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This little something got started after my girlfriend dragged me to this design seminar since she studies interior store architecture/design. One of the models there was of this small village surrounded by really chunky walls.

So what does Malika want to do now? That's right, build an entire city! Scale will mostly likely be 1:5000, enabling me to build the entire city and still have it be of convincing size. I was pondering about building a medium sized city, in real life around 100km2 (around 10km x 10km). The model would thus be around 2 by 2 meters.

Model sci fi/fantasy models and maps for cities lack a certain level of "realism". I remember that Dark Heresy included a city map which was supposed to represent a city of around 1 by 1 kilometers, but having a population of 1.5 million. Not very convincing... Especially since real cities with a similar population would be way bigger. a city such as Paris for example has a land area of around 100km2 and an urban area of almost 3000km2 (let's say 60 by 50 kilometers).

Looking at those sort of sizes it might even not be possible to build an entire city and fit it in my house, maybe it'll stick to only a fragment of the city, which would still be rather large.

The model would function as a 3d map of a sorts which could potentially be used for wargame/RPG campaigns, but the current goal is to construct a model of a city which could be used for a scifi setting but still has a high level of realism to make it convincing enough.

As for the feel of the city itself, two main themes (which are probably the result of both my bachelor and master thesis projects) will be dominant, namely:
-Paranoia
-Self sustainability

Paranoia is mainly fear. Pre-modern cities were surrounded by large walls and moats because outsiders were feared. They were also used in order for trading guilds to regulate business, they would decide who enters the city and by what rules business is conducted. In modern cities this fear changed, it was no longer outsiders who were primarily fear, but those living within the city. If we look at the redesign of Paris during the Napoleon era this becomes evident. Revolutionary spaces such as small streets and tenements around the city centers were removed in order to displace and dislocate the revolutionary classes. Another reason for these big streets was that it enabled the army to easier use artillery and other heavy weapons against a violent mob. Wide streets also enable easy movement of troops. Big streets for military purposes also become evident when looking at the German autobahn which were designed in order to transport tanks across Nazi Germany more efficiently.
Large squares and other public spaces in which people of different classes, ideologies, genders, ages, etc could meet have also been tightly managed in the last couple of decades in order to make these areas "more attractive" to the business community. In this city these areas would be no different, perhaps they would include giant screens which would display propaganda constantly.
Another concept used to provide security against internal threats is by building fortified city blocks. You could compare them to gated communities but on a much smaller scale. Imagine a city block turned inward, you could only enter the block through a single entry way. Whilst this provides some sort of safety for the inhabitants, they could also easily be isolated when needed to. Quarantine could easily be maintained that way, especially if these blocks are not self sufficient for food production.

This leads me to my second point, namely self sufficiency. Whilst it would not be possible for the city to become a 100% self sufficient area, it could move towards it. Phil's Ecorium concept kind of sees a return here, or at least the sources from which he drew inspiration. Urban farming like in Cuba (using free spaces to produce crops) and vertical farming would be very common. I can imagine districts within the city which could be deemed fully rural, or at least food producing. There are cases of cities in the UK which are fully self sufficient when it comes to food production. Havana also has become self sufficient if I'm not mistaken.

Self sufficiency is also sort of the result of paranoia, there might be this permanent fear that the city might be under siege. If that does happen it would be disastrous if the city was fully dependent on outside sources for food.

So how will paranoia and self sufficiency be represented in my project?
-Large city walls: keep outsiders out.
-Districts surrounded by walls: ability to isolate them when needed.
-Urban and vertical farming: produce enough food to supply the city.
-Food production in protected zones: habitation districts not able to produce their own food, thus enabling government to control people by controlling food distribution lines.
-Wide streets: prevent blocking, easy movement military

Materials planning on using:
-board (type of cardboard also used for architectural models)
-foam
-whatever I can get my hands on

The aesthetic feel I imagine for the city, which might not be visible in 1:5000 scale is kind of similar to Communist Gothic, but also Imperial cities in 40k but with a more Eastern European feel, perhaps more akin to City 17 in Half Life 2.

Expect pics/sketches/etc in the coming days/weeks!

Tips, comments, advice, etc more than welcome!

You should make it in 1:1 scale

This sounds pretty awesome.

-Luther

I'll be keeping an eye on this to see if your imagination matches your ambition.

Best of luck.

I've always wanted to make a city, can't wait to see what you do

Interesting project, look forward to seeing what you do with it.

Look at Manhattan on a map, Gives you some idea how a pre-planned city looks like.

Great for BTB monks:

http://uk.green.yahoo.com/blog/environmentalgraffiti/97/the-ancient-hula-hoop-buildings-of-china.html

Chinese "Tulou" buildings are fortified precursors to modern apartment blocks. Built as circles or squares up to five stories high with a central communal courtyard.

"With outer walls up to six feet thick, tulou are immune to gunfire and arrows. They were effective defense during the 12th to 19th centuries when armed bandits roamed the countryside and no doubt would still manage to keep wily villains at bay today."

My kind of house. But wont want to share with 80 other families.

@jackanory: if you provide me the resources sure!

@Smarteye: I've already been studying several other cities, namely Paris, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Moscow, Leningrad and Lima.

@superscenic: I've been pondering about a similar concept, but instead of those blocks being a mere apartment I would imagine them to be almost neighbourhood sized, containing several habitation blocks easily containing a 1000 people or so.

Keep in mind that a 40k cities populace won't live out but up. I mean depending on the type of city, most likely there are levels going up and up that house chunks of the population.

It's like what the Japanese (or maybe Chinese) are doing to acomodate their growing populations. Instead of just building more and more buildings on more land they are making buildings taller and taller so they have more room for people just on a verticle area instead of a horizontal area.

Hive cities tend to work like that, but even so you would still need a pretty big surface if you want a city that is population by millions if not billions.

Besides, cities with such huge populations would need extensive industry and agriculture to supply its population with food and other commodities (including labour).

Here is a little something I wrote down during work. I still need to write some of my ideas for stats. I also don't really know yet how to do it with miniatures. The city project will likely be 1:2500 or 1:5000 scale, so the miniatures would be more akin to markers rather than clear miniatures, more akin to the markers used in the Horus Heresy boardgame. But yeah, let me know what you think of the premise and I'll keep this updated.


URBAN WARFARE: THE STRATEGIC WARGAME (UWSW)

This project is closely connected to the City Project, whilst the City Project (CP) is the construction of the city itself; UWSW is the continuation of the original project. The CP is meant to represent a totally paranoid city, its entire architecture and planning is meant to be hostile towards both internal and external threats.

UWSW needs at least two players, one presenting the Defender whilst the opponent is the Attacker. Both positions offer their advantages and disadvantages. The defender will have access to resources, known as Advantage Points, which are part of the city itself. For example if the city contains a harbor, the defender will be able to use that harbor to ship in resources and reinforcements. The attacker does not have these during the start up advantages, but is capable to taking over these Advantage Points. The attacker could have special offensive capabilities such as aerial bombardment.
In a Single Game there are certain types of Advantage Points such as bombardments (for the Attacker) or harbor (Defender). However, for Campaigns there are several other Advantage Points such as factories that can repair/replace/upgrade units, food or fuel production facilities that enable the player to send in further reinforcements. When playing the Campaign it becomes very important to conquer these Advantage Points during battle since they can determine the rest of the campaign. More on these Advantage Points later…

Units:
In a game of UWSW there are two types of units, namely Vehicles and Infantry. Whilst there are many types of infantry and vehicles, in the game itself it each Unit Marker represents entire formations of infantry or vehicles that are armed with all sorts of weapons. Units can be upgraded to have better weaponry or armor.

