Delecto move the mouse quickly!

[Delecto 941]

Delecto's creations:

 

Delecto Essentials Files:

 

 

========================================================

 

Delecto Pearl Sunshine:

 

 

========================================================

 

Delecto Abelia Residence:

 

 

=========================================================

 

Delecto Costa Obzor:

 

 

=========================================================

 

NEXT BAT

 

 

 

 

 

 

______________________________________________________________________________________

 

Hi,


I want to share with you the Bats that I want to build, and if possible, upload them on the STEX.

I have several projects under way, but start with this.


This building is called Pearl-Sunshine, it must be built in Primorsko.





 

  Edited January 6, 2014 by Delecto  

[JakeMD 107]

Could you please post a full size screenshot? Or, if you are going to post a thumbnail, provide a link to the larger sized image. From what I can tell it looks great so far

[art128 4,618]

Wow, that building start fantastic !

[mosin33 5]

Very good, what did u use for that render? If you are using Gmax why do you not have differnent colored blocks!

Nice start can not wait to see textures!!

Mosin!

[SimFox 800]

that is a full size... I mean the building is this size? It would be very good and really needed addition...

[SimHoTToDDy 2,938]

Looking good. My only complaint is that I would like to see a SC4 preview render so we can interpret the scale and details with respect to how they will look in game. Which brings up the question, do you have BAT4MAX installed and working properly (just curious)?

Looking forward to more,

-Todd

[Delecto 941]

Thank you all for your nice comments.

Continuation of my work. I spent the whole day for a better result.

Zoom5.

What do you think?

Textures are not definitive. Possible variations of color, Blue, Yellow ...   more details to add.

my setup is: MacBook 2.2Ghz / 4GB-Ram on WindowsXP,

                       My old 3dsMAX7 (love it!!!!),

                       SimFox's BATforMAX2.5 & LightRig (modified because he changed my system from Metric to Inches),

                       Jasoncw's Tutorial for setup MentalRay which is great but difficult to configure.

Do not have used the Gamma correction for the moment because I am a novice with the settings.

SimFox: First, thank you for the great tools you give to the community. I spent hours reading your tutorials here and at SC4Devotion, they are very useful and informative. I had trouble with the BATforMAX at the beginning but now I understand better how it works. The building is at this size, six floors. On the plans he's five but I find it better with six.

[SimHoTToDDy 2,938]

Oh wow, I'm in love with those already. We can never have enough small midrises, and residential(as far as I can tell) is even better. Plus its a fun style, modern and regionally ambiguous.

You seem to have done a great job with reading the tutorials and other information before attempting this, it really shows in the quality so far. As far as gamma correction settings, Simfox's Forces of Light and the geometry of Shadows has some pointers at the very end of the thread, with some screen shots of typical settings. When you crank up the Gamma, all you really need to do is adjust textures from there (but it doesn't seem to be a problem this early in the textureing process). If you want you could just change some settings in the bitmap parameters under output instead of making a new one altogether, but use your best digression because it is really a case by case process.

[madhatter106 3,903]

Wow. This is really good. I was tempted to pass this by, since some of the European stuff doesn't fit in with most of my cities, but this is really quite extraordinary. Would love to see this (and some companions in a similar vein) on the STEX...

My one bit of advice would be to vary the textures a bit on the side walls. There's such a good degree of variance in the roof and walkway surfaces, would love to see a little variety/grime/dirt on the sides as well...looking forward to what comes next!

[art128 4,618]

Wow -- these textures are really nice.

I like the windows.

[buildsolid 4]

Nice, would love to see these on STEX, keep up the great work!!

[nofunk 1,933]

This is a great BAT! Nice design--as many have said, we need more of these in the game--and you're off to a good start with the textures. I'll echo the previous comment that the wall textures (especially the gray one) need some noise/variation, but that's my only quibble and I look forward to seeing more!

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Since most people here seconded what others said before them, I third all of the above. =)

I love the fact that you're making this kind of building, I love the size, the details, the colours - and if you even make some variations, you can already be added to the list for the "Most Spectacular first STEX Release" Trixie 2009!

Btw, are you planning to add any details on the rooftop? I think an antenna and a chimney (or two) couldn't hurt. Great job so far!

[Delecto 941]

Hi, exhausted by my job today. Finally, I've spend 30 minutes to try a dirtier variation on the walls.

Normal.

Dirtier.

What do you think guys?

I am not totally convinced but the night brings counsel.

thank you for your enthusiasm, it makes me want to improve.

[Jasoncw 11,839]

The "dirtier" version is still pretty plain. At first I didn't notice the difference between the two, but after I looked closer, I saw, and think the dirtier version is better.

The tutorials in my signature might help you with your textures. I think your textures are tasteful right now, and would definitely not be offensive in the game like so many new BATer's textures are, but with some more tweaking the textures can be really improved. It's been a while since I wrote the tutorials, and they weren't very well written, but I hope they still make sense. If something specific doesn't make sense I can try to explain it better here.

