petersonyip

Sure do. I played it over 20 years ago as a kid. I still remembered i struggled to provide water for my city - as i connected the water pipe to the bottom of a lake, hoping gravity will do the trick LOL. Only days later did I found out what water towers and pumping station are for. The game was posted on Steam few months ago with a very low price. I bought it immediately - to my surprise it runs without any issue in Win11. Been playing it occasionally since.

Your screenshots triggered my memories. Don't know if you heard of this - a city building game called "城市百分百". Made in Taiwan back in the 2000s I think. It never has much exposure outside Taiwan / Hong Kong though - probably never have an English version. It has a very similar art style and building customization system to yours. Worth taking a look.

After several entries of development of Newgrounds, we have finally come to an end - as most of the reclaimed land at Newgrounds is now filled up. The area north and north east of the central industrial area has been developed into residential districts. The building density has increased to accomodate more citizens. Some of the buildings are built to several stories tall. Newgrounds is served by both the tram and cable cars, both connecting the area to the Newgrounds Train Station, which connects back to the old town of Rosewood. There are of course also the bus lines to further connect the areas with no direct tram and cable car services. Newgrounds is designed to be a modern town - most of the mid-rises are built in modern architectural style. However, some detached houses further away from the town center remains in European style. The tall structure in below photo is the Newgrounds North Community Center. While it is the tallest new structure in this update, it is still not as tall as the University of Alpine City. The community center includes a roof top garden, from which citizens can enjoy the city view and an outdoor swimming pool. Plenty of leisure spaces are provided within Newgrounds to promote healthy living. The below photo shows the eastern end of Newgrounds district. A small section of the original Magnolia River is retained here, and serve as the drainage outlet of the city. All the water are treated before releasing into the river. And that would conclude the developement of the town of Newgrounds, at least for now. Surely there will be minor updates in the future... While there is a large industrial zone in Newgrounds, the old town of Rosewood, and the tourism related to it still contributes over half of the city's income. To further enhance tourism, two major development around Rosewood has taken place. The first development is a set of hiking trails around Mount Garret, north of the old town. The entire mountain is converted into a resort town long ago - now with the trail, people can travel around the mountain right after they exited the cable car station, and along the way they could enjoy the view of the old town. The trails helps also to reduce road traffic on the mountain. Due to the topography, roads has to zig-zag its way up. Walking trails, however, can be built in higher gradient. On the top section of Mount Garret town, there are several hotels that are facing directly south towards the old town. From here, the entire old town of Rosewood and Cratercove can be seen clearly. Another major update is the extention of railroad system. For years, there are only two train stations - while both are well connected to cable car stations, this whole system is still quite ineffective. A new station is now added at the south western end of Rosewood, spreading tourists more evenly across town. With this new station, the number of users of railroad has increased significantly. The platforms of Rosewood Station is packed with travellers. Excluding bus lines, there are now 3 public transport systems in Alpine City. Each designed to deal with different terrain and urban settings. The train line serves as the backbone to connect the other 2 systems together, with the train stations all positioned in major transportation hubs and town centers. The cable car helps to connect locations with major level difference and across the Rosewood River. All lines except The Big Slide line ends right outside a train station. The tram serves Newgrounds exclusively. Newgrounds is mostly flat land, low gradient makes tram tracks possible here. The wide roads in Newgrounds also make tram lines easier to plan. Below is the latest city map. This is not the end of our story though - the city council is planning something big, even bigger than the Newgrounds expansion project - let's see them in our next entry!

Picking up from our last entry - Eden Project has been completed within the industrial area in Newgrounds. Few years have passed since then, and there has been new developments. Below is the overview of Alpine City. The flat land at Newgrounds is steadily being filled up. The road layout at Newgrounds has not been changed much. A large ring road works as a boundary of the industrial zone at the center. A lot of greenery has been provided as buffer between industrial and residential zone. A central spine cuts through the industrial area due to the cable car route. It happens that the green space is ideal to separate buildings and reduce pollution. Below is another angle - viewed from the southern highway. A new addition to Newgrounds' skyline - the University of Alpine City. It is currently the tallest building in town. It take cares of higher education demands of the entire city. It also boosted the high technology sector in the industry zone. You can also see a tram running - Alpine City has just unlocked another mode of public transport. More on that later. The University consisted of 3 towers and a large podium. It has a rather futuristic design - which suits well with the high tech industry area around it and the Eden Project across the cable car line. There are a lot of modern buildings newly built at the indsutrial area. Below are some examples around the Eden Project. The residential area around Newgrounds industrial zone has grown considerably as well. The central cable car line cuts through the industry zone, and has a stop at the end. Citizens can reach the Newgrounds train station by taking the cable car. Due to the increasing population of Newgrounds, it is predicted that the cable car's capacity will reach maximum in near future. An alternative mode of transportation is needed. After some study, it was decided to build a tram system to serve Newgrounds, and it has to be integrated well with the existing railroad and cable car system. A tram depot is built within the industrial zone - with the whole ring avenue added with tram tracks. The tram track also extended to Newgrounds train station to divert some passenger from using the cable car. Below shows the extent of tram system at Newgrounds, shown in green color. The new University tower at Newgrounds reaches the height limit. Any taller and it will become visible from the old town. It is quite visible already when viewed from Castle Peak. Newgrounds is getting a lot more population. The once dark, empty land is being converted into a vibrant urban landscape. Night light grows so strong that it outshines the old town. This is a night view of the Newgrounds Amusement Park. Let's visit the old town as well while we are enjoying the night view - there are no major changes in the old town so far. With Newgrounds soon being fully developed, the city council now begins to develope new city expansion schemes. We will see more of it in the upcoming entries. Below is the current city map:

Continuing from our last entry, we are finally ready to develop Newgrounds in detail. Alpine City has consistently lacked a generic industrial sector, prompting the city council to establish an industrial zone in Newgrounds. In previous entries, we completed the necessary infrastructure, including the underground highways. Now, we can begin construction above ground. First of all, a road loop to confine the proposed industrial area. This loop ensures that all cargo trucks operate within the industrial zone, minimizing impact on surrounding areas. Trucks can directly access the industrial zone via the underground highway, preventing any burden on city traffic. Several infrastructures have been relocated to the industrial zone, including the disaster response unit. The nuclear power plant is also relocated at the center of the industrial zone. To prevent a substantial rise in pollution, the city council has imposed restrictions on pollution generation, permitting only clean and high-tech factories. Newly constructed electronic factories and office buildings in the industrial zone. You might have observed an unusual structure in the vicinity. It's a large vertical garden called the "Eden Project." The structure serves as a purification engine, filtering pollutants from the city. With this installation, pollution from the industrial zone is reduced to an almost non-existent level, allowing residential areas to develop close to the industrial zone and thereby reducing commute times for citizens. As the Newgrounds Industrial Zone expands, it attracts many citizens due to new job opportunities. New residential zones are being constructed on the north side, and the town of Ninepines has also increased in density to accommodate more residents. An increase in residents leads to higher demand in commercial areas. A new leisure bar street has been constructed atop the large retaining wall above Newgrounds Amusement Park. The road network in Newgrounds has been upgraded to better connect the Sunrise Summit and Magnolia Hills districts. With all these new developments, it is crucial to preserve the environment of the old town. A height restriction is in place for all new buildings in Newgrounds to ensure they remain invisible from Rosewood. This measure has been effective so far, maintaining the unchanged scenery of the old town. At certain high-elevation points, like Rosewood Castle, the buildings of Newgrounds are visible. However, they are distant enough to not significantly affect the view. The Eden Project also helps to filter out pollutants from the old town. The Cratercove Mine used to generate a lot of dust in the area, but the situation has now improved. Newgrounds will keep developing until all available flat lands are utilized. Once completed, it is expected to double the population of Alpine City and offer an additional reliable income source.

It has been a while since the last entry. Before we begin, let's have some winter view of Alpine City. 1. A short recap Below is the overall view of the whole city. Along the riverside is the old town of Rosewood (to the right) and Cratorcove (left).There are several towns all around, such as the airport town (to the lower right) and Diamond Valley. Alpine City has a diverse economy. One of the major income is from the ore industry at Diamond Valley Mine. Other than industry, tourism also contribute to a large portion of Alpine City's income. Tourists come for the old town (Rosewood & Cratercove) and to varies landmarks. Below is the Rosewood Baseball Park, which has been around since the very beginning. The Rosewood Castle and Summit Castle on the mountain behind dominates the skyline of Alpine City. Alpine City's rough terrain makes the road network far less efficient. Cable cars are developed to provide direct and rapid access to locations with large height difference. The architecture of the old town remains consistent, including the bridges and resorts. Maintaining the old town vibe is a major consideration for any new developments. Now, let's see the latest development. North East of Rosewood is a large piece of flat land which Alpine City reclaimed from a former river valley, now named Newgrounds. Due to the large area involved, development is being carried out in phases. In our last entry, the underground highway has been properly set up, and now above-ground works can begin. 2. The reconstruction of Ninepine First of all, the town of Ninepine has been reconstructed. It was once totally demolished for the construction of underground highway. Now it is the first area to be rebuilt. Ninepine used to be a residential town. It remains mostly residential in this new version, except for a new hotel being built here. The rest of town is mostly low density houses, with a few block of commercial buildings at the town center. Ninepine used to be connected to Rosewood by a bridge. The birdge has been demolished, but a new cable car system has been installed to connect Ninepine to the Newgrounds Train Station nearby. Speaking of Newgrounds Train Station, the entire Lower Newgrounds area has been reworked and is converted into a major tourist and transportation hub. 3. A lot more Fun at Newgrounds The lands surrounding Newgrounds Train Station was once a residential town, constructed to house people who have been affected by the urban development projects. Now that Ninepine has been rebuilt, the residents has been resettled and the temporary houses can be demolished. In its place, a major themed park has been built. Below shows the extent of the whole lower Newgrounds area, and how most of it is filled by the themed park. The new themed park is named Newgrounds Amusement Park. It aims to provide fun to young tourists and thrill seekers. Its proximity to the train station soon makes it a must-go attraction for tourists. The park isn't exactly large, but the ride selection is quite good, with launched free fall, ferris wheel, river rapids and roller coaster etc. The park is cut into two parts by the train station, on the side near the river bank, the park focus more on gentle rides such as tea cups and track rides. Lower Newgrounds also has other new attractions other than the themed park. A large concert stage is set up with regular concerts being held here. New shopping centers are also built around the train station. Although it feels a bit out of place, the Alpine City University has set up its campus at Lower Newgrounds. This is the first official university at Alpine City, and its opening means a new chapter in the city's education system. Once the upper Newgrounds is properly developed, perhaps the campus will be relocated. The location where the Ninepine bridge once sit is now a large retaining wall, defining the area of upper Newgrounds. As for upper Newgrounds, the basic road network is being planned here. Nevertheless, the power plant and certain government office has been setting up here. 4. New Cable Car Lines You may have noticed the cable car system at Newgrounds. Since there is a major level difference from Newgrounds to the Newgrounds Train Station, the city council resorted again to cable car system. There are 3 cable car lines added in total, all leading directly from the Newgrounds Train Station. One line goes toward upper Newgrounds, and go striaght through it. Another line goes accross Rosewood River, and ends at mid-hill of Mt. Garret, which is a resort area. And the final line goes towards the North and connects the town of Ninepines as previously mentioned. Below is the city map with cable car lines highlighted. There are now 6 lines in total in the city. 5. Other areas Apart from the above, there are also updates all around the city. For one, the Magnolia Hills area north east of Rosewood Station has been fully developed into low density residential area. The road networks here serves as a connection between the old town and Newgrounds. The tourism board added balloon tours around the city. Based at the Newgrounds Train Station, they provide an extra way to enjoy the city view from the air, other than the plane tours. As for the area of Tenpine and Irindale, there aren't many updates. They remain the forestry industry area and train station hub as mentioned in earlier entries. Finally, here are some night views of Alpine City. Below is the latest city map.

