Shultzy's Showcase - Riverholm

[ShultzCity]

-- Replies --

io_bg: Thanks!

Sciurus: Thanks - did you end up finding the dependencies re my PM?

Rady: I generally still have to do demolish work later on as this city grows - but I prefer it that way. It allows you to upgrade the natural traffic courses just like what would happen in real life. A good mix between natural and planned growth in my opinion.

canyonjumper: Thanks Jordan - I'm trying to find as many ways to incorporate nature into suburban environments....

penguin007: Thanks Will

Jmouse: Thanks for the encouragement Joan. I am trying to throw in as many little ponds and other natural tidbits in my suburban areas as I go along. Nothing special will be going along the curved road - residential and low density commercial services towards the avenue. I won't be adding any more overpasses to the RHW, and major roads will intersect directly with the avenues.

I agree re building speeds, and I am often culprit of not slowing down and inserting details into my suburban areas. I can do it fine in rural and natural areas though. I envy Battlecat's Adara ([url]http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=6976.new#new[/url)] for his attention to detail even in more urban areas.

Battlecat: Thanks BC - that is my aim, but it is hard not being able to build right up to the FAR roads.

-- Update --

Hi everyone, I am back with another update. Some of you may have read the official SAM thread and seen that I have embarked on creating a new SAM texture set. This has been taking most of my time for the last week, however I have done a fair bit of work in Grenish beforehand. Unfortunately, I haven't taken any pictures, and in order to properly test the SAM textures, I need to uninstall SFBT's Euro Texture mod. While this is uninstalled, I won't be doing any work in Grenish. I will be posting my progress on the textures here to keep you interested .

Some musings...

FAR - Brilliant addition to the NAM that I have rarely used before. I decided when I started Riverholm V3 that I wanted to take full advantage of FAR and FARR (fractional angle road and railroad). I will be using it almost exclusively for rail, and RHW (it will be coming in V4). There is a bad side though - I can't build right up to FAR, meaning that I am left with gaps in development that really should be essentially W2W. I'm trying to decide how to most effectively use it in suburban areas. Obviously I use it a lot in rural areas, but the real question is, how, when and should it be used in urban areas? Currently I am concerned that it is making some areas of my suburbia look somewhat... Unrealistic. I can't put any type of ploppable flora inbetween the road and the houses, and if I were able to, how realistic would it look having trees or shrubs between driveways and roads. I certainly wouldn't be happy if my local council decided to make the area look prettier by making scrubland between my driveway and the road. So maybe FAR would be better used for roads that bypass suburbs? Perhaps like many things in life, it is great for your cities - if used in moderation.

Your thoughts?

---

Here is a screenshot showing the 'standard' SAM textures (straight, end piece, T-intersection, 4-way intersection, 90deg curve). The streets' base textures are from a user called rivitoz (over at Simtropolis, rivit here at SC4D). They are modelled off a typical rural Australian road - they are often major arterials between towns - so they could be (this is what I will be mainly using them for) used as low capacity highways (obviously without realistic speeds) between small townships. Ignore the bright white stop lines - as discussed in the SAM thread, they are actually a mod that I have and need to get rid of.




Have a great week,
Jacob

[ManuelR]

Wow you're SAM textures look brilliant!

[ecoba]

Looking great, my friend. I'm sorry that I haven't been around here much, you have a great MD and I'll be sure to check in soon.

Ethan 

[Connor]

Very nice SAM textures 

[canyonjumper]

Great stuff Jacob! The textures look great!

             -Jordan

[RickD]

I've been following the SAM thread. The textures look great.

[Jmouse]

Taking on a new project sometimes means easing up on another. I hope you won't have to give up on Riverholm, but I'm proud to see you working on something as huge and momentously important as SAM. I'm certainly no expert at judging textures, but you must be doing a mighty good job if you're in there working with such a talented bunch of folks.

I can't speak for others, but I'm always happy to see the results of whatever game-related element you've undertaken at the moment.

Best of luck with SAM...
Joan

[ShultzCity]

-- Replies --

ManuelR: Thankyou! They are going through a bit of a facelift at the moment - I think they look even better now.

ecoba: Thanks for the kind words Ethan. Feel free to drop in as you please - I appreciate it, but I also understand that some people do actually have a life outside of SC4 

Connor: Thanks

canyonjumper: Thanks Jordan 

RickD: Thanks Rick!

Jmouse: I wouldn't dare give up on Riverholm at the moment Joan - I'm enjoying it too much! Thankyou for the kind words - I really appreciate you dropping in after every update

-- Update --

Hi all,
Mammoth update today! I have been slowly working on Grenish over the last couple of weeks, and I have filled out just over a third of the tile. As for the SAM textures, they are still coming along! I've been in correspondence with the original creator of the textures (rivit), and we have decided on working together for the project. We have given the textures a bit of a facelift, and are ready to start. To make things even more time consuming, we are creating the textures with custom alpha maps, which looks great but takes that much longer! Early estimates are 2-4 months of fairly solid work to get it done. Once all the textures are complete, rivit will be compiling them into a stand alone Maxis street override, and I'll be compiling them into a new SAM set.

Grenish is sitting nicely at 50,000 residents at the moment, in a relatively stable condition. Development is slow, as I am going for realistic regional development - meaning that some tiles will have swathes of jobs, and some will have a huge amount of residents. Grenish is one of the residential heavy tiles, which means trying to balance jobs with population is hard. In previous regions, I have found that not starting off with a solid mass transit network is a huge mistake. I am determined not to make the same mistakes this time - Grenish has a large tram network, train network and a positively huge bus network. There is so much mass transit that my highway isn't even being used. Hopefully when neighbouring city tiles are built, highway use will increase (it's all about realism!)

OK, onto todays update. This is basically a showcase of what I have accomplished in Grenish to date. I won't make comments on every picture - hopefully they will speak for themselves . There is one area that is mostly complete but is not shown in any of todays images. Enjoy!

2.1


2.2 - This is the result of too many people with not enough jobs. I'm just keeping unemployment in check at the moment, lets hope it doesn't spiral out of control as I continue developing.


2.3 - Grenish Shopping Complex.


2.4 - Small strip mall on the outskirts of the shopping complex.


2.5



2.6 - Indoor sports complex and Officeworks.


2.7 - An outdoor sports complex and the Grenish Regional Hospital.


2.8 - The image along with 2.10 will be the closest we'll get to the new developments on the western side of Grenish today. This image shows Grenish's main rail hub.


2.9


2.10 - A glimpse of a warehouse district - To the north is the rail station seen in 2.8. You can see a vacant construction site between McDonalds and the warehouse.


2.11


2.12 - The eastern perimetre of Grenish.


2.13 - This is the entrance to a large nature reserve.


2.14 - A cafe and small playground - the hub of the nature reserve.


2.15 - A large mowed grass area with various picnis tables - perfect for an afternoon in the sun kicking a ball around.


2.16 - Walking trails allow you to get right up close to the water and watch the native ducks and other water life go about their lives.


2.17


2.18 - An overview of the nature reserve.


2.19 - A large petrol station and cafe off the main highway. Perfect for a short stop on your way around the currently uninhabitated Riverholm 


2.20


2.21


2.22


2.23


2.24 - Finally, a north to south cross-section mosaic of current development in Grenish. NOTE - This mosaic has been flipped horizontally to give a more realistic appearance. This means that trying to match it up with the other images in this update will be rather difficult. Please don't spend your time trying to figure it out - go, get outside and enjoy yourself! Of course, you could always leave me a comment first


Have a good one,
Jacob

[ecoba]

Wow! Grenish is looking really nice, Jacob. The new NAM pieces also really add some flavor to the city, sad there aren't any Euro textures yet.

Ethan 

[Jmouse]

Nice-looking suburban malls, Jacob. Looks a lot like everyday sights where I live. Also, I like the way you plopped or grew houses around that curve in 2.2. That must be a puzzle piece in the new NAM which I haven't had time to install yet.

The mixture of trees you're using in the more natural shots (2.12-2.18) look really good. My favorite of that group is 2.16 – lots of vibrant color, and you've captured nature's best side once again.

The overviews (2.20 and 2.21) look quite realistic, and that pond in 2.20 is very effective in breaking up the monotony of the low-wealth neighborhood (or is that medium wealth?). The only flaw I see, and it's a wee little thing, is over-saturation of the colors in 2.1. Of course. it could be something as simple and unavoidable as the way a person's monitor displays the picture. It might look perfectly normal to some viewers, and all out of whack to others.

I see a lot of careful planning and attention to detail here. Hope you'll be able to find time for more regular updates in the months to come. Is school out over there  yet?

Later...
Joan

[art128]

Nice couple of pictures there, Jacob !
I like what you did with the smooth curves, it really gives a nice touch to your city. I love the mosaic, the way you made it is simple stunning. Everything in it looks so wonderful. Maybe if you add some electric poles to rail line the result should be even better. Also, nice work with the commercial area, greatly done !

Arthur. 

[RickD]

The shopping complex in 2.3 is my favorite in this update.

Now I have to go and find out where those four strip mall shops in pic 2.4 are available. I don't think I have them and I am desparately looking for more variety in those kind of bats. They may not be as spectacular as a shiny skyscraper but they add so much to realism.

[thingfishs]

some damn good stuff there shultzy You're using a great selection of content very tastefully. The mosaic is nuts and where can I get the large BP station you have there? Also how much of your stuff is grown?

and of course happy birthday!

[Battlecat]

Great job on this update, it looks fantastic!  The nature reserve turned out particularly nicely! 

[Tomas Neto]

Fantastic update!!! 

[Rady]

Fantastic pictures! I can see you too have been waiting long to use the NWM ...!

[sumwonyuno]

Ah ha!  You've moved from those amazing fields to amazing urban areas with amazing open spaces!   

[canyonjumper]

Great pics Jacob! Both the nature and suburban! I really liked pics 2.17-8, they are an excellent example of how useful mayor-mode ploppables are!

                           Your friend,
                                          Jordan

[ShultzCity]

-- Replies --

ecoba: Thanks Ethan - yeah, I'm really missing Euro textures ATM. Hopefully somebody with a lot more time on their hands than me can create a set 

Jmouse: Not sure about 2.2.? I haven't used any special puzzle pieces to my knowledge?  Thanks again for the lovely coments . 2.1 does look a little over-saturated - bad photoshopping on my part. Low and medium wealth, I tried to mix it up slightly. As if an old town has started to redevelop into nicer suburban homes. School isn't out over here - getting towards the end of term though. Unfortunately, it looks like my holidays are going to be chockas, so will have to try really hard to get these updates more often!

art128: Thanks for the feedback! Curves are great, I just wish they didn't leave wholes in the development . I'll have to start electrifying my railways from now on, it has been something I've overlooked a lot of the time.

rickD: Thanks Rick. Those strip malls were mad by simgoober, and they are somewhere on the LEX. Most of the larger malls were made by LBT.

thingfishs: Thanks things, feedback as always is much appreciated - The large BP station was part of a large pack. I am sure II got it from the LEX, but I can't find them in my plugins folder, and can't find them in my LEX download history. In the pack there was probably about 12 stations - they were diferent sizes, and had commercial and residential layouts... Sorry mate . I grow everything, except for some small commercial buildings. My Commercial blocker has never worked, so have to do a lot of commercial stuff by hand.

Battlecat: Thanks!

Tomas Neto: Thanks Thomas

Rady: Waaay too long Rady! Just need some Euro textures now! Thanks

sumwonyuno: I have! Enjoying it too - Thanks for your comment

canyonjumper: Thanks Jordan, mayor mode ploppables are my friend!

-- Update --

Todays update is a large one, a bit all over the place really  . I haven't had much time at all to play SC4, but I can now say that I have finished the Grenish tile! Next update will show some overviews.

3.1


3.2 - Does anyone know how to get rid of these agricultural sidewalks (the bright yellowy ones)?


3.3


3.4


3.5


3.6


3.7


3.8


3.9


3.10 - Can't wait for some IR FARR fillers!


3.11


3.12


3.13


3.14


3.15


3.16


3.17


3.18


Sorry for the hodgepodge of images - I hope you can make sense of them all  . As I said earlier, next update will include some overviews of Grenish. Then we can move onto uncharted areas!

See ya around,
Jacob

[ecoba]

Beautiful, Jacob! Grenish really is just a wonderful city to look at, I really love the winding streets and how laid-back the whole town seems.

As for the agricultural sidings, that's just a part of the sidewalk mod that you have, I'm not quite sure how you would get rid of it, however I seem to notice a lack of them in Battlecat's MD... 

Ethan