FrankU's Lottery - Space Center update

[noahclem]

I really wish I would have noticed this earlier as it's a really impressive piece of work. Using prop families to reduce the number of lots like that way as well as returning to perfect the modding is a brilliant move that show's a real dedication toward your content and downloaders. As someone that plays at a pretty advanced level I've found making realistic seaports extremely difficult. There's a plethora of options out there and that menu can quickly become more clogged up than the parks menu. Having a relatively simple system to place great realistic lots would have saved me untold hours.

a very belated +1 for that

[compdude787]

Wow, that's nice-looking!!!

[FrankU]

Thanks Noah!

I grew up (computerwise, I was in my twenties already) in the years that we had to be very picky with computer resources. I remember the hours I spent with Quarterdeck Extended (or Expanded, I always forget) Memory Manager in order to optimize all programs into the 640kB RAM in my 386DX2 computer....
So if I can save one lot or kB I try to do that. E.g.: I always delete the png files in my LE generated dat-files.

I am now wrestling with another container port set, based on Soulstealer's and Yoman's props and textures.

[belfastsocrates]

The new container lots look absolutely fantastic!!

I also agree with mgb regarding your Dutch houses, they do fit well in a UK-style city. I've been using them to create housing close to the large shopping area I previewed a couple of weeks ago. A full update should be uploaded this weekend and your houses look excellent.

[Kergelen]

The refurbished container terminal will be really useful for those who, like me,  want to make an industrial harbour but not to spend a lot of time on it.

[Swordmaster]

Great work Frank! You need a different water mod though


Cheers
Willy

[FrankU]

Great work Frank! You need a different water mod though


Cheers
Willy

Thanks Willy!
But in my test region, that I only use for lotting, I use as little plugins as possible, so there is no water mod at all.
In fact I only have test regions on my computer these days, but don't tell anybody 

[gn_leugim]

Thanks Noah!

I grew up (computerwise, I was in my twenties already) in the years that we had to be very picky with computer resources. I remember the hours I spent with Quarterdeck Extended (or Expanded, I always forget) Memory Manager in order to optimize all programs into the 640kB RAM in my 386DX2 computer....
So if I can save one lot or kB I try to do that. E.g.: I always delete the png files in my LE generated dat-files.

I am now wrestling with another container port set, based on Soulstealer's and Yoman's props and textures.

that reminds me somone 

[FrankU]

I thank you all for the positive feedback on my Container Terminal.
I had planned to make two other sets, one based on Yoman's props and one on Pegasus's props, but I got stuck on the railway issue. First of all I could not find a proper texture with rails going over concrete, and secondly I could not think of a way of making randomly appearing rail waggon props with and without containers. I could not think of a way of making a complete train, or at least sets of waggons that can be randomly plopped. So I have to rethink the concept.

Anyway.... meanwhile I thought of something completely different. And here it is.....

I present you the first part of the new

Dutch Housing Project

Mainly Haarlemmergold and Meurdoos/Marcoheutink BATted some really good house models, but their lots are, to say it friendly, not too appealing to my taste.
So I decided to do a huge lotting project (you know I am not happy with just one or two lots...).

I divided the models I have into four sets, defined by architectural style and aera of construction.
Set 1 contains architecture up to about 1920
Set 2 contains architecture from roughly 1920 up to 1970
Set 3 contains architecture from 1970 up to about now
Set 4 contains rural architecture found in Zeeland, one of the provinces of the Netherlands. This set is filled with a dedicated set of BATs by Meurdoos/Marcoheutink.

Set 1 will grow in the Chicago set
Set 2 will grow in the Euro set
Set 3 will grow in the Houston set
Set 4 will grow in the New York set

I chose these categories on availability, on my personal taste and on what I had already released in a tile set: the Advent Calendar sets, which are 1930ies and 1960ies architecture, are in the Euro set.

And then I needed a set of R$ low stage starter lots for the first years of a new town. Hence I decided to make a fifth set mostly stage 1, and a bit of stage 2 and 3. They grow in all tile sets.

