daTS's BATs [Athena Security Solutions HQ]

[T Wrecks 10,210]

Maybe that sucker is just too big for your rig. Have you tried cutting it in half and exporting a part of it? If both halves can be exported, but not the entire structure as a whole, chances are it's just too much for your PC.

 

Another thought: What do your custom LODs look like?

 

Back to the building itself: The main structure is a masterpiece! However, I'm not such a fan of the BATted ground so far, I'm afraid. Are you sure you want to keep it? Leaving it out would also enable you to keep the LODs smaller, which in turn may alleviate your rendering problem.

[mntoes 271]

If its a problem with memory try plugin in a USB memory stick. Right click the device and under "properties" select "ReadyBoost" / use this device). This works for me in windows 7 and I have some high poly counts.

[SAVAGExPHOENIX 955]

T Wrecks, the main render itself (in 3DS Max) was not an issue with the high poly count and lighting and such. That renders just fine. It was the LOD (the simple box) that was simply too tall for gmax to handle. It's a problem with the BAT tool in gmax, not my computer itself. It was only using around 70% of my allocated RAM when exporting in 3ds max.

 

I scaled the tower down about 10% to just under 600 meters high, and it worked. The SC4BAT tool for Gmax simply won't accept anything over 600 meters, I've found. So I've got a tower that's 595 meters tall. I'm currently exporting the daytime render.

[Jasoncw 11,949]

There's a limit to how big a BAT can be. It seems like it should be bigger than that, but then again, that's very big. 

 

You can scale it down, or you can break the building up into two separate but overlapping .SC4Model files. So you'd make LODs that cover the bottom half of the building, export that, and then make different LODs that cover the top half of the building, and export that, and then overlap them together in the lot editor. Unfortunately, while theoretically the two .SC4Model files would fit seamlessly together, the game doesn't seem to put things together accurately enough, so there might be a seam/jog of a few pixels where the parts meet.

 

 

I also agree with T Wrecks about BATed ground.

[SAVAGExPHOENIX 955]

I know you guys aren't a fan of the BAT'ted ground, but I wanted a unique foundation. I enjoyed making it, and I have problems with MSR material (to hide the underground garage parts) that I haven't quite mastered yet, so I just made some grounds on my own.I made sure the grass matches SC4 grass (used SC4 textures, actually).  

Here's a zoom 2 render.

 

[simlink 1,098]

Looking awesome as always... love the look of this! It'll certainly add some nice variety to any skyline.

[Xander Dax 310]

WOW!

[gutterclub 2,729]

Not sure about the batted ground, it doesn't make much sense with the hedges and grass..doesn't seem very urban? Amazing model though..

Not sure about the batted ground, it doesn't make much sense with the hedges and grass..doesn't seem very urban? Amazing model though..

[Belfastsocrates 1,753]

I don't mind the ground too much. I can orientate the lot and landscape around it to have it blend well into a wider showcase lot. 

 

I intend to make this a fantastic centrepiece of a new project in Perseus' capital city.

[T Wrecks 10,210]

Glad to read that you solved your problem!

 

As for the old question BATted ground vs. LOTted ground, I kinda feel the same as gc:

Not sure about the batted ground, it doesn't make much sense with the hedges and grass..doesn't seem very urban? Amazing model though..

 

At the very least, some objects like flora and lamp posts would be good to have. Otherwise, the lot will look very barren. And if you stick to a BATted ground, it's best to make sure that it will at least cover the entire lot. A lotted border around a BATted ground usually looks stupid, and I can tell you from experience that it's terribly hard to hide the seam in a convincing way - not least because shadows in the BAT are not cast in exactly the same directions as shadows of BAT objects are cast on lots and other ground within the game, as stupid as that may sound.

[shinkansen1 84]

It might be a good idea to lose the BAT'd ground all together. This would allow far more flexibility with how and where the BAT can be used, as well as allowing LOTers a far greater range of creativity when using the tower for their own cities.

[SimCoug 5,976]

I love the model!  

As a lotter, I'm going to vote against the BATed ground as well (It sounds like you want to keep it, so maybe for future consideration) - one could lot pretty much the same setup as you have already, and a building without a BATed base offers so much more flexibility for different lotting configurations.

One alternative might be to keep the BATed base but render each (the base and building) separately (and add them together in the LE) so that everybody wins   

[SAVAGExPHOENIX 955]

Well, I've run into another problem. When I get to about 30% rendered, 3DS max "encounters a problem and has to close". That, I suspect, is running out of memory. Problem is, I've got 32GB of RAM. I'm not really sure how to triple that, even with ReadyBoost. 

 

I'm going to remove the BATed ground, as per all of your requests.

[TekindusT 3,809]

Hope you can solve that problem, the model looks so massive and impressive... Truly Illium Empire taste!

[Jasoncw 11,949]

32 GB of RAM is more than enough to render it. :/

[SAVAGExPHOENIX 955]

Well I know that when monitoring my memory usage when rendering the first frame, It skyrockets to nearly 18GB used memory. I *really* hope I don't have a memory leak somewhere in 3ds Max. 

[jmsepe 2,039]

Wow, now that is what we call overkill of memory.   I  hope to see this one in the STEX soon despite the problems.

[SAVAGExPHOENIX 955]

Well, I've got a couple of people working on it for me. I can't seem to get past the problem, and Bipin is going to see if he can render it for me. In the meantime, I'm on a roll so I'm working on a medium-height skyrise (about 225m) for Illium's news service.  

Here's a very early WIP of the PhoenixNews International building.

 

[tonyr 926]

Oh yes,this would be a great addition to our cities. Excellent choice.

[T Wrecks 10,210]

Marvelously drab! My only gripe with it so far is that it looks very monolithic, as if the entire structure was one massive, seamless block of cast concrete. I think that some seams / panel lines would help to make it look more authentic and at the same time add some visual interest. I also fear that the overall colour hue may be a bit too far on the green side for SimCity. However, I suppose textures aren't final anyway. All in all, it's a very promising start, though. Keep it up!

 

Good to hear that you're getting some help with Greystone Tower. I understand Bipin has a very strong PC, so hopefully either he or someone else will be able to make the export. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you guys!

[Thin White Duke 4,072]

Beutiful! Looks like a 4x2 LOT...? We could need some of those. 

[SAVAGExPHOENIX 955]

Marvelously drab! My only gripe with it so far is that it looks very monolithic, as if the entire structure was one massive, seamless block of cast concrete. I think that some seams / panel lines would help to make it look more authentic and at the same time add some visual interest. I also fear that the overall colour hue may be a bit too far on the green side for SimCity. However, I suppose textures aren't final anyway. All in all, it's a very promising start, though. Keep it up!

 

Good to hear that you're getting some help with Greystone Tower. I understand Bipin has a very strong PC, so hopefully either he or someone else will be able to make the export. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you guys!

You're right about the textures. It's supposed to be marble, like the Renaissance Hotel in Dallas. I have a marble material right now, but I need to increase the glossiness and add some paneling bump maps. As for the green-ish color, it's supposed to be a dark brown. I am, however, mildly colorblind, so what I perceive as solid brown could have a mild green hue to it.

[JakeMD 107]

These are looking grand. I didn't mind the lot, obviously you can add props and such in the lot editor later. It's also possible to create those textures to use in the lot editor, so you can keep your original lot idea and still add some pizzazz. 

[KonstantinII 1,106]

I like the shape of the building.

[T Wrecks 10,210]

Hmm... back home on my notebook screen the hue doesn't look so bad at all. I guess you'll have to check against a backdrop composed of Maxis buildings. This should give you a good idea of whether your building looks off in some way or not.

 

Do you have any particular ideas for the entrance yet? Just some rotating doors or something more striking?

[SAVAGExPHOENIX 955]

@T Wrecks: well, here's an updated view. The entrance is just some doors with a frosted glass cover. This was really a great test platform to work with some other Arch & Design materials. I really really liked how this turned out! The flowerbeds use a displacement map to make it look more full, the radio tower dishes use a semi-reflective material to show the curvature better and the glass covers use a frosted glass material to add some variety. I also recessed the tower's windows a bit to give it a bit of depth. 

 

@Borg: It's a 5 x 2, if I'm not mistaken. It could be a 5x3 with the flowerbeds.

 

[jmsepe 2,039]

Nice to see more buildings from you Dats. I'll be seeing this during the AIN Games? 

[SAVAGExPHOENIX 955]

I think I'm going to lighten the marble a bit. And yes, jmsepe, PhoenixNews International will be covering the Alliance Games for the Kingdom.

[tonyr 926]

Very nice indeed!

[SAVAGExPHOENIX 955]

so, I've lightened the marble a little bit, and added a bit of a reflection map (which is better viewed from the shadow side). I've also made the reflections for the window glass fade out after about 500m to add a sort of depth of field effect.

 

I'm having a lot of fun making this! I hope you guys are enjoying seeing this beauty as much as I am making it!