Province of Clontarf - Update 10 - Elsmere

[Russell]

Loving the port of Newcastle, so full of detail and thought, but where did you find those ships and cranes? Would like to get my hands on some of those.

[Jmouse]

Nice looking port, Dave, but are the RR tracks going to connect to an outgoing rail line? Anyway, looking forward to a full update this weekend.
Until next time ...

Joan

[Pat]

LoL Dave that is sad man that is sad LoL... So hows bonanza going???

LoL... Anywho a great and fab update sorry i missed it as it came fresh out of the gates - pat

[tooheys]

Replies

Snaper; Thanks Snaper, good to see you dropping by again.
Appreciate the comments.

amapper: Welcome and thanks. Glad you enjoy.

thundercrack83: Hi Dustin, so far so good. Thanks for the support.

Asimov: Good to see you here. Pleased that you like the industrial island, it certainly makes
planning the transport network a bit of a challenge.

Russell: Thank's Russell. You can find SOMY's lots here - SOMY's LOTS

Jmouse: Hi Joan, the RR line is already linked. In the last 2 photo's I posted you can
see the line leading into a tunnel The tunnel runs under the water and emerges on the other
side of the city. Although a little difficult to see in the city view below (2nd pic) you will see
that I have used underwater tunnels for both rail and hwy connections to the main central
island which will be the site of the main commercial precinct.

patfirefghtr: Appreciate you dropping by again, Pat. Time for a new tune I believe, let me
think about it 


Balnavia so far



Newcastle, a city in the making

My posts for Newcastle will be a little different from my previous. Usually I only show a completed area
however Newcastle is so large in comparison, that I will try and lead you through the planning and construction
towards the end result. If it gets too boring let me know. Of course we will still visit other towns as well and
see what amusing and quirky things they're getting up to.



The commercial precinct

Early days yet and still largely in the planning stages. Here are a few shots of one of the
transportation hubs.







The industrial zones

Industry continues to grow. Here's a few more photos of the docks.





Despite the industry, the waterways are regularily visited by migrating whales. Accidents do occur,
however it is unsubstantiated that the pilots who are essential to navigate these waters,
are majority shareholders in a local Japanese Seafood Restuarant chain.



Lion Island



No wild cats here. Home to the regional fishing fleet, the name is a mutation of the word lyin', a term regularily
used by the mainlanders to describe the fishermen. We all know how honest they are when describing
their latest catch. How big??

(NB: as you can see the wharves don't look the best when shown at low zoom)





Tourists are not entirely welcome, which explains the location of the only motel on the
island. If you like to watch a beautiful sunset with the smell of rotting fish in your nostrils,
this is the place for you.



There is not a lot to do on the island if you don't fish, so the bookstore does a reasonable trade.
You would expect a great like "Moby Dick" would be a best seller here, but the locals are not a well
educated lot and the longstanding No.1 bestseller is the well known "One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish"



And finally, this memorial commemorates the first time somebody questioned the integrity of a
fisherman and his tale, and didn't get away with it.

Hopefully another update tomorrow evening.

Until then

Cheers

Dave

[Pat]

LoL hmm A Tall Tail... hmmm you know there is a song in there somewhere LoL...
Dave a fab update be back next time - pat

[thundercrack83]

Newcastle is coming along splendidly, Dave!

I like the transportation hub in the center of the commercial area. I can't wait to see this area when you have some more development going on. And those fishing harbors look great, too! I'll be looking forward to see more of Newcastle, and all of Balnavia!

[tooheys]

Hi all. I was hoping for an update this evening (it's 8.50pm 8/7/07 Aussie time or there about) but I still have a little bit of work to do. I intend to post the update within 24hrs. I am guessing for most of you it is a lot earlier in the day so I won't be the late. Anyway, I like to keep my promises, but it didn't work out this time.

I am currently working on Newcastle and here are a couple of pics (teasers I guess) which show you what I am working on.



The commercial area is expanding and there is some high density housing popping up across the river.



And the regional airport. The first I have designed myself. Not brilliant, but I still think better than the ingame lots.

Some more detailed photos tomorrow.

Replies

patfirefghtr: Pat, thanks for commenting and it's always great to have a bit of fun along the way.
I've been hunting around and now present the latest theme to haunt you for a while

Oh so sad but click here anyways, just give me that countryside! (Yeah I know that one word for word too )

thundercrack83:  Hi Dustin. Appreciate the comments as always. Newcastle is progressing but taking a little longer than expected.
Hope you enjoy tomorrows update.

Cheers all

Dave

[Jmouse]

Didn't know it was possible to build underground RRs - I was looking at the three tracks out front which don't look connected!
Newcastle holds much promise as a central business/industrial district and it will be interesting to watch it develop. And I don't think anyone is going to get bored unless you turn off the humor!
And for today's question, is Lion Island mostly eye candy or is it fairly functional? It doesn't look large enough to support a fishing fleet and all the hands it would take to operate it.
Anyway, looking forward to more.

Until next time ...
Joan

[bat]

Congrats on your award!

And fantastic updates, while I was on holiday!

[tooheys]

Replies

Jmouse: Hi Joan, does that mean you only love me for my sick humour   

As for you Q, well the fishing port prop is a bit of eye candy, but the fleet isn't really that big, 4 largish
trawlers and 8 medium.  The larger ones these days only have a crew of 8-12. The island population
is around 2k, which is plenty to cover the crew and processers. Did I wriggle my way out of
that one

As for the underwater tunnels, it took me a while to discover them. They are reasonably easy to create so
let me know and I'll include a mini tutorial, there is only a few steps.

Appreciate you dropping by as always. Some traffic and population stats next update.

bat: Good to see you back, hope you enjoyed your break. Thanks for the comments.

Ramsgate



A small community and the main ferry link to Lion Island.

Note the beach. I like the prop but in a shot like this the underwater view is ugly. Impossible I guess, but it would
be good if the sand ended at or just below the waterline.



Ramsgate has the first gated community in the region.



With it's own private beach, swimming complex and tennis centre,it is considered a quite
an exclusive area. Unfortunately, as can be seen by the traffic, the guards on the
gate are easily bought. A fiver will get you access and the name of one of the residents. If
asked just drop the name and you'll be safe. The residents therefore have the misconception
that their fellow residents are the most popular people in town.



As mentioned above, this is where most of the ferries for Lion Island depart.  The inhabitants of
the island have their own boarding queue with few formalities. They consider this an honour
but it's really just to get them on the ferry ASAP, they really do stink of fish.



This is the community outside the fence. It is actually one of the safest around, as most crim's
prefer to outlay a fiver and work on the other side.

Newcastle (a growing metropolis)

Here are a few more pic's. A warning and an explanation as to how I work, for those expecting to see the commercial
centre to appear fully completed in a couple of updates, it ain't going to happen. You really are seeing this region grow
as I build it. What I have on my PC is not much more advanced than what you see, in fact for the first time since I started
this MD, I actually have enough pic's left over to post another update. But generally once I update I go back to work to produce
the next. Also, I don't like using landmarks for RCI so any new skyscraper I plop has to be job enabled and the demand
has to be there. For that reason, development of Newcastle will take some time however updates will usually be mixed with
photos from new smaller towns and cities throughout the region. Any questions, feel free to ask.









And finally some residential highrise.



Nothing like a bit of competition. Ronald Snr and Ronald Jnr

As I mentioned above, I have a few spare photos so another update will follow in a couple of days.

Until then, as always, cheers.

Dave

[bat]

Wonderful pictures of this area, tooheys!

[thundercrack83]

The development is getting better and better with each update, Dave! And also, I realized that I forgot to congratulate you on earning 100 comments here, so...Congratulations, my friend! I'll be following along with the next 100 comments!

[Jmouse]

As always, the photos are fantastic, and I really do love you for your playing style, too!  Somehow you create a sense of balance without getting too griddy. I love the retaining wall above Ramsgate's private beach, and I see other examples of symmetry, but without the boring grids throughout.
Now Newcastle's development is going to be a pleasure to watch. The fact that MD creators are not afraid to show their cities from start to finish is one of the reasons I like the work posted here on SC4D.
And as for the tutorial, I'm always ready to learn something new.
So today's question is an easy one. How long have you played SC4 RH/Dx, and are you willing to stick with a city or region you've "ruined" just for the practice?

Until next time ...
Joan

P.S. Where did you get that guard house? I've been looking for one.

[tooheys]

Replies (and a little bit more)

bat: thanks bat, your comments are welcome as always.

thundercrack83: Thank's very much Dustin. Always pleased to see you drop by and appreciate your comments.

Jmouse: Hi Joan, thanks once more. First in response to your Q, I've played SC4 since it was first released.
I was never one for roaming the net so I just played the game in ignorance of the community developing online.
I really only discovered "the community" a couple of years ago and jeez did I spend some time downloading lots and mods.
Spent lots of time lurking and learning, and only started my 1st CJ this year. Balnavia is my 2nd and 1st here, and I am happy to
call SC4D home, it's a great community.

