SC4 Devotion Forum Archives

Here in this thread I will present my newest BATs. I'm just BATting two weeks, so I'm quite a newbie at the moment.
(Hier (http://www.simforum.de/showthread.php?t=152118) gibt es den Thread auf Deutsch. ;))

Let's start with a small bus stop, which could be used as tram stop as well:

Status: 0.11a
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Fhaltestelle5.jpg&hash=6494a25c8c43f3a8b4d1ff8fb0aac367fc37a74c)

Release: ~March 08

Obviously a quick learner :)

In Munich you find electric signs for the next tram/bus on many stations. So I've BATted some, too:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Fhaltestelle6.jpg&hash=44129395411263d6903d782eac3af98269e7c1ce)

sehr gut! ;D
good bench. Try smoothing out the dark blue parts on the roof.

Quote from: Pat Riot on February 16, 2008, 10:00:20 AM
sehr gut! ;D
good bench. Try smoothing out the dark blue parts on the roof.

The station is so small that you can't see the details anyway.  %wrd

After I've rendered it, I found out that the station is too small. So I've scaled it to 140%:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Fhaltestelle8.jpg&hash=ef60587a26060ccbbd90ebd618a867b91ef0fbe9)

Here are two pictures of the test rendering:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Fhaltestelle9a.jpg&hash=36bb656654cc8bedcec64b3bc8362fada318f599)
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Fhaltestelle9.jpg&hash=48b5dbcda50b48a731bf06cc8d419e3e47b4aae6)

And although it's not visible ingame, I've added some plans from the MVG in Munich:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Fhaltestelle11.jpg&hash=7cc009a03020c9664a7d5586d5fe03d4c8f5cb5b)

$%Grinno$%

looks good.

Looks good, but ...

Try to adapt the blue color to the blue color in game. It's a bit to saturated.
Blue is a hard color to get right. Spend a lot of time on textures for some blue plastered walls.

Looking good, but there are some possible points to improve:
- The resized busstop is way too big, just compare it with houses and small shops around to see what I mean. Consider reverting back to the original size, though I'm afraid it may be somewhat big as well!
- Is the shelter just not textured yet, or this is the final colour/texture? That blue is too bright and way too saturated. It needs to be desaturated A LOT, otherwise it's gonna be an eysore, esp if viewed next to maxis stuff. Please take this step even if this is EXACTLY the colour of the real busstop; players will just compare it with the ingame stuff, and will almost surely complain that it's "too bright" (meaning "too saturated").
- The model file can be modded after the export so that the glass can look as (semi)transparent. See my transparent Rail/GLR stations on the STEX. However I don't know if this is indeed worth (the procedure is a bit tedious), meaning if there exist items that can be displayed behind the glass (check all four rotations - closest zoom, to see if making this model transparent is needed or not). PM me if you are interested.
- If you are using 3dsMax it is possible to get rid of those jaggies. Check autovinos thread.
- I have released Roadtop Mass Transit V3.50. The pack contains roadtop station lots for streets, roads, oneways, avenues and GLR/Avenues. All props (incl the busstop shelter and the bus-sign/timetable) are configurable by the player. There is a Berlin Mass-Transit Theme and a German set of Road Markings too  :). Also the stations have been translated to almost all SC4 languages and specially modded for NAM and CAM. Consider uploading these as props for RTMTV3, instead of a special lot, as this work is already done (avoid duplication and all needed modding effort), and don't make players install multiple roadtop busstops - take into consideration that their Misc Transit Menu will most probably be so full that it's hard to locate the menu buttons. I can provide help if needed.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, all objects would be assigned materials, if you haven't already. Never rely on the "object's colour", although this works, results are almost always poor, looking "plastic". ALways define a material, even for monochromatic items - you can still play with speculars (highlights), something not possible with jusr the object's colour. That is you can control the way lighting works.

@all: The textures were updated yesterday evening, but I haven't posted them here.

Update:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Fhaltestelle13.jpg&hash=81bb876fe461797bbc44ccf6cf3d5c86b24238b6)

And in the LE:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Frender_blau.jpg&hash=adcb1c8186f1be140595e08306ca984c3465724f)

And I had the idea to make more colour variations, so I made some:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Fhaltestelle_gelb.jpg&hash=665d989c8d9386bf909ef3d099f21cae47e5f898)

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Fhaltestelle_rot.jpg&hash=c13357b346ecee1ec72383060a830abeddb657f7)

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Fhaltestelle_gr%25fcn.jpg&hash=80fba5ca904a5e181e6f9ec3d44fa53f5449e7a9)

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Fhaltestelle_grau.jpg&hash=5410b4313ce8be5c371e927ce4df884a28d3ca48)

After I decided to make a big bus stop pack, I've started to make a second and bigger one:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Fhalle2.jpg&hash=c50326a21317c31093976625c625df9e3465c726)

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Fhallen_render.jpg&hash=2cc3d274327294fe4581ffd849bbc2022e60eb6a)

Nice!

So, after a long discussion at SimForum, I stabilized the roof and added some small details:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Fhallen_render2.jpg&hash=b1abd99b45f1c3c72aefbccbc7daf13a44dac19d)

WOW thats lookin nice, didnt see it before

Joe

I love the larger bus stop and that roof wow!!

ooh pretty...the way you've made it i could see it becoming a small train station too.

Quote from: Pat Riot on February 17, 2008, 12:51:56 PM
ooh pretty...the way you've made it i could see it becoming a small train station too.

I've planned to make a tram station, too. For railway, you need a bigger station - normal trains have more than 48 meters...

Thats looking great khoianh94-Love that transparent roof  :P  :)

Thanks to all comments!  :thumbsup:

Here is a small update which I made yesterday:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Fhalle4.jpg&hash=305b19babfdc638351ebf29ff124a053eef3ecda)

And I've implented a wheelchair ramp - I'm nice to all people:  $%Grinno$%
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Fhalle5.jpg&hash=d54e97ecc2837290e33797c828fd7f673da08cc3)

I'll be quite interested to see how this turns out when it's in the game.  Im no good at smaller objects, buildings etc and I find I spend far too much time putting in details that when the bat gets into the game get completely lost so it will be quite interesting to me to see how this looks in the game.

Looks great in the Max though, that's for dern sure.

you have just made Joe from family guy really happy. I do wheel chair ramps when i work in 3ds cause im to lazy for stairs :D course when i use 3ds, there is a stair tool, because 3ds knows im lazy.

So, I've started making a rowhouses pack, this is an early version of the first one:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Freihenhaus1.jpg&hash=28171a44e54bc3378141a8fa175821b5b606589b)

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Freihenhaus2.jpg&hash=4fa15aa2e74ff0b285ee06dab77b2548bd1f0ddf)

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Freihenhaus3.jpg&hash=8accb826c2dce2a6c7c6d1f2af9b7cf4b953f819)

I've added a balcony on the back side of the house:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Freihenhaus4.jpg&hash=904b5d9c97c25a0d08fe6a0b876ba3cc78ba04b4)

:thumbsup:

Nice work, I hate doing angles in GMax though .. never thought that math would come in handy for a game :)

looking real good and now I know why I cant bat to save my life i cant add lol

The BAT itself is almost finished. Only textures and colour variations will be added:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Freihenhaus7.jpg&hash=db9f1f93a63a213384fad6ee23b7a5527c318a1f)
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkhoianh94.kh.funpic.de%2FSimCity%25204%2Fgmax%2Freihenhaus6.jpg&hash=0681965fd8b7ae12f594ee0e25bc38a1961bd8fe)

Maybe more details, like antennas, solar panels, smokestacks etc. could and should be added.

Quote from: Krio on March 02, 2008, 02:04:37 PM
Maybe more details, like antennas, solar panels, smokestacks etc. could and should be added.

Agreed. but dang it looks good, doing a lot better than me. =P

I do agree some more roof junk is needed on this IE as Krio said, but other wise this is looking real great!!!

Well, solar panels and smokestacks are an option. And these are the colours I want to make for the house:
- red
- blue
- green
- grey
- orange-yellow
- dark blue

Do you want some other variations?  ;)

Sorry for double posting, the first BETA version is online: (DL link in the image)

thats looks nice  ;)

I suggest you to use some good textures for the edges of the windows and roof, but anyway youre doing great  :thumbsup:

I agree with some others here and think that it needs some more roof junk.  I don't know that a major whole house AC system on this type of roof will look right or not, but it needs something to break it up a bit.

Maybe it's just me but do the textures look a bit flat to anybody else?

Other than that, it's definitely got a distinct shape to it, and one that I'd not try myself to bat, angles are not my friends.  Do these grow on their own or are they ploppable?  Im just not so certain about having suich a distrinctively shaped house showing up in too many areas might detract instead of add to the beauty of this houses distinctive design.

Keep up the great work, looking forward to more colors of this one.  However, when it comes to the colors, I think I'd be using that list of colors that you gave a couple posts up as the colors for the framework and window boxes and hope it's not for the whole building itself.

Some *fake* raytracing would be nice.  This thread has some good theory on it:
http://www.simtropolis.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=140&threadid=76233&enterthread=y

I don't think that you really need any roof junk on this, but a subtle roof vent or chimney won't hurt.  But don't get carried away with it, too much roof junk can become just that: junk.
You could probably add some subtle detail around the buidlign too.  Since it's a relatively small model, some furniture inside wouldn't hurt, and may make it look even better.  Maybe a couple window blinds here and there would also make it look better.  But that owuld requier a couple of variations on their own.

Be careful with coloration, Try to avoid super saturated colors, often those can make it an eye sore in the game.  Most of the game buildings are somewhat desaturated.

Otherwise, it looks good  :thumbsup:.  Still needs some work, but I do hope you're up to it!

As I said, there are still no textures on the lot, and some details will come, too. Don't worry, I will release it if I am satisfied, and I'm not at the moment.

@City Builder: Of course they are growable.  :thumbsup:

EDIT: And the colour variations will be only on the coloured parts of the house. So don't worry.  ;D

Wow, the last post here has been almost four years away from now. Honestly, not that much happened in the meantime. The bus stops have, after two and a half years of heavy modifications found its way to the LEX (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=2536) (if you haven't got them yet) as a part of the 2010 SFBT Advent Calendar (http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=12098.0).

And after a year of doing nothing SC4-related, I started again, but as a start I just took these stations again and filled some of my own needs: Stops for Tram-in-Avenue, Avenue Roundabouts and diagonal versions.

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ld-host.de%2Fuploads%2Fimages%2Fd23fd08958ee7ff01b63b7261b6eb966.jpg&hash=ff9545758e9e2c4a3ab33d7df530f23ee95ffa09)

And to come into BATting again (I didn't use it for almost two years) I just made another station-related prop: Information displays.

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ld-host.de%2Fuploads%2Fimages%2F8fbf09672a40e9aa9c2028ea9f1b5d7a.jpg&hash=33b2361b371d7d01dbdef3d9367bf35e8bbb0513)

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ld-host.de%2Fuploads%2Fimages%2Fa32ea1b7a3d0c150e6f9bc1253cd8fdb.jpg&hash=7bce0e253428d2cfb3931db43e1cdf6fd0904af6)

This Tram-in-Road stop is just a concept at the moment though. I started it yesterday so I can just guess what problems may come in the next time.  ::)