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Good morning or afternoon to all, This is a repost of my CJ entry #52, which unfortunatelly was also lost due to ST outage. Here it is again for you to reenjoy. The bad news is that I already overwrote the text file in which I stored the story that this episode presented. I am a little short on time and a little too disappointed to start over so if you don't mind, I'll just post pictures only and call it a day. So sorry... I can provide a quick recap and the highlights to help you understand the context of these pictures though. I will also appreciate if you could again cast your votes in the poll! - The Activator tribe is unable to sell most of their mining and industry products to the Altruists (their only contact so far) due to environmental laws that Altruists enforce - The Activator tribe reached out to the Businesspeople in order to ship such goods out - This new deal accelerated development in Industrious Hills and had positive impact in the form of establishment of Business Class. Both cities are now connected by an air-bridge - The garden city of Tanje governed by the Residents has a small Altruist minority - This minority was largely discriminated against by the elitist and isolationist Residents - The Altruist government embarked on an ambitious plan to establish a large city just outside Tanje, in order to incorporate this small minority into a robust and stable community, effectively, not leaving anyone behind - This new city (Charity Peak) is known for its fantastic natural features including monumental mountain, picturesque waterfront and cozy downtown, reminiscent of cities like Luxembourg or Liege Enjoy. SimCity:Tribalism is also back. This last picture doesn't fit to the current time of year but since it was a part of the original entry, I shall include it anyway.
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Hello and welcome again Simtropolites. I'm sorry for being away for so long (again), but I was having something that in the Western cultures is referred to as "sabbatical". I needed some time off work and for my own development and somehow couldn't find time for SimCity... However criminal that sounds. I'm afraid that after such a long break, today's episode will not be very impressive or inspiring... Still, I hope you will appreciate it in one way or another. Cheers! While the Businesspeople gloat over the success of their new downtown and stabilize their market tickers, life in the North of New Udanani progresses slowly and mostly in accordance to natural rhytm. Although many people seek thrills and set ambitious goals, there are also those to whom lack of any surprises is a goal in itself. The agrarian life of the Localvores and the timid, respectful disposition of the Altruists, dominate this part of New Udanani. At present, the Localvores focus mostly on small adjustments to their capital and the neighboring Middlefield. The changes involve coastal areas, which are being reclaimed for use as new farms. In a case or two even the residential areas are removed to make room for new plantations. One has to admit that a "de-development" is generally a rare phenomenon in any city's life... Keeping in mind the environmental and tourist appeal that Greener Hills Nature Preserve garnered, the agrarian tribe decided to try the same form of natural development in Middlefield. This is why the Localvores, together with Altruist scientists, attempt to create a similar forested area with hiking paths on the town's hilly Southern edge. For now, the initiative goes well and the "wildening" process advances steadily. However, if you are more interested in actual city building efforts, you'll appreciate the news that the Altruists decided to build a new town, mid-way between their capital (Wellbeing) and their largest city up to date (Optimism). The town of Caring is the newest spot on the map of New Udanani. In many ways, it is a special place. It is a typical multi-purpose city and not just a "town". It fulfills numerous important roles that directly benefit its neighbor cities. As is evident from aerial shots, Caring is a granary for the local region. It features large farm fields which are more productive and better organized than small, family-owned businesses in Wellbeing or Serene Thoughts. The new farms specialize in staple foods with wheat and potatoes being the majority of produce. There is also some food processing industry present in the town, creating more "complex" food items like oils, flour, juices and... junk food too... Caring is also strategically important due to the presence of numerous transportation networks cutting through it. The town has local rail which serves passenger and cargo traffic coming from and going to Optimism and it also hosts high-speed rail infrastructure. The area in which all of these networks meet is affectionately called "The Crossroads of Altruism". A key transportation facility which stands out, is the Embrusso Brothers Municipal Airport - the first Altruist airport, named after Janso and Ellora Embrusso - Altruist cartographers and explorers from the 17th century. Obviously, small towns are popular as bedroom communities and Caring is no exception in this regard. It features an extensive residential area which is located on the coast of picturesque Lhomerta Bay offering lots of open terrain, a beach and nice views. North of the the high-speed railway, one can also find cheap social housing. While not very pretty, these low-wealth residential projects are better than most of the town in terms of commuting! They are located just a stone's throw away from most workplaces. Despite the small size of Caring, the political will is that the town is going to support the growth of the Altruist capital as well as that of Optimism in the near future. Indeed, both of these cities need new incentives and triggers to continue their development. Time will tell if an additional, multi-purpose town, wedged between two already developed cities, will be enough to satisfy these expectations... Interestingly, the sleepy and agrarian nature of Northern New Udanani has recently been reflected a bit in two venues on the Businesspeople soil. One of the key projects completed in this tribe's capital was the construction of a large grocery market, located in the Miriolam district of the Profit Hill metropolis. Do I need to remind that The Revered Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension were the ones who decided on the matter? Anyway, here is the new addition to the city of finance... Apart from this interesting, tasty and healthy new feature, the Businesspeople city also finally saw the completion of the recreational park atop Profit Hill (which lends its name to the city itself). This landscaping project, which so far was banished into a development limbo, gained traction especially after the latest elections which saw some shifts of the power balance within the Businesspeople Tribal Assembly. One way or another, the Profit Hill Promenades Park is now complete and open to public. It offers beautiful views of the city and is one of the best spots from which to admire the mighty volcano cone located in the heart of the Businesspeople capital. That is all for today's episode. New locations and features pop up on the map of New Udanani all the time. Whether big or small, they will surely contribute to its future in some way and I hope you will stay tuned to witness it. Comment replies: @TogaMasterJohn - Yes, the Profit Hill downtown is terrific, isn't it? I also owe it to our BATters (some of whom no longer even visit the site...). There are some truly impressive and monumental buildings hidden deeper in the commercial sections of the site. I am very eager to keep my region running to gather enough demand to get them to grow and show them in one of the next episodes! @Tamijo - I can only hope that you like how it turned out! @EffTheGrid - Thanks @EffTheGrid! I must say that I often try to break the geometry of the square just like you do. Irregular park shapes are one of the ways to enforce it! @Honolulu - Thanks @Honolulu. I really enjoyed doing it, and seeing each of these skyscrapers grow was very rewarding.
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When the Smileyface tribe decided to relegate all polluting industries in the name of happiness, factories offering products with high carbon footprint became a thing of the past. The policy of clean industry was implemented with an iron fist and a smile on the government's face. This is probably why so many visitors to the tribe's territory are surprised to see that manufacturing and dirty industry still goes strong in one of the Smileyface towns named Trigger Happy. What is more, the facilities there produce weapons! Something that is definitely not clean. Neither in industrial nor moral sense... Technically, dirty industries are universally banned in the Smileyface economy. However, the tribe's history includes a period of a bitter military struggle for independence. This is the reason why defense sector is exempt from environmental limitations, and military preparedness is an important element of the tribe's pursuit for happiness... The large factory complex that you can see in the Southern part of Trigger Happy, belongs to a Smileyface corporation named "Armacorp". It is a weapon manufacturer which specializes in production of firearms and certain types of munitions like missiles and torpedoes. Armacorp is officially a tribe-controlled company but it still enjoys considerable flexibility in its actions, especially when it comes to research and marketing. I bet you are interested in the Armacorp's inner workings and their "campus". It's time to take a short tour around the factory. Of course, you will also have a chance to take a look at the town itself. Despite its small size, it is an interesting place with captivating tourist attractions! Armacorp's facilities in Trigger Happy have several distinct areas. Each of them is occupied by a different department which is responsible for different work. All visitors who arrive to the corporation's headquarters are greeted by a large company logotype, installed at the end of the Cat D'eyry Avenue. Any company, no matter their profile, needs administrative staff to function. Armacorp's Administrative Department fills this role. HR team, legal team, marketing staff, office maintenance workers and many more specialists are employed in this section. Their office work facilitates production processes and ensures that corporation finds buyers for its products. Administrative Department is located in an elegant, mid-sized skyscraper close to the factory entrance. The smaller building is used by maintenance and technical teams. Another part of Armacorp's campus is the Department of Research and Design. Here, engineers and constructors work on new weapon models, perform material testing and play with their drawing boards. Sarcastic people refer to this section of the factory as "Department of Finding New Ways to Kill Things". In all honesty, this is not far from truth! The third part of the company are the proper factory facilities. Here, firearms and weapons are being produced. The Manufacturing Department has versatile assembly lines which allow many weapons of different kinds to be produced simultaneously. Manufacturing Department is also capable of producing limited numbers of combat vehicles. However, these are usually produced in small quantities. Note that production facilities are separated by a tall earth embankment reinforced with concrete - a safety feature designed to compartmentalize damage in case of fire or mishandling of explosives. Of course, Manufacturing Department would not be able to make even a single bullet were it not for the Logistics Department, the task of which is to obtain resources required for production. It is in charge of rail terminals and storage sites on the factory grounds. One of them receives raw materials and the other ships finished goods out to the customers. Last but not least, there is Testing and Quality Assurance Department which is responsible for testing the produced weapons and making sure they are built according to industry standards. The Department has one small office building and is in possession of an impressive shooting range. Most of the staff of this section consists of retired soldiers and policemen. This minimizes the risk of accidents because the employees know how to safely handle weapons. From the South, the shooting range is limited by a concrete-reinforced wall, coated with a high-absorption material. There is also some thick jungle forest on top of it. All to minimize the likelihood of ricochets hitting something (or someone) that they should not. Evening test shootouts look especially spectacular due to tracer rounds that blaze through the range. Despite the fact that Armacorp is still a young and comparatively small corporation, it has already gained renown in New Udanani. Although most production is reserved for the Smileyface military, some deals are also regularly struck with the armed forces of other tribes. Some of them are also quite capricious when it comes to their orders. The case of Altruists, who wanted to supply their air force with environmentally-friendly missiles, shows that Armacorp's production processes are quite elastic and exotic designs are not a challenge for the company's Manufacturing Department. In general, marketing of the corporation is considered to be one of the most effective on the regional markets. Attractive advertisements definitely catch the eye of military officials who look for good and reliable weapons for their armies and national security services. Two weeks ago, Armacorp also announced that they secured two important deals outside New Udananian borders. The governments of Dimland, (represented by @mitsos) and Isla Bonita (represented by @Girafarig) later confirmed that new armaments were ordered from the company and some information regarding these orders was later disclosed to the press... As you can see Armacorp - the Smileyface's weapons producer - is an ambitious organization which is important for the tribe's defensive and economic stance. The income that it brings is certainly a nice bonus and gives a stable financial foundation to the town of Trigger Happy... ...speaking of which, it is time to take a closer look on its streets. Trigger Happy is a small town located on the Eastern coast of the Cat-Nilam Bayou. It has a population of around 4200 citizens. Most of the town's residential areas are located next to the bayou, providing nice views and refreshing cool air in the evenings. Housing is fairly condensed and centered around one of the main parks but the homes there are not fully developed yet in terms of population density. There is also a fairly big shopping area in the Eastern part of the town. Trigger Happy is divided into two parts by the Cat D'eyry Avenue, which leads to Armacorp's factory. Although the weapons factory is naturally the focal point of the town, Trigger Happy has three important tourist attractions which make it an interesting place not only for military and government officials. One of them, is the beautiful Botanical Garden of Trigger Happy. This fenced-off area maintains a collection of numerous local and non-local types of plants, trees and shrubs and is a must-see for all nature lovers. It also directly feeds into the Smileyface principle of pursuit of happiness by the means of soothing, natural environment. The second important place is the Museum of Smileyface Tribe. This educational establishment collects various historic documents, memorabilia and artifacts of patriotic significance that are related to Smileyface history. Entrance to the museum is graced by the monuments of two important men - Kafel Homendru (a 9th century Smileyface general) and Khadliz Munherti (a 19th century Businesspeople statesman of Smileyface descent). Last but not least, visitors to Trigger Happy can visit the Kamberial Island. It is an island on which an 11th century Sulkourbanist monastery is located. The monastery is owned by the Kamberi order of Sulkourbanist monks. Those who wish to immerse themselves in spiritual tranquility are more than welcome to take a walk around the island and visit the monastery or one of the many shrines that are scattered around the island. A short sightseeing tour around Trigger Happy concludes our meeting for today. The town is an exciting place to be whether one is a tourist or a military technology enthusiast. It is hard to tell right now, but by the looks of it, Armacorp might develop facilities in other parts of New Udanani as well (will more botanical gardens follow, though?). Before we part, however, be it known that the voting regarding the location of the Altruist high-speed rail terminus is now closed. Again, Revered Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension arrived at a draw. Because of this, Sulka, the chief New Udananian diety ruled that variant "A" should be chosen but a short pendulum train should also be included to the terminus to at least partially reconcile both options that received the votes. Comment replies: @Honolulu - Thank you! @Tamijo - Thank you for your vote! @TogaMasterJohn - Nice to hear it and I'm happy you like it. @JulioC - I'm happy you like the final effect. It took a lot of time to create it but I guess it was worth it.
