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CSGdesign's NATURAL GROWTH

Started by CSGdesign, November 20, 2009, 12:50:42 AM

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ecoba

Wow, CSGDesign!

Your style of natural growth is really awestriking! I also like the style of an abstract recreation you've made of Boston!

Keep up the good work, and welcome to the Best Sellers!

Ethan

BuildingUp

WOW! I love the 3D shots. Very dramatic indeed!  :thumbsup:

mightygoose

congratulations on making it to the best sellers...
NAM + CAM + RAM + SAM, that's how I roll....

Battlecat

 :o     &apls

That's purely amazing!  Looks very impressive indeed!

Tomas Neto

Awesome update!!! Happy new year!!!  :thumbsup:

rooker1

It gives me great pleasure to move your MD to the next level...."Best Sellers"! &apls
Didn't take you that long at all with all those great updates.

Robin and The SC4D Staff.
Call me Robin, please.

CSGdesign

#106


Quote from: mightygoose on December 29, 2009, 06:47:16 AM
aha these look fantastic and i bet lots of people are wondering how he did that, and yes those are simcity buildings in those perspective shots........
You like them?  They're only a work in progress so far - I hope to release much more interesting shots in the future.

Quote from: metarvo on December 29, 2009, 09:07:09 AM
SimCity 4 has gone 3-D?

:o

My eyes just about popped out of my head when I saw that!  If I had seen that last picture anywhere else, I would have almost certainly thought it was from RL.  That's quite a view you've shown us, CSG, and it is one of my favorite night shots that I've seen.

&apls
That's some very nice praise metarvo, thankyou!

Quote from: emgmod on December 29, 2009, 10:49:10 AM
That... is just awesome.

Something in my head is making me think that you used Google Earth to make this. It's my best guess until you tell us how you did it.
Edit: I found out how you did it. I should read your blog more.
No Google Earth, although interestingly another two people asked me that same question.
As shown in my blog [spoiler alert], the pictures were made by recreating my city in 3ds max on three dimensional terrain, something I'm doing a fair bit now and will refine to become more and more detailed and unique in appearance.

Quote from: ecoba on December 29, 2009, 01:22:48 PM
Wow, CSGDesign!

Your style of natural growth is really awestriking! I also like the style of an abstract recreation you've made of Boston!

Keep up the good work, and welcome to the Best Sellers!

Ethan
Thanks Ethan!  It's not really an abstract recreation of Boston (although I suppose technically it is)... it's a completely fictional city in every way, it just happens to be on terrain that was created based on the Boston Harbour... because it's interesting terrain to work with.

Quote from: BuildingUp on December 29, 2009, 02:52:21 PM
WOW! I love the 3D shots. Very dramatic indeed!  :thumbsup:
Haha "dramatic".  Thankyou very much.  :)  I'll be showing more that are more advanced than this - hope you like them too.

Quote from: mightygoose on December 29, 2009, 05:21:00 PM
congratulations on making it to the best sellers...
Thanks MG!  Your MJ is doing well by the looks.

Quote from: Battlecat on December 29, 2009, 10:02:44 PM
:o     &apls

That's purely amazing!  Looks very impressive indeed!
I'm really glad you like them!  Keep your eye out for future ones - they should be much better.

Quote from: Tomas Neto on December 30, 2009, 02:16:10 AM
Awesome update!!! Happy new year!!!  :thumbsup:
I hope you have a great New Year too Tomas!

Quote from: rooker1 on December 30, 2009, 05:22:42 PM
It gives me great pleasure to move your MD to the next level...."Best Sellers"! &apls
Didn't take you that long at all with all those great updates.

Robin and The SC4D Staff.
Swoit!



While Boston is large, sprawled, and has a massive range of R,C, and I, it also has several smaller orbiting neighbour towns that will no doubt one day be engulfed by the Megalopolis that will one day cover this entire region.

The two main ones (but not the only ones) that orbit Boston are the southern neighbour of Ellis Point, mayored by the Honourable Mayor Benedict, and the northern neighbour Orthanc Quay which actually encompassed an entire harbour complex north of Boston's own harbour.

