Evergem, The Netherlands

[thundercrack83]

Whoa! That creek looks fabulous, capo! And your farms look great, too, my friend! I'll definitely be looking forward to seeing more!

[capo]

REPLIES:

Bat: Thanks for your many visits and all your kind words!

Rooker1:  I'm happy the updates were to your likings. Congratulations on beating me in the Picture competition, that waterfront was really amazing and it deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.

Nedalezz: Thanks for the compliment, I'm going to visit your MD soon. I'm curious what an African city will look like in SC4

Kwakelaar: I'm honored with your visit. Why? Well for the last 2 days I've been creating many new lots for this MD which include so many of your bats. Thanks to you I can take my city to medieval ages, I owe you big time

Patfirefghtr: Thanks for all your kind words and visits friend! Every post you leave behind is a smile on my face

Jmyers: I'm glad  with your visits and the compliments you give, I already downloaded your BAT pack and anxiously awaiting the new farm lots!

Tooheys: It's no fun making it easy for yourself I agree, I also like how the islands turned out to be. In Ennedi's MD I learned about the Italian version of CP's terrain mod, I think on the pictures soon to be posted you will agree it will look even better now.

Sebes: Thanks for your kind words, I'm humbled with your enthousiasm about this MD More Dutch-Frisian history coming up soon!

Mulefisk: Thanks for your compliment and your visit!

Tkirch: I completely agree with you, nothing beats the charm of a nice urban setting. Cities are nice to create, but I get really excited when I have some nature scenes ahead of me. Unfortunately the pic didn't win in the competition, but losing to that excellent waterfront I challenged was no shame.

Khiyana: Don't worry, I'll never get tired  of this game. I've been playing it since the first ever SimCity, for me it will never get old.

Serkanner:  Good to see 2 Dutch MDs going on now, I hope we can inspire each other into great things.

Jayo: thanks for your visit!

Threestoges: I'm glad you found the way to my little MD and I'm real thankful for your kind words. It indeed took a lot of work and with pain in my heart I have to delete a lot of it with every update. Hopefully future updates will be to your likings as well!

Paroch: Welcome back, Im glad you liked the previous update. Hopefully I can offer you some pictures of early medieval times very  soon!

Schulmanator: Thanks for the compliment!

Rushman5: Thanks for your visit!

Dedgren: I'm honored with the award and I will do my best to give you all as many updates as possible this month

Badsim: I'm glad you found it in the end and I thank you for the compliment.

Ennedi: My friend, welcome back, your MD truly inspires me. Some hard work is indeed ahead of me, the last 2 days I've been creating medieval lots for Biroud. Hard work wich will hopefully soon pay off! I hope to find these asphaltwege which you mentioned in your MD soon, Im getting curious where you found those.

Jayo: thanks for dropping by, Im glad you like what you see

Bigslark: Thanks for your kind words. As I mentioned earlier we are heading towards medieval times, in the next update you will see how big portions of land were gained in so called 'polders'. I hope you will enjoy!

Thundercrack83:  It will be a busy month for me I'm sure, with this great award comes the responsibility of frequent updates so I will have plenty of work ahead of me Im glad you like it.


Alright, I've been working hard the last few days. Hopefuly tomorrow I will post the next update, we are heading in the early medieval ages...

teaser1:


with more Dutch history, this time you will see the construction of the famous dykes (levees) and the 'polder' concept..

teaser2:



Again, thanks for the award and all the fantastic comments I read here!

[Ennedi]

Hello capo,

I see you are preparing something unique

Here are links for you:

Asphaltwege

Feldwege (the same path texture, but with low stone walls, designed for the ryural landscape - can be useful for you. Read the description (it's in German), you must choose the version, MTP or Cycledogg, I think it will be Cycledogg in your case)

You need the actual version of SFBT Essentials to work these paths properly

Cheers
Adam

[capo]

Replies:

Ennedi: Thanks for the linkie, these feldwege and asphaltwege are simply awesome!




The city of Biroud, Evergem, The Netherlands
Update 3.0

It's been a while since we visited the people of Biroud. I'd like to welcome you all back, this time we are somewhere in the 13th century, in medieval times. The wealthy people of Biroud now live in houses made of bricks. Not every peasant can afford such a brick house, it's still considered to be something very luxorious. The average person is happy to have a fine house made of wood in Biroud. There's a saying in Dutch, it's "steenrijk" (stone-rich), it's an excellent example of how important brick was as a social status these days.

It's also the time for Biroud where the construction of the brick city walls were completed. In the previous updates you have seen that the city walls were made of clay and dirt, these new brick walls are so much stronger that it was well worth the effort (and expenses) to build them. The people of Biroud can finally feel somewhat safer again after many centuries of violence. Many great battles have been fought with all the crusades in lands far away, however close to home an occasional Viking party or an unfriendly neighbour were never to bothered to drop in for a looting visit. The best way to keep unfriendly folk out are the city walls. Some parts of these walls can still be found in several Dutch cities in this date, including in my hometown Groningen.

