Commonwealth of Marathon

[io_bg]

Great lotting here! I agree with Simpson about removing some of the roads. One suggestion - I think many people would be happy if you upload these road dividers, they look great! Looking forward to more!

[homefryes]

Hi Dustin 

Those pictures are looking really nice, but I would like to suggest something to you

Black: that's maybe the roads you can remove.
Blue: those crossroads are not looking really nice in my eyes.
Green: you can maybe continue the large avenue here
Also, you can use more often nam curves, this will be more realistic 

David

Maybe you should turn some of the roads into SAM streets...?

Joe

Dustin, I would combine some of David's (Simpson) suggestions with Joe's (JoeST). Perhaps the two diagonal roads closest to the FLUPs should stay roads, as they serve as links between the avenue and the split avenue, but some of those other roads could perhaps be downgraded to streets or SAM streets (the nice brick streets for those closest to the center, and maybe less fancy streets further out). My 2 simoleons' worth.

While previewing my reply, io_bg chimed in with a great idea I'd like to expand on: how about modular road dividers in varying lengths? Obviously not everyone will have use for a 24x2 divider, but having a few different pieces that all flow together might be quite a hot commodity! That sounds like fun!

-- Don

[bat]

Nice new work there on the tunnel! It looks great!

[kimcar]

  Hey great idea this overpass in front  like that. I like it, and also the front of the cathedral is much better now. Aso congrats for tons of viewers.

[KoV Liberty]

Looking great so far!

Alex

[sithlrd98]

With all of the updates since my last visit , all I can say is Wow! I think that out of all of the LE work , my favorites have to be these beautiful parks! I like your newest 2x24 lot as well(very good job!), and you have given me a couple of ideas.( Of course the outcome won't be nearly as polished since I don't have enough patience  ) I also agree with David and Joes opinions , and think that maybe a different crosswalk would be more appealing.

Jayson

[sim-al2]

40,000 Views!



Congrats Dustin!

[thundercrack83]

Joe (JoeST): Thanks, Joe!

deathtopumpkins: Hi! That's a good idea, my friend! I may have to play around with the underpasses by marrast and see what happens! Thank you so much!

Robin (rooker1): Hey, Robin! I'm so happy to hear that you're feeling a bit better today! Just have to take it a day at a time, I guess, right? I agree with you as well on the interactiveness here in Marathon. I think that's one of the most important things, actually. Just because it's my work, doesn't mean that I am not open to other ideas, just the opposite! The more ideas that you folks throw out there open up different ideas in my head and it always seems to end up somewhere new and wonderful! Thanks for stopping by, my friend, and keep getting better!

David (Simpson): Hello, David! Wow! I have to thank you so very much for taking the time out of your day to put some thought into this, my friend. Your suggestions are all excellent ones and they are currently under heavy consideration. Thanks again for stopping in with your input, and I hope to see more from you in the future, wherever we are in Marathon! Take care!

mightygoose: Thanks for your input, my friend! When I think back on this entire endeavor, though, I'm inclined to think that the whole thing is pretty excessive, actually! At least in my eyes, prior to putting the plan into action, I would have never even considered taking something like this on in any city of mine. Then again, you know what they say, "Nothing exceeds like excess!"

Joe (JoeST): SAM! Boy, how did I not think of that! Excellent suggestion, Joe! Excellent suggestion!

Guillaume (Sciurus): Hi, Guillaume! Thanks for your suggestions, my friend! Oh, and don't worry about missing things here in Marathon, you're always welcome, no matter when!

Arthur (art128): Thank you, Arthur! I'm so happy that you like the new dividing lot, my friend!

Dark_Jedi06: Thanks so much, my friend! As I said above, this whole idea seemed excessive and unrealistic in my head, even when I started putting it together, so to have it come together in any fashion at this point is a plus in my book! And to have the advice and support from wonderful friends like you, well, that's what it's all about for me. Thanks again for stopping by!

Luke (Luke09): Hi, Luke! Thanks! To answer your question, it looks like a bus / subway station, but it doesn't actually function like one. I'm not up to speed on that end of things. Take care!

io_bg: Thanks! And maybe I'll look into getting the avenue dividers ready for some kind of release when all is said and done!