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Recent disasters on the Businesspeople territory made many New Udananian tribes more aware and cautious about what happens around them. Government officials understood that their respective societies are still in a nascent state and remain vulnerable in case of earthquakes, bolide impacts or challenges of the modern world. Because of this, many capitals took steps to better prepare their populations for the future. Various projects were initiated to create new tools and opportunities that could be used in times of crises or unexpected events. Today's episode explores some of these measures. We begin our journey in the Resident tribe, whose greatest weakness is its low population. The elitist social structure of the tribe allows only select few to be a part of it, which is in fact the very source of the problem. The Residents attempted to increase the population numbers by adding an attractive residential zone to Common Interest. The new neighborhood proved to be a success and lured 4000 new citizens to the town. The Businesspeople and Altruists who co-own the city, contributed to the project by adding shops and essential infrastructure to the town's newest zone. The circular residential zone in the town designed by the latter, expanded a bit as well. What comes as a veritable surprise is the fact that, compared to the other tribes, the Slackers embarked on one of the most ambitious resilience projects in New Udanani, owing perhaps to their sailing experience and maritime culture. First of all, the tribe made good on their promise to limit ties with their neighbors - taking advantage of the turmoil that engulfed the nearby Businesspeople towns, the Slackers performed a blitz landgrab and took control of a city tile East of their capital, making sure that the Businesspeople won't claim it for themselves in the future. The new town became an extension to neighboring Cape Careless, creating an almost seamless continuation of the capital's seaport and the working-class residential areas. As you can see, now, the entire Southern coast under Slacker control is a large seaport area through which countless goods are processed daily. The tribe is now able to dictate the shipping and customs fees as they wish. Behold, Lazy Bay and the Susprall Cargo Seaport. And just a small icing on the cake - the Slackers introduced tolls on their part of R-1 highway so now, Businesspeople visitors must pay their "respects" upon entering Cape Careless... Another ambitious infrastructural project was also completed on the other edge of New Udanani. Altruists, following the well-informed advice of the Revered Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension, built a high-speed railway to connect their largest city (Optimism) with their other towns off to the Southwest. The Altruist bullet train operates from two stations located in Optimism's commercial strips. The stations are placed close to the main residential area, so it takes just between 8 to 15 minutes to get to a station, depending whether one boards subway or a bus. Also, notice the safety fencing running along the ground-based railway. A mandatory feature sanctioned by the Altruist regulations, that aims to prevent animals and oblivious pedestrians from entering the tracks. But the Altruist railway project is not fully complete... The tribe would like to ask you one more follow up question regarding the new communication line. Namely, where the terminus for it should be built? Please acquaint yourself with the proposals below and cast your spiritually inspired vote... Moving on, it is time to take note of the changes that took place on the Smileyface territories. Innovation and science are one of the best ways to build resilience, so the tribe decided to expand their special "Future Technology Development and Special Economic Zone" (abbreviated as "FTDSEZ") in the town of Tralfamadore. The town expanded towards West and new plots of land dedicated to clean and futuristic industries were designated. Three new companies were also allowed to set up shop in the zone. Here are their short information sheets if you'd like to know them better. Due to the fact that the rules regarding running business in FTDSEZ are quite strict, the town is rather sleepy at the moment. However, Western Tralfamadore has an important natural gem - an extensive wetland and jungle forest area known as Cat-Nilam Bayou. The happiness-pursuing Smileyfaces already explore the swamps by the means of watersports. Two spontaneously (and semi-legally) built boat docks were constructed in the town. So far, the Smileyface authorities added a small Park Ranger station in the middle of the area to keep an eye on the tourists but the future protection of Cat-Nilam Bayou will have to be discussed in detail when population and tourist numbers rise. Last but not least, it should be mentioned that the Activators' recipe for building resilience did not change - expanding the size of their cities and mining ground to extract valuable resources is still the tribe's preferred way of gaining strength. However, the violation of The Sacred Pond of Forces which influences the harmony of the entire New Udanani, exacerbated ecological problems that Kuun Lan Plateau experiences due to mining activities. The hydrology of this area has always been rather fragile but the serious damage dealt to The Sacred Pond of Forces was the proverbial "last straw" and it spun the process of plateau's desertification out of control. Within last year, water table dropped so drastically that it turned the entire area into a desolate, wind-swept sand sea! Sadly, it occurred to me that I forgot to answer the comments that you submitted under Episodes 41 and 42. I'm so sorry about it! This is why today the comment replies section will be much longer than usual as I wish to reply to all the comments left under previous episodes. Here we go! Comment replies (#41) @tonyr - Hey tonyr and sorry for a belated reply to your question. If you mean the MMP grass, I use items in the BSC ALN RRP Pasture Flora 2.0 package. @TogaMasterJohn - Happy to hear you like rural towns with a little bit of nature. This is my preference as well! @Honolulu - I'm flattered. Thank you. @TakemeThere - Thank you for nice words @TakemeThere and for your vote! Comment replies (#42) @TogaMasterJohn - Thank you for a nice, analytical comment! There is a lot of nice stuff in these cities but long coastal areas sure have some of the greatest potential! @Tamijo - Bullet train it is! Thank you for your vote and comment. @TakemeThere - I understand your affinity for highways! To be honest, this was my first transportation choice as well but the Spirits decided differently. Comment replies (#43) @Tamijo - True! Crime deserves punishment. And the world that is too civilized is indeed not a good place to live! @TogaMasterJohn - I'm glad you like the plot twist! Recovery from the damages and diplomatic disillusion might indeed be an interesting follow up to this episode. @kschmidt - You got me intrigued... Is this story available somewhere here? It sounds very interesting but I'm afraid I never stumbled upon this CJ.
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In times of uncertainty, big cities can provide populations with a sense of enhanced security, belonging and safety from perceived or real dangers. As turmoil around The Sacred Pond of Forces continues, some of the New Udananian tribes - Altruists, Gridlayers and Slackers - ramp up their efforts to develop their largest population centers and provide safe environment for their citizens. Today, you can review the expansion that these cities have undergone. The tour begins in the Northeastern city of Optimism - so far the largest Altruist city. In the past few months, local authorities tried to address some of the city's most urgent problems to make it more resilient in the future. One of the issues improved was accessibility to green infrastructure. The ambitious Altruist plans for a large, populous city resulted in construction of many new buildings but left few natural spaces - something that directly contradicts the tribe's principles! This problem was solved with the removal of some buildings, increase of the residential densities and the creation of many "microparks" and artificially forested zones. The authorities also try to alleviate one of the young city's most burning issues which is unemployment. Although the job situation is not too dramatic, new industrial and commercial areas were added to the cityscape to appease new citizens looking for jobs. A lot of money is needed to further expand the city but most of the funds have already been consumed for the present needs. However, road infrastructure was put in place in the area where the city is expected to develop, offering a look into how Optimism may grow in the future. There are also plans to build a large seaport on the Southern coast, complete with a fitting rail terminal. Some empty gaps between Optimism's industrial zone are specifically reserved for this future infrastructure. Regardless of the efforts taken inside the city, economists agree that Optimism cannot exist on its own, separated from other towns. This is why the tribe would like to ask the Revered Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension about the best way to connect the city to the rest of the Altruist lands. See the poll at the top of the page to review possible voting options. Meanwhile, far away to the West, the Gridlayer-Slacker city of Quigley Beach is doing quite well. The combined experience of the two tribes who own it, allows for smooth and accurate management. It is economically stable with monthly income standing at around §300. Contrary to Optimism, the city does not currently invest in adjustments and problem-solving but simply builds out. This is visible in the continuing expansion of the city's industrial base. The ever-growing industrial area is located not far from the Eastern coast. According to the traditional, Gridlayer concept of the city, the zone is isolated from the rest of the town through the buffer of (equally dynamic) commercial area which may become a CBD one day. Communication needs in the growing city are, at least for now, satisfied through the use of rail and bus transportation. For the time being, the traditionalist Gridlayers reject the possibility of using any other type of transport, perhaps except the subway. Many visitors claim that the Slacker half of the town is more colorful and vibrant than the areas managed by their Gridlayer friends. Interesting street layout and leisure facilities tucked away here and there are probably what makes these districts more appealing. In fact, the Slackers were tasked by the city hall to develop a larger leisure zone, specifically dedicated for the entertainment of all citizens, regardless of their tribal allegiance. Eventually, a new district named Torrey Coast was built for this purpose. The biggest challenge was to create appropriate facilities that could accommodate entertainment needs of carefree Slackers and Gridlayers - whose tastes are more refined. It was ultimately decided that this new zone will host art galleries, different museums and an easy access to a beachside and picnique grounds, creating a good compromise between basic and sophisticated entertainment. The local chapter of the renowned "Atom" nightclub made it into the area as well, further adding to diverse leisure opportunities in Torrey Coast. In the previous episode, the Revered Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension were asked to decide about the future of Blossom - an agrarian, Localvore town which had lots of free, open spaces ready for further development. A decision was to be taken whether this space should be dedicated to farmlands or a large lake. As it often happens, both options received the same amount of votes. The Localvores decided to honor both answers. This is why Blossom will from now on, consist of both farmlands and a spacious lake which has a beach and is partially navigable for sailboats. Feel free to review the new developments in the town before you go! To sum up today's episode, Quigley Beach and Optimism are some of the largest cities around New Udanani and they are expected to continue to develop in the coming years. Potential for growth seems to be quite high for both municipalities. For the time being the largest city in the land is the Businesspeople's capital of Profit Hill. However, this tribe's defiance and their pursuit of money angered many Revered Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension and the punishment for the tribe's violation of The Sacred Pond of Forces is almost inevitable at this point. Whether the shining, glass and concrete skyscrapers of Profit Hill withstand the holy wrath of higher beings is anyone's guess...
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Multitribalism - cities and compromises
TheMurderousCricket posted a City Journal entry in SimCity: Tribalism
The completion of the first three highways (or "rigdallir" in the local language) has been an important event in New Udanani. It opened up Southern and Central-Western New Udanani to new possibilities like scientific and economic exchange but also quick transfer of people and goods. Isolated cities became connected and previously long travel times, shortened. The strip around these fast throughways is referred to as "BRASS Belt" - an acronym deriving from the names of all tribes that have access to the highways (Businesspeople, Residents, Altruists, Smileyfaces and Slackers). Today, we shall take a look at two cities laying within BRASS Belt. What makes them special is that they are all run by more than one tribe. Some of the Readers may remember the momentous meeting between the Businesspeople and the Smileyfaces. The city of Breadwinner Ponds, the fruit of their alliance, remains a combination of commerce, advanced industry and various happiness-enhancing urban features. Recently, the Smileyfaces took a lead in further development of the city. A new, large neighborhood with a residential character was started, adding to the acreage and population of the city. Most of these new residential areas are occupied by both the Smileyfaces and the Businesspeople without any cross-tribal problems. Homes and houses belong to different wealth levels too and no citizens are excluded from this new community - one of the principles that the Smileyfaces follow in their city designs. The tribe has even managed to create a tiny public beach on one of the pond's shores. The new area is quite distant from both industrial and commercial workplaces. This is why Smileyfaces decided to transform some parts of the city in order to introduce a cool and fast way to commute from the new neighborhood - a monorail line that connects Northern part of the town to the city's downtown and industrial regions. It's an impressive project if one understands how tightly-packed the urban development is in the local area. As you can also see, some of the Businesspeople shop owners established new businesses around these new transit stations, anticipating increased customer traffic nearby. Some tensions and disappointments spark up in the new neighborhood nonetheless. Some Businesspeople officials notified the government that the Smileyfaces have introduced industrial areas into the new zone. Although very small and non-polluting, the place causes strong opposition from some policymakers... Not to mention the fact that monorail line reduces the car (and customer) traffic along downtown's busiest roads. Except, of course, those in direct vicinity of the fancy, modern stations... Due to the fact that Breadwinner Ponds economy matured and stabilized, it finally became possible to modernize the city's utility installations. Accordingly, water pumps underwent major maintenance work and the old-fashioned oil power plant was replaced with a powerful Smileyface-designed solar collector. As part of the so-called "critical infrastructure" it has been built next to the local military base for additional security. Before we move on, take a few last looks on Breadwinner Ponds. The following pictures show how Smileyface and Businesspeople building styles mix with each other (and prove that the city is not just a haphazard design of a nameless mayor!). Take a look at the relaxed, leisurely and somewhat "random" Smileyface neighborhoods. Then, compare it to the more organized and formal Businesspeople landscaping. Far away, on the other end of the BRASS Belt, an important new event takes place and many Udananites are closely following the developments there. An area previously known as the "Friendship Village" was turned into a new town. What makes it unique is that it is the first town in New Udanani owned not by two but by three different tribes! Common Interest is owned by Businesspeople, Residents and Altruists. Tribes involved in the construction of this town were chosen as a result of the poll offered in this episode (thank you for your votes!). Here is a bird's view picture of this new, unusual town. If you look closely you will notice that, just as in Breadwinner Ponds, it is easy to determine which neighborhoods are dominated by which