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Woodland Metropolis: The Story of a Nation

Started by CityMaster563, May 08, 2018, 10:47:02 PM

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CityMaster563

This is the story of a humble little town and his mayor with big dreams. Dreams bigger than any 4x4 km map the game can provide! But oh it is more than just a game...We will go in depth and see not only the story of the city and region as a whole but the lives and children of those living there, including the mayor.

This story is mainly told from the perspective of the mayor. I have this journal already posted in Simtropolis (Link is further below)

I want to reach a broader audience and post it here too! This city will grow as I grow in my own life. I started this journal in April of 2015, and a lot of changes have occurred since then in my life. Just like this city. One day, when Woodland Town becomes a metropolis, I'll relish in the memories of when it was just a little town. Even now I look back amazed at how far it's come. This city means a lot to me, and I want to share it with everyone. This town symbolizes my growth as an artist and as a person, savor every moment. No cheats are used unless it is to transfer money to another city. In fact, cities are founded on hard with a mod that starts you off at 0 simoleons. I also made a mod that makes transportation (roads, avenues, highways, mass transit, etc.) much more expensive to maintain, to keep the game harder, realistic, and challenging!

Enough of the cheesy stuff! Let's get down to business  $%Grinno$%

For those who want to read up on the full history of Woodland Town in its full detail, click this link below and start with Chapter 1:

https://community.simtropolis.com/journals/journal/5316-sc4-the-story-of-a-nation/ 

For those who don't have that much time... (let's face it, time is too valuable!)

Here is a cliff-notes style third person summary of the first 4 chapters, ending with the full Chapter 11. I'll post new chapters here and in Simtropolis as time goes. Note that there is a lot of dialogue in this journal! I'll be catching you all up in the next couple days, then I'll only post the new full updates both here and in Simtropolis!
(I'll include the link to each full chapter in Simtropolis!)

Chapter 1: The Introduction and The First Settlement

https://community.simtropolis.com/journals/entry/25765-chapter-1-the-introduction-and-the-first-settlement/

This chapter introduces the main story. Woodland Town was founded by "The Mayor" (as he is referred to in the story) and his best friend Ben. Ben is the Mayor's business partner who gave The Mayor the 5,000 Simoleon loan needed to start found the town. The Mayor had big dreams...dreams to build a city...no...a metropolis that will reach 1 million population! While the dream is not impossible, there are serious obstacles ahead.

The region has a very harsh climate with an el-nino type front that can cause extreme super-cell storms every 7 years. In addition, the weather is very hot in the summer (like Florida) and the region is also as hurricane prone as New Orleans. It is in a sub-tropical but at times temperate region, with palm trees near the coast. This story does not take place on Earth but the people there are very similar. Did I mention it's also Earthquake prone since they're about 200 miles from a major fault line? Despite that, The Mayor took on this challenge to build. The weather can be quite pleasant in the fall/winter/spring and lots of flat terrain to build on! There are also heavy untapped oil reserves and the land is so fertile that farms practically grow themselves!



In Chapter 1, we watch the mayor lay the first mayor road. This road will become the major artery of the town one day. The first houses are built. Two Waffle houses and a Windmill power plant later, a new town is born! Population quickly reaches 92. The Mayor is now very low on funds, however. He considers his options...



Chapter 2: Off to a Rough Start

https://community.simtropolis.com/journals/entry/25772-chapter-2-off-to-a-rough-start/

The first major obstacle is now apparent...money. The Mayor builds more homes, population hits 121, but coffers have run dry. Balance is now -63 Simoleons. He gives up. He hits the obliterate button. This journal is off to an early end...





But just as the obliterate process begins, Ben is introduced to the story. He runs in and immediately stops the obliteration. Ben becomes The Mayor's business partner and tells him to take out a second bigger loan of $10,000. He reluctantly does.

With the money, The Mayor expands the road system and zones for more homes, shops, farms and a few factories. The population soars to 262. More farms are built and more homes as demand flies up. The income now matches the expenses. Population rises to 508.



However, a fire is started and begins to quickly spread. We are left on a cliffhanger!



Chapter 3: Fire! Fire!

https://community.simtropolis.com/journals/entry/25799-chapter-3-fire-fire/





The fire spreads and nearly consumes the whole neighborhood. Luckily, the townsfolk manage to coordinate an effort with The Mayor and the fire is put under control. If the wind the wind blew the other direction, the town wouldn't have lived to see the next chapter.



The town continues to grow as more roads are laid down. The roads to build the Western Residential Sector are laid out as farms grow alongside it. The industries are moved further north in an area known as "The North Industrial Sector." More parks, a new windmill plant, and the first water tower are built. The population breaks 1,000 and soars to 1,624. The Mayor contemplates the sheer absurdity of nearly obliterating the now thriving town!












Chapter 4 Part 1: More Growth and a Neighborly Visit

https://community.simtropolis.com/journals/entry/25802-chapter-4-part-1-more-growth-and-a-neighborly-visit/





In the first part of Chapter 4, we watch as Woodland Town continues to grow further. The Western Residential Sector is flooded with new people and houses, and soon, the town is highly profitable. Population reaches 2,836 and the loans are nearly paid out! The mayor now has 20,000 simoleons! The first school is built, known as "Woodland Elementary School."





One unusually hot October day however, Woodland Town enters a power crisis. The Mayor finds Coal Power plants too expensive and polluting. Him and Ben soon decide to hike on over to the neighboring town West of Woodland Town. Here we are introduced to Woodland River City (WL River City), a small booming industrial town, ran by Mayor Matthew (Often called "Matt."). He powers two smaller towns, District 1 and Pleasantview. Ben and The Mayor negotiate and Matthew sends power their way for a small cost. The town is now powered by WL River City.







Chapter 4 Part 2: The Return Trip; More Power; High School + Growth

https://community.simtropolis.com/journals/entry/25822-chapter-4-part-2-the-return-trip-more-power-high-school-growth/







The Mayor and Ben both hike back to Woodland Town and demolish the Windmills as they're not needed anymore. Woodland Town grows further south, and the town's first High School is built, dubbed: "Woodland High School," with the Tiger being the mascot. Soon, manufacturing plants are built, and the town's first higher wealth commercial offices are built.













Following a major car wreck, the town's main roads are paved with gravel. The Two iconic Waffle Houses and intersections nearby make up what is now known as, "Central Square."