It's nice to see you working from the building's actual plans. Do you have previous experience modeling things? You don't seem new to this.

[SimHoTToDDy 2,938]

I feel your pain, getting some of these flat colored walls (although nothing is really a flat color, and should never be textured as such) to look correct can be very difficult. It dosn't look bad, but it is still too flat and uniform. There are a number of things that can be done, but I prefer editing the textures individually in a image editor (preferably Photoshop). Generally you want to add a subtle gradient, not too much because it can look stranger than before if overdone. Then add some unambiguous blotches of... whatever... be it hue, saturation, highlights/shadow variations that add to the dynamic look of the texture. Even doing an overlay of another texture to give it more grain can be good.

I am giving up one of my favorite custom textures here to give you an idea of what it might look like, you could theoretically use it for all 3 of your colors simply by changing it around. Just notice that this is very large file (2MB I think) so that you can crop out areas you don't need (too light/ too dirty/ too dark/ etc. ). Just remember that your UVW maps for your walls should not tile (you can get away with horizontal, but vertical tiling will look odd).

Just remember that you can change anything and everything about a texture to make it what you need it to be. I agree that you could use some more junk on the roof, but I don't know what you have up your sleeve yet

-Todd

[Delecto 941]

Jason, thank you for the comment, I did this very quickly with a blend Material and dirtmask texture. I already read your tutorial on textures which is very interesting, but it is an area where I have yet to learn, especially with photoshop.

You're right I am not new to 3D, but until now I was creating content especially for the Web. (It's not my job).

In any case thank you for your proposal to help, I will need.

Edit: SimHottoDDy, thx for the tips & the texture, I will look carefully Tomorrow. It's 03h00 AM for me so... and more details to come on the roof of course.

[Delecto 941]

Sorry for double post .....It's better?

Only the white front wall is textured!

I used the texture SimHottoDDy give me, edited in photoshop and used as BumpMap too.

Personally, I am happy even if I find that it gives a look a little bit too dirty to the building. It is supposed to be brand new.

If you find it ok, I continue in this direction. Pleaz give your opinion.

[SimHoTToDDy 2,938]

Looks better, I agree that is a bit too dirty. My advice is to:

A) Crop out some of the darker end of the texture, it just seems a little too dark for this building. Or you can Adjust the UVW map to be "taller" so that it doesn't show up. Just that lower spot where it starts to turn brownish/green needs to go I think.

B) Use the Dodge tool (or simply a low opacity white paintbrush) to lighten the undesirable areas. Although I like where the grime is on this one, you could also reduce the blotches/cracks/ etc. in this same manner (although the patch tool is great for finite stuff like cracks).

But you might be able to circumvent those things just by making the texture (in PS or in material editor) a little brighter/lighter. Use you best digression. Although we all like to help and point you in a certain direction, this is your project and you should have as much fun with it as you can. This is certainly better then my first attempt and I honestly applaud you for your early quality and eagerness to learn.

-Todd

[SimFox 800]

Yeah, the cracks make it look old. To add variety for something that is suppose to look new you better use some regular and small scale noise.

It is in a way a hair splitting though, as it really, really looks great.

I wouldn't really recommend the use of Bump for BATs since this is a post effect and it is per-pixel one. and one pixel at even zoom5 is about 20cm...

[madhatter106 3,903]

Oh I rather like the aged look...but then I'm a sucker for low wealth. Looking great, can't wait to see the variations you come up with!

[SimFox 800]

just an idea...

You can make several versions of it... Not necessarily color wise (although this is also certainly possible) but rather rotation wise. say at 45 degree or even at 20 - availability of suitable path textures should be investigated for this...

Give such models it would be possible to make megalots of this buildings

[mosin33 5]

I love little buildings like this. Its the little things that make the game fun.

Nice work and can not wait to see what you do with these.

-mosin33

[De Ja Vu 117]

Simple, modern and stylish...I like it! I can't wait for it to get released! Will it be 1x1 or 1x2? Either way would be great!

Keep up the good job!

[mcarch 15]

I love it!

[ianpaschal 77]

Originally posted by: Delecto Sorry for double post .....It's better?

Only the white front wall is textured!

I used the texture SimHottoDDy give me, edited in photoshop and used as BumpMap too.

Personally, I am happy even if I find that it gives a look a little bit too dirty to the building. It is supposed to be brand new.

If you find it ok, I continue in this direction. Pleaz give your opinion.quote>

Personally I think it looks great, but I do slather my buildings in dirt.  Here's an example of my kind of texturing:

which gives a look like:

Also, even buildings that aren't very old quickly get discoloration around the bases from moisture that grows moss and leaves mud stains from when it rains.  At least, that's what happens in the netherlands.

like this on the corners:

or like this under railings:

So to be honest, I don't think it's too dirty at all.

EDIT:

Oh, and of course it's supposed to be brand new when it's put into the game, but the months zip by, or at least if you play on very fast speeds like me, in the blink of an eye.  To me it looks silly if 3 game years after it was built it still looks brand new.

This doesn't mean it has to be delapidated with a messy yard, it can still be looked after by whatever middle wealth residents live in it, but some dirty weathering is inevitable.

[Delecto 941]

Finally I got a result that pleases me well. But texturing is really long and hard to get a good result. I can shape a building like this in one day, but I spent two days just for the textures of the walls. Most time it's difficult to get a texture that is closer to a material created in the material editor of MAX, even creating it in Photoshop.

Final Day: The Blue is in the painter.

Test at 45 degrees.

Several problems appear, the textures are not displayed correctly, the left wall seems over-exposed + structure appear distorted + shadows problems..... Bref, need more work on this one.

As you can see here ...

...the building is 45 degrees, the LODs are positioned normally.

Is this the proper technique, because each time I try to turn the original LODs, I get a script error and can not do the preview???

+Can anyone tell me if there is a tutorial to setup the nightlighting scene with BATforMAX2.5???

Originally posted by: SimFox just an idea...
You can make several versions of it... Not necessarily color wise (although this is also certainly possible) but rather rotation wise. say at 45 degree or even at 20 - availability of suitable path textures should be investigated for this...
Give such models it would be possible to make megalots of this buildingsquote>

Excellent idea, I think about it and do the maximum.

Scipio: Waooou! superb model & textures, I am not able to do that. Expect you to give the STEX one of your superb model one day? In any case, thank you for your irrelevant opinion.

---

As I am faster for modeling, I started another one. Say hello to...

Abelia Residence: Perspective.

Zoom5:

far from over of course.

All others, thank you for your comments and support.

[SimHoTToDDy 2,938]

Wow, quite a bit you have been doing! Lets go from the top I suppose.

The textures you have added look very good and the walls (although I really don't like how green the bottom is, just desaturate a tad) look much better. The roof came out great I think.

As for the 45 degree versions, they tend to look very odd simply due to the direction of the lighting rig to get the shadows to match everything else in game. Your results, although there are a few strange shadows going on around the balconies and wall transitions, are typical for what you are doing. The textures look fine, I wouldn't worry too much about those.

LODs are meant to be on a flat, 90 degree angle like your building was before it was rotated. When you rotate your building, just hit the refit-LODs button and you will be good to go. Reason is, the LODs are the 3d models that are used in game on which the images (renders) or your BAT are projected. If the images were projected on an angle like what you tried to do, then the building would look mighty strange.

Setting up a night scent in max is relatively simple once you get to know the handful of steps. I think there is a tutorial on SC4D that describes how to set up night libraries, which I found to be extremely useful, and it also covers the few other parts of a night scene. Just go into tutorials>BATand Modeling> it should be the only lighting tutorial in there (at least since I last looked).

The new model looks like another keeper, relly coming along nicely. I fell the same way about modeling versus texturing, I can make the model I need in a few hours, but it will take me several days to perfect ONE texture. So your not alone . Again, great progress and I hope to see more,

-Todd

[Jasoncw 11,839]

You'll actually want your LODs to rotate with the building, so that they are snug with the building.  The angle of the LODs doesn't matter.  I've used the word "project" a lot in the past, but it's not entirely accurate. 

All that's happening is that the rendered images (just like your preview renders) are being overlayed on the LODs.  It's basically like SC 3000 or 2000, there's just pre-rendered images.  The difference though, is that instead of using 2D sprites like the older games, SC4 uses 3D models. 

This is done for colision effects in the game (crashing your helicopter, demolition, smoke, fog, etc.), for terrain and automata (they are truly in 3D), and for prop placement (the 3D engine is more streamlined for placing a bunch of small objects than using Z-indexes and things in 2D games).  The game also uses the LODs when you're hovering your mouse over something to select it. 

So the actual shape of the LOD doesn't really have an impact on what the building looks like, except for the following considerations:  The images are still being overlayed on the LOD, so if part of your building extends outside of the sillouette of the LOD, it will not be visible in the game.  And the LODs are still 3D objects in the game, and in order to make the game run smoother, it's best to use as low poly LODs as possible.

[SimFox 800]

A lot has been said here already, I think I'll add my 2 ct. worth as well.

LODs. Those are as had been said the basic 3 units in game. the images you render during the export process are used to texture those shapes. This implies that you should try to a. keep these shapes (LODS) as simple and lowpoly as possible, and try to keep them as tight as possible. LODs orientation doesn't really matter. Neither LOD nor your model is actually rotating. It is a set of Lights and Cameras what is rotated around your scene. It's a technicality, though.

As for night scene... well it's all depends on what sort of night view are you planning. If you are going of classic SimCity night view or truNite style one.

With truNite you have advantage of working all the way in WYSIWYG environment. You don't need to bother with night libraries or naming conventions what so ever. There are few point that should be considered in the setup of the lighting and render of such a scene. I'll write a sort of guidelines for it this Saturday.