Hi,
I have made an animated solar panel prop, using overpop's BAB Tool. Here is a pic (next is its static version).
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg21.imageshack.us%2Fimg21%2F954%2Fsolarpanel01.gif&hash=4062c1e7ee6a49867f0132c5ab521baea25213c5)
The panel is "sun tracking" (swivelling), and represents an installation located in the northern hemisphere (for the southern hemisphere the direction must be reversed) and must be facing southwards, in order to look OK. Most probably I'm going to make a fixed (non-swivelling) panel prop too.
Now I need to make the lots. I'm considering making three lots:
- A very simple lot, containing just a single solar panel prop, maybe with transparent background (or you think some base texture would look better, and which one?). This can be used by the players in modular layouts.
- A small power plant (1x2 or 2x1) with one panel and some support structures, like a small shed and a small transformer/control box.
- A larger power plant (farm) with 10-20 panels, a larger shed/building and a small power substation (and some paths in between).
As I haven't been downloading custom content lately, and it makes no sense to re-invent the wheel, I would like to ask players about suggestions of suitable props, esp the transformers and substations (the smaller the better), and sheds (preferably with some windows). I would strongly prefer props in prop-packs (not the ones included in lots).
Looking forward to your replies.
wow very beautiful job !!
Nice Solar panel cogeo. &apls
warconstruct & Earth quake: thank you for your comments.
There is some little progress:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg69.imageshack.us%2Fimg69%2F9175%2Fsolarnpps.jpg&hash=bf72b9339cba5235561fa2400505cd4d98d6e919)
You can see the fixed (non-swivelling) panels, and two types of lots (unfinished yet).
The small lots are for modular layouts, while the 1x2 ones are intented for use as autonomous power plants.
I searched for props, but didn't find anything very much suitable. So I had to BAT that small shed (it shouldn't be casting shadows on the panels, neither be too big). It's not finished yet, some details are missing. The transformer isn't mine, and I think it's on the big side, so I will have to BAT it myself too, I'm afraid. Same goes for the much larger "park" (not done yet), this needs a bigger building (or should I use the same one?).
Should I remove the texture in the modular (1x1) lots (ie make them transparent), or maybe replace it, eg with a light-coloured grass, or mixed grass/dirt? Any suggestions?
I have to finish BATting and check their behaviour on sloped terrain.
Hope I will be able to showcase more stuff soon.
Wow, very nice job!!! :thumbsup:
Hi again,
I have finished with modding of the lots/buldings, and some few lot details are remaining. Here is a pic:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg69.imageshack.us%2Fimg69%2F2818%2Fsolarnpps1.jpg&hash=0d21314af53c5b430866a4e2893e4b6e8fd48790)
The lots at the front are autonomous (small) power plants, while the ones at the back are for modular lots.
And the larger "parks":
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg69.imageshack.us%2Fimg69%2F7493%2Fsolarnpps2.jpg&hash=0a87301351adf04547cb1d1b1bda804745fbe59c)
I think it makes no sense making more (larger and/or differently oriented) lots, as the combinations are numerous (these ones represent an installation located in the northern hemisphere and must be facing southwards, in order to look OK). Instead I would encourage players to make their own lots, using the LE.
I have some questions:
- Should I remove the texture in the modular (1x1) lots (ie make them transparent), or maybe replace it, eg with that light-coloured grass, texture? Any suggestions?
- Does anybody really need an (animated) prop suitable for an installation in the southern hemisphere? The direction must be reversed, and this is quite a bit of work. Is there some known way to reverse the animation (without modifying it again)?
- Any other suggestions or wishes?
The pack is going to be released within this week.
I think these look great. I tend to prefer transparent textures, but for these, I think it's better if they aren't. I like the grass texture you show here. I can't wait to see these solar panels swiveling around in my city. :thumbsup:
Agreed that these look great (especially the animated one :thumbsup:), and as a resident of the southern hemisphere I would suggest not worrying about it, there's no hemispheres in SC anyway. (unless as you say it can be easily done) I was wondering at what speed the animation runs in game?
@hooha47: Does it look better now?
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg27.imageshack.us%2Fimg27%2F6140%2Fsolarnpps3.jpg&hash=03d6521b59d6a0da4ad04f72726cc7c51c0f6b60)
How about the 1x2 ones? (I changed the texture at the back).