Don (homefryes): Hi, Don! Thank you, my friend, for your "2 simoleons' worth," it's worth much, much more than that to me! Joe's SAM idea is a fantastic one, as are David's. I guess we'll all be finding out how things end up together! Take care, Don!

bat: Thanks, my friend!

kimcar: Thank you so much! I'm so glad that you like the new set-up! And thank you for the congratulations, too!

Alex (Driftmaster07): Thank you, Alex!

Jayson (sithlrd98): Hi, Jayson! It's great to see you again, my friend! I'm happy to hear that you like the new lots, and I'm happy that I've been able to give you some ideas, too. I can't wait to see them! And thanks for your thoughts on David and Joe's ideas, too! Take care!

sim-al2: Hey, there it is! Thank you for catching that, my friend!



Well, well, well...All these ideas, my head is spinning!

Let me first say this—the amount of thought that all of you have put into your suggestions is staggering, my friends. For me, the discourse and exchange of ideas is what all of this is about for me. What would be the point of showing your work if you didn't want any feedback, right? If it weren't for suggestions from all of you, things would only be seen from my eyes, and that's only two eyes! If you took all the eyes from that amount of views right now, it would 80,000 eyes! And 80,000 is definitely better than 2! So, please, keep those suggestions and ideas coming, whatever the project going on here! They are gasoline on the fire of inspiration for me! Thanks again so much!

Now, on to those suggestions!

First thing that I want to address is the idea of having the divided avenue continue on the other side of the cathedral, the section in green on the sketch David (Simpson). It helps to see the context of the area to understand why it's only on one side...

As you can see, the cathedral serves as the southern terminus of the divided avenue which will travel north to what is, at this time, and unknown northern terminus. To the south of the square, normal city development will continue until the southern shore. From the way that I've been showing this divided avenue, it gave a distorted perception of where things were located on the island, and for that I apologize. I hope that makes a bit more sense now!

Now, onto the $10,000 question...is this entire thing just going to be parks / plazas? The answer, well...I hope not!

As it stands now, here's my thoughts...

B = buildings / development
P = park
? = Hmmmm...

As illustrated, the outer sections on the "square" borders will be where there is actual development, but it is the "?" parts where I'm actually a bit stumped. While I do like the plaza / park sections as they are at this point, to continue with them out to the next ring of the loop would get a bit redundant, as many of you have thankfully pointed out.

Diagonal W2W buildings are the obvious solution, but there are some issues that I have there, as well—first, there will definitely be a lot of repetition since there's a lot of diagonals to be dealt with and, second, a lot of the diagonal buildings are in styles that, while they look wonderful, may not fit into the style of city that Marathon is. For example, the diagonal Paris buildings are some of the most beautiful BATs available, however, to have a huge section of Paris in the middle of what is an otherwise North American city would seem a bit odd to me, I think. But that's just me!

So, what do all of you think? How do we get those "?" parts filled up? And, should more portions of the sections within the park have the SAM textures? I do believe that the next proper update dealing with this area will have to be entitled, "Biting Off More Than One Can Chew!"

Oh, and as our friend sim-al2 caught, we made it to 40,000 views, notching over 400 views in a little over 24 hours! You are the best, friends!

More to come!

[Sciurus]

Hi!

For a proposition: I propose you to plop some Parisian buildings, maybe it'll be odd in an american city as you said, but you know, it's SC4, it's not the real life, and you can do a beautiful transition between the Parisian buildings, and the American buildings, all is possible you know . Then, you do what you want with my proposition, with my opinion.
So, glad to be stopped by,

Your french friend, Guillaume

[Luke09]

Hummm...Interesting...im curious...i want to know what we will see on "humm..." spaces...

[bat]

Looking forward to the development of these free spaces!
And congrats on over 40 000 views!

[dsrwhat316]

Looks like you have quite a challenging layout to tackle here, Dustin

The zones labeled with a question mark should have, in my opinion, buildings. I know of some great modern diagonals by Glenni, found on Simtropolis. Just do a search on his name. Preppo's diagonal BATs also would work well here. If you're really ambitious, check out Capital SimCity. The link provided gives you a translated version from Spanish to English. I forget the names of the diagonal BATs I saw there, so you'll have to do a thorough search 

I also agree with David's (Simpson's) opinion on the avenue intersections he highlighted; perhaps some roundabouts would be more pleasing to the eye?

Well, I think I should take heed of your example and fire up that Lot Editor again. It's been collecting dust as of late...

~ Dan

P.S.: Thanks for your birthday wishes!

[KoV Liberty]

Congratulations for 40,000 views! Here's to 40,000 more! Also for the idea of the diagonals... Maybe since a lot of cities have different areas ex: ghetto, uptown, downtown, chinatown, koreatown (not well know but its there!), motown  etc. Maybe you could put in sort of what New Orleans has; a sort of Fench Quarter (even though French Quarter is a building I think) idea. Also since you are in Northeast America (I think); well Canada and some of the Northeastern Seaboard of the USA was colonized by the French so possibly (since Quebec is the closest to the NE US and Quebec is mostly French) you might want to put in the Paris Diagonal W2W lots.

Alex

[nrmn67]

You could sell repetitive diagonal buildings with the argument that the square was planned and built by one architect. Maybe it was for a world expo or something similar.

[metarvo]

I agree with the majority that some W2W districts might add a good flavor to that section of the city.  The only problem would be the transition from the W2W buildings to the surrounding area, but I'm sure you'll think of something.  Good luck on the diagonals, Dustin, and keep up the good work!

[sithlrd98]

Yeah , you've got a lot of area screaming "diagonal buildings please"! Along with the CSC link from Dan , and the Parisian buildings , don't forget that Prepo uploaded a bunch of Diags , along with 1 or 2 from Odainsaker,Born78,Spa and Ferox to name a few.And there are a few Japanese buildings floating around , so you really aren't stuck with one theme , but the area could be more of a "World"center. Maybe the areas that have  "?" could be canal or some other type of water feature? I'm sure whatever you choose , it will be very appealing!

Jayson

[Jmouse]

Sounds like you're already received several good suggestions, and I can't think of a better one right off hand. It all boils down to just trying something, seeing how it looks then getting some feedback.

I always keep in mind something a journalism teacher said one time. If you don't get something down on paper, you have nothing to edit. Same goes for the game IMO. I'm bad about sitting and staring at an empty space and wondering what to put in it. Once I finally try something out, thugh, the ideas begin to flow and eventually something right happens.

Good luck with the next part of your project. I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops.

Joan

[Ennedi]

Dustin,

I'm really impressed of an amount of work and creativity you put in your city development 
Everything you do is not only interesting, but also very instructive. This is maybe the best side of your MD - you have a general idea, show it and then you are trying to make it real. Of course you have troubles with it because of the game and the custom stuff limitations, but it is exactly what all of us meet when we build our cities  And just this trials, errors and learning process is something you are showing very good! 

I was thinking what can be done with an area currently developed by you. I agree with others that you planned a bit too much roads and especially avenues. But I think you have time to change it, and I understand that the symmetrical design is the main idea and you shouldn't destroy it.
Other players suggested you much diagonal buildings and I think you will find enough of them to fill areas marked by "B". But what about these of them marked by "?" ? Looking at various propositions i feel that maybe Jayson's (sithlrd98) one is the best: think about an octagonal canal! It can look great!

Adam

[Simpson]

Hi Dustin 

I understand why you can't make another large avenue. The overview is looking nice; better than the last one. I have some new suggestions for your "square (?) "
Here is the picture:

Back: the roads that you must maybe remove !!
Blue: those crossroads aren't looking good, they're not really realistic (I think)
Red: This avenue is maybe good, but I don't like it, It seems strange to me. You can replace it by a road?
Grey: The park are looking really nice, you did an excellent work on the LE, but they are too small. Also they are a bit repetitive 


P: I like those places for park, maybe with some fountains and statues
B: I don't think that is a good idea for buildings. They are a lot of diagonals and they are not enough BATs in diagonals, it will be too repetitive
You also can do a little story for this area: It was colonized by Europeans, it's why we see many europeans' buildings..


So, I hope that I helped you. I also hope you understand what I'm trying to say, my friend.

I'm looking forward to the next update

Take care, my friend.

David 

[JoeST]

Hey, Im back with some wacky pictures of realisations of ideas from myself and David (Simpson)

The original layout basicified


Simpson's Idea consisted of removing all the minor tributaries.


My Idea basicly meant, instead of having perfect symmetry (and traffic flow), you go for a "randomised" corruption of the ideal layout laied out by yourself...


[small]ps: sorry bout the pngs, and the fact that there is no NAM [/small]