tribe. Take a look at the pictures and a moment to analyze them. Can you see walls of trees, surrounding well-off housing projects? A landscaping which helps to maintain high land values and a general elitist homebuilding tendencies? Finally, lack of industry and bland, uninteresting farms which are considered to be no more than "necessary evil" for the town to grow. These neighborhoods are inhabited by the Residents. A little bit further to the East, you can see a lively conglomerate of various commercial and shopping areas. Note that they are strategically placed near the R-3 highway exit which guarantees large number of customers and travelers. Of course, this spot is governed by the hardworking Businesspeople. Last but not least, there is a well-developed residential area in the Southeast corner of the town. It has a distinct circular shape and all basic city services that people who live there may need. A few farms are also present in the area providing not only employment but also a soothing, aesthetically pleasing landscape... Without a trace of doubt, this is an area managed by the Altruists (and which the clever Businesspeople encroached upon slightly). As you can see, Udananian tribes are keen on finding common language with each other and cooperation experiments like Common Interest are bound to become more frequent. It may still take a few years before this trend yields more impressive results, but the process as such is quite fascinating. One of the key problems for these new towns are, of course, the finances... When tribes coexist in a single town, it becomes quite a headache to allocate sufficient funds to all who ask for money - an issue that has been hotly debated among the Businesspeople. One of the ideas to boost city income is to legalize gambling but, given the controversial side-effects of such measure, the tribes cooperating with the Businesspeople have requested you - The Revered Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension - to determine what should be done about this issue. Gambling is one thing, but there are plans which seem to be even more disconcerting then potential rise in crime... In their never-ending chase after profits and money, the Businesspeople tribe wishes to add another brick to Udananian economy. The problem is that their plan is considered to be very controversial and involves development in a special, forbidden zone... Comment replies: @Tamijo - Yes, no school busses. Kids often eat candy and junk food so more exercise will circumvent diabetes, obesity and other health problems. It's a truly Altruist method! @lynchkyle - Thanks! @TogaMasterJohn - I'm happy you like Charity and yes - those are pedmalls. Old, ploppable versions of them (I didn't upgrade NAM). They work quite well connected to transit stops but can also act as shortcuts between parallel roads.- 3 Comments
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Smart budget and great ambitions
TheMurderousCricket posted a City Journal entry in SimCity: Tribalism
The Altruist tribe grows like never before. New contacts, especially those made with Businesspeople and Activators, convinced Altruist authorities to readjust and fine-tune some of their fiscal and urban development policies. A close study of economics and budget management techniques, encouraged the Altruist authorities to order their Ministry of Education to carry out a reform (or "experiment" if you will) that could lower the maintenance cost of schools and high schools but keep their coverage and learning qualities intact. An innovative pilot program has been introduced with the following goals put forward: School bus services need to be cancelled because they generate 50-75% of education costs With the lack of dedicated transports, more schools are needed to keep the population covered Number of individuals aged 7 - 18 needs to be determined for each neighborhood to ensure accurate and cost-effective school placement The reform was first tested in Cabot Cove and Mindfulness. It turned out that the update of school system brought about surprisingly high savings and had, indeed, no detrimental effect on the quality or pace of learning... The following materials show the changes resulting from the reform. This time, the differences are not as significant as in other before-after shots, but it is still easy to notice how things have changed. Significant, positive shifts in budget balance are also documented in the pictures below. The savings obtained thanks to the project's success made it possible to create some financial reserves that were redistributed into other fields of life. Some of the money was used to create pioneer agroforestry farms in Mindfulness - an ecological form of agriculture which embraces biodiversity and uses forests as a source of natural nutrients and protection for the crops grown nearby. What is also notable is that not a single tree was cut down while zoning for and planting the fields. Moreover, even the military got their share of savings and the Altruist 3rd Public Defence Company has finally obtained a permanent home base and storage facilities. But more importantly, additional funds allowed the Altruists to purchase much-needed construction materials that the Activator tribe delivered to their shores by Jaland'di River. This is how the city of Charity came into existence, and this is where we shall go now. The Altruists wanted to establish a new urban center in their area for a long time. Moreover, the political ambition was to turn this potential project into a proper city rather than a simple town to which most of the people got used to. Generally, the plan was to build a densely-populated metropolis where scores of people could live but still enjoy good living conditions, security and ecological sustainability. Charity is the materialization of this idea. It is currently home to around 20000 citizens, which makes it the most populous Altruist city so far. It is also concentric in shape, just like all other cities of this tribe. Projections show that, in the best case scenario, the city can achieve a total population of 500000 citizens (for comparison, the current population of the entire New Udanani is just 357000...) The middle of the city consists of high-density residential areas and services. Its outer reaches are occupied by dirty and manufacturing industries, (the local population is not yet qualified to work in I-HT) and the "ring" laying in between the two zones is a commerce-dominated strip. Charity is also the first city in New Udanani to have a solar power plant and a subway system in place. Communication is also supported by the so-called "grass walks" - a trademark Altruist solution which allows workers to commute to their jobs by foot or reach a public transit stop after a short stroll. Charity develops to the best of its abilities but many of the citizens complain that it is still not ecological and green enough. Indeed, the early drive for population numbers did not leave too much space for trees and shrubs. Another problem is the local crime rate which stems from unemployment among... R$$$ citizens. This is why, in its current state at least, the city is often known as "the least Altruist of the Altruist cities". Regardless, the new settlement is on a firm footing due to the good financial management of key city services. Bargain prices for the Activator construction resources have played a significant role in this fiscal security too. For a time at least... The Altruist enthusiasm towards the imports weakened when the tribe learned that Activator refineries and industrial facilities put enormous strain on the environment. Because of these concerns, it was decided to cut down on trade exchange with this tribe. Now, only the goods produced with minimal environmental impact are accepted. This results in significant 80% reduction in Activator exports towards North... Similarly, Altruists were quite upset to learn that continuous mining activities in Kuun Lan seriously impact local waterbed and accelerate soil erosion, causing steady desertification around the town and the plateau it sits on. According to the surveys conducted by two independent NGOs, no efforts were taken yet to recultivate these sand-ridden areas. They are considered "developed" by Activator standards and in no need of any further intervention... Despite these frictions, the two tribes continue to maintain diplomatic relations, even tough they have been soured recently. The Altruists assure that they stand ready to share strategies and technologies that can help their neighbors from the South become more ecologically balanced. This offer, however, has yet to be answered. Meanwhile, the Activator drive to develop and grow doesn't seem to slow down. Comment replies: @Tamijo - One of my favs as well. @Jackspital - Thanks @Jackspital! @TogaMasterJohn - Tough experiences create strongest bonds.- 3 Comments
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Good morning or evening depending from where you are joining. I believe that due to my recent injury and hospital visit, some of the voting results on important matters regarding New Udanani have not been appropriately presented to you. This is why we shall now have a quick rundown of all relevant votes. Accordingly, be it known that: VIP Terrain Mod was chosen as a rock texture for New Udanani Water texture for New Udanani remains unchanged (Rivit Coastal Modd - Tropic) A second, narrative-oriented city journal on New Udanani will be launched, focusing on cultural and historical aspects of the region and the individual tribes. If you are a reader type, you will enjoy it. Activators shall export their surplus mining products to Altruists. And the latter point is where we start off today... The convoy of barges, loaded full with prime-quality limestone, marble and gravel moved silently up Jaland'di River. Respecting the decision of the Revered Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension, the Activators have sent a trade mission towards the area occupied by the Northern tribes, hoping to make good profit and new friends. Despite their advantageous geographical location, the Activators have not engaged in any politics yet. The captain of the convoy was enjoying his morning coffee, coordinating the movement of the fleet through the river. As he was taking the next sip of his favorite drink, the radio went on and a somewhat bored but simultaneously tense, military voice announced: - This is Altruist River Patrol corvette "Kingfisher" to approaching barge convoy. Set your transponder code to zero-five-eight-seven and state your business. The captain put his coffee aside, grabbed the microphone and quickly replied: - Setting transponder now... This is Activator merchant convoy, bringing industrial materials for trade or commercial exchange. Requesting permission to moor in Serene Thoughts. - Confirmed. On your way. The barges soon moved past the patrol boat and thrown anchor just outside Serene Thoughts. The government officials have been notified about the arrival of new guests from as yet undiscovered tribe. Two hours later, Activator officials and merchants were invited for a round of talks in the local town center. After the talks concluded, Altruists left the town center with mixed feelings... They were quite shocked to learn that Activators consider harmful dirty industry or sand-swept mining wastelands to be a form of development as good as forests and parks... Some of the delegates described the Activator style of city building as "sickening", pointing out that their cities are too congested and lacking clear boundaries between different developer types. The Activators were a bit more kind towards their new partners and quite impressed with the spatial planning of Altruist cities. Especially the capital of Wellbeing which had no empty spaces but, at the same time, was not a glass-and-concrete desert. All in all, the Altruists agreed for an exchange of ambassadors and also declared their willingness to purchase some of the mining materials brought to their shores. The Altruist Tribal Council planned to establish a new town in the near future and it was determined that quality construction goods might be really useful for their newest plan. But the idea of a new town in the rural Northern Udanani was dwarfed by the great city-building leaps that the Businesspeople have made. Due to the recent Coastline Summit and the business contacts made there, the tribe has gained a lot of new confidence and wealth. These gains made it possible to turn two, unassuming traveler service points on R-1 and R-3 highways into fully-grown towns. Developing new cities along busy communication networks is always good for business. Thus, Newfoundwealth and Dollar Grove have been established. Newfoundwealth is the more successful of the two. Wedged between the Businesspeople capital and the already grown Cashflow, Newfoundwealth is passed by thousands of travelers, tourists and businesspeople on a weekly basis. All of it began from the humble travel service points integrated into R-1. These, later developed into larger, low density area of shops and hotels which are heartily welcomed by automotorists passing by. After the town started to gain strength, some of the CEOs, entrepreneurs and other well-situated people began to move in. These privileged groups of pioneer citizens have established their homes on one of the prominent hills overlooking Newfoundwealth. A very fancy and stylish spot to live in... Eventually, the soaring number of travelers on R-1 stimulated the commercial growth so much, that a local downtown area started to emerge in the city. This is currently one of its most expensive parts. It also neighbors high-density residential blocks. Workforce and workplace numbers are in a good equilibrium so the city is as productive and balanced as possible in its current economic state. For its employees sake, Newfoundwealth has some nice recreational facilities too where office workers can calm their nerves down after work. Some of these include Township Square located in the area where initial urban developments took place. Nearby, one can also find relaxing Merchant Promenade. A highlight to this area is the agricultural market, located at the end of the promenade. The Smileyface and Resident farmers make up most of the traders certified here. A little bit closer to the downtown, one can also find the Profit Hill Gardens. A huge park complex named in honor of the Businesspeople capital city. At the Northeastern tip of the park, one can also visit Levrono Fort. Formerly a medieval dungeon, it was converted into a courtyard garden in the 17th century by the effort of the local noble family by the name Samanssito. All in all, the city of Newfoundwealth has a fitting name and the advantageous location surely contributes to its success. With many free spots being still available throughout the city tile, it is sure to grow even bigger in the future. Things are considerably more challenging in the Dollar Grove. The Businesspeople's first town built along the R-3 highway. R-3 does not receive the same amount of travelers as R-1. This communication network connects Central Udanani with the Resident-occupied areas to the North which are scantily populated. Therefore, although this town could be established without problem, it cannot spread its wings to the same effect as Newfoundwealth. As you can see, the town is rather simple and consists of several roads and low-income neighborhoods. All commercial developments are located along the busiest patch of the main road and lay close to the highway itself. Strategically, the zoning is good but the growth in this isolated patch of Udanani is woefully slow. In an effort to invigorate the town a bit, local government has even allowed some industry to develop West of the highway. The industrial zones bring in the much-needed money but are otherwise a testament to the town's current hardships. Some economists are concerned that the Businesspeople have simply overstretched their resources. However, the success of Dollar Grove is a matter of political ambition for the tribe and the government is ready to support the town for as long as required. While economic considerations are of no interest to them, the Slackers are concerned about the establishment of Dollar Grove for a different reason... According to a nearly forty-year old warning handed out to the Udananites by Sulka - their deity - it is forbidden to build anything it the immediate vicinity of The Sacred Pond of Forces. However, as Dollar Hill is right next to it, many Sulkourbanist believers are fearful of the possible consequences this act may have on the future of Udanani... Thank you for reading and watching through the episode and for your many comments and likes under the previous entry. Comment replies: @sc4baidu - You're most welcome. Same to you! @Tamijo - My choice as well. @Honolulu - Thank you! @JohanD - Thanks! I'm glad you like them! @kschmidt - Thank you for your kind comment. I'm happy you like it! MMPing this area was fun. @TG24 - It is always nice to see you on my pages @TG24. Feel free to drop back in anytime you want. Yes, I agree from my point of view as well - #35 is one of the best and most detailed episodes in this city journal.
