Heblem's BAT Workshop

[Bastet69008 1,102]

OMG Absolutely wonderful! I am just back from NYC and I thought that it would be great to model THAT tower!

[_Atticus 10]

Originally posted by: T Wrecks

The tower reminds me of 1 IFC in Hong Kongquote>

That's because it was designed by the same architect around the same time So much for creativity right?

Anyways, this look great Heblem. I always see this building when I'm nearing NYC and it always catches my eye, even though it's in........ New Jersey.......

-Pingangster

[Heblem 600]

Thanks everybody!

Amthaak: Tha did help! thanks!

Crackdtoothgrin: Thanks i'll consider your suggestion for my next building got it clear

SimFox: thanks! yes its the Goldman Sachs Tower (30 hudson St) located in Jersey city... this building was requested by a friend long time ago...

A night view...

[Sgt Pepper 864]

Yes that does infact resemble 30 Hudson Street! Quite odd Goldman Sachs, they build that building as their HeadQuarters in Jersey, yet build another HQ in Lower Manhattan very close by...

You've got a good accurate model there! However...I think it's too tall compared to the Real Life one... But that really doesn't matter, the model and everything is good as is. However, I thought your Gmax models were just fine.

Any way, good job on it. I can't wait to place it in my Jersey area of my New York region.

[_Atticus 10]

Very impressive nightlighting! Never though I'd see a skyscraper like this from you.

It's not actually the headquarters of Goldman Sachs. Their headquarters is in lower Manhattan, where their future headquarters is being built.

[Heblem 600]

Thanks, well yes its abit taller, but suitable for sc4... its ready for dl

https://www.simtropolis.com/stex/details.cfm?id=23476

[SimFox 801]

Nice work!

One thing the tower should be quite a bit fatter than that. Of course you can take an artists liberty with it, but it is also good idea not to stray too far. Original would be about 4x4 SC4 tiles in footprint. Your's I say about 3x3 or less?

One problem with SC4 is that everything comes in standardized sizes that are quite remote from realistic. Offices tend to be too small (in crosses) while residential tend to way to large. Also small (sorter) buildings seem to have about same footprint like skyscrapers - highly unrealistic proposition (if you're not in HK that is).

Also original had very clearly defined, sharp kink running down the center of each of the tower's facade - "difference" as to compare to HK IFC towers. Yours is smooth - more like HK structure.

Not sure if those things are possible to remedy anymore (Kink should be all that big of a problem and would add a lot) but size prolly too late...

With Nightlighing I would try to fix that odd black line running through the building on the side facing us. And may be introducing some irregularity into selection of illuminated windows. But all in all "striped" look is good.

There is also need to re-fink illumination of the crown. Right now it doesn't really work. Instead of lighting it so that it could be seen from outside, you've basically light the roof itself. I can't give you exact solution, in fact I'll be curious to see what will happen, as I have similar challenge with TianJin's World Financial Center that had huge - 10-12 storey hight crown on top that is suppose to be (according to renders) glowing in the night. Biggest problem here is that we can't use RL solution , as it is designed to be seen from ground level and will be very mute when seen from SC4 perspective.

However I have some thoughts

1. translucent materials. (read about translucency in Max Help to get the Max look at it. But basically translucency is not what commonly perceived here in BATing world. It is not transparency per se, transperencey as in see through thing. Instead it is a scattering of light in a medium causing it to be illuminated from inside not just from opposite, of viewer, side. Like when you look at lamp shade - you don't see the bulb, instead you see the entire surface of the shade glowing.

Problems with such solution is how to deal with all the girders supporting the structure? Should they "cast shadow" on outer shell of the crown? or should they be translucent too - a bit odd proposition...

2. Doing it with lights but instead of realism go for effect. In a way one must turn reality upside down and light not down facing surfaces of the crown mesh, but those facing up. But would it look believable?

Anyway I'll be following this closely and help you when I can!

[IDK 12]

Great job on that building!

[SimFox 801]

I must report a little issue with this bat, or to be precise with an installer program for it. Norton Internet Security 2010 (Sonar function of it) detects suspicious activity when one tries to install the BAT. After that installation is canceled (visually it never starts) and the installation file is deleted.

What software did you use to create this installer? Was it free (addware)? Does it try to access registry? May be you could also post normal Zipped version?

[Heblem 600]

SimFox; Thank you for your long response, sorry if this short due my English is limited, and for long response, RLS

A major problem with this bat was the size, initially i had problem with the size in 3ds, due i didn't configured it well, later i had to attach all pieces to scale correctly the model, the way as I scale, its to compare a sim size (3 meter), then i make an estimate size of the building for it

I had no idea what could be that line, if a texture or light problem, which honestly I didn't care , i had to do a different file for night lighting, and yes I forgot to put shadows on it. As for the materials, i'm not good at this, i mean, i did those effects by testing, moving there and there, nothing more, I tried to make the transparent effect of other building and so, but didnt have idea how to do it, if you look at bing maps.com (bird eye) it almost have the same perfective as SimCity 4, you can see how it would have to look for the game, but honestly im satisfied with the building, just some minor thing that can be easily fixed. The way I try to recreate buildings for SimCity 4, its most realistic possible for my eye, im not sure hows in a different perfective.

I've used Install Creator, i dont think those files are suspicious, maybe just a false alarm by Norton, as for I have see with Avast, there no problem with the file... but anyway, there is the files without installers...

http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/2/20/800718/HBS%20Goldman%20Sachs.zip

Thanks for help!

Maybe next project...

A huge American mall

[Jasoncw 11,840]

I think that the latest building turned out good.  But there were things about it that were making it not as good as it could have been.  Some things that are ok in Gmax will cause problems in 3ds Max. 

The dark areas that I circled in red happen when you have overlapping geometry.  So if you accidentally cloned a peice of glass (so that there are two pieces of glass in the same place), then that problem will happen. 

I'm glad that you have max now, and it's interesting to see you do this kind of a building.  If someone had told me you were doing a skyscraper I would have thought you were doing the HQ for a gas station company or something, lol

[Heblem 600]

Jasoncw; I noticed, there drak spot are small mistakes i did, i'll consider in doing maybe a v.2 for that building, but for next one i'll try not to repeat same mistakes...

Now im working on the mall... there my current progress... i just got 15% of entire mall

BTW, there are the mall plans... which will consist of 3 separate lots

currently doing the lot at top left

Greetings!

[thingfishs 416]

wow, that looks like quite a project, coming along beautifully so far.

What I would really love is to be able to rebrand the stores to their Australian counterparts, is there any way that could be achieved ? (using your original as a dependency)

[Heblem 600]

Originally posted by: thingfishs

wow, that looks like quite a project, coming along beautifully so far.

What I would really love is to be able to rebrand the stores to their Australian counterparts, is there any way that could be achieved ? (using your original as a dependency)quote>

Sure just give me what are the australian counterparts brands with details, and which you think i should replace...

An update... i made a corner entrance...

[Amthaak 1,501]

Waow! What a huge and ambitious project! Very good start! Whish you good luck for achieving it!

[psander5 195]

I'm excited by this project. Shopping centres are very much needed in the game. You have yourself a big one here! There's lots of open flat roof that will need some careful attention. I look forward to seeing what you do with this.

[Heblem 600]

Amthaak: thanks!

psander5: of course will take attention, im basing this mall from a RL mall using bing maps... so i'll try to get everything realistic possible

[Heblem 600]

There some more progress

[gio10469 24]

This mall is coming out great! I can't wait to see more.

[Amthaak 1,501]

Very good update! Keep up the hard work!

[Utvaw 45]

I am really looking forward to this mall. Not enough realistic malls in the game.

[Heblem 600]

Casn you guess what building is this?

[jacqulina 162]

very good work here

[allez l'om 1]

That's an amazing buidlings you have made. That's nice to see that you are making some US skyscrapers. I am wondering what will be the next one.

[SimFox 801]

I think you should slow down, just a bit... All those praises are great but they don't really tell the whole story. If I had a power I would forbid comments just saying "it's great!". They don't really say much do they? You now use as powerful and versatile tool there is. So all the typical "can't do it in GMAX" excuses do not apply. Basically those shouldn't really apply in GMAX either...

You say did as I could.. well I understand it, but try to learn That's how it normally happens. Nobody is born with it! And there are also many silly mistakes in the model that really make one wonder. You don't need any extra skill that you have already demonstrated to avoid those. I mean you know that you can measure things in Google Earth, right? So please do...  Also notice the proportions - they are the language of architecture.

Of course if you are very much sure that your are better then original architect (which is certainly possible) then go ahead and follow them. But remember this is also something you learn, although some genetically based ability here probably also playing its role.

If you follow these simple basic principals your work would be soo much better. If you don't... well your latest offering really lucks in so many respects. Instead of demonstrating progress, it show all the same mistakes you had in your previous release. Mistakes that have been pointed and explains to you. Yet they're still there - most notably coplanar surfaces that turn one of the vie of  the model into unsightly mess:

if you would have shown this side here in your thread I'm sure you would have received advise (again) of how to fix it. Instead you preferred people to discover it already in completed model on STEX.

another problem is a night view. It somehow doesn't fit either Maxis night nor Darker night. In both building really stands out like any alien. But it is particularly out of it in Maxis night. I do suspect that you have exported it as Darker Night (roof brightness) yet you don't list any of the darker night mods as a dependency.

I'll not repeat here what SimHoTToDDy said about materials in his STEX comment, but those are totally valid remarks and you really should listen them...

[Heblem 600]

Thank you for your great review and time for it, I see my mistakes but unfortunately I'm not an architect, and honestly i dont know nothing about it, also i cannot understand what u mean with the night materials in the night mod, as in my computer it works in my in game in night view, apart I just like how the model looks including the odd issues in the west/east angle. And please don't take this in a bad mod, but I'm not going to fix that and neither the light problem by now, and thats the final model, maybe for next model, yes i'll try to learn from past mistakes and make it better and better, by this way I learn, testing and testing, im going ahead... thanks again

Getting back an old project from the dust... the DAM..mit...

The dam will be modular, i'll be including 18 different pices for it, here the first two

More to come

[cmdp123789 710]

I know it has nothing to do but...... can u make some Buenos Aires buildings???

[jacqulina 162]

excellent detail

[SimFox 801]

By all means! I didn't imply that you have to fix existing ones, but rather point your attention to the recurring issues when you make new ones.

[Heblem 600]

cmdp123789: I did some last year, take a look to my uploads

jacqulina: Thanks

SimFox: Thanks! I appreciate your help, next time for sure ill take a review to my stuff before uploading...

Here a waterfall effect of one of the pieces...

As i said the dam will be modular, i have tested some pieces in game and it matches perfectly, i only see some small line in farthest zoom but i couln't make it better, more pictures to come... thanks!