Ennedi plays Shosaloza

Mayor Diary 150px Link SimCity 4 Devotion General Information Author Ennedi Status Active Tags Hall of Fame Awards Hall of Fame Language {{{language}}}

Ennedi plays Shosaloza is a Mayor Diary, authored by Ennedi.

Adams reaction to HoF

I installed my first SimCity version on a computer with a 10MB hard drive. I remember the black and green DOS screen and the black dots that were cars moving along the streets.

In SC2000 I saw great improvement, but I didn’t play it very much. Later when I played SC3000, I wasn’t satisfied with the visual aspects, but observing the simulation was fascinating. The game was too simple and schematic, though.

Then everything changed when I bought SC4. I visited the EA site, got to know about the custom stuff and the SC4 community, and then I found Simtropolis. What I saw there opened completely new possibilities.

I registered there early in 2005 but never have been an active member. I just collected stuff, used it in my region based on the Maxis San Francisco map and looked at various city journals. I didn’t feel ready to show any of my creations and didn’t feel any need to do so.

After some time, I started playing with rock mods, new kinds of plopable flora and the Columbus Terrain mod which was a revolution for me. Also I learned more about terraforming – maybe it was the beginning of my SC4 passion!

I love mountains, seas and forests - in fact with years of observation, the whole world is more and more fascinating for me. I like natural landscapes, but I was always interested in creating engineering structures on difficult terrain without damaging the natural environment. I don't try to re-create any existing places in SC4, but I want to build realistic looking cities and villages in realistic surroundings.

What is realistic in SC4 is a theme for another - and maybe endless - discussion. From my personal point of view, if my pictures are able to move somebody's imagination, then there is something real in them. Maybe these pictures are not very realistic, but if they can awaken some real feelings or memories, it is enough.

Looking at City Journals on ST, I found a few that were especially interesting and inspiring for me - AK's Eye Pop, Anduin Valley, Brastoval Bay, Digby, Edmonton, SCR, Simtropia and 3RR.

It was by reading this last one I got to know about SC4Devotion, and it was very pleasant to know that it is Jeronij's site. His pictures and the way he presented the creation process were my favorites.

So I came to SC4D in April 2007. During the first few months here I collected much more knowledge than I did in the last few years before. I met good people here and I started to think about giving something of myself to them. So I looked at some other MDs, but I knew it's a difficult and time-consuming task and I was afraid about it.

My first idea was to create my own map, a 9x9 with a seashore, an island similar to Hong Kong, large beaches with some fiords in another place, flat areas for airfields, seaports and refineries along with some lakes, hills and mountains - all in one. I started to draw this map, but after some time I understood that preparing it would take several months. So I started to think about something smaller and less complicated. I have read all the Shosaloza MDs and I decided this was something for me.

In fact, Shosaloza is my Area 51. It is my second SC4 region except for a few test regions, and my first MD/CJ. It's my place to learn, to experiment and to enjoy. Maybe that’s a strong point of this MD – the various different places that are test areas for my ideas. But I still have that old map and I suppose I will make use of it one day.

Not everything is planned in Shosaloza. I have some ideas of what I want to do in particular places. Then I think what I need to do to keep everything consistent. It is rather a feedback process - the shape and function of the developed areas have an influence on the next ones even if earlier plans were different. There is also a constant interaction between the terrain and urbanized areas.

Not everything is good in Shosaloza. I know about it, but most of the things I make here are new for me, so I hope you will forgive my mistakes and bad ideas.

I have received many benefits from my work in SC4D. I met fantastic people here, I learned some computer graphics and I found interesting software. My computer knowledge is better now, and it is valuable in other areas of my life. I also learned to observe the real world even better, both landscapes and people. Maybe this is the most important thing of all in this SC4 activity.

Being a member of this community is a fantastic adventure. Thank you for it!

-- Ennedi (edited by Jmouse)
June 3, 2008