Buddybuds Expansive Attempts at Anything & Everything.

[Pat]

WOW that is stunning new learning curve there Bud!!! 

[buddybud]

Thanks all.

@pat. Actually i was in the process of figuring that out a ways back. The problem was i never saw nor used the geometry editing tools for 3ds files in the reader. That combined with a tutorial i found on how to use models as props allowed me to make the new model and apply the texture. The model is just two triangles with 6 vertices's so was quite easy, otherwise it would have been quite time consuming. It will make the other network intersections or road below rail easier to do and also alow them to be effected by other mods that alter textures.

Cheers all.

[Pat]

ahh sweet I am glad you gotten it figured out!! I cant wait to see what you show off next...

[rooker1]

Hello,
First, I'm glad you had a Great Christmas.
Second, those tracks look great and as before, I'll be following this thread closely.
Robin 

[buddybud]

Well i figured out a few more things. i added real shadows instead of ones painted onto the prop textures. I also was able to figure out a combined render technique so the dark colors show at all angles. Also i added a railing to the top of the El-Rail and a bit more detail on the supports. The only problem i now have is that the new rail network textures look horrible at zoom x4. Anyone with ideas about that.



in this second picture you can see how the new combined render works compared to the station that wasn't rendered in this way.



Cheers.....

Edit. Another question. For the station i am using the elrail network piece as a prop. I can not get a real shadow under that however. Is there a way to do this? Right now the shadow is painted on under the station. Id rather try to keep things all the same but can play with the texture directly if needed.

[tag_one]

Wonderful work on the tracks buddy, they look really great 
Don't worry too much about the 'horrible' zoom 4 textures.  I'm sure they're still better than the default maxis one's. They probably look less good because the ties (the wooden beams that connect the iron rail tracks with each other) are very small. When exporting the textures always become a bit blurry. With very detailed models this can be very annoying and there's not much you can do about.
As for the shadows, I remember someone did some research over here with anti aliasing shadows for props. If you'll do a search you'll probably find it. Hope this helped you 

[buddybud]

Well Happy New Year   

This photo is'nt much different from others posted recently. What it's here for is to illustrate the new and much improved techniques i shall employ to complete this project. Much has changed since last year. Most of it just recently inspired.



Lets start with the

Base 3ds Props.
  Thanks to Marrast and his hillside sub/el transition i was made aware of 3ds props. These unlike standard bat props are true 3ds models that can have textures applied through exemplar id's. With some fooling around i was able to attach a conform to slope property to them and now have the best of both worlds. What this means for the mod is higher detailed base and more importantly they can be altered by a simple texture mod. This will help with those who want to mod the mod...lol...if it ever gets done. This will also greatly reduce the number of props and models needed for this elements. This will also be reduced by the element of true shadows.

Shadows
Thanks for a small blurb from Swamper in some obscure threads i found out how easy it is to attach or alter shadows under network pieces. So now the shadows are textures and rendered by the engine unlike my previous attempt which had painted on shadows directly on the base prop surface. Again this means the shadows can be altered by another mod if need be.

Structure Props
These have been greatly reduced also. In the picture above only two types of structure props are shown, posts and beams. 2 props each rendered 8 times in total. These still remain bat props but a dual render technique has made them more viewable at oblique angles.

Detail Props
  With the removal of the wall i added a railing and further changed the rivet props. These are small props and because of such will only be viewable at lvl 5,4. The models are completely removed for other zoom levels and replaced with blank models. This should overcome any concern about overloading the engine.

Tracks
   The tracks are now altered with a new textures but i am thinking of converting these to props also. They would still use the same texture id's so they could be moded by all or just have the standard tracks visible. The difference with props would be that elements could be added through t21 such as crossover tracks or other special textures. I'm still playing with that.

Sidewalks and such....
   And the big update of course is the inclusion of network and sidewalk tiles that use 3ds props with the appropriate default textures attached. This means both road/network sidewalk props will be effected by any mod that alters the default appence of these. Also when combined with t21 exemplars that reflect wealth they will change accordingly. See the above picture to see how the same intersection works for the four different wealth zones. Here's a picture of one of the props in the reader.



Essentially you need four of these. One for each wealth level. Then you need four t21 exemplars for each intersection with the appropriate prop. Works like a charm. One of those things that you'd think someone would of though of long ago. Maybe they did?? Anyways....This could be done for all nam and non-nam intersections if someone has the time. An easy mod but sooooo much fiddling. The only drawback is that the game engine renders textures on 3ds props differently (lighter) then on other models/elements of the game
but who's complaining. I propose four additional id's for sidewalk textures be added to make it seamless but it would require any texture mod to then do the same. As it sits it's fully compatible with all existing texture mods for sidewalks that i'm aware of.

So there ya go. For all those who worried about this mod being to restraining i've allowed for most of it to be modable with alot less effort then what i'm putting in.

Now that i'm organized and the new year has begun let the modding begin.

Bud.

@tagone - It turns out the game engine doesn't even use zoom 3 for network models. It just takes the 128x128 and stuffs it into a 64x64 view, thus distorting them. Once i figured that out i was able to make a texture for zoom 4 that looked good in zoom 3 also. It just meant slightly fatter tracks with a more uniform color. Less pretty at zoom 4 but Hella lot better at zoom 3.....cheers.

[Pat]

OK Bud I am drooling here now WoW!!!

[buddybud]

Thanks Pat.
   All this has simplified the creation process by at least 50%. The 3ds props can be used over and over again with just an instance change and texture id change, thus reducing the batted models to a huge degree. More shadows will be needed but they are simple to make.
   I'm mainly waiting now for a reserved id range for textures, models and such so i don't conflict with other projects. Beyond that i have to go over the whole Mirroring thing again. But at least i have working examples backed up. Essentially what you see above is what the first beta will be. No filler till i get the actual content finished. Meaning i will add props and network pattern placed lots afterwards and concentrate on getting the base, structure, shadows and rails for all existing non-nam el puzzle pieces first. The detailing of the lots will be consuming and it will be easier if i get something going first. But then again i have greatly reduced the work load with the new techniques so i am quite content.

cheers for the enthusiasm....

[Elaclairee]

Rather amazing work as per usual. The level of detail on the shadows and the track is very impressive.

Two questions though:
-Do you plan on making a matching GLR to EL Rail transition piece?
-Any idea on what you'd like to work on when you're done with this?


And remember, backups are your friends. 

[buddybud]

hi there Elaclairee 

-Do you plan on making a matching GLR to EL Rail transition piece?

Sure do. But again i want to just get the non nam pieces done. Then the nam ones. Then lotting. And i might add...big plans for the high el-rail but that is later.

-Any idea on what you'd like to work on when you're done with this?

man it's hard to say since i still see soooo many possibilities for this game. I was glad to see it re-released recently. It means they have acknowledged the fact that it's still the best of it's kind. I was contacted by blahdy recently so hopefully some kind of project will come of that. 

cheers.

[Elaclairee]

Oooh, a personal response. I feel special. 

Makes sense to prioritize like that. I recall back when you were working on the sunken highway wall pieces and you had like, 10 going at a time. Was all over the place and probably overwhelming.

Hmmm, Blahdy eh? That could indeed be interesting. Would be even more interesting if you managed to pry him out of his little hole and poke the big dig project back to life. But, that seems like it shall stay a dream for now.

[Pat]

Hey Buddy no problem at all there and that is soo cool that you gotten a easy fix there more or less that will only require a change in IID's 

also did you get my pm?

[BigSlark]

Great work, Buddybud. You actually make me want to use elrail in my cities... 

Cheers,
Kevin

[buddybud]

Hey all....

I'm looking for some beta testers. Nothing special needed. Below is an attached file. It will give you sidewalks for the four possible configurations of the Road/El intersections found in the non-nam-ed rush hour. I want you folks to find out if there are any problems while i continue on with the el rail project. If you want texture mods such as jrj's sidewalk mod to work with this you have to have this mod load last.....same also if your using nam. Simply drag your roads under the el and away you go. Zoning does not effect it....just wealth, like the default roads. Well actually i guess i would have to add land fill and agriculture later but thats later......

Right now there are some left over network props that show up on the diag that will be cleaned up. Also the base models need to be resized to get rid of all cracks and to have them properly align. Also be aware that the color difference is because of how the engines renders it. The only way to avoid this is to have a new set of slightly darker textures made and also 4 new unique id's set for them. This is no problem but it would then require any sidewalk mod being used to have 4 new textures added with the proper id's attached and color adjusted. So if some one wants to find out what the most popular sidewalk mods are we may find it feasible to make a compatibility pack and a new texture range. Only four new textures per mod would be required.. If it's a problem we live with brighter sidewalks under elevated intersections.

So try it out and let me know if there any problems except for random network props, alignment or color differences. Let me know either way good or bad. If i get no feed back i'll go to a private beta system. Also i would appreciate if no one distributes this. It is sub par at the moment and for testing purposes only. There is a bad entry for the orth/orth piece at zoom level 2 or 3. Ill fix it shortly. FIXED Some issues still remain.

Anyways here ya go.
Cheers.
Bud

edit. If the textures looked borked when the network is dragged, simply zoom out or rotate and everything should fall into place. Further more some slight hex editing was done to the prop exemplars. So simply altering the file in reader the standard way will screw up. If you want more details just pm me. Also please let me know if you have nam or other mods loaded if you have problems. ID conflicts seem to be a problem at this point. Cheers.

[Pat]

nice and I will see what I can do for helping out in testing here for ya's Buddy!!!

[metasmurf]

What's up with this?

[buddybud]

a problem obviously...lol....
hi meta....i'll check the file. be right back.

Edit. No problems on my end. Must be an id conflict. I have no other mods or nam loaded. I'll have to find out. Does that happen for all your attempts. That is all rotations and wealths???

Edit #2 Bad entry found for zoom level.... Thanx FIXED

Cheers.

[dedgren]

Nifty looking stuff, but then what have you created, my friend, that hasn't been nifty looking?

If you'd want any help with textures at any point, let me know.

Oh, and let's sticky this, eh?


David

[buddybud]

hi dedgren. Been awhile..
Ill definitely bug ya for textures if needed. 

bud.