Greenacre

[noahclem]

Great job revamping those areas in the last couple updates  Zoning for larger-sized industrial lots can really work wonders. Hope to see more soon 

[scott1964]

I like the tunnel underneath the bridge. 

[threestooges]

Replies:
Guillaume (Sciurus): However long it is between posts, it's always good to see people back around here. As for "erasing" garbage, landfills will process trash over time. The problem is, they usually keep getting trash dumped on them. Remove your landfill from all roads, put the game on "fast" and wait 20 game years or so. The garbage should be gone. Another trick you can use is to put down an incinerator or other garbage processing lot so that your capacity is above your production. That way, the excess garbage in the landfills will be rerouted to your waste-energy incinerator. Hope that helps.


bat: Thanks bat. Always good to see you here.


Joan (Jmouse): Always good to read your comments Joan. You're very thorough and the insight really helps me to see if I'm able to pull off what I'm trying to do. From the sound of it, I think I'm on the right track. Now I just need to get in there and practice it before I keep forgetting what I've learned.


Robin (rooker1): The job hunt has gone quite well, as I think you're now aware. The hunt is over and that's partly why Greenacre has been as quiet as it has been these past months (far too long for my tastes). I have a few more industrial ideas brewing. It's just now a matter of sitting down with the time/energy to do what I'm imagining. I have been thinking about switching the lines to PEG's too. Much more realistic than the red/white candy canes that are normally there. Wouldn't mind them on water crossings, because they do catch one's eye, but all over the place does get a bit annoying. chances are good the terracing bothers you because it's so steep and things are built right up to the edge at the top and bottom. Not sure how best to adjust it in the narrow space, but I'll think on it.


ricardomiranda: Steal as many as you like. I only ask that you drop me a link to your results. I'd love to see what this inspires. As for the link, Goldiva's Tropical Sea set should handle most of it. Chrisadams' RRP should handle much of the rest. Search for "rocks" on the LEX to find a few good rock sets. Jeronij has made some good ones as has c.p. if I recall. Thanks for stopping by.


Noah (noahclem): Glad you like the results. It's interesting for me to go back over a spot in Greenacre and see stuff that looked great to me at the time and find ways to improve it both due to the custom content released since then, and also by improved playing skills and methods. The larger industrial buildings really do work wonders, as does the process of linking Maxis industrials with a few parking lots to simulate one large complex. Thanks for stopping by.


scott1964: Thanks, and welcome to Greenacre. You can thank Robin (rooker1) for the tunnel idea.


So today (well technically yesterday since it's now after midnight... which means it's Christmas here now... Merry Christmas to you all!) marks the 3rd anniversary of Greenacre, as it was December 24, 2008 when I first started this MD. It's amazing where the time has gone, but it's been a great time along the way.

I had been hoping to put something together for this, but time ran short on me (not that the several weeks of inactivity was any indication of that of course). Anyway, what I thought might be interesting would be to take a look back at some older region shots moving up to one taken today. They're shown in chronological order. Not too many major differences, but it's interesting to see the areas where development has started to creep outward.









Not the biggest show, I know, for all of the down time, but I do plan to get back to things around here and I'll try to keep the dust off. Thanks for joining me for the last three years, and here's to many more years to come.
-Matt

[metarvo]

Hey, don't worry about it.  Inactivity happens to all of of us sometimes, as it has to me over the last few weeks.  It's nice to see the way your region has changed over time.  Merry Christmas, Matt.

[rooker1]

Merry Christmas my friend, I hope your holidays have been very happy this far....Mine have been excellent.

Robin

[bat]

Merry Christmas!

And great work on that island(s)!!! It is looking beautiful!
Looking forward to more...

[noahclem]

Congratulations on three years of Greenacre 

The timeline of regional views is nice and it's great to hear you have more planned 

[Jmouse]

It's always interesting to look back from time to time. After all, you need to know where you've been in order to figure out where you're going.

Here's hoping you had a Marry Christmas and will have a Happy New Year, Matt. Congratulations on Greenacre's third Anniversary. I'm so pleased to know you're committed to keeping this great region going and going and going!

[rooker1]

Happy New Year my friend, I wish you and yours all the best in the coming year.
And I look forward to at least twelve updates next year.  

Robin

[NASCAR_Guy]

Whats the red line in the second map? 

[Pat]

Hey there Matt looking real good here in Greenacre and its been 3yrs already wow!!! Merry Christmas late and also hope you had save New Years too     Cant wait to see more and btw what is up with that red line in the second pic as pointed out by nascar guy?

[threestooges]

Replies:
metarvo: Yeah, RL does happen, fortunately it's been in a good way so far. Plenty of stuff to take care of, but better that than being bored, right?


Robin (rooker1) x2: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family as well Robin! 12 updates you say? well, seems on average I've done 36 over three years, so oddly enough, I think I'm on track. Here's one to start the year off right. Looking forward to your eagle eye and reading your thoughts on this.


bat: Merry Christmas to you too bat! Greenacre is growing nicely, and I expect there will be a few more opportunities for some development shots in the future. It'll be interesting to see where it will have gone then. Thanks for coming along for the ride so far.


Noah (noahclem)[/b]: Three years and hopefully many more to come. The progress pictures weren't the best, as I'd mainly been using them for localizing shots on the updates and didn't have too many clean ones to choose from (hence the red stuff on the second one). I'll have to keep that in mind for later.


Joan (Jmouse): Christmas and New Years were quite nice for me. Hope things are going well in your neck of the woods too (or at least as normal as things can get). Funny thing about looking at where you've been, if you keep looking back you'll start bumping into things; so in the interest of avoiding collisions, off we go to the next update. I'll try to keep a better log of region shots though. It could be interesting to get a shot from each update from here on out. Looking forward to your thoughts on this next one, as always.


NASCAR_Guy: That's me not having a clean picture somewhere in the middle to post and having to use one of my old localizing maps in its place. I try to orient each update by showing where on the island it is, but I've been a bit slack in keeping updated region shots (hadn't thought about the idea until this last update). That particular line was from when we visited Westport.


Pat: Great to hear from you again Pat! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you too. As I mentioned in my reply just above, it was a result of not having a clean picture to use, and instead having to use one of my old localizing pictures. In retrospect I could probably edit two of them together as they were based on the same underlying region shot, but I think it shows things well enough there. As you were waiting for more... here it is.


Update 36:
(from the "Bet this was the last thing you expected to see here" files, an update within 10 days of the last one in Greenacre)

We're back up to the hills for a bit more residential development.

36.01


Specifically, we're starting with this vacant area here. Development is likely going to take place over the next two updates.

36.02


Pressed up against the cliff to take advantage of the views there are several larger complexes with smaller lots on winding streets. Bits of commercial will dot the area too.

36.03


Filled in, the area takes shape. Simio designs is front and center with one of their larger apartment complexes. With views looking down the hill and on out to the ocean, on a clear day there are few locations you can rent with such a view. Surrounding it are several smaller buildings, catering to a large number of university students, and many single family homes.

36.04


But, the cliff face there, something about it didn't sit right with me. It's supposed to be steep, but that's almost sheer and doesn't look quite right. It might fit for half dome, but most cliffs and hills have a bit more in the way of depth and character. This can be remedied fairly easily though.

36.05


Now that all of the major work is done, here's a closer up look at a few of the areas, starting first with the area out front of the apartments.

36.06


While most of these homes are single family, the area does attract some aspect of college life to it. There is the occasional noise complaint from the odd party, but for the most part the residents are all quite respectful of their neighbors. The college presence helps bring life to the neighborhood too.

36.07


Helping with that "neighborhood" feel, a couple of community gardens dot the area. Surprisingly there has been a push by some of the student organizations to keep them productive. Though the gardens are small, what they produce is enjoyed by those who tend the fields.

36.08


A sign of the life here, after work and class the area floods with traffic and the building lights flicker to life.

36.09


This sunrise shot gives you an idea of the view that can be had of the area just below. It's not recommended to venture too close to the cliff edge, though many still do, but the view is great.

36.10


One last overview to show where things have gone so far.

36.11


That'll do it for this update. Next time we'll go across the avenue, but for now, any comments, criticisms, or anything else for that matter about this update, I'd love to hear it.
-Matt

[RickD]

That's one steep cliff there. The area looks nice. Wouldn't want to live right on the edge, though.

[Jmouse]

I really like the cliff. It's similar to what I strive for in my own work. I especially like the way you've shown us your work step by step.

The little uncluttered neighborhoods are nice, and allowing a bit of commercial here and there is a good idea. I don't see any civic services yet, but either they're still to come or I'm looking right at them without seeing them.

Looks like you've cranked out another good update, and I'm pleased to know more are in the works.

-Joan.

[rooker1]

Robin (rooker1) x2: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family as well Robin! 12 updates you say? well, seems on average I've done 36 over three years, so oddly enough, I think I'm on track. Here's one to start the year off right. Looking forward to your eagle eye and reading your thoughts on this.

I was just being a smart ass and trying to give you a little push only because we are always so eager for an update from you.  
Over all I like the update, my only problem which you did start to remedy is that cliff.  I think it looks a little unrealistic in that it looks more like a sheer wall than an irregular, natural cliff curved by nature over thousands of years.  When you made that change in the northern part, I was so happy and was hoping that would continue that idea along the entire cliff.  I do know from your past updates that you do not like to change and terraform the land that is already there and if you did decide to do this it would destroy many buildings in that area as well.....another no no for you.  But I was still hoping.  With a slightly less steep cliff, you would be able to decorate it with some trees, bushes and rocks.
Also for a small town there seems to be too many avenues in one small area.  I would suggest getting rid of one of the ones that follow along the cliff side.  But maybe I need to wait until the entire area is built up?  Is there going to be more commercial buildings there?
Well there you have it, my two cents.....and maybe a little more. 
Take care my friend!!
Robin

[bat]

Nice work on that area!
And great shot at the evening of this place!!!
Looking forward to more...

[CasperVg]

That looks really nice. I'd love to own/rent a dorm right next to the cliff - as you said, the view would be excellent. And easily accessible too (well.. if you found a way to safely get off the cliff to catch a tram there.. ) Looking forward to more!

[noahclem]

Nice work!    I love the way you smoothed out the cliff to create a more realistic and varied feel. The backstory gives character to the area and development has turned out great 

[dedgren]

The cliff continues to bug me, as well.  We face some fairly severe limitations imposed by the game when we try to get "verticality" into our landscapes.  Some thoughts:

1.  Different rock mod.  A rock mod that had more detail in it might serve to further add to the realism enhancements you begin making in 36.05.

2.  Setback.  The buildings- especially the multistory ones, at the top of the cliff strike me as being located way too close to the edge, for both structural and safety reasons.  Every once in a while a tall building is built right up against a cliff, generally to gain some sort of site-related aesthetic advantage, but that should be, IMHO, an exception rather than the rule.  As for safety, I can't imagine that a developer would not add fencing and other barriers to keep the incautious occupant away from the brink.  A grassy lawn that ends with no transition at cliff's edge just isn't plausible.  You'd think at a minimum there would be planted barrier vegetation, and perhaps natural vegetation as well.

3.  Less Uniformity at the Brink.  You are right, the Half Domes of the world are few and far between.  Most clifftops, even ones that run along fault lines, are not perfectly uniform in linearity and height as a long stretch of the one here is.  Erosion, other weathering processes, rockfalls and the like will create an irregular edge in most every clifftop.  I know here you are dealing with a fundamental game constraint, and the terrain simulator does not lend itself to fine adjustment, but I would try if I were doing Greenacre to break up that long straight stretch at a minimum.  Using a greater setback of the brink from development will help.

4.  Vegetation.  I have seen very few cliffs, even in places like Yosemite, that are perfect monolithic rock.  Plants and sometimes small trees seem to find a way to grow out of the most vertical of places, and in the smallest cracks and pockets.  I have never looked into whether there is a way to mod flora so that it can be placed on close to vertical game "surfaces."  I know the cutoff for trees is something around 45 degrees of slope.  I think this is well worth looking into, as breaking up the cliff face here and there with some vegetation would be far closer to a RL equivalent than unbroken bare exposed rock.

It's easy to be a critic.  That said, you have set such high standards over the years in Greenacre that I felt like it would be inconsistent with what you are so apparently trying to achieve not to speak up.  In the end, there may be little you can do beyond perhaps moving some things around, and don't do that just to suit me.  I've put this on my list, my friend, to experiment with as well, and will return at some point to add further thoughts.


David

[threestooges]

Quick reply, and question for those more familiar with the current generations of rock mods out there:

The cliff:

Yeah, it's one of those things that looked good when I was making it (the thought being a glacier carved it out) but by this point it does stand to reason there would have been erosion by now. That, and it doesn't look as good as it used to. I was going to move ahead to the other neighborhood, but I plan to tweak the cliff now.

That being said, I like the gray/white look of the current stone, but it is one of the older mods out there. If anyone has some suggestions, either post them here, or shoot me a PM. I'll give a look into them and see what I can come up with.

I'd like to find a way to tweak the cliff without triggering a landslide and wiping stuff out down below, but yeah, if it's going to look like I want it to, some changes will need to be made. Take your opportunity to add your thoughts and have a chance at helping guide Greenacre's development.
-Matt