Finally some news!

Hello everybody,

first, I want so say that I am very sorry for not posting anything here for quite a while now.
Lots of things have asked for my attention and this project is definitely not dead or stopped in any way!

The contrary is the case! I have been very active during the last weeks. Adding more nightlights to various skyscrapers and adding more detail to the scene was my major desire. I have started to add street detail like cars, mailboxes, seating in front of restaurants and other decorative objects to the world in order to increase immersion.
Those pictures are only a small excerpt:

My general plan was to improve the already existing parts firts, before I start working on the other boroughs, but as you know, plans change quite often.

So I also started working on the Bronx, which is coming along quite nicely.

Connected to that, I realised an idea which I like very much: A railway track along Park Avenue.

 

A third thing I am working on is a very detailed tutorial on how to make your own deco building creations. I felt the necessity to do so, because many people asked me how I did those deco buildings for the Big Apple. It will be released  here on this blog soon, so be sure to check regularly!

Horus

Thanks for over 1100 downloads...

Hello everybody,

I want to say thank you for over 1100 downloads(!) of the First Beta in only two weeks since its release. This huge attention encourages me to continue the project.
I have yet started to work on a to-do list for the second beta, which was created according to your feedback.

The first thing I am working on is adding nightlights to most of the buildings. It may be more a cosmetic issue than a truly game relevant one, but nonetheless, it has high priority.
Here is a quick snapshot of Financial District at night, showing the first results:

I will upload my to-do list on the blog in the near future, so you will be up to date concerning the progress of the project.
Thanks for all your feedback and keep checking for updates regularly!

Horus

Sims 3 Big Apple First Beta released!

I am proud to be able to release the first version of the Sims 3 Big apple today!

More than 6 month of hard work lay behind me and I really hope that you will enjoy the world as much as I do. Though it is still far from being finished, the release of the First Beta is another important step in the creation process of this world.

So here it is, the download link:

http://www.mediafire.com/download/p72g4eq9w245a14/Sims_3_Big_Apple_First_Beta.zip

Please have a look at the readme first. There you will find instructions on how to install the custom content and some other important information. I really want to thank all the people who contributed yet! You can find their names in the credits section in the readme.

I do now kindly ask for your feedback: Do you like the current layout of the city? Do you miss something? What do you like most?
I am always open for any suggestions or ideas and I would be glad if some people would actually contribute some lots to this project, as it would really speed up all the work.

Have fun playtesting!

Horus

Working on First Beta

Hello everybody,

two weeks of very relaxing holidays lay behind me. I have recharged my batteries and I am now ready to start working on the very first release of this project: First Beta.
Before I go into detail, there are some points I want to emphasize:

1. It will be a very early release and thus more a demo than a fully playable world. Please consider this! I don't want you to be disappointed.

2. The world comes along with a lot of custom content. This has always been my intention as I wanted to create a world that is unique in it's own way. Please don't complain if your computer can not handle it right or if you mess up your game, because you don't know how to install custom content. It's not difficult, though. Oh, it's likely that it will slow down your game. I have warned you ;)

3. This is maybe the most important point: I will provide a world that has yet taken an uncountable amont of my time, comes along with a hugh amount of custom made deco buildings and brings a totally unique experience to your Sims 3 game (hopefully).
In return, I kindly ask for your feedback! Please report any issue or any idea that comes to your mind at any point of time. Just write me an email or leave a comment here. Everybody that downloads the First Beta is my beta-tester. Please help me to get this project done.

If you want to contribute to this project any further, I invite you to take any of the lots in the world and design it with your own ideas. Decorate the pavement in front of the building, build a lounge or club inside or crown a skyscraper with an expensive penthouse. If you think that you have made a good creation, export the lot and send it to me. I will include it in the final version of this world.
By decorating and finishing the lots you really help to lighten my workload.

Before I can actually upload the world, I have to get rid of some small problems and make a test, so that I can be sure everything works the way I want it to.

Expect a release within the next two weeks! :)

Yours
Horus

PS: There are some new snapshots at the gallery, enjoy!

Spotlight: Subways

Thinking about a big city, one can imagine a lot of traffic. To avoid traffic jams (which are unfortunately not part of the game) your Sims should take the subway to reach their destination in time.

There will be subway stations all over the city and I am trying to place them according to real station's positions. For example you will find Times Square – 42nd Street, Rockefeller Center, City Hall or Wall street.

Another update on progress

Today I can show you the next steps I have taken towards the completion of this project. I am very confident with my progress and the city get's better every day. I hope you share my view and I am curious to hear your opinion.

I spent some time working on the churches this week.
St. Patrick's Cathedral is by far the most known church in New York. It maybe needs some finishing, but that's how it will look like:

 The church as viewn from GE building

 The church from a diagonal perspective

Trinity Church makes a good contrast to all that skyscrapers in the Financial District. It will be a calm place to take a break from the hurly-burly of the city. The outside still needs a lot of work, but I like how it looks right now.

 The church as viewn from Wall Street

 The church as viewn from the roof tops.

Financial District is already quite full. I have thought a lot about Ground Zero and I still have to decide what to do in order to pay the respect that is needed for a place like that. Maybe I will add it, maybe I will leave it. Let's see.

Something funny at the end: As I could not find any cost free model of the charging bull on the internet, I had to improvise and I am proud to present: 

The peaceful cow, symbol of Wall Street and the financial business ;)

Current state of progress

I felt that it was time to give you some information about the current state of the project, also in order to reply to some recent comments.

In general, everything goes along very well. I have just finished the concrete sea wall that surrounds Manhattan.

The city comes more and more alive due to several lots I have added over the last two weeks. Storefronts, interactive places like Starbucks Coffee, appartments, high-end lofts and so on enhance the gameplay and add to the atmosphere.

You may have already seen Rockefeller Center with the GE building in the New York Winter Nights post. It's a seasonal lot and so it changes over the year. In winter you will have the famous christmas tree and the ice rink, in summer there is a stage for concerts and so on.

I have finally managed to make the Empire State Building become an interactive lot with a basement featuring boutiques, shops as well as Walgreens and Starbucks. There is still some work to do here, but I am quite confident with it right now.

Your Sims can also take the elevator to the observation deck and enjoy a fantastic view over the city.

If you are a couch potato and prefer to stay at home rather than straying through the city, this luxurious penthouse near Central Park could be just right for you.

Those are just a few examples. Next time I will show you St. Patrick's Cathedral, The New York Live Building and some more. Please don't mind that I can't tell you when it will be finished. I am doing my best to get it done as quick as possible.

Stay tuned ;)

Snapshot: Central Park in Winter

New York Winter Nights

Today I want to invite you on a very special trip: A tour through the city in a cold, winter night.
As you might guess from the topic, I have decided to update the world for Seasons. It took a while until I manged to get CAW working again, but it was definitively worth it. Snowy New York looks awesome ingame ! I hope the pictures can convey a bit of the atmosphere. As there are still many buildings without nightlights and many streets without streetlights, the city looks like there is kind of a big blackout, but that just adds to the atmosphere (I will fix that in the future!).

To see the pictures, go to the gallery

Moreover, I have installed a custom lighting mod to make the nights darker and more realistic. You can find it here, if you want to:  http://www.modthesims.info/d/367164

Introducing: Trevor Davis

If you ever built a world yourself, you know that it's important to playtest often. Otherwise you risk that the world crashes the game and hours of work are flopped.

This is were Trevor Davis is put into play. He is my playtest-dummy and the first Sim who is allowed to move to New York and test the city and all it's activities.

His first tour starts today at an appartment building near Central Park. I want to invite you to join his tour and use your chance to get in touch with the city in ingame persepective.

--> Trevor's city tours part 1

Spotlight: Central Park

Central Park, the green lung of Manhattan, is maybe one of the world's most famous parks.
It provides a large variety of recreational activities for your Sims to enjoy.

I have just finished planting all those virtual trees and I really hope you like the result. Check out the gallery to find some more screenshots!

Snapshot: The NYPD is here!

Spotlight: Living in the heart of the city

Whose Sims don't dream about living in the core of the city next to it's pulsating heart?
Luckily, there is a free appartment right next to Times Square for your Sims to rent. Just make sure you can afford it ...

A night in the city that never sleeps...

As the city slowly fills up, I am doing my best to provide some pictures to keep you informed about the progress being made. I've also added some new screens to the gallery. Enjoy!

It's Wednesday and we're halfway trough the week. Time for a break in Central Park!

Your Sims will enjoy the calm atmosphere in the shadow under the trees, so why not giving them some time to relax while we walk over and take some pictures of the famous Plaza Hotel?

A trip to Midtown

Imagine your Sims will soon be able to take a trip to Midtown to go for some shopping!

Of course there will be lots of shops, boutiques and famous brands like the one in the picture.
The streets still lack some details like benches, trees and so on, but you may still get a got impression what I am after.

We built this city...

Hi all,

I just wanted to give proof that this project is still very active.

Today I have been working on the W Times Square hotel. The building will fill the gap between the Marriot Marquis and the end of Times Square.

Like all other google earth conversions, the model has been retextured using Google Sketchup.
If you know how to do it, it's not that hard, but it takes some time to place the textures right.

I am yet confident that it will fit neatly into the city :)

Spotlight: Little Italy

One of the basic ideas behind this project is to create a city as close to it's real life counterpart as possible - this means that there will of course be different districts/neighborhoods.

One of the most famous districts of New York is for sure Little Italy, a rather small neighborhood on Mulberry Street and Grand Street.  It features italian restaurants, cafés, grocery stores and much more for your sims to discover.

A crossing between Little Italy and Chinatown

Be sure to grab a dish of spaghetti when you pass by!

Good Morning New York!

A quick snapshoot, which shows the first results of my ability to add lights to deco buildings.

Sorry for the poor qualitiy, but it was taken directly from CAW. None the less,  I was really impressed by the picture and thought I could share this one with you!

More to come...

Let there be light

Today, I finally found a way to make buildings light up at night, just like the Late-Night-appartments do! This exciting discovery opens up new ways to create an even more immerse urban environment.
Normally, only lots are illuminated at night, if you have lamps or other light sources on them. Any kind of deco building is not and remains dark and abandoned.

I spent quite a lot of time to search the net for a solution on how to make my deco buildings illuminated at night. A conversion of the Do-it-yourself-billboard from couldwalkersims was the breakthrough. Thanks a lot for that!
Here is a linkt to the website: --> http://cloudwalkersims.com/do-it-yourself-billboard/

From my research, I know that a lot of people were trying to find a way on how to do this, so I will write a tutorial and post it here in the near future (As far as I know, the only one who could do illuminated deco buildings at present was LunaSimsLuna
[ http://lunasimslulamai.jimdo.com/], who did the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty, but never shared her knowledge with us).

Right now, I have done some windows that illuminate at night, which looks much better than the whole building itself being lighted.

But that is for sure only the beginning. Imagine Times Square and all the adverts being bright as daylight even during the early morning hours.
Those are pictures of some illuminated adverts I did this evening. They look great during night time, don't they?

I am looking forward to be able to make the city that never sleeps finally wake up at night!

Horus

The Big Apple slowly awakes...

As the project grows, I decided to start a > gallery < to provide you with some pictures of the city as it currently looks. Be sure to check it regularly as there will hopefully be many updates.

I have also started to spread the project over the internet by making posts in some communities concerned with the Sims 3 and I welcome all of you to do alike, in order to inform people what's going on here.

As always, I would appreciate any kind of feedback about the current status as well as all your wishes, hints or anything alike concerning the Big Apple Project.

Best Regards
Horus

Some first impressions

Here are the first pictures of Manhattan: