"Sketchup then BAT" thread?

[simcity4fan12 13]

I have a question about BAT threads(I hope this is the right place for this), but is it a wise Idea to start a BAT thread when you use sketch up? I'm just asking because I think people will find it better to see renderings of your BAT even if its un-textured or doesn't have alot of detail until a next update. You can use sketch up to model your building, then fix up its textures and export it in BAT after turning the sketch up file into a 3ds. file. So, any way, would it be an ok Idea to do? Or should I just keep my progress to myself and wait to show it when its fully done?

[Ferrariguy1000 43]

well, sketchup is alot easier so yea, but if you don't have pro then that's a problem. Pro costs about $500+. but in order to export, download the trial version. Another good thing is that sketchup shows the textures whereas gmax just shows the colors it most likely represents. So yea, it is a good idea to use sketchup.

[nofunk 1,933]

Personally, I don't mind seeing sketchup models here. I've done a lot of work in sketchup and appreciate seeing others work. I do think it is a lot easier to imagine a building in the game when BAT renders are provided, but if you are really interested in starting a BAT thread and modeling buildings for the game, I don't think you should let that stop you! Although, depending on how long it takes to export from sketchup and then import into BAT, you might consider periodically offering BAT renders for people to see.

Still, I think given the number of folks who are now delving into sketchup, I think we'd all better get used to seeing more of it on here!

[Jasoncw 11,839]

I think it's fine to work in sketchup, but you'd need to have total confidence in that what you model.  Scale of details, and how shadows fall on things, are ultra important aspects of BATing and you can't really tell what it will be until you do a BAT render.  So it's ok to work in Sketchup, but make sure to export and preview a lot.

Whatever you do though, it'd be fine to start a BAT thread.  I don't know what kind of advice you'd get if you posted sketchup screenshots, but you're free to do it.

[OffshoreTacos 5]

I've found that you don't need Sketchup Pro if you have 3ds Max. In the free version of Sketchup, export to Google Earth format. Change the .kmz extension of the exported file to .zip. Unzip it, and you'll get a .dae file. This file is in the Collada format. 3ds Max can import it using a free plugin.

[SimFox 800]

Jimmy check you link, it's not working...

Actually, I wonder, when this link bug will be fixed??