Blackwater (with Islas Gemas)

[Shadow Assassin]

Can that texture be removed in the Reader?  I've never fiddled with underwater stuff, but it seems to work perfectly well on land.  If you've futzed with this and have any insight (or any of you IG readers out there, for that matter), let me know.  It would seem like a simple thing to do, it it works.

Yes, it can. Water-based lots are just land lots that can be plopped underwater. That's the only thing that's different out there.

By the way, there is a better mod than Dusktrooper's available at Simphoni.

Keep in mind, though, there is no such mod for industrial buildings, because of the way they were implemented in the game - they aren't linked to any tilesets.

[emilin]

Yes, it can. Water-based lots are just land lots that can be plopped underwater. That's the only thing that's different out there.

Are you sure? I'm no expert on these things at all, and I came to the conclusion that it couldn't be done after reading Vandy's Float your Boat tutorial over att SimPeg. If it is possible without remaking the BAT it would be wonderful news, because there are a lot of good canal props that I would love to use.

Next update: is in the pipeline, for those who would like to know that. I've had one heck of a week at work so there hasn't been much building going on, but some sort of progress report (with lots of nice Art Deco style housing) is due for early next week.

[Shadow Assassin]

Well, the lot, of course, would still be suspectible to the water texture bug, but at least it'd look better.

I forgot to comment before: but wow, you've got a nice thing going on here.

[Fred_Ginger]

Did those buildings in the little village up on the side of the hill have plaid roofs - or is it my poor old eyes?    Never saw those before!

loving the looks so far and can't wait for the Art Deco, one of my favorite styles....

[kwakelaar]

Very nice images from your islands. Blocking Maxis content makes this MD original, but there is always a lot of work to have enough custom made stuff to fill up the void.
I have also been using DT mod and have not had any problems with it so far. I looked at the mod in the reader but I still don't know what he has done to make the mod work. (Not that I am such a big expert)
The Tolomar mod will put all maxis content in the Chichago tileset meaning you always have to remember not to use that.

Then a question: The fishing nets on the beach where do they come from?

[emilin]

Dedication: jen_p - for some of the most wonderful residentials ever batted. This town would never have looked the same without her.

[Note on dedications: I thought it would be nice to dedicate each update to some member of the SC4 community that has had an influence on the creation of this MD in big or small ways. It's just my way of saying thanks!]


Personal replies:

bat: Thank you, I'm glad you liked the changes

Rayden: Thanks for your compliments! I already answered the question I believe.

NikNik: Thank you so much! I am in the midst of trying out alternative Maxis-blockers right now, but they all seem to have some sort of issues. I haven't yet decided which one I'm finall going to use.

Grneyes: Thank you. I wasn't aiming for "ethnic" (more southern European) but I guess that Spanish and Latinamerican architecture could qualify as ethnic too.

dedgren: Hmmm... yeah, guess I was wrong. According to SA it's perfectly possible. I'm going to give it a try later on.

Jacqulina: Thanks Jacky! And it's really nice to see you hanging around over here. I always appriciated your comments at ST too.

nedalezz: Thanks a lot! It did take some time, but I'm only spending as much as I enjoy playing. Never more. So it's really not an effort, it's pure fun.

thundercrack83: Thanks! More port pictures will come at a later date.

your_adress_here: Thanks! It's actually turning out to be quite challenging, but HabLeUrG was nice enough to leave some flat spaces hanging around the map. Otherwise I don't know what I would have been able to build.

HabLeUrG: Thank you! I hope that means "good job!" but it could be some sort of insult too.

Shadow Assassin: Thanks! I'll be giving it a go and see what happens as soon as I can find the time.

Fred_Ginger: Thank you!  I don't know about the roofs but it's frogface's Slum Kit anyway. Art Deco is certainly one of my favourites too.

kwakelaar: Thanks! And I'll be testing the mod you sent me to see if it works better. And the fishnets are from japanese batter NOB (I'll see if I can find the link somewhere - otherwise it's probably somewhere in the Open BAT Discussion forum over at ST)


First visit to Puerto Rico

Oki, today we go across the mountain range of Zafiro to the town of Puerto Rico. As you can see from the region shot I plan to make a "twin town" just north of it called Juaníta. They will be almost (but not fully) integrated - something that is fairly common on these kinds of islands where flat land isn't easy to come by (you build where you can, in real life aswell as in SC4).



Puerto Rico is a "first take town" at this stage - fully developed, but with stuff that still needs fixing. I will begin the initial tour of the town today, and finish it in one or two updates from now, but I will most likely be returning here later on when I've had time to rearrange stuff I'm not happy with and also increase the detailing in some aspects.






Puerto Rico is an old town (some of it is still left in the "downtown" area), but most of it was built in the 1960s and 1970s when tourists started to discover Islas Gemas. These days the resorts are getting older and new luxury hotels on the south coast of Zafiro have taken most of the bussiness. Puerto Rico is still a nice place to spend a vacation, but it might seem a little seedy for the pickier travellers.

We'll start by taking a look at some examples of the typical housing built in the 1960s in a retro art deco style. Some of these houses are actual residentials, but most of them are time shares and bungalows rented by tourists.









Now we move on to the hotels and shops by the old waterfront, that are rather run down these days.









And some beach pictures to finish this update off (the water looks a bit dark, but I didn't want to photoshop any of the ingame pics at this stage of the development).







Still to come (in a day or two): "downtown" Puerto Rico, the harbour, and the industrial area (that supplies jobs for both Puerto Rico and Juaníta).

[dedgren]

Emil- that is a fine update, thanks for the many pics.

A question- in that excellent underwater detailing, what is the flora used?  I think I see it up on the beach as well.  It really looks good under the water.

Always great to stop by IG!


David

[Alek King of SC4]

those look like sorchins flora set.

[Fred_Ginger]

Hmmm, I can just see myself sitting on that beach reading a good summer sizzler....

[emilin]

those look like sorchins flora set.

That is correct, sir!

[Grneyes]

Looks great! By ethnic I meant not American suburban cookie-cutter style with no trees and stuff. They tend to cut all the trees down before building a subdivision nowadays...Just build around them!! And all the houses look alike....boring!!! I wish they built in real life how ppl build in SC4. Spanish architecture is gorgeous, IMO. I like it.

MaryBeth

[hogs29]

Beautiful work!!!
I agree with dedgren, the flora looks perfect! Great job!

[thundercrack83]

Great job, emilin! The beach looks wonderful, and I love the street with all the businesses. It looks very realistic! I'll be waiting for more!

[M4346]

I love your MD! 

I also love how you used the Art Deco housing! It's one of my personal favourite styles and it really looks good over there! 

Your beach is also immaculate, and great use of that flora! I'm glad someone else doesn't feel the need to demolish all trees when their cities develop. 

Just a question though, if you don't mind... Where'd you get the houses you used in the fourth pic (the first housing pic)? They are beautiful!

Looking forward to more!

-M-

[kwakelaar]

Thanks for your reply I will see if I can find it myself, have not been checking out the Japanese thread for a very long time.
The beach is looking splendid, great use of the rocks and flora.

[emilin]

Dedication: Torbjörn Nilsson – best Swedish soccer player. Ever. And don't argue with me on that one.


You won't even see what happens when Torbjörn runs right through the defense.

[Note on dedications: I thought it would be nice to dedicate each update to some member of the SC4 community that has had an influence on the creation of this MD in big or small ways. It's just my way of saying thanks!]


Personal replies

dedgren and Alek: already answered eachother, but, of course: thank you for visiting Islas Gemas!

Fred_Ginger: You would certainly be very welcome!

Grneyes: Thanks! I understand what you mean. That's why I wanted to build something a little different myself.

hogs29: Thank you! I'm not very experienced with the underwater stuff yet, so I'm glad you liked it.
thundercrack83: Thanks! I finally managed to get something other than SG:s "dirty" shops to grow.

M4346: Thank you. I'm a fan of your MD too. And it's really interesting to look at the different approaches to using the same stuff. I really can't remember where I got those houses. The lot seems to be called "modernist house" so maybe a search on STEX or otherwise would turn them up.

kwakelaar: Thanks (for everything)! I found the link to NOB by the way.


Soccer teams of Islas Gemas

I had a pretty slow day at work today so I had some spare time to create a bit of "cultural background" for Islas Gemas. Since I don't have SC4 on my work computer (I doubt that my boss would like that very much) this is more of an intermission than a real update.

Soccer is big in any European country, and since Islas Gemas is supposed to be a province of a yet undisclosed country located in my Simuniverse's equivalent to Europe, soccer is the game of choice here too.

There are three professional or semiprofessional teams based around the islands: Esmeralda Unido, FC Rubí, and Independiente de Santiago. The first two teams are small and play in the lower of the national leagues while Independiente currently holds the fifth position in the highest league.


Match outfit of Independiente

Independiente is a mighty popular team all around the islands, but of course most prominent in Santiago de Zafiro where their home area – the Nuestro Sino stadium – is located. Founded in 1895 it has been a very successful team historically, though the last decade hasn't really been very good to the team. Most of the best players in recent years are quickly being bought by the richer clubs on the mainland.

The 1980s and early 1990s was the "golden age" of Independiente when they won the title five years in a row and took two major European Cup titles. This was also the time of the legendary striker Osoviaje Hijo del Nilo who is still today regarded as the best player in the teams history by many of the fans. He left the team in 1982 for an international career but without much success.

These were also the days when no less than four of the players in the in the first squad had the first name Cañada - Cañada Isla, Cañada Alemán, Cañada Corriente de la Montaña and, of course, the legendary defender (who also was captain of the National team at the time) Cañada Última Piel.

Footnote: If you think the story of Independiente sounds strange you should know that it's all true, expect it happened somewhere else. And the team really used to have four "Cañada" in the first squad – but of course they were called "Glenn" in their native language.

[M4346]

Hey there! Thanks for your reply I'll search the STEX for the LOTS and get back to you. Thanks!

I also find it interesting to see what we do with our MDs using the same content, it's always good to see and proves to be a great source of information and a learning experience for us both.

I am also a huge fan of your MD, although regrettably do not post here as often as I would like to.

I'll be looking forward to more and keeping up with developments here.

Regards,

-M-

PS. Please do call me "M," or "Marius," it just makes it easier.
PPS. LOVE the soccer team!
PPPS. (lol). Found the houses... They can be found here: (ST) -> Click! It is rp2004's Modernist House. I'll definitely be using them! Thanks! 

[HabLeUrG]

hey emilin, im really interested in your CJ, and I would like to suggest some latin american BATs, I have ready some homes but is not upload at STEX yet, soon I will upload it, but some of my partners are working on some houses.

Some latin american houses:
Casas GEO by Berethor7 (aca Elegost) http://www.capitalsimcity.com/foro/download.php?id=6921
Villa Tocoma by vicgon http://www.simtropolis.com/stex/index.cfm?id=17438

Colonial houses by TxXalapa: http://www.capitalsimcity.com/foro/download.php?id=6829

Others: http://www.capitalsimcity.com/foro/download.php?id=339
http://www.capitalsimcity.com/foro/download.php?id=349
http://www.capitalsimcity.com/foro/download.php?id=1887

there are many more, if you are interested go here http://www.capitalsimcity.com/zona/?sitio=simcity&cat=0&start=0 and hope you understand this

Soon im going to release a big latin american house pack! wait for it
Hope it helps you!
Edit: you can also search for debussyman at STEX he have lots of colonial buildings

[thundercrack83]

The Independiente uniform looks good! I can't wait to see the stadium where they play! Great job!

[bat]

Fantastic pictures! Great mountains! Wonderful city! Beautiful underwater detailing!