SC4 Devotion Forum Archives

Hey there! You may remember me disappearing a while ago but I'm back. I was asked to present my BAT workings on SC4Devotion so this thread will give you a peek at my current projects. You can check out my <a href="http://www.simtropolis.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=37&threadid=105294&enterthread=y" target="_blank">previous progress here</a>.
In case you missed it at Simtropolis I've created some popular BATs, mainly the Underground Car Park. Check them out at the <a href="http://www.simtropolis.com/stex/index.cfm?p=files&keyword=mcdrye&view=all" target="_blank">STEX for now</a>.

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh137%2Fmcdrye%2FUntitled-3-2.png&hash=1382dbc38e64812eaaaccb0e731485e7f4e62973)

I'm currently working on a sub-surface rail pack that will compliment my sub surface rail station (and future stations)

The picture below shows what I have so far. Ignore the dark shadow issues which is just LOD issues I can fix. I'm currently working on a 3x3 90degree turn. The first pack I'll release will include the 1x1 Straight, 1x1 End (Type1), 1x10 Rail to SSRail (long I know but anything shorter looks unrealistic), as shown, and the 3x3 90 turn.

Future packs will expand on the idea. I intend these lots to be eye candy.
What do you think so far?
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh137%2Fmcdrye%2Fyesyer.jpg&hash=959429b698ed026ecebb52c62e9a9b93bc9513c5)

Hello, mcdrye!

Excellent stuff, my friend--I am a huge fan of your work! The new underground rail pieces look fantastic, and I can't wait to see more from them!

I'll be keeping an eye on things here for sure!

Dustin

Welcome to SC4D.

I can't wait to get my grubby hands on that underground rail, it looks fantastic.  &apls

Hi there! Good to see you over here.

These bats are looking great. Can't see any problems other than the lod issues.
Would it be possible to release an additional version with just the walls? So that they could be plopped alongside sunken networks?

Welcome over to SC4D Mcdrye!!! loving what you have been doing so far!!!

Wow....that looks fantastic.  You have one more fan, especially if you keep this up.  That under ground rail looks great.  I really hope you'll consider doing more.

Robin

Great to see you over here...I've been following your stuff at ST...but you already knew that..(Done with them stairs yet? ;D)

Quote from: vershner on May 21, 2009, 04:55:27 PM
Would it be possible to release an additional version with just the walls? So that they could be plopped alongside sunken networks?

Ooh , I never thought of that...that's a good idea!

Jayson

Thanks for the comments guys!  $%Grinno$%

I have been trying out a sunken wall version, but I still need to learn more about how to do this kind of lot and I would like to focus on the other type for now.

Here is another SSR piece that I have started that will be released in the future, a single track junction. The picture is quite old as there are no longer 'ends' (apart from the diagonal junction track)  as you decide what follows the junction piece.

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh137%2Fmcdrye%2Fjunction.jpg&hash=2532a1c3e6471567b71105c223775141c7192380)

Whoa, this is some FANTASTIC work! Incredible!

Though one question about the transition shown in the first post: Any thoughts of making it subway-GLR? I would love to have my subway trains use these lots.

Hello and welcome mcdrye  :thumbsup:

I recall some lodding works with the ug parking  ::)  ;)

Excellent new designs. I just can hope to see more and more  ;D

Update!: I'm finally getting somewhere with the 90 degree bend puzzle piece after re-starting from scratch. Unfortunately, in order to make the track look correct at the ends, there is a straight piece at each end. The lot itself though is only 1x1, under one end. Still some aligning issues etc but what do you think?


(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh137%2Fmcdrye%2FRound.jpg&hash=32491bf929f140760a4f9ae079e2a4708c26bebb)

What do I think? Extraordinary!

Keep up the fantastic work, mcdrye!

Dustin

Fantastic! The straight bit at the end is no problem. It's not like anything should be immediately after a curve anyway.

Omg , these look incredible  :thumbsup:, just one question are there going to over head wires?

@Nexis4Jersey - No there won't be overhead lines though that is a future possibility. They are modeled on London Underground tracks where electric 4-rail is used, I have modeled the electric rails, which you'll see with HD zoom6

What a piece of engineering! That is awesome work you've done there! I see a lot of potential with these.

Jayson

Just for Fun  :)

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh137%2Fmcdrye%2FFun.jpg&hash=c3e3d38ac66c68d5991c6d8a8c767fb74fee6e20)

Picked up eyes , put back in...wiped drool off mouth.... That looks awesome!

Jayson

Woah, I could almost swear thats a RL photo! That's just how awesome it is! This will be neat when completed.

Glad you're showing this here!  I can't access Simtrop anymore since the upgrade... won't take my firefox browser without crashing.

 :shocked2: Is this a picture from RL??

Oh, My, GAWD!!!! that is fantastic

though, may I just request that they are slightly deep.

thankyou so much

Joe

mcdrye where did you find that wonderful pic from??? Cause daaaaaaaaaaaaang that is sweet and i cant wait to see it in game  ;) :D

MMMmmmmm...... I can imagine those models as an alternate style of the NAM underground railway puzzle pieces!

Quote from: mcdrye on May 30, 2009, 04:22:40 PM
Just for Fun  :)

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh137%2Fmcdrye%2FFun.jpg&hash=c3e3d38ac66c68d5991c6d8a8c767fb74fee6e20)

If not for the barely noticeable repetitions of texture, Id' have thought it was a real photo.

Quote from: RebaLynnTS on June 14, 2009, 02:03:35 PM
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh137%2Fmcdrye%2FFun.jpg&hash=c3e3d38ac66c68d5991c6d8a8c767fb74fee6e20)
If not for the barely noticeable repetitions of texture, Id' have thought it was a real photo.

Yeah, that pic had me fooled until I read your post.  Consider me subscribed to following this particular project.:thumbsup:

thats amazing!!! :o Had me fooled too, until I noticed the purple-blue textured ropes along the walls. Nice work!

Hi there, I just noticed a minor issue with your tube station.
The base texture is the default Maxis one, but it's a copy at ID 76C00000. It would be better to use the default at 258F2000, then if someone's using a street-mod the base texture will always match their pavements.
It doesn't really matter too much but I thought I might as well mention it.

Sorry for such a long absense! Started a new job in June and i've been busybusy, but the killer is that my laptop hard drive failed on me (though, due to me punching the already faulty keyboard).

It had a head crash (the reading head came into contact with the platter and scratched it) and a lot of data was unrecoverable. Thankfully I backed up my files to my external hard drive back in June so I got a lot of BATs (and textures) back, but only once I'd bought a new enclosure as my previous one (note: don't buy an enclousre with an obscure unreplaceable power adapter) died.

This brings me to now (with new laptop hard drive and hard drive enclosure  :P) where I'm resuming work on the Sub-Surface Rail pieces. I've remodelled then slightly so that they are more symmetrical and line up perfectly. They also now have HD zoom 6.

The first release is a four piece starter pack:

• 1X1 Straight : Done
• 1X2 End : FSH issue
• 4X4 (1X1 Lot) 90 Degree turn : Done
• 1X9 SSR to Rail : Currently being reworked

And here are some pictures, as you can see, near perfect alignment unlike my previous attempt, HDness

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh137%2Fmcdrye%2FSSR3.jpg&hash=5b2cf02166851321fcc375b95febb5d3ca35bcd9)

The following pics show the models before I reduced saturation:

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh137%2Fmcdrye%2FSSR1-1.jpg&hash=788bb1d2504b97104ec6e4b3cd62698c80d6c268)

This is the FSH issue i'm having, several re-Exports and an LOD change don't seem to solve it. Its only apparent in this zoom and at that angle (there are two pieces shown there facing each other)

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh137%2Fmcdrye%2FSSR2.jpg&hash=f34320e42f29ecef44796a5862ae045b365d2d29)

And in reader there is a problem with UV mapping that might be the cause but I don't know. Any ideas?

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh137%2Fmcdrye%2FUntitled-2-2.jpg&hash=9fa7740deaaa1eb150b99594b8af4b4c0bce2bcd)

Welcome back! I love the stuff you're doing, hope to see more progress soon! :thumbsup:

These are a great idea and the BATs are beautifully detailed and textured, and very glad to see you've got time to finish them.

