Jason's BATs & Tutorials

[Turjan 1,048]

Here's the day version exported and lotted:

I think I'm pretty happy with the lotting in general. I might add a few small things here and there.

What do you guys think about the trees? Should I use one of the other street trees instead?

Also, I think it would be easy enough for me to make both a plaza and park version, so I'll be doing that.

 

That's a great update of this building. The trees look nice enough if you don't want to switch to any from Girafe . A few accents on the concrete would be okay.

 

I noticed that I mostly use this library in small towns. Your current lotting would work better in this industrial town of mine, which isn't exactly green (or beautiful ) in general:

 

]

 

On the other hand, I would prefer a green lot in this small town:

 

 

I use most of your lots in my cities ,.

[Jasoncw 11,949]

So I've gotten the bank uploaded as April's BAT.

 

M. Maria Branch Library V2 is still on the boards (and it will have both a plaza and park version).  Whenever I'm in the mood for some lotting I'll finish it up.

 

And since I'm not in a lotting mood right now I've started work on an old WIP.  It's going to be a 4x6 I-HT.

 

You'll need to click on the bottom image to make it full size.

 

 

[libellibicus 396]

This new one looks mighty interesting.  I'm gonna need to get some more RAM just for all my Jasoncw plugins!

[Darknono35 3,138]

Interesting and curious BAT the facade is fully concrete ... I like that  and your trees are gorgeous, man

[art128 4,622]

Concrete!

[Francis90b 748]

How does it work?

[Jasoncw 11,949]

How does it work?

 

It doesn't. 

 

This was originally started as a SimMars BAT a few years ago, and now I'm adapting it.  That's why it doesn't have any windows and why in general it doesn't make much sense, because it was basically a sci-fi BAT.  It's also now an I-HT, and of course in real life those are just plain warehouse-looking buildings.

 

This would definitely be buildable in real life (later I plan on breaking the concrete down so that it's not one giant piece), but it would be very expensive.  The only practical thing I've figured is that the reflecting pool could be a cooling reservoir for computers or whatever is inside.

[Jack_wilds 550]

it looks like a 'top secret' facility that screams "Stay Away!!!... or else"

[Vlasky 1,803]

Spectacular concrete!  A lesson fpr all future concrete textures And it has some weight to it as well I like it, and am looking forward to seeing it redeveloped  

[Francis90b 748]

 

How does it work?

 

It doesn't. 

 

This was originally started as a SimMars BAT a few years ago, and now I'm adapting it.  That's why it doesn't have any windows and why in general it doesn't make much sense, because it was basically a sci-fi BAT.  It's also now an I-HT, and of course in real life those are just plain warehouse-looking buildings.

 

This would definitely be buildable in real life (later I plan on breaking the concrete down so that it's not one giant piece), but it would be very expensive.  The only practical thing I've figured is that the reflecting pool could be a cooling reservoir for computers or whatever is inside.

 

 

So, if this is just a quick recycling of a SimMars shell, then let it be it.

 

The concrete, however, is quite a good idea, and can actually be used for something else...

[Ion_Cannon 677]

Hmm interesting, is there going to be lots of piping/ducts/venting on the concrete shell, or is the modelling basically finished?

[Jasoncw 11,949]

Thanks guys

 

Ion_Cannon:  There will be a little bit of catwalk and maybe a few other things but it is basically finished.  Just a few little details here and there.

 

 

Here's an update with the concrete broken down.

 

[Toothless Stitch 2,901]

You know, I guess this things is even more useful than all that stuff in Dubai. I lik,e it being a monument!

[Darknono35 3,138]

awesome building Jason, it could be used like landmark or I think, like an modern museum it's cool.

Your concrete is perfect

[Jasoncw 11,949]

 

Did a little bit of work on the industrial building.  There'll be a little more catwalk and a little more other roof junk stuff.  Probably some more mechanical stuff in the water too.

[T Wrecks 10,210]

It's beginning to look really interesting! I suppose those pavers/tiles on the ground and everywhere are just placeholders?

[Toothless Stitch 2,901]

I still think you should use it as a plaza. That would mean to leave out that industrial stuff in the water. 

[T Wrecks 10,210]

Ok, now for something completely different: While I was chugging away at a massive download backlog including many of your buildings, I noticed some oddities (all concerning the Dark Nite versions, which are the only ones that I use):

 

• Sundry Building: The shadow of the growable 1x3 version wouldn't display properly. I made a new desc and a new lot, and now it works. Beats me. 
• Anthony Bikes: Same problem here, and once again making a new desc did the trick.
• Sturgeon Building 2x4: Once again the ploppable version is fine, but the growable will simply disappear and leave an empty lot once it has been test-plopped and the camera has been rotated once. Yet again, a new desc fixed the problem.

