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world renowned whogivesafuckologist
retired moderator
Original Poster
#1 Old 12th Jul 2013 at 12:50 PM Last edited by HystericalParoxysm : 17th Jul 2013 at 10:07 AM.
Default Cascade Falls - Test version up!








I've been working on a world since the release of Late Night - a complete overhaul of the Bridgeport neighborhood terrain. I kept some of the large decorations (the bridge, retaining walls), some of the terrain sculpting, and some of the terrain painting, but replaced all the roads, lots, and terrain textures, and re-sculpted some of the areas to create quite a bit more room for more lots. I also added a LOT of trees, and several nice natural areas.

The overall look and feel is meant to be sort of Pacific Northwest - Seattle/Tacoma/Victoria/Vancouver (I lived in Victoria for a couple years). I haven't yet done the colour ramp stuff to give it a bit of a "dreary" feel, but I do intend to do that before the world is complete.

It is a large world in every sense of the word - on the largest map, with many lots, and fairly complex. It will require quite a strong computer to run - I know this is a pain in the ass, but I have a nice strong computer, and I am primarily building my ideal world and hoping that others will like it too.

The whole thing is very nearly almost complete - all sculpted, lots placed, routing pretty much done, lanscaping done, most spawners added, most lots built. I pretty much am down to finishing up the lots I still need to build, testing, and finishing touches like doing the tone ramp thing to make it have the right feel.

Test Version:

This is test version 1.01 and is incomplete. There are still some problems and errors, and half-done things.

To test this version you will need to download:
What I am looking for in feedback in this test version:
  • General look and feel, impressions, etc. - if there's things you particularly like, or things you think need more work, let me know - it'll probably be something I was planning on tweaking more anyway, but suggested improvements are always welcome.
  • Errors: Lot edges that are not perfect (with that stupid |||||| line thing happening), floating trees or other foliage, floating decorations and other wonky weirdness
  • Ideas for things to add (and perhaps places to put them)
  • There are a couple lots that have Store content - the Gym has a sauna and massage table, and the Alchemy shop is chock full of Store stuff (these are not intended to be included as-is in the finished version). I think there's one house that used plants from the Store (which I intend to fix). Otherwise (and except for the listed content) it should be completely CC/Store free. If you see something that you think is displaying improperly due to lack of required content, please let me know!
  • Do cars get stuck on the road above the motel?
  • Do trees display okay at night? I get a weird glowing effect on ones at a distance in my game, but that may be a graphics card issue and nothing to do with the world.
  • Can you access the dive site?


Some details:















There's also a buttload of residential lots, most small to medium but some quite large and at least one 64x64. I'll edit and list the lot sizes soon. Huge thanks and credits go to plasticbox as a big whack of the residential lots are hers, as allowed under her beautifully permissive policies.
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Mad Poster
#2 Old 12th Jul 2013 at 4:35 PM
Looks great! Bridgeport's settings have always reminded me of the Pacific Northwest (IMO I think the city is actually based on Vancouver).

I would definitely try to add a bit of grittiness to the city, maybe more worn-out buildings, telephone poles on the streets, fishing boats, lumber yards, etc.

But maybe this is a leisure community so things might be nicer.
world renowned whogivesafuckologist
retired moderator
Original Poster
#3 Old 12th Jul 2013 at 5:01 PM Last edited by HystericalParoxysm : 17th Jul 2013 at 10:37 AM.
There's some gritty bits in places - an abandoned lot down by the docks (along with the criminal warehouse), and a bit of a slummy area with a trailer park, junkyard, tattoo parlor, liquor store, crappy motel, and dive bar. The rest is supposed to be rural-ish in places and suburban in others, but overall nice-ish.

