Hello everyone, as you already know I am currently working on my first BAT, but have some questions that maybe some of you can help me with. Here is a render from g-max.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.exquisiteimageries.com%2Fphotos%2FCA01.JPG&hash=dc260cc881ce197fdb5038bc512bac6c9f4e4510)
As you can see the orange ribs a roof have a nice look but now look at the in game shot:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.exquisiteimageries.com%2Fphotos%2FCA01-2.JPG&hash=64d3d43deba3fac9a1b106f3f1732eace8e0c6ee)
Is there something I am doing wrong or something I can do to make the seams and the ribs look nicer? Any other suggestions you have would be great as well. Just don't be to harsh it is my first bat. :)
Hmmm try only having the ribs on one side of the lot (eg. the right). Then for left end of the terminal simply create a lot with the rib on that side.
As we already know? I had no idea. This looks very nice, I must say.
To get them smoother, I think you can extend the ribs (all the parts that are orange) beyond the LOD shells you're rendering it in. I think extending all of the building (walls, floors) beyond the LOD to the left and right will help later on as well. I'm not 100% sure on this, but at any rate, what you've got at the moment looks amazing.
As joelyboy911 said, the ribs (and columns) should protrude off the LODshell. For example, if the tile step is 32m (as appears to be the case here) the LODshell must be exactly 32m, but the ribs' extents should be up to, say +/-17m off the centre. This is a method that works well for bridges. For the LODshell, I don't think you need anything more complex than a simple box, for this BAT (but I may be wrong).
Then, there's the placement of the props in your lot. They must be exactly aligned and spaced for this to work as intended. How to do this? Drag a prop to the corner of the lot (as far as it can go) using the MOUSE. Then press the SHIFT key (and keep it depressed), and move the prop to the desired position using the ARROW KEYS. This moves the prop in whole meters. Repeat the procedure for the remaining props, aligning them with the first one. If you want to micro-adjust the props' position, select them ALL (surround them in a rectangle in LE) and move them all together.
A tip on how to mod these props: set the Query As Main Building property to True (0x01), and the User Visible Name Key property to 0, 0, 0. This will cause the prop to behave as the main building.
As for the BAT, it's very nice, but this orange colour is way too harsh. It needs to be toned-down a lot (desaturated) and possibly adjusted for hue and brightness. Also the roof could be darkened a little, and/or some "dust" could be added (not too much, because the model is tiled and you'll get an awful repeating pattern).
Hope this helps.
Thanks everyone for all the help already! I have to agree the orange will need toned down. I will try and extend my bat past my lod and post the results once I get a change. Here is a pic of where I got my orange
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.exquisiteimageries.com%2Fphotos%2FSheremetyevoInternationalAirport.jpg&hash=c3353cd28aa38ef9b6d084630ba75ab2e2965684)
Sheremetyevo International Airport
Just wanted to post an update, I have changed the textures some and extended some of the bat past the LOD to get a nice smooth look. Let me know what you think and any suggestions you might have! This is still a work in progress of course :)
(//img%5D%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cbr%20/%3E%5Bimg%20alt=%5Dhttp://www.exquisiteimageries.com/photos/skygate11-6-09-2.jpg)
Really nice bat. :thumbsup:
on the contrary, I preferred the roof before, I find new version of the roof is very strange.
Looks great, however, it's too bright IMHO :)
I like the shape of the terminal very much, but you should de-saturate all your textures by at least 20%--the orange is too intense, the glass is too blue-green, and the gridded sheathing is too bright. Also, the orange ribs look way too thick, and I agree with Orange, the earlier, smaller grid was better. Think also about giving them a touch of dirt--even new stuf gets dirty quick.
Hope this helps ;)
They look like they could make some great airport parts. Just be sure to keep everything in proportion.
As for the orange, goodness, the game's lighting system (as with some other things) is very unrealistic, so it looks brighter than it should be, but I don't really see as much of a problem.
I have to say that I prefer the old version over the new one. The new roof is brighter, rather weird (those tiles), and looks like plastic or made of porcelain. Also the colour of the windows (glass) looked better in the old version (the new one is too blueish). Also the ribs have now become too wide. Pls make them as before. Also it might be preferable to make two props, a "tile" and a "terminator" one (or any other arrangement you find convenient) so that the ribs at the edges are as wide as the middle ones. And that orange? Please! It's wider now, and this makes it look even worse (it's a basic design principle to use saturated colours on the smaller objects and pale colours on the larger ones).
I think the model has deteriorated overall, with the only improvement being the elimination of the seams. With the aforementioned issues sorted-out, it can really become a nice model.
Thanks everyone again for the replies! I will plan to change the roof tiles, rib size and window color back to or close to the original. I am actually thinking about getting rid of the orange and using about a darker gray. It might be more usable and fit into other peoples cities if I release this.
cogeo: I do plan to make other pieces to go with this (like end pieces) this is just a starting point to see how things go, even if I can make something good enough.
Thanks again everyone and keep the comments coming!
Quote from: wyrick on November 06, 2009, 04:43:16 PM
I am actually thinking about getting rid of the orange and using about a darker gray.
I would keep the orange color. It give it a distinct look and sets it apart from most of the terminals that are available. Airports now are going with the exotic look.
This looks just great! The orange on top and the doors on every piece make it look a bit odd and somewhat un-generic but nevertheless this all looks great and very promising. Keep it up! ;D
Quote from: pilotdaryl on November 07, 2009, 02:02:38 PM
This looks just great! The orange on top and the doors on every piece make it look a bit odd and somewhat un-generic but nevertheless this all looks great and very promising. Keep it up! ;D
Makes me think of my train station with orange-tinted windows...
Well I have changed back and de-saturated the textures.
Here are the updated pics:
(//img%5D%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cbr%20/%3E%5Bimg%20alt=%5Dhttp://www.exquisiteimageries.com/photos/skygate11-9-09-2.jpg)
Do any of you have any suggestions on how to make the roof texture look dusty?
Here is the texture I am using:
[img alt=]http://www.exquisiteimageries.com/photos/airportroof.jpg[/img]
Let me know what you think!
pilotdaryl - every piece will not have doors, I was just testing one of the pieces, I hope to have a couple pieces that can be fit together. I also plan end pieces.
What you have going on now, is that the jetway is blocking windows on the terminal. It doesn't look right. Also, you have light shining in on one side of each piece, so there is an illuminated triangle on each piece. You should/could get rid of this by extending the walls and rooves and floors way past the LOD.
The textures look good. To make it dusty, you'd have to make the texture bigger and repeating in the one bitmap. Then, add a partially transparent, grey/brown dusty gradient over it.
joelyboy911 - Thanks for the reply, I know about the triangle of light and the glass issue with the jetway, just trying to get the textures and basic shape looking good, this is still a work in progress.
Here is a pic from the back side of the terminal showing different planes and there jetways, as well as terminal bats by Ace & Voltaire.
[img alt=]http://www.exquisiteimageries.com/photos/gates.jpg[/img]
As joelyboy911 had mentioned the jetways block windows on the terminal and each plane and jetway seems to be a little different. But the terminal currently matches up with the other terminals well. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can make the connection between the terminal and jetways any nicer??
I do plan (hope to) in the future to make a tower and bridge that would move the plane a tile away from the terminal so that a road can run between them.
Maybe come up with a few different terminal types? You know some with a set of doors on the back of them (where the people would go to board the airplane) and openings for the entryways.
Well, on the AC Team's terminals, the jetway blocks 1 window row, all the way across it. Whereas on yours, the jetway blocks parts of windows, so it looks out of place. You could just have no windows at the height of the jetway.
Really nice terminal.
This version is beautiful.
I think the windows looked better in the previous version (the colour was closer to green, the new one is closer to blue - or I'm wrong?) and is a tad on the saturated side.
As for dust on the roof, you just have to add some "noise" effect (turn it to BW if it's coloured, and then colourise it a little, use gray/brown tint - better add a new layer in Photoshop, so that you can adjust its opacity). I think it's not easy with the texture you are using, because it's too large. If the resolution is high, BAT blurs the image and many details are lost). I would suggest that you use a resolution of up to 10-12 pixels per meter (I mean a gmax/3ds "meter") if you are exporting in low (standard) definition, and 12-16 if you are exporting in HD (btw these models are quite large, so I think HD is not needed). Take a look at this thread (http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=3757.0) for more details.
If your resolution is well above the aforementioned values, you are loosing details. It would be better to scale (shrink) the texture in Photoshop or PSP instead of letting BAT do this for you, as the quality you can achieve in these tools is MUCH better than BAT's. If you tile the image (yourself) in Photshop/PSP you can then apply a gradient to the dust/weathering overlay and play a little with the (pseudo-) light effects, ie make it darker and/or more opaque at the lower parts of the texture, this looks much more realistic.
Well I worked with the jetway windows again and I think it looks much better.
(//img%5D%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cbr%20/%3EHere%20is%20also%20a%20new%20pic%20showing%20some%20added%20detail%20for%20the%20arrival%20pick-up%20area%20on%20the%20lower%20level.%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cbr%20/%3E%5Bimg%20alt=%5Dhttp://www.exquisiteimageries.com/photos/skygate11-11-09-1.jpg)
Things are slowly progressing and I thank everyone for their input and help.
Does anyone know of any good tutorials on night lighting?
Wow!! Amazing job wyrick!! &apls
&apls &apls Excellent work on those terminal mate . Good things to put peoples props. I like the design a lot too. Keep it up :thumbsup:
Great work on this... I like the look of the changes you've made.
For nightlighting you could check the STEX Omnibus... That might help. :)
WOW. :o :o That looks awesome man! Keep up the great work! Maybe next some corner and ends lots?
Thanks everyone for the encouragement.
Driftmaster07 - I do hope to get started on some end and corner pieces in the near future. Trying to play with the night lighting right now.
Here is a pic of me trying out the night lighting
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.exquisiteimageries.com%2Fphotos%2Fskygate11-13-09-1.jpg&hash=9bf9f0802bcdbc43117fcb856397bc416cb30311)
Well? No replies in a month! I think not, a very great job you are doing there. Nice nightlighting!
Great work :) It looks very ... aesthetically. ;D
Great job, as seraf already said, it's very pleasing to look at
Great!!!! &apls &apls
please upload it as soon is possible...
very nice! just one question. how did you get the entrance ramp line up so well with the elevated road? what is the hight of the ramp?
i love it! great job! when u going to put it on the STEX or LEX? i really want it.
looks great...
Quote from: banditp61 on October 10, 2010, 11:21:59 AM
i love it! great job! when u going to put it on the STEX or LEX? i really want it.
Patience my friend. He will let us know when that time comes.
wyrick: I guess you are repeating the texture. Try to "array" the texture, so it cover the whole roof. Then add noise to it, as cogeo suggested.
I'd hate to sound like a pessimist here, but wyrick's last post in this topic dates from november 13 2009, so it seems unlikely that it'll ever get released
:P
....and he hasn't been active since November 14, 2009
Think you are right. To bad, it was a good start batting.