For purposes of simplicity, i thought i'd post the proposal that was voted on here ... hopefully my verbal ability isn't as limited as my graphic, though i note that the final model that was actually voted on was not the one that jon has represented here... lol. i worked hard to smooth those edges! Oh well.
Here is the text anyway.
Proposal Name: Alpine meadows and farms:
Needs of the community:
People
Continuity, including avoidance of theme bleed.
Activities to entertain residents and tourists.
Between all cities, the natural buffer is the countryside. Farm to market roads are the building blocks of commerce. They also provide a luxurious view for riding horses, walking, or even driving. The scenes do not change significantly over time.
This proposal has at its base an agrarian connection between NFS and CN. Due to the grade issues, it seems that a terraced landscape would be the most attractive, including providing premier building lots for residents and able to maintain the most green space/natural environment. As a starting point, the sim would be terraced with 4 to 5 levels, relatively equal in sq m. (255m /5 terraces =51 m each... 255/4terraces = 63.75 m each, for initial purposes, these terraces would be "square" … that is the drop and the horizontal area would be equal.)
1. The top terrace would be "side of the mountain" and tie into NFS at the current levels, attaching the current roads and bringing them toward a central main road down the "mountain." The topography would be rocky, and would easily accommodate cave dwellings. Central to this level would be a spring or other water that would act as the "source" for a stream/river meandering down the mountain toward the river in CN. As the elevations are steep, my thought is that the river would gain in breadth and speed as it moves down the mountain. I've no idea if that is possible. The density of cave or surface dwellings on the high cliffs would be determined by how many parcels we want to offer, but low density, high prim lots with set back requirements to maintain the agrarian nature of Alpine Meadows and Farms would give citizens more opportunity to be creative.
2. The second level of the terrace would see the joining of the two roads. If the land can be terraformed to make smooth drops, this can be just a standard road, maybe two-track dirt? to reinforce the country nature and to avoid tying the area to one time period or the other. On this level, the river would make a wide turn. This, and each level afterward, would have one larger lot (2048?) upon which a chateaux or castle would be built, again with setback and green space requirements. Farm cottages or houses suitable to the agrarian theme would then fill the rest of the level, preferably with vineyard, terraced gardens, or field of crops. This level could also house a "raft lodge" from which rafts for the river could be "rented" or otherwise provided for tourists for whitewater rafting to the CN river.
3/4… these levels would repeat the basic topography of level 2, with only the river and the road cutting through. If the river switches back, bridges might be needed on the road.
4/5 The last level has to tie this sim to the topography of CN. In doing so, it needs to account for the river and road connections, as well as the "mouth" of the river on the east side. It is important to maintain attractive views along this edge of the sim. Therefore, the majority of this level could be rocks and waterfalls, perhaps pooling together at Lot B.O2 in CN (Carolyn's old lot) then dropping beneath the road and splitting the lot across the road (presently owned by Chrome Isle Holdings,) and join with the CN river.
The East end would also have waterfalls, dropping into a "lake"... similar at least in my mind to Lake Constance. (64 sq m seems small, but sufficient, as this could bleed into the next sim and will presently "look" bigger with the "ocean" beyond) A small fishing village could cluster around the lake, depending on room ... here I'm not so clear in the vision.
Alternatively, the whole terrace can be a waterfall dropping into another river, making the CN river and the AMF river both pour into the "lake". If that option were chosen, the cliff castles and cottages could be repeated.
I would zone the property light commercial, so that the Chateau (s) can sell from shops within their property if they wish, or roadside stands of an approved nature. (Flower stands? fruit? wine?)
Finally, the sides of the sim... either or both the east and west, could be a sheer drop of rock.... where we could host rock climbing and paragliding. This would then bring the sim to ground level or close to it to accommodate any sim development to the east and west in the future. The sim would be also be great for horses, hiking, (autos?) ...etc. Maybe even apple picking.