This is the

DHP Pioneer Set

For this set I used some Maxis models and some models found in Simgoobers MEGA pack vol 1 and in the BSC Misc vol 1.
As the set is meant for your first settlers in a new city the lots are bare. Trees did not have yet time to grow, and there is no money or time to make posh gardens and lawns. Probably the lots will be replaced by better ones when you town grows.

As always I use prop families extensively. Most of all my own, that show great variety in props. Therefore lots can differ widely in appearance when they grow in your cities.
Please give me your feedback!

Here they are.
I named the lots after fictitious streets.

Akkerpad


Boschsteeg


Bouwhuispad


Houtweg


Klinkerpad


Modderpad


Park Boslust


Park Duinvermaak


Slijkweg


Zandweg

[Swordmaster]

Frank, Frank. Need a rail texture? Why don't you ask the rail people?

As for the container car issue, you can always make new prop exemplars for the models, add them to families, add timed properties, or whatever you're planning with them.

Nice housing, though. Boslust? What's happening in those trailers?


Cheers
Willy

[mgb204]

I'd have a word with Simmer2 about rail props... I passed him some templates to turn the excellent JES rail props into timed-families. I think he's planning to go all out with them for his hump yard, so no doubt you could link to them or perhaps obtain a copy? If that doesn't work for you, I'd be happy to lend you a hand, I've a number of custom props for such things lying about, so it's no bother.

Similarly, for the rail textures, if you just need a few basic textures, I could probably whip something up reasonably quickly. I plan to expand my RDP (Rail Depot Pack) textures in future, the design is such that you can create lots with a set of textures, that would match Maxis/Peg or RRW depending on which option a user installed. Right now it's only a very basic set, since I felt the need to get the depots out of my to do list, but it's nothing I wasn't planning on anyway. Not to mention, it's always appreciated to know exactly what sort of resources are useful for lotters to gain some perspective.

[Simmer2]

Hi Frank.
Rail textures? Timed Props? No problems  Robin made a nifty timed prop family file for me and like he said I used it allover my Hump Yard 
Just PM me a simple design and the concrete textures you wish to use. Rail complexity is irrelevant, I'm at a point now that I can pretty well create every possible rail configuration.
You should see the rail design I'm creating for my Intermodal Terminal   

Oh and those lots look soo rural, they are perfect for that early century game tile I'm planning to make

Nick

[FrankU]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the support on rail textures and timed props.

I had problems in some other ways. I'll explain.

First the rail textures.
I had planned to make a containter terminal based on Soulstealer's lots. Soulstealer made some base textures of his own. I like these and want to use them. He did use some overlay rail textures, looking like North Country Dude's rail textures, but somehow I cannot find the right dependency pack and hence they do no show up in my lot editor (when I say lot editor I mean: SC4-Pim). The only rail overlay textures I can find (eg BSC textures 2) have wooden sleepers and that looks silly in a concrete or asphalt environment. Pegasus made some base textures with rails in concrete for his CDK3 seaports, but then I cannot use Soulstealer's base textures. So I am stuck there.
Although I was ready to accept rails with sleepers I had another problem that did really stop development of the lots.

But a set of overlay rail textures with two, three and four tracks, plus some connecting pieces would be very practical. And some curves for making a perpendicular connection within four tiles would be very good too.

The second problem was the waggons and the random looks I wanted.
Listen and shiver.....
In my first container terminal I worked with trucks. Those are single objects and it is easy to make randomness by using different trucks, containers and other props (including blank props) in families. So I was able to make a wide variety with only a minimum of lots.
If I want to do that also with trains I cannot simply put waggon prop families on the tracks: usually they are standing in rows, not as single objects on the tracks. So I would need a series of waggon rows that I can use for variation or in families.
I would need a row of waggons with containers on them, a row without containers, some rows partly loaded with containers, rows with an engine, rows without....
So here we are: either one of you feels like making a set of these props, or I decide to make a larger set of lots....
And if you go ahead, please make containers that fit with the JES containers I have used already so often. But I guess it's going to be more lots....

