BoldlyBuilding's Assets (Update & Harold Washington Library)

[boldlybuilding 873]

I've released two additional versions of the original house, you can find them below:

1B: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=645702117

1C: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=645727581

They're on 3x4 and 2x4 lots, still level 1 for now.

There are only three of these for now, but even with the few differences between them and the color variations for each, it can already make a nice suburban development:

I just have to figure out the driveways. They don't look good on hills. Raising them slightly would help, but these are best built on flatter ground. I can't use the game's inbuilt concrete tiles, they're too big as they cover whole tiles, and ped paths are either too small or too big and difficult to  control (and have lights on them). Maybe making them props that conform to land might work, but I'm not sure how many of them I'd need. Maybe it's something I'll try in the future. Fences would be good to do at that time, too, and AC units, like the old Neo Eclectic set did.

[Avanya 2,605]

Maybe the driveways could work as decals? I haven't tried making any, but it's doable. @boformer has made a few. And I believe they conform to the terrain.  Looks awesome and can't wait to use them

[boformer 3,169]

3 hours ago, Avanya said:

Maybe the driveways could work as decals? I haven't tried making any, but it's doable. @boformer has made a few. And I believe they conform to the terrain.  Looks awesome and can't wait to use them

Yup, that would be a good use of decals. I hope that we will be able to create larger decals soon...

[Darf 1,439]

IMO these driveways look better than the decals.

[boldlybuilding 873]

Another home done with two versions:

2A:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=646038696

2B:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=646092449

And I didn't want to do it until I had more houses up, but I started a collection for these now, which you can find here:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=646175418

[Matthias King 348]

I am really liking these new houses. They look fantastic.

[Simulanten 681]

Great buildings! I use those older ones a lot for gated communities and creepy suburbs - but their texturing never convinced me.

I always wonder how to use repetitive window textures with a bit more depth and variety. It's the only thing that I would improve a bit about your textures - right now they look a bit "dead" and plain. I'm totally new to modeling assets and I don't know if it would make sense to create a normal map for profiling the window frames? And insert a bit more curtains or shades on the diffuse maps?

Thanks for those!

[Ryno917 102]

Looking great! I agree with Simulanten, though, that the windows are a bit flat looking. Maybe being more aggressive with the normal map for the frames, in conjunction with some baked in shading, would help punch them up?

Looking great otherwise! I'll be subbing for sure

[boldlybuilding 873]

I might look into adding contrast to the windows, but otherwise I don't know what else I can do. I have normal maps, but they're based on the diffuse images and don't show up well. I have to do a ton of these houses and it'd take forever to add better detailing to every window in every texture and variation by modeling everything out. Even if I did, it probably wouldn't show up much, and I don't think the added effect would be worth the time. Adding a bit of diffuse shading or increasing contrast would be the best way, though.

[boldlybuilding 873]

So, I just got a really made idea. Hear me out on it...

The whole level thing has been confusing, and dumb. It's the one aspect of the game I'm not sure about, and is unrealistic. I also know that Boformer wants to do away with that system. However, let's assume the system stays. Let's also assume my following idea can be optional, and people can just wait for level 5 to grow, and would best be used with Boformer's themes mod, without prefab cloning. Now for the reason I want to do this thing...

These developments don't start out as lesser houses that get upgraded. They start out with streets, then gradually a bunch of dirt plots pop up and over time houses are built, the end result being the complete houses. Sometimes, especially in hard times, construction slows. Lots all over a development can be empty dirt plots for years. If it's really bad, construction might be slow. Which brings me to my idea...

What if I make a series of lots for construction stages? Not for each house, but for each level and lot size that will be used. As there are quite a few lot sizes, I can bundle all the different lot-size construction lots into bundles that can be uploaded as single assets to sub to, those divided into levels. So there be an "American Eclectic Construction Set - Level 1", which would include 10 lots or however many are needed for the different lot sizes, and so on up to LVL 4. Each set of lots will have more built for each level. They need not have large textures, either, it's all simple details.

