BATs Currently in Progress

[SimRabbit 48]

nice work y'all, hope to see those models finished soon.

[JakeMD 107]

Great work Scipio! Tonks your not looking that bad either B)

[skyliner22 16]

Oakland's tallest, Ordway Building

[ianpaschal 77]

Because I don't have a BAT thread:

New Update! :

[Sim shady 12]

upload it now scipio! And I thought you did have a Bat thread?

[SimFox 802]

Great work, Scipio!

But I have a nagging suspition that it wouldn't translate into BAT quite as well...

Then again, this isn't really a primary bat project, isn't it?

[ianpaschal 77]

Sim Shady: Well, I used to, but it died, then I made a new thread for the Rijksmuseum, but that project is on hold due to its enormity and my lack of free time. I'm currently working on a portfolio site of all past and current projects. I have 2 designs, one is nice and shiny, but will probably not be made for a while since it's in flash. The other one I might make in the near future, but it's not very pretty And it's not done yet, that's a good reason not to upload

Simfox: Thanks, and if not the primary purpose, this one at least as equal purpose of being turned into SC4. I would kind of love to make a CJ but at the moment it wouldn't work what with the lack of dutch models I have. I kind of need to BAT each funny shaped old city block by themselves. As for translation, which part are you talking about? In terms of textures and stuff, I suspect they will look better in BAT than Max. They certainly looked better in Photoshop, when I started to feel they were too dark in Max, but I hear BAT remedies the dark texture problem some what.

As for things like the windows, how would you guys do them? In the past I would have just made a glass material and had them reflect the outside world, but now there is no outside world, so they just reflect the white ground plane.

[SimFox 802]

No.. I meant something different; namely level of details. When this model will be rendered through the cameras set as those in BAT& most of the detailing will be lost, I'm afraid.

As for the textures. Well you see what you light. Currently you lighting setup is akin to very overcast day and you textures look like that - dark and grim. So it is all down to to you lighting setup.

Bat in itself is no more hte set of scripts with accompaning Rig setup scenes. In other words settings, not more then that.

Lighting used in original Rig scenes is severely out of date. It was designed for rendering engines and computing power that is very dated. Scanline - MAX default renderer, for instance hasn't been updated for 6 years now.

Anyway all that stuff is adjustable. But physical dimensions of the models detail are not. And those could be the main problem. To put long story short your model is to fine and to detailed for the scale of SC4.

[ianpaschal 77]

Yeah, my lighting looks vastly different depending on the screen. It looks like a sunny day on my monitor, and possibly at dusk on the mac's at school, and some where in between on the PC in the CAD lab where I am now....

I still have to see how they look a la simcity4.

[SimFox 802]

Well, if it is a sunny day where are all the shadows?

[ianpaschal 77]

Originally posted by: SimFox Well, if it is a sunny day where are all the shadows?quote>

Back of the building actually.  You're standing/floating with your back to it.  Its the same lighting as this render:

However, there are the initial ambient shadows baked into the textures (because Simcity 4 can't do that), and then another set when I re-rendered that shot, so it is a little darker than it should be.

That's why I really want to figure out BAT4Max so I can see how it looks with SC4 lighting.

I've been looking for someone who can do some previews and eventually render it for me.

[Jasoncw 11,840]

For the purposes of SC4, you don't need to do any sort of baking.  SC4 isn't rendering your model, 3ds Max is, and 3ds Max can do shadows.

Also, the materiality of the objects affects the effects of light.  All of the materials on that building are probably dull (brick, stone, etc.), but they are different colors.  For example, the brick chimney should reflect brown light onto the roof.  If everything was grey when you rendered to get the shadows, then all of the reflections would be the same color.

Luckily to do previews with 3ds Max, you just need the camera/light rig.  Go to file>X Ref Scenes, and add the rig to it, and you'll have a rig.  To do previews from multiple angles, you can make a helper object, and attach the rig to it, and you can then rotate the rig by rotating the helper (I don't know how exactly to do this, but it is how 3ds Max rotates the cameras/lights).  Or you can just rotate your BAT by 90 degrees to get the different views.

There's more information about doing previews in the BAT - Mega FAQ.

I think most of the facade will be illegible when rendered at SC4's zoom, but I still think it will look nice.  And however it looks in SC4, it's a great model.

Also, look back to your reference photo at the roof.  There should be more flashing and stuff on the roof that you don't have, and adding it would finish off the roof.

[WeekendCityPlanner 19]

This is an updated version of the building I showed before. I've used ITS's help and have redone some of the textures, what do you think?

 

I wouldn't mind if someone sparks life back into my thread. Link's in my signature.

[ianpaschal 77]

Originally posted by: Jasoncw For the purposes of SC4, you don't need to do any sort of baking.  SC4 isn't rendering your model, 3ds Max is, and 3ds Max can do shadows.quote>

Well yeah, I know SC4 is pre-rendered, but I still like to do that, because then I also have a reference in photoshop when I make my non-tiling textures.

Originally posted by: Jasoncw

Also, the materiality of the objects affects the effects of light.  All of the materials on that building are probably dull (brick, stone, etc.), but they are different colors.  For example, the brick chimney should reflect brown light onto the roof.  If everything was grey when you rendered to get the shadows, then all of the reflections would be the same color.quote>

Of course, I've seen this in renders before but I'm not totally sure how to do it.  It has something to do with global illumination does it not?

Originally posted by: Jasoncw

Luckily to do previews with 3ds Max, you just need the camera/light rig.  Go to file>X Ref Scenes, and add the rig to it, and you'll have a rig.  To do previews from multiple angles, you can make a helper object, and attach the rig to it, and you can then rotate the rig by rotating the helper (I don't know how exactly to do this, but it is how 3ds Max rotates the cameras/lights).  Or you can just rotate your BAT by 90 degrees to get the different views.quote>

Only I don't have the Camera Rig Scene

Originally posted by: Jasoncw

I think most of the facade will be illegible when rendered at SC4's zoom, but I still think it will look nice.  And however it looks in SC4, it's a great model.quote>

Of course, but I don't think that's a good reason not to put that detail in.  Even if you can't make it out, the fact that there's that smudge of pixels that used to be a coat of arms implies that it's there.  In my opinion, the details will really make or break a model.  The same goes for my trim I put on.  The actual ins and outs and shape of the loft profile don't matter, as long as you get those multiple long, skinny shadows that imply the trim is there.

Originally posted by: Jasoncw

Also, look back to your reference photo at the roof.  There should be more flashing and stuff on the roof that you don't have, and adding it would finish off the roof.quote>

Ah yes, I saw that, trust me I'm not one to skip out on detail.  It simply isn't textured  yet though (I assume you're refering the  two smaller  windows coming out).  I wanted to see the roof texture first, un-obstructed by the white boxes that will eventually become windows.

But back to one of my initial questions, how do you guys suggest I do the windows (the actual glass and what not)?

[brtim2 11]

Originally posted by: Scipio

But back to one of my initial questions, how do you guys suggest I do the windows (the actual glass and what not)?quote>

Sorry, can't help you out there I've only put in a blurry bitmap and leave it at that.

I doubled my work on the stadium! Really, all it took was some mirroring. And I found out I shouldn't reference anything cause that kept it from being a mirror-and-forget method. But I fixed that problem, and here's what I have.

I was working on the press box on the east side, but I somehow caused an error (me, be the source of a problem, never!) and the program closed. As I started a new scene to then merge the finished press box into the stadium (there are quite a few polys in the stadium right now) I hopefully didn't lose much if the autosave didn't work or if the scene somehow got corrupted.

This is compressed. Click for full size (opens in new window)

And because the stadium is quite large and I don't like sitting on one thing too long, I began on another project. (Which is probably why I'm sitting on a lot of saved files, but 2 releases....)

This is the 14 story Baltimore American Building at the corner of South and Baltimore Streets in Baltimore, MD. The first skyscraper to be built after the Baltimore Fire in 1905 (or '04, can't remember).

          

The two story building to the right will have to be on the lot, I just haven't gotten to that one yet.

[autoVino 26]

 

[delija21 295]

the belville complex

[patriots_1228 51]

Autovino-wow.

That looks so real. its incredible.

[Glenni 1,444]

Don't mind me, just messing about with my 4th diagonal building.

[autoVino 26]

love the detail.

[ILL Tonkso 1,236]

Nice details Glenni.

SInce nobody can seem to find my BAT thread hidden in the NDEX forum, here is an update on Snow Hill. Click HERE for full image.

[Jasoncw 11,840]

Originally posted by: Scipio

Originally posted by: Jasoncw For the purposes of SC4, you don't need to do any sort of baking.  SC4 isn't rendering your model, 3ds Max is, and 3ds Max can do shadows.quote>

Well yeah, I know SC4 is pre-rendered, but I still like to do that, because then I also have a reference in photoshop when I make my non-tiling textures.quote>

You can do a side render or a viewport screenshot to get that, but including the lighting isn't necessary.

Originally posted by: Jasoncw

Also, the materiality of the objects affects the effects of light.  All of the materials on that building are probably dull (brick, stone, etc.), but they are different colors.  For example, the brick chimney should reflect brown light onto the roof.  If everything was grey when you rendered to get the shadows, then all of the reflections would be the same color.quote>

Of course, I've seen this in renders before but I'm not totally sure how to do it.  It has something to do with global illumination does it not?quote>

I don't have GI enabled as far as I know, and it works with mine.  I think it's simply the light bouncing, so I think it would happen with any raytraced light with bounces.

Originally posted by: Jasoncw

Luckily to do previews with 3ds Max, you just need the camera/light rig.  Go to file>X Ref Scenes, and add the rig to it, and you'll have a rig.  To do previews from multiple angles, you can make a helper object, and attach the rig to it, and you can then rotate the rig by rotating the helper (I don't know how exactly to do this, but it is how 3ds Max rotates the cameras/lights).  Or you can just rotate your BAT by 90 degrees to get the different views.quote>

Only I don't have the Camera Rig Scene .quote>

[allez l'om 1]

beautiful BATs!!!!

[Glenni 1,444]

Here's an update, i'm still working on the lights though...

[mightygoose 92]

shhh.....

[Glenni 1,444]

New building

[patriots_1228 51]

ain't bad for 314 polygons^

[Jasoncw 11,840]

I guess I should put something in here.

[BurroDiablo 222]

Mightygoose - What on earth is that gonna be? I like it so far

Glenni - Nice start... are those TEARS in the Awnings? Put down the needle you detail junkie

Jason - Love the second one, the details at the top are great

[ilikehotdogsalot 308]

Those are jaw dropping, Jason!