The Noro Cooperative

[Jmouse]

Noah, it seems that no matter what you set your mind to, the results are amazing. When I looked at the first photo, my brain couldn't quite articulate what my eyes were seeing. It looked like a green blanket thrown over something bumpy, and turned back on itself in the lower left corner. I had to stare at it for a few moments to give my senses a chance to figure out what you had done. And of course, your transport work is second to none, and always a pleasure to see.

I always enjoy looking at your work, and what you've done here is no exception...
-Joan


Thanks so much for the nice complement Joan! I guess that first pic is a bit odd looking, especially since no-one's really used to seeing that kind of lake   And glad you liked the transport stuff!

-Noah

[metarvo]

You know, I couldn't resist stepping in when I saw that electricity was being discussed.    Hydro power is a little rare around here, but it's not that different from other power sources once the wires leave the dam.  The power generated by the hydro dam will lose voltage eventually and therefore must be stepped up to transmission voltage with a step-up transformer.  This can be represented by substation BATs.  In addition, there must be transmission lines.  Without them, where is the power going? 

You'll also need some small warehouses or other buildings that can serve as offices and maintenance facilities for the plant, along with parking for those buildings.  The plant should have road access, although the ones I've researched are located on side roads rather than main highways.  You might also place a gate at the plant entrance; although this doesn't necessarily pertain to hydro exclusively, it seems to be a common practice for power plants of all types.


Thanks a lot for the tips! They will be very useful. I had you in mind when I started this project, thinking you'd be the expert on this project. One thing though, should the power plant stuff be on top or at the bottom?

-Noah

[nbvc]

Great work with the motorway and rail.


Thanks a lot!  -Noah

[Swordmaster]

I'd like some more pics of the rail line. Are you using viaducts there? Cause I'd love to avoid the two 90° curves.

Otherwise, this looks awesome. I'm curious as to how you'll tackle the dam.


Cheers
Willy


Thanks Willy! I think the best thing to do would be to check out "Is" for yourself. The two 90° curves are there because I didn't really see any other way to do it. The second of those curves is on a viaduct, as is the stretch following that across that lowland area. I'm happy with the setup but not particularly attached to it (and it wasn't too much work to make anyway) so if there's a better way you recommend I'd love to see it--let me know 

-Noah

[RickD]

Great work here, love the highway and rail. 

You may remember xannepan's fascinating work on the Poseidon Mod, which allows game water to exist and remain above sea level.

Wait, what?!  I am so out of the loop these days. 


Hehe, things can change very fast around here, especially when Xannepan is on a roll! Thanks Raphael and nice to hear from you 

-Noah

[Shadow Assassin]

Noah, your work with highways in this region really gives me an incentive to get the new FA content done as quickly as possible so that you can really use it to great effect in this region.

Thumbs up for all your work, guys, it's really good.

Love the dam on the last page, it's awesome.


Well, that's one of the nicest things I've been told in a long time. If you haven't already figured out, I'm a huge fan of your new FARHW work--not to mention all the great FA and L1 stuff you've created in the past. Be careful though, this kind of comment risks making me put off further RHW development here until I get your new toys    Thanks a lot, it's always a pleasure to hear from you 

-Noah

[metarvo]

Most of the power plant stuff should be on the bottom.  You might place some transformers on top of the dam for wires to run out of, since the dam is generating the power.  A road or street of some type running across the dam is also common.  However, the majority of the facilities, including the step-up transformers and the offices, should be on the bottom.  You'll also need turbines of some sort on the dam.  Water turns these turbines to generate power.


Thanks for the advice Metarvo! I'm now thinking the Heblem dam is the best way to implement this and his package includes some stuff for the bottom. There'll be a road running across the top and also road access to the bottom, though linking the two will be interesting given the 100m+ height difference and my insistence on a difficult slope. We certainly appreciate your help with electricity issues. Do you have any thoughts on what kind of powerlines would work well in NORO?

-Noah

[sunv123]

That is one heck of a map there.

I love the idea of the dam there, finally one with "in-game water" Look forward to what it will look like with the walls and stuff.

Great job Noah!

(oh, and btw, are you planning to use RFR water for the creeks? They can look really nice if you use them right)


Thanks a lot! And yes, RFR water is the plan for the creeks--good call. I'm also a big fan of it 

-Noah

[noahclem]

More news from the NORO area! We've finally gotten around to the awards we owe....


First, congratulations again to Metarvo on being post #100! We'd like to offer you naming rights to any one thing in NORO you choose. We look forward to your input    Also, I'd like to thank Metarvo for letting me lean on him for advice with the new hydroelectric complex!

Second, for winning the caption this picture competition Jmouse's entry of "Bear With Me" wins her access to the private board as well as naming rights to one of the tiles in NORO. Congratulations and welcome Joan!

Finally, there's been someone working behind the scenes for some weeks now developing ideas and even finished models to ensure NORO's railstock will be the finest and most fitting it can be. I'll save it for him to post about the exciting stuff he's been up to but I'm happy to welcome Vester as well!

Contests, criteria, and rewards will vary but we definitely plan to do more and they will continue to be part of our goal of involving people as much as possible in the ongoing development of the NORO Cooperative.



Besides all that I've continued to work on the dam project. Using model tweaker i've offset Heblem's dam models by 160m horizontally and 100m vertically, allowing me to place the dam lots on the reservoir side of the dam and meaning I know longer need to place them in a hole 240m below the top of the dam (120-180m below the original reservoir bottom). I've also set the "is ground model" property in reader to "no" to get rid of the shadow graphics bug that was causing and also enable me to work around the bottom without fear of accidentally bulldozing the dam if i need to get rid of a stray MMP. Some work remains to get the icons and LTEXTs working properly and if I can get permission I'd love to share what I end up with with any of you guys who's like to build this type of dam. As it is let me know if you'd like to test what I've got now and I'll send you a link.

So here's where we are:






The bottom area where the power plant area will be has yet to be built but that's planned for next. Any thoughts on the layout for the dam itself? What are those little tower things? At first I thought they were penstock towers, like the ones you see behind the Hoover Dam, but they don't actually reach water level on the other side of the dam. Elevators/stairways, an observation area? 

Until next time.... 

[RepublicMaster]

The Dam is looking good. I tried building one myself with that set but found it rather challenging. It would be great if you could share your modifications.

[noahclem]

What might his be?   

[art128]

Is that some railway logo?   

[Gobias]

It's a bird?!  It's a plane?!  It's.... a squirrel?   

[vortext]

The dam looks great!  Can't wait to see the complete picture with the surrounding area all dressed up.

[Gugu3]

Like Noro Railways???
Great job on the dam!looks spectacular! always great quality updates!

[epicblunder]

Nice job on the dam.   

I would guess the small towers are for air/ventillation to the turbine equipment within, and they're above the level of the dam so water doesn't enter those ports in case the of catastrophic overtopping.  With the windows i'd guess an observation deck/control room is there as well, like you said.

[Kergelen]

yep,.. Noro Railways...

The tweaking and moding with Heblem modular dam seems very interesting. I'm enjoying the development.
If you need more inspiration, here a link of one of the best dam I've seen. And amazing region also.

[vester]

Its the logo for NORO Railways or NORO Rail.
This sneak photo was published in the NORO Herald:

[RickD]

Oh wow, I am excited about the coming railway stuff. I expect to see some of the best SC4 railroading here. 

[vester]

Due to the spy photo, The Noro Railway company decided to release this press photo of some of engines they just ordered: