nybt-forum-threads PBGV's BAT Thread

[harishna 847]

I like the texture it is just that I think its a bit too dirty for this kind of building, it has an industrial feeling to me but this is just my opinion.

  Edited March 23, 2011 by harishna  

[Aaron Graham 4,417]

harishna I think you are right, this type of roof should go on something like a factory. The building is not 100 years old and plus there will be some maintenance on this buildings as time goes on. I do like that texture maybe you can put that in your safe keeping drawer, just in case you make a factory or some dirty building.

[gutterclub 2,743]

I prefered the smoother roof, i think what was possibly meant by not matching is that the glass is very nice and modern whereas the roof looks like it was constructed with cheap concrete and has seen better days..this may be however, what it looks like in real life.

I prefered the darker glass in the first render, purely visually.

Can't say much on rendering time, it has been mentioned over and over in this thread and many people have suggested modelling advice, not sure if it makes any difference and I can't really help. Really like the new version and am very much looking forward to seeing it along with your other great models. Keep it up pal

[PBGV103 729]

Is this better, or do you think it's still too dirty looking? The building was built in the 80's, and concrete does stain and become weathered over time, so I figure it would be a little dirty looking after 30 years. As far as the glass goes, it's not the best looking glass in the world, but it's closer to RL.

[kellydale2003 2,276]

What do you mean the roof doesn't match?

I agree about the roof part.. The roof looks a little bit too rocky/dirty.. It looks like a ground texture made for a construction site.

I would recommend using something like this;

I created this texture by filling it with neutral gray in photoshop.. then adding 200% noise.

I then added a rusted texture from the internet onto the image.

I later then saved the image and went into 3ds max.

Using a Standard Material, I used composite to create an imagine like this..

This is a combination between the Material I've given you, and Tiles (a standard material) using composite as diffuse color.

The reason why I added tiles is because newer buildings usually have tiles or aluminum as their roof. You can photoshop noise onto a rusted texture or you can use Speckle while adding a composite rusted texture and changing the different opacities to suit your needs.

Also.. The material that is THIS color needs to be either reflective a little bit, or needs a little speckle. It looks a weee bit too solid and makes the building look 'cartoonish'

As for the reflections in the windows.. I don't mind the bump maps (if that's what they are).. but the reflections are too white. I personally think they should have a little more color (as in making the ground plane have more color).. They look to bland with only one color reflecting them.

But other than that, I think it's a master-piece.. Keep up the great work!!!

[PBGV103 729]

Well this isn't really old nor new as it was built in 1988. Best I can tell from bing maps, the roof is poured concrete. I suppose I could add seams and such, but I'm not planning on changing it much as I'm trying to stay close to RL.

[tankmank 853]

That looks simply stunning

[madhatter106 3,932]

The size of the grain on the current texture is what bugs me - yes, it looks like concrete, but to me, it looks like a close up picture of a concrete brick - the texture looks far too large. Perhaps changing the contrast levels to even things out a little bit will result in a less bumpy appearance.

[PBGV103 729]

Ok compare this aerial photo (best quality I could find) to this latest render.

  Edited March 25, 2011 by PBGV103  

[lucky7 73]

IMHO it looks brilliant. Also, the concrete textures look really good due to the changes.

Keep it up,

lucky7

[gutterclub 2,743]

From my untrained eye the concrete on the photo, although patchy still looks smooth and doesn't have much bump or texture to it..however it a) may not be the case and b) the last render is a very good improvement.

[PBGV103 729]

Hey guys, I'm almost done with 425 and not sure what I want to do next, so I put a poll on my blog for some input from everyone. Please vote! Manhattan Models

[gutterclub 2,743]

I went with Americas Tower..would like to see a new version fo Bear Sterns HQ..Lever House is pretty decent already, others are more boxes which you've done a few of.

[Aaron Graham 4,417]

I voted for 450 Lexington Avenue.

  Edited March 30, 2011 by Aaron Graham  

[Heblem 600]

Nice work on your last building! great use of textures

I would like to see 383 madison ave.

[PBGV103 729]

Here's day and night zoom5. Exported it last night but for some reason SC4PIM has stopped working for me. I tried reinstalling it but no luck and windows compatiblity didn't help either so idk what the problem is. So if anyone feels like modding for me let me know. I'm still not sure about the glass on this one, but this is my best guess on how it should look. It's more light green/blue when viewed from the street and appears darker blue from the above, but maybe it's just the shadows or bad aerial picture, I'm still not sure. Also, I haven't messed with the back of the model on the W2W section since I figure it'll be W2W in the game, but if you have any suggestions please let me know. Just no graffiti, this is a manhattan skyscraper next to the chrysler building, not a rundown bronx warehouse or something. Please let me know if you have any suggestions!

  Edited March 30, 2011 by PBGV103  

[Cleaner475 150]

Oh! Those nightlights are awesome! One of the best nightlighted buildings I've ever seen! Great building

Regards,

Richard

  Edited March 30, 2011 by Cleaner475  

[Heblem 600]

Great job!

Maybe at at first floor, you could use a inside store texture, for both day and night renders as like it looks in street view...

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=chrysler+building&aq=&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=46.36116,107.138672&ie=UTF8&hq=chrysler+building&hnear=Chrysler+Bldg,+New+York+10174&ll=40.751939,-73.975754&spn=0,0.00327&z=19&layer=c&cbll=40.752327,-73.975464&panoid=53m9Bz15eGnOkyeB-7TFRA&cbp=12,116.77,,1,1.18

Specially at night render which looks a bit bare (the first floor)

Overall excellent work!

[lucky7 73]

Beautiful nightlights! I can't wait until it's finished, keep up the excellent work,

lucky7

[tankmank 853]

Looking much better than before, i love it

[PBGV103 729]

Well I think I'm done with this one.

Anyone feel like modding it for me? All you really need to do is set it up in SC4 PIM since I can't get the application to open. Then I can finish editing it in Ilive Reader.

  Edited April 2, 2011 by PBGV103  

[Cockatoo 2,262]

The end result is remarkable. Lighting it tops.

I wonder why you can't get the SC4 PIM to work... I can help with that if you want.

Oh, yeah, one more thing. This might be a stupid question, but you are going to release this, right? It really is a stunning BAT, it'd be a shame to see it go largely unused.

[PBGV103 729]

Thanks here's the error message I get when I try to open the app. and after that here's the report.

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "SC4PIM.py", line 1, in ?

File "SC4PIMApp.pyo", line 117, in ?

File "SC4IconMakerDlg.pyo", line 7, in ?

File "SC4Data.pyo", line 2, in ?

File "S3DReader.pyo", line 2, in ?

File "S3DViewer.pyo", line 3, in ?

File "Numeric.pyo", line 91, in ?

File "multiarray.pyo", line 12, in ?

File "multiarray.pyo", line 10, in __load

ImportError: DLL load failed: The parameter is incorrect.

[PBGV103 729]

Here's the beginnings of 277 Park Avenue. I've already run into some problems. The windows along the front and sides look like they're the same proportions but if google's measurements are correct then they aren't. I can't really tell where the dimensions are different. There's that and a ton of other little things I've had to guess at. So this one won't be completely perfect, but at least it should still look good when it's done.

[tonyr 926]

Love the finished building,simply beautiful ! awesome nightlighting as well. Good luck on the new project! :thumb:

[tankmank 853]

Wow, looking damn sexy

[PBGV103 729]

Ahhh!!! I'm so excited! I figured out and fixed all the dimensions issues on 277. Turns out while all of the windows look like they have identical widths some are slightly smaller. Most are 1.65 meters wide while a few are 1.55 meters. Turns out that makes a huge difference.

[zahrul3 472]

Not everything is built perfect. Something that looks 'perfect' might just have some deviations, even by millimeters. A 10cm inaccuracy in mullions is pretty small and woudn't be seen by the untrained eye. It does no harm as mullions has no structural function. Looks good from my point of view. Its wise to download SC4PIM(PIM-X) from SC4D, as it lets you build CAMeLots and allows you to make buildings that function while CAM is being used.

EDIT: You should try NYCHA/co-op buildings that exist in Manhattan, as we don't have them yet in the STEX. There is one NYCHA style building pack, though the model seems outdated when compared to newer 3dsMax buildings.

2nd EDIT: Is this using your new build? I saw it in the Your System Specs thread. The Asus Z8 motherboard your about to use has server slots that can't fit a GPU, and thus, its a strictly server farm motherboard. While it has ability for 2 CPUs, budget wise its actually better buying an AMD hexacore Phenom, which costs around 230 dollars compared to 600 dollars for 2 Xeons.

This: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.591993

  Edited April 5, 2011 by zahrul3  

[PBGV103 729]

Zahrul3 - First off, this is not a request thread, and if I do any residential buildigns I'll probably make the Corinthian or the Silver Towers (part of NYU). Maybe I'll make the other silver towers as well.

Also your point on it not being perfect is irrelevant. The point is that it's "perfect" enough to look accurate in the game. No, I didn't go into Manhattan with surveying equipment and a meter stick, but this is as accurate as it needs to be as a model. Anything beyond that would be superfluous.

About my computer, this was not rendered on my new one. In fact I stil only have the motherboard, case, and power supply. I'm not sure where you got your idea that it can't use a gpu as I know for a fact that I can use any modern gpu on the market, from gaming to professional gpus. In addition, I am an intel fan, I'll NEVER use an amd cpu. Also whats a "server slot?" As far as I know there's no such thing. I know of PCI, PCIe 1.0, 2.0, 1 lane, 4 lane, 8 lane, 16 lane, MIO slots, PIKE RAID slots, etc. Never heard of a "server slot."

Anyway, here's what it looks like.

[Francis90b 748]

I appreciate your dedication in your work on 277 park avenue, as well as the fact that you're doing it (i've voted for it, lol).

I'm a little curious about what is going on at the ground floor, at the lower right of your pic.