Wildcat Junction

[Jmouse]

Hi guys!
You can find those fences here: Linkie.
Enjoy.

Until next time...
Joan

[figui]

thanks, i must give them a try (asap)

mauricio.

btw: you reached your own page 9

[BigSlark]

Nice teaser, Joan. You have an excellent style of development that is all your own, I know when I'm looking at Wildcat Junction without having to check the title.

I never put as much detail into the plopped aspects as you do, I think that it what makes this MD special.

Cheers,
Kevin

[tooheys]

The house is almost finished, and it looks like several sub-contractors are meeting with the builder in the front yard.

They're probably after money

What, you're only juggling 3 cities, it only gets worse 

Nice couple of pic's Joan, I'm continued to be impressed by your landscape work.  And I see what you mean about the shadows, they really do add to the scene.

Thanks for the link to the church.

Cheers

Dave

[Emperor Stormont]

Fabulous update Joan, looking gorgeous, I love that rock mod, really sets everything off so well.

I loved the developments from the previous updates with the stepped/terraced look, the region image of Norman Hill was also just lovely, I adore the use of trees and green spaces (as I know your aware of ) so always lovely to see such a green area,

Fantastic work Joan 

[Jmouse]

Replies

@ bat: Thank you, and thanks for stopping by.

@ maruicio (fugui): I'm always on the lookout for little surprises in the game, and when I saw the shadows, I thought they were eye catching, too, and that's the reason I shared them!

@ Paul (paroch): At the time those photos were taken, I was set on high shadows. I do lower some of the settings during game play, though, to reduce lag time.
It's always a pleasure to see you stop by, and I hope you'll enjoy using the fences.

@Kevin (BigSlark): I appreciate your kind words, although I never thought of my style as unique in any way.
As for the details, I guess it comes naturally.
As for the photos, my late husband was a well-trained photographer during the four years he served in the U.S. Air Force in the 1960s. He taught me to frame my photos by looking at all angles, and his advice has stayed with me.
Thanks for stopping by!

@Dave (tooheys): There's no way it could get any worse!
Thanks for standing by me, though, and I'm glad you like the landscaping.
And you're welcome for the little red church link. Sometimes custom content sort of speaks to you in a special way.

Emperor Stormont: Thank you so much, and thanks for stopping by.
Over the years, it's been a struggle to depart from the pack-'em-in-like-sardines syndrome.
Now, however, I just try to think about driving along a road somewhere.  How does the countryside look, how can I tell I'm getting near a city or town, etc.? I haven't yet answered these questions in game to my complete satisfaction, but I like to think I'm getting there.
Hope you'll enjoy the next update.

Here's one last look at Norman Hill!

^C 8-1: The Norman Hill High School is finished and the oil wells are pumping 24/7.

As a farming community, Norman Hill had reached a population of 5,500 by its 10th year with 3,863 C-jobs and 581 I-jobs. The town's income exceeds expenses by about §2,900 per month.

Here are a few charts:

And now, Chapter 8: Small towns, big ideas!

^C 8-2: Mustang is more focused on commercial development than its sister city, Norman Hill.
In fact, despite a population of only 7,600, there are 16,221 C-jobs available. (Yes, I double checked that figure with the Mustang Workforce Commission.)

^C 8-3: The school in Mustang is small and lacks the facilities found in larger cities. The need for studies in the field of animal husbandry has not been overlooked, however. Students simply walk across the road and tend to the coach's livestock.
The school district receives an average of four applications per month for the coaching job.

^C 8-4: The City Hall is a beauty spot in Mustang's commercial district. It is said residents like the building and grounds so much, they gripe less about paying their taxes here. Of course, "less" does not mean total silence.

^C 8-5: This industrial park in the town's southern sector provides 3,268 manufacturing jobs.

^C 8-6: Some of the factories work three shifts.

^C 8-7: Looks like the city will be paying overtime this month.

^C 8-8: And we'll end on a mysterious note - graffiti without walls!

To be continued...
Joan

[nedalezz]

Mustang looks great, and I especially liked 8.1, 8.4, and 8.7. The park around the Independence Hall is fantastic; you really made something ordinary look so beautiful. And in that first picture, the way you designed the oil pumps, simply beautiful!

[Schulmanator]

The town is, as always, a delight. But, your artists must be absolutely top-notch to have developed wall-less grafitti! 

[FrankU]

I have no more to say than: beautiful!
It's always good to watch someone else's pictures. Brings new ideas.
I do really suffer from the Cram-them-in-a-tiny-spot syndrome. Though I like to make rural areas, it costs me a lot of effort to not put everything too close together.
You do that beautifully.
Your cityhall is great with the park and all.
By the way: from day to night picture of it you had a really good development!

Can't wait for your next moves.

[bat]

Great first pictures of Mustang and nice update! Wonderful work!

[figui]

Mustang is looking really nice
i esp like the city hall area, with that night pic (8.7)
great update.

mauricio.

[paroch]

Hi Joan,

Mustang is looking good.  I love that city hall building, nice choice.  It sits really well in the park and I even notice an old style UK telephone box next to the bus stop.  Does the city communications director have a thing for English design icons??

The coach's farm is a nice addition to the city - nice pic!

And the graphs are good to see as well - gives a flavour of what's happening under the skin of the city.

Is there a graph that shows how many girls are called Sally in the town

Looking forward to the next update,

Paul

[threestooges]

Wow, two updates have come around already... finals season is coming up, so I've been a bit busy (and will likely get busier). The fence shadows are very interesting; especially the second pic. Did that just happen, or did you plan it that way? The oil field is well done. You've done a nice job of concealing the fact that they are square lots and the tree line looks really natural. The school seems to be doing its job too considering the graph you've shown. You've done a great job building on the slope in C8-3. The city hall gardens are specatular both in and out of the flowering season. Grafitti without walls though... must be quick drying paint, or some new art technique. Hope all is well with you, and I'll look forward to the next update.

[Jmouse]

Replies

@nedalezz: Thank you. I'm glad to hear you like the little towns. I've never before developed a small quad for anything other than I-D and garbage disposal, but I've enjoyed exploring new possibilities.
And we do have a lot of oil wells in Texas. Seeing a few pumps in a big pasture is nothing new to me!

@Schulmanator: Your visits and kind words are always appreciated. We do, indeed, have some talented artists in Texas, but this work looks a bit like some done by a furry little tourist wearing a big yellow hat.
Mmmmm. The mystery deepens.

@FrankU: Thank you for stopping by. You are absolutely right about looking at photos by other players for inspiration.
Wildcat Junction is wildly different from anything I've ever done before and I've made plenty of mistakes, but I'm learning a lot in the process.
And on the subject of taking photos, sometimes development does occur between shots because I don't always use the first one I get. Or the second, or the third or on and on. It's enough to drive an old lady nuts!

@bat: Glad to hear you like Mustang and hope you'll enjoy "the rest of the story!"

@(Mauricio) figui: Thank you. I tried at least a dozen different parks before deciding on the crepe myrtle. I liked the flowers, but especially liked the way the brick paths worked.

@Paul (paroch): I look forward to your visits because you always have kind words, but also because you point out things I didn't notice. Are you talking about the red structure by the bus stop in C 8-4? If so, I had no idea that's what it was!
As for the graphs, showing pretty pictures doesn't mean a city or region is successful, so I like to see "what's happening under the skin of the city." That is an excellent way of putting it, BTW. Wish I'd thought of it!
The latest count shows Mustang has 81 girls named Sally within the city limits. Hope that helps.
And you won't have long to wait for the last OSITM update.

@threestooges: Glad you could spare a few moments to drop by for a visit. I know all about finals as I watch my daughter with her nose stuck in a book all the time!
No, I didn't plan the shadows, they just happened, but I thought they were nifty enough to share.
Actually the oil field lots fit together pretty well with a minimum of destruction.
As for the City Hall, I love landscaping as long as I can do it on the computer. In RL, however, I don't do dirt, bugs or any of the other unpleasant things that go along with yard work!
Good luck with your school work.

@ All Many thanks to everyone who has made OSITM an experience I'll never forget. Your suggestions, your support, your patience and your willingness to get into the story are more than I ever dreamed possible.
Y'all are the best!

Chapter 8 continued...

At age 6, Mustang has a commute time of 20 minutes, down from 70 early on, and traffic is moving smoothly in all sectors. The population stands at 7,600 and the city's income exceeds expenses by more than §4,000 per month.
The only common civic service lacking is a police station, but Hooter prefers to reduce crime by increasing educational opportunities and beautifying the city. Currently the EQ is 60, but significant gains are expected to occur in the next few years.

^C 8-9: This town is zoned mainly for medium-density development, unlike Norman Hill which is mostly low density. But who knows what will happen. Nothing is written in granite.

^C 8-10: Mustang has fewer farms than Pitchfork Pass or Norman Hill, but most of the farmers are doing well.

^C 8-11: There is a lot of corn in Mustang, and rumor has it there are a couple of stills as well.

^C 8-12: Looks like this pig farmer told his kid to go fly a kite.

^C 8-13: Mustang is a young city with constant development and re-development in the neighborhoods. Eventually, this one will find a style to call its own. There's a rural fire house in the lower right corner, and isn't that Pat's car headed for the station?

^C 8-14: The medium-density zoning has created some unusual housing combinations, but keep in mind that Mustang is still a child. If time permits, we'll revisit this up-and-coming town.

^C 8-15: Unlike the others, this neighborhood has developed in a more traditional way with typical middle-class homes throughout. It sits between farm land to the right and commercial development on the left.

^C 8-16: I love this little church and cemetery and took several pictures of it, but this is the one that will go into the historical documentary I've been hired to create.

^C 8-17: Enough said.

Until next time...
Joan

[keyboardconfessional]

     ooh, wonderful. I especially like the farming shots: suburban farming. who'da thunk it? 

-Jamie

[paroch]

Hi Joan,

First of all - congratulations and well done on an excellent month in OSITM. 

And yes, the red "structure" is possibly the single most iconic image of British 20th century design!!!!

Here's a pic of a British telephone box, with a Red London Bus in the background:


The boxes are becoming less and less common in the UK nowadays as they are replaced with more modern ones (that are dull) or removed all together (everyone has mobile phones these days).  So it was nice to see a little piece of the UK appear in deepest Texas.

Glad to hear that there are plenty of Sallys in Mustang

Now.... the first thing I notice this time is you even have the simoleon symbol - how'd ya do THAT??

C8-9 the overview is real nice.  Those commercial buildings with pink paved ped plazas around them are becoming a Jmouse trademark I feel.  Having said that, I've kinda copied that in a city I'm developing at the moment (not sure I get it done quite as good as you).

C8-11 has some lovely houses there.  They go together real well too.

C8-12 the pig farm with the slurry pits is a good one too.  It never ceases to amaze me how many BATS there are out there that you've never seen before.

C8-13 nice fire station.  And I guess that must be Pat.

C8-16  I can see why you love the church 

Lovely update Joan - see you in "Bestsellers"

Paul

[tooheys]

Joan, your time is almost up in OFITM and what a great month you have had.

Your latest updates show that you do have what it takes (whether you believe it or not) to
create a great MD and if you stick with it, this will soon be a classic.

C 8-9 clearly shows how well you work with the terrain, a beautiful pic.
But I think it's the minor details that standout, the church and cemetry, the city hall, the farms on
the slopes, all impressive.

Wildcat Junction is a pleasure to visit 

Cheers

Dave

[bat]

Yes, a wonderful new update of Mustang which is looking fantastic!

Looking forward to more...

[figui]

another great update 
the last night pic is awesome

mauricio.

[tkirch]

I've been quite busy for awhile so had a lot to check up on.  You did a great job on Norman Hill and Mustang.

C8-9 is a great overall pictures.  You are doing a great job here and it looks great.