Nofunk's BAT Thread

[SimFox 802]

I would also say keep 'em together! they are good this way!

[Spike345 20]

Well, I say break them apart....it allows for more variety in the game..

[Gecko_2006 1]

Seperate them. Together, they will look odd growing in game. You'll look at a commercial district and think, "what is with all these yellow buildings and brown buildings right beside each other? I hate this!" If you break them up, they will each grow nicely in built up commercial areas. No need to make any in depth walls. Just stick a grey slab on the extra sides and they can be rowhome district offices.

Please don't put them together. It'll ruin all your hard work...

[Fledgeling 1]

"Peer pressure!"

If you feel you are being pressured, remember: the thing that will make YOU happy, not the community, should be your utmost priority. Making things for the community is great, but what will keep you motivated and going strong is if these are what YOU want in these cities, not what everyone else wants. Because this is first and foremost your building and for you; you are doing us a favor by sharing your great cretions with us.

[ACEfanatic 7]

Idea:

Leave them together. But, since Jason is so insistent, give him the model to break apart, model spare walls for, etc.

Just a thought.

Either way, it's a beautiful building. Can't wait to see it in-game.

-ACE

[spa 970]

Well I say keep them together because keeping them together allows for more size variation while still keeping them w2w. It can get kind of tedious the way every w2w building is one of three or four different width dimensions (16, 32, 48). In this case it looks like the building on the left isn't as wide as the building on the right. Keeping them together lets this happen without having to change proportions to make sure that the two separate buildings are w2w.... of course if the one on the right is 16 across and the one on the right is 32 ignore me and go ahead and break them in two.

[ardecila 124]

Er... Alright. I've got an idea. Render them seperately, but then put them together on a lot. This allows for the best of both worlds. People who want just one or the other can do that if they want to using the LE.

[nofunk 1,933]

Jasoncw: Ha! I have already taken care of these things you have mentioned. I'll admit, the window sills were another oversight on my part (just like that missing floor) but the other items I planned on tackling... with textures! Let me know what you think of it.

Gecko_2006: Putting them together will ruin all my hard work?! I'm doomed! 

Fledgeling: Ah, the voice of reason. You are absolutely right; at the same time, it is important to me that what I create is deemed useful by the community as well as myself.

spa: The taller building is a perfect 1x2, but the shorter bulding is some awkward 1.7x1.7 or so. Together they make a nice w2w corner lot (with a slightly wider sidwalk along the right side); apart you get one w2w and one with just enough space on a 2x2 to make it awkward.

ardecila: Yes!

UPDATE

I realize I did not reply to everyone's comments, but I do appreciate all of your feedback! The unofficial vote concerning whether to render these separate or together stands at: 7 votes to keep them together (including me) and 4 votes to separate! Hm...

I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, Park Apts are looking a bit more realistic all of a sudden...

It looks like I need to dirty up the white facade at the base a bit more, as well as texture the windows on the side and elevator house, but I think things are looking good. I tried to work a gradient into the front, but I think I lose it during one of the many "gmax go boom" moments I had tonight. Not sure what I did to upset it, but it was all sorts of wonky while texturing.

I hope to get the Park Building textured tomorrow. But now... bed!

[SimFox 802]

the park appartments looks terrific!!!

[Fledgeling 1]

I love it! the textures are very faithfull to the real building. You are getting better before our eyes all the time.

Also, i think they were made for eachother. Keep them together!

[Simfan34 11]

Nice! I say do both! Yes, I like to give you work...

[Don Miguel 561]

Great work. I like them better kept together. The game needs more wall to walls just like these. The textures look cool. I think the first floor looks a bit too short though.

[jacqulina 162]

wonderfull work great detail,i have posted an update with the burton tower

[Gecko_2006 1]

That is so realistic! It's almost like looking at a photograph! I can't wait to see what you do with the yellowish building!

[wolverine 12]

Agreed!  The detailing is fantastic.

Okay, okay.  I guess you can keep them together.  Actually I don't have a problem with that.  I guess, my concern was when a few of these pop up in a city it will stand out since there will always be the same two structures clustered together. 

[nofunk 1,933]

UPDATE

Thanks everyone for the great comments! I'm really pleased with how the texturing has turned out. Here is how the Park Apts look now. I hope the new texturing looks as good to you guys as the previous update:

I still may revisit the texture on the back of the taller building -- I think it might look too clean. Also, I'm not sure what happened to the nightlights along the lobby of the Park Bldg. I think I may have planned on leaving the upper panes dark, but I know I lit up the ones on the side and back, so I'll have to go back and amend this. Other than that, I think we're getting very close to render!

EDIT: Also, I plan to put some lights in the entryway of the taller building!

Also, I may have a bit of a Thanksgiving surprise for all of you! But I want to talk to Jasoncw a little more about diagonal lots...

I hope all of you in America had a wonderful Turkey Day!

[spa 970]

It looks great. I think it might be worth revisting the texturing on the back. I can see the seams where it has been tiled. Looks like 5 uvw or you've combined a single texture five times into one. If you dirtied up the back, it might hide it. Besides that though this looks great. I think it was the right decision to keep the two buildings together given their differning sizes.

[jacqulina 162]

awesome work the detail is fantastic

[Fledgeling 1]

[Also, I may have a bit of a Thanksgiving surprise for all of you! But I want to talk to Jasoncw a little more about diagonal lots...

I hope all of you in America had a wonderful Turkey Day!quote>

 

LOL, thanks, but that was Thursday.

I love it, but the back looks like it should have a fire escape on the back Park Ave. building... unless they were removed? It would add some visial interest. Also, i assume the windows of the Park Ave building hav not been textured yet? Good work so far, i really cant wait for this one!

[wolverine 12]

Originally posted by: nofunk UPDATE

Also, I may have a bit of a Thanksgiving surprise for all of you! But I want to talk to Jasoncw a little more about diagonal lots...

I hope all of you in America had a wonderful Turkey Day!quote>

The Statler?  the Whitney?  Compuware Building?  Lafayette Building?  2nd National Building?  Oh I give up.  i'll have to wait to see what your triangular shaped, or diagonal building is.

Excellent work on the textures!

[nofunk 1,933]

spa: Thanks! Yeah, I'm definitely going to tweak the texture on the back. I think just dirtying it up and fixing the UVW like you've suggested will do the trick.

jacqulina: Thank you, my friend! I fear it may be too urban for Paradise Falls, but I appreciate your support. I have a few ideas in mind that I might start soon that will probably fit more rural regions like yours!

Fledgeling: Yes, I know when Thanksgiving was! But it's still uh... Thanksgiving... weekend? In any case, I designed it on Wednesday night & Thursday.

I actually really want to put a fire escape on the back of the Park Bldg like you've suggested, but it blows my poly count through the roof. Being a bit of a perfectionist, I may still put one on there, but to give you an idea: with the fire escape the Park Apts/Park Bldg become as complex as the Cadillac Tower, which is 25 stories taller!

wolverine: Haha! None of those, but I have considered the Whitney. The building is in Detroit, and it's big, but the building itself is not diagonal -- the lot is.

Think... brutalist.

[SimFox 802]

It looks great, only thing that could stand some improvement is night windows... could you try using some other texture for them?? one that would be not quite as flat? Isn't there an option to get brightness of individual windows to vary ? This would benefit this bat great deal! Also brickwork on a "fatter" building's back wall look oddly greenish...

[Chris M 406]

The Park Apartments look excellent! Textures and everything seem to blend in really well with the actual modeled part of the building which is usually what W2W buildings do so well. The roof texture looks very familiar. Did you get it from Spa's thread?

Great job, and I'm looking forward to using this in my cities.

[Simfan34 11]

Surprise? Most of the notable diagonal buildings in the D are very good looking.. Or you could mean Layfayette Coney Island!

[jacqulina 162]

hi my friend i am looking forward to hearing more about your bat ideas for rural,hey these ones are a little too suburban, but i do enjoy coming in here and looking at your work

[nofunk 1,933]

SimFox: Thanks! Yeah, I'm not sure what's going on with the window texture on the Park Building. it's the same texture I've used on the building next to it with no problems, but it sure doesn't look like it's showing up here. Maybe there's something wrong with the UVW map. I'm still becoming familiar with all the ins and outs of gmax, so I'm not sure if there is a way to vary the brightness of individual windows. There is one master control for brightness in the BAT / Parameters rollout, but other than that I'm not sure. I'll look into it.

DragonAnime: Danke! Oh, and I may have gotten that texture from spa's thread...

Simfan34: Ah, that is where I have tricked you! The building is not diagonal (although I have a few ideas in mind to create some in the future); the LOT is. I am just working now on getting props for the lot designed.

jacqulina: Thank you, Jacky! I want to finish up some of the projects I have already started, but I have in mind a few BATs that I think would work in a rural setting. I will keep you posted!

UPDATE (Warning: this is a long one!)

I finished lots of little things on the Park Apts last night:

1) new textures on the back and sides of the Park Apts;
2) added nightlights to the upper lobby windows;
3) updated texture on the back of the Park Bldg -- lowered the green tone;
4) added a restaurant sign to the Park Bldg like it has in real life;
5) moved the upper frieze out some on the back of the Park Bldg to make it more uniform;
6) corrected the UVW map on the vertical sections of Park Bldg so the texture doesn't start to repeat at the base;
7) added night spots in the entryway of the Park Apts.

I'm still not sure what is wrong with the window texture on the Park Bldg. I suspect I either screwed up or doubled the UVW map and it's wreaking havoc with the texture. The window texture on the Park Bldg is the same as the window texture on the back of the Park Apts, so you can see immediately that something is not right.

Also, I would really love to add a fire escape to the back of the Park Bldg. Unfortunately, the one model I have of a fire escape is about 95,000 polys!!! Which would more than triple the poly count on this BAT! Either I find one with a lower poly count, or it just doesn't happen.




Now for an unveiling!! I can contain myself no longer. (Also, I'm worried that people are imagining too many things. I figure I had better reveal the secret project now or risk disappointing people later on.)

Rising 27-stories tall at the corner of Michigan Ave. and Cass in downtown Detroit, stands the McNamara Federal Building. Built in the brutalist style and flanked by retaining walls and massive concrete planters, the Federal Building is more of a fortress than an office building.

If you can believe it, the building itself took me a total of maybe 5 hours to model! The current plan is to recreate the angled lot on which it is situated. The building is a faithful recreation, even down to most of the roof junk. (I left some of the roof junk off for fear it would look too busy.) The lot will be more of a challenge Not only does it contain those giant concrete planters that will need to be modeled, it also has an interesting plaza, with some curious stepped feature on the west and a deep square basin on the east. Also there are two auto ramps that go down to parking beneath the building, and a short parking structure abutting it to the south.

Then there's the whole fact that it's an angled lot, which means converting the building to a prop, overhanging props, etc., etc. Here are some reference photos and a preview render for your review!

(P.S. - The wall texture is not final!)

[ACEfanatic 7]

Woah... those both look really, really good.

For the fire escape, convert it to an editable mesh, select all of the polygons, and click 'optimise'. That should knock off any unnecessary polys...

-ACE

[Gecko_2006 1]

The Park St. buildings look really nice. You've done a great job with them. The new building still seems a little plain though... Of course, the actuall thing is a bit boring too, but I think you could make the BAT more interesting by adding some variety to the window textures. Various shades, etc?

[JBSimio 152]

You've been busy! The Federal Building looks great. Personally, it's probably one of my most hated styles, but it's done very well.

I have a fire escape model that I can send you later this afternoon if you want to try it. PM me your email again as I won't have it on the computer that I'll be near by then. I'm not sure what your floor height is, but it's set up to repeat every 4.5 - 5 meters. Don't remember what the poly count is either... but if you want to give it a go, let me know.

JB

[wolverine 12]

Excellent Work!

Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of brutalism, but I'm okay with the Federal Building.  It adds some substance to the downtown skyline.