• Welcome to SC4 Devotion Forum Archives.

Verdant Sound

Started by Swamper77, March 21, 2009, 11:18:26 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Swamper77

Some of you may recall the MD Hayden Sound that I started about 2 years ago. It was rather short-lived. I abandoned it for several reasons, many of which were personal. No, it wasn't because of any one on this site. It was mainly due to how I was running the MD and the CAM. Shortly after July in 2007, I got busy with work and other things that left me with no time to run the MD.

Why am I not reviving the old one? Quite simply, it's dead to me and my system. The Plugins have changed considerably since then. There have been countless restarts and re-renders of the region, all due to my perfectionism and wanting a perfect game. I've decided that enough is enough, and I'm not going to worry about having things perfect.

I'm trying again, with more experience in modding and playing the game. If there are lulls in gameplay here, it's because of real life or I'm modifying things for the next update(s), not restarts or re-renders. I will try hard to not abandon this one.



Verdant Sound is a region on the planet Athair. The planet is Earth-like with various terrain types and vast oceans separating them. Verdant Sound is in one of the more wetter and forested areas of the Athair, and very similar to the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. A temperate rain forest covers most of the region and the surrounding areas. The waters are a bit dark due to the sediments washed into them from the surrounding landscapes, which are very rich in nutrients.


Here's an overview of the Independence Township. Lots of forests cover across the entire township and the island. The southeast corner of the township is occupied largely by a mountain that dominates the center of the island. The island and the surroundings haven't been named yet.

Researchers of the Athair government discovered this region relatively recently. There are various teams across the world, mapping it out and extensively documenting the newly discovered regions. After discovering Verdant Sound, the Athair government sent out a settlement team to found the capital of the region. They named the capital Independence as this region's control would be independent of the main government, apart from any military decisions that will need to be made, if necessary. The government of Verdant Sound will use Independence as a starting point to develop the region. Later, another city may be designated the capital, but Independence will still be the capital of the island.


Upon arrival, the settlement team started laying out the basic zones and initial roadways. Extreme care was taken in preserving as many trees as possible. Any trees destroyed by developments will be offset by having new trees planted elsewhere. The trees will help contain the pollution created by the industries.


West of the industrial zone, the start of downtown Independence is being laid out. Off the backside of the downtown corridor, a residential neighborhood is being laid out. The plots closest to downtown will have pathways between the backsides of their properties and the backsides of the commercial plots. The pathways will be for the residents to walk to work instead of using their cars. Why use your own car if your job is just behind your house?


Outside of the industrial park, the settlement team has laid the groundwork for the highway system that will connect the 4 townships that sit at the base of the mountain. The bend in the roadway is the team's attempt to fix an error in their surveying. Two survey teams didn't communicate properly before giving the maps to the road construction teams. So the S-curve connects the two sections of roadway. It's a bit rough, hence the dirt edges. The surface of it is chip-sealed (tar with gravel on top) to make a firm surface.


This is the turn into downtown Independence. The original layout was a tight 90 degree bend. The road crews smoothed it out by making the turn with a bigger radius. The same surface treatment as the S-curve was used here. Later, the road crews will return with asphalt to repave them. The chip-sealing is just a temporary measure as they had to quickly alter the roadway alignments.

On the next visit, we'll see how Independence grows...

-Swamper
You can call me Jan, if you want to.
Pagan and Proud!

thundercrack83

Welcome back to the MD world, Jan! It's so great to see you here again, my friend!

Your overview map is outstanding--I can't wait to see how you develop things! Oh, and of course your use of the SAM curves is wonderful!

I'll definitely be following along here, Jan!

Take care!

Dustin

dedgren

What a beautifully conceived map, Jan!  And this is way cool...



I like stuff you can only pick up from the air.

Good luck!


David
D. Edgren

Please call me David...

Three Rivers Region- A collaborative development of the SC4 community
The 3RR Quick Finder [linkie]


I aten't dead.  —  R.I.P. Granny Weatherwax

Skype: davidredgren

Ennedi

This will be really good MD, I'm sure  :)
I like first pics and the idea of the nature preservation, and the map is really great - and very playable (I'm sure the future development is very well thought  ;))

Adam
New Horizons Productions
Berethor - beskhu3epnm - blade2k5 - dmscopio - dedgren - Emilin - Ennedi
jplumbley - moganite - M4346 - nichter85 - papab2000 - Shadow Assassin - Tarkus - wouanagaine

tooheys

Have to agree with Dave the Elder, very nice map. But just what is buried in those hills  ()what()

Looking forward to see what you do with this.

Cheers

Dave

Tarkus

Jan, it's great to see you back in the world of MDing!  I really like what you've done to start off here with Verdant Sound--it looks like a very nice region!  The name is also extremely fitting, I must say.  I also concur with Dustin that your use of the new SAM/Rural Roads curves is fantastic! 

I'm looking forward to seeing more!

-Alex

Splime

Ha, it's the Digby map! That brings back memories... It looks great here too. I can't wait to see how this develops.

flame1396

#7
Quote from: dedgren on March 21, 2009, 11:56:59 PM


You absolutely must call this formation the Green Giant

EDIT: The map as a whole looks very Digby-esque. Was this intentional? Or am I stupidly missing something obvious (like it being the same map or something)? EDIT2: Looking above, I am indeed stupidly missing the obvious.   ::)
The most astounding and unique aspect of the human race is our fervent application of our ingenuity to kill each other, thus completely defying the near-universally proven fact that the ultimate goal of a member of a species is to ensure the survival of the species.

Swamper77

#8
Quote from: thundercrack83 on March 21, 2009, 11:28:54 PM
Welcome back to the MD world, Jan! It's so great to see you here again, my friend!

Your overview map is outstanding--I can't wait to see how you develop things! Oh, and of course your use of the SAM curves is wonderful!

Thanks. So far this attempt is turning out better than the rest of my past ones.

Quote from: dedgren on March 21, 2009, 11:56:59 PM
What a beautifully conceived map, Jan!  And this is way cool...

*image snipped*

I like stuff you can only pick up from the air.

That "person" was completely unintentional. I simply had the game render the region using the terrain plugins I have installed.

Quote from: Ennedi on March 22, 2009, 01:07:16 AM
This will be really good MD, I'm sure  :)
I like first pics and the idea of the nature preservation, and the map is really great - and very playable (I'm sure the future development is very well thought  ;))

Adam

Nature preservation is one of my personal core values in the real world. Naturally, my beliefs and values from the real world get into my virtual projects, such as this one. You'll be seeing more of an imprint of myself later on in this MD.

Quote from: tooheys on March 22, 2009, 01:19:56 AM
Have to agree with Dave the Elder, very nice map. But just what is buried in those hills  ()what()

Nothing is buried in those hills. They are simply a land formation at this point. I may work them into a storyline later, but I won't know until I get to the point of developing the tiles in that area.

Quote from: Tarkus on March 22, 2009, 06:25:10 AM
Jan, it's great to see you back in the world of MDing!  I really like what you've done to start off here with Verdant Sound--it looks like a very nice region!  The name is also extremely fitting, I must say.  I also concur with Dustin that your use of the new SAM/Rural Roads curves is fantastic!

The SAM curves are only being used as there aren't versions of them for the default street texture. The road versions would look out of place with cars zooming around the curves, only to slow down after them. It's all streets right now except for the border connections.

Quote from: Splime on March 22, 2009, 10:14:27 AM
Ha, it's the Digby map! That brings back memories... It looks great here too. I can't wait to see how this develops.

I hope it brings back good memories.

Quote from: flame1396 on March 22, 2009, 11:15:27 AM
You absolutely must call this formation the Green Giant

EDIT: The map as a whole looks very Digby-esque. Was this intentional? Or am I stupidly missing something obvious (like it being the same map or something)? EDIT2: Looking above, I am indeed stupidly missing the obvious.   ::)

As I said in the introductory post, this region has only been recently discovered so most of it is unnamed. I've got a set storyline laid out, so it will be awhile before I even get over to that hill that seems to be drawing a lot of interest. I don't mind people making speculations about it, but please don't get carried away with the speculations. I'll reveal everything in due time.

And don't worry about missing something obvious. I do that a lot myself. ;)


We're taking another trip to Independence to see how the town is starting to grow. Let's have a look.....


