Commonwealth of Marathon

JBSimio · May 03, 2009, 10:25:51 AM

Hi Dustin,

As Joan said, your residential development is not quite what I'm used to, but I really liked the picture. It took me a while to remember which buildings those were. The red brick SAM texture sets the area off nicely. The preliminary relot of the cathedral is shaping up to be yet another fine adjustment. The only thing that really catches my eye is the lack of space between the planted areas and the side entrance on the right hand side of your picture. I would consider leaving all four sides open as you did around the back... but that's just me!

Looking forward to the end results, my friend!

JB

KoV Liberty · May 03, 2009, 10:53:17 AM

Wow... I never thought of it but those diagonals will be hard to do! Keep up the good work!

Alex

dsrwhat316 · May 03, 2009, 01:00:36 PM

Your preliminary shots of the square is looking good, Dustin

As for the diagonals, one way of tackling them is to use the resized lot trick. I saw you use it before with your rail yards, so it should work again here. Another solution is to make a small puzzle piece batch of 1x1 lots to blend into the diagonals. This is more time consuming, but it works. I'm curious to see how you complete the square!

~ Dan

Jmouse · May 03, 2009, 02:23:03 PM

Ah yes, the square is going to look terrific when you get through with it. Have you thought of experimenting with a few more base textures? Somehow the current texture doesn't quite fit with the orange-red flowers. And I'm inclined to agree with Jon about the lack of openings near what appear to be doors.

The cathedral certainly was a great choice for that spot, though. In art class, we'd have called the road layout "busy" – that it, it keeps the eye moving endlessly. For that reason, it needed a solid focal point, and you have provided a perfect one.

Really looking forward to seeing how this project turns out...
Joan

Tarkus · May 03, 2009, 11:36:22 PM

Dustin, it's been far too long since I've stopped in here--I don't even know where to begin here. This is truly world-class stuff here, my friend. I absolutely loved what you did with the mid/high-wealth residential development there. I'd say it's a very striking pic, and you've set it off very nicely by using SAM Set 9. Heck, I might have to start using that one a little more often myself.

The Berliner Dom re-lot looks like it's coming along very nicely. I don't envy you with those diagonals, but I'm sure you'll figure out something and it will blow us all away.

-Alex

thundercrack83 · May 04, 2009, 12:08:15 AM

Alfred.Jones: No problem, my friend! You're always welcome here in Marathon. The diagonals will certainly be challenge, too! Hope to see you again!

bat: Thank you, my friend!

Guillaume (Sciurus): Thank you so much for setting me straight on my French, my friend! That's exactly why you're the French Ambassador! Unfortunately, my French professor in college did not do a great job teaching the language, so I'm not as proficient as I'd like to be. But with your help, maybe I'll get better! As always, it's great to have you here, Guillaume! Take care!

Don (homefryes): Hi, Don! The residentials are the Oakendell Lofts by DuskTrooper, and can be found on the STEX. Also, thank you so much for helping out with the signature question, you answered it much better than I did! Oh, and don't every worry about hijacking things here, either, my friend—your input is always welcome, no matter what the topic!

Matt (emmotic): Welcome to Marathon, Matt! I'm so happy to have you here, my friend, and I'm happy to hear that you're enjoying things, as well. Hope to see you around again soon!

Jon (JBSimio): Hey, Jon! You're definitely right about the lack of space, my friend—I'll have to get right on that one! I didn't catch it originally, for some reason. I guess that's the price you pay for doing most of my work between midnight and 4:00 AM! Thanks for stopping by, Jon!

Alex (Driftmaster07): Ha! Yes, they're going to be a bit of a challenge. I'm a bit worried!

Dan (dsrwhat316): Hi, Dan! I'm so glad you stopped in with your advice, my friend, I've been doing a lot of thinking on how to tackle the diagonals. Now, you've given me a great place to start from! Thank you so much! The puzzle-piece method was my initial thought, but I will absolutely be trying the resizing trick, too. Take care, Dan!

Joan (Jmouse): Hi, Joan! I never thought about the road layout being "busy," but after your explanation, it makes a lot of sense. With just the NAM roundabout in my original plan, there was really no central focal point for the area. I wonder if, subliminally, I was thinking that when I changed my plan! Oh, and experimenting with textures, eh? Hmmmm...

Alex (Tarkus): Hi, Alex! It's great to see you here again, my friend! That residential shot is actually the first time I used SAM Set 9 in a while, I just chose it on a whim there and it seemed to work out pretty well. I may be using it much more often now! I hope all is well with you, my friend, and I hope to see you here again soon!

So! With the help and input from Jon (JBSimio), who pointed out a space issue between the cathedral and the overlay textures surrounding it, as well as Joan (Jmouse) and Marathon's newest friend Matt (emmotic), both of whom commented on the textures, I've made some adjustments...

I heeded the advice of all three of our friends, adjusting both the space as well as playing around with the textures. Here's a closer shot...

I think things look much better now! Unfortunately, though, there's no use putting things off much longer—time to get working on those diagonals...

Wish me luck!

Alfred.Jones · May 04, 2009, 12:54:23 AM

Good luck with the diagonals

mightygoose · May 04, 2009, 01:40:49 AM

good luck with the diagonals

art128 · May 04, 2009, 04:10:03 AM

great choice of texture there Dustin ! That make that lot looking like an old European town, great job.
Also, nice choice of props, they fit together well.
BTW, what is those squared trees planter just in front of the dome ? (and the name in LE if possible) because I was searching for those one since a lot of time.
Looking forward to more.

Take care,
-Arthur.

JoeST · May 04, 2009, 06:52:25 AM

ooooh diagonals

carkid1998 · May 04, 2009, 08:19:34 AM

OOH!!! Can't wait!

JBSimio · May 04, 2009, 08:25:06 AM

Well Dustin, as I suspected, the end result was definitely worth the wait!

The square turned out beautifully and I think the new textures are a much better fit as well. This lot is certainly worthy of being the grand centerpiece to an entire neighborhood. Oddly enough, that's exactly what you've planned it for... so that worked out alright!

I don't envy your next task either... so I'll join the others in wishing you luck. I'm sure you'll come up with something incredible... you seem to do that a lot anyway.

JB

Battlecat · May 04, 2009, 08:41:18 AM

Wow, you've had a busy week here! That's a fantastic start to the center of that area. The diagonals are going to be a challenge, but I'm sure you're up for it. Looking forward to seeing where it winds up!

bat · May 04, 2009, 10:26:55 AM

Nice work on that lot there! And nice work on the textures...

metarvo · May 04, 2009, 12:42:12 PM

I really like what you've done with the square, Dustin. I'm ready for more, and I'm definitely looking forward to those diagonals.

Tarkus · May 04, 2009, 12:44:03 PM

You absolutely nailed it on that re-lot. I like how you've utilized jeronij's and c.p.'s trees on there, which gives it a nice park-like feel. The massive amounts of pedestrians make it seem busy and alive. I'm looking forward to seeing those diagonals--judging by the way you hit this one out of the park, I know you'll be able to pull them off. Best of luck!

-Alex

Jmouse · May 04, 2009, 02:09:16 PM

Much, much better, Dustin! The base texture compliments the building, and I love the way you have "extended" the roof color to the edges of the planters around the three trees in front. Whether on purpose or instinctive, that was a very wise move which brought a further sense of coordination to the whole picture.

So what's next? Going to tackle those odd shapes now?

Later...
Joan

KoV Liberty · May 04, 2009, 06:08:15 PM

Good luck!!! And don't worry... You'll get through it!

Alex

Luke09 · May 04, 2009, 07:02:34 PM

Hey Dustin the fillers lots are a way better now

.And about the userbars...what i want to mean is,ho can i put it on my signature?Userbars are like that things that says:Firefox User,or Nike sux,PS3 player,etc...

Sheep49 · May 04, 2009, 10:58:48 PM

Oh no! I missed so much fun here!

Including making some filler lots... And boy do they look brilliant! Good thing that you've listened to the advice from Jon, Joan and Matt! Now they do look seriously amazing. Apart from the lots themselves, I have to admit that it's the first time I see this cathedral, and I already love it! Great work with choosing a BAT and making it even better with those custom lots.

By the way, I see that you're going to work with diagonals now. Here an advice from the person who loves playing with diagonal buildings: You're almost certainly going to need many filler lots. Though don't make them now, but after you've finished plopping the buildings. Apart from that, it may take a lot of time to get everything look alright, hence the repetition of buildings. But you're a master in masking them!

I someties think that if you have had build Marathon with only Wren Insurances no one would notice that

So, what more can I say? Great work. Good luck with the diagonals.

Piotr

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