Realistic Springfields...

"Loanet;d-224191" wrote:
I'm not asking to SEE realistic Springfields, because the map I once attempted to use was only accurate up to Season 15 and is radically different even by the new opening credits...

I'm just curious about who here TRIED to make a realistic Springfield and at what point they gave up and rolled with their own version?

I gave up when the map

http://i.imgur.com/ShejE8A.jpg

showed me the Legitimate Businessman's Club was just down the road from the school. Said to myself, "I don't mind my Town Square being perfect or doing Pressboard Estates properly, but no, the LBC isn't going there."

My SF has always been my own layout overall, but i try to duplicate the way a building is shown in the episode it appears. My powerplant is just one of many I've tried to replicate the show accurately.
I've never seen evidence that map is drawn by anyone other than a fan so I've never given it much thought.

But i do appreciate that there's a thread full of forum people who have been following the map. One of my favorite former mods and forum regular contributors has documented their attempt to duplicate the map. I love seeing everyone's different take on the same subject.

But my town is realistic in two different ways. First, i tried placing some key features exactly as they're shown in the opening credits. So my town square is as familiar to all viewers as possible. There's a logic to where everything is that you should be able to correlate with the real scene.

THEN i also design in a realistic way such as duplicating how a town typically grows. This frequently involves the architecture of buildings and their ages and sizes. Older, corner-door buildings like the bank have to be placed specifically to use them in a most realistic manner, on a corner in the little downtown area,, as example. I'm trying to develop huge sections of different environments also. Like pine trees only, vs mixed trees, vs no trees and all cactus. My favorite realism is in clever economic sections, like obviously industrial area, or obvious tourist area