Show us What you're Working On

[Fantozzi 4,068]

R.D.E (Rural Docklands Expansion) - WIP, Update 5 - three more lots.

[Simmer2 23,831]

@Fantozzi Outstanding work!

 

Continuing to add to the next prop pack.....

This is an old (turn of the century) factory which was converted to a metal coatings facility in the early 70's but after a few short years it was abandoned.

All props minus the vegetation are custom made by me.

1

2

3

4

Simmer2/Nick

[MissVanleider 1,851]

@Simmer2 lots like this where the nature is taking back over are fascinating. The oxidised roof is a lovely touch

[Fantozzi 4,068]

@Simmer2

To be true: you and @rsc204 lately gave me the feeling I'm watching a hospital serial. And there is a patient in a room and many highly worried people around and every thing in the movie makes you believe: this patient is going to die.

And then Dr. rsc204 steps in.

Dr. rsc204: "What's your name sir?"

Patient: "My name is Sim City. Sim City 4."

Dr. rsc204: "How old are you?"

Patient: "I don't remember. But very, very old. I'll soon have to die" (last sentence he says towards the camera)

Dr. rsc204: "Crap! No one dies on my section. But let's hear the opinion of Dr. Simmer2 first."

(Dr. Simmer2 steps in)

Dr. rsc204: "Your opinion, Dr. Simmer2? Can we heal this tired man?"

Dr. Simmer2 (with a short gaze on the patient): "This man needs some fresh blood."

Dr. rsc204: "That's what I think too."

And you both hunker over the patient and for a while nothing else is seen than your backs. And then you step back and - (music!) - the patient is young again.

 

Magic!

And apart from hospital series - thanks to you, this kind of magic only happens here.

 

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

 

 

[Simmer2 23,831]

@Fantozzi .......HAHAHAHAHA!! Hilarious

[rsc204 21,865]

4 hours ago, Fantozzi said:

Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead...

Would be very weird and potentially scary... on another note, how did you know I was watching Grey's Anatomy recently!

[Tyberius06 12,250]

@Fantozzi: That's fantastic, both the pictures and the story aswell! 

On Update 4: I saw a lot of different kind of ships, and cranes too? What are those? Which pack contains them, or are they yours?

- Tyberius

[Fantozzi 4,068]

@Tyberius06:

The cranes on the left is a free 3ds model from archbase I was able to get into GMAX - so you can't say they are mine, let's call them 'new'.  Some ships are peg scows. You can find them on the STEX, they were originally created for canals but if I am right someone made also a ploppable version on water. The bigger ships are NOB - should be in his megapack vol. 03.

Well, and as the main lots are done now, I can also state this:

Original WMP Set:     11 Dependencies

My expansion:         +11 Dependencies

= (total)                       22 Dependencies

 

But still the rate will be good. You have to see, sometimes you have to download 4 or 5 dependencies for a single lot. Instead with both packs (WMP + mine) the rate will be roundabout 0,3 - 0,4 dependency per lot. Doc Rohrlachs and mine together will be <50 lots.

 

@Simmer2- back to work: but the rail it's a prop? It has shadows?

The platform under the tanks - the texture may be to rich in contrasts compared to the tanks themself (attracts the eyes to the platform). There are spots almost white and I wouldn't think it's not concrete (more uniform in colour) but stone or marble (of which a foundation for a tank wouldn't consist?). So, maybe, a quite discreet texture on the platform would put the colour 'emphasis' more on the tanks. Just to do some pettifogging remark..

 

[Tyberius06 12,250]

@Fantozzi: Thanks for the answere! 

On Simmer2's pictures, those rail tracks are props indeed with the new and rusty wheelstop. 

- Tyberius

[Simmer2 23,831]

@Fantozzi as @Tyberius06 said, they are  3d props. I will look into the cement pad texture. I have dozens to choose from. Thank you for the suggestion!

Simmer2/Nick

PS. Regarding the amount of dependencies in lots, it has never stopped me from using lots of them. The more the better as far as I'm concerned.

It means that the lots are more detailed and convey a higher standard of realism. Keep it up!

[feyss 1,981]

It looks really good!

[Haljackey 17,385]

Bridge to elevated highway overpass to ground highway transition

[11241036 5,114]

I'm trying to create an MMP-based beach with a pine forest next to it. Comments are welcome.

[T Wrecks 10,210]

I think the basics are all there and you managed to create a visually pleasing scene. And yet, I found myself thinking "Hm, something is not quite there", but I'm still a bit hesitant... maybe some pointers/suggestions:

• The sand stops very suddenly under the water - a smoother transition and/or some underwater objects might help.
• The border between that little pine forest (beautiful work in itself!) and the beach is very strict and linear. In reality, I'd expect a more fuzzy edge, with some shrubbery reaching further down onto the beach and some sandy spots or even little footpaths extending into the pine forest.
• Maybe you could try mixing with some slightly differently coloured sand MMP to create a slight transition/variation?
• The objects on the beach are a good touch fundamentally - driftwood and rocks, seems logical. I still think something's a bit off about them. Why is that? I'm not sure tbh. It may be that they look too obviously like "here a mouse click, there a mouse click", but somehow they don't really "connect". Maybe it's simply the quantity.
  These rocks, for example, are not to be found anywhere else. They are too few to create the impression of a rocky coast, and there is nothing else that hints at their existence. The driftwood is there because of the forest, but those rocks? They look out of place somehow, like some arbitrary object that was placed there on purpose to fill some empty room. I think either having a lot of them or getting rid of them might end up looking better than having those three little clusters.
  As for the driftwood, here I wondered even more what makes me hesitate. There's a forest, right? Forest - trees - coast - sea - driftwood. I'm beginning to think that it may be the quantity and placement again. One or two pieces would have been enough to hint at the connection to the forest without them ending up looking like "filler clicks". Or you could go the full mile and place even more, but then probably most of it where it makes most sense. Some logs at the water edge, yes. But let's say you had a less defined seam between beach and forest, with some protruding shrubs. Maybe some trees that are closest to the beach and salt water would die, and their remains would line the strip of land where the forest gives way to the beach. Maybe the sea would wash some driftwood ashore, and it would get caught in those "outpost" shrubs on the beach, scattering around them. If you had more rocks, the driftwood may alse be caught among these rocks.

Now all of these ideas aren't fully fleshed out, but I hope they may still be somewhat helpful. In any case, should you decide to do a little makeover of that spot, I'd love to see the second version!

...aaaaand for no reason at all, I MUST use that duck smiley now. quack quack. There. I feel much better already.

[matias93 7,535]

And just as a small tip: most beaches (except the ones on the mouth of a river) are over a bedrock, and the farther the rocks go to the water, the more stretched the beach will be, like if the rocks were grabbing it as a cloth. A way to simulate it is to terraform a small hill against the water and to soften the surrounding beaches to follow it, then MMPing the hill with big rocks and smaller ones going back to inland, even including some shrubbery in the middle. 

[T Wrecks 10,210]

Instead of nitpicking other peoples' work, I reckon I could also post some of my own stuff. As I mentioned, more IRM is on the way. Still some way to go, but I'm chugging along. Had some fun with lots that may represent different stages of development of a factory:

The right one is still unfinished.

[PaleoCardio 150]

4 minutes ago, T Wrecks said:

As I mentioned, more IRM is on the way.

Looking forward to it already, these look great 

[Fantozzi 4,068]

14 minutes ago, T Wrecks said:

Instead of nitpicking other peoples' work, I reckon I could also post some of my own stuff.

On the left one on the right side - the fence ends after two tiles. Is this intentionally?

[matias93 7,535]

41 minutes ago, Fantozzi said:

On the left one on the right side - the fence ends after two tiles. Is this intentionally?

I guess is to leave place to connect the grown lot to IRM fillers

[SecretMbr_735754 2,158]

49 minutes ago, T Wrecks said:

As I mentioned, more IRM is on the way.

New work looks good.  I use the IRM as part of my 'Realism' theme folder --combined with the street realism mod that adds parked cars and trees.  Thanks for this stuff.  If you were an enterprise I could call you 'T-Works'.   

[T Wrecks 10,210]

1 hour ago, Fantozzi said:

On the left one on the right side - the fence ends after two tiles. Is this intentionally?

@Fantozzi: Good eye! It actually was intentional - as @matias93 guessed, the lot was meant to connect to other I-M stuff there. This is also the reason why the right-hand side is pretty open: I wanted to get some more space in front of that roller gate - either from adjacent lots, or using fillers.

However, the idea with the fence gate came later (the other lots are big enough and offer enough breathing space around the main building so I could fence the lot in), and in retrospect, I guess it wouldn't look so bad on the first lot, either. Thanks for the inspiration!

Depending on building layout, I sometimes go for open lot edges and sometimes for fences/walls. Sometimes I mix. For example, if I have a wide warehouse with cargo bays in front and a blank wall in the back, I might add trees and shrubs as well as a fence or hedge behind the back and "close" the lot there, while the front remains open to give trucks some space to manouevre and make sure you can create a connection to the road network. When there's enough space, I sometimes make the building sit relatively in the middle of a lot entirely surrounded by fences, with just some entrances. And sometimes I also fence off most part of the lot, but leave some of it open to the surrounding.

If you look closely at the right-hand lot, there's a small gate near the top left corner. The paved area goes behind those large silos; two trailers are parked there. This little corner is an interesting little spot because it's inside the lot, but outside the boundary fence of the facility on the lot. I like to play with such concepts occasionally. I also have one where the yard is between walls and the staff parking lot is outside those walls...

@RandyE: LOL, T-Works! Nice one. I should have used that for my uploads.

@PaleoCardio: Thanks, glad you like 'em.

[MissVanleider 1,851]

@T Wrecks The IRM lots are great, i love the whole set and cant wait for more!

I have been trying to 'build' a mmp river with land bridges, a couple of shots. Think i'm on the right track but if anyone has any extra pointers / suggestions they would be great to hear:

[T Wrecks 10,210]

That looks impressive already! As fara as I am concerned, you're pretty much perfectly on the right track.

You didn't overdo the rocks, for example. Sometimes you see SimRivers running through relatively flat grassland or forest, but the river is lined with a humungous amount of huge rocks and boulders. Now where do these come from? Either there are cliffs that the river eroded, or the terrain is so steep that the river flows in rapids that are strong enough to carry such big boulders with them. In flat land, however, finer gravel is perfectly enough, and you used just that.

Reed and cattails are another thing that's not so easy to get right because you'll typically find it in more protected spots where the water runs very slowly, but not alongside rapids. You used those MMPs quite sparingly, too - maybe you could use even less, or try to create some spots where the river runs very slowly - maybe an old river arm that only gets flooded occasionally and has almost turned into a pond? Or a little dam, upstream of which the water will flow extremely slowly?

Finally, I think the dead/cut down trees from the Poseidon Mod (?) are enough; those bigger tree trunks near the river look somewhat out of place because there's no tree anywhere near that could leave such big trunks behind. ("Yeah, not any more", I hear your evil self say with a grin and the chainsaw still in hand...  )

...aaaand since I consider myself to be at least a blue-belt nitpicker, I'd summarise that you did a tremendous job on that river!

[feyss 1,981]

It's an old town of mine, and I think the time has come to finish it

[Simmer2 23,831]

@feyss Great work!

You only need to press "G" and go nuts with MMP.  It even rhymes

 

Simmer2

[Dreadnought 8,231]

WORK IN PROGRESS --

THE JADE BIGHT II

WILHELMSHAVEN WEST:

(Click to make bigger.)

Yo, guys --

I NEED SOME DATA INPUT -- !!

I'm fast approaching the point where the map tile will be finished -- mainly because I will have filled it to the size of my "allowed footprint" and then some.

THE PROBLEM:

I'm having the Devil of a time figuring out exactly HOW to finish the edges of the map.  Whatever is placed directly along the edge of the map will have to be carried over to the neighboring map -- and I want to avoid at all costs turning my regional map into something resembling a huge checker board.

If you have any ideas, my friends, I'd like to hear them --

[Dreadnought 8,231]

16 hours ago, MissVanleider said:

I have been trying to 'build' a mmp river with land bridges, a couple of shots. Think i'm on the right track but if anyone has any extra pointers / suggestions they would be great to hear:

 

VERY IMPRESSIVE !!!

But -- I agree with T-Wrecks -- get rid of those telephone poles laying beside the river.  (Too big and too straight.)

My personal preference, of course, but I would not have used the "standing stone clusters" in picture #2.  They just don't look right to me. (IMHO)

Other than that -- I like it !!    (That's "two thumbs up")

[SecretMbr_735754 2,158]

47 minutes ago, Dreadnought said:

I'm having the Devil of a time figuring out exactly HOW to finish the edges of the map.

Nice work.  If you are referring to the green areas at the edge, when I look at what I'd do with it is use wildflower and tall grass MMPs, maybe some ponds and rocks to complete the landscaping which then can be picked up on the next tile and graduated into another village/town or whatever sized settlement.

[11241036 5,114]

@Dreadnought What about either forest or farms? Afaik, they are rather common in areas at the outskirts of a city. BTW, here's what I'm doing when planning across the city border: I'm dragging railway over the border at significant locations (for instance, at the limits of farms or in riverbeds), to let myself know in other cities that there's something special at this location in the adjacent city.

[MissVanleider 1,851]

@11241036 immediately easy name to type after @ symbol! But yes, i do the same thing. Road = trees on other side. RHW = meadow on other side etc. The loading times back and forth arent too bad if the new tile is mostly empty