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Saint Martin Island Map, City Building Contest, Fall 2016

Discussion in 'Competitions' started by IcyHot, Jul 30, 2016.

  1. IcyHot

    IcyHot Administrator
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    Actually since using Photoshop is allowed I don't see a problem. Honestly if some one spends 8 hours editing their city, my hat goes off to them.
     
    nicknick and veija2 like this.
  2. IcyHot

    IcyHot Administrator
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    There will be no restrictions on the use of Photoshop
     
  3. Wibi

    Wibi Elite

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    The gods have spoken.
     
  4. IcyHot

    IcyHot Administrator
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    Nah just a person.

    Reality check, Photoshop is great but if the underlying city city photo is mediocre I don't care how much lipstick you put on the pig, its still a pig.

    Lipstick on a pig
    To put "lipstick on a pig" is a rhetorical expression, used to convey the message that making superficial or cosmetic changes is a futile attempt to disguise the true nature of a product.
    (Wikipedia)
     
  5. Wibi

    Wibi Elite

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    Loving the added wikipedia reference. Anyways, great of you for taking a decisive stance on it, thumbs up.

    Eitherway, I am still excited to see what the entries will be like, be it pigs or not. #whoooo
     
  6. veija2

    veija2 Mayor

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    And the visuals run wild
    [​IMG]
     
    nicknick, RedZone19, IcyHot and 3 others like this.
  7. IcyHot

    IcyHot Administrator
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    I was tempted to post a pic myself :b23:
     
  8. RedZone19

    RedZone19 Mayor

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    Little town by the bay, I think I need to make a better transition between the town houses and the taller buildings. :love:

    [​IMG]
     
  9. kipate

    kipate Governor

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    Hmmh, I would have wished you had put a bit more effort into avoiding or at least hiding all these little "mistakes" that can happen when you place two no collision buildings into each other; for instance broken windows, water pipes only partially seeable, stuff like that. I mean, you are using mods that yield free movement, so don't rush it.
     
  10. RedZone19

    RedZone19 Mayor

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    Ty for the feedback, but I think I'll just leave it there for now. I don't wanna spend a lifetime pursuing perfection in an imperfect game. Besides, I have an additional 8 hours of magic time, right? :love:
     
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  11. kipate

    kipate Governor

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    Yeah, you could try to take textures of good looking no collision sceneries and put them over the bad looking no collision sceneries.
     
  12. RedZone19

    RedZone19 Mayor

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    Good idea.
     
  13. nicknick

    nicknick Governor

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    Red Zone 19, i like what i see.

    Not bothered at all about the non colission buidlings. . . the transition is perhaps an issue. . . still i see a picture "as is".

    Transition between high rise and low rise is rare though in reality. Of course who cares about reality? I personally don't hahaha.

    New York in the 1920's and 1930's is an example of abrupt changes in the buidlings height, still it's a medium rise to high rise, meaning from 6 - 9 floors to +30 etc. You can see some examples here:

    http://iconolo.gy/sites/default/files/05839u.jpg
    http://hotpenguin.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/NYC-in-1930_05.jpg
    http://wirednewyork.com/images/nycbw/041.jpg

    Here is 1905:
    https://tasteofusa.files.wordpress....ridge-and-manhattan-bridge-new-york-c1905.jpg

    As you may be able to see in the photos, this is a rather abrupt transition but from mid-rise to high rise. And the mid-rise areas are pretty dense. Basically what happens in the 1920's is we have an already evolved city and new construction methods suddenly liberate builders. Real estate comes and then. . . skyscrapers just pop up here and there, in clusters.

    End of the day. . . a city is any city we want it to be. Put a small bench and a 200 stories scyscraper next to it and then a single story house. I 'd personally love to own this house cause i assume they 'd be willing to buy it for millions lol. Only this though. . . my life would not be pristine there i guess.
    Nevertheless, if we are talking about cities of today and want to attain some realism that reflects real way a city evolves, this may be too abrupt indeed.

    Some other possible source of information can be Miami in the 1940's where you do have buidlings with roof tiles on top instead of the flat roof top like NYC and you also have some transition, again much smoother though.

    http://www.parsec-santa.com/photos/Miami/MiamiYachtHarbor1940.jpg

    At the end of the day. . . i 'd say. . . "why not". . . i mean who says a specific set should be used on a specific way? It may be supposed to be used a specific way, but if we used all things in our lives they way they are supposed to be used it would be a really boring world and a world with less inventions. This ( "things should be done in a specific way" ) was what the School of Paris and Louis Leroy ( Louis Leroy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ) were saying to the Impressionists rejecting their paintings.

    Art and creation have no easy answers and agreements are rare sometimes.

    Same for the transition besides the sets. Someone can do anything he / she wants. Final result is what counts. . . You probably should correct it / you probably shouldn't correct it So. . . srsly. . . i can't help you, i can just give some ideas :)
     
  14. veija2

    veija2 Mayor

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    Mid rise and high rise buildings popping out of low rise urban areas is a common feature of American Mid-Western cities. Although I'm sometimes faulted for it, it's a common feature in many of my cities as well. This is around Cherry Hill in Denver.
    denverLowRise.jpg
     
  15. nicknick

    nicknick Governor

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    Great picture
    . . . at first i thought it's a game picture lol and i was like "wtf! that's a lot of work" lol :D
     
  16. Clemech4

    Clemech4 Ambasidor

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    Nice start!
    It's not unrealistic to have high rises next smaller buildings without a smooth transition in European cities, look at
    Lyon: http://www.unsadefense.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Lyon-Ville.jpg
    Madrid: http://r-ec.bstatic.com/data/explorer_city/max800/109/1090.jpg
    Le Havre: http://i-cms.linternaute.com/image_cms/original/2074885-le-havre-20.jpg
    Rouen: http://www.ouest-france.fr/sites/de...esormais-la-region-de-rouen.jpg?itok=XvPtn002
    or Bruxelles: http://www.worldtravelimages.net/Brussels_140628_114.JPG
    But European cities which have high rises are generally important cities ;)
     
  17. Wibi

    Wibi Elite

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    I was gonna say the exact same thing! Didn't realize Google maps had this feature. Been googling and scrolling through the Tokyo skyline for the past few minutes. So good.
     
  18. kipate

    kipate Governor

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    It is rather common for European cities not to have smooth transitions. I mean, many cities have had huge churches from the middle ages onwards. Even at the beginning of the skyscraper age, the late 19th century, the new buildings were no match against the churches:
    Register or to view Spoiler content!

    Also, in most cities of (Western) Europe, urban heritage preservation laws have since disallowed for "pulping" whole historical districts (the 'historical' is important here). Hence there has never been a chance for creating a district of highrises culminating into three or four really huge skyscrapers (as is in some American cities).

    You may disagree by naming e.g. La Defense, Canary Wharf, or Westend but:
    1) La Defense is not part of the municipality of Paris.
    2) Canary Wharf, as the name implies, was built in a former industrial estate, and the buildings there were apparentely not valued high enough to preserve them; there are, however, other formerly industrial buildings that are well preserved, for instance the Battersea Power Station.
    3) Westend in Frankfurt am Main again is not quite culminating; there had contrarily been a real fight for putting old lowrises there on a preservation list.

    Also, even American cities tend to have no transition from some sides. Just look at Pittsburgh:
    First image looks like the buildings are rather culminating, scenic, not?
    [​IMG]

    But on the next image, you can see that the culminating scenery is only appearing from one side:
    [​IMG]
     
  19. kipate

    kipate Governor

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    Completely unrelated to the discussions above, here a view over the Castle Hill:
    Next to the lighthouse in the foreground, you have a famous restaurant. The free space in front of the castle is used for events and concerts during summertime. Some of the buildings within the castle are forming the castle museum nowadays. Nonetheless, there are still about 150-200 people living there. There are some small shops that offer basic daily goods, as well as a small medical station.
    [​IMG]
     
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  20. nicknick

    nicknick Governor

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    That is going very well Kipate.
    At this point, speaking for your submission that it has been worked already for sufficient time and is reaching a "i am finishing it point" i 'd be seeking 10 shots that i would compete with.
    This would mean that if it's not possible to finish absolutely everything in the city ( it needs months ) i 'd work on the angles of the specific shots to work to points i 'd like to showcase and draw attention.

    In the specific photo i 'd enchance two things with means that are available in-game. I assume this is XL you are working on.

    First thing i 'd enchance would be the "foundation" of the castle wall, referring to the more steep part. I 'd use an 1meter walk path near the base and another one very near to the wall base and apply a rocky texture. Or i 'd plant some trees. Realistically speaking people would definitely pick to build a wall there since it's on higher grounds but it needs some more solid "look" than grass. You can also use the menirs addon. Do work with some walk paths IN the concerts / actions area in front of the castle. . . many people don't read the text, so you want to draw attention there through the picture and not having to explain things. Things myst be speaking by their own.

    Second thing i 'd work on would be the waterfront. I am not sure i like the rocks in the water right in front of a nice juicy beach. I 'd probably make the beach a bit more wide. . . also a smoother transition.

    Btw, what is the sand texure? Is it available here in some texture pack?

    Last but not least. . . plop some things in the water in the port zone to make it livelier. It needs some action in there and thingies going one way and the other way to give it the feeling and some atmoshpere to be eye catching. Your submission is already ahead others, lot of work in there, so do think of the presentation at this point meaning focusing on angles and deciding what you want to show from your city to get the reader's interest and keep him there by showcasing exactly what you want.
     

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