Rural Renewal Project

[CasperVg]

Nice ponds dam! I'm keeping a place for that beauty for sure.

[Diggis]

Having seen this in a hungover haze at 6:30 this morning I've enjoyed a second look at them in a drunken haze at 2pm.    And I'm still stunned.   

Look forward to seeing the pic when sober. 

[bat]

Great work on that lake and dam there!! Looks beautiful, Chris!

[jacqulina]

wow looking excellent there chris

[Yoman]

That looks incredible, so do those new pond lots. Here are the LODs on that crane. They didn't need to be as tight fitting as its pretty big, so the LODs on the smaller crane (which I can't get a pic of because I'm rendering something  ) were more annoying, as they left no room for error.

Looking forward to what you come up with next after this dam, I'm sure it will be groundbreaking and innovative. 

[Chrisadams3997]

Thanks everybody.  No really, I really appreciate it

Owen, thanks for pulling up those LOD's, always interesting to see.  Like you said, the size is beneficial on that one, as most props won't actually even reach up to the height of the first cross-member, which limits the possibility of problems.  It's when props have to fit in front of one part, but behind another that it gets trickier.

I finally got the LOD's reworked to allow a bridge across (almost) properly.  It's still got a few issues, as I actually decided to break it up into the dam base, the railing and other stuff above the road, and the control building, so I'm having to make sure everything behaves .  This first test just used a causeway type bridge(if I'm naming it right, but it's the flattest one), and you can see the one piling coming down into one of the floodgate openings.  But it works, so as soon as I've got my flat bridge for it(and I finish LOD's), we'll be in business.

Look Cars!




I've also got to do some special things to make sure the shadows show up as if it were still one model, but don't worry, I (think) I know what I'm doing .

Also, hopefully me or Matt can get the road color better matched.

Chris

[Alfred.Jones]

 

Cars!!!!!!!

I WANT NOW!!

[deathtopumpkins]

Wow! It's a functional bridge now! I noticed you added guardrails to the sides too. Those are by far the best guardrail models I have EVER seen!
Oh and cleverly disguised Maxis streetlights!

It all looks unbelievably great!

[Chrisadams3997]

Actually, I'm taking the street lights out of my model, as they'll be T21'd in with the bridge, I just hadn't done it yet.

I liked how the guardrails came out too.  I tried doing some for something a while back, and the results weren't so good .  But it's just a lofted shape, which lets me change the path very easily.  In fact all four in this model are slightly different, set up for the particular spot.

[threestooges]

Chris,
It looks like you figured it out pretty easy (no surprise there). Sorry I wasn't able to take care fo that for you, but I have made some progress on that paper. The best texture I have for roads is the one Jeronij attached to his bridge tutorial (I don't know if that's the one you're using). Were you able to get an unused bridge ID or is this just the test one? Either way it looks great, and I like the little extender piece things (for temperature changes). If there is anything I can do, let me know and I'll see how I can help.
-Matt

[deathtopumpkins]

So would the white Maxis streetlights show up or yours? (yours are better  )

I think, if it's not too much trouble, you should make a set of guardrails SPM-style (once its out, if its possible). I could sure use some along some of my roads.

[Chrisadams3997]

You're not off the hook yet Matt, that's just one of the Maxis bridges to test out LOD's .  It'd be fine if not for the concrete piling and bridge wash effect right smack in the middle of the dam .  I got the texture from the bridge modeling tutorial and can make the three pieces(which will of course be identical, just with the appropriate TGI's) if you pass that along my way.  From there we'll see if I feel like learning the modding.

DTP:  I doubt I'll have time to make a set of them, but I can pass along my texture and the loft shape and basic dimensions to anyone else who'd like to work on a set.  The modeling would be the easy part of such a set, it's the organization and modding that would really eat up some time for someone.

As for the streetlights, I can make a prop out of mine and place it in the T21 instead of the Maxis ones.  We'll see when I get there, as I've been fortunate enough to never have to deal with T21's before, so that's all new stuff.

[deathtopumpkins]

Sorry. I'm not trying to push stuff on you. Just stick to what you know. I'm sure, if we're still playing SC4 in a few years, someone will have made just about everything, those included. I can wait. 
OK, done now. Sleepy... 

[threestooges]

I'll be happy to help, especially when I get the TGIs. The modding shouldn't be too tough (mostly deleting) if you want to try it, but I'll be happy to do it too. As far as the T21's go, I can't help you much there (or at all really). If you have seen them yet, here are a few T21 tutorials around:
Swamper's
I know there is also a post somewhere around here showing how various numbers position the prop on the tile, but I can't find it right now... I'll give it another look tomorrow, but if anyone knows the one I'm referring to, go ahead and post it. Great work Chris.
-Matt

[freedo50]

Chris, if you're wanting to be able to run road across the top of your dam, surely the easiest way would be to make it into an actual functioning bridge. All it would take is splitting up the model as described here and a bit of modding. If I remember right, the modding isn't even that complex for a simple flat road bridge. I would love to see this as a variable width bridge.

Fred

[etherian]

It looks fantastic Chris, I especially like the progression with the foam on the water.
You continue to amaze with your tenacity in creating these wonderful pieces that keep on adding to the game, all I can say is - please continue!

[simzebu]

Dam, man! That's an amazing dam! 

Chris, if you're wanting to be able to run road across the top of your dam, surely the easiest way would be to make it into an actual functioning bridge. All it would take is splitting up the model as described here and a bit of modding. If I remember right, the modding isn't even that complex for a simple flat road bridge. I would love to see this as a variable width bridge.

Fred

That's an interesting idea. Are you saying make the whole dam into a bridge, rather than a ploppable? The one thing that would concern me about that is that, and I may very well be wrong about this, I think bridges need to fit within the width of the network with which they're drawn. For example, I think a road bridge can only be 16m wide. That wouldn't work for this model.

Or, are you saying that he should make it so that the roadway is a real bridge, and the dam a model that goes on either side. I think that's already being done, with a custom bridge to make it look as good as possible. Either way, it looks amazing.

[freedo50]

That's an interesting idea. Are you saying make the whole dam into a bridge, rather than a ploppable? The one thing that would concern me about that is that, and I may very well be wrong about this, I think bridges need to fit within the width of the network with which they're drawn. For example, I think a road bridge can only be 16m wide. That wouldn't work for this model.

Or, are you saying that he should make it so that the roadway is a real bridge, and the dam a model that goes on either side. I think that's already being done, with a custom bridge to make it look as good as possible. Either way, it looks amazing.

I was suggesting that he make it a completely draggable model that acts only as a bridge. I think it is possible to have pieces that are larger than 16m because I think some of the current bridges are like this. I can't say for certain though, so it would be best to ask someone like jeronij or smoncrie about it.

Fred

[bat]

Nice progress there, Chris! Looking forward to more and more...

[Yoman]

Now that there is a pretty ingenious solution and will surely save some time from complicated MODing that was needed on the Big Dig lots that showed cars. I like those guardrails, a little detail that really adds alot to the entire thing. And I see the water level has been raised proportionate to where it strikes the dam (slightly above the edge of the spills now). I think thats improved it alot. And now for the BAT / MD cliche, looking forward to more