Since I was young (way before the Sim City 2000 days), I have planned out cities on graph paper, nowadays it helps me overcome the limitations of the game. I have searched unsuccessfully for years for someone else who does this with the same complexity as me. I have yet to find someone. If you are interested in seeing more drawings, or have some of your own, please me know.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg217.imageshack.us%2Fimg217%2F7062%2Fimage8tq.jpg&hash=ca31c0d02615c8d809ae86aa233fb85f6f888fab)
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg526.imageshack.us%2Fimg526%2F6438%2Fimage9ey.jpg&hash=1f2eecc8faea42f2f2396dd18b40108f31394842)
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg443.imageshack.us%2Fimg443%2F9260%2Fimage10mm.jpg&hash=009842612d4774a575d777fd24d652f7a3e7846e)
I actually do that myself sometimes (although not as detailed as yours), I find that it is a great help to get an idea of what you want to do, and most of the times the result is better than when you just see where you end up when you start plopping. When I make drawings of the cities itself, I write the name of the buildings I'm planning on using on it as well (for easy reference).
I wish I could show you the designs I had. In the novel I am writing there is a city built into an extinct super volcano. The city extends 2000 feet into the mountain, and is made of multiple levels, each being 100 to 200 feet high. A long time ago, I had mapped out a vast majority of the city, also on graph paper. I use the 22 x 17 sheets, quad ruled. Sadly, this master piece was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. I've been thinking about trying to recreate it, with some improvements, but for now I am concentrating my efforts on finishing the book.
I also used to draw out some city design on graph paper myself. I think one of my first posts here actually showed one. Unfortunately, the image-host I used back then removed them and I lost the sheets &mmm They were far from as detailed as yours though, nice work!
I did this once, back in the days of the Super NES version of SimCity Classic (or just SimCity as it was called at the time). I had already reached 500,000 in population on the Freeland scenario, which provided a landform (nowadays called a quad) with no water. However, I wanted to do it on a legitimate landform with water, so I graphed out a 120x100 grid that required several sheets of graph paper to be taped together. Then, I filled in all of the water spaces, and then I filled in the squares where the zones, police departments, etc. would be placed. Of course, it's hard to plan this way when you don't know how a city will turn out, but I did manage to reach the 500,000 goal by following this plan. It's too bad that I lost this graph 6 years ago, so I can't show it here. :(
Anyway, those drawings do look very good, Kevin. Mine weren't as complex, since I was playing ye olde SimCity Classic at the time, which had only two transportation options (road and rail) and only a fraction of the buildings available in even the vanilla SC4.
Great drawings! :thumbsup:
I do this a lot too, but unfortunatley, I don't have any of my drawings scanned except for one picture. It's only road interchange though, and it's not drawn on a graph paper, but rather a normal white paper. Probably I'll scan the rest of my drawing some day, and if that's the case, I'll upload them here.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi705.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fww55%2Fanonymson%2Fth_Skannad_ritad_vg.jpg&hash=ddae20a4bba2d05a178d8aebcd09bac0c88d3592) (http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww55/anonymson/Skannad_ritad_vg.jpg)
(click for full resolution)
- riiga
riiga- I think I've seen seen that picture on this site before. It's the closest thing I've ever found to my own. You kept the lanes really uniform for not having a graph or even dots in the background. I tried to do some work on dot paper, or just plain paper, but it was very time consuming, though they did turn out to be some of my best work. If I find them, I'll scan them.
RebaLynnTS- That sounds absolutely amazing. I love the concept of an underground city. I've often thought about how well protected a city built into a seaside cliff in the arctic would be. Difficult to bomb because it is underground, but submarines can enter from underneath the ice into an underwater tunnel which leads to a subterranian harbour. Having a city on multiple levels would make long distance transit less of an issue because a square mile of one story buildings could be repeated 10 times on top of itself underground without having to return to the base level and walk to the next building. Actually, it sounds kind of like Farthen Dur from Earagon. I have seen pictures of houses that people build using caves or hills as part of the building. Fantastic ideas, truly interesting and remarkable.
In the meantime:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg809.imageshack.us%2Fimg809%2F4744%2Fimage11.jpg&hash=967707f078e9838e1da0b42fba724f227e407a46)
I'm not Japanese, and I don't know much about their traffic engineering, but their expressways look really cool. That was the inspiration for this image. The buildings have a more European look, but the road markings are a hybrid including some Japanese exit and entry markings. If you see any significant portion of my work, you'll notice as I experiment with different road markings. I have tried:
US
UK
Germany
France
Japan
and a zillion hybrids, and even some very special custom stuff I thought of myself, but I'm not publishing that without a copyright notice. Most of my ideas can basically be considered Creative Commons Share-Alike Non-Commercial anyway.
I didn't finish drawing the tracks on the light rail bridges. When they dead end at those black rectangles, those aren't stubs, those are the beginnings of tunnels.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg820.imageshack.us%2Fimg820%2F2751%2Fimage12u.jpg&hash=8a78ca5f5310b6a89f5820ac7d01597808fe63b0)
A little more European looking. Some OWRs hit a complicated looking 5 way with a plaza on the NW corner with some stairs for an underground ped underpass
edit: just remembered, that that isn't a ped underpass it was the entrance to a subway station, I had visited Munich recently and was very impressed with the subway and strassenbahn system.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg821.imageshack.us%2Fimg821%2F5132%2Fimage13.jpg&hash=9007a50ff14fa2362036d8b53ca8a024b4930940)
Some of drawings have colour! In this one, a road runs next to a canal with a bike road on the other side Dedicated BUS lanes and a pelican crossing reminicent of what I've seen of GB.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg808.imageshack.us%2Fimg808%2F5915%2Fimage14.jpg&hash=846382bc664a250013cdfbe7e37f39555b868a11)
For a while I did a series that had a very interesting theme. A unregulated boarder crossing between two countries that drive on opposite sides of the road. The countries are seperated by a canal in this picture. If I remember correctly, one side used British looking striping, and the other was German with some modifications. I did significant research on how traffic moves in locations where the right of way is changed from left to right or vice versa. In this image, it is accomplished using a roundabout, for the smaller road, and a strange interchange for the primary road. Some strange situations are the circular ramps to the underground parkhouse by the interchange, and the unique road markings to make the transition from left to right slightly less deadly by reminding drivers to stay in their lane. Additionally, the parking spaces on the right side are situated slightly furthur away from the road in order to make pedestrian traffic more visible to drivers. I saw this while looking at google maps of tokyo, though I'm not sure if this was their motivation for doing it that way.
I literally have thousands more pictures, so if you found something particularly interesting let me know and I'll try to dig up similar images.
More great work I see... I'll try to scan some of my other drawings this weekend, and probably there's some good drawings I made when I was bored in class. :D
- riiga
I do some of the same stuff . . . . it's not always on graph paper, however. Here's a few:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fsphotos.ak.fbcdn.net%2Fphotos-ak-sf2p%2Fv39%2F140%2F8%2F162200124%2Fn162200124_30035954_3034.jpg&hash=cc2e435b9634dfc2b53ab5d9e231e6a78bb4c998)
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fsphotos.ak.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-ak-snc1%2Fhs208.snc1%2F7524_521188663203_162200124_30456187_3622620_n.jpg&hash=3cb04daeb15d870709286f984d7a550e84e5d6c2)
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fsphotos.ak.fbcdn.net%2Fphotos-ak-sf2p%2Fv10%2F140%2F8%2F162200124%2Fn162200124_30014609_2464.jpg&hash=3f4883d9274002829f8ed07d11bfbb59dd9dcbc2)
when i was a kid i drew cities on paper. it started in class, i would draw a city in the back page when i was bored. i always used red biro for roads, black biro for rail, and blue for drawing houses/buildings and the coasts etc. i would draw topographic lines to illustrate hills and mountains with lead pencil.
none of these exist anymore, but i think i was about 12 when i first started doing this.
the biggest one i drew was on 6 x A3 sheets of paper, that were stuck together. it was over 2 years worth of work and was almost as big as a kitchen table. i bought white stickers so i could 'bulldoze' parts of it and re-draw it. the scale i would use was basically the tip of biro was equal to one normal house.
most of my friends thought it look awesome, they couldnt believe how much work i put into it. it was only 1 dimensional, from above and buildings were basically just squares and shapes etc. based on region sizing from sc4 it would have had a population of about 4 million!
i showed a family friend once the big map, and he told me to get into civil engineering. i never followed up that advice, but i wish i did sometimes.
now i have SC4 that quenches my thirst for this little artistic hobby of mine :thumbsup:
Finally got this one finished and scanned:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi705.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fww55%2Fanonymson%2FVagSkannad_liten.jpg&hash=c4e42caa9036d98153f1eec9195cf8db5fa13ccc) (http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww55/anonymson/VagSkannad_liten.jpg)
(click for full resolution)
- riiga
Excellent! You do a really good job of including the pedestrian facilities, something I've always struggled with. Additionally, I really like the bus pullouts, and the medians. How do you keep your lane widths so uniform? Additionally, are those cycle-paths I see? I've experimented with those somewhat, but considering that I draw more urban areas than rural, they don't show up nearly as often as bike lanes or sharrows.
Quote from: Kevin1a on July 10, 2010, 09:03:55 PM
Excellent! You do a really good job of including the pedestrian facilities, something I've always struggled with. Additionally, I really like the bus pullouts, and the medians. How do you keep your lane widths so uniform? Additionally, are those cycle-paths I see? I've experimented with those somewhat, but considering that I draw more urban areas than rural, they don't show up nearly as often as bike lanes or sharrows.
Thanks!
And yep, those are cycle-paths. However, they are more like shared paths for both pedestrians and bikers, while the few sidewalks are pedestrian only. Regarding the land widths, I think that's something that comes with practice. When I look at my older drawing from, say 5-7 years ago, they are quite non-uniform.
Here's an example of what the sidewalk looks like:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi705.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fww55%2Fanonymson%2F16%2520juni%2FP1010030.jpg&hash=1e179420b5a2913b1c506a5c36bfc674488eb26d)
While this is the shared bike/ped path:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi705.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fww55%2Fanonymson%2F29%2520maj%2FP1000870.jpg&hash=a57ce762576d73c6a20895ac81a70b64482c86c0)
(pictures taken by me near where I live)- riiga
Fantastic scans!
Just out of curiosity, how many of you put them into Inkscape or Photoshop and turn them into proper schemetric road layout drawings/ maps?
I usually do digital versions of this when trying to re-route or plan in a new network in an already developed city. It really helps. I tend to let my cities grow on their own instead of planning them completely though.
I don't know exactly what you mean with inkscape or photoshop. I've found, it's easier just to sketch it out, than to fight with the computer. Although I did make some rough maps for my old MD using MSpaint. I have created a few cities in the game based on my sketches. One was inspired by a walled city where the old inner city has controlled access for vehicles, allowing only residents, deliveries, and the handicapped to enter. I used toll booths to discourage drivers who wanted to enter this area, but made sure to provide multiple transit options and parking garages on the edges of the inner city.
Let me revive this thread with some drawings...
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi705.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fww55%2Fanonymson%2FVg1_liten.jpg&hash=9d072895ca3eba89ff00559fd1b6acb82589429d) (http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww55/anonymson/Vg1_liten.jpg)
(click for full resolution!)
This is a drawing I made back in September 2002, when I was 10 years old:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi705.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fww55%2Fanonymson%2FVg_gammal_liten.jpg&hash=74f5af75237b29ecfd5489e6193abd15388687c0) (http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww55/anonymson/Vg_gammal_liten.jpg)
(click for full resolution!)
Last summer, I thought I'd be fun to redo the drawing, so I made this:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi705.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fww55%2Fanonymson%2FVg_ny_liten.jpg&hash=c6eddca80defd7276abed18cd4a376ce9ff0303a) (http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww55/anonymson/Vg_ny_liten.jpg)
(click for full resolution!)
Now, which version is better? :P
Here is an interchange I drew last summer:
[click for full size (Warning! 2675x2456px)]
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.majhost.com%2Fgallery%2FNego16%2FSimCity%2FGraph-Paper-Cities%2Fimg_0251.jpg&hash=dfe1ae512a2492faf62fce25b939f3e356a35f8f) (http://www.majhost.com/gallery/Nego16/SimCity/Graph-Paper-Cities/img_0251.jpg)
Whoo hoo! Now a forums Governor!
