I've been a member for of SC4 for years, but I don't really post that much. Recently I've been playing around with Bating, and I'm coming to you guys for help.
Here's what I'm working on right now. It's a townhouse project for a university.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg710.imageshack.us%2Fimg710%2F1056%2F75645275.jpg&hash=b7be629c42148e0c180cf0f6369aeff0a1e0bda8)
I have some questions that I'm hoping you guys can answer. First, underground stuff. Why does it show up in game? I want it to for the parking ramp and the window bays. But the floor I don't want to show up but it does. Can someone explain how the game does underground stuff, or Gmax.
Second. What are your thoughts on the roofs. I have two widths present, they're both parallel to the front of the TH.
One final question. How do you do HD? I haven't searched for the answer, but I figured you're already reading this, can't hurt to ask. :)
Hmm, well underground stuff won't really work because of the GMAX rendering process. To make a 'foundation', that sinks into the ground depending on the slope, you have to render a seperate piece and its a process that I'm not fully clued-up on.
I like the narrower of the two rooves myself.
To render in HD is quite easy: Go to this thread: http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=7430.msg238749#msg238749
and that link should take you to a post where scripts that replace ones in your C:/Gmax/Gamepacks/BAT/scripts directory are attached. Put these into the folder, and you have the option (found on the preview panel) to export or preview in HD or SD. More detailed instructions are in the thread.
You've made a good start. I'd recommend some detailing on the roof, such as gutters and whatever the name for the row of tiles/metal across the apex of the roof is.
Good luck!
it looks nice Zach :thumbsup:
Yeah, as Joel was saying, some extra detailing on the roof would help. But the area for me that needs the most work is your textures. The roof, walls and brick area are all tiling pretty badly. To make BATs look their best you need to learn to do whole textures in PS (or gimp). Take this simple formula: if a wall is 10m x 20m, make an image that's 100 x 200 pixels. That's your wall. Then hunt the net (google search, cgtextures.com etc), for as appropriate, and hopefully large textures as you can find. Then you just need to "play around with it" in PS and voila!
(not knowing your proficiency in PS, I';ll leave it at that for now. Plus there are tutorials around). Good luck
Really a good start! And I would say quite ambitious, for a "first" BAT (or it isn't?).
About the underground stuff, it shows up ingame because your BAT does have parts underground! That simple! Otherwise how could one make (partly) underground models? What you could do to avoid this is:
- FIrst of all, LODs do not need to extend below ground, even if your BAT does have underground objects. Open your BAT and move your LODs so that they start from ground level, using the type-in tool (press F12). Of course, you will need to modify them too, ie make them lower so that they encompass everything (above ground) but be not taller than your BAT. To do so change the height of the "Box" (if they are simple boxes) or move the vertices lower (if they are meshes or polys).
- However, this may not be enough either, as some underground objects may still be projected on the LODs' faces, because of the viewing angle. So make your LODs as close to your model as possible.
To see an example of such a model, take a look at my Spirulina Farms (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=1538) pack. The large tub model (check the "emptied" one), looks well underground (and it really is), however the LODshell is all above ground. View it in wireframe mode in the reader to see this, and also check the vertex values to verify it (there are no vertices with the Y coordinate negative).
As for the rest, your BAT could greatly be improved with some better texturing:
- Almost all textures are badly applied and are tiled (or it's just me?). Looks like you are not using UVW mappings at all. It may even be the U and V parameters in the materials. These should preferably be set 1.0 initially; later on you may modify them carefully, if you want to tile them (in such a case you should use a "seamless" or "tile" one), or instead use only a part of them. Sometimes it may not be very easy to determine how a texture is applied, so better dl the textures attached at the end of this post (http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=9362.msg302051#msg302051). These can help you determine how your materials and mappings work. All you have to do is (temporarily) change the texture (in your material) to this one and see how it is applied on your objects. For exmaple, you can easily see if it is tiled or cropped (and how much). They have subdivision marks (tenths) too, so they make things easier. The numbered ones are for testing multi-materials.
- Take a look at this post (http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=3757.0), it's about textures' size.
- I would also recommend that you add some (pseudo-) lighting effects, using Dodge and Burn (http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=5230.0).
- Also your textyres are a little on the reddish/beige side. This can be greatly improved by performing some colour adjustments. Take a look at Gascooker's tutorial (http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=5229.0). It may look tedious at first, but it isn't really. Once you make this adjustment layer, you can apply it to more textures with a simple copy-and-paste. If you are using Paintshop Pro, you can even take it from the thread attachment.
Hope these help.
Zach - regarding your foundation question. I did a two part tutorial that is located in my showcase thread. Have a read then ask questions if I need me to clarify something.
http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=536.120 (http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=536.120)
Regarding the roof. Since you asked. It looks like you UV mapped the roof too many times. I think the roof tiles could stand to be a bit bigger. I don't know what paint program you have but you should consider (for your next bat) a gradient on the roof. That would simulate where dirt is washed down leaving smudges from water run off.
Regarding HD. One thing to keep in mind is that HD needs to have nearly perfect textures. HD will really ( say again - really ) show case your textures as well as the small details you want to emphasize. Sometimes HD can make a bat look worse. I usually reserve HD for small things like props, a small sign, or a sim person. Basically, something that I want to see clearly if I zoom in at the closest level.
A general critique is that this is a nice bat and I like the concept and the general shape of the building very much. I like where you're going with it.
I don't know what your scale is but you should probably do a test render and get it into the game as a prop on a park lot. Plop it next to other university buildings and decide what adjustments you may need to make. Before you get too far down the road that is.
Good Luck with your bat.
Jim
Hey guys, thank you so much for your responses, they were a big help. Sorry I didn't get back to this sooner. It's been a busy summer. That and I had the hardest time with my textures. Though I've updated my building a good deal. Texture wise. I've spent so many hours on the net hunting and in Photoshop creating.
joelyboy911 Thanks for that link. I appreciate it. I changed the roof texture completely. However. I'm worried that with this one when there are several buildings next to one another it'll look bad because of the roof. Let me know what you think. I didn't render more than one next to it, because I'm lazy, but I will in the future. I took your advise on the details though. I added some stuff that you'll be able to see.
thingfishs Thanks for that tidbit about the pixals and meters thing. It helped a good deal. Again, I added some stuff to the roof, let me know if it's working for you.
cogeo Technically speaking, no, this is not my very first bat. It's probably my third of fourth one, though this is my first one that I've done anything with this much detail. I usually give up, or get pissed off at the textures and stuff like that. Or I end up getting bored with it and just move on. The LOD thing, I found an article over at Simtrop about LOD's, so I understand them a lot more now. I changed my LOD to shrink rap, if you will, my bat and the underground parts don't show up once I put in the base texture in the LotEditor, and the trees actually show from all angles now. I attempted to add lighting to my bat, the first time I've attempting this btw. And I failed. You can see in the pictures how. I've also changed the color scheme up just a little. I had about six different schemes that I was looking at and I decided on this one. I can post the others if this one isn't working for you. But I like this one.
jmyers2043 I like your tutorial. I'll think of doing something similar if the need arises for this bat. But right now I'm expecting it to on a flat surface. Though that might change depending on where in my city I want this to go. The previous pictures where inline with the scale in game. Right now I'm working on the bat differently. I've realized that it's easier for me to work on it assuming one grid line to another is one foot instead of one meter. So I'll eventually shrink it 33.333% when it comes time to export it. The pictures that I'm posting now are in the one line is one foot mode. Not too much changes when I scale it down, I've tested it out that way too.
Here's what I have now, let me know how the textures are and the changes that I've made if they're working.
