The Royal Islands: Developemnt Update, Ocean Village Marina: May 4th, 2010

[MattyFo]

Welcome to the Royal Islands!

Introduction

   Hello Community, and let me be the first (possibly only) one to welcome you to the Royal Islands. This is my first MD and first region I have build using mods and custom buildings, although I have been playing on and off since 03.  Now I started this region back in August of 09 so, much of the development has been completed.  Having said that, here's what you will have to look forward to in my MD.  I will start, following this brief intro, with a story of the history of the Royal Islands and some geography.  Then we will tour each of the islands by showcasing some key aspects of their cities, i: e; hotels, beaches, shopping, business etc.  Just a warning, the first post will be just a read, NO PICTURES, I just want to get the history out of the way, as I will be frequently mentioning parts of the story.  The second update will feature the first of a series of tours of King's Port, the largest city in the region.  !!!!MAXIS CONTENT WARNING!!!!!  Yep, I thought I would warn you beforehand that there is quite a bit of Maxis content, but as my MD is finished with the tours, we will start to update the current goings on and we will see all of this slowly disappear as I bring in my own and downloaded buildings.

Geography

   The Royal Islands are a small group of islands located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  They consist of six islands, King's Island, Blue Ocean Island, Alexander Island, Horus Island, Duke's Island, and Princess Island.  The two latter are commonly referred to as the Kidney Islands due to their resemblance of the human Kidneys.
   The islands are the summits of a large underwater mountain range that was transformed by a meteor strike some thousands of years ago.  The effects of this are most visible on Blue Ocean and Horus Islands.



Early History

Indigenous Peoples

   Although their origin is unknown, the Royal Islands were inhabited by a tribe of indigenous people long before the British settlers moved in.  It is believed they originated in western Africa because of their dark complexion, though this is unproven, it is the popular belief. 
   The tribe lived comfortably with each other until the talk about religion, or good vs. Evil arose.  There were some that believed Ztehunto, their version of God, lived up in the vastness of the sky, thus believing that Adorton, their version of the devil, lived deep below the surface of the ocean.  On the reverse side, others believed the exact opposite, Ztehunto lived in the sea, and Adorton's realm was up in the sky.  The two sides quarrelled about this issue for generations, and consequently two tribes where formed.  The Adeley people, believing the heavens were in the sky, and the Odokuk people, believing the heavens lay beneath the sea.
The two tribes did share one common belief though.  They believed that the ocean was as infinite as the sky.

Both sides would accuse each other of worshiping Adorton, and saw each other as evil.  The two tribes were constantly at war, but the arrival of British settlers changed everything.

The British

   The first British explorer arrived in the summer of 1603, his name was Alfred Woodsworth, although, his discovery was a complete accident.  On his way to the Americas with a British colony, he was caught in a massive storm that hits these islands once a month. He lost one of the three ships in his fleet due to the immense waves.  On the horizon he saw a rather large island and decided to hold there until the storm passed.
   The Adeley and Odokuk people took cover as this was the largest storm they have witnessed in their lifespan.  Waves battered the island and winds tore their huts from the ground into the sky.  A group of Adeley hunters, returning from a hunt, looked out onto the ocean and saw something they had never seen before.  A massive winged beast was coming from the horizon, the hunters hurried to their village as quick as they could.  They told the villagers of a winged beast coming from the ocean.  The village elders quickly agreed that this was Adorton's armies coming to destroy their people. 

Woodsworth's ships were badly damaged in the storm and could not make it to America; they sent a small ship back to England to bring help.  The settlers began to gather wood and other supplies, preparing for a long stay.  A group of British soldiers headed out to search the island, where they encountered a group of Adeley Hunters.  The hunters quickly began attacking the soldiers, killing at least three before the soldiers could open fire.  The loud crack of the guns firing killed some of the hunters and sent the others running.  That night the Adeley went to the British camp and slaughtered several of the settlers.  Infuriated the British soldiers then sent over one hundred soldiers into the woods in search of these tribesmen, their orders where to kill on sight.  As an Odokuk man returned to his camp after a long trek he told the villagers about the arrival of the British.  He also mention that they were killing Adeleys, and immediately the villagers assumed they were the Gods coming from the Ocean to rid these island of the Adeley.

