this in the citywide context, meaning you can plop any building you want [after it is unlocked] into your city mixing and arranging the types of buildings to affect the social environment. If this is what you mean EA and not mixed use, well then congradulations on misleading for the third time on this new game... 1. The first time being when you said a new simcity was in the pipeline. But somehow you've managed to take the pipeline out of simcity. 2. And the second time is just by naming this game Simcity.

I always envisioned games to be like a drawing, artistic, realistic cartoon like. I like things to look like a realistic drawing that is unique from "real life" because every now and then I like to be reminded that it is still a game. Sketch up example: posted in other thread Saint's Row Xbox360 I always like the opening of the BAT

What your saying is something that a lot of people would expect. And I believe that incorporating more social aspects into simcity is a logical step. However adding a feature like this into a game should not be at the expense of existing dimensions of urban planning. Sure it would be nice to know that some sims in my city have a defined culture, but if I could no longer lay rail or public transport (which I feel will be the case), I will be very dissapointed. And so IF I buy this game, everytime city that I build, out of resentmnet I will rule with an ironfist and my sims will regret the fact that their social problems have gotten in the way of my urban planning. Sir, if you wish to have a just notion of the magnitude of this city, you must not be satisfied with seeing its great streets and squares, but must survey the innumerable little lanes and courts. It is not in the showy evolutions of buildings, but in the multiplicity of human habitations which are crowded together, that the wonderful immensity of London consists." — I have often amused myself with thinking how different a place London is to different people. They, whose narrow minds are contracted to the consideration of some one particular pursuit, view it only through that medium. A politician thinks of it merely as the seat of government in its different departments; a grazier, as a vast market for cattle; a mercantile man, as a place where a prodigious deal of business is done upon 'Change; a dramatick enthusiast, as the grand scene of theatrical entertainments; a man of pleasure, as an assemblage of taverns, and the great emporium for ladies of easy virtue. But the intellectual man is struck with it, as comprehending the whole of human life in all its variety, the contemplation of which is inexhaustible.quote> James Boswell's Life of Johnson (1791)

Originally posted by: the olive There should be more spesific zoning tools. Zoning by wealth would give you the power to make your "rich areas" be in one spot, and and "poor areas" in another spot. There should also be zoning options that allow you to make one area a townhouse area, and another a detached area. This gives you much more control over the way your city develops, and is very similar to the way it is done in real cities, and agian almost everyone wants realism.quote> I do like your thoughts on zoning and having more control. However in my view, I think it is too unrealistic to zone for rich areas and poor areas. In having more control over what class of resident moves in I think that the tax system should be the focus. Taxes should be more in-depth and give you control to set invidual property taxes. To have more control over what type of resident (or industry) occupies the land there could be a land tax that will be determined mostly by the land value with some room for the mayor to change and a property tax which would be a set figure related to the structure that occupies the lot.