The first industries have started making products to run the development of Independence. The buildings are constructed using local materials. Wood comes from the trees that are cleared from the plots, clay roof tiles are made from one of the nearby slopes of the mountain, and the rest of the materials are imported in by the Athair government. During the initial setup, there were flocks of helicopters flying in to drop off building materials and machinery to produce the required products.

The most important building here is the foundry that is across from the local power plant. This is where all the metals are produced. The warehouse and enclosed shed buildings store all the extra products for later use. Various other building materials are stored here in this industrial park. Some of the buildings also house the machines for cutting lumber and making clay bricks and tiles. The bigger buildings contain several small companies in addition to storage space.


Off to the west, the housing boom has started. Most of the residents are the settlement team that was sent out here to develop this region. Some are teams that have been flown in to do research and documentation. The rest are people that wanted to start a new life out here in Independence.


To support the new residents, a couple of car dealers have set up shop in what will be downtown. The current car choices are Toyota or Diahatsu. Any other car choices have to be imported via helicopter. Surprisingly, it doesn't cost much to do that. The cars carry the same name as Earth's, but they don't have the pollution that Earth's cars do. Athair has the technology to make vehicles relatively non-polluting, including large freight trucks. The result is a much cleaner environment.


Here's a look at some of the houses that have been built so far. Most are small single family homes with good sized yards. Some are built using plans of 19th Century houses from Earth. The Athair government has a large information database which they scan all paper-based plans into. The nickname of the group that does these scans is "Athair Archivers". It is considered an honor to have this nickname, as there is lots of information to scan.

After several complaints about rock chips in vehicle windshields, the road crews have gone back out to the curves to repave them with black asphalt. Here's how they look now:


The road signs are provided by Swamper Signs Company. They operate out of a building in the industrial park. We'll see more of the company later when they get their own building.

A couple of random shots from around Independence:

Here are some more of Earth's 19th Century houses. The entire block was developed this way.


The Independence Industrial Park by night.

Building some more:

The construction doesn't stop at night around here. A small store is getting assembled long into the night.


This is why the residents like the 19th Century houses so much: Fall colors.
This neighborhood is almost finished. There are a few more houses to be build west of here, but not too many.


One of the 19th Century plots has been bought up to build a big log cabin. During redevelopments like this, the House Builders Guild reuses whatever they can from the previous buildings. The buildings are methodically deconstructed before the new building can even be built. This saves on the number of trees that have to be chopped down for wood and the destruction of the environment for getting the materials to make metals.


With all of the new developments, this old power plant can't provide enough power to them all. It was intended to only be a "startup" plant, not a permanent installation. A new power plant has been designed to replace it.


After two weeks, this new natural gas plant has finished construction and is switched to online status. The entire town of Independence helped in the construction of the power plant. The construction was fast tracked so their would be minimal impact on the town. Most buildings were without power except for the industrial buildings that had the construction machinery during those two weeks that were spent building the power plant. The construction was done early enough in the fall so the residents weren't too cold at night while being without power.


With more power to spare, more industries were looking to set up shop. A new plot of industrial zone has been laid out with the aid of surveyors and a new side street has been built for the new plot.


A week later, a flurry of construction ensued.


Taking advantage of the extra power, a residential block is being built. This lot will have three structures for the residents and a small green space between them. Parking will be provided on site for the residents


Here are the new industries. There's still room for them to expand their operations as needed with out buildings.


Another commercial business joins Main Street.....


....followed by another. This one will be a laundromat.


The initial commercial block of downtown today. There's a variety of businesses due to the local government law that "there shall not be two businesses that provide the exact same product or service". So two car dealers with different cars can be built, but not two cafes. This rule will most likely be relaxed when Independence gets bigger.

See you next time....
-Swamper
You can call me Jan, if you want to.
Pagan and Proud!

dedgren

QuoteThe SAM curves are only being used as there aren't versions of them for the default street texture.

Not for long, Jan!


David
D. Edgren

Please call me David...

Three Rivers Region- A collaborative development of the SC4 community
The 3RR Quick Finder [linkie]


I aten't dead.  —  R.I.P. Granny Weatherwax

Skype: davidredgren

Pat

Jan wow I am soo extremely happy to see you MD'ing again!!! I am impressed with the last two updates here and of course your style is as wonderful as it was before!!!

I see David has dropped a hint about something oooh boy lol.... I cant wait for more development here in Verdant Sound and you can guarantee Jan I will back in for more - Pat

Don't forget the SC4D Podcast is back and live on Saturdays @ 12 noon CST!! -- The Podcast soon to Return Here Linkie

LE0

This is a very detailed area I like it alot! ;D

PS Where to get the 19 century houses?
Leoland coming Spring 2009

thundercrack83

Development's coming along quite nicely here, Jan!

Keep it up!

Dustin

Swamper77

#13
Quote from: dedgren on March 22, 2009, 08:55:41 PM
Not for long, Jan!

David

Good to hear David. I'll look forward to using them when they are available ;)

Quote from: Pat on March 22, 2009, 11:49:21 PM
Jan wow I am soo extremely happy to see you MD'ing again!!! I am impressed with the last two updates here and of course your style is as wonderful as it was before!!!

I see David has dropped a hint about something oooh boy lol.... I cant wait for more development here in Verdant Sound and you can guarantee Jan I will back in for more - Pat

Thanks for the words of encouragement, Pat. Things should work out better this time as I know how I want to run it and I can modify Lots to my liking. I didn't have the skills to do so when I made my last MD.

Quote from: LE0 on March 23, 2009, 02:58:40 PM
This is a very detailed area I like it alot! ;D

PS Where to get the 19 century houses?

Leo, I got them off the LEX. C.P. is the author of the 19th Century housing. This is the download the ones I have shown are from: CP Early 19th Century Small $ Houses.

Quote from: thundercrack83 on March 23, 2009, 04:21:58 PM
Development's coming along quite nicely here, Jan!

Keep it up!

Dustin

Thanks for dropping in again. I've been following your MD for awhile, even if I haven't been posting in it ;)


The next update is on hold for a slight bit (1-2 days). I'm letting the Admins/Moderators review what I plan to be posting before I actually post it. I just want to make sure I'm not breaking any Rules with the content of my update. The update is nonviolent and clean, but the subject matter of 4 specific pictures may conflict with the Rules. So please be patient while I let them review the pictures.

-Swamper
You can call me Jan, if you want to.
Pagan and Proud!

Battlecat

Very cool, can't believe I missed you starting this!  Very beautiful city you've got started there, love the greenery.  I also like how you seem to be planning ahead for the future with double wide streets in some areas.  I'm looking forward to seeing what else you've got coming up! 

Swamper77

#15
Quote from: Battlecat on March 24, 2009, 01:25:56 PM
Very cool, can't believe I missed you starting this!  Very beautiful city you've got started there, love the greenery.  I also like how you seem to be planning ahead for the future with double wide streets in some areas.  I'm looking forward to seeing what else you've got coming up!

I do plan ahead on the layout of the transportation networks. This is to avoid costly redevelopments later when I run one-way roads or avenues to replace the congested roads. The parallel side streets add some extra intersections, but they will provide access until I widen the roadways to paired one-way roads or avenues.


I've gotten the "go ahead" from the admins in regards to what I will be posting in this update. With the way I intend to post it, they have seen no problems with it.

Also, most of the future posts will be done from the viewpoint of the Mayor since they will be moving in during this update.


There was some unfinished business when we left off last time. Here is the finished housing block that was being built in the last update:



With all the industries moving in, the local government has been approached by the Athair Environment Monitoring Board to keep the air breathable for the locals. While the trees are containing the majority of the pollution to the industrial park, some of it still filters over to downtown Independence. At the AEMB's request, Independence has enacted the Clean Air ordinance to force the industries to clean up their act. A program is being created to provide incentives to the industries that do their share to help maintain the environment. This program is still in the drafting stages.


The final westward expansion of the neighborhood is under way. As part of the expansion, several available plots have been set aside for government use instead of housing. They appear as blank areas in the zoning layout. One of these government plots is already starting construction. Let's have a closer look.....


The Athair government and the locals of Independence have pooled together the money to build a mayoral residence in Independence. The plans call for a colonial style house, a backyard pond, and yard bordered by hedges. The housing plans were chosen from SimGoober's legendary housing blueprints, but the lot design was done by Swamper Industries. It seems that company wants to expand in all sorts of directions. First signs and now residential development....


