Terraforming Teton

[Air6]

Excellent update ! I love your mountains

[rw0381c]

Global warming ... that's ingenious! Could be the sad truth not so far in the future though.   

Are those standard Maxis rail bridges??? I don't seem to recognize them!

Great work!

R

[thundercrack83]

Outstanding job! I love the big map with all the place names labeled, as well as the map showing where the town used to be. Simply amazing! I'll be looking forward to the ride into Jackson!

[goin2chicago]

man, i just checked out all your pictures and they're insane! it looks very realistic and your use of mods is great. awesome work!

[sebes]

MD's like this make that I have no time left to play the game myself anymore...  This is awesome. Looking forward to see how you bring the railroad to Jackson

[Livin in Sim]

Hey, Phil, yes, that expression is an old hillbilly saying, I believe, as my mom's kin were from the hills of North Carolina before they migrated to the Denver area.  I haven't heard it much since myself, but it does paint a mental picture.

Speaking of hills, that is a "purty" map.  I might check out some of the NHP maps.  I forget; do you have to have the Terraformer installed to use a map made with it?  (Found the answer--no, you just need SC4 Mapper, which doesn't require Direct X.)  I just installed and ran Wouanagaine's Cleanitol (he must know Sim Goober ) and I swear my game got a new boost.  Your choice of mix and match mods really compliments the map.  I am using the Columbus Lower Snowcapped that Jeroni did, but I can't get the snow to show, and I have high elevations.  I've been poring over the readme, and maybe still have a remnant of the Olympic mod somewhere since they conflict.  You inspired me to to DL a God Mode Cycledogg brush, I went with Columbus on that too.  I was a bit afraid I'd mess it up, but it's working great, what a nifty invention!

The railroad is very well done--Nardo would approve I think.  I am curious about the global warming calamities, do you plan to elaborate later?  It is sad but intriguing to contemplate the loss of contact of this beautiful area.  I have traveled through the RL area many times, and would be absolutely bereft to think of not being able to drive (or better yet be riding shotgun on) the breathtaking Teton Pass highway http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teton_Pass ever again.  Does your region encompass that pass?  Or is it a bit west and south?  I did spend the night in Teton Village, pulling in during one of the worst snowstorms mid May has ever seen.  The sunrise the next morning was a sight indelibly etched in my mind.  It was indescribable, and I was just so darn glad to be alive!

Anyway, thanks for triggering my memories of a lovely area, and I'm looking forward to the drive into Jackson.  Barring any snowstorms, I bet we get there before the train.

--Liv

[mattb325]

This is truly breathtaking work you are doing here. I adore these very scenic pictures 

[Darmok]

Phil this is truly fantastic!

Those nature shots are breathtaking! I've downloaded the big one..... W*O*W !

Nothing more to say than nature simplicity and beauty! And that is not always easy to achieve!

Take care!

John

[petercintn]

Absolutely stunning, my man.

[exodus101]

Hey pvarcoe,

Just finished with my first perusal of Terraforming Teton.  It looks excellent!  I can't even think of one particular paspect that blows me away.  The mountains, water, and tree placement are all incredible and make your region one of the most realistically terraformed I've come across.  Keep up the excellent work!

-Stephen

[pvarcoe]

Update 10, Jackson, a town rebuilding



Part 1, Replies
Thank you to all who have left comments and questions.



bat
Thanks Bat, Jackson shots coming up.

Giligone
ahhh, you are too kind Giligone. Thanks for the continued kind feedback.

Rayden
heh, thanks Rayden. I may take you up on that chopper yet

Alek King of SC4
I agree Alex, the ravines and gullies look great with the tree patterns created by the controller. Thanks!

NikNik
I have wondering about the river colors too. Thanks for the feedback and welcome to Teton.

seemurray2
Welcome seemurray2 and thank you!

dedgren
Thanks David. Hopefully the storyline will continue to lead visitors through the pictures. That's the plan anyway.

Serkanner
Hi Serkanner. Your comments are very kind. This type of feedback is quite encouraging. Thanks!

Keithsed
Hiya Keith. I am using the Olympic controller by Cycledogg. No special configuration, but I had to set the elevation of the region quite low to achieve the desired tree patterns.

emilin
I really enjoy creating the region shots of Teton. Thanks for mentioning them.

Air6
Thank you Air6, good to see you here.

rw0381c
Yep, that is a standard rail bridge. But it is short enough that the upper steel framework doesn't appear, only the lower part of the bridge.

Thundercrack83
I'm a real big fan of maps myself. I'm glad you enjoyed them.

goin2chicago
Thanks and welcome here.

sebes
Thanks sebes. I know what you mean. There's tons of stuff to look at on this site.

Livin in Sim
Hi Liv. I'm hoping Nardo will like my rail, but it does have a lot of twists and turns. At least it doesn't have steep grades.
Your trip through the Teton pass sounds great. I believe it is on state highway 22, and I do plan to develop that highway.
The following is a screenshot of the highway as it winds westerly up into the mountain range.
I should be able to get right up to Teton pass before we hit the edge of the region. I will keep you posted!



matt325
Welcome. I am a big fan of scenery too, and that will always be the main focus of Teton.

Darmok
Hey John. Good to see you. Glad you like the full region shot. Take care as well.

petercintn
Hi Peter. Thanks very much.

exodus101
Welcome Stephen. Your comments are very kind and much appreciated.




Thanks to all and  be sure to check back for part 2 of the update; as we roll into Jackson.

[dedgren]

Well, I saw TT at the top of the list and hit the linkie thinking I would just sit back and enjoy some great pics.

Instead, I enjoyed some great words.  I promise folks who comment that I'll be responding- you actually do it.

...do I sound jealous?  Yeah,  I am.

You've got a must see (and read) going here, Phil.


David

[pvarcoe]

Update 10, Jackson, a town rebuilding
Part 2, the good stuff



As alluded to in past updates, this region was devastated by natural calamities in the 2020's.
Global warming caused massive melting of mountain ice and snow.
The cauldara under Yellowstone National Park and the surrounding area experienced severe trauma.
The combination of these events caused existing lakes to drain, new lakes to form, and mountain byways to be cut off.

Teton Valley was physically cut off from the outside world.

Jackson lake formed in the south and not only cut off state highway 89, but swamped a third of the town of Jackson.
Jackson was (and is) the largest town in the region with a population of about 8000 people.

At the north end of the region, highways that had extended towards Yellowstone park were badly damaged and abandoned.
Mountain passes east and west from the region experienced slides and were also cut off.
The national government was swamped (no pun intended) dealing with global warming related catastrophies across the nation, and Teton was low on the priority list.

A decision was made to reconnect the area to the outside world first via a new rail line.
Rail was the most effective method to move large amounts of goods in and out of the region.


We continue by following the rail line southward along the Jackson lake shoreline.






Looking out over the lake, when conditions are just right we can still see signs of the old state highwway 89, now laying many meteres deep.



The lake narrows in the southeast corner to a river estuary.



The rail turns and runs parallel to the river along state highway 89 just before the town proper.



The river winds northward eventually running along the edge of town.



As we enter the town of Jackson, let's pan back for a better view. Jackson is a typical western town, over a hundred years old. Not many towers or larger buildings. Jackson used to rely on tourism before the "trouble". The town has an older area adjacent the lake. The larger area across the river developed later.



The next few shots give a little better look at the main areas of town.
The Jackson river cuts through the middle of town and seperates old town from new.









Zooming in for a better look gives us a chance to see some of the beautiful detail in these buildings.
These are as tall as it gets in Jackson.



Power comes to Jackson via restored power lines and is distributed from these transformers.



A close look at the strip in the older part of town, shows many smaller shops.
This road saw plenty of traffic before the days of flooding.



Most of Jackson reside in single homes.
Many were rebuilt in the eastern part of town after the floods.



In later updates we will take a look at the part of town now under water.
Just outside of the original town borders sat a communication tower.



We leave today's update with a couple of looks at the north enterance into town.
The regional hospital is positioned right on town's edge, allowing for easy access by all.






Just before entering town from the north we pass by the old town welcome sign.





Much More on the town of Jackson in our next update!

Thanks to all for checking out Teton!

[Badsim]

Well , I was thinking It will be extremly hard to build something coherent on a so wonderful map ... You do it very cleverly so far .Jackson looks integrated to  its incredible landscape . Original storyboard too , premonitory , that's sure now . I'll follow this with a great interest .

[Giligone]

Great job! That underwater highway is soooo cool! I'm also blown away by how seemlessly you joined those 2 city squares . If not for the close ups showing the edge of the map, I never would have known that the overview shot was of 2 squares. Great work. Looking forward to more of the underwater city. 

[Rayden]

Lovely update, I really enjoyed it, specially picture number 7, a general view of the town perfectly embedded on the mountains. On last picture, I can see some ski runs, isn't it? 8)

[thundercrack83]

Great job! I love the backstory and the shots of the old Highway 89 underwater are very creative, too! But what impressed me the most was how, shown in the zoomed out pictures of Jackson, you were able to build a thriving town without doing any real damage to the surrounding landscape. The trees and the mountains look completely undisturbed by the town. Fantastic update, I'll be looking forward to more!

[threestooges]

Excellent jobs so far. The story is progressing nicely and the underwater buildings look pretty good. I like your use of JBSimio's work for the old main street area. For whatever reason, the first pic of the update has a really good look to it: very realistic. Can't wait to see more.

[Darmok]

Good one Phil,
Great work with the flooded road!
One thing worries me, though, that cemetary is kinda close to the hospital..... spooky! 
Really like that small town atmosphere.
And I totally agree with Badsim about how well Jackson is integrated to the landscape.

See you!

John

[bat]

Wonderful road- and railways! The town of jackson looks wonderful, too!