Farms North of Grasmere () My SC4 MD Scrapbook

[vortext]

As I tend to look the pictures over before properly reading an update, I can tell your attention to the area in pic #11 paid of, immediately caught my eye. The trailer homes are very neat as well btw!

Also, in my book you were already cranking out full fledged updates. .  definitely looking forward to the coming weeks! 

[metarvo]

Wow-wee!    To think this was only a teaser!  The diagonals are of course stunning as usual ( ) .  Furthermore, the inclusion of details such as parking lots add so much usability and realism to the W2W districts, such as the one in pic #7.  In this particular picture, that bookstore reminds me so much of the bookstores I've sometimes seen in downtown areas where all sorts of rare used books can be found in addition to the latest must-reads.  You get a cohesiveness with W2W that certainly can't be matched with an array of Maxis flea markets and used car dealers. 

I think I'll have to read this one more than once to fully grasp the beauty.  Great job!

[art128]

Quite an interesting city. The diagonal areas are well done and the overview is great. Also the does CBD really give a LA atmosphere.

[Vizoria]

Replies:

vortext: Cheers! I put in some extra weeks working on the Erinsberg foothills because I realised they needed to be as detailed as the city itself.

metarvo: Thank you! I have used a lot of diagonal buildings, the most in any city to date, to fill in Erinsberg. Additionally, I downloaded further W2W buildings to really improve upon the variety.

art128: Thanks! This city will become more interesting when see the rural-to-suburban-to-urban transitions.

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So to start off this entry I would like to say the following:

Erinsberg is going to be my final city, I have been taking my time as I push myself to the limit with both the urban and rural scenes. But right now there are other interesting things that I am doing- story-writing is the main one and even if I do get a hankering for city simulators then any future entries will be with Cities: Skylines. Recent mods have made this game very interesting, VERY interesting, especially the prop line placer mod which has made me think about the easy ways of creating fields and fencing with it.

I am very proud of what I have accomplished with Erinsberg and what I got out of SC4 in the process. But the game's limits means that any future interest in city building will require a new and more flexible medium- which is C:S. This entry is one final teaser before I get the rural scenes finished in Erinsberg. I should be done sometime in late June or early July. Then I post fifteen or so entries because this city is ridiculously detailed and varied. Then I quit!

The lure of story-writing is becoming stronger and I can't deny these ideas, these stories, these characters and these plots in my head. It's time to put fantasies to paper, or to a word document, and explore an outlet which has far greater emotional connections for me. So enjoy these teaser pictures of my work, and it is work being this God-darn methodical, as I experiment with MMPs. Most of these pictures you will have seen in the "Show us your Nature" topic. This entry is a collection of those plus there are several additional pictures.

And finally may I reiterate- what you see in these pictures are pure raw SC4 pictures. There is no photoshop nor LE; just combinations of the various options which are presented to me because of the various plugins I downloaded.

Enjoy!

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{---}

So that's a preview of what I have been currently working on. There is still much more to complete and I also have plans for a small lumber operation to spice things up.

The next entry will be posted some time in late June / early July. This will be a proper update and at last explore the numerous details of Erinsberg and the foothills to the north.

See you then.

[Vizoria]

Note: Use this link if the mosaic becomes blurry- http://imgur.com/a/gMhgj

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Welcome to Erinsberg

At long last this city is finally complete, it only took three and a half months but it was worth it. This entry will show an overview of the key areas, after that the rest of the entries will delve into the depth, variety and detail of each of these areas and more. So stay tuned for some special sights. There is also a bit of a story behind this city's creation but that is for another day.

Right!

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One of the overviews of the main city area. I used a special tweak to get the automata and the Sims showing at lower zooms.


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The city centre.


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Bolsmarth Industrial Zone.


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Downtown- southeast of the city centre.


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Cromney- named after Gregory Cromney who built the first major automobile plant in Erinsberg. The plant still exists to this day and Cromney is a low to mid-density residential area interspersed with industrial estates and heavier industry.


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Five Pines- a rather notorious poor area where these tacky tower blocks of the 1960s still reside. The city council have not yet got around to refurbishing these tower blocks. Five Pines is east of the city centre.


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Sanariya Hills. One of the wealthiest suburbs in Erinsberg. It can be found north-east of the city centre.


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Lower down is Stalag's Range and to the top of the picture is Helga's Pass. The famous Hollywood sign marks the south-facing side of Stalag's Range. These two hills form part of the Denover Mountain Range which borders the north of Erinsberg.


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West Erinsberg.


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Scatchum. A mixed low/medium wealth suburb with heavier industry to the north and east. This can be found to the southeast of the city centre.


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Flander's Hills. Gentle rolling hills marked a mixed used area where the national park has permitted limited pastoral farming.


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Vellum Drive. A rather prosperous area with shops and offices popping up amongst the wealthier housing.


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Victoria's Quarter. An older section of the city where a lot of the older, pre 20th century, buildings are still standing.


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Claudia Green. A predominantly middle class area found northeast of the city centre.


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Delanio's Marketplace. Despite the modernization, the numerous tower blocks and substantial office buildings. In the centre of this can be found the only remaining piece of Delanio's Marketplace- contained in one city block. The marketplace used to be THE centre of the city in the 19th century.


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Anthlem- directly north of the city centre, this suburb clings on to the foothills of the Denover Mountain Range. Just north of Anthlem is the famous Falling Water building which is a major tourist attraction.


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In front of Chunder's Mound, the Griffith Observatory overlooks Claudia Green, Sanariya Hills and beyond. This is the second of three highly famous landmarks placed along the Denover Mountain Range. If only the game was 3D, I'm sure the view would be spectacular... Then again there is always Cities: Skylines to do the job... Hmm...


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And last, but not least, is Polynomial Flats. There is a very rich office area immediately east of the city centre and further eastwards still is another middle class suburb.


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And that marks an end to this overview.

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This Friday the detailed tour of Erinsberg begins in Polynomial Flats. Why there you might ask? It was one of the first areas I finished and the main reason for inspiring me to expand Erinsberg further.

See you then!

[Simmer2]

Nice!!

I see some props missing from my train repair yard, you trimmed it?

Nick

[metarvo]

Polynomial Flats, a most intriguing name!  Let's just say you have the solution with this update.  The night view of the office buildings is crisp.  Details such as clear-cut areas really shape the terrain.  In addition, the Bolsmarth industries in Erinsberg pic #3 are nicely laid out, with the parking lots and concrete near the warehouses.  Good job, Vizoria!

[art128]

As usual a very interesting mix of different building style.

[Guest]

As I said on ST, great job. I'm eager to see more!

[Themistokles]

Looks great! Spacious, as any car dependent city must be, yet proportionally laid out. Neighbourhoods are well crafted, and seamlessly transition into each other. Long story short, despite big roads, I quite like Erinsberg!

[Vizoria]

Replies:

Simmer2: Thank you! As for those props, well I may have missed a few dependency packs, and quite possibly dependencies of the dependencies. There were a lot of dependencies in your lists!

metarvo: Yeah the name came about because of all the maths I did during my degree. I also wanted the Berner Oberland terrain to show because its real beauty comes from slopes and higher elevations. Thanks for your comment!

art128: I've got to mix it like crazy to keep the building repetition to a minimum and to also distinguish each area.

000: And there is plenty more to come!

Themistokles: Thank you! Somehow, with every city I build, I kind of forget about mass transit- except for the railways of course, but they are more obvious.

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Entry 58: Polynomial Flats

So here is a mixture of high wealth offices, medium wealth housing, spacious car parks and other forms of greenery. Enjoy!

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For all parking queries please look at KingOfSimCity's parking sets.


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FrankU's Dutch Parks blend in nicely with the car park's grass textures.


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A lot of the office buildings are Mattb325 creations.


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SimFox's ThermoFisher Scientific- a classic staple of hi-tech custom buildings.


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As for Mattb325's content, just download it all, all of it as it will make things easier.


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By using the building plop cheat, and Mattb325's useful lot names, I placed in pretty much every one of his office buildings in this city.


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Combining Mattb325's buildings, and his suburb lots, with KingOfSimCity's parking is a beautiful combination.


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Inside the warehouse is a gymnasium, and next to the gymnasium is-


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-a sports field to cater for this suburbs exercise needs.


