Hayden Sound, a region by Swamper77

[Pat]

Ohhh wow i cant believe i missed the last update Jan and I'm sorry to hear about the loss
of your job.  the updates where great and hmm i tend to agree about the little burning of
What-A-Burger is kinda weird but hey it gave opportunity for more business to come to town.
What is that building that says smart on it next to the theater BTW.  cant wait to see what
town we go to next - pat

btw i didnt notice till now welcome to page 7...

[jayo]

Nice one  More,more.ect 

[mattb325]

Thanks for the tour around town Swamper - but a word to the wise - don't let the Australians take over (just ask any Brit ; they'll tell you  ) Just kidding - I like the elevator that you've used for disabled access - nice touch!

[threestooges]

The updates have been great (though I'm sorry I haven't been able to comment more as of late). It's interesting that those kids are walking to school so calmly given the proximity of a somewhat large woodland creature. It must be a pleasant community to get along so well with nature.

[Swamper77]

Sorry for being gone for so long. It's depressing to be fired a couple of days after starting a new job, so I was putting off working on this MD while I was trying to forget about being fired. Since then, I have put together some custom content for the public and for myself. I have also developed these few cities I have to a point where I am happy with them. So now, I will start this back up with some new pictures after the replies....

Replies:
@Pat: Now you will finally see what town we will be going back to

@Jayo: Here's more (finally )

@Matt: The Australians and the British seem to be getting along fine in my region so far. I'm glad you liked the elevator access. Accessibility is a must in my cities.

@Three Stooges: The kids aren't quite as scared as real world children about being near a large bear due to the number of field trips and the lessons on wildlife

Welcome Back to Independence!

While I have been developing Independence, some new developments have occurred in Downtown Independence. First, there is a complete Farmers' Market behind the post office. Mediterranean in style, it attracts a lot of people who are interested in fresh food from the local farms. There are numerous stalls, a weigh house, and a large market hall on site. Next to the college, a Mercedes dealership has taken up the space on the corner between it and the bank. Commercial Avenue has been widened to a full avenue since the original roadway was getting congested at many of the intersections. The new avenue upgrade enabled the development of several office buildings across from the post office. At the top-left of the photo, you can see the new local electronics shop, Nexis Electronics. The gas stations, the bank, and the bed & breakfast place still remain due to protection of new laws that do not allow redevelopment of necessary commercial services unless there is a larger lot available providing the same services.


Another Farmers' Market The first one was such a success that a second one was constructed at the north end of Downtown to handle the overflow. The local wealthy residents helped to provide the funding for the site and they have been seen here, buying local produce.

Independence Industrial Park

This is how the industrial park in Independence looks today. Some high-tech industries have moved in and set up shop next to the buffer woodlands. Some reconstruction also took place as pipes were repaired underground after a pipe burst in the middle of the central intersection in the block. A traffic analysis showed that there was low traffic on that street, so the signals and turn lanes were removed during the repairs.


Most of the entire left side of the industrial park is high-tech in this block. There are a few manufacturing industries mixed in among them. Looks like they are unloading a truck at the larger of the high-tech industries. Let's have a closer look....

Looks like a cop is giving the trucker a hard time about the load of flowers that are being unloaded from this place.

Now, let's head out west on the Jade Mountain Loop Highway before the cop sees us.

Just west of Downtown, a new connector street has been built to connect to Farmview Estates. Some of the  residents enjoy the quicker commute. Instead of heading west through their neighborhood to reach the highway system, they can go out the backside of the neighborhood. In the future, a Bureau of Farm Management will be built near where the new street connects to the Jade Mountain Loop Highway.

Continuing west, we come upon the farmlands.....

...and the newly upgraded highway intersection. The intersection was getting congested, so it was widen which also provides better clearances for turning vehicles. We are going to head south here, to see some of the new farm developments.


First intersection we come across is Spring Road. A short distance to the west, there is a freshwater spring that is maintained by CSX Industries. A volunteer crew cleans out the pool at the base of the spring every few weeks. Turning left here, we see two farms that weren't here a few months ago:

A oak tree farm specializing in Oakus Vlakhaus has started operations here along with a CSX GM lab. The lab is surrounded by scrub/brushland and has beacons on all their antennas for safety reasons.

Heading down the highway further south, another intersection....

...and two more new farms:



The Paladin which boards and raises horses. Looks like they are taking a horse or two out for some riding in the woods somewhere else. I see some horses have escaped their pen. Doesn't surprise me with the height of the fencing on that pen


Across the street, we have the La Montage Vineyard and Winery. They make fine wines which they sell locally and export to SimNation. Their wines are very affordable and come marked with the Veradant Island Crest. Be sure to pick up a bottle before we leave.

We're going to head south once more, and then west.....

Junction with the West Farm Highway. We're turning right here, following the semi.

The new farms that have been developed in place of all the flower farms. From left to right: an orange grove operation, a forestry farm specializing in spruce trees, and...

...another turkey farm. Did you know it costs $2400 just to remove the main farm lot and $10 for each field tile? I talked to Barby W. and she says there is an inherent high cost for willingly destroying turkeys. So I left this one alone, as much as I didn't want it here.

Now, we are going to head back north to the highway intersection and then west...

...to see the new farms that occupy the northwest part of Independence. 2 agave plantations, a maple tree forestry farm, a garden cottage, 2 lily farms, a sunflower farm, another banana farm, a lavender farm, another orange grove, a corn farm, a cabbage farm, and a lime farm make up the new farms. There are also some houses tucked in among the fields. All housing lots are 1x1's. Let's have a closer look at some of the new farms....

One of the agave plantations. My that truck is turning wide....


Ann's garden cottage, surrounded by wildflowers. Looks like the trucker is slowing down to admire the flowers.


The sunflower farm in full summer bloom. This far has something a bit special nearby....

The depression behind the farm at the border has turned into a pond.


Sylvia's Place with fields of cabbage and a lime farm across the street. Nearby is another pond...

Darn truckers gawking at it. No wonder traffic is slow on this section of highway. There's 2 westbound sections of highway leaving Independence. This is the first one that was constructed and West Farm Highway was built later as the farms expanded. *Suddenly the ground shakes and a loud THUD is heard* What was that? Sounds like it came from a nearby farm...

The last of the Ponderosa Pines have been harvested from this farm. It's going to be bare with stumps for a while. I kind of liked seeing those tall trees from a distance.

Time to head back to Downtown Independence...for a train ride


We're going to go to College Station, but it looks like we will be held up a bit. The station is to the right at this light. We're going for a ride on the new train line that connects Independence to Misty Plains.

The train nicely waited for us to arrive and board. Sounder is the passenger train service firm that operates all passenger trains in Hayden Sound. Leaving the station, passing the Farmers' Market and crossing the Jade Mountain Loop Highway


Going through the Independence Cut. Thanks to the NAM Team for the new gradual curves


Approaching the north portal of the Jade Mountain Rail Tunnel. An inbound train from Misty Plains is passing by.


Coming out of the south portal of the tunnel. Engineers had a lot of fun with blasting to make the tunnel and to build the ledge that the railroad is running on.


Due to space limitations, the tracks could not use the gradual curves to get back down the hillside.


After getting down the hillside, we pass the southern section of the Jade Mountain Loop Highway. Looks like the highway is busy tonight.


Last glimpse of the Highway before we reach the border of the Independence Township and enter the Misty Plains Township. There's one more cut we will pass through, called the Misty Cut.

We will continue this next time from Misty Plains....

-Jan

[dedgren]

A great and lengthy update, Jan- it was a treat to start up SC4D tonight and find it.  And there's plenty of jobs out there.  I bet you'll find another worthy of your talents in no time.

Good luck, and thanks for the new stuff in this fine MD!


David

[BigSlark]

Jan,

I really like your region. And your custom content. And you're a really nice guy. I can't wait to see more of your development, you have the rural feeling down really well.

I'm sure you'll find another job without a problem, as I suspect your programming skills are on par or better than your SC4 modding skills, both of which are impressive in my book.

Cheers,
Kevin
(Someone who does not pound at a keyboard for his daily bread, electricity, and internet.)

[thundercrack83]

Massive update, my friend! Glad to see that you're back in action!

Independence is looking just as great as she did when you left off, and those railroad pictures at the end of the update are absolutely magnificent, as are your industries and farmlands. I'll definitely be looking forward to seeing more of your work!

[Pat]

Jan its great to see you jump start Hayden Sound again with such a wonderful and plenty full update  ..... I agree with David that you will find anther Job worthy of your skills... trust me i know im trying since Feb LoL...

[bat]

A lot of wonderful pictures! Great farm area and also a wonderful railway!

[Swamper77]

@David: I hope to get a job in the near future too. I'm glad you liked the update.

@Kevin:I'm glad you like the rural feel to this MD. As for my programming skills, I don't have any except for what applies to this game. Outside of SC4, my LUA programming skills are useless.

@Thundercrack: Here's more of my work for you

@Pat: I'm still surprised this MD wasn't shuffled off to one of the other sections because it had been almost 2 months since I updated the other day. I've been trying to get a job since January, but I'm not having much luck.

@Bat: Thanks.

Continuing the train ride....

Coming into Misty Plains from the north, we catch glimpses of the commuters that choose to drive to work instead of taking the train.


The train takes a right, here at the junction. It's heading to West Misty Plains Station. At a future date, a switching tower will be added to this location. This railroad crossing is the busiest in this township.


Arriving at West Misty Plains Station, we get "warped" onto the station platform as the train fades away. Mostly apartments in this area, but most of the residents take the train to work in Independence and Freedombourne. The station has a few shops and an underground parking garage. While we wait for the next train, let's take a look around...."TAXI!"


This is the western commercial district. To the locals, this is the "Western Downtown" of the township. The centerpiece of this district is the pedestrian mall in middle. Access to it is achieved by two avenue crosswalks and two parking lots. The local health clinic and school are in this area as well. The school teaches kids through the end of high school. A college is in the plans to be constructed somewhere in this township, but the location is undetermined.


Nearby, is the Mayoral Estate. This is my third home in this region. I do most of my work from Independence and occasionally visit here and and the one in Freedombourne.


Across the neighborhood is the city's water supply. Gshmails, CEO of Black Hole Corp., constructed the tower for the city after the water pump stopped working. The local utility crews disabled most of the pollution controls that were installed since bad effects occurred in other cities in SimNation when the water tower was taken offline or demolished in those cities. *I pull out a time schedule* The next train is due to leave soon, so I will take you back to the station in my limo. *Flags down his driver, who was just coming down the street* "To the station, please."


We caught the next train with time to spare. This one is heading to Downtown Misty Plains. We've just came down the hill and are going around the next curve, after which the tracks run parallel to the Jade Mountain Loop Highway.

A closer look at the nearby highway intersection...

This intersection links the JMLH to the western part of the township and the neighborhood we just visited the water tower in. It usually sees about 1000-1500 cars a day running through it. At a future point in time, this intersection will be upgraded, possibly to an interchange. But that will only occur when the conditions make that upgrade necessary.


Now we are now approaching the second busiest railroad crossing in this township. It's not as busy as the first one I showed when we went to West Misty Plains Station, but it is still considerably busy.


Us going by and a few minutes later...

...commuters heading north shoot by the other way.


Here we are, Misty Plains Station in Downtown Misty Plains. Same plans as the other, but it makes construction easier that way. We're going to take another taxi ride..... "TAXI!"


This is what the locals call "One-Stop Corner". Here, you can buy a house/rent an apartment, buy/lease a car, and get your legal needs taken care of. BLS Real Estate is across Main Street from the BMW and Daihatsu dealers. Next door to the Diahatsu dealer is the Wisner Law Offices, as designed and constructed by JB Simio. A similar building model is used for apartments, but none have been built of that design yet in this region. A post office designed by him is just down the street from the Real Estate office. We're going to head north to the other half of Downtown at this light.


This is the other half of Downtown Misty Plains. North of here is more residential housing, mainly small family homes. The White Swan Pub on the left serves some the wine that is produced in Independence by the La Montage Winery. There are two Tapas bars on the right. We will be making a "U-Turn" in the middle of this block and following the traffic east, to the industrial estate.


