The_Mario_Man first BATs

[The_Mario_Man]

Hey, everyone. I've had SC4 for a long time, and I figured I'd try my hand at the BAT.
Either way, here's an image on what I'm working on.
Right now Ghost Planet Industries (from Space Ghost: Coast to Coast) is currently on hold due to some issues.


As of now, my primary concern is this:

[joelyboy911]

Looking OK so far. The texture on the main part of the building repeats too often though. What I mean is, its too small and dotty. I think the roof has a degree of the opposite problem.

I'm sure some better BATters than myself will come along to help you better than I can soon. You picked the right site. 

[The_Mario_Man]

Update:

Alright, I've reworked the towers, and removed the dish. I also screwed around with the Lot editor and managed to get it in game:



As of now, it's a Landmark on a 7x6 lot.... which is unfortunately larger than I originally wanted.
The only real problem I'm having at the moment is that the night-lighting isn't showing up in game, but I'm almost sure I've overlooked something.

Any ideas, suggestions?

[tag_one]

Nice building Mario_Man! I've only 2 suggestions:
- Try adding a gradient in the texture. If the texture is darker at the base of the building and lighter at the top it will look more 'alive'
- The second thing, the bricks on the roof of the building are mostly covered with a concrete or aluminum plates. This is to protect the bricks against the rain. As bricks have a very open structure water is easily absorbed. This can lead to all kinds of problems like structural damage when the absorbed water freezes in the winter.
Covering the horizontal parts make your building look more realistic and add some extra details to it

About the nightlights: do you have the EP update 1 & 2 from from Maxis installed? You'll need it to see nightlights on custom BATs 

[The_Mario_Man]

I believe I have both of those, but I'll try to reinstall them and see if that helps.

And how would I go about doing that gradient deal?

[Orange_o_]

   
It should create a brick texture of the height of your building.    
Then with software (GIMP or Photoshop) you'll create a new layer with a gradient (white top and black below.)
   
Then you must adjust the mode to "multiply" and adjust the opacity

[The_Mario_Man]

Alright, I've decided to set that building aside for a while, and do a quick Halloween themed BAT. Here goes:





I still need to add details to the roof, and make the building a bit taller. If anyone likes it enough I can probably have it up by the 31st.

One big problem I'm having though, is that I want to move the building forward, so that the sign is hanging over the road. I've seen plenty of overhanging lots before, but I haven't got a clue how to make one.

[WC_EEND]

I think, to create overhang, you need to render it with an offset

[art128]

Well if you want to get the sign over the road, you have to put the building in the center in Gmax before to export it, as I can see on your Gmax screen it's not perfectly centered.
Anyway, good work with it, I always liked that cartoon at the TV.. your building bring back some good old memories ! 

-Arthur.

[The_Mario_Man]

I think, to create overhang, you need to render it with an offset

How would I do that?

Well if you want to get the sign over the road, you have to put the building in the center in Gmax before to export it, as I can see on your Gmax screen it's not perfectly centered.
Anyway, good work with it, I always liked that cartoon at the TV.. your building bring back some good old memories ! 

-Arthur.

Yeah, I've moved the building forward, but the lot editor still reads that sign as part of the building, so I can't position it over the road.

[art128]

Uhm yeah, so I think an Offset building must do the tip.. a little offset of a half a tile must be good. I try to find a tutorial... I'm sure I've already found one over SC4D or ST... 

[tamorr]

oooo I wish I had seen the entire TV cartoon series, I only got to see a small portion of them... Love the idea and wouldn't mind having it growing, or even as a plop. Either way once you sort out the tiny bit you are trying to conquer it will definately be a nice release and addtion to towns everywhere...almost.. Ghosts have to have at least one spot to go after all.

[The_Mario_Man]

Got it. Turns out art was right, I just didn't move it far enough.

Here it is:




Only big issue now would be the nightlighting, which still refuses to show up in my game. I've installed both updates, so I'm not sure what's up with it.


Updated: Roof texture has been switched to black. I don't like how bare it looks... if  someone could give me some tips on how to liven it up, I'd appreciate it.

[The_Mario_Man]

Sorry for a double-post, but I felt it was a big update.

I've done a major overhaul to the building, and here it is:

[Orange_o_]

it is a good first bat, but the colors are a little too saturated for me

[The_Mario_Man]

Alright, Thanks, everyone! The Ghostbusters Firehouse is now available on the STEX here:

http://www.simtropolis.com/stex/details.cfm?id=22755

[vester]

As Orange said, the color is a bit saturated. The house stands out in-game.
Try to desaturate the brick texture.

[RippleJet]

Comparing your building to the neighbouring ones, I'd say yours is a bit out of scale.
Unless it's meant for Rubeus Hagrid and Olympe Maxime, I'd say the overall size should be reduced to maybe 60%.

[The_Mario_Man]

Alright, here are some more recent ingame shots. Hopefully the scaling issue is fixed:

[RippleJet]

Alright, here are some more recent ingame shots. Hopefully the scaling issue is fixed:

I'm still not convinced... in the image below your house has been scaled down to 67% from the above.
IMHO, the floor height and window sizes would now better match the neighbours: