The Portland & Oregon BAT Team, Chapter 1

[T Wrecks 10,210]

Hey, I hadn't thought you'd show a picture so early! Looks lovely, so generic and unspectacular... just what any realistic city needs. And don't worry about squeezing too much. From 10x10 upwards, filling the lot with props gets a bit tedious, but otherwise... No, seriously: While it's always a good idea to cut things down to a reasonable (SC4-compatible) level, don't be afraid to end up with a building that's 7 tiles wide if the only way to squeeze it onto a regular lot size would mean to take away too much from it.

[sparkythepenguin 90]

Welcome to page 21!

Holy Moley! There's a lot going on here now!

Bixel, Holliday Park is looking awesome now! Glad to see it off to an awesome start. I don't know how big the lot that it sits on is in real life, but I think it is bigger than a standard downtown lot. Just for reference, JtPortland figured that a typical downtown Portland lot of 200 ft. x 200 ft. is about a 4x4 tile in the Sim City world. Just guessing, but I think it is at least 2x that size. I'd make it a 8x4 or 9x4 lot. Lloyd District lots are quite irregular, as they tend to be bigger or superblocks.

JtPortland, glad to hear from you! Maybe Bixel will do The Fontaine as well. And yep, the ground plane will be replaced. Just got to put in a new one that's inside the base columns so it makes the base omnis show up.

So I assume the Portland Building night lighting is OK then? Time to do some final texturing tweaks, and we're off to export land!

For those interested in the stats of the Portland Building lot when it hits the STEX, here are the plans:

There will be two versions, in two seperate folders inside the zip: With flags and without flags. I really think that Portlandia makes this building shine, so I will leave her in all versions unless demand warrants it.

*CO$$ grow and plop (same # of jobs as a mid-size, stage 7 TBA)
A eye candy-only landmark
And a Bureau of Bureaucracy (BoB)

The real-life building houses offices for the various bureaus of the City of Portland, so a BoB is a very appropriate version.

Will tweak some textures today and see what people think later. And yes SYM, once this is done, it's one down, three to go! I may just start the switcharoo after the Hatfield is done. Dunno yet.

[T Wrecks 10,210]

8x4 sounds like a fine lot size for the Holladay thing. If you don't get it to grow, the lot is very likely to be split into two 4x4 lots, on which tons of different buildings can grow.

Your plans for the Portland Building sound good to me, too. No objections.

[bixel 1,228]

either my computer no longer likes gmax or something else but I cant get Holladay to render....it just sits at 13% FOREVA!!!

So I am going to recreate it in 3DS max5, though I was reluctant to do so, since the zoom 3 level nitelights dont work.

[sparkythepenguin 90]

Bixel, is Holliday Park nearly done all ready??

try these ideas to get around that problem:

-If it isn't scaled-down yet, try scaling the building down to somewhere close to what you want it to be in-game. GMax/BAT doesn't like rendering (even in preview) huge, out-of-SC4 scale textured objects.

-Do a Save as and rename the Holliday file to something else that what you have it named all ready. Close out of BAT, and re-open it again. Open the new file with the model in it, and then try to render it.

-Also try restarting the computer after saving/renaming before you go back into BAT.

Hope that helps in some way...

[bixel 1,228]

OK, I redid most of it in 3ds Max, its just a lot faster, and quicker to work with. Here's what I got so far.https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//HPP2.jpg align=baseline>

[sparkythepenguin 90]

That's going to be one sweet apartment block! Actually I think it's for retirees. Can't remember. *shrug*

Oh and in a little bit, I will be starting the export process for the Portland Building (flag version). This'll be a test render to see what it looks like in-game. Should I like what I see, as well as everyone else, then I will keep it and export the flagless version sometime tomorrow. Then the lot building can begin!

Mikey's Christmas Present (my own nickname for the Portland Building) is extremely close to release now!

[SYM Productions 7]

I can't wait to see the Portland Building out!  It'll be the first release since I've been following the project closely... I think...

