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Welcome to the virtually untouched region of Quynneth!
I started this region after becoming inspired by CSGdesigns CJ, Natural Growth, which you can find on his blog (http://www.csgdesign.com.au/blog/), and ofcourse here at SC4D too.
I've started a SC4 blog myself too, where you won't only find these updates, but also more general SC4 info, as well as some of my ideas and motivations for events in my region. You can find my blog at http://shilkasc4.blogspot.com/ (http://shilkasc4.blogspot.com/)
But back to my MD, I started off with an adaptation of the 'Macedon' map by flamesrock, which can be downloaded here. (http://www.simtropolis.com/stex/details.cfm?id=5848)
I adapted the map to my liking by first smoothing the greyscale map. Then I turned the northern peninsula into a set of islands, and added a few small islands too. Then all low altitude plains got smoothed by hand ingame and forests got added, which resulted in the birth of my region; Quynthas.
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As you may have read in my earlier blog (http://shilkasc4.blogspot.com/) entries, Gonway Mining co. has shown interest in this region, for its suspicion to have some rich browncoal deposits. Water analyses of several rivers in the area have shown traces of browncoal, and Gonway Mining co. has decided on further investigation, especially as their browncoal surface mine in another region (http://www.simtropolis.com/cityjournals/?p=view&id=907&page=1), Gonway mine, is nearing depletion
Having acquired quite some riches with their first surface mine, Gonway Mining company is in the luxurious position to invest heavily in this still untouched region to get new mining operations on the way.
As a first step there will be some reconnaissance from the air to check out the most promising locations. A small plane with geological experts has scouted the region from the air, interpreting landscaping features for their likelyhood of containing browncoal. The following area has shown to be of particular interest;
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After establishing this area of interest, Gonway Mining co. has sent in a scouting expedition to conduct research on the ground. Within 2 months some rich browncoal surface deposits were found, and 3 main dig sites were proposed. With the browncoal positions discovered, research has also shown a good possible shipping location, since initially any mined browncoal will be shipped out to neighbouring regions. Unfortunately the nearest possible shipping location is quite a distance away, since the riverbanks on rivers closer by were classified too steep for proper development.
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With the initial research and planning stage behind us, it is finally time for the first developments in our region.
Gonway Mining co. has sent out a ship with equipment to prepare a makeshift shipping location, and to start constructing a temporary road towards the first concession at dig site #01, concession lot 457.38722 BL.
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Soon the dirt road is stretching far inland, as workers get closer and closer to dig site #01. At some points the workers had to deviate from the planned route, because of swampy grounds, and later on rocky outcrops being in the way of the roads development.
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When the first concession at dig site #01 is reached, heavy machinery is making a quick start on removing the top soil. Many trees are cut down and shipped out to neighbouring regions. Waterpumps are installed for lowering groundwater levels enabling Gonway to start mining deeper.
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And then, finally the first browncoal is mined. For months on end diggers dig, and trucks run down the makeshift road towards the shipping area, delivering one upon another truckload of browncoal to waiting ships. After a while concession lot 457.38722 BL is very well on its way of being developed.
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Though mining operations are running now, profit levels are still low. All personell and equipment has to be shipped in, and equipment breakdowns are hard to fix with spareparts having to come from far away regions. Dispite the start up problems the area looks very promising, so Gonway Mining co. is very much prepared to invest further in the region. Investment plans include a makeshift workers settlement, upgrading roads and shipping location, as well as constructing supporting buildings like a garage and a spare parts depot.
These are still future events though, for now I leave you with the results of first human interference in Quynneth, a large scar on it's surface...
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Interesting start. Sounds like a mining town needs to get up and running here. Looking forward to seeing what you've got planned here!
Ohhh great start! The mine looks fantastic, cant wait to see residential development start.
Excellent start! &apls
Great start!
-Jordan :thumbsup:
Interesting mining technique. It looks especially good at the regional level. :thumbsup: Good work so far!
Welcome to the MD threads Shilka.
A rather unique start with the mine and the end result so far is looking good. :thumbsup:
It will be interesting to see how you continue to develop the mine and also improve the connecting infrastructure and add a town or two.
Nice work
Dave
Unique and brilliant start.
The mining area looks great from the regional view.
Looking forward to more....
Very nice start!!! Great work!!! :thumbsup:
A very promising and open start to the MD Shilka. I will enjoy following this one and look forward to see where you take it! :)
Great opening too. Thanks. :thumbsup:
Cheers!
Scott
Very good start, I love the story! Good luck for the future, I look forward to more! ;)
Interesting storyline there and I love the constuction of the mine
Will
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@ everyone:
Thank you for the warm welcome, and I'm glad you all seem to like the terraced surface mine. I'm aware the first update wasn't much more then basicly a hole in the ground, but I'm happy you apreciated the storyline around it.
Following the natural growth concept, I can't promise you any idyllic countryside, masterpieces of city (pre-)design and Feng Shui settlements.
I can however offer you a natural, logical build up with roleplaying elements leading up to developments. Though my screens won't be a display of beauty, I do hope you will find the coming updates interesting, with a supporting storyline, and hopefully inspiring to others, in the same way as CSGdesign's 'natural growth' has inspired me. Have fun :)
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It wasn't that long ago that Quynneth was an untouched region, but the arrival of Gonway Mining co. has changed that. After the construction of the first surface mine Gonway has further invested in the region.
Dirt roads have been upgraded to concrete roads, building materials have been shipped in, contracters have been contracted and construction of several projects have started.
One of the first things Gonway has invested in, after upgrading the existing dirtroad from the shipping area to the mine, is creating an industrial area near their first concession lot 457.38722 BL. A garage and workshops have been built, as well as some storage facilities for equipment and spare parts.
Next to that a main pumping station was built. At first all groundwater pumped from the mining area was released into the nearby forests, but the amounts of pumped up water have increased so much that a special designed spillway had to be created to ensure the water wouldn't just flow back into the mine through the soil.
Once the surface mining endeavor was well supported, construction was started on a brown coal powered power plant, which has been completed by now. Work is still commencing on constructing powerlines heading south to hook up neighbouring regions. This is all part of a grand scheme to reduce costs, since once the powergrid will be completed, the transport of electricity will be a lot cheaper then transporting the browncoal itself, and in the shape of electricity the energy will be easier to sell as well.
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At the same time work had started on creating a workers community to the south-east of concession lot 457.38722 BL. Main reason for creating the settlement was giving the surface mine workers an opportunity to stay over during weekdays, drasticly cutting cost for transportation of personell.
The miners quickly realized the advantages of staying over during weekdays as well, being able to start on their 'after-shift-beer' hours earlier then if they had to travel home first. This caused an explosive growth of the workers settlement, which eventually would hold near to all miners during weekdays. This even caused so much strain on the concrete access road that it had to be upgraded to a wider asphalt road, and the settlement had its diesel powered generators replaced by being hooked up to the powergrid stretching south.
Although the workers settlement never has been officially named by Gonway Mining co., amongst the workers it quickly became known as 'The Sheds', which was actually a pretty accurate description of the general housing quality at the settlement.
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Ofcourse work on the mine itself continued too, and with a large workforce at hand work has also started at the second concession lot 564.42856 CD. Within months the outlines of the new mine were clearly visible;
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With the increased winning of browncoal there was also a much needed upgrade for the shipping location. What once was not much more then a sandy flattened riverbank, had now turned to a sturdy concrete construction allowing several browncoal hauling barges to moor simultaneously. Right next to it Gonway Mining co. had constructed some supporting facilities, a concrete mixing tower that is being extensively used for the roadworks going on, warehouses for storing building materials and some workshops providing maintenance and repair facilities for the barges and other equipment used in the shipping area. Which had been named Innit Industrial by this time.
With shipping facilities nearby, lots of work to be done and landprices as low as they can get, more bussinesses decided to build at Innit Industrial. Carpenters, roadworkers and even a browncoal powered metal workshop flocked to the region of opportunity.
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Since Innit Industrial was now bustling with activity, its harbor continuously facilitating browncoal barges, Gonway Mining co. decided on constructing a seperate passenger ferry pontoon well to the north of Innit Industrial, so passenger and freight ships wouldn't interfere with eachother. With this new beachhead created, connected by road, some workers decided to buy a small plot of land near the ferry pontoon, and had their girlfriends / wifes come over. If you are going to stay here all weekdays, you might as well stay all together. Next to that, land was so cheap here (except for the browncoal concessions), that now workers were able to buy some land at a fraction of the cost outside of this region. More and more workers had their families move over, and a small village called 'Landing' sprung to life.
With lot's of women residing in the village, two of them, Thelma Frunnik and Louise Glibber decided on starting their own bussiness to batlle the inevitable boredom amongst the women. Thelma started a shop in hobby materials, such as beads, paper, paint and all sorts of other crafting materials, whereas Louise started a lapdance school. Both concepts turned out to be highly succesful, resulting in the first commercial development of the region.
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One of the surface mine workers, Bill Dunce, didn't have a wife, nor a girlfriend. Nearing retirement, and no one to spend money on, he had aquired quite some money. Not being the kind of man to live in a town full of women, Bill decided to buy quite a large patch of land along the road from Innit Industrial to the mines. He set up a home near a small pond, that turned out to be full of fish. After retiring, he also cleared some land and began a second career as a hobby farmer, not able to sit still after a life of mining. And so he spent his time, fishing a bit, farming a bit and generally being happily retired.
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Bill Dunce, being a likable man, was regularly visited by his former coworkers. Whenever visiting they noticed Bills happyness, enjoyed fishing with him, and getting some free vegetables to take home with them as well. The workers quickly started longing for a similar place, with some peace and quiet, a nice place to fish, and away from hobby materials. Lapdances were ok though.
Coincidentally, not far from Bill Dunce's house there was a much larger pond, you might even call it a small lake, and it was filled with fish, eager to be cought. It didn't take long for the first workers to buy some land there, and soon several houses had been built at the waterside.
Unfortunately this didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the workers. The plots of land near the lake quickly sold out, and within a year or two the whole lake was surrounded with housing. Next to fish, the lake was also swarming with flies, leading to the name of this new settlement; Fishenflies.
