BAT Request Thread

[Ramona Brie 121]

There's a real dearth of American-style "apartment home" complexes in SC4: two to three stories (maybe 5 in larger areas), campus kind of setting, etc. These are everywhere and are criminally underrepresented in SC4. They would also be great in unusual and large lot sizes (I constantly find a lack of good 5x6, for instance, and even larger ones would be perfect). They'd help transition between low and medium density and be really useful in areas where you want more density than single-family homes but not the larger mid-density R this game has on offer.

Some examples from around the US:

https://goo.gl/maps/yMpZerUNgckmd4Ke6

https://goo.gl/maps/D5JxEskWZiAnS7YM8

https://goo.gl/maps/BoAKqCTRET5JJtKr8

https://goo.gl/maps/Wc3o4A98Syip4NAUA

https://goo.gl/maps/qBaqgkrqcRYuq3BF7

https://goo.gl/maps/vPdBX326tnj2y3ef9

[Whte_rbt 1,431]

@mattb325 has done loads of small-to-mid residential for pretty much that specific purpose.

[nycsc4 5,250]

4 hours ago, Ramona Brie said:

There's a real dearth of American-style "apartment home" complexes in SC4: two to three stories (maybe 5 in larger areas), campus kind of setting, etc. These are everywhere and are criminally underrepresented in SC4. They would also be great in unusual and large lot sizes (I constantly find a lack of good 5x6, for instance, and even larger ones would be perfect). They'd help transition between low and medium density and be really useful in areas where you want more density than single-family homes but not the larger mid-density R this game has on offer.

Some examples from around the US:

https://goo.gl/maps/yMpZerUNgckmd4Ke6

https://goo.gl/maps/D5JxEskWZiAnS7YM8

https://goo.gl/maps/BoAKqCTRET5JJtKr8

https://goo.gl/maps/Wc3o4A98Syip4NAUA

https://goo.gl/maps/qBaqgkrqcRYuq3BF7

https://goo.gl/maps/vPdBX326tnj2y3ef9

Yeah, like @Whte_rbt said, Matt has done a ton of those.  I don't want to fill my post with links...but start here:

https://community.simtropolis.com/profile/91964-mattb325/content/?type=downloads_file

https://www.sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_search_00.php?query=eyJjcmVhdG9yIjoiMjEiLCJvcmRlcl9ieSI6InJlY2VudCIsIm9yZGVyIjoiREVTQyIsImV4Y2x1ZGVfbG9ja2VkIjoiMSIsImV4Y2x1ZGVfbm90Y2VydCI6IjAiLCJxdWVyeSI6IiJ9

[Ramona Brie 121]

4 hours ago, nycsc4 said:

Yeah, like @Whte_rbt said, Matt has done a ton of those.  I don't want to fill my post with links...but start here:

https://community.simtropolis.com/profile/91964-mattb325/content/?type=downloads_file

https://www.sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_search_00.php?query=eyJjcmVhdG9yIjoiMjEiLCJvcmRlcl9ieSI6InJlY2VudCIsIm9yZGVyIjoiREVTQyIsImV4Y2x1ZGVfbG9ja2VkIjoiMSIsImV4Y2x1ZGVfbm90Y2VydCI6IjAiLCJxdWVyeSI6IiJ9

I can't get enough of Matt's stuff. It's just that there's a real need for diversity in this realm, particularly some of the less dense apartments.

[brancra 1,201]

1 hour ago, Ramona Brie said:

I can't get enough of Matt's stuff. It's just that there's a real need for diversity in this realm, particularly some of the less dense apartments.

Matt does look through this thread for ideas, so if you have one or two that you really want to see (or something very close to, since exact replicas can be tricky), post a few pics and an address that he or another creator can Google. He's a busy guy with a lot of projects in queue, but at least you'll have made a good pitch.

[matias93 7,535]

My impression is that, even if there are many buildings that match such typology (small apartments on a campus-esque lot), most of them aren't lotted that way, so you need to place them carefully to achieve the effect, which is even more difficult because residential lots typically aren't ploppable (save for some obscure methods). I guess some motivated lotter could do a big project out of this.

[nycsc4 5,250]

On 7/19/2020 at 11:58 AM, Ramona Brie said:

I can't get enough of Matt's stuff. It's just that there's a real need for diversity in this realm, particularly some of the less dense apartments.

