Nyhaven: Views From Within (Nuclear City - 5/8)

[canyonjumper]

Cool! Thanks for the hotel

        Your friend, 
                       Jordan

[Nanami]

Great!

[woodb3kmaster]

djvandrake: Thank you! I'm so glad you like how the neighborhood feels, since that's pretty much what I was going for. Take care!

Battlecat: Thanks, my friend! I'm pleased that you like it.

Jordan (canyonjumper): It's always my pleasure to help a reader, Jordan! Thank you for stopping by!

976: Thanks!



I recently decided that the Columbus terrain mod, while beautiful, just wasn't quite right for Nyhaven - the region needed to be greener, since it's in the Pacific Northwest. I also saw the need for a new water mod, as the old SMP Paradise Blue was too light and too flat. So, I replaced both mods with more recent fare - namely, CP's Olympia terrain mod (with its associated tree controller) and a selection from rivit's Coastal Mod. Here's an example of what the landscape now looks like:



If you're wondering where exactly this area is in Nyhaven's region, well, it's actually in another region altogether - a slightly modified version of NHP's Seattle region. You might get to see more of that region eventually

Anyway, these latest mod changes are no April Fool's joke, you have my word on that. I'm much happier with how the landscape looks now; it's much more like the RL Pacific Northwest, I think. It will take some time to re-render all of Nyhaven's region with the new mods (especially considering it's 16x8 large quads in size!), but new region views will be shown soon enough.

[KoV Liberty]

Nice work Zack! I like the Greek areas and Skamokawa looks fantastic. But, that hotel area, I don't know if I like that rugged terrain. Maybe you could smoothe it out with the smoothing tool? Or rework it so it looks a bit better? The beach there really seems out of place as-is and it could use a little bit of work. Maybe rocks to line the beach so it looks like a smoothe transition. Idk, it is completely up to you but it would look even better.

Alex

[djvandrake]

    Looks great.

I was a long time user of the Columbus mod too, and I just grew so tired of the limitations of it.  This looks much better and I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work with it. 

[io_bg]

That's a really nice-looking change. Can't wait to see where this bridge is heading to

[Nanami]

Nice alot!

[woodb3kmaster]

Alex (KoV Liberty): Thank you, Alex! The Skamokawa Resort District wasn't intended to be rugged at all; it was just a consequence of how I had set up the region in SC4TF. You'll be glad to hear that I've completely redone that district; the terrain is quite smooth now.

Since you mentioned how the beach looks, I'll tell you that in my makeover of the resort district, I opted not to use beach lots, just the bare beach texture from rivit's coastal mod. I might add the limitless beach mod and some suitable beach MMPs, though; if I do, it would be most helpful if you could point me to where you got the thatched umbrellas that are so common on the beaches of Atrubia. Take care, my friend!

djvandrake: Thanks! Columbus certainly has its merits (including having snowcapped variants available, which it took me quite a while to create for Olympic), but you're right that it has its limitations. The deep green of Olympic was practically tailor-made for Nyhaven, I think!

Ioan (io_bg): Thank you very much!

976: Thanks!



A brief note: I intend to return to posting full updates in two weeks, but they'll be of a somewhat different nature than my usual updates. We'll still be following the life of Engineer Paul Franconi, but this time, we'll be looking at his life outside of work. This little diversion is just to give me more time to finish the King Zachary Tower; once it's done, I'll finally be able to go back to posting updates on city construction projects.

Recently, I decided that the University of Nyhaven needed to have a custom central quad, not one of the (excellent) quads that come with the University of Clayhurst set. So I made one:



This new quad has the advantage of putting the long axial paths closer to the buildings, so that people coming out of the smaller entrances can reach those paths sooner. It just didn't seem realistic to me that such minor access paths would be very long, and with the new quad design, they're much shorter.

[canyonjumper]

Nice redesign! I thought I posted on your terrain makeover, but I guess I didn't...

        -Jordan

[djvandrake]

Looks awesome!  Reminds me of the Notre Dame campus. Very well done. 

[adroman]

Wow, looking very, very impressive Zach!

That central quad looks extremely good there, you've set that University out very well.  

The bridge in your teaser is extraordinary, I can almost see myself driving over it in real life! Greek town looks great as well  

I must say, I need to get out more... I miss too much around here!

Adrian.

[dedgren]

That's a really nice uni quad.  Puts me back a quarter century to law school.  Those were the days, but... who knew


David

[woodb3kmaster]

Jordan (canyonjumper): Thanks, Jordan! No worries on not posting earlier; you're welcome to post at any time.

djvandrake: Thank you, my friend! I think Notre Dame may certainly have influenced my design, at least subconsciously; while I've never been there, a look at its campus in Google Earth is enough for me to see the resemblance you saw.

Adrian (adroman): Thanks very much, Adrian! I'm honored to have such kind words from you. You can drop in anytime, my friend!

David (dedgren): Thank you, David! I'm glad I was able to inspire a little trip down memory lane.



A couple of months ago, while writing the commentary for one of my suburban mosaics, I was inspired to remodel Ridgeland Park. Due to the park's shape and size, this was no easy task - I had to create around 35 new lots (including my first MML), most of them with my very first set of custom overlay textures. However, after some three weeks of working when I had the chance, I was finally finished, and I'm quite satisfied with the final product. I hope you will be, too!

First of all, a look at one corner of the park:


These are the Greek gardens in the south of the park. While there are plenty of formal gardens in the remodeled Ridgeland Park, only these gardens have replicas of classical sculptures and fountains. They provide a little bit of culture in the midst of some otherwise boring suburbs.


Across the street from the central area of Ridgeland Park lies Papillon Manor, which has been the home of the mayors of Nyhaven since 1836. The mansion has its own garden, but it's not unusual to see recently-elected Mayor Nathanael Fourier out for a stroll in Ridgeland Park. Mayor Fourier has commented that the exquisite gardens in the centerpiece of Nyhaven's park system put his own gardens to shame!


This is no small park, mind you. Ridgeland Park is a whole mile long from north to south, and it's a patchwork of gardens, woods and open fields made for the whole family to enjoy. Children and parents alike are fond of the park's folly tower, which the eccentric millionaire Edmund Andersen built with city approval in 1884.

That's all for today. Get ready for next week's return to full, story-based updates!

[danielcote]

Splendid update! It must of taken a lot of work to make that park. 

[KoV Liberty]

Hey, Great updates my friend! The thatched umbrellas and chairs, etc can be found here. And can we see the new area?

Alex

[choco]

My sincere apologies for such a late reply....i hate to admit that i do not show up in Mayor Diaries all that often.  nevertheless, beautiful little region you have here!   

The Broadway Bridge looks great, yet I wanted to assure you that i haven't forgotten about finishing it....   In regards to Nexus4Jersey's inquiry about night lights, i regret that it currently doesn't sport any.  however, since that BAT was 'completed', i have dabbled in some nightlighting and learned a few more things.  so there will be a round2...so to speak...coming sometime soon.  there's a couple little tweaks needed, and perhaps another surprise waiting in teh wings.

keep up teh good work, and take care!

ryan   

[djvandrake]

Wow!  That's a lot of impressive work.     

The area around the outdoor theater is my favorite. 

[canyonjumper]

This is awesome! I like your custom lots and textures! Very well done. The park is looking great!

           Your friend, 
                          Jordan

[antimonycat]

I love your parks. The diagonal paths really help to visually break up the grid view, making them look really natural. On another note, nice typography on your logos!

[i_love_lamp]

oh my god, i LOVE that park. Keep up the good work amigo