Let's have a quick look at them in their infancy...

ELLIS POINT:








Ellis Point is set on a long thin structure of land which breaks off into a cluster of islands on it's north western tip, and is footed in a complex set of inlets, creeks, and tributaries at its southern end.  The majority of the population lives at it's northern end and the southern end, with many farms.  It is entirely low-density and more or less self-contained, with access to Boston by both dirt road and ferry.

ORTHANC QUAY:





Orthanc Quay is actually a cluster of smaller townships, but the majority of the population is set on the eastern most peninsula, shown here facing east, away from Boston.  The town is older and much larger than Ellis Point and the other obiting townships of Boston, and is well on it's way to being a city in its own right.  This is the town that the Great Northern Bay Road travels to from Boston, past the new silica mine of Executor Bay.

These are the two main towns orbiting Boston, but there are another several much smaller communities floating about, usually industrially based such as the logging township of Carver Hills, to the west.

The region is large enough for plenty of towns at this point in time, but eventually... it will all be one city.
That's just the way of things.

Battlecat

Great looking little neighbor towns there!  Also, congratulations on your move to Best Sellers!

CSGdesign

#108


Quote from: Battlecat on January 02, 2010, 08:39:46 AM
Great looking little neighbor towns there!  Also, congratulations on your move to Best Sellers!
Thankyou very much Battlecat!  One day all those little towns (there's a lot that I didn't show because they're still so tiny) will just be suburbs in the megalopolis that will be Boston.




Well it was only a matter of time really.
Boston itself might not have the population and traffic demands that require high-capacity freeways internally, yet, but Simnation is serious about connecting the dots, and it's bringing the nation to Boston.

The Federal Government has drafted some proposals and in close partnership with Boston has brought clear and concise plans to the table about how they'd like to connect Boston with her neighbours... her DISTANT neighbours... not the satellite townships nearby that would one day be swallowed by Boston, but by other Simnation cities... some of which were much, much larger than Boston.

This Federal Main Roads project involved the Eastern Sea-Board Highway, which would run in from Boston's south and disperse into the town, and then re-integrate just north of the town and continue north towards Sutton City, further up the coast.
Additionally the Western Mountain Highway would bring inland townships much closer to the coast by snaking its way in from the north-west and dispersing close to Boston's CBD.


Above image shows proposed highway paths.

The Western Mountains Highway would end just on the northern edge of Sifolis, connecting with Honk Road.


The northern section of the Eastern Sea-Board Highway would follow the existing low-capactiy highway (more or less, while allowing for a much higher capacity by ironing out some of the sharper curves and gradients).  The existing highway would either be replaced or where it was significantly deviating from the path of the new highway would be kept in place as a service road for the neighbouring communities.


The southern section of the Eastern Sea-Board Highway connected directly to Mathshampton Road, just south of the Jacob Industry Way junction station.   From there it would slice through several farms, weave to the west of Blattvale, take a quick trip across Kelly Bay, and then weave south through Rotundo.


Of course many of the connecting roads would need to be beefed up to handle traffic passing right THROUGH Boston, which would effectively form a set of ring-roads around the CBD.
It was a project that was set to take around 4 years to complete, and resume many homes and business premises, but it would ultimately ensure Simnation and Boston were connected and economically strong.

Battlecat

Well here come the freeways!  I see they're slipping through the undeveloped gaps in the region here.  Interesting that they're not going deep into the existing urban area.  At least that will help you avoid what the real Boston has been going through with the Big Dig. 

Tomas Neto

Wow, a fantastic work!!! Very nice!!!  :thumbsup:

CSGdesign



Quote from: Battlecat on January 06, 2010, 08:53:56 AM
Well here come the freeways!  I see they're slipping through the undeveloped gaps in the region here.  Interesting that they're not going deep into the existing urban area.  At least that will help you avoid what the real Boston has been going through with the Big Dig. 
That will come later... for now all we're doing is connecting Boston to her neighbours... the existing roads that the highways join up to will be increased in capacity to handle the small amount of extra traffic these inter-city highways bring.

