nybt-forum-threads Sgt Pepper's NYBT Projects

[Aaron Graham 4,417]

Looks great, maybe you can bat the other buildings around it. I had problems like this the Beekman and the Park Towers, the building need another building next to it and without it sometimes it does not look right. I think that's why avoided Lower Manhattan, because of the shape of some buildings and the city blocks and trying to make only one building and it's back is bald wall all the way up to the twentieth floor will not look right and the lot will look odd.

[Sgt Pepper 864]

Yeah I know what you mean Aaron. I love Lower Manhattan but the set up of some of the city blocks and the way the buildings connect to others have kept me from doing quite a few of the buildings. As much as I'd like to, I'm not too sure of myself in making the building that wraps around Home Insurance Plaza back there. It's an old building from 1929 and quite detailed compared to Home Insurance Plaza.

I finally figured out the name or address of that building, 60-66 John Street. You can check out its only three images here on Emporis http://www.emporis.com/building/6066johnstreet-newyorkcity-ny-usa or look up some on Google Images.

I know I recently made a more detailed building, Bankers Trust Funds, but that took a lot of work and I'm not sure about doing something like that again. And to be honest Bankers Trust Funds wasn't even that detailed. I was able to make it look more detailed with some carefully placed primitives. I guess that makes me sound like a trickster.

I really would like Home Insurance Plaza to be placed in my city soon, and what I was going to do is simply plop or let another building grow behind it to cover that space in the mean time. So I think I'll leave it without that other building for now. Maybe trying it in the future? I don't know for sure. But I mean if someone would like to give that gem a try I'm sure we could merge the models together in like the Lot Editor or something.

But to combat that bald wall back there I think I will add some garages and doors and what not, since that area will be an alley on its final Lot. How about that for now?

[Aaron Graham 4,417]

It's up to you, you are the artist and it's your bat.

[Sgt Pepper 864]

Hmmmm...meh.

I do love this building actually. I love that International Style.

[unclesahm 32]

I like it! I think it looks handsome.

[mattb325 28,890]

Love the new building! I don't mind blank walls...it's just how things are somethimes IRL in a taller W2W environment

Re the fountain: I would knock the pool of water off the bottom of the mesh and just leave the jets

[ComeTogetherOverMe 4]

Sgt, are you planning to BAT 599 Lexington Ave? ) (just like Kryptowhite's, but you're own version, of course .

[Sgt Pepper 864]

unclesahm- Thank you!

Mattb325- The entire pool itself? That would make sense since the water is pretty clear. I already had it rendered and sent it as well as Chase to be modded and lotted by T Wrecks, but I believe I can easily replace with fountain model by re-exporting it. And of course glad you love the new structure. I should really find time to make the building that wraps around it though.

Geometry- I don't really take requests , I'm sorry. Nor would I be that reliable with keeping up with requests(I can barely stay on task with the projects I already have. )

Well a new International Styled building with some urban W2W elements has been calling to me lately so I have this to show you all-

It's only about 31 stories tall. it was inspired by 55 Broad Street in Downtown but I didn't feel like recreating the real building since it has weird angles that I'm not too good at dealing with. However it is of course a New York Styled building, and it's facade is pretty similar to 55 Broad. It's also going to be W2W on it's back. A 4x2 cap to city urban W2W blocks.

However, I'm debating what to do with this area-

I based the shape of the tower off of 55 Broad Street itself(a little more square shaped though) and ended up with an area like this. However, being that this isn't an exact recreation of an actual NYC building I've had a few ideas I'd like to list here and see which is preferred-

A) I can leave that area as is as an alley, only with some doors, garages and parking and what not.

B) I can extend the facade on this side to cover that area so there won't be an alley at all and the back will be a perfectly flat wall for the W2W environment.

C) I can BAT a smaller office building/short pencil tower to go with the model to fill that spot. I was thinking either 1) another International styled building, 2)an older building.

D) A low-rise diner. In a very urban area it maybe hard to see it since it'll be like 1 or two stories but I thought that would give the building some interesting character.

Any thoughts?

  Edited October 31, 2012 by Sgt Pepper  

[Francis90b 748]

All of them would be feasible, however, I'd say C1 or C2 - if you are not going to pursue B.

  Edited October 31, 2012 by Francis90b  

[Aaron Graham 4,417]

Sgt Pepper looks great, I have to say you make me want to make a box style office buildings too.

[Sgt Pepper 864]

Francis90b- I could try out B, but I do like the concept of the C's as well. With your expertise, could you tell me if the picture below shows something that would be practical for that spot, with a building going there?

Aaron- Thanks! That would be very interesting and awesome to see you try a boxy building.

So this is idea one for one of the C's.

Just a very basic shape of what could be put there. Do I need to adjust it in anyway?

Oh I think it's going to be just another international styled building by the way.

[Francis90b 748]

So far, you have two problems - how the two masses relates to each other, and what the green mass is going to represent.

1)Masses.

1a)The gap between the skyscraper and the green building would not make much sense.The green building probably does not need it (a pre-existing structure (*), probably built to fuction as that), and the skyscraper could probably do without it, either.

I happened to read an interesting theory about the changes in skyscraper design in the 50's...among all the other differences, one of the things you'd notice is that their mass is, generally speaking, more thick than the one of older buildings - well, what i read (and that makes sense to me) is that better artificial illumination (and wasn't that exact time neons and fluorescent lighting began to be widely implemented?) reduced the need for natural lighting, and therefore allowed for buildings with a "thicker" mass.

1b) The green building should have a back side open to natural illumination (i.e. non W2W) - if it is built to be something else, and not just part (connected to, and functionally being part of) the bigger skyscraper.

(*)When i said "older, pre-existing structure" i said that the green building, or a past incarnation of it (read it either way) was an obstacle that the designers of the skyscraper had do deal with - they couldn't tear it down, so they had to design their new building around it - in the merry BATing world things could happen the opposite way, lol, but IRL that's pretty much that.

2) Style

I don't think it would really make sense to make a building that appears to be built around the same time - i'd go for either a more recent style, or for an older one.

If you go for a more recent style, it's quite unlikely what you will do could be an office building - if you look at it, most of modern office buildings take up larger parcels of land, and infills are often residential pencil towers or showrooms, sometimes speciality shops.

This is also partially true for past, prewar times...most of the small, short and narrow art decò or revival buildings you'd see in midtown mahnattan were not built as offices, but as showrooms, light manifacturing lofts or speciality shops.

I'd say to go for a building clad in a simple, utilitarian art decò (this way would look as an older building) - or with a significantly more recent building (that would look different in time and style from the skyscraper next to it, and would let you intuit the skyscraper was built that way because there was something next to it - that was replaced by the "modern" infill - hope it rings clear...anyway)

My best take would be a small art decò building, very utilitarian in it's look (could be linked to the dozens of small manifacturing or showroom purpose-built buildings built in 20's and 30's around midtown manhattan, especially the Garment district) - and would not be excessively hard to make (while an even more older building might take more time and effort) - sense, and simplicity - what to ask more?

  Edited November 2, 2012 by Francis90b  

[Sgt Pepper 864]

Francis90b- Ah thank you very much. Great points, as always. I'll go with the utilitarian art deco building idea. I'll have to look up some pictures to get a general perception of what it should look like.

For the proportions and shape of the building, I altered it significantly which I hope is for the better or close to what you discussed.

  Edited November 2, 2012 by Sgt Pepper  

[Francis90b 748]

Not really.

This is what i meant.

The yellow mass with blue edgea is the filler building, the gray mass with red edges is the skyscraper.

The gap (in white) is the gap you should leave between the back of the filler building, and the skyscraper.

  Edited November 3, 2012 by Francis90b  

[Sgt Pepper 864]

Oh sorry for not exactly seeing what you meant at first. Thanks for the photo.

Here's where I am now-

I edited the proportions of the building here to be rid of that gap. I originally had 3 set backs but I didn't know if it would look right with the third up there. Does this look alright? Or should I keep it exactly like the diagram you had? I was thinking that this filler here would be more lined up with the tower's set backs. I also just noticed I need to adjust the columns for the base on this side.

And here's all the sides of the building at zoom 4.

South,

East,

North,

North will mostly bea blind wall side, for W2W buildings to cover these areas.

West,

Base and roofs aren't done. I think I'm going to finish the main skyscraper first before tackling the filler building completely. I tried looking up some pictures of art deco utilitarian buildings but I'm not sure what to really do for the filler with it. When I looked in Google Images I just saw a power plant and what looked like a gas station. I guess I need to refine my search or dig deeper.

EDIT: Hey Francis, would a facade similar to 99 Wall Street be utilitarian or close enough for the filler?

  Edited November 3, 2012 by Sgt Pepper  

[Francis90b 748]

Well, concerning the front setbacks of the yellow building on my sketch, you can do anything with them...just bear in mind that they often were not very deep.

I'd say you might make some small setbacks (1,2 - 1,6 mtrs) every 2-3 floors starting from the 6th-8th floor.

Remember to leave enough depht on the topmost setback from some elevators and stairs to fit there - and remember to leave a gap between the back of the yellow building and the skyscraper (at the very least 3 mtrs).

Making them line up with the newer building does not make much sense...since the infill was built decades before the skyscraper, how could his architects have foreseen the new skyscraper's massing?

99 Wall street could be a good reference.

Take a piece of paper and design it there before trying putting it in the BAT - you'd get a better idea about what to do, and a smoother process later.

[Darknono35 3,138]

Very good work.

it's nice remake of BAT after a long time. And most part of the NYBT

[Bluthlucidity 88]

I don't mean to throw a wrench in the machinery, but I think B would have been a better option. These pre-Seagram modernist towers were bulky, as Francis has pointed out. The setbacks of earlier skyscrapers but with none of the grace. As a BAT I think it'd stand out more if you carried the facade all the way to the edge, give it that ungainly shape. That said, I like the blank walls, they're not pretty to look at but if you can imagine the development history of these two buildings it makes sense doesn't it? I'll assume the tower was developed without being able to acquire the smaller property next to it and so the design reflects that. What about the space behind the low-rise, is that a back alley? Would these buildings (especially the tower) not be constructed right to the property line?

[Sgt Pepper 864]

Hey guys, long time no see(in this thread at least).

Well, I haven't actually BATed at all in a while, months actually, since my releases of Chase, Home Insurance Plaza, and Feelings Mutual.

I did however, make progress on my recreation of the HSBC Bank Building months prior that I never showed. I mean, it's not much but I thought I'd show one zoom 4 pic.

Still working on the roof. Any suggestions on anything so far?

I do have a bit of bad news though, after finishing the last few WIP's I have for NYBT I think I'm going to retire from the Team. I won't stop BATing in general, but as for NYBT I think I'm done after these.

[Darknono35 3,138]

I'm happy to see your work.

I like the new version of your HSB. It seems great for me. Your previous versions were already awesome

But I don't like this bad new. Why do you retire you from the NYBT ? You're the creator of this team, It's your team !!!!

[Parisian 556]

Sad news and a big loss for us. Are u about to continue Bating under your own name or are u completly leaving simtrop'? Anyway, you made a lot for that team, hope to see your Bat released again soon and to see u later alone or in that team again one day. Good luck

[Aaron Graham 4,417]

Nooooooooooo!!!!! not again, not this type of bad news.

The building looks good.

[Sgt Pepper 864]

I was a little vague with my last sentence in my post so let me elaborate a bit if that will suffice.

I meant I"m retiring from NYBT after 2 more or so releases for the team. I'm still going to be BATing under my own name and will when I have free time, but I'm done contributing for NYBT.

I started it a few years ago, I was ambitious and wanted to BAT more buildings of New York and have a collection of friends and associates that felt the same way about wanting NY BATs. It was all fun and all, we were pretty laid back. I enjoyed the time and efforts we put into it, and the things I've learned, and I certainly hope the same applies to my fellow team members.

Since then, we've certainly become something greater since then. We have our own label and icon, our own custom queries, even our own forum which I never thought when I began this we'd get that far. I'm very glad we did.

The rest of the team have achieved greatness with their BATs. I still remember you guys' humble beginnings. Thinking of the skill then and comparing it to now... I guess that'd be "embarrassing" to some of you but I'd disagree. Ya'll are really great at this, and are making some of the best BATs around. But as of late, things seem different to me. Some of us are achieving perfection beyond what I'd normally try to conceive for SC4, and it's definitely way over my head. It's getting to a point where it seems every individual pixel counts to make something right.

Frankly, I'd rather not rant too much about how my emotions but I feel left out in a way, or obsolete. My relaxed and chilled way of BATing is getting in the way of the perfection you guys want to achieve.

I don't like it anymore. I miss the relaxed way of BATing, where it was fun. The "perfection" I go for isn't in the accuracy but the work to make something that looks presentable, makes sense, and fits in SC4. I apologize everyone, if what I'm saying isn't what you want to hear or isn't anything you'd want to agree with, but this is where I stand and where I'm at.

Now, admittedly, you can say I'm a bit of a hypocrite with perfectionism since that's what I strive for with my art and writing to the best of my ability. But, I'm way more passionate about these hobbies than BATing. Some of you may say, as noticed in my time here, that I'm really passionate about BATing but boy you guy's have no idea when comparing it to my art and writing. No one definitely knows me there. And that's the thing, none of you know me, you only know Sgt Pepper. Not that there's a problem there, I was just bringing it up because anyone can make any assumption about me, but be wrong.

Well, I hope that explains enough for everyone. If I may ask, can we please not argue or debate and just leave it at that? There's no reason to, and I'd rather not have a bunch of people gang up on me to try and sway my decision. So please, let it be.

EDIT: Oh, and to add something that Darknono35 brought up: This isn't my team. I didn't want to be a leader, maybe an adviser of some sort at first but that definitely changed. I'm not the leader. This is our team, and the community's team.

So I'll step off the soap box for now, and let this topic get back on track. I'll post an update on some of these final NYBT projects when I get a chance and have made more progress.

All the best, and I hope everyone has been enjoying their holidays!

[Gn_leugim 858]

Wise words I have to say. nevertheless, I believe is also up to the team to tell if you are (or not!) obsolete or out of the way. I knw that in the end you feel that way, but may be proven wrong. your works are awesome and worthy of the team, what ever your pace is

[Sgt Pepper 864]

Hey guys,

My priorities are in my writing right now, and some other hobbies so you won't be seeing me BATing in a long while.

I'm really not sure when, or even if, I'll return to BATing, I'm getting busier with different things and I think it's time to move on for better focus on everything else in life.

Sorry, to disappoint. Maybe someone else with Gmax or could somehow import my BATs into Max could finish them, but until then I"m not really sure what will happen to them.

Cheers,

Brandon

[mntoes 271]

At the end of the day you have made the right choice for you and that's what counts. Good luck with the writing.

[Darknono35 3,138]

You never disappointed us , all your contributions are successfuls for the NYBT team and the comunities of SC4. You're an great BATer and your BAT missed us.

Good luck my friend for all your projects You've have make an great choice for your fate .

PS: I hope to see several comments from you on my thread . Your opinion is very important for us all

Congratulation Brandon and good luck

Darknono35

[Sgt Pepper 864]

Mntoes- Thanks for the support. Writing has been a big thing with me, I finished a book already and I'm still trying to get it published.

Darknono35- I said disappoint as in sorry to disappoint anyone that I'm not really into BATing lately and have basically stopped. Thank you for the support as well my friend. I'm glad to see how much you've improved too! Of course, I'll be around ST. I have time to poke around, chat, and offer advise. Besides, I still play SimCity occasionally if it's not crashing.

Maybe next summer I could find more time to BAT, I can't right now.

[Gn_leugim 858]

RL first, that is true who knows if you will return one day

[Seraf 1,239]

Brandon, even if I don't know you I do know what you mean. It's been some time since I started disapearing from ST for months. Well, mostly it's because recreating someone's work doesn't make me so happy anymore. I'm writing my own novel, and designing some things including Opera House and a ship, and I love it, so I really hope that you'll also have a great time with your other passions