BATs Currently in Progress

[BlackDragonAJ89 21]

^Yeah, I tend to the let the props be the ones to make a lot seem alive as opposed to the stuff of the buildings. Oh yeah, I got some more buildings done, but I highly reccomend that people post in my own thread because of how big this project of mine is gonna get. I'll still show of the stuff coming off the line though:

[CSGdesign 27]

Hi BlackDragonAJ89,

I like the little commercial thing - we need a lot more of that sort of stuff to dilute the Duprise's Diner (however it's spelled), but I'm confused about the door in particular... is it glass?  Swinging glass?  The circular thing in it is a temporary texture?

[Liberater444 11]

kellydale2003: i really hope you guys finish the new WTC pieces! good luck and hope to see them soon

EDIT: Hey HKBAT, I've been wondering if you can release a pack of stand alone estate-style residential towers...to make our own complexes, etc.

[BlackDragonAJ89 21]

@ CSGdesign: Yeah, I'm going to be making a lot of little business (since I'm starting small and working my way up). Now to concern with the door, it's a swinging glass door (it doesn't look all that good because I made the frame too thin). The circle is just my mistake of using a basic plastic wrap filter over the original window texture I was using. I've fixed it though, and here's the result for that building:

It looks a little more like an actual window, or at least I can tell on this building. Good thing is that all these texture changes and fixes update on the buildings, so everything is working okay on that.

If you'd like to see some more and get the progress of the stuff, I have my own thread (link is in signature). I'm willing to listen to what a lot of people have got to say and any kind of suggestions to offer.

Anyway, I should say that I almost got all my R$$ houses done, save for some 4 more that need building. After I get all the props made lot textures ready, I'll start testing them out.

As for the Maxis dinner, I can't even pronounce the name. =/

[ianpaschal 77]

Nice stuff guys. Always cool to see new BATters erupting. Generations and generations of content creators.

Anyway, today I opened up 3ds Max for the first time in a while to experiment with really milking mental ray. The result (sorry it's not actually a building):

[autoVino 26]

It looks excellent! Try working on the glass though, it is usually not that smooth, and it should have an IOR of about 1.52 (Or check the normals on the glass, it seems rather strange in its refractive properties).

Kind of looks like a bottle of "Izze Sparkling Clementine" I just had :-D

[ianpaschal 77]

Rawrg. Can't see the last few posts.

[ianpaschal 77]

Originally posted by: autoVino

It looks excellent!quote>

Thanks man.

Originally posted by: autoVino

Try working on the glass though, it is usually not that smooth, and it should have an IOR of about 1.52 (Or check the normals on the glass, it seems rather strange in its refractive properties).

quote>

I just used an MR Arch & Desn Mat with the glass preset with it's color changed from light blue to white. The lack of depth to the glass probably has to do with the fact that all those bottles where frying my aging laptop at higher render settings. I actually stuck it in my room mate's mini fridge.

Originally posted by: autoVino

Kind of looks like a bottle of "Izze Sparkling Clementine" I just had :-Dquote>

I did a project once where I drew a pile of vector graphics of Fizzy logos, which were really just slightly modified Izze logos. I did this to avoid copyright problems and for posting them in my portfolio. Last night I decided I really wanted an Izze, but I didn't have one. This was the solution and it killed two birds with one stone:

1. I now have an Izze (undrinkable yes, but very realistic looking).

2. I now have a way cooler way of showing the label drawing project than just a bunch of little rectangular images.

[HeXy 246]

This is my first in about 5 years, still some way to go with the roof and lighting

Its the Peerless Building from the disaster movie "The Towering Inferno".

[T Wrecks 10,210]

Hey, not bad at all!

You might want to change the window glass to something less monotonous, though - with such large glass surfaces, more variety really makes a difference.

Is that a zoom 5 preview? I'm asking because I'm not really sure bout the scale. I have the impression that you could make the ground floor somewhat taller, and maybe even add some height (not much, though) to the other storeys. Then again, the tower is already very thin and tall... come to think of it, I'd really welcome a version that's about 1/3 the height. That would be a nice generic filler block. Anyway, a very promising comeback so far!

[SimFox 804]

In addition to the T-Wrecks comments which i share here are some more particulate points:

1. Bad lighting.

way ti bleak and way to acidy yellow. I have always been puzzled by this propensity to yellow out the lights in BATs, particularly when people use GMAX. In old versions of Bat4Max it (due to bad realization of night renders) is somewhat justified, but in GMAX there is no reason for this what-so-ever. This is just one point. Another is the somewhat absurdity of the very design decision. You basically trying to light up something black. I mean the texts with the tower name.

2. Distribution of lit windows. The corner window is no doubt part of same space as those windows flanking it on the side of the tower. This means that you can't really have one lit and others not, or such a radical luminance values.

3. Here is apparently some smoothing groups issues.

Apart from that the tower itself... Am I wrong or is it not quite the shape of the tower in the movie?

[HeXy 246]

Thank you for your comments T Wrecks & SimFox, they are greatly appriciated.

Yes the windows arent even textured yet as you can tell, and I am struggling somewhat without my lighting tool that was so handy on my other stex submissions.  Its only a zoom 3 low quality render.

The building is the correct shape however, it confused me too initially as I thought it was a perfect cube, but after finding some better reference images, it turns out it is octagonal with longer sides (6 windows across on the front, and rear, 8 on the sides).  I've been trying to get images of the roof layout, but many are low quality, and the scenes based at the roof seem to differ from what images I have found of the model, so its currently a mix of the two.  Here are a couple of images of the front and side aspects, which also should give an idea on how the windows will eventually look:

Of course, the original model didnt have an entrance either (it would never be seen in the film), so thats being improvised.

When its moved on a bit further, I will happily post its progress, and if it does eventually hit the point of becoming stex-worthy, I'd love to produce a shorter growable edition

HeXy

[SimFox 804]

Sorry I though that the building you're making is a golden one... I haven't seen movie and when googled it it was all I saw...

[kellydale2003 2,276]

"Sorry I though"?

Yeah SimFox is super when it comes to finding mistakes

@You actually got it to good scale, I thought it was just a mistake you made, but great job!

[T Wrecks 10,210]

Originally posted by: kellydale2003

"Sorry I though"?

Yeah SimFox is super when it comes to finding mistakes quote>

Let's see all you native English speakers write flawless texts in the respective native languages of all those people who come here, and then we'll talk.  Btw, what's that "squggley" in yor sig?

[kellydale2003 2,276]

It's a double squiggley!

English isn't really my main language, I'm Aboriginal to Canada and I speak Ojibway: but yeah. Know what you mean. What Language do you speak?

Oh also, since your the moderator: my other posts got deleted for being "off-topic" and were considered "spamming". Why?

[Fresh Prince of Wmbg 44]

Originally posted by: Scipio

Nice stuff guys. Always cool to see new BATters erupting. Generations and generations of content creators.

Anyway, today I opened up 3ds Max for the first time in a while to experiment with really milking mental ray. The result (sorry it's not actually a building):

quote>

BTW- It's a really good soda....

[T Wrecks 10,210]

@ Kellydale2003: I'm not "the" moderator, I'm "one of the moderators", and I can assure you that I haven't deleted any posts during the last few days - neither yours nor anybody else's. 

[tcx 170]

I started this one but I won't be able to finish it because my computer is slow and the poly count for this one is already 38,824 polygons , you know that if you combined a slow computer with gmax at some point you will have rendering and performance problems.

I wanted this to be a diagonal in the back side but ... I think this will never be completed.

The previews are in draft quality, zoom 5 (1:2) perspective.

If someone thinks this is a good model and wants to finish this I will be happy to send the gmax file  if not, this model will die among several others gmax models I have in my computer.

lol, I know none will want to finish this, seeing what you are able to do with 3dsmax.

[kellydale2003 2,276]

@ T Wrecks - Oh yeah I know The moderator messages me and tells me what he/she did. It's just plain rude though, and it's the same moderator that keeps deleting my posts and gives me warnings. Even deleting my threads. Haven't you wondered why i don't have a BAT thread?

@tcxalapa - umm, those are just not horrible and to be contrary there not horrible uglyx6. I have to say those are Amazing!

Also the cameras for gmax renders/previews are not perspective, there orthographic. If they were perspective they would be all bendy and stuff.

[Jasoncw 11,949]

tcxalapa:  I like the height of the tower, but if you make it shorter maybe gmax will handle it, and you can finish it?

kellydale2003:  Actually, the moderators report what they do, and I (or any other moderator) can make a list of moderators who have had to contact you, and why they have had to.

[LivingInThePast 364]

I'd like to show my to-scale model of a stand-alone Payless Shoes (they do exist, btw) but I started in SketchUp (I plan to export to gmax later). I could show you guys it, but you wouldn't appreciate a white box.

[BlackDragonAJ89 21]

Well, I've covered a whole lot of territory... All of my houses are made now, and now I'm making props for the R$$ and R$$$ classes, but my lot textures are up on the STEX now...

[HeXy 246]

Good morning all

Heres the latest progress with my Peerless Building rendition, zoom 4 south facing, medium quality.  No night edition as that hasnt really changed from the initial attempt yet.

The windows are now fully textured, and hopefully you can see variations in their appearance as you look down the model. The "Peerless" texture has also been improved, and some tweaks to the base and the ceiling have been made.

Any and all comments appreciated

Hexy

[marcoheutink 70]

That is a very good improvement Hexy!

Here are some sneak previews for the noordhavenpoort, the next city gate I'm making:

[tcx 170]

wow that's a nice model meurdoos.

and Nice Tower hexy!!

now, I took Jason's advice and change the height of the tower the number of polys is now close to 20,000, this is how it looks today:

I sent the previous model (the tall one) to Heblem, maybe he can finish that model and upload it to the stex.

[autoVino 26]

I love it so far!

[BlackDragonAJ89 21]

It still looks good...

[HeXy 246]

Thank you meurdoos and tcxalapa, both of your works in progress look fantastic, merudoos;s gate  reminds me of the lovely architecture seen at Portmeirion in North Wales (used for the TV series "The Prisoner" if you know it?), I'd love to attempt to BAT some of that place one day

I hope with the lower poly count you are able to complete your vision of the tower now tcxalapa.  It would be interesting to see how both versions differ and turn out.

The Peerless building is nearing completion now.  This full zoom high quality preview was left to run overnight.  Its since been touched up further (the grey base on the left of the entrance is much tidier, the roof has been refined further, and the missing "s" on the broad side of "Peerless" has been added properly! ). 

The nightlighting is as good as I'll get it without further technical assistance.  SimFoxes point 2 above regarding the corner window illumination is not something I consider pertinent after seeing further images of the real thing during the night.  It has fully illuminated corners with dark windows either side on a good few sections (and from the original first render, it looks like each "window" is just one, whereas fully textured, each window is in actual fact, 3 panes across).

I'm hoping to do the first full high quality model export over the weekend.  Once I am satisfied with it, the big project of revisiting the actual Glass Tower from the film is next!

Hexy

[BlackDragonAJ89 21]

Well I've done some testing of the lots with my houses and for some reason, outside of the R$ houses that I made, none of the buildings will grow... =/