Terraforming Teton

[keithsed]

It is TERRIFIC as is without human developement!  I guess I'm an environmentalist at heart when I see something like this.

I feel like telling the pilot to fly around again, I missed looking at something in the lake.

Your work Sim4 work is GREAT!

Keith

[Ajax]

The pics are just beautiful!  Very natural and inviting.

[mightygoose]

wow that is some real impressive work there, great updates and im looking forward to more... i assume you were using the terraformer for the trees???

[your_adress_here]

Whoa, that's some great forestry there. I can't wait to see some more, so keep up the great work!

[pvarcoe]

Update 7, replies and finally some mountain shots.



Replies

Giligone - Thanks Giligone and welcome to Teton. Your comments are very generous.
dedgren - Hey David.Thanks for the comment on the indexing. And your encouragment on the storyline is much appreciated.
emilin - Hi emilin. Thank you! On one hand I almost feel bad building on it, but on the other hand I am just "chomping at the bit" to get going on development.
bat - Hi bat. Mountains coming up!
Alek King of SC4 - Welcome Alex. Thank you. Your work has always impressed me and inspired me.
thundercrack83 - Welcome back! The water mod I'm using is the "SMP Paradise Blue Water Mod".
Darmok - Hi John and welcome here. It's a wonderful site and it's growing by leaps and bounds. Thank you for your kind comments and drop in anytime. I'm looking forward to more updates in Anduin Valley.
keithsed - I hear ya Keith. It is almost a shame to develop on this land .
Ajax - Hi again Ajax. Welcome back and thank you!
mightygoose - Welcome to Teton mightygoose. The trees are completely done using the god-mode flora brush. I am using the Olympic tree controller by cycledogg (which creates the types of trees and the patterns the occur in).
your_adress_here - Thank you, your_adress_here!



Mountains

Mountains run from north to south in the Teton region.
Several ranges sit on the western edge of the region and create a formitable barrier to the neighboring valleys.

I'll start with the most southernly range. These mountains rise up from the western shoreline of Lake Jackson.
We can just see the edge of the lake and moving west(up) immediately begin to gain elevation.



This shot gives a good sense of how the snowline and treelines interact using the terrain, snow, and tree mods.



The next few shot progressively zoom in.
We get to see the interesting mix of trees and textures.









Moving northward reveals a few more of the ranges.
In future updates we will take a closer look at these and start to put names to some of the peaks and valleys.






I like this screenshot. It is one of the highest elevation spots in the region, and has one of the densest areas of year round snow cover.



Another very cool range with some pretty unique shapes of mountains.



Last shot for today shows off the "Teton" range.
Peaks included in this range are the Grand Teton, the Middle Teton, and the South Teton.



That's about it for this update.
Next update will continue with detailing and more close-ups of mountain ranges.
And maybe we'll get into an introduction of rail back into the area.
Plus a map that will start putting names to places.
It's easier to follow along with names in place IMO.

Thanks for checking Teton out!

[dedgren]

Edges of the snowpack- incredible!  What snow mod are you using?

Same for the rock mod.  Is that one of CP's newer ones?  I've experimented with a bunch of mix and match CP files (it's actually quite fun to play with them and watch what happens), but I have never

...ever...

come up with anything that looked that good.

My brother did seasonal work for eight years (!) after he graduated from college on a railroad track gang so that he could have the winter off and be a ski bum in Jackson (his winter job was "housesitter").  Watching your region is doing a lot to sort that out for me 25 years later.  What an amazing place!


David

[bat]

wonderful mountains and nice snow! Fantastic using of trees!

[petercintn]

Somewhere somebody said "Best mountains ever."  I'm old and don't remember if it was in this diary or not.  If not, it needs to be.  I am amazed.

[rw0381c]

  Simply amazing! Can't wait to see the development!

[Giligone]

Unbelievable! Thats soooo good! I'm blown away. Keep it up man! Looking forward to the rail line.

Question, which mountain is which in that Teton range?

[thundercrack83]

Every time I check this place out, I am even more impressed with how great this is, especially the main Teton range. I'll be looking forward to your next update, especially the introduction of rail!

And thanks for the heads-up on that water modd!

[nedalezz]

Those are some incredible, majestic mountains! I gotta say my favorite is how you've done your valleys; it doesnt get anymore realistic than that.

[Badsim]

A true masterpiece !!!     

[keithsed]

Truly great terraforming!

The peaks with the snow and where you've placed the trees, is OUTSTANDING

Keith

[beskhu3epnm]

The terrain of the map is one thing, the way the snow, trees, and water all mesh together is a work of art.

When I purchased SC4 back when it first came out, I could have never imagined that this type of work could ever be done.

Creds to the map makers, cycledogg for the terrains, and pvarcoe for the work of art that we can all see here! This is stunning, and development (after some more showcasing) is the logical next step.

It may be sufficient to say that you are playing SC5 over there. Amazing!

[Livin in Sim]

 

Hi, Phil,

To describe your work, I have to think way back to something Mama used to say.  Your region is "...purtier than a speckled pup in a red wagon."  Believe me, that's darn purty, because I'm not at a loss for words very often.  I do believe you have taken SC4 landscape design to a new level.  Those who have modified the game to help you arrive at this are also to be commended.

I will be interested to see how your high standards carry over to the rest of the planning and layout--count me in--and I'll be taking notes all the way!

--Liv

[Yoder7652]

wow...this is some impressive terraforming you've got going on here. It is all very realistic right down to the tree placement. Great job.

[Alek King of SC4]

I remember snowboarding in Jackson hole 2 years ago and the grand teton representation is very nice.  Also shot #2 is the best awesome loook at the snow in the ravines incredibly realistic.

[Darmok]

Hey Phil,
Those are some of the best snow pics I've seen so far in SC4!

Simply beautiful! 

[pvarcoe]

Update 8, a mini update



Replies Thank you all who have left kind comments and questions.
Unfortunately, I have been extremely busy this week at work and home.
So I am unable to do a full update, or address the replies individually.
My next update will address all the recent replies.
Again, many thanks, you guys are great!


Next update I'll get to the promised mountain shots and a map with names.
Here's a few pictures of the new rail line into the region to tide you over.
This line will be critical, to physically connect the isolated towns to the outside world.
The line currently runs along the eastern shore of Jackson lake.
It was a very difficult rail line to lay, taking approx 7 months.


The rail line was built starting in the south and moving north along the shoreline.
The original two lane blacktop highway ran parallel to this rail, but now sits at about 20 meters below the level of the lake.



Several bridges were required along this rail line.
The detailing is not quite finished yet, but you get the idea.



Even further north we approach another bridge.
This angle gives a good idea of the twists and turns in this rail line.



Zooming in a little closer allows a better look at one of the maxis rail bridges.




Thanks to all for visiting Terraforming Teton.