BATs by Bipin

[Darknono35 3,138]

I can't wait to see your highways texture finalised It look promising so far and great for North American freeways 

[Bipin 3,403]

Well,  you won't have to wait much longer: 

 

 

Thanks for the comments RepublicMaster and Darknono35, much appreciated as always! 

[Magneto 316]

I think I'll have no choice but to install RHW when those textures will be released. Simply irresistible

[KonstantinII 1,106]

It looks like the road is made of sections, that doesn't look very realistic.

[MandelSoft 2,775]

Actually, that looks to be done by design. Each section is one concrete plate and all these sections are separate. You can clearly see the intentional made joints.

 

It does look OK, but I still spot a slight offset in the model. As you can see, two side by side stretches (with different rotations) don't line up properly.

[Bipin 3,403]

Actually, that looks to be done by design. Each section is one concrete plate and all these sections are separate. You can clearly see the intentional made joints.

 

It does look OK, but I still spot a slight offset in the model. As you can see, two side by side stretches (with different rotations) don't line up properly.

 

The road is indeed made in sections, thus it's very realistic, as virtually every concrete road deck is built this way. It would be extremely difficult and unsafe otherwise, as there will be no room for the road to expand/contract without causing cracks. Especially on elevated sections.

 

 

 

Maarten, would it be possible to re-lot the prop before it is put into a T21? As far as I know the prop was rendered so it is correctly centered along X and Y.

[MandelSoft 2,775]

I believe I've also centered the T21s, but I'll try and check again tomorrow...

[simlink 1,098]

Sorry to drag you off topic for a moment, Bipin. I was wondering what size your contemporary condos you released about a year ago are (lot size, that is.) I haven't been able to grow them and I'm also having issues plopping them. Basically, when opening up BuildingPlop the "zzzz..filename" versions of your lots don't show up, only the "Bipin [rest of file name]" do, which I'm not able to plop for some reason. Everything seemed to install correctly, so perhaps something in my plugins isn't playing nicely. 

 

Anyways, onto your most recent stuff: looks awesome! These will be perfect for urban areas, especially. They have a less rural/suburban feel to them, which could play nicely into my alley for something coming up. Keep up the great work!

[Bipin 3,403]

The lots should be 3 wide, and 2 deep I believe. I hope you can get them to grow! However, in the case that you can't, I'm working on modifying them to grow easier, so far to a lot of success.

[T Wrecks 10,210]

Well, maybe the expansion joints rub some people the wrong way because they coincide 100% with SimCity's tile grid. This makes the underlying construction very obvious. Maybe the effect will be less noticeable once the diagonal sections have been made as well. In any case, the seams are a tad too prominent IMO.

[RepublicMaster 428]

I agree, maybe they could be slightly thinner.

 

Also, will there be diagonals for curves? It might be hard to use a T21 as I'm pretty sure they don't show up on diagonals. :? Maybe a overhanging lot? But you would have to make sure the traffic lined up.

[Bipin 3,403]

There isn't really much I can do with the joints. They have to either be 16m apart or 8 and 16m apart, which would look too small based on real world dimensions and how it looks in-game. These are the only two options due to the nature of how the pieces are placed; the same prop 16m away, one after another. You will always get repetition on 16m intervals or divisors of that. Given that this is wholly a 3D model (which will especially come into play later on with lighting), the joints will not be perfect without something to cover up that seam, which was an issue highlighted earlier.
 
However, the grid will be broken up when it comes to curves and diagonals. They will appear to have radial symmetry like in the real-life picture a few posts back. You can also expect something similar in diagonals:
 

 
Keep in mind that this is two diagonal pieces side-by-side.
 

 
Given that there is some overhang between pieces to facilitate a smoother transition, the seams won't always line up 100% correctly. However, I had noticed this does create an interesting patchwork texture which further breaks up the monotonous grid.
 

EDIT: Assuming I can have different pieces for network tiles with and without support columns, I've created a pretty nice solution.

[MandelSoft 2,775]

So, I checked my T21 again, I can find no errors. I checked the models again and I found an offset of no less than 1.128m in the direction of the dashed line. So your model indeed has an offset.

[Bipin 3,403]

So, I checked my T21 again, I can find no errors. I checked the models again and I found an offset of no less than 1.128m in the direction of the dashed line. So your model indeed has an offset.

 

Alright, thanks for the information. Given the overall response, I'll do some slight modifications to my props anyways. Good to know though, thanks!

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

I feel both ways. They do stand out a bit too much, I eel like they should be subtle.

Alternatively, would it be possible to have it begin something like 4m into the tile? This would make it offset from the grid yet still keep blocks at 16m.

[jaredh 195]

Here's an view of a stretch I drive over frequently that has joints (zoom in close on US 67)

 

https://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&q=beebe+ar&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x87d2f255af563fe9:0x2af8643ea9cdc105,Beebe,+AR&gl=us&ei=2tuHUca8O_Gp0AHXg4CIDQ&ved=0CKYBELYD

 

I will say one thing that might make it look better....make the joints only be on the road surface and not the curbs.  The curbs don't always have the expansion joints (the example I link here doesn't...they paved the shoulders with asphalt and the highway with cement).  That would make it look less like it is a texture alignment issue and more intentional.

[Darknono35 3,138]

I thought about your highway pieces, maybe you need to add several track across the road to cancel the effect of repetition and maybe, they should not be perfectly parallel, it would be more real, but it's just an idea

 

Great job, really, I can't wait

[Bipin 3,403]

A lot of your requests have been answered. Here's the result:

 

 

The above piece will occur every other tile (on pieces with pillars), not one after another consecutively. This will make sections 32m long, more or less, and best of all not square. In between two of these pieces will lie the following:

 

 

Keep in mind that these two pictures, both above and below, are of two sections placed side-by side. This will not occur unless Maarten and I have the pillars appear with two tiles in between, as opposed to one tile in between that which contains a pillar like it is now. Otherwise, you'll see the above-pictured piece  then the piece pictured below, then the one above, then the one below and so forth.

 

 

Enjoy!

[kellydale2003 2,276]

This looks really great Bipin!

Reminds me of a Californian highway or something! Keep up the great work!

[Darknono35 3,138]

Yeah! Exactly what I've try to explain on my precedent post, you're an genius sir  
 

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

This slight simple change has made it look about twenty times better. Great job.

[RepublicMaster 428]

This looks much better now!

[T Wrecks 10,210]

Add me to the list of satisfied customers.

 

Those changes really did the trick! Now the seams look intentional and not accidental, as if somehow the grid became visible through the elevated highway pieces. I'm really looking forward to seeing a screenshot of a coherent stretch of highway dressed up with these pieces!

[Huston 5,799]

Ahh, realism added to highway textures. Finally someone's done it with exceptional quality

[Bipin 3,403]

Thanks everyone for the very kind words, I'm glad to see you are all happy with this! Kellydale, good for you, for noticing the inspiration behind this! Aside from Californian highways, this was also inspired by the West Side and Gardiner. In other news, I'm waiting on Maarten to wrap up the modding part of this so the props may be displayed in-game as T21s. Keep in mind though he is a busy person, so let's all just be patient for him to work his magic.

 

Meanwhile... Here's something to pass the time:

 

 

The pictures above and below represent the two different pieces in alternating order, like they'd appear in game (this screenshot is from the Lot Editor, thus quite an accurate portrayal of what to expect in-game).

 

 

Enjoy!

[jaredh 195]

Amazing how a small change makes such a big difference.  It went from looking like a texture issue to looking like an expansion joint.

[Bipin 3,403]

Here's the in-game picture:

 

 

I'll be adding custom pillars very soon.

 

 

Enjoy!

[Darknono35 3,138]

Wonderful work as always. And thanks for this in-game picture Bipin keep it up

[Bipin 3,403]

Thanks for the reply Darknono35, your adamant feedback is greatly appreciated! If you enjoyed that stuff, I'm sure you'll love this:

 

 

I'll be replacing the current piece that goes over support columns with this one.

 

 

Speaking of those support columns, the above image showcases something close to what you can expect.

 

 

Look at that lovely reflection in the grate!

 

 

I have also considered doing the props in HD, since it looks so wonderful close-up.

 

 

Many of the details, especially in cracks and grating, really comes out at this view.

 

 

In fact, the cracks are less blurred in zoom 5 as HD. If there's one good thing about HD at zoom 5 it's that cracks and rough bumps really come out. Personally I prefer HD, but let me know what you think!

[simlink 1,098]

Love the look of it. It looks great in HD - the whole thing does. Especially those reflections - stunning!