Without Lighting
This is what I have right now, no lights in this render. There is currently no glass in any of the windows. When I put it in it will just be a blueish hue at 70% opaque.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg225.imageshack.us%2Fimg225%2F6366%2Fupdated1.jpg&hash=7d14eff99b4cb4ef5ff6abda170f3daa535d4c04)
With Lighting
Both of these renders are the same as the one above but with some lights installed. This is where I'm in need of help the most. I've looked through this site and SimTrop, as well as several other sites online for help with lighting in gmax or 3ds Max, I have 2010. I've never used lighting before so I don't know what I'm doing. Help me please. :)
The only glass in the render is in the lamps. I have them name 'nite' something or other. I don't mind the look of them, but I would rather it be more natural. I have omni lights inside of all three. Which is why the window on the porch closest to the strairs is really bright. I don't understand why the spot lights on the ground are shining through everything. I've tried targetdirect, and spotdirect, and I get the same results. I've put the target being the leters, right on the wall inside the delta's, and I've put it a foot in front of the leters, and I get the same result on the walls each time.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg823.imageshack.us%2Fimg823%2F6790%2Fupdated3.jpg&hash=8da72e779d8219b422ababdd82051785d2a8139a)
Why aren't the omni and target lights bright like they are during the day. I don't really like the 'nite' windows in the lamps, but I like how they're bright and you can tell that there's light emitting from them.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg808.imageshack.us%2Fimg808%2F7054%2Fupdated2.jpg&hash=328aafd751a169776822d5314933e2579019f788)
One final thing. I would like to add some greenery to the porches and possibly some Ivy. I have this (http://www.cgindia.org/2007/11/introducing-gwivy-for-3d-studio-max.html) installed in 3ds Max, and it kinda works well. But I can't get my textures to appear in the perspective mode. I've also tried this one (http://graphics.uni-konstanz.de/~luft/ivy_generator/) and I like the results that I get in program, but when I export it and import it into 3ds it doesn't look the same, the texturing is off. I've imported it into gmax and then it's really messed up, lol. I just want to add some nice green to my building. Is there's a 'simple' way to do so without props. Because I can't get those onto my porches.
Thanks!
Just a couple of things, Zach...
First, the model looks very good, and even better for a beginner! However, I think it would look better with some kind of a wood texture or tile for the porch part. With the bricks on the porch, the entire building looks a bit 'samey' and kind of odd.
Secondly, addressing the texture tiling (which you've cleaned up nicely), I remember seeing a tutorial on Simtrop that helped me with my texture tiling problem... I'll look for it and put a link here.
Found it! http://www.simtropolis.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=37&threadid=112841&enterthread=y
Hi everyone! So I took some time off from SimCity, classes started and Civ5 came out, yes I'm a geek, :)
Anyway, I've recently started getting back into the game and there's always been something missing, as least I feel like there has been. So I'm making it my mission to create a decent football stadium to compliment JB's university. I doubt I'll succeed, but I'm going to try. Here's what I have so far. I'm look for any suggestions that can help make it better. Thanks in advance. I can also provide more detailed screen shots if needed.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg207.imageshack.us%2Fimg207%2F2245%2Ftestpreview.jpg&hash=eefee0c8749f2253359f77b1f2ee39af1ece838a)
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg442.imageshack.us%2Fimg442%2F5869%2Fingametest.jpg&hash=4cc9fc06ec17a100b78d6cbca55efd38e4bd3622)
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg401.imageshack.us%2Fimg401%2F9110%2Ftestpreview1.jpg&hash=b57be16eb7547e091e5c43b798d051e640e80b66)
I exported this one in draft because it was taking too darn long, so that's the reason for the bad quality, but you still get the point. I need to adjust the LOD so the ramp onto the field looks right and I need to finish up that area. But I'm not quite sure how right now, any suggestions?