My first impression is that they're too dark and too brown--I'd desaturate them pretty heavily and bring up the luminosity of your textures by quite a bit so that you get more detail showing in those shadow-filled cuts. Personally, I'd also reduce the above-ground wall height to a low coping as well so that more light gets down into the cuts and you can see deeper into them--may not be very realistic, but it will help them visually.

Great work! &apls

Sometimes 3dsmax has a problem with the size of the texture, ie it can be half or double-sized (can't remember exactly) and as a result the UV mappings get out of range. I think the cause is differences in the gmax and 3dsmax scripts (concerning the textures' sizes and model partitioning). But the coloured checkerboard pattern means "texture missing". I would say examine the file details to figure out what's going on. Or maybe send me the (exported) model to take a look (my email is public).

The most appropriate person to fix script errors is SimFox. Don't delete or modify this version of your BAT (make a back-up) as it can provide information on the scripts' error conditions (ie it can prove valuable as an "error case").

When I open the file in reader there is a FSH present but for some reason it is duplicated and only one of them has it's appropriate LOD bit applied. This is shown in the last pic of my previous post, the top bit is the opposite view whilst the two underneath show the two FSHs that seem to be the root of the problem, I'll send you the file cogeo.

I did take a look, and the model file indeed has some few problems - most probably caused by the scripts.

If you go to the 0x00030430 S3D file and open the Mats tab, you will see that Group 0 references material 0x00030433. However no such texture (FSH) exists in the file! Namely this is indeed a "texture missing" situation. Instead, the correct texture for this group should be the 0x00030432 one! And Group 1 appears to contain nothing (checking and unchecking its check-box in the preview window makes no difference!

Possible fix: in the Mats tab set the Material ID for Group 0 (right-click) to 0x00030432 (and click Apply). However the correct way would be to fix the scripts instead.

Trying the fix you suggested cogeo works  :thumbsup:

very nice indeed here Mcdrye!! Hey work is always first  ;)

Thank you very much for all the positive comments!  :thumbsup:

I've made a second type of end piece that looks like a bridge when placed on either side of a road or rail.

I've also shortened the walls to let a little more light and more detail to be shown.


(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh137%2Fmcdrye%2FSS6.jpg&hash=da5d873bd806ffe8ec1365c4091a9c5a980b3018)

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh137%2Fmcdrye%2FSSR5.jpg&hash=2b68d2b7b17cb985d0451e62a757a6a8e6cb99eb)

Can't wait to use these  :thumbsup:

Great to see you back. 
This work is incredible and I can't wait till you finish.

Robin  :thumbsup:

Just out of curiosity, are these eyecandy only?  Or are they going to be modded to be transit lots?

It might be worth talking to the NAM team and seeing if we can mod them to be like NOB's sunken GLR lots which are special TE pieces I believe.  One thing with that is you would need to rerender them with hollowed out LODs so you can see the trains on the tracks.

I had a good feeling to check this thread today. great work Mcdrye! :P

At last you have returned! Sorry to hear about the hd malfunction (those can always be a pain in the ass). Glade to hear you backed up your stuff and did not loose much of it. The ducts are looking fantastic and loving the walls cannot wait til you release these. I wanted to ask a Q though...when you finish with the full set in its whole would you consider making ones that have GLR textures for the tracks?

Hi mcdrye,
these look amazing, it's great to be able see underground a bit. &apls
The new wall height is a lot more convincing, although I wouldn't have noticed without a side by side comparison. The lighter texture on the walls looks better too.

I've rexported the 90 degree piece to reflect new settings and wall height.

I'm also nearly done on the SSR to Rail piece but I want your opinions!

In addition to what you think of it overall, how in particular do you think the rails should be ended? The electric rails are easy and slope down like in real life but its the main rails I'm wondering about.

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh137%2Fmcdrye%2FSSR6.jpg&hash=5bcdeed8fe8baab80aa5389c276f0571dfe8406e)

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh137%2Fmcdrye%2FSSR7.jpg&hash=b3a6915b96a034243eeb4f4cabdeb063b1580b23)

I think your just going to have to slope it gradually into the ground... so it looks seamless with texture...

I agree with mightygoose, a seamless transition would be my preference. These are looking fantastic mcdrye - I don't know why but your rail pieces remind me of a stretch of track going from London Kings Cross to Farringdon station...

Hehe mightygoose I hope it does remind you of that stretch of track as that is what I have in mind when I BAT this set :thumbsup:

Quote from: Diggis on January 11, 2010, 09:02:04 AM
Just out of curiosity, are these eyecandy only?  Or are they going to be modded to be transit lots?

It might be worth talking to the NAM team and seeing if we can mod them to be like NOB's sunken GLR lots which are special TE pieces I believe.  One thing with that is you would need to rerender them with hollowed out LODs so you can see the trains on the tracks.

i think this sounds like a great idea! is it possible to make the trains visible? (off topic: are NOB's glr pieces available?)

either way, these still look amazing. great work!

How to End?

I think the idea posted above (ie a "seamless" transition) won't really look very good. How "seamless" can track be, where the four-rail infrastructure terminates? It can't, because it would look very unrealistic/useless. In theory trains that don't need the four tracks can run on such track (provided of course that gauges and clearance are compatible), but the four-rail track terminating in the middle of nothing is totally unrealistic. Trains would never go there because they don't have a reason to do so, and because they can't be reversed (though el trains are not literally "reversed", like steam, they just change direction) ie they would only use one of the tracks, not the other, because they can't get there! But you could do one, players could connect it to a supposedely unelectrified yard/depot - only for this case.

But if you want to make a realistic-looking termination pieces, I can only see two options:
- Make some ground-level track tiles (4-rail), and a scissor crossover tile and/or a simple crossover tile (this is how tube trains are reversed). Then you can make another version of the above, connecting to (normal) 2-rail GLR track. Or you may elect not to.
- Terminate the (4-rail) track at a station. The first 1-2 tiles of the lot should use a special texture - simple or scissor crossover track - for a realistic look. Take a look at my GLR Stations & Hubs (http://www.simtropolis.com/stex/details.cfm?id=16625) pack, it contains such examples (connecting GLR to heavy rail though).

Have you considered making these functional? The tiles are not really many, so I think it wouldn't be much work to NAM-ise (:P) them ! And of course there's no need to make these a draggable network, the correct form is puzzle pieces imo. For this you have to contact the NAM team and request a range of IDs for the puzzle pieces. The "wide" radius tile will need a quite long range, and this because it looks "square" to me, ie no matter how you place it the lot dimensions are the same. A 10x1-tile large puzzle piece only needs 10 IDs (well, x16 range) because it can be implemented as 1x10 instead. Btw how large is your largest tile? I have released a Fenced GLR Puzzle Pieces (http://www.simtropolis.com/stex/details.cfm?id=17952) set on the STEX. Not a big success dl-wise, but it works, and I can provide help if needed.

just wondering if there has been any progress in this amazing work? keep up the great work!

Wow, amazing work...definitely something to keep an eye on! :)

this is one of the most ambitious projects of 2010!!  &apls
One very magnificent piece of work  :thumbsup:
Keep it up  :thumbsup:

Absolutely amazing!  &apls I can't wait for the release!

farily new to sc4  but love the dimmension of the third rail and the little props like the electric boxes as you would see as you travel the tube. (shame theres no sound effect too! - Maxis sound effect a little "clanky Are the rails continuing  at  ground level but with in-game tube trains? I've looked at tutorials on the BAT and looks very complex to me. Well done keep up the good work and look forward to the development of this realistic subway system?

This is brilliant! Please don't let this project stop! It's come such a long way, and nearing completion! Please don't give up!

This indeed is very cool, could serve as a open-top subway in my cities. (i don't like using the default subway because i can't udrive on it :D) Please keep it up, this is something that i could really use. In other words: AWESOME! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Quote from: cogeo on January 15, 2010, 11:40:27 AMI think the idea posted above (ie a "seamless" transition) won't really look very good. How "seamless" can track be, where the four-rail infrastructure terminates? It can't, because it would look very unrealistic/useless. In theory trains that don't need the four tracks can run on such track (provided of course that gauges and clearance are compatible), but the four-rail track terminating in the middle of nothing is totally unrealistic. Trains would never go there because they don't have a reason to do so, and because they can't be reversed (

It's not that unrealistic for the centre track to terminate in the middle of the line, as i believe london underground stock can use the mainline third rail system as well. However this rarely occurs and the rails would normally terminate at a station.

Great work here by mcdyre, i hope this project comes to completion in the future as i think this is something that can really make underground railways alot more visual in our cities :)

Wow have I been gone a while! Loads of RL stuff to deal with and boy has this year flown by! Well I haven't forgotten good ole BAT, and though I occasionally opened up BAT it wasn't very productive.

edit: Forgot to mention, my laptop failed back in Spring! Technology hates me! Thankfully I got a new Dell back in April.

This week I decided to get this SSR stuff sorted. Back at the beginning of the year SimFox was giving me some great advice but the prospect of radically altering the models which had already been altered several times before made me lose interest, but they seem so loved by you fab people that it's time I got them done and released.

The old wall textures had to go, oversaturated from multiple edits, barely tileable, and the bump map was flaky. They were still Standard Materials aswell so no ambient occlusion, and rounding corners, which is very useful with old brickwork. So I've retextured the walls and with A&D materials.

The depth has been reduced from 16m to 7.5m and the scaling reduced to compensate.

Below is the current iteration:

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh137%2Fmcdrye%2Fssr4.jpg&hash=f003b7deb9aad6a7d06333336d1908b12b23583e)

This set will also display automata!  :thumbsup:

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh137%2Fmcdrye%2FSSRt3.jpg&hash=e02d12242c8ea40a891181e6c3f5867099cb369e)
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh137%2Fmcdrye%2FSSRt4.jpg&hash=69d1f7374b7a4d0645f80bf2196446e924f037a1)

I'm kinda cheating at the moment because I'm using NOB's sunken lots so I can test the pieces, eventually they will be my own lots.

So what do you think so far?


Also I've been working on a seperate project for months, of which a sneak peek is below...Don't worry! It's actually about 90% complete and this is a small portion of it. The Lucky Penny Casino Hotel.

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh137%2Fmcdrye%2FLP.jpg&hash=1c29d1a6b9c24701a26019c6f23a92d7003914fa)

 Let's just say you have made me very excited.
Are there any variations in the wall?

Robin :thumbsup:

I'd love to see those SSR pieces released (and now that I've been to London recently and seen them in real life, they look just like the real thing), I'm also rather curious about that casino, the nightlighting is awsome.

Xander

Thanks guys! Yes Robin, eventually there will be a lot of variation, but to speed up release time I'm releasing a basic 'starter pack' then add-ons will follow.

The starter will include at least:

1x1 Straight (I'm looking at also doing 1x4 and 1x8 versions for the starter)
90 degree turn
SSR to GLR piece
2 end pieces (maybe more)

Fantastic!

Would love to try my luck doing a station for it.
Any change for a copy of the model and textures ?


What about doing a piece with the side of a road/light rail bridge ?
(a bit like in the canal sets)

Amazing set in preparation  ()stsfd()

I really like your textures, even if your lots are small, their quality is impressive. &apls

Hope to see this pack soon in the LEX with future development  :thumbsup:

Wow, I have been waiting on these for so long, I figured they were all but dead. Glad to see you back working on them...I'm sure they will be a hit. The new design is excellent and I love the weathered look. I feel however, like at ground level I can see a lot of tiny black lines and imperfections. Maybe because you used NOB's sunken lots instead of some of your own design...maybe not.

Just out of curiosity, what will be the size of the 90 degree piece? Are we talking like 2x2 or more spaced out for realism's sake? Also, any chance of including a SSR to heavy rail piece down the line?

The Lucky Penny looks promising as well.

Great to see this alive again, been so long that I thought that this was dead. Great work, waiting these really hard!  :) Are you going also to make stations for these or let other people handle that? (and perhaps release a basic model set for easier station creation?)

It's great that you didn't give up on this amazing project! And from what I can make of the sign, the casino will be great too.  :thumbsup: &apls :thumbsup:

Is it for the Subway? I though for the normal railway...if it is for normal railway, you could make catenarys and put away the metium rail. but looks good so far....

