Three Rivers Region

[girlfromverona]

Love the circular farm fields, David! 

Quick question for you: Are you using a street-side mod for your rural areas? If so, which one is it?

[mightygoose]

850 views left... do you reckon there is a chance that 3RR here will hit 50k before ST, the circular farms still look promising... true north.... so thats why my compass doesnt point up....

[Pat]

david thats at 8 in the morning....eeek that is dark!!!

[dedgren]

Just over 200 page views apart...



I think we'll make it to 50K here first.  The number of page views is on fire - over 150 per day since the 1^st of the year.  I'm going to try to do a quick "We've got Mail..." at lunchtime today to catch up with some of the recent great comments.

Later.


David

[rooker1]

50,000 views.....what an awesome monumental acheivement.  Great work here David and I'm sure in the not too distant future you will double this mark.

Robin 

[thundercrack83]

And we're counting down! It's definitely going to be close, but I think you're right, we'll probably hit it here first.

I'll be looking forward to the "You've Got Mail" segment, too. When's the last time we had one of those, anyway???

Dustin

[dragonshardz]

hi, just checking in.

I wonder if we'll get a present if we manage to bang the gong before ST?

[Shadow Assassin]

I'll be looking forward to the "You've Got Mail" segment, too. When's the last time we had one of those, anyway???

Some time last year, I believe. 

Anyway, David, wonderful job on the crop circles. Did some aliens play a hand in them this time?

[Pat]

David I think it was sometime in Summer that you last DiD a "you got mail".... cant wait to see that happen...

[dedgren]

Well, those of you who think I'm still Mr. Wizard [linkie], avert your eyes from the following.

I've admitted many times over the course of 3RR that I can't BAT for poop.  Now I've found that I don't really know a whole lot about LOTting, either.

Now, oh sure- I've created some lots.  Ploppable water rapids are on lots, my adaptations of C.P.'s great seasonal trees are on lots, and now these new center pivot irrigation fields are on lots.



...note that these are just to show you size and view level two appearance- they're otherwise just testbed stuff, hence all the road changes and other weirdness...

So, I thought, inspired by folks like Barby (barbyw) and Hubert (Badsim), I'll just transit-enable the CPI lots and put a bunch of farm stuff on them and they'll look great, right?

Wrong-O!

My respect for our LOTting Gods and Goddesses has gone up immensely.  When they put stuff on a lot, the lot stands up and sings.  When I put stuff on a lot, well... it looks like stuff on a lot.

Here's the sum total of about four hours of plopping props, moving them around and pulling them off.





I'm serious.  I'd find a prop in the Lot Editor by scrolliing through the list, taking a guess that the description was what I was looking for...

...since Matt (threestooges) is back in law school and what passes for free time in his life to BAT is amost certainly just a few precious minutes on the weekends, I plopped a prop that had "windmill" as part of its name.  The next thing I knew I had a gigantic Dutch windmill sitting next to my crop circle...

...plop it, most of the time get rid of it right away, the rest of the time move it around a little bit then get rid of it, strike my forehead with my palm a few times, then do  it again... and again... and again... etc., ad nauseum.

Usually what I plopped just didn't "fit," appearance-wise.  Other times the plop was out of scale, as in the case of a "55 gallon drum" that turned out to be almost as big as the water tank seen above.  Doing this, though, gave me a huge appreciation of the very real art that goes into one of Barby's lots or Hubert's amazing cityscape creations.

As a side note, I have to ask any BATter who happens by- why in the world is just about every prop made of something that moves from time to time in RL, let's say a tractor or a wheelbarrow, created aligned perfectly on an ortho (0-180 or 90-270 degree) axis?  Trust an old farm boy, those farmers have better things to do when they park their equipment than making sure it lines up perfectly with the equator or prime meridian.  Just a little "skewedness" would enhance a "real world" feeling greatly, imho.  Even for small structures that get plopped (sheds, for example, or a livestock trough)- a couple degrees in variation from the old right-left, up-down should be considered.  We have enough situations in the game where the grid rules- why submit voluntarily elsewhere?

Another issue this has raised for me is the question of order in the world of props.  Is there any?  How do I know I'm using the best water tank prop for the job, when I'm simply selecting from what's available from my fairly small plugins folder?  Is there a way to quickly view prop collections out there somewhere?  Are existing prop collections cataloged anywhere?  I'd really, really like to know that before I launch into any more lotmaking.

And, speaking of that, is there anyone out there who has LOTting skills who would like to join the 3RR Collaboration team?  I'll think that through a little bit more, but I'm
serious.  If there's a 3RR Regular^* who's done some LOTting and has some time on his or her hands, I have enough stuff floating around (like these crop circles) in the fertile fields (note farm reference- sheesh!) of my imagination to keep you busy 'til somewhere around the end of time, I think.  I mean, does SC4 have a really good tent campground (when was the last time you went into a campground and saw every tent lined up at 90 degree angles?).  Small tents ought to be a snap to BAT (Matt, Matt?  ...you hearing this?)  Travel campers (I think that's "caravans" for our European and Australian friends) might be a little harder, but they are pretty much just a box on wheels.  My guess is we can get props of that stuff together pretty quickly, but if my recent go-round is any indication, the devil will be in the lotmaking.

So, you want to the 3RR Lotmaker?  Send me a PM including some samples of some stuff you've done (or if you're really bold, post them in the thread for all to see).

A final thing- 3RR, beyond the windmills Matt is working on, needs...

...wait for it...



...cattle guards.  These thingies [linkie].





...apparently the folks in either Colorado or Utah don't want their roads used by migrant cattle, as there are no fences either side of the barrier...



The availability of a cattle guard...



..would eliminate the "sharp edge" transition between the off lot road stub and the dirt tracks on the lot.

...plus, it would keep those darn cows from getting into stuff they shouldn't...



* * *

I want to note the incredible greatness of the SAM [linkie] before I go any further.  It rates an entire future post to itself.  Kudo to the folks who worked so hard to put it together.  If you haven't DL'd it, prepare to be amazed!

* * *

Finally, the march to 50,000 continues.  There's been a new development, though.



There've been about 400 (!) new page views on 3RR-ST since yesterday.  It looks like the race is over, folks.  Oh well, 3RR wins, no matter what.

The "We've got Mail..." post is next.

Later.


David

^* And so who are these "3RR Regulars," you ask?  Why, anyone who's commented at least once here at 3RR or over at 3RR-ST.

[Yoman]

Crop circles look great there, I can imagine the amount of textures, as you can't just slap one huge giant one on. And I'm fairly new at LE also (though I LE nearly everything I download now a little), and know exactly how you feel about looking through a list, finding something, and wondering if theres something better. One thing I would suggest alot is JES's prop packs, great little non ortho details like trolleys a little off line etc. I bet Badsim and Barbyw just know every prop by heart now based on all the lots they've created (I tend to know where the main ones I use are now without looking).

One question though, are those overlay textures that the field is based on? Or is the dirt and field one texture? Because if its the former maybe add the stupid texture (yup, search stupid on STEX and it comes up ) to the bottom to allow them to be ploped with the terrain looking the same underneath, because I'm not sure if gigantic squares of dirt occurs (though as a suburb / city boy I could be entirely wrong). Stupid texture is a transparent one btw, just don't show up.

[Travis]

And, speaking of that, is there anyone out there who has LOTting skills who would like to join the 3RR Collaboration team?

Well, I'm already on the team,() but I'm very interested in working as the "3RR Lotmaker". Keep a look out for that PM later tonight or tomorrow
at the latest. 

Later.

[Andreas]

David, you are way too humble. The effort you put into creating those crop circles is amazing; I would have gone crazy after selecting and plopping the tenth texture in the lot editor. The fact that there is only one minor texture error amazes me most - I just dealt with about 75 railway textures (the reason for that can be found in the SFBT "upcoming" thread, btw.) and made at least three errors when compiling the texture pack...