Phase 1: Stage 1: Greenline of Gaitlin - Neighborhoods affected: West Village, Southside and Crawford’s Corner. Greenline does run through downtown, but it does not connect to Central Station. - A step of Phase 3 will be considered here. It is the naming of the westernmost stop of Greenline. This last stop resides in Gaitlin’s West Village. West Village was the neighborhood that was featured in the Aesthetics of History. West Village is one Gaitlin’s oldest neighborhoods and most historical. Surprisingly, however unfortunate West Village’s Historical Society is the only organization in Gaitlin to have records on Gaitlin’s early days. It is unfortunate that they are the only organization that has intact records, and it is also unfortunate that they only have one picture of an old West Village to share. - As seen in the Aesthetics of History, West Village is a neighborhood of widespread disrepair, which has been blamed on the mid-century highway expansions. The highway further segregates West Village from the Gaitlin community along with the train tracks that run along West Village’s eastern border. - GTASP will seek to help in a revival of West Village, by increasing transit accessibility and increasing opportunity and motivation for Gaitlin’s residents to seek, travel, work, live and enjoy West Village. - Southside is one of Gaitlin’s largest neighborhoods in terms of land area. Throughout its history it has been a largely residential community. Very few industries or office space is located within Southside. So residents that choose to live in Southside often commute outside the community to work. - Recently office space development has spilled out of Downtown and into the northern border of Southside. So Southside has shown that it has the potential to be a neighborhood for work and home life. - GTASP will seek to help Southside in its possible transition from suburban like neighborhood to city like atmosphere by making greenline more efficient and giving Gaitlin Residents a better choice in whether they want to live there, work there or both? - Crawford’s Corner is a small but diverse neighborhood. Unfortunately is an area that has the highest road traffic congestion, as a major highway interchange runs directly north of the neighborhood. - The high traffic may benefit Crawford’s Corner because the traffic increases the potential for development. - GTASP will seek to relieve some of CC’s road traffic congestion and convert it into transit use, while also maintaining CC’s potential for future development. Visual References 1. Highlited Greenline before expansion 2. Neigborhoods affected by Greenline expansion 3. Greenline with increased depth 4. Greenline as it should be perceived with white representing stations. 5. An underground view of Gaitlin’s system with Stage 1 being complete. 6. Greenlines easternmost stop in Stage 1 Crawford’s Corner. 7. Two stops in Southside. 8. (a) Greenline where it enters Downtown. Though this area doesn’t look perfect nor great, GTASP stage 1 has benefited this area. (b) 2 blocks east where transit access is limited resembles what this area looked like before stage 1. 9. Gaitlin’s Skyshark Stadium was not serviced by GTA transit other than a bus stop, but now with the Stage 1 complete it is now served by the greenline. Skyshark fans will now be able to reach the game on greenline. 10. Greenline’s westernmost stop. This station is up for name recommendations. 11. West Village Historical Society’s copy of an early West Village. [unknown date]

Work has begun on the GTA Subway Plan (GTASP). The plan calls for increasing the depth of each subway route by adding parallel tunnels. Then the parallel lines of each route will be connected at each stop by a perpendicular tunnel. The goal of GTASP is to increase city wide transit usage by increasing transit access. Increasing the depth of each line is believed to be the most novel and efficient method of increasing transit usage while decreasing congestion on alternate transportation networks i.e. highway and streets. The plan is broken into two phases and eight stages, with each phase containing four stages. Phase 1: will focus on the Gaitlin District of the city. Stage 1: Greenline of Gaitlin Stage 2: Blue line of Gaitlin Stage 3: Yellow line of Gaitlin Stage 4: Redline of Gaitlin Phase 2: will focus on the Saratague District of the city and each stage will be determined from the results of Phase 1. A final and third phase is being considered but it is not recognized yet as a central part of GTASP. A possible Phase 3 would include organizing and developing a system map including each station and transfer station [including name and types of accessibility]. Regarding the naming of stations, with the exception of major hubs and transfer stations, some responsibility will be given to the community [simtropolis] in deciding the appropriate station name. The community can assume responsibility in at least naming two (2) stations for each line [the final stops of each direction], which will help in better defining the line in terms of travel direction. Another part of Phase 3 will include allocating the necessary resources for the maintenance of each station and possible construction or redeveloping of stations and major hubs. cleaner475: Thanks for your comment, I am sorry that I don't have any pictures to show in this quick update. homeandaway: If you went there, you probably would know your way around, but chances are you would still get lost. I mean none of the city streets or landmarks are named and the city is a grid block sea. Anyhow thanks for showing your tracks.

Well not exactly IGN, Fox or ABC, Gamespot has some new simcity coverage. However their article doesn't say much about the fan backlash. Maybe we can change that.

Introducing GTA No not Grand Theft Auto, Gaitlin Transportation Authority [how original?]. First off is Gaitlin Central Station in the heart of ... Gaitlin. Oh and the lovely rail tunnels leaving out of Gaitlin Central. When the tunnels were first built it was considered an engineering wonder. The tunnels were built well before Gaitlin's Subway system. At the time there was a concern of how the tunnels would handle the exhaust of heavy rail, but the tunnels proved to be succesful and saved much space for future development near Gaitlin Central. Many residents and officials in Gaitlin view the rail tunnels in the highest regard and they often contrast failing or failed transportation networks to these tunnels, i.e When the highway was built it was sunken and that was thought as the most appropriate. However the sunken highway seemed to carve up Gaitlin and isolate neighborhoods, which led to many problems as can be seen in Aesthetics of History. Residents and some officials wish that the highway developers followed the marvel of the rail tunnels and built the highway underground. Occasionly there is talk of covering the highway to "patch up" Gaitlin's neighborhoods. [maybe for another time] GTA provides a map of congestion on Gaitlin's various networks. Highlited are Gaitlin Central Station and Saratague Station. An area of concern for GTA is that high area of congestion in the lower central of Gaitlin, this next image zooms in on that area. Highway expansions were drafted by GTA, but given the problems that the earlier sunken project had caused, GTA felt it would have to look elsewhere for congestion relief. [Also the the highway is only two blocks north of the area of high congestion and it is because of the highway that congestion exists here.] GTA had an idea of revamping the subway system. Below is the system as it exists today. The system has 4 lines. Each line is completely underground. The red line, blue line and yellow line all intersect at Central Station, making it the busiest Subway station in Gaitlin. However, only the yellow line serves Saratague Station, which makes the Yellow line the busiest line in GTA's system. However passengers are discouraged from traveling directly from Saratague Station to Gaitlin Central on the yellow line because of the numerous stations inbetween. It is better for passengers from Saratague Station to Central to take the rail tunnel, because it is always a direct express service. [there is, has never been, and probably will never be a rail station inbetween Saratague and Central] GTA thought how could it increase subway system and ridership and their best idea increase the depth of each line. The Green line showcases best how the new system would look. However it also being considered to make system map look less cluttered, each line would be filled with color as opposed to short lines intersecting the increased depth [Does that make sense]. But again in reality [or simcity reality] the green line showcases best of how the system will actually look, with the lines in between serving as one station. Gaitlin was easy to plan out but Saratague is a bit more complicated By increasing the depth of each line, GTA believes it will give the functionality of having a grid subway system without it looking like a grid. A lot of people are not fond of Gailtin's Grid Street pattern, and this was known when the highway was built. The sunken highway was built with the intention of breaking up the grid. And it was succesful, however the highway did more than break apart the grid, it broke Gaitlin. GTA recognizes this and doesn't want to make the same mistake. Will GTA be succesful in revamping Gaitlins Subway system. Can they make the subway system rival the rail tunnels?

So the new NAM was released, and I like the way it is organized. I took a look at the street roundabouts and this is what was done. As you can tell, the diaganol streets need to be done. And they will be my next step. But again I took a look at the new NAM, and I was shocked when I looked at the diagonal streets. Guess how many textures there are in that plugin? If you guessed is around 945 you are correct. It's a good thing that every view does not have to be retextured, so that equates to about 189 textures to be darkened (there were only 9 for street roundabouts). And then there are the wealth levels which with cutting and pasting, should hopefully reduce that number to somewhere below 50. But that is still alot. So when I am finished with the diagonals, I think a lot will have been done, well atleast enough for an initial release. But we'll see. pepsi71ocean: I am basically just darkening the streets, it is a pretty simple process. The same thing can be done for avenues and roads and it will still be simple. It is just that there are so many textures. But anyways the best thing to do is look at Qurlix's tutorial that I posted earlier in this thread, and just try different things out...OK, there is no way of getting around this, I am going to have to release my street texturing secret. For me darkening the streets is a simple process of reducing the Red, Green, Blue color values. If you wanted to do the roads it would be the same thing, but just increasing values.