Eden: The New Frontier

[kelis]

Great update, you are doing a great job with your futurist region !!



# Jonathan

[Terring7]

UNLEASH THE ROBOTS!!!

[noahclem]

Nice start on the new colony Elias    Looking forward to seeing how it develops 

[TWJNN]

  赞啊 。国外朋友就是高啊
      so fantasitic ！ you're so imaginative

[apeguy]

Ah, a new colony I see. I look forward to seeing how this one develops, especially with the diagonal roads.

[Terring7]

Keep building...

[Terring7]

The today's page is inspired by the 19th century Martian Madness. This is the time was erroneously believed that there were canals on Mars, made by an extraterrestrial civilization. These were a network of long straight lines that appeared in drawings of the planet Mars, first observed by the Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli in 1877, and "confirmed" by later observers like the American Percival Lowell.



Schiaparelli called these lines canali (natural rivers), which whoever was translated into English as canals (artificial channels). By the early 20th century, improved astronomical observations had revealed the "canals" to be just an optical illusion. Modern high resolution mapping of the Martian surface by spacecraft shows no such features, only dried rivers and canyons.

Framly: Thanks

noahclem: Glad to see that you like it

kelis: Thank you

noahclem: I hope that you'll like the result

TWJNN: Thank you, σ' ευχαριστώ

apeguy: Hope that you'll like it

Page 44: Visitors?

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages."
William Shakespeare

In the dense Hellenic (Greek) forest, there is an old forgotten observatory with a dark secret. A small group of explorers found a small book that belongs to an unknown Greek astronomer called Aristarchus Matsopoulos. Matsopoulos observed Mars during the early 20th century.



In 1915 A.D. (54 B.T.), during the World War I, Aristarchus Matsopoulos notice a brightly shine in the Martian surface. The shine appeared close to the Martian equator and disappeared almost immediately. It was a volcano? A meteor impact? A signal from an intelligent specie?



Because of the catastrophic World War I, Aristarchus Matsopoulos hide his notes in the observatory and disappeared. Nobody knows what happened to him.

150 years later, in 2065 A.D. (94 A.T.), floating robots scans the Argyre Basin to found any evidence about it.



And they found it!



In the middle of a crater the robots discovered 9 white structures, 150 years old, just in the place where Aristarchus Matsopoulos saw the mysterious shine.



This infrastructure looks like a small alien colony. But there is nobody here to live.



But who made them? And why?



Maybe those structures are communication devices.



Communication with what?



There are many theories about them. Obviously they didn't made by the native Ancient Martians, so most probably was made by extrasolar explorers. From where the Visitors came? What they want on Mars? Are they still somewhere here in the Solar System? Could we communicate with them? Did they also build some of the strange structures, like the Marshenge in Respect-8 and the pyramid in Life-6? If yes, why?





And what was this mysterious shine? An energy bust? A communication beacon? A signal? And what's the message?



But what if the Visitors was actually the Ancient Martians? Are they still alive, somewhere in the Solar System?

Maybe the answer of the question "are we alone?" is not between the distant stars, but somewhere much closer to us!

[noahclem]

Nice (and mysterious) update Elias    You have my interest piqued. Next stop Sim-Callisto? 

[carlfatal]

I think i have to look more into here, every time i do so i like what i see. Your MD has a really special flair, psychedelic is a good word for it...
But also it is impressing and well made. Especially i like that biodome, looks awesome! 
Greetz, Carl

[Terring7]

Oops!... The Chinese community did it again

[noahclem]

Nice new rocket    Spaceport looks good, space looks better 

[Terring7]

It seems that I don't have anymore the spirit to run Eden and build new colonies. My original plans was to make a unique story about the space colonization, the rise of Homo Superior and the creation of a huge intergalactic civilization, made by both Sims and aliens. A story that begun somewhere in the 21st century on Mars and goes beyond the death of our Universe. However I don't feel that I really want to even play Simcity. Maybe this is only temporary and new colonies will rise soon. Maybe this is the finale of Eden. I don't know either. Only time will tell...

[Schulmanator]

I hope to see you back soon. You have great stuff!

[noahclem]

It would be a shame if Eden didn't continue. Your MD is very enjoyable, well thought out, unique, and a "breath of fresh air" (or a breath of vacuum depending on the setting  ).

