Terraforming Teton

[Cali]

the amount of vegetation you used is absolutly wonderful, very realistic. thank you

[Livin in Sim]

Wow, Phil, you did the pass...

Sets laptop aside, grabs car keys, starts to car for road trip to pass, realizes the road may be a bit snowy--
http://www.wyoroad.info/highway/webcameras/Jackson/TetonPass.jpg--returns to laptop.

It looks right on.  I don't know if you are doing an exact replica, but looks mighty close.  If so, I believe David is also close for length in miles.  I would guess it would be under ten from the little town of Wilson, WY to the top.  There are, however, some brief stretches of 10 percent grades on this highway.  It is remarkably switch back free for such a steep pass.  It is a fun drive, but not if you are pulling any sort of RV.  There are also stretches where "Old Pass Road" parallels the highway, and it was not switch back free.  The Teton Range is unique in the fact that it is on a fault, was and continues to be pushed upward quite vertically with relatively few foothills.  Hence the eye popping view from the mountainside down into Jackson.

Way cool mosaic, excellent depiction of some spectacular scenery.  It boogles my mind to see how the new maps and tools bought to us by beskhu3epnm,cycledogg, the rural highway team, and others can be masterfully used.  Bravo.

--Liv

[pvarcoe]

Update 13, Teton Pass



Replies
Thank you to all who have left comments and questions.
Btw, by all means, feel free to call me by my name (Phil)!

Before I dive directly into replies, allow me perhaps one moment to ramble.
In my opinion this site and the folks who visit it have succesfully implemented Jeronij's vision(as best I understand it).
The replies, opinions, and feedback are always positive and constructive. This is just a great place to share our hobby (or passion).
Thank you to jeronij for making this place possible. And thanks to all for making this site the great place that it is.


Replies to update 12.........

dedgren Hi David. That cropped picture is a real cool reply, thanks! I'm still working on how the decommissioning of a park might work.

Rayden I'm glad the backstory is grabbing folks attention. Believe it ot not, the LE was not used in that update at all.

thundercrack83 Thanks thundercrack83!. I've kept meaning to tell you, I love your nick.

bat Heya bat. Thanks, you're one of the folks I mentioned above who are a real source of encouragment here. 

beskhu3epnm I really appreciate your opinions on this diary! You've created such a wonderfull foundation to build upon. Thanks buddy!

Giligone Thank you Giligone. I appreciate you always checking Teton out.

JBSimio Welcome JBSimio! I'm pleased that you approve of your buildings usage here in Teton. Your work is of the highest quality, and fits the mood I'm trying to create here perfectly.

threestooges Hehe, I've been waiting for that question. The subdivision including the school was heated mostly with natural gas. The fires you see burning are caused by ruptured gas lines. 

emilin Thanks emilin. Future development is exactly what's in store for this region.

rooker1 Hi rooker1. Thank you for checking Teton out.

Nikopol Welcome Nikopol. Actually alpine roads are exactly what's coming next.

Livin in Sim Thanks Liv. I actually started having second thoughts about the flooded storyline. With Katrina and all, I figured I better play that storyline very carefully. Hopefully I didn't push past the boundaries of good taste.

NikNik Thanks NikNik. Stay dry

petercintn Hiya Peter. You bet you can call me Phil. Thank you for the continued kind comments.

sebes Thank you Sebes. A future stage will include a Jackson on the rebound, and expansion.



Replies to update 12.5.......

beskhu3epnm I hear ya. Makes me want to get in my car and drive too. Ah well, summers not that far away, and I'm getting back to the Rockies soon even if it kills me.

thundercrack83 Thanks, the transportation network update is coming soon. I plan to include past and future park boundaries, etc. too!

Badsim Hi Badsim. I've seen some of your nature based shots. They look great. The tree and flora results you see here are created by the Olympic tree controller only.

Nikopol The pass was a real challenge. I must admit. I'm still not 100% satified with it, but the game does have limitations.