As for regions, I'd throw one out once a week. I did a lot of experimenting and a lot of demolishing.
If there is one thing to get you out of this habit, start an MD. I've found it has changed my approach. I plan a lot
more in advance, I might not take a lot more time developing a city but I certainly put in a lot more thought into it and
you know you just can't throw it in the bin, if there is a problem you need to solve, not start again.

Joan, you're not a phsychiatrist by any chance, you do have the effect of getting me to open up.

Now, underwater tunnels. Firstly, I learnt this from a tutorial on ST and it takes advantage of a quirk in the game. A lot of people
use this already and I absolutely take no credit whatsoever for it. I don't think the process is shown on this site, but please
correct me I'm wrong.

The process is reasonably easy:



Bridge or tunnel? Lets go tunnel.



When creating the river, either leave a land bridge or create one at the same level of the surrounding land.



Next build your tunnel through the land bridge. This works for all transport networks for which you can build tunnels
(although I must admit I haven't tried it for monorail). Here you must use your imagination, leave enough room
between the tunnel entrance and the waterline to show what appears to be a realistic distance for the avenue
etc to descend to a suitable level below the waters surface.



and finally, using the terrain levelling tool, remove the land bridge. It doesen't matter how deep the water is, but make
sure it's deep enough to enable passage of ferries etc.

So that's it, pretty simple. Don't ask my why or how it works but it does. If any body wishes to add anything, feel free.

Joan, hope you find this useful. Now the big question for you, when are you going to start an MD??

Cheers

Dave

[Pat]

Oooooooh Dave you are soooooo terrible... WTheck i cant belive i slipped up and missed a few updates
that aint like me wow im sowwies.  So i will leave you with this [Linkie here]

[Jmouse]

Whoa, I wouldn't have guessed that in a million Sim years. My compliments on a well-done and very useful tutorial.
No, I'm not a psychiatrist, I'm a retired newspaper reporter, but I'll admit the lines can blur a bit at times.
As for doing an MD, I don't think I'm good enough at playing the game. It was not until I made SC4D my new home that I got interested in watching other players' regions develop, and now I'm thoroughly intimidated!  Also, I've been having problems with city files within regions going corrupt (there's a thread I started about it on this site somewhere). Besides, I'm a "build it tonight, destroy it tomorrow" kind of player.
However, I'm finishing up the terraforming on a new region which might make the grade -- let's just see how things go.

Until next time...
Joan

[thundercrack83]

Great tutorial, Dave! I don't think there is an underwater tunnel tutorial here at SC4D, but I'd have to check to make sure. If there's not, this would make an excellent one!

[tooheys]

Replies

patfirefghtr: Jeez Pat your starting to type like Daffy Duck However, "Movin' On Up" to the matter at hand,
thanks for dropping by. I've been practicing my poetry for your new thread.

There once was a man from Nantucket........   

Jmouse: Well as long as this is off the record... First I owe you a link. You asked about the security gate
and here it is Link 1 and Link 2. One is the gate only and the other includes the gate and related fencing.

As for an MD, if you take the leap you know you'll get plenty of support here.

thundercrack83: Thank's Dustin, I can pretty it up a bit if you want to use it as a tutorial. It's nothing new
but something that you would only discover by chance.

The Region




Sans Souci



Mainly a residential town, populated by retirees and those who don't mid a bit of a commute.





The local seafood restaurant. Run by a English Chef, he bases his dishes around great British ingredients
such as whelks, cockles and jellied eels. Eating here is part of the armies survival course, if you can
stomach this stuff, survival in the wild will be easy.



Something about this region, find a pub and there is sure to be a mini golf course nearby.
Although there are no pubs near the golf courses, we all know you can't drink and drive.



Newcastle



Traffic wise, so far so good. Although I expect to have to make some changes as the
city grows. Current population is only around 40k but will climb to 200k plus.

Here are some pic's from the residential area on the outskirts.





This is a low wealth area and not one of the safest places to spend a Saturday night.
Sunday mornings are surprisingly quiet, not because everyone is sleeping in, but quite
a number of the residents are occupying the 2 buildings in the right of the pic, the
hospital and police station.





A photo for you shopoholics





Mercy General, so named because the first thing any patient admitted to the hospital
asks for is "mercy"

Next update, a look at the completed airport and surrounds.

Until then, cheers.

Dave

[jimmymac]

A very nice update, I love those PEG wooden boardwalks, I really must find an excuse to use them somewhere. lol

Stu

[thundercrack83]

As always, another fantastic update here! I was looking at the region map and thinking, "I'd like to see that Sans Souci area up there," and what do you know? That was the next part of the update! Great job, my friend!