In the last entry, Alpine City built its first airport. A lot of changes in nearby towns and transportation systems are made to suit the new airport town. Below is a museum and performance hall built as part of the airport town. The airport town provides jobs and tourists spots, attracting more citizens to settle at nearby area such as The Big Slide and Castle Peak. The number of houses has increased significantly around the area. Following the construction of airport, a new cable car line was installed in The Big Slide. By now, there are 3 cable car lines in Alpine City, and cable car has become the second most popular mode of public trasnportation in Alpine City, following buses. As for the old town of Rosewood itself, there are not a lot of changes. If anything, the residential area near the Rosewood train station has been developing steadily. There are also minor changes on the road layout south of Rosewood, with a highway exit that ends in a large roundabout at the edge of old town. East of the old town is a large piece of flat land. Years ago, this entire area used to be a deep valley with a river. The valley was then filled up as an urban expansion plan. This flat land is named Newgrounds, with a total area larger than the old town itself. Now, this area is finally ready to be developed in detail. First of all, the infrastructure. Newgrounds connects 4 highways from different directions. However, building highways and several large intersections will take up a lot of valuable space, especially when the space is acquired very expensively by reclaimation. As a solution, 2 out of the 3 highway intersections are now built underground, and with that, most of the highways in the area are also built underground, leaving the surface free for future planning. The intersection towards Southern Highway as shown below is the only one that is above ground. Below is the underground view of Newgrounds, highlighting the extent of underground highway. As Newgrounds develops, more exits and entrances to the underground highway will be built. As for the city planning of Newgrounds, Alpine City has always been lacking in generic industry. The center of Newgrounds is therefore allocated to high tech generic industry, and will also be the new site for the Nuclear Power Plant for the city. The highway network is designed to take up the heavy cargo load for the industry area. Surrounding the industry area will be several sectors of residential zones. To preserve the view from the Old Town, no high rise will be allowed on Newgrounds. However, towards the east, medium density buildings may be allowed. A new cable car system will also be implemented to better connect Newgrounds with the existing train station, and link up the town of Sunrise Summit in the process. The development of Newgrounds will take years to complete in phases. Apart from Newgrounds, the area surrounding the Great Lake to the north also see a lot of changes lately. Most notably the town of Irindale and Tenpine. Irindale is developed further into a modest town. Population has grown steadily. However, this area is still considered too remote from Alpine City, and the town still has to rely on the local wind farm and water service system. The Irindale train station is the major reason for this town's existence. Any tourists coming into Alpine City by train must go through here. Along the coast line of the Great Lake, the area known as Tenpine is now gradually turned into a forestry industry area. Thanks to the local climate, the area is well suited for growing pine trees. Large area of Tenpine has turned into tree farms, with anxillary industrial installations. Years ago, Alpine City depended solely on forestry industry to survive. The economy slowly shift to tourism as more landmarks and old town was established. Now, forestry industry made a strong come back in Tenpine, producing lumber and paper at a much higher rate than ever before. The dam built on Rosewood River now powers the forestry industry area. A garbage incineration plant is also built to provide power. The Great Lake also provide another source of income - fishery. Along the coast, numerous fish farms and fishing piers are being developed. To better connect Tenpine with Rosewood and Newgrounds, a new road along Mt Lilac is built. From here, people can enjoy the view of Rosewood River. With the Cratercove Mine, the new proposed industrial area in Newgrounds, and the new Tenpine forestry and fishery area, Alpine City will no longer rely solely on tourism. Forestry, ore extraction, fishery and generic industry will also take part in contributing to the city's economy. In the next entry, we will see more on the development on Newgrounds. The latest city map is as below.

If Alpine City is to further develop in tourism, it is crucial to provide more means for tourists to come into the city. In our last entry, the first intercity train station was built. But that only covers tourists from nearby cities. In the long run, an airport is necessary. However, Alpine City is famous for being a mountainous city. There are a lot of challenges just to put in a highway, let alone an airport runway. Eventually, a site south west of Castle Peak is picked for the new airport. The area is the only location without obstruction for plane to land (the red arrow). A lot of earthwork is involved, and when completed, the airport will be at a mountain summit, hundreds of meters above Alpine City's old town area. After years of works, finally the summit has been transformed into an airport town. There is enough space to accommodate two runways, instead of just one. The longer runway is designed for commercial airlines. The shorter, smaller one is designed for smaller air crafts, serving the local aviation club, and allow for private plane tours. In between the two runway is the new airport town. When planes land, it makes for an interesting scene that the airport is so high up on the mountain, and that a deep valley is just next to the airport. The commercial line airport is by no means a big one. Just one runway and one terminal building. But due to the limitation of space, this is the best it can do. The airport town is designed to be a tourist spot as well, with a large shopping center and some parks. It makes a good place for tourist to shop and visit before they take the plane. The city's water towers are also relocated to the side of the town. The new airport itself is a massive project, and the nearby districts are transformed as well due to this addition. Most notably the town of Castle Peak and The Big Slide. An airport is no good if it is not connected well with the city. As part of the public transport system, a new bus stop is added right next to the airport terminal. The cable car's Castle Peak Line is extended for one station and make a terminal right outside the airport town. This is at walk-able distance to the town's commercial area - also people can take the bus here to reach the airport. The Summit Castle is very close to the airport town. After the completion of the town, more buildings are added along the road leading to the castle, such that tourists can enjoy cafe and shopping center here. Cherry trees are planted along the main road here to as part of the beautification works. To the west side of airport, the city highway has extended from The Big Slide to connect with the airport directly. Due to the height difference, the highway has to go zig-zag and even make for a large turn to gain more height. The Big Slide roundabout is completed removed to make way for this new highway intersection. As for the town of The Big Slide, since the roundabout is removed, the town's bus terminal is also gone. As compensation, a new cable car system is added to connect the north and south section of town. This new line is named "The Big Slide Line". Since both ends are residential area, this cable car system do not have a lot of passengers. There are other changes in Alpine City as well, following the addition of airport. The area directly north-east of Rosewood was tore down completely to build the train station. Now this area is gradually being redeveloped into residential area. Soon, there will be signifacnt development for New Grounds, Ten Pines and the distant town of Irindale. But all these will have to leave to the next entry. So now, Alpine City can finally become the destination for international tourists.This will certainly give a big boost in tourism and hence increase the city's income considerably. The aviation club's flight tour is an unique experience, allowing tourists to view the city from above. The southern side of Alpine City is very well developed at this point, with the addition of airport and the airport town. Even from Mt. Garret, the bright light coming from the airport can be seen clearly. Interestingly, due to the topography, the airport cannot be seen directly from the old town of Rosewood. This turns out helps a lot in reducing the noise pollution and visual impact from the airport. Below is the latest city map.

