Sprainbrook, Pennsylvania

[Dac150]

Originally Posted by treras93

how big are those windows 'cuz it seems like there are way too many.

Thanks, treras. I believe they are 5ft high (maybe a little big, but too late to change). I tried (when I was making the building) to space them out a bit, but ended up retreating back to the close space look. I like it for that building, but yeah, I should space out the windows for future lowrises.

[Aleks]

Wow, looks great. The whole city would look awesome. I don't think their too big or too small. The floor-to-floor height should be at least 10 feet though. I make my floors between 12 and 13.6 feet tall.

Man, Are you gonna try it for most buildings in the city?

[Dac150]

Originally Posted by Aleks0o01

Man, Are you gonna try it for most buildings in the city?

Yeah, that's the plan. They take time, but once they are placed in the city it's worth it.

[Dac150]

So I was thinking of using fake companies for this city to make it a bit more fun. I've thought of a few names (WorldCom, Ottomeyer Financial, Howell & Hughes Investments, Vanguard Holdings, and I'll bring back a few names you already know: T.R.I, Castleton Financial, etc...).

Also, are you guys too finding your city file to be running slow? It gets very annoying how long it takes to draw a line or move a building. I'm deleting old files in attempt to speed the program up.

I mean, do you guys make buildings, bridges, ports, etc.. in other files and copy them in? I hope I'm not the only one dealing with all this lag.

Any suggestions to speed it up?

[treras93]

Well you can do what i do. i make several blocks in its own file then i make each separate block in to a component. then i simply hide them in the main file to make it run faster.

as you can see

[Austin55]

cut a area of blocks out, make the buildings for it, put it back in.

Hide things, turn off textures, turn off auto save and hardware acceleration, disable things your not using, everything a component, turn of lines, use textures, use different styles, use sun for shading, export smaller graphics, blah blah blah, it gets longer. For me deleting files didn't spped it up noticibly. San felix can take up to a minute to respond to a movement of the camera with shadows and textures on.

[Dac150]

^^^^ Thank you guys, I appreciate the advice. I'll just continue to make buildings in seperate files and place them on the plots in the main one. That has worked well, but the main file is just a mess when it comes to speed.

[Aleks]

Well, as long as you make smexy detailed buildings it's ok.

[Dac150]

Originally Posted by Aleks0o01

Well, as long as you make smexy detailed buildings it's ok.

I actually just added another one. This is going to be unlike anything I ever made.

[Aleks]

Sounds good. Will you show it today or tomorrow?

[Dac150]

I was actually planning on giving a few teaser shots this weekend, but maybe if I have time I'll post a few on Friday. I'm shooting to start the updates on May 5th. Until then I'll post a few shots here and there.

[Peter]

Nice to see you back for a bit Dac!

The brick building is really neat. The windows themselves are designed perfectly and the entrance is realistic. The only thing that would make it better is variation with the window columns spacing. It's something I did not do in my city at first either, but then I started doing it and I was having more realistic looking buildings. If your not sure what I mean, I'll try to explain.

Basically, instead of putting all the windows in a repetitive grid-like fashion, you can use more or less spacing between specific columns of windows, depending on the design you want. That's just something to keep in mind for future buildings if you want more variation in your designs!

The files sure do get slower the more you make in them. Treras does it the same as I do. Pretty much make everything a group or component (I prefer groups), and that will make it simple to select what you want and just hide them.


And Don't forget to bring back KeyLife!

[Dac150]

Originally Posted by Peter

Nice to see you back for a bit Dac!

The brick building is really neat. The windows themselves are designed perfectly and the entrance is realistic. The only thing that would make it better is variation with the window columns spacing. It's something I did not do in my city at first either, but then I started doing it and I was having more realistic looking buildings. If your not sure what I mean, I'll try to explain.

And Don't forget to bring back KeyLife!

Thank you for the tips Peter, I'll be sure to check it out! I understand what you mean with the windows, and I really like your idea. I'll be sure to try it out.

And I'll be sure to bring back KeyLife. I actually forgot about that company until you brought it up. Now that you did, it'll for sure be back.

[Dac150]

For tomorrow guys I plan on making an introduction update for Sprainbrook which will include a history of the city as well as four pics of the current skyline. I'll also be giving info about some of the corporations that'll be in the city too, such as KeyLife, T.R.I, WorldCom, Ottomeyer Financial, Howell & Hughes Investments, Vanguard Holdings, and the biggest of them all: Worldcom. All the corporations in this city will be fictional, unlike in my past cities when it was a mix if actual and fictional companies.

This should be my best city yet, and without a doubt the most realistic and detailed (especially the facades). Some buildings have been taken from other files and pasted in that have been used in past cities such as the latest Chamberlin, and my entry for the SSP group city. Each building will have its own history.

[treras93]

sounds good

[Dac150]

Sprainbrook was founded in 1760 during a time when few thought the ground they stood on would develop into the country that is today. Regardless though of who had control of the land, Sprainbrook was always a industry city full of factories producing what the people of the colonies and eventually the USA needed. This industry was fueled by the mighty Housatonic River where which merchant vessels steamed up and down to deliver Sprainbrook made goods all across the land.

Throughout the years up until 1950, Sprainbrook maintained a well populated and handsome communtiy full of jobs and life. But the fate of many 'mom and pop' cities and towns such as Spainbrook were getting the squeeze from international nations such as China and India who were producing goods for much cheaper. In only took so long before Sprainbrook turned into a ghost town where the young were moving out followed by any remaining business.

However, corporate powerhouses that were founded in Sprainbrook such as WorldCom, Ottomeyer Financial, and Howell & Hughes Investments were keeping life and rallying to bring more of it to Sprainbrook. However, these corporate giants didn't lose the thought of moving out as well. WorldCom (the World'd largest and most powerful corporation) was eyeing up a new global HQ in New York at the time.

Once the Sprainbrook officials got word of the possibility of loosing the three things keeping the city alive, they went to work on finding a solution. The mayor at the time payed a trip the Philly for the weekend, and when he returned that Monday morning, he said the one word that eventually put Sprainbrook on the map, and that word was 'SKYSCRAPERS'.

WorldCom, and the others ate up the idea and were thrilled to get brand new highrise HQ's that would be financed by Sprainbrook's 'last resort' funds. The gamble of a lifetime proved to be a success, because three skyscrapers were all it took to trigger a heavy flow of corporate activity. They flocked from New York, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Philly, etc, to get a piece of the low rates.

A classic business term known as 'risk', topped with the 'sell low, make more' tactic payed off for a city that was facing the ax. In present time Sprainbrook plays host to some of the World's largest corporations and is where 1.5 million people call home.

Hope I didn't kill you guys with the history, but I thought it was a good read. There will be some pics of the city tonight.

[Peter]

Very interesting! Is 1.5 million just the pop. of the city itself, or the whole metro? I think the whole metro should have a pop. of around 5 million. The first skyscrapers are going to be intl. style boxes? I am assuming since the mayor approved skyscraper construction in the late 50s to early 60s, plus I know that's your favorite style.

[Dac150]

Originally Posted by Peter

Very interesting! Is 1.5 million just the pop. of the city itself, or the whole metro? I think the whole metro should have a pop. of around 5 million. The first skyscrapers are going to be intl. style boxes? I am assuming since the mayor approved skyscraper construction in the late 50s to early 60s, plus I know that's your favorite style.

Thanks Peter. The city itself will have a population of 1.5 million. I've yet to figure the metro area, but 5 million sounds about right.

90% of the skyscrapers in this city will be boxes, and variations of boxes. The majority of construction took place in the 60's and 70's, with one from the 80's, nothing in the 90's, and they'll be about five from this decade. The first sksycraper was actually built in 1961, with approval in 1958 by the city.

And yes, my own liking did have an influence on what was built. You'll see that with what will be shown tonight.

[Aleks]

Sounds great. Only 3 skyscrapers? Well, when you open land and lower taxes good things come. EX. Seattle, when they increased the height restriction many developers started to propose condo towers. It seems like the condo craze is nearly over but more and more office skyscrapers pop up every year. Bye to the home, hello to the office.

About your history, sounds great. I also had an idea that a lot pf these buildings were going to be boxes but that's ok. What does WorldCom do to be so powerful?

[Dac150]

Originally Posted by Aleks0o01

Sounds great. Only 3 skyscrapers? Well, when you open land and lower taxes good things come.
About your history, sounds great. I also had an idea that a lot pf these buildings were going to be boxes but that's ok. What does WorldCom do to be so powerful?

Thanks Alek. At the time (1961) there were only three skyscrapers built as an experiment to see if they (with their low rates) would alter more corporations to flood into the city. The gamble (as said in the history) payed off, and during the rest of the 60's and well into the 70's, there was a boom of commercial office space.

The three skyscrapers were built for the three Sprainbrook based corporations as an incentive for their vocal and financial support. Those three corporations were WorldCom, Ottomeyer Financial, and Howell & Hughes Investments.

As far as WorldCom goes, I'll give you the history of them tonight in another post following this one.