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Good morning or afternoon to some! It's been a while since last update to my CJ. Unfortunately, I suffered a serious medical problem - an Achilles tendon rupture. It is a brutal injury which, essentially, makes one unable to walk and requires quick visit to an operating table... Thankfully, I am already past that stage and the operation was a success. Before rehabilitation starts, me and my leg will have to endure a cast - for thirty more days... Some people already call me "Master-Plaster"... I hope I have justified my absence from the forums and city journaling. I can only hope I will regain my life as quickly as possible. I always liked exercises, so starting the physiotherapy should be a welcome and pleasant experience once the cast comes off. I wish you a safe and healthy New Year and an interesting read through the next episode of SimCity: Tribalism. A previously distant and virtually unconnected tribe of the Residents has enjoyed a lucky and unusual series of coincidences recently. These, made it possible for them to make new friends and potential partnerships in a very short time... In Y.O.U.S 35 the construction of R-3 highway was completed and the Resident territories have been opened up to travels and exchanges with Southern Udanani. A joint Businesspeople-Smileyface delegation was sent down this new throughway, soon after the route was opened. This way, a new contact was made. At roughly same time, the Altruist diplomatic mission (who previously made contact with some other tribes) also arrived to Bedroom's shores aboard ATS "Ibis". As if this wasn't enough, it also turned out that a small delegation of Gridlayers has been visiting Slacker's town of Dolittle, just South of the Resident capital. Given the occasion, diplomats from this distant tribe have also decided to pay Residents a visit with so many possibilities of contact presenting themselves at once. As a result, the aristocratic and classy tribe has been blessed with four diplomatic connections within a short, 3 day span... All of the parties involved in this unexpected meeting were interested in establishing diplomatic relations and discussing various forms of cooperation in a peaceful, quiet setting. Lack of hotel rooms and appropriate conference facilities forced the Resident hosts to establish a new town that could accommodate foreign delegations. This is why as yet nameless, new town has been established East of Bedroom. Currently, the town consists of several luxury and low density accommodations for foreign diplomats as well as three fully equipped conference centers which can be used for conducting work groups in different formulas. Some of the Residents call it the "Friendship Village". As you can see, large amounts of the new settlement consist of green areas and lush vegetation. The Residents used this kind of intentional design in order to increase the land value of the new city right after establishment. Despite the fact that area looks quite wealthy, some urban planners have criticized the project for hasty design and chaotic layout, going even as far as to call it "amoeba" due to its peculiar shape. One way or another all the guests have been invited into the Friendship Village to conduct talks. The entire event has been formalized under the name "Coastline Summit 35" due to the fact that most of the tribes participating have access to seas surrounding New Udanani. Appropriate security has been provided for the event by the Resident police and self-defense forces and the summit has begun. Numerous topics were discussed during the meeting so it would be quite difficult to list them all out. The most important information is probably how all of the tribes reacted to each other. Especially towards previously undiscovered Gridlayers and Residents. The following infographics show the sentiment towards these tribes, complete with a short information on the issues and common grounds found. The "Coastline Summit" in Y.O.U.S 35 kickstarted a period of dynamic cooperation between many New Udananian tribes. In fact, it was decided that the areas surrounding the Friendship Village will become the first ever town to be controlled by three different tribes with the Residents, of course, being one of them. It has been decided, however, that the Revered Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension shall indicate the ownership of the new town. If you would like to help with that decision, you are kindly invited to cast your vote in the poll at the top of the page. Some people say that isolationism is also a form of diplomacy and there's certainly one tribe that continues to put this idea into practice - the Localvores. For the last few years the tribe has focused on expanding their influence through creating natural environment. As a result "The Loneliest Neighborhood of New Udanani" has greatly expanded through the creation of new grasslands, mountain forests and deciduous woods. As you will see, the Localvore greening policies have had a very positive impact on the local region. Future development plans agreed for this piece of New Udanani assume further expansion of such areas. In spite of the Localvore autarchic ambitions, there is one interesting tidbit that many people pay significant attention to. The mountainous areas of Greener Hills contain deposits of water which has valuable elements beneficial to health. The Localvores have thus established an extraction and bottling facility to take advantage of this gift of nature. Believe it or not, the Localvores allowed for several Altruist employees to be hired for this new enterprise... As a result, this industrial facility is the first ever Localvore business to employ foreign workers. By the end of today's episode, have a look at some more shots of the newly developed natural areas of Greener Hills which you may find inspiring. Thank you, see you next time and best wishes for good HEALTH in 2024! Comment replies: @Tamijo - Noted. Thank you for voting! @Cortana - I'm sure you are doing well in your own regions. Sometimes it's just a matter of imagination and a good combination of custom plugins. @TogaMasterJohn - It's a fine joke, even if a "dad joke" type. I'm glad you liked the details. @sc4baidu - Hi @sc4baidu! Sorry for the late reply. As you can see, I had a health problem requiring immediate medical attention and was away from the page for at least two weeks... Regarding your question - I made the conveyor belt and crusher house myself through the objects available in "BSC MEGA Props - RT Vol04" plugin pack. I simply pieced them together in LE and saved them as custom ploppables.
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Welcome again. I hope you are having a nice weekend and are someplace cozy and warm. Some of you may remember that we are still in the middle of adjusting textures for New Udanani. As far as the rock texture goes, two options have again received the same number of votes and I have to determine a winner myself again. Apart from that, a water texture has to be chosen yet. By the end of today's episode, you will find options to choose from and I encourage you to cast your votes in the pool poll in order to resolve this question. The Altruists have set off on a mission to make contact with other tribes who live in New Udanani - an eventful adventure to say the least. As it is hard to focus on all details of this grand voyage, it is probably best to simply show some key excerpts from the captain's log of "ATS Ibis" - the yacht that the Altruist delegation uses for their travel... 30th April Mission day 5 - We have arrived to the areas occupied by the Smileyface tribe though not without "adventures". When we arrived in the vicinity of Laughterdale, it turned out that our ship trespassed into some top-secret military area that the locals call "Emo-G Site". As we entered the NEZ (naval exclusion zone) around it we were intercepted by an armed, modern-looking frigate, instructed to dock with the site, disembark and give our ship up! As we got off we were greeted by a group of well-built soldiers with typical dark-complexion specific to New Udananian Southerners. Their leader, a sergeant by the looks of it, informed us that we are under arrest and that our ship will be impounded. Our tribal leader (who is a part of our cruise) pleaded with the sergeant that this is just a misunderstanding and explained that we are members of a diplomatic mission. He then showed his ID card along with "The letter of intent" signed by our Tribal Council. The guards became visibly confused upon learning this and the sergeant, told us that he needs to consult with his command. After about two hours, he returned to us, smiling politely, and said that everything is in order adding "If you wanted to make contact, you couldn't have picked the worst place to land!" and chuckled. He then ordered two of his men to board our ship and pilot us out of the NEZ. We departed hastily, so that he doesn't change his mind... One hour later, we arrived to the capital city of Laughterdale and dispatched a delegation to the Smileyface Tribal Council. As I learned, it was actually difficult to get there as many parts of the city are in the middle of a significant redevelopment. The contact with Smileyfaces was made and our tribes seem to be on good terms with each other. Our new partners were delighted to learn about our tribe's care for the people's fulfilment. The fact that we keep our citizens and environment healthy at all costs impressed them as well. It turns out that the Smileyface priorities are very similar to our own, though some differences exist. For example, our new friends were visibly upset that we prefer concentric city models to irregular and "creatively whimsical" (actual wording) patterns that they use. They also suggested that truly happy and vibrant cities include balanced, diverse population with different wealth and knowledge levels interacting with each other. Equally smart and wealthy society is, as they said, quite boring... 2nd May Mission day 7 - We have departed Laughterdale. The Businesspeople town of Cashflow is our next stop. As part of a diplomatic agreement, we took two Smileyface representatives aboard. They offered to help us and introduce us to the next tribe as they already have diplomatic contacts there. Although I am not a politician, this might indeed be a good opportunity to hold a tri-party meeting and talks! 5th May Mission day 10 - From time to time I get really annoyed with my crew... It's true - us Altruists are not very proficient at sailing and navigation. But some of my men don't even know the basic seamanship concepts and jargon. Yesterday, I rounded them up for a mandatory course on marine terminology and navigation, much to their chagrin... The next day, I found this stupid joke-plaque adhered to my captain's chair! 13th May Mission day 18 - We have arrived to Cashflow and, by the help of Smileyface officials, we were introduced to some of the Businesspeople tribal leaders. The Businesspeople are a very resourceful tribe which likes to discuss trade, economy and the wellbeing of their already powerful commercial sector. In their society, everything happens as a result of a well-informed decision which relies on thorough cost-benefit analysis. It seems that they don't care about a peaceful life in the same sense as we do... They do care about their society like us but in a more calculated fashion - they are interested in maintaining a capable workforce and a healthy customer base and this is the main driving force behind their public services and social budget. Purely ethical reasons come second to these considerations. The Businesspeople architecture is also far more "ambitious" than ours... Skyscrapers and busy office spaces are a staple element of this tribe's cities and for us it is as interesting to watch as it is alien... 15th May Mission day 20 - Despite certain differences, after two days of talks our tribal leader opined that the Businesspeople might be good partners to stay in contact with. The reasoning is that this tribe can help ours balance the budget better because, in all honesty, we indeed spend a lot of money to maintain good condition of our population. Additional profits, or at least more accurate spending, might be a game changer for us. We now approach the beautiful Lagmi Shi Island, occupied by another tribe - the Slackers. Neither us nor our Smileyface companions have any contact with them, so it might be an interesting visit. 25th May Mission day 30 - It's been more than a week since we have arrived to the Slacker capital of Cape Careless and none of us wants to leave this place. The Slackers are a very receptive and friendly tribe and there is a lot of rapport between us and them. What worries us deeply, however, is that Slackers generally live in poor conditions - police coverage is spotty, as is healthcare. Most of the residents are uneducated and around half of the city is covered with dirty industrial zones which, sadly, continue to develop even in these modern times... Our Smileyface colleagues were completely distraught with the latter fact and left four days ago. They got on R1 and departed East in the direction of the Businesspeople's Cashflow - our previous stop. We are, unfortunately, not aware of how their negotiations with the Slackers went but it looks like they have ambivalent feelings towards this tribe. Despite certain shortcomings and careless approach towards future, the Slackers are actually really great people in our own opinion and, as far as we are concerned, we will try to help them as much as we can and "civilize" them a little bit. Tomorrow, we set off towards our last goal so far - the Resident town of Bedroom. But this is a story for another time! Before you go, here are the water texture options for New Udanani... Pick your preferred one! Thank you for your continued interest, likes and support! Appreciate it! Comment replies: @TogaMasterJohn - Just make sure to watch the pictures from four to five meters away like one should do with art. I hope you liked the next diplomacy-oriented episode. @kschmidt - I'm glad you like the storyline and I appreciate your input. These days I browse through all possible BATs, so you should see more variety when it comes to buildings and planning. Actually, if you take a look at the second picture of Profit Hill, you will already notice two custom-made CO gems that grew there.
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The gems of Aupthilagic Peninsula
TheMurderousCricket posted a City Journal entry in SimCity: Tribalism
I would like to make two announcements before today's entry... First of all, I would like to mention that the last vote to determine a new ground texture for New Udanani resulted in a rare draw! "HBS Californian Terrain" and the "VIP Terrain Mod" received the same number of votes! After checking both mods in my region, I decided to resolve the draw in favor of "VIP Terrain Mod". The thing is, "HBS Californian Terrain" is one of the few bright terrain textures... After I tested it, it became clear that it is glaringly contrastive with the dark grass and shrub MMPs that I use en masse across New Udanani. This means that the color and brightness balance was actually quite poor with this terrain applied and the existing vegetation on top of it... I hope that those who voted for this terrain option will forgive me. The rationale is entirely aesthetic and I am grateful for your participation in shaping this CJ, regardless of a poll's results! Now comes the time to choose rock textures for the region, so I hope to again see your participation in another voting process! The second announcement now. As you can undoubtedly see, today's episode is somewhat longer than most - four pages of text rather than the regular 2-3 that I usually write. This is because today's episode includes some historical and cultural details which, I hope, add some additional, interesting "depth" to this journal. However, I do understand that not everybody likes to read. The question then is - if I prepare more of such detailed entries, would you be happy to see them here? Or should I form a separate CJ, specifically dedicated for the cultural and historical information on New Udanani? That's it for the announcements (and questions). Now, enjoy the next entry! Today, you will have a chance to review a fairly large project that resulted from your votes provided in this episode. Aupthilagic Peninsula has become a historical landmark with several notable features. I cordially invite you for a guided tour around this area. Altruist tribe early beginnings The earliest mention of the Altruist tribe comes from 10th century chronicles and archeological evidence from this period. The tribe occupied the Central and Northern parts of Aupthilagic Peninsula and predominantly lived in small, isolated villages scattered all over the forests. The Altruists created communities that likely didn't even surpass 50 citizens at a time. Life in the woods was simple and sometimes lacked the privileges that modern people take for granted. The situation changed with the rise of the Virbolli family. This clan was the most educated group in the tribe and even had some luck in trade with Arab Sicily and the coastal areas of the Bulgarian Empire making them a wealthy and important group among the Altruists. The Virbolli have also been good, kind-hearted people who never refused to help others. Seeing the plight of their brethren and their frugal life in the woods, they drafted a concept for the first, large-scale settlement to which the Altruist population could move. This way, in 1219 A.D., Vazarki Castle was built, and the Virbolli entail was formed. The castle was constructed entirely from the family's own funds which probably cemented the Altruists' selfless and generous life philosophy. The population was delighted with the concept and happily settled in and around the new structure. However, there were several problems with the castle that became apparent in the long run. First of all, in the defensive terms Vazarki Castle was very badly designed. It had no moat and some of its windows were only five meters above the ground, making it easy to force one's way inside. Moreover, the varying height of defensive towers arranged on a square plan resulted in a lot of visual "dead zones" for the lower towers. This of course turned potential defense and field bombardment from these towers into a fairly challenging feat. Ironically, the castle's high desirability was also the source of overcrowding - a problem which started to become more and more serious with the influx of new "citizens". In the first half of the 14th century, the conditions in the castle became so bad that a serious plague outbreak occurred, killing-off about 2/3 of the people who lived in it and nearly wiping out the members of the Virbolli family... Barone founded When the epidemic subsided, some of the plague survivors decided to return to the woods and resume their forest lives. The Vazarki Castle became largely abandoned as a result. The situation changed for the better only after the entail was inherited in 1426 by Lagro Virbolli, The Seventh Duke of Virbolli Entail. (Coat of arms created with CoaMaker ) Just like his predecessors, the Duke was a highly educated individual who spent most of his youth in foreign universities including University of Padua, La Sapienza and Jagiellonian University. Moreover, Lagro befriended several European politicians and constructors. These acquaintances and knowledge were vital to his later decision that the Altruists needed a proper city to live in, in order to thrive. Lagro Virbolli's dream materialized in 1431 when the construction of Barone began - a large, spacious, fortified town that would become a core of the Altruist culture and economy. The city was named after Filippo Barone - one of the Duke's university friends from Italy. The first stage of construction finished in 1441 when the main outline of fortifications was completed and the first homes, market and the city hall were built. Analysis of Barone Barone is an interesting town from the architectural and urban point of view due to the period it was built in - a transition epoch between medieval times and full-bloomed renaissance. Many of the town's original