Here are a couple other decent ones.  They still might be too dense for you (or you might already have them) but they are also pretty nice:

The creator pack lots are lotted really nicely.  The original lots are linked below

https://community.simtropolis.com/profile/248178-delecto/content/?type=downloads_file

 

 

[Ramona Brie 121]

I have the Delecto stuff! It's really good. It's just a bit taller (and smaller in terms of number of buildings) than what I have in mind.

[CT14 2,486]

Not sure if already discussed but JBSimio's RUSA apartment BATs/lots should be helpful - there are a handful, here is the first:

https://www.sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=2085

[Ramona Brie 121]

10 minutes ago, DLoader said:

Not sure if already discussed but JBSimio's RUSA apartment BATs/lots should be helpful - there are a handful, here is the first:

https://www.sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=2085

I have those downloaded! They don't grow a lot, though. But they are very much the closest things to what I envision in SC4.

[CT14 2,486]

Sometimes if a lot has wacky capacity it won't get 'picked' to spawn. I see a capacity of 198 for one of the 4x2 lots in Reader. That seems okay but I'm not sure what else might be competing.

 

You can juke the system with ctrl-zoning medium density residential with size 3x2 or 4x2 (or other sizes from later packs?) on Chicago, New York, Houston tilesets to try to get the RUSA lots to grow (R$ R$$).

[nycsc4 5,250]

I have another request.  I was searching around for a good modern hockey arena tonight and couldn't really find one.  There are some good arenas but none that kind of really fit a good compact downtown footprint with a fresh modern look.

Rogers Place in Edmonton:

Something nice, compact and urban would be awesome.  More focus on walkablity and transit than parking lots and garages.

Sprint Center in Kansas City:

 

[tails2489 350]

16 hours ago, nycsc4 said:

I have another request.  I was searching around for a good modern hockey arena tonight and couldn't really find one.  There are some good arenas but none that kind of really fit a good compact downtown footprint with a fresh modern look.

Rogers Place in Edmonton:

Something nice, compact and urban would be awesome.  More focus on walkablity and transit than parking lots and garages.

Sprint Center in Kansas City:

 

This, more of this please. Would love to see some more North American professional sports stadiums, ballparks and arenas. There are lots of Soccer and Olympic style stadiums to choose from as well as what I would liken to AAA level baseball stadiums but not a lot of MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL. Thanks!

[nycsc4 5,250]

Following up on my last request...I would literally pay someone to do Rogers Place lol.  Not just for me, but to be released to the entire community...I desperately want a urban and modern hockey arena and that one is beautiful.  
 

In the meantime another general request, how about something wild like these?

[BartonThinks 3,416]

I'm assuming this BAT of the Staples Center doesn't work for the type of arena you're looking for, @nycsc4?

 

[tails2489 350]

On 2020-07-25 at 3:58 PM, BartonThinks said:

I'm assuming this BAT of the Staples Center doesn't work for the type of arena you're looking for, @nycsc4?

 

That's a great BAT. So are the Toyota Center, American Airlines Arena and Madison Square Garden on the exchange. Would love to see the creators of these continue the great work they've already done.

[nycsc4 5,250]

On 7/22/2020 at 10:44 PM, nycsc4 said:

I have another request.  I was searching around for a good modern hockey arena tonight and couldn't really find one.  There are some good arenas but none that kind of really fit a good compact downtown footprint with a fresh modern look.

Rogers Place in Edmonton:

Something nice, compact and urban would be awesome.  More focus on walkablity and transit than parking lots and garages.

Just gonna leave these here in case anyone is feeling creative

[nycsc4 5,250]

If anyone is looking for any urban ideas, this was a proposed project adjacent to a subterranean train station in suburban St. Louis:

This is the site.  It would have been built in the parking lots to the right of the Forsyth Station.  I think a potential SimCity 4 iteration would look great on an avenue roundabout.

Our roundabouts could use some modern excitement!

[nycsc4 5,250]

I'll add this one to the request pile.  One Cardinal Way, a great residential high-rise:

And this one, One Hundred in St. Louis:

[Gwyain 95]

The (Fairmont) Empress Hotel of Victoria, BC:

Description:

An iconic piece of Victoria's lovely Inner Harbour, the Empress Hotel is a perfect example of Canada's Grand Railway Hotels constructed at the dawn of the 20th century. It has been a Canadian National Historical Site since 1981 and serves as one of the defining pieces of Victoria's historic downtown and waterfront and is immediately adjacent to the province's Parliamentary building.

Why this would be beneficial for the game or community:

The Empress would make a wonderful addition to any cities waterfront, but could certainly be placed anywhere and would make a fantastic addition to CS-$$$ lots or as a landmark.

 

[Dreadnought 8,231]

1 hour ago, Gwyain said:

The (Fairmont) Empress Hotel of Victoria, BC:

Description:

An iconic piece of Victoria's lovely Inner Harbour, the Empress Hotel is a perfect example of Canada's Grand Railway Hotels constructed at the dawn of the 20th century. It has been a Canadian National Historical Site since 1981 and serves as one of the defining pieces of Victoria's historic downtown and waterfront and is immediately adjacent to the province's Parliamentary building.

Why this would be beneficial for the game or community:

The Empress would make a wonderful addition to any cities waterfront, but could certainly be placed anywhere and would make a fantastic addition to CS-$$$ lots or as a landmark.

 

     

This would be a GREAT replacement for the under-scale Maxis resort !!!

Just give it plenty of "Cap-busters"......

[msb1026 3]

Would anyone be willing to take on a highway/road sign project for me?  I just want to add realism to my highway signs.  I'd only need two different models, one overhanging the highway and one Exit Signs to put next to onramps.  I would need a ton of each because obviously the numbering and wording would vary, but I am definitely willing to pay. (100-200) total

Then I would want three custom US Interstate Signs, one of each, and 3 custom State Highway signs, specific to Michigan. (6)

Two signs that simply say the name of two different counties.  (2)

The only other signs I want are six different "City Limits" Signs, one for each of the six cities in my region.  (6)

I have unsuccessfully tried to download lot editor sveral times over the years and cannot ever get it to open.

Again, I would be willing to pay, but I really just want to make my highways and roads more realistic. 

[nycsc4 5,250]

37 minutes ago, msb1026 said:

Would anyone be willing to take on a highway/road sign project for me?  I just want to add realism to my highway signs.  I'd only need two different models, one overhanging the highway and one Exit Signs to put next to onramps.  I would need a ton of each because obviously the numbering and wording would vary, but I am definitely willing to pay. (100-200) total

Then I would want three custom US Interstate Signs, one of each, and 3 custom State Highway signs, specific to Michigan. (6)

Two signs that simply say the name of two different counties.  (2)

The only other signs I want are six different "City Limits" Signs, one for each of the six cities in my region.  (6)

I have unsuccessfully tried to download lot editor sveral times over the years and cannot ever get it to open.

Again, I would be willing to pay, but I really just want to make my highways and roads more realistic. 

I don’t know if anyone is making signs any longer...but there are quite a few out there for download.  Some of them very realistic.  Here is some basic US signage, including some cool props:

There are tons of other packs out there too.  They won’t have the exact wording you want, but you can’t really make out the signage in game anyway.

Also, as someone who used to do these, it’s takes a lot of time.  You might only need two models, but each individual sign has to have its own model file and be rendered as such.  Making custom textures is another time consuming step.

[nycsc4 5,250]

Cool office complex in Vancouver.  Canada Post redevelopment.

 

[pclark06 12,073]

The Hard Rock Casino Guitar building in Hollywood, Florida, near Miami that was finished in 2019.

I don't think the outbuildings matter as much, but the main building is such a unique structure that, why not? Plus the nightlighting looks pretty cool.

[SIM-ple Jack 17,450]

1 hour ago, pclark06 said:

The Hard Rock Casino Guitar building in Hollywood, Florida, near Miami that was finished in 2019.

I don't think the outbuildings matter as much, but the main building is such a unique structure that, why not? Plus the nightlighting looks pretty cool.

That's the one Anna Nicole Smith died in. Much more opulent than the one in Tampa. I haven't been there in years. There should be a standard "brown guitar sign" somewhere out of the picture frame and the water has a massive fountain show. I helped pay for that...in a roundabout way.

[Dreadnought 8,231]

2 hours ago, SIM-ple Jack said:

That's the one Anna Nicole Smith died in. Much more opulent than the one in Tampa. I haven't been there in years. There should be a standard "brown guitar sign" somewhere out of the picture frame and the water has a massive fountain show. I helped pay for that...in a roundabout way.

        (ROFL - !!!)

You and a whole bunch of people that bet against "The House" !! 

I spent a lot of time in Vegas when I lived in California -- played mostly Blackjack -- but I'm a sucker for Roulette ! 

 

[KrispyKayak 21]

I would like to request the following building:

Thalia Hall

Description

Thalia Hall is a historic theater in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, USA. Built in 1892, this building was an anchor of Pilsen's Czech community, with a tavern on the ground floor and an inn above, with an opera house on the top floor. Today, Thalia Hall is one of Chicago's most popular indie music venues, with the Michelin-starred restaurant Dusek's on the ground floor accompanied by several other retail stores and apartments.

Google Street View link

Why you should create this building:

• It could add another high wealth commercial service option to cities (or landmark)
• It could be a dense, historic corner W2W building that would look great both in downtown areas and in urban neighborhoods (like where it is located in real life)
• I feel that, while Chicago's grand downtown architecture is well-represented in the SC4 BATing community, a lot of Chicago's inner-city architecture is much more difficult to find on the STEX. Personally, my favorite part of building grand cities is not the downtown office area, but rather the inner-city neighborhoods of W2W buildings and apartment buildings where many city residents live. A nightlife venue/gastronomical destination like Thalia Hall would be a great addition to the cities of SC4's dedicated players. 

[juguesal 233]

Hello: I would like someone to do the following building. An intermodal train station, with commuter, medium distance and high speed lines. Likewise, an underground bus station and taxi rank. All in the same building. Thank you.

Juguesal. Spain.

[Morgan R 156]

Tom Breneman’s Restaurant (open 1945-1948)
Vine Street near Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, California

Pictured: The original restaurant building

From 1941 until his death in 1948, Tom Breneman hosted “Breakfast in Hollywood”, a popular morning variety radio show that was broadcast across the United States to over ten million regular listeners in the days before television. It even got its own B-grade movie in 1946. (For a few surviving episodes of the show, see this page at the Internet Archive)

From 1945 until its end, a pair of Streamline Moderne-style buildings in the heart of Hollywood hosted the show, drawing tourists and military servicemembers from far and wide to have breakfast there, hoping to be put on air to say hi to the folks in their hometown. Breneman’s Restaurant represented the posh face of a Hollywood whose glamour was still seen as accessible to ordinary Americans.

Pictured: The restaurant soon expanded into this larger building next door (original restaurant at left)

Why These Buildings Belong in SC4:
While stylish, and representing the glamour of both the Golden Age of Hollywood and the Golden Age of Radio, the buildings aren’t lavish, and would fit in with any mid-sized or large  American city in the 1940s (and numerous cosmopolitan cities around the globe). Creating these buildings would help with the dearth of Art Deco and Art Moderne-style commercial service buildings (especially restaurants) that are suitable for both an urban W2W setting and a suburban highway strip.

As a pair of buildings (the original restaurant, and a larger building across a small alley that it later expanded into, leaving the smaller building as an annex), they could be usable on their own as smaller establishments or combined into the historical complex. The buildings are also representative of various commercial functions; the smaller one having started its existence as a nightclub; the larger one as a bowling alley and recreational center, which even as Breneman’s retained a strip of small shops on the front: Castle’s Camera shop, a souvenir shop, a couple clothiers, and the fabulous “Glorifried Ham n’ Eggs”, presumably serving those who couldn’t get tickets for “Breakfast in Hollywood”. There are rare examples of modest buildings that were nevertheless once famous throughout American households (though being radio, most had never actually seen them).

They are also interesting from an architectural standpoint for a BAT artist looking for something out of the ordinary. The creative rooflines, signage, and curved facades bedecked with glass-block and tile give interest to otherwise-short buildings. And finally, they are an excuse for gratuitous neon signage (though an alternative generic version without the distinctive rooftop signs might also be useful).

While only a partial facade remains (having fallen on hard times and later redeveloped into a generic complex), its brief but brilliant popularity ensured there are a number of historical photos from its heyday (both detailed black & white photos and grainier ones in color, which reveals the red accent tile). For more images (including in color):

• https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/collection/p15150coll2/search/searchterm/Tom Breneman's Restaurant (Hollywood%2C Los Angeles%2C Calif.)/field/subject/mode/exact/conn/and
• http://dearoldhollywood.blogspot.com/2010/07/tom-brenemans-breakfast-in-hollywood.html
• http://dspace.willard.lib.mi.us/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/11871/LPC-024-033-003A.jpg?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
• https://martinturnbull.com/2016/05/20/tom-brenemans-hollywood-restaurant-vine-street-hollywood-1947/