Reddonquixote's BAT thread

[Roger51 381]

Wow that is fantastic!!! Really looking great I have to agree with Aaron that the tree's are too dark, and I would add that the grass is flat and clinical, needs a bit more variation thrown through the area. I always thought the roof lattice was a bit more gold than what you have it as.........but that's the difference between pics and what is seen in real life.

 

Can't wait to see the night lights and what you are going to do with this beauty 

[Reddonquixote 4,338]

Hi, thanks everyone!

 

Roger/ Aaron, yeah trees look terrible I know.. working on them now. I've added alpha cut-outs to make proper leaves and render times have gone through the roof.

 

The lawn, lol, I was wondering if anyone would mention it. It looks like astro-turf. (and compared with the real thing which looks like a sandbox with two blades of grass sticking out haha) I've never been able to make a successful looking patchy-grass effect... but I agree it needs something.

 

And the roof lattice.. funnily enough I was just looking at that too, its gone even whiter in the current render even though the actual texture is quite orange. I think it might be the reflectivity is too high.

 

Thanks for these helpful comments, keep them coming, I'll post the most current render shortly once its finished...

 

Edit:

Here is the updated render.. The trees are better but still need a bit of work.

I need to fix the roof lattice as mentioned above. Apart from being the wrong colour the lattice holes are too small.

 

Other changes I've made are:

• Increased the reflectivity in the glass... probably too much now
• Put a bit more 'stuff' around the plaza
• Changed the light fixtures.
• Increased the scale of the sculpture things in the middle of the grass section
• Added a staircase where the back path meets Hamer Hall (although obscured by a plant I need to move)

I think thats all...

 

[__A 792]

Oh myyyyy its even better then the real one!!!

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

I can picture the cold slicing air run down the avenue as people walk along rugged up in scarves and jackets.
You're capturing the city feel very well.

[Reddonquixote 4,338]

Here's the last couple of shots for the night, with the grass and the trees updated.. let me know what you think

 

 

 

Ps. I think I've got the colour of the trees right now.. just need to work on the shape

[urielgarcia 344]

Really, really beautiful.  Mind-boggling!

[Bipin 3,402]

Excellent work; you take every detail into consideration and it pays off. I especially like the grass map you've got going on there.

[Aaron Graham 4,417]

Yeah, the color of the trees are pretty good, and I do think you should work on the shape buddy. 

 

Do you use Object Properties in 3ds max for you trees and bushes? If you have not try selecting all your trees and bushes and trees, right click to Object Properties and go to the Mental Ray tab and Return Black. This should make you tree look better, if not you can go back to the previous settings.

 

Do you have a google map link of the place? I would love to look at the trees, I do not know the name of the building to even find it.

[Reddonquixote 4,338]

Thanks for the tips Aaron , but yeah I had already used 'return black' on these trees. To find the building, if you type "Arts Centre Spire Melbourne" into Google maps it should bring it up for you

[weixc812 509]

Wow, surprisingly good.   I just find there's one place in my city which fits well with this shape. Will it be rendered seperately with National Gallery of Victoria?

[Roger51 381]

Looking much better Red!! Grass and trees look good.

 

1) The "art" sculptures that you have in place, I am trying to work them out.......... Had a look on nearmap's to try and figure them out, the pic below shows them with a shadow, and I think you have them a bit small, or not scaled up yet?? Just makes them look like seats (maybe its just me!)

 

 

2) The street lights on the two poles, while accurate to real life, it may look a bit funny in SC4, unless you want to lot the whole road in it!!! Just a thought for people who may not be doing a recreation of melbourne and just using it in a city. 

[Reddonquixote 4,338]

Wow, what a great shot.. very clear. Thanks for posting that. (Except now I can see more things I didn't do correctly lol)..

 

Here's a side shot of the sculpture things from Google Street View.. I made shelters because that's what I orginally thought they were, so I need to remake these, and I agree the scale is a bit out as well.

 

 

I think I will add the paths, I didn't see those before, I purposefully didn't make the steps because they don't fit with the game-model which I've made quite a bit flatter than the real landscape, to fit in the game better. I might see if I can add some steps in but it most likely won't be all of them.

 

Re the light poles... yeah, that's a philosphical point I've been grappling with since I started BATing: how much of the BAT is what I want to make for myself and others can choose to share if they want, versus how much do I make a BAT for what others might like... its a balancing act... hmmm dunno, need to think about it

 

Thanks to all for nice comments!

 

Oh, Weixc812, there will be 3 separate lots in the arts precinct series.. the gallery is one, the annex/garden is two, and this one, the Spire/ Hamer Hall, is the third.

[Reddonquixote 4,338]

Another update:

 

[B.C builder 291]

Oh ! that's really beautiful, everything looks great ! I like especially these trees 

[Roger51 381]

Anytime you want clear pics, just ask (I shall try provided it )

 

Looking good, those art things are really strange........guess that's art!!

 

Yes I know the light poles are a tricky question, just thought I would bring it up!! 

 

Keep up the great work and can't wait to have it 

[__A 792]

Dayum you really mastered it!

 

Btw I found this https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=566730856706813&set=a.137050529674850.22790.118961041483799&type=1&theater 

[Darknono35 3,137]

It's really beautiful. I like your grass texture. It's an procedural or an picture re-worked under photoshop ?

One more good job Reddon    x100

[Cheddar 119]

It's looking good so far. The trees look amazing! 

[urielgarcia 344]

Wow.... !  You updated the sculpture to match the pic by Roger51.

 

Sorry guys - I double clicked and my comp froze and then I see the double post.  Can you kindly delete.  TK.

[urielgarcia 344]

Wow.... !  You updated the sculpture to match the pic by Roger51

[RepublicMaster 428]

Oh my, that is amazing! The trees and sculpture are looking great now!

 

One thing I'm not sure about is the steps at the front. At one end there is steps and at the other it seems flat. 

[Reddonquixote 4,338]

Hi, thanks all!

Mystic_destiny, how funny! Not sure I enjoyed the comments that much (Aussie whingers! ) but still cool, thanks for posting.
Darknono, thanks, it was just a grass texture I got off google and played with the colours in photoshop. I'm happy with the way it turned out too, usually patchy grass textures don't tile very well I find.
Republicmaster, yeah, I thought I needed to make it this way due to the slope of the block but actually I just checked it and its flat all the way along. I think now it was because I want the curved end of this BAT to overlap with the gallery BAT so in-game it can look like one piece, so I had to raise it up a bit higher at that end. I've just finished exporting the day model, I'm going to try seeing how it pieces together with the gallery. If it doesn't work or doesn't look right might need to revisit.
Roger/BC Builder/Urielgarcia/Cheddar.. thanks for supportive comments

 

Hopefully post an in-game shot soon

[Reddonquixote 4,338]

LODs and placement needs a bit of tweaking, but conceptually it seems to be working ok

 

 

[SimCoug 5,973]

Amazing work reddon!  The detail really stand out - it is one of the more lifelike BATs I've seen. (and unique as well)

[B.C builder 291]

I hope it will be finished soon  Because I need this in my city 

[libellibicus 396]

Grass texture is spectacular.  Another fine addition to your very impressive portfolio.

[Cheddar 119]

Very impressive! Looks like the actual building. 

[__A 792]

I've already got a place for it ready in my recreation

[Gannet 34]

Will you upload this building or is it just a personal project?

[urielgarcia 344]

I'm floored...I wasn't aware that the buildings are beside each other in real life. The finished bats are amazing!