@thingfishs: indeed, SC4 doesn't have hemispheres, and the sun is always at the... left side (if you rotate the city view it doesn't change). I would wish if this could be changed (I know the length of shadows, ie the sun angle) can be changed, but I'm not sure about this one. So you're right, this makes little sense. As fot the speed of animation, it's the one you see in the first pic. I know, it's fast, and I will see if I can change it, ie specify a slower frame rate. But there are limitations in this, if it's set much slower the animation won't be smooth, unless the number of frames is increased too, which in turn would increase the filesize and resources usage. I'll see what I can do.
I'm not sure which is more realistic, but I think I like it better now with the grass texture under the panels in those 1x2 lots.
I'm not sure how the BAB Tool works but I do know a bit about animation in the visual cartoony sense. If you could slow it down by 50% that would look fine since a Sim day doesn't change very rapidly. It may not be as smooth, but you could expect it to be that way. I mean look at timed props they tend to jerk around with using multiple for one item to do something different through out the day.
So in essense it wouldn't really truly look all that bad, at least you wouldn't have to stack props on each other to get a simular effect.
The lots in my oppinion look fine, and I could come up with a few ideas already for my own lot making. :)
I do like the basic building you have and your transformer you made smaller.
Pretty much all solar power plants I have seen are usually built either in the desert, or on grassy terrain, so the grass lot is definitely more appropriate. :) The animated solar panel is nifty! I hope the animation cycle is a bit slower than in your pic, though, as it takes a whole day for one cycle in RL. ;) If I'd have to be very picky, I'd suggest to tone down the blue of the panels a bit, but that's really only because I'm used a slightly lighter tone of the panels here. But I guess that differs from manufacturer to manufacturer. In any case, it looks so much more realistic than the Maxis solar power plant. :)
Hi again,
I have checked if making the animation slower is possible, and I have found that the frame rate is rather fixed. So making the animation slower can only be achieved by rendering more frames. The x and 1/x times setting in BAB utilitiy just includes the same frame twice, thrice etc, and this effectively makes the animation slower (albeit less smooth) without increasing the filesize considerably (presumably the conmpressor finds repeating patterns and compresses the images efficiently). This however still has the limitation of up to 196 frames, and although the filesize is not increased much, the runtime resources are increased, ie there is no runtime benefit compared to taking (equally) more samples (frames).
So I elected to not use this feature, and instead reduce the frame step. I have made two animations, shown in the pics below (wait for the animations to dl completely):
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg263.imageshack.us%2Fimg263%2F5853%2Fsolarpanel02.gif&hash=225183dd8ef693d1893c814416543fc5e22701eb) | (https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg5.imageshack.us%2Fimg5%2F2857%2Fsolarpanel03.gif&hash=93f5ba4e2ae69da46c95b3bde0f93af8e45023e9) |
Compare it to the animation in the first post. The first consists of 67 frames and the second 100 (the original had 33). Their filesizes are 1.1MB and 1.6MB, while the original is 590K.
Which one should I use? Should I include all three in the pack (and have the player deleting the two unwanted ones)?
Another funny feature is that they keep swivelling even during the night. I can change this so that it displays a static prop (turned to the original position) at nighttime.
Synchronizing with the simcity "day" is impossible, as the prop keeps animating even if you stop the game (take a look at the ingame pizza and hot dog - though I think this can be changed), but basically because of the extremely long simcity day (the number of frames required would exceed the limit of 196 by far).
As most people appear to prefer that green texture (it's the same as in the maxis windmill) so I'm going to keep it.
Andreas, indeed there are differences from manufacturer to manufacturer, and most I have seen are actually darker, dark blue, almost black-blue. Take a look at this pic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Photovoltaic_arrays_at_the_Israeli_National_Solar_Energy_Center.jpg). These are the ones I had in mind, and I think these are the ones most players are familiar with. But I could make a lighter render for you, if you think it would look better (pic please). Btw the darker ones are for countries with less sunlight, for tropical/subtropical areas there are offered even some orange/brown-coloured ones!
I'm going to test the thing a little further and post again.
