mipro Barry Sanders Project

[Jasoncw 11,840]

The dark grey is the sim city bridge. The user would have to use a maxis bridge that is flat and has nothing underneath and I don't know if there is such a bridge. The red is your bridge, which must be made to fit the maxis bridges. Your bridge is on the green tile, and your bridge is a prop that hangs over the edge ontop of the maxis bridge.

The other option is that you could make it as an addon to one of the fake river packs on the stex, but it wouldn't be transit enabled. Making such huge fake river would be silly though.

So I'd go with trying to make it fit ontop of a maxis bridge, but it won't be easy

[sparkythepenguin 90]

Welcome to page 55!

I've also heard that there is a way to replace the Maxis default draggable bridges with a custom one. It'd probably take a ton of work to make it adjustable to length, height, etc.. How one would go about that is a mystery to me.

Jason's way seems logical too...

[Jasoncw 11,840]

We'd need to find someone to mod it though

[Valiko87 0]

I actually just saw a CJ with a custom bridge, but  I can't remember the name of it I'm going to look around for it, because it would be possible to maybe get some help from the person who created it. However, Jason's idea sounds good too, and would require less modding, it would just be extremely hard to get the bridge the perfect length, and even then, it could only go over a span of a signle length. I'm willing to do the work to get the bridge working, because I also want to BAT the Chicago-style drawbridges by River Rouge, so it would be worth it to learn how to get this right.

How's the Free Press building going, BTW? The screenie on the previous page looked quite good. I wish we could get an update on Comerica Tower as well, that looked like it had been coming along nicely =\

[Jasoncw 11,840]

The Free Press building is the same as it was last time I posted.

Should the Free Press Building be brighter? Should it be like Mace Co.? or a mix between the two? What brightness did you expect to see when I said that I'd be making this building? What do you think it should be regardless of how I textured it? Changing the texture is a snap, so I'd like for it to be right on. Any other suggestions for anything else about the model would be good too. Please be critical

[Valiko87 0]

I'd say a mix between the two would be best, as the real building is a bit lighter than your BAT. You've done a really good job modeling it, though.

I was just thinking, I know I don't have the skill to create it, but do you think any of you on the BSP team would be able to BAT the Spirit of Detroit? I'd rather see the skyscrapers first, but the sculpture would definitely be a nice inclusion. Hard to model, however.

[Jasoncw 11,840]

Some texture fixes on the Detroit Free Press building. I made everything brighter, and added some weathering on the stone texture. I also added in new windows (only 1/4 window textures were being used before, and I added in the rest to mix it up).

Does this look more like the origonal? Also, I wanted to have the roof deck becuase there used to be one on the building, but I'm not sure if I should keep it on there. Does it stick out too much? Does it look funny on it? I've looked at it so much it's hard to tell

How are everyone elses projects going?

[T Wrecks 10,209]

I don't know about the real building, so I can only say something about this BAT in relation to standard SC4 buildings...

Both in size and in shape, it blends in very well, I think. I would leave that deck up there. I think at least one Maxis building has such a deck, too, although I can't find it for the life of me.

One question about the roof texture: Are those lighter squares around the two towers to the left intentional?

The colour looks fine IMHO, I just think that a tiny bit more contrast might look nice. If I compare the building with the Maxis structure to the right, the Maxis building appears a tad more crisp and vivid. It's just a tiny touch, though.

All in all, this is some amazing piece of work and will be in my plugins folder for sure once it's out.

[jacqulina 162]

wow i love that bridge

[Jasoncw 11,840]

Thanks

I didn't specificly put the lighter squares on the roof at those locations, I just made them in photoshop and that's where they ended up. I made the texture myself, so I can change anything about it. Should they be moved? Made more subtle? Thank you for your help, this is the kind of feedback that BATers need .

I understand what you mean about the contrast, but I'm not sure how to make it better . Hopefully the roof junk will make this a little bit better.

[sparkythepenguin 90]

Stop me if you've heard this before...

Why is there a road running right into the front of the building? If there's a tunnel or something, I am totally missing it.

Other than that, that's awesome!

[Jasoncw 11,840]

lol

Almost all of the pictures I post of my BATs are actually low quality preview renders that have been photoshoped into a screenshot of one of my cities. I do this so that I can compare the building to the ingame buildings, and so that I can see changes almost instantly. It also makes it easier to see the changes I make. I can use one texture, make a preview, and then I can switch textures, make another preview, and then put them right ontop of eachother in photoshop and I can compare the changes really well. I reccomend that everyone does this, it really makes the process more efficient and with better results. As far as I know this is not a very common thing to do, but it's really great. You should try it out too and see if it's helpful.

I've only been asked once or twice, but I think alot of people wonder but don't ask.

[sparkythepenguin 90]

Ahhhh, that makes sense. A very interesting way to check your progress! I'll try that out once I have a less-developed building that doesn't take over 30 mins to preview!

[lrfox 2]

Might i post an opinion? i know this building is in detroit, but in new york and new england you see different shades of color on the roofs of older buildings... this may be where patches were made, or new components were added under the roof then patched up, or just because of what part is exposed to the sun more and which isn't (causing fading over a period of years).

What i'm getting at is that i can see why people would question the lighter colored squares on the building, but in terms of realism, i think it fits either way. in anycase, the building looks great. thanks.

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Yes, the lighter squares are perfectly ok. I just thought it looked a bit odd that the two squares on the left side of the roof line up so perfectly and symmetrically with the corner structures. It almost looks as if the corner structures had been wider originally, I don't know...

So it's a low quality render... well, that might explain why the textures appear to be a bit less crisp and contrasted than the ones of the Maxis buildings next to it. And it also means that the final product will look even better!

[SYM Productions 7]

Wow this is the first time I visit the thread... you guys have a really flourishing Re-creation Project here... 55 pages wow!  Keep on BATting!

- CDI_spy

[sparkythepenguin 90]

Yup SYM, they've been at it longer than JT and I have been. There's some really great stuff from this project and I'm glad Jason's gotten involved.

Now with regards to roofs on old buildings, it really depends on the building. One of the first things to go during a major renovation is the roof here! But then it rains in Portland a lot and good roofs are important. On buildings that haven't yet, they get by via just patching holes up.

[budweiserdude23 80]

Ah trust me, I've seen those patches. As a general rule of thumb they are no more than 1 foot by 1 foot and not much more than a hot patch. Thus, they are are not worth including due to the closest up angles not doing them justice (although who am I to judge, include them if you want, just imo too much effort for to little to show). However, discolorations are worth noting as many roofs span 100's of feet and can easily span the roofs. Beleive it or not, a nasty color of green is the color you will see on many roofs here in Michigan as they are white rubber coated (unless there are rocks which there should be with a rubber roof), but regardless the green of algae or bacteria will in time show through.

That's why most roofs installed over the last 10-15 years are black rubber / black tar. Too hot to grow crap on and no maintenance....

[Jasoncw 11,840]

I just noticed my new BSP custom label: Keeping the Drive Alive .  It's especially nice becuase I just got back for thanksgiving break from Grand Rapids, so it's almost like a coming home welcome or something

I did a little more work on the Detroit Free Press Building, but not a whole lot.  I'll be using my familys computer untill I get back to school to my own, so no BAT for a little while .  I'll tweak it according to the suggestions once I have access to the BAT again.

 

[wolverine 12]

Absolutely awesome! Finally, we have a major downtown landmark to put up.

[Valiko87 0]

The Free Press building is looking really great, Jason. I agree with the majority of the other opinions that the roof discolorating should either be made into much smaller squares or blended better, but your main building looks great, the coloring is especially good.

Hopefully you can get back to BATing soon, I'm excited with how close the building looks to release, model-wise.

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Just to keep you guys up to date: The Wagner Hotel is undergoing first beta tests meanwhile. Landmark and ploppable version seem to work fine, and despite the fact that the building can grow in two versions (R$$$ and CS$$$), each in two tilesets (Chicago & New York) and on two pretty compact lot sizes (2x2 and 2x3 each), it doesn't seem to multiply like rabbits.

I may have to raise the zone density of one of the R$$$ versions, and I might have to add some more occupants, but all in all, things are looking pretty bright.

[Jasoncw 11,840]

That's good to hear

but when I said in my own BAT thread that I'd be putting updates here I only meant for the Detroit Free Press Building.

[Jasoncw 11,840]

I've still been fiddling with the textures to make it look better. I discovered that part of the problem is the model. In some places I rounded off the corners, so they ended up looking fuzzy instead of crisp. It wasn't a problem before the BAT got scaled down. It was also a waste of polygons too, which is important because the BAT already uses so many.

The next BSP BAT I'm going to do is the Penobscot Building, but I think it'll be at least a month before I start it.

Edit (12/10): After looking at some pictures of the base of the Penobscot Building I decided that the first 4 floors would kill my computer, as well as my interest. It would have been really cool though. If someone wants to upgrade my computer though...

But the Vinton Building, which it turns out some members this one Detroit forum and a private developer are restoring, is almost exactly a 1x2 from what I can tell from google maps. In pictures it looks like a 1x3, but whatever. If it turns out to be different it doesn't seem to hard to extend.

[sparkythepenguin 90]

Looks like this project's getting geared up again! Can't wait to see more.

BTW how did you guys get custom titles for your avantars? Looks like a neat thing to apply to the Portland project as well.

[JBSimio 152]

Hi Guys!

OK...OK... first of all, on the off chance that anyone was worried, I did NOT die!  I know I haven't been around at all for a long while now.  I try to peek in now and then, but the dial up that I'm stuck with just drives me nuts and half the time I can't see past the first three pictures on a page before it gives up.  RLS has not been good to me recently, either... but that's another story entirely!  Regardless, I officially offer apologies for my strange and unexplained disappearence.

 

Anyway... I finally caught up on everything I've missed now.  The buildings look great!  It's nice to see some new life in this thread again.  I know this was six pages ago, but...

 

Date: 3/26/2005 1:50:51 AM Author: budweiserdude23

Hey guys ( some thing of a mission statemnt), How is everybody doing? I certainly hope everything is going well on your end. As for me, RLS is the SSDD if you know what I mean. Anyways, just wanted to say that I still lurk about and wanted to make a proposition of sorts. I've begun to play with the BAT again and I felt 2 things are missing for our project to really make it work. 1. Custom textures (Hey baldy?) 2. Custom queries. (with sound) 

 

Is there still a need for help with the custom queries?  If so, I would definately like to do that and should have the time to do so.  I think that even with a slow connection, I could keep up with that part of the project.  I just need to know which building and what type of info you want (building history, current use, random trivia, etc.)  Besides... I feel it is long past time for me to start earning my title again!

 

Let me know if this is something that would be of help!

 

JB

[Jasoncw 11,840]

Custom queries would be cool. I think they should use the same maxis fonts and colors and that kind of stuff, but there should be a little paragraph explaining some history, and then maybe a picture of it underneath. Most of the custom querrys I encounter from the STEX are sorta tacky looking, and we should make sure that the BSP's are classy. I think the custom query should only be for the ploppables though. I don't think there should be custom sound in the querry though. None of the buildings make sounds as far as I know, and it makes the filesize big, and the game go slower when you querry it.

Edit:



^ So far on the Vinton Building. Right now everything is mostly accurate as far as I know, except for the roof. I'm not really sure about what's on the roof other than the general shape of that last floor. I tried looking for pictures from Comerica looking down, but, surprisingly, I didn't find any. Does anyone know what's up there. I don't know what's on the very back of the building either, although that's not as important. This will be a 1x2 corner lot. Any suggestions on the building would be helpfull.

After Comerica and this is done, we'll have two buildings right next to each other done.

[JBSimio 152]

Refresh my memory on which building is the Vinton.  Is that the one on the corner of Woodward and Jefferson just across the street from Comerica?  Let me know an intersection or address and I can get good roof views of anything downtown.  (Just tell me before Christmas while I still have access to this computer!!)

I agree with the no sounds idea.  I don't really see much point in that for the most part.  I did have the idea of coming up with a background graphic for the queries, but I'm not sure if it will happen or not.  Still playing with it... I'll post a preview if and when it becomes relevant.

 

JB

[sparkythepenguin 90]

That is looking great Jason!

Just a question here: I read on the front page that the Train Depot was a project on the To-do list. Also it would be turned into a Police HQ in real life. Is this the Michigan Central Station? That's a real gem and it is too bad its sitting out there all abandoned like it is. If it's the one that will become a police HQ, it'll get some good TLC

[JBSimio 152]

Hi Sparky,

 

To the best of my memory, the idea to turn that building into the Police HQ was an older one that has come and gone.  It was discussed at one point, but then fell through for reasons I don't recall.  I don't think that there are any current plans for what may happen to that building.  Too bad, because as you said, it is a great building.  Would be nice to see someone come along and save it.  Salvation will have to come from the private sector... I just don't see the city doing much on this one.

 

JB