I hope you decide to continue before long but if you don't I hope your enjoying whatever else it is you decide to spend your time on 

Until next time friend 

[Terring7]

After a break, Eden is back with new ideas and new stories. I still don't have the spirit to make new mayor colonies like Hope-1, but still it's a good idea to stay tuned for new surprises

noahclem: We'll visit Callisto soon

carlfatal: Check the new pages for a more psychedelic feeling

noahclem: Thanks . By the way, the rocket is from Simcity 3000. Check the link to get it

Schulmanator: I hope that you'll like my new stuff as well

noahclem: It's indeed a breath of fresh air... Martian air. So don't forget your space suit

Page 45: Heaven and Hell

"It looks like the future's really bright"
Michael P. Anderson

Sometimes you need to explore the darkness to find the light. The greatest oasis will be found only in deserts. If not, they can be created. By who? By the people who see a problem and consider it as a cool challenge for something better.

Mars is the place to be. This planet is mostly a cold hell of low gravity, no oxygen and lack of ozone layer. At the first sight, Mars is a truly dangerous planet to live.



The surface of Mars is naked from water and plants. A -63 degrees Celsius planetary desert, full of dust, stones and rocks. There are mostly dangerous cliffs and ancient craters, naked mountains and dry ice. It's atmosphere is 100 thinner that the Terran one, with 95.32% carbon dioxide and without ozone layer. Martian geysers and dust storms makes Mars an even more dangerous planet. For most people, Mars is a cold hell.

















But this planet was a heaven in the distant past, at least for a while. A beautiful Earth-like planet with oceans and denser atmosphere rich with oxygen. The perfect elements for life. Today however only a few plants and animals evolved and survived. This includes the peaceful Martian bears, the flying Martian sirens and the dangerous Martian sandworms.







Not only that. This planet was the cradle of an alien civilization known as "Ancient Martians". There are plenty of ancient structures on Mars made by them, from pyramids to exotic technological devices. What happen to them? Are they dead? Did they abandon Mars? If yes, where are now? Are they abandon the Solar System as well? Or they are still here, somewhere in the Solar System, watching and waiting?





This was only a part of the history of Mars. What about the future? The future begun recently. In the beginning of the 21st century, an another civilization came and colonized the red planet. This civilization came from a blue neighbour planet called Earth. Those colonists came here on Mars as explorers, researchers, dreamers and designers of something new and beautiful.





Today Mars is alive... sort of. It's still a dangerous desert, this time covered of huge cities and small colonies, tall arcologies and underground metropolises. A new civilization is rising here, above the remnants of an ancient one. Any Sim who came here from the Earth or the Moon, or born here on Mars, called SimMartians. Thanks to SimMartians, a cold hell is turning into a new heaven.



















The SimMartians are not here to rebuild the primitive societies of Earth, but to build a new one. A global society based on the knowledges, the wisdom and the methodology of science. A society that understands it's truly place to the vastness of the Cosmos and the responsibility for this. A society of wise citizens of the Cosmos.





A new creative society, with no "limits that everybody must respect". A truly educated society based on the wise use of technology, building a better way of living and thinking.





We are not talking about an utopia however, but a highly realistic science-based world without pollution, without laws, without politics, without religion fanaticism, without money and slavery, without elitism for the few and starvation for the rest, without fake peace and fake democracy, without racism and ignorance.

Is this possible? YES IT IS!













Welcome back to Mars, where everything is possible

[noahclem]

I'll join you    Let's hope for and work towards a beautiful future! Thanks for the enjoyable read 

[nbvc]

Great update.

[Terring7]

Never, never, NEVER use postimage.org to upload your pictures. After some days releasing my last page, I discovered that all the pictures of Mars and it's colonies disappeared from the forum! I fix it by uploading them in Photobucket and I hope that now are visible again. They are, right?

[Terring7]

Thank you very much for the comments . Just remember that lurking is not so recommend

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Time to make something different and take a small brake from the story. Time to build a Martian colony from scratch. First, let's make a small terraforming. For this "tutorial" we'll use a large map to have enough room to play. So here we are...



Nice, isn't? Of course Mars is not a flat planet, so let's make the place more interesting. The Martian surface has dried lakes and rivers, as well as hills, cliffs and craters. Let's use the Erosion tool to make those basic details. Play with it as much as you wish, until you get the result you want.