Hmm, the additional resources are a downside, but the gentle loop in the last example is definitely more appropriate. Personally, I rarely play in night mode or day/night cycle, so I don't care if the animation stops during the night, but it might be an option to use timed props indeed. As for the lighter blue of the solar panels, here are two pics: The one on the left shows the local solar power plant. It's probably a bit misleading since it reflects the cloudy sky, but the example on the right is a plant in Spain (I think) that has been erected by the same company.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ld-host.de%2Fuploads%2Fthumbnails%2F05661155e16a2b0a6bd5202d60a93774.jpg&hash=a7dabfaa554a4d0b9a8958dd9ddc9b4335c72971) (http://www.ld-host.de/show/05661155e16a2b0a6bd5202d60a93774.jpg) (https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ld-host.de%2Fuploads%2Fthumbnails%2F38b3b5195b3dd564e69fd81cb2b1cdba.jpg&hash=988a1ced7582d5b1c1967c57d157290bc25f1360) (http://www.ld-host.de/show/38b3b5195b3dd564e69fd81cb2b1cdba.jpg)
I agree, my vote is for the last one. Personally I think putting all three in is unnecessary.
Incredible &apls &apls
If I had to choose I'd go for the 3rd version also.
Hmmm.... I really didn't like the first one's speed, and the second one hit the spot I prefer. Although the third one is kinda' more realistic as they do go pretty slow over the course of the day..
If anything I would have to say having at least two of them in the pack, namely the last two, would be ideal for those who want to keep the resources down, even if it is not much... But like I said my favorite is the second one.. So it is primarily up to u to include or not... :)
And Andreas I think I have seen that second one on the Science Channel showcasing alternate energy sources. Those were some nice looking ones too.
Outstanding. I really like the 3rd one, the one that moves the slowest. Great work. &apls &apls &apls
Word :o
Outstanding!! &apls Incredible!! &apls Wow!! &apls Nice work!! &apls
These solar panels look very cool and I love their movement! :thumbsup:
I have two comments:
1. The base is very dark, maybe it could be a bit less agressive? It would be important when we would use a transparent base (good idea, they are really often located in the natural environment such as desert or grass);
2. I saw your picture showing an Israeli installation and you recreated it really perfect! However I would agree with Andreas that brighter panels would look better in the game - especially if we would want to cover a large surface by them. We also must take into account that the panel changes it's color when it rotates, it is almost black when it is directed to the right and it can look not so nice in the game.
Adam
@TheTeaCat, hooha47, Fresh Prince of SC4D, blade2k5: Thanks!
@Andreas, Ennedi: I have changed the texture for the panels and darkened the base. Here is a pic (the static version for now, the animated one takes hours to render).
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg524.imageshack.us%2Fimg524%2F8285%2Fsolarnpps4s.th.jpg&hash=c58f52c1b35fe9a7584204547a3aa8676739f2f2) (http://img524.imageshack.us/i/solarnpps4s.jpg/)
I guess it needs some... darkening now.
@tamor: you see what's going on here, I'm rather going to upload two versions (the dark and the lighter one), and making another two (the 2nd one) would be an overkill. The additional resources (comparing the 3rd animation to the 2nd) are 50% more, which isn't really far, and as most people like the 3rd one, I will rather have to make this one. And the whole thing isn't actually that big, it's 1.6MB, ie like a big BAT. The question is if the game is smart enough to load only one instance (used by all props' instances) which I think it does (if you are going to make lots using these props in large numbers)
Yeah, that's pretty bright right now. ;) Maybe if you start with your dark texture, desaturate it, and then light it up a little? This should do the trick already, I guess. The grey mounting looks fine now, though.
EDIT: I was thinking along these lines:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ld-host.de%2Fuploads%2Fimages%2F7aef66fcf2fc53911c435653586d6451.jpg&hash=53b770b3b0f0d0a0ed6bc23f903ce5d059a486f9) (http://www.ld-host.de/)
That's fine, to me it doesn't totally matter as long as it not that first one which was way too fast. I can understand why you are going about it this way, since I have to do the same call on any lot that I would ever make. I do like both 2 and 3, but if it is only going to be three in dark & light then so be it, won't stop me from downloading it and using them. It is just that I prefer the second, and I say if majority rules on having the third then majority rules so there would be less to do and quicker to being released. I think in efficiency in this matter, and I do agree it is kind of a waste to satisfy one over the many.
Thank you for listening though, and I appreciate all the work and prgress you have done. Looking like a good start on the lighter one, hope to see the swivel of the the animated one soon when the teture is sorted, but alas I regress into patience... :)
Can't wait til you release the props for these puppies..ima make a huge solar power plant for my region. I love both the sky blu and the darker blue ones...will both colors be available to us?
Yes, the base looks very good now.
As for panels colour - they look very nice! I don;t know if they need darkening or not, because they are directed to the sun on your photo and and I don't know how they look when turning to the right. It depends on your taste. If they really need darkening, maybe Andreas' tip will be really good?
Adam
I have further experimented with the panels' textures. Here are two preview images:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg525.imageshack.us%2Fimg525%2F4879%2Fsolarnppt1.th.jpg&hash=c3935342e9c5e0457588af85b602284d00894a4f) (http://img525.imageshack.us/i/solarnppt1.jpg/) | (https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg525.imageshack.us%2Fimg525%2F9213%2Fsolarnppt2.th.jpg&hash=43168c645f40d3dd4a976390d22a5fdae3f921d3) (http://img525.imageshack.us/i/solarnppt2.jpg/) |
The first pic shows the original texture lightened-up. The second one shows the alternative texture darkened.
The pack is going to contain the original plus one of these lighter ones. Which one should I include? The first one (maybe darkened a little), or the second one? Any suggestions?
I really like the second one. You're doing a wonderful job here Cogeo, magnificent props!
I like both in your new preview pics. Not too dark, not too light, and both show the different shades of blue that can be observed in different solar panel models. Well done! :)
I'm not really fussed, I think they all look good. From a purely aesthetic point of view my favourite is the original darker one, but have no doubt these guys are right in saying they're not quite true to life. I guess I'd be inclined to pick the second one of the lighter two as then you get two more distinct hues.
Why limit to just one? You should include both so that users can decide which one they want to use and which they do not want to use at least that way everyone is happy.
I agree with others, both look very good :)
You could use all three versions in the pack, but if yoyu are going to use only two, I would agree with thingfishs ie. take an original and the second one from your last post, "to get two more distinct hues" as thingfishs says.
Adam
Well, most members like the 2nd one, so the pack is going to contain the original (dark) and the last one (lighter). Now I have to export the animated prop and package the thingy...
I would like to ask a question about lots' slope behaviour. I wish to make these lots possible to be plopped on sloped terrain. I have set the max slope properties, but there is a little problem with the main building and foundations. Here is what I have done:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg193.imageshack.us%2Fimg193%2F3263%2Fsolarnppg0.th.jpg&hash=f84ab29d6310a1109cf1a15a3a2964a103facb65) (http://img193.imageshack.us/i/solarnppg0.jpg/)
The gray rectangle is the building which doesn't display a model (the small cabin is a prop). I have set the "Building Foundation" property. As you can see in the pic below, this creates a foundation, but there are some graphical glitches:
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg193.imageshack.us%2Fimg193%2F5434%2Fsolarnppg1.th.jpg&hash=69cb0bb67119d7b7471e11d3e523916f6b57a5e0) (http://img193.imageshack.us/i/solarnppg1.jpg/)
If you plop a 1x1 street section first (leveling this specific tile), the lot looks OK then.
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg193.imageshack.us%2Fimg193%2F411%2Fsolarnppg2.th.jpg&hash=4b8d0d3e1e4905449b151c2ff66826a5c12755c6) (http://img193.imageshack.us/i/solarnppg2.jpg/)
Is there some way to make the game level this tile itself?
Quote from: cogeo on November 11, 2009, 09:29:10 AM
Hi,
I have made an animated peimar solar (http://www.shinesolar.net) prop, using overpop's BAB Tool. Here is a pic (next is its static version).
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg21.imageshack.us%2Fimg21%2F954%2Fsolarpanel01.gif&hash=4062c1e7ee6a49867f0132c5ab521baea25213c5)
The panel is "sun tracking" (swivelling), and represents an installation located in the northern hemisphere (for the southern hemisphere the direction must be reversed) and must be facing southwards, in order to look OK. Most probably I'm going to make a fixed (non-swivelling) panel prop too.
Now I need to make the lots. I'm considering making three lots:
- A very simple lot, containing just a single solar panel prop, maybe with transparent background (or you think some base texture would look better, and which one?). This can be used by the players in modular layouts.
- A small power plant (1x2 or 2x1) with one panel and some support structures, like a small shed and a small transformer/control box.
- A larger power plant (farm) with 10-20 panels, a larger shed/building and a small power substation (and some paths in between).
As I haven't been downloading custom content lately, and it makes no sense to re-invent the wheel, I would like to ask players about suggestions of suitable props, esp the transformers and substations (the smaller the better), and sheds (preferably with some windows). I would strongly prefer props in prop-packs (not the ones included in lots).
Looking forward to your replies.
Awesome just exceptional work.. Truly remarkable achievement.