Nofunk's BAT Thread

[nofunk 1,933]

edmonton_stinks: I'm trying! Thanks!

wolverine: Which is even more absurd because there is no reason the Fox should have to be visible from Comerica Park. Everybody knows it's there... it's just a block away!

josefmayor: I've always been curious: why does Tampa have so much moorish architecture?

WillG_75: That is my current plan. Thanks!

Fledgeling: I'll tell you what: I actually did model the exedra but given SimCity's view, you could only see the top window of it, and it looked really strange. I strive for realism, but I also want these to look good in the game. So I'm going to leave this model as is.

Swiss_Canadian: Thank you! Yeah, it really is a shame, and I can only hope that some of that preservation love crosses the river into the Motor City.

UPDATE

Well, since I've kept myself up absurdly late working on this, I might as well show you all how the Hotel Wolverine has advanced. The cornice texturing still needs some work, but I'm pretty pleased with the overall results.

[wolverine 12]

Nice!!

[jacqulina 162]

excellent progress looking very nice so far

[toxicpiano 125]

Awesomesauce!

[bixel 1,223]

Looks perfect.

[Simfan34 11]

Looking good! And must say, I was looking at DYes. Just When I thought Kwame had changed his ways....

[ilikehotdogsalot 307]

Beautiful building, the texturing is amazing, but we can only expect the best from you

[Fledgeling 1]

You are right, it looks real already! You are my favorite batter, seriously.

[Andreas Roth 607]

This is just beautiful, nofunk, great work!

[allez l'om 1]

represents very well the industrial cities style!!!!!

[bbfan02 23]

Excellent colors and textures! Great job overall!

[parisinflames08 0]

I just want to bring to your attention that the inset of the building is 6 windows across with the middle 4 creating a bay window. This is from looking at the photos posted by wolverine. Of course you'd never notice in game but from an accuracy standpoint i though i'd point it out.

[spa 968]

This one came along really quickly. It looks pretty much done to me. From the photos I can see that it's not completely in keeping with the original but I wouldn't worry about that. For w2w buildings simcity sometimes requires sacrifices. I wouldn't sweat the fact that it's not completely like the original.

[Somebody 12]

nice, this will look great in my cities.

[nofunk 1,933]

Thank you all for the great comments! It's truly what keeps me going!

I don't have a real update tonight, but I wanted to post just to let you all know where things stand. I got the Hotel Wolverine lit up the other night, and did a first export. I need to tweak the night lights some, and scale the building out a little more -- it will be on a 2x2 wall-to-wall lot -- but it is nearing completion!

For the record: I will not be adding the bay windows in the light well. I've done it twice now, and both times I felt it looks really awkward given the angle the building is viewed in the game. Also, the west wall of the building used to abut another building, so the wall had no ornamentation. I will be putting ornamentation on that wall. I'm giving a little on realism with both of these elements, but I think it will make for a better building in the game, and for me, that's what's most important.

One thing I do intend to model is the huge sign that used to stand on its roof. I will offer two versions: one with the sign and one without. I'm sure this will please quite a few of you!

In any event, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to work on it this weekend. I have two write up a formal proposal for a streetscape improvement project along Eight Mile Road in Detroit. If the proposal is accepted, me and my team could see our work actually implemented along the corridor! So, needless to say, it's important I spend enough time working on that. Not to mention all the other schoolwork I have, plus a hockey game, plus a Super Bowl party. Things are busy for nofunk!

Hope everyone is doing well ... and keeping busy!

[sparkythepenguin 90]

Oh wow! That's going to be awesome! I should have asked you to do the Benson Hotel. I think the textures are the same...

Sounds like a busy weekend! Have fun!

[Swiss_Canadian 2]

Woot woot! Good for you nofunk; good luck with that proposal!! I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya! And thanks for deciding to include that sign too - I like those bits of quirkiness that you find in real cities to be in mine.

[josefmayor 8]

That is Funky FRESH!

[nofunk 1,933]

sparkythepenguin: The Benson Hotel?? Tell me more!

Swiss_Canadian: Thanks! I got the proposal done last night. Now my team and I just need to give it one final review and we'll be submitting it!

josefmayor: Ha ha! Thanks, bro!

UPDATE

The version of the Hotel Wolverine without the sign has been exported!

[Andreas Roth 607]

The model looks great so far! However, I think the textures need some work - try to lower the saturation a bit, and also tone down the window texture. The whole building seems to glow in a blue-ish tone that doesn't really fit in, compared to the surrounding buildings. Here's a pic that shows how it should look like - what do you think?

[SimFox 801]

It is a great looking building. But I'm with Andreas on the issue of color balance. It is decisively not the game one.

It may look like fishing for something to complain about, but at you level of mastery I think this is next and logical step. There is nothing to be said (at least while looking on ready renderings about modeling for instance...

Game has distinct red tint. Whites are pinkish and blues are purplish 8just look at shadows on the buildings. The later is a bit problematic as there is a clear distinction between color temperature of shadows on buildings and the ground. Ground shadows generated by game itself ate absolutely color neutral.That in my mind leaves you very valid opportunity to follow same principle in you creations. It would clash to a degree with game buildings but would fit better into game environment. But sunny side needs that cheery pinkish touch, otherwise it looks like house of cartoon cillain over which clouds are gathering even on a sunny day.

Depending on what you want to do with shadows there are at least two distinct ways to handle this situation.

If you want to follow building line then you may use one of MAX' color mapping filters. For instance Logarithmic Exposure control. It has nit white point control. It works on a subtractive basis. You pic a color that should be white and the shade will be uniformly subtracted from the rendering. There are other very practical controls there as well. They would allow you to deal with too dark/too bright problem for instance...

If you feel like following games aproach to shadows then you can simply affect the color of your sun. However this couldn't be done with some light sources (like Mr Sun, Mr Sky.

[nofunk 1,933]

Andreas, SimFox: Ack! You're right, it's very blue! I'm actually wondering if I left the environment set to night when I exported, because if you look at previous preview renders above, the textures don't look that blue. I didn't realize it would make a difference, but maybe it does. (The one area in which I'm still a novice in 3ds is lighting.)

SimFox: Would max's color mapping filters allow me to lighten up the shadows in the light well? I think it seems really dark now. I realize that the direction of the sun dictates how dark it is, but at this point, the bottom of the light well is pitch dark.

[SimFox 801]

Nokunk:

It will, great deal!

What it does it takes the brightness data and normalizes it - lovering contrast by subduing overly bright spots (those that exceed 1) and brightening dark ones.

[ianpaschal 77]

Honestly, I don't think the color is going make a very big difference. As for me, my only complaint is that the windows are too light. If you're trying to make it fit in with the rest of SC4's buildings the windows should be a dark greyish brown. I think. Honestly though, the bricks are without a doubt red tinted and if the stonework is a bit neutral, I don't think that detracts in anyway from the game. Frankly my cities often look like they've on an overcast day (good for the dutch look) I think because of the terrain texture I use. I suspect your building's stonework will look better for me at least if it stays grey.

I see the color tint that Simfox is talking about but I think I will do some testing of that screen shot in photoshop when I get home.

[allez l'om 1]

so wonderful!!! i wanna download it!!!!!!!!!

[nofunk 1,933]

UPDATE

Well, I've gotten bogged down with schoolwork again, but I did get a chance to revisit one of my older projects the other night.

The Mercer Building:

I added the elevator penthouse, tweaked the cornice some, and added loading bays to the light well at the back. I still need to add some doors, roof junk, and light it up. For some reason though, I'm not entirely pleased with this building. I can't put my finger on what I don't like about it though.

The Hotel Wolverine is with Jason right now so he can look at the night lighting, but rest assured once that's squared away, it'll be on its way!

Hope everyone is doing well.

[spa 968]

Nofunk. I like this new building from the ground to about the bottom of the cornice. It has a good sense of mass and will make a nice midrise. I think at the top though it starts to come apart somewhat and maybe that's why you don't like it. If I may suggest, since you kind of asked, I think the cornice might overhang too much. It almost looks like it's just hanging and not connected to the rest of the building. Shrinking its size might fight that effect. Next, the concrete that's at the same height as the old cornice looks strange. They really don't flow or look like they belong together at all. Finally, at the back, why doesn't the cornice wrap around? I don't know many buildings from this era of this size, but in my experience, the interior hollow isn't just an architectural dead zone. Usually whatever syle has been used on the rest of the building wraps around into it. On your model though it doesn't. Finally, above the second floor windows, the rounded stone doodads looks really flat and your columns aren't quite there, but they also aren't quite gone either.

All that said Nofunk, this is really good. You just mentioned that you didn't like it so I thought I might note what stands out to me incase they're things that are bugging you and you're just too close to the model to see them. Whatever you decide on the points I have raised I'm sure will be fine and this will end up in my plugins folder.

[Spike345 20]

Perhaps it may be the ground floor? the building doesn't seem to have an enterance!

[st louis dude 6]

nice but what about the renc cen and brush park?

[bbfan02 23]

Originally posted by: Spike345 Perhaps it may be the ground floor? the building doesn't seem to have an enterance!quote>

 

Yeah, and are you going to add some flora and/or parking around it?