IDS's (mostly) Minnesota BATs

[srosenb 1]

So looking forward to those water towers! 

[Fantozzi 4,067]

Regarding the night renders from One Maritime Plaza you posted last year I can't help but humming an old Eric Clapton tune ...

"... and I say ,yes, you look wonderful tonight ..." 

[IDS2 3,346]

Thanks everyone!  Sorry for the lack of updates, but I've been working on an enormous side project that has been taking up all of my time. It is BAT/modding related, but I don't have anything I can really show yet - hopefully I'll have something on that front in the near future. In the meantime, I have worked a little bit on the water towers and the Hong Kong building. I've started the night scene for the Hong Kong building and I don't expect it to take very long, but I have some experimentation to do on that one and I don't have any worthwhile preview renders yet. The water towers, however, are coming along nicely - I think I have 3 of the 4 just about finished. 

First is the Prospect Park water tower. @Bobelboy, I definitely agree with your comment on the roof. Previously, it was all one flat shape, so I went ahead and remodeled it with actual roof tiles. The effect is very subtle, but I think it gives the roof slightly more definition (though that may also be wishful thinking on my part ). Of course, I'm happy to revisit it if it still doesn't look quite right.

Next, the Kenwood Park water tower. The night scene for the real life tower is predictably uninteresting, so I tried to spice it up with some floodlights around the base. I don't know if the effect is too excessive, but I think it's kind of neat.

The Highland Park water tower night scene isn't anything groundbreaking - pretty much the same as the Prospect Park one. I live by this one, and it's usually dark, so again, this is me taking some creative liberties.

And, finally, the Washburn Park water tower. As you can see, I had a lot of trouble modeling the statues on this one  Try not to look to closely at the guardian statues around the base! Not to mention the eagles around the top rim. Couldn't tell what they're supposed to be? Don't worry, I'm going to be starting them from scratch. I realize now that I have no experience modeling organic shapes, so I'm going to have to consult a few tutorials before I can get them right. I may also see if there are any assets out there available for download that I can use as a starting point. 

[Bobelboy 435]

So good to see the water towers nearing completion. It will be a joy placing them in parks.

I think the roof of the Prospect Park Water Tower looks much better. Sorry for mentioning it but that extra round was worth it, if you ask me! 

[AndisArt 2,066]

On 3/26/2022 at 4:59 AM, IDS2 said:

Thanks everyone!  Sorry for the lack of updates, but I've been working on an enormous side project that has been taking up all of my time. It is BAT/modding related, but I don't have anything I can really show yet - hopefully I'll have something on that front in the near future. In the meantime, I have worked a little bit on the water towers and the Hong Kong building. I've started the night scene for the Hong Kong building and I don't expect it to take very long, but I have some experimentation to do on that one and I don't have any worthwhile preview renders yet. The water towers, however, are coming along nicely - I think I have 3 of the 4 just about finished. 

First is the Prospect Park water tower. @Bobelboy, I definitely agree with your comment on the roof. Previously, it was all one flat shape, so I went ahead and remodeled it with actual roof tiles. The effect is very subtle, but I think it gives the roof slightly more definition (though that may also be wishful thinking on my part ). Of course, I'm happy to revisit it if it still doesn't look quite right.

Next, the Kenwood Park water tower. The night scene for the real life tower is predictably uninteresting, so I tried to spice it up with some floodlights around the base. I don't know if the effect is too excessive, but I think it's kind of neat.

The Highland Park water tower night scene isn't anything groundbreaking - pretty much the same as the Prospect Park one. I live by this one, and it's usually dark, so again, this is me taking some creative liberties.

And, finally, the Washburn Park water tower. As you can see, I had a lot of trouble modeling the statues on this one  Try not to look to closely at the guardian statues around the base! Not to mention the eagles around the top rim. Couldn't tell what they're supposed to be? Don't worry, I'm going to be starting them from scratch. I realize now that I have no experience modeling organic shapes, so I'm going to have to consult a few tutorials before I can get them right. I may also see if there are any assets out there available for download that I can use as a starting point. 

Really lovely additions to the game, well done!

[gutterclub 2,729]

Will share a pic when I get a chance, but I have the Highland Park water tower sitting alongside the CAL Canal set and it looks incredible. Thanks so much for these, they are fantastic

[IDS2 3,346]

@Bobelboy I appreciate the feedback! It was a good suggestion  I drove by it this afternoon and was struck by how reflective the roof is. 

@AndisArt Thanks! Good to see you around 

@gutterclub Thank you! I'd love to see that if you have any screenshots. I don't get to play the game much these days so it's always nice when I can see these things in use.

 

I finally created a night scene for the Hong Kong building and I think it's just about complete. I didn't have any reference photos for the night scene, so I took a few creative liberties. I hope the neon on the crown isn't too overkill (although it is Hong Kong, so maybe I didn't go far enough). The building isn't that old, so I didn't add much variation to the colors of the lights on each floor.

In less exciting news, I dug out an old unfinished model and finished it off. Not much to say about this one, it's a small town midwestern library that I made for a friend. The building itself is roughly 3x7.

I have a few other models that are approaching the texturing stage, so I should have some more updates soon.

[IDS2 3,346]

Hello all!

I apologize for the lack of updates here, but it hasn't been due to lack of progress. Rather, I joined the NAM team in January, and I spent most of the year working on BATting some new bridges for the NAM. For those of you who keep up on the NAM releases, you may have noticed that there were 13 new bridges added in NAM 45, and there will be 25 more coming in NAM 46. I'll post some pictures of those down below. I do have a couple of regular BATs that are almost ready for release:

The first one is a Doubletree hotel based on one I stayed at in Milwaukee. Day scene is just about done here, other than scaling up the ground floor a bit. Since it's a hotel, the night scene will be pretty basic, and I should have a progress shot on that shortly. Fits nicely onto a 3x6 lot, nothing special there.

The second is a pretty generic office building based on one in north Minneapolis. This one doesn't fit neatly on a lot at all, and I'm kind of dreading making the lot. 

One possibility is to rotate the building a bit, which makes one wing orthogonal and the other wing angled roughly ~20 degrees from horizontal. This is pretty close to the 18.4 degree angle of FA-3 networks, so this could easily become an overhanging FA-3 compatible lot. I've never made a lot that isn't orthogonal, so I'm actually really inclined to pursue the fractional angle option (though I'll probably just render out both versions).

I have more works in progress, but none that are textured yet. 

As for the bridges, there are a total of 38 new options between NAM 45 and the upcoming NAM 46. There aren't that many individual bridge styles, but by grouping network types with similar widths, I was able to reuse a few models for several different networks. My main focus has been to provide support for networks that were lacking bridges, including some of the SAM and NWM networks. 

First, a simple steel girder bridge, a design that is pretty ubiquitous (at least here in the US). 3 color variations, shown here in the RD-6 variant. Also available for avenue, RD-4, OWR-4, and OWR-5. 

Next, a steel under deck arch, inspired by the St. Paul High bridge. Shown here in avenue, RD-4, and RD-6, but also available for OWR-4 and OWR-5.

A rail viaduct, based on the Arcola High Bridge out in Somerset, Wisconsin. Available in STR and DTR varieties. I also made a derivative version without the arch pieces, which makes for more of a traditional trestle-style bridge.

Another rail viaduct, but a much more old-school design based on the Antheor Viaduct in France. Available for STR and DTR.

Finally, a less conventional steel girder design based on one in downtown Philadelphia. Shown here in a few SAM options, but available for: road, street, OWR-2, RHW-2, RHW-4, SAM-2, SAM-6, SAM-7, SAM-8, SAM-9, SAM-10, and SAM-11. 

Anyway, that's all for the mega update. More bridges coming soon (including some more visually distinctive, landmark-style designs), as well as some night renders for the regular BATs. Happy new year to all!

[Tyberius06 12,189]

I like both of the "regular" building models, the office building has a really nice and not so common (in SC4) shape. And I would like to thank you for the awesome new bridges! The SAM bridges completely have gone next to me, they look pretty good!  

Keep up the good work!

- Tyberius

[gutterclub 2,729]

Love the new projects, and the bridges..and everything you make!

[art128 4,618]

Bridges are really nice, specially that street steel girder one, love it. 

The buildings are really cool too. I just hope you're going to do custom LODs on the generic office one so you can place props in the V shaped area. 

[Dead_End 1,621]

On 1/2/2023 at 2:04 AM, IDS2 said:

Hello all!

I apologize for the lack of updates here, but it hasn't been due to lack of progress. Rather, I joined the NAM team in January, and I spent most of the year working on BATting some new bridges for the NAM. For those of you who keep up on the NAM releases, you may have noticed that there were 13 new bridges added in NAM 45, and there will be 25 more coming in NAM 46. I'll post some pictures of those down below. I do have a couple of regular BATs that are almost ready for release:

The first one is a Doubletree hotel based on one I stayed at in Milwaukee. Day scene is just about done here, other than scaling up the ground floor a bit. Since it's a hotel, the night scene will be pretty basic, and I should have a progress shot on that shortly. Fits nicely onto a 3x6 lot, nothing special there.

The second is a pretty generic office building based on one in north Minneapolis. This one doesn't fit neatly on a lot at all, and I'm kind of dreading making the lot. 

One possibility is to rotate the building a bit, which makes one wing orthogonal and the other wing angled roughly ~20 degrees from horizontal. This is pretty close to the 18.4 degree angle of FA-3 networks, so this could easily become an overhanging FA-3 compatible lot. I've never made a lot that isn't orthogonal, so I'm actually really inclined to pursue the fractional angle option (though I'll probably just render out both versions).

I have more works in progress, but none that are textured yet. 

As for the bridges, there are a total of 38 new options between NAM 45 and the upcoming NAM 46. There aren't that many individual bridge styles, but by grouping network types with similar widths, I was able to reuse a few models for several different networks. My main focus has been to provide support for networks that were lacking bridges, including some of the SAM and NWM networks. 

First, a simple steel girder bridge, a design that is pretty ubiquitous (at least here in the US). 3 color variations, shown here in the RD-6 variant. Also available for avenue, RD-4, OWR-4, and OWR-5. 

Next, a steel under deck arch, inspired by the St. Paul High bridge. Shown here in avenue, RD-4, and RD-6, but also available for OWR-4 and OWR-5.

A rail viaduct, based on the Arcola High Bridge out in Somerset, Wisconsin. Available in STR and DTR varieties. I also made a derivative version without the arch pieces, which makes for more of a traditional trestle-style bridge.

Another rail viaduct, but a much more old-school design based on the Antheor Viaduct in France. Available for STR and DTR.

Finally, a less conventional steel girder design based on one in downtown Philadelphia. Shown here in a few SAM options, but available for: road, street, OWR-2, RHW-2, RHW-4, SAM-2, SAM-6, SAM-7, SAM-8, SAM-9, SAM-10, and SAM-11. 

Anyway, that's all for the mega update. More bridges coming soon (including some more visually distinctive, landmark-style designs), as well as some night renders for the regular BATs. Happy new year to all!

All this looks great! One issue I often run into with bridges is that on lower elevation there just isn't enough space for the models, meaning that you'll end up with areas where the 'metal' parts instead of foundations come out of the ground. Am I correct in thinking that these SAM bridges require less space?

[IDS2 3,346]

Hi all!

Once again, I find myself having fallen into the trap of starting too many new projects and not finishing the others. 

First up, I finally got around to doing the night scene for this office building. I'm not in love with it, but I need to get it off my hard drive. 

For a change of pace, I took a stab at some suburban retail. My work IRL is retail adjacent, so I thought it would be funny to make something like this. Bonus points to anyone who can give me the store numbers of the IRL location. 

I resurrected a model I made over 10 years ago. I think I posted a preview of the untextured model at some point in 2013. I stumbled across it when organizing my BAT files, and I thought it would make a nice filler building, so I remodeled it and got a nice black box out of it. 

I haven't modeled anything local in a while, so to keep the title of this thread at least somewhat accurate, here's the 701 Building in Minneapolis. I've always thought this building was a great size, and I don't think we have many Helmut Jahn BATs.

Next up is another building that I've wanted to make for a long time, the Silberturm in Frankfurt. I'm not convinced that I did the brushed metal cladding justice, so there's probably more tweaking needed, but I'm generally pleased with the model. 

On the bridges front, lots has happened since my last update here, but I believe I've only added one new overall design. This one is based on the Highway 61 bridge down in Hastings, MN, and it's available in RHW-10S and RHW-12S variants. 

Finally, another batch of bridges that will be included in the next NAM. Each of the 4 bridges shown here will be available for the following networks: RD-2, RHW-2, RHW-3, RHW-4S, street, SAM-2, SAM-6, SAM-7, SAM-8, SAM-9, SAM-10, SAM-11, AVE-2, ARD-3, NRD-4, OWR-2, and OWR-3. 

I'm thinking about doing color variations for these (each of the network variants share the same master set of FSH files, so it's very easy to swap them out), but I'll return to that idea once these get released. I have some more designs that I would like to finish first, including a couple more to add to the chromatic series. 

That's all for the moment. More in the works. The closer I get to 30, the better my perfectionism gets, but I can't guarantee it will lead to an increase in productivity. 

[gutterclub 2,729]

These WIPs are unbelievable quality, get them released ASAP 

[dubaidude303 1,119]

WOW....... stunning work

[Kel9509 1,363]

The buildings are incredible and then I scrolled to the bridges and... WOW!!  I especially like that new blue suspension bridge!

[Barroco Hispano 26,695]

Your texturing, lighting and window material is perfect!

[art128 4,618]

Indeed stunning work...

I'm especially looking forward to the first office building, the Silberturm and the suspension bridge. About time we got a new single tile suspension bridge!

[nikoxlaux 237]

Wow bro, awesome work!!! 

[Fox 1,444]

Glad to see you're still making some incredible looking art .. Wish I still played the game so i could explore these in game .. alas I'm still enjoying CS1.

Equitable building has come out amazing, definitely a great looking black box, will fit perfectly in a skyline.

Silberturm is perfect the way it is, love the curved corners and the way the windows seamlessly flow around them, the brushed metal actually looks better than the real one in my opinion.

 

Love the work you are doing, and the loyalty to the SC4 brand.. keep making these amazing works as the community loves them.

 

 

[IDS2 3,346]

Thanks everyone 

My goal is to release one BAT for every month of the year (not necessarily during the month, but a total of 12) to celebrate 20 years on the site. To that end, I've been working on a few more (mostly smaller) buildings to help me reach that goal. Only half of this batch are fully complete, so I'm mostly posting this here to hold myself accountable  That being said, I did completely finish and export both buildings for which I showed night scenes above, and only the lotting remains. Since it's already March, I have a little catching up to do, but I've started lighting up the towers shown above and should have more on that front to show soon.

[nikoxlaux 237]

38 minutes ago, IDS2 said:

Thanks everyone 

My goal is to release one BAT for every month of the year (not necessarily during the month, but a total of 12) to celebrate 20 years on the site. To that end, I've been working on a few more (mostly smaller) buildings to help me reach that goal. Only half of this batch are fully complete, so I'm mostly posting this here to hold myself accountable  That being said, I did completely finish and export both buildings for which I showed night scenes above, and only the lotting remains. Since it's already March, I have a little catching up to do, but I've started lighting up the towers shown above and should have more on that front to show soon.

Awesome work dude!!!!

[art128 4,618]

6 hours ago, IDS2 said:

Thanks everyone 

My goal is to release one BAT for every month of the year (not necessarily during the month, but a total of 12) to celebrate 20 years on the site. To that end, I've been working on a few more (mostly smaller) buildings to help me reach that goal. Only half of this batch are fully complete, so I'm mostly posting this here to hold myself accountable  That being said, I did completely finish and export both buildings for which I showed night scenes above, and only the lotting remains. Since it's already March, I have a little catching up to do, but I've started lighting up the towers shown above and should have more on that front to show soon.

Oh Sh** you're BATing Tolbiac tower AND Totem?

I actually wanted to build them both to integrate into a larger area (With the Novotel I already BATed) .. Oh well considering the time i'd take for me to finally build them, i guess it's fine.

 

Fine work as always.

[Bobelboy 435]

I almost fell out of the bed when I read your post this morning. This truly is a major announcement not only because of the number of BATs but also because of what you have chosen to create and the fact that we can expect the highest quality. Thank you!

[IDS2 3,346]

Thanks everyone
 

Hi all - just dropping in to give a quick update of what's to come. I'm 8/8 for a new BAT every month so far, and I intend to keep that going through the rest of the year, after which I'll probably take some time to return to some larger projects. It's been a fun year, though, and I've been enjoying trying a lot of new things. Here's a little compilation of some of the things I've been working on lately. You can expect to see at least a few of the compilation below to be released before the end of the year.

Thanks!

[gutterclub 2,729]

One of the best out there, thanks as always for the conveyer belt of quality stuff!!

[bhmantan 2,045]

1 hour ago, IDS2 said:

You can expect to see at least a few of the compilation below to be released before the end of the year.

these are beautiful! so excited for their release

[IDS2 3,346]

Thanks guys

I've been BATting at such a speed this year that I haven't posted many preview renders, which I think is a shame. I was just chatting with gutterclub the other day about some of our favorite preview renders that have been posted over the years, and afterward I spent a good deal of time combing through the "ones that never made it to the STEX" thread admiring some of them once more. That got me to thinking - I don't post nearly enough preview renders anymore! I intend to start fixing that, because I think previews are a ton of fun. 

For starters, here are a couple I cranked out this weekend that should be going up in a couple hours. A bit short notice, but I have a few behemoths in the works that I'll show off soon. This will make me 10 for 10 on BATs released every month this year, which has been a blast, but I'm also looking forward to being able to return to some larger models.

Cheers all!

[nikoxlaux 237]

13 minutes ago, IDS2 said:

Thanks guys

I've been BATting at such a speed this year that I haven't posted many preview renders, which I think is a shame. I was just chatting with gutterclub the other day about some of our favorite preview renders that have been posted over the years, and afterward I spent a good deal of time combing through the "ones that never made it to the STEX" thread admiring some of them once more. That got me to thinking - I don't post nearly enough preview renders anymore! I intend to start fixing that, because I think previews are a ton of fun. 

For starters, here are a couple I cranked out this weekend that should be going up in a couple hours. A bit short notice, but I have a few behemoths in the works that I'll show off soon. This will make me 10 for 10 on BATs released every month this year, which has been a blast, but I'm also looking forward to being able to return to some larger models.

Cheers all!

Amazing

[Bolshevik 68]

I admire your extraordinary creativity and selfless contribution. Would you consider accepting a personal order?