Twinkle, twinkle, little BAT...

[IDS2 3,368]

Both of these are gorgeous! I've never had the guts to attempt anything with so much ornamentation, but seeing these has me inspired. Absolutely delicious. 

[madhatter106 3,905]

@IDS2 - thanks.  Yeah, this last one has a lot of "cake decoration" on it.  It is a bit delicious, isn't it?  The original from which I 'm deriving the design is like a confection.  Never in a million years would I have thought I could load that much detail into nearly every facade pixel, but I've managed.  Here's some texturing work done; not sure how I feel about this yet...getting the balance right for the saturation and the lights and the darks and the warms and the cools and the brick and the aged/weathered metal, it has been a bit of a challenge.  A lot of tug of war, back and forth, between gmax and Photoshop.  Save, resave, oversave, save again...

  

And here's some texturing done for the one prior in the thread - the only thing left is doing the window texture/treatment.  I gave myself a treat for finishing it by adding a water tower...I will be the first to admit I am a sucker for water towers in BATs...

 

[madhatter106 3,905]

Not knowing what I want to do with the rooftop of my strawberry shortcake building/pastiche, I was zooming around the map of Los Angeles and found a cute little Deco building I wanted to do a riff on.  So instead of modding the medium commercial services or figuring out the new window texture and nightlights on the last two BATs, I ended up doing this.  

Still need to figure out my new window texture - I am hating what I have been using...I kinda like this little guy.  He's understated, in a grand sort of way, haha...

[benvoliothefirst 36]

Great to see that you're still at it, MHB. The youtube channel "City Planner Plays" just uploaded a SC4 video and I recommended you to anyone who is interested in the game. For me, it goes: 

Install SC4

Install NAM

Install everything MHB ever made

Everything else!

[Aaron Graham 4,417]

Your forever keeping a smile on my face. I love the mid size buildings your working on, my kinda thing man. 

[madhatter106 3,905]

@benvoliothefirst thanks, I wonder if that City Planner fellow has any of my stuff in his plugins folder...

@Aaron Graham thanks, I'm glad you like them - my stuff will never look as good as yours, though...I'm just a rank amateur.

I have Deco on the brain - got this to a workable situation, now dreading the texturing...

 

[madhatter106 3,905]

Okay, I finally uploaded the bulk of the commercial offices to the STEX - there were a whalloping twenty-two different BATs made over the course of the past several years.  Whew...thanks to @brancra for his help in testing them!  I will get around to posting what the naming convention was, hopefully sooner rather than later...

So, I managed to get this guy textured...I may add some variation to the base texture, to give it some more oomph...

 

And here's another little Deco that I was inspired to create, based on a building here in Los Angeles...

 

And yet another Deco.  I have a hard time BATting buildings in the Mayan Revival style, but this guy is turning out okay.  I still need to figure out the front entrace, which deserves something really spectacular and special...

[raynev1 1,886]

I always look forward to seeing what you come up with . Looking good.

[madhatter106 3,905]

Okay, the front door on my little Mayan treasure is done, and I threw some fancy hedges on the upper walkways...

And I was on a Deco spree, so this little guy also happened.  A riff on a building here in downtown Los Angeles...

Both need proper window texturing - I am noodling over a different window glass texture/method...hopefully it will work out.

As much as I love offices, I have always been thinking about doing some medium and high density residentials.  I quite like the Maxis residentials (for the most part), I just wish there were more variety - particulary in the unspectacular, 2x2 realm.  So I am considering doing a selection of them for a pack.  It would be a mix of all wealths - dumpy tenement and residential SRO hotels, to urban apartment and co-operatives, to lofts and converted spaces, to ritzy fancy spots.  Here are the first several of this ilk, in varying degrees of dress (or undress).  Again, windows need to be done...

The first is a riff on a converted Los Angeles downtown space; the second is a riff on an Art Deco Moderne apartment building near the Hollywood Hills.  The third is something that I originally did for an office pack ages ago, but set aside because I wasn't too happy with the look.  I dusted it off and reexamined it, and think it will go nicely in the residential world.  The first needs its storefront signs, the second needs a bit of brightening on the white texture (right now it looks pretty grimey), and the third needs some texture adjustments in saturation and color balance...

[raynev1 1,886]

Wow , they look fantastic.

[madhatter106 3,905]

Very bad personal patch right now, which has prevented me from even wanting to BAT.  But I've forced myself in the last week to fire up gmax and try to see some stuff to fruition.  Five of the deco offices have been lit, rendered, modded, and await lotting.  I also saw a picture of a building and decided to do a little riff on it...

 

This little guy is Avery Title & Trust.  He'll be released with the five Decos, hopefully soon.  Eventually I want to get back to the residentials when I'm feeling better.

[Sniffeh 121]

Your bats are appreciated.

[madhatter106 3,905]

@Sniffeh thanks, lil doggie. 

I have six offices that are being modded and lotted - five of the deco ones, and the most recent Avery Title one.  They will probably make up another office pack, hopefully to be tested and available soon.

In the meantime, I have not forgotten about the residentials that I want to do.

This is a riff on the Hotel Barclay, a downtown Los Angeles location that has just as haunted and tragic a history as the more infamous Hotel Cecil.  (I guess the Barclay can't lay claim to serial killer association status, like the Cecil can.)  At any rate, I am not sure if I would be making it a R$ (though adding all the grimy details would be fun).  But here's the barebones start.  The pink rectangle on top is a placeholder, as I think I may carve an interior light bay into the roof to allow the poor renters on the inside of the building a shred of fresh air.  Most of the textures are done, except of course for the windows (which I always end up doing last anyways.)  It needs some more little details and "oomph."

[madhatter106 3,905]

Worked on the Hotel Barclay homage - I'm naming it the Clayborne.  Too bad the angle of the sign casts the lettering in such shadow, but hey, it's there.  I need to grunge it up - adding more dirt and grime to the textures, broken window details, etc. to make it look more down and out.  Skid Row style, as the real life building is spitting distance from the real one in Los Angeles...

Here is another low wealth residential, inspired by the Baity Courts building that Maxis created.  Here is its kissing cousin...it also needs a couple of extra details...

And for you BATters out there, have you ever made a building where, hour after hour, the more you work on it, the more you hate it?  Well meet this little Deco apartment building, inspired by something I've seen in Pittsburgh...I think maybe if I put a few fancy hedge pots in front of it and add some warmth and green, it might come to life, and I might not loathe it so much.

All need their windows done - I'm mulling over a different window texturing method in my head, and have yet to work up the guts to tack a serious whack at it.  More to come later.  I have a mental idea of what the shape of this first residential pack will be.  Now let's see if I can adhere to it, and get this stuff actually done and rendered and tested, to a shareable state...

 

[Rott 2,351]

23 hours ago, madhatter106 said:

And for you BATters out there, have you ever made a building where, hour after hour, the more you work on it, the more you hate it? 

I've only been at the BAT thing for a few years now but I've had this experience almost every single time and I still ponder the many reasons for it...

[madhatter106 3,905]

@Rott - some BATs just fall out of me.  Other times it takes a bit of time to get them to a workable satisfaction rate.  But every now and then, there is a BAT which, no matter how you push the pixels around, you only seem to make it worse.  Or rather, seem to hate it more and more.  I dunno.

This little guy will be a low wealth residential, inspired by some of the dumpy square Maxis apartments and tenements.  It was fun putting the little details into it - the "For Rent" sign in the front, the laundry draped over the balconies, etc.  I rarely think of parking when BATting, but wanted to do "under the building" parking, like so many dumpy apartment buildings of this il have.  So doing a parking gate with signage was a nice change.

 

Like the others, dreading the window texturing.  

[madhatter106 3,905]

I've finally uploaded the multi-storey 1x1 medium wealth commercial services that have been featured in this thread for the past several pages (years!).  

I am grateful to fellow Simtropolis member @brancrafor being so kind as to test these and make sure they show up in-game without any hitches or glitches.  His efforts, time, and dedication are greatly appreciated by your humble BATter here.  Hopefully I will be sharing some more of the Deco offices here in the thread very shortly as well...

  Edited October 25, 2023 by madhatter106  
ugh spelling

[madhatter106 3,905]

Question for modelers out there - if I have an areaway or a sunken plaza that I've modeled in gmax and I want it to render properly, is there anything I need to do with regard to the modeling before the render or the modding after the render, with the exception of making sure the LODs are only above 0 on the Z-axis (and not extending below the proverbial "ground plane")?

[madhatter106 3,905]

So, I've decided that after two hundred or so BATs, I'm creating a little Patreon.  The extra pocket change is nice, but in part this is a good motivation for me to regularly finish and share stuff; in the last several months, I have been quietly BAting away and not getting anything done or finished to a workable state - this will be a good impetus for me to get things into gear and into people's plug-ins folders.

The aim is to create a range of works each month; either one large super supremo BAT, or a group of smaller BATs along the lines of what I've done before.  This first month is going to be one of the former - a 3x3 office building that I have been messing with a bit for a while.  Future packs will include more of my beloved CS and CO, as well as residentials, and (gasp) industrials, too!  I'm aiming to share around the middle of each month, but may split things up throughout the month depending on how quickly I can move things from the hard drive to the finished folder.

If you're interested, here's the link below..

https://patreon.com/user?u=7800135 

[madhatter106 3,905]

Thanks to all of those who have signed up so far.  I'm looking forward to kicking into high gear for 2024 and getting lots of BATs done and shared.
(And rest assured, these Patreon BATs will be making it to the STEX at some point, per the site's rules and guidelines regarding this.)

Jingle bells!

[TG24 355]

Nice dude, I luv the way you imitate the Maxis Style buildings, while also adding your own twist. Keep the good work friend!

[trar 336]

Really glad to see you back in action! Will you be using more dependencies going forward or will you be sticking to your "no dependencies" MO? I'd hope for the latter, but then again you're the one making the stuff.

[madhatter106 3,905]

@trar - thanks, I am always sort of "in action," it's just that sometimes my posts are few and far between  I rather like the "no dependencies" tack that I have mostly adhered to.  In fact, I was looking through some older uploads of mine, and a couple have a texture dependency or two, which are entirely unnecessary - though they are textures that are in very popular dependency packs which (no doubt) the most casual of players most likely will have in their plugins folders, part of me wanted to revise them and just use standard Maxis textures to make it all easier.  In the end, I decided against tweaking them...they are not problematic, and I don't want to be a hammer looking for a nail.

For future uploads, I'm firmly in the "no dependencies" camp.  Lotting is very much a personal preference, and I have no stake on any of the dogs in the race of that debate.  Some people can't stand the standard Maxis lotting, and use BSC (and other) stuff for variation and verisimilitude. My lotting is very simple, almost minimal or non-existent, as it is not a huge focus for me.  So the Maxis is good enough for me.  I know that some people have done relots of my stuff, from what I have seen in CJs and here on Simtropolis.

I think there's only one of my uploads that really required dependencies, and it was the Simtology Celebrity Center - but then again, the standard Maxis props and textures weren't going to do it justice.  That one was my biggest in terms of dependencies.

[madhatter106 3,905]

I was just wondering yesterday - has anyone ever streamed themselves BATting?

[brancra 1,134]

4 hours ago, madhatter106 said:

I was just wondering yesterday - has anyone ever streamed themselves BATting?

I know @Jasoncw has for his Patreon patrons.

[Jasoncw 11,933]

Streaming is pretty straightforward. At least in Discord you just press the button and select your monitor to stream. I'd figure other streaming services are similar. For me though, I have a 4k monitor, and also the older versions of 3ds max don't scale well with high resolution monitors (so a lot of elements are super tiny). So that combined with the fact that the stream wasn't in 4k and wasn't super high quality meant that the video was pretty hard to see.

Recording is slightly more complicated. I downloaded a program called OBS Studio which can record your screen, and it also has more in depth functionality related to streaming which I didn't get into at all but from my understanding it's a popular program for online streamers.

[madhatter106 3,905]

@brancra - ah man, I couldn't possibly follow in the footsteps of @Jasoncw - he would put my silly cargo cult modelling rituals to shame!  It would be like him conducting a major symphony orchestra, and then I come onstage afterwards with a toy piano to play "Chopsticks..." 

I wanted to test out some stuff in Photoshop, after looking at some pictures of modern glass skyscrapers.  More sophisticated modelling programs have this easier than little old gmax, but after an hour of messing around with lots of layers and opacities and filters, I kinda like the direction this little glass test cube has been going...

 

Lots more to mess around with, like the scale of what is being reflected, but the general idea is there...

[SneakyDeaky 1,128]

On 7/5/2022 at 9:44 AM, madhatter106 said:

@IDS2 - thanks.  Yeah, this last one has a lot of "cake decoration" on it.  It is a bit delicious, isn't it?  The original from which I 'm deriving the design is like a confection.  Never in a million years would I have thought I could load that much detail into nearly every facade pixel, but I've managed.  Here's some texturing work done; not sure how I feel about this yet...getting the balance right for the saturation and the lights and the darks and the warms and the cools and the brick and the aged/weathered metal, it has been a bit of a challenge.  A lot of tug of war, back and forth, between gmax and Photoshop.  Save, resave, oversave, save again...

  

And here's some texturing done for the one prior in the thread - the only thing left is doing the window texture/treatment.  I gave myself a treat for finishing it by adding a water tower...I will be the first to admit I am a sucker for water towers in BATs...

 

 I am in love with the first building in particularly, please tell me it won't fall into THE DARKNESS!!

[madhatter106 3,905]

4 hours ago, SneakyDeaky said:

 I am in love with the first building in particularly, please tell me it won't fall into THE DARKNESS!!

No, not the darkness.  To quote Emma Thompson in the movie Howard's End (who in turn was quoting an old German proverb), "not cancelled, just postponed."
I have a plan for a little set of 2x3 right-corner lot buildings, and this one will be a part of it.  
I am no further along with it than I was when I posted it in this thread originally, as I have stymied myself with the roof details, and have not decided upon what configuration it will have.  I waiver between putting something special up there, and thinking that something too highly detailed would be overkill.  The building already has a lot going on.  It will see the light of day eventually, first through my Patreon, and then subsequently here on the STEX.  I am glad it has not been forgetten about

[madhatter106 3,905]

I've been taking stock of the stuff that I've uploaded to Patreon, and thought I should share some of it, as it will be landing on the STEX in the next several months (depending on the original release date).  A few of these have been previously shared, but I've lumped them together and arranged them, so you'll see a familiar face or two...

 

Low wealth residentials - partially inspired by some similar Maxis counterparts....

 

Medium wealth residentials...

 

High wealth residentials...

 

SRO hotels - low wealth seedy flophouse style stuff...

 

Mexican restaurants - returning to my CS$ roots...!

 

Those were the first several months...mad has been a busy hatter this last year!  Hoping to share more soon...