We have the basics, like small craters and cliffs. We want however more, so let's raise some hills and use the Erosion tool again to change them a bit. Mars doesn't have running liquid water in the surface and the wind are weaker than on Earth, so don't overdo it with erosion or you'll lose the hills.







Let's make some dead rivers. Mars had plenty of water and there are many dried rivers to prove that. Let's use the Canyon tool to make a river and then the Erosion tool. Just like before, don't overdo it or you'll lose the river.





And finally, let's make some craters. UNLEASH THE METEORS!!







Click the Erode button only once or twice to affect the whole map and that's it! Sit back and enjoy, with only a few clicks you made a basic but still exotic enough Martian landscape.



Remember that Mars have many interesting kind of surface formations, so feel free to take it to extreme. How about steep canyons, seas of dry ice and magnificent craters.







No matter what however, it's highly recommend to check some pictures to get the inspiration. Always have in mind that Mars is very different from Earth, so learn the Martian rules and play with them.



In the next entry we'll build a small colony in this area. Don't forget your space suits

[Terring7]

Thanks for the... lack of comments

Now that we have a nice place to play, it's time to build a colony.



Remember that playing Simcity on Mars isn't the same with the Terran version. There are no historical cities with landmarks like castles and ruins, except if they made by aliens. Also Mars is a dangerous planet, so living there is really challenging. Plan your colony in order to be as efficient as possible. Forget realism and rules. In order to survive, you need to think out of the box.

The design style of both buildings and cities defined for Mars is called Utilitarian design. As the name already implies, it's main characteristic is functionality and efficiency, not realistic beauty. This style is defined by its simple and minimalistic building approach. The colonists will not care about huge luxurious buildings that waste plenty of resources, especially if they don't protect them from the low temperatures, the low atmospheric pressure, the U.V. rays because of the lack of ozone layer, the solar winds because of the weak magnetic field. So without those "ugly" and "unrealistic" buildings and cities, the colonists will be dead! Besides, the Utilitarian design brings also plenty of advantages, like faster construction, upgrading and recycling. The circular cities of the Venus Project is a great example.



Having those in the mind, let's build a small colony. I like giving each colony a geometrical or symbolic shape, to give a variety in the colonies. There is no N.A.M. in SimMars, so the layout of the colony will be a bit limited. No diagonal streets and underpasses. But hey, this isn't the end of the world.



Let's connect the colony with the rest of civilized Mars. The red planet is so dangerous, that living in the outside for too long is not recommend. This is why we need really fast connections. Subways are the best solution, because they're very fast and fully protected from the Martian conditions. For this page however, we'll build a magnetic railroad with roads next to it.



Don't forget to build enough stations.



Medical needs are very high here on Mars, so always build clinics to your colonies, even in the smallest colonies.



The atmosphere on Mars doesn't have oxygen, so fires stations are useless. But wait, there is something more dangerous than fire. Because of the low atmospheric pressure, even a small crack can destroy the whole building and kill all the colonists inside of it! So always build decompression stations to keep the buildings safe and one piece.



And don't forget to give food to your colonists by zoning indoor farms.



Everything needs energy, so build enough power plants. Winds here on Mars are too weak, so windmills are useless. Solar energy is a good idea, but have in mind the distance between Mars and the Sun. So don't expect Earth style efficient. If you want to build bigger colonies, throw from the window your environmental worries and build nuclear reactors! Oh, and don't forget to give your colonists water and the technology to recycle their "garbage".



Let's build a simple layout. Remember, no diagonal streets because of lack of Martian N.A.M., so don't complain.



Oops, I didn't take photos during the construction. But who cares? As you can see, I zoned for factories in the outside of the colony, so the freight trucks can carry their products in other colonies faster and easier. Of course it's a good idea to build industries inside the colony as well. Those factories will take the natural resources of Mars and turn them into useful products, like 3D printers and quantum computers. Those products will store in shops, making them available for everyone. So make some commercial zones close to the factories as well. Don't fill the rest of the layout with residential zones however, because you'll need some space for parks, civil buildings like schools, rewards and landmarks like museums. Don't be shy and give to your colonists the best you can. They live in a dangerous planet, so they deserve it.





The colony is ready. I wonder how it will evolve...