This is the completed lot. It took a few weeks to construct it, but it is now done. The mayor Jan Haskins and his family have already moved in. Instead of the government issue black limousine, Jan has opted for a economical Honda CRV. The vehicle gets excellent gas mileage due to being smaller than most SUVs.

The Athair government has selected Jan Haskins to lead the local government that will run this region. He was chosen from among dozens of nominees that the government hand-selected. Jan has quite a bit of experience in running a few rural towns across Athair and is proactive at protecting the environment. Many developers don't like working with him because he prefers the environment over suburban sprawl and he is quite strict on the rules for developments near sensitive areas. The Athair government has seen great things come from his work in protecting the environment, so they chose him to protect the environment of Verdant Sound while making it prosper and grow.

From Jan's Journal:
I've finally arrived in Independence with my wife and 2 kids. They were sad to leave their friends, but some of them will be moving out here with their parents when they can. The mayoral mansion fits in quite nicely and doesn't stick out like the usual Maxoid style ones that I have lived in. The residents threw a nice house warming party for my family shortly after we got settled in. It was such a grand party that it made headlines:


I've been given a tour of the town and the outlying areas, and I like what I see so far. The local government has run things very much the same way I will, so it shouldn't be too hard to get started here. Independence is living up to its name quite well as they have been largely self-sufficient with management of resources. There has been little destruction of the surrounding landscape for raw materials. They use as much as they can of the trees, and recover almost everything from buildings before they are demolished to make way for new developments. That's almost unheard of elsewhere!

To make Independence truly independent, I will be opening up some areas to farming. To the west of town, I'm planning to allow farmers to develop some of the terrain to provide food to Independence and, later, the surrounding areas. To the east of the Independence Industrial Park, I will add some more zoning for housing and more farms. Right now, all food is imported by helicopters and the cargo containers that they drop off. By allowing local farming, we'll rely less on the Athair government for food and be more self-sufficient on that front.

I'll write more later, as there is a vast landscape to explore around Independence.



Here's an overview of the new residential expansion. As money becomes available, a school will be added along with some parks to fill in the corners between the rows of houses. I'm reviewing all the proposals and paperwork that are coming in daily for the town's projects. Among the proposals is a project to build a cemetery. Looking over the town's master plan, the locals have left a large space just up the street with a simple drawing of a tombstone in the space. While I am coming up with a plan for that, I will be trying to get a school built. I intend to build it off the cul de sac that is next to my property. The school will go on the side close to the woodlands and will service kids from elementary to high school. I'm still waiting for contractors to bid on the proposal for the school.


With the influx of new residents, more businesses wanted to open up shop to serve them. I added another service road and a block of commercial zoning to meet their requests. With the west side of Main Street almost zoned in, I'll have to start placing commercial zones on the east side of Main soon. There's only one more commercial block available on the west side in the master plan. The rest of the downtown master plan shows development on the east side of Main.


While going through the proposed projects, I heard a knock at my front door. Yes, I work from an office in my own home. I answered the door and was met by 5 of my neighbors. They had a petition with them that wanted to discuss with me. I lead them into my office to discuss it with them. They are members of a local Pagan group and wanted to have a safe place to practice outdoors. "Other towns and cities had places for their local religions to practice, so why couldn't this group have a place to do so?" I thought to myself.
Originally, I planned to have a forested park next door to my house. With a few alterations, I came up with a plan that they found acceptable. Instead of being entirely covered with a dense woodland, an area will to be kept clear of trees for them to use. It would give them some privacy while they did their practices and still keep the dense woodland look.


A week later, ground was broken on the Pagan Sanctuary project. A small cottage at the front will provide a place for them to practice during inclement weather and a place for them to store their supplies that they will need. A small parking area will also be provided on site. A large crowd came to celebrate the construction of the Pagan Sanctuary. It turns out there a quite a few Pagans in Independence, just most of them keep to themselves.


As usual, news carries fast in this town. Just a couple of days later, the new Sanctuary made headlines.


A few weeks later, the local Pagan group held their first meet at the Sanctuary. A public gathering will be held sometime soon. They welcome people from all faiths and backgrounds to attend. They are still getting information together and stocking the cottage with what they will need for that.


Finally, Independence has a school! I've received a bid on the school project. CSX produced a plan that matches the town's needs and for a very low cost. The school provides education to children of all ages right up to college. For a college education, I'll have to build either a community college or an university. An university will the hardest to plan for as they require a lot of space for later expansions as the student population grows. A community college would probably serve this town the best.

I hope to see you again in Independence. My door is always open to visitors, so feel free to visit anytime.
-Jan
You can call me Jan, if you want to.
Pagan and Proud!

Swamper77

No comments? That's a shocker $%Grinno$%



After setting up the Pagan Sanctuary, my next focus was a proper burial ground for the deceased. The town's master plan shows this section of the neighborhood as being set aside for one. Lots of fine douglas fir trees cover the site. It is a shame that they will have to be cut down for this project.


Breaking ground on the new cemetery. The Althair government provided all the funds for this project. The basic Maxoidian plan for the cemetery has been altered a bit. It will look more like a tranquil resting place for the deceased instead of a park like the original plans did.


Here's how the cemetery looks after construction. The wide paths are paved, but too narrow for a car to travel on. The narrow paths are made of stone which should make it easier to visit a loved one's grave when it is raining or the ground is soft. The walls are taller than the Maxoid standard to discourage vandals from entering.

During the construction, a strange type of fertilizer was delivered to the site. One of the workers found it suspicious and notified his supervisor. It was sent off to be analyzed and it was determined to be "zombie dust". The only person known to have this stuff in large supply is Dr. Vu. The zombie dust was confiscated and real fertilizer was brought in to finish the job. Dr. Vu is probably now fuming over his foiled plot to have zombies crawling out of Independence's cemetery.

Every October, ghosts appear in and around the cemetery. The ghosts are of the people who are buried within the cemetery. Some families hold special family traditions to honor their deceased loved ones, so it is assumed that the ghosts come to reunite with their families for a short time each year.


Some occult stores have opened their doors shortly after hearing about the local Sanctuary. One is a restaurant of sorts and the other sells metaphysical supplies, such as herbs and books. The Mad Hatter Batter company constructed these two businesses in the southwestern block of downtown. This block is the last block of commercial zoning on the west side of Main Street. All further development will be on the east side of Main Street.


At the north end of downtown, the first block on the east side of Main Street has added a few more businesses, including a Hyundai dealership. The Hyundai dealership brings the total number of car dealers operating in the region to 3. Just off to the right, you can see the end of the transmission lines that come from the industrial park that is east of here.


On my way to downtown to meet with some shop keepers, I saw a rather peculiar sight. These are rather small and economical cars. The blue one is a Peel P50 and the other is a Kewet Buddy. The Kewet is an electric car while the P50 is powered by a small gasoline engine. I just hope that the other drivers will see them.


While I was driving down Main Street, a few cars got into an accident at the other major intersection on Main. There's about 3,000 residents in Independence, so it was bound to happen eventually. However, this isn't the busiest roadway in Independence. It took a couple of hours to get accident reports taken down and to get the cars moving again. No injuries or deaths were reported, just a lot of smashed bumpers.


This section of Aurora Avenue got an upgrade. Traffic was getting backed up at each end of this segment. As soon as some more money comes in, the intersections themselves will get upgraded. At some point in the near future, the roadway to the industrial park will be expanded all the way from Main & Aurora to the first intersection inside the industrial park. This will make the commute quicker as the wider roadway will have a higher speed limit.


In preparation for the coming farms, a short segment of power poles has been extended from west edge of the residential area to the new farm roads. Power runs underground through most of Independence. It only goes above ground for distances greater than 32 meters between zones/buildings.


With the new farmland being laid out, the highway system has gotten expanded. The north-south segment will connect the future north and south neighbors. The proposed highway system for this island makes a C shape around the central mountain. The township east of Independence is one end of this "loop". The other end is in the township south of that one. There won't be any connections between them except for power/water connections. The landscape between them is the reason why the road won't make a complete loop.

I'll look forward to seeing you again, when you return to visit Verdant Sound.
-Jan
You can call me Jan, if you want to.
Pagan and Proud!

Pat

Hey Jan sorry I didnt make in last time for the other update!!!

That was cool how you changed the script there for the local Sim Pagan group!!! I also liked the new school that Verdant Sound gotten to that has K-Collage course right there, now talk about multipurpose!!!

heheeh that is a nice touch there about the Maxoidian cementary plans and Dr Vu!!! I love the new cementary and how the ghost due come back to see their families that is cool!! Daang a couple of hours to clear an accident geesh talk about small town... OK at least it wasnt high speed crash as you said where it could have caused death or injuries!!

Jan I cant wait till the next update of Verdant Sound!!!

Patrick

Don't forget the SC4D Podcast is back and live on Saturdays @ 12 noon CST!! -- The Podcast soon to Return Here Linkie

Swamper77

@Pat: Thanks for the comments. Most of the backstories are just to cover the fact that I have been editing Lots for my own purposes. I prefer to have a reason for them to be there, other than they are simply "there".

As for the time it took to clear the accident, Independence doesn't have any tow trucks so it takes a bit of time to remove vehicles with other vehicles and manpower.


Thanks for taking the time to visit again. Today, we will be heading east to the Coastal Heights township....


The Coastal Heights township doesn't really have a defined town or central location. It consists of mostly housing for workers that commute to the industrial park in Independence. Along the southern part of the coast, there will be some small farms tucked into the shallow valley formed by the mountain and the coastline.


Coming in on the highway from Independence, you see a tunnel cutting through the hillside directly ahead of you. The side road on the left is a gravel logging road. The highway is flanked by magnificent douglas firs and a clumps of smaller deciduous trees. Between the stands of douglas firs, small groups of spruce trees cover the landscape. Some small clusters of flowers can be found here and there across the landscape, usually near hills.


Here's a better view of the logging road. It connects the highway to the Independence Industrial Park. No one really uses this road at all. A few outdoors type folks travel it on the weekends to walk among the trees and do photography. The areas that were harvested for lumber have been replanted and are starting to recover. The power lines from Independence cut across this area to developments to the east.


Unless you have a good offroad vehicle or one equipped with 4WD, it's not recommended that you take your car down the logging road. The road is rough and is rarely maintained. It's not really high on the priority list for maintenance as few people use it.


Heading east, we pop out of the tunnel on the other side of the hill. There was only two choices for getting the highway out this way, go over the hill or tunnel through it. The tunnel was chosen to minimize the impact on the scenery and to eliminate the grading requirements for going over the hill.


A profile view of the east entrance to the tunnel. The tunnel is a bit lower than the surrounding landscape, but the highway was contoured to meet it and connect to the level of the rest of the highway. Plans are underway to place signs warning of the tunnel and its clearance, but most vehicles are well below the tunnel clearance. The only concern will be tall trucks when the farmers begin operation out here.


Just to the north of the tunnel, a new neighborhood has been laid out in a clear cut area. The tree stumps and small trees have been cleared off the plots to make way for housing. The substation is the end of the line for the power lines, for now. Later, they will head southeast from here. The cable truck contains extra cable to make repairs as necessary to the transmission lines and the substation itself.

These pictures show the development of the neighborhood of Spruce Slopes:




The neighborhood gets its name from the rolling hillside it is built on. It used to be covered with small spruce trees, like the rest of the surrounding landscape. On southeast part of the neighborhood, it is framed in by douglas firs which cut down the traffic noise a bit.


Close up of the substation. It's not pretty, but the power has to come in somehow and be brought down to the correct voltage for the households to use. Power is run underground, usually following the roadway network. This way, no one gets their yards torn up unless it is to fix a line going to a household. Most major repairs only take a few hours and the work doesn't hamper the commutes much as there is light traffic from the commuters.

Next time, we'll see how the rest of this township gets developed.
-Jan
You can call me Jan, if you want to.
Pagan and Proud!

Tarkus

Excellent stuff here as always, Jan!  You really do seem to have a very unique style of MDing here, and I rather like it.  "Verdant" is definitely an apt description.  The logging road there definitely looks "Primitive" . . . I've always gotten a kick out of those signs up in WA.  The neighborhood there looks quite realistic as well, and hopefully, the substation won't bother anyone too much.  I've always found the slight hum coming out of them rather soothing. ::)

-Alex