mrb's Challenge 3

[mrbisonm]

I suppose you're all waiting for mine to be posted first?. Ok then....., I'll be ready late tonight with my third update, I hope, if not, it will be tomorrow (saturday).

Fred

[soulchaser]

I'm not waiting, I'm just working on custom lots and don't get it right.....looking forward to seeing yours

[mrbisonm]

THIRD CHALLENGE

A dark cloud has covered the skies of Grand River, when rebellions cut off the south to my region.

The new Route that was finished only a few days ago, used to be a gravel road. Now the new route gives total access to the whole east of the region, the only part that did not have any asphalt roads yet. It was numbered to be Route 214, which starts just north of the limits of Bordertown, contouring the Pebberly Hills to meet the sharp turn of route 10 that leads into the south and which today is totally cut off for any traffic. Then route 214 continues towards the east following the river and then north contouring the shores until it disappears into the northern county. This is btw the first official route that gives access to the seashores.

I have chosen to keep the northern part of the region to play in, although the south has more than double of zoned areas and the bigger part of the town, because I like the natural settings of the town and the surroundings and possibilities to build a betterlooking city in the future.



This is Route 12 on the southern side, now heavily guarded and controlled by armed Separatists, and only a few specific vehicules are left to pass to or from the north today. The Rebellions have total control over this remaining bridge, once the main bridge that connected the once united town of Grand River, now called Bellton in the south and Bordertown in the north. The Rebellion's flag fly over the control cabin with its Blue and Red colours.



The same route 12 on the southern side, seen from a different angle. It was said that tresspassers are shot on the spot.



The only other bridge that the region has is the route 10 bridge in tile G, now totally shut down and closed off. The rebellions have destroyed the actual road and barriers of big cement blocks were placed so that no one can pass through. Since the bridge goes through a tunnel first, the barriers were placed outside the bridge to have better and openviewed control of the terrain.



The same viewed from a higher altitude to show the bridge of Route 10 with the bridge and the blocked off road together as the challenge demanded.



The Maintown Grand River shown here in a complete view is now divided into two halves called differently today. Bellton is the renamed southern part owned by the separatists and Bordertown is what the Mayor renamed Grand River, is in the north. Bell Island belongs to the north and Gosh Island to the south.
I built this maincity here because of the islands and the river inlet on the south. The reason is simple , I saw the futur with a big harbour on the islands and one city on both sides of the river. Other choices were closer to the sea as on tiles L and K, but finally I decided to keep it on tile F with tiles B and H in mind of futur expansions.



This is the view of Bell and Gosh islands when they were united. The picture was taken before the separation. On Bell island we have the waterpumps and the windpower turbines that supply most of the northern town's electricity. Bell pond on Bell island, which was named after the famous Dr Bell, is believed to have some medical power in its water. The pond is still privately owned by one of Dr Bell's descendants, as is most of the western part of the island.



This is the industrial part of the southern part of the town before the separation. This specific area was to become the main harbour for the region, giving access to both the Grand River and the southern smaller Turin river. Although the south doesn't have any farms, the grainsilos were built here because of the futur construction of the harbor. Now what this all will bring to the south, only the futur will tell.



Since the rails are situated only in the south, the trainstation was built here, now under the Rebellion's control.



And a last picture of the town before the separation, showing the futur harbor to be, a part of the trainstation in the lowerleft of the picture and the downtown in the upper right picture. This town is now controlled by an unknown adversary, while I will make the north prosperious.



Again a few New Nexis BATs and Lots were shown in this update. Hope that this will give a good example for the 3rd challenge and hopefully it was pleasant to look at the pics and read the description. Good luck to everyone.

Fred

[jmyers2043]

Well, what can I say?

The road cones are a neat idea. I stared at the picture for a while, sitting, wondering how the SC4 traffic generator lined the traffic just so. Finally the dirt shoulders tipped me to believe it's a 4X3 lot.  The lot blends in with the surroundings perfectly.

I also like the screen grab with the aerial view of the road blockade. probably because you named the swamp. Things like that bring pictures to life.   

My favorite screen grab is the rail station. I could sit and look at it for ever. 

All in all, a very entertaining update. It will be hard to find fault when it is time to reward you with points ... but I'll try.   

[mrbisonm]

Well, what can I say?

Finally the dirt shoulders tipped me to believe it's a 4X3 lot. 

My favorite screen grab is the rail station. I could sit and look at it for ever. 

Thanks. The lot is a 1x3 and not a 4x3, believe it or not. A lot of offset props on it. The homes around it grew by themselves. The traffic is plopped.

For that railstation, if you want it, pm me with your e-mail address and I'll send it to you, but I warn you, it takes a few dependencies, not like all my other Nexis lots.

Fred

[Orange_o_]

I like very much the pic of the station

[mightygoose]

great work fred the rail station is fantastic and the layout of your blockades is well though ot, sterling effort, im sure you will score very highly.

[jmyers2043]

The new route is well placed. And I can't say much more about it other than it gets 5 points from me.

The check points for Route 12 are very well done. It was hard for me to find where the blockade lot ended and where the growable lots begin because the check point blended in so well with the surroundings.  I loved the road cones and the traffic stopped on the road. This road block being so well done actually worked against you with the Route 10 roadblock. The piles of sand and a few barrels didn't seem to be too much of a blockade. And there are no police or rebels to halt a vehicle from simply steering around the obstacles. So I think that the road blocks part of the challenge gets a 4.

The 5 pictures of your main town are gorgeous. I like the custom content you've done. The construction lots and pier along the creek. I can sit and look at your rail station all day long. The only thing out of place for me was the Peg Air Cleaner thing-y. Just doesn't blend in well but that's a quibble. A rock solid 5 points from me. Possible bonus point at the final tabulation because you shared the rail station? Hmmmm? We'll see.

Total 'official' points this Challenge is 14.

Well done!

[Splime]

A) Route 12 reached the only area left to cover, 5 points there.

B) You didn't exactly have to blockade much, and your blockade on Route 10 wasn't exactly thorough. I realize it was supposed to be done overnight, but I'm sure the rebels could have figured out something to stop cars from driving around. However, the Route 12 checkpoint was very well done, earning 4 points for this category.

C) The region. This is pretty hard to grade. I'm interested by how you've got many farms in the north, and none in the south. I really liked your train station shot. It's a small picture, but sometimes the best things are the details. I'm deciding between a 4 and a 5, but I think the lack of farms in the south (despite the flat land) brings this category to 4 points.

Total: 13 points

Overall, I really liked this update. The Route 12 checkpoint was definitely a highlight.

[metarvo]

This is not getting easier (nobody said it would), so I have raised my standards for judging.

Road - 5

Since you have placed the new road in the perfect location, you get a perfect score of 5.

Border - 4

Just the blue and red Bordertown flag alone is worth a whole point, as it really carries the feel of GRV-II.  The barrels and guard vehicles really add a lot to the scene.  Unfortunately, there's no checkpoint or anything near the Route 10, so that will hurt a little.  Even so, a 4 is still a solid score.

Pictures - 5

Great custom content and balanced development are enough to get you a 5.  I did notice a black hole under a building, indicating either the Water Bug or a missing texture dependency, but that's minor compared to the rest of the update.

Total - 14

Very good.  Again, this is your GRV-II, so a high score like this is to be expected.  Keep up the good work, Fred!  

[soulchaser]

Just a short statement:

ROAD

I think the crossing in tile F is a bit weird. I would simply just not have named the western part 214. That's something never happens where I've been driving yet. Speaking of peripher crossings.
Pts. 3.5

BORDER

I really like the checkpoint, but on route 10, it might have been more reasonable, if you would have blocked the tunnel entrance with some rocks. with your solution, I would have expected more guards standing around.
Pts. 3.5

PICTURES

I like the results in your region a lot. I can clearly see the differences. I love the details. The only thing I'm missing is a reason, why the rebellion took place!
Pts. 4.5

TOTAL

Pts. 11.5

[XiahouDun]

Route:
I'll give you a 4 for the new route. I like the scenic layout, however there are more logical layouts to connect the city tiles. Your route reminds me of California Highway 1. Low on practicality, but high on scenic value.

Border:
I give you a 4 on the border. Inventive and effective, plus looks like it could have been set up quickly. I really like how it is all laid out

Pictures:
Also a 4 in my eyes. The city is coming along well and has interesting features. However I can't get a grasp of a city center. Its a well fuctioning city, but lacks a certain personality that real world cities have.

Total: 12 points

[meinhosen]

I saw you asked for folks to grade your 3rd Challenge, and I think I remember reading somewhere that non-players can judge... feel free to ignore me if I read wrong (an explosion rattled brain does odd things to you sometimes...  )

Route:

It opens up some possibilities for development just south of the mountains and west of the coast, and coupled with the fact that it doubles as a scenic coastal highway I would award you 5 points (4 for the route, 1 bonus for the placement on the coastline)

Border

You have some well placed hasty blockades on the road and rails- I like how you did that.  The checkpoint inside the town is a nicely done lot and gives the impression of a newly placed border crossing.  I would award 4 points for this part of the challenge.

Pictures

The pictures show a good idea of the development of Bordertown.  Additionally, you also included in the descriptions some of the plans you have for future development of your half of the region, which shows a good sense of planning.  5 points for this challenge.

Total: 14

[Pat]

WOW Fred needless to say I am amazed to view your pics and your customizing of the challenge!!!

Route: 214 very good back story on it and logical selection for the path of the route as well... I will give you a good 5 for it...

Border: Love the barrels w/ check point and also the cut points on Route 10... Looks as this was done over night.. OK I thought there was supposed to be a showing of the Rail cut point as well here and I don't see this? OK so my score on this is a 4.5... -1 for no Rail Cut picture a plus .5 for the awesome BorderTown Flag...

Pictures: Hmmm I knew you knew the directions of the game and you must have planned to play in the "North" all the long here so it became a little more well developed in your favor...  The "South" on the other hand suffered with development... I do agree here that is a lack of City Center feelings here on both sides... I know as we go on now further on out it will change but my score here will have to be a 3.5

Total Score: 13

[mrbisonm]

OK I thought there was supposed to be a showing of the Rail cut point as well here and I don't see this? OK so my score on this is a 4.5... -1 for no Rail Cut picture a plus .5 for the awesome BorderTown Flag...

Total Score: 13

ehem.......The problem why I didn't post any railcut pictures is that I have NO rails crossing the river (border)........

Thanks folks for judging, some good ones done. Keep it up, I will total it (and comment on them) in a day or so.

Fred

Edit:

Thanks for the judging. We have 7 who judged my update with a total points of 92, meaning the average is 13.14, in other words I earned 13 points.
It was added to my total on the pointage sheet. Judgements were satisfying and justified. Thank you.

Fred