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Three Rivers Region

Started by dedgren, December 20, 2006, 07:57:49 PM

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metalheadfromny

Is this released at all? And if so, where can I download it. But Im assuming since its not on the LEX its not available. Thanks in advance.

Ryan B.

Quote from: thundercrack83 on October 09, 2008, 08:56:39 PM
Don't get your hopes up. It's going to be quite a while before these are ready to go for public consumption, as David pointed out earlier about them making "a great Christmas present for the community."

While your enthusiasm is always welcome, folks tend to frown upon from demands and time constraints being made on them.

metalheadfromny

Oh, alright. Thanks a lot. I saw a few posts and it looked like people had it and I couldnt find anything. I just wanted to check. Thanks again.

Jmouse

#5143
The Mouse reporting for duty, sir!


1B


Bonita is a large quad with a wide variety of elevations ranging from nearly flat to mountainous. I used the ENN SlopeMod620.

2B


I am not accustomed to working with hilly terrain and this was my first time to use FAR, but I found this road surprisingly easy to build. I did run into several tricky areas, but a bit of work with the Mayor mode terraforming tools was all that was needed. The God mode tools were much too heavy-handed.

3B


This shows the completed path. The greatest challenge was in the mid-right sector where the final effort to come full circle was a bit testy. Those are the highest cliffs I had to accept, though, and I think they add some realism to the scene.

There were many places where the FAR pieces turned red, were unable to rotate or disappeared. In some cases, this was an advantage because it helped me spot the area(s) which needed a bit of terraforming. Also, I would rather have them refuse to plop than to have them gouge out huge unwanted cliffs.

4B


Here's an area at the top of a hill I did a bit more work on.
Just to the left of dead center there is a sharp little dip in the road – amazingly, it is the only such occurrence in the entire path. Not bad for an inexperienced road builder!

1MC



Mustang County is much more level and presented an opportunity to create curvy coastal roads as well as pleasing paths through neighborhoods.

2MC



By leaving spaces between the pieces, it was a simple matter to lay out a neighborhood with streets that intersect the roads. This was easy to do with very little planning, and that's an elementary school campus at the top center of the photo. This residential area can be expanded very easily and with a little practice, it could be very realistic from my point of view. I definitely want to explore this possibility more.

3MC


This 45-degree curve is
plugged directly into a roundabout. It doesn't fit perfectly, but I found it interesting that it would work at all.

Overall,
I was pleased with the way the FAR pieces fit together. The learning curve is slight compared to the results, and I am looking forward to working with these elements when I have more time. As for FARR, I shall leave it to more experienced testers for the moment!

Later...

Joan

*Edit* A small request I forgot to include. It would be wonderful if the FAR pieces could identify themselves by name (45-degree curve, etc.) upon query as opposed to displaying just "road." I didn't query the FARR pieces.

FrankU

This is really fantastic work!
I am especially eager to use the FAR in neighbourhoods with parallel streets and roads: not only orthogonal and diagonal streets, but also, well, FAR streets....

But I can wait.....

girlfromverona

I really love picture 4B, Joan! Aside from the little dip you mentioned, it looks very realistic! Good job.  :thumbsup:

metarvo

#5146
I've still been happily testing the pure gold that is the FAR(R).  The slope issues seem to have been covered, so I'll show some suburban FAR pics.  In this area, a new subdivision is being built, and the mayor wants to build the roads at an unusual angle for variety.

#1

The engineers balk at the mayor's request to build a FASt (Fractional Angle Street) network, so he resigns himself to the option of high-capacity roads.  "At least they build 45-degree diagonal streets now," he muttered to himself.  Strange customs in this area had once held an imaginary "grid" in authority, but much had been done to change this.  In any case, these new roads were to connect to said diagonal streets.  This was an unforeseen challenge in itself, and the engineers were in such a hurry that they did a sloppy job of connecting the two, as seen in this photo.

#2

Now, this area was no mountain range, but it was sloped just enough to cause some engineering difficulties.  The concept of building a connecting street through this block was shot down by the engineers, because they felt that it would disrupt the terrain and the newly built roads.

#3

Green rectangles were spray painted onto the ground to indicate where new houses would be built.  Strangely enough, housing contractors did not want to build new homes on certain blocks, saying that the road frontage was insufficient.  The mayor grumbled, "Why does no one want to do some good old hard work?"  This was easy for him to say, since he was sitting at his computer surfing the Net and playing games at the time.  How odd... :P
EDIT:  THe mayor realized that one of the new lots wasn't even facing a road.  He was going to have a talk with that city planner of his.

#4

"The new streets... roads, rather, are going on the official city maps now, Your Honor," said the mayor's transportation advisor to the mayor.  One of the mayor's gripes about the new roads was the fact that the engineers built them only in pre-packaged segments that often would not intersect well with other networks.  They had to turn and salute the grid in order to cross another street or road.  While they could cross railroads, the railroad had to cross the segment in just the right place.  The mayor wouldn't get anywhere by begging the railroad commission to rebuild their line so it would properly intersect his roads, so he gave up.

#5

Residents moved into the new homes.  The roads were actually being used.  Even the rough transition from a NNE-bound road to a NE-bound street was fully functional.

I guess that's all.  Keep up the good work, everyone.  3RR goes FAR to raise the bar.
Find my power line BAT thread here.
Check out the Noro Cooperative.  What are you waiting for?  It even has electricity.
Want more? Try here.  For even more electrical goodies, look here.
Here are some rural power lines.

dedgren

#5147
I thought I'd show a little bit more of the "doodling" I did with the STR "eye candy" lots I made to check out the ingame appearance of the track sections we've developed here.

Here's (with apologies to my great friend Phil (pvarcoe)- more about that later)



The High Line is the former mainline track, which has been rebuilt under Lankford Ridge through a 1.2 mile/two kilometer long tunnel that is not visible just off the left side of the pic.  The grades and curves of the High Line across Aspen Pass were deemed to be too challenging for the increasingly long trains loaded with coal from the Stony Harbor area mines.  The old line has been left open as it serves several small industrial customers on the flats off the pic to the north.  If these businesses stop using rail to transport product, however, the High Line will almost certainly be abandoned.  A major "Rail to Trail" organization [linkie] has already engaged in a preliminary study of the right-of-way through this incredibly scenic area.

The pics that follow are each keyed to the corresponding number on the main pic.



The High Line leaves the main line just west of the former Meadow station (off pic to right).



The line makes a broad curve onto The Ledge, where there is a fine view of the new trackage to the south.



The High Line sweeps around The Ledge, then heads north up the grade to the summit of the pass.



While the pass is not a high one, the grades up to it on either side frequently exceed three percent due to the rugged nature of the terrain.



The line snakes just under the base of The Thumb, a long granite outcropping near the summit.



The tight fit of the High Line's curves to the terrain is seen here against the backdrop of The Thumb's sheer side.



The summit.  The curves in the track are necessary to reduce the grade.



Blanchard Park on the north side downgrade.  This area, which is dotted with small ponds, is noted for being an important summer nesting place for the gray coot, which has recently been placed on the Endangered Species List.



The north end of the downgrade off the pass is reached at Hargreaves Flats.  The abandoned smelter and spur at Hargreaves are just off the pic to the north.

* * *

So, there you have it.  STR, some terrain, and a few trees.  I'll save this quad (ordinarily I don't save my doodles) so that we can revisit it once the actual STR is released.  It might be fun to superdetail as well.

* * *

I'll post some "in-comment" responses over the day to a number of the questions and points you all have raised over the past week or so.  Thank you for your continued interest in 3RR!


David

145916
D. Edgren

Please call me David...

Three Rivers Region- A collaborative development of the SC4 community
The 3RR Quick Finder [linkie]


I aten't dead.  —  R.I.P. Granny Weatherwax

Skype: davidredgren

art128

Wow ! that's look perfectly good David  :thumbsup:
I'll take a quiet life... A handshake of carbon monoxide.

Props & Texture Catalog

BigSlark

 &hlp &hlp &hlp

That's really the only way I know how to express my interest in the STR. Amazing work, David. I can't wait to play with this.

Look for my FAR/FARR/WC report this evening, its been a busy week down here in Mississippi...

Cheers,
Kevin

Pat

david I am soo droooling over your doodles wow!!!

145949

Don't forget the SC4D Podcast is back and live on Saturdays @ 12 noon CST!! -- The Podcast soon to Return Here Linkie

PhilsCafe

I heard ya :). The single-track railroad is amazing... it's probably the best thing you guys have done for the railroad so far. Don't get me wrong, I love the curves and they're useful too, but single-track railroad... that's just awesome!

- Phil

thundercrack83

My goodness, David!

I think that Aspen Pass may be one of the greatest thing I've seen in my life. You are truly a master, my friend!

Dustin

pvarcoe

That is a masterpiece.
The grade looks very realistic.
A real thing of beauty.
Lovely rail David!

Jmouse

David, your "doodles" beat my best efforts by a country mile! :D STR is yet another premier accomplishment highly anticipated and anxiously awaited by the community.

I just can't believe
I've developed a sudden interest in roads and rails. Guess it just goes to show that all of us change - occasionally for the better!

Later...
Joan

Simpson

Wow  :o
This is absolutly splendid  &apls
My new city is now here
The région of Kaikoura

Teaser of Lopsas[+ How did I do it?]:Lopsas

nerdly_dood

#5156
Great update! I'll be giving my final report on the FAR/FARR soon. now.

This testing was done in a sandbox town created for the sole purpose of testing the FAR and FARR. It has no neighbor connections and is not intended to look realistic or pretty. Also, the batch processor I used to turn the PNGs into JPGs changed the image size to 600 x 800 as per my instructions - but this applies to smaller images too, so if an image looks blocky, that's because it wsa stretched to a larger size than it was originally. Note that I was NOT using any slope mod with this testing - one has since been installed but I didn't get a chance to test the FAR and FARR with it like I had hoped.

The Good...
FAR on a mountainside:


The road paths throgh the FARR/road crossing work:


FAR works, but as you can see by the no-car zots, it isn't perfect:



And FARR works:


The Bad...

Placing crossings at irregular intervals can be rough:


Placing small road curves is annoying at times because there can't be anything on the tile where the road stubs are, so you can't get it to automatically make an intersection like you can with other puzzle pieces and interchanges:


The long FAR curve takes up two unnecessary tiles on the outer edge that don't have any texture or paths, but they show up when the other tiles are bulldozed:


The [somewhat] Ugly...

FAR paths aren't quite lined up perfectly:


Unreadonably sharp curves are easy to make:


Look what happens when you go down a steep slope directly after a curve piece [no slope mod installed]


And The Requests

I'd like a longer curve piece to use here (note the grid):


and here:


END REPORT.
My days here are numbered. It's been great and I've had a lot of fun, but I've moved on to bigger and better things.
—   EGO  VOBIS  VADELICO   —
Glory be unto the modder and unto the fun and unto the city game!

ben_meissner

David, that single track rail looks amazing. As for my FAR(R) testing, I'm afraid RL has interupted my SC4 time and I haven't tested the new version, yet. By the looks of it, the others can pick up my slack. Hopefully I'll be back to SC4 in a week or so.

Ben

bakerton

David, this is my report. Unfortunately, I only got two pictures taken. First of all, everything works like a charm and it only took me about 5 min. to figure how they work (ie: putting the pieces togather). To me, they are perfect item to use in the game. They add realism and I would not change any of them (North American version). I do have a suggestion for this project and that would be having avenue FAR; to compiment the FAR.
Now to the pictures:

this shows the wide rail curve in action as the actual FARR is to the lower right out of the picture.

this shows the FAR surrounded by a semi developed nieghborhood.
One issue came up as I played and that the sims and cars use other means to get around and sometimes will use the FAR. The trains will automatically will use the FARR with out caring. That is my beta testing report to David and any NAM people out there. A big THANK YOU goes out to them. JKB
beam me up.... please!
I am the lurker that hides in all the corners and you can't get me out. You may try, but you can't.Please call me Jon or Jonathan.

dedgren

#5159
How long has it been since we did one of these?

[tabular type=1]
[row] [head colspan=3]
Start
[/head] [/row]
[row] [data]
[/data] [data]
[/data] [data]Carson Bluff
Whitehall
[/data][/row]
[row] [data]
[/data] [data]
[/data] [data]Fox Rapids
Amherst
[/data][/row]
[row] [data]
[/data] [data]
South
[/data] [data]Boissevain
Independence
[/data] [/row]
[row] [data]
[/data] [data]
North
[/data] [data]Stockholm[/data] [/row]
[row] [head colspan=3]
East - South
[/head] [/row]
[row][data]
[/data] [data]
[/data] [data]Fox River Valley
Brooks Ferry
[/data] [/row]
[row] [data]
[/data] [data]
[/data] [data]Brooks Ferry
Montgomery
[/data] [/row]
[row] [data]
[/data] [data]
South
[/data] [data]Pineshore[/data] [/row]
[row] [head colspan=3]
East
[/head] [/row]
[row][data]
[/data] [data]
[/data] [data]Grand River Valley
Thunder Bay
[/data] [/row]
[row] [data]
[/data] [data]
North
[/data] [data]Truman
Meriden
[/data] [/row]
[row] [head colspan=3]
East - South
[/head] [/row]
[row][data]
[/data] [data]
[/data] [data]White Rock
Oak Point
[/data] [/row]
[row] [data]
[/data] [data]
[/data] [data]Riverview
Aurora
[/data] [/row]
[row] [data]
[/data] [data]
South - North
[/data] [data]East Pineshore
Aurora
[/data] [/row]
[row] [head colspan=3]
Temp End
[/head] [/row]
[row][data]
[/data] [data]
[/data] [data] [/data] [/row]
[row] [head colspan=3]
Temp Start
[/head] [/row]
[row][data]
[/data] [data]
[/data] [data]Wolf Lake
Woodstock
[/data] [/row]
[row][data]
[/data] [data]
[/data] [data]Wolf Lake
Canadian Border
[/data] [/row]
[row] [head colspan=3]
End
[/head] [/row]
[/tabular]

The log for F-21 is here [linkie].  The log for F-28 is here [linkie].  The log for F-637 is here [linkie].  A regional road map marked with exit numbers will open in a new window when you click here [linkie].

* * *

I'm going to extend the time for the WC/FAR/FARR beta test to next Friday, the 17th, due to the excellent feedback we've been getting, along with the requests for additional time.  Many of those suggestions are being worked on as this is written, and I am...

...sorry once again, Alex...

...working on a few new pieces that have clearly been identified as being in demand.

Later.


David

146195 - I'll note that, with ten days down this month and complete thanks to you, we are on track for another 20,000 page views in October, and possibly 200,000 by the end of the year. -DE
D. Edgren

Please call me David...

Three Rivers Region- A collaborative development of the SC4 community
The 3RR Quick Finder [linkie]


I aten't dead.  —  R.I.P. Granny Weatherwax

Skype: davidredgren