Hi all and welcome to my MD!
After a time lurking around these forum and seeing some great images I've decided to start a MD now that I'm playing SC4 more seriously. This is my very first big project, so i hope to live your expectations, if not... well, I'm still learning so any criticism is welcome and greatly appreciated.
For the region I picked up the Isle of Man (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=2451) map by dobdriver. Although is not a recreation of the RL isle I've chosen real names from there as the names of my cities (... truth is I am terrible at naming things :P). Here is a pic with the names and a bit of development (currently is further):
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg816.imageshack.us%2Fimg816%2F240%2Fregionview.th.jpg&hash=22519847c4457df5399ce8ce501c37f848fdd000) (http://img816.imageshack.us/img816/240/regionview.jpg)
The play style is a mix of natural growth and planned development: I have a rough sketch of the mass communication systems and the city roles. Then i let that cities develop to fulfill the RCI needs and adjust the road and rail systems accordingly. Following this plan I set up the agricultural and rural zones along the shores of the northern part of the isle. As the cities grow to the south and to the center, there will be less agricultural and more industrial, then residential and later commercial.
Here are some pics of Cranstal, one of the 2 cities I've developed (but still a lot of eye candy left: texturing the shorelines is soooo tedious):
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg64.imageshack.us%2Fimg64%2F5849%2Fcranstal1.jpg&hash=20ffb06db25988134280355ea48befb4bf173cb2)
Although a rural settlement, Cranstal is big enough to have its own CBD: small but full of pubs and restaurants.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg688.imageshack.us%2Fimg688%2F2305%2Fcranstal2.jpg&hash=cd2098a1d57068f0f072f2ae1765ed204e1d1483)
Small but very effective rail station. The northern rail line goes to Ballabane to the west and to the small industrial settlement and the city of Bride to the south.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg834.imageshack.us%2Fimg834%2F5996%2Fcranstal3.jpg&hash=e4ed58ff39008183b846c5f00a9045a67f211456)
In the way to Ballabane the road and rail separates the forest from the farms that spread to the shore at the north... A fire station comes in handy to fight the fires in such a dense forest area :P
...hope you like them!
Wow..., awesome start my friend!!! Great region and very nice rural area!!! :thumbsup:
Wow very nice use of maxis buildings. You blend the custom content in it if it's just normal. :-\
Also a very nice start
there are so many great Train-Skins, why don't you use one? But looks good...
Interesting start :)
Seems you're off to a great start! I'll have to agree with those default Maxis trains, though - custom ones are much better than them. Looking forward to more!
Some nice pictures for the start!
Looking forward to more... ;)
The replies:
@Tomas Neto, peter007, Terring7 and bat: thanks!! I'm glad you appreciate the efforts I put designing the cities.
@MR.Y and io_bg: thanks!! I agree with the trains too... Searching and downloading some trains is on the "to do" list ;)
The (kind of) update:
Sorry for lasting in update, but I've been a bit busy these days and also building a region from scratch is a bit slow: I let the building grow by themselves, only plop to reallocate them to avoid repetitions, enhance the urban planning or just for eye candy. Also I wanted to have some update prepared for today for Bride, the city I'm developing just south of Cranstal, less rural and starting to be more urban to blend with the big urban cities at the north of the island, but i think I have 1 or 2 serious conflicts with the plugins; let's see them:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg843.imageshack.us%2Fimg843%2F3940%2Fbridejul3481300913561.jpg&hash=8f3400f8244784fa5d96837239b254b464cf03ce)
I've downloaded the SFBT Euro Road Textures Mod (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=1302) and now the nam curves for roads have sidewalks even when no development is around them and the sidewalks have disappeared in the nam curves for street even with development around them ???
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg853.imageshack.us%2Fimg853%2F4505%2Fbridejul3481300913482.jpg&hash=a68a2b1ad4dce4dbbddba102723a8db07521949c)
I keep getting this jagged edges in diagonal avenues, even putting diagonal fillers in them, the pavement gets at the further side of the road. Also i can only build facing up or down the avenue, if I try to develop facing left or right I get a "No road" zot ()what()
I will try to fix these problems somehow as they are really annoying, I hope there will be a solution better than reinstall of the plugins folder again. Also I will try to post tomorrow a mini update with the development of Bride so far (even with these problems)
Nice start, hope for more
Great start! I am eager to see more of your work :satisfied:
Amazing, and I agree as well that you should probably use a train skin to better suit the rural area.
Good start to your MD, I like the attention to detail in rural buildings. &apls
As for the diagonal edges issue, I believe there is a mod out there that gets rid of them (A quick search on the STEX or LEX could find it). The NAM development and support thread might be a good place to find help for the sidewalk problem on the smooth curves.
Can't wait for more!
-Alex
Nice start here! I particularly like the rural areas.
