WEST END

[tkirch]

More stunning pictures.

11.05 I live those Consort Island, Mouse Point and Regent Island all work together in that picture.  It is a perfect picture.

11.06 I love the park.  As far as the city, I like it.  Not always does a city come out the way you hope, but it doesn't look hodgepodge, it has its own character which in many ways is much nicer than a planned out city.  Very realistic in a growing town, especially like here in the US.  In Europe you have so many older cities, you get that buildings have been around, where here you see cities that way. And I think it looks nice, you have open areas, I like the street in the upper right that goes up the hill.  Looks like you have quite a few Olive Gardens in the city, but hey they do have good food.

[bat]

Great new pictures there, paroch!

Good to hear that my team has won its second game!

[sebes]

The Blue White legion had a bad evening in Oxford. What started as a great party, first on the squares in the city and later in Canio Park, became a fight and chase with police squads and local WestEnd United supporters after the disputable penalty that gave the hometeam the full prize of the game. Back home in New Amsterdam the talk of the evening was how the referee could make such a decission, shamelessly benefiting WestEnd United. Although the athmosphere was very tense, the Blue White Legion is still very positive about the changes for De Mets, and is already preparing their move to Great Portland after the next game. Chance of becoming group D runner up is however very present, and when looking at the capacity of the Royal Stadium in Regent, NNVB-officials are expecting the worst... Extra stewards are currently recruited, to be flown into West End to assist the West End police in Regent if needed. In the mean time the players are preparing for this important match against the Republic Stars from Chesterfield.


More and more Mets fans arrive in West End to support FC Manhattan

[capo]

It's official, you are insane!!!

That's what my psychiatrist keeps telling me, however me and my seven other personalities completely disagree with him just kidding!!

I'm very surprised to see Biroud leading group A, but that last match is going to be decisive. Thanks for the rocky substance linkie, much appreciated! Yes the birdwatcher hides we have over here as well, it would be a very nice addition to any rural scene I agree. As soon as I have located a lot (or found a way to create it myself) I will send you the linkie.

This is what they look like over here, I think they would be the same, Im just posting the links, not the pictures..it's your MD and I don't want to pollute it

http://www.maldon.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/E146A5B1-9EFB-43B5-BD77-7C6B526CD58F/7714/BradwellCockleSpitHidereduced.jpg

http://www.alderney.gov.gg/pimages/348_lg.jpg


Unfortunately I have a bad case of the flu right now so I'm not really in the mood to play SC4, I owe you a longer comment next time. I just wanted to add that I really like the pictures you added (as always).

Take care my friend and good luck with the next update (and supporter riots of the teams that did not qualify)

[paroch]

Before we get started, some quick replies


Joan:  Good to see you in town again!  Thanks for your kind words and glad you like Mouse Point.  As for the tournament, each team plays three games (against the other teams in their group) and then the top two in each group progress to the knock-out stage of the competition.  And I guess my understanding of baseball is similar to yours of football/soccer

Heblem:  Good to see you here and no need to apologise.  It is difficult to visit all the MDs here at SC4D, so many good ones.  And a great newspaper report you produced on your MD.  For those who have not visited Heblem's MD - YOU SHOULD!!

Pat:  Thanks my friend.  Those PitchForkers aren't finished yet I suspect.

tkirch:  Thank you for your comments, I appreciate what you're saying.  As for those Olive Gardens, yes, three next to each other.  I should have weeded two out, but you are right, they do good food!

bat:  Good to see you again, and yes, congrats to the Westmountain Soccers.

sebes:  Great post, thanks.  Luckily the police managed to contain the few troublemakers.  Those Mets fans know how to party and the bar owners in Oxford are enjoying having full bars.  The referee from the last game has been sent home from the tournament in disgrace.  He has been booked in to get new spectacles next week!

capo:  Glad the linkie was of use.  And yes the pics of hides are just what I had in mind.  And capo, please feel free to post pics here.  Someone who can create Biroud can not be capable of "polluting" this MD here!  I hope you feel better soon, and any comments you, or anyone else, leaves here on West End are ALWAYS appreciated regardless of length.


I know I've not updated for a few days (been a busy bee!), so today is a double update from the tournament.

This update covers both Day Five and Day Six and marks the end of the group stage.  That means that half of the teams will be eliminated and leave West End.  Hopefully even if your team departs, you'll still pop back to see how things are progressing.


Group A - Wardour
VV Biroud  3-1  The Seagulls
The team from Evergem only needed a draw to guarantee qualification but an early goal settled the nerves and they went on to win comfortably.  Still The Seagulls can be proud, proud of their performance, proud of their fans and proud to be heading home to such a great MD!

Wardouroda  0-0  Los Pioneros de Canatlan
Quite a dull game really.  The host team will be disappointed that they never really got going in this tournament.  Still, all credit to Heblem's team, they knew a draw would be enough.


                               Points      Goal Difference
VV Biroud                    7                +3
LP de Canatlan             4                +1
The Seagulls                3                -3
Wardouroda                 2                -1

Congratulations go to Capo and Heblem.   A BIG thanks to Joan for her participation and for being Chief Recruiterteermeister.  Without Joan's encouragement this may not have happened!



Group B - Great Portland
Devotion All Stars  0-3  PitchForkers
The PitchForkers notched up another fine performance and are unbeaten so far.  The people of Great Portland were kept awake again - boy your fans know how to party Pat!  The PitchForkers will now move on to Oxford for their next game.  And Oxford have only just got used to Sebes bunch from Nieuw Amsterdam!

FC Portland  3-1  Fursan FC
At last the host team put in a performance that they can be proud of.  They took the game to Fursan and were 3-0 up at half time. They had to win by 4 goals to go through and even though they won the match their hearts were broken when Fursan scored with 3 minutes to go.  The Dawa Berber is reported to have paid a big bonus to each team member for qualifying to the next round.

                               Points      Goal Difference
PitchForkers                 7                +5
Fursan FC                    4                +2
FC Portland                  4                  0
Devotion All Stars         1                 -7

Congratulations to Pat and Nedalezz.  Good luck in the next round.  Commiserations to the SC4D team and also to FC Portland.  This was the team from West End with the best chance, so it looks as though the trophy could be heading elsewhere.



Group C - Regent
Wombats  0-0  Westmountain Soccers
Westmountain needed to win this game by at least 2 goals and they had their chances.  The Wombats goalkeeper was their hero and he made a dozen fine saves.

Regent Royals  1-1  Terrigal Mariners
The host side restored a bit of pride with their first goal and first point of the tournament.  Unfortunately it was a case of too little, too late.  Tooheys team played well and will fancy their chances of going a long way.

                               Points      Goal Difference
Terrigal Mariners            5                +3
Wombats                      5                +1
Westmountain               4                 -2
Regent Royals               1                 -2

Congratulations to Tooheys and Tkirch.  Good luck in the next round.  Thank you Bat for your team taking part.  Capporth is a fine region and the players will go home knowing that they were close to doing it.  The Regent Royals have a new stadium planned, but after that performance questions will be asked whether they deserve it!



Group D - Oxford
Republic Stars  0-2  FC Manhattan
De Mets bounced back from the disappointment of their last match, knowing they had to win to progress.  This was a strong performance and the Dutch technical ability was what gave them the edge.  The Stars had a few chances but as soon as they went behind things looked hard for them.

West End United  1-3  Belmont Rangers
Ennedi's team did him proud here.  A strong performance gave them their first win.  But those two earlier defeats were too much and they are eliminated.  West End United will be disappointed they didn't do better in this game as it means they did not win the group.

                               Points      Goal Difference
FC Manhattan                6                +1
West End United            6                  0
Belmont Rangers            3                  0
Republic Stars               3                 -1

Congratulations to Sebes and me!  Thankyou Ennedi and NASCAR_Guy for your teams taking part.  Ennedi, I have enjoyed your humour, so hopefully your fans will stay in town for a while and watch some more games.  And for those returning home, I hope they have a big night out in the Amnesia!  NASCAR_Guy, good luck with your racing league.

So the draw for the next round is as follows:

Match 1 in Regent                       VV Biroud (capo)    v  Fursan FC (nedalezz)
Match 2 in Oxford                        PitchForkers (Pat)  v  Wombats  (tkirch)
Match 3 in Wardour          Terrigal Mariners (tooheys)  v  West End United (paroch)
Match 4 in Great Portland        FC Manhattan (sebes)  v  LP De Canatlan (Heblem)

Then the winner of Match 1 plays the winner of Match 3 in the semi final.
And the winner of Match 2 plays the winner of Match 4 in the other semi final.

