mb1.0.2

REPLIES: RandyE: Thanks a lot! With all the LUT's and map themes, you can get some really stellar shots of this game these days. Glad you enjoy. Takingyouthere:Thanks! I'm not so experienced when it comes to making industrial areas or power complexes. I usually don't focus much on them, so I'm glad you like them. I get what you're saying about the smokestacks, haha, but it's a trade-off, I suppose. raynev1: That's some high praise! SC4 is so iconic and has such a great community here at Simtropolis behind it, it can be hard (daunting even) to begin exploring another game. I came into the SC4 scene really late, so it was easy for me to start "fresh" with Skylines. It's not as deep and doesn't have as much flexibility as SC4 yet, but Skylines is a great tool for creating some beautiful cities. Sunrise in the valley. Today, we're visiting a small collection of locally owned and operated farms. Harvests aren't huge, but there's enough to squeak out a living. Rise and shine...and get to work. The pigs are already snuffing around in their pens looking for their morning slop. The Pork industry considered Snake River Valley a lost cause, as you just can't sustain industrial-level mega-farms. But the pigs that do live here---well---they're delicious. A variety of crops grow here, albeit in small numbers. Agave is one of the big guns here, and there's a Tequila distillery in the area. Also near here are the Royal Canter Stables. A local family breeds horses here and offers riding lessons for locals and visitors alike. An early morning, pre-breakfast brushing...ah. It's the life. The farmland sure is peaceful and serene. Hope you enjoy!

REPLIES: Scribosilyn: Thanks so much! I like to take advantage of the first person camera and try to capture interesting angles. Default angles are so...default! MushyMushy: Thanks so much! It's clear SC4 still has quite the grasp here. Hopefully this CJ will keep you interested and coming back! Airplane09: Right now, I'm showcasing/building the basics of where I want the story to start. There are a few "modern" cities that aren't on the brink of collapse (or at least there will be once they're built). Eventually, there will be a bit more of a story, but progress is slow. markussaage: Thank you. Glad you like it. Kinderly: Hey, man, fancy seeing you here. The LUT is called Realistic Warmer: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=523899106&searchtext=realistic+warmer (It's actually called Realistic II-After Dark Optimized but in-game it's Realistic Warmer). I'm also using a fantastic theme called Tropicity/Desert by OWL: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=677044827&searchtext= Together, I think they do a good job of giving off that dusty, sun-baked atmosphere. Takingyouthere: Thanks so much! I'm really trying to go slow with this project and detail, detail, detail. Hopefully, with your interest in industrial areas, you'll find this entry to your liking! gfv1974: I love Red Dead Redemption. I'm glad that's the feeling you're getting. That means the LUT and Map Theme are working, ha! Ln X: Thanks so much! This update will be a change of pace. Not all of Snake River Valley is so...desolate. One of the big employers of the region is the Red Canary Power Complex (RCPC). Coal is the name of the game here, some of it mined from the valley itself, although these days, most is hauled in via train. Rows upon rows of coal cars line the rail yard to the power station. Large smokestacks belch the fumes of progress into the air. This power station is the largest producer of electricity in the region. The mountains of coal sit waiting to be burned. No matter how much is burned, however, the pile never diminishes. Hard to imagine with what we've seen thus far that beauty like this can be found in the Valley. What will we see next?

I like your skyline. I'm a sucker for skylines along the river. Keep it up!

This is incredible! I've been away from Simtropolis for a while, but it's always great to see the amazing stuff you guys are able to still do with this title. This has to be one of the best industrial areas I've ever seen.

Life is hard in the valley--and no other town in the region shows that more than Dagger Creek. Desolate, abandoned, and left to return to the earth, Dagger Creek shows the perils of living so close to the edge. The old rail bridge...a good measuring stick to see just how much the creek has dried up. Barely a trickle is left--certainly not enough to sustain a working town. Still, it is beautiful, in a haunting sort of way. Always considered blue collar, Dagger Creek was a hard-working town. The factory was the way to make ends meet here--now it rots. The silhouette of of old train depot, overgrown and crumbling, it sits disconnected to the rest of the world. The tracks are far too overgrown and parts have actually washed away in torrential (albeit infrequent) rains without upkeep. The factory, the church, and the train depot: once gathering places for the bustling little town. The only sound that you can hear now is the wind whipping through the abandoned streets. Even the dead can't escape the brutal conditions when no one is around to keep things clean and neat. A few houses still stand, but most lots sit empty. Climbing the hill, the tiny town of Dagger Creek looks insignificant in the backdrop of the desert.

The old steam engine chuffs along the track, weaving between the bluffs as it travels further into Snake River Valley. Water levels have fallen drastically in recent decades, due to drought and damming of the Snake River further up the valley...the view is still spectacular. Stepping out of the station, it's clear that Fort Carson has seen better days. Once a boom-town for the local miners, there are a few things here that have withstood the tests of time. Cathedral of Our Lady is still a sight...a hidden gem in a dusty land. An old main street still stands here in the town square. Some shops are boarded up now, but a few hang on. Once the mines dried up, so did the customers. Big plans were once had for Fort Carson, but those days seem long forgotten as the scrub begins its relenting takeover. The hardships are apparent as you get further away from Town Square. It doesn't take too long before abandoned homes and sparse city blocks are the norm. The people that still hold on in this town rely on the few visitors that come to visit Fort Carson, for which the city was named. Perched upon the cliffs above the bay, it provides some beautiful views as well as a dose of history for those who are interested. One of the aforementioned views of Slender Bay and the Snake River Valley from Fort Carson. Empty lots, dusty streets, and a fighting spirit--the qualities that define Fort Carson...our first stop in Snake River Valley.

Replies: Ln X: Thanks, man. Entry 15: Trains! Today, we have a new video. Part 4 of my Let's Play series. We add a train station and start to develop a new "wedge" of the town. Hope you enjoy! Thanks for watching. Have a great day!

Replies: Ln X: Yeah, there's been an explosion of useful and creative things on the workshop. Really happy with how things are going. Schulmanator: Thanks a bunch! ----------------------------------------------------------------- Today, we have part 3 of my Let's Play series. The video is at the bottom of this entry (to be fair, it's been online for a while now, but I'm just now getting around to updating). Hope you enjoy! Palace Park More of Palace Park More park... A small park in the residential core. And the new video:

Do you run into the troubles of some of your custom assets popping up in your W2W areas? I'm having that struggle right now...especially once they get past level 2 or 3. This looks great, though. I've been on the fence about the custom theme mod. Have you had any issues with it or any weird incompatibilities? Thanks!

Love the sprawling layout. Feels very middle-American, kind of like Des Moines or something...nice job!

Yup, that's a pretty safe guess. I love how compact it all is. Those row homes and shops are great. The last pic is my favorite, though.

This is beautiful. I love how comprehensive the update is. It really feels like a living, breathing city. Wonderful stuff!

This is an interesting topic. I'm here because of Skylines (or at least I'm more active). I've always had and played SC4, but coming into an already established community THAT late in a game's life is daunting. The amount of customization, the relationships in the community, it's overwhelming. So I mostly lurked...posted that shy CJ that Tekindus mentioned above...downloaded mods and soaked up information in the shadows...it wasn't until SC2013 that I really stared being more active, as it was a starting point for everyone. I wasn't trying to catch up with years and years of history. Granted, that game sucks...but the same thing happened with Skylines. I love that game and I was extremely active for quite a while when it first came out. The way it works for me, though, is that I bounce from game to game, sometimes taking months off of a particular game only to pick it up later. That happened to me and C:S. I got burnt out. I'm a member of the RCT community and have been for much longer than the SimCity/city builder community. I have never gone more than a few weeks without playing RCT3 since I joined that community back in '07. I think, since I have such an established place in that community, it's my fallback. Simtropolis is where I go when I'm playing city games, but that's only in fits and spurts. I'm sure it's like that for a lot of people. When you aren't actively playing the game, your general interest for it diminishes (at least for me it does). And for me, I haven't been around/active enough to establish myself among this community, so there's none of that incentive for me to just "hang out" here. I hope that doesn't come across as rude or something, as I really enjoy my time here when I am here, but this isn't my gaming "home" so to speak. I bet a lot of people are just casual gamers or are really into different games. My game is RCT3...with Skylines being my secondary game. So, the RCT forum I'm at is my home community, and Simtropolis is a nice place to visit...when I'm here. I'd bet that's the same for a lot of people. Until a game really HOOKS you, you probably won't be getting too involved in the community. Couple that with SC4's popularity slowly diminishing, and all the above mentioned points, and yeah, it probably feels a bit slower around here than normal. I'm sure it'll swing back.

Entry 14 - More Old Town! Hi, everyone! My video series continues below with part two. In addition, as promised, I've provided some pictures from this build session. Hope you enjoy! I really tried to work on making some pedestrian plazas around the church and city buildings. I think it looks pretty okay. Using the zoneable pedestrian paths of Traffic++ has certainly helped! From the Cathedral Plaza, you can see the city's old government building, now a museum. There is a plaza over there, too. The government plaza. And finally, the Let's Play video. So there you have it. This European style is still tricky for me to get down, but I think I'm getting a feel for it with each video. Hopefully you agree. Thanks so much for any feedback you can provide, it's really appreciated. Have a great night.

Wow, I've missed a lot! This is looking great. Love your style of play.