Ocram's Razr

I recently found out about a new city building game called New Cities. While Citybound has loftier goals and has been in development far longer, New Cities is already playable (though apparently early access keys are exclusively for streamers/press until next month). It’s in full 3D but it looks very retro, like SimCity 2000. Like Citybound, New Cities is the passion project of a single developer, Lone Pine. Unlike Citybound, it is closed source. It has an IndieGoGo campaign which raised over $3,000 of the $10,000 goal. Lone Pine recently hired an artist/community manager and a guy to handle the business side of things. Compared to Citybound, I’m impressed at how fast New Cities has progressed and continues to progress further! The subreddit is r/New_Cities The website is https://lonepine.io/

Art Deco is one of my favorite styles for architecture and interior design and it is making a comeback. Not only Art Deco but also its opposite Art Nouveau are back in style though a little altered to fit 21st century tastes (and are made to work better together and with modern and contemporary). I was never a fan of Art Nouveau or Rococo but the modern remake/revival is more bold and geometric. Shell and peacock shapes and colors are most popular in Art Noveau modern. The natural shapes and soft colors of Art Nouveau clash with Modernism, Art Deco, and (the often minimalist) Contemporary styles but Art Nouveau Modern is more subdued in shape and has a broader color palette than the original. While original Art Deco used many different shapes, most of them angular (starbursts, chevrons, zigzags, pyramids, ziggurats), New Art Deco is predominately about the curved line, with circles, semicircles, clamshell, and I’ve even seen abstract and asymmetrical curved seating (and original Art Deco was all about symmetry). Would you call this geometric peacock feather wallpaper Art Deco or Art Nouveau? The truth is that neither of the original styles would have made this but the blending of them (with 21st century tech and fashion) made this possible. Also, Art Deco inspired skyscrapers are making a big comeback in NYC now: Here are some pages I looked at to learn (I hadn’t heard of Art Nouveau Modern before) https://howtospendit.ft.com/house-garden/204193-21st-century-art-deco-comes-to-town http://theinterioreditor.com/interior-inspiration/interior-styles/the-new-art-deco-art-nouveau-modern-style/ What do you think?

Normal maps plus alpha (transparency) maps can drastically reduce triangle count. You don’t have to model individual minibeams.

