Covington - Update 61 "Chestnut Hills and South River Bend"

[art128]

Another excellent update Jon, your FAR/FARR use is always incredible ! The rail viaduct in picture 5 is very nicely done my friend.
Looking forward to more.

Take care,
-Arthur. 

BTW, this is the 600th post of your MD !! Congratulations. 

[JBSimio]

Adam:  Thank you so much!  It's very nice to see you here again and I'm glad you like the new look.  I know I certainly do! 

Daniel:  Thank you!  I could put them back... but I haven't decided whether I will or not.  I guess we'll just find out next time we're in the area.

Pablo:  Thanks!  I'm so glad you like my little fictional corner of the world.  I imagine that laying out a road system with FAR from the beginning might almost be a little tougher to do.  I've been rather fortunate so far in that most of my replacements fit pretty well with what I already had in place.  The rail overpass is simply done with puzzle pieces from the NAM.

Bat:  Thank you!

Geoff:  Thanks!  I agree, these new pieces almost seem custom made for what I was trying to do in the first place.  It's almost hard to look back at the older updates now that I've been able to do these lately.

Joan:  Thank you!  I don't think Cypress Ridge will get too big for a while, but I know exactly what you mean.  An old friend of mine was actually writing a book on the subject that she tentatively titled "Death by Growth."  It basically told the story of a small town that grew too fast and brought all the "conviences" of suburbia with it.  Suddenly people looked around and wondered, "Well... what happened to that charming little town we moved out here for?" never realizing that they were the ones who killed it.

Pat:  Thank you!  It's funny that the rail overpass is so popular.  It was always there even before I updated the curves... but I guess those extra touches made all the difference.

Arthur:  Thank you!  And welcome to the new page!

Update Time!!!

I originally thought that upgrading my roads would prove to be a rather boring subject for updates... but ever since I've started showing the new pictures, I keep getting the impression I was wrong.  Since you all have such nice things to say about the new look and also seem to like seeing how things turned out, I figured I'd keep revisiting older areas as I continue around the countryside.  In this particular case, I'm extremely happy with how things turned out.  In fact, this is the first time that I was able to completely upgrade a complete town using FAR without having to leave some spots for later!  Let's have a look...

42.01


You may remember Pleasant Valley from an extremely large update last summer.  It's actually still one of my favorite smaller towns in the Piedmont.  I thought this would be a very difficult village to upgrade and I was worried that a lot of things would need to change here.  In truth, I only needed to replop one or two shops and move a few houses around.

42.02


A closer look at the main commercial strip along US 421 shows that not many buildings have changed here.  I had to move Weatherwax Pharmacy, but a couple other buildings regrew that I like better.  Mattb's McDonalds and a credit union are newer additions that I'm rather pleased with.

42.03


I always liked this corner around the water tower just east of "downtown."  Quite a few houses and street intersections got shifted around here, but the end result definitely seems worth it.

42.04


On the other side of town is where US 421 heads west towards Kernersville.  Once again, a number of those houses had to be regrown and the streets don't join up with the roads in several places anymore.  I also lost a couple industries on the edge of town, but I just ended up making a couple new zones nearby to even things back out again.

What's that?  You'd like an overview of the entire town again?  Alright... how about we scroll from east to west along US 421 then.

42.05

Alright... let's head north of town a little further now.

42.06


I don't think I showed this area last time, but I liked how it turned out so I figured I would add a couple extra pictures for this update.  (After all... I can't really call it an update unless there's at least one new thing!)  This is just a little corner up in some of the higher hills north of Pleasant Valley.  And of course, being in North Carolina, we certainly love our fried chicken here!

42.07


Remember this one?  The railroad lines from Covington wind around the hills through here north of town.  This may have been some of the toughest replacing to do.  The overall route is essentially the same, but a number of the details and curves changed significantly.

42.08


Near the western edge of the region along the same lines is where the rails heading south towards High Point split off.  They tunnel briefly through a hill here on their way down towards Kernersville and Cypress Ridge.  This didn't come out quite the way I wanted it to, but it's close enough for now.

42.09


Speaking of Kernersville... it also recieved a small face lift.  There is one jog in the road that I couldn't quite get rid of, so we'll wait and see if a diagonal S-curve is in the future and hope for the best.  It looks like I have a couple bumps to smooth out anyway, so I'll have to revisit that again later.

Oh what the heck?  One more mosaic... just for kicks.  This is one of my new favorite roads. 

42.10

Thanks for reading!!!
JB

[Pat]

Details details details, Jon that is what it comes down to.... Your sooo right adding those extra details made it stand out all that much more and better tooo!!! BTW 42.01 and 42.07 perfect shots IMHO!!!!

[sandokan]

What a NICE set of roads, man! How can you do it so smoothly? did you "drag" those roads by hand? I'm spending 10 mins per each "diagonal to FAR" puzzle piece... and I'm not even started with the train tracks!!!

Congratulations, my friend. You have great skills and you roads flow like no other. I don't even think the creators of the FAR puzzle pieces did ever imagine these kind of results that you are showing us today.

What terrain mod and tree controller are you using? Do you plant all your "green" trees with God Mode tools? Or do you plop then one by one?

Thanks for sharing this with us, master!

Regards,
PABLO,
from Argentina

[bat]

Some really fantastic pictures there! And the mosaic is also beautiful! Great work!

[danielcote]

Ok I can definetly wait.

Lovely update! I love small peaceful towns don't you. 

[Jmouse]

Pleasant Valley (42.01) is the ultimate, Jon. Definitely a keeper! One vital element I'm seeing in these small-town overviews is the luxury of wide-open spaces. And, of course, the revised road layout makes it look even better.

Of course, the close-up views are stunning in their simplicity, and so very inviting. It amazes me to think we all have the same pool of BATs and props to choose from, yet our arrangement of them is worlds apart - literally!

You have done a wonderful job of using FAR/FARR, but you've managed to make it work without all the extra intersections which I now see as unnecessary. And when it comes to mosaics, you're one of the very best. These are really outstanding!

Later...
Joan

[Battlecat]

Brilliant job with FAR town there!  You've done an amazing job of building that urban area around those curved roads!  This update is quite inspiring, I hadn't thought of applying these new road styles this aggressively in urban areas.  Keep up the amazing work!   

[meinhosen]

I mentioned this a few minutes ago in another thread, but you've raised the bar for use of the FAR, FARR and rural areas in general.  Your renovation of Pleasant valley is particularly good- a great job at showing us a non-linear small town.  I'm going to save a few of those screenshots and use them as references while I build a few new small towns. 

Great work!

[John Kirby]

Wonderful region, its great to see a region based off of North Carolina because I'm from Hickory!

[Haljackey]

That is one windy road.  Looks like such a nice drive!

[kwakelaar]

Always a pleasure to look at the work you are doing here 

[art128]

Jon, wonderful update as usual my friend, your way to make the farms field is one of the most realistic I've ever seen. The pleasant valley is a wonderful piece of art my friend. I really love how you make the house in this town.
Looking forward to more.

Take care,
-Arthur. 

[dsrwhat316]

Well, I haven' stopped by here in quite sometime...

Your small towns/villages continue to impress. Using the FAR/FARR really makes the pics. Rural areas are an aspect of the game I have not yet mastered, so Covington should help a great deal in the future with that. Splendid work, Jon!

~ Dan

[NASCAR_Guy]

Anychance that you would build an Airport?

[JBSimio]

Pat:  Thank you!  The two shots you mentioned are definitely among my favorites as well.

Pablo:  Thanks!  I've actually not had much experience trying to make these FAR roads from scratch yet, I'm just following the jagged lines I set up before FAR came out... which may actually be easier in my opinion.  I'm using Cycledogg's Columbus Terrain Mod and tree controllers.  I definitely just go back into God mode to plant all the trees.  I'm really not patient enough to plant trees by hand! 

Bat:  Thank you as always!

Daniel:  Thanks!  I've certainly become a small town lover, although that wasn't always the case.  Now that I've lived in rural communities for 10 years though, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Joan:  Thank you!  I think the reason these two towns came out so well without those extra intersection pieces is simply because they're built around diagonal roads.  Some of my other smaller towns which are based around more orthoganal arrangements will definitely be helped by some additional options.  You'll probably see what I mean when we revisit towns like Boone and Riedsville... they have been quite a bit tougher to "convert" and at this point still look incomplete.

Battlecat:  Thank you!  I haven't really gone into the major city areas with FAR yet, but I'm trying to incorporate it into my newer developments as much as possible.

Meinhosen:  First of all, welcome back!  (I know you've been back a while now, but it's still great to see you here.)  Thank you for your comments!

John:  Thanks!  Ah yes, Hickory... I passed through there many times when I lived in Greensboro.  My route from home to my parents house usually took me along I-40 west to I-75 and Hickory was always a big marker on the return trip to let me know that the end of the drive was in sight.

Haljackey:  Thank you!

Kwakelaar:  Thanks for stopping in!

Arthur:  Thank you!  I'm so glad you like it.

Dan:  Thanks!  I've been equally bad about visiting you, so please don't feel bad!    I'm glad you like the rural areas... they've kind of become an unintentional highlight around here.  I'm not sure how that happened, but it did. 

Nascar_Guy:  I have plans to build an airport eventually... but it probably won't be for a while yet.  (I'm still debating where to put it, for one thing.)  For now, we'll just pretend that Piedmont International Airport is just west of the region boundaries. 

Update Time!!!

Bit of a mixed bag today, really.  Covington continues to fill out and different things are happening all over the place.  A look at the map would probably come in pretty handy for this update, so let's just start there.

43.01


I haven't updated some of the newest streets and roads we might see in this update, but this will at least give a pretty good idea of where all these things are happening.

43.02


The large shopping area continues to develop around Market Street and Interstate 40.  A couple more big box stores have moved in as well as some smaller suburban office buildings.  Being so close to the expressway makes it an attractive location for the fast food chains too.

43.03


All this commercial development has also spurred the need for more housing.  Several smaller apartment complexes now surround the shopping center before the area eases back into the single family homes.  This particular complex is actually wedged between the large shopping area to the south and the commercial strip that continues to grow outward along Market Street.

43.04


So I guess this may be a better example of apartment complexes filling in the transitional areas.  Industries line the rails just south of this complex and commercial areas along Coldwater Boulevard sit to the east.  Just north of all of this mess is the beginning of the single family homes that surround much of Judith Cameron Memorial Hospital.

43.05


On the other side of town, a new church and school were built to serve all the new residents along Holden Road.  There continues to be a bit of a housing boom in this area as well.  The city recently released plans for a large shopping area, possibly even a mall, near the intersection of Holden and High Point Roads.  With Koury Medical Center already so close to the property in question, many developers have jumped at the opportunity to get in early and start building.  Of course, the whole idea could still backfire if the shopping center gets blocked or possibly moved elsewhere.

43.06


Unfortunately, all this speculation has claimed a few victims.  A handful of small shops filled this corner long ago, but they were mostly just a convenience for commuters who might stop on their way through.  A couple farmers decided that this might be a good time to sell out, and one of them found a buyer who saw some potential for the commercial zoning already in place at what he hoped might become a much busier corner.

43.07


And sometimes, that's how subdivions are born.  Amidst many protests, this new housing was ultimately approved and one farm is no more.

43.08


The city of High Point is also overflowing its borders.  This subdivision, also off of High Point Road, is just across the US 29 Bypass.  This was formerly a wooded area, so no farms were lost here, but it is a trend that disturbs a number of people and also puts added pressure on nearby farmers.

43.09


Not all of these developments are based on paving the country side.  This subdivision off Market Street was a trailer park for decades.  Recently the entire parcel changed hands and the new developer wanted to see something different here.  So he paved the old dirt roads and is slowly replacing the old mobile homes with more traditional housing.  Given the distance from Covington, he apparently decided to start modestly, but I have a feeling these houses will ultimately be built over again with larger suburban homes.

43.10


As the city continues to expand, the conveniences keep pushing further out.  An independant grocery store used to occupy this corner.  The golden arches bought him out and a new gas station wasn't far behind.  Don't you just love progress?

43.11

The good news is that there is still a lot of open space to fill.  I think the majority of the farms will remain safe for quite some time. 

Thanks for reading!!!
JB

[calibanX]

Wow JB, you're new apartment buildings look great in the game. I see those styles all over the place.

Very nice update.

Geoff

[Nathaniel]

Ah...
Your city is pretty beautiful. The frams give me a peaceful feeling

And I think your trains are a little short..

[woodb3kmaster]

Since you were kind enough to stop lurking over at Nyhaven, I think it's high time I return the favor.

I've never been to North Carolina (the closest I've been is DC), but if it's anything like Covington, it must be beautiful. These latest subdivisions look superb, like the others, and the raisons d'être you give them are very believable. I may tend to build bigger cities, but your ability to fill a whole region with mile after mile of stunning rural beauty with small towns here and there is truly something I aspire to (although it would take me much longer to fill Nyhaven's region up, as it's monstrously huge). Keep doing what you're doing, Jon; it's incredible!

Later,
Zack

[sandokan]

Hi, JB!

Thanks for sharing this. I use another terrain mod by Cycledogg (Missouri breaks), and its tree controller. That's why I asked... My trees seem much more mixed, and maybe I'd like a more regular tree controller to play with god mode.

Amazing update and congrats on your new housing developments and the LEX uploads... as soon as I get to build houses in my region, I'll get them!

The region shot is A M A Z I N G

Greetings,
Pablo