It has been a while since the last entry. Let's start with a recap. Alpine City has established its first cable car lines and train lines. This weird combination is due to the harsh topography limitation of the city. Of course, bus lines are still of high importance for most residential area in the city. Below is a bus exchange station recently added at The Big Slide highway intersection. The first update is the development of Mt Garret. This mountain is directly north of Cratercove and the Cratercove Mine. The proximity and the natural heights provides an excellent view to the entire old town. The city council decided to develope the entire slope of Mt Garret into a tourist town. The new town is built with traditional European architectural style, in order to fit into the old town. Plenty of hotels are built all around the mountian slope. A small wooden bridge is built to cross a valley. Mt Garret is quite steep. The road from Cratercove winds its way up with a lot of zig-zags. The low building density helps on balancing city development and natural preservation. To avoid traffic jam from the flood of tourists, the cable car's River Line is extended from Cratercove all the way up to Mt Garret. Tourists could access the new tourist town within mere minutes from the old town. To facilitate the ever-growing number of tourists, the city must provide more means of access. So far, the only method tourists could come into Alpine City is by driving, which is not ideal. To open up new way of getting into Alpine City, the city council finally agreed to develope a new town at the valley of Irindale, far to the north-east of the city. Irindale is so far from Alpine City, it is challanging enough to build a connecting road there. Power and water must be produced locally in town, for it will be years before the main supply from Alpine City could extend to Irindale. The town sits at high ground, overlooking the Great Lake. As a start up town, there aren't a lot of population yet. The reason for building this town is simple - it has a railroad access from the country. A train station is built in the center of town, and from here, tourists coming in by train can travel further into Alpine City with bus. And the bus would take hours before reaching Alpine City. The connecting road also happen to cross Ten Pine, a natural reserve area north of Alpine City. From here, the road branches off to the the Rosewood River Dam and up on the mountain to Nine Pine Heights. This provide an opportunity to further devleope Ten Pipne into a new town in the future. It would be ideal to connect Irindale directly into Alpine City's existing railway. But that will have to leave to a future entry. Below is the updated city map: Finally, to finish this entry, let's take a look at Alpine City during winter times. So far all images are captured in summer. Alpine City gives a very different vibe with snow covering the whole town.

Your map is massive!! Back when I played SC4, I always dreamt to complete the whole regional map. But you did it! And with such detail too. Good job. Can't wait to see more.

Thank you Cricket for your comments! From what I heard there is but one city on Earth that realized cable car as major mode of public transport. It is the capital city of Bolivia, La Paz. I did took some reference from it and apply it on Alpine City.

Public transport has always been a very limited sector for Alpine City. With all the mountains, rivers and height difference, typical railway is quite impractical. For years, bus and taxi are the only choice for the citizens. In the recent entry, the very first railway transportation has opened. There are only two stations, most of the railroad is underground, and the number of train users are quite low, but it is a start. The price for building the train station is steep. A large area north west of Rosewood is modified and demolished to suit the new train station. As part of the train station complex, the new clock tower now stands at Rosewood as the tallest structure in town. It becomes a new landmark adjacent to the classical Rosewood Town Hall. There are plans to build one more train station further south of Rosewood to improve its usefulness. The elevated railroad has been installed already (ending up modifying an entire street of the old town in the process), However, the station is still under planning. The limited options of transportation is a big problem for the city's tourism development. Without a better alternative, many tourists decided to drive around the city, causing traffic problems everywhere. To address this, two major systems are being implemented. First, a cable car system. In most cases, cable cars are for tourists spots like mountain lookouts and ski resorts. There aren't many examples of using cable car as everyday public transport. But in Alpine City's case, cable cars are the most efficient mode of transportation. It can link up locations with height difference effectively, and does not take up much space. In most cases, the cable runs in a straight line, meaning they are traveling in the shortest route possible . All these make cable cars ideal for Alpine City. There are currently two cable car lines in service: The River Line and Castle Peak Line. The River Line obviously goes across Rosewood River. To encourage more people to use public transport, the terminal at Rosewood's side is directly adjacent to Rosewood Train Station. People can exchange between trains and cable cars with ease. The Castle Peak Line aims mostly at delivering tourists to Castle Terrace and Castle Peak. Of course, the residents also benefit greatly from the cable car. The cable car lines are designed to be in pairs, meaning people can take either track to travel. This is to maximize capacity and provide contingency if one line is broken down. Below is the River Line, with the terminal built right next to the clock tower. And below is the Cratercove side of the cable car line. The Castle Peak Line goes high up after leaving the terminal at Rosewood Station. It has to, in order to catch up with the height of the mountain. Due to limitation of topography and existing highway, the station for Castle Terrace is built for one of cable car pairs only. Further up ahead, the Castle Peak Line ends at the outskirt of the town of Castle Peak, right under the Summit Castle. These cable cars are very efficient. Each car has a capacity of 30 people, each line is capable of handling hundreds of travelers per hour. Apart from cable cars, another big change in Alpine City is the opening of pedestrian zones. The old town of Rosewood has long been a tourist spot. To enhance the experience of tourists, the roads has been changed into pedestrian zones, only allowing essential vehicles to go in and out. Trees are planted along the paths, providing a better enviornemnt for the entire district. The pedestrian zones are well connected with transportation hubs such as the Rosewood Train Station and the cable car terminals. Tourists can exit public transport directly into the old town's streets. Cratercove, having seen an increase of tourists, also has part of the town converted into pedestrian zone. Below is the latest vehicle / pedestrian map for Alpine City. Hopefully the enhancement created by the cable cars and pedestrian zone will pay off. The cable car for now is a huge success, with some cars completely filled with passengers. Some bus lines with overlaping route with the cable car lines are deleted. Finally, there are some upgrades of the town itself. A new indoor shopping mall is built near the foot of Castle Peak. It now serves the numerous tourists who come to the city to shop. Improvement on civic facilities are also being considered. For example, Alpine City's first public swimming pool is opened at the south side of Rosewood. With the huge sucess of the cable car system, Alpine City will invest further and eventually become a unique city with plenty of cable car lines. The railroad is currently quite limited in its function. But once it is connected to intercity railroad, Rosewood Station's 4 platforms will be packed full with passengers. That will have to leave to our future updates. Finally, an updated city map of Alpine City:

Alpine City - a city stuck inside a steep valley with almost no space to expand - has been struggling to grow for years. In our past entries, we have seen Alpine City grow outwards bits by bits, developing forestry industry and tourism along the way, and eventually struck gold by opening up a large open mine. With the mine as the city's economic furnace, Alpine City can try out an expensive, risky, but also potentially rewarding project - by filling up an entire river and make space. The green highlighted area is a branch of Rosewood River down streams, sometimes named Magnolia River. After study, it was found feasible to close off Magnolia River without flooding the city. In our last entry, works to cut off Magnolia River has begun. After years of filling with soil and rocks, the area that was once the deep valley of Magnolia River has become a flat ground. The ground level is then further raised to match with the altitude of Nine Pines Heights and Magnolia Hills. This create a large retaining wall at the boundary of the reclamation. A small section of Magnolia River is retained, and is now used as the city's sewage outflow. The water has been filtered for as much as possible to avoid creating pollution down streams. This new area, now named Newgrounds, doubles the usable space for Alpine City. But before any new town is built, works has completed for the highway first. A new intersection is built north east of Magnolia Hills. This would be part of the Phase 3 highway - the starting point of it to be exact. The highway goes underground from here. It then go around Nine Pines Heights, then pops out of the Rosewood River Valley. Due to the deep topography, the highway takes on a gigantic steel arch bridge design to reduce the number of columns. The arch bridge's deck is at tens of meters high from Rosewood River, making it the tallest bridge in the city. The bridge is named Millennium Bridge for its prominent appearance. The Phase 3 highway is designed to go two-ways, fixing the one-way problem between Westdale and Magnolia Hills. Hopefully the drivers could focus on the road and not turn their head around to enjoy the view. It is a loooong way down if they crashed and fell out of the bridge. The Millennium Bridge is so high up, it is clearly visible from Rosewood. Now there are 3 arch bridges in a row along Rosewood River. The Phase 3 highway then go along the slope of the mountain above Cratercove, get underground again under Cratercove Mine, and ended in a 3-way intersection north of Diamond Valley. This intersection is designed to suit the narrow valley space. The inclined ramps makes for a interesting scene. Now the entire Alpine City is surrounded by a ring of highway. More highway exits is being considered, especially at Cratercove to relief the traffic pressure on the Main Bridge and The North Bridge. That we will take care of in the future. You may have noticed there are changes in Rosewood itself too. That's right - since we got a large piece of new land, the city council has decided to demolish the forestry industry area at Magnolia and redevelop it into a residential town, using it as a connection area between Rosewood and the future new town at Newgrounds. The first phase of this project involves modifying the north-east portion of the town of Rosewood, i.e. the blocks just outside the Rosewood City Hall. Several blocks are demolished into flat ground to make way for the new road grid. The original residents in these affected area aren't happy about the works. As compensation, a temporary new town is built at the river front of Newgrounds for the relocated citizens. Since these are temporary housing only, simple brick apartments are built, along with several parks and commercial space. Notice that the Nine Pines Bridge is towering above the new temporary town. This portion of Newgrounds is not filled to the same level to Nine Pines and with a good reason - the train station. An elevated station is built in the middle of the temporary town for people to go to work at Rosewood just as before they are moved here. The railroad itself is mostly underground under Magnolia Hills, so there aren't much noise pollution generated. The city block directly in front of Rosewood City Hall has been converted into Rosewood Station. A new clock tower in installed right next to the station as part of the complex. There are significant changes in the outskirt of Rosewood to make way for Rosewood Station. Another city block of Rosewood is modified to suit the extended rail outside the station. Beautification work is made, ending up becoming a cherry blossom park adjacent to the station. This train station now serves the relocated citizens in Newgrounds, but there are also plans to keep it and somehow connect the railway all the way to Irindale in the future, but that's another story. For now, Rosewood Station is a old town style station which is designed to suit the old town architectural style. In contrast, the station, as well as the commercial buildings at Newgrounds temporary town, are built in modern style. Further away from the city center, a new dam is constructed at the far north of Rosewood River. it has risen the water level of Rosewood River by a little, but the water level is carefully controlled such that flooding will not occur. Generators will be installed in the dam to produce electricity, which will serve the new town at Newgrounds. There is a large complex built on top of the high portion of Newgrounds. It is the disaster response unit - a temporary team that deals with disasters and help to rebuild afterwards. There are concerns that building the dam will have unforeseeable adverse effects, so the response unit is formed to deal with emergency situations just in case. Luckily, so far their services is not needed. There will be more updates for Newgrounds in the next entry. Stay tuned!

Thanks! It did take some effort to match the building style, given that this is a vanilla run (no mods and assets).

