Simulanten

Thanks for releasing them! They're beautiful. And thanks for the hint about Fine Road Anarchy. I never checked No Collision - that makes things much easier... I was thinking if it's possible to make even smaller ones - like without horizontal bars and the type you'd see in front of almost every property. US airspace is full of cables... There is a UK version of these poles but no draggable cables... keep up the good work - your assets get better and better an lost the generic toy-like look of the beginnings ????

Slowly, slowly I'm expanding this cute little town. I'm experimenting a bit with LUT and lighting - not quite sure what's best. Maybe it's just different kinds of weather and season... For the next shot I went for "Realistic Warmer LUT" and I like it because it kills the unnatural blues in the shadows and on props / cars. Ambient Occlusion is also an indispensable feature of Post Process FX! Another thing that I tried out now:: With Theme Mixer I exchanged the ruined texture with a greenier grassy version - it makes a big difference with grassy areas being close to the narrow roads, especially when they don't have a paved sidewalk like many of these streets. The new bank by King Leno is already used (bottom left) it just came in handy for the actual bank that is there on the corner. Almost every day there is a new asset on the workshop that I can use right away... Pure joy. Only thing that I really miss: A series of average, simple white / light grey American houses - wooden, with just one floor, rather small. Nothing fancy and nothing too rotten - just the kind of house most of the residential areas of these towns consist of. Anyone? There's so much to see in this picture - I should do a screenshot only session just to catch up with it all... Next time I definitely should cover the municipal swimming pool (on the left). EDIT: I just went down to the public pook for a few screenshots: It's King Leno's Casino pool but heavily modified. The draggable Network walls are one of my favourite assets that came out in the recent weeks: they are perfect in combination with ploppable surfaces to create structures in-game. I love this pool. It has everything you'd need on a hot summer afternoon... More to come soon!

Close to the tracks and the now defunct old train station there is Poteet Park. It has a few picnic pavilions, a small open air concert stage, playground and a basketball court across Tuckaseegee River. The parking lot hosts a weekly Farmers' Market for local produce (No, not meth - although many people on reddit referred to it after showing my first pics of Sylva). The market has been a great spot for detailing bonanza. There's all I needed on the workshop - stalls, tents, pick-ups, signs, you name it. Here we go with a small series of pics this time: In the background there's the old Jackson County Courthouse now Sylva's public library. The brick building to the right is the old train station (the original only has one floor but this brick variant of False Lucidity's Stick Building does serve quite well as a replacement. There's some funky old cars at the market - like the old VW Beetle... View from the other side. The warehouse further down the tracks hosts one of the gazillion chuches in Sylva. This is a true showcase for the countless brilliant props on the workshop... Here's another view with the town center of Sylva right next to the market. The street with the Coke truck is Main St (one-way eastbound) and Mill St is the closer one (one-way westbound). I have no clue what's in the old train station today maybe some municipal offices? Tune in back for more soon - maybe we're going to the public swimming pool next time...

A question about power lines (sorry for using this thread to ask this): Most of the available draggable power lines have to be placed far from roads otherwise the poles sometimes don't appear (only the wires) - and placing them way off and move the poles closer to streets disconnects them from the wires... Any suggestions or is it just like this? Maybe the pro's making these assets have an answer? Thanks!

Looks perfect! Looking at it is tempting to make assets again. So far my Pine Motel and the Overlook Hotel are my only contributions... I have tons of ideas for Americana assets but only so little time...

Let's get closer to this cute little town that I've never visited IRL... We're on Road 23 approaching from the west just passing Mark Watson Park with its Baseball Fields and the veteran monument. On the left there is the crappiest motel around - the Economy Inn. Actually I should create a new asset for it as part of my long forgotten Motel Series - but I don't have time for it atm. I took a few stables, a micro office building and some props to fake it for now. The tracks of the old Great Smoky Mountains Railway are not really in use anymore (I guess they just run a tourist service up to Dillsboro) and I was wondering: Is there a single track (two way) in the workshop that looks nicer than the vanilla ones - and goes without catenary? And is there a way to get rid of the barriers completely? They just don't fit on this line... Honestly I don't know what I'd do without Move It (and all the other mods and assets of course) - it is a pleasure to arrange all the stuff with this perfect mod. The only thing that bugs me is that terrain modifications and the water system are so unprecise and clumsy. No chance to make decent little streams like the one on the left. Tune in for more soon! Welcome to Sylva, NC!

Well, without mods and assets I would have left C:S for good. Building Sylva I come across many ideas to make assets myself again (only did the Pine Motel and the Overlook Hotel so far) but I fear there is not enough time for that...

Here we go with a first image a bit closer to Main St, Sylva. Like some people over on Reddit found out quickly this recreation refers to Sylva, NC - a town featured as filming location in the recent movie "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri". Of course I had to adapt a few things regarding the available assets but with everything available on the workshop we're getting damn close. There's the Jackson County Courthouse, a motel at the beginning of Main St and a train track going through. I use a custom (real) map of the area, the NotSoRocky Hills map theme and the Definite Vision LUT just in case you're wondering...

