St Andrews - 10th October 2011 - Small Heath still lives!

St Andrews started as a region for me to test out a few ideas and techniques. I liked what I did (and am still doing!) enough that I wanted to share what had been created!

A few of you may recognise this Journal from the CJ section of Simtropolis, where it is being discontinued. The staff here at SC4D have graciously given me permission to publish St Andrews here. The first few updates will be highlights from ST before I carry on with newer updates to the region.

Without further ado, lets take a look at the first district in St Andrews, Barnt Green!

Barnt Green is a small hillside town near the banks of the River Teme:

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Today we'll have a look at an overview of the town centre:

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And to finish, a little teaser of the farmland which drives Barnt Green's economy:

Hope you all enjoyed my first entry! All comments and critiques gratefully received.

Next Up: We'll take a closer look at Barnt Green's downtown and markets!

noahclem · March 01, 2011, 03:30:33 PM

Great looking start here!

I look forward to more!

rooker1 · March 01, 2011, 03:48:25 PM

I agree with Noah, great start indeed!!

Robin

scott1964 · March 01, 2011, 07:20:42 PM

Nice start.

Terring7 · March 02, 2011, 09:25:47 AM

I like what i see

Stray Cat · March 02, 2011, 10:53:22 AM

My first thought: Oh wow...sweet.

My second thought: Here is another MD to follow.

Hey Reikhardt. Excellent start to your MD. I love the opening shot that you provided. Your attention to detail on the rural elements is far better than I fare and very well done.

I look forward to seeing more.

Cheers!

Scott

ldvger · March 02, 2011, 01:50:37 PM

I like it!

Can you share the tools and techniques with us that you used to create your waterfalls? I REALLY like the looks of them and would like to attempt something similar.

Lora/LD

Kergelen · March 02, 2011, 01:58:59 PM

Beautiful start!

I like the little village with this lakes. And the waterfalls looks nice.

Reikhardt · March 03, 2011, 02:20:23 PM

Replies:

Noah: Thanks!

Robin: Thanks to you too!

scott1964: Thanks you sir!

Elias: Glad you liked it!

Stray Cat:: Thank you for the kind words. I hope you enjoy following this MD. My favourite part of city building is creating the rural scenery, as you will see in future updates!

ldvger: In just a few updates time, I'll post a tutorial of how I make waterfalls and I'll list all the tools and mods I use. I must point out that Jaqulina first used the techniques I employ, but no harm sharing them again!

Kergelen: Thanks! I find that using different bodies of water really makes an SC4 scene look more alive.

The town centre of Barnt Green, where locally owned stores are found. As a small farming town, the influence of the major national and international chain store has yet to be felt:

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Any visitor to Barnt Green will likely arrive by rail, due to no major highways running near by:

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And a gratuitous close up of Mattb325's stunning station:

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The 'downtown':

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Most people get what they need from the markets. Most food is sourced from the local farms:

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Barnt Green's Church is next up. Town meetings are held here each week, so the building really acts as a hub of the community:

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A few shots of some of the residential area:

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And finally, a night shot thrown in, just so I can thank jasoncw for the wonderful nightlighting on his Grosse Pointe Public Library:

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Next up, We'll take a look at the waterfall which dominates the landscape:

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Hope you all enjoyed!

Thanks for viewing and commenting!

Terring7 · March 03, 2011, 02:39:29 PM

Wonderful!

noahclem · March 03, 2011, 02:51:05 PM

Great update!

I love all the trees and the gravel shoulders on the roads add a nice touch! A charming little town!

RickD · March 04, 2011, 01:29:02 AM

Very nice.

penguin007 · March 04, 2011, 04:11:28 AM

Nice start the waterfall looks great!!

Will

Tomas Neto · March 04, 2011, 07:28:11 AM

Very nice start on your MD!!! Fantastic images!!!

ldvger · March 04, 2011, 12:28:38 PM

Very nice, very pretty little town and I like the no sidewalks look, too. How do you do that? Are all your buildings plops or do any of them actually "grow". If they are plops, I can't begin to imagine what your mayor mode drop down menus must look like!

Lora/LD

Stray Cat · March 04, 2011, 08:07:00 PM

First, thank you in return for you kind words back.

A great update. Your use of trees is simply astounding. I try to use SimFox's trees like you do but your work is just so much better than anything I can seem to create. You have such an eye for balance, layout, and harmony that I can only wonder at. Very well done.

Scott

kwakelaar · March 05, 2011, 12:04:41 AM

Very nice start, and a spacious and lush green village. Great work

Reikhardt · March 05, 2011, 02:18:05 PM

Replies:

Elias: Thanks, but no need for the worship!

noah: Thank you, I try to make it look as dirty and rural as possible!

Raphael: Cheers!

Will: Thanks, enjoy the close ups in this update!

Tomas Neto: Glad you have enjoyed it so far!

Lora: Many thanks! I use this and this to get that sidewalk look. 95% of what you see is grown, my Mayor Mode menu is huge enough already!

Scott: Thank you for the kind comments. I find the trick with Simfox trees is to plop the bigger ones first at random points and then use the smaller trees to fill in the gaps. It is best to avoid regular patterns, as nature is rarely organised! I may do a mini tutorial at some point showing how I plop trees and other flora if people are interested.

kwakelaar: Many thanks!

Today we'll have a look at the waterfall which dominates the landscape. As a small disclaimer, I did not invent this technique for building falls, the idea was entirely inspired by Jaqulina, who I think is the master of landscaping. Well worth checking her work out!

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And a few random scenery shots to finish, plus a photo of the field near my workplace which inspired them:

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Hope you all enjoyed this update, a lot of hours went into that waterfall!
Many thanks for viewing and commenting.

Next update: I'll do a tutorial of how I made the waterfalls and what downloads I used.

Ciuu96 · March 05, 2011, 04:22:28 PM

Great MD, that waterfall and those fields look great!

Waiting for the tutorial also!

Kergelen · March 05, 2011, 11:56:03 PM

I's a pleasant village.

I like the flora you use near the waterfalls because it give a feeling of moisture.
And the wetlands are nice too