Mass Effect:The Milky Way BAT Project | Satellite Dish

[KonstantinII 1,106]

Can you mind if you release the Armed Kodiak Shuttle in a unique texture, just for me? I'm going to do a futuristic cj soon and I want to use them as military police vehicles. Maybe I'll send you PM on the special texture.

[Huston 5,799]

@Terring - Thanks a lot!

 

@KonstantinII - I'll possibly consider it, but for the mean time (after exams), I'll be focusing on the ones I have orginally planned

 

Okay. Just had a little fun with the textures. But now. I feel the need to finish this faster. But it'll have to wait

 

 

I used a car paint texture option and it turned out somewhat amazing. Much better and not so flat.

[Huston 5,799]

I think I've fully finished my first BAT. Here I present to you, the Prothean Data Cache:

 

It has everything it needs:

 

- Nightlighting added

- Textured

- Fully modelled and ready to export in HD quality

 

It's a fairly simple BAT, and mainly serves as a monumental type structure. Based of the Prothean Data Cache in the first mission Priority:Mars and is ready to be released into the STEX. Question is, is it read in your eyes and/or does anyone want it? Any problems you see and would like to state?

 

 

Okay Obviously, there's a problem with the darknite/maxisnite renders as they appear waaaay to dark. Unfortunately, I've played around with some settings and haven't availed any solutions. The settings I use to render are below, but I'm not sure if they'll help.

 

Those are the settings for mental ray that I have active; I use the setting mental.ray.daylighting in order to have the texture settings for mental ray that allowe for reflections. Is there anything wrong about it that could or causes the night renders to look impeccably dark?

 

 

[Reddonquixote 4,339]

Why are you changing any of these settings at all? Why wouldn't you just use the Let there be light settings (Day/ Darknite / Maxis night) that come with Bat4Max? If you muck around with these other settings I would have thought you're bound to run into issues because they won't optimised for SC4 anymore. Or are you saying you had these issues before you changed anything?

[Huston 5,799]

Well, the only reason I tampered with the render settings was to enable the mental ray options for materials that had arch & design. As far as tutorials go, that was (i thought) the only option unless I'm missing a crucial point here?

[Reddonquixote 4,339]

I think you're clicking the wrong button. Under the common tab, where you are, in the assign renderer, just above where you are, there's the 'production' field that has 'default scanline renderer' in it. There's a little button with three dots next to it. Click that and select mental ray renderer. That's all you need to do to enable arch & design materials.

I think where you're clicking is below this, next to the production radio button, using the presets drop down. That's the wrong one

I think the safest way to fix this would be to open a new session of 3ds max, import>merge everything from your current scene into a new scene then assign the mental ray renderer as described above. Once you've loaded a preset I have no idea how to unload it.

Hope this helps, let me know if you're still stuck.

[Huston 5,799]

I think you're clicking the wrong button. Under the common tab, where you are, in the assign renderer, just above where you are, there's the 'production' field that has 'default scanline renderer' in it. There's a little button with three dots next to it. Click that and select mental ray renderer. That's all you need to do to enable arch & design materials.

I think where you're clicking is below this, next to the production radio button, using the presets drop down. That's the wrong one

I think the safest way to fix this would be to open a new session of 3ds max, import>merge everything from your current scene into a new scene then assign the mental ray renderer as described above. Once you've loaded a preset I have no idea how to unload it.

Hope this helps, let me know if you're still stuck.

 

Thanks for the tip, but it hasn't seemed to work. Still got a terribly dark night render. D: I even found a tip on how to reset the defaults but it doesn't seem to work, especially once I've begun using BAT4Max D: I might just try to re-install BAT4Max.

 

But in the meantime, here's a totally random construct.

 

 

Not really sure what it's supposed to be, but it looks pretty important.

 

 

EDIT: I've achieved success in trying to remove that nightlighting issue, and now I can complete some exports so long as the renders themselves don't turned out distorted in PIMX and somehow underscaled in Lot Editor XD Now it finally looks like SimFox's Darknite!

 

[Huston 5,799]

UPDATE.

 

My prefabs are getting nowhere and somewhere. I guess it all depends. I'd just like some opinions on it, may be a comment on if the lighting should be fixed, or instead of a self-illuminated window, should I just model the interior and add omni-lighting on the inside instead?

 

And, the second BAT on the bottom right corners of the picture is a model of the opened door version of the BAT that allows access into the prefab unit. No, this technically hasn't been textured in 3ds Max (more like sketchup) and the current textures serve more as a base because I can't seem to overlay textures on a blank sketchup model. In any case, I'd really appreciate some opinions, if it's alright the way it is, or if so & so like I stated before (or if you have any criticisms of your own)

 

 

[KonstantinII 1,106]

The right model looks better.

[Huston 5,799]

The right model looks better.

 

Lol, the right model on each pic is the "opened door" version, just so it makes sense that there's a unit entrance, though I see where you're coming from. My question was more on the basis of should I model in the interior and add omni-lighting instead (as well as making the glass translucent, or if I should keep to a self-illumination texture and/or edit it instead.

[Ke|is 3,337]

I think both looks good !! Fantastic job my friend, you are changing the game with all these creations !!

[KonstantinII 1,106]

Well the interior lighting. It is best result. I still have yet to learn interior lighting myself. The left version looks artificial, not as natural.

[Arch2Bee 4]

Houston,

             You images caught my attention and so as I read through the blog VERY fast ( I was really just looking for renders) I noticed towards the end you are having some issues with mental ray and getting lights for night to show correctly.  I use mr exclusively for architectural visualization for my work and consider my self to be a pro with it.  I could work with you if you would like to in order to solve issues you may still be having.  I can give you contact info for reaching me outside of simtropolis too.

 

Tom

[Huston 5,799]

Hehe, I've consulted with a couple of other people and I've quelled the problem Mental-Ray and my nightlighting is working fine now Your offer is greatly appreciated though

[Huston 5,799]

Okay - I have some really bad studying habits, concentration and procrastination. But. I just wanted to show you guys something I've made especially for an episode I'll post sometime for ME:TMW. And I'm not sure whether I should upload these to the STEX or not. One of them is a one of the main ME:TMW symbols, besides the Normandy.

 

One is the Mako (which has appeared in multiple ME:TMW episodes). The other is a Prothean "Ruin" with a ominous floating orb artifact. I recently played a mission and found this in the game. A very strange occurrence so I decided that I would make an episode for it due to it's significance. They go hand in hand as with the picture I've used for reference. So if I release the Mako, it goes along with this BAT vice versa.

 

 

Of course, for the Mako, if I do happen to release it, it will be available in 2 orientations (diag/horiz) and the cannon in another version will be pointing 45 degrees.

 

They're totally finished. All that's left to get underway is to export them.

 

So yeah.

[Droric 101]

the darknite versions seem bit too dark.

[KonstantinII 1,106]

I would like you to upload these

[Huston 5,799]

the darknite versions seem bit too dark.

It's a lot brighter than it looks (for some reason )

[Droric 101]

 

the darknite versions seem bit too dark.

It's a lot brighter than it looks (for some reason )

 

 

Yeah it probably has much to do with the contrast of the darknite photo on this white forum background.  Anyways awesome building!  I finished one of my major projects so I look forward to using some of the new content.

 

I posted a BAT4MAX 6 if your using 3ds max 2014 btw.  It automatically sets up all the lighting and you don't need to fiddle with settings in 3ds max 2014.  It just works now.  The link is on the BAT4MAX5 support thread.  Vray support should be coming soon as well.

[Huston 5,799]

Hey just a question for those who stumble here. Any ideas or tutorial for how to make MMPs? Can't find a single thing about it

[Huston 5,799]

 

Yeah...I've been pretty inclined to do some small HD BAT props for mostly aesthetic reasons. These however could be a functional residential/commercial BAT ~ I guess...I might also release my skycars this week or something.

 

Keep an eye out for those interested

[Ke|is 3,337]

Once again you did a fantastic job making those models !! They looks perfect for your region =)

[Huston 5,799]

Okay, this BAT doesn't really have anything to do with my ME:TMW project, but I thought since I'm making it specfically for the ST community and put my username out there, why not have a look at it anyway here.

 

This is a more practical, any theme use BAT and will fit just about anywhere you put it. Of course, all I have is a WIP right now, so nothing's definitive yet. But all I can really say about it is as a response to the many BATers who paste their names on their BATs as like a 'HQ' kind of thing, I thought, why not make myself a headquaters/base of operations center with "Huston Corporation" as the name of the company? It may not be as tall as Xyloxadoria's HQ, but it sure is neat looking... I guess? At least now, I can conquer the cities of the users of the ST community with my evi--I mean friendly corporation.

 

 

I'm planning on a rooftop garden type thing at the top of the building with lawn, and some other neat roof junk. But for now, here's what I have

[Huston 5,799]

For those interested...A batarian slum apartment on Khar'shan -- May be submitted for the SimMars mod as well as being included in my upcoming update for ME:TMW -- not to mention release for the STEX obviously.

 

 

If you could drop me a comment, it'd be a really appreciated sentiment

[Jasoncw 11,940]

Looks great so far. 

[Reddonquixote 4,339]

Great modelling work... some of those shapes are quite complex, fantastic job mr

[KonstantinII 1,106]

I can use apartments like these for my low income districts

[Huston 5,799]

REPLIES >

 

Looks great so far. 

 

Thanks Jasoncw

 

Great modelling work... some of those shapes are quite complex, fantastic job mr

 

Ha, well thanks, I'm taking it one step at a time, but I found out my laptop is having problems with bigger BATs, so I have to hold out that one. Took 4 hours to render an 11 story BAT alone, and that was for day and nightlighting each

 

 

I can use apartments like these for my low income districts

 

Indeed you can

 

Go ahead. Say it. I BAT strange things

 

 

What it is, is fairly obvious... but what I'm planning on using it for is something I'm not going to give up just yet. Although, I am planning on uploading it to the STEX, in case someone finds a use for it in their cities. In the meantime, watch out for its debut somewhere

 

Then I was just testing out one of the other things I was working on (Yeah, I'm working on quite a few things at a time).

 

 

That surface needs to be smoothened out a bit, but you get the picture -- It's supposed to be a model of the Citadel - Silversun Strip.

[Huston 5,799]

Two new BATs completed and ready to be shipped off to the STEX!

 

 

(Batarian Slum Apartments - Center of image)

 

 

(Standard Human Prefabricated Colonial Living Modules)

[Terring 6,476]