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Introduction This is my first city journal since first signing up nearly a decade ago. Since then, I've played Simcity 4 and lurked in the community on-and-off for several years. I've come a long way, and I think it's time to share the fruits of my labor. Each section of the CJ begins with a short blurb about the image/s that follow, which is in turn followed by a discussion on my experience in creating the image, questions, I may ask, and various other author's notes. I used Gobias' Sudden Valley terrain, New England Cobblestone sidewalks from his HD Sidewalks mod, the Pacific Northwest Tree Controller, and the HD +silt version of Pegasus' Brigantine water mod, atop the Humboldt region. Overview Villa Grande is a rather small town of around 2,100 established in Local Calendar-52 Post Landfall as an extension of the City of Harmony Bay and home to many unique features such as Schreifer's Stones, the Wreck of the MV Rivacoma, and the Gallevalt Bridge. It is situated on the same outcropping of land upon which the city proper was built, separated from the city itself by a greenbelt. Bordering it on the north, south, and east is the Slate River, known for its rocky banks and wide floodplains, though the river is wide and deep enough to handle shipping with ease despite this fact. Villa Grande Town Center at Night Town Center at Day Kraelie Farm and Ranch --- Villa Grande, as well as the other two tiles I have already developed, Harmony Bay and Atherton aren't quite done yet, so I will be spending the next few entries doing so before moving on to other vistas. I wanted to give Villa Grande a more exclusive, yet mysterious/detached feel compared to the more metropolitan Harmony Bay area while still keeping some semblance of a grid to reflect its closeness to its 'parent'. So I used dense packs of trees and the WMP Allotments as filler between the highly-spaced houses. I actually used random woods lots to achieve this effect in a shorter time than I would have taken with just MMP's alone. The MV Rivacoma and Others The MV Rivacoma was an oil carrier that had run aground in LC-34 PL due to a series of malfunctions that struck the ship as she navigated up the Slate River from the Portal. Eyewitness reports tell of strange lights and figures seen on the riverbanks and aboard the ship prior, during, and after the incident but investigation has so far revealed nothing but a series of unfortunate events. Conspiracy theorists would say otherwise, given the frequency of similar events that end the same way. Many point to the stones as the cause, but surely such is superstition? Regardless, many years have passed since the initial wreck and the crews have long since moved on to other waters. Work Crew at Night - A work crew assigned to break up the wreck rests for the night. Work Crew at Day - The work crew begins the day by setting up a bonfire into which the oil left in the Rivacoma's tanks will be dumped. Schreifer's Stones The stone circles were discovered not long after landfall, but the focus on setting up the initial settlement that would become the City of Harmony Bay meant that actual study of these stones would not come until after the founding of Villa Grande. Since then, they have inspired numerous writers as well as incited debates in universities all over the Republic. The stones are certainly a mystery. Who moved these massive stones, and why? And what connection do they have with the strange circumstances behind the shipwrecks and reported strange lights? The Stones at Dusk - Campers prepare to spend the night outside the SS-1A arrangement. Sense of Scale - The campers in the shadow of the stones More Stones - Villa Grande encroaches on the SS-2A arrangement and the wrecks of the MV Gryps. Development will go no further --- Initially, I had considered creating a ship graveyard at the head of the peninsula, eventually moving my thoughts to a starship graveyard before settling on a circle of standing stones. I liked the outcome so much that I decided to develop a little plotline from it that incorporates the shipwrecks I'd placed previously. On the topic of creating the stone circles themselves, I used a known method of using the police kiosk and the crime data view to create outlines to trace the stones on. I'd named the arrangement after a Simtropolis member that had been on the chat at the time while I was showing the initial pictures. I urge you to view and download his work! Next Entry: In which I continue building up the riverbank and place more farms.
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