Theatre BAT

[Monkee_boy 41]

Congrats on your first Max BAT.  Very nice it is too.

 

Thanks! And behold...

 

 

Nightlights! Idiot that I am, I didn't realise that there was an update specifically for the BAT. I'd installed only the standard SCU2 - the SC4devotion downloads page isn't very clear and doesn't mention that the link leads to an update as well as to the programme itself.

 

As you can see, my pre-BAT4Max buildings now look rubbish (some of them don't even have nightlights at all) so I've no choice but to go back and do them again... ho hum...

 

In the meantime, The Saracen's Head (demolished in the 1900s) :

There's a party going on...

 

And the former White Horse Inn, now an electrical shop and travel agent (with severe artistic licence).

 

 

Great! Except that in Lot Editor I just get this at zoom 5 for both these buildings:

 

 

I checked, and there was no movement of LODs or anything between exporting them and rendering. Something to do with HD exports? Do the cameras go in extra-close or something?    Sigh... as soon as one problem's fixed, another appears... now to play "guess the search term" and trawl through the forums for a solution...

 

UPDATE

I'm always annoyed when a search brings up a post which asks the question but doesn't share the solution when the problem's resolved. For any future finders of this post, the solution is namely that if you are exporting a HD building from 3dsmax you MUST export the LODs from gmax as HD as well, or vice versa with SD. You wouldn't think that'd be a problem but, pfft.

[Monkee_boy 41]

Well, here's the updated punch-house and church. Notice that although they were exported with exactly the same settings everywhere, the nightlighting is missing from the punch-house and some textures appear differently. I'm not sure what's up with the nightlighting. I re-exported the night view a couple of times but there was no improvement...

The eventually released building will be more detailed and won't feature the large grassy area attached.

 

 

Much more pleasingly, I'll leave you with a fully-functional but qualitatively variable shot of a tiny portion of completed high-street:

 

The building in the bottom right was exported HD; the building centre was exported SD; the upper left building was exported with gmax. The zebra crossing lights are a simple detail I'm quite proud of.

 

Finally, a work in progress - one of the more ornate buildings in the market place, and a lot of fun so far!

 

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Concerning the missing night lights and different textures: Are the buildings we see on the lot models in the Lot Editor, or are they props?

[Monkee_boy 41]

Concerning the missing night lights and different textures: Are the buildings we see on the lot models in the Lot Editor, or are they props?

 

They're all props, including the ones that have working nightlights (with lighting set to 'true' in plugin manager)

[libellibicus 396]

This whole set is looking sweet

[T Wrecks 10,209]

The night lighting on props sometimes fails if the prop is too close to the edge of the lot. Just in order to check, you could make the lot bigger temporarily and place the prop smack-dab in the middle of it, with plenty of space around.

 

Have you set all props to IsGroundModel = true? Oh, and is there any particular reason why you're using the actual building models as props and not as buldings in the LE?

[Monkee_boy 41]

The night lighting on props sometimes fails if the prop is too close to the edge of the lot. Just in order to check, you could make the lot bigger temporarily and place the prop smack-dab in the middle of it, with plenty of space around.

 

Have you set all props to IsGroundModel = true? Oh, and is there any particular reason why you're using the actual building models as props and not as buldings in the LE?

 

The only real reason is that many of the buildings overhang their lots at the shop-fronts (or else, they are exactly 16*16 and lot editor refuses to allow that they can be placed on a single grid square). I'll just check the GroundModel, but I suspect that the overhang thing may be the problem (though it doesn't seem to affect the above props, and it seems like a dumb problem!)

[Jasoncw 11,840]

That's why they should be set back one paver/1.6 m.  That way they have space to fit on the lot, including protusions like the storefronts.

 

And if you don't set them back, then your buildings are not going to line up with other people's buildings, which are all set back.

[Monkee_boy 41]

That's why they should be set back one paver/1.6 m. That way they have space to fit on the lot, including protusions like the storefronts.

And if you don't set them back, then your buildings are not going to line up with other people's buildings, which are all set back.

 

As I said before, I won't necessarily set the buildings back the full 1.6m - the fronts of buildings don't always line up as it is - but I've now withdrawn the shop-fronts back beyond the front of the lots so they no longer overhang.

Assuming I did this, would it also be possible to reduce the footprint the game thinks a model has? I remember doing something similar when I had a go at a MMP once (the SimGoober canal water - it didn't work so well) but I'm not sure whether it'll work in the Lot Editor...

 

 

Now this is bizarre. The prop-building on the left was fully functional with nightlights before. On adding a second building to the lot, HSBC, lighting ceases to function...

[libellibicus 396]

HSBC model is to die for.  Top notch, Monkee Boy, absolutely top drawer.

[Jasoncw 11,840]

I don't understand why you don't want to set the buildings back. 

[Monkee_boy 41]

I don't understand why you don't want to set the buildings back. 

 

Let me explain: I'm a lazy, lazy man with a short attention span   I'm reluctant to go back and change the buildings I've already done too much. I could just scale them to be a metre shorter... but I'm quite happy with them as close to the road as they are, generally. I may alter them to have the standard 1.6m step back when I get all the problems ironed out and release them (although as you've now pointed out, I may not be able to iron the problems out without first fixing the overhang anyway).

 

I'm going to go and see if it causes issues when I alter the model's footprint and make it a building. If I can remember how to do that with reader...

 

UPDATE

 

Well this is just freaking weird. Altering the footprints didn't have any effect on the lot I edited at all. But suddenly the night-lighting is working in the model I didn't touch.

 

[Monkee_boy 41]

No progress on working out the nightlighting issue yet, but here's another shop for your delectation (these are getting faster and faster to finish - this would have taken me about a week once upon a time!)

 

Mortons is now one of the largest printers in the UK, publishing hundreds of niche magazines. They started out here, however, in a printers-stationers in Horncastle Market Place. They now occupy a large complex on an out of town industrial estate - a job for another day.

 

 

 

 

This old shop was also occupied by Curry's and WH Smith at various dates, but fell down one dramatic day in the 70s when the building to its right was being demolished (needless to say, incompetently). Nobody was hurt in the collapse but the town lost another much-loved landmark.

 

 

To add insult to injury, the building that replaced it is about as attractive as a builder's bum.

 

 

These two buildings - HSBC to the left and this one - demonstrate exactly the point someone made earlier about scales.

 

Damn, I've just noticed that ridge of tiles on top of the roof. Better go back and add those on...

[libellibicus 396]

Mortons is tres cool

[Monkee_boy 41]

Merci monsieur. I may release this as a standalone test-case in the next few days. Is there anything I should read before uploading to the STEX?

 

One more for the album...

 

 

 

Unfortunately, I've mucked up again - these BATs were to fill a 2x4 space and I've made them conform to 2x5. Which explains why they seemed a bit stretched, and means I'll have to shuffle things around again.

 

Also, as you can see, I have now set back all buildings from the edge of the lot, and none of them now overhang. Still no nightlights in these ones though.

 

 

P.S - this thread hasn't been about the theatre BAT for a long time. How can I change the thread name to "Monkee_Boy's BATS" or something?

[Monkee_boy 41]

Having had some problems (like that above) with only having a mental plan of the layout of these BATs, I decided I'd best work out once and for all how wide each building ought to be, to make the road layout match the real thing as closely as possible. Having the dimensions of all lots planned out ahead of time will mean I can skip around and BAT whatever buildings take my fancy, rather than working outwards from the marketplace as I was doing. 

 

I was holding all that info in my head, but thought you might be interested to see the process behind my BATs so far:

 

 

Where possible, I attempt to expand or contract buildings so there will be as few as possible in a 'unit'. Each colour coded group will be lotted together, and then at a future date possibly separated, so the individual buildings can be lotted as discrete units for other people to use. The above picture is very simplistic, simply to work out the comparative scales before I go on to make the buildings in BAT. It uses the 1:1.5 scale.

 

Off screen to the right (where the river disappears into the bright yellow squares) I've discovered I have no choice but to build some fractional angle canal! That'll be a fun problem to solve, and also pretty much commits me to building at least part of a one-tile-wide British Canal system. First, I'll have to learn how to make good looking water in Max (any good tutorials anyone?)

[Monkee_boy 41]

Now, this one I should definitely be able to release if its nightlights work - it isn't a W2W. Enjoy: Horncastle Manor House.

 

 

Hit me up with problems and suggestions! The nightlighting for the french windows, for example, is wrong, and there's some detail missing from the roof of the extension. How can I make my gables look less... abrupt... when there isn't any overhang?

[libellibicus 396]

I like this alot.  The trellis by the front door is a nice touch.  Maybe some Ivy growing up it?

[Monkee_boy 41]

I like this alot.  The trellis by the front door is a nice touch.  Maybe some Ivy growing up it?

 

Haha, something else to figure out!

[SimCoug 5,972]

Nice!  What if you left the ground below the overhang empty?  That way it could be lotted with a ground texture and look very seamless.  Also, for the nightlights, I would suggest keeping a few rooms dark, since it is rare that folks keep all their lights on at night.  

[libellibicus 396]

 

I like this alot.  The trellis by the front door is a nice touch.  Maybe some Ivy growing up it?

 

Haha, something else to figure out!

 

I may be able to help you out with that.....

[Monkee_boy 41]

 

 

I like this alot.  The trellis by the front door is a nice touch.  Maybe some Ivy growing up it?

 

Haha, something else to figure out!

 

I may be able to help you out with that.....

 

 

There must be some good techniques out there for generating auto foliage... what do you suggest?

 

(quoteception!)

[libellibicus 396]

I've sent you a PM.

[Monkee_boy 41]

Just a quick update to prove I'm not dead - I've had a lot on my plate so not much time for BATing!

 

People posted a whole bunch of pictures on the local history group on Facebook, so I gave in and finally made a start on Horncastle Station:

 

 

There's a goods shed to go in, to the left.

 

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Oh, what a lovely little station! I can totally see myself using that one.

[SimCoug 5,972]

Awesome! Unique train stations are always useful in sc4.

[libellibicus 396]

Perfect for any UK based Cities/Regions....nice work

[Monkee_boy 41]

A couple more shots before I import it into the game:

 

 

 

 

Oh, and a couple of shots of the original building (demolished about thirty years ago) to show how, erm, "creative" I've been with the design. It didn't really match the ground-plan I had (which was from 1888)...

 

[SimCoug 5,972]

Awesome!  Could I recommend exporting the outbuilding as a separate prop?  It could allow much more variety when it comes to loting.  

[Monkee_boy 41]

They're kind of connected all as one building - I've lotted it on a 6 x 18 lot to match the real size of the railyard so it's not too bad!

 

 

As you can see, I seem to be having a problem with props spontaneously disappearing (levitating cargo!) re-orientating themselves, and the trains 'disappearing' the tracks underneath... if it's not one thing, it's another...

 

I'm about to install a different skin for the default carriages - British Rail pullman green...