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So, in a few years time, where we'd expect only to find a scabby workers settlement next to a mine, a lot more had come to existance. New settlements, not only occupied by miners, but also by carpenters, car mechanics, road workers, lumberjacks, barmen and others. With each house being built, each bussiness being erected, more people were needed to maintain and supply for them.
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Ofcourse gonway Mining co. had a big influence on developments. As we speak, Gonway is having talks with SNB (Sim National Bank) to arrange cheap loans for any farmers, lumber companies or other supporting parties willing to settle in the region. All part of the bigger scheme of reducing costs for Gonway Mining co., and SNB being a large investor of the company.
With any new development in the region having a great chance of profitability, and increasing profitability of the ones already there, SNB is very willing to supply funds to any interested parties. With acre upon acre of land to be made profitable, there are huge amounts of money to be made by any bank prepared to take some risk.
As we await new developments, I'll leave you with an overview of the current area being worked upon. I hope you've enjoyed the update, and will tune in for the ones still to come!
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It's a very well thought out project, good to see there's a proper loading port there now! Nice addition of the three small urban developments.
Very nice! Those little villages look great!
Your friend, Jordan :thumbsup:
This certainly is a great MD to watch. Every development has a story behind it, which is very entertaining and really puts the reader in touch with the MD. Great work.
Nice update I like the natural lines you're creating with the roads
Will
very nice, i have a stupid question &ops what exactly is "Natural Growth" ? does it mean then you don't use any cheat and you let your city growing by himself? sorry if it sound very stupid from me :-[ but i'm very curious about this.
Quote from: planetechef on March 15, 2010, 05:28:08 PM
very nice, i have a stupid question &ops what exactly is "Natural Growth" ? does it mean then you don't use any cheat and you let your city growing by himself? sorry if it sound very stupid from me :-[ but i'm very curious about this.
Well, the only stupid question is one that doesn't get asked ;)
I got inspired by CSGdesigns Natural Growth journal, and I couldn't explain any better what natural growth is as he explains it at his blog: http://www.csgdesign.com.au/blog/what-is-natural-growth/ (http://www.csgdesign.com.au/blog/what-is-natural-growth/)
It's a good read, and a full answer to your question :)
With the women on this island trained in lap dancing I think this place will become quite popular. It could become very well known for it's 'friendly' inhabitants.
Geoff
Nice start for your journal here! I always like to see these natural growth journals take off!
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Battlecat: Thank you, I like to try to have some sort of logic or roleplayed reason for developments, it's a big part of my inspiration.
canyonjumper: Thanks! More small villages in this update :P
nedalez: I hope future updates will be just as entertaining to you. By the way, you're quite a storyteller yourself as well, that's a very impressive MD you have!
penguin007: Thanks, future larger mass transit like highways and railroads will prob be a bit less curvy, but I'm trying to stay away from the grid as much as possible!
planetchef: I hope that link answered your question :)
calibanX: Hehehe, I'll tell them to send you a free lap dance voucher ()stsfd()
armagin: Thank you, I hope posting these developments straight from the start will prove to be interesting enough to follow.
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A few years have passed, and there has been quite a bit of new development at Quynneth.
First of all, Gonway Mining co. together with $im National Bank have found a large logging company prepared to settle in the region; Simcoast Lumber co.
Simcoast Lumber co. already owns 5 large sawmills in surrounding regions, and is one of the biggest players on the lumber market. Since Quynneth is a heavy forested area, with large amounts of development predicted, Simcoast Lumber co. has shown heavy interest in building a sawmill in the region.
With $im National Bank offering cheap loans for farmers willing to settle in the region, large patches of land need to be cleared of trees, next to the areas suitable for mining of course. Any additional development only ads to the equation. This promises good profitability for a new sawmill, provided it is built in the right location.
After thorough research by Simcoast Lumber co. a sawmill location has been planned just east of Landing, on the northside of a river. To the north and northeast lots of fertile land is to be found, very suitable for farming, while to the east the mining operations need regular clearing of moderately forested areas.
Logs from the north will be transported directly to the sawmill, while logs from the northeast and east will be dropped into the river at drop off points, enabling the logs to float downstream to the mill, causing a considerable saving on transport costs.
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The location for the sawmill needs quite a bit of work. A large section of ground near the riverbed needs lowering for the sawmill to sit as close to the river as possible. The river itself needs widening at the mill location to create a mill pond where logs floating to the mill can be collected and sorted in the water.
Just downstream of the mill a bridge needs to be constructed, which needs a construction below it to prevent any logs from floating past the mill, where they could be a danger to shipping. The bridge will also provide an alternative drop off point for logs that can't be directly delivered at the mill. Plans are soon made and submitted for approval;
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The plans are approved, and work started on preparing the sawmill location. Luckily Gonway Mining co. has enough groundmoving equipment to spare to make quick work of the preparations. Within a matter of months the new sawmill is built and operational.
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Traditionally constructed out of wood, with the typical red paintjob, and providing hundreds of jobs, the mill has grown to be one of the industrial icons of the region. With thousands of acres of wood ready to be cut, the sawmill provides a huge boost to the regions economy, and quickly is becoming the favored source of employment, even surpassing Gonway Mining co. The sawmill itself even has become a favorite under local artists, as this artistic impression of the sawmill shows;
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With logging operations at full strength, developments to the northern fertile regions are now just a matter of time, while the regular deforestation at the mining sites continue as usual. Acre after acre of land is cleared of trees, and the produced lumber is a welcomed and cheap building material in these first stages of Quynneth's development.