Wow, what a fantastic bit of nostalgia. I particularly like the colourful one you drew when you were younger, and the first image in the same post. Excellent work, it demonstrates a more thorough understanding of traffic engineering than all my cities traffic department combined. :angrymore:
BAHHH, I just uploaded a bunch of scans 10+ and they are all really faded out and hard to see. :( I guess I'll just post the handful that turned out ok. I'm going to try to find a solution for this since I literally have thousands of pages of work that I'm willing to share.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg257.imageshack.us%2Fimg257%2F6461%2Froads4.jpg&hash=78d1220bedde2a5330a30d63debe93e1a546f52c)
Fig001: Freeway with dedicated bus lanes, C/D roads, and an uncharacteristically spread out SPUI with turnaround ramps. Also, space has been saved on the crossroads for the eventual addition of second left turn lanes if conditions require it.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg80.imageshack.us%2Fimg80%2F6956%2Froads5.jpg&hash=7fc185373c450d5542e58ca4ae1b514cc6124210)
Fig002: Sometimes I create maps from higher up where you can see more of a city but in lower detail. I wish I had scanned this in colour because the roads were coded based on hierarchy. I have no idea what "starving prayers" means. I'm not religious, so I don't know why I jotted that on there.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg684.imageshack.us%2Fimg684%2F258%2Froads7.jpg&hash=bc5a70574ae7630b324492774aad61cfffe7180d)
Fig003: An example of how dedicated u-turn lanes can be utilized at junctions with a high percentage of traffic making that maneuver. Also the legend in the top right is an example of how small screens (similar to the large ones hanging over the autobahn) could be added above every light to display information about speed limits, construction, and accidents in the form of a small graphic.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg515.imageshack.us%2Fimg515%2F2914%2Froads8.jpg&hash=ab0020e37f676d0932fb7492ce0c98d38fe640d7)
Fig004: Another expressway/freeway with frontage roads taken from my "Inspired by Tokyo" series. I spent hours looking at satellite pictures of Tokyo trying to get a feel for how they do things, and I tried to incorporate some of the more brilliant ideas into my own planning.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg28.imageshack.us%2Fimg28%2F2663%2Froads9.jpg&hash=0556ee3fa84ca17f15e116bb7bc26023ebe43c85)
Fig005: An adaption of the continuous flow intersection to an interchange. The invention of the DDI kind of supplants this, but it's all about the fun and logic puzzles of building something interesting.
How about this. I'm going to take some ideas from my fellow artists and artistic admirers, and I'll draft up something just for this thread. Any ideas? Don't make it ridiculous, but not to simple either. Any traffic anomaly or interesting interchange will do. Actually, we could make it into a friendly competition. Anyone who wants to participate can do so, and then we'll post our own interpretations of the subject junction (theoretical or based on real life) and compare them.
Keep posting pictures people! :thumbsup:
Quote from: Kevin1a on October 22, 2010, 02:04:35 PM
How about this. I'm going to take some ideas from my fellow artists and artistic admirers, and I'll draft up something just for this thread. Any ideas? Don't make it ridiculous, but not to simple either. Any traffic anomaly or interesting interchange will do. Actually, we could make it into a friendly competition. Anyone who wants to participate can do so, and then we'll post our own interpretations of the subject junction (theoretical or based on real life) and compare them.
This sounds like a fun challenge! Anyone with a good interchange/intersection scenario to begin with?
Scenario:
A highway(1) ends at another highway(2) and a 2 lane road passes under the interchange, then ends at the highway(1) that ends.
Picture:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.majhost.com%2Fgallery%2FNego16%2FSimCity%2FGraph-Paper-Cities%2Fimg_0268.jpg&hash=a49c93cffb2378820b1cb4e1a67209c81e5b27b2)
The interchange that needs to be designed must be a full interchange for ALL routs and highways, including the 2 lane road (which can be expanded if needed).
Recommendations for a better review [from your peers(anybody)]:
•Realism
•Not too complex
•acceleration/deceleration lanes
•neatness
Good luck! :thumbsup:
Sounds good to me. I don't know if I'll be able to stay 100% faithful to the plans. One question on the main interchange is it just the two highways that intersect, or does the road going under it connect there as well? I hope not, because if that's the case, I'm scrapping the entire interchange and building a huge ring junction! :P Drafting has already begun. Though I just realized a much cooler way to do this. Perhaps I'll revisit my plans tomorrow. It just takes 10X longer when I have to break the grid to make something work.
Sounds very good indeed! And I'm wondering the same thing as Kevin1a, is the road under the highway interchange connected to the interchange?
Yes, the road under the highway interchange does connect to the interchange. Sorry, Kevin1a...
I finished my interchange! Result below:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi705.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fww55%2Fanonymson%2FVgUppdrag1.jpg&hash=409a656cafac87b020f47990f33117d047f4ce39) (http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww55/anonymson/VgUppdrag1.jpg)
(click for full resolution!)