I will continue to brief you all in the coming days, Cliff-Note style! All comments are highly appreciated and encouraged! Let it be known that for the new updates after Chapter 10, The Mayor and Ben will read and react to your comments since they consider it "fan mail" 😊
     
Coastland Region: The SC4 Story:
http://community.simtropolis.com/journal/4478-coastland-region-the-sc4-
story/
The story of two major counties, Ashville and Coastland, battle out to have an individual city reach 1 million sims, but a major storm destroys one city, and a major. What will now happen?
Coming soon: SimCity 4, Full 3D Art (a museum tour)

Seaman

ah... the joy of the early game and the continous pressure of the treasurer. It's like you turned my game experiences into an actual movie (ahem... I mean  journal)  :popcorn:

CityMaster563

Quote from: Seaman on May 09, 2018, 12:40:59 AM
ah... the joy of the early game and the continous pressure of the treasurer. It's like you turned my game experiences into an actual movie (ahem... I mean  journal)  :popcorn:

Thank you! I'm definitely going for a movie feel to it :D Better grab that popcorn and hold on tight!

Here's the summary of the next couple chapters! Wiki Style!

Chapter 5: Two Major Milestones

https://community.simtropolis.com/journals/entry/25841-chapter-5-two-major-milestones/





The camera pans to the playground one Saturday morning, showing off the gravel roads! We then cut to the first fire station being built. The Mayor is getting ready to pave the roads before he notices smoke in the distance. Just moments later, he is promptly interrupted by a call from Paul, WL River City's chief of police.
A big forest fire has started West of River City and is spreading straight into the town due to East-ward winds. Paul urgently requests for more fire trucks and any resources available. The Mayor and Ben send fire trucks from the new fire station and we follow them into River City as they hitch a ride and take the new connected road there.





The gravity of the situation becomes clear in the next scene. The camera zooms out and shows the fire and the town nearly covered in smoke as the fire comes closer, burning the forest very fast, due to winds. Ben and The Mayor see Matthew, as he frantically gives orders to evacuate. Firefighters from the other towns show up too and begin but it is an uphill battle at first. Eventually they manage to get the fire under control, but the outermost homes were burnt down. A riot ensues later that evening, resulting in an expansion in the police force. The Mayor and Ben stay overnight in River City. It is later revealed that a lightning strike started the fire, and despite it being humid, the fire took off.

The next morning, the camera cuts to the damage. Over 150 acres were burnt down, and the fire spread very far west, nearly making it as far as the river. The town was spared, with just a few buildings burnt down. The once beautiful woods the town was known for have been reduced to smoldering ashes and dead trees.





We go back over to Woodland Town, where a new residential area is created east of the town's main core. We watch as more homes are built, and the population soars to 4,000. Fast forward, we see a second water tower is built, and the town hits it's next milestone: The first apartments! Along with that, we see the town's first mansion, which was bought by Ben, and became his new home. After the growth spurt, the population climbs to 6,000. However, the traffic problems became more apparent, and the town hits it's next major milestone: The first paved roads! The entire main road and central square is paved, allowing faster speed limits and improving traffic significantly! The chapter ends on a hot summer evening as we zoom out to see a thunderstorm approaching.
An omen of what's to come much later.













Chapter 6: Town Improvements

https://community.simtropolis.com/journals/entry/25874-chapter-6-town-improvements/







Two new elementary schools are built to take students from the Western Residential area and Eastern Residential area, along with the town's first community college. More clinics are built, along with small police stations to improve health and safety. The water tower is upgraded and a new larger one is built.













Because of the new apartments, Woodland High School filled to overcapacity, so The Mayor expanded the school, adding a new track and field facility. As the town's education improves further, many of the low wealth homes begin to upgrade to middle-class.







The roads are extended further to accommodate more houses. A farmer's market is built along main street and more restaurants open. The citizens are very happy and build a statue for The Mayor downtown. More streets are paved into roads one evening, and The Mayor goes on a date with his future wife at Apple-bees!



We fast forward a few years to see the town's first fireworks show.



The chapter ends with a rugby game on a rainy day against the neighboring town's high school, which was initially mistaken as soccer.  ;D



Chapter 7: Time Lapse, Gifs and Stats

https://community.simtropolis.com/journals/entry/25948-chapter-7-time-lapse-gifs-and-stats/



This chapter takes place in the new year, as we see more apartments grow. The growth is shown in GIF's as we see the town's first AVE-2. A new museum and library is built along the avenue, which also brings in a movie theater. We fast forward a little further, Ben has now bought and owns a few of the business in the town, got married and has two boys. The Mayor also got married and had a boy and a couple years later a daughter. Those scenes, however, weren't shown in this chapter, as they were cut in the final release.





We get to see how the town works, the taxes, and where most people commute. Data such as age, income, and a few other things are shown throughout the chapter. Mayor Matthew expands his power grid at River City and sends Woodland more power.









The town's population is 7,434, as we show the traffic between the neighboring towns. We end yet again with the sound of rumbling thunder, as we discover that this year the storm cycle is back and would come down far more than usual, making the area extremely prone to tornadoes, especially because of the flat terrain. Little did anyone know what they were in for this year...
Quote from: Seaman on May 09, 2018, 12:40:59 AM
ah... the joy of the early game and the continous pressure of the treasurer. It's like you turned my game experiences into an actual movie (ahem... I mean  journal)  :popcorn:

Thank you! I'm definitely going for a movie feel to it :D Better grab that popcorn and hold on tight!

Here's the summary of the next couple chapters! Wiki Style!

Chapter 5: Two Major Milestones

https://community.simtropolis.com/journals/entry/25841-chapter-5-two-major-milestones/





The camera pans to the playground one Saturday morning, showing off the gravel roads! We then cut to the first fire station being built. The Mayor is getting ready to pave the roads before he notices smoke in the distance. Just moments later, he is promptly interrupted by a call from Paul, WL River City's chief of police.
A big forest fire has started West of River City and is spreading straight into the town due to East-ward winds. Paul urgently requests for more fire trucks and any resources available. The Mayor and Ben send fire trucks from the new fire station and we follow them into River City as they hitch a ride and take the new connected road there.





The gravity of the situation becomes clear in the next scene. The camera zooms out and shows the fire and the town nearly covered in smoke as the fire comes closer, burning the forest very fast, due to winds. Ben and The Mayor see Matthew, as he frantically gives orders to evacuate. Firefighters from the other towns show up too and begin but it is an uphill battle at first. Eventually they manage to get the fire under control, but the outermost homes were burnt down. A riot ensues later that evening, resulting in an expansion in the police force. The Mayor and Ben stay overnight in River City. It is later revealed that a lightning strike started the fire, and despite it being humid, the fire took off.

The next morning, the camera cuts to the damage. Over 150 acres were burnt down, and the fire spread very far west, nearly making it as far as the river. The town was spared, with just a few buildings burnt down. The once beautiful woods the town was known for have been reduced to smoldering ashes and dead trees.





We go back over to Woodland Town, where a new residential area is created east of the town's main core. We watch as more homes are built, and the population soars to 4,000. Fast forward, we see a second water tower is built, and the town hits it's next milestone: The first apartments! Along with that, we see the town's first mansion, which was bought by Ben, and became his new home. After the growth spurt, the population climbs to 6,000. However, the traffic problems became more apparent, and the town hits it's next major milestone: The first paved roads! The entire main road and central square is paved, allowing faster speed limits and improving traffic significantly! The chapter ends on a hot summer evening as we zoom out to see a thunderstorm approaching.
An omen of what's to come much later.













Chapter 6: Town Improvements

https://community.simtropolis.com/journals/entry/25874-chapter-6-town-improvements/







Two new elementary schools are built to take students from the Western Residential area and Eastern Residential area, along with the town's first community college. More clinics are built, along with small police stations to improve health and safety. The water tower is upgraded and a new larger one is built.













Because of the new apartments, Woodland High School filled to overcapacity, so The Mayor expanded the school, adding a new track and field facility. As the town's education improves further, many of the low wealth homes begin to upgrade to middle-class.







The roads are extended further to accommodate more houses. A farmer's market is built along main street and more restaurants open. The citizens are very happy and build a statue for The Mayor downtown. More streets are paved into roads one evening, and The Mayor goes on a date with his future wife at Apple-bees!



We fast forward a few years to see the town's first fireworks show.



The chapter ends with a rugby game on a rainy day against the neighboring town's high school, which was initially mistaken as soccer.  ;D



Chapter 7: Time Lapse, Gifs and Stats

https://community.simtropolis.com/journals/entry/25948-chapter-7-time-lapse-gifs-and-stats/



This chapter takes place in the new year, as we see more apartments grow. The growth is shown in GIF's as we see the town's first AVE-2. A new museum and library is built along the avenue, which also brings in a movie theater. We fast forward a little further, Ben has now bought and owns a few of the business in the town, got married and has two boys. The Mayor also got married and had a boy and a couple years later a daughter. Those scenes, however, weren't shown in this chapter, as they were cut in the final release.





We get to see how the town works, the taxes, and where most people commute. Data such as age, income, and a few other things are shown throughout the chapter. Mayor Matthew expands his power grid at River City and sends Woodland more power.









The town's population is 7,434, as we show the traffic between the neighboring towns. We end yet again with the sound of rumbling thunder, as we discover that this year the storm cycle is back and would come down far more than usual, making the area extremely prone to tornadoes, especially because of the flat terrain. Little did anyone know what they were in for this year...
Coastland Region: The SC4 Story:
http://community.simtropolis.com/journal/4478-coastland-region-the-sc4-
story/
The story of two major counties, Ashville and Coastland, battle out to have an individual city reach 1 million sims, but a major storm destroys one city, and a major. What will now happen?
Coming soon: SimCity 4, Full 3D Art (a museum tour)

brick_mortimer

What a coincidence, today I discovered your CJ whil doing my "lunch browse" and tonight I'm seeing it on SC4D  :)

I'm only at chapter 3 (short lunch breaks  &mmm), so I'm not going to spoil myself too much over here, but what I saw looks very promising and interesting.
Thanks for spreading your work, I'm sure many will find it interesting  :thumbsup:
Busier than a one legged man in an ass kicking contest
Me no coffee function without so good

CityMaster563

Quote from: brick_mortimer on May 09, 2018, 02:43:52 PM
What a coincidence, today I discovered your CJ whil doing my "lunch browse" and tonight I'm seeing it on SC4D  :)

I'm only at chapter 3 (short lunch breaks  &mmm), so I'm not going to spoil myself too much over here, but what I saw looks very promising and interesting.
Thanks for spreading your work, I'm sure many will find it interesting  :thumbsup:

I hope a lot of people see it, this town means a lot to me, especially since I've been growing it since 2015. I'm really glad you like it  ;D

Here's Chapter 8 Part 1 and Part 2. A lot happens in this chapter! I wonder how I can get the images to show fully on here?



Chapter 8: The End of an Era - Part 1

https://community.simtropolis.com/journals/entry/26560-chapter-8-the-end-of-an-era-part-1/

Chapter 8 is a two-part series detailing, as the title implies, the end of an era. The series describes the infamous "Woodland Tornado," as it is called today, that nearly blew the town off the map. Woodland Town would be changed forever afterwards.

It starts on one particularly hot October afternoon, but this time something feels different. It is extremely humid, and we overhear the weather station as they describe a massive cold front that would stall over the region and create extremely unstable atmospheric conditions, due to a 4-7 year cycle similar to "El Nino."  It is also revealed that this story doesn't take place on Earth but rather a distant planet much like Earth with extreme similarity but several climate and continental differences.

Ben's Mansion


Mayor's Mansion


Woodland Town begins experiencing power outages due to increased demand from air conditioning. The Mayor and Ben request more power from River City but to their dismay find a frantic Mayor Matthew unable to give any more as his system is overloaded, working over capacity due to the rising AC and power demands from the other towns as well. As storm clouds build up in the distance, The Mayor and Ben plead with Mayor Matthew over the phone for more electricity and offer to pay him overtime, but Matthew warns him that if he pushes his powerplants any further, they may blow up and leave the whole region without power. They are promptly interrupted by a loud thunder from Matt's end on the phone. He screams in panic and frantically hangs up, to Ben and The Mayor's concern.

(River City)


The next scene, the Weather Channel momentarily shows a supercell thunderstorm beginning to form over the region, just before the power goes out in Woodland Town. Mayor and Ben walk outside to see very ominous skies. The Mayor and Ben both drive out to the fields quickly to take photographs, but moments later are struck down by a hail storm. The duo run into a nearby barn against the wind as dust blows in their face towards the nearby barn. The make it just in the nick of time as they hail starts pouring down, some of which were baseball-sized!





A major downpour follows, resulting in flash floods since the roads weren't designed to handle that much rain at once.





The rain lets up, revealing the supercell storm as it encloses Woodland Town. The sun peaks through the clouds for the last time...







Here's a drawing I made a while back that somewhat portrays what they were seeing:



The Mayor and Ben drive back to the downtown and manage to find a building that still had power somehow. They receive a call from a very frantic Mayor Matthew who warns them of a big tornado moving towards Woodland Town and urges them to get the townsfolk to safety. The Mayor and Ben find that Woodland High School is the safest place since most the homes do not have basements. Over 2,000 people rush to the High School's gym, cafeteria, closets, and anywhere safe they can find. The Mayor drops Ben off at his mansion as Mayor Ben drives off West to pickup his kids from the elementary school. He found his wife already there however, and they both get in the car. The Mayor drives over to the two Waffle Houses under Ben's instructions and sound off a loud city-wide fire alarm that can be used for tornadoes too.



Ben drives with his wife and two boys back as the tornado arrives. We then cut to see people going into Woodland High School to take shelter. We then cut to the tornado as it begins to tear up the Western Residential area. Another tornado appears and destroys the Manufacturing sector before merging with the first one.



As the small tornado moves through, another tornado, a massive one (The one Matt was warning them about) destroys the northern industrial sector and moves south.





Ben abandons his car and with his family squeezes in with The Mayor and his family. They travel down the abandoned main road as the tornado tears up the buildings in the distance behind them. They barely make it to the High School on time. The Mayor and Ben along with their wife and kids are the last to get into the shelter. They run down the parking lot through the winds and barely make it in the nick of time.





The camera cuts to the massive tornado as it rips through the downtown, destroying the iconic buildings. The tornado continues further south as another car is seen trying to beat the tornado. Then we cut back to the family as they make it into the entrance of the High School, panicking. We cut to see Ben's mansion as it is blown to pieces. The final scene is as it shows the tornado beginning to rib apart the High School that over 3,000 people are in. The camera then stops and cuts...ending part 1 on a cliff hanger.









Chapter 8: The End of an Era Part 2 - The Aftermath

https://community.simtropolis.com/journals/entry/26731-chapter-8-the-end-of-an-era-part-2-the-aftermath/

Part 2 of Chapter 8 gives a summary of the last part, showing a rare 3D-generated image of the town as the downpour begins.





Although it appeared that the High School would be destroyed, the tornado changed course and spared the school, only destroying one of the main buildings. A torrential downpour follows, causing major flooding throughout what's left of the town. Harrowing images of the destroyed and flooded town are shown.





Woodland Town is unrecognizable, nearly all trees stripped of their leaves and no building left standing. The next morning, people pour out of the high school as the flood waters dry to see the full extent of the damage. Clean up immediately begins and people are rescued trapped in the buildings (some sad deleted scenes took place here.)



During a helicopter ride, they find over 90% of the town is destroyed.











Ben and The Mayor have both lost their homes as well. It is later revealed that 228 people were killed and 1,242 injuries, 22 of which were life altering. More images of the destroyed town are shown throughout the chapter. The injuries and deaths were from those who couldn't make it to the shelter in time. The cold front moves in throughout the day, creating very pleasant weather. It was reported that the morning after the storm, the weather was very calm with overcast skies, which contrasted the humid chaos from the day before. The temperature dropped throughout the day as the cold front moved in, with the clouds clearing up just shortly before sunset. We cut to one of the destroyed mansions as we see families cleaning the rubble and coming back to their destroyed homes. The sun peaks through the clouds for the first time since the storm, and we are treated to a beautiful golden sunset as it shines over the devastation.





The tornado paths are revealed here too. There was an EF2 tornado and a larger EF4 tornado.



The next morning the skies were clear, with barely a cloud to be seen. It was quite windy and chilly with low humidity and temperatures in the low 50's. It is the first major cold front of the year. We find a a tent shelter park set up for those who lost their homes in the farm field near the downtown. Resources were brought in from the neighboring towns (Woodland River City, Pleasant-view, and District 1) as those towns were miraculously unaffected.





The mayor goes back to his panel and we find he has only 3,000 simoleons left and the population is just 768, as most people have left to the other towns since they have power. Ben convinces The Mayor to go back and rebuild, recalling the day he nearly pressed the obliterate button early in the town's life. Over the next several months, the town is quickly rebuilt, and the population begins to climb back to 2,437. Woodland Town would never be the same again.







Coastland Region: The SC4 Story:
http://community.simtropolis.com/journal/4478-coastland-region-the-sc4-
story/
The story of two major counties, Ashville and Coastland, battle out to have an individual city reach 1 million sims, but a major storm destroys one city, and a major. What will now happen?
Coming soon: SimCity 4, Full 3D Art (a museum tour)

CityMaster563

#5
Chapter 9: Rebuilding Woodland Town

This is the summary of Chapter 9, here's the full Chapter here:

https://community.simtropolis.com/journals/entry/28021-chapter-9-rebuilding-woodland-town/

Following the near complete destruction of Woodland Town, The Mayor takes on the big task of rebuilding the town and bringing the population back. He took out two 20,000 simoleon loans, one for rebuilding and another for a power plant. Mayor Matthew had to cut power to Woodland Town due to overloading. A natural gas power plant was temporarily built in Woodland Town's southern industry area to power the recovering town.



Eventually, Woodland surpasses the population before the tornado, 8,000 people, and finally breaks 10,000 for the first time. The town's city hall is built, along with a mansion for The Mayor and one for Ben. Woodland High School is upgraded to include much better facilities and Woodland Town's Lower Eastern Residential area is extended, with many new homes built.





A small central government is created in the core of the town, with several advisers that would take care of paperwork and other things rather than directly going to The Mayor. The senators were voted and reside in the City Hall, which currently has a courtroom inside too.

A small police station was built downtown after a hostage situation that resulted in two deaths. After Woodland Town reached a population of 18,000 people The Mayor built a Water Park. The power plant was torn down as Mayor Matthew upgraded his electric grid allowing him to send Woodland Town power again.













The Northern Industries expanded, creating many new jobs, causing the residential demand (low wealth in particular) to skyrocket shortly before tanking to the negatives. The Mayor and Ben discover River City had a growth spurt and grew to 18,000 people. Despite being smaller, the small industrial town is denser than Woodland Town. The Mayor has a meeting with his advisers to discuss the future of the town.











Coastland Region: The SC4 Story:
http://community.simtropolis.com/journal/4478-coastland-region-the-sc4-
story/
The story of two major counties, Ashville and Coastland, battle out to have an individual city reach 1 million sims, but a major storm destroys one city, and a major. What will now happen?
Coming soon: SimCity 4, Full 3D Art (a museum tour)

CityMaster563

#6


This is the Chapter 10 and Chapter 11 Summary! Please don't forget to leave a comment! I provided the links to the full updates at Simtropolis. After these two chapters, I'll start posting the full update here since we should be fully caught up! :) 

Chapter 10: Getting Up to Speed; Regional Growth

https://community.simtropolis.com/journals/entry/28502-chapter-10-getting-up-to-speed-regional-growth/









In this chapter, we fast forward to see as Woodland Town grows even more. We also focus on development around the region as a few new starter towns pop up. We see that a new town has been started by Mayor Gene and grew very rapidly thanks to regional demand. The industrial town has the second highest industrial population of 7,000 jobs (Woodland Town with has over 8,000) and has a residential population of 17,000. District 1 also experienced explosive growth, reaching a population of 13,000 people. Pleasant view hits a population of 12,000. River city has stayed the same, but Matthew expanded the power grid further to support all four towns (his own, District one, Pleasant view and Woodland Town). Coibridge runs on their own coal power.









We go back to Woodland Town and see the industrial jobs expand dramatically, and many new homes built, including new apartment complexes. We also see University of Woodland built and full railroad system that connects to River City.





This was a huge boon to freight and passengers alike, which improved regional demand in general and expanded the manufacturing sector. Woodland Town's population nears 30,000 now. Regional population is now at 92,251. A new interstate system is planned, with one highway already built known as Highway 30, which is a 2-lane high way. A lake is dug up to make the asphalt for the future roads and highways. We see the longer-term plans for the region later down the road (pun intended!), feel free to critique as please:















Chapter 11: Expanding the Arteries

https://community.simtropolis.com/journals/entry/28503-chapter-11-expanding-the-arteries/





In this chapter, we watch students rush out of school for the last time before Spring Break.
We find The Mayor and Ben both stuck in a rush-hour traffic jam on their way back home. During the traffic jam, The Mayor and Ben reads out "Fan Mail" which are really the user comments from the last update. The town's traffic problems have always been an issue that has been ignored but after The Mayor finally got caught in his own traffic jam, he realized the gravity of the situation and how it would get much worse if not taken care of.







Woodland Town would reach its next mile-stone: The very first avenues! The historic downtown achieves a new upgraded look, as we see The Mayor and Ben standing over one of the tallest buildings, overlooking the traffic to see how well the avenues handle the rush hour.













The avenues make a huge difference and traffic flow is vastly improved, which improved the Mayor's rating significantly! The avenues give Woodland Town a more mature look, as it begins to transition to a large town, and eventually a city! We end with the Mayor reading the remaining fan mail.

Coastland Region: The SC4 Story:
http://community.simtropolis.com/journal/4478-coastland-region-the-sc4-
story/
The story of two major counties, Ashville and Coastland, battle out to have an individual city reach 1 million sims, but a major storm destroys one city, and a major. What will now happen?
Coming soon: SimCity 4, Full 3D Art (a museum tour)

CityMaster563


Chapter 12: A Summer To Remember Part I
School's out and summer has begun! It's time to make great use of the water park that was built a while back!
Woodland Town, along with most towns in the region have stagnated a bit, with population hanging at 30,000 people. Plans to connect the towns and region by interstate and rail by the end of the year are in progress and will encourage major growth in all areas once completed.


The Mayor and his wife have two kids, their son Jeremy who is 10 (going into 5th grade) and daughter Christina who is 8 (going into 3rd grade).




A Summer to Remember I: A Trip to the Water Park
It's another hot summer day
This particular Saturday, however, it was very hot!


Weather Report:July 8 Saturday
Temperature: 96 Degrees 
Dew Point: 72 Degrees   
Feels Like: 107 degrees
Rain: 80%
Highs 98, Lows 73. Scattered showers throughout the day, isolated showers in the afternoon.


I took the opportunity today to take the kids out to the new water park. They've been begging me to go the last couple weeks!
Jeremy and Christina: Daddy let's go!
Me: Christina put on your seat belts!
Wife: It's really hot out today. The lines are going to be really long today!
Me: I imagine.
We get in the car and drive out:
1:24 PM
vtDrB9.jpg


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l8RHNy.jpg
We arrive at the water park and as you see, it's quite crowded:
Rj8fWp.jpg




Spoiler


Random Person 1: "Hey it's the mayor!"
Random Person 2: "Hey how's your day? I love your town!
Random Person 3: "You're the only town that has a water park around here!"
Jeremy: "Haha you're famous!"
Wife: "You'll be getting that all day haha!"
They treated me like a town hero for building a water park! Turns out some people came over from the neighboring towns to cool off here. The security guards helped escort us but it's strange being seen as a local celebrity since I don't go out in public too often. But even the Mayor needs to swim once in a while of course...
Christina: "Mommy I wanna go on all the big slides!"
Jeremy: "That's too big! You're gonna get scared and cry!"
Christina: "No I won't! I'm going with him!"
We all walk up stairs. Jeremy's been on all the slide but Christina has never been on one before.
Jeremy: "That's a looooong line."
After about 20 minutes we're finally at the top
Me: "I'll go first, I'll wait for you both down there."
Me and my wife both go on slides and wait for kids on the bottom.
Christina: "Jeremy? I'm scared."
Jeremy: "Told ya you'd be scared."
She stands on the slide and holds on to the bar as the water rushes down, but hesitates.
Life Guard: "It's nothing to be afraid of! You can do it!
Some of those waiting in the line were cheering her
5 minutes later...(Storm clouds are becoming ominous, the sun disappears behind clouds)
Jeremy: "Go already!! Stop being such a wuss!"
Life Guard: "Come on, you guys really need to go, you're holding back the line!
Me: (Looking out at the slide tower) "Are they okay?"
Wife: "I think she's scared."
Jeremy: "That's it!"
*Takes his hand and pushes his little sister Christina down the slide*
Christina: *Screaming as she slides down"
Jeremy: (Smiling) "Whoops."
He jumps into the slide before anyone can stop him.
Me: "Did he just push her down the slide...?"
Wife: "I can't tell"
Me: "Someone got pushed"
Just then, my daughter reaches the end of the slide and into the water, followed by Jeremy on the slide parallel to the one she's on.
Jeremy: "Are you telling on me for pushing you down the slide?"
Christina: "No! That was fun! I wanna go again by myself this time!"
Jeremy: "See? Told you it was nothing to be scared of"
Christina: "Sticks tongue out at Jeremy"
Me and Wife: "Did you like it? How was it?"
Christina: "It was fast! I wanna go again!"
Me: "You guys go, I'll wait for you"
Just as my wife takes Jeremy and Christina, I pull Jeremy aside for a moment..
Me: "Did you push her down the slide?"
Jeremy: "Yes..."
Me: "Why?"
Jeremy: "Everyone was waiting and I was tired of her being a chicken!"
Me: "If she didn't like the slide she would've been very upset. You're lucky she enjoyed it. Don't do that again. Now go have fun, take care of your little sister.
Jeremy: "Okay daddy!"
Me: "...And hurry up, it's going to rain any moment!"

Unfortunately, the trip was cut short and just as they were about to go back upstairs to go on the slide, the lightning alarm goes off. The wind started picking up and drizzles of rain began to come down.
Me: "Alright, let's pack it up!"
People start exiting in droves as the storm nears. Typical summer storm, we've been getting a lot of these lately but they're normal. I feel the temperature drop.
YBco5Z.jpg
4:15 PMulcQ05.jpg


Just as we're leaving the parking lot, it begins to downpour:
77NVRE.jpg


vrgsuf.jpg


68hhTP.jpg


Yu0K0W.jpg


PTGWAF.jpg

It rained for a good portion of the afternoon...
yY8o1y.jpg

The sun peaks through the clouds as the rain continues:
FJhH2c.jpg


s8Z40Z.jpg

7:35 PM
The rain finally let's up:
Ezm28F.jpg

pmq0ZlBaj

Christina and Jeremy playing in the puddles in my front yard:
ifmnSu.jpg


poN9minsj


Here's the current weather now after the storm:
Weather Report:July 8 Saturday night
Temperature: 76 Degrees 
Dew Point: 71 Degrees   
Feels Like: 81 degrees
Temperatures have dropped by 20 degrees!


Later That Night...
The night is peaceful, with the occasional sound of a car streaking through the wet streets splashing up water and distant thunder.
Kids from the local neighborhood join in for a pickup game:
U5Qg9G.jpg

DSgjW6.jpg

10:12 PM Regional Night View:
qEmuuw.jpg
Woodland Town on the right, Woodland River City on the Left, District one above and Pleasant view below it, and Coibridge on the upper left.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



2:57 AM
I just got awakened by what sounds like a loud rumble. It definitely isn't thunder.

Wife: "What's going on?" She says as she rubs her sleepy eyes

Just then an even louder rumble booms in the distance, waking up the kids.

Jeremy: "Daddy what's that? Another storm?"
Me: "I'm going to find out."


We all go outside and notice just about the entire neighborhood's been woken as well, as families head outside out trying to make out what's going on.
uWIXjw.jpg

I look at the skies for a sign of a thunderstorm but the skies are clear...




Neighbor: "Mayor! Do you have any idea what's the heck is going on?"
Me: "No idea, maybe an earthquake?"
Neighbor: "Whatever it is it's woken up- *Boom*


An even louder thunderous rumbling noise so loud that it rattles windows...
I can sense people starting to panic. Christina hugs my leg and starts crying.


Just then, the power goes out...
DXQCXK.jpg





To Be Continued...



Thank you for reading! Don't forget to leave a comment if you haven't already! Like and follow to stay tuned!


Spoiler
We take a trip to the water park, people recognize me as mayor, my daughter Christina goes on big slide for the first time, chickens out, then my son Jeremy pushes her down the slide, she likes it and wants to go again, I scold him, we get rained out and leave, no refunds. Tour of Woodland Town as it rains, then sun comes out while raining, we're woken up at 2 am by a mysterious sound, then the power goes out...
Coastland Region: The SC4 Story:
http://community.simtropolis.com/journal/4478-coastland-region-the-sc4-
story/
The story of two major counties, Ashville and Coastland, battle out to have an individual city reach 1 million sims, but a major storm destroys one city, and a major. What will now happen?
Coming soon: SimCity 4, Full 3D Art (a museum tour)

compdude787

Whoa, interesting ending to that last update! I wonder what will happen next.
Check out my MD, United States of Simerica!
Last updated: March 5, 2017

My YouTube Channel

brick_mortimer

New post!
Oh... it's only @compdude787  &mmm
I thought we were about to find out what came after the cliffhanger from the last update  :D
Busier than a one legged man in an ass kicking contest
Me no coffee function without so good

PaPa-J

Nice MD you have here.  Interesting story as well.  Keep it up. :thumbsup:
Lighten up, just enjoy life,
smile more, laugh more,
and don't get so worked up
about things.

CityMaster563

#11
Following mysterious rumbles in the middle of the night, Woodland Town is plunged into the dark. Little do we know the disaster that awaits us in the neighboring town: River City; The town that has provided power to the region for years.

Here's the update at Simtropolis with embedded YouTube videos for sound effects/music for immersion:

https://community.simtropolis.com/journals/entry/28653-chapter-12-a-summer-to-remember-part-2-a-city-in-trouble/



I recommend reading through the story.  Leave a comment down below! They are highly appreciated! 

Estimated Read time:

10-15 Minutes

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 12: Part 2



The night was slightly chilly for a summer night from yesterday's thunderstorms. The air felt heavy with humidity and it was slightly windy.



Me: "Everyone stay calm! We'll get to the bottom of this."



*Cell phone rings*



It's Mayor Matthew. (Mayor of the neighboring River City)



Matt: "Send every firefighter, ambulance, and police over here NOW!! Helicopters too! I don't care!! Send anyone you can! PLEASE HELP US!!!

Me: "I'll get on it! What's happening over there!"

Matt: *Static*"



I never heard so much panic in his voice. I don't like the sound of this.

With no hesitation, I got the EMS talkie and called the chief of police Lane Jackson.



Lane: "Mayor, I was just about to-"

(Radio) Me: "We need every fire truck and ambulance over to River City now!"

Lane: "I just sent all of our firefighters a couple minutes ago! I don't know what's going on!"

Me: "What about Pleasant-view and District 1?"

(Radio) Lane: "I already called them five minutes ago! Every unit in this whole region is heading to River City right now!"

Me: "Any idea what's happening over there?"

(Radio) Lane: "No power, idea right now. We have very little communication. I'm going over there right now. I suggest you and Ben head over there too."

Wife: "What's going on?"





Me: "I gotta go, I'm wanted at River City. This is serious."

Wife: "Please be careful" (Kisses and hugs me goodbye)

Jeremy: "Dad where are you going?"

Me: "I'll be back, go back to sleep, everything will be okay. Go back to sleep."



I get in my red car:


As I get exit the driveway, I dial call my business partner Ben on my cell-phone:

(Phone) Me: "Ben Wake up!"

(Phone) Ben: (Yawns) What's going on? Why is the power out?"

(Phone) Me: "I don't know! Just get up and get dressed! I'm picking you up in a few minutes!"



I pull up to his driveway.



Me: "Ben get in, hurry!"

Ben: " Hang on, I'm coming!"



Ben jumps in and we're on our way.



Ben: "People are all coming out, it sounds like the world's coming to end end!" *Chuckles*

Me: "Indeed." (Revs car)





We drive through the dark eerie dark roads of our town in the middle of the night...













3:07 A.M.







"10-39 get all units to River City! This is a 10-39"




"10-69, we're on our way!"

"10-71 we need more info!"

"10-33 all units in region!"









We catch up to the train of four fire trucks as police escort them. Nearly all police units, including our police van lead the way...



We're in the red car following the firetrucks



Ben: "Good lord..."

Me: "Are they all evacuating from River City?"



My EMS Radio rings, it's Chief Lane Jackson.



(Radio) Lane: "We got an update from firefighters over at River City!"

(Radio) Me: "What's the situation?"

(Radio) Lane: "Our whole county has lost power. We are completely in the dark!"



-----------------------------------------------------------------





For reference, we are heading to River City, the site of emergency:



Light Blue = Medical Helicopters

Green = Firetrucks




District 1, Pleasant-view, River City and Woodland Metropolis II (Referred to as "Woodland Town") Make up the cities of Woodland County. Coibridge is in another county. River City is an industrial town that powers all of the three cities around it. Coibridge is the only other town that has it's own power supply.







-----------------------------------------------------------------





(Radio) Lane: "There's a huge industrial fire at River City. Three of the coal power plants exploded. We have 14 confirmed casualties, possibly more. Coibridge is the only town that has hazmat units and ambulances. They're heading there too. I can see the smoke from here!"







"10-33 all units to River City, all units to River city"






Ambulances pour out of Coibridge Medical Center like angry bees from a hive:






We quickly make it to the bridge. It is just endless cars on the other side of the road as they evacuate to Woodland Town. It becomes apparent just how serious the situation is once we cross the bridge:




3:17 A.M.

We finally arrive and find a blockade of policemen and firefighters. Hundreds and hundreds of people are out around city hall that decided to stay:




Officer: "Stay back! Everyone back to the town hall!"

[/img]






Ben: "Good lord! There's people everywhere!"

Firefighter: "This way, This way! Come on! You get that side and you spread to the west! Go go!

Play this at LOW volume:



"We have more units coming in!"



The sound of sirens is overwhelming. As we arrive, we can already feel the heat. I can barely hear myself over the sound of the sirens. 


Me: "Chief! Where's Matt at?!"

Lane: "I think he's on the other side of the street! Probably looking for trapped workers! There's people still trapped back there!"




Firefighter Squad Leader: "What do you mean we're out of WATER?!! Go find more sources NOW!!"




Firefighter: "Move over to this side of the warehouse!"



Me and Ben get out of the car and walk up to the firefighters

(FF Squad leader = Fire Fighter Squad Leader)



FF Squad Leader: "Here! You'll need this." (As he hands me a gas mask). Ben, go to city hall and take care of the crowds.

Ben: "Will do! Take care of yourself, Mayor!"



Another explosion is heard.



FF Squad Leader: "10-33, LANE! WHERE ARE PLEASANTVILLE'S UNITS?!!"

Lane: "They're still trying to get here! You know there's no direct road connection here!"

FF Squad Leader: "Why not?!" (As he turns to me with a death glare)

Ben: "Because the eternal commute loop!"

FF Squad Leader: "That is the biggest load of bull-(beep) I have ever heard! Are you kidding me?!

Me: "People can be dumb sometimes! I mean come-



Another explosion



Firefighter: "We got water!"

FF Squad Leader: "(Turns to his squad) GO! GO! Spray now!




Lane: "Get all your butts down there now! Let's go!"

FF Squad Leader: "Spray! Let's go Spray at it!"

Firefighter: "What's the point?! We're not the (Bleep)-ing hazmat units!"

FF Squad Leader: "We're just buying time for now! We can't let the homes burn! This is all we can do!"



3:42 A.M.










I hear a familiar voice on my EMS radio, it's mayor Matthew!



Me: "Matt what's the situation?!

Matt: "It's an oven over here Mayor! I'm trying to save people here!" (Talking to his group) "Alright this way come on!"





Turns out Mayor Matthew (This town's mayor) has been escorting industrial workers out of the buildings and walked them to the freight station where they walked across the rail bridge to safety.



Here's a map for reference to clear things up:




The orange area are the burning zones, the big blue arrow is Mayor Matthew's location



Lane: "He's on the other side of the power plants! He's walking people to the train station!"







FF Squad Leader: "I don't know how he does it, it's over 150 degrees over there!"



I radio to Matthew.



(Radio) Me: "Matthew! What's going on?"