NikNik The parking spaces was a natural. You gotta stop and take in the view   I realized later, a couple of guard rails might have been a good idea too!

bat Thanks very much Bat!

meinhosen Welcome back to Teton meinhosen. And Thanks!

rooker1 Thank you rooker!. The mosaic was my first attempt at one. I think I'll use them more in the future.

petercintn The pleasure is all mine Peter. 

Rayden Thanks Rayden. I tried to follow the actual course as much as possible, so that made it a lot easier to keep a natural flow.

sebes hehe, It's ok sebes, it's ok   The way the snowline interacts with the hillside and road turned out pretty good. I got a little lucky with the elevation and how it affects the snowline in Teton.

Darmok Hi John! Thank you. Perhaps you got room in the Intruder for at least one more. Take care.

jeronij Thank you jeronij. I think of you as the master, especially with hills and winding roads. Your opinion is much appreciated.

dedgren Hi David. Thank you for your comments. With all the great feedback on the Teton Pass, I have decided to continue in that vein in this update and expand the "pass coverage", and answer a few of your question too!

rooker1 Hi rooker1. Hopefully this update answer some of the questions.

cali Thanks Cali. The Olympic tree controller and the Meadowshire terrain controller have been used to create the tree and flora effects you see.

Livin in Sim Hi Liv. Knowing that you have been there, your opinion on this matters greatly to me. Needless to say, I'm more than pleased with your feedback. I wouldn't go as far as calling it an exact replica, I believe I have one extra switchback. But it is pretty close, and I'll expand on that a little in the update. Thank you!



Pictures and descriptions



State Highway 22 runs from Jackson,around the lake and up through Teton Pass.
Our map of the southern third of Teton region shows the route of highway 22 as it heads west (up).




David and others wondered as to the elevation gain, grade, distance, etc about Teton Pass. As Livin in Sim pointed out, the climb basically begins at the small town of Wilson. From Wilson to the pass itself is about 15 kilometers or just under 10 miles. Now the actual elevation of that starting point is around 1850 meters above sea level (about 100 meters above my lake level or about 6000 ft above sea level).

The climb peaks at the pass with an elevation gain of about 1000 meters from Wilson, over 1100 meters from the lake.

The real life Highway follows closely to the path I took. The one major deviation was a switchback below the observation area. Other than that it is pretty close. I have of course taken some creative licence with the buildings at the pass itself


Here's a overview shot tracing the highway's route from Wilson up and over the pass.





Moving in a little we can see in the next few shots how the highway runs along the back of the first peak, then jumps across at the shoulder, and continues back along the second and larger mountain.






The steep grade in places means having to reinforce the raod in spots. Maximum speed - about 20 miles per hour.



The snowcapped Glory Mount looms aver the valley and highway. The highway cuts across the face of the mountain in an area known as Glory Slide.






Slowly the road winds up the face till it reaches the snowline (late sping snowline, in the winter it's snow all over)



As we aproach the top of the pass we come to a lookout facing east.
From here we can see clear back to Jackson.



Livin in Sim has provided us with this wonderful shot of the actual lookout.
This shot prompted me to change the position of the parking.
Originally I had it on the inside of the corner, but have moved it to the outside, as in the "real" screenshot. Thanks Liv!



Our final shot of the Teton Pass update is the pass itself.
A ranger station sits at the crest of the pass, across from the communications tower.
Not many miles west beyond this point, the highway was blocked by extensive slides cause by global warming.



Thanks to all for checking out Teton!

[meldolion]

Really cool region!!

I like the winding road up to teton pass very much

Thanks for the beautiful work

[Badsim]

Phil ...

If only you could speak french , or me better english ... I'm lost of words in front of this .Just can say I'm flabbergasted each time I take the road for Terraforming Teton .
Thanks for the information about Olympic Tree Controler , I don't obtain such variable trees ... must have something missing .
Usually we say "I can't wait to see more" . Sorry , I CAN wait to see more ; take your time & take care .

Well , now I have to change my desktop once more .

[thundercrack83]

Unbelievable! The Teton Pass Road is absolutely amazing! I love the maps, pointing how the path of the roads, but the in-game shots are simply fantastic. Great job!

[emilin]

Everything looks stunning! The shot of the lookout stop by the road is simply amazing.

[threestooges]

Excellent, excellent, excellent. I hope they actually took the time to cap off the gas leak at the former school (that could be bad). Again you continue to impress with your attention to detail on such a massive scale. The first shot (the map) is well done, but the real trick must have been making that highway to begin with. The closeups of the road remind me of when I lived in Reno, NV. There was a road that went up over the mountains to Lake Tahoe (and incidentally went past a ski area with a section also named after a landslide) and looking at your shots really reminds me of it. Have a good weekend, and I look forward to your next update.

[Cali]

i bet that is fun to drive in...White knuckle all the way..lol

[rooker1]

Great update, looks like a fun drive.  Very scenic and the out looks look perfect.

[Giligone]

Amazing. Wow. That shot of your version of the lookout is incredible. The forrest clad slopes descending below. I can almost picture what it would look like to be up there. I don't know how you do it or have the patience but those forests are by far, bar none, the best forests I've ever seen in sim city, nay, any computer game! I'm still suspicious as to whether you are actually just photoshopping street tiles onto actual photos  haha Its just that good. Amazing.

[Rayden]

I said it before, and I'll say it again, very nice and well carved winding road. The scenery shots are fantastic. Well, I cannot say I haven't take down any notes! 

[HabLeUrG]

that flora is amazing! love the picture with the rouad trought the forest, is simply beautiful! 

[meinhosen]

Wow!  I don't know if I can say much more than that.

After looking at the pictures of the road winding through the pass, I think that it's about time that I went and rendered a small, mountainous region. 

[kimcar]

  Geez i pass over the 10 pages and i have to get back for make sure it wasn't real pictures that i saw. Wow ! First time that i post on your MD ( i never sawe before ... miss time )and i' m very stunned by your work. I' m sure you put the trees one by one . Speachless. Great MD Keep it up.

[bat]

great update and fantastic pictures and work!

[beskhu3epnm]

...




!!!!
I could never dream of creating such a masterpiece. I will also be heading to the "Rockies" or more specifically, the Purcells this summer. I've been inspired by you to work a mountain region of my own, but I don't have the gonads to share it with everyone here...

Wicked.

[dedgren]

Thanks for the addition details on the pass, Phil.  This is just marvelous stuff.


David

[Livin in Sim]

Phil, the Wyoming Tourism Department should be giving you a cut of all proceeds.  Thanks to you I am going on that little road trip this summer.  I just have to see it again.  When I saw that map, and then the zoomed out view of the highway going up the pass, I couldn't believe it.  It was sight I never expected to see in Sim City, that's for sure.  I'm not sure I would have picked up on the extra switchback if you hadn't mentioned it.  Now that I look closer, it looks like you used the street tool.  Was that hard with the diagonals?  And do you have the new NAM?  I am working on a mountainous region, actually two, one for practice, and one for a journal/diary I hope to have ready by fall.  I am going to use this for my primer.  I do so appreciate your patience in reading and including my input.  And about the flood, IMO, it is an inspiring story to chronicle a town's perseverance to overcome a disaster, and not in bad taste at all.  Here are a couple more RL pics for those who are interested, and again, thanks for your patience.  The first is a view from the pass toward Jackson, and the town is seen in the middle background in between two mountains.  If you click on the "original" size at the bottom it enlarges, and this becomes more evident.  You will see how faithfully Phil is recreating.  (Unfortunately, you will also see some ravages of the pine beetle.)  The second is the sign at the top of the pass.  I wonder if someone could bat this for Phil?    

Thanks for sharing your talent,
--Liv

http://www.pbase.com/jhales/image/63741301

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l252/simdiary/passign.jpg

[JBSimio]

Just spectacular, Phil!  I shudder to think how long it took to plan that route and then perfect it all.

Sorry if I missed it elsewhere, but could you tell me which rock mod or terrain mods you use?  The combination looks very much like what I've been trying to come up with, but I can't seem to find the right combination.  *Edit:  Nevermind... I'm a moron! 

JB