Creation of original Maxis buildings

[expectingrain5 0]

Were all the original buildings in SC4 created in the BAT? If so, do any of the people who created them read these forums and post to the STEX?

[T Wrecks 10,209]

No, the Maxis crew did most probably NOT use the combination of gmax & the BAT they made available to users. They probably used a more powerful 3D program.

Besides, the buildings were made before 2003/2004, when SC4/Rush Hour were released. Since then, Maxis as the original development studio of SimCity, has been "swallowed" by Electronic Arts and disappeared as a brand on its own. The artists have probably moved to new jobs within EA, and I cannot remember anyone of them being active on one of the fansites.

Maybe some of the real "oldtimers" know more, but my impression is that in the end, when SC4 was nearing completion and Maxis was disbanded, things were rushed by Electronic Arts. Both SC4 and Rush Hour appear to have been released in a hurry, and support has never been that strong and long-lasting. Apart from some older members of the fan scene who may have been beta testers back then, I don't think there is any contact between the crew that used to create SimCity4/Rush Hour and the fans any more.

[Sam 163]

There were some tutorials written by MaxisBrian in the omnibus when the BAT was first released or just prior. Many of us were practising with gmax for a long time before the BAT itself was released and the Maxis people were quite active in the community. But the models they did release were uploaded to the official SC4 site, not here. And of course they have not been sighted in the community since the early days.