Spa's Atlantic Retreat

[magee_b]

lookin' great as always spa! 

[spa]

Jack: Indeed and the hurricane season is pretty much done at this point for Atlantic Canada. There is just a small window in which the air and water is warm enough around September that they can come this far north to cause mischief. The people in Newfoundland though weren't as lucky this year. They actually called out the navy to lend them a hand in rebuilding washed out roads to all those small outports.
Magee: Thanks


The Saint John Customs Building is in good shape. I have it textured and in game. Below is how it turned out.






I'm pretty pleased with it. Creating textures for the glass on these larger office buildings is time consuming. Big difference from the little Halifax Boxes and small apartment buildings! Things aren't completely final at this point. I need to delete some of the bars off of the radio antenna. Since it's angled, the  vertical bars turn into a strange looking blue blob on the front view. They're not really crucial to the antenna so I'll just delete them. I'm also going to rotate the roof texture on the side entrance. After that though, this one should be finished.

Finally, a night shot.

[Jack_wilds]

Hey SPA,

so then, I reckon with the autumn falling on you, mice scurrying for shelter and getting that halifax box winter tight... such is life, must be a kick 

Everything that is tree and bush, garden and field, peaking in blazing colors, such is the march of season and the Packers are playing well -well sort of, as they need some help but not as bad the Lions 

The St. John Customs Building is turning out well, showing promise  (...   sorry my bad  not wanting to stamp on Canadian civic pride -corrections made to the 'st johns customs building' line -sorry for any pain and suffering this may have caused to anyone sensibilities  -cheekiness included for fun) 

... like the colors and textures, I like the entry however would an entry light help brighten the street entrance a little better  ... don't want to trip up sims coming and going, cause all kinds of pesky lawyer-suits to appear

Later,

Jack 

[simdad1957]

The st johns customs building is turning out well showing promise  ... like the colors and textures, I like the entry however would an entry light help brighten a little better  ..

Not to nitpick Jack, but there are two significant cities in Atlantic Canada with nearly identical names.

Saint John, New Brunswick (pop ~ 125,000) is the home of this customs house

St. John's, Newfoundland (pop ~ 180,000) is frequently confused with the above.

The contractions and apostrophes are very important in distinguishing the two cities and are major sources of civic pride for their residents. 

[cubby420]

Clearly simdad1957, this mistake is Canada's fault for naming their cities improperly    You crazy Canucks!

[spa]

Jack and Simdad: I'm afraid Jack, you did indeed step on a regional sensibility. Saint John and St. John's though isn't the worst mistake that is made around here. Every year or two there is a story in the local paper about some poor travellers who thought they were booking tickets to Sydney, Australia but instead end up in Sydney, Nova Scotia! Needless to say, it's usually a shock What's in a name also causes consternation in Halifax. In 1995, the City of Halifax, the City of Dartmouth, Town of Bedford and County of Halifax were all merged into a single municipality: the Halifax Regional Municipality. Few have been happy about it and everyone agrees HRM is not a great name, but no one can agree on what to replace it with. Renaming the municipality Halifax, even though that's what the outside world knows the place as, rankles many people in the rest of the municipality. I personally don't understand what the fuss is about. I grew up in Lawrencetown and live in Dartmouth, but when I'm travelling and someone asks me where I'm from I always say Halifax and I suspect the same is true for most my neighbours... Although rather than simply renaming the municipality, I would like to see the boundaries redrawn so that the real rural areas formed a new county or joined their rural neighbours in Lunenburg and Guysborough. Merging the urban areas of HRM into one municipality made and still makes sense, but including distant fishing villages like Ecum Secum was silly.
Cubby420: haha. I'm sorry Cubby but are you in Washington D.C. or Washington? What about the two Portlands? And you tried to steal Vancouver from us too!

Another one done, the Fredericton Federal Building is textured and in game. Below is how it turned out.







I set the Fredericton Federal Building to be Co$$$ as opposed to Co$$ like Marine House and the Saint John Customs Building to mix things up. Funny thing about this one, because of all the stone patterns, texturing took longer than modelling. In my experience, it tends to be the other way around!

Anyway, my next Government of Canada Building is from Amherst, Nova Scotia. The Amherst GOCB is a more modern building, having been built in the 1970s, and is a rather large building considering its small-town location. The GOCB serves as the regional headquarters for the department of Indian and Northern Affairs. It may be a 70s building, but it has some style and has a lot of visual interest.



I'll update when I have the modelling underway.

[simdad1957]

Excellent work (as always) SPA.

Thankfully there is only ONE Moncton! 

Well, apparently there used to be a second Moncton too (even the same (mis)spelling)........in Washington state. That town was drowned when they built a hydro electric dam and alas is no more, so those of us who live in Moncton, New Brunswick can revel in our uniqueness. 

Speaking of names confusion...........(the province of) New Brunswick Canada is often confused by the Yanks with New Brunswick, New Jersey.

It should be noted that there is a small rural community in Charlotte County (southwestern NB, near the US border) that is called New Jersey, New Brunswick!! 

I believe that there are Springfield's in all 48 of the contiguous lower 48 United States as well, so there shouldn't be too much consternation over the concept of St. John's and Saint John. At least we have found out a way to distinguish the two cities. 

[Jack_wilds]

Hello SPA,

Glad your well and good... and thanks for clarifying the murky  sound of water -I think  ,

nomenclature of towns, cities, areas can be such pip of a fix to keep straight -aka the 48 Springfields; which one are you from    Its like where I grew up in an area called the 'tri-city' -Nekoosa-port-rapids, so when I was asked where I came from I'd say Wisconsin Rapids as its the bigger of the three... Now I'm in the fox cities region -everything seems to become more and more regionalized

its better than being from Wausau, as when one goes to NYcity your greeted 'welcome to America, hows it like in Canada?'... I seemed to have run into more geographically challenged people in NYcity than any where else -go figure.  Wisconsin as been 'shoved' into Canada too often from folks out east... I don't know if they kidding around or if they sincere in their error... however there are a lot of Canadian companies and concerns operating here.

Been to Canada a several times. The geology-geography is rather impressive, bland, rocky and really differs to WI. I think that the last ice age sent all of the top soil down into the Great Lakes region.  I also wonder whats going to happen with "global warming" as its going to wake up the Tundras like modern history has never seen -what mysteries will be found... I went to the Lake of the Woods in Ontario -big lake, got lost, sunburned, no fish 

the progress on your bats is to be commended, as the Fredericton Federal Building is my new favorite bat... The Amherst GOCB looks like it might be a challenge

Jack 

[TiFlo]

Mmm, MOAR!!!

Great job, as always spa! Although I kind of see your Fredericton Fed building as a perfect courthouse rather than an office building. I know that's what it is, but the look of it makes it a great candidate for a civic building, especially considering there are already so many office buildings around. I'll take it anyway 

[simdad1957]

Been to Canada a several times. The geology-geography is rather impressive, bland, rocky and really differs to WI. I think that the last ice age sent all of the top soil down into the Great Lakes region.  I also wonder whats going to happen with "global warming" as its going to wake up the Tundras like modern history has never seen -what mysteries will be found... I went to the Lake of the Woods in Ontario -big lake, got lost, sunburned, no fish 

Sounds like you've only been to NW Ontario Jack..........

Canada is such a large country (bigger than the US) that it's difficult to pigeon-hole. The Maritimes is just like coastal New England. Southern Quebec is similar to inland New England but with a rich agricultural plain along the St. Lawrence River Valley. Southern Ontario is like the mid-western U.S. Northern Quebec and northern Ontario are dominated by the barren Canadian Shield. The Prairies are similar to the northern U.S. Great Plains. Southern British Columbia is like the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. (only more-so). Northern BC and the Yukon are like Alaska. The NWT and Nunavut are the Great White North.

Most people think of Canada as being north of the 49th parallel but 2/3rds of Canadians live south of this latitude. 1/3rd of Canadians in fact live below the 45th parallel. Toronto is nearly at the same latitude as Chicago. Canada extends as far south as the 41st parallel (same latitude as northern California). There are palm trees growing in southwestern BC.

The country directly south of Detroit is...............Canada!! 

[Jack_wilds]

Hey SPA, and all...

Thanks for the 'slap-around' Simdad1957, as my comment-observations were intended to apply to the Lake-of-the-woods, SW-Ontario area alone, I did go to a lake, whose name I can't recall in NW-Ontario thou... I overlooked my lack of syntax as I think quicker than I type; sometimes omit -thinking I've stated it well enough 

..And the geography lessons continue... 

What I was noting the most about the area was the granites (the Canadian shield, I think), lack of top soils, shallowness of woodlot duff, the mono-like structure of the habitats, a mostly pines-cedars-softwood woodlot type stands (not the plantations), the boldness of wildlife -namely the loons, pine siskins, one nosey black bear 

... The people didn't seem so different from North-woods WI sensibilities, so in that way easy to 'get along', feeling like I'm in familiar places. However I suppose they viewed us much like the way we view Ill. city folks coming up-north...  Hi-good bye nice to see ya but...

so I hope my thoughts aren't too muddy this time around 

So SPA ever go fishing or been as far west as the Lake of the Woods -apparently the fishing there is really great... but not for me the last time I was there. Someday I hope to go back. 

Concerning the Fredericton Federal Building, is possible to keep it as the planned CS$$ and also make it a courthouse too  as TiFLo said, however I also know your modus about civic buildings so whatever 

Later
Jack 

[spa]

One small omission from Simdad's very comprehensive list, Newfoundland! I don't think Newfoundland is like anywhere else on Earth! It's so beautiful there. The land and the small outports really make for a unique place. The one that surprises me is that Halifax is on the same latitude (45) as Northern Italy and Southern France. We're on the same latitude as Venice! Talk about drawing the short straw. Of course to be fair to Jack, the rugged Canadian Shield with its rocks, pine trees and lakes is the typical Canadian image, both within the country and abroad. The Group of 7 made quite a name off of Algonquin and parts around. Canadians love to think of themselves as a Northern country, but we're really not. We just happen to have a big backyard!

On the Fredericton Federal Building, I could do a courthouse version as TiFlo suggests if there is demand. I tend to shy away from making static landmarks under the logic of "what do they really offer in game that a landmark with jobs doesn't?" The Maxis courthouse after all is just a demand cap busting reward. It doesn't really have any courthouse function. Still, the Fredericton Federal definitely does have the feel of a public building. I'll give it some thought.

[magee_b]

Ha! I used to work in the Fredericton Federal Building. Getting cell-phone reception in that granite/concrete box was near impossible.

[TiFlo]

On the Fredericton Federal Building, I could do a courthouse version as TiFlo suggests if there is demand. I tend to shy away from making static landmarks under the logic of "what do they really offer in game that a landmark with jobs doesn't?" The Maxis courthouse after all is just a demand cap busting reward. It doesn't really have any courthouse function. Still, the Fredericton Federal definitely does have the feel of a public building. I'll give it some thought.

How about calling the building a Courthouse, but making it so it acts as a police station? That way it is useful, and it remains close from the idea of what a Courthouse should be.

[SimNation]

Lovely work on the Bat and great work into the detail of the Lot itself. Always love your creations especially since you spend time detailing the lot as much as you do the bat.

[spa]

Magee: Small world! I suspect the cell phone reception hasn't improved either. Do you work for the feds or the province (the province used to rent space in the Federal Building).
TiFlo: I'll consider it. Right now, I have dropped the Federal Building and moved onto other things. I haven't packaged it up for the BSC internal testing process yet though, so maybe I'll get motivated to make a police station before I pass it off.
SimNation: Thanks. I do spend a fair bit of time in the lot editor and I do try and make my stuff consistently. I'm glad you enjoy the results.


Well I missed the "in progress" shot of the Amherst GOCB so we're skipping right to the textured and in game pics today. Below is how it turned out.






I think that's another one finished (4 of 7 if anyone is keeping a tally ). With this one, modelling all the plants and grounds took as much time as the actual building! The wheelchair ramps were particularly challenging. The plants were also a pain. I ended up having to make them in a separate file and then merge them into the GOCB scene before rendering because they're resource pigs that slowed gmax to a crawl. I did have to cheat a little bit with this model. The shape of the Amherst GOCB might be really neat in real life, but it doesn't translate to Sim City so well because of the game's viewing angle. Had I stuck to the real building's measurements, none of the 2nd floor windows would be visible. When I first modelled the 2nd and 3rd floors, that was the result which looked kind of strange, like the building had been squished or something. To compensate, I lifted the third floor up a few extra meters to reveal just the bottom half of the 2nd floor windows. A small compromise, but the type that sometimes has to be made due to SC4's limitations.

The Amherst GOCB also comes with a little touch of political satire. You might notice to the left on the front view that there is a little blob of colour on the lawn. Might be tough to make out, but it's actually a toppled sign. It came out pretty illegible in SC4, but any Canadians out there might recognize the colour splash as every federal building in Canada has pretty much ended up with one. Below is a picture of it in game.



It's a toppled sign for Canada's "Economic Action Plan," aka Canada's economic stimulus program. The Economic Action Plan has attracted a lot of political attention in Canada. The ruling Conservative government at first didn't want to do anything to stimulate the economy, but the opposition parties ganged up to force action (the Conservatives are a minority government meaning that all 3 opposition parties can unite to overrule them). Once they were forced into action, the Tories took to stimulus spending like ducks to water, doling out money everywhere and bragging about it with signs, tv ads and an endless stream of campaign style announcements. One of the conditions for any group receiving funding under the Action Plan was that a sign be placed on the site of the project to advertise the Government of Canada's involvement. This became a bit absurd as the Government devoted a huge amount of resources to ruthlessly tracking every sign while at the same time was unable to come up with any figures as to the amount of money spent under the Action Plan, how many projects were actually underway and what their effect was on the economy. Anyway, I'm sure the Amherst GOCB's toppled sign is on some spreadsheet in the PM's SC4 office Here's a Toronto Star and Rick Mercer (Canada's Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert) link to the sign controversy if you want to read more and have a quick laugh.
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/857276--bureaucrats-ordered-to-track-stimulus-signage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxFwqtSpmc4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApNfU195LsY&feature=channel

Finally, some nights shots for the road.




Unless anyone spots anything, that'll be it for the Amherst GOCB. I do need to mirror the model since this one is a corner building so that it can show up on both sides of the street, but that won't take long (I'll run the render overnight). I'll probably be onto the next Government of Canada Building this weekend: back to Saint John, NB for the Postal Station A and Annex. I'll post some more on that when I have something to show.

[cubby420]

Very impressive. This will fit nicely in some spots I very much need to fill. The whole set is going to be a godsend in fact...I need some of just these kind of government/commercial buildings - very ordinary but incredibly detailed upon further inspection.

[calibanX]

That is an awesome building. The grounds are perfect too. I would love to see more of this kind of thing.

Geoff

[superhands]

spa i think this model looks super! just two small adjustments that will make it look magnifico!

the roof slab outlines could be a little bit more contrasting to the texture and same with the air vents (the really small ones)

and possibly alter the exaggeration of the top floorwall width, so it looks wider

kinda like this:



i don't like to criticise as it is not usually my forte

[TiFlo]

This is good. This is really good. Looking forward to having my hands on it.

It's a toppled sign for Canada's "Economic Action Plan," aka Canada's economic stimulus program. The Economic Action Plan has attracted a lot of political attention in Canada. The ruling Conservative government at first didn't want to do anything to stimulate the economy, but the opposition parties ganged up to force action (the Conservatives are a minority government meaning that all 3 opposition parties can unite to overrule them). Once they were forced into action, the Tories took to stimulus spending like ducks to water, doling out money everywhere and bragging about it with signs, tv ads and an endless stream of campaign style announcements. One of the conditions for any group receiving funding under the Action Plan was that a sign be placed on the site of the project to advertise the Government of Canada's involvement. This became a bit absurd as the Government devoted a huge amount of resources to ruthlessly tracking every sign while at the same time was unable to come up with any figures as to the amount of money spent under the Action Plan, how many projects were actually underway and what their effect was on the economy. Anyway, I'm sure the Amherst GOCB's toppled sign is on some spreadsheet in the PM's SC4 office Here's a Toronto Star and Rick Mercer (Canada's Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert) link to the sign controversy if you want to read more and have a quick laugh.

I'm currently teaching French to one of the persons from Infrastructure Canada that was in charge of developping the program. I can tell you she's not convinced it did any good, except that of showing that the government was doing something (which in itself is understandable). She's actually looking forward to the inquiry that will eventually come and show that the vast majority of funds went to Conservative ruled districts, as well as being used for petty work (plugging pot-holes, anyone?) instead of being allocated to heavy work that would be useful on the long run.