Whyspers new B.A.T. Cage

[whysper 0]

I finished the basic bat tutorial. I learned a TON. Eventually I want to bat buidlings I make up but i decided to start with  buildings from the real world.

The one I chose is the Hotel Sofitel in Tokyo. A iconic building that was torn down.

http://arch.cside.com/ef-sofitel.html

http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/424481.jpg

I thought it looked simple enough if challenging. However the sides of the building with the cyclinders are giving me problems.

Im not sure how to model it with walls or splines like the tutorial did.

I thought I'd model it in boxes and cylinders and attach the shapes. That has worked well but now im not sure how to get windows and doors in since I cant attach and extrude.

So Im wondering how to approach this project?? Perhaps I should choose another project but eventually I do want to learn how to do rounded areas and complicated shapes and I dont really want to put it off hehe

Thanks 

[_Atticus 10]

I wouldn't start off with such an ambitious project. Perhaps you should do some smaller, easier buildings first until you get more experience.

-Pingangster

[SimHoTToDDy 2,938]

Like I told you in chat a few days ago, I think it would be best for you to try something smaller to practice the skills you would need to tackle such a large building. It is very boxy and easy to model IMO, but trying to apply what you have just learned on such a large scale could be a bit daunting, which can be a rather big distraction. The way I learned was, when starting a new BAT, try one difficult thing and really figure it out. The model was usually small so that I wasn't overwhelmed by what I didn't know.

But then again, it is a great project to start on. If you want to shoot for the stars on your first attempt, just remember to have fun! Hell, as one of my early projects, I tried texturing and re modeling thequiltedllama's Battersea power plant (which was some 11x13 game tiles), it was a great learning experience. As for starting it, I would tackle one floor segment/ large unit first (using your basic wall/ windows) then move to other details, like balconies, then the roof, stairs etc. Remember, keeping organized names for your objects and uniform colors for your objects will help a lot when it comes to texture (similar color = similar texture is a good tip, plus you can select by color when the time comes).

Good luck, and feel free to keep asking questions,

-Todd

[whysper 0]

If I could get advice about how to apply what was in the tutorial the spline editing to the rounded parts thatd be a great help. Im just not sure how to do that part.

Thinking I should do units of 10 feet per floor does that sound about right??

[whysper 0]

or also an alternative if you know a project off the top of your head I should do lol

[Francis90b 748]

I believe it's not a good idea to suggest you a project to do.You need to be motivated, and it will happen only if you really like what you're doing.In fact BATing is time expensive, and a little boring sometimes.

Hope to see you back soon, and don't be shy to ask for suggestion or hints !

[Jasoncw 11,840]

Yeah, that building would be hard to do, I'd definitely pick a different building to do for now.

Maxis uses 4 meters per floor. In real life, residential floor heights could be a little smaller, and office floor heights would be larger, but 4 meters is fine for the game. If you're doing a recreation though, don't assume that the floors are 4 meters tall.

[whysper 0]

Redid the math again doing 12 feet per floor and started modeling the front of floors 1-5

[Jasoncw 11,840]

That's not really how it works. The floors are probably not 12 feet tall, and if you assume that they are, then your model is going to look wrong. If you model the building with 12' floors, your model will look too short.

You need to make your model based off of what is there in real life. So, for example, you could look at a photo, and if there are people standing next to the building, you can figure out how many people tall the floors are, and you could multiply that by how tall you think that person is.

Also, SC4 is in meters, and the BAT is also set up in meters. Not only that, but the building you're recreating was designed in meters. So it's best to think in meters while BATing.

[whysper 0]

Meters, Gotcha!!

[whysper 0]

When do people normally put floors in?? Is it really necessary to have floors?

[Jasoncw 11,840]

You only need to model floors if you're using transparent glass for the windows. For most buildings using opaque glass (you make the glass look like glass with textures) is the better way to go, and for that you don't need to model the floors because you'll never see them.

[whysper 0]

Thanks for replying I really appreciate it

One more question hehe I was wondering for walls what would be the best way to do them?? Since the front wall goes in and out the side wall needs to follow the same contour so I was just going to make wall sections going across for each change but im thinking that might lead to texturing problems. So is there a better way?

[whysper 0]

this is what im talking about

[Jasoncw 11,840]

You could create and extrude a spline in that shape.

You could also do as you said and make a rectangular wall piece for each floor.

You control how textures fit on objects by using UVW Maps. So you can easily select all of the wall pieces, group them, and apply a uvw map to the group, and your texture will stretch itself across all of the objects.

But texturing is for later. Now is time for modeling.

[benvoliothefirst 36]

Samuel L. Jackson says, "PREVIEW RENDERS MOTHERF#&k$R!!!!!

Just kidding. Can't wait to see how your first BAT eventually turns out. Keep at it, I know it's a lot of work at the beginning but if you've got the time and the dedication, the sky is the limit.

[whysper 0]

Got the walls working right!! I did the spline and attach method. Its frustrating when I work slow and awesome when things hum along.

At this point Im thinking of detailing. When do you start doing it especially for such a tall building?? Do I do it now and copy it up or do I wait till the end and array it all??

[whysper 0]

Got last question answered in chat thanks Simhottody!!

Wondering now when is it good to use instance over copy?? Not sure I understand the difference between the two!!!

Thanks

[SimHoTToDDy 2,938]

Copy is just a clone of the object that can be edited to your hearts desire. Instance is, in effect, the same object in two (or more) places at once. If you have a cube, and make an instance of it then go and change the dimensions of one cube, both will change. I have been told that only one instance of the same object renders (being that they are only one object, shown in multiple places), but in practice I'm not entirely sure what the difference in render time actually is, especially after textures are added.

So, if you have a bunch of objects that are going to be identical in the end, but perhaps you will want to change something about them all at once (like the thickness of a wall for example), use instance. If you know you need to change this clone at one point or another (or if you just want to play it safe) use copy.

[whysper 0]

Going to familys house for the holiday so won't be working on project much. Will make stairs I think

[whysper 0]

Ha stairs done. Boy are they cute

[whysper 0]

now doing windows. Left them till the end, regrettably.

As a side note I fixed all kinds of weirdness that was going on the most annoying being unable to restrict movement of objects by plane. Fixed by reinstalling bat etc. Guess it got corrupted somehow.

[whysper 0]

I found more to do on model. Boy is it becomming a monstrous beast and bogging computer.

Starting lighting and got very top floors and logo done. Also finally finished balconys.

Found a night picture with logo glowing blue. How would I do that??