Alpine City has gone a long way from begining to what it is now. Let's begin this entry with a little recap. What follows would be a series of photo montage. Two photos will be shown side-by-side, taken at the exact same spot, but in different time. Let's begin with the town of Rosewood itself. The Rosewood Baseball Park hasn't changed at all since the beginning. However, the view towards the Castle Peak surely has changed, with the gigantic Rosewood Castle standing on the mountain slope. The next landmark is the Rosewood Church. The church and nearby buildings haven't changed at all. The only different is the huge mine behind the mountain. The above two images are taken near Rosewood Town Hall. Some city blocks has increased in density, and the Rosewood Ave. has widened up. Of course, the view towards Castle Peak has been altered by the Rosewood Castle and the Summit Castle yet again. The Castle Peak was once a remote area. Now it is preserved as part of the Castle Peak Country Park. Castle Terrace was originally a slope site above Rosewood. It was the first ever satellite town developed. Now it has totally reworked into a small town, with the infamous Rosewood Castle. A perspective from the Summit Castle. Alpine City used to consist solely of Rosewood. Now it is a sprawling city with Cratercove, Diamond valley and several other satellite towns. One of the most significant change is of course the development of Cratercove. Back in the days, people cannot even cross the Rosewood River. Now there are 2 bridges and 1 set of highway that cross the river. The landscape is forever changed by the Cratercove Mine. Further away from the town center, there are several large satellite towns built over the years. Nine Pine Heights is one of the example. Sunrise Summit - so far away from Rosewood that most people don't even considered it as part of the city. Once developed into a tourist spot, now has changed into a satellite town. Once the city is served only with one external highway connection point, near Magnolia Hills. Now there are 3 more highway connections in total. The power plant has also been upgraded into nuclear. The city's growth is also shown on the map. Below is the map from our first entry. The city consisted of only Rosewood and Magnolia Hills. And this is the city map now. See how much the city has grown over the years. And so, we have recap the history of Alpine City since our first entry. Now, let's look into the future. Now that there aren't much financial concerns, thanks to the profits from Cratercove Mine, the city can afford really huge projects. The future plan of the city is as below: 1. First, a huge reclamation project, forming a large piece of new land over Magnolia River The soil came partially from the excavation from Cratercove Mine. Magnolia River is a branch of Rosewood river down streams. After study, the northern stream alone can take up the flow of water, so it should be feasible to close off Magnolia River. This piece of land will double the flat area available to the city. If fully utilized, it can potentially double the population for Alpine City. 2. New highway (Phase 3) The Phase 2 highway connected Westdale with Magnolia, but only goes in one direction. A new highway will complete the highway loop, forming a ring that circulates the entire city. The route should follow the red line marked on the map. 3. New dam at Rosewood River Once Magnolia river is closed off, the water that runs northward will double in volume. The power of the water flow can be harvest if we install a hydro-electric dam. Of course, the height of the dam must be carefully adjusted. Surely we don't want Rosewood and Cratercove to be flooded. 4. New town at Ten Pine and Irindale Ten Pine is a flat area north of the city, having a long coast line with the Great Lake. The forest there can be utilized into forestry industry. Irindale is a deep valley further up north of Ten Pine. The reason for going this far is that it has a railway connection. If we can connect the railway somehow, we can attract a lot more tourists. The works at Magnolia River has began already. Two dams are erected to close off the river from Rosewood River and Castle Peak River. The water is then pumped out of the mid section, exposing the river bed. The bridge connecting Nine Pine Heights shall remain to keep the town connected. The new land will then be filled up to Nine Pine Height's ground level. Once done, the bridge will be dismantled. The closing off of Magnolia River has shown some effects in the water dynamic. Further down streams, there are floods occurring in Ten Pines due to the increased flow. But the flood should be temporary and will subside once the flow has stabilized. In our next entry, we will see more on the devleopment on the new land.

At this point, the Cratercove Mine has doubled in size and is operating on the entire mountain behind the town of Cratercove. Two more mining areas have been opened further up from the original mining area. Thousands of tons of soil and rock are being hauled out of the original mountain slope, creating large basins. The Cratercove Mine has successfully change the skyline of Alpine City, although this is mostly due to the towering mining cranes and chimneys from metal processing plants. Putting aside the harm of the mine created, the operator - Alpine City Metals Company, has utilized their financial power well and contributed a lot in promoting Alpine City's tourism. In the last entry, the Alpine City Metals Company has invested in building the Summit Castle. It was met with very positive review by the tourists - most of them aren't really bothered by the sight of the metal mine behind Cratercove. Seeing that such a tourism spot is in high demand, the company decided to invest in building another castle. The highway construction works at Castle Terrace tore apart the whole town. After the highway is mostly completed, Alpine City Metals Company acquired most of the vacant land nearby and built their second castle here - the Rosewood Castle. The Rosewood Castle is designed to be a themed hotel and park. The castle itself is already so big that it could dwarf anything else in Rosewood. Adding the fact that it sits on the high ground, the castle has become a prominent part of Alpine City's skyline. The Rosewood Castle did not occupied much land. Combining with the fact that the highway runs partially underground here, there are plenty of space left over to rebuild the town of Castle Terrace. After the highway construction is completed, a lot of works has been put into beautifying the neighborhood and reorganize the local roads. Now, Castle Terrace serves also as an important highway exit and entrance to Rosewood. The re-planning of Castle Terrace leave a double roundabout in town. It serves as a transportation hub between the new highway and the mountain road that leads to Rosewood and Castle Peak. Every Night, there are firework events held at Rosewood Castle. Not only the hotel guests can enjoy the view, the whole town of Rosewood can also see the fireworks in distance. To better connect the Rosewood Castle to Rosewood proper, a pedestrian path is built just west of the castle. Due to the height difference, it is designed to go zig-zag. The slope is carefully controlled such that it can support even bicycle traffic. At night, the path's night lighting highlights the path even further, creating quite a scene along with the two castles. When viewed from Rosewood Church, the two castles stands out sharply on the mountain. The Summit Castle already had an excellent view even before the completion of Rosewood Castle. Now with the new castle, the night view of Rosewood becomes even more mesmerizing. The two castles are visible from everywhere in town. Below is a view from the Rosewood Baseball Park. Regarding the new highway, it is finally completed. Now vehicles can pass from the Western highway (Westdale and Diamond Valley) directly towards the Eastern highway (Magnolia and Sunrise Summit) without having to go through Rosewood. However, is true for Eastward traffic only. The major problem is that the connection point in Westdale is limited by local topography. The valley is too narrow for a T-section, hence the new highway can only go one-way. As a result, vehicles that wishes to go into opposite direction must still pass through Rosewood. This is fatal flaw that must be addressed - and therefore the third phase of highway contstruction has kickstarted and is under planning. The new highway has opened up an entrance from The Big Slide. The intersection is done with a large elongated roundabout. During the construction phase of the elevated highway, there are protests on the plain column design, that it does not suit the old town appearence of Rosewood. To address this, as well as an attempt to improve upon the one-way highway design, an additional road is built along the outer edge of the highway. It copies the arch bridge design from the North Bridge, and is fitted with night lighting. Vehicles can use this bridge as shortcut to get around Magnolia, The Big Slide and Castle Terrace. Hopefully it can divert some traffic from Rosewood. The support columns are all lit with night lighting, creating a more classical look. The town of Sunrise Summit has also been established. What was once the most remote area in Alpine City is now turned into a self-sufficient little town. Below is the aerial night view of the entire Alpine City and the city map. And here are more views of Alpine City.