And Bixel, that's one sweet building... can't wait to see that one released too!

 

- CDI_spy

[sparkythepenguin 90]

Well, SYM, did you see ODS Tower go out? If not, it is understandable since it was my first BAT in over a year...

Well after a long, long day (gotta love the Pacific time zone!), it is time to show the first export results in-game!!!!

Day, zoom 4:



Nite zoom 4:



(due to my computer's previous hardware, I have a bad habit of setting the quality settings in-game down. That means that everything at zoom 5 (even Maxis stuff) looks like garbage . I should really fix that so I can show you some non-jagged xoom 5 views)

I like what I see. Do you? Please let me know if any last minute adjustments must be made...

This building ought to REALLY stand out in any city, just like it does in real life in plain old Portland...

While away from the computer during rendering, I have compiled some bits of interest about the real building for the read-me that I usually make to accompany my BATs.

If everyone agrees, I will move this forward, rendering the flagless version, and making up lots for both of these! Expect this on the STEX within the next week or so, depending upon feedback and lot assembly issues.

It is amazing how energizing some rest and some ispiration in the form of a great BSC BATer helping out can really pull me out of a slump! Thanks Ripptide! And thanks to everyone else who has participated by making comments. I do this soley for the enjoyment of everyone in the community and to give props to my hometown which has given me so much even though I've had so little to give back in return. Your comments really mean the world to me!

Now it is time to finally go to bed..

[T Wrecks 10,210]

I gather from your text that the colours are intended to really make this building stand out - and it really does!

In fact, the only thing I'm not really sure about is the very uniform and griddy main roof texture. It looks a bit boring, especially in contrast with the shiny colours of the rest of the building.

[Andreas Roth 626]

Date: 11/23/2005 6:28:34 AM Author: T Wrecks I gather from your text that the colours are intended to really make this building stand out - and it really does! In fact, the only thing I'm not really sure about is the very uniform and griddy main roof texture. It looks a bit boring, especially in contrast with the shiny colours of the rest of the building.

Yep, that would be my only criticism, too - the building is supposed to stand out, but it looks a bit too shiny, just like it was built a few days ago. Maybe you could try to add some weathering, this would enhance the realism even further.

[bixel 1,228]

I think its absolutely beautiful, your best building by far. Riptide's work on the statue is incredible, I wish I knew how to model like that.

[sparkythepenguin 90]

Well, I can go and change the roof texture. I guess that needs to go then..

As for weathering, a lot of the textures in there are tiled, so I don't know if I could make it look good without making it look repetetitive. *sigh* But believe me, if you saw it, you'd think it was a brand-new building built to look like it's slightly weathered... It is by far the most colorful building in its immediate area.

The roof textures could be more weathered though, that'll be easy since I need to replace them anyway. Also if anything, the roofs are probably the worst-maintained thing on the real building itself, given what I hear about the shoddy construction of it.

So something light, non-grid-like, weathered, and not too dark either... Tall order but there's somehing out there that will work. The fun part is that, for some reason, I have to go and reload ALL of my textures in the material editor every time I load this up now. Quite annoying, eh?

The interesting thing about this building is how most of it looks (to me looking from the ground) pretty new in real life anyway. I was reading the other day that they have to go and replace tiles constantly on it. They built this on the cheap unfortuneately. I hear it'll take $13 million to fix the entire thing properly.

Well looks like later tonite I'll be able to export it again... Tomorrow I probably won't be able to get to anything at all, so today is the last day that I will make any changes. Tomorrow I'd like to export the flagless version while away for T-giving.

[sparkythepenguin 90]

Well, here are some lighter roofs. The weird GMax-eatimg-my-textures glitch reared it's ugly head again, and I forgot to reload everything before sending it through. However you can see the new, lighter roof textures. Its strange that it only ate some of the textures. Usually everything is gone until I relaod them.