It's been a while since I installed the euro road textures mod but if I remember right it asks you if you want to install sthlrd98's wide-radius curves sidewalk mod and it appears that you selected that. All pieces of those types will have the same sidewalks, regardless of what they're placed next to. I usually use RHW-2 wide-radius curves instead of roads in rural areas to get around this problem.
I suspect one of the euro-road texture files has also modified you sidewalk properties for those diagonal avenues. You can either find and remove the offending file or download a different sidewalk mod you like and make sure it loads after anything else affecting your sidewalks.
Look forward to more here :thumbsup:
REPLIES
@
ricardomiranda, Schulmanator: Thanks! Here there is the 1st update.
@
jacksunny: I'm glad you like it, and today we'll see a new train skin.
@
Exla357: Thanks!. Seems I have some clue about the diagonal edges issue.
@
noahclem: Thanks for the tips!! Maybe it was that with the wide-radius curves, i have to reinstall again and see what happens. The thing about the sidewalks was there without the euro.textures installed. For sidewalks I use 2 jeronij's mods: the one that adds parked cars, street marks and trees; and the one that makes the sidewalks uniform. But it seems it only affects streets and roads. I found one mod by swamper77 at the STEX that gets rid of the grass at avenues sidewalks and uniforms them.
UPDATE
Bride is the city directly at the south of Cranstal. The original idea was to make a medium sized city to serves as a bridge between the rural city at the nord (Cranstal) and the more urbanized one at the south. But it has grown rapidly and now it's becoming a bit under control, so i have to reallocate some buildings and streets to make it less cluttered.
But the main aspect of the city is like this one you can see at the region preview: extending from NE to SW, with the main CBD at the SW corner (where the avenues cross) linking it with the CBD of the neighbour cities. By the SE corner is the highway that will communicate with the seaport I'll make at the south neighbour city.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg12.imageshack.us%2Fimg12%2F7062%2Fbrideregional.th.jpg&hash=a9cd0bcbf64f4a2c4f7204a74835211c3994372b) (http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/7062/brideregional.jpg)
Let's see some places of Bride:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg508.imageshack.us%2Fimg508%2F61%2Fsinttulo1zn.jpg&hash=0fed4e592dcf08bd79e536a617417006c4b43380)
The main freight station of Bride is a bit busy being next to the main industrial area and the garbage recycle center, so a yard had to be constructed to park some train cars waiting for destination.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg607.imageshack.us%2Fimg607%2F2158%2Fsinttulo5u.jpg&hash=ff7b53a772d8eed1a6f25c8dab72bbee189ecbb9)
Sims of the suburbia leave by a shiny, new and totally non.Maxis train to work and make happy the readers of this MD!! :P
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg858.imageshack.us%2Fimg858%2F7148%2Fsinttulo6.jpg&hash=7db8ea9aedb057c443ef4f7e4e7a9aaa05953406)
The train emerges from a tunnel just at the center of the CBD...
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg707.imageshack.us%2Fimg707%2F2613%2Fsinttulo7nx.jpg&hash=b42eadda30c1d59afc73fa5d7d03376c6b24f0f8)
... and arrives at the main station of Bride. Sims at this plaza have a very non random attitude when they appear at photos :D
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg38.imageshack.us%2Fimg38%2F7182%2Fsinttulo4k.jpg&hash=30543528a812ccdb8cd51054fc3193bcbe611bfb)
Going downhill we find quieter and less busy neighborhoods.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg845.imageshack.us%2Fimg845%2F1968%2Fsinttulo3e.jpg&hash=1bf8403e110015bd1600bcd39dd923c68158b5b3)
The church of Bride.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg857.imageshack.us%2Fimg857%2F7862%2Fsinttulo2ku.jpg&hash=5bdc74dc341c2227a7c3f8fdd814c1a6d1b42a74)
Going down the avenue to more busy areas we'll see in the next update. Seems the problem with diagonal sidewalks have been corrected, now I have to match the textures of the sidewalk with the plaza for better results.
That's all for now, I hope you liked it.
Great update again!!! Your plazas are awesome!!! &apls
Very nice! I like the terraced development of your city. I'm eager to see more :thumbsup:
Great update.
I like your freight station a lot
Great start and great pics.
Robin :thumbsup:
I like the new train :D
More importantly, another great update! &apls I also really like the terraced development, and the rail lines and plazas look great too. Glad you were able to get your sidewalk stuff figured out.
Very nice job :thumbsup:
Nice start to this new MD, some great looking pictures you are showing us.
Great new MD! I think this one has great potential! I havent seen a good rural development area in a while but this one is awesome! ;D
Good job!
I like the new train, and your photo editing! I would reccomend MattB325's houses from the LEX as a nice alternative to Maxis villas. Keep up the good work, waiting for more!
-Alex
The newest update is great!
And wonderful pictures,
looking forward to more... ;)