Re: Santa Barbara County - Update: The End.

[marsh]

Great work. I still love your detail in your transit networks.

,marsh

[Ol.S / Benoit]

Wow ! I love this update, such a great work...
Picture 36.2 is really amazing !

[Nexis4Jersey]

Wow , the amount of detail you pour into one area is simply amazing     Can i assume your going to recreate some famous Double Decker freeways that used to be in Cali when the next RHW comes out?

[bat]

Great pictures of the highway! Nice work on it!

[Exla357]

I think "The elevated sections have not been widened yet" is code for "RHW 5.0 hasn't come out yet so until that happens the freeway stays narrow." 
The I-5 - 101 interchange IS a traffic nightmare, and that's a lot coming from a Californian! I think the all time worst freeway interchange in southern California is the 405 - 101 interchange in Los Angeles. The thing is built extremely well, but even with 12 lanes each, both those freeways are extremely over capacity and rush hour is simply impossible. But seriously? 3 150 foot radius 90 degree curves to make a 90 degree transition? With 1/4 the capacity? Not even in California 

EDIT: Why not just use an 8s-Dual RHW4 splitter B, curve it to the north, then use a MIS splitter? In theory it takes up the same amount of space:
Sorry about my bad paint job!


Question: Where can I find that huge red and white tower at I-5 <-> Los Positas Road?
Great job with this MD though, definitely on my top 5 all time favorites    I'm glad you had a good time in Norway and am looking forward to more Santa Barbara County!
Not to nag or anything, but you still need to fix your train skin 

All the best,
Alex 

[blade2k5]

blade2k5:Thanks, it is a great map to play on. I wonder if it is really scaled 1:1. When comparing to Google Earth I had the impression that it is a bit compressed. The hills seem higher than in reality and the slopes steeper. But this could also be due to SC4's odd scaling where it is almost impossible to build houses on the hills like in real Santa Barbara.

It's accurately scaled and was compressed in NHP's version of terraformer using the compressor tool for elevation lows/heights.  Could be it's a terraformer issue.

Fantastic update by the way.

[kelis]

I like so much your city Rick, This American style looks perfect in Simcity4, Keep up the good work mate 

[io_bg]

Very realistic and well built highway system! Nice work

[Nanami]

Realistic intersection! a thing that can't be done by maxis highway. 

[wallasey]

Your work with RHW is amazing! I wish I could do all those things! I really enjoyed the trumpet interchanges. One hopes the sim residents appreciate this fine work and use em'!!

[GreekMan]

Great work Sir! Looking forward to when you come back!

[RickD]

Sim Santa Barbara County now has over one million inhabitants in its three cities! Time for a new region pic.

37.1

Click for full size (3 Mb).

In today's update we will visit Montecito.

37.2

Living near the ocean in South Montecito. The highway is I-5.

37.3

The SBlink station in South Montecito.

37.4

Shopping centers and warehouses near the Interstate exit.

37.5


37.6


37.7

Houses between the Interstate and the Pacific Ocean.

37.8

You could call this Downtown Montecito.

37.9

Plaza del Sol Shopping Center.

37.10


37.11

US-101 sneaking through the suburbs.

37.12




Replies:

marsh, Ol.S / Benoit, bat, blade2k5, kelis, io_bg, 976, wallasey, GreekMan:
Thanks for your comments.

Nexis4Jersey:

Can i assume your going to recreate some famous Double Decker freeways that used to be in Cali when the next RHW comes out?

I am eagerly waiting for it.

Exla357:

I think "The elevated sections have not been widened yet" is code for "RHW 5.0 hasn't come out yet so until that happens the freeway stays narrow."

But seriously? 3 150 foot radius 90 degree curves to make a 90 degree transition? With 1/4 the capacity? Not even in California

I agree. It's ridiculous.  Your solution is very clever. But there wasn't enough room. I guess I need to accept the fact that the industrial area will have to be demolished to make room for a more realistic interchange. I'll wait for RHW 5.0, though.

Not to nag or anything, but you still need to fix your train skin

You must have eagle eyes. I was sure I'd get away with it once more.  It is fixed now:

Better? 
Please don't mind the trees. It is only a quick demo picture.

[Sciurus]

Wonderful update man,  I particularly like the region overview, which is amazing!

Guillaume

[noahclem]

Great update and congratulations on 1.000.000 inhabitants, done in a very quality way!  You really do an excellent job with RHW, NWM, and rail networks and I look forward to seeing what you do with their updated versions as well 

[kwakelaar]

Again some very interesting updates, and quite impressive getting to the 1 million mark considering the way you are building.
Seems you did enjoy your holidays in Norway, you have certainly been seeing some of the most beautiful nature the country can offer. I have been travelling that route a few times myself. Taking the ferry into Geiranger (if the weather is nice) is something I think is rather spectacular.
Now only 4 more days of work and I am off.

[Exla357]

Really great job here, Rick! You never cease to amaze me. Region shot is unbelievable!

-Alex

[apeguy]

Hey RickD, long time lurker, first time poster.

I just want to say that your MD is one of the finest I've ever seen, and your skill in SC4 is amazing. Your work with the RHW is excellent, and your version of Santa Barbara, while not an actual recreation of the real thing, is still very realistic and well-made, and I always look forward to new updates from you.

Keep up the good work.

[Evillions8]

Great work! 

[Tomas Neto]

Fantastic!!! Very nice city, great work!!!   

[Kevin1a]

Great update.  I'm interested to see what new options the RHW5 will bring you (and the rest of us), and how it will change this interchange.  Of course, when it comes down to it, we can't just expand roads forever.  I would like to see continued expansion of mass transit options. 

One friendly critique: Won't the avenue next to the SBlink station in South Montecito suffer from the same problem as the one in Santa Barbara did?  Trains slowly pulling out of the station will block the road much longer than trains breezing through a crossing en route.