Boston Central Artery/Tunnel Project (Big Dig)

[bwatterud 7]

So the taxiway underpass is going to be a custom pathed, transit enabled lot, not a subway connecter, am I correct?

[Alfred.Jones 2]

That is extremely awesome Blahdy. Great work mate

[twistie 3]

OMG evertime i come back to read this thread it just gets better and better!

[blahdy 21]

well well well..   I'm quite flattered to see that I and the Boston Central Artery/Tunnel BAT project have been awarded the "2006 BAT of the year" Trixie award.  Many thanks to all those who nominated me and the fact that I am a close-call runner-up for two other trixies alone is quite amazing    Of course, congrats to everyone else who have been awarded, they certainly deserve it.

Certainly, I look forward to continue the project and extend it beyond just tunnels.  I'm looking forward to be part of revolutionizing the transit networks element of the game.

Award:

Privileged to be a runner-up for:

[Tarkus 6,933]

@blahdy:  I've lurked on this thread for quite awhile but never posted for some odd reason.  I must say, the amount of detail you are going into with this project is mind-blowing.  The entire concept of it is quite revolutionary as well, particularly the new Runway-over-Highway.  Congratulations on your BAT of the Year Trixie, and on your runner-up finishes.  You definitely than earned them!

-Tarkus

[nycsc4 5,250]

Congratulations of your Trixie!! I can't wait for this airport ramp to come out!

One question.

When entering the airport the sign say welcome to PAX is it possible to change that, because well of course I don't operate PAX!

Happy Holidays!

[Ryan B 35]

Congrats on the Trixie! Well deserved. It's been a joy to watch this progress, and I will continue to wish I was as good a BATer as you. I've got the striving for realism down, but unfortunately it only applies to highway signs right now.

[SC4luv2 0]

Nice! I would request a 2-way road tunnel please.

[SC4luv2 0]

Is the #1 Bridge you made in the 1.0 version?

[Slye_Fox 1]

Bridge???

This is a TUNNEL

[simzebu 20]

He's probably talking about the Zakim bridge.

If I'm not mistaken, there is no known release date for that yet.

[tommiej 0]

SC4luv2 is talking about the Zakim bridge Slye-Fox, look a few pages back and there blahdy said that the bridge will be done, when he has the time, because the model needs to be redone, completely redone!! and that is a lot of work...

keep it up blahdy!! really like your work

[Swamper77 90]

I know people like to discuss the status of the project, so here is what is going on:

I've started college classes again and the classes are from 6-9 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays. I don't get home until after 10 pm at the earliest, and I usually go straight to bed. My parents have put a limit on my internet hours. I will no longer be online after midnight, as that is when the DSL router gets unplugged every night. Also, I am trying to cut back on the hours that I spend at my computers. I typically spend 6-12+ hours a day at my computers

I will be finishing the LODs for the Atlantic Avenue Ramp so Blahdy can render it. Hopefully, it will be released before Christmas (Dec 25th) after all the modding and testing gets done. After I help Blahdy finish the Atlantic Ramp, I will be taking a break from modding and BATting until early January. So I won't be doing any major SC4 projects until then.

Here is what is on my calendar for the next few weeks:

- Dec 17: LARP game (more info on the LARPing I do in my sig)

- Dec 21: My sister comes home from Michigan for the holidays

- Dec 23: My birthday; My contribution to the BSC 25 Days of Christmas will be released

- Dec 24: Christmas Eve; spending time with family

- Dec 25: Christmas Day; spending time with family

- Dec 31: Possible LARP game; possibly being a designated driver that night

- Jan 1: New Year's Day; coming home if I was out the night before

So I am sorry if I can't finish everything I have committed to for this project, but being stressed all the time while trying to finish stuff is not healthy either.

-Swamper77

[Yoman3 5]

OK Swamper you have nothing to be sorry for. If you or Blahdy are busy its not your fault. Have fun enjoy your birthday, then worry about modding. We are the ones thanking you swamper. Also since I'm going to forget happy birthday!!!

[vester_DK 477]

Page flip bug, go away !!!

[Swamper77 90]

Originally posted by: vester_DK Page flip bug, go away !!! quote>

*Attempting to make it go away*

*Succeeded*

-Swamper77

[Yoman3 5]

W00t, again have fun over the holidays.

[Montu 0]

- Dec 31: Possible LARP game; possibly being a designated driver that night

Hmm.. being a destinated driver is no fun! Go out and drink and get drunk!

Also I don't undertand what LARPing is about (yes I checked out the website). Is it like the old game where u conquer a nation with those plastic cannons (I forgot the name). And why does it require over a month to finish?

BTW Blahdy, this is really amazing and I cannot wait to see this put in my airport KPAX! Keep it up!

[The Master 0]

when is the entire set due for release cuz i dont think i can wait LOL great work all

[Skizzik1 15]

Great work on the Big Dig. Your tunnels came out at the perfect time for me because I am starting to work on a boston map. I can't wait for more updates to become available. 

I am going to start to learn how to use the BAT and am going to attempt to make some boston landmarks. Some of the landmarks that i would like to see are: Bunker Hill, Boston Tea Party Ship, Fenway, Museum of science/Omni theater, Giant Citgo Sign, Hatch Memorial Shell and I'm sure there are plenty more that people can think of. If any of you expirenced BATers out there want to help with some of these it would be appreciated. 

BTW, why is maxis so obsessed with New York. There are a bunch of New York buildings in the game and only 1 Boston building. Just kinda stinks for the boston fans out there.

Edit: if any of the buildings i mentioned above or any other boston bats are available, at this site or other sites, please post links here or PM me. Thank You!

[Du Peixoto Rbd 0]

Oh my God, There very nice, amazing!

[Swamper77 90]

Originally posted by: Kumba - Dec 31: Possible LARP game; possibly being a designated driver that night

Hmm.. being a destinated driver is no fun! Go out and drink and get drunk!

Also I don't undertand what LARPing is about (yes I checked out the website). Is it like the old game where u conquer a nation with those plastic cannons (I forgot the name). And why does it require over a month to finish?quote>

Kumba,

The LARP games I do are basically Dungeon and Dragons type games where you have a particular task to complete and you have monsters and other creatures that you encounter along the way. We run them outdoors at a park in Marysville every Sunday. There's two different LARP games, and the alternate each week. Each week is a different mission or a continuation of the previous mission from the last time the particular game occurred. The reason I do the LARPing is so I can get out of the house. Otherwise, I'm at my computers most of the time. I can discuss the LARPing more with you later, or I could possibly set up a thread about later.

As for me getting drunk, I cannot do that. The medications I am on prevent me from doing so. Alcohol + anti-depressant + allergy med = possibly lethal result  And I actually enjoy being a designated driver

If you are complaining about the time it is taking to finish Blahdy's ramp, real-life comes before digital life. Believe me, I wish I didn't have school to attend to, but my parents want me to have a college education. What would really help is having more people with the knowledge that I have of transit modding and custom LODs. Unfortunately, it seems that not many people want to help others make custom content these days.

-Swamper77

[blahdy 21]

Swamper77:  no problem RL comes first as always.    BTW everyone for the record, my birthday is Christmas, which was the initial rationale behind possible release date on 12/25  

The Master: The lack of transit modders/experienced modellers who can create custom LOD boxes is really slowing things down more so than expected.  We are working to release these as time permits, but more experienced modders/LODing operators who can help would always help us bring the release schedule more predictable.  Thanks!

Also this is current preview/candidate STEX download/promotional image for Atlantic Ave on-ramp.  The ramp picture itself will be replaced with an in-game screenshot once model is rendered and ready for release:

[Montu 0]

Originally posted by: Swamper77

If you are complaining about the time it is taking to finish Blahdy's ramp, real-life comes before digital life. Believe me, I wish I didn't have school to attend to, but my parents want me to have a college education. What would really help is having more people with the knowledge that I have of transit modding and custom LODs. Unfortunately, it seems that not many people want to help others make custom content these days.

-Swamper77quote>

 

Oh no! You got the wrong idea! I meant why does it take a mont for LARPing game because when I checked the website there was a long ass list of event and there was like 15 weeks I believe or something like that. 1 more question about LARPing, you said you go out and hunt these monsters? What do u mean by that? Is it like a blow up monster or hide and seek kind of game? I mean certainly we dont have any monsters out here in the real world (that I know of)!

I totally understand about the big dig, don't even worry about that.

[Swamper77 90]

Originally posted by: Kumba

Oh no! You got the wrong idea! I meant why does it take a mont for LARPing game because when I checked the website there was a long ass list of event and there was like 15 weeks I believe or something like that. 1 more question about LARPing, you said you go out and hunt these monsters? What do u mean by that? Is it like a blow up monster or hide and seek kind of game? I mean certainly we dont have any monsters out here in the real world (that I know of)!quote>

The group I LARP with gets divided into two groups, player characters (PCs) and non-player characters (NPCs). The NPCs roleplay the monsters and other creatures that the PCs come across. We have a route that we follow on the paths in the park. As we walk along them, we have encounters with the NPCs. Most of the encounters end up being battles against the NPCs. So it is kind of "hide and seek" with finding the NPCs, but the encounters are usually staged. There's one person at each game known as "Plot". They set up the encounters and have the storyline, missions, etc. for the PCs.

If anyone else is interested in discussing this, I will set up a thread for it in the Off-Topic area.

-Swamper77

[blahdy 21]

Swamper77:  I got your email and rendered the A-CN ramp.  The rendering LOD result looks pretty good with exception of few issues outlined below.  I tried to IM you in MSN but didn't see you online, so posting here

[Swamper77 90]

Blahdy,

I had to shutdown Trillian as it was not staying connected.

The areas you have circled should not show up when the lot is in the game. The underground tunnel section is there for display purposes when the automata go underground. What the Lot Editor shows is not always what you get in the game. If the model displays badly in the game, let me know and I will refit the LODs.

-Swamper77

[jeepboy 1]

I've been following this and other transit mods for quite some time and I have to say that I am very impressed with the skills that are used to make these wonderful creations.

It makes total sense to me that these things take a long time with RL and everything. Thank you to everyone who's contributed to these projects so far by being so generous with your time!

I'd love to learn more about modding (transit in particular), but don't really know how to get started. Can anybody point me in the right direction? I'm a fairly quick study and am motivated to contribute, but haven't done any SC4 modding at all - yet.

[blahdy 21]

Swamper77:  yup just tested in-game, pics below, and indeed it looks fine (ignore the grain/dirt texture flooding the ramp space, that's b/c i just quickly put this up in lot editor which requires base textures to be present and cut thru the ramp elevation).  

There is still slight LOD oddity that I circled in red below, but honestly, i think it's too small for most people to care and we can probably easily cover it up using tree prop that's going to go there anyway... what do you think?  if you think we should fix it and re-render, feel free to make appropriate correction as you need and just send me the updated file and i'll re-render.   If we are in agreement that this is good, i'll send you the .sc4model's right away.  Thanks!

[Swamper77 90]

Blahdy,

I used boxes to cover the yucca plants on your model, so that is why you are seeing a series of squares/boxes along the outsides of the ramp. I will remove the two offending yucca plants and reshape the LODs along the ramp into the ground. I will get to this when I can this week.

-Swamper77