Nofunk's BAT Thread

[nofunk 1,933]

...I'm back. 

[JP Schriefer 5,590]

Great news! \o/

Welcome back

[Ceafus 88 1,794]

Welcome back @nofunk I have always admired your work.

[T Wrecks 10,209]

What kind of comeback is this? No upload? No picture? If you're back, then what are you waiting for? CHOP CHOP!

But seriously: welcome back, Nolan - it would sure be nice to have you around more regularly again.

[nofunk 1,933]

Thanks everyone! @T Wrecks, you know I have to tease. 

So, I figure the best way to get back up to speed is to take stock of my current WIPs:

Let's take them each in turn.

1. Kilbourn Tower: One of the last BATs I was working on before I fell off the map. This was inspired by an existing building in Baltimore, and I'm currently trying to decide whether to convert it to a full re-creation or just finish it up as is. This one will take a while - it's substantial, still needs quite a bit of modeling work, and I haven't even thought about textures (the ones that were on my last update for this BAT were just placeholders).

2. Garfield Block: Another one that's well on its way but needs a considerable amount of work. The modeling is done but the textures are a mess. Also, literally a year+ of experimenting with glass textures have led me to the conclusion that I need to model the interior because the windows are so large.

3. Lindsay Bros.: A new(ish) BAT I've never shown before. This is an existing old warehouse building in Milwaukee's Walker's Point neighborhood. The facade is the biggest part of this building, so it shouldn't take me too long to finish it up. It will be a 7x3.

4. City Savings Bank: Another previously unseen WIP. Loosely based on an existing former bank here in Milwaukee; should be a quick one to finish.

5. Aluminum Conversion Technology: Along with Kilbourn Tower, one of the last things I introduced in this thread. This needs a lot more work, including skylights (the gray boxes on the central massing), loading bays along the eastern wall, some more work in the courtyard that surrounds the smokestack, and tons of roof junk. This'll be a while, but I do hope to finish it sometime this year.

That's really it - I wasn't doing much BATing during my hiatus. That said, I might have a couple more tricks up my sleeve, but a real pro never shows his hand too early.

Hope everyone is doing well! 

[JP Schriefer 5,590]

Wow all of them looking great, but the Kilbourn Tower.. oh my God I need that one *_*

[Thin White Duke 4,072]

Scoop of the year. you better not leave again!

[Bombardiere 591]

All right, this is a much better way to tease.

[Jasoncw 11,840]

Looking good.  

When you get to number 5 I recommend BATing the ground in the interior courtyards. 

[metasmurf 705]

The red front part of number 5 wouldn't look bad as a 1x1/1x2 small w2w.

[Sciurus 323]

Good BATs, I wait more for the №5, which seems very interesting ! 

[nofunk 1,933]

Thanks for the warm welcome back, everyone!

On 1/19/2017 at 6:51 PM, metasmurf said:

The red front part of number 5 wouldn't look bad as a 1x1/1x2 small w2w.

This is certainly something to consider!

So, I don't have much to update on tonight, but I have made some progress on the City Savings Bank:

I'm hoping to have this finished up very soon - maybe this coming week!

[MillionSeven 45]

13 hours ago, nofunk said:

Thanks for the warm welcome back, everyone!

This is certainly something to consider!

So, I don't have much to update on tonight, but I have made some progress on the City Savings Bank:

I'm hoping to have this finished up very soon - maybe this coming week!

Great! I need those little buildings so much!

[madhatter106 3,903]

1 hour ago, MillionSeven said:

Great! I need those little buildings so much!

Indeed, generic, standard, run-of-the-mill buildings like this are always a great addition to the pool of commercial BATs available.  And it looks like a 1x2 footprint, so anything to crowd out the regular Maxis stuff (like the overused Rivello Building, et. al.) is a worthwhile endeavor.

[nofunk 1,933]

Got more work done on the City Savings Bank this weekend, and also worked some on Lindsay Bros!

The first one I could have finished up very soon, but Lindsay Bros will still take a while longer. Still, progress is progress!

 

 

[Thin White Duke 4,072]

They both look great! I'm so excited right now!  

[T Wrecks 10,209]

So am I. It's been so long since the last release, and the first one after the long hiatus is shaping up to become another little W2W gem.

[Aaron Graham 4,417]

Love the bank!!!!

[madhatter106 3,903]

On ‎1‎/‎18‎/‎2017 at 7:43 PM, nofunk said:

2. Garfield Block: Another one that's well on its way but needs a considerable amount of work. The modeling is done but the textures are a mess. Also, literally a year+ of experimenting with glass textures have led me to the conclusion that I need to model the interior because the windows are so large.

I wish  more people would do just that with large windows - modeling the interior.  Yes it does eat up a bunch of time, but it really is worth it when it comes to nightlights.  One can cheat smaller windows, but when it comes to large swaths of glass like that, it's really best to do what you've discovered.

I really like the Garfield Block; I'm looking forward to that one even more so than the bank building, which is further along.  You're a BATting inspiration!

[nofunk 1,933]

On 2/1/2017 at 5:37 PM, madhatter106 said:

I wish  more people would do just that with large windows - modeling the interior.  Yes it does eat up a bunch of time, but it really is worth it when it comes to nightlights.  One can cheat smaller windows, but when it comes to large swaths of glass like that, it's really best to do what you've discovered.

I really like the Garfield Block; I'm looking forward to that one even more so than the bank building, which is further along.  You're a BATting inspiration!

Yeah, I quite literally tried everything I could think of before finally deciding I really just needed to model the interior. Had I just done it in the first place, I would have saved myself a lot of time!

Also, hey y'all, the City Savings Bank is up on the STEX!

[gutterclub 2,729]

Beautiful and download. So good to have you back.....Now, whats the building on the left?

[slickbg56 778]

On 2/3/2017 at 11:58 PM, gutterclub said:

Beautiful and download. So good to have you back.....Now, whats the building on the left?

Hmmmm... judging by the setback, exception design, and W2W utility, I would guess that it is something that belongs in everyone's plugin folder

[DavidDHetzel 1,816]

On 1/29/2017 at 7:58 PM, nofunk said:

The first one I could have finished up very soon, but Lindsay Bros will still take a while longer. Still, progress is progress!

 

 

I really hope your still working on this!

[nofunk 1,933]

@DavidDHetzel, oh I am!

As a matter of fact, I got some more work done on the Lindsay Bros. factory building: 

[JP Schriefer 5,590]

That's stunning!!! Great job!

[Aaron Graham 4,417]

My god, the texting on this building is excellent.

[philforhockey51 4,203]

So glad to see you back at it! Looking really good!

[Thin White Duke 4,072]

Trying my absolute best to find some room for improvement, but I really can't. How are you even able to churn these out so quickly and at such quality?

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Splash goes the keyboard.

[raynev1 1,886]

That factory building looks awesome , you did a splendid job on the City Savings Bank I have to add .