Spa's Atlantic Retreat

[bat]

The Jean Canfield Building looks really great, spa!
Wonderful work on it...

[simdad1957]

Spa:

The Jean Canfield Building looks great! I was in Charlottetown just yesterday and I must admit that your BAT certainly does justice to this environmentally green building. It will be the first Prince Edward Island BAT on the LEX/STEX I'm sure.

@SimShady; Yes the building does look clean but it was only just completed this year! Also, there is not much pollution on P.E.I. (except for cows eructating and flatulating).

[girlfromverona]

Stunning work, Sam! The texturing on the bricks and the windows looks awesome. 

[spa]

Sim Shady: I added a touch of discoluration to it. Still fairly clean, but not right off the factory floor.
Threestooges: You could be right about the solar panels. I kind of like them as is and it would take quite a bit to modify them at this point. Thanks for the feedback.
Bat: Thanks.
Simdad: Thanks. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the 1st PEI bat. After all, the Island has only as many people as a small Canadian city! I have other pictures of Charlottetown so it also won't probably be the last. I stopped in at Dalvay By the Sea while I was there and it's one that would be fun to make.
GirlfromVerona: Thanks. I like how it turned out too

So the Jean Canfield Building is almost done. It has been lit up for the night, sent through the render and dropped on a lot. Rendering did give me some fits. The model kept losing textures which is usually not a big deal, but for some reason this time around a fix was much more elusive. In the end I did get things straightened out. Below are some links to how it turned out.
Front

East

North

West

Night

All and all I think it's nearly done. It fills a city block fairly well. There are still a few things I want to do so there will be one more render before I declare this one final. Here's what I still plan to adjust:

1. Add a door by the back alley service area
2. Turn up the exterior lights on the front slightly
3. Adjust the ground floor texture by the angled windows (eliminate that face on the floor!)
4. Maybe add some stuff to the back deck?
5. Increase the contrast on the garage door texture slightly so that the seams are more evident

If anyone else has anything to add to the list now's the time, as this one is heading for the finish line. I'm still toying with the idea of making a diagonal version too. I have never made a diagonal before though so I'll need to figure out how to do that.

One final thing, I have to give kudos to cycledogg. His wonderful prop pack allowed me to do a fairly decent approximation of the little park that's located on the corner of the real building. Sure beats having to make all that myself!

[superhands]

nice work sam. can't wait for the diagonal

[threestooges]

Excellent work again and, with the changes you've mentioned, this one is certainly high on my 'can't wait to download' list.

[spa]

Big Head: A diagonal is now ready 
3Stooges: Thanks. I don't think you'll have to wait long. This one could make a nice finish to a release party week for someone with a number of stored up bats

So just a small update today. I have two version of the Jean Canfield as a normal building (mirrored it so that there would be left and right versions) and I have one version also rendered as an overhanging building, which means a diagonal lot! Check it out.
Front

East

Back

West

Turns out diagonals can be a little tricky since the ground that the diagonal overhangs stays green. In the in game photos above, I compensated by plopping the nam ped tile on the empty squares that were visible and by ctrl zoning the roads to get sidewalks to appear (the invisible powerline trick). Thanks Andreas for pointing the powerline out the powerline trick to me! You can also see some of the minor adjustments I have made in the last day (gradients on the walls, furniture on the patio and a slightly more detailed garage door texture). One more render this evening so that I can make a diagonal for the other side of the street and then all that'll be left to do is a few minor touch ups in the lot editor. I'll probably be putting this one together for the BSC internal prep and screening tomorrow.

[girlfromverona]

Awesome! I'm looking forward to its release. 

[ky72x]

Ditto.  I get the feeling that I'll be using this building quite a bit.  Good job using those planter/tree props to make the park, it looks pretty nice to me!  The fact that there's a diagonal version as well makes it well worth the download.

- Kyle

[spa]

GirlfromVerona: Thanks
Kyle: I like how the corner park turned out too. I'm just lucky that cycledog had the textures and the props ready for me to use


So with the Jean Canfield Building done, I have turned my attention to the my next project. I haven't resumed the Imperial Theater quite yet, but I will be finishing it soon. For now though, I felt ready for something small: Kingsway Shops #2. The second edition of Kingsway Shops will be narrower based on buildings like these:

To get these narrow wall-to-wall buildings to work in game, I'm going to drop two onto each lot. I'm envisioning 6 buildings, so that'll be 3 lots, probably more since I'm likely to mix up the pairings. Anyway, I have two already done. Check them out.

Just a clothing store (Grenview's) and an upholstery/furniture company. I think they're looking pretty sharp. I think I'll adjust the roof flashing on the Upholstery shop since it's kind of just a blob and needs a little definition. Other than that I'm not planning any real edits, unless somebody see's something. I have the next two already picked out, the Health Garden and the Linea Hair & Esthetics. They're right next to Grenview's and the Upholstery shop in real life:

I'll post again, probably on the weekend, when I have more to show. FYI, keep an eye on the LEX this weekend to....

[girlfromverona]

Oh, wow - those shops will come in so handy!! Great work. 

[SimFox]

It's very cute! But I think you should take a look at the relative position (vertical one) of the second floor window. The distance between first(ground) floor window and the second one is about the same as the distance between second floor window and the edge of the roof, in real building that is... In your model on the other hand it is at best half or even less...

[spa]

GirlfromVerona: Thanks and hopefully they will. In my cities, I have found my earlier Kingsway Shops set a perfect solution to the plague of Dieppesse's diners on my 1x1 commercial spaces.
Simfox: You have a good eye and yes you're correct. It's something I thought about, but I kind of set the course with my earlier Kingsway Shops. For these to line up, the windows need to be where they are now. Personally, I kind of like the more symetrical look. Breaks up the blank space.

So the Kingsway Shops set has grown by two over this long weekend. I have added Linea Hair and the Health Garden. Check out the mock up below:

Linea Hair is the cream coloured one and the Health Garden is the blusish brick. Two more and then that'll be a wrap for Kingsway Shops 2. Up next, Gabby's

I'm planning on putting in some extra bells and whistles on the back of Gabby's. Hopefully I'll have it underway this week.

[threestooges]

Excellent, more of the 1x1s. These things fill a nice little niche in the game, and the fact that you're doing them is even better. They seem to be progressing nicely though, did you intend to reverse Greenview's and the Upholstery store from their RL counterparts, or was it just a random placement? Either way, they really match their counterparts well. Great work.
-Matt

[tag_one]

Looks great Samuel. Those smaller 1x1 buildings are indeed a great addition to the game 

[nofunk]

I love all these small (but dense!) shops.

Actually, it's funny: I recently rebuilt my plugins, and added your Kingsway Shops 1 set. I started a new city and was like "what are all these great buildings popping up?!" Well, that's what they were. A pleasant surprise. 

Keep up the good work!

[superhands]

spa, that camera sure comes in handy. ive been meaning to take a few snaps then transfer it to game, except i have no battries or time

anyway, nice development.

[girlfromverona]

Looking really good, Sam!! 

[spa]

3Stooges: Thanks. No I didn't intend to reverse Greenview's and the Upholstery shop. It just kind of happened in the mock-up. I actually rendered those two this evening in their proper order.
Tag: Thanks.
Nofunk: Thanks. I have found them to be quite useful too lately (I have been making some small-towns in my region). I'm glad you're enjoying them.
Bighead: Ahh time. I'm fortunate to not be a student anymore and to have a job that only places demands on me from 8:30-5:20 (that extra 50 minutes a day means I get every 2nd monday off). So I have had time over the summer to putter in gmax.
Girlfromverona: Thanks


So I just thought I would post some images of this one since they're too big to fit on the exchange. It's my 50th building and the finale to this 7 day release party. Behind everyone's backs I went and finished the CBC! It's available on the lex now.

[CasperVg]

Nice, nicer, nicest! Very nice BAT, this one goes straight to my overall plugins.