OK, enough words, here are some pics.....  Probably the last from the islands....


11.08  Consort Overview

Here's another overview showing more of the island.

11.09  Martensen Stacks

This is probably the most spectacular natural feature in West  End (so far!).  The Stacks were formed by limestone deposits millions of years ago. 

11.10  Martensen Stacks close up

Here's a closer shot.  I enjoyed creating these.  Again, Capo's coast line tutorial was a big help.

I hope you enjoyed.

'til next time.........

[bat]

Very nice looking natural new area there! Fantastic pictures of it!

[Jmouse]

Consort is perfect, Paul, and I'm going to miss combing those beautiful beaches around the islands!
BTW, I'm glad you explained those interesting rock formations - I was wondering about them.
Well, I'm looking forward to seeing what's in store for us now.

Until next time...
Joan

[sebes]

The people of Nieuw Amsterdam are very proud of FC Manhattans achievements in WestEnd. And all officials are glad that the world has seen how great the Dutch Americans can play Football and party and have as if the cup is already theirs.
Of course, a big hurdle is yet to be taken: how to beat those Pioneros from Canatlan with star striker Heblem. Anyhow, while the Blue White Legion is still celebrating last night's victory in WestEnd, new fans are arriving in Great Portland, hoping for their share of the famous Great Portland Beef and Onion Pies

[nedalezz]

Well it wasnt the most impressive performance, but qualification was the main goal, and the boys achieved it!

Berber Dawa did pay the players a bonus, but did warn them against what seems to be their complacent nature.

Those rock spikes are fantastic and your coastline looks magnificent! Bring on the 2nd Round!

[capo]

Woohoo! VV Biroud advanced to the next round, I couldn't be more happy! When the news reached Biroud, all the people stormed the streets in one big celebration. I'd like to show you a picture of the parade that was organised, not only for VV Biroud, but also for Lord paroch for organising the tournament where VV Biroud had the chance to shine.

Perhaps this could be the beginning of a town twinning (sister city) project between our two towns? I know Biroud can use a nice economic boost and perhaps the people of West End are interested in visiting their sister town for a small historical holiday?? The good care from the West Enders for the Biroud people who bought a ticket at the BLM has really made an impression on the people of Biroud, there's even a new saying in the streets here: "As helpful as a West-Ender", wich means that you do everything possible in your life to help another. And the new nickname for the monastary is now " De West-End" ...you can see that this tournament is really giving a mark on city life in Biroud!

[Ennedi]

Yes, Belmont Rangers saved the rest of their honour winning their last game, but this acceleration came much too late. They come back to Shosaloza this evening, but instead to play and drink in Amnesia they go to the high mountain retreat to make meditations and learn to draw their internal energy in a more proper way

But Shosaloza girls don't want to come back! "West End is a beautiful place, and the atmosphere of this tournament is really great! There are a lot of nice clubs, discos and other interesting places on Regent and Consort Islands, and we love the intimate atmosphere and beautiful beaches on the Crown Island - especially at the evening! And these all nice boys... We simply can't leave them alone!"

Some of our girls say Shosalozan soccer team is too poor yet, so they decided to make their own team:



They started to work very seriously



So don't be surprised we will have not only the male team in the next tournament (of course they want to play with male teams, they are sure they will be enough good!)
So we will stay at the West End, and we will support all teams, but especially our group leader - FC Manhattan, and of course Biroud knights ("it's such romantic!" - said one of our girls)



These islands are really great, I like this region more and more!
If you have any specific questions about terrain mods, inform me please
Adam

[capo]

I do hope that the Biroud players will not get too distracted by their female fans, the most of their lives they've been staring at the back end of a horse...this is something completely new and unknown to them to stare at

If your new female team by any chance needs a coach Ennedi, I'm sure I can find a spot in my busy schedule ..just because I love the sport of football, that's really the only reason!

paroch: I forgot to let you know how much I liked the islands, the Martensen Stacks are really great!!! I just love to see something 'different' yet also it doesn't seem out of place. You can already imagine the tourists walking around and wondering how those rocks were created, like that famous french place wich name I forgot

[paroch]

REPLIES:


Bat:  Thanks as always.