This is the main exit to the industrial estate. It's so busy that the original avenue interchange structure was torn down and replaced with this Highway T-Junction.


Looks like we have some slow traffic ahead at the gate to the utilities section....

It seems that the speed of the security checkpoint is slower than usual, which is causing traffic to back up. We'll just mosey around them in the other lane.


This is how traffic usually is, without the security traffic backup. Traffic usually backs up to the T-Junction without the help of security. Usually, the left lane is empty so drivers can get around backup, for the most part


We're going to head straight through the light and take a right at the next one.


This is the end of the Sounder line in Misty Plains. A few commuters from Stone Valley come down this street though, to head out to at least Independence. The street is usually lined with parked cars so a parking lot/garage will be built adjacent to this street, probably across from the station. *Sound of brakes screeching and horns of trucks blaring*

Looks like two semis almost got into a "Bonnie and Collide" *Sound of revving semis*

And now two semis are having a "drag race" on Industrial Drive. I guess the truckers get bored on their lunch break

Overviews of Misty Plains

The Industrial Estate with the secondary exit visible at the upper left. The two streets connect to Downtown.


Downtown Misty Plains


West Woods Neighborhood as of late.


New connector road for West Woods. Connects to road at the bottom of the above picture.

And I will now leave you a detail shot from somewhere in Misty Plains, as we head back to the station:

Next stop, Freedombourne. I will be on the train with you to answer any questions you may have on the way to Freedombourne.

BTW: I have a new township in mind for development:

Any ideas for naming the waterway that is in the middle of the new township? All I can think of is "Veradant Channel". The city name is irrelevant because I will be building two in that township, one on each side. I just need a name for the waterway that will be between them.

-Jan

[bat]

Fantastic new pictures, Swamper77! Great region overview!

[Pat]

Looks like two semis almost got into a "Bonnie and Collide"  *Sound of revving semis*

Jan ain't it weird how them truckers drive LoL...  Was that shot planned or did it happen as you
was out trying to take some pics?  Anyways a fabulous update and far as the waterway
I like the name of "Veradant Channel", what about instead of Channel how about " Pass "
See you next update - pat

BTW its a 90 day grace period of in-activity thats when you would have been bumped to Completed Section...

[Swamper77]

Pat,

Those two shots where taken while I had the game on Pause. They were positioned like that in two locations on the same roadway. The intersection at the bottom of the second semi image was between both pairs of semis.

If you look closely at my pictures, you will notice a lot of photoshopping going on. However, the vehicle positions are the actual positions, not photoshopped into place. So that semi that cut the other off, was actually there on the road in that position.

-Jan

[magee_b]

woah that region map takes me way back! Anyone remember Digby?
Very nice swamper, always a treat to read.

[Swamper77]

Magee,

That is exactly the region map I used. The author of Digby nicely provided the map to the public at ST. I rendered it with CycleDogg's Columbus Terrain Mod and Pegasus' Brigantine Water Mod. My snowcaps that are seen in the region aren't working as of late, so I have to find the file(s) that are causing the problem or that are missing. I have them downloaded, but they aren't working right now.

-Jan

[thundercrack83]

Another fantastic update! Your transportation networks are excellent, and I love the region view. I'll be looking forward to seeing how you further develop the region!

[Shadow Assassin]

My snowcaps that are seen in the region aren't working as of late, so I have to find the file(s) that are causing the problem or that are missing. I have them downloaded, but they aren't working right now.

Load the snow cap mod after your terrain mods. It's the actual terrain mod that's causing the minor issue. It should then work.

You know, this looks good, it's got a slow, peaceful feel to it, and I quite like it. Though, admittedly, you make the area sound bigger than it actually is in region view.

Good job!

[Swamper77]

Shadow Assassin,

I got the snowcaps fixed. The file for them got modified, which caused the snowcaps to go away. I replaced the file with the original one.

As for the region size, it is larger than what I have shown so far of it. I used the entire Digby Region from the STEX

-Jan

[BigSlark]

Jan,

I really like your development and the little pieces of your "personal" content, especially the wire-hung traffic lights.

Cheers,
Kevin