Welcome to Bordertown

[quackmofro]

Howdy, folks. I'm just letting everyone here know that I'm definitely still interested in participating in this. However, I just realized that my SC4 disc is in Jasper, Texas. Luckily, I've taken some days off to head back to Texas and see family and friends. I'll be back on Sunday and will probably get started then.

[mrbisonm]

Hm, I didn't know there was a Jasper in Texas. I know the one in Alberta well. Come back soon, we'll wait 

mrb

[quackmofro]

Haha, as far as I know there are several Jaspers in different states across the U.S., and many of them have a town or county called Newton next to them. There's a historical reason for that, actually.

[quackmofro]

Okay, now the official start of this challenge:

GRV II: BORDERTOWN

Greetings, Governor Bison. Regional planner Jeremy Seligmann at your service. I'm honored that you have bestowed on me this project. The Grand River Valley is a beautiful area shared between Exford, my home country, to the north and Wernke to the south. As you realize, Governor, the financial disparity between the two countries is remarkable. Exford is an underdeveloped country whose industry mostly consists of subsistence farming. On the other hand, Wernke is a large financial center in which capitalism and big business have more influence than do the federal government and legislature.

Generally, the two countries don't really deal in business, but a natural resource in the Grand River Valley has some entities in both countries interested in development here: bromine. You may or may not already know this, but bromine can be used to produce flame retardants that can be used in electronic enclosures (i.e. TVs, computers, etc.) and furniture. While the bromine harvesting and production only constitutes about 9 percent of the industry in raw materials, both countries stand to benefit from border development in the area.

An underground bromine brine field exists just south of small Keynes mountain range in southeastern Exford. Two entities, Opal Drilling from Exford and Iselia Corporation based in Wernke, 1have just closed discussions to cooperate in extraction, refinement, and flame retardant production in the area. They both stand to benefit greatly from this proposal; more details of this business deal will arise as they are required. Both Dictator Lorentz and President Powers have the backing of such an endeavor. A Bordertown is also to be constructed in the vicinity that will act as a checkpoint between the two nations. As the regional planner, I am in charge of mapping out transit and zoning in the proposed city and acting as a mediator between Opal and Iselia in their construction and operations.

Here's a view of the Grand River Valley and the planned districts.



I'm using the Meadowshire Terrain Mod. Currently, I'm using Pegasus' Windjammer Water Mod; I haven't really considered which one would be best to use yet. The existing trees were plopped using the Meadowshire River Tree Controller, but I don't like the results for the most part, so I'll hone in my Mayor Mode plopping skills later on.



This map shows some of the physical attributes of the region. I'm not very experienced with image editing, so bear with me. Most everything here is a learning experience for me. It's been over half a year since I've played SC4 also. I'm glad to be participating in this, though.

EDIT: Compressed the images by a lot.

[Pat]

hey quack great intro here so far and I cant wait to see what you do for Rt 10 challenge!!

[mrbisonm]

Excellent start. liked the description. Keep up the good work.

Fred

[quackmofro]

Thanks for the compliments, guys. I've been enjoying this so far.

Eye Candy 1

Now that I'm done with Challenge 1 and I can leisurely mess around, I thought I'd regale you all with some pictures of the work I put in during the challenge. Granted, I'm not the detailmonger that many of you are (yet), but I'm hoping to get there at some point. I discovered that it takes a really long time to get the effect that I desired, but all that meticulous plopping reaps great rewards. I'll be using this thread to post some extra picture updates outside the challenge.







Oh yeah, and I decided to use David's Mossy Limestone Rock Mod instead the Meadowshire one, which looked really bland especially on the mountains to the north. David's rocks seem to fit well with the flora I'm using, which is a mix of mostly coniferous trees.

I'm definitely up for suggestions on approaching this. I've seen some amazing work posted, not just in the challenges but in the MD's as well. Are there any special techniques or considerations while landscaping? For me, constructive criticism is even more welcome than compliments. It's gonna be a lot of work putting together this region, which will be more than I've ever put into any single project on SC4. So far, though, it's been fun.

[quackmofro]

Eye Candy 2

This is an update on the progress of the tile that I am working on, Hurst (B). Some significant developments have occurred that require the Governor's attention.



I've changed rock mods again. This time, dogfight's Dark Limestone variant seems to be a good fit. Also, I'm trying out his marshy water mod; so far, I'm not considering changing. Using a combination of dogfight's, Sorchin's, and c.p.'s rocks, I've been able to create some decent-looking surfaces along the edge of the water.



At the lake's edge, some fishermen have erected a small community. These Exford natives choose to separate themselves from the established government in favor of a reclusive yet free lifestyle. This landing was chosen due to the absence of rocks on the shore.

*Sniff* Do you smell that? The breeze blew by and there's something in the air. Yes, it's quite pungent. Oh, I know. Come, take a look:



Yes, that's Hurst you're looking at. You might be asking yourself how such a dirty, crowded community could mar such a peaceful setting. Well, that's the state pretty much everywhere in the country. The self-imposed dictator, Hector Lorentz, rose to power after the coup two years ago overthrew President Ramos and denounced the unstable democracy. Lorentz taxes his people heavily, leaving hardly enough for them to care for themselves. As you can see, public works, health care, education, public safety, and infrastructure, all nonexistent in Hurst. If you're wondering how so many people can drive, it's because all of those cars were purchased before 2007 during Ramos' Presidency. You don't see any new automobiles on the road these days. For most everyone, it's all they have.



Corporate moguls don't exactly help the situation, either. Although they provide the locals with jobs, these big shots only come here for cheap labor. Each day, a hard-working Exfordian earns on average less than the equivalent of 20 U.S. cents. It's despicable, yes, but you won't see Dictator Lorentz complaining about it. His heavy tax also applies to the nation's industry; the way he sees it, it's more cash for his coffers. These good people are essentially treated as slaves. But what can we do, Governor?



Not only are the town's sights detrimental to the natural beauty of the area, but they are endangering wildlife in its vicinity. The garbage that's thrown out every day due to the lack of waste treatment contaminates the soil, killing off the trees and flowers and poisoning the animal life. It's a dismal scene here, and it's only slated to get worse unless a regime change occurs.



The dirty community of Hurst is a thorn in the side of the grandeur of the Keynes Mountains. It's not the locals' fault, though; the pain they endure is just as intense. Alas, Governor, we are powerless against such tyranny we witness here in Exford. All we can do is wait and hope something happens in the capital.

EDIT: Roleplaying aside, I don't think I'm quite done with this tile yet. There are some bare spots and some areas that need touching up. The industrial area in particular isn't all that satisfying to me. I'll make some changes in the next couple of days.

[Splime]

Wow, those are some amazing slums there! Great Job! 

[rootbears]

lovee it,  where did you get the custom plyons??

[quackmofro]

Thanks for the comments guys. They're greatly appreciated.

rootbears, those are Fukuda's high tension power poles. They are essentially recolors of the Maxis poles but look much better.

[meinhosen]

I like the terrain, but that slumtown is impressive.  It'll be interesting to watch you develop that side of the river.