Let's pick up from our last entry. Alpine City has unlocked its rare metal reserves. The Cratercove Mine has seen significant growth and is expanding towards the mountains. While this mine is utterly destroying the local environment, the profit it generates can aid the development of Alpine City for decades to come. To maximize profit, a metal mill is built near the mine. Now the ore can be processed locally. However, signs of pollution has already begun to show. Despite the negative effect of the metal mine, Alpine City actually did benefit quite a lot from the profit it generates. Here are some of the significant projects undergoing with all that extra resources. 1. The Alpine City Metals Company and their projects This is the company directly responsible for the operation of Cratercove Mine. While its primary business is mining and metal works, the company partnered up with the city's tourism board and is investing in quite a few interesting projects. The most significant one is the construction of the Summit Castle. It is located on the high land between The Big Slide and Castle Peak. Built in medieval style, the Summit Castle is in fact a hotel and scenic overlook, enjoying the view of Alpine City from its prime location. Even at night, the Summit Castle is a beauty to behold. The old town of Rosewood and Cratercove lies below the castle, sparkling with city lights. The line of sight of the Summit Castle works in both ways. People can see the entire town from the castle, meaning that the castle is visible from pretty much everywhere in town. 2. The North Bridge This is a project by the city council to improve traffic in town. While the main bridge already has 4 lanes, it is failing to handle the increasing traffic from tourist and added population. The solution is to build a second bridge that connects Rosewood directly with Cratercove. There aren't much space available in both towns. the new bridge is sited 2 blocks north of the Main Bridge, hence is named the North Bridge. Due to site constraint, it can only hold 2 lanes. Similar to the Main Bridge, the North Bridge is also built in masonry stone arches. Its bridge height is quite a bit taller due to the landing portion is on highland. The arch span is also shorter than the Main Bridge. The North Bridge provides a more direct access from Cratercove to Magnolia Forestry Area and hence the highway entrance, without having to go through Rosewood downtown. The two arch bridges could sometimes creates some interesting scene along Rosewood River. 3. The bypass highway This is perhaps the most important infrastructure yet to happen in Alpine City. When completed, it will connect Westdale to Magnolia - the two industrial centers of the city, without having to pass through the old town of Rosewood. However, this project is met with severe challenges. First, it must not disrupt the old town, which leaves no other option than to go through the mountain side. Castle Terrace, the first satellite town ever built, ended up being the first town to ever be demolished, in order to make way for the new highway. The location that was once Castle Terrace has become a construction site. The unforgiving topography leaves the majority of the highway either being underground (in blue color) or on elevated section (in red color). There are still problems yet to settle on the design of the highway. Most of the underground sections are also yet to be constructed. For now, Rosewood must endure the traffic congestion, until the completion of the highway. 4. Sunrise Summit If you are a long time follower, you may remember Sunrise Summit. It is a mountain towards the far east part of Alpine City, and is where the tourism of Alpine City began. With the increasing demand for residential zone in Alpine City, and the shift of tourism into the old town itself, it is decided to convert the mountain into a proper residential town. The old dirt road that goes up the mountain is re-paved into a large road, getting ready to serve the future satellite residential town. And so this is the update of Alpine City. Without much economic constraints, the city goes full turbo in developing new infrastructure, new industries, new towns and tourist attractions. We can expect a lot of changes to the city in the future.

For hundreds of years, Alpine City is funded by exporting timber. In recent years, the expansion of industry and tourism has given the city more income, but the economic backbone of the city has never really changed - until now. It all started when the phase 1 highway construction has completed. The highway now extends towards north from Westdale, forming the second (and third) bridge across Rosewood River. The valley that the highway goes through is soon developed into a new town, as a satellite town of Cratercove. This new town in itself is not exactly remarkable. It also consists of mostly low density houses, just as any other new towns around Alpine City. The town center has an open market with a center pine tree, which has become a local landmark. As part of this new town development, the city's incinerators are relocated yet again - this time to the west of the new town - far enough from residential zones and has direct highway access. This here is the moment when the fate of Alpine City is altered forever. Not a few months into the construction of new town, a vein of rare metal was found near the mountain to the east of the valley. The land is soon acquired by a local resource company. Within just a few months, the entire mountain is cleared up for a new open mine. The metal deposit here is huge - enough to fuel the economy of Alpine City for decades to come. The mine currently built covers merely 30% of the vein, but with this the city income has already tripled. With this ,the valley to the west, along with the new town, is now named Diamond Valley. The mine is so extensive, the citizens living in high places such as The Big Slide and Castle Peak can see it clearly. However, due to topography, the mine is not visible from Rosewood and Cratercove. With this new income, now Alpine City can do really huge projects. The first use of this money is, of course, to make more money. The tourism board now has the budget to promote the city far more aggressively. After all, the metal deposit is finite and will eventually run out. To plan ahead, Alpine City must develop tourism with full turbo. With the advertisement, the number of weekly tourist reaches above 900, almost double from last year. The landmarks around Alpine City receives a lot more tourists and the hotel income skyrockets. The added tourist, mine trucks and population (now reached 20,000 citizens) causes traffic jams all over the city. But with the city treasury flooding with money, Phase 2 of the highway expansion project can now kick start. This will be the most expensive project to date, but it will be worth it to resolve the traffic problem once and for all.

Several years has passed since our last entry. The new town of Cratercove has grown significantly by now. An aerial view below shows the town of Rosewood (to the right) and Cratercove (to the left). The two towns are connected by a single bridge - all the traffics leading to Cratercove depends on it. The town of Rosewood is built since hundreds of years ago. Cratercove on the other hand is built just in the past few years. But in order to retain the old town vibe, even new buildings in Cratercove are required to be built in classical architectural style, same as Rosewood. To encourage more citizens to move to Cratercove, the town includes several large sport fields near the foot of the mountain. Facilities like these are hard to come by in Rosewood due to the space limitation. The ship wreck on the coast of Cratercove has been converted into Cherry Blossom Park. It soon became a new landmark to the city. The new town of Cratercove relieved the housing pressure in Rosewood. Some houses are tore down and converted into museums and tourist spots. One of them is the new shopping street and Old Town Museum near Rosewood Baseball Park (the buildings with orange roof tiles). Alpine City has grown into a small city, with population over 17,000. It is no longer the quiet small town it once was - it has grown into a busy and vibrant town. This is best shown in the nightview. Tourism is becoming the second largest economic contributor for Alpine City, after forestry industry. Weekly tourists have exceeded 400 per week, which is 5 times the number from 10 years ago. The income from park admission fee, shop sales and hotels has risen significantly. The added tourists begins to worsen traffic yet again. Modification on Rosewood Ave. is made - a new tunnel is dug to connect it with Riverside Rd. directly. Cargo trucks can now bypass the entire Rosewood by going along the Riverside Road towards Westdale. As a long term development scheme for Alpine City, the study of adding new highway has concluded as follows: Phase I: New highway extension from Westdale towards the North. This would mean a new bridge that crosses Rosewood River, hence can reduce the traffic load of the stone arch bridge. This scheme is quite affordable and construction will begin soon. Phase II: New highway that run through the slope of Castle Peak, avoiding the old town of Rosewood. It would likely require tearing down the town of Castle Terrace, and the construction will be very challenging with the steep slope. But this is the only way to connect Westdale towards the Eastern Highway directly. Further design in detail is required. The overall map of the city is as below: Another aerial view for the entire town:

Alpine City has now over 14,000 citizens. As previously mentioned, traffic has begun to worsen. A new highway through the city will help, but that requires a lot of studies as it needs to avoid the old town of Rosewood, making it quite differcult to plan. There are several upgrading works in the city to improve traffic before the highway can be built. Bus lanes are assigned on the roads in Rosewood to divert the flow of buses from regular traffics. Rosewood Ave., the only way into the city, is further upgraded from 4 lanes into 6 lanes. The effect is immediate and traffic jam becomes a lot less frequent. With these improvement works, the traffic problem has been resolved for now. The city now turns on the next most serious problem: the avaliable space for development has ran out, again. For years, Alpine City has been transforming any usable piece of land around the mountains to build new towns. At this point, all the lands south and west of Rosewood has been filled up.There aren't much choice left - the city must spread across the river and use the lands on the other side. A bridge will be quite expensive, but after the industrial expansion, Alpine City can now afford such an infrastructure. Across Rosewood River is a large piece of flat land. On the mountain north of it is an old meteror crater. Even after thousands of years, the outline of the crater can still be seen from Rosewood. The new area is named Cratercove for this geological feature. A stone arch bridge is built to connect Cratercove with Rosewood. The reason for choosing this design is for it to better match with the classical architectural style found in Rosewood. The arch bridge connects directly into Rosewood Ave. Due to the construction works, there were minor alterations on the buildings along the road. However, the City Hall remains un-affected. Still remember that strange old ship wreck lying on the ground? The city council decided to keep it as a memorial as the citizens of Rosewood has been living along with it for years. It will likely be developed into a park. Cratercove is not the only new town under construction. North of Magnolia Hills, another new bridge is built to connect the northern area. The new town to the north is named Nine Pine Heights. No particular reason, just that there are plenty of pine trees in the area (although the same is true for the enitre city). The new bridge is linked directly with the roundabout that connects the city with highway. The bridge height here is significantly higher than the arch bridge connecting Cratercove. An alternative design of a steel arch bridge is chosen here. Nine Pine Heights is a residential town with some commercial zones included. The building style is in European detached houses, just as any other new towns in Alpine City. With these two new bridges, the area avaliable for development doubles. In the next update, the town of Cratercove will be completed, and Alpine City will become a huge town with a central river. The zoning and bus line map of Alpine City is summarized as below:

Alpine City, having ran several expansion projects, has grown into a small city at this point. Population has just broke the 10,000 line. However, no matter how the city grew, the town center, Rosewood, remains at its original style with classical buildings. The idendity and heritage of the city shall be preserved. Outside Rosewood, new towns keep poping up here and there. The Big Slide is one of them, occupying the entirity of the slope on the mountain south of Rosewood. The area involved is comparible to Rosewood itself, but the population density is much lower since only detached houses are allowed in these new towns. The below image is the town of Castle Peak. It is the highest new town in the city, located very close to the summit of Castle Peak mountain. With the increased population, the city council finally approved expanding the forestry industry. Forestry has always been the lifeblood for Alpine City, as there is no generic industry at all in the area. More forestry industry means more export while keeping pollution to a minimum. The valley south-west of The Big Slide is rather flat and packed with trees, making it perfect for forestry development. A road is built along Rosewood River and from The Big Slide to connect to this new industrial hub. More importantly, a new highway connection is made towards the south, facilitating the export from the area. This valley is now named Westdale. Apart from forestry zones, the garbage incinerator has been moved here as well, far enough from Rosewood and other prominent area. Also, a small food processing indsutry zone is allocated here as pilot test for alternative industry. The growth of the city does come with consequences, and it manifested in the traffic problems that plagued the city. Rosewood is an old town, the streets are narrow and are never intended for heavy traffic. Despite the opening of new highways, some trucks still needs to travel through Rosewood to get to Westdale or Magnolia, which causes huge problem for the city. Adjustments has been made, such as the use of double decker buses and free public transport for everyone in town, in order to reduce traffic. With that, the condition has improved, but occasionally there are still traffic jams in the city. The best solution to the traffic problem is to build a highway that connects Westdale directly with Magnolia, such that trucks can bypass Rosewood altogether. This will be an immense task as there is no space left at all in the city. A new highway through the town would potentially require demolishing significant portion of the town itself. This will be a challanging problem to solve, but with creativity, nothing is impossible.