Bipin's BAT Boutique

[noahclem]

I (very predictably) vote HD. I wouldn't use either if rendered SD but that's just me     Lovely models btw, especially the latter 

[Shroud]

I prefer HD on the walls.

[Bipin]

It's interesting how SC4D is predominantly satisfied with HD, whereas SimPEG and ST lean towards SD quite strongly. Anyways, this should settle our recent debate:

http://www.poll-maker.com/poll42224xc3EE4cE0-3

[Bipin]

Thanks for responding to the poll everyone, I greatly appreciate the feedback! Just thought I'd fool around a bit today with a store BAT:
 

 
Now in full Technicolor, err... Standard Definition.
 

 
In fact, I plan on keeping this as SD; that's what it was designed for. I feel like it'd be a good challenge for me to design a SD-viable BAT. It has been far too long since I've done that. If you like where this is going, comment or thumbs-up this post so I know you'd wish to see more stores like this!

[noahclem]

That's a great looking little building! It reminds me a lot of one in my home town Sioux Falls that replaced an older building. That building was also roughly square-shaped to leave room for extra parking along the alley in back.

This one would be great in SD but better in HD. But for a relatively small bat like this couldn't it be possible to release both renders, much as people release MN and DN versions of bats?

The site differences for HD v SD are pretty interesting to think about indeed. I'd suspect you'd also find Tout Sim Cities leaning towards HD and that the influence of several TSC members here at SC4D like Girafe, Badsim, Sciurus, and Orange is largely responsible for why this site leans HD. I'm not sure about the other sites but it seems like almost all the bats from the Simforum and Captitol SimCity exchanges are SD (with the RFR team and Heblem's flora as notable exceptions) while the Japanese micro-sites seem to have an even higher percentage of HD renders than TSC. SimCity Polska has a few HD gems but almost everything is SD and I have no idea about SC China as I still haven't managed to set up an account 

[Bipin]

I'll be keeping this one predominantly SD since I envision a wide range of uses for this building. I feel as though the game is lacking in this department. That being one of, ugh... department stores. I'd like to see this building and those which complement it in a strip mall setup being widely used, and SD is the first step towards that since it a more widely accepted format.

[noahclem]

I sincerely don't mean to sound rude or demanding but would you please answer this question from my post?

But for a relatively small bat like this couldn't it be possible to release both renders, much as people release MN and DN versions of bats?

[Bipin]

I've found from my own personal experience that different textures have to be applied for different zoom levels with BATs of this complexity and size; most buildings. Essentially, this comes down to certain textures (e.g. brick, roof panels) being exaggerated in size and bump map intensity to appear well at zoom 5. However, often these textures look "overdone" at zoom 6 in HD. Besides that, the level of detail was intended to suit zoom 5, so I would have to modify that quite a bit as well. It is still possible, it'll just take more time, so I'll do SD first.

Ultimately, this comes down to what the majority of people would like to see. I want to make a product that people will download, and if many say they won't due to it being in HD, then it is a no-go. If it were my way, I'd like to see a revolution towards all-HD, but we just aren't there yet.

EDIT: I have something special in store just for you Noahclem, due to your tireless, rampant ranting. Just kidding.  Your very constructive and fairly lengthy posts have inspired me to change this model up a fair bit. You'll like what you see.

[Bipin]

In response to that edit of mine, tell me, what would you rather see? The current version:
 

 
The new version, scaled 150%:
 

 
Personally I think the latter, newer version is more appropriate, but let me know what you think!

[agunter999]

The latter indeed.

[droric]

Like 120% maybe.  I think 150% is a bit much.  What sort of building is this?  Bipin retail outlet?

[noahclem]

Thanks for the nice reply    The new scaling looks quite nice also--maybe better. I think with this type of building either scale could be both good looking and realistic. If you do go with the scaled up version you might consider resizing the details in the window.

[Bipin]

It turns out I had actually incorrectly scaled the building up too much, after analyzing the picture. I had intended 150% so it would cover 1.5 tiles squared, but it is evident for whatever reason the model scale out larger than that. This means everyone's wishes will seem to be satisfied when I scale it down to the appropriate size, which will be ~120%. It is the morning before school, so I didn't have time to completely change the issue, but let me know what you think of this: 
 

 
Maxis' Sims and those within the building now seem to be exactly the same size-wise, as do the car reflections in the window and vehicles on the road.

[FrankU]

Seems OK! 

[Bipin]

Thanks for the support and kind words everyone. This bad boy is nearly done!
 

 
Let me know what you think of the loading dock and fire exit area. Keep in mind that the black area is MSR material, which is no visible to the final gather, but is required for masking underground assets.
 

 
Enjoy!

[Sim.Rico]

I have officially subscribed to The BIPIN The Great's Bat BOUTIQUE!  I love this guy's work!  I just found out that I should manually subscribe to even discussions ive initiated.  I browsed posts I made earlier in 2012 and have JUST now noticed that BIPIN and The VORTEX responded with great options!

Soooooo, got my browsing shoos on and here to shop for slope-friendly residentials!  I heard the Boutique have just what I am looking for!

[Sim.Rico]

Thanks for the kind words, but I actually posted the wrong pictures in haste as I didn't want to be late for my grandpapa's 90th birthday party. I think this is more like what you're looking for...



Enjoy!

Sir BIPIN Rooler Of The S.M.A.  Is there a link available for downloading these and any other slope friendly residentials that you've mentioned back in July 2013 to a question/request I posted so long ago and just found the follow up today 12/23/2013?   Learned the hard way that  I have to manually subscribe to even my own discussions that I've started.

[Bipin]

Houses are my next project following a futuristic quickie. Search around my ST BAT thread, these houses should be listed there somewhere. If not, let me know and I'll reupload them. Anyways, it's that time of year again. No, not Festivus, not Christmas...

http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/29145-industry-essentials/

...(Okay, maybe the latter). It's also time for another release from Bipin's BAT Boutique. Enjoy!

[Sim.Rico]

Houses are my next project following a futuristic quickie. Search around my ST BAT thread, these houses should be listed there somewhere. If not, let me know and I'll reupload them. Anyways, it's that time of year again. No, not Festivus, not Christmas...

http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/29145-industry-essentials/

...(Okay, maybe the latter). It's also time for another release from Bipin's BAT Boutique. Enjoy!

Thank you Bipin.  I read your Rudolph status update and thought that was really nice! That would make he world turn the next 365 days 100% nicer in 2014 if everyone simply take hold of that great diverse persona.

Will check  out your link and go House shopping over in the Boo-Teek!

[Bipin]

It's been a while since I had posted here, but given the large amount of work I've done, I think this warrants an update! 



I've been working on some contemporary North American residences for quite some time, and am nearing the release of a first pack. The above picture details a "sketch" lot. By no means is it indicative of the final product, other than having a similar layout to what will be seen in the release. Many of the props are just placeholders, and even more are missing. Below, are the houses. For ease of modding and lotting, these BATs have been included in a building family. This makes for a greater number of choices for the user. I anticipate releasing these six in the initial upload:








Each house uses more or less the same model, with small variations made between each type. Below are several of the aforementioned houses, displayed at different angles and times of day:








This is probably the most image-intensive post I've made. Please do enjoy!