Here are some basic pictures I found today on a website of my hometown, I think they perfectly show the development of a typical northern Dutch city:

Groningen, 800 AD


Groningen, 1200 AD


Groningen, 13th-14th century


Groningen, 1600 AD


Now let's have a first few looks at Biroud in medieval times! At first an overview:

You can see that Biroud is fully in development, the safety of the city walls attract many people from outside the village. I don't think it will take long before all the space inside these walls will be filled with housing. I've heard that perhaps Biroud will be granted stadsrechten, a permit to call yourself a city. With this stadsrecht Biroud will atract a lot of merchants and it would be just the thing to make this settlement really develop.  Already the scenic natural part nortwest of the church is being disturbed with early homes, well you can't stop progress...

In the southwest you see Biroud's small fishing harbour, not many great buildings are to be found here since it lacks protection of the city walls. It is a vital part of Biroud since most of the food is gathered through fishing the sea. Voices in the council have spoken out to better defend this lifeline of Biroud, but unfortunately for now...Biroud's walls have drained every goldcoin there was. Perhaps it's time that Biroud would turn to agriculture, unfortunately it's surrounded by sea..they will have to find a solution for that problem.

In the city centre there's the main church, admire it while you can...because there are plans to build a bigger and (most important) higher church or cathedral. Let's zoom in to the place a bit:


Here you see a nice example of the wooden and brick housing I was talking about earlier. Important is also the small canal you see in this picture, it's the city's earliest sewage system. Biroud may look pretty, but it smells really bad!




The trees, bushes, wildlife and plants in the northern part of town are being replaced by homes, walls, landmarks and shops


Shopping street "de muurloop" and some random homes


The village centre "de hoofdstraat" with the main church.

Ok that's it for now, in a few days the promised "polders" will be introduced and you will learn how Biroud claims new land with the building of new and improved dykes (levees). I hope you enjoyed

[bat]

That village is looking very great! Wonderful pictures and work on that! Great update and teasers to it!

[paroch]

Hey Capo,

Very nice work there.  You've put this together so very well.  The historic description and explanations set the scene very well. The pictures of Groningen developing followed by the first overview of Biroud is extra special, as though you  are saying "this is how it happened and here is my interpretation of it".

I have to say that as I was looking at the pictures I had two main thoughts:

1-I bet that when Maxis developed SC4 they NEVER anticipated that someone could build such a city!
and
2-How did you get the houses to develop so crammed in together?  SC4 loves giving you the green no-car zot unless they have a road connection - how did you do it??

I'm really enjoying your MD and look forward to seeing the new church and the development of the agriculture (surely it must come in Nederland).

And where do the citizens kick that pigs head about???

All the best,

Paul

[sebes]

Sapperdeflap   

I am in shock and awe about this update and especially the 3rd and 2nd last pictures (the north part of town and muurloop). I agree with Paroch: maxis would never have guessed that this was eventually possible in SC4!!!

[Serkanner]

I can hardly say anything else then WOW! A real gripping storyline about the history of the "common" Dutch city. I guess I can close 's-Gravenveen now  after seeing this. You have done an outstanding job creating the villages first and then make them grow into the medieval town/city ... three rounds of applause and may I have a ticket for the next show please?

[BigSlark]

Excellent update, capo. I haven't visited The Netherlands in nearly ten years and would love to go again now that I have a better understanding of history and art. Your MD feels like I'm in a History Museum! And as big fan of museums, I mean that in the very best manner possible.

I'm looking forward to what comes up next.

Cheers,
Kevin

[kwakelaar]

This is developing very nicely. You must be one of the first MD authors who actually manage to make something looking truly medieval. Also no coincidence that my bats can be used for this project. You are making the kind of MD that I have been planning for a long time. These bats are all part of that idea. I get sidetracked often so I never get started with a MD, but it is very inspiring to see what you are doing here.
I especially like the overview picture of the town. The city has a rather organic form, very common for these kind of places that has been growing over a longer period of time. You have also left a lot of space inside the citywalls which is quite realistic this early in the medieval period.
I very much look forward to your polder update.

[capo]

Replies:

bat: Welcome back bat! It's always nice to see you here at Evergem! Thanks for your kind words

paroch: You are too kind, thanks for taking the time to leave me a comment. About your two thoughts:
1. I think when Maxis staff have a look at all the pictures posted here on SC4D (and other fan sites), they'd be quite surprised indeed. Especially the batters and modders who appearantly have skills the Maxis team lacks,it  must be a real downer for Maxis
2. Even though I'm very much against plopping (pretty much all of my cities I grow buildings), unfortunately in this historic time I had to recreate lots and plop them. I tried editing lots and making them grow, however the cars that turn up with them really ruin the medieval landscape. So I took Kwakelaar's, D66 and a few other Megapacks and used the props (thanks for making the buildings as props guys) to recreate new lots with. You don't want to see my park menu at this point, Im afraid I will get a 'scroll-finger' if I keep playing for a few more days

sebes: Thanks for your very kind words, I appreciate everybody's opinions and comments but considering this is a Dutch town..a compliment from a Dutchman counts for two in this MD

Serkanner: Here's your ticket friend, but you have to promise me not to close 's-Gravenveen! I'm glad this village is liked by all and especially by the dutchies. I mean you all had the same boring history lessons I did in school, so I doubt if I'm telling you anything new about Dutch history

Bigslark: If you ever decide to revisit The Netherlands, please drop me a msg. I would be honored to give you a (historic) tour! Thanks for your kind words, they are much appreciated.

Kwakelaar: I was having big doubts if I could actually get to medieval times with this MD, but then I found your megaprops and schiffenberg monestary (and some of your German farms wich names I forgot)..and then all was possible. I would like to give you a lot of credits for this last update, if it wasn't for your megaprop packs..I could have never created a town like this. Indeed when I looked at your houses, it seemed they were made for this MD. Now I understand why With the polder update you will also see some familiar buildings, I hope you will like it and Im pleased that you like what I did with your buildings and props! I owe you

Thanks to everybody for leaving such friendly comments, I must admit that I'm a bit shy when it comes to showing others what I create (I've been composing music and writing poetry for years, but nobody is allowed to hear or read) and it's good to see such friendly people here, enjoying this MD. I thank thee...

[Badsim]

Hi capo ,

Fabulous work ... everything looks perfect , convincing and beautiful but , most of all , I can't believe that you pushed the vice untill to create these such conforming walls along the overlays stone by stone ...  . So my question ; did you do that or are they unknown (for me) modular props  ?

Whatever the answer , my hat off too ...

[tkirch]

The Village Center with the church is great.    And the way it looked in Medievel times the over view all of the pictures just excellent.  Its the little things that are really good like the stones around the edges of the road add that little bit extra of realism.  Thanks for sharing your MD with us.

[Shadow Assassin]

The interesting thing is, up close, the city looks much bigger than it does further away. It seems you've created that illusion of scale that so suits a medieval city (looks large on the ground, but really is quite small when you move a ways out).


I like how you've used the props to build up the city. I especially like the little laneways, paths, that run throughout the city. Let's see if you can apply that to a future urban context (ie. cobblestone streets) in the future, eh?

[jmyers2043]

This is a nice group of pictures. I think that you've successfully created an old world walled city.  The stone walls along the road, the rocks strewn about, the canal, and the church in the center of town.  I am impressed with the selection of custom content you've collected. All these elements work well together and make for an entertaining experience for us readers.

[CabraBuitre]

This looks great!!  I love the medieval feel!!  The footpaths look great, and I love the stone bridge you've got there... do you remember where you got it?

[capo]

Replies:

Badsim: Thanks for your kind words! I think you were talking about the small stone walls next to the roads? Well that's an amazing pack of eye-candy roads, thanks to Ennedi you can now see them in this MD because he was kind enough to provide the link: 6459978's feldwege. I was planning to add a list of dependencies again soon, so everything you see in this MD can be quickly found.

tkirch: I agree: it's the little things in a city that makes it nice to look at, in RL..and in SC. Thanks for your kind words and good luck on the photo contest, I think it will be a great competition.

Shadow Assassin: Don't worry, Im planning to use these cobbled roads in many landscapes to come. They are perfect for any rural scene, I posted the link in the reply to Badsim..perhaps you would like to play with them as well? Thanks for your kind words!

jmyers2043: I'm glad this MD provides entertainment and I'm happy that you like what you see. Thanks for visiting Evergem again and your kind words, you're always welcome here!

CabraBuitre: The footpaths are the feldwege wich linkie I posted in Badsim's reply. The stone bridge is from Maxis actually, it's in the Castle proppack in the downloadable landmarks section on ea's simcity site. Thanks for your visit and your kind words!

It's almost 1 AM, time for me to get some sleep..

[Schulmanator]

This is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO awesome!!

It's beyond cool....


it's INCREDICOOL!!!!

This is what I love!! I want more more more!!!

[Pat]

WoW capo this is wonderful creations here wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!! im just soo stunned at the rural feeling here...

[emilin]

 

I have to admit that this is my first time around here, but it most certainly won't be my last. This is... wow... I don't really know how to put it... it's hard to believe that this is actually SC4 - that's how good it is. It looks more like some sort of miniature modell than a game. I really wish that I some day might be able to achive something that comes close to this.

Evergem is now officially on my top 10 of all time MD:s/CJ:s.