The State of Jefferson: A SimCity 4 multi-sport dynasty

[Young Drachma]

Well, when trying to choose a JPL team, you pretty much factor out Fifty Lakes Professional. The most dominant team in the league -- by far -- they've claimed the JPL title seven of the last eight championships. They are the gold standard and their fans usually have tons to cheer about. They're also the reigning Jeffersonian Cup champions and Jeffersonian Super Cup champs.

The only thing they seem to lose at is continental competitions, not having claimed any sort of title outside of the nation since 1990.

But who knows if they'll decided to go there too.

So rule out Fifty Lakes.

I automatically rule out Kingfisher FC. Their unofficial nickname is "The Bridesmaides." They've come in second three times in the last eight years and since 2000 have come in 2nd eight times. They last won the JPL title in 2009 and again in 2010, the second most titles (4) other than Fifty Lakes since 2000.

But they play in Lake Refuge. Sorry, can't support a team from there.

Other teams that I rule out because of geographical concerns include Pelican (Lake Refuge), Canyon University (what? a college team? no way, man. Plus they are $53m in debt.)

In the end, I narrowed it down to teams that I could connect with (having grown up in South Charlestown) or that I could just appreciate for other reasons (my parents are from Oakley and I went to college in Robinshire.)

I narrowed my team search down to:

Southchester
Even though they're currently playing in the Championship (1st division), I spent a TON of my college days hanging out at the stadium in Southchester. You won't find fans who are more passionate and who really appreciate good football. They're on the rebound and even though they're heavily in debt, I'm hoping they can make it back to the top division for the first time since 2016-17 when they were relegated.

Carnation
These guys play in Oakley and are led by 29-year old Brazilian striker Rodrigues who has 10 goals already this year in 13 games. Of course, they wear pink.

Hmm...

Charlestown Union A.C.
Simply called 'Union' to those in the know. Last won the JPL title in 2008. Were runner up in '07, '09, '11, '13, '14 and last year in 2018.

Fans who sign on with these guys essentially say that "this year will be the year," knowing that it 1) probably won't be and 2) that's okay, because at least they're not in danger of being relegated.

Union fans are the eternal optimists, because they seem to always find the good in any situation.

Down 5-0? This will teach our boys about adversity for later in the year.

In a close game? "See, we're getting closer boys. This is game we'll all remember later in the season."

You name the scenario and they'll tell you all about why it'll work out for the better.

Do I have that much positivity in me?

Commoner F.C.
I really have a soft spot for this team. They share Omnivore Stadium in Oakley with. The best parallel to these guys are the Green Bay Packers of the NFL. Only, with Commoner it's even better. The local fans really do own the team. They're the shareholders, they're the ones who dipped into their pockets -- along with significant corporate bucks -- to build Omnivore Stadium, one of the classiest fields anywhere in Jefferson at large.

They're also perennial underachievers. It just so happens that a few of the neighborhood boys who are lifelong supporters of Commoner (nicknamed 'Cinderella's Boys) happened to strike it rich during the dot-com era and have funnelled cash into the team. But they were in the first division from 2009-2010 until 2014-15.

Their strength is that they have more locals on their club and so, you don't have to worry about their guys leaving every few years to go on to brighter stars elsewhere. That's because no one wants Commoner players. They stay, they're loyal and as a result, they've got a fan base that's supportive so long as the team basically shows up and plays hard.

They came in 3rd in the JPL back in 2008 and to se their fans, you'd think they won the World Cup. They won the Jeffersonian Cup in 2001 and again in 2014 and did the double that year winning the Super Cup too. But that's when they were still 1st division.

In other words, I'd have very little to cheer about here. But I'd feel good?

Harris Athletic
Another Charlestown team. It just so happens that this is the team that my family supports unwaveringly.

Well, in recent years, that's a good thing. They won the JPL title in 2014 and came in third in 2017.

Their Under 19 team has a great crop of young players, a great criteria for me because I want a team that has players I can root for down the line.

Blue Collars Athletic
Another one of the Oakley teams. They've been in the Premier League since 2010-11, but the best they've done is finish as the runner-ups in a recent continental competition.

An upstart to be sure and of course, one of the grittest teams in all of the JPL, their name says it all, really.

[Young Drachma]

December 1, 2006
TAMPA BAY DEVIL RAYS ARE BANKRUPT
Forbes magazine reports that Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Devil Rays are flat broke. The condition of Tropicana Field, poor attendance and a decline in the stock market all attributed to the poor financial state of the team, which led to their demise.

"Major League Baseball regrets the situation in Tampa and that we were not altered sooner to the true situation of the Devil Rays organization," said Commissioner Bud Selig.

MLB has yet to decide what will happen to the franchise and officials in St. Petersburg are mystified as to what they will do in the face of a stadium that will not likely have a team in it.

"We're evaluating our options," said one member of the St. Petersburg city council.

[Young Drachma]

BARKER TO THE RESCUE?

CHARLESTOWN -- According to one report, Nicholas K. Barker, owner of the Charlestown Union A.C. soccer team and billionaire who founded an internet firm in the 1990s that later sold to Earthlink, is reportedly interested in purchasing the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who are -- according to the associated press -- just days away from filing for bankruptcy protection, after it was discovered just days after the World Series that the team was flat broke.

The Devil Rays would be the first team since the 1969 Seattle Pilots to go bankrupt and would be the first move since the Montreal Expos relocated to Washington D.C. in 2005.

"We're really interested," said Barker, 34, who would become the first African-American owner in MLB. "We think this is the right time, the right place and that the entire state of Jefferson is ready."

MLB spokesman had no comment, but most figure that if Barker and his team make an offer, that the deal would be accepted by MLB owners, who aren't particularly interested in stomaching another deal in which they have to absorb ownership of a member club.

It would be the first major league club for Jefferson.

[Young Drachma]

Editorial in the Oakley Register-Gazette from January 3, 2007

JEFFERSON IS READY FOR THE MAJORS
With the news that Nicholas K. Barker, a proud Oregano County native is on the cusp of purchasing the otherwise dreadful Tampa Bay Devil Rays after the team goes into bankruptcy next week, we are proud to say that we sincerely believe that Oregano County -- and the entire state of Jefferson -- is ready for Major League Baseball.

Unlike our neighbors to the northwest in Portland, baseball in Jefferson is a game that is revered unlike any other. The Americana and the lore that are associated with the game have not died in our state and with a population nearing 5 million, we're fast becoming the largest state without a major league team of any kind.

More than anything, a major league club will signal that Jefferson is finally something more than just the 'accidental' 50th state. Our founders believed that this region -- once a rural area half in Oregon and half in California -- was worth more. In 1946, when Jefferson became the 50th state, the founders never would have imagined the place that exists now and yet, we believe they would be proud.

With rumours of other sports to follow, baseball coming to the state could possibly be the first to put itself on the map in Jefferson and give the state something to rally around, given our absence of Division I athletics.

We support the move of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to Jefferson and hope Major League Baseball will approve this potentially groundbreaking move.

[Young Drachma]

January 25, 2007
MLB APPROVES SALE OF DEVIL RAYS TO BARKER
Baseball owners took another step toward moving the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to Charlestown next year, giving conditional approval Friday.

Owners approved the move during a conference call by a 29-1 vote, with the Seattle Mariners dissenting, a baseball official said on condition of anonymity, to the ownership group of Charlestown, Jeff. billionaire Nicholas Barker.

The move would be the first of a major league baseball team since the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals after the 2005 season. The resolution stated the Charlestown club would have "an operating territory and a television territory to be defined pursuant to the major league constitution and the major league rules."

The Oregano County Regional Council voted this week to approve a thirty-year lease agreement for the use of two-year old Western Digital Field, in the Deerfield section of Charlestown, which seats 33,000.

The Devil Rays declared bankruptcy on January 18th, 2007 and it was generally expected that the ballclub would not be returning to Tampa. Tampa officials have vowed to sue MLB for failing to find a 'suitable' owner to keep the team in Tampa, even if it meant purchasing the team themselves.

[Young Drachma]

Here are some pictures. First of Charlestown Stadium, the soccer field right near the baseball park.