Mr. Y, have you ever been to London? If so, have you taken the District, Circle or Hammersmith & City line? The reason I'm asking you this question is simply because these trenches are meant to mimic the ones found in London on parts of the aforementioned lines, so yes this is for the subway.
And for the record: regular rail in England gets its power from a third rail as well ;)
I hope this made things a bit clearer for you

Xander

Thanks for the uplifting comments guys!

Also yes MR.Y, WC_EEND is totally correct! London Underground use only electric rail, pne for positive current and one for negative, see here

Right, I've been working on the end piece for the SSR but I've hit a wall (and so have the trains) with regards to visible automata.

When automata reach the end of an end-piece and appear to enter a tunnel/arch, they disappear, as to be expected since it is leaving the lot. So I tried placing 2 end pieces in a 1x4 lot with an avenue passing through the middle so that trains would seem to pass underneath. I don't think it is possible though to transit enable a lot with 2 modes of transport (it already has El-Rail to display automata).




Is there a way around this? I was thinking of having bridge arches as props so trains could pass freely underneath but that still wouldn't allow roads etc to cross over it. I could just have a 1x1 lot with the end-piece but automata would appear and disappear, and U-Drive would be unusable.

On a lighter note, I'll be posting a picture (or two) of the Lucky Penny Casino very soon...

maybe you can have them connect to the NAM underground rail pieces somehow? like how buddybud's underpass lots and NOB's sunken GLR lots the connect with the FLUPs puzzle pieces ()what()

NAM underground rail pieces use heavy rail paths placed underground if I'm not mistaken, so that method would require a transit switch first

On a totally unrelated matter: is that photo the District line at Edgware Road station?

Xander

Quote from: WC_EEND on January 09, 2011, 06:19:20 AM
NAM underground rail pieces use heavy rail paths placed underground if I'm not mistaken, so that method would require a transit switch first

Aren't these pieces also using heavy rail paths? As far as I know, subway doesn't display automata (wait, after some googling I'm not so sure anymore ;D) and doesn't support UDI, so these pieces are either for heavy rail or el-rail, which both have their underground variations in NAM.

Quote from: Ciuu96 on January 09, 2011, 07:03:11 AM
Aren't these pieces also using heavy rail paths? As far as I know, subway doesn't display automata (wait, after some googling I'm not so sure anymore ;D) and doesn't support UDI, so these pieces are either for heavy rail or el-rail, which both have their underground variations in NAM.

I'm not sure how NOB's sunken GLR paths work (mostly because I lack the technical knowledge to understand), but as far as I know, he used a a few tricks to display some form of automata. Also, PEG has released a subway station with visible tracks, but he just used timed props to give the impression of automata passing through the station.

Hmm I think I see a potential solution forming!

Like NOB's lots, the SSR is pathed for El-Rail, this is why, with the right LODs, automata is visible.

I forgot about NAM's pieces, I'll have a look at how they work but if the transport switches from El-Rail to Heavy Rail, wouldn't the automata disappear anyway? I'm going to check it out though, if NOB's pieces connect to it fine then mine would!

@WC_EEND: Nearly right! It's the District Line (also Hammersmith & City Line), but at Whitechapel Station.

Quote from: mcdrye on January 09, 2011, 11:00:08 AM
I forgot about NAM's pieces, I'll have a look at how they work but if the transport switches from El-Rail to Heavy Rail, wouldn't the automata disappear anyway? I'm going to check it out though, if NOB's pieces connect to it fine then mine would!

Automata would not dissapear, as NAM also has FLUPs for GLR, which have underground el-rail paths. :) Here (http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=10876.msg326247#msg326247) you can see those pieces in action with NOBs sunken GLR.

Success! Sorta...

Thank you so much for the FLUP suggestion everyone! Works like a charm now, except the FLUP piece has slightly lower pathing, would it be possible for them to provide a piece with a higher path?

good to see it working out for you, you might want to get a bit of help from the NAM team for the paths. I reckon this happens because FLUPS are pathed at -15m and your SSR pieces are -7,5m (as mentioned a few pages ago).

on a side note: it's kind of weird to see Northern/Jubilee line stock running on subsurface lines

Xander

Quote from: WC_EEND on January 09, 2011, 01:14:06 PMFLUPS are pathed at -15m and your SSR pieces are -7,5m (as mentioned a few pages ago).

I'm afraid FLUP pieces are pathed at -10 metres instead of -15 ;) Anyway, great work, mcdrye!

Nice to see it working, can't wait to see it with the good path elevation !  :thumbsup:

whoops, my mistake, thanks for correcting me though Ioan

@WC_EED: I said if it is for normal railway...

and it looks good...

Currently working on the 90 degree turn piece so that it matches the new design

Also, as promised here are some pic's of my Lucky Penny Casino



As you can see it's nearly done but I wanna hear suggestions etc!

Beautiful.

I want these before I start up city-building again...so hurry up! :P

amazing! look at those reflections!

Oh Gott :o :o

Guillaum &apls

wow, top work &apls

I'm loving these buildings reflecting themselves, they add so much (jasoncw did a great one recently). Normal reflections on buildings are nice but when you can actually see what's being reflected, the impact is far greater. I'm going to have to have a go at something similar one day.

And the actual bat itself is excellent with lot's of extra details to keep things interesting, and a fantastic sign at the entrance.  :thumbsup:

Hey McDyre.  Just a quick query on the SSR lot sizes.  I tried to do a 1x1 of Nobs pieces but Chrisim said he had some issues with the modding of them due to them being effectivly stations.  I'd suggest we get some NAM experts in here (thank god my NAM badges is overridden by the moderator one  :-[ ) to take a look.

But these look fantastic and make me want to play all over again.

yummy! :o

Joe

I didn't post but follow attentively your updates and what an amazing job !!!

congrats  :thumbsup:

Love the heading for your sunken rail items. I remember Buddybud has something going back in 2007. He was able to have automa with actual transit functionality running in his sunken lots.Unfortunately his hd had a crash and all of that was lost. Now here we are a few years later and you are doing what I thought went boom along side Buddybud's dead hd. All I gotta say is...I cannot wait and great job on your bat as well. :D :thumbsup:

The SSR pieces are just a neverending nightmare! Curves won't be possible because of issues with base textures. What I really need is for base textures to have both solid and missing bits on the same tile which I don't think is possible. I've also been playing with a kinda 'sunken wall' version of it as a means to overcome these issues, as suggested long ago, but that in itself presents problems with NAM overpass networks passing level over the 10m deep railway, I don't want humpback bridges all over the place. The easy route is to just have eye candy lots, but I would rather they had moving trains.

Now I'm still working on the casino, and, as I said earlier, I had to rearrange the parking ramp. Here is it's current status, BUT please ignore the palm trees, I've no idea why they rendered like that but it's not intended, plus, the roof texture needs work, plus other little tidbits.

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh137%2Fmcdrye%2FLPx-1.jpg&hash=b77971f93a8c47644334a32657242e9ada26ac02)

P.S. Boy does this casino take forever to render, like 30mins, annoying when you change one thing and want to see how it looks, I've tried to optimise parts but I think its all the fancy reflections and such.

...but the outcome of the renderings, is making for a 'wow' of a model...

I like the building, keep it up. Can't wait till it's finished. &apls

Another view

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh137%2Fmcdrye%2FLPza.jpg&hash=c74e8a2dff09f1e7fc3153e13b4f45ba4c35e36e)

Wow, that looks outstanding!  &apls

Great model.
I like the underground parking at the side of the building inside of the back.  For me.....I just wish it didn't have the palm trees. &mmm

Robin  &apls

Nice model with great detailing. This will be a perfect add on to someones seaside boardwalk district.

- Jim

Beautiful model  &apls It's not the style of architecture I like but your model is so good that I don't see that ;) Great work on the reflections and details  &apls &apls

Here is a night shot at the usual SC4 angle, though the pool area lighting needs tweaking. Also, check out the bulb lighting, notice how not all the bulbs are working.

This is beautiful! HD render?

Wow, awesome work! &apls Really detailed and those glass textures are just perfect! :thumbsup:

Great Job, it's Perfect. &apls