Mushy's Random BATs

[APSMS 1,892]

1 hour ago, MushyMushy said:

I actually updated this thread today primarily to explain what I want to accomplish right now. I've been super busy these days (senior year, starting a job, art competitions, college apps, and managing a club) and don't have much time for modding. At the points where I actually have free time, I'm usually so burnt out I'm just ready to play a game or something... and proceed to fall asleep on my keyboard.

Lol. I have done that far too many times to keep track.

Out of curiosity (if it's OK/not too prying), can I ask what kind of college/major you're aiming for? Art? or something more sciencey/computer related?

No problem on the time release. No sense in getting Senioritis prematurely...you'll likely have less time in college, but I think we can at least wait until you feel relaxed enough to finish working on this stuff. Once it becomes a chore it's no fun for anyone, yourself or us. Wait until Christmas break or later if you need (as if your summer before college will be any more relaxed ).

Also, burning the midnight oil? Wait, when did your school year start?

[airman15 4,111]

That Geothermal plant is truly a sight to behold! The Gridbusting with the models is exceptional! However, there's something that sticks out and I notice it with a lot of custom buildings. I know that with Lot Editor, you cannot just leave tiles blank. And with certain lots that are spread out with openings, sometimes lots can look out of place depending on which terrain mod a player has chosen.

I'd pitch the idea of making some of the base textures transparent. I know there was a tutorial somewhere on how to do it but since I don't lot very often I never had the opportunity to try it out. I notice with certain industrial buildings they tend to be conservative in their landscaping, only focusing on parts of the land they are using and then just fencing off the rest of the property. The former Rancho Seco nuclear plant is like that, with it's land blending in with the surrounding area to it's east and south side.

[nos.17 5,120]

@airman15 ... While it is true that base textures cannot be left transparent with the LE, you can do exactly that in the PIMX. This cuts out the need for authors to use transparent textures and just leave those tiles void of a base texture. One could achieve the effect you are looking for with just overlays, but then those tiles will be susceptible to the water bug. It is a compromise, and depends on which program one uses.

[T Wrecks 10,209]

You can also note the IID of the base texture, open the LotConfigExcemplar in iLive's Reader and simply delete the corresponding lines.

If you use the same base texture all over the lot and only want to delete it on, say, three tiles, simply add the textures on these three tiles last - the LE adds the lines for textures, building, and props in chronological order, meaning that the three last textures added will be found in the three last lines.

[rsc204 21,808]

Either you have no base/overlay textures and complete transparency, achieved by either method above. Or if you decide to have "some" transparency whilst including any other texture on the tile, it will cause the Water Bug in game. Using transparent base textures is a waste of time, it's no different from simply not using one and is wasting (albeit a small amount) memory.

If your lots will be used on flat land, a good solution is using S3D props, which can include transparency. It's really easy to make them, but it's worth noting you can't use LE textures with S3Ds. The big drawback is that unlike textures, these can't conform to slopes very well.

[Belfastsocrates 1,753]

The geothermal plant is very exciting! There's some excellent large 'dirty' power stations out there which I can't use given that I've made Perseus a country that does not use coal or oil so geothermal is something that excites me greatly as I can use them

Time is something we all struggle with, I wouldn't stress out too much, people have the same issues and appreciate real life gets in the way. I've been dying to get back into SC4 and start posting new contents and updates by this summer has been manic and I've had little to no free time. 

 

[MushyMushy 3,617]

I think that with the geothermal plant I'll probably keep the base texture set I made for it. I'd prefer to avoid the water bug on a such a large lot (plus I put a fair bit of work into the base texture), and the texture should match up to some extent with the Appalachian Terrain Mod, as I was looking at it while I made the texture.

---

That aside, the School Bus Prop Pack is now live! I'm hoping this is the beginning of me finally knocking out some of these mostly-finished projects currently collecting dust on my HDD. Click the image to get to the download page.

