*restructuring* Condos and Surprises!

[starrdarcy 4]

April 26, 2007


Thank you ST and the many users for having the will to follow this thread, despite long periods on nothingness and lack of an official plan!   Thanks for the warm comments and many suggestions as well as ideas for future updates.

It has come to my attention that there should have been an official plan of action, as well as schedule for all posts and updates in this thread regarding the experiments themselves.

So today i am announcing that there will soon be an official plan for the many experiments will be covered, as well as a schedule for when postings of pictures and updates be placed here on ST.

To go along this new plan, a new thread will be started too. The thread will contain experiments, and only experiments used in the SimCity 4 game, as well as BAT tool testing’s. Each update will contain at least 1 picture of each experiment, as well as notes on what is happening and what is planned. Any other ideas and announcements will be posted there too.

In this old thread, I had a mix of BAT showcasing and experiments, this will no longer happen in the new thread “it’s to make the thread more consistent”

I believe that these changes will be for the better, and will create a more interesting thread in the process.

BTW: the new thread will be created on May 1, 2007!

-starrdarcy

[greyveil 37]

these are very lovely, and would be much apreciated when you upload them! Great Job on this so far! I can never have enough mid rise living complexes in my city, btw are you releasing "matching" comm buildings too? that would absolutely put it over the top, so we can really simulate "mixed use"

[cnystrom1 1]

these will be much appreciated indeed, and i think this thread is a good idea. and the commercial versions would be great if you would try to make some. well, ill be anxiously awaiting these on the STEX.

[TinySim 4]

Nice

[RHMgerards 7]

looks very good. i think these will be of great use. can't wait to see them in the STEX

[starrdarcy 4]

it's odd people mention mixed use, really, i never though of it

Now that you mention it, it is a good diea, however, shoudl the building remain the same as in textures and design?

[ACEfanatic 7]

Those look really good. Really good.

Not too sure about the shininess, but it's growing on me. The rowhomes look a little squashed, as well.

Oh, and... err... I think this may be the wrong forum...

-ACE

[cammo2003 20]

Originally posted by: starrdarcy it's odd people mention mixed use, really, i never though of it

Now that you mention it, it is a good diea, however, shoudl the building remain the same as in textures and design?quote>

Mixed use (as in R and C) isn't possible, however I could see these these working as stamdalone Com lots anyways (think small office complex in an inner suburb).

[Glenni 1,444]

Nice to see you still are arround Starrr( yes i saw you at Simcitycentral) Heh , some very interesting buildings you got there need any help some time just send me a pm or so

[vester_DK 477]

Looking good, but think the thread is placed in the wrong forum. The right would have been a subforum under Custom Content, maybe the STEX - Simtropolis Exchange forum.

[starrdarcy 4]

Originally posted by: vester_DK Looking good, but think the thread is placed in the wrong forum. The right would have been a subforum under Custom Content, maybe the STEX - Simtropolis Exchange forum.quote>

Well the buildings arent ready for release quite yet, and the thread is also discussion on new-urbanism as well. It's stuck in the middle.

[jt_144_2004 0]

I wondered where you went....ITS ABOUT TIME YOU CAME BACK!!! That building looks great, im not so sure about the window texture tho, it looks a bit washed out and cartoonish, it looks like a cloud texture and those dont work because you are at the wrong angle to see the sky, you would have a reflection of the ground instead. For added detail you could make the windows transparent so you can see the details inside also.

[starrdarcy 4]

Originally posted by: jt_144_2004 I wondered where you went....ITS ABOUT TIME YOU CAME BACK!!! That building looks great, im not so sure about the window texture tho, it looks a bit washed out and cartoonish, it looks like a cloud texture and those dont work because you are at the wrong angle to see the sky, you would have a reflection of the ground instead. For added detail you could make the windows transparent so you can see the details inside also.

quote>

yes, please,  i ned help on the texture part, that is the area that is most needed attention. Currently, i paint the windows in SKP, however, i would liek to use GMAX to add the windows and transparencies - that info is lost in the conversion from SKP to 3Ds. It can however be done in GMAX. I just need to learn how to create splines and window transparencies, as well as coloring in gmax and lights.

[starrdarcy 4]

Small update

Well today i was busy testing and developing in both gmax and sketchup, and i got good results. I have now found out how to make glass or materialsin GMAX transparent! Now i can show more detail and the glass will look like glass. Because of this new development, there is a high possibilty that i will re-render some of the older buildings (oak towers, parkplace). However, i still have to work on the lighting portion. question fior SCC: can i make materials use the simple omni light effect in GMAX?

Here is a test render i recently did...

On other news, i have decided to merge these buildings and also include "new-urbansim" in the back-alley lot project. This will make sure these buildings don't get left out and will nowserve the purpose of anchoring this project.

Anyways, i have several new buildings to show, all with the new transparency and shading.

1278 Devon (street)

This building is the new "place" to be. With newyork style loft-apartment style inside and bold red stucco on the several portions on the building. This building also has a small "get-way" park in the back, as well as secured underground parking. This building has 4 floors, at 4.5 meters and takes up a 3x2 parcel. This lot is back-alley serviced.