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg580.imageshack.us%2Fimg580%2F754%2Fingametest1.jpg&hash=99acd182e09e9ad727e7203121d01efa3eaca5a0)
Hey Zach,
big improvement with your house textures :thumbsup: I hope you're not done with that one because it is quite a nice residence. So now you get the basic concept of texturing but you still need to do some fine tuning. The roof texture, though not tiling any more, looks too much like an oil slick for my tastes. Also I would recommend increasing the tiling on your bricks by at least double, they are much too big atm.
As for the night lights, they are tricky and largely counter intuitive at first (at least I found it so), but you'll get there. I don't quite follow you when you say "shining through everything" but it may be a leak (a common frustrating occurrence). If you get back to that project show us again and I'm sure someone will see what's going on. You clearly have a light(s) there that are far too bright and are causing a complete white out (loss of all detail), on the wall. These need to be reduced in intensity (or whatever it's called, I forget).
I like your field but the stands don't seem realistic to me. There are some pretty good american football fields around, have you seen scba's work for example? http://www.simtropolis.com/stex/index.cfm?p=files&keyword=scba&view=all (http://www.simtropolis.com/stex/index.cfm?p=files&keyword=scba&view=all)
Thingfishs, The townhomes I've set aside for the time being. I'll probably go back to them soon though, just more interested in the stadium right now. Once I go back to them I'll post a few picture of the lights in gmax to show my confusion. I think lighting it just something I'll never be able to do. lol
With regard to the stadium. I have seen scba's stuff. I actually use several of his facilities in my cities. However, I'm not satisfied with the size or look of the football stadiums, which is why I want to create my own. You say the stands don't seem realistic, how so?
Thanks!
Hi,
it's primarily the flatness of them which doesn't look right to me. Chairs/benches would stick out further and create more shadows. As it is it looks like you're just using a texture to represent the seating.
Thingfishs, how's this?
I wasn't happy with the previous color for the seats anyway, so I changed them. The reason that they look weird to you might be how I have the bleachers set up. I'm basing this stadium loosely after my schools, and the bleachers are roughly the same height as the next row up, the concrete on that level. Kind of hard to explain.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg600.imageshack.us%2Fimg600%2F2328%2Fupperdeck.jpg&hash=2bb69c7211085e4932ecb4828315af6a6b253b84)
Here's where I am right now. I'm feeling like there's something missing. What does everyone think?
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg84.imageshack.us%2Fimg84%2F5002%2Ftestpreview5.jpg&hash=f44fba6fc55e998796a32496d9a05845487b6e5f)
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg577.imageshack.us%2Fimg577%2F7554%2Ftestpreview6.jpg&hash=ccf409a04e511bfdaeb2f21533e31b7f5d10af78)
big improvement Zac, I didn't realise you were going for a full scale stadium - it's looking great (although beyond the scope of Clayhurst I suspect...).
The raised seats do look better. Dare I say it, but the main thing missing to me is all the people. ;-) How powerful is your computing setup? You potentially could get free human models from tubrosquid etc, make a small group and then clone like crazy. I know it's unlikely but thought it worth throwing the idea out there.
I assume this isn't a full quality render? I'm not a big fan of the primary brown you've used there (or the brown with grey patches) but it's a bit hard to see what it would actually look like.
You are correct, this isn't a 'high' quality render, it was just a low. My laptop is a few years old now, so it can't handle everything I want it to do. Which is a reason why there are no people. Once I'm done with it if someone wants to add people they're free to do so, I'll send them a copy of file over.
I'm not sure what brown/gray color you're talking about. The seats are green, they're actually the same seats from the first render but with a different texture, I wasn't feeling the burnt orange I was using, besides, it came out as red, which I despise. If you could further explain what you're referencing, that'd be great. Ohhh, are you talking about the roof texture for the skyboxes?
Here's a high quality zoom level 5 render. I messed up and didn't render the one with the lights, but that's the only difference between this picture and the one in my previous post.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg695.imageshack.us%2Fimg695%2F8391%2Ftestpreview7.th.jpg&hash=ccf3747cd0df509e75cb2b0ffa9b785905df3244) (http://img695.imageshack.us/i/testpreview7.jpg/)
Hi Zach,
I was referring to the area with the blue arrow (brown), and the area on the roof with the green arrow (brown with grey patches).
My issue with both these textures is more or less the same, tiling. With the "grey patches" bit the repetition is fairly apparent and with the "brown" area the problem is more the lack of variation. But in both cases, and for a BAT of this size and quality, you really must learn how to do whole textures (rather than tiling ones). Do you have PS or gimp (or equivalent)?
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimgur.com%2FUD695.jpg&hash=16f78ba76bf7c6988b434caaf1de365fbfe38512)
Hey all, here's another update on the stadium.
Thingfishs, I changed the roof texture completely. I don't have PS or anything, just Paint, and even if I did I'm too lazy right now to make a new texture, lol. I don't see any tilling with the brick texture, but maybe that's just me?
These pics are Zoom4 "Low" quality, for time purposes. The smaller "skybox" sections will have lights on it. For some reason they're missing from the bat. I probably forgot to save at them at one point.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg28.imageshack.us%2Fimg28%2F3725%2Ftestpreview10.jpg&hash=e7747ac30e3cdb0179d1f86c10110420b99ab69f)
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg574.imageshack.us%2Fimg574%2F4342%2Ftestpreview9.jpg&hash=6f4a0c76b22fc5bc0c87243d347b599e8effe15d)
Here's an update. JBsimio was really awesome and gave me the brick texture that he uses for his buildings in the Clayhurst set, so now I'm using those so the stadium will match his buildings better. Thanks Jon! I'm also in the process of fixing a few little details that need to be fixed. I'm also adding some stuff to the "away" side of the stadium, as it just looks boring to me. Let me know what you guys think!
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg52.imageshack.us%2Fimg52%2F8603%2Ftestpreview11b.jpg&hash=1fa2f73045eb672b0f2c991f4a1c2d2c52168fc4)
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg52.imageshack.us%2Fimg52%2F8603%2Ftestpreview11b.th.jpg&hash=4f216358f451ef42c67e7ca8f01a144a1a69ef8e) (http://img52.imageshack.us/i/testpreview11b.jpg/)
looking much better :thumbsup:
Thanks Thingfishs. There's still a lot of work to be done. I need to redo the maps for the bricks throughout, which wont be fun, lol. But I want it to be done so I'll do it.
I actually need help with my next task. I want to add lights to the stadium. I've yet to grasp lighting in Gmax, and I've googled and search SC4D and SimTrop and I can't seem to find the answer that I'm looking for. Here's a picture of the issue:
This is a bus station that I'm making to go along with the stadium complex.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg291.imageshack.us%2Fimg291%2F8697%2Fbusstation.jpg&hash=ace80afc60314e91e368ef06f7c10f7063919933)
The first two are day renders, one sans lighting and one with lighting. The same goes for the second two, but at night. I also attached the front view within Gmax. As for the locations and sizes, those are far from set, but I don't want the lights on during the day, and the night lights seem to be "boring" or at least really dull compared to the lights during the day, if that makes since. The light used is a TargetSpot light. There are no other lights beyond those eight. I'm going to add in more lights, in more places, and fix several other things that I don't like and that need to be fixed, but I want to get ride of the lights during the day. How?
You need to give all your lights the prefix "nitelite" - this tells gmax that's it's only to display light at night. Then, rather than adding more lights, try increasing the strength of the ones you have currently. In can also be good to make the shade of the light not quite white. Although an omni in under the roof is also worth trying. Night lights take a bit to figure out and don't work like lights in the real world (no reflection), just take your time and experiment. You should probably add a ground layer so the light can shine off it - either in the scene itself or as a separate prop afterwards (just make sure it's under 20cm otherwise props won't be able to be placed on it).
