TCX - my BATs

[tcx 170]

HI I will show here my work with BAT

is not very good, but I'm still learning how to do some things

and learning 3dsmax and the process of BAT4MAX

I used to show my work at SC4Devotion, but not anymore

and the website of LBT doesn't get much feedback.

Feel free to destroy all the BATs I'll show here, If you don't like anything you could write that  I promise I won't get mad.

but please help me get better and if you could give me some advice I will apreciate that.

so here's what is going to be a residential BAT. maybe R$$. I started this one early this year and today apply textures.

[JakeMD 107]

Wow!! Fantastic start! This is one of the most detailed models i have seen in a while. This will really fit in with many city types.

[Francis90b 748]

It's a very good try, modelling is excellent!

i'd like to suggest you to change the (brick? concrete?) texture on the front of your building.Also, try to dim a bit the textures you've applied on the windows,In my opinion they are too much noticeable right now.I really hope to see more!

[TV-VCR 14]

Looking great actually! A few tips, I think the the textures should have some more contrast to them, and you should darken the brick texture. I also think that the base of the building should be extended and made bigger, mainly the first story.

[tcx 170]

Thank you so much for your suggestions, I've exported the model from gmax to 3dsmax, and I'm working with materials. I'll post an image later today.

[tcx 170]

2 images from the model, I started to play around with 3ds max.

[eurocity83 0]

Adding an extra floor was definitively a good thing. It looked good before but now it looks even better.

[tcx 170]

two more views, I'm playing with the options and stuff for BAT4MAX. I used a pic from Hong Kong MD by Kelis, as an environment map to get the reflections on the windows.

without mental ray and FG

using mental ray and FG

[Jasoncw 11,840]

hmmm, I think you'd be better off learning more of your lighting and rendering stuff (on something like a box or a teapot) before trying to make an actual building. There are tutorials and rigs floating around that can help. Also, for 3ds Max (though also Gmax) there are a lot of tutorials on other websites that you can find with google.

This building obviously has far to go, but it's coming along.

[tcx 170]

Thanks for your comment Jason.

I have a lot of tutorials of 3dsmax I found on the internet, and I'm following them to get better, the reason I showed this BAT was because I wanted to apply what I learn from those tutorials.

What I don't find is a good tutorial on how to make a 3ds BAT the way you and Simfox and other players do.

But I'm going to keep trying and if I see I don't get better, then I will quit batting just like I'm quitting playing simcity.

[tcx 170]

After a long time I want to re.open this thread, I was showing my work in "BATs Currently in Progress" thread but I think is better to show it here.

After some suggestions in that thread I have changed the model of EXPOVER and this is close to the final version

[madhatter106 3,903]

The repeat/tiling on the main roof texture is bothering me. That and the fact that this roof texture is a bit darker than the texture of the roof access building.

I'd also suggest googling some satelitte dishes, to see how they are propped up and supported - somehow I don't think a single little pole on a stand, like the way you've modelled it, would hold it up for long...

[expectingrain5 0]

Wow- your BAT skills really improved!  How did you get so much better? Was it just practice or did you find some tutorials that helped?

[thepokemaniac 18]

Your BATs are very nice!

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Hey, good to see that you re-opened your BAT thread!  I'll try my best to contribute ideas and suggestions.  If you are familiar with my posts, you know that I often criticise a lot - I always hope that this is taken as it is intended, i.e. as an honest intention to help make good things even better, and not as negative or discouraging comments. So should you ever feel that I'm tearing your stuff apart, rest assured that it's not my intention to bring you down or to depreciate your work.  And if you feel that it's too much, simply tell me to shut up a while, that's ok.

Well, with all that being said, let's have a look at your BAT! The first impression is that your modeling skills are really great, and you managed to pick something very interesting. Such a building is just an eye-catcher, even if it's not supertall.

The night lights, too, are really superb - you might try toning down the light in the lobby a bit, but that's pretty much everything. In most places where one window at a corner is lit, you also lit up the other one - I only see three windows (all on the left edge of the building in your screenshot) where this isn't the case. This is a really tiny observation, though.

I just love what you did with the base. Normally, when light shines out of the building, there's always a dilemma: Either you model a ground plane to show the lights - but then the ground plane often clashes with the rest of the lot (unless, of course, it fills the lot completely). The other option is to leave out a ground plane, but then the light beams shining out of the building are cut off. Your solution is quite smart, and not unrealistic at all. If you want to add another one of those super-nifty details, you might consider adding a ramp for disabled people.

That protruding roof over the ground floor is yet another very interesting feature, it adds a lot of character. I just wonder if it would work out like this in real life; a few supporting columns might be needed after all. Should you decide to add some, you could re-arrange the hand rails and the planters accordingly so everything fits together and looks logical and natural.

Concerning the main walls, you could try toning down the white lattice a tiny bit, and I would really love to see more variation in the windows. Perhaps a cloudy image with various shades from light grey to darker blue would work? Come to think of it, the spacing of the vertical columns is also worth a thought, because the windows on the orthogonal walls are much narrower than their counterparts on diagonal walls. Of course this could be a design feature; I just thought I'd mention it.

Now finally we have reached the roof. I already like this version a lot better than the one you had before. Rooftops, of course, are really hard to do. They tend to be the most boring thing in the world, but in SC4 they are what we're staring on all the time.  It's good to see that you added a parapet wall, and that mechanical penthouse is also a good choice.

Some more ideas to add some life to the roof:

- You could make the inner side of the parapet wall different from the outer side - after all, nobody would need shiny blue cladding on the inside. Take a look at Maxis' "Chong Inc." for an extreme example of what I mean. Do you see the ribs on the inner side? That would be another nice touch.

- How about rails for a window washer crane/gondola thingy? Typically, the rails would run around the outer corner, with one storage track to "park" the vehicle with the crane and the gondola when it's not in use. This storage track could, for example, start/end at the penthouse structure, so that the window washers could go up to the roof, step outside and climb right into the gondola. Just an idea, but I always like such stuff, and it helps to add a lot of visual interest

- Try making the roof look more threedimensional by darkening the texture around all corners. Simply trace all contours; this also helps to "anchor" rooftop-mounted stuff like HVAC boxes etc. visually. The BAT often makes these things look like they are floating a few inches above the rooftop, and the darker outline around the edges helps to counter this effect and make everything look as one piece. Check the rooftops made by some of our leading BAT artists to see what I mean and gather some ideas! In the end, it's the texturing that makes the difference, not that one HVAC more or less.

Phew, that was a lot - I hope I managed to give you some ideas. Since I don't BAT myself, I won't be very helpful when it comes to "technical" problems; all I can do is observe, point out, and get on the BATter's nerves.  

Congratulations on your vast improvement, and good luck with this BAT!

[tcx 170]

madhatter106: Thanks for your suggestions I'll see want I can do to improve the texture of the roof. The satellite dish is no my model, I've found it on the STEX but I will look for a better base for it.

expectingrain5: Thanks, I'm not that good but I try to learn from tutorials and browsing others BAT creation threads here at Simtropolis or at SCD4.

thepokemaniac: Thank you!!

T Wrecks: Wow!, that's a lot of help and good advices about what can I do to make this model look better.

Thanks!!. I don't see your reply as a bad thing.

In fact, I'm happy with all your advices about the model and I'll take your suggestions and change the model to get a better one. I finally understand that patience is the better skill in Batting.  

Again, Thank you.

[tcx 170]

Following the first suggestions by T-Wrecks:

- Added a ramp for disabled people.

- Added support for the main entrance roof.

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Hahaha - neat! I love that ramp. You did a really good job with it, it looks absolutely natural and logical where it is, and I think that even the slope is rather "credible". The railing could use a few more supports, don't you think? Those horizontal bars are amazingly long...  It's funny that I never noticed, but in fact this also applies to the other railings. Oh well, just another proof of how important a closer look at something can be.

Great idea with the supports for the awning as well! Not only does it add some more credibility, but you also found a solution that breaks that large horizontal surface and makes this part of the building more interesting. I mean, I was sure you would be able to improve, but this is even better than I had expected! However, the more I look at the spacing of those horizontal bars, the more I think you could try how they would look with uniform spacing. In the part with the new support pillars, it looks perfect, but along the other wall, it's rather noticeable (especially in the bottom left view) that the spacing is very irregular. Once again, it could be a feature, and it isn't really bad, I just think trying out a different arrangement would be worth a shot, even if it's only to make sure the existing solution already was the best after all.

Some superb improvements here... this thread really deserves some more attention and comments!

[kellydale2003 2,276]

You REALLY need to switch to 3dsmax.

PM me your e-mail address, I have things that can help you

[tcx 170]

T-Wrecks: Thanks for your comments, I was aware that the railings needed some support, I will add that right away

Kellydale2003: Hi, I tried 3dsmax early this year but ... I needed to learn the basics of it, there's a lot to learn and I wanted to do big buildings instead of starting small. I've learned that lesson and maybe is time to give it another try now that I have a better computer and more patience and time to learn the basics of 3dsmax.

---

Sorry no update this time, Gmax can't open the file I was working on and the backup file is also corrupted, is not a big loss but I need to re-do some things before I can continue with other parts of the building.

[Jasoncw 11,840]

If you look in the BAT - Mega FAQ, there's a part about about corrupt files, and I recommend to turn on the Increment on Save feature. I don't know if you already have it turned on, but if you don't, you might loose less work when files get corrupted.

[tcx 170]

Jasoncw: Thanks for that advice, I now have that feature on.

Now...

I have changed the texture for the glass. The new one simulates a reflection of buildings. I hope you ike it.

[art128 4,618]

I like it very much, nice work with it !

[tcx 170]

art128: Thank you.

Now ...

I changed the textures for the roof, the base for the satellite dish and the texture for the inner part of the wall.

Getting closer to the final version.

[tcx 170]

I've finished everything I wanted to change and this is the final version, I will be exporting this tomorrow and start working on the lot, readme and stuff.

Day - South View

Night - South View

[mcarch 15]

Beautiful! Are you going to make a Ploppable?

[tcx 170]

Originally posted by: mcarch

Beautiful! Are you going to make a Ploppable?quote>

Thank you!, Yes, this is going to be a CO$$$ Diagonal Ploppable building as you can see in the pic.

----

Exported today.

Tested today.

Tomorrow: Lotting.

[tcx 170]

LBT TX EXPOVER is available now at STEX.

Link: https://www.simtropolis.com/stex/details.cfm?id=22865

[tcx 170]

FORGET THIS ONE !!!!!!

THIS BUILDING IS DEAD FOR NOW.

[tcx 170]

A very generic building to fill a 1x1 space in the game.