[Ceafus 88 1,794]

I have not been following the BAT threads like I should, but the other day I logged in again and found your thread for the first time. (I'm sorry ) I was absolutely blown away. Your modular pipes, the school buses, those greasy oil trucks, I love it all. Wonderful work you do in here and I am so glad I decided to come back here to read some of it. I cannot wait for your 3ds Max texturing tutorial, as it would help me and a lot of others who cannot texture something to save their life. Excellent work, I look forward to whats to come!

[MushyMushy 3,617]

@Ceafus 88 - Thanks for the nice comment! I'm hoping to release more of my mostly-finished work soon.

---

Coming soon to a STEX near you!

Doing the finishing touches on my submission for the Facelift Challenge. As per what was allowed, this one stretches the rules to some extent, as Willmott Widget Assembly was originally a Stage 3 I-M Outbuilding, so I made a new exemplar for a Stage 3 I-M Anchor. The lot size (6x5) is one of (the largest) WWA's default sizes. Fun fact with that, it's one of the largest growables in the game.

I also tried something that I know CP did with some of his individual props a long time ago (shadows): I added in correctly-sized boxes to my scenes when BATting the props to represent the buildings. This way the fences, cars, and trucks all have cast shadows on them. Looks pretty neat I think! Only have two dependencies so far too: JES Props Vol 1 and the prop files from LRM (don't have to install the overrides if you don't want, I just used the tall light towers from the prop set).

And yes, those are all custom trucks that say Willmott Widget Assembly on them.

[kingofsimcity 5,739]

I love the little subtle details that you added to make the business feel alive. From the company branded trucks, custom base textures to imperfect parking, this is a stellar facelift! Inspiring and fantastic work!

[MushyMushy 3,617]

I'd just like to pop in and give an update on my situation. For those who haven't read my two posts on the thread about hard drive failure, I've been having fun with computer problems for about two weeks. Turns out it wasn't the drive itself but my Windows master boot record got corrupted and due to other problems (such as it taking 2-24 hours to react to clicks) it was hard to navigate the windows to repair it. The drive has been replaced with a new SSD so I'm back in business and will kick it back into BATting gear as time permits. Unfortunately the Windows problem on the HDD made the disc unreadable and unusable because  when I tried to put it in to wipe it and format it as a storage drive it froze my computer. I'll have to deal with replacing that eventually I guess...

So since I usually have a picture in my posts in my thread, here's what I've been working on for two weeks (high quality BAT for sure ):

I'll just throw in it was hard looking at this rather than my Windows 7 desktop for 2 weeks.

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Noice rig, mate! Here's to hoping it will let you proceed at full steam again.

[rsc204 21,808]

I had a similar problem a little while back under Windows 7, I really thought for a while I was stuffed, but I did manage to recover it eventually using the tools on the Windows disk and some DOS commands. But even for someone who knows what they're doing, it was a hideous process that took a day to sort. It doesn't help that among other things, System Restore is really bad for an SSDs lifespan, so I keep it disabled on my Windows drive. Usually, system restore will get you out of trouble one way or another.

Do you have a Windows Recovery disk? If you've an OEM Windows (installed on HDD), you'll need to make one. Otherwise you can boot from the Windows disk to get to the recovery tools you need. I must say, as a long time Windows user, Windows 7 has been able to recover from situations which would have made toast of previous versions. For all the stick MS get, some things have improved hugely. As part of this suite of tools is a dedicated MBR repair tool.

At this point if you're up and running, but don't have precious data to worry about, I'd delete all the partitions (using Disk Management). Set up a new partition, then format the drive. Assuming it's not faulty, that should have the drive running again. Check the manufacturer of the drive's website for diagnostic tools too before using it though. There should be something to scan your drive and report any fatal errors, so you at least will know exactly where you stand.

If you do have data you want, your best bet to recover it may actually be using a LiveCD (or USB stick) with Linux. Often Linux can see partitions Windows can't, because it ignores the MBR and other system partitions that Windows may need before it lets you access data on other partitions.

[art128 4,618]

I'm getting triggered by that cable management!

 

Seconding MGB's idea about a loonix live boot, helped me more than I care to admit.

[T Wrecks 10,209]

18 hours ago, art128 said:

I'm getting triggered by that cable management!

What cable management?

[AndisArt 2,066]

Some great work going on here, especially for an area of BATs that is underrepresented on the BAT, industrial.

And boy, I'm in love with that fire station!   Stunning work...

 

[rsc204 21,808]

On ‎09‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 3:58 PM, T Wrecks said:

What cable management?

I couldn't afford to employ a manger for my cables either, so I let them manage themselves.

[airman15 4,111]

Even if your rig needs work, it still puts my 14" Vaio to shame.. Seriously, I couldn't even render a model in the regular BAT on High Quality without it giving a "not responding" error!

Those industrial buildings are just gorgeous! I haven't really picked up on industries lately since they all eventually turn into hi-tech sectors. That lot could very well change that!

[MushyMushy 3,617]

*Here comes a snowplow to remove the dust that has accumulated*

Time to post something here! I've been setting my programs back up (finally) and fiddled around with things today. Yes, I really haven't set everything back up since I reinstalled my OS last year. Had to re-familiarize myself with the workflow process. Aren't creative slumps great?

I didn't really do too much new stuff today, but I'm working towards finishing the props for Simmer2's oil refinery mega lot. A refresher: the pipe props are mostly intended to replace and expand upon NBVC's pipeline set, and the vehicles are meant to replace and expand upon the stuff Simmer2 used from the jes prop packs. I went back and catalogued everything I had finished or worked on for it, exported several things that had not been exported, and made a new thing or two. There's still several props I've yet to export and several more I need to make (some of which are partially finished or just need to be assembled from already-finished components), but here's some images.

Most of this is stuff you have seen but some of it is newly exported and some of it is entirely new. This is only stuff that is officially finished, so there are several other things that may as well be but I just haven't exported them. Don't mind the lack of cast shadows... these were taken in the LE which doesn't display them...

I have a lot of unexported pipes, so there will be a fairly large increase in the versatility soon...

Looks like this is my 1,900th post...

[philforhockey51 4,211]

Mushy is back in Action! 

[raynev1 1,886]

Wow , that stuff looks amazing . 

[airman15 4,111]

This... this is brilliant! I know those pipes alone will change pipe infrastructure practically forever!

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Yup, those pipes look like the future gold standard. This is not to say that the vehicles are any less amazing, but we have seen great vehicle models before whereas practically all pipeline-related stuff out there is showing its age. It's good to see you set up and back in action!

[metarvo 710]

Welcome back to BATting, Mushy!  Those pipelines are going to be revolutionary.  Good work! 

[Sciurus 323]

Excellent, I think I miss those type of pipes too, so very interesting work, keep it up !

[tigerbuilder 131]

Glad to see you back in action! This all looks super. Thank you for all your work.  

[MushyMushy 3,617]

Thanks for all the nice replies!

I worked on the pipes some more but didn't have enough ready to justify images. Instead of that, I have an image of another set of substitutes for jes stuff.

Along with the flatbed carrying the front end loader (from my previous post), these are intended to replace these models:

---

On a side note, I don't recall if I posted this or not. I'm replacing the two different sizes of oil storage tanks from NBVC's set, and a while ago I got pretty close to being done with the smaller one (fits in a 2x2) - it just needs an external pipe hookup and more detailing on the floating roof-thingy (as well as variations that simulate various levels of fullness). The larger one (3x3) wouldn't be hard to make from it.

-Mushy

[matias93 7,535]

Life is better when Mushy is batting, take that as an article of faith!

[JP Schriefer 5,590]

OMG the models look great, but the textures are so perfect *-*

[matias93 7,535]

Just by the way, I don't want to be picky, but I remember that the oil tanks that have mobile covers also have retractile stairs to access the cover surface. And considering there will be several versions differently filled, it would be nice to see them used as timed props!