Spa's Atlantic Retreat

[sebes]

The Lexington building is an excellent choise Spa, I especially like the shape of the building. The fact that it 's above normal street level is refreshing to me, and gives the place a kind of Grandeur, that fits with the corner as you describe it. I bet there is a carpark under it, and if you add a underground parking entrace, it will be very realistic I guess...

[spa]

Well it has been a while since I popped in here. Let me first blow the dust off with some replies.

Marc: Thanks. Indeed they're very, very red. It would be a frightening building if that's how it was in real life. I pretty much agree with you completely about new urbanism and crime prevention. Crime loves dead spaces and if you make the street dead you're going to have problems. The examples of new urbanism that I know of up here in Canada are generally failures from the planning point of view since they're just more expensive suburbs. Places like Garrison Woods or Cornell are pretty but they still function like suburbs. People don't work and shop in them they get in their cars and drive into the city.
JB: Thanks. The angles are a tad tricky but they're not as bad as you would think because I kept them consistent!
Silur: Thanks
Pat: Thanks. I'm not sure exactly how the Lexington will fit on a lot just yet, but it'll be either 3x4 of 3x5. Counting the roof shed it'll be approximately 10 storeys.
Traff: Thanks. You're absolutely right. I can't think of a single other building in Halifax that is similar to the Lexington. There is a fair bit of new construction going on since the city is growing steadily, but most of it is rather bland.
Sebes: Thanks. There is a underground parking. I never thought about that as a possible reason for it being above the street level. It would make sense since digging in Halifax's rocky ground is expensive. Oh and I am planning on including the parking garage.

So in the last few weeks school has been really busy. That end of term rush has kept me occupied. I was also house sitting for my parents while they were in Cuba which meant a long commute from the country into the city every day. In between all of that, mainly out at mom and dad's, I spent some time on two new bats, the Five Fishermen and Video Difference. Tonight I'll showcase the Five Fishermen since it has textures (Video Difference doesn't right now).

So first the Five Fishermen in real life:

The Five Fishermen is an expensive seafood restaurant in downtown Halifax (just across from Grand Parade). It is an old building that has a long history. Previously it was a funeral home. It's halls played host to victims of the Halifax explosian and the Titanic. Not surprisingly the building is said to be haunted. Personally I think the only thing haunting the place is the late-night drunks who pack the Liquour Dome next door. Anyway, below is my version.

As you can see I ended up making some fairly substantial adjustments, although the flavour of the real building is still there. It's a corner building in real life but since I'm not batting the whole Liquour Dome complex I thought it would be better to change corners. Since the building is part of a complex that covers the whole block, there is also no back. I had to make that up. I find the front of the Five Fishermen to be excessively cluttered so I'm not going to put in the flags or hanging lights on it. I do still plan on adding in the tiny awnings and the old timey lanterns but other than that the modelling on this one is done. Just need to get the glass and roof textures and add some lights. I'll update again when I get a chance, maybe with some pictures of Video Difference.

[magee_b]

awesome content as always spa 
How's the weather been in Halifax? Fredericton got dumped on with 35 cm of snow on the last day of classes (last tuesday)... UNB was completely shutdown. Best of luck with your finals/papers/all that fun stuff.

[spa]

Thanks Magee. I saw that New Brunswick got hit in the big storm on the CTV news. Here in Halifax it didn't amount to all that much because it changed to rain. Out in Lawrencetown, right on the Atlantic, there was nothing on the ground, but if you drove just 20 minutes into the city there was a little bit of snow. Nova Scotia is truly a weather forecasters worst nightmare!


So I wasn't expecting to update again so soon but some have suggested that I include the two chimneys as in the real building. I have made an alternate version. Compare the version below to the one posted before and tell me what you think.

So which do you like better?

[Silur]

Hi, Spa ...
Excellent work !!!
I like Your first version of Five Fishermen (air conditioner more invisible ...)
May be more dark and dirty windows and roof
Thank You and Best regards ...

[simdad1957]

The Five Fishermen is an inspired choice for a BAT! I prefer the version with the chimneys; more authentic for the age of the building. I don't know if you are planning to "age" the wooden facade of the building or not. It would be hard to do but the actual building is somewhat more shabby in appearance than your BAT. Do you think this is possible? If not, it's still OK as it would be one of the most unique buildings on the LEX. What's next; Alfredo Weinstein & Ho? Just joking.

P.S. Moncton got 42 cm of snow in the storm with 90 km/hr winds. The sports dome deflated after the building lost power and ended up getting covered by huge snow drifts. They just got it reinflated today. Another 10-15 cm of the white stuff tonight. They say this will be the worst winter in 15 years - La Nina. Last year we didn't get any snow in Moncton until mid January and it was warm all winter. Oh well.

Keep up the good work!!

[spa]

Silur: Thanks. The roof isn't done yet of course. There's a point near the real building where an overhead balcony from the Metro Centre lets you see the Five Fishermen's roof. I'm going to snap a photo and make a shingle texture from it. The two flat bits will use some other tar paper like texture (I don't really know yet). I'm going with the double chimenies though. The vast majority of people polled like the double over the single.
Simdad: Thanks. Indeed the double chimneys is the version that has won out. The wooden facade I *think* I'm done with. I like how it shaped up and I'm reluctant to tinker anymore with it. Already Weinstein and Ho? Well I do have photos of it of course. It's a very different building but it has a nice kind of boxy appearence that might be nice to play with. The weather out here has been pretty wicked the last two/three weeks! You guys have definitely taken the brunt of it. Here in Halifax it switched to rain halfway through. The sidewalks are a mess since the water has since froze but we didn't end up with the snow fall that you folks did. I can't remember the last winter where we had snow so early and consistently in December. It might be a rough one this year.