Joan:  I'm flattered with your use of "perfect"!  The West End region has plenty of water - sea, rivers, islands, lakes.  So I suspect there will be more beaches (and I enjoy them as well).  As for what's next.... only two final things for Regent, see below for today's installment......    And as for my explanation re the rocks, erm, well, erm, I just made up the first thing that came in my head.  Was hoping we don't have an amateur geologist on here

Sebes:  I really hope that is not YOUR dog!!  Thanks for your visit and my greetings go to the people in Nieuw Amsterdam (I can't wait for you to get a new PC and see your MD).  As for the beef and onion pies.... steak and kidney is my favourite at football .

Nedalezz:  Now the serious matches start - good luck.  And I hope Berber Dawa makes it to West End for a match soon!

Capo:  What a parade your people put on.  That looks a great setting.  I am sure Biroud will have such a square.  Maybe one for your next update??  It's good to see football has driven people crazy throughout the ages!  And as for a sister-town / twin-town, West End would be honoured.  Take your pick from the cities in West End - Wardour (where your team played its group matches), Great Portland, Little Portland (much agriculture), Regent (home to Little Amsterdam and the casinos), Oxford (the capital at present), Cavendish (large agricultural town I have just started work on).  I'm not sure how the twinning would work, but I'm sure we can make it up as we go along!
And thanks for your comments re the Martensen Stacks.  As you say, a bit different!

Adam (Ennedi):  I love the pictures you provide!
I can imagine the Belmont Rangers at the mountain retreat.  Hopefully the RL England players will be sent away for some serious contemplation!  I hear that the players from Regent Royals have been made to stand on top of the rocks at Martensen Stacks!
Thanks for your kind comment and should I have any questions on terrain mods I'll take you up.  That tutorial you provided was amazing but probably a bit beyond my capabilities at present!

I went to watch my own beloved West Ham United today.  We drew 1-1 against our London rivals, Spurs.  Our keeper made a penalty save in the last minute, so a draw was good in the end!  It was a really good game to watch, hopefully this tournament here can provide some similar excitement!!


Day 7 and 8 were rest days.  A chance for the players to recuperate after the three matches of the group stage.

OK, Let's get straight to the action:

Day 9 - Match 1 in Regent - VV Biroud v Fursan FC
Wow, what a game.  A real thriller where the lead kept changing hands.  Biroud got off to a dream start, scoring from a corner in the 4th minute.  Fursan fought back hard, but conceded a second goal in the 35th minute after a sweet passing move by Biroud.  But just before half time, Fursan pulled one back after some neat work in the box by their star striker Tevez.
At half time you could sense that the Fursan goal had given them some belief and that they would fight really hard.  Which is what they did and they scored in the 48th minute.  2-2 and it was all to play for.  Fursan piled on the pressure and scored their third from a free kick on 62 minutes.  Was that it?  No chance.  Biroud's manager, made a change, bringing on their young striker, Van Hoogervord and taking off a defender. Would the gamble work?  Well, on 84 minutes the youngster pounced on a loose ball to score the equaliser, 3-3.
But Fursan's Tevez broke Biroud's hearts with a header in injury time.

And that was it, Fursan progress and VV Biroud are out. 
VV Biroud  3-4  Fursan FC 
West End are preparing the catapults to fire the Biroud team back to Evergem.  But they will always be remembered for their fighting spirit (and the boiling oil!)


Day 9 - Match 2 in Oxford - PitchForkers v Wombats
This was the clash of the American MDs.  Which one would emerge the stronger?
It was an edgy affair, with both teams being cautious and concentrating more on not making mistakes than pushing for a goal.  PitchForkers were angry that they were not awarded a penalty on 39 minutes.  It looked like a hand ball by a Wombats defender, but the ref looked long and hard before saying NO.
Nil, nil at half time.
In the second half the Wombats upped the speed of the game and started to pressure the PitchForkers goal.  And the pressure finally paid on 71 minutes, with a blistering shot by Martins that came back off the post only to prodded home by Grimes.  One nil to the Wombats.  But Pat's team have fire in their bellies and they soon pulled one back, with a deflected goal on 79 minutes.
At the end of 90 minutes it was all square, so extra time was played.  Both teams looked tired and sure enough, it was a defensive error that caused the goal.  A mix up between two PitchForker defenders let the Wombats captain sneak between the two defenders and shoot home.  There were no other clear cut chances, so the match ended:
PitchForkers  1-2  Wombats
So tkirch's team are through - congratulations.  Pat, unlucky my friend, it was close.


Day 10 - Match 3 in Wardour:  Terrigal Mariners v West End United
There was a real party atmosphere in the stadium at Wardour.  The Mariners fans certainly made plenty of noise and it paid off when their team took an early lead on 10 minutes.  The rest of the first half saw plenty of action but no real clear cut chances.
The second half started and within 3 minutes West End were back in the game, with Collins, the big defender heading home from a corner.  The Mariners dug deep and were next to score on 77 minutes.  2-1.  But with just seconds to go, Cole got the ball on the edge of the box, played a neat one two and slotted home underneath the advancing keeper.

2-2 and extra time beckoned.  West End had the best chance during extra time but were denied by the cross bar, so the game went to penalties. 
Penalties are a harsh way to decide a game, and it was harsh on the Mariners, they had two misses, so West End won 4-3 on penalties.
Terrigal Mariners  2-2  West End United
  (West End United win 4-3 on penalties)
West End United book their place in the semis and their fans are celebrating.  Tooheys team can feel very unlucky to go out on penalties.  It's a long flight back to Balnavia, and maybe one day a team from West End will make the journey.


Day 10 - Match 4 in Great Portland:  FC Manhattan v Los Pioneros De Canatlan
This stadium will host the final and both teams today thought they had a chance of being there.  But straight from the whistle it was Manhattan that were in charge.  Canatlan just didn't seem to get going today and on 32 minutes they fell behind to a crisply struck goal.
Half time gave the Pioneers a chance to re-group and the manager made a substitution.  Canatlan looked a little brighter in the second half and had a few chances, but on 68 minutes Manhattan scored a second and that was pretty much game over.  Canatlan tried to get back in but the Manhattan defence were just too powerful.
FC Manhattan  2-0  Los Pioneros de Canatlan
Well done Sebes.  The Mets party continues.  If any more fans arrive I don't know where we'll put them all!
And Heblem, thanks for taking part.  You have a fine MD in Canatlan, you can be sure I'll continue to visit it.

And so, to the semi finals next time:
Fursan FC v West End United in Great Portland
Wombats v FC Manhattan in Oxford.


Regent is fully developed now, so I thought I'd start winding it up now.  Here are some graphs and data views to summarise the city.

Population:  99,011
Commercial jobs:  57,335
Industrial jobs:  8,746

So a fair number of citizens commute outside of Regent:

11.01  Commute Times

You can see that commute times have been brought down over the years.  Just as well, as it was starting to kill the city.



11.02  Road Congestion

Most roads are flowing well.  A few hot spots - but I like that.  The red line at the top is the street that leads to the beach parking lots and I thought that this looked better as a street rather than a road.



11.03  Traffic Volumes

Car is by far the most popular method of transport, but ferries are also popular, which considering the two inhabited island this is not so much of a surprise.



11.04  Ferry Usage

And here you can see where the ferry usage is.



11.05  Zone Data

This gives an idea of how I zoned the city.
1- City Centre
2- The Strip
3- Museum Park
4- Little Amsterdam
5- Heddon Golf Club
6- Mouse Point



11.06  Pollution

Pollution was restricted to the main industrial areas plus the main roads.  Nothing too serious.



11.07  Education

Regent was the first city when I really concentrated on making more realistic schools.  Before it was a case of making sure I had good coverage.  But here, I wanted the schools to look good more than be effective!  Having said that, they did a reasonable job I think.



11.08  Average Incomes

I guess the level of education helps this.  But I don't recall seeing anyone else publish this graph, so I'd be interested to see or hear how Regent compares.



11.09  Residential Wealth

And this shows that the vast majority of residents in Regent are in the medium wealth bracket.  The islands and South Bank developments helped bring some high wealthers into town.


I hope that these graphs were of interest to you and give you some idea as to how the city actually grew and works.

'til next time........

[Jmouse]

Those are some impressive stats for a city of almost 100,000, Paul.
Commute times are looking good, traffic is moving right along and the other desirability factors are showing steady improvement just as we all hope they will. I noticed an upswing in car usage, but it's OK as long as it doesn't get out of hand. I'm impressed by the ferry usage, a method of transport still in my future.
I was especially interested in the zone data. I like the way you've scattered jobs throughout the city to keep commute times under control.
And your response made me laugh because I do the same thing! I just open my mind and wait for something to fall in!

Until next time...
Joan

[sebes]

Those are great stats! The city of Regent has grown steadily, so they probably need a bigger stadium now as well. No matter what the result of this tournament will be, the New Amsterdam fans would love to come again to West End, and raise hell (in party mode) in Little Amsterdam!

The New Dutch are thrilled to play in the semi-finals against the Sheboygan Wombats, The Blue White Legion was impressed by the outfits of the Biroud fans - causing that "biroud-like" clothing is a big hit in the wellknown department stores in Manhattan. The latest biroud-fashion is also worn by Mets fans that arrived today in Oxford

[capo]

Oh no, what a climax of that game. Well VV Biroud may have lost, but they have done so in style. This mayor couldn't be more proud! It seems that this style is now wearing off when you read the post above But now I read sebes his post, many things start to make sense now. Just a few hours ago, some Biroud villagers came to me asking for someone or something called "Intonet". They claimed that some Mets fans stopped them on the streets asking them where they could get such an outfit, they advised them to sell their clothing on the 'intonet' and they would become rich. I'm not real happy about that, because it seems that this 'intonet' is starting to become our next holy grail. Already knights who are normally responsible for city defence are talking about organising a quest to search for the intonet and already some beggers claim to have seen the intonet, trying to earn a goldcoin for their story. At this point the intonet is a very big and fluffly dragon-like acrobat in a pink outfit...people thought to have seen the intonet are advised to close windows and doors and contact local authorities. However a fun thing is that some West End city slang has given off on the Birouders, here's a small poem from these days to give you an example:

"Sir knights,take heed hither in hie
This deed on dergh we may not draw
Ye woot yourself as well as I
How lords and leaders of our law
Has given doom that this dote shall die.
aiiiight"


Thanks for posting all the stats, that is a nice conclusion for the end of a town. Like Jmouse I don't make much use of ferries either so this is quite an encouragement that they do work very well. Btw what Maxis genius came up with the idea to make the High Volume color blue for ferries?

[nedalezz]

After a thrilling match with VV Biroud, the FURSAN FC manager, Amadou Khalilo, personally made sure to congratulate their opponents on a match well-played.

"This was by far our toughest opponents so far this tournament," stated Khalilo. "My boys could learn a thing or two from them. Fantastic squad, hats off to them. It really couldve went either way."

Next up is West End United, and it will be the pre-tournament favorites against the host squad. A tough match, definitely, but here's the bigget announcement:

Upon witnessing Fursan FC's performance, Berber Dawa has announced that he will fly to West End to personally watch the Semi-Final and the Final, whether Fursan make it through or not. In addition, Dawa will also fly in a small QEC delegation to begin officially forming ties with West End based on cultural, diplomatic, and possibly economic terms.

[bat]

Congrats to the teams who won! And nice states there!

[tooheys]

NOoooo!!!!!! Not a penalty shootout, what a way to lose. Congrats to West End, we'll get you next season.

Looking good Paul, except for the Mariners that is 

Like the stats, Joan must be in heaven 

Consort looks great, especially the work you have done with the Martensen Stacks 

Cheers

Dave

[paroch]

Joan:  I know you like a stat or two!!  I have to confess that with NAM I choose the setting for improved commute times (so maybe they're not so impressive now!).  As for the ferries.... I guess living on an island in RL means that I have a soft spot for water transport!  Clearly they're not suited to every tile but Regent is perfect having islands plus being on the mouth of a river.
And when you say you "open your head"...... I hope you don't mean literally - ouch!

Sebes:  I have the new stadium ready - but seeing as I've developed the tile now, I guess it will have to wait!  And the Nieuw Amsterdammers are welcome any time in West End.  I have so many Dutch bats in my plug ins that I have a feeling that most of my cities will have a certain Dutch feel about them.  And good luck for the semis.

Capo:  It's a shame Biroud have been knocked out.  Your MD is AWESOME and you've been a great supporter of West End - but that satanic machine has no emotion when it comes to the results.
And a great post from you as always "intonet" made me laugh.  And that poem is so, well, so West End ish!
Glad you liked the stat attack and I agree, using blue on the water wasn't a brilliant idea.  And whilst it's true that Maxis made some strange choices we should still all say THANK YOU MAXIS - they made SC4 and we all love it.  And by making it not quite perfect it has spawned so many GENIUSES who have Batted and Lotted and Modded and given rise to where SC4 is today.

Nedalezz:  Great post and nice words for Biroud in the true spirit of SC4D.  And West End is honoured by the presence of Berber Dawa himself.  I have read your response over at Qumma - thank you.  The West End government will meet with Berber Dawa to finalise the agreement - maybe he can find time in his schedule to sign the declaration!

Bat:  Thanks my friend.  You're approaching the 3500 posts, will you be the first on SC4D to hit that landmark?

Dave:  Penalties are cruel I know.  We'll miss the Mariners but hopefully you'll still pop by and leave your comments.  You're one of the few posters who tells me where I'm making mistakes - but always in a constructive way that helps me improve my city building (so I do appreciate it).



Welcome to the semi finals of the West End International Trophy.  Only four teams remain and excitement levels are rising all over West End, and in particular in Oxford and Great Portland, the two cities that are hosting the semi finals on Day 13 of the tournament.

Semi Final 1 in Great Portland:   Fursan FC v West End United
Fursan have been far from convincing so far in the tournament.  They had one big win and other than that have scraped through but today they were really professional and played a tight game and took their chance.
With just two minutes to go until half time, Fursan scored a well crafted goal.  A fast move down the left wing saw a perfect cross into the box and Fursan's star striker, Tevez, made no mistake.
West End threw everything at Fursan in the second half but it was not enough.
Fursan FC  1-0  West End United
So Fursan go to the final and West End United crash out.  At least they don't have far to travel home!  Congratulations to Nedalezz.  Berber Dawa was seen hugging Amadou Khalilo, he must be very proud of his team.


Semi Final 2 in Oxford:   Wombats v FC Manhattan
Manhattan played their group games in this stadium and looked right at home.  They took control from the start and went 1-0 up inside the first ten minutes.  Wombats fought back hard and looked as though they could get back into the game but at half time they were still a goal down.
In the second half Wombats changed formation and threw an additional striker up front.  Things just wouldn't fall for them and as the clock ticked on they became desperate and started punting long hopeful balls up towards their tall strikers.  But Manhattan coped well and hit on the break with just four minutes remaining to make it 2-0.  Mets fans went wild and at the final whistle went crazy.
Wombats  0-2  FC Manhattan.
The Mets make the final, well done sebes.  Tkirch, your team did so well and came close.  I am sure they will get a warm reception when they arrive home in Badger Bay.

So the final will be on Friday in Great Portland between Nedalezz' Fursan FC and Sebes' FC Manhattan.  Good luck guys - I plan to post the final result on Friday 30th November.


OK, Some pics.  I tried to decide how to finish off Regent.  I have to say I have spent more time on this one city square than any other, ever.  And I've really enjoyed it.  I also think I've learned a lot from it, mainly form your comments and suggestions and also from looking and learning from other MDs here on SC4D.  And I've got so much more to learn and so much I want to do next time.

Anyways, I'm going to finish with my personal top ten places in Regent.  I'll start with an overview that has a yellow circle for each location in the top ten.  Today I'll show numbers 10 to 6, with the top ten to some with the final of the tournament and my last day here in OSITM.

Regent Overview:



Number 10  The Mirage

Well, this is what Regent was all about initially - The Strip.  Home to casinos, hotels, beaches and tourist attractions.  The Mirage is the most luxurious hotel on The Strip and is a Regent icon - it HAD to be in the top ten.


Number 9  St Dagmars Church

Here on Regent Island is this peaceful church.  I think it's a lovely BAT and I also like the setting, near to the coast and surrounded by trees.  Just a shame about those shadows!


Number 8  Royals Stadium, Royal Park and St Michaels

Appropriate really considering the football tournament.  It's a pretty standard stadium but I like the setting, next to the park and church with a nice sea wall nearby.


Number 7  Heddon Country Club

This was also from one of the early updates in Regent.  I'm not a golfer myself, but this place does appeal.


Number 6  Mouse Point, Regent Island

Back to Regent Island for this scenic view point.  You can stand there and watch the ferries sail past and stare across at the South Bank.

Well, the next update is the last for Regent (top five), last for the football tournament (the final) and the last in OSTIM.

So, 'til next time......