Diggis Contemplates BAT

[Diggis]

For your enjoyment this weekend:

[Diggis]

And coming soon to a LEX near you:



Courtesy of Shoreman the above image shows the versatility of the grass bank streams and ploppable flora and fauna.  These are now in testing and should be ready for release shortly. 

And I have just managed to get the colour on the water to match Lee's remix of SG's canals so I am preparing a rerender of all the lots available as an optional download to overwrite the current set if you want to merge them together.  I'll post some pics when I can.

[TheTeaCat]

Shaun

They look fantastic. I can't wait to get my hands on them
And matching Lee's remix to boot

Very very nice indeed.

Definitely worth a cuppa or two

regards
Derry

[jacqulina]

fantastic thankyou

[SimNation]

Looks fantastic I must say...I was not gonna add another water themed bat to my folder (its 5.5gbs big) but I just have to have these grassy lots lol.

[wes.janson]

Mere words would not suffice.

Would drooling be okay?

[Diggis]

You think that looks good?  Wait till I get Adams testing post up... epic!

[FrankU]

Wow!
This looks great and promising...
So your lots will have the same water texture as CAL's canals? That would be fantastic. 
Now my only wish is to have PEG's CSK-lots (especially the port, docks and bridges) with the same texture, but I guess that will stay a desire forever.... PEG's props and lots are really great for inland ports within industrial areas, so they would perfectly add to Cal's canals.

[jmyers2043]

I hope that Diggis does not mind me posting in his thread. I did a little scrutineering of the ponds and I am very impressed. I think they are Way Cool     

My minds eye sees many hours of enjoyment in the future.

And as hinted, Adam, in the BSC private threads has done some great stuff and I am looking forward to see how other SimCity enthusiasts will use this material in City Journals and picture competitions.


Very quick test:

[Diggis]

I was going to pull the best bits out of Adams post, but figured it was best to show all his images here.  The last 3 particularly blow me away, and it's gratifying to see what other people can do with my work.

Shaun, I spent three very nice hours playing with your streams and ponds. Here is my report:

1. I don't have such problems as Jim, all lots appear in game. Maybe Jim has any of previous versions of these lots, or there is a conflict between your water and something else in Jim's Plugins?

2. Generally I haven't any negative comments - the readme, queries and everything else work very good.

3. I was afraid about plopping flora and stones on 2x2 corner files. I have some problems with it last time when I played with streams. But It was a question of an experience. Now I haven't any problems with it.



4. Slope conformity: I think it is important for people making streams on an uneven terrain. Your stream pieces can be plopped on moderate slopes (I used God Mode softening tool before to make a nice slight slope, but it could be more steep, the only limitation is the realism factor).



But I had some problems with plopping stream pieces on slope: When I plopped the first piece, I wasn't able to plop the next one



But I found the solution: I had to close the park menu and open it again. Then I was able to plop the next stream piece



It is simple, but a bit uncomfortable for people having a lot of stuff in their park menu. I don't know why does it happen and if it could be improved.

5. It is possible to place ploppable flora, stones etc. very close to the bank. The grass works great with Brian's grassy textures, but it will look good with not so green ones too (sorry no pictures, but I saw it). It was very good idea and the grass color is adjusted very well - not too aggressive and quite universal. Also 3x2 pond piece with a bit of sand gives a very nice look 
As David noticed, some plants can be plopped on water too (not everywhere, especially on 1x1 side pieces). I planted:
- Gizmo's Water Flora (I checked three kinds of it)
- Chris' Lily Pads
- Chris' Green Rye Grass
I wasn't able to plop any trees in your pond, but maybe it isn't a problem 



6. Today I played not only with your newest lots, but with all sets. And I found the only thing which could be improved: It would be very good to have diagonal pond banks!
It is visible when you are looking at the pond from the bigger distance:



But it is something to consider for you in future. It is difficult to create a circle or oval (of course I'm thinking about an appproximation), but it is possible to make great closeups:





I can also say that it is possible to create a beautiful Diggis river! 
At the end: All bridges look great! I like this blue one 



This is the best stream/pond set I had in my Plugins ever 

Adam

[JBSimio]

I really like the looks of this set a lot Shaun!     I haven't had the chance to play with it yet (been catering a wedding all weekend) but I definitely look forward to the chance when I get a little time again.  This should be a very versitile alternative.

JB

[Ennedi]

It's easy to make good pictures with a good stuff  

I can only add that the little problem described by me in point 4 (unable to place stream lots one by one) appeared only on slopes (and as you see there is a simple solution). There wasn't any problem with plopping stream pieces on the flat terrain.

That's a great set!  

Adam

[Diggis]

Wow!
This looks great and promising...
So your lots will have the same water texture as CAL's canals? That would be fantastic. 
Now my only wish is to have PEG's CSK-lots (especially the port, docks and bridges) with the same texture, but I guess that will stay a desire forever.... PEG's props and lots are really great for inland ports within industrial areas, so they would perfectly add to Cal's canals.

Yes, basically.  We used a slightly different water technique, I used a stream bottom with transparent water, Lee used a solid colour and mine also has a rougher texture that I felt was necessary on a natural waterway.  I have done a water piece to allow the water to blend and am doing transitions for the ende pieces.  I should have these up for testing tonight, along with some pics.

Adam,  I'm not sure what is causing the problem with the pieces on the slope, it's something I've noticed on normal lots before, but not sure why.

[Diggis]

OK, for your stream making pleasure:


   

This is the second of a series of ploppable pond lots to match in with the SG/CAL Canals water texture. This set consists of 16 lots:

1x1 Grass Bank
3x2 Grass Bank
3x1 Grass Bank Overhanging
1x1 Grass Inner Corner
2x2 Grass Inner Corner
1x1 Grass Outer Corner
2x2 Grass Outer Corner
1x1 Grass to Shingle Bank Left Transition
1x1 Grass to Shingle Bank Right Transition
1x1 Water
2x2 Water
3x3 Water Overhanging
3x1 Water Overhanging
1x1 Left Bridge Section
1x1 Right Bridge Section
1x1 Centre Bridge Section

The bank sections all consist of prop families to help keep a nice random look to your waterways. Additional models and lots will be added to the set in the near future.  The 4 water lots are the same as in the Shingle set, so if you have both you will only have 1 of each lot still.

Each bank lot has been modded to allow ploppable flora and rocks, such as Chris Addams's RRP set, to be plopped on the banks.  In most cases they shouldn't be able to be plopped in the water way.

(Note:  There is an issue with the water colour not matching the SG/CAL canals.  I am looking into this and may release an additional prop pack that will replace the models with ones that do)

[Jmouse]

This is a fantastic piece of work, Shaun. I've been too busy with GRV to do much more than grab a passing glance. I did want to take a moment to compliment you on this newest set, though. Looking forward to trying it out for myself soon.

Later...
Joan

[RebaLynnTS]

Looking good.

[Diggis]

Thanks Joan, look forward to seeing what you do.

For those who wanted them to blend with Lee's canals, it's been a while coming, but here you go:

[jacqulina]

thanks i needed lees colour

[FrankU]

That's a nice transition, Diggis. Looking Good!

[Bobbi]

Good work, Diggis