BAT - Troubleshooting & General Discussion

[Jasoncw 11,941]

Almost everyone uses one of those two. Some use sketchup and then import although I don't really recommend it.

[Cool_Z 1,547]

I was more thinking about home design programs that can export to .obj or .3ds and finishing the job with 3DS...

 

I think I'll give it a try

[AeonProjects 20]

Hello, Having an issue with rendering. I put the topic in the wrong thread. link here (Sorry) 

 

Basically when rendering east view doesn't show up models created under  a meter or highly distorts them (This issue is only related to east view and other views have no problems). Any suggestions on how i might fix this issue would be greatly appreciated.

[KonstantinII 1,106]

Is that how it is? I never really knew that. I was always wondering how to make my objects centered rather than overhanging. Thanks for the tip.

Just center them on the axis in sketchup, then import

[Cool_Z 1,547]

What the hell is wrong with the lot editor ??????????

 

It keeps on saying that every tile must have a base texture, you can't save and it keeps on resetting the base texture until suddently it lets you save and you have no idea why. 

[Jasoncw 11,941]

The lot editor does require that you have a base texture for every tile. If it's letting you save without a base texture, idk how. If you want an easier way of doing that, use the lot editor that's included with PIMX (available at sc4devotion.com).

 

Or if all your tiles actually do have base textures and it's telling you that error then things must be messed up and it might be best to just reinstall.

[Cool_Z 1,547]

Well no it didn't let me save without a base texture, but (and I had chosen a base texture) it removes the base texture and says "each tile must have a base texture". After a lot of re-saying it which base texture I want and trying and trying and trying again it finallly accepts to save.

[Cool_Z 1,547]

Ok... seems like the LE does not like 1x1 lots, it does not keep the base texture on a 1x1, you have to work on a 1x2 minimum and go back to 1x1 

[annlou 8]

Hello. Am not sure where to post this, so sorry in advance if this is the wrong place. I am having a problem when I try to export from Gmax Bat and I hope someone can help me. When I export I keep getting 'export failed - error 6'. Anyone any ideas what this error code means? Thanks in advance for your help. I did check and search through the forums for the answer to this problem but couldn't find one.

[mrbisonm 1,622]

Here's what you can do. It usually works for me.

 

In Gmax, choose the complete model and "save as", give it another name.  Then rename your Plugins folder in MyDocument/Simcity4 to something like "Plugins1"

Create a new Plugins folder, keep it empty.

In Gmax, exit your model and re-enter it, then render.

 

It should work now.

 

 

Sometimes the model is a little screwed up or something and renaming it and trying it with another name can make the difference. Also if you have to much stuff in your Plugins, gmax sometimes doesn't render or fail-renders . Once rendered you can go back to your regular Plugins.

Good luck and let me know if it worked.

 

Fred

[mntoes 271]

A list of bat error codes can be found here:-

 

https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=4501.msg142394#msg142394

 

 

Error#6:-

 

Error #6 - Error rendering/saving zoom 5 rotation 1 view. Possible causes:
•   File sharing violation. This typically happens when the Lot Editor or the game is running.
•   Output file is write-protected (read-only).
•   Running out of memory.
•   OS error. 

 

How big is your model? How much memory do you have?.

If you have the right OS you could try using a usb dongle with "readyboost" to give you some extra memory.

 

 Have you checked that you are using the correct scale?

 

Hope this helps.

[Jasoncw 11,941]

Unfortunately error 6 is a generic error that only says "something went wrong somewhere". But those are good things to check, especially memory (watch out for poly-heavy models, but also big textures).

[RenoEdits 4]

Greetings.

 

Recently, I've re-acquired SC4 Deluxe, and what I wanted to do before, I'm still stuck in the mud in: Custom Road/Highway Signs.

 

Here's an example of the sign I'm trying to use in the Miami region I downloaded from the STEX:

 

I have gmax and the BAT as well. I even downloaded some good-looking templates from the STEX to use but the issue is getting the image into the editor and going from there.

 

Any and all help is appreciated.

[Huston 5,799]

Hey, I'm not sure if this is a problem that's come up or been resolved in this thread, and the issue seems to be isolated to BAT4Max and not 3ds Max's on rendering system. I tried rendering a cruiser I have and it's readily textures with a UVMap, bump ma and a self-illumination map. But for some reason, when I try to render it in BAT4Max, I get this bitmap runtime error, specifically in BAT4Max.

 

 

Any reason and solutions for it?

Nevermind, the situation's been resolved

[timmyc1983 3]

Hello, I'm new to all this so not sure if I'm asking in the right place but it seemed appropriate here...

 

I am working my way thru the Omnibus BAT tutorial and have got to the textures part. I have two problems;

 

Firstly, I am trying to extract some textures from a .dat file and am following the tutorial for this on SC4devotion. This worked fine until I got into FSH image Manager, everytime I try to load any of the textures, I get this error:

 

 

I literally have no idea what any of that means... Any ideas??

 

Secondly, when I am in gmax/BAT, the tutorial says this:

 

 

Which is fine but when I try to do that I click standard (at the second arrow) and it goes straight to this:

 

 

Now I see further down in the tutorial this is the window used for later on but missing the other two steps means I will only ever be able to use this one texture, which would look pretty bad... I must be doing something wrong....?

 

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks

[Jasoncw 11,941]

For the material, there's a box to the right of the "Diffuse" label. Click that, and then select "Bitmap" to load the image. Then if you want to make a new material, click on the "New" button at the top. To select an old material, click on the "Pick" button and click on an object in your scene with the material you want to edit.

 

I can't help you with your .FSH problem though.

[timmyc1983 3]

For the material, there's a box to the right of the "Diffuse" label. Click that, and then select "Bitmap" to load the image. Then if you want to make a new material, click on the "New" button at the top. To select an old material, click on the "Pick" button and click on an object in your scene with the material you want to edit.

 

I can't help you with your .FSH problem though.

 

Ahhh OK, great thanks for that

 

Might I ask then, how do you get your textures? Do you make your own or do you use other people's?? If the latter do you use the same technique which I am trying (but getting an error in)?? 

 

Also, is there a way to make triangles? It seems to be the only shape missing, I mean there's even teapots, but no triangles...??

 

Sorry for so many questions, but I'm rather overwhelmed by everything haha!!

[Jasoncw 11,941]

The time it takes to google for just the right texture is longer than the time it takes to just make it. I make textures by editing together several textures in photoshop. The base textures usually come from cgtextures.com

 

Also I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to get. You can get the ground textures from the lot editor, so if you need the paver texture or the grass texture you can get that (simfox has extracted most of the useful ones and uploaded them to the stex already). But for buildings, the .FSH files contain the pre-rendered images of the buildings, which are essentially the same as the preview renders you see people posting in their threads. SC4 is only partially a 3d game.

 

 

For triangles, you'll want to google "gmax snaps" to learn about snaps, which will help you make more precise freeform shapes.

[dazflint 25]

I couldn't get BAT to install on my shiny modern Windows 8 laptop.

 

Problem is, I'd downloaded SC4 via Origin. This meant that my game folder was in a place that isn't compatible with BAT; the BAT installer didn't even believe that SC4 was installed!

 

I had no problem installing GMAX, I've had that up and running.

 

So, I went back to an old laptop of mine, with an old original installation of SC4. I installed GMAX here, then I installed the BAT pack. It all worked fine, of course. 

 

Then I searched the timecode of the various files and folders in my GMAX installation, and copied these to my pen-drive. I transfered the files to my new computer, and put them into the corresponding folders (SC4's Apps folder, and GMAX's folders). Seems like it should have worked! Double-click on the BAT icon, and...

 

Not quite. I got an error, 'GMAX LOC environment error not found'.

 

Fortunately somebody (Timmystwin) had already posted about this error - thank you! - it seems it was related to me running Windows 8 (or perhaps, because I 'installed' the BAT via the back door). So I applied this workaround:

 

"If you're on 7, and I assume Vista, type variable into the search bar (In the start menu) and click edit system variables. At the bottom of that little window is a button called Environment Variables, click it. Add a new one on the lower box ( System Variables) called GMAXLOC with the Variable value as the path to your GMAX folder (Mine is D:/Gmax for example). Then it will all work nicely."

 

This worked fine - I now have the BAT pack up and running, where before it seemed useless! 

[KonstantinII 1,106]

I am exporting the LOD for my props (made in 3ds Max), in Gmax. When exporting, I am asked to save the file. Then I get this registry error

 

Then, in Plugins Manager, when I drag my SC4Model file to the props tab, the same registry error appears.

 

I open it in Lot Editor, and it appears as a black, pixelated box.

[T Wrecks 10,210]

The registry error is odd. Where are you trying to save your file? Could it be that you don't have admin rights in your account or that you don't have all the required privileges for the target folder?

 

 

The lower error looks familiar. Have a look at Jason's BAT Mega FAQ:

 

 

Install the ID fix created by Maxis.  The name of the file is ModelNames.ms.  The fix along with other Maxis files is available here.

[KonstantinII 1,106]

 

The registry error is odd. Where are you trying to save your file? Could it be that you don't have admin rights in your account or that you don't have all the required privileges for the target folder?

 

 

The lower error looks familiar. Have a look at Jason's BAT Mega FAQ:

 

 

Install the ID fix created by Maxis.  The name of the file is ModelNames.ms.  The fix along with other Maxis files is available here.

 

 

I got rid of the registry error by running SC4BAT and Plugins Manager in Administrator mode. And I installed the ModelNames file. Now the whole model does not have a glitch in all it's view. It looks perfectly normal, except for in the two closest zoom levels, where only a part of it is glitched up. But that is still unacceptable!

[Huston 5,799]

Okay, this is just a general question on 3ds Max techniques. But what's a way to smoothen curves on buildings or the edges of poly's and normals? Been trying to find something that does, and it's possible on sketchup, but the smoothing only appears on the normals/poly's and is purely cosmetic. The edges are still rugged, and look terrible. Any suggestions?

[Reddonquixote 4,339]

Okay, this is just a general question on 3ds Max techniques. But what's a way to smoothen curves on buildings or the edges of poly's and normals? Been trying to find something that does, and it's possible on sketchup, but the smoothing only appears on the normals/poly's and is purely cosmetic. The edges are still rugged, and look terrible. Any suggestions?

 

There's a couple of ways depending on what you want to achieve.

 

1) Auto-smooth - If you have a round object but the joins are visible and it looks faceted, select just the polygons you want to be smooth, scroll down to 'Polygon Smoothing Groups' and press Auto-Smooth.

 

Before & After:

 

 

2) Chamfer - if you have an rounded object that doesn't have enough sides to be round, or you want rounded edges on a square object, then use Chamfer. Chamfering kind of splits edges into multiples, the number and width of the splits you can adjust within the tool settings. If you select corner edges, it creates a rounded edge. The number of divisions will determine how smooth it is. You will need to use auto-smooth afterwards to finish the effect.

 

Before & After:

 

 

3) Round Corners (materials):  In the Arch & Design Materials, you can actually create the illusion of rounded edges. Under Special Effects, there's a tickbox option called 'Round Corners'. Of course, it doesn't really round your object, it just takes the sharp edges off, but I believe there are some limitations where it does, and does not, work so well. Also, the rounding effect will only be visible in the render. I recommend you do a bit more reading on this option before using it.

 

Before & After:

 

That's 3 methods that immediately spring to mind

[Huston 5,799]

The first is doable in Sketch up and not exactly what I was looking for. The second sounds perfect though! The third, sounds really useful

 

Thanks reddon, this'll help me out for a thing I'm doing

 

EDIT: how do you get the Chamfer modifier? I've looked on the web, but it's asking me to go the modifier drop-bar, and find the geometry modifier to get to the Chamfer modifier? But I can't find it since it's not there.

[Reddonquixote 4,339]

Chamfer isn't a modifier (or it might be, but that's not what I use or what I was referring to. I just meant the Chamfer tool).

 

The Chamfer tool is only available when you select one or more edges. Upon selecting an edge, an 'Edit Edges' roll out becomes available. One of these is called 'Chamfer'. You click the little icon next to the Chamfer button to enable the tool options. (Selecting the button directly gives you a manual option which I don't really know how you would use it in a useful or practical sense.)

 

 

Once you click the little icon, you get the Chamfer tool dialog. This enables you to create the shape you need.

 

In the Chamfer tool dialog there are 3 settings:

 

1) Edge Chamfer Amount - That's how wide apart the Chamfer will be (The distance between the two outer edges of the Chamfer). On a corner edge, its splits them in opposite directions along the two flat planes, creating a diagonal edge.

 

 

2) Connect Edge Segments - That's how many subdivisions will be created in between the two outer edges of the Chamfer. On a flat edge it will just divide the sections evenly. On a corner edge, it calculates the roundest path. The more subdivisions you create, the rounder it becomes.

 

2 edge segments:

 

9 edge segments:

 

3) Open Chamfer - This removes all the poly's between the two outer edges of the Chamfer. I don't really see the point of this, but I've included for completeness:

 

 

The last three options in the dialog are Accept / Repeat / Cancel, respectively.

 

Hope this helps!

[Huston 5,799]

Thanks, just what I needed to know

[JP Schriefer 5,591]

Hello

My building "Central Bank of Brazil" is completely done, but inside the game there's a problem. The nightlights works in all the angles and all the zooms, except for one of them, the south view in zoom 5 (and 6, but the building is not HD). In 3ds Max in the preview it's ok, but in the game it just doesn't work in zoom 5 south view. Already exported again but the issue persists =/

Anybody knows how to fix that? I only need to fix this to upload it to STEx

Thanks in advance.

[Jasoncw 11,941]

It sounds like something is messed up with the .SC4Model file itself, and not the renders, so you'd have to use the reader to go into the .SC4Model file and manually fix whatever the problem is. When you exported again did you export a fresh .SC4Model file as well? If not that's what you'll have to do. If you did, then you'll have to change the LOD a little bit (for some reason LODs have the potential to mess things up and just slightly changing them fixes the problem) and export again.

[JP Schriefer 5,591]

I did it and worked fine! I did the sc4model file again.

Thank you really much, Jason! Again