   As the few British soldiers fought the Adeley tribes in what is now know as Alexander Island, they soon encountered the Odokuk. While the Adeley believed the British were the evil, the Odokuk saw them as the bringers of a new age of wonder; therefore, they treat the British very kindly.  The Odokuk offered them food, shelter, and even their women, as the men wanted their woman to bear the ""Seed of the Gods"".  For obvious reasons, the Brits grew fond of the Odokuk and they worked together to destroy the Adeley on all four other Islands (Horus Island was discovered years later).  The Adeley were not completely destroyed though, as more and more British settlers and military came to the Islands, they decided to give in, and accept them as their overlords. 
The relationship between the Odokuk, Adeley, and British began to get stronger and stronger as years went by and eventually the Odokuk and Adeley learned to speak English and were taught all the knowledge of the British at the time.  This included religion, math, science, geography and astronomy etc.  Thus, solving the age long dispute between the two tribes.

The first British settlers (mentioned previously) arrived at what is now known as Fort Alexander.  The Fort was used primarily used as a British Naval hub in the Atlantic during it's colonisation of the Americas.  It was also a ""pit-stop"" for all ships heading across the Atlantic. (I know, it's getting long........I'll wiz through it quick now ) Many of the settlers decided to stay, and were sent to what is now know as King's Port on King's Island, named for the British King James I.

After losing the Revolutionary War, British soldiers returning to England stayed in King's Port to avoid the shame back in Britain.   British citizens continued to immigrate to the Royal Islands until the 1900's.  During the first and second World Wars ,the Royal Islands were a focal point in the battle of the Atlantic and was heavily defended but British and American Navy's.  The Islands were used to train Canadian and American soldiers going to fight the war in Europe.  After WWII, the Military presence on the islands had vanished and immigration halted, with the Region's population sputtering at 140 000 residents.  It wasn't until the late 90's when the Region's economy skyrocketed and high-rise buildings, major companies and industry, and a huge boost in immigration from the US and Canada all coming to get a piece of the action........


If at any point you would like to know more about the Islands History post Revolutionary War, feel free to send me a PM and i'll get back to you.
MattyFo

[jmyers2043]

Hello MattyFo

Ah ... you're a story teller. That helps bring the pictures to life. Good luck with your diary.


Jim

[thingfishs]

Nice work MattyFo ,

a well written account of the history of the place, particularly the saga of the Adeley and Odokuk peoples. Who would've thought religion could have so destructive an influence.

Follow the sandal.... no!, follow the gourd... (Life of Brian paraphrase)

I don't suppose you'll be showing any of this history?, that would be cool. Particularly the first battles between the Adeley & British. Anyway good luck.

[rooker1]

Great opening. 
If your pictures are half as good as your story, we are in for a real treat.

Robin 

[Battlecat]

Excellent story!  I'm looking forward to seeing the images that go with this!

[Tomas Neto]

Fantastic start, and I'll return to see the new updates! 

[MattyFo]

UPDATE 1

REPLIES

jmyers2043:  Thank you!  I do enjoy telling tales, and I think it brings the city to life.

thingfishs:  I have not planned to show pictures of the early history, that's why it was just a story.  But perhaps as I run out of ideas down the road I could always do that.

rooker1: thanks Robin(rooker1)!! I hope you enjoy the picture, keep in mind I warned you about Maxis Content.

battlecat : Well here they are, enjoy.

Tomas Neto: thank you! And I hope you do come back.

WELCOME TO KINGS PORT!

Hope you enjoyed the flight, I know, it was long but what can you do?  When arriving in King's Port you will likely find yourself at Alfred C. Woodsworth International.  Sure, you could also have come by ship, and you thought the flight was long!?  The airport was constructed in during the First World War, bringing North American troops into Europe.  There is a major airport renewal project that is expected to start construction in the coming months, in order to handle the influx of tourism coming to the island. But you didn't come here just for the airport did you?  I didn't think so.  Before we hit the beaches and nightclubs, you will probably need a place to lay your head at night.  Luckily, King's Port offers a wide variety of hotels to accommodate the richest, poorest, laziest, and dumbest of the tourists.  I'll show you each hotel with a brief history of the building to help you make your choice.

His Majesty's Resort

His Majesty's Resort is located just off Main St. S and is on the coast of Salvation Bay.  Originally built in 1606, it was here where King James I would stay on his frequent visits to the Island.  Although it has gone through many changes over the years and underwent major renovation in 1926, it maintains its 17th Century theme in all its rooms.  I must tell you it is the city's most expensive stay, costing up to 8000$ a night.  The resort does have direct access to King's Beach, the city's premiere beach.

The Omni Hotel

Construction of this hotel had finished in 2005. It was built because of the major boost in tourism that the island is seeing in the 21st century. The hotel is located on Main St. S, directly across from His Majesty's Resort and the city's main ferry terminal.  This hotel provides its residents with a hotel very close to the beach, and right downtown, close to the majority of the action, and also a stone's throw away from the ferries, which can take you to any of the 5 other islands.

The Riviera Paradise Resort

This resort is located directly across from the city's main beach on Salvation Bay.  It finished construction in late 2008, and is in the process of building its own beach with direct access to the Resort.  This hotel is the most affordable of the resort hotels, and really, it is the only other Resort .  Though if you are  staying at this hotel, you will likely have to add a rental car to your budget.  The hotel is quite a ways from downtown and is a long walk from any major attractions.

The Sheraton

The Sheraton Hotel is located on beautiful Boardwalk Ave.  It is a very short walk from the beach, the King's Port Museum of History, The Royal Opera House,   and the brand new Utopian Mall, an underground shopping center.  Definitely the most economical of the city's hotels, a stay here will not cost you a lot and is right Downtown within walking distance of King's Park, and Saxon St. the cities premiere shopping district.

The Titanic Hotel

The Titanic Hotel was built in 1748, and has remained relatively unchanged since.  It has undergone some structural renovations due to damage from the storms (more on those another day).  It is located on Saxon St. in the historic center of the city, named Old King's Port.  Saxon St. offers a huge variety of clothing stores exclusive to King's Port.  Most of the stores are run by independent designers and many of the clothes sold here are "one of a kind".  The shops on Saxon St. are beginning to gain attention from the fashion community around the world as one the world's best places to shop.  Though the hotel is very expensive, if you love to shop you will most defiantly want to stay here.

Grand Hotel King's Port

This hotel is located right in the heart of downtown.  Situated on the corner of King's Boulevard and Center Drive W. It is well priced and close to all major businesses in the downtown area.  It was built in 1918 and was one of the first high-rise buildings in the city.  It is part of the area of town know to the locals as "Old Skyline", which is slowly being overshadowed by the new high-rises being built just to the east.

Royal Hotel and Casino

If you like to party, shop and gamble your vacation funds away, this is the hotel for you!!  Located in Northgate, this hotel is far from downtown and any of the beaches.  The hotel is right across from Northgate Pedestrian Mall, so you will have access to great shopping.  You are also only one block away from Club Atlantis, the hottest nightclub in the Atlantic.  The Casino does offer its share of drinking holes as well.  It is broken down into three themes, one being the Colonial Days, the other captures the feel of being back in the 40's during WWII, and the third being a ultra-modern underwater aspect.  In the latter, all your walls and the roof in your room is one big aquarium, it is truly breathtaking.

Hope I have helped you make your decision!  Next time I will tell you all about the interesting places to visit during your stay in King's Port.  Ciao! 

[bat]

Great start there and fantastic pictures of your city! Looking forward to more...

[canyonjumper]

Interesting update! Great pictures, and excellent start to what I'm sure will be an MD worth keeping an eye on !

                       -Jordan

[kwakelaar]

Nice start on your MD, I enjoyed reading about the history of the islands. The pictures from Kings Port look good and the city seems to be able to cater for all kinds of travellers.

[Tomas Neto]

Very nice images!!! Great work!!! 

[Battlecat]

Very nice job indeed!  I quite like your details you've used throughout these shots!

[MattyFo]

REPLIES

bat: THANK YOU! Sorry to make you wait so long for more tho
canyonjumper: THANK YOU!!
kwakelaar: Thanks, there will be more stories comming as I have always had a knack for storytelling
Tomas Neto: Thank you!!
battlecat: I'm glad you like it!




Not an official update just yet.  I have been really busy latley with RL stuff and barely found time for SC4.  And in the time I did manage to squeak in, I was working on a new BAT and also making my city of Fort Alexander more realistic.  When writing my story I forgot that I had originally made it a modern beach town, so I added a few new(old) buildings to make it look like it was the historic center I said it would be    Anywho, right after this I am going to open SC4 and take some pictures of King's Port and some region shots.  The next update will focus on recreation in and about King's Island.

[MattyFo]

Without further ado, here is my second official update.  Here we will focus on some of the recreational areas in King's Port, for tourists and local alike.

   To start, I feel that I was holding out on you guys by not showing you any region shot or overviews of King's Port.  So here they are, take some time to look over them.

Royal Islands

King's Port

Westhill


These shots don't do King's Port much justice in terms of its beauty and size, but it does give you an idea of where everything is located.  We're going to go ahead now and talk about some of the things one might do while in King's Port.



Pictured above is King's Park.  Located right in the middle of Downtown, it is the city's main Park.  Though it is not very big, it is very popular on weekday lunch hours, as hundreds of high school kids hang out here at lunch, and also office workers going for a stroll through the park.  King's Park often host various outdoor events such as music festivals, Arts and Crafts shows, and sporting events, check out the event guide to see what's going on while you are in town.



Staying Downtown, we now bring you the old Maxis Theatre.  Built in 1873, The Maxis Theatre is the oldest theatre in the Royal Islands.  It was used originally for live theatrical shows, like plays and monologues, but in the 1920's there was also a screen and projector added to show film as well.  The theatre is still running strong and continues to play films and live shows nightly.  Again check the theatres event guide to see what's playing tonight.



Now we bring you the city's main attraction, Salvation Beach.  The beach is located on the calm waters of the small Salvation Bay, where the first arrival of the British took place here on King's Port.  The beach is often very crowded with locals and tourists alike, though many locals make their way to private beaches near their homes.  Surfing is a very popular sport here in the Royal Islands, and Salvation Beach offers some of the best waves around, especially the east shore of the beach, which is on the ocean and not sheltered by the bay.  Construction of the new Utopian Mall, just north of the beach, finished early last year.  It is an underground mall that was built around the Storm Drainage canal.  The canal is an underground water way that collects rainwater from the Atlantic Storms that hit the islands once a month(on average).  The storms dump lots of rain on the islands and it pours for 48 hours straight. The water collected runs through the canal and is filtered in the building to the left of the mall, the water then flows back into the ocean.



Up next is Fishermen's Wharf, the city's first port but is no longer used for cargo, only fishing.  This is the place that the private fisherman on the island keep their boats and bring in there hauls.  The port hosts five ships, all of which are fishing boats.  The fishermen bring in their hauls everyday and some sell to local markets and processers while other sell the fish right here at the Wharf.  Also there are some shops along the pier, including a popular ice cream shop, making this a popular place to spend an afternoon.