Hey - it's been a while. After a long period with too much going on IRL I've just come back to C:S - and I'm so happy with all the new assets and mods. I fired up Red Rock again - but after a tour and adding a few things here and there I rather felt like starting with something new. Welcome to Twin Lakes - a beautiful area based on a slightly scaled down valley around Bridgeport CA - a place I visited for the second time last fall. It's backcountry, behind Yosemite and a bit off the beaten track. I love it there - as a European it feels like the perfect Americana collection. I'm not recreating the real Bridgeport - but I take a lot of inspiration of it. There's lonely gas stations, an airfield, a barren cemetery and behind the first mountain ridge you'll see clear lakes and amazing peaks. But let's not get ahead of ourselves - here's a few first impressions of my first town in the area: Bridgeport - named conveniently after its idol and off the interstate, so there's not much through traffic. I guess there will be more in the near future. There's plenty of land... Enjoy!

I'm so sorry about my absence... During summer my focus is always somewhere else. But from time to time I'm back in Twin Lakes and I'm working on a third settlement besides Bridgeport and Walker - it' s a lumber town somewhere between places in the Californian Gold Country and Twin Peaks. But it might take a while before it's ready to post pics. So - not dead yet!

This time I proceeded towards the edge of my Twin Lakes County map. Behind the Twin Lakes the wilderness of Twin Lakes National Park unfolds - untouched valleys, clear streams and snowy peaks. The only road goes all the way up to the Overlook Hotel - but it's closed during winter as we all know... See the map view at the end of this post. Here we go - the road is great to be explored with a classic car: Just before the road ascends there is a parking lot at the trailhead to Barney Lake. No motor vehicles behind this point. In the distance you can see the Upper Twin Lake, at the bottom there's the trailhead and to the right the road winds its way up to the Overlook Hotel. A closer view of the trailhead - it's what you see when returning from an overnight hike up to Barney Lake. All you need at the trailhead: Bear safe dumpsters, a picnic table and an info board with life saving rules for wildlife encounters. Barney Lake. Just when you reach the Lake after the hike up from the trailhead there is a small beach to welcome you. Back to the road at the trailhead parking. From here it gets quite steep - beware of fallen rocks on the road. The road passes another valley with a small grassy lake: Hoover Lake. And one of my more exciting wildlife sightings: A cougar lurks in the high grass close to the road at Hoover Lake! The road passes Lake Point - a turnout with a great view (see earlier in this post) Finally we've reached the Overlook Hotel. It's the only hotel in this part of the National Park - and very popular. The Overlook Hotel is one of only two assets that I managed to craft myself... I'm still pretty proud - but after a year out of business I'm not sure if I still would be able to make stuff like this... Behind the hotel there is a picnic area but not much else. A few trails begin here. The real overlook... This is the complete view from one corner of the map to the other. In the far distance (and way lower than the Twin Lakes) you can spot the desert town of Walker and Bridgeport close to the reservoir at the horizon. The Overlook Hotel sits at the bottom among the last conifers in this rocky mountain valley. The sun still hits the peaks but around the Overlook the night falls and it gets colder. Time to retreat to the big hall under the chimney and get closer to the fireplace. In case you wonder: No maze in front of the hotel. After the horrible events in the 70ies the maze got axed and the former skiing area around the hotel was closed and is now part of the flora and fauna sanctuary of the National Park Moon rise over the peaks. The Overlook is fully booked tonight. And here's another map view of the area for your orientation. It was a pleasure to work on this side of the map...

Glad to hear. Awkward that floating props cause this... In one case I deleted the boat, unsubsrcibed and resubsrcibed it, added it again and all was fine...

This sounds awfully familiar. Do you also experience trees disappearing? And decals flickering? In my case I suspect it had to do with props in the water. Could be boats from the boat pack or a wooden boat in the shallow lake. In one case unsubscribing the boats helped, in another deleting a sunken boat in a slow river. In one case I had to clean out a whole stretch of rocks, plants and stuff between water and lakeside where I had been working on just before the "incident". Sometimes a hint is gained from where it happens when you zoom in (and where it doesn't). It's definitely annoying.

Thanks for the feedback! Good point about the parking. I somehow never got used to the invisible parking markers and out of laziness I'm using the country parking assets that come with bumpers and all. Like this I'm sure they're being used by AI traffic and not just for props. From certain angles the lines disappear when covered in dirt but unfortunately they rather pop up. I might need to check on invisible markers that work for me... And the tents came to the workshop recently by the (French) guy who made the not so nice European RVs. Look for "tente" - there are about 5 different ones. Cheers

On the way to the Overlook Hotel there is Twin Lake Village. It's at the far end of Upper Twin Lake. It's a camping and RV site (no decent RVs in the workshop yet unfortunately...) - and it has a fishing pier, a café, a few huts and trailers in the woods. Twin Lake Village is the gateway to a few hikes in the area - and it's quiet. Let's start with the entrance - close to the valley road there is a barrier that is closed during the night. Overnight parking is not free here. The café also is the site's office. It offers fried fresh trout depending on the season... The lakeshore is peaceful. The water usually is far too cold for swimming. But boat tours are popular. Under the trees in the back of the café there are a number of old trailers for rent. They are the setting for my favourite shot - make sure you have bear safe trash dumpsters! Hikers mostly pitch their tent here and share a bonfire if it's not too dry in the National Park area. And a few bird's view shots to give you an impression of the site... That's all folks for today.

Good to have you back and thanks so much for the kind words, David! Well, I'm not sure if the creators of C:S had this kind of stuff in mind - but certainly many of the skilled asset and mod creators do!

Here is a quick update about my recent work on the Upper Twin Lake area - where it gets lonely and there's only the road up to the Overlook Hotel (coming soon). It's another beautiful spot on this map - I call it Lake Point where you can turn out from the road for a quick stop with an incredible view. There's a lot of new weeds and tiny trees on the workshop - great contributions that were missing... Thanks!

I recommend to go there for real. No idea where you live - but when visiting California I'd always prefer the backside of the Sierras to the crowded places like Yosemite...

I'd definitely do that. But how do I extract the map (with almost everything done in game) to release it? Or would I need to publish a savegame plus the base map? I'm kind of lost there....

Remember Buckeye River? It is back with Sun Shafts and Ambient Occlusion and now there is a little bit of environment around the river. What a nice spot! Let's start with Buckeye River again: Buckeye Road goes up the valley from Walker and right before the bridge across Buckeye River there is an open parking space for visitors to the Buckeye Hot Springs. There is an old abandoned hut - and a bear safe dumpster - nothing more. Not even a sign. Buckeye Hot Springs are somewhat a secret... It's a steep climb from the parking lot down to the river, where the hot water meets the river. There are small pools with different temperatures. There is a small meadow in the river bend - perfect for camping. Just take care about open wildfires! Buckeye Rd goes off from Twin Lakes Road at the other end and approaching the bridge it looks like this: There is a trailhead for hikes along the river and across the hills... And here's an overview: Sun Shafts and Ambient Occlusion add a lot of depth to the views in C:S. Thanks for updating these mods from the never forgotten past...

And for those who wonder about the whole Twin Lakes region: Here's what I have so far. Still plenty of room but I'll keep it sparse anyway. The map is custom made from terrain.party (and modified in Wilbur) - but everything happened mostly in-game.

A quick Memorial Day special: Bridgeport Cemetery - Home mostly of pioneers and gold diggers and some of the area's bravest.

Here comes one of my biggest projects in Twin Lakes County. The China Ranch Date Farm. It's loosely based on a real farm somewhere between Barstow CA and Death Valley - an incredibly beautiful and surprising place in the middle of the desert. On my Twin Lakes map I have the full range between Eastern Sierra peaks and the Californian deserts - so whatever I feel like working on I just go there and start. Let me take you on a comprehensive tour around this wonderful oasis... The farm is tucked away in a hilly environment close to the dry hills on the edge of Walker Plains: The winding road reaches the farm through a canyon and goes past a handful of homes of farm workers: A first overview across the plantation: You wouldn't expect so much green back here: This isn't a cherry-picker. It's a date-picker. Harvesting the dates requires to be free of vertigo... Date palms need a lot of water. There is a small desert stream in the valley and water is stored for the driest times: Close to the old farmhouse there is the small factory where the dates are being processed and packed: Next to the small factory building there is a shop for visitors. They have a bakery for date bread, cake and cookies. Around the store there is a little desert garden. The wreck of a vintage car comes from the times when the farm was being founded. Have a seat in the garden - they offer a fabulous date and vanilla ice cream and milk shake. Close to the parking lot there's the trail head for one of the desert hikes. There's coyotes and plenty of other desert fauna to spot in the hills around... The old farmhouse is in a remote spot of the valley: Here's the reason for the name China Ranch: A pioneer of Chinese descent built a first farm in the back of the canyon. The old building is still there... There is a B&B on the farm - date bread for breakfast is legendary... Imagine how quiet the nights are back here. Only thing you might hear are the coyotes at 2:30 am And finally there's a bird's view: That's all folks. China Ranch Date Farm was one of the most satisfying projects in Twin Lakes County so far. Again - what can I say... it wouldn't have been possible without all the plentiness and quality of the workshop assets. Thanks to all of you contributing!

Back with just a few homes in the Vining area - the desert town around the interstate exit with access to the mountains. There's a tire shop a bit further out of town towards the landfill and directly opposite of the scrapyard: On the edge of town there are the best properties with an unobstructed view of the Sierras: And this guy likes classic cars...

Very much appreciated to hear that from you!