(Radio) Matt: "Just got (coughs) the last group of people out, I'm going to go check (cough) and see (gasps) if anyone still left."

(Radio) Lane: "Get out of there Matt! You've done your job! That oil plant will explode any moment!"

(Radio) Matt: "I'll do what I...can. I'm...getting dizzy...hard to...breathe (fits of coughs)"

FF Squad Leader: "Heat's gettin' to him. He's been back there for the last hour! He ain't gonna make it at this point."

(Radio) Me: "No... Matt! Get back over here!"

(Radio) Me: "Matt! Matthew!!! Do you copy?"

(Radio) Me: "Matt! Do you copy?!"





*No signal*



I look around for a moment. Matthew has given my towns power for years and has been a great friend for so long. He has family living in another city and he's been through a lot.



I put on a fire suit.





Me: "I'm gonna go in and get him!" (As I strap on my suit)

FF Squad Leader: "Are you out of your ever-loving mind?!

Me: "Yes."



I start to sprint down the road towards the burning buildings



Me: "I'm going to save him! We need him!"

FF Squad Leader: "You idiot! Get back over here now! 








But I kept running...










As my adrenaline took over, I sprinted down the street and made my way towards the freight station at the end. I jumped a few flames and held my breath a couple times as I ran through smoke walls.





I took a left to the dirt roads and stopped behind the coal plant to catch my breath.







As the adrenaline wore out, it dawned on me just how hot it really was. I had burns on my fire suit and if I breathed too fast I would get into a coughing fit. Even my sweat was evaporating right away. The sky was nothing but smoke, and it was nearly quiet, aside from the sounds of burning buildings.





"Hello!"





I see a figure out in the distance:



It's Mayor Matthew! Wearing a yellow suit and cap!



I muster whatever breath I can to yell to him.

Me: "Matt!"

Matt: "What are you doing here? Go back! (Coughs)"

Me: "Imma get you out of here, come on walk towards me!"





The heat is so intense that I can barely breathe. A weakened and disoriented Mayor Matthew is stumbling right next to the oil plant.

Matthew tries to walk but limps.







(Radio) Lane: "Mayor! What the heck are you doing back there?!"

Me: "I found Matt. His radio died. I'm trying to get him out of here..Can you send any units back here? (coughs)

(Radio) Lane: "We can not send anyone back there! That Oil plant will go off any second! There's huge gas lines beneath them!! GET OUT OF THERE NOW!!!"

Me: "Come on Matt!" (As he tries to take a few steps towards me) 

Me: "You can do it! Just a little more!" (He falls)

Matt: "I can't make it."



I start walking towards him



Me: "I got you!"

Matt: (Coughs) "You're insane, Mayor."

Me: "Let's go. I'mma get you out of here."

I hold him by the arm and start walking him to the train station.











---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------





---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------







Oh (Bleep)!













Boom...



The explosion sent me and Matt flying.



Everything went black.


I can only hear a ringing in my ears...




Suddenly I hear a voice on my EMS radio that was tossed a few yards away.




(Radio) Lane: "This is chief lane, copy! *Static*







(Radio) Lane: "Copy! Is any one there! Do you Copy? Mayor!"

Me: "I'm okay..(gasping)."

(Radio) Lane: "That whole plant just blew up! It's a miracle you're still alive! The situation is beyond worse now! Where are you!?"

Me: "Behind the power plant. Near the...gas...I mean train station."

(Radio) Lane: "How about Matthew?"


I look around and notice his body. He's been thrown a couple of yards. I stumble back up and walk towards him.




I look over to him. He appears to be breathing.

Me: "Matt?"

Though he is still breathing thankfully, both of his arms and legs are covered in burns. Likely they were slammed into the ground by the explosion. Half his hair is missing and his shirt is torn.



Matt: "(grunts in pain) I can't move. It hurts."

Me: "What's hurting you buddy?"

Matt: "Everything."

(Radio) Me: "He's not doing too well Chief. He's in serious pain."



The flames begin to reach down towards us.



Me: "Come on Matt I got you. We gotta go."



I try to pick him up but my body felt too weak. I try to drag him by his feet.



Me: (Grunts). "Let's go to the train station."

Matt: "My town...(grunts in pain)



I slowly drag him down the dirt road








We get closer to the train station.







Me: (Grunts). "We're almost there. We're gonna make it."

Matt: "No...take a look.."







I look behind me...







My heart sinks.



Matt: "There's (gasps) no way in hell we're...getting through that."



I look to the road I came from earlier.



It's blocked by a huge wall of flames and debris.



Matt: "Now we're trapped."



I try to think about anything, any ideas. But nothing came to mind. Lane can't get anyone here either. Too risky.

Even if I left Matthew to die there's no way out for me now.



Me: "I'm so stupid, Matt. I left my wife and kids...back in Woodland."



The flames continue to get closer...










To be continued...













Coastland Region: The SC4 Story:
http://community.simtropolis.com/journal/4478-coastland-region-the-sc4-
story/
The story of two major counties, Ashville and Coastland, battle out to have an individual city reach 1 million sims, but a major storm destroys one city, and a major. What will now happen?
Coming soon: SimCity 4, Full 3D Art (a museum tour)

Seaman


PaPa-J

Wow! Quite the story. I have to hand it to ya.
Lighten up, just enjoy life,
smile more, laugh more,
and don't get so worked up
about things.

CityMaster563

Quote from: PaPa-J on August 22, 2018, 04:21:26 AM
Wow! Quite the story. I have to hand it to ya.

Thank you!! I'm glad you liked it!  $%Grinno$%

Quote from: Seaman on August 22, 2018, 02:50:15 AM
Wow, an amazing update!


Quote from: CityMaster563 on August 21, 2018, 01:36:01 PM
To be continued...
:)

Thank you! ;D

Quote from: brick_mortimer on June 14, 2018, 12:17:21 PM
New post!
Oh... it's only @compdude787  &mmm
I thought we were about to find out what came after the cliffhanger from the last update  :D

Now you know :-)
Coastland Region: The SC4 Story:
http://community.simtropolis.com/journal/4478-coastland-region-the-sc4-
story/
The story of two major counties, Ashville and Coastland, battle out to have an individual city reach 1 million sims, but a major storm destroys one city, and a major. What will now happen?
Coming soon: SimCity 4, Full 3D Art (a museum tour)

evarburg