JBSimio Inc.

[SimFox]

 

the Ivy is top notch!
Did you make it with an Ivy Generator by Thomas Luft??

[JBSimio]

Oldrogue:  This is my spare time!     Thanks for the kind words.  Actually, going back through the Smalltown stuff was a bit of an eye opener for me... my modding was not all that consistent in my early days apparently.  I don't think it was all that bad, but certainly could have been a little better.  Oh well... nice to see I've learned some things since then!

Derek:  Actually, I'm going with both.  Volumes One - Three should be up quite soon, just some last minute tweaks and fixes.  The Add On Pack and Westlake are still not far enough along for me to venture a guess that I would feel comfortable posting.

Threestooges:  Thank-you!  The short version of what I do is this:  I'm the food service director for one of the largest YMCA camps in the country.  Basically, I'm in charge of feeding anywhere from 300-900 kids every day depending on the time of year.  Right now, I have two full service dining halls (with their own kitchens) open.  Those are both year-round operations.  During the summer season, I have a total of seven buildings to look after.  Four are full service kitchen/dining rooms, one is a prep kitchen for trips and offsite meals, and two are satelite dining halls.  There's a lot more to it than that and anyone who is truly interested in the whole "camp life" thing is more than welcome to PM me if you'd like.

Robin:  I sure hope so!  Thanks!

Sebes:  Congratulations and I'm honored!  I didn't end up firing anyone, btw...

Bluebeard:  Good to see you again!  The schools are in the final testing stages... hopefully very soon.

Vicki:  They wouldn't do that would they?  You're right... I'd better go check!   

Pat:  Thank-you!  I must be doing something right, then!

SimFox:  Thanks!  There's an Ivy Generator?    Well crap!  Here I went making it from scratch and nudging boxes around until it looked right...

Still don't have anything worth showing pictures of, but I did get a few things done.  The big thing (for me) was a small glitch with the bleachers for the sports fields.  I was having issues with them needing to go through nearly an entire year before the prop cycle would actually display them.  That has been fixed (as of today) thanks to some tips from BarbyW and is no longer a problem.  They show up right away just like they should... and still turn on and off like they also should.  I also spent some time consolidating files and getting things back to some sense of orginazation so I have a much better idea of where all these different projects stand.

Other things that have happened include (using the previous list)

1.)  Hasn't had any problems in the last couple of days, so I think we're almost ready with that.

2.)  Got lost in cyber space and was resent to BarbyW earlier today.

3.)  D66 did the installers and is being tested as we speak.

That's about it for now!

JB

[Strechnitz]

Hi JB,

I love the Ivy on that dorm.

But first of all, I really love your work. it has turned schools from a boring nescesity into a nice planning feature in my cities. in fact, your schoolpacks are partly to blame for the revival of interest in this game!

I am very curious about your upcoming work, especialy Westlake academy. what kind of layout will you use for the grounds? a formal positioning like Columbia University? or a more campus tepe of layout? just curious

[JBSimio]

Strechnitz:  Thanks... I'm glad you like the schools so much.  The idea really grew from my original plan as a "small break from the other stuff!"  Westlake Academy is going to have two versions.  One will be a large campus lot with everything on it and arranged in a pretty formal way.  The other will be a modular set with each building on its own lot that you can arrange any way you want.  There will also be a bunch of filler pieces to help tie it all together.

Just a quick update today.  I got the textures on the main school building.  Still a lot to do... roofjunk, lighting, ivy, etc... but it's really starting to look like something now.





Off I go to feed the kids!  I have a small campus preview ready... but I'll post that when I get back later this evening.

JB

[M4346]

Looking really good! Can't wait for more!

[Bluebeard]

Excellent news we didn't loose another valuable member.

[JBSimio]

M:  Thanks!  More on the way.... now

Bluebeard:  Nah... never got lost, I just moved without leaving a forwarding address...    Sorry if I caused you any concern!

OK... as I said, here is a preview of the full campus lot.  (Not to be confused with the modular set that I haven't started lotting yet)  This is still in the very early stages.  I have very few props on at the moment, and even the ones I have will most likely change.  I've just been doing this to make sure the building sizes are correct and that I have all the base textures I need made.  So with that disclaimer, here we go:

Full Campus Overview:


The tennis courts aren't permanent yet either... just wanted to see how they looked there.  The two dorms and the boiler are considered finished unless I find some kind of screw up down the line somewhere.  And here are closeups of those three buildings:







That's all for now!
JB

[Fred_Ginger]

JB, I am amazed that you have the time to do this kind of stuff (I wish you would cook for me - I hate to cook!) but I suppose it's nice to have complete control over something!  And you should know that kids would do whatever the think they could get away with (and no offense - especially boys!) 

Great start for the campus, (maybe darker pathways?)

[derek_pearce]

so a release soon then thats awsome

[oldrogue]

Well Sir, very nice progress......When I look at the Main/Admin building, I can't help but think ....hmmm a few minor changes and that  would be wonderful as an old English manor converted to a 22 1/3 star resort hotel on a grass slope overlooking a lake!

Do you think was too subtle?   After all, since you have so much free time

But anyway, all is looking very nice in such a short period of time.

[JBSimio]

Marc:  Crap!  I didn't even notice that... but the real question is how in the world did you???    As for your further mumblings, I understand it perfectly because I figured that part out between your first and second edits.  Now if someone can just teach me how to texture one side of a box different from the other sides, we'll be in business!  The pathways are all reverse overlays... so changing those would be easy.  Thanks!

Vicki:  Yes, the pathways can be changed... I tried a couple other things last night, but nothing I really like just yet.  You're right... boys will be boys won't they?  (I'm not going to tell you what the headmaster found hidden in the ivy... let's just say a couple kids are no longer at Westlake!)

Derek:  Yes... actually the "SHUR Project - Beginnings" might be today.

Oldrogue:  Hmmm... 22 1/3 stars, huh?    I'm sure Colyn will give this one of his famous CSX twists at some point... who knows what he'll come up with?  Thanks!

Nothing to show today, but I did start lighting the athletic building.  I got the exterior lights done, which was the easy part.  I'm still fiddling with the pool area at the moment... I think I've finally gotten the effect I'm going for, but the brightness levels need fixing.  It's kind of a slow process just because it takes so long to get a preview render!  With any luck, I'll have something worth looking at tomorrow!

JB

[SimFox]

I'm afraid there is some mistake in Marc's reasoning  in case of crenelations...
I just don't see how shadows could have anything to do with it... both are in open sunlight so they should look exactly the same.
One reason for the difference may be the nature of geometry used - is a plane?

[jacqulina]

hi my friend,wow the detail is awesome this is fantastic work as allways

[buckbeach]

Hey, I found you!  Good to see you are still at it JB.  I will continue to follow this thread in mostly my lurking mode.

[callagrafx]

@Simfox...that there is a difference is obvious and Marc's explanation seems credible to me..I have had similar problems with BAT which have been resolved by smoke and mirrors.  The lighting system in GMAX is pretty dire and full of bugs compared to Max.

@JB...The quickest way would be clone the crenelations and offset them very slightly in the Z plane, then apply the altered textures.

[Strechnitz]

Hi JB,

Great to have both versions. What will you do with your former design for the boys dormitory. the one with the dome? As a dorm I like your current building better. But it would be a shame to let the old one go to waste. You could turn it into a library or a later added administrative building. Perhaps you already found a use for it and I just missed that. hope you don't mind.

Strech

[rooker1]

Great progress, It seems to be coming along very well.  I have no sugestions, I like it just as is.

Robin   

[JBSimio]

Simfox:  Process of elimination leads me to go with Marc's original explaination.  It's an extruded spline with an edit mesh modifier to create the taper at the top.  One side of the ridge detail is an identical clone of the other side and both pieces use the same texture and mapping properties.  There should be no reason for them to look different... but since they do, the Gmax rig is the only thing left.

Jacky:  Thank-you my friend!

Buckbeach:  Damn... you sure did!     Kidding of course... nice to see you!  Lurk all you like, but be sure to say hi from time to time.

Callagrafx:  Thanks!  I thought of that option, but the poly count is slowly becoming an issue (especially when I start adding ivy!) so I was checking for a better way if indeed one exists.  I'll probably end up going that route in the end though...

Marc:  I keep forgetting you don't model in gmax... I know that... but just keep forgetting!   

Stretch:  I haven't decided what to do with the old dorm yet.  I'm sure I'll come up with something... just not sure what at this point.

Robin:  Thanks!

For anyone who's interested... one of the updates is now on the LEX!  "The SHUR Project Beginnings" includes the first four buildings I previously released over yonder.  They have been updated with BTE and a couple new reward chains that will be used in upcoming things (if I ever catch up with the ideas in my head that is!).  Enjoy!

JB

[oldrogue]

Well, I can honestly say that I have understood almost none of the messages betwee my last one and now ..... You know, I think I am really really glad I don't bat (even in baseball).   I do find it captivating that as soon as a technical issue comes up....all the SC4 Guru's start helping.....I LOVE the atmosphere here at the SC4D......it is a real community......would talk more but gotta go download the Shur project......thanks in advance

[lrfox]

So, I had been on Simtrop wondering where had JBsimio gone? then, like a detective, i figured it out. first i remembered that you were part of BSC... then i remembered that BSC moved here, then i signed up here, and low and behold... you're here still working. It's nice to see that 1) you still have a huge following, 2) you still take the time to write back to everyone's responses, and 3) you're still coming up with incredible stuff.

this will most likely be my longest post in this thread because i'm commenting on your work since the beginning of February which i have just seen for the first time today.

The Boarding school and the football field are jsut incredible. nothing to say but that. The SHUR building you found a few month's ago is awesome (is it released yet? i'm still trying to learn this LEX thing). I love it. Those new Brownstone's are unbelievable. for my style of gaming they are perfect. i love the variety on them. that's one thing i still believe SC4 lacks (even though it's a wonderful game). 

The only piece of what can even be called criticism on my part is, i'd love to see what they looked like wall to wall. i'm sure you can't do it this far in, and even if you could you might not anyway and as they are they are still very very nice, but when i saw them posted before you had in-game shots i assumed they would be wall to wall (W2W style) like in New York. But that's it. i'm glad that you're still plugging away at this and i'm excited for all your new releases.

i'll certainly be back again. keep it up.