 

I have no idea if these problems only occur on my end. In any case, the building models themselves are perfectly OK apparently.

 

I also noticed that your old Central Police Station, 211 West Fort Street, and the Van Wingerden Plaza set are apparently not DarkNite-compatible. Are there any chances for a DN-compatible render?

[Jasoncw 11,949]

Yeah, all of those BATs are screwed up.  I think it includes everything from last summer and fall.  I had noticed the problem before but because it's not totally consistent, I just remodded it and then it appeared to me to be working.  I finally understood the problem when I was doing the manhattanville lots.  ALL of those lots were very obviously glitching out, and very consistently too.  I eventually figured it out.

 

The problem is a bug with PIMX.  If you use PIMX to do the modding, and then use a different program to change anything, it causes the building to glitch out.  Usually it's the building becoming pixelated when changing the zoom and then disappearing if you rotate.  And sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't.

 

The way I've "solved" it is by using PIMX's lot editor, and using the reader to replace the menu icon.  I used to use the maxis lot editor, and le prop for the icons, but using either of those messes it up.  And iirc using the reader to change values causes a mess up as well, but using it to replace things (inserting a png, changing the ids to what they should be, and removing the old png) works just fine.

 

 

What I need to do is go back and update/make Version 2s of all my old BATs.  There's just a lot of mistakes all over the place, and the older BATs need darknite versions and in general could be polished up.  And just a few weeks ago I noticed how messed up my menu icon orders are.  I have lots of stuff to fix!    I even have big lists of things to fix and ideas about what order to do the new versions and everything.    (I just need to do it!)

[gutterclub 2,729]

Is there any way for you to get hold of the new versions of Trier Tower, Central Police Station etc etc that Simfox did a while back, they looked pretty much done.

 

 

 

 

[T Wrecks 10,210]

OK, so I was on the right track after all. Since the models themselves were OK, I figured that it might be a PIM-X problem, but since PIM-X generally works, another factor had to be involved. Thanks for explaining that! I wasn't aware of the problem, probably because I stick to PIM for everything but those tasks only PIM-X can do. Are guys like wouanagaine or RippleJet aware of the problem? Does anyone know why it happens?

 

Oh, and another thing I was wondering about: When I use DarkNite, all DarkNIte buildings are dsplayed correctly by night (duh!), and so are all Maxis buildings. What is it that makes some buildings look wrong, anyway? You should think that if Maxis buildings display correctly, so should MaxisNite versions of other BATs.

 

@ gutterclub: Yeah, first pic is that police station I mentioned, the third pix shows Van Wingerden Plaza A (B was a mid-rise version). The ones overhauled by SimFox are probably on his HD somewhere, and since he's gone... well...

[Darknono35 3,138]

I think, you need to update only your oldest buildings in priority ( more 3 years ) , but I've never seen anything bad or huge mistakes on your BAT, just a small improvement textures, and hop on the STEX

 

This Police Station  , I used it frequently in my civic centers and downtown, beautiful BAT. But the threes others, I've never saw them on Simtropolis or others Sites, shame, they looks good

 

I'm surprised to hear bugs about the PIMx, generaly, I create the SC4desc file with PIMx and change several settings like, jobs, Occupants group etc, and I create the lot, and the icon in last . But never saw any bugs on my BATs ...

 

But I'm sorry, what do you call "Glitch"   ?

[Jasoncw 11,949]

Gutterclub:  tbh it's not really important for me to get his versions.  For most buildings it really wouldn't take much time to make new versions, and I have my own ideas of how I want them to look.  It's mainly just a matter of getting it done. 

 

T Wrecks:  They're not aware of the problem but earlier today I went ahead and posted about it.  In the support threads I haven't seen anyone else with this problem and obviously tons of people use PIMX in combination with other modding programs.  I can't think of anything about my set up that is unique that would cause the problem to happen.  We'll see what happens, it might be a problem that no one knows the solution to.

 

 

SC4 makes night the same way that a lot of old movies and tv shows made night.  They filmed during the day, because for one, if it was actually dark, the actors wouldn't be able to see anything, the audience wouldn't be able to see anything either, and the film would be really grainy from being shot with too little light.  So they film during the day, and then in post production they add a dark blue tint.  You can tell if, when you look closely, you can see strong shadow lines, indicating a strong light source like the sun.

 

Within SC4, different renders are composited together to make the night effect.  First is the day render.  Then on top of that, there's a blue tint.  If the buildings have nitelites, and if those nitelites are supposed to be on, then the nitelites layer is added on top.  The nitelites layer only includes the lights, and not any of the building itself.  So if you have a building with a spotlight on a wall, the night layer is basically going to be a yellow circle, with the rest being transparent (so that you can see the building itself, the day version, behind it).

 

What TruNite does is it puts a full render on the nitelites layer.  It includes a unique render of the building using a separate night lighting rig, and now the nitelites layer completely covers up everything behind it (the blue tint and the day version).  In effect, instead of using a composting system, TruNite lets you have a completely separate night render of the building.  This allows for a lot of control, and also avoids some technical problems with the gmax way of doing nitelites.

 

With TruNite, the blue tint layer is being covered up by the new render, meaning the blue tint (or more generally, the night environment) needs to be baked into the night render.  MaxisNite bakes in the default light blue tint, and DarkNite bakes in a darker blue tint.  In actuality, since you have so much more control with TruNite, there's no reason to stick with a Day + Tint = "night" so for the renders a new light rig was made that looks more like night (no harsh shadows, etc.).

 

Darknono:  The original versions of the buildings gutterclub posted are all on the STEX.  Go download them! 

 

"Glitch" is another word for "bug". 

[T Wrecks 10,210]

Yes, I saw the difference when looking at night FSHs - only the lights for standard buildings, full building for DarkNite stuff. So if I got you correctly, only buildings that were exported with the MaxisNIte option of TruNite (full night render instead of only lights, but Maxis colours) are affected?

[Jasoncw 11,949]

Both are affected.  If you use a darknite version in a game without a darker night modd, the building will look really dark because the darkness is baked into the render.  If you have a maxisnite building in a darker night modd game, then it will look like it's glowing, because the brighter night is baked into that render.

 

So if you use simfox's day n nite modd or gizmo's night modd, you have to use darknite bats.  If you don't, then you need to use the maxisnite.  If you switch between the two then you need to go through and reinstall the bats.

 

 

Some good news about PIMX and my disappearing buildings!  The problem is a bug in the new Reader, and not PIMX.  When you edit a property and save with it, it messes the occupant size, pollution radius, pollution at center.  It also has a bunch of other bugs.  If anyone is using the newest reader (1.4), switch back to 0.9.3! 

[Darknono35 3,138]

Thanks Jason for this new another word in my language and new buildings in my game
 

[Turjan 1,048]

That was very interesting. I always wanted to know how these night renders worked. Thanks for that.

 

Now I also understand much better the empty lot I experienced with the Sturgeon Building. I'll also get rid of the new Reader version. Does simple recomputing in PIM-X get rid of the problems?

 

As you mentioned the Trier Tower, I have one question. In principle, this should be the perfect "Wren Insurance" competitor, something the game needs. It should grow like weeds, even if it's a bit too distinctive to allow that to happen. However, although I have had this in my plugin folder for a long time, I have never had this grow. Not a single time. No dice. If I want to see it, I have to plop it. I wonder if anybody else had that experience?

[T Wrecks 10,210]

I haven't even used Trier Tower so far because my focus is on the Chicago & New York tileset. I don't know if there is some technical problem that keeps it from growing. However, if you want to have a contender for Wren Insurance, it will have to be a building with identical growth stage and similar stats, and you will need a comparable number of lots. Most Maxis buildings grow at least on a handful of different lots.

[Jasoncw 11,949]

Yeah for some reason some of my buildings almost never grow.  I'm pretty sure I've gotten Trier Tower to grow before but not very often, especially since, yeah, the lot size and building size, if it was modded right you'd think it would grow all the time.  My guess is that the stage is set incorrectly, which can very significantly narrow the situations a building can grow in.  When a building grows over an old building (upgrades), it needs to be a higher stage and it needs to have more jobs. 

 

 

 

I've done a bit more work on the new building and I'm going to try and get it on the STEX today. 

[Turjan 1,048]

@T Wrecks: Trier Tower has a 2x3 lot, which is the lot size Wren Insurance most often grows on (Wren Insurance has also 2x4 and 3x3 lots with parking garages). They are both CO$$$ stage 7. Trier Tower has a slightly lower capacity, 1203 compared to 1401. Actually, the Trier Tower stats match Barthelet corporation and Yates Real Estate. It's one lot size compared to three different ones, but 2x3 should be the easiest for growth. I can understand it being rarer, but it's a no show.

 

I should probably just check the file itself when I have access to the game.

 

@Jason: For comparison, your Inland Steel Building grows nicely, even though that's a bigger lot.

 

Looking forward to your new industrial. Its style should fit well with LaVaughn Biotech (which, by the way, also grows nicely), which I like very much.