Quote from: Tomas Neto on January 06, 2010, 02:55:00 PM
Wow, a fantastic work!!! Very nice!!!  :thumbsup:
Thankyou again Tomas.  :)




Western Mountain Highway (WMH) was going to intersect Boston's central road network just above Sofolis University, on Harvend Road (which was currently a small cul-de-sac leading to farmland.)

The intersection for this junction was a relatively simple one.



The existing area as it stands pre-development:


The proposed development would see Harvend Road and Manly Road upgraded into a high-capacity 4 lane avenue, which would also move traffic north into Rosehip Road, splitting traffic coming to and from the end of the WMH and dispersing it.  Other intersections further along the Western Mountain Highway would further siphon traffic off the highway before it reached this intersection, so traffic at this point would be only a fraction of traffic seen further west along the highway.



Points of the plan are:

1) Vix Road, Manly Road, and Harvend Road intersection - a simple traffic light exchange allowing through traffic and turning traffic to alternate.  Traffic volume to disperse south on Manly Road and east on Vix Road.

2) WMH / Harvend Road north-bound entrance - Start Highway, vehicles only.  Lights allow through traffic, turn left north-bound traffic, turn onto highway south-bound traffic, and U-Turn traffic to alternate.

3) WMH / Harvend Road south-bound entrance - End Highway.  Lights allow through traffic, turn right U-Turn traffic, and highway exit traffic to alternate.

4) Rosehip / Harvend Road intersection - a simple traffic light exchange will allow through traffic and traffic turning from Rosehip Road onto Harvend Road to alternate.

5) Rosehip / Harvend Road / Piffle Place intersection - a simple traffic light exchange will allow standard 4-way traffic exchange, with the exception that traffic will not be travelling from east to west through the intersection.

Other roads will be upgraded as part of the Western Mountain Highway project, but are not drafted on this interchange's plans... they will be drafted independantly.

Your feedback on these plans is very welcome.

Battlecat

Those plans look pretty good considering the restrictions you are operating under.  The railway really does throw a pretty severe constraint into design in the area.  I'd say those are pretty standard looking dispersion plans for a major freeway terminus, it should work fairly well for a time at least! 

CSGdesign

#113

Quote from: Battlecat on January 07, 2010, 09:35:37 AM
Those plans look pretty good considering the restrictions you are operating under.  The railway really does throw a pretty severe constraint into design in the area.  I'd say those are pretty standard looking dispersion plans for a major freeway terminus, it should work fairly well for a time at least! 
Thanks for the feedback.  The rails will definately pose a problem in the future... but that's the great thing about the future... it isn't here yet.  It gives me something to do when it comes around!



The Eastern Sea-Board Highway was a massive road running for hundreds of kilometers up the east coast of Simnation, intersecting many cities (including Boston) along it's sizeable stretch.

The part of the highway leading to the north from Boston was referred to as ESBH North, and the highway leading away south was referred to as the Eastern Sea-Board Highway (ESBH) South... for obvious reasons.  Of course this was only on local maps, both stretches were part of the entire highway that was called the ESB Highway on national maps.

The ESB Highway North was to connect to a well-establish avenue leading to the east from Khole Inlet, called Gretchin Avenue.  This avenue formed the bulk of a northern road running east/west between Khole Inlet and Foggy Inlet, and would therefore make an excellent distribution avenue for sims entering and exiting the new inter-city highway.

This intersection was a little more complex than the Western Mountain Highway / Harvend Road Intersection, but only because of the reorganisation required of the local street network to prevent unecessary intersections with the highway, thus controlling access.



The existing area pre-development:


The proposed intersection would connect between the already existing intersections of Gavin Road and Mop Street, slicing through (and permanently seperating) Gatt Street.  The majority of the rest of the area would remain unchanged, except for Gavin Road also being permanently seperated by the new highway as it turned west.



Points of the plan are:

1) Rode Street Intersection - Existing give-way structure, no upgrading required.

2) Mertle Road Intersection - Existing traffic lights allow avenue through traffic, u-turn traffic, and Mertle Road exiting traffic to alternate.

3) Gavin Road Intersection - Existing traffic lights allow avenue through traffic, u-turn traffic, and Gavin Road exiting traffic to alternate.

4) ESB Highway North Entrance - Vehicles only past this point. Traffic lights will allow avenue through-traffic, and highway entering traffic to alternate.

5) ESB Highway North Exit - Traffic lights will allow avenue through-traffic, and highway exiting traffic to alternate.

6) Mop Street Intersection - Traffic lights will be installed to allow avenue through-traffic, and Mop Street exiting traffic to alternate.

7) Jon Road Intersection - Existing traffic lights allow avenue through-traffic and Jon Road exiting traffic to alternate.


PROPOSAL #2:


Points of the Plan are:

1) Rode Street Intersection - Existing give-way structure, no upgrading required.

2) Mertle Road Intersection - Existing traffic lights allow avenue through traffic, u-turn traffic, and Mertle Road exiting traffic to alternate.

3) Terminus Roundabout - Free-flowing access for avenue, Gavin Road, highway, and Mop Street.

4) Jon Road Intersection - Existing traffic lights allow avenue through-traffic and Jon Road exiting traffic to alternate.


As with most of these upcoming plans, this one deals only with the actual intersection with the highway.  The adjoining avenue and roads not shown here will probably be upgraded as well (Mertle Road for example is likely to become a four-lane avenue to meet up with it's slightly more southern avenue counter-part).

As ever, your comments and ideas are very welcome.

As with most of these upcoming plans, this one deals only with the actual intersection with the highway.  The adjoining avenue and roads not shown here will probably be upgraded as well (Mertle Road for example is likely to become a four-lane avenue to meet up with it's slightly more southern avenue counter-part).

As ever, your comments and ideas are very welcome.

Nanami


ecoba

I've seen the last few updates over at ST, my friend. And your style of project planning is interesting, but uncluttered and informative. I can't wait to see the construction plans go into action!

Ethan

Battlecat

That sprawling style of development you've got here certainly does make life challenging for freeway construction.  Looks to me like you've found the best solution for this area given the constraints you're building under. 

CSGdesign

#117


Quote from: 976 on January 08, 2010, 04:37:59 AM
Nice MD!
Thanks 976, welcome to my MD - I hope you enjoy reading it!

Quote from: ecoba on January 08, 2010, 04:38:39 AM
I've seen the last few updates over at ST, my friend. And your style of project planning is interesting, but uncluttered and informative. I can't wait to see the construction plans go into action!

Ethan
That's very kind of you ecoba.  I am trying to present things in a way that can be read both at a glance by skimming readers and in a bit more detail by people that like something a bit meatier.

Quote from: Battlecat on January 08, 2010, 08:57:45 AM
That sprawling style of development you've got here certainly does make life challenging for freeway construction.  Looks to me like you've found the best solution for this area given the constraints you're building under. 
Yes, the entire reason why I started this MD in the first place was to try to show visually how much more interesting I find chaotic sprawl to work with than grids and "neat" stuff.  It's far more challenging, and therefore far more fun.


Several important roads were to be intersected by the proposed ESB Highway North, so intersections, overpasses, and underpasses needed to be planned for these roads so as to have a minimal affect on the areas relying on them.



One of the few roads heading east/west in northern Khole Inlet was that which ran past the treatment plant, built at the time to service the plant, and called Treatment Road as a result.  Since then it has been one of the main roads in the area's northern suburbs to access the south-western and western suburbs.

It was therefore important that the new ESBH did not cut it off permanently.

Area prior to development:


Proposed Eastern Sea-Board Highway North:


The proposal was to have a simple overpass, which would mean that the highway needed to bank sharply to the west but would allow the road to remain completely functional, which was important to the neighbourhood.



Points of the Plan are:

1) Lint Street Extension - connecting the existing Lint Street with the existing Malivore Street.

2) Malivore Street disconnected - footing of the new overpass would need to replace the existing intersection of Malivore Street and Treatment Road, the primary reason for extending Lint Street along the north.

3) Malivore Park - a small area of farmland would be redeveloped to create a new park in the region, which would help offset the negative impact of the overpass and highway, and help to maintain property values in the area.  This was heavilly driven by community input which protested avidly about the highway development but was placated somewhat by the inclusion of parklands into the area with a healthy screening of trees to help suppress noise from the new highway towards the west.

4) Treatment Road Overpass - a simple overpass that had a capacity high enough to avoid being replaced in the immediate future as the surrounding area continued to bloom.

5) Cruz Street restructuring - the eastern footing of the overpass required a slight restructuring of Cruz Street, involving some resumptions and road-works.


All comments and suggestions are welcome.

CSGdesign



Well... nobody commented on my last entry at all.  Actually the number of readers here at Simcity4devotion seems very, very low compared to Simtropolis where I get an average of around 6 comments per entry... why?   &mmm Maybe the readers here prefer custom BATs and lots and content rather than what I'm doing...?



The Khole Inlet Interchange was an interesting one, and perhaps the most ambitious part of the ESB Highway North aspect of the highways project.  Not only did it involve access to and from the northen tip of Khole Inlet, but it also required the unmodified access to the northern industrial park of Hektor of both the ONLY road and the ONLY rail line leading there.

This posed a few interesting challenges for the planning committee, which ultimately settled on upgrading existing roads, an overpass, and some access roads that would allow traffic to move unimpeded from the highway into Khole Inlet as well as from Khole Inlet to Hektor without any obstruction posed by the highway itself.

As always, a few resumptions were required, but in the end the plan left very little ruin in it's wake.



The area pre-development:


The area super-imposed with the proposed interchange and overpass:


The development plan was to put an overpass over Hektor Way and the Hektor Rail Link, with access to the highway being provided both on and off to both east and west bound traffic just west of the overpass.
These on and off ramps would connect directly to pre-existing main roads, which of course would be beefed up to handle the additional traffic.


Points of the Plan include:


1) East-Bound Off Ramp
- Highway traffic exits here to enter Hektor or Khole Inlet.

2) East-Bound ramp intersection
- Traffic can continue to exit, enter, or re-enter the highway.  Give way to the right rules apply.

3) East-Bound On Ramp - Highway traffic enters here from Hektor or Khole Inlet.

4) Hektor Way intersection
- Traffic entering or exiting the highway intersects Hektor Way here and integrates into the city traffic grid.

5) Highway Overpass
- Highway remains level, passing over Hektor Way main road to Hektor, and Hektor Rail Link lines, both pre-existing.

6) West-Bound On Ramp - Highway traffic enters here from Hektor or Khole Inlet to head out-bound on highway.

7) West-Bound ramp intersection - Traffic can continue to exit, enter, or re-enter the highway. Give way to right rules apply.

8) West-Bound Off Ramp - Highway traffic exits here to enter Hektor or Khole Inlet.

9) Hektor Way - Pre-existing main road between Khole Inlet and Hektor Industrial Park will pass under new highway and be upgraded to handle increased traffic expected to be brought by the highway interchange.

10) Hektor Rail Link - Pre-existing line to Hektor will pass under the new highway to allow trains and cars to pass unimpeded by each other.


As ever, councillors, your input is welcome.
None of these plans are yet approved or set in stone, so if you have anything to add, be my guest.
Remember the mandate of Natural Growth however - we're dealing with existing conditions, not planning for the future.  Also we're doing this as inexpensively as possible.  Knocking down homes and businesses to straighten roads or create nice pretty grids is NOT what we're about.

emgmod

Trust me, I'm reading this, but I'm lurking.
That's a very minimalistic interchange you have there. I'm not sure about the safety of them, but they work.