BSC Functional, Upgradeable Seaports - Development

[HandsOn]

Great idea, but there's one slight problem: the Somy port piece is not an oil dock ( he actually has one that can be placed off-shore) but a grain filler. If it were used in reality, the oil would spill all over the place..

[BarbyW]

That's what you get when amateurs build ports Unfortunately there was no way to use the offshore filler section and this seemed a reasonable compromise. Just use you imagination

[rooker1]

Great work Barby.  This is a prime example of why you are the goddess.

Robin 

[HandsOn]

That's what you get when amateurs build ports Unfortunately there was no way to use the offshore filler section and this seemed a reasonable compromise. Just use you imagination

Far be it from me to call you an amateur, Mademoiselle. But there may be an alternative. The same set of props providing you with the storage tanks also has several overhanging props, including a rather long bridge thingy, if I recall correctly. Alternatively, you could use the port filling lot from citynut's set.

Sorry, am just thinking out loud..  

[Meastro444]

hello!

me annoying you again

on some ports the walls along the shores (example: your port you based on Citynuts refinery) 'expand'. at the early stages they dont cover the whole lot, just the later stages. is it possible to extend these walls along the lot at the very first stage so i can use them straight away in my seawalls? an empty whole in the wall looks so strange.

regards

Meastro444

[BarbyW]

citynut's set doesn't have a filler unit that could be used. SOMY's props are not offset and are made to be placed on a lot to be plopped in water. So far I have been unable to find anything at all to replace it with.

[BarbyW]

maestro, the whole idea behind these was to try to simulate a port expanding by taking over land to one or both sides. I appreciate it doesn't always look "right" but the expansion wouldn't be as effective if the seawalls were fully in place from the start.

[FrankU]

These ports look promising.
In a related thread I said that upgradeable ports are a bit unrealistic: in real life a port is enlarged when the need for more capacity rises.
The lots I see in this thread do this: they start off with a lot of greenery around the core and over time the greenery is replaced by buildings. Great work here! They look great and will be real gems in any city.

On the other hand, and this is just my personal disease, they look quite small as ports. My ports are spread over a whole city tile, and sometimes even cover several cities. Once I have finished a nice portion I will, maybe, show some pictures. Anyway, in this respect the ports are still very small.

But beautiful they are.
And I will follow the development closely.

For now I will not install any functional port, not even the Maxis one, until I a am able to make a decision...

Brings me to another question:
Once you have the seaportfunction working, might it be possible to leave space for personal ports? Or maybe you release some ports with all functions working, but with only very sparse props, so that anyone who is able to work with the lot editor can build his/her own port without bothering about functions and values? Just some empty cement .....

[BarbyW]

The posts in the current set range from a 7x4 rural port that starts with a capacity of 60 and upgrades through 8 upgrades to a maximum capapcity of 740 to a 16x8 port that starts with a capacity of 160 and through 8 upgrade ends up with a maximum capacity of 2240.

There will be others made for the next set/upgrade of the functional seaports so make some suggestions if there is something you would like to see. As far as your other question is concerned I will leave Tage to answer that.

[RippleJet]

As far as your other question is concerned I will leave Tage to answer that.

And you think I've got a straight and simple answer?

Once you have the seaportfunction working, might it be possible to leave space for personal ports? Or maybe you release some ports with all functions working, but with only very sparse props, so that anyone who is able to work with the lot editor can build his/her own port without bothering about functions and values? Just some empty cement .....

That is very close to the idea I'm working on for BSC Functional Seaports, Version 1.1.

The beta version in my workshop now has Port slots #3, #4, and #5 in the main seaport controller with the following ID's:

0xB5C0C501
0xB5C0C502
0xB5C0C503

In order to avoid CTD's a seaport specific developer exemplar (controller) will need to be included for each of them,
and each of them would by default support one growth stage and have the same capacity and monthly cost as the ingame port.

In addition to these I would make three simple seaport lots (possible called Enablers),
basically just empty lots with nothing but a simple texture.
They would however be readily modded and functional to fit into these slots.

These lots would be quite simple for anyone to modify to his/her likening, either in the X Tool or in Maxis LE.



In an advanced configuration, even a seaport specific airport controller could be included with each of these custom seaports.
That would in theory allow a user to create upgradeable seaports, with custom capacities, monthly costs and upgrade costs.

As long as the custom controller has the same ID as the one included in BSC Functional Seaports,
removing or adding it wouldn't even cause any CTD's.

The more I'm playing with these, the more ideas I get... now let's see how soon they can materialize...
This last prospective will probably require some thorough testing though, so I guess that will have to be left for version 1.X.

[wes.janson]

So to cut a long story short... even quasi SC4 idiots like myself would be able to design our own custom seaports in the LE?

Oh my.. this is intriguing.

[RippleJet]

So to cut a long story short... even quasi SC4 idiots like myself would be able to design our own custom seaports in the LE?

Oh my.. this is intriguing.

In preparation for that... BSC Functional Seaports, Version 1.1

This upload also contains one new seaport, the Inland General Port SG, lotted by BarbyW:

Or an inland general port for SG canals only (until callagrafx makes the small wharf for his canals)

[smoncrie]

Support for custom seaports is nice.  For some time now I have thought that a car ferry should also carry freight as they often do in RL. Maybe I will make a lot that looks like a ferry lot and is a both a ferry lot and a custom seaport. This would work well with small rural islands, where a dedicated seaport seems a bit of overkill.

[RippleJet]

For some time now I have thought that a car ferry should also carry freight as they often do in RL. Maybe I will make a lot that looks like a ferry lot and is a both a ferry lot and a custom seaport. This would work well with small rural islands, where a dedicated seaport seems a bit of overkill.

That sounds like a very good idea, smoncrie!
As a ferry terminal it would of course be shipping passengers, and as a functional seaport it would be shipping cargo.
Both passengers and freight would be seen going to the terminal if route-queried.

On a related topic, we've also been tossing an idea of a cruise ferry terminal, that would in fact be a functional airport, providing CO CAP relief.
There are a number of cruise ship models already (notably by Somy) that could be used...

[HandsOn]

  At last - the in-game CS thingy looks so cheesy and out of place 

Now all we need is for someone to get rid of the ugly in-game freighter with its obviously drunken captain 

[callagrafx]

Or an inland general port for SG canals only (until callagrafx makes the small wharf for his canals)

Ask and ye shall receive....let me know what you need.

Something like this? 



I need to make some canal boats now 

[eddiem]

It appears that the "SDP Warehouse Port" in BSC Functional Seaports, Version 1.1.dat uses a building by Jestarr which has not been released yet:- jes_17x55_BrickBuilding_RollupDoor-0x5ad0e817_0xd4fd0638_0x80000.SC4Model.
Fixed

[BarbyW]

That building model is in BSCBATProps jes WFK on the LEX.

[eddiem]

That building model is in BSCBATProps jes WFK on the LEX.

Thanks Barby,
I was using the original version which was missing some bits

[HandsOn]

I noticed that all the teasers here are shown using SG's canals. Is there perchance some effort underway that would end the texture difference between the various main canals (oppie, SG, JRJ)?