Hope that this may look better.. I have to get off this PC, since I share it. Luckily I slept in today, so there may be some more progress and a test export later tonight. It takes about 7 hours to render this monster!

[SYM Productions 7]

that's a really, i mean really great bat! the roof, i find was better with the grid, made it look like a sort of area. the colors are very new, try on some, slignt wear and tear, and it will be great! (oh, and uh, how did you make that outstanding statue towering over the entrance???)

- Yatagan_L

[sparkythepenguin 90]

Well, Yatagan, Ripptide's the one who did the statue. I've never been really good with replicating the human form unfortuneately... Please let him know he did a great job on Portlandia

Well, the griddy roof was not really working well.

I've managed to comandeer the computer for a brief time, and played around. If you wanted a little wear-and-tear on the roofs, you got it!

Just a little, not too much!



The base looks a little brighter now. Now that I think of it, the grid texture made it oppressively dark:



You should have seen the original texture. It was on some free texture site in the grunge collection. I greyed it up a bit in Photoshop, then sent it thru. It looked like the surface of the moon, so I toned down the contrast quite a bit and this is the result. I like to call the new texture light vomit on concrete.

Well, I'm going to get off this again and will be back in an hour or two to see if I ought to send it the final export process. Thanks for all the comments!

Edit: Going to darken the roof texture just a tiny bit. I'ts almost midnight here, so I'll render it and it should complete by the morning.

[T Wrecks 10,210]

Light vomit on concrete...
Anyway, with those stains and colour variations, the roof looks much more natural than before. A tad darker, just as you announced in your last post, and everything should be fine.

Next stop - STEX!

[ripptide 2]

beautiful job on the BAT and the nightlighting sparky, this will be a very unique building. Only one thing I might suggest although its a very small detail, would be to set the spot(s) pointing on the statue to include only the statue, and avoid the thin bright strip along the top front of the facade. But having never seen the real building that may be intentional, in which case disregard )

[sparkythepenguin 90]

Hope all my fellow Yanks had a great Thanksgiving!

 

The statue lighting is intentional. From what I have seen of night photos, Portlandia is lit from directly below. My own photography sucks at night unless I lug a tripod out and about.. The one I have is quite cumbersome and annoying if I were to take it to the Oregon Symphony... Also I have shaky hands without it ... I did manage once to tote the tripod around and get pics of Union Station at night. But that was definetly a precisely choreographed work!

 

(Quick thing: I hear the exclude and include settings in the lighting options don't work at all in GMax. That's something I picked up in the BAT: Workshop>Lighting issues thread.)

 

I am posting tonite from Eugene, Oregon. The Emerald City (yeah Seattle, I know you guys also have that title!) I may eventually BAT something worthy from here and other Oregon cities when I'm done with Portland and Winnepeg stuff.

 

Progress on the Portland Building:

 

The flag version has rendered to my liking with a slightly darker and slightly more contrasted roof texture. That took about 5 hours yesterday night.

 

The flagless version has undergone 2 export attempts. Unfortuneately a texture has mysteriously disappeaerd during the export process during the 2 times I have rendered it. Although the piece that the texture is missing upon is not really crucial, it is slightly noticable. I am not about to release versions of this building that don't match up for the flagged and non-flagged versions.

 

I'll be try to analyze the problem and sync up the two versions tomorrow, and render the flagless version. Then the lot editing process can begin! This may take a bit, but I think we all can expect the Portland Building out within the next couple of days. Just in time to take a few days off for my B-day on the 2nd.

 

 

 

[SYM Productions 7]

Ooh... this is so exciting... you're almost done the first Portland building I've witnessed the re-creation of... and than the Fort Garry is gonna come along!

 

- CDI_spy

[bixel 1,228]

I just thought of a great idea! Someone should do Powell's Books! (from their website)

A few facts about the City of Books:

68,000 square feet packed with books

we buy 3,000 used books over the counter every day

approximately 3,000 people walk in and buy something every day another

3,000 people just browse and drink coffee

our parking garage provides space for 40 cars (ok, so there are bigger parking garages)

we stock 122 major subject areas and more than 3,500 subsections

you'll find more than 1,000,000 volumes on our shelves

approximately 80,000 book lovers browse the City's shelves every day, in Portland and via the Internet. So is our mothership the world's largest bookstore? Heck, it may be bigger than your whole town.

 

I can't believe no one thought of this one! Its a Portland Icon!

[sparkythepenguin 90]

Powell's had been requested before. Ufortuneatley, if anyone wamnts me to do it, they'll be waiting a while for it. I have a lot of planned BATs in line before I even get to new things.

I haven't touched the Portland Building in a couple of days. I was a little under the weather, so I had to sleep off what probably was a 24 hour cold. Feeling better today, so exporting may commence later this evening. It's too late to start it up this morning.

[bixel 1,228]

Well, I could prolly do the Powells Books, 1st I gotta finish the Holladay Park Plaza.

Speaking of HPP (my short version) here's a new update.

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//HPPDemo1.jpg align=baseline>

[bixel 1,228]

I just had to see it in game. Of course its not finished yet I just wante to see the scale of it compared to other buildings.

 

So as it is its a 4x11, which is way too wide, so I'm gonna have to do some squishing.

YEAH SQUISHING HARDY HAR HAR!!! I really dont know why I'm excited about that but oh well.

Nightlights will come later. Cheers!

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//HPPDemo3.jpg align=baseline>

[ardecila 125]

Bixel: First of all, it looks like you're getting some offset problems there. Select everything in gmax or Max, whatever you're using, group it, and move it to the origin (0,0). Then re-render the building. The building is now centered on its footprint when you go into the LE.

Also, large growables can be done if needed. BSC figured out how to do it.

You say you're gonna do some squishing, but it looks properly to-scale with the other buildings around it. Compare the window size of the Holliday with the window size of the building immediately to the left of the brown-and-grey one.

[bixel 1,228]

I know about the offset thing, and this was a test so I didn't bother, however I dont want to lower the height, but the main bldg (not its sister compenents) will probably get squished so that it is not so wide. I dont mind a big lot, but I'm hoping for maybe a 4x9 if I can.

[praiodan 78]

Wow, sparky and bixel, you're making great improvements on your buildings! And I really look forward to see the PB released

[sparkythepenguin 90]

Some more progress:

I got the flagless version to match the flagged version's textures. Now it's on to lot editing!

Still a tad under the weather. I just want to sleep a lot. Also haven't smoked in a few days, so lack of nicotine and caffine may be influencing my lazyness as well. At least I'm staying off that crap and I'm not all headachy with the runny nose anymore!

[SYM Productions 7]

good on yeh mate! can't wait for portland building to come out! and with an awsome lot (like u usually do), its gonna be awsome! good luck!

- Yatagan_L

PS: three hundredth post posted right here, on portland project! wooooohoooo! so happy! 300! wow!

[T Wrecks 10,210]

May I make a suggestion concerning the Holladay building? Having seen it in all its glory (and boy, did you do another great job, bixel!) the thought of squishing this building is a bit painful.

While it's perfectly possible to make that lot size growable, 11x4 is not really an ideal lot size...

So here's my suggestion:

- The ploppable version(s) should remain as they are, because the building looks great and perfectly to scale.

- As for the growable, it would look a bit odd to have several buildings with that inscription on top anyway. So why not get rid of the secondary buildings to the right, render a version with only the main structure, remove the letters and use the result as a growable building that looks generic enough to be anything you want it to be?*

EDIT: Of course, it would still be possible to offer the 11x4 growable version in addition to the more generic and all-purpose simplified version.

_______________
*(Not to mention that if there were several colour variants or versions with different heights and the entrence was a prop, I could whip up a whole armada of ~8x8 mega lots that would look great as dense medium-wealth residential projects! )