Operation Buffalo Wing: A Blizzard of BAT

[Sabretooth78 808]

Welcome to Operation Buffalo Wing!

Bringing the Queen City to SimCity

Welcome, Mission, and Scope

Within this thread I will be presenting all of my Buffalo-related BAT projects.  Check back periodically on this first post as I will be updating it to provide a brief synopsis of the project!

I encourage anybody who is doing Buffalo BAT projects to post here! Other projects from Upstate New York or the Golden Horseshoe/GTA of Ontario, Canada are also welcome!

Current project members: jsieczka (?) and sargeantcm (thread owner)

Current Projects

sargeantcm:

Rand Building

Main Place Mall and Tower

Empire State Plaza - Agency Tower(s)

Completed Projects

* denotes update planned

Future Endeavors

Check Back Later!

[budweiserdude23 80]

I wouldn't call it the cheap little brother. What you've accomplished thus far is excellent. I for one will be following this thread with great interest. If your previous work is any indication of what's to come then we are all in for a treat. Good luck on the project and nice name as well.

[subedei 3]

Looks like it will be a great addition.

 

Subedei

[ApathyNinja 17]

YES! City Hall. I can't wait.

[jsieczka 19]

Have fun with city hall, now that you uploaded the HSBC Arena the Aud will be following.  I may put off

Main Place

a project and do the Buffalo News building, and some other stuff from South Buffalo.  If any one can do ships out there, please let me know, I would be interested in doing the Servicemen

[Ryan B 35]

I like what I hear!  Can't wait to see City Hall!

[baldy 0]

Chris, good to see this project thread!  This is more like the BAT father figure for the barry sander project, and not its cheap little brother.  You have been doing some great work and I look forward to following your progress and to learn about Buffalo.  Any have some interesting facts for us?  Ever since someone mentioned that city hall looked like someone flipping the bird, that's all I see now when I look at the building!  If your previous work is any indication on how this will turn out, it will be spectacular!

 

Keep up the good work!

[jsieczka 19]

I'm moving my Aud stuff to here so that all things Buffalo are in one place.  Things are back moving now that I have been able to compare it to the HSBC area.  Here is the 1996 Aud 1939 Aud on the way

[Sabretooth78 808]

jsieczka - Thanks for moving your stuff to this thread!  I'd like to present maybe a few standards to hold to, at least so I can have at least similar information as my own when I update the front post.  I want to keep a tally of what's going on, how far completed (approx.), what specifically (if anything in particular) you're doing, and anything else you might find pertinent.  So maybe you could PM the stuff every so often, or even simply post it in your sig like I do.  You know, stuff like Mem. Aud, 90%, Final Textures, Anticipated release Mo/Dy/Yr.

Oh, and would it be possible to suffix your BAT titles with Buffalo NY like I do?  I think it'll make an easier and more consistent search for anyone interested.  Right now I only get my 3 and your City Courthouse (which I never knew you did until a week or so ago!).  M&T, however, is absent.

I like the way The Aud looks, however I have to ask about the roof.  It seems to be maybe a bit too bright, although I guess that's how it is.  One thing I did notice, however, is that it's not all white.

Just a question, not a criticism:  Do you intend on modeling in the black splotches?  It may yield a higher rating on the STEX if the roof doesn't look so clean, is my only concern.  Especially for the '96 version.  I can't wait to see the '39 version, I have a feeling that'll be the one I actually use most often in my own cities.

But keep up the great work, and the only thing I'd like to say is I want to see when you get started on Central Terminal!

budweiserdude23, baldy - By saying cheap little brother, my intent was actually towards the comparison of our homepages.  I'm never going to speculate at who is better or more advanced because I see BAT as an art form (even if it is real-life), and no art is necessarily better than the next!  As far as the site, I'll constantly be refining and sprucing up my first post to make it more aesthetic and useful.  Fortunately I know enough HTML to survive!

And yes, City Hall does look a bit like a middle finger.  I see it as Buffalo's true attitude (and proud of it!) to those outsiders who diss the city for whatever reason, founded or unfounded!

-Chris

[Sabretooth78 808]

Well I thought I'd take a few (several) minutes here to get into some background info on my current BAT project, Buffalo City Hall.

 

Unlike some of my past renditions, this is one of those rare buildings which is very heavily photographed - theoretically the problem inherent to creating this building will be not a lack of information, but rather the troubling task of trying to decide which detail is too much!

 

Where do I start?  The building is Buffalo's 2nd tallest, after only the HSBC Center, at 398 ft (115 m).  It is also among (if not) the largest City Halls in the world!  Everything about this building is enmeshed with symbolism from mankind's and Buffalo's history, from the large portico columns representing tightly bundled reeds such as those found on ancient Egyptian temples, to the littany of Native American symbolism (Iroquois tribes in particular), to the statues of two Buffalo-born US presidents (however mediocre they may have been!), Millard Fillmore and Grover Cleveland.  The building took 2 years to construct, completed in November of 1931, and dedicated on July 1, 1932.

 

One of the more interesting engineering facts about the building was that it was originally constructed with an un-powered air conditioning system - the building was situated such that huge ducts faced Lake Erie, and the lake breezes were usually sufficient to power the entire system and feed fresh, cool air into every room of the building.  Is it me, or do we just not try hard enough nowadays?!?

 

Anybody who considers themselves to be the smallest fan of architecture should take a look at this structure.  As I said, many websites dedicated to it can be found on the internet, but perhaps the best one is here:  http://ah.bfn.org/a/niagSq/65/city.html .

 

Unfortuately for SimCity (but fortunately for me as a BATer!), the inside of the building is apparently a million times more beautiful than the outside.  I've never been inside it, but upon studying it for the BAT, I'm going to have to make a trip there my next time in Buffalo.

 

<images removed>

 

I think I'm really going to enjoy doing this, as long as it may take!

-Chris

 

[+Guest]

Philadelphia's city hall is bigger, at 548 feet.

[Predator88 2]

You guys are the best, you combine some of the best abilities for modelling with the scenery of my home city. I must say that as an onlooker the roof to the aud looks awkward. I know it is basically just white like that but it seems sort of unfisinished. Maybe it's somethign to do wiht the texutre? I really don't know and I have no skill wiht this tool but something does seem off about it.
EDIT***

That roof is definitely bright white though so I dunno. Either wya I'll download it at use it.

[Ryan B 35]

I'm definitely planning on d/l - ing the Aud and the Tops and Wegmans stores once they're done.

 

However - I do have one more building to add to the list, one that really defines Buffalo.  I was watching WNED (PBS) and there was an ad for the Roswell Park Cancer Institute.  I thought, Hey - that belongs w/ Operation Buffalo Wing!

 

Anyhoo - I think that the RPCI deserves a spot in Operation Buffalo Wing.

[jsieczka 19]

Roswell Park would be a nice addition.  It would be a massive lot, Roswell i think covers a good 4 blocks.  As for the roof of the Aud i agree with everyone.  I tried adding some black spots, but that looked bad, i may end up just reducing the brightness of the white. 

 

Sargeantcm  -- i can start using a common naming format.  Two more of my Buffalo builidings will be coming out under the BSC group title.  They are the Buffalo Industrial Bank, and the Great Northern Elevator.  With the BSC the Great Northen will be a working rail, and seaport. 

 

If any one has pictures of any of Buffalo's old fire houses, Police stations, schools, please tell. 

[hogmeister 7]

I love the Aud, real classy looking building. As for the flying buffalo, remind me not to stop and stare upwards when its overhead, it could get messy, lol. Great symbol.

[AfroThunda 1]

Well being from Buffalo Im getting pretty excited to see all this interest in the area. If you decide to do a Tops, you should think about recreating the one located in East Aurora, it has a much different style rather then the white brick and red signs. Its tan with green trim, so just keep that in mind! Keep up the great work both of you and I cant wait to see what else comes out of this area.

 

  -Afro

[jsieczka 19]

ok, here is the Old Aud with an improved roof, better looking?

[Sabretooth78 808]

I'd say it looks good - it still looks awkward, but I can't think of anything to do since that's the way it really looks!

 

The supermarkets are really just ideas at this point, I still have enough officially on my list (which I'm going to try to stick to), and I'd probably need to wait until I was able to get some pictures myself (if I am in fact to attempt them).  However, I see that many of you seem to want them, so that in itself should bring them one step closer to reality!

 

I agree about the flying buffaloes.  It would probably make a huge mess, I guess we should be happy with only having pigeons and seagulls to bomb us!

 

-Chris

[Predator88 2]

Hmm, a little better I guess, I still can't quite put my finger on what makes it look awkward. It almost looks too cartoonish, or like the roof is made of extrememly bright paper. I dunno. Either way I'll use it.

[Sabretooth78 808]

You'll notice I've posted an update to the future endeavors list.  I pretty much just came up with a bunch of things I would like to see in the game, but likely may never get to.  But I figured it gives us something to shoot for.  Anybody out there reading this thread that would like to give any of it a shot, come on board and show yourself!

 

Also, if anybody thinks it's too difficult to read, let me know.  I tried shrinking it down so it wasn't a huge file, but it's easy for me to change, all it is is a linked camera image from Excel.

 

jsieczka - Didn't you create an AM&A's building a while back?  If so, what's the status of it?  I can't remember having seen anything lately on it.

 

Stay tuned, I should have at least something to show for City Hall this weekend!

 

-Chris

[davidhogan 1]

no mighty taco?  someone's gotta make a strip mall complete with Mighty Taco.

 

dave

[hogmeister 7]

I do like the look of the Aud, however looking at the shadow pattern on the Ariel view and the original postcard impression, the raised roof structure comes much closer to the side edges of the building than is currently being modelled, that may account for peoples impression of the roof as not being quite right.  

[jsieczka 19]

I started on the Buffalo Central Termanal.  I have a rough extruded model of the tower done, but the demensions seem off.  It seem to slim, but based on the over head photos it is the right size.  It may be that it seems wrong with out the rest of the structure.

 

 

[Sabretooth78 808]

So it seems we've entered an Art Deco phase!

 

That's cool, I've been waiting for this one!

 

While I agree it does seem a bit too tall, I've never seem an actual picture of it from that angle either, maybe the tower is a bit taller and more slender than I thought it was.

 

One thing I do want to point out, however, is your model has 4 extra floors of windows, and a gap in the windows that doesn't exist, making your model 5 stories too tall.  Maybe that's why it looks too big!!

 

As for myself, I've gotten some more work done on City Hall, although not as much as I would have liked.  But I should be posting an update with pictures probably on Sunday.  I must say, it's very nice to be working on a building that is so symmetrical!

 

-Chris

 

P.S. How recent is that pic of the Terminal?  I have to say it actually looks better than I thought it did - maybe that restoration work is starting to show results?

[jsieczka 19]

The picture was taken in 2003.  A private group did a lot of work cleaning up the site in 99-03 they have a big day every year.  The inside is still really bad, the clocks that are in it are new and work and light up at night.

[Sabretooth78 808]

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[Ryan B 35]

Whoa - I like the way that's looking!

[Sabretooth78 808]

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[Sabretooth78 808]

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[AfroThunda 1]

Wow, great progress! The steps look really good.

 

  -Afro