So no new activity on the Five Fishermen today. Instead over the last two days I textured and lit Video Difference. Below is a picture of the real building on Halifax's Quinpool Road.

Video Difference is by far the world's best video store; their selection is unmatched and includes new releases, tv box sets, a huge basement archive and a wide selection of foreign and independent films; they'll accept payment in Canadian Tire money; every year they have a food for fines drive to support the Metro Food Bank; they're open 24 hours; box sets are actually rented by box set for a week with only smaller fines if you run over than with regular videos; and old kids movies are free rentals on week days. I really don't know how they could get any better.

Anyway, the world's best video store is coming to Sim City. Below is my version on a test lot (I will make a proper lot when I have the final version ready).

It took some doing to get the textures to where they are now. The shades of blue and white on this building were tough to work with. I'm going to have to rerender because the two chimneys lost their textures somewhere along the way. Since I'll be rerendering anyway I was thinking of also putting a proper foundation on the old house part and making a few slight adjustments to the trim (less blue on  the facing bit so that it doesn't blend in as much).

One thing that posed a challenge with this bat is the difference in scale that Maxis used between houses and commercial buildings. Maxis houses are smaller than maxis commercial buildings of the same number of floors. Check out the photo I rigged up below.

You could put that whole house in the lobby of that office! The difficulty for me is that Video Difference has the remains of a house attached to a commercial front. Either the house or the commercial front is going to be off Maxis scale. Since this is a commercial building that will grow on commercial zones, I scaled up the house portion and it's bigger than it otherwise would be.

I also did something different with this one for the night; I used interior lighting instead of Maxis nite maps. I don't normally put much time into night lights because I play the game almost entirely in day mode, however, with a two storey glass front, nightmaps would have just looked stupid on this one. Below is how this bats looks at night.

I'm fairly pleased with the results, especially the neon and front interior. Getting the neon blue strips on that garish overhead ornament was really tough since it is angled, it gets smaller from top to bottom and gmax sets up the most stupid pivot points for lights (it makes copying, moving and rotating lights needlessly difficult). Unless anyone has any major complaints with the lighting this is how it's going to be since I have already invested about six hours into it.

[Bluebeard]

The lites are perfect.Those of us who play in the dark appreciate the lights.

[simdad1957]

I know Video Difference, I used to live across the street from it in Quingate Place. Strange, the facade looks a little different than I remember. I haven't lived in Halifax of course for 18 years, so I'm sure they have altered the facade somewhat during that time.

Regarding the scale of the building, I appreciate your dilemma but I think the scale should match the "small town" series scale as much as possible. This is where I see this building fitting in best; in an older neighbourhood filled with JBSimio's and your small town buildings.

[spa]

Bluebeard: Thanks. I found it really taxing to do since I don't work with lights very often. Just to light up a sign here and there usually. I'm glad the results are acceptable.
Simdad: Everyone knows Video Difference The facade has changed, even in the the 7-8 years that I have known it. They extended the boxy front up to the the third floor just a few years ago which cut the old house completely off from the street. Strangely I can't remember what it looked like from before the latest renovation. On scale, I did go with what you're suggesting. Both my and JB's buildings, along with almost every other bat, fit maxis' commercial scale. Why maxis went and made such tiny houses I don't know. I guess it was to give the impression of low density since smaller houses leave more space between each other and don't pop up as much into the landscape.

[Fledgeling]

What a unique building. I would agree, less blue on the metal facade.

[bat]

Your buildings are looking very nice, spa! Great work on them!

[spa]

Fledgeling: Thanks. I have Video Difference in game now and it's now slightly less blue.
Bat: Thanks!

So two things today. First, Video Difference has been rerendered and is now on a lot in game. Below is a preview.

I ended up turning down the blue metal a little bit and making a few other minor adjustments to some of the other textures. If you look closely you should be able to now see a slight gradient on the bigger textures.

With Video Difference basically finished, I have turned back to the Five Fishermen. I took a few reference photos today on my lunch break from work so that I could start in on the roof and windows. Below is where things sit.

Still a bit to do. The windows on the other sides need texturing. I'm also not entirely pleased with the way the glass is turning out on the dormers. I have tried several variations, but it's just coming together. Maybe I need to sleep on it. Anyway, hopefully I'll have more to show tomorrow.

[spa]

So the Five Fishermen has entered the finished category. Below is a daytime preview.

It was really, really difficult to get the dormer windows. I'm still not completely pleased with them as they are now but of the countless versions I tried this was the best. The glass seemed to come together elsewhere though.

Like Video Difference I played with the lighting on this one. Below is a night preview.

Not as nice as Video Difference, but not too bad. Before I sign off, below is a picture of the Five Fishermen next to my other three newest bats on Sim Main Street.

[ky72x]

Excellent work, spa!  The nightlights on the Five Fisherman restaurant look great.  Nice line-up of your current projects, I can't wait for them to be released.  Keep it up! 

- Kyle

[Fledgeling]

simply amazing the windows are perfect, there is nothing that could improve these bats!

[jmyers2043]

Nifty. The corner buidling is super. Can't find anything to be picky about. The three buildings sitting side by side work well together. The color palette and small details are good. They'll make a good addition to the game and I hope they grow in my cities.

[simdad1957]

I think I'll name the next city I build "Halifax".

[tag_one]

Wonderful as always , but the night lights really graped my eye. I really like the orange color

[Sim Shady]

Everything rocks on the bats, but one thing that drives me batty is when different lots have different wealth levels and make the sidewalks randomly change from square to square.  Not sure if theres anything you would actually want to do about that b/c its kind of frivolous

thanks!