buildings were built according to the old 13th and 14th century rules but they were influenced by fresh ideas coming from great constructors and planners from Italy, Low Countries and Poland. As the city developed further, this mixture of styles became evident and eventually led to a rise of the so-called "Udananian Reneissance". Many buildings and features in this style survive to this day. The original marketplace enhanced with some green areas (rather then fully paved as in many European cities) the nearby city hall and some of the tenements are good examples of this unique building fashion. As you can clearly see, the marketplace has retained its original function and is a popular shopping spot for the local, modern population of Mindfulness. A keen eye will also notice specific surroundings that the town has. Namely, large swathes of colorful fields surrounding Barone. These, are tulip farms which were established by Duke Virbolli as a gift to his favorite niece - a gifted florist and an avid lover of nature. The farms still use traditional techniques to grow flowers and the fields (which are 560 years old...) are one of the UNESCO world heritage sites since 1991, along with the town itself... Obviously a spacious, well-protected town that Barone has become, convinced many Altruists to again give the town life a chance. This time, the project proved to be a complete success and gave the tribe open doors to a comfortable future. But the town would not last long if it had no trade and traffic going through it. This is where Lagro Virbolli's political connections became particularly important as he was able to convince several prominent merchants and European politicians to do business with his town. The establishment of a trade port East of Barone was the next logical step. In order to service merchant vessels and handle the trade goods, a harbor was established on the shore of the Gulf of Brinteesel in 1449. The port survives to this day and is open to visitors together with the unique Museum of Marine Trade. Barone's port may look small for today's standards but it was very well organized and teeming with life back in the days. It consists of two distinct parts. The Southern portion of the port contained shipwright workshops and facilities used to unload and process imported goods... ...while the Northern part was used to load the ships with the goods produced by the Altruists. This part of the port has a distinct layout as it consists of several rows of narrow alleys which are flanked by merchant and artisan workshops. This way, all visitors leaving Barone were encouraged to make "last minute" purchases. In fact, it was impossible to reach the docks without passing through one of these alleys! Fortifications of Barone Despite the peace-loving attitude of the Altruists, the tribe has acknowledged the fact that the world is a tumultuous place and they need to protect themselves from possible dangers coming from external powers. This is why apart from being a cozy place to live in, Barone became a defensible settlement as well. Many of the problems identified in the Vazarki Castle were addressed in Barone, making the city a much safer place to live... First of all, Barone is surrounded by a magnificent semi-natural moat. It was built upon already existing marshlands which were artificially expanded. The inner part of the moat was reinforced by brick too. Using natural wetlands to build the town's first line of defense was the idea of Lagro Virbolli's wife - Tajra Chasilli, Her Ladyship of the Virbolli Entail. Barone walls, considered to be the second line of defense, are another interesting feature of the Altruist town. The walls were built on a plan of two overlapping rectangles with the town's gates being located in the spots where the rectangle sides meet. This way, it was much easier for the defenders to destroy enemies attempting to force their way into the city through the main entrance, giving the town's military an excellent opportunity to develop crossfire against attackers. The walls surrounding the town have a standardized height as well, which eliminates the problem of one defense tower obscuring the view to another. In the early 16th century, however, the tribe decided that existing fortifications, essentially just straight walls, could use a modernization. This was the moment when the 15th century defensive walls received a renaissance facelift that largely improved the town's safety against new threats. If you take a look at Eastern and Southern city walls, you will notice a distinct feature, typical to renaissance fortifications. These are the so-called "piattaforma" - special defensive constructions that derive from the Italian school of defensive building. Piattaformas allowed better coverage during frontal attacks against the city walls, making it possible for the defenders to fire cannons at enemy troops even when they already chipped at the city walls. Another example of renaissance defensive solution, this time typical to French fortifications, is the so-called "rotonde" - a small, rounded fort connected to the city walls and going out into the main fortress' foregrounds. The rotonde offered an insane, almost 360-degree firing range against attacking armies. In this respect, rotonde was used to "soften up" hostile units long before they could even creep up to the town, or to fire towards the units that somehow managed to advance up to the city walls. The second tactic was brutally effective as it created an unbearable barrage of front-and-rear fire from the defenders that few hostile units could withstand. The fortified route leading onto rotonde and the adjacent walls were partially destroyed during Barone's siege by Russian Empire in the 19th century - the only time Barone was successfully captured. The Altruist city has been under Russian siege during Russo-Persian War in which the tribe sided with the Persians. Luckily though, after the Russians captured the city, the Altruists were able to quickly mount a successful counterattack and expel Russian forces just eight days after the city fell in their hands. Unfortunately, these events ruined the town's walls and buildings that laid in the path of the Russian advance. There is currently much debate among historians and architects whether this portion of town should be rebuild or rather left this way as a historical landmark. Conclusion The Virbolli entail consisting of Barone, Vazarki Castle and the trading port are undoubtedly one of the many pearls of Udananian civilization and an outstanding example of the Altruist economic and technical thought. Despite the centuries gone by, Aupthilagic Peninsula, continues to amaze and inspire numerous historians, researchers and tourists, offering them a valuable insight in the Eastern Udananian culture. I hope that today's update was an interesting experience for you as well. Have a nice day and see you next time! I shall leave you with several impressions of Mindfulness - the modern town which was built around the old Altruist capital of Barone. And before you go, please have a look at the rock textures that are under vote today! Comment replies: @TogaMasterJohn - Things like this happen on holiday bliss. If it makes you feel better, this entry got delayed as well. Thanks for the nice words. Yup, details are my fuel!- 3 Comments
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Time to set sails - in the East!
TheMurderousCricket posted a City Journal entry in SimCity: Tribalism
Mortimer Green, one of Simnation's former Ministers of Treasury, once said "It is not wise to introduce changes where none are necessary". To a large extent, the Altruist cities have been living up to this rule as none of them have undergone any radical changes over the last few years. It was not due to laziness though - the tribe has simply identified that circular town models that they implemented early on, provide the best conditions to develop healthy and calm communities. There were simply no reasons to redevelop the cities with happy individuals and perfect distribution of essential municipal services. The only few adjustments were made in Wellbeing. A report by a group of governmental urban planners found that some factories and roads could be shut down without any detrimental effects to the local economy and travel patterns. The amount of wild, natural areas and arable lands have slightly increased as a result of these amendments and the Southeastern part of the town became somewhat less urbanized. However, even despite all the (expensive) happiness achieved, some of the Altruists started to correctly point out to a peculiar fact... Namely, that their tribe have never developed any proper marine culture despite having an unobstructed access to the open sea! The only facility that upheld the Altruist reputation as a coastal tribe, was a tiny sailboat marina at the Southwestern tip of Wellbeing. Several proposals and pleas to expand port facilities have soon been filed to the local authorities. Many citizens believed that now that the necessities were taken care of, their tribe could begin to explore the seas and seek their fortune off Udananian coast. Some also believed that marine activities could, in the long run, benefit the tribe as a whole - a strong argument in the Altruist system of values. Eventually it has been announced that the government was in full support of the civic proposals submitted but... that new ports and facilities will not be developed in Wellbeing. This was due to the fact that by then, most of the coastal areas adjacent to the town had been assigned a "landscape preserve" status - an important environmental denomination, just a notch lower than that of a "national park". Because of these considerations, The Altruist Tribal Government has decided to establish a new, strategically placed town named Cabot Cove - located just South of Wellbeing and placed on the Virantceccia Spit. Cabot Cove is an answer to the calls for increased Altruist presence on the high seas. As can be seen from the high altitude pictures, the town enjoys two important marine installations. One of them is the Metzger Fishing Port which offers employment to those of the Altruists who wish to pursue professional careers and economic opportunities that a marine life offers. At present, there are twelve "career vessels" and five charter fishing ships registered with the port. Some of the boats are retired, "entry-level" units which have been repurchased by the local residents at reduced prices from the Norway-based Navnår Corporation. As you might have undoubtedly noticed, some parts of the port include train rails but the port is not connected to any network at present. It has simply been decided that it might be a good idea to at least prepare some infrastructure in the port should a rail connection is needed at some point in the future. The area right next to the port and in the Western part of the town is filled with industry. Most of the facilities there, include canneries and other fish processing plants. Despite being rather smelly workplaces, these factories enjoy surprisingly high employment rates. The other half of the marine zone is located in the Southern part of the town. It is a fairly large yacht port which exits to Cabot Cove from which the town takes its name. Although lacking the glamour and size of Cape Careless' marinas, it is still a very nice and well-built port, equipped with all necessary safety features, including non-directional navigational beacons and RWCAS linkup (Rough Weather Crew Assistance System). Although already functioning, the marina has not been officially opened yet and is still nameless. The official opening ceremony is scheduled later this month and many guests (including even some Localvore officials) have been invited for this event. Also, in a truly altruistic fashion, the citizens have decided to sell symbolic entry tickets for the ceremony, raising money for the local hospital's cancer treatment and mental health wards. The organizers hope to collect at least 1 800 000 Udananian Mynts (approximately 15 700 Euros) from the "ticket" sales. To spice things up a bit, a local regatta race is planned on that day and the Cabot Cove marina will be named after the race winners! But those who prefer to stay on dry land rather than sail, will find plenty of entertainment opportunities for themselves too. Cultural and entertainment life in Cabot Cove is centered around two venues. One of them, are two town markets - the Hazlitt Square in the East and Tupper Market in the West. These happen to also contain most of the services the town requires to function. The remaining landmarks and points of interest (including the marina) are located along the town's main throughway - Fletcher Road. Cabot Cove also boasts a nice leisure spot on the other side of the town. Lazier tourists (or the ones who'd just like to have some rest) can enjoy calm, seaside breeze and delicate sand on Grady Beach on the town's Northern edge. Speaking of tourism - if you'd ever like to stay in Cabot Cove, here are a few hotels that can definitely be recommended for your visit... As you can see, Cabot Cove is a very attractive, little town with a lot of potential given the fact that it solved the problem of the Altruists' "landliness". Although the city currently registers a whooping monthly loss of around 500 simoleons, it is still considered to be a good "forward base" for future expansion and business opportunities. Of course, under the condition that it finds a way to balance its budget a little better... The establishment of Cabot Cove also opens up a way for the colonization of the Aupthilagic Peninsula which stretches Southeast of the town. Map below shows the peninsula's exact location within New Udanani (yellow print)... The Altruist government have been drafting some preliminary plans to prepare for this expansion but the exact character of this new establishment or colonization attempt has not been decided upon yet. Thus, The Altruists ask The Revered Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension to help make that determination. You are thus kindly invited to cast your vote in the poll at the top of this entry! And speaking of divine interventions... I think some of you may remember that The Slackers have asked for guidance regarding which monument should they build to commemorate The Expansion of Udanani. Just to remind you, The Revered Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension have chosen "The Mirror of Seeing" as the preferred object... However, as a result of The Slackers' laziness slow pace of living and their first contacts with The Businesspeople, the project has largely fallen off the table and resumed only recently. The Slackers have finally mobilized themselves though, got down to work and [ze french accent]... ...The Mirror of Seeing has been built and landscaped... Stargazing is an important part of the Udananian spirituality and Sulkourbanism. Thus, this large, man-made lake is a special religious location. Udananites can look into its waters at night and see deep into the celestial sphere, waiting for the Mirror's sacred surface to unravel life paths, decisions and secrets of the Universe in front of the observers' eyes... A Temple of the Slacker Sulkourbanist Elders is also located on The Mirror of Seeing's central islet. It can be accessed at any time but, to ensure proper conservation and protection of this place, non-Udananians can access the temple only on Tuesdays when tour guides are available. Additionally, the "rim" of the lake is also dotted by special astronomical towers. These towers allow Sulkourbanist believers and priests to measure the movement of celestial sphere relative to the central temple and other astronomical towers across the mirror. The interpretation of the resulting stellar positions is usually quite complex, so it is hard to explain the process but the towers are considered to be a very nice addition to the Mirror's shoreline and an important element of Sulkourbanist divination practices. And in case you are wondering about the local geography, The Mirror of Seeing has been built close to Cape Careless and just South from The Sacred Pond of Forces. This concludes our today's meeting. Thank you for your visit. In the next episode of SimCity: Tribalism, we shall move to Central New Udanani and see if there's anything interesting going on in or around The Activators' towns. The rumor has it that the tribe's... "activitism" is getting slightly out of hand... Comment replies: @TogaMasterJohn - Slackers probably don't have a lot of wit, but they certainly seem to have a lot of luck! Good choice regarding living / holidaying plans - perhaps I should build a ferry connection between these two cities.- 4 Comments
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When Profit Hill was advertised in the past as the city of seemingly endless opportunities, the number of hopeful newcomers has been so great, that all companies were able to replenish their "human resources" in a matter of weeks. However, the stream of citizens who wanted to live in the Businesspeople's only city did not stop right there and then. Between 13 - 14 YOUS (Years of Udananian Settlement) this migrational influx has triggered the so-called "Expectations Crash" which caused a lot of residential zones to turn into a de facto social housing for the numerous unemployed people who could not support themselves due to the lack of promised jobs. After some emergency policies have been launched, the situation has again started to stabilize but many experts have, nonetheless, been calling for legislative measures to be taken as well. The Businesspeople economists have argued that another economically-volatile situation like "Expectations Crash" was still a possibility, despite the initial shock having dissipated. As a result, The Chief Executive Board of the Businesspeople Tribe have passed the so-called "Responsible Recruitment and Communication Bill" (RRCB) which forced all large employers to provide detailed information on how many vacancies a company is able to provide to potential job seekers. Apart from responsibilities the Bill has also offered some help to the employers in the form of modern recruitment questionnaires and checklists that help companies better determine who would indeed be a good fit with their firms. This has allowed to reduce the likelihood of the "perfect match" job candidates being rejected or overlooked during recruitment processes and ending up jobless in the "City of Possibilities". But the Bill has also introduced one important "micro-scale" change. Namely, it made it easier for average people to set up their own businesses... This seemingly slight change in regulations have been used with great success by those unfortunate enough to whom unemployment has been a sad fact of life. Rather then crawl under the blanket with a box of soft tissues and wait for better times, a certain group of Businesspeople have decided to take matters into their own hands, which is to be expected from the resourceful and entrepreneurial tribe like The Businesspeople. As a result, a new self-help foundation has been launched with a goal of finding earning opportunities for all who may need a stable employment. The name of this new initiative is "Small Business Society". Below, you can find the foundation's logo, mission and vision. SBS has, in fact, already had significant success in offering said alternative employment to the job-seekers. A few months ago, SBS representatives have struck a deal with the City Hall, in which they managed to reserve two Sirli Park-sized building parcels for the activities they have envisaged. During a five month crowdfunding campaign, the SBS has managed to accumulate enough donations to purchase two parcels from Profit Hill's City Hall. What is more, funding proved to be sufficient to support the establishment of the first few, new businesses. Small grocery shops, bars, electronic markets, accounting offices and pretty much any small businesses one can think of have started to come into existence almost overnight... ...in the Eastern parcel purchased by SBS as well as the one off to the West... ...both being located just slightly off towards North relative to the Downtown area. As you can see, the City Hall has also decided to support the project a little bit by granting one of the SBS' zones a tram connection and by adorning the new small-business zone with some aesthetical improvements. Thus, rewarding SBS' beneficiaries for their entrepreneurial spirit. Needless to say, many of the previously unemployed citizens have breathed a hearty sigh of relief and hopped aboard the SBS train, feeling that their prayers have finally been answered. In some cases, new shops have even started to show up in quite unusual places like... the slopes of Profit Hill... This has also caused the construction of the Profit Hill Park to resume - a project which has been put on hold even before "Expectations Crash" has begun. However, and quite unexpectedly, big businesses and CEOs of already existing firms have been rather unimpressed with the SBS initiative with some calling it a "threat to existing companies", "a scam" or even "a thin-veiled socialist utopia". It is said that, among other issues, large companies are disappointed with SBS and new, private companies taking away the human resources from already established businesses. Many of the companies along Main Avenue have recently expanded and enlarged their offices, hoping that they will be able to hire numerous new workers to further expand. As workers swarm into SBS-sponsored zones, this is obviously unlikely to happen soon. The spokesperson for the SBS, Mr. Aarskat Dalamahti have additionally denounced the criticisms, saying the following during his interview with "The Monetary" newspaper: "I don't understand why business moguls are so outraged at these great people. What other option did they have? Wait for corporate 'clemency' to finally be invited for a stupid job interview? How rude to even think that anyone should kneel down, pray and indefinitely wait for some HR team to call them up! It almost seems that now, companies like 'MerkaLonConsult' find privately-held pubs, bakeries and offices that SBS helped establish to be a competition to them... If that's the case, then it is probably 'MerkaLonConsult' itself who is having problems with its own business structure and solvency... We consider their comments to be quite unprofessional in terms of business ethics. In fact, their comments are generally out-of context too..." Interestingly, the conception of SBS has been coincidental with a similar movement away in the Northern Udanani, where The Altruists have created a whole neighborhood of small shops and markets in their town of Serene Thoughts. While a centrally-planned endeavor, The Altruists have nonetheless managed to develop a handsome, concentric commercial zone on the other side of the Jaland'di River. An action undertaken as a part of the plan of expanding Serene Thoughts westwards - closer to the Localvore-held areas. The Altruist leadership also hopes that in the future, a multitude of small businesses right next to the border may help facilitate trade exchanges with The Localvores. This is why the new circular neighborhood is "glued" to the Serene Thoughts - Farmington Road. Of course, it will take time before The Localvores warm up enough towards their neighbors to even appreciate the aforementioned possibility. But at least some operational essentials are already in place and used by The Altruists themselves for the time being. Although The Localvores are not too enthusiastic about socializing with The Altruists, both tribes continue to maintain a common exclusion zone around the W2E plant in Serene Thoughts. Meadow and tree planting efforts are ongoing, making the garbage deal between two tribes a relatively clean and balanced agreement. Small business and next-door shopping are definitely convenient and valuable things to have in a city. But Udananites have recently been troubled by other concerns... Many people have reported unusual murmurs and faint tremors underground. Citizens are unsure what to make out of this and many are worrying that these are telltale signs of an earthquake approaching... Comment replies: @TogaMasterJohn - Current wind conditions 5NM outward from the Flapjack's Stormalong Marina and Country Club; we are are having Northern winds of 3 to 4 in the area of your inquiry, which should allow you to approach the marina on a steady port tack beam wind or backstay. Within 1NM of Lagmi Shi Island we are currently experiencing a calm, so you might as well roll down your sails and use your engine... or rafting paddles, should you wish to moor. Let us know if we can be of any other service. Over. * @TG24 - Yep, pretty much...
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This time you will have a chance to review the yet unreviewed changes across Udanani which have been the result of the voting process by the Revered Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension. One of the problems put under vote some time ago, was what type of garbage disposal facility should be placed in Serene Thoughts. During the heated debate on the issue, The Revered Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension have agreed that a waste to energy incinerator will be the best option for the town. Needless to say, as a result of this new development, the garbage export deal between The Localvores and The Altruists has finally been struck. Please take a good look at the picture representing the incinerator and you will see an interesting example on how the surroundings of the W2E plant reflect the tribes' agendas. As you can see, The Altruists have decided to build the W2E plant on the western bank of the Jaland'di River, away from Serene Thoughts, in order to keep their citizens safe from pollution. This didn't go well with The Localvores who hoped the plant will be located farther away from them. Thus, as you can see, The Localvores have planted a wall of thick forest West of the incinerator to protect their pristine environment. In fact, "The Leafy Curtain" reflects their isolationist views as well... In turn, The Altruists, wishing to reduce the environmental and aesthetical impact that the facility has on the neighboring area, have planted some meadowlands to the East of the incinerator. Thus, both tribes have unwittingly and independently from each other embarked on a very similar project, having exact same goals in their minds! Not coincidentally, The Localvores have been relieved of the tons of garbage that accumulated in their streets. This has finally allowed them to begin the development of the large orchard on Parcel 4-4 the purpose of which, by the way, have also been decided by The Revered Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension a few years ago. I'm sure you remember that there have also been two more issues that The Slackers have lazily (yet eagerly) awaited for The Revered Spirits to decide upon. One of them concerned the location of the new yacht marina in Cape Careless. It is thus my pleasure to inform you, that the Revered Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension have overwhelmingly voted in favor of placing the new yacht port in the Kauchpatatis Bay (the "Variant A" in the poll). Therefore, you are cordially welcome to the grand opening of the "Flapjack's Stormalong Marina and Country Club". The Marina has several attractions and important objects within its limits, but the boating infrastructure is of course the most important part of the venue. By the way - the total construction cost of the port is 15 585 §. The Southern part of the marina contains the Country Club and the port authority's HQ. The Western part of the marina contains a large parking lot which is used by the sailors but also by the landlubbers who are here only for a walk along the piers. Here, one can also find painter workshop and lifts used for launching boats into the harbor (or pulling them out of it). And, for those who appreciate such details, here is some ID and navigational information on the Flapjack's Stormalong Marina and Country Club... Just in case, if you ever happen to moor your boat here. The coastal infrastructure in Cape Careless has, however, developed beyond Lagmi Shi Island too. The second question that the Revered Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension had to answer concerned the future of the Ci'Binalg Coast and it has been decided that it will become a tourist and passenger wharf. And it indeed did... But on a closer look, you will definitely notice that the entire wharf has been built rather shabbily and in a truly careless fashion! Proper infrastructure is lacking. Also, no shelter of any form has been designed to keep away the fumes from the nearby polluting industries. This is why Ci'Binalg Coast is much less than it probably could be... On the other hand, the passenger ferry line which has been opened between Lagmi Shi Island and Ci'Binalg Coast has become a big hit with the commuters and a very efficient way to move people from the island to the Udananian mainland. 5400 passengers are being transported on the ferry lines daily. A significant relief to the Nopreshheure Bridge which, until now, has been the only route going from Lagmi Shi Island across Doeidlaythere Strait. As far as the latest involvement of the Revered Spirits in Udananian history is concerned, this would be all for today. Right now, it is time for a short visit to Bedroom which I promised last time. Some important changes have taken place there. The single biggest one is the fact that agricultural moguls have emerged in the town. This in turn, has resulted in the establishment of three large farming estates which started to compete with each other for influence and profits. The Residents, an already elitist society, have suddenly become even more aristocratic to the outsiders because of that... Here are a few shots of the newly established properties... West from the Bedroom's downtown, one can find Flabmiris' family estate. The Flabimiris specialize in the production of wine but also own a corn field. This, makes them one of the most skillful enologists and livestock feeding experts in the town. The members of the Smi'taral family on the other hand, specialize exclusively in the production of rye, which makes them one of the biggest producers of this crop in town and one of the biggest suppliers of Bedroom's bakeries. Their estate is located just across that of the Flabmiris'. Last but not least, on the other edge of The Residents' hometown reside the Vissitluns. These are one of the most diverse producers of agricultural goods as they tend to an orange groove, a wheat field and even two fishing ponds! As already mentioned, the competition between the farming moguls is quite fierce due to a fairly small market. This, however, is precisely the case why the second commercial district in Bedroom has recently boomed. Increased demand for competitive, modern farming machinery, qualified farmers and agricultural advisory services have made this new district a fairly successful development and a tool in the race for the agricultural lead. Nearby residential areas have grown too, as the developers figured that the current dynamics might be exploited for an extra benefit. The Residents are doing exceptionally well considering their obsessive disgust with the invigorating (if ugly) industry. How long will this success hold is anyone's guess. It is also hard to predict if the newly formed countryside estates will spur growth or rather trigger some unhealthy competition and animosities within The Residents' tribe. Thanks for stopping by! Comment replies: @TogaMasterJohn - Yep, C&C rules! I'm glad you liked the box art, been a lot of work with that. The happier I am that the reference was clear. Yes - the hole diggers/raisers can be effectively used to shape inclines but it requires some practice and should be done on "pre-slanted" tiles for the best effect. Otherwise you'll just get some stairs instead of a gentle hill. @OctaviusPlay - Hehe, well, let's just hope that "Laughterdaelian Sun" will be coming to Steam soon! @mitsos - Great! Looks like the roadwork paid off then! Happy to hear you like the journal. @TG24 - You got that right! Like during a stunt show or something. Hell, the former ramp could probably even be used for plane takeoffs!
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Sulka, the mysterious deity who created Udanani and ordered its citizens to create a magnificent city there, had one more, extra commandment for the tribes. Namely, that a city where a contact between two tribes have been made needs to be run jointly by the tribes involved (but not more than three at the same time). The communication from The Localvores and the subsequent garbage export deal have thus made Serene Thoughts the first jointly-run town which, from now on, will need to reflect the interests of both The Altruists and The Localvores. The former being friendly and receptive, the latter being rather cold and selfish. Both tribes have agreed to create a border zone in Serene Thoughts and the way it is organized is very telling... From the Altruist side, the zone is lined up with guest centers, information stands and freely accessible. The Localvores, however, have created a passport control office, supported by a police precinct. It will take some time before the people from Serene Thoughts and Farmington get used to each other and truly get to know each other... So it's probably better to leave them alone for now and focus our attention somewhere else. The starter town of The Altruists have been undergoing a rapid and positive transformation recently. The nature of those changes is best shown in pictures so not much description is needed really. All you need to know, is that the decision by the Revered Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension to move the city hospital, have caused The Altruists to realize that other services could also be moved to manage the service coverage at a lower cost! Effectively, the "service island" has been entirely relocated, creating huge savings for the entire town, optimizing administration and accelerating other changes. The estimated savings have slightly surpassed initial expectations and currently stand at 120§/month. A picture is worth a thousand words, so go ahead and explore the following comparison pics to see what's going on in Wellbeing. With the newly found wealth, The Altruists are now exploring the possibility to enhance their shoreline with some entertainment or leisure facilities and reorganize the eastern, coastal part of the town. One of the proposals is to create some forested, pedestrian routes from residential areas to the beach, while relocating the industrial base away from the coast. Another idea also involves moving industrial premises elsewhere, perhaps even to Serene Thoughts, and instead, line the coastal area with farms and agriculture to create the Wellbeingnian version of the Bliss. Whichever concept proves to win the hearts of The Altruists, it is certain that this time, the changes in Wellbeing will certainly not be limited to the residential and human service areas only. The summer season is coming! So it's time to get the coast ready for lifeguards, jetski docks and kiddies with buckets and spades! One thing in Udanani is certain - if there is one tribe that knows how to bring fun into watersports and shoreline, then The Slackers are probably the most talented and proficient ones in this "craft". And the watercrafts in general. As you can see, the first yachting club has just been spontaneously established in Cape Careless. "The Courageous Flynn's Docks" are now open, allowing the local population to get a nice tan, excessively imbibe drinks and organize parties out in the sea! Given the fact that about 7% of all Slackers serve aboard ships and seagoing cargo vessels, it's probably no wonder why this tribe feels right at home behind the helm of various water vehicles. But Slackers' home town may become an even more exciting place. Lagmi Shi Island, the epicenter of Slacker carefree approach to life, continues to gradually phase out heavy industry. After all, work is not a priority in Slacker lives, so it's understandable that the local citizens do not wish to see their workplaces so close to the existing and envisaged leisure facilities! Interestingly, a group of Slackers have decided to move in to the industrial area even before all of the industry could be removed. Anticipating a surge in the realty prices, they have organized themselves and bought some land to be the first people in the area that may potentially become one of the nicest ones in Cape Careless. But while the industry on Lagmi Shi Island is indeed getting transferred over to Ci'Binalg Coast, The Slackers remain the same lazy, careless and poorly educated bunch they have always been. When you take a look on the Ci'Binalg Coast, you will notice that the industry facilities from Lagmi Shi Island are almost entirely dirty and have practically been transferred one-to-one without loosing even a single workplace or piece of machinery in the process. Although the air over Ci'Binalg Coast is certainly not very healthy, one has to admit that it is actually a fairly productive industrial zone given the 28-hour work week! The Slackers are also able to successfully operate a rail cargo depot, ensuring that the goods they produce (with what appears to be an excruciating effort) are shipped out of Cape Careless quickly and seamlessly. Some industrialists have been voicing concerns that the cargo station may not be enough to ensure the goods movement in the future and suggest an extra seaport to be built along Ci'Binalg Coast. But there is a catch... Those of The Slackers who own yachts and boats, consider seaports to be classical NIMBYs. Why? Because, ironically enough, they say that they are afraid that their own carelessness and sleepiness while yachting may lead to crashes and terrible disasters at high seas. Consequently, they simply don't want to criss-cross paths with container and cargo ships, knowing that collisions may plague the Lagmi Shi Harbor. The Slackers have thus decided to, not surprisingly, sleep on the matter and simply leave the decision up to the Revered Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension - what type of wharf (if any) should be build along Ci'Binalg Coast? There is also one more decision to be taken. After the establishment of The Courageous Flynn's Docks, many Slackers have actually heard the call of the marine adventure and expressed interest in increasing the marina space across Cape Careless. The Slacker Tribal Council have willingly ok'd the plans for another marina. However, its location is yet to be decided. Three options are currently being evaluated by The Slackers... Oh wait... they are not being evaluated. The Slacker Tribal Council have just left the City Hall for a beach party nearby and again tossed the decision into the St'ropoli Spirits' voting basket... Two calls for spiritual advice per year from a single tribe is a rarity. But The Slackers, are one of the most devout believers in Sulka and the Revered Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension. Could it be that their spirituality is supported by the close proximity of The Pond of Forces? Perhaps. After all, The Slackers like to make field trips to this mysterious place, relax in the shrine there and marvel at the rustling palm trees and crystal-clear waters of the pond. Of course, being mindful of the rules regarding this unusual place and the warning not to disturb it by any urban-related activity. Udanani, a land with two coastlines, may definitely use littoral areas to its advantage, provided they are properly taken care of. Who will lead the effort of developing it? The Slackers? The Altruists? Maybe another tribe that has access to the sea? And which concept of the shoreline will win? The industrial one? Or the more eco-friendly, natural approach? All good questions. But we'll have to wait for the answers... Today this CJ has hit 1000 views! Thank you for your support and continued interest! Comment replies: @TG24 - I hope you liked the Slacker-related update! @TogaMasterJohn - Well, it's good to see you back. I've been wondering what's up with you missing from the forum! Interesting and insightful approach regarding the question of the W2E garbage disposal option! I agree that it may actually become a lucrative (if somewhat polluting) business.
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Before we begin, I would like to make a shout-out to @simmaster07. Thanks to his swift intervention, the SC4Fix has been amended, allowing me to finally run my game in a 32-bit color mode! Use the link above if you would like to grab the updated version. If you are interested in the whole story regarding this issue, go here. If you are not, I invite you for another visit to Udanani with no further delays. The following discussion has taken place during the last meeting of The Localvore Tribal Council: Two weeks later, after the proposal has been passed in The Localvore Tribal Council, all of The Localvores have been called up for a referendum and voted in the following way... Opening up a way for the first intertribal contact and garbage-free Farmington! The Localvores have then systematically prepared for the neighborly visit and, first of all, built a street, leading out of Farmington. The street has cleverly been designed as a low capacity network so that only garbage trucks could pass through and by doing so, leave little or no place for potential return traffic coming from the Altruist side... The Localvore delegation heading to Serene Thoughts has, naturally, been the first travelers on that street. Having arrived at the edge of The Altruist, town they waited there for someone to take notice of their presence. And indeed - some kids playing over the river have reported that a group of strangers was standing at the edge of the town and the news spread across Serene Thoughts. The atmosphere in the city has become very lively and many people urged the local authorities to find out who the strangers were and why did they come, causing significant commotion in the Town Center. The Altruists, thrilled to meet the first representatives of a "previously heard but never seen tribe" have responded by building a border access road of their own and sending their own delegation. It took some time though because in order to protect the natural beauty, instead of using a bridge The Altruists decided to build... an underwater tunnel to cross the river. Thus, preserving the natural look of the riparian environment (and delaying their own delegation a bit...). A further delay has been sustained however, when The Altruists realized that the land across the river was perfect for the organization of another concentric neighborhood. Thus, a stub of this new neighborhood has been created as well... ...before the delegation has finally arrived to its desired destination... When The Localvores and The Altruists have finally met, they greeted each other, shook each others' hands, talked some and came to the following results... The contact has thus been made, even if the motivations for it have been selfish on The Localvore part. The only question that remains now (apart of course from "how are they gonna get along?") is what type of garbage disposal facility should The Altruists build, in order to handle the entire refute? The question which is to be answered by the Revered Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension. Today's events mark the end of the "Era of Isolation" on the timeline of Udanani and the beginning of a new era... Stay tuned for further developments in these new, interesting times! Comment replies: @TG24 - Thank you, I will. @kschmidt - Good idea with the ring concept! I actually like solutions like that, so it's very likely that I will use it in the future. @TogaMasterJohn - Takes a little bit practice and you can get used to elevation changes. Wonder though what other, "untrained" Udananites will feel if they ever happen to visit Industrious Hills. You didn't even know you had a rating agency...? SRSLY?
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Did you know that Bedroom is currently the smallest town in Udanani, as far as the population goes? If you didn't, now you do! It is easy to understand when you remember that residency in Bedroom is under a tight control of the tribal council. Only the select few are allowed to move in and the landscaping in The Residents' starter town is carefully planned. Some new residential areas have nonetheless been built in the town, despite the strict urban plans. The wealthy are just as eager to settle down in Bedroom as they have always been. One of the largest and most recent residential areas is under construction on the eastern tip of Bedroom. An adjacent shopping grounds are in plans for this area as well. Seeking to improve and maintain the land value, The Residents are doing their best to increase the acreage of parks and green infrastructure in their home town. A large park has recently been wedged in between the main commercial district and the new residential zone that has been pictured above. Other, smaller parks, have been cleaned up a little and adorned with more mature vegetation. While The Residents don’t really care, (or at least pretend to not care) the lack of industry is becoming an increasing problem. Although The Residents have willingly chosen the "no-smokestack" path, (fearing a dip in land values) their aversion to industry causes them to face other challenges. The lack of industry limits the effectiveness and demand for the commercial sector. Let’s face it - if little is produced, then there is obviously little to sell! The demand for and profitability of businesses and entertainment in Bedroom is very low overall and requires a lot of "gymnastics" to keep it positive or at least neutral. The Residents try to offset this low demand by establishing new farms but these efforts fall short of increasing the interest of new investors. Besides, the rigid, square-based architecture of The Resident’s agricultural zones, makes it clear that this tribe treats farming as a mere duty, rather than a lifestyle. Just compare the bland, simple farm design in Bedroom... ...to that of The Altruists... ...or, even more so, to that of The Localvores who consider farming to be just as much of work as it is a form of art. The Residents clearly consider farming to be a necessity rather than an option. It does however provide them with some jobs, so at least it works as an anti-unemployment measure. The freight train lines have also been further developed as a result of increased movement of goods, which is a nice benefit, come to think of it. Undoubtedly, The Residents' agenda has its advantages but it is unlikely to succeed if agricultural and commercial demand completely depletes. Without cooperation from other tribes (more willing to invite industry to their city tiles) The Residents’ future may be rather bleak. Speaking of cooperation, The Localvores could also use an external help to deal with their newest problem – the garbage! A dynamic development of Farmington Minor and surrounding farmlands, have drastically increased the amount of refute the town produces. Up until now, most garbage has been recycled or turned into compost. At this moment, however, it is no longer enough… The trash is slowly but steadily building up and there is no place to put it in… Not unlike The Residents, The Localvores are terrified at the concept of establishing a landfill or building an incinerator on any land that belongs to them. As if garbage rolling through the streets was any better… The situation is not helped by the fact that everything in Farmington is being consumed locally. An unexpected correlation - the garbage stays where it was first produced rather than in another town which could import the goods and then deal with leftovers... But at least the fields and meadows across Farmington are clear from the garbage menace for now… oh wait… they are not… Theoretically, however, there is some hope to resolve the situation, because The Altruists have just inhabited a city tile which directly neighbors the one right next to Farmington! The Altruists have created this new town in order to better stimulate the economy of Wellbeing. However, one could easily speculate that it could theoretically be possible for The Localvores to ask their neighbors for help in solving their garbage problem for a decent fee... Knowing The Altruists, they would probably be happy to help, provided the deal wouldn't hurt their own citizens. The question though is, if The (mostly selfish) Localvores would likewise be ready to cooperate with The Altruists in other fields (pun not intended!) By the way, have a closer look at the new Altruist town. It is called Serene Thoughts. Serene Thoughts is yet another concentric-style town. The only difference is that Serene Thoughts is circle-based from the very start, rather than as a result of redevelopment. Just like in The Altruists’ home town, the middle of Serene Thoughts is occupied by an EEC. It is not fully operational yet and offers only basic services. Looking for a job in Serene Thoughts? No problem! Some friendly-looking factories and production facilities are already up and hiring. Commute should not be a problem as well with the ubiquitous transportation system and The Altruists’ trademark “grass walks”. Serene Thoughts might be yet another building block for the future suburbs. It really looks like a very friendly town! Northern Udanani is sure a quiet and relaxing place to live in, featuring nice, green landscapes and lush vegetation. It does experience several “youth diseases”, like poor financial balance, excess garbage or sleepy commercial sector to name a few. It is thus evident that the time is nigh for the Northern tribes to make the first inter-tribal contact and try to help each other solve their problems. While full of potential, these small communities cannot really "spread their wings" without some good, neighborly relations in place! .....835027581061742......7140651961..... …what in Sulka's name is that...?!! It seems that a very powerful energy burst, originating somewhere in Laughterdale, has just been detected! The energy spike has been followed by a mysterious signal which boomed across the land, filling the air over Udanani with radio waves and brilliant amounts of electromagnetic chatter. The signal’s nature is yet to be determined… Thanks for reading the eleventh part of the CJ! The black-and-white, procedural noise images are the work of Etienne Jacob. If you'd like to see more of his excellent, mathematical designs, head over to his webpages here and here! Comment replies: @TogaMasterJohn - I'm happy to hear that you consider this journal to be unpredictable! Interesting (and unexpected) conclusion! I believe that also this time you are not disappointed! @sejr99999 - All inhabitants are already within the ambulance service range. It could be smaller though and less expensive if the hospital was moved! I'm glad you like the EEC concept - it's a very useful thing and easy to manage too! @Dreamcitybuilder - (regarding "A trip to the North - Part I") I believe they do, especially after what's been going on in their town! Also, organic food might be an excellent bargaining chip in negotiations... (regarding "Enter at your own risk...") There, there - I wouldn't be in a rush to outright condemn The Smileyfaces. I feel they will play a very important and positive role in the Udananian history yet. Though the strange radio burst is surely unsettling...
