Spa's Atlantic Retreat

[SC4BOY]

I assume you still have access to the XTool for values setting? Even without CAM it still assures that a lot/building etc are in line with the Maxis/SC4 standards.. seems like a good idea anyways.. CAM independent and stage independent..

[Fledgeling]

You dont need to use the X-tool, that just for CAM values and not regular structures, right spa? How can something for a  mod that makes drastic changes be good for things without that mod?

[freedo50]

You dont need to use the X-tool, that just for CAM values and not regular structures, right spa? How can something for a  mod that makes drastic changes be good for things without that mod?

Actually, the X-tool is merely designed to enable BATters/MODders to quickly give a building sensible properties (i.e. it doesn't produce 100000 waste etc.). It is designed to work without the CAM for smaller buildings, but will give huge buildings CAM stages (i.e. 14). The whole point is to make sure that the game is still playable as it was intended with custom BATs.

Fred

[SC4BOY]

Actually, the X-tool is merely designed to enable BATters/MODders to quickly give a building sensible properties

Couldn't have said it better!! You beat me to it..  XTool is a tool for all 

You didn't mention it though I'm sure you know about it... the XTool also assigns JOB/POPULATION for lots in line with standard MAXIS values based on "fill percentages"..  This also is not CAM related in any way.

All is explained, as I recall, in the XTOOL thread...

[xxdita]

XTool? What XTool? Hehehe....
Windows & textures all looking good Samuel. The only thing a little off is the entrance to the parking. Shouldn't it be darker in there?

[spa]

Wow it has been a while since I updated. Late replies first:

TopCliff: Thanks. It's coming down the finish line so you shouldn't have to wait much longer. It's a definite February release.
Robin: Thanks
SC4Boy: I do. It's such a time saver. I use it for everything these days. This will definitely have a cam and a non-cam version. The only question is do I want to squeeze it into a stage 6 lot so it grows on medium density and not just high density? The Maxis building that I used to check its scale is that blue high wealth Euro tower which of course appears on medium density. However, this buiding, although it's the same height, is quite a bit wider. Whereas fits on a 2x2 this will fit on a 3x4.
Fledgeling: No need to worry. The X-tool is to assign realistic values. Freedo and SC4boy have said it best. I'm going to add a little more about fill factors. The x-tool's fill factor is a huge shortcut. The fill factor generates the details for a building based on the building's LODs (a LOD is basically the square that goes over every SC4 building). In every LOD, unless your building is a perfect rectangle or square, there is some empty space. The X-tools fill factor is a percentage that is based on how much of the LOD is filled by your building (it accounts for empty space in the LOD). If you lower the fill factor value and regenerate your building's desc, the X-tool will provide reduced, but appropriate figures across the board. Capacity satisfied, pollution generated, water consumed etc is all corrected with one click. Makes it really easy to generate different versions if you want to. My point is the X-tool is still a tool. It's not an oracle. You can change things to fit and if the X-tool recommends that this be a stage 9 I'll make sure to make a stage 8 for the non-cam folks.
Fred: Thanks for taking the lead while I was occupied and answering this one.
Xxdita: Thanks. Do you mean the parking door or the concrete? If you're meaning the door I think I did end up darkening that last week. I'll take a look next time I generate a preview of the back of the building.


So life has been pretty hectic for the last week or two. I'm really ready to graduate. I have had my fill of school and I can't wait until April. I have picked at the Lexington on and off when I have had the time. I tinkered with the texture on the steps and it now fits that its a curved surface. I also fiddled around with the roof texture. You can see a day and a night preview below.


You may have noticed that some patio stuff is starting to appear. With so many balconies I'm looking to have a variety of different chairs and bbqs and things (the usual stuff you see). I already have 4 plants that I made for earlier bats that I can mix and match, but I need to broaden my options for the rest. Even though it's the middle of winter and was storming here today, the mind turned to the grill and I have four 5 different bbqs to spread around. Check them out below.

Sadly they come out rather small since, in the sim city scale of things, they are rather small. I can't just let all the detail die though so, for what it's worth, here's how the look in gmax.

Anyway, next up I'm going to make a variety of tables and chairs. Then I'll just have to figure out the back patio and this baby will be done.

[TopCliff]

To quote Borat on your awesomeness:

Wow wow whoa, very nice . . .

Can't wait dude. I really can't.

[xxdita]

I love seeing models as they start to come to life. Excellent work!
I was talking about the parking door. To me, underground parking always seems like the black hole to the great abyss.

[mightygoose]

grreat model, my only suggestion is that with a flat roof that big where is the drainage. as it stands, without a very expensive roof it would collapse if it rained too hard...

[mightygoose]

true i was just pointing it as a suggestion as the roof is very plain.... looks abit empty.

[Hogmeister]

I think that since the roof already has a service/utility block, the addition of more roof junk would seem illogical, especially as there is so much else going on over the rest of the building.

[spa]

Geez where does the time go. Turn around for a second and we're into February. I haven't had much time lately. I'm trying to get my never-ending thesis done for April so that has been eating up what little time isn't alrready committed to my planning degree and work. I have made some significant progress on the Lexington, however, over the last little while by just picking at it at the end of the day. Before that though, let me catch up on some replies.

TopCliff: Thanks
Xxdita: Thanks. It's hard for me to remember if I did anything different there or not. Check out the photos below of the Lexington in game and let me know what you think.
Mightygoose: Thanks. I don't want to actually add anything more to the roof. With a big penthouse there simply wouldn't be much out there. Sim City is a bit of a roof game so I'm not against exaggerating a little but I think anything else on this one would be too much.
Marcszar: Thanks for the explanation The roof is final... except for maybe the texture. Check it out in game and let me know if you still think it needs some more weathering (I brought out a few more subtle cracks here and there).
Hogmeister: Thanks. Couldn't have said it better myself.





About the trees and bushes, I owe Couchpotato (mjb) a big round of applause for them. They're all her creations that she was generous enough to share. I scaled and tinkered with and then slapped my own textures on. This one isn't quite done though. There are a few issues that I have to deal with. If you look closely at the base, you'll see a black sploch running along several of the edge walls. I'm guess that might be a lod issue? I'm going to try one more render to see if that fixes it. The nightlighting also needs a little bit of finetuning.

There seems to be some light leaking out onto the exterior walls along the round tower. Maybe I should also tone down the lighting that shines on the platform above the front steps? I might have overdone that spot. Anyway, this one is almost done but there is still one more render so there is still a chance for last minute suggestions. Once I get into the final renders though that's it since it takes this bad boy 3 hours to finish.

[Andreas]

What's the roof material supposed to be? If it's some kind of bituminous (tar) sheeting, the texture should have some visible seams, rather than being completely uniform. For a gravel texture, it's a bit too smooth. Maybe it would help to add some dirt in the corners - even if the building is supposed to be new. The buildings obviously doesn't need tons of roofjunk, but maybe you could add a satellite dish or so, just to create some visual highlight.

The nightlighting could be toned down a bit indeed, and I also noticed that the topmost step doesn't have that curved tile pattern - the edge (the area with the supports) should look like the rest of the steps as well (which look really great now, BTW). I also wonder if it's possible to create some custom LODs around the planter beds, though, so you could add regular props, rather than the trees you added there. The wall cover of the planter on the first pic looks a tad too blue as well.

The "patio junk" looks awesome, though, and patios, windows, walls etc. are superbly done. I really can't wait to see that building in the game, it's a wonderful addition for my midrise developments, which sorely need some more variety. Most excellent!

[tag_one]

Wonderful work so far, but I'll agree with Andreas about the nightlights and the rooftextures. Imo the roof is a bit to pale. As an engineer I also have my doubds about the sunken fans. When it's raining water could spill from the roof into the fans and the ventilation shafts, this will result in serious damage. I suggest making the walls arounds the fans a bit higher

[sebes]

Sam - this is realy going to be a masterpiece.... it will be a great addition to each cities residential areas. I agree with the guys above - the roof texture is a bit pale. Some seams (layers) in the roof texture would make it less eye-catching probably...

[Couchpotato]

I really like this lot Sam but agree with Andreas on the roof texture and strong nitelites.   

I like the trees in the side area and really can't see any tinge of black on them.
Make sure you're not antialiasing against the background.   You can check this by going into the Customize/Preferences/Rendering area and under background, make sure the box is checked for 'Don't Antialias Against Background'.   

Wonderful building though and looking forward to seeing it in the game. 

[spa]

Andreas: Thanks for the helpful suggestions. I ended up following most of them. The only two that have gone by the wayside is I'm sticking with the modelled bushes and I'm not adding anything more to the roof. However, in the end, I did end up figuring out the texture for that top step for you
Tag: Thanks. I added a little bit more of a lip around the sunken fans to keep the water out. The water that would get down there I'm assuming would be handled by some kind of internal mechanism. Sunken open roof equipment like this does exist so there has to be some type of drain to carry water away.
Sebes: Thanks. I didn't end up going with seams, just more grime. I think it works.
Couchpotato: Thanks for the helpful suggestion. Unfortunately, I'm a gmax modeller so the antialias option isn't available. The problem wasn't with your wonderful plants anyway. It's at the very bottom of the building on some of the brick. Not a big deal and not something I have been able to fix so it is what it is at this point.

So the Lexington is now finished and I have two of the four renders done including a new 3x4 version. Check it out below.


And a 3x4 version


Night lighting changes (toned down)

In the end I incorporated a lot of the suggestions voiced here and elsewhere. The sunken fans now have more of a rim, the tile texture on the top step below the tower now curves appropriately, the night lighting has been turned down, the stone ledge to the front planters is less blue and the roof texture has been redone to be less flat. Overall I think it's a better model then it was. Such is the value of feedback. At this point though I'm runing out of steam on this one so unless something big comes to light I'm declaing this one done. Now I just have to mirror each version so that I have 3x5 and 3x4 left corner versions as well.

[simdad1957]

Excellent job as always SPA. Am very definitely looking forward to seeing this beauty in game. Any idea when your latest series of creations will be hitting the lot exchange?

[Hogmeister]

Beautiful work, you show real talent in picking an interesting building and making it your own. 

[JBSimio]

Yay!  It's creeping ever closer and I'm getting excited.    This looks great, Spa... I've really enjoyed watching it come together.  All the angles and roof lines and balconies are a real eye treat... but I'm sure they weren't always fun to work with!  Either way, the end result has been more than worth it if you ask me.      I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of pictures with this one included when the time comes. 

JB