You're quite right about the perfectly aligned tractors and wheelbarrows; I guess that's mostly because we're so used to the SC4 grid (which is also displayed in gmax) that the majority of the BATters never think outside the box (literally!). There's a selected choice of diagonal props, some of them even at odd angles, but esp. for farming equipment, you're quite right that it looks funny.

Well, what else to say? Not much, since I'm still amazed about the whole 3RR idea, and your continuing effort to build up a story that could be mistaken for real easily, if you don't know the background. I enjoyed the project from the day when I discovered this thread for the first time, reading through twenty-something pages in a row - which obviously took several hours! Anyway, I just realized that this is my 1000th posting, and I dedicate it to you and your 3RR project.

[Pat]

David Just Looking Stunning really stunning and btw 500 views to go..

[Giligone]

Wow, tough times in lot editor. I've had about as much success using it as you have.    I like your plans though. Haha, those cattle guard pics are hilarious.

[Kitsune]

Cattle Guards - I remember seeing those EVERYWHERE when I lived in Alberta - and they would be a really nice addition to the game.

[Gaston]

David,
   Somewhere here there was a thread about the cattle guards.   I can't remember who was working on them.   But this is a possible link to them.  [  linkie   ]   Hope this helps.


---Gaston

[DFire870]

David, I wouldn't be surprised if Chrisadams has a few of the cattle guards done or in store for his Rural Renewal Project, although I haven't seen any updates from him for awhile so I'm not sure if he plans on doing that.

I haven't commented on the new fields yet, but they look great! I've seen a few of those in trips I've taken by plane, but there aren't too many of those here in Texas, just your normal square-shaped farm fields.

-- John

[mightygoose]

i ahve some lot experience... im sure i could take a look at a few bits at some point, race is over eh, lol makes no odds.. still a magical testament to whatgoes on here.

[threestooges]

David,
I just realized with all my pm correspondence, it has been a while since I actually commented here in 3RR. You are right about the law school time thing, but on the plus side, I do need to take a break from read every once in a while (guess what I do with it); I have a windmill designed after the pics you sent me. I can have it to you for evaluation tonight. I have a cattle guard modelled, but I'm not sure how to get it to look 'clean' when plopped on the lot. I modelled it to actually go below ground (as a real one would) but the sides show up and it just doesn't look right if I try to cheat it and make it flat and look deep. I will post a pic if I get a chance Here's a quick pic:

I've seen Liv's pic below, and that has given me some ideas for things to try. My cattle guard as it is now seems a bit oversized, but that's a quick fix. Seeing as andreas and others who are more experienced with the intricacies of this stuff are browsing, I would like to ask if anyone knows how to make subterranian BATs (like deadwoods park ampetheatre and PEG's subterranian mall) and have them look good in game.

Your lot attempts look pretty good. I've noticed CPI systems don't have much in the way of periphreal pieces so your pics look pretty realistic. As far as variation in the angle of BATs, I think it may come from the BAT itself (after reading andreas' post) and also from the history of the game itself. It seems like everything is designed with efficiency and the game grid in mind. Driveways follow it, parking lots follow it, textures seem to be designed for it to make the LE easier to work with (fewer pieces to mess with). Most vehicle props seem to have been made with this in mind. However, that seems to be changing. I've noticed more angled props and I wouldn't be surprised to see some BATters altering some of their more popular creations as demand warrants.

After the windmills and the cattle guard (if/when I can figure out that below ground thing) I'll try my hand at a few camp facilities and trailers. I know PEG has a few camp lots that look pretty good and chrisadams was working on a cattle guard for his rural renewal project, but I haven't seen much on that front.

I believe there is a project underway to make a visual gallery of available props within packs and can be found here

Hope all of the above made sense. I'll see you around, and I'll look forward to the we've got mail thing.
-Matt