Thanks. I spelled the nitelite as nightlite, lol. So now it's all fixed. I've been working with different lights, omni and spot and different things. Youtube has been real helpful with understanding different aspects of the lights, I'm still working on them. Now I have a question. Here's what I have so far:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg571.imageshack.us%2Fimg571%2F9153%2Fbusstation1.jpg&hash=8d7e203a2bc2ac54f71f5b39eedaccda46d5105a)
I don't like the triangles that are appearing under the lamp lights. I'm not really sure how to get rid of them. I've tried having three rows of omni's at 4,0,-4 and that was too bright. I then tried two rows at 4.-4 and that was still too bright, so now I've got just the one row, and it's okay. I'd still rather have two rows so the light comes out a little more from under the roof. When I put the lights directly behind the columns then I get a shadow from the omni even though there's a spot right above it. Does anyone have any insights on how to fix this?
I LOVE the football stadium...There is a disappointing lack of fictional sporting venues available. Good work &apls
Quote from: Zacharuno on December 30, 2010, 12:30:07 PM
I don't like the triangles that are appearing under the lamp lights. I'm not really sure how to get rid of them. I've tried having three rows of omni's at 4,0,-4 and that was too bright. I then tried two rows at 4.-4 and that was still too bright, so now I've got just the one row, and it's okay. I'd still rather have two rows so the light comes out a little more from under the roof. When I put the lights directly behind the columns then I get a shadow from the omni even though there's a spot right above it. Does anyone have any insights on how to fix this?
There is no way to fix it altogether in GMAX - since there are no accurate lights or shadows in that program. You could minimize the effect by having more lights with smaller multiplier. I would also recommend all lights to cast shadows.
Generally the biggest challenge is that light interception simply multiplies that effect of light and the borders of area affected are very sharp, You can tinker with decay and attenuation settings to control this issue.
And I would do something about the color of light, imho at the moment it is both too saturated and of a bit odd; poisonous hue. May be slightly warmer(redder) yellow if you want yellow light? Still the saturation should be decreased quite a bit
On the modeling side you should check the roofs over those small towers. You have wrongly applied smoothing groups on them. You should remove all and every one(smoothing group that is) to recover proper sharp corner look. Also the "side lamps" are hugely over-sized. Both the lantern and holder parts
Tyler Thanks man. I appreciate it. Although I actually don't like that stadium at all. After much thinking and research, looking at many college stadiums, I've come to the conclusion that it just sucks and I need to start over. Which I've done. But I've set that aside for the time being.
SimFox It's an honor to have you comment on my stuff. I've tinkered with lights enough for the time being, lol. It sounds like I'll just have to get over the shadows being there or tinker some more. If I remember correctly, the lights all had shadows enabled. As for the color. Do you happen to have the RGB numbers that would produce the light you're talking about? That could be quite useful.
As for the dormer things. I don't know what you're talking about with regard to smoothing groups. I used a simple box and then edited the mesh and dropped down the edges. Would doing that somehow apply a smoothing group? The lamps, the arms do look a little awkward and large looking back at it, but the shade, looks fine to me. What size would you suggest? My opinion of it could always be changed.
Since my last post, I haven't touched the Townhouse, or the Stadium, or the Bus Station. I have however played around with another stadium. Trying some different things out, attempting to become a better BATer and planner. I tend to just start and not have a plan. Which creates issues down the road... Anyway. Here's what I'm working on now. It's far enough along to ask for help now. I 'think' the sides are all done, but the roof is where I'd like help. I'm not sure what to do with it. The roof textures are by no means permanent. I'm thinking of doing shingles on the slopped part. The building is meant to be a part of a University. At my school most buildings on campus don't have much on top. Just the occasional vent. Every building on campus is hooked up to the district heating and cooling system. So there's no need for AC units on top. That being said. I'm not sure if I should add some to the top or not.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg192.imageshack.us%2Fimg192%2F3221%2F69393634.jpg&hash=cf3c27ce4f58807d4d804d4e0be27a155e626dc8)
Lookd nice.
Nice, I wait for more :)
Guillaume :thumbsup:
QuoteTrying some different things out, attempting to become a better BATer and planner. I tend to just start and not have a plan. Which creates issues down the road...
This is part and parcel of the business of it, especially when you're just starting out. Learn the program, learn the interface, learn different ways and approaches to doing things to get the desired result; even if the end doesn't justify sharing or uploading, the process and "probing" is what is important. I have been BATting for three years, and I still do this occasionally - those "happy little accidents" (as painter Bob Ross used to put it) help to inform your work down the road.
QuoteAt my school most buildings on campus don't have much on top. Just the occasional vent. Every building on campus is hooked up to the district heating and cooling system. So there's no need for AC units on top. That being said. I'm not sure if I should add some to the top or not.
Yeah, I think the roof is barren, and looks like it needs something - even if it's not big hvacs or ducts or anything, some form of vent or nub or
something of interest. Right now, my eye scans it and my brain says "wow, that's empty, shouldn't there be something there?"
The model is interesting, and it's a nice building. You will need to stretch the circular detail in the pediment, because right now gmax is applying the "squish" to it (which it does to all BATs). It will look weird in the front view, but when it goes to render, it will compensate for the squishing that gmax does. Also, no window sills seems strange to me, in a building like this, but then I am just reacting (I haven't done the research to see if this is commonplace in this type of building). If I were to improve on the textures present on the walls, I would add a slight gradient from the bottom stretching slightly upward, to help with the shadowing visually.
Aaron Thanks sir.
Guillaume Thank you to you, too. I'm attempting to create something that complements JB's work. As of yet, I'm failing.
Madhatter Those "happy little accidents" need to happen more often! lol But the whole of point of me showing my work is so I can get tips to improve. From my perspective I can only get better. As you can see from the image below, I've changed up a few things, most notably the roof. I'm trying to go for a 'green' roof; that's supposed to be grass up there. I've also stretched the entire model a little bit, so that it's roughly the same height as some other buildings in game, and it doesn't appear to be awkwardly smooshed now. As for the window sills you're referring to. I also attached an image of the building I'm 'copying'. This one doesn't have any, though I'm not opposed to trying something different for the windows. As for the wall texture. If you want to do it for me then I'd be willing to retexture it, but I have no software on my laptop, and even if I did, I wouldn't know how to use it, lol. I've attempted Photoshop in the past and I've gotten nowhere.
I've made some changes to the building, most notably the roof. I'm going for a 'green' roof, it's a bit of a cop-out, but what can I say? I've also changed the windows a little, and then I've made it taller. I'm not too sure if I like the taller aspect or not. I did this because it felt a little short before, and the detail in the pediment was being distorted. I can always restore the building and then just change the window there. I'm not sure. Something just feels wrong with the building, but I can't put my finger on it quite yet.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg560.imageshack.us%2Fimg560%2F8215%2F1aaz.th.jpg&hash=6de0b21f5400eced6db1f1b69eb0dbefb851e145) (http://img560.imageshack.us/i/1aaz.jpg/)
I've been working on a few things, nothing too impressive as of yet. But thanks to a tutorial JBSimio posted regarding curved walls and windows. I've been trying that out to see where it takes me. I've started work on a true scale baseball field, and stadium for the game. I'm not a big baseball fan, more football, and a lot more basketball, so I could use as much help as possible from baseball fans here. I've used several different sources for inspiration on this. I'm liking it a lot, but it just seems to be missing something, and I'm not sure what. The outside looks too sad and empty.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg709.imageshack.us%2Fimg709%2F9495%2Fexportqn.jpg&hash=0dc7f05de3b5b4c39371533f273a1485da38e14b)
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg20.imageshack.us%2Fimg20%2F6683%2Fexport2.jpg&hash=a469db62320390c7f1327c0e507ef2ebb45f23b4)
Looks great, keep it up, can't wait to see more. :D
It's Beautiful &apls, a beautiful baseball field :thumbsup: