BAT Request Thread

[Nathangec78 183]

1 hour ago, Morgan R said:

After a deeper dive, you are correct. Thanks! There was indeed a 1950s McDonald's made a mere three months after the BAT software was released in 2004, (available here), and it seems remarkably well-done for one of the era, so I withdraw that request! However, I maintain that there are relatively few BATs of 1930s-60s roadside architecture, in particular CS$$ and CS$$$ (and especially when compared to the plentiful options for low-density CS ca. 1980-present). I am indebted to anyone who wants to help broaden the options in that space.

You're right! And, even though the 1950s McDonald's is well-done, an updated version with more neon details wouldn't be bad, either! I also support your request for more vintage roadside architecture, but not only that, I also miss some street w2w outlets.

@mattb325 did a great job in his 1x1, 1x2 and 2x2 neon-lit dazzling buildings and there is a gorgeous McDonald's street restaurant in his London W2W Pack Vol02, and @xannepan also made an incredible job in the McDonald's and Pizza Hut featured his JENXPARIS_Rue_Chateau_Dun (although the beautiful Paris-themed style building overall heavily limits its usage in the game. Oh, I'd love a modern building with those two façades!). 

But still, I miss more variety, like Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and other brands as street stores, although @Goofyguytpa also made some nice 2x1 w2w corner buildings with some of those mentioned names (which also limits their usage outside corners). 

[Dead_End 1,621]

So many interesting suggestions in this thread! I'd like to submit this rather small jugendstil/art nouveau building:

The Centraal Apotheek (Central Pharmacy) in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands, was built between 1904-1905 and has housed a pharmacy ever since. It features a fantastic tile display of Hygieia holding the snake of Asclepius. It would provide players with more healthbuildings flexibility in historic W2W environments. The BAT execution might need some slight adjustments from the actual building in order to fit a 1x1 cornerlot.

Full album at Wikicommons and Google Streetview.

[SIM-ple Jack 17,444]

13 hours ago, Morgan R said:

However, the Big Boy may be worth prioritizing

Considering the chain's mascot was immortalized in an Austin Powers flick, I'd say you're right!

[off 280]

Riverlight Complex (London)
Google Street View  and some photo:

[tails2489 350]

7 hours ago, off said:

Riverlight Complex (Londob)
Google Street View  and some photo:

Londob is beautiful this time of year.

[off 280]

15 hours ago, tails2489 said:

Londob is beautiful this time of year.

You are right I edited the post so as not to embarrass myself

[Flann 1,709]

May I humbly request Turner Hall, located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turner_Hall_(Milwaukee)

It's got an interesting history and I've seen some great shows in its somewhat dilapidated ballroom.

[SIM-ple Jack 17,444]

23 hours ago, Flann said:

located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

I think all we have from the 'kee is the Faison Bldg. (you know, schlamele, schlamazall) But I wouldn't mind seeing city hall, the Pabst factory, Allen Bradley, Marc Plaza, JFK Center and Harley Davidson. The city is loaded with hybrid German-American architecture.

[Flann 1,709]

6 minutes ago, SIM-ple Jack said:

I think all we have from the 'kee is the Faison Bldg. (you know, schlamele, schlamazall) But I wouldn't mind seeing city hall, the Pabst factory, Allen Bradley, Marc Plaza, JFK Center and Harley Davidson. The city is loaded with hybrid German-American architecture.

There's also the East Side bar, Water Street Brewery and maybe some others by no funk

[Krisman 4,630]

If one of you amazing batters has any time left ... (@mattb325 maybe? ;-) for sure one of my favourite buildings. Used to walk past this building so many times on my way to work.

An art deco gem in central London: Ibex House in Portsoken Street. An iconic Grade II listed Art Deco 1930s building comprising office space, restaurant, retail, public house and gym accommodation arranged over basement, lower ground, ground and eight upper floors.

Ibex House - Wikipedia

 

[Allein 325]

On 15/01/2021 at 9:35 PM, Krisman said:

If one of you amazing batters has any time left ... (@mattb325 maybe? ;-) for sure one of my favourite buildings. Used to walk past this building so many times on my way to work.

An art deco gem in central London: Ibex House in Portsoken Street. An iconic Grade II listed Art Deco 1930s building comprising office space, restaurant, retail, public house and gym accommodation arranged over basement, lower ground, ground and eight upper floors.

Ibex House - Wikipedia

Reminds me of my school's old campus in the center of Paris

[brancra 1,060]

53 minutes ago, Krisman said:

If one of you amazing batters has any time left ... (@mattb325 maybe? ;-) for sure one of my favourite buildings. Used to walk past this building so many times on my way to work.

An art deco gem in central London: Ibex House in Portsoken Street. An iconic Grade II listed Art Deco 1930s building comprising office space, restaurant, retail, public house and gym accommodation arranged over basement, lower ground, ground and eight upper floors.

Ibex House - Wikipedia

 

Not an exact replica, but this was the inspiration for one of @Jasoncw's Department Stores:
 

 

[Bobelboy 435]

@nycsc4, nice suggestion on the other Pfizer plant. Another one would be their "partners in crime", BioNTech, a rather small and young company that played a big part in developing mRNA-based therapies and the COVID-19 vaccine. Their headquarters are located in Mainz (address: An der Goldgrube 12), serving as an office building with laboratories.

[mitsos 12,851]

It would be great to see this beauty on STEX,

Yurakucho Center Building and Yurakucho Center Building Annex , Tokyo 

 

 

 

 

Thank you

 

[Morgan R 156]

The Mayflower Hotel, Washington, D.C. (1925)

AN AMERICAN-STYLED FRACTIONAL ANGLE CORNER LOT

Request:

With the Presidential Inauguration in DC yesterday, I think it is timely to make a request for a DC institution that has played a part in quite a few: the Mayflower Hotel on Connecticut Ave, NW. We have plenty of European-styled diagonal buildings for the game, but relatively few (especially fractional-angle) in the architectural styles of the USA. But with its Baroque-inspired street grid, some of the best real-life examples of angled American architecture are to be found on the main avenues of Washington, D.C.

Thus I submit the original Connecticut Avenue wing of the Mayflower for BAT consideration. It is a high-wealth-styled fractional-angled corner lot (specifically on a 60 degree street, making it around FA-1.73, but this would likely need to be rounded to FA-2 to be useful with the NAM FAR). As such, it would also be nice to have a mirror-image to work on the complementary angle. Note that the Desales Street Annex (built a few months later, to the rear of the angled U-shaped main wing) is less architecturally interesting, and the smaller building is more versatile without it.

History & Architecture:

A mere five-blocks-walk from the White House, and halfway to Dupont Circle, it is in the social heart of downtown DC. The Mayflower hosted the official inaugural balls from the 1920s to the 1980s; campaigns have been announced and conceded in its rooms, and as with any proper DC hotel, it has been scene to its share of scandals. J. Edgar Hoover had lunch there daily for 20 years; senators have lived there in residence (and even President Truman did while the White House was being renovated). Today, it It is the oldest continuously-operating hotel in DC, and only rivaled in storied history by the magnificent Willard Hotel (Nicknamed the "the residence of presidents", the Willard is the oldest, but it was shuttered for a decade in the late 20th century).

While of historical interest, it also holds some peculiar architectural interest. Because it is U-shaped facing an angled street, one of the wings is noticeably shorter than the other:

 

Just look at that high-wealth Fractional Angle goodness!

While its nature as an FA building means it would be have to be ploppable-only, the Mayflower would solidly stand in for both CS$$$ or R$$$* buildings. (*Note: in the 1920s, there was a trend of "Hotel Apartments", which was basically a hotel that functioned as an apartment building, complete with all the roomservices, restaurant, etc. The two are all but indistinguishable in appearance from the exterior.)

Given its nearly 100 years of prominence in DC, there are plenty of photos in the Library of Congress and elsewhere for reference (see here http://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=Mayflower hotel).

@Sloppyjoemess : I know you are just starting your public BAT career (and this is a somewhat complex building), but since you are on a campaign to make FA USA buildings for the game, would this be one you might be interested in working on at some point down the road?

[EffTheGrid 3,661]

15 minutes ago, Morgan R said:

The Mayflower Hotel, Washington, D.C. (1925)

AN AMERICAN-STYLED FRACTIONAL ANGLE CORNER LOT

Request:

With the Presidential Inauguration in DC yesterday, I think it is timely to make a request for a DC institution that has played a part in quite a few: the Mayflower Hotel on Connecticut Ave, NW. We have plenty of European-styled diagonal buildings for the game, but relatively few (especially fractional-angle) in the architectural styles of the USA. But with its Baroque-inspired street grid, some of the best real-life examples of angled American architecture are to be found on the main avenues of Washington, D.C.

Thus I submit the original Connecticut Avenue wing of the Mayflower for BAT consideration. It is a high-wealth-styled fractional-angled corner lot (specifically on a 60 degree street, making it around FA-1.73, but this would likely need to be rounded to FA-2 to be useful with the NAM FAR). As such, it would also be nice to have a mirror-image to work on the complementary angle. Note that the Desales Street Annex (built a few months later, to the rear of the angled U-shaped main wing) is less architecturally interesting, and the smaller building is more versatile without it.

History & Architecture:

A mere five-blocks-walk from the White House, and halfway to Dupont Circle, it is in the social heart of downtown DC. The Mayflower hosted the official inaugural balls from the 1920s to the 1980s; campaigns have been announced and conceded in its rooms, and as with any proper DC hotel, it has been scene to its share of scandals. J. Edgar Hoover had lunch there daily for 20 years; senators have lived there in residence (and even President Truman did while the White House was being renovated). Today, it It is the oldest continuously-operating hotel in DC, and only rivaled in storied history by the magnificent Willard Hotel (Nicknamed the "the residence of presidents", the Willard is the oldest, but it was shuttered for a decade in the late 20th century).

While of historical interest, it also holds some peculiar architectural interest. Because it is U-shaped facing an angled street, one of the wings is noticeably shorter than the other:

 

Just look at that high-wealth Fractional Angle goodness!

While its nature as an FA building means it would be have to be ploppable-only, the Mayflower would solidly stand in for both CS$$$ or R$$$* buildings. (*Note: in the 1920s, there was a trend of "Hotel Apartments", which was basically a hotel that functioned as an apartment building, complete with all the roomservices, restaurant, etc. The two are all but indistinguishable in appearance from the exterior.)

Given its nearly 100 years of prominence in DC, there are plenty of photos in the Library of Congress and elsewhere for reference (see here http://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=Mayflower hotel).

@Sloppyjoemess : I know you are just starting your public BAT career (and this is a somewhat complex building), but since you are on a campaign to make FA USA buildings for the game, would this be one you might be interested in working on at some point down the road?

I like this idea! 

Pros: very cool structure, not very technically challenging, the more ornate details look fun to capture

Cons: this building is loooooong---it's 450 feet long! That would account for an 8x3 lot plus overhang..... tbh I'd be more inclined to bastardize the establishment and just do the front without the annex and rear entry. (Maybe 3x3) Reasons: the structure would be useful in many more scenarios, and it would take less than half the time to complete. I hope I have your blessing on that one for practical reasons haha

I think this would also fit nicely with some of the buildings on Broadway on the UWS of Manhattan (which I may be making first for selfish reasons) but this is on the list! 

Thanks for the suggestion  I'm actually quite honored

 

[Morgan R 156]

7 hours ago, Sloppyjoemess said:

I like this idea! 

Pros: very cool structure, not very technically challenging, the more ornate details look fun to capture

Cons: this building is loooooong---it's 450 feet long! That would account for an 8x3 lot plus overhang..... tbh I'd be more inclined to bastardize the establishment and just do the front without the annex and rear entry. (Maybe 3x3) Reasons: the structure would be useful in many more scenarios, and it would take less than half the time to complete. I hope I have your blessing on that one for practical reasons haha

I think this would also fit nicely with some of the buildings on Broadway on the UWS of Manhattan (which I may be making first for selfish reasons) but this is on the list! 

Thanks for the suggestion  I'm actually quite honored

 

@Sloppyjoemess Totally! I thought I had made a quick comment to that effect, but on re-reading it, it wasn't clear at all. My request was only for the original Connecticut Ave. building (the U-shaped portion), not the Desales Street Annex (the long rear extension). I agree that the original square-ish main hotel building is both more architecturally interesting and far, far more useful for the game by itself, especially in smaller cities and neighborhoods. So even though you don't need it, you totally have my full blessing and endorsement!

I am of the school of thought that modifying something to improve general in-game usability by a large number of players and in different situations is to be preferred over absolute rigid fidelity. And especially because we have so little high wealth (C$$$ and R$$$) FA content, and FA content in general, multiple plops may be required for a single road just to get enough buildings--so flexibility is definitely better in this situation. Likewise, in my architectural quests I try to find and suggest buildings that look like they could work in a wide range of scenarios, and that aren't particularly duplicative of the existing content for the game. (I will have more FA ideas to suggest at a later date).

Though If you do have time, because it is FA, I would kindly request a mirror image render of the model on the complementary angle (though as with your other work, it could also be in a different texture). Thanks and good luck!

  Edited January 22, 2021 by Morgan R  
wording

[brancra 1,060]

Not a request this time around, but I wanted to take a moment out to thank the BATters who have been kind enough to take some of these suggestions and bring them into the SC4 world.

