TUTORIAL - Night Lighting and Night Windows

[Lord_Quillian2 38]

Here is my TUTORIAL on night lighting and making night windows.

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Important info about BAT night lighting in SimCity4

Before we start, In order that you will be able to see the night lighting in-game you will need to make sure that you have the update from the official EA website at this address: (click the link to go there)

http://simcity.ea.com/coolstuff/bat/index.php

The required download is labled SimCity 4 Update (14.4MB) (click to download the update)

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If we start with a large random cube that is subdivided into

[deadwoods 542]

Great timing, I'm about to start playing with lighting for my service station. I'll try it out tonight.

[EmergentFungus 29]

I like the way you did the night lights, it seems a lot easier than the way I have been doing and I shall try doing it your way when I come to doing nigh lights on my next building. I don't think I did a very good job of the lighting on my HSBC tower.

 

Thanks for that Lord Quillian2. You are fast becoming a valued member of the community.

[Lord_Quillian2 38]

Here is the next update on the lighting.

 

Coloured night Lighting.https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/images/smilies/3.gif border=0>

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/images/smilies/3.gif border=0>

Making your buildings stand out by adding an extra bit of colour is not actually that difficult.https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/images/smilies/3.gif border=0>

My model of the

[yaku 5]

ah thankyou! , was just going to request a decent lighting tutorial for lights such as those on your centre point building

[NYM1980 3]

Can someone tell me where I can find the patch for the lighting of BAT Buildings?

[EmergentFungus 29]

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On 2/18/2004 12:42:17 PM NYM1980 wrote:Can someone tell me where I can find the patch for the lighting of

BAT

Buildings?

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Here . Make sure you are product registered though.

[Lord_Quillian2 38]

Thanks EmergentFungus,

 

I have updated the Tutorial so that you know that you need the update.

 

cheers

[Your Ad Here 0]

I can't seem to subdivide my box into the window segments. How does that work?

[Lord_Quillian2 38]

If it is a simple box: with the box selected, go to the 'modify tab' on the right of your screen, add the number of subdivisions in the boxes indicated below:

 

I hope this solves your question.

LQ2

[Yakuzi 0]

Thanks for the tutorial Lord Quillian, it's nice and clear.

I had/have a problem with nite lighting though. The nite windows all work perfectly in the render preview, BUT... with some exports the windows dont work ingame I dont have a clue what's causing this, but it seems to be pretty random... If I export the same building from the same save in BAT 3 times; about one time the windows wont light up in the game. I have all the latest patches and the simcity 4 update etc.

Any idea what the problem is?

[Your Ad Here 0]

It helped, but I can't select two non-adjacent windows at the same time now. Ho do you do that?

[The Great Chozo 34]

Hey LQ,

 

Is there any way to have more than one color of nitelites. Let me explain. The building you helped me with has a sign at the top, that at night is illuminated from the inside with a blue color. However, the rest of the windows look like the beige color at night. So, is there any way, to be able to have the sign as a nitelite with the blue tint, and the windows as nitelites with the beige tint?

 

I have another question for you, but I will PM that one to you if and when you reply to this post.

 

Thank You,

TGC

[Lord_Quillian2 38]

Yakuzi - I have no idea why you have your problem, are you sure it is not just a refresh problem in SimCity? Sorry I can't help with that one.

 

Your Ad Here - to select more than one polygon you click on the first polygon, press the 'ctrl' key while clicking the second polygon. To remove polygons from the selection, press the 'alt' key while clicking the polygone that you no-longer want selected. You can also select multiple polys by clicking and dragging a selection box over the polys that you want selected, although it will select all polys behind the selection box including any on the other side of your building. Just use 'alt' to deselect them.

 

The Great Chozo - Simply, no - you can't use more than one night window texture. There is a sort of work around, by lighting up the sign with a nitelite with a colour - see the second part of the tutorial.

 

Just a note to all - Just remember that night lights (lights with the 'nitelite' prefix) are seperate from night windows. Night windows can only be one colour out of the selection of three that you are given by maxis. You can add new textures, and I will explain on request.

LQ2

[6459978. 106]

I have a problem. When I plop BAT buildings in SC4, the lights don't show up. But then if I save and exit and start it up again, the lights are there. What's that all about? And can it be fixed? I d-loaded the newest SC patch thing to fix strange textures, and of course, the update.

[DuskTrooper 314]

That is an unusual method for lighting!

[Vlakhaas 13]

I have seen this lag of SC to pick the night lights up ... When I test my buildings I now do the following ... place the building ... start the city to run and then switch a few times between day and night view ... that triggers it and once it happened then it would be on and off with the rest of the buildings.

[deadwoods 542]

I have found the same thing, with the same actions as VLakhaas has described. I thought it might be a time of day thing, so I let the city run through 5pm, 6pm, 7pm, 8pm etc. but it didn't seem to affect it. So I use the run city, toggle between day/night. Normally works the first night->day->night toggle.

[mikeseith 457]

Hi everyone. I have a small problem.
I don't like any of the streetlights or lamps that maxis has made for my parking lots but I can't make a parkinglot lamp prop to lightup in BAT. I make the lamp and add the nitlite effects but when it is placed in the lot it will not affect (light up) anything around it like the maxis default lights. Is there a solution or am I stuck with the default lights?

[Woulfe 1]

Dumb Qestion #101

Will this also work if the buliding isn't a box w/ a texture on it ?

Namely if the buliding is just a buch of unweilded splines just floatin' 'round real close to one another & stuff like that ?

Just call me curious as this is how i'm makeing my houses for the game....

Woulfe
* If I can get the houses to light up it's one less thing to worry about *

[Yakuzi 0]

Vlakhaas
Well I have the same problem, but even switching between day and night numerous times, and puting the speed on cheetah or warp or whatever most of my BAT building light up, but a few of them wont and those are usually from the same export... Pretty strange if ya ask me.

Woulfe
Sure that works, that's how I make buildings too (I think ). My windows are just rectangles (non extruded) with a custom color. Just make sure you put a material modifier on your Glass Pane ( maybe even a UVW Map).

[fstpaced 37]

yep kinda like the lottery.... had the same problems and asked over and over but help... the best advice i had was reinstall everything... took me 2hrs to it...

 that was gmax game plugs mods bat updates,etc... and i have had no more render problems except for being a slow modeler...https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/images/smilies/23.gif>https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/images/smilies/23.gif>https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/images/smilies/23.gif>  but still kinda learning...  LQ2 has helped quiet abit and he's the one said to reinstall.. i beleave alot of plugins we had effects bat alot....

 

                    https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/images/smilies/10.gif>

[deadwoods 542]

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On 3/2/2004 10:53:41 PM mikeseith wrote:Hi everyone. I have a small problem.
I don't like any of the streetlights or lamps that maxis has made for my parking lots but I can't make a parkinglot lamp prop to lightup in BAT.  I make the lamp and add the nitlite effects but when it is placed in the lot it will not affect (light up) anything around it like the maxis default lights.  Is there a solution or am I stuck with the default lights? 
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Here's how I understand it. When you're modelling in gmax/BAT, you're working with a true 3d object and the lighting will work as you expect, i.e. if you put something under the light it will be lit up. When you export the the model using BAT, you are taking a series of photographs of your object from four angles (and five levels of detail). So what is exported through the BAT are a series of pictures of what the object looked like in gmax.

If your object in gmax has a base (or some other object) that is lit up, then the pictures exported through the BAT will be lit up.

The Lot Editor (and SC) don't know anything about your light's location, direction, colour and strength, just that it has a pictures to use for this prop (one for each angle and zoom level). When you put your light onto your lot, there is no light shining, just these pictures from the BAT. If you put an object (such as a prop) under your BAT-generated light, there is no way for the LE to 'redo' the lighting, so the object is not lit up.

Did that explain it, 'cos it doesn't seem that clear reading it.

I rasied this question a few days ago. It looks like Maxis actually have a base under their lights, just that it's so subtle. 

 

[jtportland 184]

How do you have night spot lights? when i put spot lights on my building they show up in the day and night, and i just want them to turn on at night, help!?

[deadwoods 542]

I think that's the reason for the nitelite prefix on spots and omni's, so they are only turned on at night.

[simcity4crazyguy 24]

How can you make the lights light up from under the building? like:

 

bbbbbbb

bbbbbbb

bbbbbbb

    llllll

 

The b's are the building, and the l's are the lights. So like, how can you make the lights shine ON the building, not out of it.

Also, how can you make different colored lights?

I hope these questions make sense https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/images/smilies/2.gif>

 

sc4cg

[mikeseith 457]

thanks deadwoods,
I'm working on an unusual solution for this now. Making individual car props with lights above them at certain angles, then -carefully- placing them on the lot. I'll let you know if it works.

[deadwoods 542]

The gmax lights (such as spots and omni's can be different colours). There are a few posts around in this forum featuring different light colours.

 

As to shining under/onto a building. I don't quite understand what you mean. You can put a spotlight at ground level and shine it at a building (many of the BAT skyscrapers have done that, see earlier in this post for details). You could have a light (spot/omni) inside a building highlighting objects inside the building (see philippbo's Vu Behaviorial Modifi err Vu Quest building on the BEX).

 

How to stop light shining through walls? I've been playing around with the lighting parameters, but have had limited success so far.

[simcity4crazyguy 24]

Thanks! I think I got it now https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/images/smilies/2.gif>

Just one more thing. I cant seem to find parameters under the utilities section. I saw that on your post, you said that before you do a preview etc.. And I want to do a preview. I did it once, but now I forgot how I did ithttps://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/images/smilies/15.gif>

[deadwoods 542]

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On 3/4/2004 3:59:12 PM simcity4crazyguy wrote:

Thanks! I think I got it now

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/images/smilies/2.gif>

Just one more thing. I cant seem to find parameters under the utilities section. I saw that on your post, you said that 'before you do a preview etc.'. And I want to do a preview. I did it once, but now I forgot how I did it

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/images/smilies/15.gif>

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Have a look at LQ2's original post. The second and third screen shots show turning on lighting and the preview buttons.