rockraider's projects for the STEX

[rockraider 0]

Here I will submit my ideas to the world. You tell me what you think. Simple.

[Sim shady 12]

sounds nice...is there supposed to be a picture? I can't see one if you put one up.

[autoVino 26]

No pictures... but can't wait!

Anyway, on the topic of pictures, if you decide to post a png image, manualy specify their size (click on the image icon when posting and press the refresh button by the image size options) because otherwise people in Internet Explorer (like me) will see them as a 1px by 1px dot.

[rockraider 0]

Comments, questions, whatever you think. That's what I want to hear. This is the 1st building I have made that did not follow  tutorial dimentions. I found there is a severe lack of post offices in the STEX, so I made one. I'd love to make some driveable post offices vehicles, but I don't know how. I'd love it if someone would tell me how I could go about doing that.

[autoVino 26]

looks great!  But can we have a zoom five preview?  Also, the building looks a bit too large for the scale... is it 32 meters across?  Keep in mind that one game tile is 16m by 16m and the floors are about 2.5 to 5 meters high.  For this building 4 meters would be good.

[gshmails 536]

The grid size is probably changed, I do the same thing. 

As for the model, nice so far.  Suggestions:

1) The flagpole is in front of the window, so it should be moved, or turned into a flag that is affixed to the front of the building, maybe over the door.  If you do keep it on the ground, I would make a base or planter for it to sit on. 

2) If those windows are as large as a double door, they will not be double hung windows, but just a flat piece of glass (picture window).

3) The roof texture is not correct.  A flat roof will not be shingled, so it should be more of a tar or metal texture, and not so many squares.

That is it for now, move views will give us a better concept of the entire model, good luck!

[Jasoncw 11,949]

Overall it's looking good.

Keep in mind the scale though, right now, your front windows look to be 6 meters wide, and the entire (one story) building looks to be 16 meters tall.  Each floor should be only 4 or 5 meters tall.

The roof texture you're using is shingles, but the roof looks to be flat, and each single looks to be 2 or 3 meters big each.  Other things, like the flag pole and the railings are also very big.

Another thing to look at is how the windows are aligned with the rest of the building.

Something that can help a lot is using references.  You can search google, or flickr.com, or you can take your own reference photos if you have a camera and a similar building is near you.  With the references, you can look at the proportions, and details, and everything else about the building, which you can apply to your building.

[rockraider 0]

This building is a 2x3. I know it does look rather big (the walls are , but I don't want to have to re-do this. I'd like to be able to shrink the walls, without messing everything up. Ideas?

[Jasoncw 11,949]

You can use the scale tool, which is a grey box with a white, red outlined box inside of it.  It's at the top of the screen.

[rockraider 0]

What size do you think the walls should be scaled down to?

[Jasoncw 11,949]

Each floor should be 4 or 5 meters tall, plus a meter or two for the parapet wall around the roof.

Remember that your building is only one story, so it's not going to look very tall.

[tungston 19]

Don't forget the steps must be included in the lot size, so you will need a lot at least 4 tiles long, if you put the building on a 2 wide lot it would result in the lot having the eternal lot syndrone. Design the model so the building won't touch the lot edges, i.e. 31x47 meters.

Reducing the height, and keeping the footprint the same size, just causes issues with the rendering. Save the scene, and do a save-as, before you do any resizing. That way if you don't like the results, you haven't lost your project.

[rockraider 0]

While I'm working on this, I have another one to show you. This one is not very tall, and I think it looks rather good.

It's even got the night lighting in it. I have attempted to find it in my plugins manager after I exported it, but I haven't had any luck in that. If you need a bigger picture, I'll find one.

[lil_momo 0]

Could you attach a preview render?

[autoVino 26]

Looks great!  Can we have a zoom five preview (press the day and night button under the preview section)? 

[rockraider 0]

I'll get a night render if you need it.

[patriots_1228 51]

roof texture needs work. try adding a UVW map to it. building is nicely modeled though, a few textures need work. the bright whites have to go. they will be incredibly blinding. the L shaped roof junk, the blue parts look like soft serve. once again, UVW should help. one final thing, crop out everything but the render, to save space.

edit:

sorry to double post but isn't that the exact same building as the BAT essentials one, just textured differently? with a lego sign.

[Jasoncw 11,949]

Saying sorry first doesn't mean you can double post.  Use the edit button.

It's not directly from the tutorial, like the last one, it is based on the same techniques.

[rockraider 0]

Could someone give me a link to some roof texture appropriate for this king of building? I've looked on simcities.com, but there aren't any that would work for this.

[patriots_1228 51]

jason-yea i know but for some reason i couldnt see my first post, so i didnt know if it was there or not. rock raider-there are some good texture packs on the STEX, and u can always use google.

[rockraider 0]

I had to completly re-do the Post Office from scratch. This is the product. I do have a couple of problems. 

1. The back of the Canada Post sign does not show up in the render. So it looks like the supports I put in the back are holding up nothing.

2. I tried to make a Mailbox for it, but I can't find a suitable texture. I already seached Google. If anyone knows of somewhere else, please tell me.

[rockraider 0]

One more thing, it isn't finished. No roof junk, no lighting, ect...

[Jasoncw 11,949]

Planes naturally only have one side.  You can clone the plane, and rotate it 180 degrees so that it has a back.  You can then give this separate object a different texture (since the back of the sign wouldn't have any text on it or anything).

[rockraider 0]

How am I going to apply nite lighting to it? You know...most signs are illuminated at night. (Store signs, anyway)

[Jasoncw 11,949]

There's instructions on how to make lights in the BAT Essentials tutorial.

[rockraider 0]

I'll see what I can do.

[rockraider 0]

I have finally found a way...but the light won't turn off in the day render. (No I haven't spend all this time doing that, I have been very busy lately.)

[ngeeves 5]

Try adding the prefix nitelite_ to it. That should turn it off in the day render.

Geevesy

[rockraider 0]

Now the textures are gone. Now I have a white building....

[Sim shady 12]

^ lol hence why i stopped BATing buildings when i got to the same level you're at. Ill stick to simple eyecandy BATS of grass and concrete for me