Infantry:
From your basic grunts to heavily armored elites to rag and tag civilians who picked up their arms. Infantry is capable of moving in smaller streets and occupying buildings. Only Infantry can take over Advantage Points.
Infantry is divided into three types of armor and three types of weaponry. The three types of armor are No Armor, Light Armor and Heavy Armor. Weaponry is divided into Standard Weapons, Anti Infantry and Anti Armor. Standard Weapons are the common rifles of infantry, be it assault rifles or laser rifles (depending on context). Anti Infantry weapons are more specific such as sniper rifles and/or guns with armor piercing ammunition. Sniper Rifles are more accurate weapons and offer a higher chance of penetrating infantry armor, these advantages would only work against infantry, and against vehicles these weapons are as good as totally ineffective. Anti Armor weapons could for example be bazookas and are used to hunt for vehicles such as tanks. Heavy weapons, making it hard for the carrier to run around. What the unit sacrifices in speed it makes up in firepower, weapons work better against vehicle armor. Because of its lack of speed and aiming/reloading time it is less effective against infantry. Infantry can run for cover, making it harder to hit them. But if hit the consequences are more disastrous. Note that Infantry with Anti Armor weaponry cannot occupy buildings or Advantage Points (too much collateral damage if these weapons are used inside). However, it is very effective against enemies who are hiding inside buildings, able of killing Infantry inside buildings while preserving them for your own Infantry to enter. The three types of armor are pretty straightforward. No Armor is exactly as the name suggests, the unit is wearing no armor. This means that if the unit is hit it goes down immediately. Light Armor offers the user some protection, especially against Standard Weapons. Heavy Armor is the best protection a soldier can wear, be it powered armor or the use of energy shields. Heavy Armor protects the user from most Standard Weapons and Anti Armor (or at least making it very hard for one to kill). It is not that effective against Anti Infantry weapons. Another downside of Heavy Armor is that it slows down the wearer. Units in No Armor and Light Armor are able to move normally or Fast whilst units in Heavy Armor are unable to move fast due to the extra weight.

Vehicles:
Everything from armored cars that can race through the city to heavy tanks that can take anything but the most powerful weapons. Vehicles are better protected and generally better armed and faster than infantry, but are unable to move into smaller streets or occupy buildings/Advantage Points. Furthermore, Vehicles are unable to duck for cover during a firefight.
Vehicles can be divided into three categories; these are Light Vehicles, Medium Vehicles and Heavy Vehicles. Light Vehicles are fast vehicles with little of no armor at all. What they lack in protection they compensate in speed. Light Vehicles are also smaller, enabling them to move into smaller streets like infantry. Medium Vehicles are better protected than Light Vehicles, but are not as fast and maneuverable. Still faster than Infantry, Medium Vehicles are unable to move into smaller streets. Medium Vehicles are better armored and some of them are also capable of carrying Infantry units inside. Heavy Vehicles are heavily armored and armed. These monsters are capable of withstanding most enemy fire while decimating entire units of them. What they have in firepower and protection, they lack in speed. Heavy Vehicles move no faster than standard Infantry (in No Armor or Light Armor). Some Heavy Vehicles are capable of transporting Infantry, thereby offering them extra protection from enemy fire. (only Medium and Heavy Vehicles can carry Infantry)
Light Vehicles can only be armed with Infantry type weaponry, see above for more on that. Medium and Heavy Vehicles have their own array of weaponry, with some of the weapons unique to the Heavy Vehicles. Like the three types of Infantry weapons, the Vehicle weapons can be categorized into three types: Standard, Anti Infantry and Anti Armor. They work very much the same as the Infantry weapons, with the only difference that they tend to be more powerful, either having higher strength or longer range. Furthermore, Vehicle speed is not influenced by weaponry mounted on them (there are some exceptions, more on that later). This means that a Medium Vehicle can retain its speed whilst being armed with Anti Armor weaponry.

More soon!

Sounds pretty cool to me, can't wait to see your progress

By the way, here are the first sketch-up pics, so that you guys kinda get an idea of what I'm trying to do:




Note that the model isn't fully up to scale yet. The idea is that the city is paranoid not only to external but also internal threats. Wide streets prevent people from blocking them up. The districts are separated through moats and high walls, enabling them to be easily isolated in case something does happen. Districts have limited self-sustainability in case sieges do happen.

Block War!!!!

I noticed you mentioning town squares. If you plan on using this for 40k i would have to recomend http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat440156a&prodId=prod630018a That for the statue that will fit perfectly. hope i helped in some way

The town's scale will be 1:5000, that statue would probably be half a kilometer high then! This place will hardly have town squares, unless they are heavily regulated (as in secret eyes everywhere). Squares are potentially dangerous places where people of different classes/races/genders/ages/etc can come together, so these forces will have to be kept under control. Squares would have visible security forces, secret eyes (cameras etc) and propaganda. Maybe some squares with giant screens from which the leaders broadcast or something...

some potholes maybe and sandbags to give the war impression

In a scale of 1:5000 sandbags and pothols would be pretty impossible with 1mm being 5 meters and all.

The idea on a somewhat larger scale, after lazily copy pasting the whole thing a few times.

Slowly figuring out Sketch-Up more and more:



This new model is more in scale and a lot more accurate than the previous one. Note that the buildings are huge. The factories on the left for example are around 130 metres long, 50 metres wide and 75 metres high.

(the tiny spot next to the building right next to the block's wall is a human being. Imagine the size of those buildings then!

Small change of plans! I think I will construct the entire city in Sketch-Up and see what could be done with fancy rendering through programs such as Maya. The main idea of the project was to create a city which sort of made sense but also was totally paranoid and oppressive. Doing it on Sketch-Up would enable me to share the thing online as well, making it a potentially interesting 3d map of campaigns (be it 40k/epic/Dark Heresy/etc/etc/etc). I'm not 100% sure on the setting yet, whether it will be something completely of my own or set in the 40k universe. I might do both but with different renderings or something...

Oh yeah...more pics!



You can see some of the new building designs I've been toying with as the adding of details to structures such as the bridge.


One of the entry ways to the landing pad. I thought it cool and fitting to have the landing pad located on a higher level. Each of the pads has a diameter of 250m, which means it could contains many smaller craft such as shuttles and fighters or several larger landers.


Slowly learning to add more details to the buildings. The city blocks will be surrounded by tons of small docks which are used to transport larger goods and people (perhaps gondola styled tourism?)


Another (and earlier) version of some docks. It's a pretty simple and straightforward design, but I like it!

(And yes, for both dock pictures, those tiny little dots are human beings!)


Sort of pseudo panorama shot of one of the bridges connecting the many city blocks. The shot looked cool and kind of reminded me of some of the concept art for David Lynch' Dune film adaptation.

Looking very nice! Keep up the good work.

Tortured-Robot wrote:Block War!!!!

Yes! That s exactly what I thought as I was reading the beginning of the thread!

its a good idea, althoigh i thought you were making it out of cardboard or something lol but that would be crazy right!
reminds me of halo odst or an old ps1 game by psygnosis called g police. it would make a cool backdrop for your minis though!

I'm a bit at doubt as how to make the city physically. At the moment I'm planning on doing the entire thing in Sketch-Up, enabling me to construct the entire city and surrounding areas (larger space port instead of these "simple" landing pads, some food factories and other heavier industries).

As for the physical construction, I'd probably end up making one of the blocks. What scale is Epic in? 1:1200 right? Oh wait, I just read its 1:285. Nah...I doubt I'd make a block in that scale, would be impossible, I'd have to cover the entire ceiling just to make a single block. I'd rather try out making the physical thing in a scale 1:1000, 1:2000 or 1:2500, scales more conventionally used for architectural models.

Buildings of that scale shouldn't be absolutely huge should they?

Might be an idea to create a building "blanks" using plasticard/sculpture and then cast the sides in resin (or hard plaster), adding extra details to distinguish them more strongly from one another.

Gives you a stock of various combinations of building sides and sizes.

Though you may be able to cast solid buildings if they are small enough

If done in epic scale they would be pretty big. The average building in my model has a height of around 80 meters. Divide 80 meters in 285 and the average building for epic would then be around 30cm high. Then place that building on the inner layer of the fortification which is another 50 meters which is 17cm. So the average building for Epic would be 47cm high, some lower whilst many are taller.

Though much smaller than Epic and you don't really have a lot of scope for minitures.

Not sure how many games there are set at sub-epic scale.

Might be quite cool though, and I think a smaller scale set of buildings would look better anyway (plus they could possibly be used in Epic scale games anyway).

To be honest, I'm not that concerned about miniatures fitting into the model. If I would make a physical model of the city (or probably just fragments of it), it would be to give you a physical idea of how the thing would look like rather to play in since I haven't really played a game in years.