• Welcome to SC4 Devotion Forum Archives.

Metarvo steps up to BAT

Started by metarvo, January 15, 2009, 07:38:53 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

FrankU

Metarvo, as you probably guessed already, I like the model C the best.
The poles in my country look the way you see in this picture.
As you will notice the top of the pole and the arms are much slimmer than in your model. They end in a very short beam, while your pole has quite long horizontal beams. I think the poles would be more beautiful if you could make them thinner like on the picture. A lot of work, I suppose....


RebaLynnTS

Becca

Look for me at ... Becca At Bat

Monorail Master

I'd hate to bump this up, but I like the progress on this. I like these power poles. Keep up the good work
(\__/)
(='.'=) This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into
(")_(") your signature to help him gain world domination

metarvo

#43


FrankU: I have made some modifications to the pole, especially to the supporting arms, that should make it thinner.  :)

RebaLynnTS: Thank you for the compliment.  :)

Monorail Master: I'm glad you like the poles.  :)





It's been a while since I've shown any progress, mainly due to RL, but I have resumed work on this project yet again.  My tendency to revise my BATs has led to a variation of Model C from the last Side By Side Comparison.  There were three things that bothered me about my latest model, and all of them were inherent design issues that were carried over from my very first BAT.  From what I have observed, scale is one of the primary concerns of many BATters.  I had noticed that the poles seemed too tall compared to houses and other buildings after I stretched them to correct the BAT squash issue.  Furthermore, the base of the poles had a large footprint in which a house could be enclosed if so desired.  I knew something was wrong, so I created a smaller version of the poles.  The smaller model is a complete rebuild, placed near a house and Model C for comparison.  Since I was rebuilding it anyway, I also decided to make the supporting arms pointed based on careful observation of RL pictures.  Here is a side view:



What do you think?  Have I made them too small?  Any comments will be appreciated.  ;)
Find my power line BAT thread here.
Check out the Noro Cooperative.  What are you waiting for?  It even has electricity.
Want more? Try here.  For even more electrical goodies, look here.
Here are some rural power lines.

projectadam

Metarvo,

Excellent to see that you were able to escape from RL for a little bit to continue working on your creations. I think the new poles look AWESOME! Some of the more experienced batters might be able to address the scale issue better but I think they look like a great size.

Keep up the great work and one of these days, I will have a region that will display them :D
The Constitutional Monarchy of Ichigamin

Terraforming Update (8/25/09)

beutelschlurf

moin metarvo,

i think the size is fine, too. ... but i'm concerned about the base, seems to me it's a bit slim if you look from the side. (does that make sense?)
anyway, apart from that is a decent looking pole you got there!  ;D

b_schlurf

FrankU

Hello Metarvo,

I'm happy to see that you didn't give up on it. The result looks very good.  &apls

The scale is really a bother in this game... The large pole indeed looks very large. The small one seems a bit small. The thing is: it differs with what you compare the poles. I have seen poles here in the Netherlands that are large enough to stand over a house. On the other hand: the pole looks too large in comparison with a high rise building.
On the third hand: if I place a row of poles next to a raised highway the highway is too high and the poles are too low.
The base of the problem is probably that 16 meters in game is not always 16 meters in real life.
In real life we have rowhouses that are about 5,5 meters wide: so that would mean about three on one tile. There is not even one BAT with houses that small (Haarlemmergold made some small BATs but never more that two on a tile). So the single and row houses are too large. If then you measure the heigth of a high rise building you will see that it is way too small. In a certain way the scale of the buildings is compressed.

So every size is a compromise. I'd say: your pole looks cool, maybe it should be a bit taller, so that the wires will not interfere too quick with a higher industrial building.

metarvo



projectadam: Thanks for the compliment!  :)  I'm still trying to figure the scale out.  I have heard of poles like these being 120 feet (36.576 m) tall, but it seems as though that still came out too short in the BAT.

beutelschlurf: Thanks for the kind words!  :)  Indeed, the base is one of my big problems.  At first, I tried making the length of the side equal to the width of the front, but that made the pole seem too thick.  It seems like I have been gradually making the base thinner with every rebuild.  I wouldn't want these to blow over if a strong wind came through, so I'm trying to decide what would be the best size for the base.

FrankU: I'm glad you like it.  :)  I agree that the smallest pole seems too small.  I've now built a pole that's 125% of the small pole I showed earlier.





Once again, I've updated the base model pole.  I know I've redone it many times, but I want to get it right before I make any more additions to the set, as all of them will be based on the base model.  The pole on the left is Model C from earlier.  The pole in the center is 25% larger, and it is the new one.  The smaller pole from the last update is on the right.
Find my power line BAT thread here.
Check out the Noro Cooperative.  What are you waiting for?  It even has electricity.
Want more? Try here.  For even more electrical goodies, look here.
Here are some rural power lines.

SimNation

Great to see this project has not been lost to time. I feared that real life stuff would mess up your work on doing this project seeing has how it is very needed. Nice updates and good to see you return.

SimGoober

Personally, I think the smallest one works quite well.
When life just blows ... Fukitol!

threestooges

I personally like the medium one for a general pole, but I've seen examples of both other scales (with the largest being principally on long distance, really high voltage paths) here and there. If the weather cools down a bit this weekend, I may take a bike ride and the path has several points, and styles, of high-tension lines. If you'd like, I'll see if I can get some reference pics.
-Matt

metarvo

#51


SimNation: I'm glad that you like my work.  :)

SimGoober: The smallest pole is the one that is most true to the average RL measurement for my area (approx. 120 ft. or 36.576 m), so it is the pole that I really want to use.  Thanks for the input.  :)

Matt (threestooges): Thanks for the comment.  It's interesting that you mention the bike path.  In my area, the clearing under suburban power lines is often used for bike paths, parks and parking lots, although true RCI buildings usually are not permitted to be built under them, and especially not large buildings.  I would appreciate the pics very much, Matt, if it's not too much trouble.  :)


This pole's base is 15 m taller than the small pole, but the upper section is the same.  Of course, as I stated above, I usually don't see them crossing over RCI buildings in my area.  From my experience, these power lines are usually found in rural and suburban areas and I've never seen one going over a skyscraper or large factory of any type.  Even so, this latest model has been designed so that it can pass over many medium sized Maxis RCI buildings.  It's possible that I may make both the smaller set and the medium one, but this is sort of a compromise between the two.  IRL the 36.576 m is a ballpark average, and the individual poles do vary in height when crossing elevated highways, hilly areas, and water.

I have one question.  Why does the lower part of the pole show through the highway?
Find my power line BAT thread here.
Check out the Noro Cooperative.  What are you waiting for?  It even has electricity.
Want more? Try here.  For even more electrical goodies, look here.
Here are some rural power lines.

FrankU

It is true that high tension lines usually do not cross high buildings. In that respect my remark was not too smart.
On the other hand: they do cross raised highway and raised rail, so it would be good to see that there is room enough for traffic to pass under the lines. Or that one of these beautiful CP trees does not mess with the lines.

Anyway: I like the medium pole a lot. Also it is indeed true that there are a lot of different styles and sizes of lines, but please do not try to make BATs for all styles. It will take you all your life! Please choose one style and use that.
There are some other powerlines on the STEX, so there is possibility to combine them.

Great work!  &apls

WC_EEND

uhm, I feel a bit stupid, but I can't see the pictures (I'm using Firefox)
RIP Adrian (adroman), you were a great friend

My LOT thread                                    

SCAG BAe146/Avro RJ Project

MandelSoft

I had the very same problem with my first Dutch Signage Set. You see the pole through the El-MHW, because the LOD is in fact in front and on top of the El-MHW, and so your pole is texures over the Highway. Try to imagine that you whole model is no more that a bounding box. Then you see that the top and the right are in front of the Highway.

I suggest you should make LODs consisting out of two models (one for the pole, and one for the wires). That should work.

Best,
Maarten
Lurk mode: ACTIVE

homefryes

Metarvo! I LOVE the new design. I just knew that something needed adjusting with the arms, and now I realize it was the boxiness. The pointy ends are the PERFECT answer to that dilemma. Now, a couple of suggestions, if I may. I think, as someone else mentioned, your base is a little small from the side view. I would suggest that your "feet" should form a square, such that they are the same distance apart left-to-right as front-to-back. Another suggestion I have is that perhaps the top, instead of the big open "V", should have stringers running from the left side to the right side. IMO it would be better from an engineering perspective (not that I'm an engineer, I'm just sayin'). Otherwise, as I said, I think you've really made some fantastic improvements!
&apls

-- Don
Utility Poles Project [linkie]
Ashtabula (the MD) is not dead; it's just on a really long hiatus!
Check out Homefryes' BATatorium

djvandrake

Wow.  Your models are very impressive and look quite realisitc.  I've went out of my way to minimize the power lines in game but models that look this good would make me rethink that.  Great work!  &apls

metarvo

#57


FrankU: It's no problem.  :)  Of course, I tend to avoid planting trees under power lines, because IRL trees and power lines don't mix too well, leading to fires and power outages.  As for other custom power line sets, I do use those as well.  After all, IRL there are many electric companies, each with different power pole designs.  Thanks for the comment.  :)

WC_EEND: Thanks for stopping by.  I use Firefox, too, and I see the pictures just fine.  I have noticed that some pictures are occasionally invisible, but usually they're all there.  Oh, and by the way, here's an old memory from way back when: %ban%$%Grinno$%

Maarten (mrtnrln): Thanks for the suggestion!  I'll be sure to try that when I resume work on my poles.  :)

Don (homefryes): I agree, it does look much better.  IRL, most of the poles I see used for straight segments are rectangular rather than square, although perfectly square bases are used for the turning poles.  I might try square bases just to see what they look like, though.  The "V" shape is a dominant feature of this design, and changing it would essentially mean starting over from the beginning, but I do have future plans for a set that I believe is similar to the one you described.  Thanks for your suggestions!  :)

djvandrake: Thank you for the compliment!  :)  Personally, I've never really liked the Maxis red and white poles that much, and the 4-wire limitation makes them even worse IMHO.



It's not a power line?  :o  This is just an in-progress shot of my latest BAT, and it's nowhere near finished, but I just wanted to show that I'm still BATting.  Does anyone have a guess at what it will be when it's finished?  RL has given me a hard time lately, but I feel that it will slow down a little in the coming weeks, which means I get to BAT, and I plan to resume progress on my power line set.
Find my power line BAT thread here.
Check out the Noro Cooperative.  What are you waiting for?  It even has electricity.
Want more? Try here.  For even more electrical goodies, look here.
Here are some rural power lines.

djvandrake

Don't have a clue what it is, but I'm curious.  ;)

Orange_o_

Now you've decided to create something other than power lines. I do not know what I know, but keep an eye on your work

   °   °   °   °   °   °   °   °   °   °   °   °   °   °   °   °   °   °   °   °   °   °   °   °   °   °