It was not about making timed props. I am perfectly able to make them myself.

And what do you think of my Dutch Housing Project?

[Simmer2]

"I would need a row of waggons with containers on them, a row without containers, some rows partly loaded with containers, rows with an engine, rows without...."

Frank you can still achieve the above with the Jes container train cars. Just create sets of timed families with different times per group. Then string them in rows of the same time stamps per track.
You will see them appear and disappear in groups.
Works for me.

As far as the Rail textures, I'm currently in the process of making several ballast-less and sleeper-less overlay configurations for my latest project. I can always pass a few to you or I can make new ones to fit your project environment.

Nick

[FrankU]

Hmmmm...... Yes Nick,

Making variation in time is possible by timed props that appear and disappear, but if I plop the lot several times, we will see exact the same things happen on all lots. And that is what I try to avoid.
Ideally I would like to develop one lot that can be plopped several times and that gives a different look every time. That can be achieved with prop families and not with timed props. So the ideal would be a group of waggons as one prop, and then several different looking groups.

Now I know that Model Tweaker has a function "merge models" but I was not able to reproduce useful results. Maybe someone knows how the function works?

Yes, if you like, please pass some. I'll see what I can do.

[vortext]

Now I know that Model Tweaker has a function "merge models" but I was not able to reproduce useful results. Maybe someone knows how the function works?

Yeah I imagine you could use that function to create the single, large prop you want. I used it in similar fashion to create large Girafe wheat props, so it only takes 9 models to cover a single tile - instead of 81 which seriously slowed the game down every time the farmfield developed or changed seasons. At any rate, it's rather straightforward albeit a bit cumbersome.

First make a bunch of copies of the wagons, each copy into a separate .dat file, and render them offset at the desired distance. Next open all the .dat files in the Tweaker (so better make sure to give them sensible filenames) and bring the one file which will become the large, merged prop to the foreground. Finally hit the merge command and a new window pops up in which to select the appropriate .dat file / model with which to merge and click ok. If all went well the original model should now be appended with the offset model, easy to check in the Reader. Rinse and repeat for all other offset models. 

Final edit: come to think of it you probably don't need to split each copy into a separate .dat file, however, I remember doing so. . . Not sure why but most likely so that I didn't had to change the TGIs of the offset copies - apparently I didn't know about Reader's clone function at the time! 

[mgb204]

Hmmmm...... Yes Nick,

Making variation in time is possible by timed props that appear and disappear, but if I plop the lot several times, we will see exact the same things happen on all lots. And that is what I try to avoid.
Ideally I would like to develop one lot that can be plopped several times and that gives a different look every time. That can be achieved with prop families and not with timed props. So the ideal would be a group of waggons as one prop, and then several different looking groups.

The point is, these props are timed, but also in families. I agree you can't completely control the trains as single grouped entities. But you can using different families and timing together create the randomness you desire this way. I'm almost certain that's what Nick plans to do with them himself.

That said, if the model tweaker can merge them into single trains, you'd probably be better off that way, since it would be much simpler mechanics.

[gn_leugim]

nice lots. as a curiosity, dont you have fences/walls in the front on the houses over there? 

[Simmer2]

Hi Frank.
I think you will find what you are looking for in here http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/16119-logistics-centres-megapack/
Unpack it and take out these 2 files jestarr_AdditionalPropModels.SC4Model and LCP_Props_Consists_Jes.dat, drop them in your plugins and open LE or XPIM.

Have fun.

Nick

[FrankU]

nice lots. as a curiosity, dont you have fences/walls in the front on the houses over there? 

Thank you!
No, we often don't have fences in front. Many houses are open to the street.

I think you will find what you are looking for in here http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/16119-logistics-centres-megapack/
Unpack it and take out these 2 files jestarr_AdditionalPropModels.SC4Model and LCP_Props_Consists_Jes.dat, drop them in your plugins and open LE or XPIM.

I know the Logistics pack, but never took te time to take a close look at the additional props. You think Cogeo made these props himself? They do look like JeStarr's but seem slightly different. They could be very useful indeed. Thanks!