And here are some photos of Western Digital Field, the newest baseball stadium in the state and next season, home to a major league team. To the left of the stadium, you can see the Charlestown Zoo.

[Young Drachma]

CHARLESTOWN WELCOMES MLB IN 2007

CHARLESTOWN -- Charlestown and all of Jefferson now have a rooting interest in Major League Baseball, as the 50th state gets to welcome MLB to its borders for the first time, as the sale of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays became final, the new Charlestown franchise prepares for its first season in MLB.

The only change that MLB announced going into this year, is that the new Charlestown club would be shifted from the AL East to the AL West. The AL East will stay a four-team division. "One less team to play the Yankees and Red Sox all of the time and I doubt they're disappointed," said one spokesman.

The new Charlestown club will unveil its nickname in a ceremony to be held in Center City Charlestown next week.

"We're so giddy we can barely stand it," said newly named GM Tristan Schofield, a 27-year old native of South Charlestown, who was picked to run the club, after spending the past three years working with a San Alberto investment banking firm.

[Young Drachma]

CHARLESTOWN IS HOME TO THE COMETS

The Charlestown Comets are the newest club in Major League Baseball. And the locals couldn't be happier.

"This is going to put us on the map," said Lila McCaffee, a Lake Refuge native who moved to South Charlestown a decade ago.

Jeffersonians often feel slightly by those who live outside of the West Coast and often forget the state is there, asking them, "so where is that? California?"

But with the increasing growth of Jefferson's metropolitan areas, coupled with increasing interest from Major Leagues seeking one of the few emerging new markets that are still left untapped throughout sports, Jefferson's major cities are increasingly being recognized across the world.

"We're thrilled that the recognition that Jefferson is a world class state with world class cities, is starting to become the watch brand of professional sports. We've been increasingly noticed for our growing technology sector and for global 1000 firms seeking a beautiful, low-cost environment to do business. But this is a totally different level for us," said Jefferson Governor Elizabeth Freeman (R), who was on hand for the unveiling of the Comets logo and uniforms.

"This is a historic day for Jefferson and for our ballclub," said GM Tristan Schofield, who was hired just three weeks ago. Rumors are that second-year manager Joe Maddon is probably not going to be retained, as the club will take a stab at former Marlins manager and reigning Manager of the Year Joe Girardi, as well as several others who might be in the running.

No comment from team officials related to the move at manager, with spring training less than three weeks away.

[Young Drachma]

MADDON OUT AS MANAGER OF COMETS
CHARLESTOWN -- As expected, Charlestown Comets GM Tristan Schofield announced today that the Comets had accepted the resignation of Manager Joe Maddon. Maddon said that he was not 'comfortable' with moving his family cross-country with the team's recent move to Jefferson, over 3,000 miles from St. Petersburg where the team spent the past nine years.

Potential candidates include former Marlins skipper Joe Girardi, Cubs bench coach Alan Trammell, Mets bench coach Jerry Manuel and Dodgers hitting coach and Hall of Famer Eddie Murray.

Schofield said he hopes to come to a decision before spring training begins.

"It's tough to come in like this and start anew. But we've got a pretty good nucleus and we're looking forward to really getting off to a great start out of the gate."

[Young Drachma]

While we wait for an OOTP roster set that's actually working, I'm going to instead focus my energy on choosing a favourite soccer team. Because well, it's about time, right?

We'll go through and show you the stadiums and communities of each of the finalist teams I listed.

[Young Drachma]

I've realigned baseball to have six five-team divisions (3 in each league.) The differences are:

Milwaukee Brewers (NL Central to AL Central)
Cleveland Indians (AL Central to AL East)
Charlestown Comets (AL East to AL West)

162 game schedule, teams play 80 games within their division, 60 inter-division games and 22 inter-league games.

[Young Drachma]

COMETS HIRE CITO GASTON
CHARLESTOWN -- The skipper of back-to-back World Series champs in the early nineties, Cito Gaston is getting another chance to manage in the big leagues. This time, it's with the Charlestown Comets, the relocated team now playing in Jefferson after leaving Tampa Bay, when the Devil Rays franchise owners declared bankruptcy in early January.

