Travels Down I-85: A MD of the North Carolina Piedmont (Update 9.15.07)

[Shadow Assassin]

Very good map. But a suggestion (since you use Photoshop), use the Path tool. It'll get rid of some of those 'jaggies'. What you do is select the Pen tool, make sure that it doesn't automatically draw shapes (just click one of the buttons in the toolbar, there's a variety of settings. It's towards the left-hand side) Then, once you've drawn your paths, just go over to your Brush tool, choose a brush size, then go back to the Paths menu and just Stroke the Path. Sit back and admire your handiwork.

And of course, you're building great cities. You're one of those people who consistently prove that the road-geeky CJ still hasn't died out, and good job on that.

[jayo]

Nice map  Nice one. Jayo_goes_and_pours_chamoagne_all_over_his_head 

[Pat]

Just a peek at what I've been wasting my time on:
-aaron

Aaron if you call that a waste of time I sure hate to see what you consider a productive use of your time.  Cause dang that is a intense map and great works - pat

[seemurray2]

Hey - hows it going?  I felt the need to catch up on what I've been missing!  I like your maps - especially your hand drawn ones.  You didn't draw those during class now did you?!  lol   

[pickled_pig]

Meinhosen - This next update's going to look at the area that I drew in the fourth map (15.4).

Mark - Thanks!

Gaston/Snorrelli - Interesting.  I've no plans on getting a permit/licence while in NC anyway - even if I went for the test today, I wouldn't have a full licence until I was 18 years old.  Anyway, I-40/I-95 is now an 8-lane highway.  There's a ton of construction going on in Durham, but that's just I-85 with no multiplex.  As well, there's a ton of construction in Salisbury NC, where I-85 is being widened from 4 to 8 lanes.  I wouldn't know what it was, though - I've only been here for 8 or so months.

Pat - Yeah, it makes those pointless days in German class a bit more interesting.  Often times when the class goes off on a political/sociopolitical tangent I have no knowledge on (such as school scandals, CMS administration policy, alcoholism) I start drawing.

Thundercrack/Sebes - Thanks!  In response to your question, I draw the maps first, as it goves me a blueprint by which to plan in SC4.

Tarkus - I agree, we need more roadgeekery.  Thanks!

Frankie/Thundercrack - Thanks for visiting!

Travis - Some of my maps from when I was in middle school are quite horrendous.  I still have them, and perhaps I'll scan them in one day.  As for the urban areas, it's about time for a downtown/West Side update looking at high density development in Greater Wellington.

Shadow_assassin - Thanks for the suggestion, as I do use Photoshop.  I plan to redo the map as I develop the actual street network of Wellington, and perhaps then I'll try it in action.
Thanks for the bit about roadgeeky CJs (MDs?) not yet dying out.  It's great as it captures precisely what I'm trying to do.

Jayo - Thanks for dropping by!

Pat - Good question there.  Thanks!

Seemurray2 - Hey, long time no see!  You've not missed much, actually - there have only been three real updates since I set up shop over here at SC4D.  The MDing machine has slowed to near a grinding halt compared to what it used to be...
As for the maps, yes I did draw them at school.  15.2 and 15.3 came out of German class and 15.4 came out of pre-calculus class. 
Which brings up an interesting story, but I'll save it in the name of brevity.

Anyway, here's the long-promised update:

[thundercrack83]

Great update, Aaron! I saw a Waffle House, which always reminds me of being in the southern United States. My favorite shot is the aerial one of Bel-Air at the end (Picture 16.6). The town looks absolutely fantastic. Keep up the good work, my friend!

[emilin]

That last overview shot blew me away!

Managing all those diagonals must be really, really hard - and it flows so naturally. Great job!

[Colyn]

Lots of hard work and planning in this one ... thanks for sharing.

[bat]

wonderful pictures! great city!

[stewart_garden]

Very impressive MD.  It takes me back to a road trip in NC and TN about 7 years ago.  I'm especially impressed with how you use your space: less is definitely more!

[Zaphod]

The prevalence of modern industry in the area really makes me think of areas in houston, particularly going up 290 near cy-fair

[sebes]

Excellent again It's  always a pleasure looking at the beauty of your road layouts!

[pickled_pig]

Thanks, everyone, for the continued support.  To briefly touch on a few issues that came up in the comments:
1) (in response to emilin) Working with diagnonals isn't difficut, per se, provided that you're working on relatively flat terrain, but it does bring its challenges, especially that of connecting streets to roads, as SC4 will not let you connect a street to a road changing direction
2) (in response to Zaphod) I've heard the same thing before about I-85 in Charlotte looking like Houston in a way, though I've always imagined that Texas highways are different from East Coast highways.

Anyway, thank you Thundercrack83, emilin, Colyn, bat, Stewart_garden, Zaphod and Sebes.

For the record, I'll be going to Pittsburgh, PA (link) for six weeks this summer.  To distill that into practical and understandable terms - at least for now - there will be no updates of "Travels Down I-85" this summer. 

More info on what this is about later.

I believe SC4D, unlike Simtropolis, has a rule saying that any CJ not active for x amount of days will be deemed "closed".  The thing is, though, even if I'm not here for that number x days, this CJ will in no way be "closed", as I plan to continue exactly where I left(will leave?) off on the 28th of June when I get back around the tenth of August.

This next update (Update 17) is going to continue to focus on NC-56 and another major (though unsigned) road, Renaissance Boulevard.

[DFire870]

Great update! I agree with Zaphod on how the industry near the highway kinda looks like Houston. Only major difference is the presence of feeder roads in Houston and not here.

Again, nice job, and it looks incredibly realistic.

[thundercrack83]

Another great update, Aaron! I love your suburbs, they look very realistic, and the Carlisle High School looks outstanding! Also, I'm sorry to hear that there won't be any updates during the summer, but I hope you have a good time out in Pittsburgh! Take care, my friend!

[Travis]

More beautiful suburbs, Aaron. I really like the spaciousness too- But the realistic sprawl off the interstate just takes the cake. 
Sorry to hear you'll be away for the summer, hope you have a great time in PA- we'll be waiting for your return. 

Later.

[meinhosen]

Your suburbs and the sprawl look fantastic.  Picture 17.1 is probably the best example of what I like about your updates    Great job.

[bat]

another great update! beautiful pictures!

[stewart_garden]

Another beautiful update.  I will be eagerly awaiting your return.  Enjoy your summer!

Stewart

[sebes]

Thanks for the eye candy again!

Have a great Summer...