The Shining City Upon a Hill

[Justice Soothsayer]

Kudos to those involved in the planning and implementation of Alpine Meadow. It really looks great, and is a splendid connection between Neufreistadt and Colonia Nova. Looking towards Neufreistadt from CN or AM, Neufreistadt has become the Shining City Upon a Hill!

I would suggest one minor modification to Neufreistadt in light of the new connection between our sims. I think we need a gate at the north end of Talenstasse (where it intersects with Sudanestrasse) to permit smooth access to town from those approaching from our other two sims. Yes, I know we can fly or teleport to the Platz but a northern gate would be nice.

[Sleazy_Writer]

A city gate at the AM side of Talenstrasse would indeed be convenient. Sadly the person who made our gates (Dianne) seems to be at the point of leaving the CDS, and we don't have copies . . . Alternatively some kind of suitable stairs could perhaps be made near the entrance of the soccer field?

But something else,

Who are my neighbours?

I'm very happy to announce that I got my hands on a small plot in AM near CN, "DH6". I've been asking around but I can't figure out who my neighbours are on plots DS5 (near lake) and DT1 (near road & NFS). Who are you guys?

[Sudane Erato]

For the record, I'm really against an alteration in the NFS walls to put a gate there.

For one thing, it is about 100m (perhaps thats a bit of an exageration, but its very high) above the terrain outside it. Perhaps suitable for a landing platform, although I'm not sure that medieval bavarian towns were equipped with landing platforms. Most importantly, NFS was created to replicate the organic growth pattern of a RL village... a place that might have grown to its present state through a process of the townspeople interacting with the terrain and each other to shape spaces over a long time. To take the step of adding a gate at the suggested location in my opinion would be a drastic ignoring of the realities of the terrain on which the city found itself, and thus contrary to the premise of the NFS city build itself.

We are not principally a "walking culture" (in Second Life). But if we wish to walk, or ride, we have a perfectly established, although somewhat roundabout, route for traveling from the city to the new sim. I vote that, for the time being, we leave it exactly as it is.

Sudane.........................

[michelmanen]

I fully agree with Sudane's comments above.

[Jamie Palisades]

I agree with Sleazy here. I think foot paths and non-teleport land access DO matter, and will do so more over time.
It bothers me that there's only one road connection, NFS <> AM. What city would design so? Our NFS wall has no gate on two sides because, and only because, there was empty Linden Aether there.
Wild example. Let's say that the town council noticed that one burgher effectively controlled all commerce on the road between Point N and Point A. And that this mattered somehow. Wanna bet they wouldn't blast a new gate on the East side, or arrange for a paved path adjacent to other landowners on the West, if they thought that it would improve commerce? :) Sudane's absolutely right that growth should be organic. When land appears outside my city's wall, and I can't GET to it, eventually, the organic thing to do involves pickaxes, shovels and gunpowder. (And if there's ever a sim to the East of NFS, same issue all over again.) cheers JP

[Salzie Sachertorte]

I rather like the City as it is currently configured. Cities were walled for a reason - to defend against attack by outside forces, hence one or two easily defensible gates. I think more access to the other sims could be provided by extending the road stubs in the NW viertal through to the new sim.

[Sonja Strom]

The only way to extend existing roads through the NW Viertel would be through my land, which does not seem necessary to me for the community. It also does not seem to me that at this time we need more roads than we already have anyway, with one possible exception: extending the road that goes by the horses and wagon, and then by the "TP to the Schloss" pole, on up to the west side of the bridge, in order to complete that route and connect them.

Mainly how I see the issue of roads is, they would be best when usable and making sense in real-world terms - like a model.

To me the city gates do make sense the way they are, although admittedly in an highly romantic way. As Salzie said, the city walls would have been built for defensive purposes, and most likely made difficult to approach from the valley below.

My favorite idea for how to make it easier to get up to the gate is the one Sleazy had about making some sort of stairway or ramp from the main road to the northern gate, including a way to get to the football field. I have to admit that I have had a difficult time finding any pictures of such a stairway, but here is one that might be of interest, from Bad Faulenbach in Bavaria:

[Salzie Sachertorte]

Sonja, the road stub I was talking about is the one below your proptery, the one through City prim land, not through your land. My land in the NW viertal, formerly housing the wagons and horses, is the plot near the new sim. They, the horses, objected to being exposed to the new elitist double-primed sim and the excessive traffic and asked to be moved, so they now reside elsewhere.

[Sonja Strom]

Very sorry to hear that your horses became unhappy and chose to leave our community. My cow and I liked them, and will miss them. Is there anything I could do that would make them want to return?