My perspective is shaped by, well, being old. In the bygone times of 15+ years ago, there was a BAT request thread, but it was pretty rare to see something from the thread made into a BAT or game feature. Everyone was busy doing their own thing. I could not have imagined an exchange like @Morgan R and @Sloppyjoemess's where they're hashing out an idea in this thread.

I look back over the past year and in picking the game back up again and coming back to Simtropolis, and it is so awesome to see BATters like @IDS2 and @mattb325 take ideas from the request thread, and diligently bring well-made models into SimCity 4.

You guys are really doing something special and making someone's day, as well as creating something that the rest of Simtropolis can enjoy. So in case you don't hear it enough, I just wanted to say thanks for reading and caring about the rest of us Simtrop denizens.

[Flann 1,709]

Just putting in a plug for more row houses:

[sarcosis 428]

Hi, I really enjoy the fast-food restaurants bats  and one I really would like to add in my cities is a nice 3x4 or 4x4 Tim Horton's drive-thru with the big "vintage" logo sign on the street side (see the examples below). I can only find one Tim bat on the STEX (what a shame) and it's great but it would be nice to have another more realistic version. Hopefully someone will hear my prayers. Thank you.

 

 

[Fargo 542]

I am doing a sort-of recreation of downtown Chicago. Where a building doesn't exist in SC4 I try to approximate with an already-BATted building. In the case of the Grant Thornton Tower (161 N Clark St) I was struggling to find a BAT that even came close. There is something very hard to replicate about a postmodernist office building with a Mayan pyramid on the top.

Anyways, I think it's a neat building. It will certainly occupy its own niche in the game. I hope somebody will answer my prayers

 

[Zephyrus22 109]

I would love to see some of the BEST Products Showrooms in SC4. This was a now-extant chain of catalogue showroom stores that operated in the United States and is best remembered for the avant-garde architecture of its retail locations. The one I'm particularly interested in is called BEST Indeterminate Facade, seen below:

 

 

Some better-quality pictures, as well as pictures of other locations, can be found at the architect's website:

https://siteenvirodesign.com/content/best-products

[Morgan R 156]

20 hours ago, Zephyrus22 said:

I would love to see some of the BEST Products Showrooms in SC4. This was a now-extant chain of catalogue showroom stores that operated in the United States and is best remembered for the avant-garde architecture of its retail locations. The one I'm particularly interested in is called BEST Indeterminate Facade, seen below:

 

 

Some better-quality pictures, as well as pictures of other locations, can be found at the architect's website:

https://siteenvirodesign.com/content/best-products

I second this request, and am willing to help provide whatever assistance I can!.

From an architectural history perspective The BEST Products buildings were fascinating works of "de-architecture" (a term coined by the architect James Wines of SITE; for a retrospective interview with the architect, see here), which amounted to a very satirical and well-received variant of architectural Post-Modernism with a dash of Deconstructivism. They basically poked fun at the very idea of the generic "big box store", well before the eventual retail dominance of Walmart and Target (which, ironically, helped doom the company). Sadly, most had a bit too much character for subsequent tenants, and were either demolished or remodeled to something a bit more tame. The fact that they were acclaimed and well-documented, but almost none survive, is another reason I would like to see them bought back to life to live on in SC4, where they can continue to break up the monotony of retail sprawl.

As an aside, BEST was headquartered in my hometown of Richmond, Virginia, so they are still a bit of a legend around here. The old HQ is a fine postmodernist building in its own right (though currently awaiting reuse). We are also home to probably the only design for BEST by SITE that maintains its architectural integrity---the "Forest Building", as shown on the site you linked to (now used as a church). In its glory years, customers would enter through the generic glass doors facade, only to find themselves surrounded by trees and looking at a massive post-apocalyptic crack in the ceiling (in actuality, still outside the main building). While I would agree that "Indeterminate Facade" is the most iconic work in the series, I'd be curious to see if this could be done using custom LOD's to allow tree props in the "middle":

For those interested, here is the county tax real estate info on the Forest Building as it exists today, which includes a footprint sketch of the building dimensions: https://realestate.henrico.us/ords/CAM/f?p=510101:5:::NO::P5_PARCEL_ID,P5_SEARCH_TYPE:751-745-7878,0 (the three red "WDK" protrusions indicate the extent of the wooden decks built from the actual building to the faux-facade, which is not indicated on the sketch).