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The North is one of the calmer, less populous corners of Udanani. This area relies mostly on agriculture, forestry and no heavy industry is present there. It is also the least densely populated part of the entire realm, containing just over 11% of the total population of the region. It is a little underrepresented too... Despite it's sleepy nature, it is an immensely interesting place due to its inhabitants' philosophies and lore. It's been a long time since you've last visited it so now, I invite you for a tour around the North. If Udanani ever becomes a megacity, towns like Wellbeing or Bedroom may be ideal places for the future suburbs to develop. Once you take a look at Wellbeing, you may quickly understand why. In its current state, the town consists mainly of low-density housing and elegant apartment blocks, which are frequently found outside downtowns. These comfy homes are further enhanced with efficient shuttle and bus transport as well as varied vegetation. This, makes the entire place a relaxing and hustle-free sanctuary, which is to be expected from a suburbs. Wellbeing also continues to experiment with the idea of a concentric city model. This successful urban plan, known from other cities like Terring's Hazelfield, is considered to be an especially interesting option by The Altruists. It's because it offers better accessibility to the city services. Pooling them all into the so-called "service island" which is easy to reach and relatively equidistant for all citizens. Currently, all residential neighborhoods are concentrated around this service island... ...though, as you remember, it hasn't always been this way. In the beginning, Wellbeing consisted of several, small, roundabout-centered "villages", each having their own service sector. While in line with The Altruists' agenda, it was dangerous in terms of financial stability. Wellbeing's funds were dwindling fast when used to finance multiple, independent clinics, schools and other amenities. This is why the micro-neighborhoods of the old are a history now. Today, all citizens live within an easy reach of the central EEC (Emergencies and Education Center). In the economical and logistical sense, the concentric city model and the EEC are better. However, the location of the hospital has become a bit of a problem in the recent years. The hospital was built during the transition period from the multi-concentric to the concentric urban model. In the times when the outward laying "villages" have still existed and a greater range for city ambulances was necessary. Today, the hospital's location could theoretically be adjusted, to move it to a spot which is more central relative to the current residential area. Otherwise, much of the ambulance funding is simply wasted. According to the City Council's estimates, the relocation of the hospital could generate monthly savings of about §60 to §100. On the other hand, it would visually break the EEC apart, creating a non-consistent landscape with an "orphaned" hospital building, away from all other city services. Should this change be conducted? Or is it better to leave the hospital as it is? Regardless the solution of the problem above, you might be interested to know that the space that was freed up after the removal of the smaller residential areas, has been redistributed in favor of other zones. Since The Altruists are very devoted to fighting the unemployment and offering equal opportunities to all, the former residential areas have been turned into commercial and agricultural projects. Impressive... and equally expensive! Unfortunately, all of the changes described, have dealt another serious blow to the Wellbeing's already strained budget. The construction costs, administrative paperwork and, most importantly, resettlement reimbursements have cast the town's fiscal balance into a rather volatile state. Wellbeing's economy is just starting to recover now (for the second time), registering a small, but precious, monthly income. Before we move on, it is worth taking a look at the industrial sector in Wellbeing. It is safe to say that The Altruists have turned it into a "success story" and managed to find a way to reconcile economical profitability with ecology and healthy, stable employment. The industries in Wellbeing have greatly developed within the last few years and the manufacturing industry is slightly more popular than high-tech sector. Although a little dirtier, the manufacturing plants are maintained in such a clever way that they actually resemble parks more than anything else! There is one significant standout in the Wellbeing's industrial landscape. The "Double C" light bulb factory. Max Luminosity, the founder of the factory, explains that the titular "Double C" stands for "Christmas" and "Carnival". The factory sells its products to many customers worldwide. The rumor has it that some customers in particular, love to turn the light bulbs on and then just break them for fun! Of course, the factory staff doesn't mind as it simply means more sales. Some changes, though small in scale, have taken place in the agrarian dominion of The Localvores as well. Like the construction of some irrigation systems and more growth of the natural vegetation. Speaking of which, the Goldleaf Forest looks beautiful this time of the year... The entire Alouni Basan Plains area has essentially been turned into a farmland surrounding Farmington Minor. Hardly any free space to plant another potato in! Since free space in this part of Farmington is running out quickly, The Localvores plan to move on to the next portion of their city tile, designated as "parcel 4-4", covering an elongated hill in the Southeastern corner of their city tile. However, The Localvores are currently too busy to even decide what should be built there. Since the weeds won't pull themselves out, The Localvores wish to ask for your kind assistance with deciding the purpose of the parcel 4-4 while they will tend to their farms. If you'd like to help them, head to the voting poll on top of this entry! Hope you liked the first part of the tour! Next time, we will continue our trip across the Northern Udanani to see what The Residents are up to! Comment replies: @ulisse - You intrigued me, a mining town you say... Creating a town specializing in some branch of industry or business sounds like a very interesting idea... @AsimPika3172 - I will! Thank you! @TogaMasterJohn - Thanks for a very nice, creative comment TogaMaster John! I think the Spirits have already taken a decision and left me no choice regarding The Activators' expansion! @Dreamcitybuilder - I'm glad you like it and it's really nice to see a new face visiting my CJ. Judging by your profile, it looks like you play a lot of "poliferous" games, so you could indeed use the tribal concept in one of them! (SC4 version is already reserved though! )
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Powerful societies don't grow overnight. In order for people to be successful, certain conditions have to be met. In recent times, it has become evidently clear that some dim-witted lawmakers consider layoffs, handouts and automation as ultimate solutions to employees' disenchantment and demands. The truth, however, is that it is possible to run successful businesses and keep employees satisfied as well! These solutions are just too numerous to count them all down. But since a picture is worth a thousand words, it is probably best to just show how they work in Udanani. If you pay yet another short visit to Profit Hill, you will see that the situation on the job market has been steadily improving. New investor incentives help companies and businesses grow and this, in turn, means more job opportunities on offer for every employee profile. Larger companies and friendly business climate are just as important to CEOs as they are to file employees (even if the latter don't fully realize it). New residents are still clamoring to settle in Profit Hill. Another residential area (a twin to Sirli Park) has been built in the Western part of the city, by the foot of Profit Hill (the eponymous geographical feature of The Businesspeople's city name). Pictured below, you can see Marou Square neighborhood. It turns out that the unemployment in Profit Hill has largely been caused due to the spotty public transport, which relied mainly on bus connections. Busses in Profit Hill are not bad, but not sufficient either given large quantities of cars on the city's main thoroughfares. One particular apartment block... ...seems to be especially affected by the challenging commute. This is why The Businesspeople have decided to develop another, quicker form of transport - the tramways. The starting point of the network has been located in the area most affected by unemployment and is being expanded from there, outwards. Some termini has also been built throughout the city and plans to extend them into new lines have already been approved. Ubiquitous public transport system will be a key to keep employees calm and sane during their commutes! Improving the minds of the future workforce is yet another objective for The Businesspeople. Profit Hill welcomes a new city college in the Downtown! Last but not least, The Businesspeople have started the construction of Bull Market Mound - a hike-park on the slopes of Profit Hill. This vast, topographically interesting area will be a draw to the citizens and will surely soothe the nerves of busy employers and employees alike. Before we move on, let's just take another brief look at Sirli Park. It keeps being redeveloped and has become a veritable testing bed for various gardening and residential configurations! The reinforcement of society is an important issue for the citizens of Wellbeing as well. The costs of various services and amenities in this city has been prohibitively expensive though, putting citizens' problem-solving skills (and their living standards) to a difficult test. In order to keep the healthcare, fire protection and other services well-funded and cost effective, it has been decided that Wellbeing should be reorganized a little bit. The results of the redevelopment and budget audit in Wellbeing have surpassed initial expectations. A monthly loss of $600 has been largely mitigated and reduced to a more acceptable level of $40 per month. This, of course, is much easier for the city budget to tackle and perhaps, Sulka willing, Wellbeing will even register some income in the near future. But what exactly has changed? First of all, Cornflower - the central residential area of Wellbeing, has been redeveloped and a central "service island" has been built within its limits. Cornflower has also been connected to the neighborhood of Papillon, because the time it took fire crews to reach Papillon was dangerously long. Here is the street, connecting the two, previously separated, areas. New citizens are eager to move in, feeling safe in the vicinity of a modern hospital and well-equipped emergency services (crime is still low or even disappearing in some areas.) As you can see, the residential densities have also been increased to provide more tax income. This way, services and residential projects supplement and support each other. The Altruists also continue to build up their concentrated, environment-friendly industry. The Red Spruce Facilities is a newly finished industrial area which specializes in software design, production of light, farming machinery (not to be confused with light farming machinery) and spare parts for recreational airplanes. Interestingly enough, in order to nurture the health and fitness among their citizens, The Altruists have introduced a little innovation into their cities - grass paths for pedestrian commuters. Citizens are encouraged to use these paths rather than their cars in order to reach their workplaces. This way, they can calm down on their way to and from work, enjoying the natural environment and feeling invigorated and hopeful, regardless of the duties they may face during the day. While the idea of "grass walks" seems to be gaining traction, the rail system did not really take off in Wellbeing. You may have noticed that the railway has, regrettably, been torn down... We approach the end of this entry. I hope you found this update interesting and fun to read! But before we conclude this part of the Udanani adventure, be it known that the Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension have spoken! Respecting their will, The Localvores have decided to build a small village surrounded by farms on Alouni Basan Plains! The project is still underway, so be sure to check back on Farmington from time to time. Meanwhile, The Localvores thank Thee for your guidance! Thank you for your visit! But wait... It looks like some large-scale construction works are taking place at the "Emo-G" site perimeter... What are they up to...?
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Everything in the Universe is subject to change. So are cities and towns. It goes without saying that Udanani will change as well. Constantly striving to redesign, redevelop and recycle itself. For the record, it might be a good idea to have a short sightseeing tour of Udanani tribes' starter towns. Just to remember in what state they were before any changes took place. It's time to take a better and closer look at how these towns are built and see how they reflect the distinct life philosphies of the factions that live there... Enjoy your tour. ____________________ "Do you have what it takes to join The Altruists?" Life - the most precious value there is. And ever will be. The Altruists' starter town named Wellbeing is a relaxing sanctuary, designed specifically to celebrate life. And make it as comfortable, safe and productive as humanly possible. Wellbeing consists of small, specialized neighborhoods, organized around central roundabouts: The choice of roundabouts as the primary type of intersection is not coincidental. Roundabouts reduce traffic congestion and the occurrence of vehicle-to-ped accidents. It's not surprising then that The Altruists chose to emphasize this type of intersection over other types. Smaller (and slower) roundabouts can also be found on main transit roads. Further reducing vehicle speed, and increasing the traffic safety. Each of the neighborhoods in Wellbeing has access to dedicated healthcare and is also covered by educational facilities. Of course, fire protection, running water and power (100% green, may we add) are readily available as well. The town has sizeable amounts of natural areas, sports facilities and forests. Granting everyone a possibility to relax, breathe fresh air and stay psychologically fit and calm. The city planners of Wellbeing also strive to provide inhabitants with an easy enough access to workplaces, locating them near residential areas. They try to keep the workplaces concentrated and sustainably dense, rather than sprawling and space-consuming. This, offers a good balance between commute time and having a peaceful home close by. Wellbeing is one of the friendliest towns across Udanani. The Altruists' devotion to life and security shines through everything they do. What The Altruists fail at, however, is the (mis)management of their city budget. All of the projects and services that keep their folk happy cost lots of money... The Altruists' monthly budget is frequently in the red... However, the citizens of Wellbeing are always ready to return the favors granted to them by their government. Many of them run errands for the "U-drive-it" transportation company and (in a truly altruistic fashion) donate all their earnings from this source directly to the city coffers! What does the future hold? The Altruists plan to continue making Wellbeing a desirable and orderly town where people live long and away from desperate gambles. Establishing an effective rail system is currently under investigation as well. The test string pictured below is actually the only passenger rail line currently in existence in Udanani. The benefits of this type of transportation will, however, be waged against the disadvantages like noise and safety concerns involved in level rail crossings... The Altruists also plan to plant large areas of forests and meadows around their city and build more parks. All new developments of this sort, will be combined with the already existing "green infrastructure". The Altruists' research clearly indicates that greenery and trees help keep cities cooler and help mitigate dangerous climatic phenomena. Although crime is almost non-existent in Wellbeing, the situation in this field will be closely monitored as well. The same goes for health care and education. It is quite possible that Wellbeing may soon embark on yet another educational project - a city college. Hard to tell if The Altruists will be able to afford it though... "Be a doer, not a thinker - join The Activators" Many cities are built according to a plan. Many are build out of necessity. Others yet, become pieces of art. Buildmoar doesn't fit into any of these categories... The Activators' starter town is a congested, polluted goulash of concrete and steel, currently inhabited by 21000 souls. Buildmoar is haphazardly strewn across the land with no particular principle or plan in mind except for the drive to fill every possible inch of space. Indeed, it is hard to find any blank spaces in this town: In Buildmoar (ironically referred to as "Mount Clusterf##k" by The Residents) zones are frequently build in ways that other tribes would consider unusual or contradicting reason. The good, the bad, the industry, the commerce - The Activators don't discriminate. Here, one may find themselves living right next to a soot sifter... ...a park, flanked by a commercial zone... ...or even a farming field, squeezed right next to some heavy industry... When The Activators are in power, anything can happen. And will! But in all honesty, Buildmoar is not just another Magnasanti. On the contrary - the education and health ratings for this town are very good and the City Hall... ...does a decent job of managing social aspects of Buildmoar's life. It's just that this town is very busy and polluted. Overwhelming for most every other person except for The Activators themselves. What does the future hold? The Activators have already run out of space to build more in Buildmoar, so it is very likely that they will now spoil expand to another city tile. Their starter town may undergo some minor changes and tweaks, but for now, The Activators plan to focus on gathering funds and resources for upcoming expansion. Some zones will probably be rezoned for even higher densities. It is also believed that some of the forested areas may, regrettably, be destroyed in favor of commercial zones. Buildmoar is also the only city in Udanani to have a tram rail running through the city. This is yet another Activators' system which works well. Citizens like this form of communication and have recently started to pressure the Buildmoar's City Hall to further expand this system. To be continued...
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Good morning Community, I am pleased to announce the opening of my first ever City Journal on this 'ere page - "SimCity: Tribalism". In this screenshot-driven journal, you can join seven distinct tribes trying to figure out how to build a megacity. It will not be a trivial task, given how many differences are between them! I will use the forum-based CJ section only to provide short highlights regarding what is going on in each entry. The main content will be accessible in the dedicated City Journal part of Simtropolis... ...right here. I hope you will join me in this adventure and have a good time while at it! Enjoy! _________ Entry #1 - Welcome to the Realm of Udanani In this entry... Udanani from bird's view. Make your acquaintance! Get to know the actors and the stage of this play. A city tile you may not redevelop...
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Welcome to the realm of Udanani
TheMurderousCricket posted a City Journal entry in SimCity: Tribalism
The ancient realm of Udanani is the home to seven tribes. Each of the tribes occupies different area of the region, has different mindsets and different sense of what is right and what is wrong. The Altruists want to make all people feel secure, healthy and fulfilled, regardless of how expensive it may be... The Activators don't like empty spaces. They love development. Any... type of development... Quality of their homes and, to a lesser extent , land value, is of concern to The Residents. The Smileyfaces want the entire world to smile with them, but back their words with futuristic weapons... The Businesspeople aim for a strong commercial sector and need reliable employees to run it. The Slackers don't care about what shall become of them. They spend most of their lives sunbathing or dozing off. Locally produced food and clean water is what The Localvores cherish most. They are very reluctant to share these goods though... Additionally, not far from the coast, lies the sacred Pond of Forces and the mysterious shrine of the ancient god - Sulka. Everyone is welcome to visit the temple and the pond. However, it is strictly forbidden to build or destroy anything in its immediate vicinity. By Sulka's command, Udanani is destined to become a megacity and a home to all of the tribes. It is up to them to unite and exchange ideas to make it happen. Is it possible for seven different mindsets to find a common language and cooperate in achieving this "magnum opus"? Or will it all crumble down in squabbles and arguments? Sulka and the revered spirits of the St'ropoli dimension smile upon Udanani, wondering how will this story unfold...- 4 Comments
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- 18
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-
-
- udanani
- activators
- (and 8 more)