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However, in this region of miners and loggers, farmers are hard to find. This is why $im National Bank is offering cheap, low interest loans to any farmer willing to set up operations in the region. Together with Gonway Mining co. they have set up a widespread advertising campaign in order to lure farmers to the region. This of course all being part of the grand scheme of lowering costs for Gonway Mining co. and Simcoast Lumber co., since the local production of food will stimulate their workers to settle in the area, instead of the companies having to pay for them to travel to and from the area by ship on a weekly or daily basis.
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With the advertising campaign in full motion, fertile lands being precleared and ready for development, and cheap loans for farmers that want to take the big step, it doesn't take long for the area north of Gonway Mines to turn into a serene combo of a river, farmlands and local streams. On the left of this particular picture you can also see one of the log drop off points, allowing logging trucks to unload straight into the river.
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With word spreading fast about the 'promised lands' of Quynneth, an even larger area of farms is created north of the sawmill, and soon the need for advertising is diminishing. Farmers are flocking to Quynneth in large numbers.
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With so many new people settling at Quynneth, there's not only growth of the existing settlements. Several new rural villages have popped up; 'Marish', 'Hammond' and 'Flint'. Next to that a workers village has developed north of the sawmill, appropriately called 'Sawdust'.
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With the explosive growth of the past few years, many realize there is some need for guidance other then just CE-O's of large companies deciding on the regions future. After several meetings of the important, the wealthy and the influential amongst the inhabitants of Quynneth, a decision is made about the creation of municipalities.
Each municipality will have some form of self government, while decisions of regional importance will be agreed on by a municipality collective. The current developed areas have been divided into the following municipalities;
- Innit Landing (Landing, Fishenflies, Sawdust, including Innit industrial)
- Gonway Mines (The sheds, including Gonway mining co.'s surface mining operations)
- Hammond (Hammond, including surrounding farmlands)
- Flint (Flint, including surrounding farmlands)
- Marish Valley (Marish, including surrounding farmlands)
For good measure, Gonway Mining co. has ordered a population survey, which results can be viewed in the following graph;
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As you might be able to tell from the graph, there's still quite a few workers that have to come in by ship, so there's still a lot more growth to be expected. And with more people coming in, more shops and businesses are needed, more farmers to feed them, which will need more people yet again.
However, this is still in the future, for now I'll leave you with an overview of the area featured in this update.
I hope you've enjoyed it, see you at the next update!
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I don't normally post in MD's, but had to stop and say
Well done &apls
Great details especially with the planning of the sawmill and also the artistic impression of the sawmill is stunning :thumbsup:
:)
Catty
Wow, great update! Loads of pictures, loads of details, fantastic roleplaying, it had it all.
I love the overview show, and I like the BAT used for the sawmill. We've got several towns plopping up, its like a country now!
the story continue, i like your presentation, the map, the drawing, the graph (table ???) and yes, the link was very interesting, it's a great option to play simcity 4 like this, i learn couple things, it's not the way i play, because i always try to do the beautifull shot, manytime i failed :D but i will say then the natural growth inspired MD are very, very interesting to watch, so see you often :P
Awesome farming areas there can't wait for more
Will
Very nice update!!!
Very nice! Eagerly awaiting more ;D
-Jordan
Neat update! The lumber mill is a great addition.
Great MD. &apls
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catty: Thank you, glad I was able to lure you into posting here :)
nedalez: Thanks, I hope you'll find this update as complete as the previous ones!
planetechef: Cool, I'm happy the natural growth based journals can be interesting for people who prefer eyecandy for their own journals. Glad to be of help with the link :thumbsup:
penguin007: I've added a lot more farming areas in the past weeks, but they are not really featured in this specific update. Actually little of the growing itself is showcased, but I hope you'll find this update of intrest anyway!
Tomas Neto: Thank you! I hope to continue the same or even better quality updates :)
canyonjumper: Hey CJ! As you've noticed, it took me quite a while, but here's finally more! ;D
Battlecat: Thanks! I'll be introducing more large companies as the region develops.
nbvc: Thank you, I don't get the applause smiley (can you still call it a smiley?) a lot, feeling honored :satisfied:
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John Gonway is a busy man. As owner of Gonway Mining co. he spends most of his waking time on leading his company. He lives mining, he breathes mining, he dreams mining. Despite of his occupation, John Gonway has a family, a wife and daughter. After Gonway Mining started to invest in the Quynneth region John and his wife moved to Fishenflies, so John was close to the major section of his company. Their daughter Melinda stayed at their old home in Emmerton, outside of Quynneth region, in order to finish her study.
After not having seen his daughter for at least 4 months, John decided to invite his daughter over for, of course, a small tour of his mining emporium. Melinda never had been to Quynneth yet, and John figured a tour of the new quarry would make for a nice excuse to invite her over. As a matter of fact he arranged for one of the browncoal barges to give her a ride to Innit industrial.
This only illustrated the poor relationship between John and his daughter. Melinda dreaded the thought of the slow trip overseas, and if it hadn't been for that cute deckhand she would have probably ended up bored out of her mind by the trip alone. Eventually she arrived by barge at Innit Industrial. As you may have noticed it has grown quite considerably since our last visit to the Quynneth region.
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At the harbor her dad had a van waiting to take her to Gonway mines. The trip was fast and rough, with a miner at the wheel. As Melinda looked outside, a bored expression on her face, she saw how they passed Fishenflies. The town looked unattractive to her. A lot of the houses looked like they were in dear need of a new paintjob, and there was lots of rubbish in the untended gardens.
A bit later they passed Dunce farms, which already looked a bit more attractive to her. Though Bill Dunce passed away a while ago, a cousin inherited the estate, and clearly had a good feel for farming. The farmlands had increased in area by a factor 5, and the fields of crops looked lush and well cared for. As the van passed, Melinda caught a glimpse of at least 7 children playing in the garden of the farm estate, and she couldn't help wondering how different her life would have been with so many brothers and sisters living on a farm, instead of being the sole child of a large company owner.
The van continued driving through the forest, and just as she was starting to enjoy the sight of a couple of deer grazing near the roadside she started to notice the smell of burnt browncoal, a smell she was oh so familiar with. Soon the narrow clearing around the road opened up to her fathers emporium. A sight of two large browncoal powered powerplants greeted her from afar. The sky was yellowish brown with soot, and the van turned right alongside a large open browncoalpit, leaving the industrial area behind them.
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When they arrived at the mine entrance, she got word that her father couldn't join her for the small tour he had planned, he was engaged otherwise.
Melinda didn't mind at all, perhaps she was even relieved not to be obliged to hear her father boast about his accomplishments while ignoring the lack of accomplishments in his personal life, especially concerning their father - daughter relationship.
A miner showed her around, but she already saw those earth moving machines a million times before, to her this mine looked like any other her father had realized before, there was nothing there that interested her. Luckily for her the miner was quick to notice, and they both opted for drinking a beer in one of the workersheds instead of finishing the tour.
Not much later Melinda was back in the van, making her way through the forest again, heading towards her parents home in Fishenflies to meet up with her mom.
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It was nice to see her mom again, though she seemed a bit stressed, and the house and garden looked slightly neglected. In an attempt to ignore the sad state of their family relations, Melinda passed some time with swimming in the shabby pool, wandering around the house, and scavenging for snacks in the kitchen. At dinner she finally saw her father, but as usual there was only mindless meaningless chit chat being exchanged. When she went to bed in the guestroom she couldn't even recall what she'd talked about. The boredom of the day had been exhausting, and the thought of leaving again the next morning was only one more reason to fall asleep quickly.
The next morning her dad was already off to the office. After a silent breakfast with her mom, Melinda was quick to say goodbye, and walked head down to the waiting van again, saddened by the continued lack of love by her parents. The van had the same driver again, and as if it was agreed upon beforehand, they only said goodmorning before the silence resumed and Melinda turned her head towards the side window again, watching Fishenflies glide by her window.
It was only a short drive to Landing, but the road was busy with commuters, and Melinda was actually a bit surprised when she realised that just a few years back this area was nothing but lush forests yet. When the van arrived at the pontoon north of landing, she quickly jumped out, mumbling a quick bye at the driver. Melinda walked up the pontoon to the very end, and welcomed the fresh breeze coming across the river, refreshing her mind like a cool morning shower.
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Then suddenly things went very fast. Bystanders looked on as a small speedboat moored at the pontoon, and a large bald man stepped out on the pontoon. He quickly looked around, then decisively walked towards Melinda Gonway. Suddenly he grabbed her arms from the back, and before she realized what was going on he had pushed her into the speedboat, where she fell face first behind the two chairs, her hands slipping on the wet deck. Before she could regain her footing the man put the speedboat's throttle at full, and with a sharp turn they went downriver. The other people at the pontoon watched the tragedy in amazement, and saw the speedboat disappear with the bald man shouting commands at Melinda.
The van driver, who had been rolling a cigarette before planning on driving off again, had seen it all too. He immediately called John Gonway.
When John heard of what had happend to his daughter, he immediately ran to the communication office nextdoor to his own, and radioed out to every browncoal barge on the river and beyond. Though the large browncoal barges were much too slow and cumbersome to manoeuvre to stop the speedboat, they quickly started relaying sightings of where the speedboat was.
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Meanwhile John contacted the pilot of Gonway Mining co's prospecting plane. Unfortunately , the plane was at least half an hour of flying away, and it needed to refuel first before being able to conduct any search. John shouted commands at the pilot as he felt an increasing panic creep down his throat and attempting to occupy his body. The pilot however remained professional and calm, as he hurried to fill up the plane before talking off, heading towards the large bay in Quynneth.
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Photo of Piper PA-18-150 "Super Cub" taken by Ansgar Walk.When the plane finally arrived at Quynneth, John Gonway was able to provide its pilot with a last location and heading of the speedboat, making it relatively easy for the pilot to start searching. Half an hour into the search, the pilot radioed back to John Gonway how he's found the speedboat moored at a hidden settlement. John commanded the pilot to land and investigate, but the pilot calmly refused. The bay was pretty narrow, and the pilot was hesitant to investigate on his own, and managed to convince john that the time had come to inform the authorities.
With no police in Quynneth itself, John Gonway had to seek for aid outside the region. That same day an investigative police force arrived at the hidden settlement, and they were soon to find out that most of it's inhabitants consisted of poachers and fishermen, trying to make a living by selling game and fish to the new inhabitants of Quynneth. At first they found the inhabitants to be far from cooperative, but with a little pressure applied on one of the poachers, the police managed to identify the house of the bald man early the next day.
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With Melinda Gonway's life possibly in danger, authorities decided on flying in a SWAT team for tactical entry of the suspects house. A plan of attack was made, and after nightfall the SWAT team moved in.
After picking the lock of the backdoor and opting for a quiet entry the top floors were quickly cleared and found empty. All was left to search was the basement. When checking out the last door in the basement with a mirror, a professional optical device to check through door openings and around corners, the suspect was spotted in a basement bedroom. After blowing the door open with C4 and further shocking the suspect with a sting grenade, the armed suspect was arrested. In the back of the room a tied up girl was found on a mattress, but it turned out this was not Melinda Gonway, but another missing girl from a neighbouring region.
Then an entrance to an underground tunnel was found, with at the end a room that had Melinda Gonway locked in. Both girls were alive and as later turned out, physically unharmed, but both were suffering from shock of the constant fear they had been in. What plans the suspect had with the girls remains unclear for now.
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After receiving medical attention Melinda Gonway was reunited with her parents. For the first time in years Melinda found her father giving her an intense hug, and both cried realizing how much they had missed that level of personal contact, and they spent the whole night talking about the event, and also about the years leading up to it. With a renewed bond with her parents, Melinda left Quynneth region, never to return to it again.
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These events didn't leave John Gonway untouched. It effected him deeply, and led him to the realization that you only live once, and things can change forever in a just a heartbeat. As a result, a few weeks later, he took one of the boldest business decisions ever in his life.
Research was done, offers were made, and eventually John Gonway signed a multi million simolean contract.
Six months later the first of many ship convoys entered Quynneth region, bringing in thousands of tons of materials.
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For months on end, trucks and special transports hauled all those tons of material from Innit Industrial to Gonway Mines, where all the materials were assembled, tested, adapted, tested further, and finally, it was done. The largest piece of mobile machinery in Simworld had been created.
At the hands of just 5 operators, the large bucket wheel started its motion, scraping away at the mine walls at the same rate as 40,000 men with shovels would. Who'd ever thought the arrival of a bored teen on a barge would lead up to this...
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...
speechless
...
I can't belive you did this. What an entry! Beautiful photoshop work and a story unrivaled by everything I read so far in CJs. I love your journal!
Two thumbs up! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Where are the stores? &mmm
Amazing entry again! ;D &apls &apls &apls &apls &apls
WOW What a story! Rivetting!!
Ofcourse, what would a MD story be without pictures to go along with it, and yours were done masterfully.
Sensational update.
Another great update :thumbsup:
I love your attention to details and I was on the edge of my seat with worry when Melinda was taken, good to see her safe and well
:)
Wow! Amazing update! The story was great, best update yet I say!
-Jordan :thumbsup:
Fine story. Great graphics.
Quynneth looks like a real keeper.
David
A nice story, and an amazing way of presenting your MD. &apls &apls
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n_wilson: Thanks for your kind words, I appreciate your lasting support!
danielcote: I realize there are few stores yet, due to the spread out small scale developments there's hardly any commercial demand yet. I expect more demand in the near future, especially since Innit Industrial, Fishenflies, Landing and Sawdust are on the brink of merging into one big town, and town representatives are about to start talks on a shared central commercial area.
marsh: Thanks marsh I appreciate your feedback on all the different places this is posted.
nedalezz: *blush* , I'm happy you were so impressed, I hope this new update won't be too much of an anti climax, it's more in the style of the first 3 updates.
catty: Thank you, and great to hear you were grabbed by the storyline. I haven't done this style of story like presenting
often, and am glad to see it worked out for those who like a good story.
canyonjumper: Thanks CJ, I value your opinion, keep that :thumbsup: coming! :P
dedgren: Your short but to the point comment goes appreciated :)
Rady: Thank you, nice to hear you like the way I presented things.
Special thanks to Rooker1 for moving my MD out of the inactive section :thumbsup:
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It has been quite a while since the last big update, but I'm proud to present you a new update for Quynneth!
Events triggered by the kidnapping of Melinda Gonway (see update 4) have led to quite some growth in several areas in the region.
With the arrival of the bucketwheel excavator, Gonway Mining co. has vastly improved their production rate, and in no way were the trucks on the narrow road to Innit Landing able to keep up with the amount of brown coal being mined. It didn't take long for John Gonway to decide on building a railroad track, going west from Gonway Mine, passing the main road at Fishenflies with an overpass.
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The newly created railroad ends in the harbor area of Innit Industrial, an industrial area that just keeps expanding, and which is currently only separated from Fishenflies by just a narrow strip of trees. The browncoal is unloaded by cranes and conveyor belt systems onto the brown coal docks, awaiting further transportation by ship.
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The capacity of the brown coal docks have more then doubled, but business prognosis shows that a direct rail connection with neighbouring regions might be necessary in the future. For now a continuous stream of brown coal hauling trains runs back and forth from Gonway Mine to Innit Industrial, and John Gonway's business is flourishing like never before.
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[size=85]Original photo by Callum Black[/size]
However, it's not only the area around Gonway Mines that is flourishing, well to the west of Innit Landing, the once secret settlement of Poacher Marshes has expanded too. After its discovery the illegal homes have been legalized, and the area has been connected by a long and winding road.
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Not only the town itself has expanded, because of the legalisation of the fishing and hunting activities of its original occupants a small harbor has been built too, forming the safe haven of a small fishing fleet.
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However, Poacher Marshes was having one major problem. Despite of its road and sea connection to Innit Landing, John Gonway refused to provide the regions most used energy source, brown coal. Because of the history with Melinda Gonway's kidnapping, John Gonway didn't want anything to do with this remote town.
Fortunately, the inhabitants of Poacher Marshes are inventive by nature, and they solved the problem by starting to mine peat in the marshy areas surrounding the settlement. The brown coal fired heaters and generators that were commonly used in the region had no problem burning peat instead, and thanks to the business sense of the early inhabitants, peat even became a reliable source of income for the town, selling off peat for garden ornamentation and soil enrichment on the side.
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Soon the peat mining area became very large, and a canal was dug alongside the excavation area to be able to haul the large quantities of peat out by barge. This first large peat excavation area got named 'Whiney Slices', because of the slices cut out of the landscape due to John Gonway's 'whining'.
Later, a smaller second excavation area got created named 'Phat Ducks', after a particularly large type of ducks settling in the area.
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The large water features created by the peat mining activities turned out to be a natural surrounding very well suited for many species of waterloving wildlife, especially large amounts of ducks. With their poaching history, a welcomed side effect for the inhabitants of Poacher Marshes, who could add the reapings of the legalized hunt to their income as well. So thanks to the inhabitants inventiveness, and despite (or even also thanks to) John Gonway the area continues to flourish.
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This is where I'll end this update. I know it has been a while, but I hope to be able to once again have some more time for my SC4 projects in the near future. I hope you enjoyed it, and I will leave you with this regional overview.
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Great MD. I love your graphics and background information. The mine is very cool, too. :thumbsup:
If I may add just one suggestion :P : In the first pic, bottom half (Fishenflies) I think it would be more realistic if the road passed over the rail line instead of rail over road. I guess those freight trains fully loaded with coal would have difficulties on the slope.
Good to see you back again
I'd been wandering what happened to the Gonway's and the Quynneth region
Interesting update as always
:)
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It has turned out that the creation of the Gonway Mines - Innit Industrial railroad has been suffering from some poor planning in its initial stages. Several problems have arisen around the Fishenflies overpass, where especially the less experienced train drivers have trouble passing the overpass at the required safe speeds.
After quite some hold ups and near accidents, and with the help of RickD Railroad Consultancy, this chokepoint in the brown coal delivery structure has now been handled as followed;
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Hehe, nice. :D
:o A zot!
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RickD: Thank you for your compliments, I guess I fixed things to your satisfaction with the small intermezzo update? :P
catty: Thanks, I hope to keep you interested :)
HotChocolate: Yeah, it's where the guy lives who designed the original overpass :D
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Welcome back in the Quynneth region. In this update I'd like to showcase some large companies in the region. It's all companies that have had, or will, or will continue to have a heavy influence on the regions development. As some of you know, I'm trying to develop the region according to the natural growth principle, where I interpret natural growth on several levels and in several ways. Meaning I want to keep all city tiles self sufficient (unless theres a roleplaying reason not to be), and am using both roleplay elements as well as logic to make decisions in the development of the region. This means I have no clue how my region might look in 5 more updates, which makes it pretty much an adventure, hopefully just as much for you as for me :) Anyway, onto the company showcases!
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Gonway Mining co. is a company that has been responsible for triggering the first developments in the region, and continues to be of large influence. It's the largest company in the region, in workforce, profit, investment in the region as well as physical influence on the region.
Without Gonway Mining co. this region probably would still consist of endless forests today.
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Gonway Mining co. is a company that up until now exclusively focuses on mining browncoal. The company already was exploiting a browncoal mine outside the region, and has further expanded in Quynneth after intensive prospecting. Currently several consessions are being mined, and with the arrival of the bucket wheel excavator mining is proceeding so fast that current concessions are near to being depleted, and Gonway is on the brink of moving on to a new concession. Right next to the mine, at Gonway Industrial, three browncoal powered plants serve as additional income for the company, by providing power to both the region as well as a southern neighbouring region.
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Gonway Mining co. is also responsible for the creation of the first railroad. This has led to the explosive growth of Innit Industrial, the industrialized harbour area where Gonway is unloading their trains of browncoal onto barges for transport over river, then sea. Gonway's working force largely lived in initially The Sheds, a workers town near the mine, but lately more and more workers have been moving to Fishenflies, causing the town to grow so fast it currently is agglomerating with Landing, and only has a thin strip of trees separating it from the ever expanding Innit Industrial.
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Dunce Farming Cooperative got founded by the son and eleven grand children of Bill Dunce. Bill Dunce was the first farmer in the region, and there's no need saying that farming runs in the family. Though Bill only had one son, his son had eleven children, and all of 'm became farmers. At first Bills son expanded the farm to five farmfields, but with all grandchildren now unified in the cooperative, Dunce Farming now possesses a total of 72 farm fields. Being in a cooperative they are able to buy and share large machinery, causing even larger profits and enabling them to pay off their SimNational bank loans within a few years.
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All Bills grandchildren decided on living in the same town. Although the town initially was called Two Snails, the towns name officially got changed to Duncewood two years ago. The town is entirely surrounded by farmfields owned by Dunce Farming Cooperative, and in this particular picture you can still see Bills old house at the lake in the top right corner.
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Though Bill Dunce himself is not with us anymore, his name lives on at the Market square in Landing, still referred to by Landings inhabitants as 'Bills market'. The marketsquare, as well as 3 rural grocery stores are co-owned by Dunce Farming Cooperative and worked by franchisers. The successful cooperation causes food prices to remain low in the region, which helps to attract even more people to settle in the region.
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SimNational Bank is one of the large investors in the region. Together with Gonway Mining co. they have set up an extensive advertising campaign to attract settlers to the region, which has turned out to be very effective over the years. SimNational Bank's cheap loans helped starters in a great way in the early development of the region.
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Though it has been a bit of a gamble for SimNational Bank to invest so heavily in the area, the excellent results of the advertising campaign, and the successrate of Quynneths companies have more then paid off for the bank. The banks headquarters in Quynneth is currently the tallest building in the region, and the marble and hardwood themed offices are a display of SimNational Banks achievements in the region.
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Simcoast Lumber co. is one of the early players too. Next to Gonway Mining co. it is the #2 job provider of the region. Quynneth is heavily covered with forest. Every field, lot, or road needs clearing of trees, as well as the mining concessions. No need to say that Simcoast has made a small fortune by now.
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The tell tale red buildings of the lumber company stand out near the waters edge of Sawdust. Both Sawdust as well as Landing have owed large part of their growth to Simcoast Lumber co. The company does not only need people at the sawmill, but there's hundreds of operators, loggers, and truckers out there in the forests clearing room for every single expansion of the regions developments.
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By now a second sawmill has been built at Old Gorb. Due to the success of the first mill it's a near to exact copy of the mill at Sawdust.
Old Gorb has seen similar growth as Sawdust due to the vicinity of the sawmill, which has led to the existence of New Gorb at the northern river bank. With developments expanding to the west the new mill has been doing well, and Old and New Gorb are expected to experience explosive growth due to it in the near future.
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CJ's Waste Management & Eco Technology is one of the more recent players in Quynneths economy. All garbage used to be shipped out of the region (or illegally discarded in the forest), but the region is seeing such growth that this has fast become too expensive. CJ's has jumped into this gap, and successfully so.
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With every town now reachable over road, CJ's Waste management has chosen a not so central, but very cheap location for one of their latest innovations, a cyclic garbage dump at Wilson's Ridge. The dump consists of several separate sections. Only one section at a time will be connected by road. Once full, it will be closed off and the next section will be opened. This way the first section can have a headstart at decomposing. By the time the last section is in use the first section will have fully decomposed again and will be ready for reuse, and the cycle can start all over.
Though larger in surface then a large dump in one piece, the advantage is that the decomposition is a continuous process. Next to that CJ's has fitted the section with up to date technology like watertight underlayers, sturdy containment walls, waste water filtering and recirculation systems, and for the stuff they really don't know what to do with, a large incinerator.
Although CJ's Waste Management is currently just making enough money to pay the rent on their loans, there's no other parties interested in garbage, and their future might look brighter then expected.
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That's it for this update, I hope you've enjoyed it. For your convenience I've marked all screenshot locations on the above map to give you a sense of where in the region the companies are active. Looking forward to any comments and criticism!
As usual I'll leave you with the traffic view. As you can see here's been quite some growth compared to the last one...
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Photo Credits: Piper Super Cub by Answar Walk, Ontario farm by Stan Shebs, Cattle yard by Derek Balsley, Combine harvester by Hinrich, Bank vault by Jonathunder, Money by Twid, Logging scene by Alindon, Landfill by Michelle Arseneault.
Very cool Shilka! The region looks like it is prospering very much!
Interesting. On of the very few feasible approaches I saw to use such an brown coal excavator.
I was standing in front of such a monster years ago in Hambach, (http://www.rwe.com/web/cms/de/60012/rwe-power-ag/standorte/hambach/) appr. 100m below the former surface. It wasn't even a brown coal excavator but a spoil excavator - brown coal was deeper. It might have changed since then but at the beginning of the nineties that brown coal mine was the biggest hole and open cast brown coal mine in Europe. So it's quite some earth left to dig for your later updates knowing that for open cast mining they moved railway lines, highways and hole villages ...
Take care!
Bernhard :thumbsup:
Great update as always, the amount of effort you put into the region, story and the accompanying pictures are just :thumbsup: &apls