RadicalOne's BAT Thread - Current Topic: Pool

[RadicalOne]

What's the black thing around the pool?

An asphalt area, before the concrete. Asphalt should tolerate chlorinated water better than concrete would - any halogen will react with the concrete and weaken it - so I made a sort of "splash guard".

The umbrellas or canopies over the tables look low - what's the height? Sometimes making things more narrow also gives it the illusion of height.

They might be a bit low, yes. I will raise them by another 60-100 centimeters.

Speaking of the covers - are you trying to mimic a metal canopy? You might have to drop the brightness to drop the shine if you're going for canvas. Another way to accomplish a non reflective surface would be to clone another circle above the cover, texture it with the same material but give it a 10% opacity. Position it a smidgen above the 'real' surface. That will cast a shadow and remove bright spots caused by the in game light rig. Adjust the opacity until you get the effect you want. At least, that's what I have to do in gmax.

Yes, I am going for painted aluminum; it is far more durable than canvas.

[io_bg]

The lounge chairs look very nice indeed. However I find the water too blueish.
Jmyers2043, are those sunshades and beach lounges yours and are they available for download?

[RadicalOne]

However I find the water too blueish.

It is the pool that is blue, actually. I did that so the whole thing looks really blue, because I find that beautiful.

Jmyers2043, are those sunshades and beach lounges yours and are they available for download?

No, they are mine. And the chairs are just a little application of the Loft tool.

[io_bg]

Sorry, I meant the ones on Jmyers' picture, I think they're his, aren't they?

[RadicalOne]

Oh, those. Yes, they are probably his. As for downloadability, I have no idea.

[RadicalOne]

Here is a version of the pool with a larger, well, pool. The rest of the deck is exactly the same, though I added a storage shed. And these umbrellas are canvas, a little change from the aluminum ones in the smaller pool.

[Buzzit]

dude this looks awesome!

[zero7]

Nice work with the pools.  You seem to have taken a big step forward with them.   

[madhatter106]

The shed seems a tad odd to me.  I would think that this boring old shed would be hidden behind shrubbery or something, especially if this is a public pool.  Who wants to look at a rusty old shed when they're wading around in the water?  I also think the pool pumps and pipes enclosed in the fence would be less prominent, too.  Tucked away in the corner, out of sight.  Have you ever sat next to a pool pump?  The people who are at the table next to the fence with the pumps would have to raise their voices at least to be heard...

And personally I hate the black around the pool, but that's a personal preference.  And there's no lifeguard on duty here I see...a lifeguard chair, with pool rescue equipment hanging on the fence (round life preserver, one of those loops on a pole, etc.) might do the trick to sell this as more realistic...

[RadicalOne]

The shed seems a tad odd to me.  I would think that this boring old shed would be hidden behind shrubbery or something, especially if this is a public pool.  Who wants to look at a rusty old shed when they're wading around in the water?  I also think the pool pumps and pipes enclosed in the fence would be less prominent, too.  Tucked away in the corner, out of sight.

Putting it behind hedges is a nice idea, yes.

And personally I hate the black around the pool, but that's a personal preference.

I do that, as I said, because the chlorine in the pool water will, over time, react with the concrete and destroy it - the chlorine ionizes in the water, and this will leach calcium hydroxide out of the aggregate and cement (and, if there is steel rebar in the concrete, corrode that as well). Asphalt is largely immune to that.

And there's no lifeguard on duty here I see...a lifeguard chair, with pool rescue equipment hanging on the fence (round life preserver, one of those loops on a pole, etc.) might do the trick to sell this as more realistic...

I do have lifeguard chairs - two of them - but I should definitely add some equipment. A couple of the toruses, one or two of those orange stick-things they hold, and a net or something.
But I do not have a model of an actual lifeguard, and do not have the skill to model a person.

[jmyers2043]

The shed seems a tad odd to me.

A shed     I thought it was a bar. Serving delicious Piña colada's all day long. I like the new pool shape. You know what would be cool? Take the shape ... find a bubbling churning water texture and cluster the pool people in small groups. Presto! A giant hot tub. Dump the ashpalt and replace it with some of that red colored wood you see in those sauna advertisments ... whoo hooo! A SimCity first. 

[RadicalOne]

A shed     I thought it was a bar. Serving delicious Piña colada's all day long. I like the new pool shape. You know what would be cool? Take the shape ... find a bubbling churning water texture and cluster the pool people in small groups. Presto! A giant hot tub. Dump the ashpalt and replace it with some of that red colored wood you see in those sauna advertisments ... whoo hooo! A SimCity first. 

Um...given that a hot-tub would kill me if I entered it, I have never seen one...and thus have no idea how to model one.

[madhatter106]

Um...given that a hot-tub would kill me if I entered it, I have never seen one...and thus have no idea how to model one.

I've never been in an adult-movie theater, but that didn't stop me from modeling four of them.

I'd suggest doing a Google search to see what jmyers2043 is recommending - I concur, it would be an interesting variation compared to what has already been done out there...

As for the lifeguard chairs, I completely overlooked them because they weren't tall enough - they need to be up on higher supports, to get them off the same level as the normal deck chairs.  And asphalt or not, I still hate the black around the pool, and I suspect that when you upload this, you'll find there are a bunch who will agree with me....

[RadicalOne]

I'd suggest doing a Google search to see what jmyers2043 is recommending - I concur, it would be an interesting variation compared to what has already been done out there...

I can make one of the hexagonal cells into such a mini-pool, I suppose. Or add a new one.

As for the lifeguard chairs, I completely overlooked them because they weren't tall enough - they need to be up on higher supports, to get them off the same level as the normal deck chairs.

They are almost four meters tall. Way too tall for real life as is.

And asphalt or not, I still hate the black around the pool, and I suspect that when you upload this, you'll find there are a bunch who will agree with me....

Quite frankly, a practical reason trumps an aesthetic one.

[mrbisonm]

I also hate that "black patch" around the pool, btw how do you think that asphalt will be in the hot sun....ouch.....lol....no one will ever try to reach the pool again.
If you really want to use asphalt (I have never seen this though) I recommend you use a lighter phase with some texture in it.
The rest looks good.

Fred

[RadicalOne]

If you really want to use asphalt (I have never seen this though) I recommend you use a lighter phase with some texture in it.

OK, we can lighten it, sure.

PS
The reason you have never seen it is because it costs more and takes longer to do a dual-material deck, and the long-term benefits are always overlooked by contractors in favor of short-term profits.

[RadicalOne]

I was lightening the asphalt and got an even better idea. I noticed how much it looks like that rubberized ground you see in splash pads and waterparks, so I decided to surround the pool with that. Much softer on the feet, and even more resistant to the water.
I also added a hot tub, and, as suggested, put the mechanicals behind a tree-hedge barrier.

[mrbisonm]

The ground looks a lot better. I like it. Also it is a good decision to have included the piping with the shed, kinda more logical and cleaner aspect. Could we see a picture in the size of view 5 please, that would give us more of an idea how it wouldd look ingame.

Fred

[Buzzit]

how did you make this transparant like render?

[RadicalOne]

Could we see a picture in the size of view 5 please, that would give us more of an idea how it wouldd look ingame.

This is zoom five, just a larger image of it (equivalent to zoom six, the closest in the game).

how did you make this transparant like render?

Texture transparency is easy, just use a semitransparent bitmap (well, png) or set the material's opacity to <100%. If you mean ingame transparency that lets surrounding objects visible through the BAT (like I did with Prism Tower Condos), there is a tool for that, "SC4 Model Tweaker". But I have no such transparency of that type in this BAT, and even if I did, the Model Tweaker would not affect these preview renders.