I'm back!

[sparkythepenguin 90]

Sparky here. It's been a while and I got the urge to start BATing again. I guess its a New Year's resolution or something. The plan is to get SC4 up and working again, play it and plunge back in!

First of all, who is still out there plugging away keeping SC4 fresh with awesome stuff? Also, what are the good mods and essential stuff (for both gameplay and BATing)so that I can BAT properly? There's probably a lot that's happened and I'm all ears!

Thanks in advance for any assistance in getting up and running again. I am a bit busy with life, but this is an itch I just gotta scratch!

-Sparky

[Aaron Graham 4,417]

I am a fan of your work and it is so great to see a older batter back in action again.

[Ceafus 88 1,794]

Welcome Back to the community, and the guy that posted above me, he is the guy you are looking for when it comes to keeping the community fresh with custom content, and as soon as Harishna finishes his works, the stex will be filled with goodies from him, trust me, you will want them.

Best of Luck from a fellow BATTER,

Frex_Ceafus

[Francis90b 748]

I think this is a great resolution!

If i were in you, i'd take a look at the BAT4MAXv5...it's thread is stickied at the top of this page.

[gutterclub 2,729]

wow, great news! like really great news.

Get yourself on 3DS max pleeeeease

[Delecto 941]

Great news to see you back batting, can't wait for your next projects!

Sam.

[Jasoncw 11,841]

Great!!

[Jazzmaster 716]

This is all fantastic news. Your BATs are still quite useful, relevant and flexible for the game even today!

[T Wrecks 10,209]

OMG, Sparky!!! You came back! I've really been missing you, and I'm still around to comment and give feedback - or help with lotting/modding stuff. It's always been so nice to be a part of your BAT thread, because you've always been so open to feedback and suggestions. If I were there physically, I'd welcome you back with a hug and a pat on the shoulder, but since it's all over the Internet, words must do.

Good luck getting set up and ready to go. Gee, and I thought Christmas was the time for presents. Now ST has received a New Year's present.

[Sgt Pepper 864]

Welcome back! I wasn't around when you were but I've downloaded your BATs before. Portland is a pretty city, if I may ask, would you still BAT from that area? Or can we look forward to something new?

Glad you're back!

[sparkythepenguin 90]

Well, it's quite nice to see everyone again! Thanks for the hearty welcome! I miss BATing and even though I am very busy with life, I am going to make the time somehow.

So far as plans go to get going, I plan on doing some re-vamping of some of the older BATs, especially 1000 Broadway and the US Bancorp Tower. There are a few aborted projects that I want to tackle again, such as Portland's Union Station and the Memorial Colliseum (started by JtPortland). I have most of my old files, so all that really needs to be done is to get the BAT, patches for BAT, and LE again. I can't find any of that on the official site. Another thing I have put off for a while is BATing other spots in the Northwest USA and Canada's West Coast. Oregon's State Capitol in Salem is really cool, as is Vancouver's Science World building. It'd be fun to do some Denver stuff, and even my own designs that I doodle on napkins when I'm bored.

For now, I gotta catch up on just using the programs and playing the game again. I picked up GMAX and am working on a project for my new significant other. I have found that I have a lot to re-learn! It'll be hit-or-miss, but as I get doing things again, I'll be back at 100%. Especially with everyone's help.

[Sgt Pepper 864]

If you're missing some patches,(I'm sure someone will be more specific than me ) then you should check out the SC4 Devotion Website real quick. I know they have a lot of the things that you can't get on the official site anymore.

[Jasoncw 11,841]

T Wrecks said it better than me, but what I said was all I could muster, lol

Since you're starting sort of fresh again, you should get 3ds Max again and restart on that. You had gotten it just before you left, so maybe you still have it? If not try to get the most recent version that you can.

[sparkythepenguin 90]

Hahahah! I do have a copy of 3ds Max that Bixel gave me, but I could never get BAT4MAX to work. (It's weird capitalizing "max" without talking about the Portland light rail trains!)

I think now that I have a camera phone again (yeah the economy took a big 2x4 to me and my friends and family), I should do some scouting and try something small first. I'm thinking about the house here that I'm housesitting at. Nice little craftsman shotgun on a really narrow lot, maybe BAT my kitties into it and my doggie nephew. There's plenty of stuff still in town to BAT, just which one? And I still got to get the game running on this dinosaur. Yeah, I kept my desktop that I originally BATed on. Can't really do this on a laptop or tablet, eh? lol

[SimHoTToDDy 2,939]

Commence fanfare!

BAT4Max is really easy to install now. My only concern is that your version might be too old

[T Wrecks 10,209]

As Sgt Pepper said, all official patches are now available through SC fan sites. I believe SC4 Devotion has everything you need, otherwise give me a holler and I'll dig out the links from simcityplaza.de (the content is the same, it's just a tad difficult to navigate if you don't speak German).

Yeah, you should really try to get 3dsmax up and running. It would be such a waste of talent if you were bound to the restrictions of gmax. BAT4MAX has evolved a lot indeed, so you can really get tools that are far superior than what you used to have.