Accent Townhouses

Another set of trendy townhoses hits the block. The accent townhouses include features like high ceilings, bold interior colors, large skylights and balcony. The building has 2 floors at 4.5 meters (except certain portions at 5.2 meters), and takes up a 1x2 parcel. This lot is again, serviced by a back alley. private car garage is also available.

finally, all the buildings are put into the game, and the results are better than i ever hoped. the glass may not be that transparent, but it works. All the buildings are starting to really make a nice set! Can't wait to release this some time.

Later 

[ILL Tonkso 1,236]

Looking Awesome! I should do something like this one day, maybe.

[Camaron 1]

Very nice work, that will be a good addition to the ST EXchange. 

[SC4BOY 20]

Love the "alley access" look.. very real looking.. nice work

[jvlm.123 0]

Wow! Realistic and very useful in the game - especially as they will save space! Will these lots be ploppable and/or growable?

[SC4Noobie 5]

Wow, all of these look really nice, and they would work perfectly for a redevelopment project that I have been planning in my region.

[toxicpiano 125]

Well, I did try my hand at Vancouver style apartments at one point. This is based on part of a set of apartments in downtown Vancouver, BC (Sorry for the horrible picture quality):

]

This was when I was using Gmax, However since installing MAX 8 I haven't bothered to install BAT for MAX. There are ways of porting it over, but I don't plan to (Not right now anyway), no there is no render and I don't plan to release/render it.

starrdarcy: Those apartments are beautiful!

btw its based on these:

[Canadian Mind 1]

Why not? awsome building. would love to have it in my city.

[spa 968]

That building looks nice. It does make me think of those dense condos in Vancouver around, I think it's English Bay? Would love to see it on the STEX.

[bixel 1,223]

Pretty cool....though I highly suggest not using omnis...I am also using SketchUp (its free guys...Google it! They own it).....using SketchUp for highway projects. I gotta couple questions though...are yu texturing in SketchUp and then exporting or exporting to Gmax then texturing...anyway please continue.

[starrdarcy 4]

Originally posted by: bixel Pretty cool....though I highly suggest not using omnis...I am also using SketchUp (its free guys...Google it! They own it).....using SketchUp for highway projects. I gotta couple questions though...are yu texturing in SketchUp and then exporting or exporting to Gmax then texturing...anyway please continue.quote>

Yes, SKP is free now

Anyways, yes, i am textureing my buildings in SKP and exporting it via 3Ds. I use a 3Ds plugin to import the models into GMAx, the plugin make sure the texturemapping is kept intact, and also keeps the units the same.

toxicpiano: would you be interested in a joint project? or help each other out?

[toxicpiano 125]

maybe, if I have time I'll installl BAT for MAX on MAX 8 then I'll see what I can do!

spa: they're at English bay right next to the science centre.

[starrdarcy 4]

Thanks toxicpiano, i appreciate your  advice and everyone elses as well.

Another Condo...

Right now, i'm currently working on a new set of high rise residential towers called "Trend Place". I decided to go a little taller than usual for these towers; the tallest tower, tower1 will be at 25 floors, tower 2 will be at 20, and tower 2 will be at 15 or 10 floors. As with the other high rise condo's, there will be a matching set of townhouses to go with it as well. The main feature on this building is the carved glass front.

I'm also pleased to announce that this building, when fully completed, will be available to a select few people for a short period of time, as a BETA lot. I am releasing this building(s) in the hopes that people can give feedback on the the building, and how it blends in with the rest of their city. This is ultimatly aimed at improving the quality of the buildings being created for this set.

If you are interested in participating, please PM me.

 

Another glass tower

[ACEfanatic 7]

That looks awesome.

However, I'm a little concerned about the texturing. You use sharp, solid colors. While this may be how they look in real life, I'd suggest desaturating it slightly, or adding a texture to it in Photoshop.

I'm sure 6459978 could give more insight on the texturing side, but in short they're too clean.

Beautiful models, though. I really need to learn Sketchup.

-ACE

[starrdarcy 4]

Originally posted by: ACEfanatic That looks awesome.

However, I'm a little concerned about the texturing. You use sharp, solid colors. While this may be how they look in real life, I'd suggest desaturating it slightly, or adding a texture to it in Photoshop.

I'm sure 6459978 could give more insight on the texturing side, but in short they're too clean.

Beautiful models, though. I really need to learn Sketchup.

-ACEquote>

Thanks ace, yes i havebbe n noticing that several of my building's texures have been on the bold side. In real life it can look like that, but in SC4, it can stand out a little too much. Iv'e been testing out textureing today, and for my newest highrise, i will be using alot of glass and still trying to figure out what will look better:

Number1

Number2

Number3

Number 4

Number5

That was alot, in the end, there will be curtains as well as proper walls added. Thanks for texture help.

[jt_144_2004 0]

this is an amazing improvement, dont forget to add inside detailing such as furnature

[Canadian Mind 1]

Dude, isn't english bay at the mouth of false creek, between stanley part and UBC? Casue the science centre is at the end of false creek near the olympic village.

I personally like number one, a possible improvement could be a darke beige or tan on the walls and a slightly blu-er tinge to glass (if possible)