Challenge 4 - Now official on May 14th

[jmyers2043]

JMyers orders two Whopper Junior Meal Deals while awaiting orders.

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CHALLENGE 4 OFFICIAL ENTRY

Part 1

A copy of the orders that you have posted

Here they are: To TheTeaCat

Tile i  . . . Independence seems to be undeveloped. Excellent! Behold the New Independence!

Please zone a small town of low density residentials for about 2000 Sims. No medium or high density zones allowed. A couple of blocks of low density commercial and a minimum of four large blocks of dirty industry.  Please build a rail road station so that manufactured goods can be shipped to the neighbor cities.

Then build some outlying small villages of 15 to 25 low density homes in the rural countryside. Please include a little commercial and/or industry when you do the small villages. The map (below) is a guide or suggestion. You do not have to place the villages exactly. Nor does the small town of New Independence have to have the same exact shape as my example. However, New Independence needs to be placed where the rail and Route 10 run close to each other. By the way. There will be a new road called HWY 17. And none of that curvy stuff either. My road design engineers are very adamant about that. 

Looks like we'll need a small power station. It should provide no more than 5,000KW.  Whether high pollution or low. It's up to you. But – you are required to use clean energy if the cities power needs exceeds the capacity of your initial power plant.  You will also need to supply water to the residential, industrial, and commercial parts of your small town. Please also make provision for garbage disposal because nothing grows when garbage piles high. By the way, MrBisonM (the nice guy that I know he is) will reward you with extra additional points or perks for innovative or creative garbage disposal ideas. Please build a fire station. Under no circumstances are you allowed to build any health or education related buildings. You may only build a police station if (an only if) the police are needed to put down a riot. But don't worry. Poor uneducated Sims don't riot. They love to work in dirty factories and pick broccoli at the nearby farms. Poor Sims do not need parks either. Not now, maybe later.

Guide for New Independence



Regarding the nearby farms? You'll need to build plenty of them. Take an aerial look at Tile i and zone at least 50% of the remaining areas with farms. All other areas should be planted with trees, ponds, creeks, meadows, winding paths through the woods, etc. Don't use any of Peg's logging equipment because as you perhaps saw from Barby's challenge that the pesky loggers destroyed her woodlands.

I have a special request about farms. This American Southern boy couldn't build a European looking farm lot if his life depended on it. I've tried in the past and posted some buildings and lots in the BSC private forums. Only to be met with discouragement. Someone will say "That doesn't look European". So, I am going to make you a bat. I am interested to see if tea lovers can create farm lots that look like something plucked from the English countryside. I'll make the model and make it into a farm building but also create a prop. Your new farm may grow as you develop but you may need to do a plop lot. Basically, I'm looking for at least 1 or 2 in game pictures displaying your lot making skills. By the way – the model will be yours to keep and do with as you wish ... or share ... or whatever.

Part 2

3 to 5 pictures in any view of the realisation of the demands/orders that you received

The hopes and dreams of TheThreeStooges have been realized. RCI zoned as requested with nearby farming. I placed a green space between RCI zones and farms for future light rail. A rail spur heads west to the city next door. Low and behold, a member of the NAM team wanted me to build passenger and freight rail too. Go figure?



A park and a fort/lookout that is fit for family recreation. The McMuryney monument by Ripp Tide looks fort-ish and has character enough to be a nice place for families to picnic near. 


The park at the base of the hill sits on the exact same spot where Pioneer MrBisonM had his farm and whiskey still (from challenge 1). This statue is a second monument and is not to be confused with the one required by this challenge. This one remembers where MrPioneer B was set upon by those four angry Indians and how he subdued them by offering whiskey from his still.



My take on Jed Clampit's Farm. Features SimGoobers animated oil pumps. The farm has a small garden patch and some cows. The field tiles are timber with random trees by MJB, JRJ, and CP. Mixed in with some invisible trees for added variety, and a Spruce Pine with three growth stages (stump, small, tall). Then one day when he was shooting at some food. Up through the ground came ... a bubblin crude. Jed doesn't live in the trailer anymore.



This village is known to the locals as 'Three Corners'. Rebels can't count.



Part 3

2 pictures of what you have been doing

What I've been up to? You wish to know? I've been making timber farms for the Northern territory and started on some coal mining bats.

Tile K - Timber Farming on steep slopes. The slopes and surrounding areas of Hogback Mtn. are zoned as farmland. A little bit of planning, a little bit of modding, and some moving about of files into my plugins resulted in the fire tower growing as a farm at the peak of the ridge. This is actually the CSX timber farm with a JMyers twist. The fire tower is by Deadwoods. Jed Clampits homestead grew at the base of Hogback Mountain. The field tiles of both farms meet about half way up the slope. Nearly 3,000 field tiles are dedicated to timber farming in the city of Hogback.


Tile K - SimGoobers Coal Mine (a rare JMyers Plop) sits at the base of Hogback Mountain. Nestled between Spruce Pine timber and steep slopes. The location is too severe for a Coal Tipple. Miners homes cling to the ridge. The coal is hauled to the nearby town to a 'truck dump' which functions as a real live freight rail station. Sometimes things grow funny and I got a good chuckle when a Sim parked his blue car directly in front of the driveway. I'll have to speak to the SFBT team. I think their mod is responsible.



Part 4

1 picture in view 4

Tile K - Bah! Can't see anything in view four but here it is. The town square which features a statue of ... none other than ...

Maybe add a respectful word/speech or two

Governor attends Statue Commemoration:

Hogback, May 2009 – "Governor MrBisonM, we welcome you to Hogback and take pride in presenting you with the golden scissors" said Mayor Jim at the commemoration ceremony of the Statue to the Governor. The ceremony drew 37 local residents. All eager to get a glimpse of MrB.

"It gives me great pleasure to be a part of the momentous occasion" said GovB as he raised the scissors above his head during the four minute ceremony. "I'd rather be here in Hogback than across the River in the southern held rebel territories, that's for sure. If you want a better tomorrow, then vote for me. No senior Sim will have to worry about those Southern Rebs if you vote for me. And I announce right here and now, that I will reveal my one point plan on how to deal with those Rebs on the very first day of my next term, if you vote for me. Thank you all for coming."

The formal ribbon-cutting ceremony was followed by the "Governor BisonM Look-alike contest" held in front of the Jess Quality Tool shop. The winner got a $20 gift certificate to Jess's. "I don't get to be around politicians too often but that Governor sure is handsome" said contest judge Dorothy Trammel. "and the statue is a good likeness"

Indeed it is.

[meinhosen]

$*%#! 

The BK was on the other side of the river. 

[threestooges]

*threestooges walks in, sets a folder on the table, grabs one of the two Whopper Jr. Meals, and sits at the other side of the table*

Thanks for lunch. If you look at the photo contained in the packet in front of you, you'll see our initial plans for quad H, outlined in red. To supplement this, we will need zone maps for any southern tiles that have been developed identifying any civic structures that are in place. Additionally, we will need information on what sources of power/water, if any, are presently on the Southern side. Thank you in advance for providing this information.

fig. 1


The river is such a nice place, we're planning to develop a number of residences there. Low density. They'll be mixed in with some smaller shops and services: gas stations, markets, and other such things. No office towers, strip centers or other large scale structures. This is a quiet area where you can sit on your back porch, savor a drink and watch the river flow by. These areas are generally indicated on the image above in light green and blue areas.

In our investigation of this area, there is a nice little hill at the bend in the river (circled with a small darker green line) that would make an excellent observation point, or a fort (we're still not sure what you all are up to up there, and we're not taking any chances). There's a small dark green area just north of the circle too, where the residences end along the river. This is also to be made into a small park no less than 3x4 tiles. there is no maximum size except what reason and the image suggest.

The yellow spots will be zoned for industrial development to take advantage of the road and rail intersection. Oh, I didn't mention this yet? There will be a road that will eventually connect Routes 25 and 10 that crosses the tracks there. There will be two additional bridges in this area right around the hill (as shown on the image). Though not necessary, some of the industries father from the main rail line have requested a single rail spur line (STR) to some of the larger facilities. This is not a necessity.

At the intersection of the road and rail there will be a passenger and frieght station to aid in access to areas further south. Style and scale is up to you.

Two last things and I'll leave you alone for now. To better allow people to enjoy their spirits, and to keep the roads clear of drunk drivers, we'll be installing a light rail network. This does not need to be completed yet, but it will eventually trace around the new houses and loop up into E, crossing the river about where the raised bridge is in E. We have yet to determine the right of way through there yet, but it is something to be considered.

Lastly, areas that have not been allocated yet will likely be zoned for agricultural needs. None of those massive rectangular farms though, they should have some character to them, some flow.

That's a lot to take in, so to summarize:
Required:
-Low density residential and commercial development along the river on both sides.
-Fort or observation area on the hill with a park below. The area should give a good view of the surrounding area but be a good place for our families to relax
-A road that will eventually connect with Routes 25 and 10. It appears straight in the image, but bends are acceptable
-Industrial development around the rail/road intersection
-A passenger and freight facility at the same intersection

Suggested:
-STR spurs to some of the more outlying industries to connect them to the mainlline
-agricultural areas filling in areas not otherwise developed (these may be developed into other things in the future, but we could use the food now)
-light rail tracks and stations that will follow the new residential developments

I realize this is a lot to accomplish. If it seems like more than you expected, get in touch with me and we can discuss things. Lunch is on me next time.
-Matt (threestooges)

[jmyers2043]

Additionally, we will need information on what sources of power/water, if any, are presently on the Southern side.

Please to meet you Matt.

There are none. These tiles are a blank canvas.

we'll be installing a light rail network.

I don't wish to sound like a newbee ... but ... is this like cable or street cars? Would this be a NAM plugin? I'm not sure if I have this or not.   

[threestooges]

Pleased to meet you too (well, formally at least, I've popped into your BAT a couple times and seen your work, very nice stuff).

Light rail, more commonly referred to around here as GLR should be a part of the NAM. It's found under the misc transport menu along with the El-Rail stuff (which is what the network is based on) and yeah, it's basically a streetcar network. There's a draggable version, as well as puzzle pieces that put the rail in avenues and now roads. I'm not sure in what stages of release they all are, but I'm fairly sure all forms are now publically available. One warning when using puzzle pieces (I'm not sure if this has been corrected) is to not hover a GLR puzzle piece over a TE'd lot (like a GLR station). Doing so can cause a crash to the desktop.

Hope that clears up any confusion, and that's not a newbie question at all.

As for tiles D E and F, mind if I get a shot of the zones on the south side?

Good luck, and if you have any other questions, please ask. I want to have some fun here, but I don't want to make you work too hard.
-Matt

[jmyers2043]

As for tiles D E and F, mind if I get a shot of the zones on the south side

Tile D


Tile E


Tile F

[threestooges]

Excellent, thank you. Go ahead and continue with that farm style for the other tiles, but don't let them get too big. If necessary, combine several small farms together with a central house/facility and paths rather than just go with one big zone. Partly in that I don't want my citizens focusing solely on one crop, but also because I like the small farm look.
-Matt

[mrbisonm]

Excellent Negociation work here.

[jmyers2043]

Question:

Additionally, we will need information on what sources of power/water, if any, are presently on the Southern side.

Answer:

There are none.

Rebels immediately regret seizing control of the Southern Bordertown regions.

May 2009, Burnepool (Tile H) - Only hours after assuming control of the Southern territories of Bordertown, members of the "Anything but MrB Front" admit they made a huge mistake. The taking control of the bridges this morning was a relatively peaceful event. But the Front now finds itself in control of a bunch of angry, disgruntled, ailing citizens who can't move into the new territory because of a lack of electrical power and other necessities. .

"Good Golly, what the heck were we thinking?" Said Larry, of the three stooges. The Stooge brothers are now the supreme rulers of this now empty southern region. According to Moe, ruling the region "made sense at the time". However, celebrations were cut short when the victorious rebels realized that they were now in charge of a city with no utilities and apparently have no idea how to tell Mayor Jim where, how, or even if these facilites should be placed.

Most southerners admit that something drastic had to be done. "For years, we watched our beloved homeland suffer from strife and infirmity under the hand of MrBisonM" said Skeeter Whitefield.  "But if this ain't just something else I don't know what it is?"

Everyone wants to be the boss, until you're the boss. The southern folk complained when Govenor B asked them to build a road. Complained again about the railway destinations. The Governors' spokesperson smugly pointed out that "they are not being told what to do now. It's too bad they can't figure it out"



@ Matt - Roads and bridges have been built to your specifications.
Do I have your permission to place utilities at my discretion?

[Pat]

Jim looking intresting in here for sure and you have yourself a very skilled and lean mean killin eeerrrr diplomatic Matt to work with lol

[threestooges]

"Splendid" the Stooges thought as they surveyed the construction work of Myers Contacting Corp. LLC. The roads are progressing nicely. The bridges look pretty good too. We'd like to see something of a more traditional/historic style, but we'll certainly leave that up to the contractor's discretion. If you want to make a larger frieight yard, feel free to move it across the river, I hadn't realized how small the area was when I made the challenge orders.

As for power and water, I didn't want to give you too much to worry about. As I understand, we have access to the North's stuff now (but we would like to avoid using that stuff if at all possible). But if you are interested, go ahead and make a nice water pumping facility along the river to the south border of E. Select any means of power you like, but try to give it a custom look and not just a basic Maxis one. Not coal... too dirty, but don't worry about going spotlessly clean. Put it west of the industrial sector along the road that cuts across the tile. Note that these are only suggested goals for this challenge. You can always use the... North's... power and water for now.

[jmyers2043]

Hello Fred and Lynn. I've edited the first post of this thread and hope it serves as my official entry for the challenge.

[threestooges]

Looks very nicely done Jim. Something tells me I can have some fun in the upcoming challenges after seeing what you can do. The fort looks great, and I like the planning you've done for the future GLR. I'm not sure what to say about your choice of covered bridge though (heh heh, only kidding). Well done. Mrbisonm and lynncanox, if/when you read this... big points for Jim for this one... except for the covered bridge... (kidding about the bridge).
-Matt

[jmyers2043]

We'd like to see something of a more traditional/historic style,

Hello Matt - the reason I used the covered bridge is because of a comment ... hmmmm.    

Thank you for the complimentary post.  I am, however, now worried about my future 

[threestooges]

Heh heh, I know Jim. In case you're wondering, this is why I was giving you a hard time. No worries though. Everything looks great. Don't change a thing... until the next challenge of course, and don't worry, I won't make it too hard.
-Matt

[mattb325]

The fort on the hill looks amazing and is very well placed indeed: I really like the upper and lower parks in that shot. I enjoyed the take on Jed Clampits farm and the new timber farms look very promising

[mrbisonm]

Glad you were able to finish this challenge without too many difficulties again, now did you?. We have taken notice of your pictures and your separatist demand. Thank you.

Now we will take the time again to judge it properly which may take a few days. We will have the time enough to do so since the next challenge will have  two weeks to be worked on.
You still have no right at all to touch the separatists side of the region, but you can build whatever your desire is in your half, of course with fully respecting the general Rules.
Thank you and Good luck. Lynn already started judging some days ago.

Lynn and Fred

[zzsteven]

I like how you laid out the farms. I have a long ways to go yet. sigh
zz

[mrbisonm]

Judgements for challenge 4.

We have been away from judgements for the summer, first because of some illness of Lynn's mother and then missing some free time, after we took an almost two month vacation, but now we're back judging. Most of these judgements were done since quite a while, but only on paper.
This challenge was a bit harder to judge than others, because orders were given by an adversary, so we will judge it so, putting ourselves in the shoes of the adversary. I must say that we also were very generous with points at this time, something that we will change a little bit for the next coming challenges. Don't worry, we won't start giving bad points now..... Please go and judge my challenge 4 now. Thank you.

1.  Orders given are well detailed and well thought over, and 5 points were added.

2.  The execution of the adversary's demand are excellent and we enjoyerd the fine details of your effort which earned you 5 points for this part of the challenge, well done.

3.  The statue, well......lol....interesting and original and has earned you 5 points also. We liked the 37 local residents that were present and also the 20$ for the look alike contest, it was quite amusing and entertaining to read.

One of the best updates yet. No other than 15 points are added to your total, plus 1 Bonus point for the entertainment, originality and the fine details shown in the pictures. 16 points in all. Excellent.

Lynn and Fred

[jmyers2043]

Hello Fred and Lynn. Thank you for the points.