A revival of 'Big Pink'? Oh boy, that sounds like a plan!

[Jasoncw 11,841]

Since you've left, BAT4Max has been getting updated by SimFox, and it's now a million times easier to use. There's an installer for it, and the exporting is done entirely with easy to use buttons.

[madhatter106 3,903]

The guy who BATted Waddles is back?

Swoon....

[Cockatoo 2,256]

Hahahah! I do have a copy of 3ds Max that Bixel gave me, but I could never get BAT4MAX to work.

If Bixel gave it to you, it'll probably be version 7 or 8 - those were his favourites for some reason. Even still, those older versions should still work with the newest BAT4Max I believe. If not, see if you can get your hands on the latest version, 2012. It’ll definitely work with the new BAT4Max.

Gmax just isn't cool anymore...

[madhatter106 3,903]

Gmax just isn't cool anymore...

Hey! I'm sure Leonardo da Vinci could create a masterpiece with Crayolas on construction paper. It's not just the tools, but how you use 'em!

signed, madhatter106, Proud Gmax Supporter (Victim?)

[SimHoTToDDy 2,939]

There are some gmax diehards still out there, Madhatter and spa chief among them. Hell, Bixel was using scanline until just reciently (gmax or not). If you know how to get the results you like with gmax, go for it. If you are going to start fresh, might as well get the best set of tools you can.

[Cockatoo 2,256]

Gmax just isn't cool anymore...

Hey! I'm sure Leonardo da Vinci could create a masterpiece with Crayolas on construction paper. It's not just the tools, but how you use 'em!

signed, madhatter106, Proud Gmax Supporter (Victim?)

Admittedly you can do some really cool stuff with Gmax and your uploads are a prime example of that... It's great for learning, but the corrupted files, the lack of support for high-end systems, the slow renders, the outdated tool sets, the inability to do stuff that is now common on most BATs... it's just horrible. I used it for a little over a year and got so annoyed with it I had to get Max in the end.

Skill is the determining factor here, but a sharp blade always helps too.

[nofunk 1,933]

Whoa! How did I miss this? Welcome back, Sparky! Can't wait to see your next project.

[spa 970]

There are some gmax diehards still out there, Madhatter and spa chief among them.

As one of the diehards, I think I can say you can still achieve a pretty good result with gmax. If that's what you're comfortable with, go for it. That said, I honestly don't know what I'm missing though in not having max. My sticking with gmax comes down to one thing and one thing only, gmax costs me nothing whereas I would have to pay for Max. Hard to justify the expense when there is so much else I want to do with my disposable income. Anyway, welcome back Sparky. Nice to see you around again. I use many of your bats in my cities. Would be neat to see more in the works.

[Jack_wilds 550]

Also a fan of your work Sparky... trust that you have some projects up your sleeve and ready to tease us with...

[hamsterTK 93]

fantastic!

Maybe you could do one of the many new Portland buildings that have gone up between now and like 2008? Anything in the Pearl District? That kind of 2000's new urbanist infill architecture is lacking on the STEX IMO.

As for Simcity 4, works fine on my Windows 7 laptop and I set the resolution in the file path so it conforms to my widescreen display crisply and beautifully.

[sparkythepenguin 90]

OK update: Been busy working, and also found that my computer crashes almost weekly. It's extremely outdated and likely broken now. Going to try to get SC4 to work on it, but no guarantees. I've just got to hold on long enough to save up enough for a decent laptop. Until then, I have to pray that this thing doesn't eat all the bookkeeping work that I'm doing. After I replace this thing, it is going on a one-way flight out the window. Not a good send-off for the computer that I did all my BATs on, but it is an onery shell of its former glorious self.

A little note on Portland since 2008:

Maybe you could do one of the many new Portland buildings that have gone up between now and like 2008? Anything in the Pearl District? That kind of 2000's new urbanist infill architecture is lacking on the STEX IMO.

They haven't really been building too much of significance in the Pearl or anywhere else here lately. When the economy shrinks, Oregon's evaporates! They started on a really neat tower right near Pioneer Square just before the global implosion, but only dug a hole and built up a few floors of the parking garage in the hole. It's been sitting like that for years now.

However, you'd probably like the South Waterfront. Some sleek and tall condo towers were started or finished just before the powers-that-be put a hold on all construction everywhere in town. We also got lucky because the new MAX Green Line, Streetcar extensions, and a cool aerial tram went through.

There's some stuff that has just started, like the total rebuilding of the then-hideous Federal Building. Two new bridges have been started: A new MAX bridge near SoWa and a replacement for the Sellwood Bridge. OHSU just a few months ago put up two big cranes by where the MAX bridge is being built, and the renderings of them looked cool last time I saw anything. I do know of a lot of stuff that's been in the works for years, but the economy and the housing implosion are giving all the developers cold feet. I can't wait for this ridiculous mess to be over with! I want to see some more cranes!

[thecitiescenter 3,049]

Whoa! Welcome back sparky! Hey, I sent you a PM.