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi705.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fww55%2Fanonymson%2FVgUppdrag2.jpg&hash=e0c42fca02ab53e5e710df53344d0014bc07d7ec) (http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww55/anonymson/VgUppdrag2.jpg)
(click for full resolution!)
The north is the paper's east, as you can see. I decided to go for the roundabout approch, since it's easy, cheap and effective.
Looking good Riiga (and actually quite similar to a motorway exit I pass rather frequently) :thumbsup:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg513.imageshack.us%2Fimg513%2F3148%2Fjunction1.jpg&hash=9290939636a590a2f7224569d521fde5478364f4) (http://img513.imageshack.us/i/junction1.jpg/)
My first reaction when faced with connecting 6 roads is to build some kind of ring junction, whether it is a motorway roundabout (as Riiga did), or a peanut roundabout, or a roundabout with several satellite roundabouts (like the magic roundabout in Swindon). However, seeing as Riiga already took that route, I decided to do something different regardless of whether or not it would operate quite as efficiently. The image is upside down. I didn't do the extra credit interchange because it would have been too close to the main one, or I would have had to span two pieces of paper.
I threw in some local streets and two buildings as well. I suppose the main benefit to this junction is that none of the directions on the expressways have to stop or yield, merely merge. I'm not sure if all my striping is correct most notably when the N/S highway splits into east and westbound mergers. I'm not sure if I should have used short fat stripes there or long skinny ones. For the most part my striping was influenced by Germany and GB.
So, to keep this going, I'll post a challenge this time.
Here's the challenge:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi705.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fww55%2Fanonymson%2Fuppdrag_vg.png&hash=aa58ba5d271b4f390be5ac8490a51dd1686d73da)
Rules for this challenge:
- The interchange must fit on a single A4 or letter size paper. You may use the computer for drawing.
- Keep the interchange grade-separated as much as possible.
- The motorway can have any number of lanes (up to you).
- The road it intersects with has 2+1 lanes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2%2B1_road).
- It must be a complete interchange.
- In this challenge, the safest interchange is the best, not the cheapest or coolest. ;)
If you like, you are also free to design the bonus interchange. It's a 2+1 lane road intersecting with a 2+2 lane road. This interchange may have any design of your choice. No other rules apply, except it must be a full interchange as well.
this is my first attempt at something like this, so i apologies for the roughness.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.majhost.com%2Fgallery%2Fmightygoose%2FNAM%2Fp1723_31-10-10.jpg&hash=4fcce4c4c54ec2dae03494905bcdaccf829efc22)
Very good for a first attempt! :thumbsup:
Now we just need some more people drawing...
@riiga: In response to the challenge, if that road just T's there, I think it is obvious that it could be turned into an intersection, and the ramps could connect to the one side.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Foi51.tinypic.com%2F35ddwkm.jpg&hash=67c8f2c7b4c47dba5d8002f773e440ce12de7eb6)
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=35ddwkm&s=7
j-dub, why would the ramp circle the whole way around the roundabout and create a weaving lane, rather than just go straight to the north and connect to the highway there? Its cheaper to build, and would alleviate the weaving lane issue
I have to agree with travismking, that interchange doesn't seem very safe...
Now for my interchange:
[click for full] (http://www.majhost.com/gallery/Nego16/SimCity/Graph-Paper-Cities/img_0276.jpg)
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.majhost.com%2Fgallery%2FNego16%2FSimCity%2FGraph-Paper-Cities%2Fimg_0276.jpg&hash=f730b330c521d92534831b87685d70d2c4004e3b) (http://www.majhost.com/gallery/Nego16/SimCity/Graph-Paper-Cities/img_0276.jpg)
Nice interchange Nego! It looks a little bit confusing though, and some of the ramps look a little too tight. Aslo, inside ramps are a hate object of mine, but I know they're more common in the US than here. Overall good. :thumbsup:
If no-one else wants to post their drawing, I'll conclude this challenge and another person is free to post their challenge.
Yeah, I know, it looks incredibly scribbly, but I did it in less than 15 minutes or so. ;) Involves a bit of weaving, but it should be cost-effective and yet relatively safe.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ld-host.de%2Fuploads%2Fimages%2Fd6b4dacda0631c3c74cc7c3d2a62bc4e.jpg&hash=f45d20984afd7134ca9680767401a27d81cc9b97) (http://www.ld-host.de/)
EDIT: After a closer look, I noticed I missed one relation (left -> top), but that shouldn't be too hard to add..,
Looking good for a rough sketch Andreas! :thumbsup:
Everybody is looking good. Nego, I particularly like your road markings. It's also good to see some new participants. Mightygoose, good job for a first attempt. Andreas, not bad for a quick sketch.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg339.imageshack.us%2Fimg339%2F2262%2Fsubmission2.jpg&hash=ff4f3c0149e1a58018f2545e85626c0cdac2d768) (http://img339.imageshack.us/i/submission2.jpg/)
I started working on something really safe and efficient, and then it turned into a nightmare. This is an example of a poorly designed interchange. The parclo style ramp has curves that are way too tight and would requiere warning signs. The other ramps could use a roundabout to reduce speeds and the severity of collisions. Some crosswalks would help too. I'm definitely not happy with the way it turned out.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg201.imageshack.us%2Fimg201%2F3734%2Fchallange3.jpg&hash=a91181ea3ae6a7c5bc598ffda3c1eefbe7bc9fc1) (http://img201.imageshack.us/i/challange3.jpg/)
Here is a new challenge. I've created a simple intersection (actually 2 intersections in close proximity), and I've drawn colours on them to show where traffic is the worst just like in SC4. Your job is too catapult the world 20 years into the future, and show how these roads develop into a major route from City North to the CBD.
-At grade, Grade separated, or mixed
-Some kind of pedestrian facilities
-Bonus points for anyone who includes bus facilities (pullouts or dedicated lane)
-After a few days, I will post a satellite image of the real intersection I found and used for this challenge.
You have a lot of flexibility in this challenge, I'm interested to see some diverse designs.
is this in a built up area ( thus constricting space for ramps etc) or rural.
Let's assume there are some space restraints, but not to the point where you can't use ramps, just not 0.5km non-directional loops $%Grinno$% The real intersection is in a somewhat suburban area several kilometers from the center of a mid-sized American city.
Well, there's some great plans in here...
For something a little different, I'm posting an airport redevelopment plan that was apart of my Aerospace Studies assignment...
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg255.imageshack.us%2Fimg255%2F3516%2Foverviewmini.jpg&hash=e89c49643b4143a3f1417a7d125aac39c923e86f) (http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/5711/overviewfull.jpg)
Click for the full size!
Don't worry if you can't read my handwriting, either :P
I'm watching this thread ;D
Adrian.
well, ive started a blog, with similar themes, and i think we'll need a thread called: graph pixel cities &Thk/(
http://futureperth.wordpress.com/
Quote from: Kevin1a on November 03, 2010, 06:27:22 PMHere is a new challenge. I've created a simple intersection (actually 2 intersections in close proximity), and I've drawn colours on them to show where traffic is the worst just like in SC4. Your job is too catapult the world 20 years into the future, and show how these roads develop into a major route from City North to the CBD.
-At grade, Grade separated, or mixed
-Some kind of pedestrian facilities
-Bonus points for anyone who includes bus facilities (pullouts or dedicated lane)
-After a few days, I will post a satellite image of the real intersection I found and used for this challenge.
You have a lot of flexibility in this challenge, I'm interested to see some diverse designs.
Looks like that'll be an interesting challenge. I'd like to ask, though, which is the congested road? I can't see well in the picture. %confuso
its like sc4 traffic view.... the red on is congested lol....
I don't think so. Somewhere there should be a yellow-coloured road but, as I said, I can't see it on the picture.
really it is, he even said that in his post... the lower left and upper forks are yellow.... just faint.
Right. The most important thing is the red road. This is the route that all the commuters are taking because they want to get on that diagonal road towards the central business district. The yellow and green markers are really close in color, except yellow hardly works. My interpretation of the intersection is 90% done, I'm just putting on a few finishing touches. I might wait a little to post it though to see what others come up with.
@adroman, I like it. Very detailed, and obviously more than just a drawing. I don't think I've ever done an airport, because I don't understand them well enough, but I did a college campus multiple times.
I'm about 90 % done as well, but I'll post my interpretation tomorrow, since it's getting late here now. ;)
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg10.imageshack.us%2Fimg10%2F1316%2Fsubmission3.jpg&hash=7cd0bf17710c055ff7c1d4c060e8410b0daded53) (http://img10.imageshack.us/i/submission3.jpg/)
I decided that I've been drawing so many interchanges lately, that I really wanted to draw an intersection, so for the most part I did. The red route that the commuters are taking to get downtown has been placed on two flyovers, so theoretically, it should be free-flowing at all times, regardless of red lights. A double right turn lane was constructed, and the roadways were widened in general. The winding path at the bottom is a cycle-road for bikes and mopeds to isolate them from faster moving traffic and let them pedal in peace. The interchange with the diagonal road actually wouldn't need a light at all, and could be run simply with yield signs, but I figured because of the angle of the intersection and the possibility of supports for the flyover blocking drivers views, traffic lights have been installed, they may be turned off at night at the traffic department's discretion. The bus pullouts are labeled "TRANS" the name of one of my fictional public transit agencies. In the larger intersection towards the bottom of the page, I struggled with the proper striping of the lanes leading into the flyover. You don't usually have a setup like that. It's hard to refer to, because in real life, north would be to the right, so I'll just explain.
Flyover Right Turn(fat stripes)Left Turn(fat stripes)Through(standard stripes)Through(fat)Right Turn Lane(short dotted)Right Turn Lnae
I'm not sure if I used the fat and through striping in the proper places, but I'm really happy with the result overall. This is one of my better intersections in a long time.
Looking good Kevin1a! Very similar to my design in fact...
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My design wouldn't fit on a single A4 this time, and I had to use some tape to attach about a third of another paper. That's why there's line in the upper half.
As for the actual design, I decied to go for a roundabout at the diagonal/straight intersection, since it allows for easy direction change and looks better (in my opinion). I also added a few bus stops and bus lanes (the ones marked "Buss"). For bikers and pedestrians, there's quite an extensive network of paths to use, and almost all of them are grade-separated. The only place with an at-grade pedestrian crossing is the road going to the residential area, and as marked on the AADT chart, traffic amount isn't as high there as on the other roads.
Looks good. I think you did an especially good job with the bike/ped facilities.
I'm about ready to reveal the real intersection. If anyone is still working on a design for this, I still want to see it!
The real intersection is located in Colorado Springs, CO USA several kilometers northeast of downtown. The 4 way intersection is between Fillmore (which turns into Circle Blvd to the east) and Union. The diagonal is between Templeton Gap Rd. which is now broken into many tiny fragments, but historically must have run NE to SW through the entire region. I removed the north fork of that intersection to make it a three-way and make the challenge more unique.
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=38.873678,-104.795548&spn=0.007801,0.016512&t=h&z=17
Theoretically, that link should take you to a satellite picture of the intersection, just remember it's rotated 90 degrees. I also messed with the capacities a little bit. In reality Templeton Gap does not carry a ton of traffic, but it's a great secret route to get downtown because it cuts diagonally through everything and has very few signalized intersections.
I've always been captivated by T-Gap road because you can see bits and pieces of it scattered discontinuously throughout the area. I wish there was really old satellite footage if the region, maybe 1920's or 1950's. Perhaps they might have some interesting info at the library or the Pioneers Museum. There is one section of t-gap in town that is not used, basically it's just concrete slabs in an empty field, but it must be pretty old, because it is really narrow (by American standards). I'd say it's about 1.5 lanes wide. Sooner or later, this too will get torn up, and less and less people will make the connections I do, and wonder about that mysterious diagonal road.
The satellite image is old, so you can't see it, but the city's first triple left turn lanes were installed recently going from Eastbound Fillmore onto Northbound Union.
Here is a new challenge for everyone!
Design an interchange for this:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.majhost.com%2Fgallery%2FNego16%2FSimCity%2FGraph-Paper-Cities%2Funtitled_2.png&hash=67a639a914bed7493de08b3b6ff8a8efb22d1f0a)
Note: Just because the labels for the highways and roads are like they are in SimCity, doesn't mean you can only use the exit ramp interfaces that are in SimCity, they're just there to help give a better picture of what the roads look like.
Rules
•Your interchange must be a full interchange.
•Your interchange can't be just one big round-a-bout either. There is too much traffic in the area for that.
•You can increase the number of lanes at the interchange, but not before or beyond the interchange(if that makes any sense).
•The paper size doesn't matter. It can be as big or small as you want!
At the end of the challenge, I will show you guys what the interchange looks like in real life.
Good Luck!