Spa's Atlantic Retreat

[spa]

Matt: Thanks!
Simdad: Partly right. I did have to correct for the elevation, but I did all the correcting on the backend. If you look carefully, down on the right hand side of the Canada Permanent on the front view, you can just barely make out a Tims sign

So I have been tinkering away with Wright's Building today (just texturing). It took a long time though because of all the little pieces. Below is a mockup of it in game.

Some of the texturing isn't final. There are actually tile lines on the marble along the top windows, but it doesn't show up too well.

I'll probably go back and modify it them to make those lines visible. The metalish texture on the top of parapet walls is also not final it also depends on the roof. I'll probably darken the white frame that surrounds the Marble sign too as I think it's a little too bright right now. Other than that though I'm pretty pleased with how this one is developing.

[spa]

hmm we'll see if the best antidote to tumbleweed is a finished bat!

I think it has turned out rather well. The glass was really difficult to get. I sunk a whole evening into tinkering with it! The front was a challenge because the glass is semi-opaque with a very busy floor texture that is lit up with a light. Needless to say with two textures, glass settings and a light shining on the floor, it took a while to get it all sorted out. The side glass was tough for similiar reasons, but was also problematic because it needs to be light enough to contrast with the window frames, but not so light that it contrasts too sharply with the brick. Difficult balancing act. The results, I think, seems to have been worth it in the end. The only thing I have been kind of wondering about is the big grafitti tag on the side wall. I don't know if it works or whether it looks "pasted" on. Right now I'm leaning on keeping it. Not much else to say, it looks and feels done to me. Next I think I'll go back and see about finishing the Imperial Theater.

[girlfromverona]

The results, I think, seems to have been worth it in the end.

Definitely! This looks great. Another worthy addition to your BAT portfolio. 

[nofunk]

Man, this new one turned out great!

[Sim Shady]

No question, it looks phenomenal    Very good job here.  I especially like the teal colored trim on the roof, it gives a great look to the building.

[simdad1957]

SPA:

No news from you in about three weeks; how are things going? Looking forward to some more of your fantastic Atlantic Canadian BAT's!!

[spa]

GirlfromVerona: Thanks. This is one of my favourites
Nofunk: Thanks
SimShady: Thanks. I think the teal trim works too.
Simdad: Yeah it has been a little while. All is well, I have just been kind of enjoying the beautiful Martime summer (after the last few years of foggy June and July's we finally have a decent one!). I have been doing some tinkering, but nothing I want to show. I did get up to Toronto and I'm planning a Kingsway Shops 2 and maybe even Honest Ed's! First though, I'll probably pick up the Imperial Theater again. I would like to finish it up.

So nothing much to report on the bat front, but I have been getting quite a little lesson in how the news business operates. Remember that Metro article? Well the university picked up on it and I ended up in print there (never did see that article). One of the journalist who works for Dal also works for Halifax Magazine so this past week there was a little blurb about me and Sim City. Well a local CBC radio reporter saw that and, long story short, it looks like I'll be interviewed live on the radio this week, probably tomorrow. Everyone may only get 15 minutes of fame, but I guess I'm working mine for as much as I can Anyway, if anyone here is bored Monday or interested, I'll probably be on in the afternoon sometime between 3-6:00 AST (GMT -4) on CBC. You can listen to CBC Radio Halifax live at http://www.cbc.ca/listen/index.html (click Halifax, one of the dots on the very right). I'll try to sneak on here at work to give you an update on whether its happening and when, but I may not be able to as my work blocks a lot of sites and I'm not sure if Devotion is one of them. For now though, here's a scan of my latest press expose

She didn't do a bad job, but saying that I feel it's my civic duty to recreate Halifax buildings is a bit of a stretch. I just make what's around me and Halifax, being the beautiful place it is, gives me a lot of material.

[asturianu]

Hey Sam! Also commenting here in Dev. Congratulations for that new article about you!
I have to say that your last BATs are pretty amazing and I can't wait to use them in my Saskatchewanian city haha..they fit anywhere in Canada, ou did awesome.