I took the pics with my old test version, which hadn't had a lot of decorations added. I exported a new test version that's updated, so these are newer, with more scrungy bits. This is the docks area:



Sorry about the rain, but I guess it fits the pacific northwest feel! I think I may need to rearrange some things though, as the dive bar/motel/tattoo/liquor area is a bit separated from the docks area and I should probably have all the "run down" parts together. Gonna be a bit of a pain to modify all that at this point, but the more I look at it, the more I don't like having one little pocket of crap here and another over there, with nice stuff in between. :\
Scholar
#4 Old 12th Jul 2013 at 5:40 PM
Look interesting Wanna see more pics
Lab Assistant
#5 Old 12th Jul 2013 at 6:51 PM
I'm really interested in your flea market/consignment store. I keep building crappy flea markets, and yours looks really good. It's the one with the red and white awnings, right? Everything else looks great, too. I think unless you can add mud slides and make it take more than an hour to get anywhere in town, it won't feel much like Seattle to me, but I could see Tacoma....
#6 Old 12th Jul 2013 at 7:16 PM
Can't put my finger on it, I am more 'emotion' driven person, so the atmosphere of the run down areas appears or rather 'feels' right to me, from the pics. The area under the bridge reminds me of the run from CDG airport in Paris or Heathrow in London, the sad, industrial parts you must pass through to get to the more salubrious parts of town. And it's got to feel like that, cities evolved, they weren't created in one deft swipe of the hand, and the run down parts show part of that evolution.
Helptato
#7 Old 12th Jul 2013 at 8:20 PM
Looks gorgeous so far, great work!


Emma!

Simblr
[url=https://peanutbuttersandwich.dreamwidth.org/Dreamwidth[/url]
Mad Poster
#8 Old 13th Jul 2013 at 4:39 AM
Quote: Originally posted by fairycake89
Can't put my finger on it, I am more 'emotion' driven person, so the atmosphere of the run down areas appears or rather 'feels' right to me, from the pics. The area under the bridge reminds me of the run from CDG airport in Paris or Heathrow in London, the sad, industrial parts you must pass through to get to the more salubrious parts of town. And it's got to feel like that, cities evolved, they weren't created in one deft swipe of the hand, and the run down parts show part of that evolution.


I think that the run-down areas are almost there, but just need the added benefit of having fewer trees, or just more scraggly ones. Usually in American cities, the residential areas are the leafiest, as they can afford the maintenance required to keep the leaves on the trees. In zones that are industrial, commercial or just plain poor, vegetation usually grows in the neglected corners, the used areas simply have no need for trees in the way, especially given the post-war car culture that dominates America.

Looking at this map of a slightly worn-down area of Tacoma, notice how much parking space there is- vegetation is only found wedged between the parking lots and the streets, or in vacant lots.

https://maps.google.com/?ll=47.2399...006378&t=h&z=18

Same here, notice the difference between the residential zones and the commercial ones!
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=seat...Washington&z=17

Therefore...


- In the picture with the the dive bar, motel, tattoo parlor, and liquor store, I would create University-style fake parking lots surrounding the building on the lower right hand corner and behind the two buildings on the top left.

- Remove the row of cypresses (or at least thin them out)

- Scatter some remains of railway tracks around the industrial area

- Use the cheap-looking wooden post street lamps instead of the frilly curved ones you have here right now.

- Chainlink fences facing roads and surrounding the parking lots I suggested

- Some of the scummy world items i.e. the broken car, trash can, dumpster, etc.

- A small note regarding the weather- definitely make it overcast, but don't forget the one or two gorgeous days that come once in a while!



I'm not too sure what style this building is, but I think I'd try plain half walls instead of Awesim's parapet fences.
world renowned whogivesafuckologist
retired moderator
Original Poster
#9 Old 13th Jul 2013 at 9:31 AM Last edited by HystericalParoxysm : 13th Jul 2013 at 11:58 AM.
I think I'll move the slummy area over to the docks entirely. I have enough room to do it over there, and there's less pretty stuffs - only stuff like the tree shrubs, spruces, and firs (stuff that would grow "wild" rather than having to be tended). Then all the "crappy" stuff will be together (there's also a couple "rural" areas but I don't want them to be run-down, just... well, rural). Means that there will be some "nice" stuff that's near the bridge, but really, it's a much prettier view anyway.

I do want to keep the curvy lamps though, but I have only a handful in the "slummy" area - I figure they're paid for by the city, they're not going to switch to order a whole other type for the "wrong" side of town. I've also kind of been building with it in my head that this is quite an old town that used to be highly industrial, with farming, logging, and mining as their major industries... and now has changed to highly technological, scientific, and tourist-based, so they're doing their best to erase the old image as a place full of hard people covered in coal dust, but all the old buildings haven't quite gotten torn down yet and replaced with shiny pretty picturesque new ones like the rest of the town, but they're still doing their best to promote that kind of image even if they can't quite get it all cleaned up yet. Not sure about train tracks but I'll see if I can fit a little bit in.

I guess I also have more of an idea of Victoria in my head than Tacoma/Seattle, because I lived there for a while - mainly meant the sort of hilly look, the cloudiness, and the types of trees when referring to Seattle/Tacoma. I often joked when I lived there that if you dropped an old boot on the sidewalk, you'd come back next week and the boot would still be there, but someone would've planted some flowers in it. Even the "slums" are reasonably well-kept (tourism is really their biggest thing there) and have plants rambling wild over them. And I do like the look of vegetation, but I'll stick to only the non-pretty kind over on the slummy side of town when I get stuff moved over. Gonna take some fiddling to get everything over there and looking like it's meant to go there, so it might be a couple days before I can get that done (especially TS3/Edit in Game keep freezing on me!).

I have no idea what style that building is either - lol, I build some weird shit sometimes. I -think- it was vaguely based on the look of a community center that I found pics of, but I built it a long-ass time ago (like I said, been working on it since Late Night and that was probably one of the first buildings I built) so I've forgotten. Might've just been going for "blocky but functional and trying to look nicer than it is" (which is pretty much the style of all the newer buildings in the town where I grew up - which was very much the "was once industrial, now trying to be technological" style come to think of it). The big bit jutting out on top has some outdoor activities (outdoor chess table, telescope) on it, but I can try it with half walls as that wall does end up being quite tall. I think I'll change those strange Y-shaped columns too as they don't match.

Definitely don't want it too rainy - not sure how to specify the weather types but as far as the colours go, yeah, I want some pretty sunny bright days, and a bit of grey drearyness. I really don't want the water to be that Tardis blue that is on a sunny day now though.

Thank you for the detailed feedback - while I may not agree on every single point, it's really helpful to have an alternate perspective.



ETA:



I shifted the motel, liquor store, tattoo parlor, and dive bar over to the docks area. There's a big chunk of space left open there, which I need to figure out something to do with. It is also adjacent to the nicer parts of the center of town, though, with the stadium, plaza, school, and central park very close by, so I think I may have to do some sort of... gradient of niceness, from the corner on the left (where the unfinished junkyard is) to the right, where there's the stadium and some businesses. I suppose I could just make it a little forested area, but it's right in the center of town. I'll have to look at my list of lots and see if there's any appropriate commercial lots I can put in there too, and maybe an apartment block?

I love building apartments. I did this one the other day:



Not quite finished, still needs some landscaping and tweaking, but I love it so.

I wish I knew how to turn the fog off in-game, but here's an overview of the main part of town:

Lab Assistant
#10 Old 13th Jul 2013 at 11:51 PM
I don't think the niceness has to be too gradient as you approach the stadium from the industrial area. As you've described the city, it's moving away from industry, and when that happens, there ends up being a lot of cheap, mostly unused lands to be reclaimed for building stadiums and other things, because there's just nowhere else to put them. I am thinking of Minneapolis, where they built the new Twins Stadium (not so new anymore, I guess) - everything is mostly the same. I don't notice the strip clubs as much that used to be near there (they're still there, but toned down, or maybe just less shocking to me), and there's a new fancy-looking apartment/condo development that's popped up nearby, all in what used to be a really sketchy part of town. I still think it's sketchy, but it's more lucrative, so it just looks nicer. Minneapolis isn't Victoria in any sense, but I think the same still applies - the city just puts up a veneer of niceness for tourists and occasional visitors to see when they're in the immediate vicinity. So the niceness only need extend across the street perhaps.

That's just my opinion. And I totally know what you mean about Victoria having nice slums. It also wouldn't have much of rails, being on an island, but Vancouver would...
world renowned whogivesafuckologist
retired moderator
Original Poster
#11 Old 14th Jul 2013 at 5:43 PM Last edited by HystericalParoxysm : 17th Jul 2013 at 10:38 AM.
So I made the mistake of playing Dear Esther last night, and was absolutely blown away by the terrain textures. Then I looked at my world and just went all sadface.

So. I went and found and then edited the hell out of a bunch of new terrain textures.



Soooo now I'm going to repaint pretty much everything to fit the new textures better. I now have a lot more textures in the world - before, it was 1 grass, 1 dirt, 2 rock, 1 sand, pretty much used everywhere. Now I have 4 grass, 2 types of fallen leaves (pine needles and deciduous), 2 rock, 1 sand, 2 dirt, and I'll probably add a couple more. I'm going to have to be careful about not using too many types, but I'm not terribly concerned about how many I'm using per chunk as this is meant to be a world for strong computers anyway.

I also changed the dirt roads to, well, a lot darker. Not sure yet whether I like it or not or whether it's just unfamiliar and still needs some tweaking (this last only has the terrain textures replaced, not the new ones carefully added, so it's just mainly showing the new road, not the terrain painting):

Lab Assistant
#12 Old 14th Jul 2013 at 8:57 PM
The new dark road, especially in this picture, has a very PNW feel. The dirt should be this color! However, I think the "grain" of the texture of the road is very... repetitive? I know all textures will be to some degree, but it looks a bit unnatural. That's a small criticism - the only minor thing I would maybe change (except that I run my games with a lot of the graphics turned down, so I wouldn't even notice this as a player).
dodgy builder
#13 Old 15th Jul 2013 at 8:40 AM
I like your apartment building, I've seen many of those around. I was wondering about those columns at the top. I'm missing some texture there. Just a hint of what it's made of. The awesims cornice in post 8, I'm missing something on those big windows on the first floor. Perhaps if you made them 1 tile in with columns like on the second floor.

Fog is same menu list as routing and effects and such in caw. Since LN is that what 2 years of something?

The dirt road is missing a story I think. It's not quite made of industrial era waste, but it's not quite dirt either.
world renowned whogivesafuckologist
retired moderator
Original Poster
#14 Old 16th Jul 2013 at 5:36 PM Last edited by HystericalParoxysm : 17th Jul 2013 at 10:36 AM.
The road texture still needs a bit more editing but I've added a slight bit more texture. I'll keep tweaking. I'll also change the columns on top of the apartments to brick or metal or something.



For those of ya'll interested in testing (I've gotten a few PMs), I'll be wrapping up a test version for you this evening.
Mad Poster
#15 Old 18th Jul 2013 at 6:25 AM
this world is amazing, HP. it is really fast and there are minimal stuck cars/sims. way better than an EA world. and it also reminds me of the pacific north west, which is another reason i love it so much. that's where i'm from. i do think, however there could be a lounge in the less slummy part of town. you should definitely do that if you feel it fits.
world renowned whogivesafuckologist
retired moderator
Original Poster
#16 Old 18th Jul 2013 at 10:58 AM
Yay, thank you! I'm so glad you like it!

Did you notice any particular spots that get stuck sims/cars? If there's particular areas that it happens in, I can see if there's something about the routing in those areas that needs modification. Ideally I would like to have -no- stuck sims or cars, but I don't know if that's attainable. I have Overwatch and haven't had any sims get stuck yet (though the town is still underpopulated) but I do get cars stuck on the road overlooking the motel... Not sure if that's because my test sim lives in the motel or not.

I'll definitely do a really classy lounge. I have just the right name for it and everything. :D
Mad Poster
#17 Old 18th Jul 2013 at 12:35 PM
i haven't noticed, mostly because i just let overwatch do its thing and keep playing. i wouldn't worry about trying to get 0 stuck sims and cars. it seems unavoidable. can't wait for the lounge ! this is my favorite world, hands down.

i'll let you know if there's anywhere i can spot stuck sims or cars though.
Field Researcher
#18 Old 18th Jul 2013 at 11:45 PM Last edited by dreamfoil : 19th Jul 2013 at 11:04 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by dreamfoil
Residential next to the dive bar the sims enter from the back of the lot.


I used the "set as front of lot" cheat and it stopped sims running around the lot and entering from the back end. Now they enter from the side, still looks a little odd but it's fine.

Ah crap didn't mean to delete my entire post *facepalm*
world renowned whogivesafuckologist
retired moderator
Original Poster
#19 Old 19th Jul 2013 at 5:54 PM
christmasfear, you're probably right about not being able to get to 0, but I'd like to get close to it as possible!

Thank you so much for the detailed feedback, dreamfoil!

When the world is complete, every lot will have its own gnome. I'm glad you noticed them - I have a lot of fun placing them! Pretty much every lot, as it's complete, gets its own gnome, so those that I haven't finished (or ones that were made by plasticbox and I haven't renovated to fit the world style yet) are gnomeless.

I'll double check the camera routing by where you said, and I've now fixed the lot edges in all the places you've mentioned. I'll have to see if I can tweak the bumps in the road - they're a real pain in the ass to fix sometimes! Fixed the dangerously sharp terrain and I'll see if I can smooth the sides of the pit a little bit.

I'll have to check what's up with the dive bar lot - it might be as simple as just telling it where the front of the lot is again, since I moved it, so it might've gotten a little confused.

The multi-colour plants you have a problem with - is that the use of the orange/red/pink trees in the world as a whole, or the I LOVE FLOWERS FUCK YEAH FLOWERS landscaping? I might be willing to compromise on the landscaping in places, but I love the trees so that's staying.

I don't think the little gap above the hotel would cause the routing area and I double-checked the world routing and I don't see anything weird there so I don't know what the problem there was. I'll have to see what happens when I use a test sim in another house.

Did you install the "my content" pack for the world? Because the retaining wall isn't supposed to be white. It, and the wall/fence above it, should be brick that closely matches the stadium itself, like here (that's in the big park but they use the same brick texture - one of the other pics behind the spoiler tag in my first post shows the brick on the stadium lot, though not as closely as that one).
Field Researcher
#20 Old 19th Jul 2013 at 6:31 PM
Quote: Originally posted by HystericalParoxysm
When the world is complete, every lot will have its own gnome. I'm glad you noticed them - I have a lot of fun placing them!

I had fun finding them! :lovestruc And I was amused to see the random pudding kicking them.

Quote: Originally posted by HystericalParoxysm
I'll have to check what's up with the dive bar lot - it might be as simple as just telling it where the front of the lot is again, since I moved it, so it might've gotten a little confused.

It wasn't dive bar it's the residential next to the dive bar.

Quote: Originally posted by HystericalParoxysm
The multi-colour plants you have a problem with - is that the use of the orange/red/pink trees in the world as a whole, or the I LOVE FLOWERS FUCK YEAH FLOWERS landscaping? I might be willing to compromise on the landscaping in places, but I love the trees so that's staying.

No don't change it. Something like that is easy enough for a player to change if they don't like. I love the amount of trees and flowers you used, I just prefer less variety. It looks normal in real life but in game it looks odd to me at least.

Quote: Originally posted by HystericalParoxysm
I don't think the little gap above the hotel would cause the routing area and I double-checked the world routing and I don't see anything weird there so I don't know what the problem there was. I'll have to see what happens when I use a test sim in another house.

Well I never noticed any issue with the roads. There was one man hole half covered by a road, that I forgot to mention. I think it was by the community center.

Also forgot to mention the world has zero lag which is awesome. I'll load the world again without overwatch.

Quote: Originally posted by HystericalParoxysm
Did you install the "my content" pack for the world? Because the retaining wall isn't supposed to be white. It, and the wall/fence above it, should be brick that closely matches the stadium itself, like here (that's in the big park but they use the same brick texture - one of the other pics behind the spoiler tag in my first post shows the brick on the stadium lot, though not as closely as that one).


Ah! It all makes sense now. I did install the CC but there isn't a brick pattern in the zip. Just the EKTORP set and eight terrain paints.
I don't have the store content or IP, could it have been part of that?

One fence on the consignment lot was also missing, I just assumed it was store content or IP.
world renowned whogivesafuckologist
retired moderator
Original Poster
#21 Old 19th Jul 2013 at 6:44 PM
Huh, I think I must've forgotten the brick pattern then! Derp! I'm sorry!

I'll have to check the manholes. ... oh man that sounds wrong.

The fence on the consignment store lot should've been part of Armiel's build set. Perhaps I linked to the wrong place. I'll have to check.
Field Researcher
#22 Old 19th Jul 2013 at 6:58 PM Last edited by dreamfoil : 19th Jul 2013 at 10:44 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by HystericalParoxysm
I'll have to check the manholes. ... oh man that sounds wrong.



Quote: Originally posted by HystericalParoxysm
The fence on the consignment store lot should've been part of Armiel's build set. Perhaps I linked to the wrong place. I'll have to check.

Well I feel like an idiot now I must have missed it. I shuffled most of my CC out to play Cascade Falls.

Quote: Originally posted by dreamfoil
There was one man hole half covered by a road, that I forgot to mention.

It's outside the gym.

EDIT: The stairs in houses with second and third floor stairs in the same position aren't working for me. The sims get to the top and go back down. Found one home seemingly complete with a gnome but some of the stairs are missing.
And I think the mail box at the hotel/apartment should be moved. Sims aren't using the room as the entry point. Instead they idle at outside at the tree and use their x-ray vision to see through the wall and inside the mailbox.
Screenshots
Mad Poster
#23 Old 19th Jul 2013 at 10:40 PM Last edited by lewisb40 : 19th Jul 2013 at 11:03 PM.
I wanted to try out the test version of this world but the archives are corrupt. I will try downloading it again. For the DIY Build Set, do I need all of it? I see that outdated ones, I know not to download them.

Nevermind, worked it all out. Thank you very much for this world, love the pictures.

Resident member of The Receptacle Refugees
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world renowned whogivesafuckologist
retired moderator
Original Poster
#24 Old 21st Jul 2013 at 1:47 PM
dreamfoil - Hmm, those ones with the stacked stairs (and the one you mentioned there with the gnome and missing stairs) are all by plasticbox. Perhaps the stairs like that worked before a certain patch? I'd been planning on going in and redecorating a bit in all of them (mostly just tweaking the plants and terrain paints so they match the world's) but if the stairs don't work, I guess I won't bother. Damn, that's annoying... There's probably 20 houses of hers that I was planning on using, and now I guess I'll have to either renovate to remove the stairs done like that, or build new houses. There's probably at least some of the little narrow houses with stacked stairs too, that I did... aughhhh. I'll move the mailbox on the hotel lot too. Thanks!

lewisb40 - Glad you got it working! Any issues you've run into?
Theorist
#25 Old 22nd Jul 2013 at 3:32 AM
This looks amazing! I'll try to test for you!

The stacked stairs have been borked, fixed, and borked again.

According to Pescado, it's a world orientation thing but it's kind of difficult to explain. But I'll give it a a shot! If the house was built on a lot in a world along an East-West road (for example), you can't put it in a world along a North-South road or the stairs won't work. IOW, if you pick up the house and place it on a road going in the opposite direction, chances are the stairs will work. I have tested this and the stairs were fixed when I moved the house.

It's a pain. I wish they would just fix it again.

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