Aside from the truly iconic "Indeterminate Facade" building posted in the original request and the "Forest Building" above (which has the advantage of being a surviving building for reference, but might instead merely look like someone just did a bad job lotting trees), I would also recommend both the "Inside/Out Building" and the "Tilt Building" (the later probably the simplest of them all to model) as ones that might visually translate well into the game with it's roof-heavy perspective (each of these may be seen in the link to the architects' portfolio by the original requester).

Historical Footnote:

The fascinating  and somewhat-eccentric and couple who ran BEST, Sydney and Frances Lewis, used the small fortune they made from the company to amass a prominent collection of Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts antiques, which they were known for actually using rather than as display pieces (a chair by Charles Renee Mackintosh is said to have been Sydney's favorite sitting chair). They also took to patronizing and befriending young up-and-coming artists of the '60s and '70s, bartering any appliances their company sold (such as refrigerators, washing machines, and televisions) in exchange for artwork... by the likes of Roy Lichtenstein, Chuck Close, Elizabeth Murray, etc. etc. Even Andy Warhol (among the many friends they made in the process) once traded a work for a new vacuum cleaner and a TV. It was this passion for art and design (and a keen business sense) that led to their commissioning the unique and idiosyncratic showrooms the company became (in)famous for. While the company eventually folded due to the changes in the retail business that occurred in the '80s and '90s, their legacy lives on. The couple ultimately donated most of their collection of well over 1,500 works of art along with several million dollars (in '80s $) to the people of Virginia via our state art museum, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The museum's BEST Cafe, which houses a few surviving architectural relics from the company, is now named for it. (For a longer contemporary article covering them, see https://juddtully.net/interviews/sydney-and-frances-lewis-the-quest-for-the-best-in-art/)

[City_Slider 2,716]

Hello,

 saw this Building Yesterday at the Movie "Appleseed". It looks funny

Greetings, Oliver

[redfox85 659]

sc4 could use some tropical crops .. ie things like sugarcane, pineapples, bananas, coffee, cocoa etc.

[Morgan R 156]

16 minutes ago, redfox85 said:

sc4 could use some tropical crops .. ie things like sugarcane, pineapples, bananas, coffee, cocoa etc.

@redfox85 To my knowledge, most of if not all of those already exist on the main exchanges, tucked away in the various SPAM, SG, BSC, BLS, and CSX fields. A quick search in my folders turns up bananas, pineapples, chili peppers, coconuts, sugarcane, oranges, lemons, and agave. Of those that already exist, here is a cocoa farm over at the LEX.

But since there are few lots that ONLY grow those crops, I think the issue is more editing buildings/farms to generate only those specific tropical crops you wish to grow (rather than all available fields). As I understand, one of the properties of farm lots is which fields they can generate, so editing this should allow one to narrow down the options.

[mitsos 12,851]

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center  is a complex in the  in Athens which includes new facilities for the National Library of Greece (NLG) and the Greek National Opera (GNO), as well as the 210,000 m² Stavros Niarchos Park. The Center was designed by architect Renzo Piano. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you

[Tyberius06 12,184]

6 hours ago, Morgan R said:

@redfox85 To my knowledge, most of if not all of those already exist on the main exchanges, tucked away in the various SPAM, SG, BSC, BLS, and CSX fields. A quick search in my folders turns up bananas, pineapples, chili peppers, coconuts, sugarcane, oranges, lemons, and agave. Of those that already exist, here is a cocoa farm over at the LEX.

But since there are few lots that ONLY grow those crops, I think the issue is more editing buildings/farms to generate only those specific tropical crops you wish to grow (rather than all available fields). As I understand, one of the properties of farm lots is which fields they can generate, so editing this should allow one to narrow down the options.

He forgot to mention, that he was thinking about new, HD rendered models/props instead of those old, ancient 15+ years old. Like we have maxis trees and PEG trees and CP trees, and we have beautiful HD trees from @Girafe.  

- Tyberius

[Photovoltaic Array 97]

According to the Lost Media Wiki, there's a render of a building that didn't make it into the game, as can be seen here: 

I think it's quite stylish and good looking, if anyone wants to take a stab at putting it (back) into the game. 

[brancra 1,060]

27 minutes ago, Photovoltaic Array said:

According to the Lost Media Wiki, there's a render of a building that didn't make it into the game, as can be seen here: 

I think it's quite stylish and good looking, if anyone wants to take a stab at putting it (back) into the game. 

The colors are a little different, but that is in the game, as Cahalane Communications: https://SimCity.fandom.com/wiki/Cahalane_Communications

Diego Del Llano also did an excellent remake of it: