Welcome to Condor Bay

[kimcar]

  Another great update that you have done. Just a question , what is the name or link of the building on the last pic please thanks.

[Masochist]

Just a question , what is the name or link of the building on the last pic please thanks.

That's the [Newman Inc. Federal Courthouse], by citynut.  It's on the STEX...just click that link !

[thundercrack83]

More wonderful work, my friend! I love the step-by-step process you used to building the Condor Bay Bridge, especially. I think I'm going to stea...I mean use that technique in the future!

Can't wait to see more!

Dustin

[kimcar]

Thanks for the links . I appreciate

[threestooges]

If I recall, this is my first post in this MD, and from what I've seen, I'm surprised it has taken me this long. In particular, the bridge is well done, and the overall plan you're working with is something else (I like the way you're updating your SC3k city and it's working well). If you're still taking suggestions regarding the vacant area above the beach (back near the port) I would recommend just turning it into a simple, grassy park. Something people can stroll through as they gaze out into the water. Maybe add a few facilites such as restrooms etc if you are able. Good work on everything so far, I'll look forward to more in the future.

[thundercrack83]

Congrats, Isaac--



The Staff

[rooker1]

Congratulations Masochist on your move to SITM.


Robin 

[bat]

Yes, Congrats for your award!!

[warconstruct]

splendid update! all my congratulation 

[emilin]

Congratulations on the award!

It is quite an interesting project you have got going here. I never played enough SC3000 to remember just how it was - but from your pictures it looks much better than I remember it (it's probably just you doing a better job than I ever could...).

[tooheys]

Hi Masochist and welcome to the club 

A well deserved reward.I know I haven't been a frequent visitor but your recent work looks great. Particularily like the port area and the comparisons to SC3000 brings back a memory or two.

Have a great month.

Cheers

Dave

[Antoine]

congratulation for this award 

[Masochist]

Heh heh...yeah, I know these usually come at the end of the update, but I'd thought I'd put it at the beginning this time.

So imagine my surprise when I come online one day and discover that my MD isn't where it's supposed to be!  Instead, it's been moved to here...to the "Special Interest of the Month" category.  I couldn't believe it...I still can't!

Thank you guys so much for granting me the privilege !  I don't know if I can live up to past MD's who have been in here (or the other ones who are in here now), but I'll try !

Enough about that, though...

I went and got myself a new graphics card!  It's an Nvidia 8600 GT OverClocked with 512 MB of RAM (might've got the 8800 if I were absolutely certain that my computer could actually handle a card like that).  With that card, about have the games on my desktop became playable again...games like Civ IV, The Sims 2 (up to Seasons), Guitar Hero III, and my newest one: MS Flight Simulator X Deluxe (I didn't actually notice too much of a difference with SC4).

As it is, all of these games (and a fair few others) are now fighting for my attention.  Usually SC4 wins out, but sometimes that doesn't happen (most often when FSX is in the running).  This doesn't mean that updates will come slower, or that this MD is in any danger (because I am, as I stated last update, farther along in the city than in this MD), but it does mean that you guys might catch up to me quicker than I expected .

On the plus side...I GOT A NEW GRAPHICS CARD !!!...And I also got a Photobucket Premium Account.  After seeing what happened to suplado! on ST, I checked my own bandwidth and sure enough, I was at 94% usage for the month.  So impulsively, I spent $25 to get a premium account.  All my pictures are now safe for the next year !

Finally, I'd like to once more thank everyone who's been following this city, even if you've only commented once.  I really appreciate it!

wouanagaine -
Hello!  Fancy seeing you in here again !  Thank you for the comments, I'm glad you like it!  I hope you come in a bit more often, but I definitely understand if you can't .


bat -
Thanks!  I like the way the bridge turned out, but there's something a bit off about it...I might make the islands farther apart.  Thanks for the comments about the snow picture!  I like them, too...I don't have too many of them (only two, actually).  Do come back in, eh?  I appreciate all of your kind comments !


kimcar -
Thanks for the compliment!  And no problem on the link...if you see anything else that looks interesting, don't hesitate to ask where I got it !


thundercrack 83 -
Thank you!  I'm glad you found the little step-by-step thing worth stealing useful.  There's another little progressive series in this update, as well...maybe you'll find those of use, too?  Don't know .  Thanks for all the support you've given me here!  I don't think you know just how much I appreciate it!


threestooges -
Thanks for the compliments!  I'm glad you're liking it so far.  I like the bridge, but I think I need to separate the islands a bit more...and then set it up to be decorated easier.  And yes, I'm still taking ideas...I like that idea!  I can put a grassy knoll next to it for people to gaze out from...maybe put some observation decks over the slope...cycleways!  I can make a Venice Beach-style bicycle trail along the upper lip, that might look awesome!  THANKS for the the ideas !!!  I do hope you'll pop back in a bit more often ....


thundercrack83, rooker1, bat, warconstruct, emilin, tooheys, and Antoine -
Wow...I'm humbled !  Thank you guys again for the gesture and kind words!  I really appreciate it !


emilin -
LOL...well, I don't know.  It might just be the contrast I put in those SC3K pictures .  By the way, let me take this opportunity to (finally) personally thank you for writing that tutorial .  The fruits of your labor are on the first page .  Do come back soon!


tooheys -
Good to be here!  Thanks for the compliments and congratulations.  I'm glad even that you took the time to stop in this one time...though I do hope you'll come back again !

