Boston Central Artery/Tunnel Project (Big Dig)

[ACEfanatic 7]

What's there to say?

Wonderful work, blahdy...

-ACE

[Madhollander 0]

Do you sleep bladhy?, you should try it out sometimes (i picture you sitting in front of your desk with a huge bowl of coffee next to you, staring at the screen, droowling and screaming stuff to yourself to motivate yourself, and building without a stop )

Great work so far, when you said you was gonna take a break i wondered how long the break would last...

not that long luckily !

Great work, it might not exactly line up with sc4, but with so much detail in these lots i think everybody can overcome that, cus there still freaking awsome.

Like the blue poles the best, the black is way to dark imho. . .

[sorchin 18]

Only 65% complete. WOW. This is going to be a very detailed Big Dig indeed. I hope it all shows in the render because it really looks great...Take care..

[Ryan B 35]

blahdy - I really hope you aren't stricken with the render issues that many of us have been having lately, myself included. My highway signs aren't rendering well . . . .

[Cartographer29 13]

Well I must say, this whole Boston Artery Project is certainly an amazing accomplishment. Just a few questions (apologies if they've already been answered, I've been really busy with life changes the last few months, and this is my first post in ... who knows when).

1. Are these just 3D models, or have they been pathed yet?

2. When can we expect a release of some of the models? What kind of timeline can we expect for other sections?

3. Will there be sections created to match teh atery project, such as sunken highway sections, for those who wish to add a little bit of flexibility to the project?

4. Because underground interchanges/ramps are not possible, what are the odds of creating a "trench" section that is, say 4x6 tiles, and is basically a 2x6 section of exposed highway, and the other 1x6 sections on either side can be on-ramps in a certain direction (have one version where the ramps face the same direction, that way it can just be rotated for the other direction). This would allow access points along the tunnelled highway, without a lot of extra space required for it, making it perfect for downtown use.

5. What are the curved ramp sections going to be used for? a 2x? tile section meant as an onramp? Will these be pathed or just show-pieces?

If I could offer my bit of advice ... shorten the white line dashes to match those of the in-game expressways. Other than that, keep up the great work! I may have to hold off developing my downtown area until this project is done, because I do not want to let this kind of a project go to waste.

Regards,

- Josh in Toronto

P.S. Maybe some day, Toronto will have a highway that looks like your models. For now, all we have is the (hard hats required when walking under the) Gardiner Expwy.

[Ryan B 35]

In my humble opinion, this project is way to good to fall off the first page. Can't wait for the next update!

[SHADD0W09 2]

Nice love the mod any way of an avenue conector for this project

[MiniMark 7]

Josh aka elgoalio29 im sure you know who i am (SSFC Cartorgraphy rules) you can find his first version of his work located here. https://www.simtropolis.com/stex/index.cfm?id=16428 However cars and vehicles use them but we just don't get to see them. However with many more teaser images/updates I would imagine Version 2 (or addon 2) is coming soon.

[blahdy 21]

ryanb_sc4: thanks, hehe... gmax renders fine here it seems...   then again i'm very busy lately as you can probably tell, so time to work on this is pretty limited at the moment.

a little update on the short/straight on-ramp: ~75% complete now.  need to also install camera and fire exit, etc

[nycsc4 5,250]

looking amazing as usual!!! any time frame on those curved ramps?

[Alfred.Jones 2]

This is looking very good blahdy! Keep it up

[blahdy 21]

Thanks;

nycsc4: 3-4 weeks give or take... sorry for delays but RL is killing me all week lately

[Yoman3 5]

We understand. Take your time to make it awsome!

[nycsc4 5,250]

thats cool, take your time, i still have version one in the mean time!!

[blahdy 21]

Okay, short straight on-ramp is now pretty much completed.  just need lane painting to top it off and prepare it for modding.  The curved ramps are under preparation for modding still..

Today's changes in gmax shots:

Completion shot (with exception of lane painting):

Rendering shots:

Night-lights:

[ACEfanatic 7]

I honestly thought that first shot was a real reference photo.

Great work, blahdy.

-ACE

[van1357 15]

Absolutely awesome work, Blahdy! Everything is looking amazingly realistic. Thanks for all your hard work and, as I said in chat, I can't wait to use these new versions in my cities.

[Alfred.Jones 2]

You are amazing Blahdy! I cannot believe how much detailed work you put into all your models! Looking forward to see whats next

[blahdy 21]

Thanks all

Thanks to van1357 for providing the idea and the necessary textures, the Big Dig 2.0 lots will provide better transition to Maxis roads.  Also the concrete road surface texture now has tire marks on them so they look used rather than brand new/cartoonish.

Further, sidewalk concrete slabs are added to perfectly line up to Maxis one-way road at the transition interface area.

I think we can call this on-ramp completed 100%, ready for modding prep:

Just a quick note:  This particular ramp is quite inspired after the I-93 North on-ramp in Leverett Circle, right next to the green line tunnel portal (you can probably notice, Leverett Connector on-ramp in Boston is the only on-ramp where Daktronics VMS/electronic sign is held in place with only one sign post gantry on right side, where as other ramps have posts on both sides holding up the VMS).   The Leverett ramp starts out with 2 lanes, but merges into 1 lane as it sinks underground.  So, the middle lane marking stops at the transition area for the lane merge.

Also, more pics are available here.

[Alfred.Jones 2]

That looks, there i say it, perfect! I love the sidewalks and how well it will align with in-game roads!

[GMT 389]

damn, how much effort you put into it?

it's simply awesome. Looks to me as if this will get the best custom content EVER!

[van1357 15]

Blahdy, that is even more amazing than before! I'm glad I could be of some help in this awesome project of yours. Once again, excellent work.

[SC4Noobie 5]

Sweet! I thought they needed to have some more "used effects" this looks a lot better!

[Dexter 41]

This looks great! I like the "worn" effect much better.

I have a suggestion though. At the front of the ramp, the concrete fades into the the blacktop. In real life, tarmac does not do that, but rather a sudden change in surface. Other than that, they look very nice.

[tommiej 0]

it now looks like the road is used every day by thousands of vehicles, awesome!! looks very realistic, keep it up

[blahdy 21]

Thanks guys  for comments

Dexter: lol. i did exactly that and everyone complained about "abrupt" road surface changes...  However though, I may redo the transition texture so that instead of concrete texture being spread over the asphalt, do it the other way (black asphalt marks spread over concrete as vehicles go into the ramp, that way its more realistic).  I'll work on this shortly and post more pics   Thanks for the note.

While finalizing, I decided to redo the traffic light as well on the tunnel approach VMS sign:

Also, responding to popular requests, I've also made black-gantry version, inspired after refurbished Dewey Square tunnel on-ramps (except the one here is modern/brand new tunnel boat, not refurbished from 1950's construction):

[Constantina 5]

Looks nice

[blahdy 21]

Just fixed the transition interface area's texture: Asphalt is now darker so it's more realistic and transitions nicely with Maxis one-way road.  let me know what you guys think.

curved ramps will be udpated with these latest improvements too.

[Sim shady 12]

sweet jesus! you have been busy today! this is excellent! not much else to say other than this is amazing

[Alfred.Jones 2]

They looks amazing blahdy! Cannot wait to see them in-game