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Zero7's Boleyn Tower.


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Classic UK pre-fab tower block housing.


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I figured European-styled suburbs would add some much needed colour and vibrancy to the area.


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And a row of Brooklyn housing, 'cos why not?


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The clue to finding this building on the STEX is all in the name placed at the building's façade.


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And one final overview of Polynomial Flats.


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{---}

For the next week- Scatchum.

Low density housing, with plenty of trees, on side of the railway tracks; heavy industry on the other side!

[compdude787]

Wow, great updates! I really love the amount of detail and thought that you put into your cities.

[Simmer2]

I absolutely love your coherency and attention to details
Looks like I'm perusing Google Earth 

Bravo

Nick

[vinlabsc3k]

Great use of custom content.

[Vizoria]

Replies:

compdude787: Thank you very much!

Simmer2: It took this long to complete Erinsberg as I worked diligently to create areas which naturally flowed into each other.

vinlabsc3k: Cheers!

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Entry 59: Scatchum

Sorry for the delay, I had some things to sort out and various events have distracted me. Anyway, I've got a one week holiday so it is time to crank out the updates. Now, from the inner city suburbs of Polynomial Flats we now move to a somewhat poorer area of the city; Scatchum.

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Scatchum is bound by the railway lines running through the centre of the picture, and the railway line running along in the top right. East of Scatchum has a lot of shops and industrial units.


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West of Scatchum has forested suburbs and plenty of diagonals.


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{---}

Next week- Claudia Flats. Prepare for even greener suburbs and lots of MMP enhanced forests.



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[kbieniu7]

Great shot - as always, I see, that nothing has changed in this matter I love your mid- and low-rise tenemets quarters, as well as the nature work. The shots showing forests and meadows of mountain foothills are awesome 

[Vizoria]

Entry 60: Claudia Green

Thank you kbieniu7 for your comment, T Wrecks 5x5 apartments are my favourite low-rise fillers.

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So here is Claudia Green.


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More usage of KingOfSimcity's parking pieces.


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They are perfect for expanding shopping mall areas.


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To hide the jagged diagonal textures I placed in a row of narcissus flowers.


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The big white building is the Claudia Green Showcase Cinema.


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It is one of my favourite commercial buildings.


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The real magic of Claudia Green is the border between suburbs and the national park.


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Nearly all the 2-storey houses are C.P.'s 19th century $$ housing- http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=686.


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C.P. is quite the lotting meistro as his buildings and lots come in so many varieties and clusters.


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Also this is the first time in about two years that I have actually ventured into creating urban areas on slopes and hills.


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Another thing I forget to mention- those houses of C.P.'s are slope-friendly.


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The A923 is one of the main roads leading out of northeast Erinsberg.


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Claudia Green's Roundabout.


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And now on to the forests north of Claudia Green.


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My method is to use a tree controller, in this case the Cascadia tree controller created by Blunder, and then fill in the gaps with an insane amount of MMPs.


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For coniferous areas I use mainly girafe's bushes and sparaxis flowers.


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I plopped in some stones and boulder formations to make this clump of coniferous woodland stand out.


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For deciduous areas the main MMP filler was green rye grass and a lot of narcissus flowers- these also make suitable substitutes for flowering ramson/garlic which is often found in British woodlands. Also this picture shows the village of Trekkasmoore.


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By using this basic approach I differentiated the rest of the deciduous and coniferous areas accordingly.


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More pictures from Trekkasmoore.


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{---}

The next entry will be Five Pines. Brace yourselves for commie housing; commie housing everywhere.

[Guest]

I will not repeat myself, so, excellent work!

[kbieniu7]

Footpaths: level up! I see, that now you've started using some stones to make the trail even more realistic! The woods are enormous - you've said, you've filled the gaps with an insane amount of MMP. When I use girafe's trees on a bigger area, even without much filling the space between them, I feel the game slowing down (maybe because I have only 2gb of RAM)... How about you? Do you notice a significant lags?

[romualdillo]

As always you've nailed perfection!
Great balance between commercial and residential zones, and great industrial zoning in your previous post, too!
Perfect! Simply perfect... I can't say anything else...