Here we have Saxon Street, the oldest and busiest street in the city, located just in the northern part of Downtown.  Not busy in term of road traffic, but the sidewalks are packed with pedestrians.  Saxon Street offers some of the finest clothing stores in the world, most owned by private, local designers that make the clothing and sell it right from there shop.  Saxon also offers the Titanic Hotel, several bars and restaurants, as well as other stores besides clothing.  Much of the clothing sold here is one of a kind, meaning that the designers would not mass produce any of the clothing sold here.  There are enough clothing stores here to fit the taste of anyone looking for some new threads.  Every building here is like a little mall, where each floor is a different store as well as there being some shops underground, thus making the street level shops prime real estate.  During the day Saxon Street is littered with shoppers and Fashonistas, where at night the mood changers drastically and the street become littered with drunks and Bar stars as the nightlife here is phenomenal.  At night you can catch local musicians playing at some of the local bars, and the street is shutdown 3 times annually for the Jazz and Blues Festival,  Royal Island Heritage Festival, and the King's Port Arts Festival.



Aside from Saxon Street, there is also the Northgate Pedestrian Mall or, The Ped, as locals call it.  The Ped offers all the amenities of any large mall, and unlike Saxon Street this is where you would find the more mainstream clothing, popular among the American and Canadian immigrants. Here is where you will find famous brands like American Eagle, Abercrombie and Fitch, Billabong, Lululemon and so on.  On weekends the open areas of the mall often house a stage and local musicians will play live music.  The mall also host's the Royal Island Children's Festival.



Lastly we have the Memorial Sportsplex, located on the western end of Memorial Drive.  The Sportsplex has 3 Baseball diamonds, 2 American Football fields, one of which can be converted to a Soccer Pitch.  It also offers 2 Tennis Courts, an Olympic size outdoor pool, as well as the Ardel Outdoor Stage, which seats about 1000 people and is a popular venue for local musicians .  The large building in the center of the picture is the Royal Power Center, a multi-purpose arena that is used for large concerts, conventions, basketball games, hockey games, and every other indoor sports.  Just across the Royal Power Center, is the Archway Swimming pool, an underground Olympic size pool with arena type seating, this is where High school swim meets and diving competition are held.  The venues in the Sportsplex are used mostly by the local high schools, both Football Fields are used by King's Port High School and Victoria High School as their home fields.  High School sports are as popular here as the NHL is popular in Canada,  because the size and geography of the Islands, they are the only option for sports fans.  Once a player graduates high school they do have the option to play for city teams in the RISF (Royal Island Sporting Foundation), in the RISF each city in the RI has a team in each major spot here, Baseball, Football(American), Soccer, and Tennis.  Players in the RISF are paid (poorly) and can play for as long as they want or until the teams front office decides they are longer fit to play for the team or would rather bring in fresh young talent out of high school.


And that will about do it for Recreation here in King's Port, though there are many more interesting places to visit, like Museums, The Opera House, and many more.  Next time we will cover the economic part of the city, as well as some of the major businesses that call King's Port home.

Thanks for dropping by, feel free to leave comments to let me know what you think, also if you have any suggestions for something you would like me to go in depth and show in an update, feel free to do so.  After all I am doing this for you guys and girls, as well as myself, I guess.

[scott1964]

I like the tunnel leading under the hotel. Where did you get it?

[M.M.Malwin]

Very beautiful pictures especially with distant views and the view th region. The Pesentation is very nice too   

[canyonjumper]

Great stuff here, Matt! King's Park looks great .

                  -Jordan

[ecoba]

Some lovely work that you have showcased here, Matt. I'm really enjoying your pictures you have here, and there is a lot of variety in some of them. The descriptions are very nice, and they really make the updates special.

One thing I must ask though is that you convert your pictures from .PNGs to .JPGs. Your wonderful work is taking quite a while for my browser to load, and it takes even longer for some other users.

Ethan 

[MattyFo]

REPLIES!

scott1964:  The "tunnel leading under the hotel" Is accually "shmails 1x3 Parking set" It's available herehttp://www.simtropolis.com/stex/details.cfm?id=17876.  I particullay like this because I find SC4 lacks parking especially in dense downtown areas, so why not go underground 

M.M.Malwin  Thank you so much!

canyonjumper  Thanks Jordan!  I think I'm going to replace the Poplar and Birch trees with the Cottonwood trees that I have used as the standard tree in The Royal Islands

ecoba:  Thanks for the kind words Ethan!!  I appologise for the PNGs, this update will be all JPEG.  Is their a free tool for download to convert PNG to JPEG?  I did these ones through a website but I had to go one by one and each image took about a minute.  I would prefer a faster method

Development Update 1

This is the first of many Development Updates!  These will differ from the usual "City Tours" updates.   In the DU, I will discuss a current construction or development project underway somewhere in the Royal Islands.  And heeeerrreee we go!!! LOL

   Last year marked the completion of the new Emerald Park development, and along with it, the now tallest building in the Royal Islands the aptly named Emerald Park Building.  Pictured below is a teaser shot of the development (it will be covered further in the Fort Alexander City Tour).  The development has quickly become the envy of the region.  It boast the now largest Marina and three beautiful high-rise residential.

Emerald Park




King's Port has always been referred to as "the Pride of the Royal Islands"  but after a Blue Ocean Times newspaper headline read "Emerald Park Marina becomes pride of the Region" ,  King's Port city officials and developers quickly put meetings together to discuss ways to "out-do"  Fort Alexander's latest project.   Mike Robinson, King's Ports city planner, and Ronald Van Derrisson,  CEO of Hedman Developers the city's premier development company,  have chosen the eastern shore of King's Island as the site for a development similar to Emerald Park.  The city has announced that that this new development will have a large Marina, almost triple that of Fort Alexander, as well as several small shops and say that this area will become a premier location for tourist and locals to spend a nice afternoon and evening on the beautiful waterfront.




An overview of the area that will be the location of the new development.  Construction has already started as crews will need to extend the land further into the sea, as well as level out the land along the coast.  The landscaping of the area will be a long term project and during that time local architects, designers and urban planners are already working on the buildings that will be built in the near future.




The first thing construction crews had to do was to remove the trees that lined the coast,  The trees are chopped, cleaned of leaves and branches and then are sent via truck to a local woodworking company that will turned these trees into materials for the upcoming construction.



Extra logs are taken to the collection point and are picked up throughout the workday.




The Cliffside is slowly being chipped away by heavy construction equipment, the rocks and soil from the Cliffside is placed in the "mulcher"  and it is crushed into a gravel like compound.  This fellow is in charge of taken this gravel and putting it into the water to build the foundation for the land extension of the area. 

Not visible in any of the pictures is the Underwater Construction Crew.  This crew is responsible for building an underwater barrier that will hold all the gravel and be the contours of the land extension.  Communication is very important between the underwater crew and the guys moving the gravel to the water.  The UCC also takes the gravel from the water line and moves it deeper into the sea.  When the UCC are done making a level base below sea-level, their jobs will be replaced by ships that will dump gravel and soil as well as concrete to create a large base for the land extension. 

Construction of the new development will continue throughout the coming weeks, even months.  I will be sure to keep you informed on its progress throughout the MD and just so you know, I will be doing all the BATS and custom lots for this new development myself, except of course for PEG's Marinas and waterfronts.  There will be an avenue going through the middle, on the Westside of the avenue (northside if you are looking at the pictures above) will be 2 tiles deep allowing for several 2x2 lots, likely going to be Modern W2W about 3 or 4 storeys high.  On the ocean side of the avenue will be PEG's marina lots and maybe a few large commercial buildings just to add some more Skyline to the city.

[sumwonyuno]

Well, you certainly got my attention!    I really like the region shot!