Gaston, 62, says that he's not rusty and was ready to go.

"I've been waiting for this for a while and wasn't sure it'd ever come. But it's the right opportunity and this team is ready for change. I can't wait."

Don Zimmer, who was scheduled to serve as a special assistant for the ballclub, has agreed to serve one final season as bench coach for the club this season. The Comets hired former Brewers great Robin Yount as the team's new hitting coach.

[Young Drachma]

I haven't decided how I want to go about this with the Comets. Part of me wants to do what I normally do, which is simulate a while ahead and go from there.

Another part of me, is considering something I've never done before. That is, to simulate to today's date and to run the season parallel to the MLB season. There will be obvious differences, because of the moves the game will make, etc. As well the obvious alignment differences between the leagues.

But all in all, I'd be intrigued to see how that would go. And given following my real life team and their division doesn't interest me much, this might be the way to go, no?

Hmm....let's see.

[Young Drachma]

Payroll in Charlestown is just $32 million, because we're basically playing with the entire roster we inherited when the team left Tampa. We've make a conscious decision to go through this season, at least towards mid-season without making any major moves, save for the signing of Akinori Iwamura, the Japanese third baseman.

We'll be monitoring the Japanese leagues for potential signings for next year and we'll be considering our options in terms of possible deals in regards to players as we see fit, down the road.

[Young Drachma]

JUNE 1, 2007
----
The Comets are 26-27, third place in the AL West. I'm not really sure what I want to do with what we have yet, but I'll give it a few more weeks before I slow things down and try (and I do mean try) to do this everyday thing, to see what happens.

[Young Drachma]

JUNE 17, 2007

Here are the major league standings for June 17, 2007

American League Standings
East			W	L	PCT	GB
New York Yankees	44	26	.629	-
Cleveland Indians	43	26	.623	.5
Boston Red Sox		36	33	.522	7.5
Toronto Blue Jays	34	32	.515	8.0
Baltimore Orioles	28	42	.400	16.0

Central			W	L	PCT	GB
Milwaukee Brewers	36	33	.522	-
Minnesota Twins		34	35	.493	2.0
Detroit Tigers		30	38	.441	5.5
Kansas City Royals	27	41	.397	8.5
Chicago White Sox	26	42	.382	9.5

West			W	L	PCT	GB
Oakland Athletics	44	25	.638	-
Los Angeles Angels	40	29	.580	4.0
Texas Rangers		32	36	.471	11.5
Charlestown Comets	29	39	.426	14.5
Seattle Mariners	27	41	.397	16.5

National League Standings
East			W	L	PCT	GB
Atlanta Braves		43	27	.614	-
New York Mets		38	32	.543	5.0
Philadelphia Phillies	33	35	.485	9.0
Florida Marlins		32	36	.471	10.0
Washington Nationals	30	40	.429	13.0

Central			W	L	PCT	GB
Cincinnati Reds		38	30	.559	-
St. Louis Cardinals	36	32	.529	2.0
Chicago Cubs		35	34	.507	3.5
Pittsburgh Pirates	31	36	.463	6.5
Houston Astros		31	37	.456	7.0

West			W	L	PCT	GB
Arizona Diamondbacks	40	30	.571	-
San Diego Padres	38	31	.551	1.5
Colorado Rockies	34	35	.493	5.5
Los Angeles Dodgers	31	39	.443	9.0
San Francisco Giants	31	39	.443	9.0

[Young Drachma]

I don't want to get too crazy about making deals and the such, but I won't deny that we're going to listen to teams about making upgrades if there are some worth making and players worth having.

Current MLB leaders in specified categories are:

Garrett Atkins (COL) .370 BA
Nick Swisher (OAK) 33 HR
Nick Swisher (OAK) 71 RBI
Joe Blanton (MIN), Matt Cain (SF), Andy Petitte (NYA), Brandon Webb (ARZ) 10 WINS
Andy Petitte (NYA) 2.44 ERA
Johan Santana (MIN) 132 K

[Young Drachma]

CHARLESTOWN COMETS STATUS REPORT

June 28, 2007

There weren't many reasons for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to celebrate. But given new life as the Charlestown Comets, Jefferson's first major league team are keeping the locals proud. As a result, despite the team's 36-43 record, placing them 13.5 games out in the AL West, the fans have sold out Western Digital Field for almost all of the team's home dates this year.

Unfortunately, at just 33,000 seats, the ballpark isn't exactly equipped to handle the swelling. Club officials have considered adding bleacher seats to the stadium, but that move wouldn't happen until the off-season.

"We're really excited that the fans are coming out to games in droves. We're working hard to get a product on the field worthy of that support," said GM Tristan Schofield.

Meanwhile, the ballclub boasts the best farm system in the majors, with no less than five prospects on the recent Baseball America 100 Top prospects list.

So if things continue in this path, with a new, energized fan base...and who knows, this team might be one to watch down the road.

The success of the youthful AL East returnee Cleveland Indians (49-31) who lead the Wild Card race and the AL refugee Milwaukee Brewers leading the AL Central (44-36), the Comets believe that anything is truly possible in the future.

As for deadline deals, closer Al Reyes (3-2, 17 SV, 1.51 ERA) is attracting many suitors, as well as utility man Ty Wigginton (.299/15 HR/38 RBI) and outfielders Carl Crawford (.320/13/53/16 SB) and Rocco Baldelli, who despite a .229 batting average, has 10 HRs and 10 stolen bases this year.

Meanwhile, Schofield says he's not so keen on dealing the team's future. "We've got guys who can help us down the line and so, I'm not sure we want to go back to the rebuilding drawing board. If someone offers us something competitive, we'll surely take a look at it. But we don't want to just give away guys."

With a team payroll of just $24.5 million, second lowest in the majors, Schofield said that ownership plans to spend and spend big over the next three years to get the team into serious contention.

"We want to be more than just a team that wins ballgames. We want to create a true legacy of excellence."

[Young Drachma]

HARRIS ATHLETIC, COMETS TALKING STADIUM
With the all-star game just two weeks away, Comets ownership are hoping for the day -- hopefully in the future -- that Jefferson can host an All-Star Game. With the fans selling out Western Digital Field in Charlestown, ownership has begin discussions with the Harris Athletic Football Club, a Jefferson Premier League soccer team, that is seeking out a new stadium of their own for the first time in team history.

Meanwhile, Comets officials heard about their desire for a stadium, thought of their own plight -- realizing that Western Digital Field was never build for a major league club, but was intended to woo a minor league club to the region -- once an MLB club fell into the region's lap, they responded.

But now, the team would have the opportunity to get a ballpark that they'd probably not be able to get otherwise.

"We're talking and we'll see what we're able to come up with," said J.P. Martinez, chairman of Harris Athletic FC. "I think it is extremely exciting for the region to have a major league team here in Jefferson and we're going to work together and see if we can't come up with a first-class stadium for both clubs.

[Young Drachma]

Two sites in South Charlestown on the north side of Lake Almonte have been identified as possible places for a new stadium for both Harris Athletic of the Jefferson Premier League and the Charlestown Comets of MLB.

Comets GM Tristan Schofield was glowing about a potential deal, on the cusp of the All-Star break and talks of Charlestown hosting the All-Star game in 2011. Commissioner Bud Selig, has said that the new stadium would be a "welcome surprise" though he's concerned that a "multipurpose stadium might not be the best solution long term."

In any case, Comets officials have said that they are conceding that Western Digital Field is a temporary solution for the ballclub.

"We're thrilled to be here and it's a huge upgrade over where we were before," said outfielder Rocco Baldelli, who probably won't get any Christmas cards from the Tampa-St. Pete faithful after that statement.

Here are some shots of the two potential sites for a new stadium for Harris Athletic & the Comets.

The first, is a right off of Lake Almonte, with a view of downtown and of the Charles Bridge







The other location would be right next to the South Charlestown High School

[Young Drachma]

June 29, 2007
---
The Comets announced their first major trade since moving to Charlestown, parting ways with 25-year old outfielder Carl Crawford, OF Travis Buck and 2B Luis Rivas along with minor leaguer SS Reid Brignac for 26-year old right fielder Chris Duncan, 2B Adam Kennedy and minor leaguer Tyler Greene.

The centerpiece of the deal for the Cardinals, who have a half game lead over the Cincinnati Reds pulled the trigger on the deal, while the Comets decided to let go of Crawford, rather than holding out for more later in the trade season, feeling that Duncan was a legitimiate player for them.

"We're pretty happy with this deal. Chris is a good player who'll contribute immediately. We're happy about what it does for us," said GM Tristan Schofield announcing the deal.

Crawford is hitting .320 with 101 hits, 17 doubles, 13 HRs and 16 stolen bases.

Duncan is hitting .278 with 18 HRs and 48 RBI this season.

Crawford is a bonafide leadoff hitter and should give the Cards a jolt in center field, allowing them to rest Jim Edmonds, who has declined and battled injuries in recent years.

Meanwhile, Adam Kennedy has already been dealt for future considerations to the Washington Nationals for C Brian Schneider. Kennedy wasn't going to play for the Comets, the Nats could use him and so...the deal was easy to setup.

Schneider was hitting just .200 for the Nats in limited play this year. Kennedy was hitting .251 with 28 RBI and 3 HRs this year with the Cards.

[Young Drachma]

I honestly had no idea when I started seeking out stadium sites or I'd forgotten, at least, that the site in South Charlestown right by the lakefront was there and actually available. No idea.

But maybe it'll work out for the better, I dunno. We'll see.

[molson]

Just wanted to say that I skipped over this dynasty for a while, mostly because I had no idea what the hell it was about from the title, but now that I've check on it, I'm hooked and will be following along.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by molson

Just wanted to say that I skipped over this dynasty for a while, mostly because I had no idea what the hell it was about from the title, but now that I've check on it, I'm hooked and will be following along.

I appreciate the comment. Very much. And I even changed the title to something more tongue-in-cheek, but perhaps slightly more descriptive. Especially since it's branched out past its humble Oregano County roots.

[Young Drachma]

COMETS TO UNVEIL PLANS FOR NEW BALLPARK
CHARLESTOWN -- Less than six months after moving to Charlestown, the Comets have announced long-term plans to move from Western Digital Field in 2011 to a new, 44,100 seat retractable roof lakefront ballpark in South Charlestown.

Currently, the site is home to the Charlestown Children's Museum and a local fire station, but both will relocate to a different section of town, well in anticipation of the stadium project, which is part of a larger commercial development near that area.

"People have been vying for about thirty years to get access to that plot. It's been all sorts of stuff over the year and in the past fifteen years, it's been a seaside park. But we knew that wouldn't last forever," said Charlestown University professor Marcus Jacobsen, who said that the development would be a "huge boost" for the South Charlestown area, a suburban community about 13 miles south of Charlestown.

The new ballpark would be about 25 miles from the current stadium, but most have said that the impact would be 'neglible'. "The entire region supports this team. There is no way it would survive here if it weren't a team for the entire state," said Jacobsen.

[Young Drachma]

Given my desire to #1 build the new stadium and show it to you and #2 ensure that I'll actually be able to use the current league I'll go ahead and fast forward a few years to get further down the line. I tried to simulate the first setup I had and it crashed halfway through the year. That's what I get for wanting to use real players, I suppose.

But we'll try again and see what happens.

Wait until you see the new screenshots of South Charlestown when we get there....

[Young Drachma]

Monica County is a suburb of San Alberto county, with about 70,000 people. It's separated between the more metropolitan locale Carpenter and South Carpenter.








The northwest part of Monica County is an exurban/rural area called East Meadow and an industrial area called Henry Park

[Young Drachma]

CHARLESTOWN MARLIES TO BEGIN 2006-07 IN NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

CHARLESTOWN -- The Second Capital Center won't be without a main tenant for too long, after the National Hockey League agreed to the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes to Shannon Van Nostrand, CEO and founder of Second Capital Bank of Charlestown for $212 million. The newly relocated team was named the Marlies, after the Lake Marlborough section of the city where the arena is located.

"We're thrilled to bring major league hockey to Jefferson," said Van Nostrand about the deal. The Marlies will benefit from the league's reallocation draft after the 2005-06 season, to place prospects and existing players on new teams almost en masse.

"We're coming in at a really good time for the league and the future of the NHL, I think."

The National Hockey League was acquired in a $1.4 billion deal by Bain Capital Partners in 2004, before being sold to NHL, LLP a partnership founded by more than a dozen owners to bring the league back to individual franchise ownership. Bain still owns a minority stake in what's billed in this web era as The NHL 2.0.

[Young Drachma]

Here are pictures of Second Capital Center in Charlestown and the Marlborough section of town.

[Young Drachma]

TOWNBALL IN THE SHIRE



A tradition each summer is townball in Shire Country. Here are the communities (in pictures) that participate in the league.

[Young Drachma]

New communities have cropped up in Yreka County, as San Alberto continues its huge real estate boom over the past few years. The metro area is soaring and doesn't seem to show any signs of stopping.

Here are some shots of the communities:




Shelby was made famous in recent years, after a song by Copeland native and rapper 'Phenom K' made a song that reached the Top 10 on the charts called "You Ain't Nothin' But (A Shelby Bitch)". Phenom (real name: Dennis Marquez) said he wrote the song during his sophomore year of high school after his girlfriend (from Shelby) dumped him for another guy.




On the left, you'll see metropolitan Copeland, the major city in Yreka County. The eastern part of the county is the sprawling area, right on the San Alberto river.

Below, is a shot of the western part of Yreka County, prominently featuring the notable areas that you all should be familiar with, including Hannah and Copeland.

[finkenst]

i really hate you now...

i can't remember how to do anything in sc4, including getting a city to make money....

anyway, i love the screen captures. I need to figure out how to play sc4 in a window instead of full screen..

[finketr]

Alright.. so i bought sc4: deluxe.. i hate fofc sometimes.

[Young Drachma]

HAHAHA. Too bad I don't get a commission.

[Young Drachma]

I'm going to recreate the soccer league for this region, but I'm going to wait a little before I create more communities before I do it. That way, I can go through and create teams all the way to the fourth division. Or perhaps, more. It depends. But I'm looking forward to doing that.

[finkenst]

so... is there a way to get the bonuses without having to do the rush hour driver stuff?

[Young Drachma]

There are lots of cheats available at simtropolis.com. Usually, you can get something that you plop once. Let it go for a month and then delete it. If you let it run and try to get 'unlimited' money, it'll crash the game. Usually the $4 bn it gives you after a month is more than enough to run an entire city on.

I tried to link you to it and for right now, it's not working for some reason. (The site)

[Young Drachma]

The next stop, is ironically in honour of Lady Bird Johnson. We're heading due south of San Alberto, about 90 minutes away to Johnson County. Here's an aerial view.

[Young Drachma]

The suburban hamlet of Lyndon sits on the western edge of Johnson City, the county seat of Johnson County.

Lyndon is home to about 7,000 people and is a primarily upper middle class community.

During the day:


At night:



On the east side of Johnson City is the municipality of Bennett. Bennett is a solidly middle class community and diverse as is most of Johnson City, especially since as you get further out of San Alberto, you start to get a more homogenized population on the whole. The small community of Jackson is just south of Bennett. The two are rivals and collectively are home to about 34,000 people or so.



And here is Johnson City.





Johnson City is home to Dow University (formerly Dowling Downstate University..imagine the confusion...) and the University of Johnson. Dow is home to one of the best law schools and also features the #1 Public Health program in the nation. People from all over the world come to study here and really, it's Johnson's claim to fame. It's too far really to commute, though some people do it. Since it's not connected to the subway, people can only take the train between the cities and well...a lot of them do.







It serves more as a regional hub for Hannover and Johnson counties than anything else, especially given its locale as a border county between the California and Jefferson state line.

[finketr]

I hate you.



another question: How did you apparently get all big city squares in the region? I'm probably missing something easy.

[Young Drachma]

Big city squares? Umm...I just created a new region from scratch and it was a large region. Are you meaning how did I get such large cities to use for the southern part of the state?

[finketr]

clearly, i need to read the manual on how to create a large region, etc etc etc

i'm losing money in my initial city, trying to remember how to play and deal with the rush hour scenario stuff...

[Young Drachma]

The best thing to do from the start, really, is to ensure that you build small. Industrial will usually make you money early on, then you can build residential..and commercial last. Also, look at your tax rates. I usually lower the tax rates to start off, spurring growth early. And it's good to build small, save and then build a few communities that border each other, because that will encourage development throughout the area.

If you're trying to build and want to do it quickly...here are a few handy cheats. (ALT + C) to active the cheats box.

youdon'tdeserveit - activates all of the rewards
howdryiam - eliminates the need for connecting water pipes
fightthepower - eliminates the need for power line connections

As for trash, I usually put landfills in places I don't care about and make that town the trash hub for a four-city area, depends.

[Young Drachma]

I forget who it was. But if you were asking how to run SimCity 4 in window mode, you need right click on the shortcut, click on properties and in the Target area, after the path, put a -w

Like this:

"C:\Program Files\SimCity4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe" -w

[finkenst]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

I forget who it was. But if you were asking how to run SimCity 4 in window mode, you need right click on the shortcut, click on properties and in the Target area, after the path, put a -w

Like this:

it was me... thanks for that hint...

here's my first region/city, etc. Some terraforming done in the quadrant to line things up.

[Young Drachma]

I like how you have water everywhere. And I like the river going through the city, because it gives you lots of options for industry and seaports and stuff. Something I've made poor use of through my areas for the most part. Oregano County isn't nearly as industrial as it ought to be, which is explains why the southern part of the state and those counties are exploding so quickly. You can probably blame California, too.

The island ought to be fun to build on for you.

[finketr]

I've updated a bit since that picture... the island just kinda happened... as i was doing the terraforming, it hit me: What if i make this a big island?

I've connected the little oval lake to the ocean via a river/canyon... that's why my river looks a little screwed up.. apparently, i switched from valley to canyon to valley... oops.

that little square that has a big gap between the island and the mainland will be expensive to build on...

In this particular map, when i have 25-35 minutes only, i terraform. When i have more than 45 i build up that ugly city that I'm working on...

I've thought about trying to make a mountain pass on one of those square but haven't gotten to it yet...

ah well.. back to work.

[Young Drachma]

The goal for the rest of this dynasty is to lay out all of the other counties and get the communities settled. Then once I have them all worked out, I can start to at least develop leagues around those areas and even if there are changes, I can still have the core areas in place to work with.

[Young Drachma]

Bessener County is the largest border county between Jefferson and Northern California.

Home to over 300,000 people and located close to two hours from San Alberto, the entire Bessener region is a economic powerhouse on its own accord. In 2001, Bessner City annexed all of the surrounding communities in the county and became the City and County of Bessner, only the second such city in the entire state.

Despite its relatively metropolitan status, Bessner is isolated from other cities in the state and as a result, has the veneer of being 'country' as the surrounding counties are extremely rural in their nature or are too far to be considered part of the Bessner metroplex.

The area developed steadily due to housing prices in California soaring, as well as the dredging of Lake Coulon and expansion of the Lake Bessner area.

Here are downtown pictures of Bessner:






Plum City is a small formerly agrarian community that's developed into something of a middle class bedroom community in recent years. It's home to Desdemona College, an independent college founded by Unitarians.





Mann Township is located between Plum City and Bessner, in the southeast corner of the county.



Cook and Holland are two communities on the southwest side of the county.







Beacon Isle is the area between where Lake Coulon and Bessner Lake now meet. Once the project that created the extensive waterway was completed, the Isle was immediately sought after as a cheaper locale for real estate from the main downtown area of Bessner. It's since become part of the greater downtown, though it's known for it's huge mosquito problem.

[Young Drachma]

Ok, I'm ready now. I'm going to go ahead and start pro leagues based on the cities through Jefferson. What the storylines will be, is beyond me. But..I'm going to go ahead and do them in separate threads, so people can get straight to the info, without having to read the entire thread here to find out about them.

But before we get there, here are some pictures of Iron County, a locale just west of Johnson County. It's part of the San Alberto metro area, though on the fringe of it, as it's still a fairly rural area.