See you later man,

Cristian

[BarbyW]

Nice plug for SC4D in the radio interview, Sam

[spa]

Well this thread is getting staler and staler. It looks like the last time I posted any buildings was in June. Well I have been tinkering a bit in the dog days of summer so I'll show you some work in progress shots. I was over to Prince Edward Island the other day and I have come back with a bunch of pictures of Charlottetown for future bats. I already have one potential bat, the Jean Canfield Building, underway. The Jean Canfield Building is the newest Government of Canada building in Atlantic Canada. The building is located on a former brownfield site (an old gas station) on the northern edge of downtown Charlottetown. It was built as a concept building to be as green as possible. Green measures in the facility include solar power, recycling rainwater, a reflective roof, use of natural lighting (including shades) and use of Charlottetown's district heating system. The 4 storey building provides space to a host of government departments and sprawls across an entire block. Below is a pic of the real thing.


And my version
South view

West view

East view

North view

Not much to say at this point. There is, obviously, still a whole lot to do. Figuring out the roof is going to be tricky with the slightly different elevations and the giant solar panels. The good news is that the back of the building, now that I have that long angled bay of windows done, is really simple. So I should have the modelling done on all four sides soon.

One thing I'm not planning on is going with the nearly white roof. Although that's what's on the real thing (to reflect the sun and reduce AC requirements in the summer), it would look really silly in game. So my Jean Canfield won't be quite as environmentally friendly, but it'll fit into the game much better.

[bat]

Great work on your buildings here, spa!
And the newest one is looking great so far, too! Looking forward to more from it...

[spa]

Bat: Thanks. I have some textures on it now

So it has been a full weekend and the Jean Canfield Building is getting close to done. Check it out.


I still need to add some gadgets to the roof of course and the roof is still in need of texturing, but otherwise it's nearly there. I'm liking the results of the glass and solar panels. Big thanks to Calgrafax on that one as he provided a texture a while ago that I have been using to create indistinct blurs on glass. There are a few minor things I'm not sure about. For starters, the glass on the extruded sections, I might darken it a touch. I'm pretty pleased with the stone tiles, but I'm not sure about the stone tiles on top (the cap). I also plan on altering the ground floor texture by the angled windows. Right now the texture that is shown through the glass is a little off and doesn't look like a room. I think it just needs to be aligned with the window panes in a more logical way.

[ben_meissner]

Wow! I've long been a fan of your work ( I think I have them all) and this latest building is perhaps my favorite. Congrats on the press, its great to see some of the talent here at SC4D get recognition outside of the community.

You keep uploading and I'll keep downloading.

Ben

[tag_one]

Great work Sam the Jean Canfield Building looks very nice. I've only a small comment on the solar panels. Imo they are a bit to bright. Maybe you can darken the texture a bit?

[girlfromverona]

Looking good, Sam! Congrats on the newspaper article, too! 

[ky72x]

That was pretty quick!  Excellent job so far on your latest project.  If I'm not mistaken, this building looks like its the largest one you've made.  Nothing wrong with that, it's always nice to see more large low/mid-rises in the works.

Here's another congrats on your news articles and radio interview.  I think you're well beyond that 15 minutes of fame now.

- Kyle

[threestooges]

Excellent work (as always) with the new BAT. I haven't worked with diagonal buildings much yet, but this one could get me to start. Also congratulations on the second story and the radio interview. I wasn't able to listen to it, but good work nonetheless. I'll keep an eye out for your next new developments.
-Matt

[spa]

Ben_Meissner: Thanks Ben. I'm glad my stuff has worked for you.
Tag: Thanks Tag. You weren't the only one who suggested as much so they're darker now then they were.
GirlfromVerona: Thanks
Kyle: Yeah this one came together quickly, largely because I was on vacation when I started it. It is definitely one of the largest. If memory
Matt: Diagonals can be tricky. In my experience, the best move is to start with the angled section. That way the straight sections (which are of coures easier to make) can fit the angled bits rather than the other way around. Angles definitely can be rewarding, but they do add headaches.

So the Jean Canfield Building is very close to being ready for render. I made some changes based on feedback. Check it out below.

Front

Back

East


I darkened the solar panels, switched the ground floor texture by the angled windows and darkened the solar panels. I also added roof junk and a roof texture. All and all I think it's pretty close. All I need to do now is add light it up for the evening.

[Sim Shady]

It looks great.  My only feed back is that the roof looks a little too new.  All it really needs is to be faded a bit.

[threestooges]

Excellent work on the building. The brick texture looks good, and the window (as shown in the third pic) really makes the building shine. I think the actual segements of the solar panels seem a bit big, but that's the only critique I would have of the building. Great work.