Most of the features first proposed by @boformer for the Total Overhaul Mod have already been implemented, either in patches or (often popular) mods. Therefore, I think that if the Total Overhaul Mod is to ever be released, it should be limited in scope to things not already covered. Most important is 'Citizen wealth level and growable wealth level are separated' and is the only feature of the minimum viable product. So... who wants to make this happen? Who can help? What has been done so far? Foundation The mod uses the existing assets and shaders of the game (with new textures and occasionally scaled meshes and a few tweaked models every once in a while, maybe with some workshop assets with permission). The mod will be compatible with as many other mods as possible The mod is inspired by SimCity 2013, Cities XL, and real life Citizens & Migration Citizens entering would consist mostly of single young adults Citizens will sometimes move to a new home when the wealth level changes, only in certain situations they will "upgrade" their existing home Citizen wealth level depends on their job Education Levels 6 Education levels Illiterate - no school Uneducated - Elementary/Primary School only Literate - Middle/Secondary School Educated - High/Preparatory school Well Educated - Community College (vanilla university) Highly Educated - University/Campus Uneducated label switches to 'oneschool' and Illiterate is 0 schools (‘uneducated’ in code), Educated becomes 'fourschools' Illiterate workers only demanded by farms, working forests, and the poorest, smallest industry (though this type of industry will hire mostly uneducated workers) The Hadron Collider wonder will be changed to either provide ‘fourschools’ education or ‘sixschools education’ depending on whether the button is pressed to exclude college education Universities will be able to take not only Community College educated students but also High School educated students and grant them the highest level of education Community Colleges will be able to educate at least literate students Wealth Levels 5 main wealth levels for residential L1 - Precarious Proletariat (poor) L2 - Working Class (low-wealth) L3 - Stable Middle Class (medium-wealth) L4 - Upper Middle Class (high wealth) L5 - Upper Class (rich) Ultra-poor (squatters) and Ultra-rich (Tier 6 Unique Building) extra levels (late-game challenges) Citizen wealth tied to jobs Certain workplaces will pay more for a certain education level than others Overeducated workers are paid according to their job title (so if Cities: Skylines gives the better job title to overeducated workers, then they get paid more, otherwise they are paid the same as just barely qualified workers) Demand Separate demand bars for poor/low/medium/high/rich wealth Separate demand bars for retail goods (generic), food (Local and Organic Produce), fuel (gas stations in generic), and luxury goods (from unique factories) New demand bar for logistics (provided by generic offices and Industries warehouses) New demand bar for business hotels (demanded by offices), cheap hotels, middle-class hotels, and luxury hotels (tourism) Negative demand possible Zone Types & Zoning New Hotel zone (generic/no AD would be limited to business hotels, which help offices) Either have 3 densities of zones or have densities depend on district policy (whichever is easier) Single-family working-poor housing (low-density L1) do not require electricity or water (though they prefer it) Single-family working-class housing (low-density L2) do not require water (though they prefer it) Medium-density impoverished housing do not require electricity or water (though they prefer it) Medium-density will not require public transport, high density does, all densities benefit/desire Growables & "Upgrading" All of the vanilla growables are reclassified (correct density and wealth level) Citizen wealth level and growable wealth level are separated (adjacent wealth levels can live in the same building (example working class, middle class, and upper-middle class in a middle-class condominium) Buildings will not disappear when you change zones (they might be repurposed or abandoned, texture and props changed) Multiple plots can merge when a building is replaced, or a plot can be split up Buildings of a certain type (density, wealth level, lot size, asset) will form accumulations (the first building that spawns works as a seed) Might require subbuildings to work Attractivity & Density SC4-style Attractivity Data Maps for every wealth level Residential attractivity depends on proximity to services, parks, commercial zones, public transport and untouched nature (weight depends on wealth level) Commercial attractivity depends on proximity to services, roads (traffic density) and public transport Medium-density buildings will only spawn when attractivity and demand pressure are high High-density (skyscrapers) will only spawn when attractivity, land value and demand pressure are extremely high Taxes, Budget and Service Capacity Separate taxes for every wealth level Each subsequent wealth earns twice as much Taxes heavily influence demand and migration (high taxes for businesses = no jobs) Service budget depends on service usage (but of course also the number of buildings) The budget will adapt automatically, service buildings with more "customers" in range receive more money There will be a slider in every building info window that lets you modify the service intensity/quality (from 50% to 150%) When you are in debt and the balance is negative, the government will force you to shut down certain services (traffic infrastructure -> education -> medical treatment -> power/water) City Services Water pumps and service buildings are prioritized when there is not enough electricity Every service building only has a certain capacity. A popup will warn you when the capacity is reached Buildings will work over capacity, though at a reduced service quality (that means the service quality you defined with the slider cannot be reached) Problems & Events Low-wealth people have a far higher tolerance for noise, pollution, and missing services High-wealth and super-rich citizens have a lower tolerance and will move to a different home or leave the city Simulation Feedback Chirpy will be supplemented with a news station Chirper account (like CNN's twitter feed) that will give you better feedback and different sounds (green alert, yellow alert and red alert get very different sounds, uses current red-circled numbers for hidden messages) Non-news chirps can be hidden (and chirp sound turned off) but missed chirps will add up as they do now (though they will be next to the news chirps and a faint blue instead of red) The news messages will mention the district or direction (north, east, center...) Icons will flash up when the wealth level of a citizen or business changes, or when the attractivity or happiness changes Difficulty & Unlocks "Waiting for money" or leaving the simulation running the whole night will likely not work There will be a stable and unstable state, cities will drop back to the stable state when something goes wrong The stable state: Low-density homes with 60% poor, 20% low wealth, 15% medium-wealth, 4% upper-middle class and 1% high-wealth citizens. Higher-density homes might be abandoned (missing water/electricity/services). This state is usually reached when the government shuts down your services and you are in the debts The unstable state: This one can only be reached by your actions. The population will grow all the time, which increases the challenge

How did this mod go? Was anyone able to complete it?

I'm sorry to bring up an old topic but I have found that the Large Avenue with Grass is a great option not only for when planning to eventually upgrade the road from 2 lanes to 4 or 6 lanes without removing old buildings from increased width but also looks good in certain suburban settings (I wanted pretty much the equivalent since 2016 but with the trees and grass between the parking and sidewalk instead of between the lanes) and supports better traffic flow than simple 2 lane roads (because higher speed limit and inability to make u-turns). In my latest cities, I exclusively use Large Avenues with Grass as soon as I can, then later upgrade the roads to 4-lane or 6-lane (though nowadays I only use 6-lane roads for one way expressways). Because of the increased land value, decreased noise pollution, and previously mentioned reasons, these make excellent placeholders for places where traffic is expected to increase or even permanent fixtures where you want traffic volume to remain low but want to have a nice, ritzy look.

Suppose SimCity 4 had more Tilesets but each of them were based off style instead of location. Either that, or suppose you were playing any city building game with the option to filter buildings by style (SimCity 3000, Societies, and Cities of Tomorrow all allow this but I prefer Cities: Skylines and Cities XL) across the entire city. Which architectural styles would look best in the real world if it was possible to build a major city today from scratch with the constraint of 1 architectural style? The only styles that pop into mind are the 1st Chicago Style, Art Deco, the 2nd Chicago Style, International Style, and Modernist (ranked in decreasing order of what I think would be aesthetically pleasing). There must be others that would be feasible and aesthetically pleasing. I apologize if this is in the wrong subforum. --Ocram

At this point, I think improved zoning will have to wait until the sequel, if it’s going to happen at all.

Mas Maíz, a catchy reggaeton song by Nore … mas maíz, mas maíz, dame …

The Evergreen State College has had an annual 'Day of Absence' for years without much controversy. Last year, TESC added a 'Day of Presence.' The 'Day of Absence' voluntarily encourages students of color to stay home from class for a day to give white students a chance to reflect on the achievements of their peers of color and show them how much they are missed. The 'Day of Presence' mandated that white students, professors, and staff stayed home from campus. Those who showed up were subject to abuse: they were rounded up, forced into a single room, forced to ask permission to leave to even use the restroom, and harassed--for some reason, some of the abusive students recorded their harassment on their phones and shared it to social media. I will not post those videos because I believe they do not conform to site rules (vile things were said). There are ways to positively encourage equitability, justice, and peace but this is not the way. A year after the fiasco and Evergreen State College is facing repercussions (as are the worst offenders, who unsurprisingly claim victimhood): Enrollment dropped ~20%, causing a loss of $6 million. http://www.theolympian.com/news/local/education/article210893889.html Students sue the college for $1 million for discrimination http://www.theolympian.com/news/local/education/article180025166.html Professor harrassed and threatened for protesting "Day of Presence" receives a settlement of $500k https://www.seattletimes.com/seattl...-of-protests-resigns-college-will-pay-500000/ 6 professors resigned in total, all getting the severance pay https://crosscut.com/2017/12/evergreen-state-college-racial-protests-professor-resigns-olympia Former chief of Evergreen State College's police sues over discrimination, hostile work environment http://www.cooperpointjournal.com/2...m-of-discrimination-based-on-race-and-gender/ I, for one, am overjoyed at seeing Evergreen's violent SJWs reap the repercussions of their misdeeds. The problem is that this provides evidence to conservatives against public institutions of higher education. Most campuses have safe spaces and safe/moderated debates and many have a professor or two with a strong but usually harmless progressive liberal bias and this goes unnoticed (because it does little harm) but Evergreen College has painted a rather negative picture of colleges, especially Liberal Arts Colleges and public colleges & universities. This is not the only college with students who destroy the "safe spaces" they demand. However, this is the first time I have seen tangible evidence that such behavior won't be tolerated, and at one point I considered going to Evergreen for an environmental science degree (before I decided I wanted to be a chemistry-focused engineer). I have seen examples across the USA of similar (but less severe in most of the cases I noticed) misbehavior. Here is a CNN article: https://www.cnn.com/2017/04/20/us/campus-free-speech-trnd/index.html In most cases, these started out as protests against ultra-conservative speakers, members of the alt-right, and those accused of hate speech. Evergreen College stands out as the protest was over innocent students showing up for class as they regularly do. Apparently, this is called the Mizzou effect: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2017/09/does_a_school_s_enrollment_really_go_down_when_students_protest_en_masse.html

https://hotair.com/archives/2018/08/07/4087482/amp/ Here is an article that cites several sources, including examples of the virtual hostage situation. Anyway, I stayed home from Highline College on days when controversial speakers were scheduled to present, including a self-confessed eco-terrorist. Threats on the internet are usually empty, I have been threatened by spineless internet bullies before.

Thanks for keeping us updated! Your thread and all the lovely pictures of your city make me want to move to San Antonio when I earn my engineering degree. In some ways, San Antonio looks better than my hometown of Seattle; it sure beats every other city I've ever lived.

There is something about post-modernist skyscrapers that to me have a timeless beauty. Perhaps because they borrow elements from older building styles? My favorite building is 1201 3rd Avenue, formerly known as Washington Mutual Tower in Seattle.

This is a fraction of the harassment. This is not how you win over hearts. This is how you escalate the culture wars and erode your credibility.

The white students who showed up (most did not) were harrassed and virtually kept prisoner, fact. I could link videos as proof since foul language is now allowed. I don’t understand why bullies post self-incriminating videos for fun.

Thank you, Ronyx! Textures have to be darker in Cities: Skylines than Cities XL to acheive the same appearance. I heard SimCity 4 Bat4Max default settings are similarly “underexposed” compared to Cities: Skylines.

I have become more familiar in 3Ds Max and even gained enough expertise in it over the past few months that I think my skill level is approaching a point where I think I am good enough to start making mods for Cities: Skylines. I started practicing in 3DsMax to make brick rowhouses for the game Banished but since I am more interested in Cities: Skylines now and my buildings were practice so I can mod C:S, I decided to start a new project of making buildings just for Cities: Skylines. I whipped this building up over the course of 4-7 hours today. It would have taken only 1 or 2 hours had I not made a ton of mistakes that required me to start from the beginning. It will normally grow on a 4 tile wide x 3 tile deep lot with the ability to grow on a 4x4 lot with a backyard. FYI, I plan on making a ColorMask for the outer 2 rowhouses so it could have more variety (bright red, pink, tan, and whitewashed). Please give me feedback to help me improve the quality of my creations. Thank you! --Ocram

My current project is a mall, based loosely off one in Cities XL. Here is a screenshot of the untextured geometry The mall has an interior so I will have to use some transparency for the center part (glass roof and entrance) 1054 Triangles 681 Vertices

Thanks, @Turjan for teaching me about that! I just learned that there is a version of TM: PE with enhanced hearse AI. I admit I don’t really play that often because I’m often busy with school.

An interesting fact is that Cities: Skylines doesn’t care if employees are at the jobsite. That means that offices can be made to not generate traffic since employees can telecommute. Residential to Commercial traffic is heavy because Cims need to go to shops in order to buy their goods.

Monte Cristo made City Life, then Cities XL, then (after failed online Planet Offer) FHI released several (usually) standalone EPs, culminating in Cities XXL. Some people call MC/FHI’s city building games the City Life or CXL series. Never have I seen it as the City Life/XL series which makes sense too. Colossal Order made the Cities in Motion series, switching to Cities: Skylines, which has a more city building/simulating focus (though the engine cannot build giant, highly populated cities accross the whole (10x10km) map without hitting its agent limit whereas that’s what Cities XL is designed for). Cities: Skylines runs on lower end computers than Cities XL can and does a better job simulating. There are some weird bugs and design decisions with emergency vehicles (such as responding to calls far outside the green area, in a whole different district but Skylines Overwatch (with better Hearse, Ambulance, and Fire Truck AI mods) fixes that.

If you cannot find a Windows hybrid (which includes the Surface Pro) that supports your country’s wireless, you will have to settle for an iPad that does or use your phone as a mobile hotspot. Otherwise, there are no products that match all your criteria.

I too had a 403 forbidden error. It lasted at least an hour (I gave up after an hour) and wouldn’t let me load the forum, main page, or anything (even / was forbidden). I went to Discord, which worked but no one was on so I couldn’t check with others. Also, I didn’t care enough to bother anyone snoozing/away so I took a walk outside, I really need to exercise more anyway.

Have I told the story of how my grandmother’s sister (and other patient(s) in the ward at the time) was cured of polio?

Unfortunately, the best mod to fix your issue was abandoned last year. It would have changed the categories from 5 levels each for low density and high density to 3 density levels and 3 wealth levels for low density, medium density, and high density. Because 27 is higher than 20, it would have required some buildings from the workshop, much like Ploppable RICO does. There were plans for that mod to be combined with the 8x8 bigger zones mod.