UPDATE 4 - Comin' 'Round The Mountain
Now things start getting interesting...hopefully...

4.1)


Let's see...at this point, Condor Bay has a regional population of about 12,000 Sims.  Going back to this numbered view of the region, City #1 (Fordville Int'l Seaport) is essentially completed.  I've been trying to lay down a commercial area that falls right on the corner of cities 1, 2, 5 and 7...that will be completed in this update.  And also...wait a minute...

Oooooh...

You guys get your first look at what will be Project #2 in this update!  Cool!

Yes, this is where the city starts to get interesting.  Going around Vista Hill brings you right into the main valley of the metro area.  The freeway comes in full force here, and  you'll start to see some true city-building efforts from me (as well as me trying to deal with problems that come about as I let the game kick my behind for being careless).  This city tile, called Condor Beach, will be completed in four updates (hopefully).  Let's get started, shall we ?

Before I do anything in this city, I have to terraform one certain area:

4.2)


This is the SC3K version of the famous (and infamous ) Condor Beach and Boardwalk (with the Condor Beach Marina sticking out of the lower corner there).  Condor Beach is undeniably the most famous beach in Fordville (and there are a few beaches around here) for a multitude of reasons, most of which I'll go into in a future update.  For now, however, all you need to know is that this is the defining feature of this particular city tile...and so I need to define it.  And yes--that is a museum on that beach !

I have to start where I left off last time: the Condor Beach Marina.  It continues into this town, so I defined how far it went, first.

4.3)


This is where the beach is going to be.  And, wow!, how coincidental that it falls exactly where I said Project 2 would fall in a previous update .  Yes, if you haven't figured it out by now (and you should've ), Condor Beach is Project 2.   We're not actually making the beach in this update, we're only terraforming where the beach will go so that I can mold the rest of the town around it.  Don't know why I said "we're," but I did, and I'll stick with it.

4.4)


The thing about Condor Beach is that it's a resort beach.  I have never made a successful, functioning resort beach in my life, but I've seen plenty of pictures (suplado! and gabry85 of Simtropolis immediately come to mind, and they are, in fact, the examples I looked to when I planned it out).  I knew that I had to have an extremely low-lying area with a gentle slope to the water that was wide enough to accommodate the resort area, a three-tile-wide avenue, and the beach itself.  So I used the tried-and-true street leveling method to mold the land as I wanted, as you can see in the above picture.  Here's the result:

4.5)


Oooh...those are some nice cliffs and steep slopes, there !  Here's a wide-out shot:

4.6)

On the right side of the hill is where the seaport industrial area connects with this city tile.  Remember that...

Ugh...horrid.  Oh, well...nothing a little God-Mode smoothing can't fix, eh?

4.7)


Ahh, that's better!  As you can see, I left the cliff on the diagonal portion that connects the beach with the marina.  That was done purposely...but enough about that .

Now that the beach is  pretty much how I want it, I can finally start building in this town.  Here might be a good time to tell you that for me, the freeway is king.  It decides where I put satellite office districts, it decides where all my high density zones should go...it pretty much dictates how I build my city.  That's why I had to terraform the beach before I did anything else: so I knew where to place the freeway...

4.8 )


There we go!  Got the freeway up and going, I've got the avenue running along the foothills...even have the avenue going down the beach (and yes, that's a split avenue and not two one-way roads).  Looks like we might finally be set to build!

In this city, what I did first was zone the last bit of the Bothersome Commercial Area (I'm thinking of making that the permanent name ).  Then I decided, after having success the last time I did it, to try my hand at making mountainside suburbs.  Here's the result:

4.9)

WHAT THE HECK ARE THOSE BLUE THINGS!?!?!?!?

And here's the result.  Not too pretty.  Maxis seems to dominate the streets...and I, somehow, seemed to have forgotten to turn off the UDI icons !  Oi, how embarrassing !  Oh well.  As it is, that area gets a lot better as I let the game run.  How about we showcase some pictures, eh?

4.10)

Up on a mountain...

4.11)

More UDI icons...

Heh heh...I took some pictures on December 26th with my computer's clock set to the 25th so that I could take advantage of the snow Easter Egg .  It only appeared in the highest parts of the mountain, but I got some all right shots from it:

4.12)


4.13)

A white Christmas, indeed...

And finally, I offer a Deever/CarmineHilton-esque panorama shot of the suburbs on the mountain.  Two options, depending on your preference:

[2.4 MB Panorama Shot (3530x768)]

[1.5 MB Panorama Shot (2758x600)]

Just so you know, I decided to stop building along that mountain because I was getting to close to the top, and I decided that I wanted to preserve at least part of the hills as they are.  Still, I hope you like those !

Ahh, but what about that industrial area I mentioned last time, eh?  Well, it's thriving, I'd say!  Take a look, why don't ya?

4.14)


Meh...kind of repetative as it is now, but still a lot better than the one across that city connection .  Some close ups:

4.15)


4.16)

Mmmm...smell that fresh city smog!

All right...that just about wraps up this update.  I guess I'll see you guys...

BUT WAIT!  What about that commercial area you've been complaining about???

Ahh, yeah!  Almost forgot about that.  Well...that can be the teaser for the next update.  Observe:

4.17)


Not so bad, eh?  Aye, but somethin' be amiss, her'.  That's because this picture was actually taken pretty recently.  In a region with only about 12,000 people, there shouldn't be so many offices...but there are.  You'll see why that is in a future update.  For now, though, did you notice I have some custom schools in there?  Those are jbsimio's elementary schools...there are two of them visible, and a Maxis one peeking out from the very top.  Why so many in one tiny area?  I'll get to that next update .

That's really all I have for this update.  Next update, you guys will get to see what the rest of the town will look like.  Should have lots of pictures, and maybe you'll get a good idea of how I actually go about building cities.  'Til then, thanks for reading !

Not really a notice...I should make another banner.  This is more of a question; I'll periodically ask these just to see if I can better my MD'ing skillz.  This time, the question is: do you guys think I talk too much or explain pictures too much?  I notice that people seem to respond more to the pictures than to my babbling...do you guys even read the stuff I type?  Be honest, now!  If you guys don't actually read it, then I can save a bit of time by cutting down what I type.  Thanks !

P. S. If you see a BAT that looks interesting to you and you want to know where I got it, feel free to ask and I will try and point you in the right direction..."try" being the key word .

[bat]

Fantastic new pictures there of your nice city, Masochist!
Wonderful update, too!
And the panorama-pictures are looking also fantastic!!
The snow pictures as well!

[warconstruct]

wow excellent update! still of very beautiful image of your city 

[thundercrack83]

I, for one, really what you post in your updates, Isaac. I like when an MD author explains their "vision" in what's going on in the picture, it gives a very important perspective--what the person who made this was thinking!

I will admit, though, I do sometimes just look at pictures in MDs, depending on time constraints, and I'm sure that most people do, it's just human nature! But I do try to enjoy everything that an author takes the time to share with us.

Now, onto the update...

The beach is coming along quite nicely! I like how you walked us through it's construction. The residential and industrial areas are looking good, too, and those panoramas are huge!  The first one is my favorite, I love the angle.

Keep up the great work, my friend!

Dustin

[Antoine]

Wow ! : it's the only word I can say 

[threestooges]

Another spiffy update and some good commentary too. I like the captions and what not. It does add to the pics, and often tends to point out something I might have otherwise overlooked. Plus your sense of humor adds a great touch. Sounds like I struck a chord with that park idea, it'll be interesting to see what you come up with for it. As for the development and design of Condor Beach, I think it is off to a good start. One trick I can suggest for further road-plop terraforming is to make one like of single plops along one edge (preferably the long one) and just draw road strips parallel to it (something that I learned from Darmok in Anduin Valley Revisited at ST: link in my sig). It makes the work go much faster. Lastly, I'll be curious to see what you use for that beachside museum. Not a bad place to spend the day I'd say. Take it easy.
-Matt

[tooheys]

One trick I can suggest for further road-plop terraforming is to make one like of single plops along one edge (preferably the long one) and just draw road strips parallel to it

That's the only way to go, that's how I work and it will save a little a bit of time. Might even extend the life of your mouse by a minute or two 

Pic's 4.10-4.13 are my faves this time round,good looking suburban areas, built nicely into the hills. Look great 

There is one thing that caught my eye though, the ave running parallel to the hwy. I just think it could be a bit smoother, it can still undulate, but the slope transitions could be smoothed out a bit.

Now the big question, it depends. If its a story MD, I will read the comments if I like the tale being told otherwise I will just concerntrate on the pics.
I am more likely to read comments that explain the process behind the development, why this was done, how this was done, why you like this pic etc.
I think you fall towards the latter, with a touch of the former  so I do tend to read your comments.

Cheers

Dave

[Pat]

Isaac,

   Personally I just post pics and try to title the pic... Its a matter of personal taste and I do read everything though... Your style is yours and mine is mine along with the other MD'ers... I love your photo shopping effects and that is something I could never do... IE 4.16 is by far my favorite pic of this update...

The only suggestion I would make to you is that you can get more updates if you break up the pic amounts IE say have only 5 pics per update and that way if you haven't had time to play and take shots... So that way you have an update ready to rock and roll...

Like now I have 5 pics sitting ready to go after a few days to get my next update.... But then again that is me and its only a thought on to help you out, till my next visit Isaac take it easy and be safe - pat