I went on a search in Google Earth, specifically areas with 3D imagery, to see if I could illustrate my idea. At first I was going to make a collage of images of lots at different stages of construction, but amazingly, I found an actual set of 5 lots, all adjacent in in order, that show the different stages of construction I want to do. It's some development outside Houston. Here it is:

Here's what each collection of lots would be:

LEVEL 1:

Dirt. Just dirt. A bit of grass. Some dirt piles, perhaps, wood and jun props, or just nothing. These will spawn at first when you build a development and apply the eclectic theme.

LEVEL 2:

A concrete pad. Or parts of a concrete pad, so the shape isn't specific to any one house. Maybe there would be a few piles of dirt or bits of wood and junk around.

LEVEL 3:

A partially-built house. It would be less complete than in the above photo. Bits of a concrete pad, some walls, bits of floor. All 2x4 pieces of wood. Dirt and equipment around.

LEVEL 4:

Mostly-built house, but less complete than in the above photo, closer to Level 3 in the photo. More wood, partial driveways in place, more junk.

LEVEL 5:

Completed homes.

This would be option for people. It means all my eclectic homes will be level 5, including the ones I uploaded now, which will be updated to 5. I don't know if that would be an issue, but if I'm going to do this, I should do it now. It wouldn't take long at all. But people can just sub to the final homes, and wait for these homes to grow. But if they want to use these construction lots, they can do so either in general, or, as intended, in tandem with the building themes mod.

I'm really keen to do this. What do you think?

EDIT: I've just realized though that even if someone uses these with the themes mod, that won't stop the construction lots from showing up elsewhere in the city. I wonder if there's a way to make it so these lots would ONLY appear in approved themes. I could also get rid of the set for level 4, and just make final houses range from levels 4-5, and construction only across 1-3. Otherwise, if this idea would not seem to pan out well, I'll just release these houses scattered across all 5 levels as originally planned.

[Ocram's Razr 964]

I still think that these houses should start out small L2 and get additions (expanded garage, left wing, right wing, second floor) and changed props and textures if you want to represent levels as they do now as wealth+density. If you want levels to represent density only, then textures, props, and lot sizes would stay the same within the same wealth level and renovations add new apartments instead of more space for the one family.

[boldlybuilding 873]

2 minutes ago, OcramsRzr said:

I still think that these houses should start out small L2 and get additions (expanded garage, left wing, right wing, second floor) and changed props and textures if you want to represent levels as they do now as wealth+density. If you want levels to represent density only, then textures, props, and lot sizes would stay the same within the same wealth level and renovations add new apartments instead of more space for the one family.

The problem with that is I will have a ton of different designs, and I can't possibly have different versions of the same general design for each level and lot size.

Hearkening back to the issue of construction stages not just being in certain districts, I wonder, if I were to make these lots, if it would be possible to do a mod that makes it so those lots would only be built in districts with the eclectic theme?

[Cool_Z 1,547]

26 minutes ago, boldlybuilding said:

The whole level thing has been confusing, and dumb. It's the one aspect of the game I'm not sure about, and is unrealistic.

The level system of CSL is the worst part of the game.

 

In a good neighborhood, houses should directly grow at the according level, not go through all levels.

[boldlybuilding 873]

Also, here's what I figure the max and minimum lot sizes would be for both the final homes and construction stages:

No final home will be bigger (obviously) than 4x4, and no smaller than 2x3 (for small narrow houses or ones with side-loading garages). Though I might just do away with the two on the left, those would be for smaller homes with side-loading garages, and the side-loaders, very very very few, I do have would go on the larger lots. So actually I think just 6 possible lot sizes, so 6 lots for each construction stage, or 8 to allow for a couple variations in that.

However, these being built all over a city would be an issue, so I still wonder if there would be a way to prevent that mod-wise.

[boldlybuilding 873]

35 minutes ago, AJ3D said:

Its an interesting idea...

Another thought to keep in mind is rising home values.

I live about an hour south of Indy, so just like you, I know that these things are built on sub-divided corn fields on the edges of towns. You always see those tacky billboards that advertise prices in the low 100's. There's never any trees , the grass is dead, and they are often out in the middle of nowhere.

However, once some trees start to grow and the area is built up more, you do see rising home values. So maybe your level 1 versions could have yellow grass and no trees, and the level 5 versions could have green grass with lots of big trees.

The current rough draft design of the growable overhaul mod would re-purpose the building levels to represent density, and wealth would be a new added value with 3 levels ($, $$, $$$).

I think you have something there. But there would be no LVL 5 construction stages, only final houses. Taking your suggestion on board, I would make LVL 1 plan grass, but with a tree or two here and there, so even if they're built, they won't look too terrible being everywhere and would quickly upgrade to construction sites. That would leave LVLS 2-4 for construction stages with dirt and stuff.

[Judazzz 1,936]

I like the idea of buildings going through several stages before reaching maximum potential, however - given we stick with the current leveling system - it would imply that only L5 houses would be completed: all the other levels combined (which irl. I'd guess would make up more than 90% of the total housing stock in a city or county) would be under construction. That means that if you want to create a district that doesn't look like a perpetual construction area, all buildings need to level all the way up to L5.

Given the current mechanics, I tend to agree with OcramsRzr that growable buildings should be completed homes (they are inhabited after all), but that the wealth level should be visually obvious, going from L1 being a smaller, simple version built with cheap materials with a messy backyard, yellow grass, gravel driveway, obligatory sofa, empty beer cans and car wreck in the front yard, etc., all the way up to L5, a larger version made of more luxurious materials with a bay windows, dormers, twin garage, perfectly manicured lawn, exotic plants, fancy props, etc.

If it would somehow be possible to implement sub-stages per wealth level (which could represent stages of construction), it would be a whole different story, but with the current system with 5 levels having a system in which only the highest/wealthiest level represents an actual, inhabitable house seems a bit odd to me.

Just my 2 cents  

[boldlybuilding 873]

Ugh, I hate this.

The problem is I'm modeling these houses on real houses. They don't come in "smaller versions that look crappier." They're all pretty much the same size, some just have smaller garages or are one story, but I do not want only those on lower levels with everything higher up being two story with big garages. I want it all to be mixed together, just as in real life.

Give me a few minutes to rethink the idea...

[Judazzz 1,936]

I did a quick Google search to see what results would pop up when looking for low-income suburban homes (not sure if the link returns the same results for everyone), and it returned quite a lot of examples of small houses that would supplement the ones you've released so far pretty well: overall looks are rather similar, but obviously they are smaller, look cheaper, etc.

A few examples:

Just a few quick examples.

[Judazzz 1,936]

3 minutes ago, AJ3D said:

The houses hes modeling are often built on ex-farm fields. They don't really develop or grow from anything in a CSL sort of way. They take 3-4 designs, and build dozens of them on a single field. It always takes a year or two for the grass to grow on the depleted farm soil, and 15-20 years for any trees to start to grow.

I just added a couple photo's to my previous comment to illustrate my point. They don't look very imaginative design-wise, but I think you could create a nice range of houses throughout all wealth levels with these in combination with the ones BB already released (the photo's being L1, BB's current set L3/4, which would require a few buildings that are in between those for L2, and a few more super-fancy ones for L5).

One thing that got me thinking however is that I suspect the vast majority of players hardly ever use leveling control mods like Control Building Level Up (if at all), and instead just let the leveling mechanics run their course. So kit may be a valid question to wonder how relevant L1/2 buildings are at all, as in most cases residential buildings will quickly level up to at least L3 as soon as a few services are in place (it takes more effort to keep homes at L1/2 than to let them level up to at least L3). So perhaps it is an idea to simply focus on the higher wealth levels (L3 and up), and leave it to those who want a full range of these homes to create clones with the Building Themes mod, or edit the existing ones in the Asset Editor themselves to create L1/2.

[boldlybuilding 873]

Okay, I've done a bit of rethinking. How about this...

LEVEL 1:

Just-begun houses, where construction has just begun. This would range from concrete pads with some framework to sparsely-complete framework. No complete houses would be on this level. Barely complete houses would look like this or less:

LEVEL 2:

Partially or mostly-complete houses, ranging from "piles of wood" to paneled houses with papering material and roofs. I might mix in a couple completed houses, too. Those would have no trees and few props, and would generally be on the smaller side perhaps. The complete ones will be part of the usual collection. The incomplete ones part of a batched asset. The partially complete ones would look like this:

LEVEL 3:

A mix of mostly complete houses and complete houses. Both mostly complete and complete houses will have few props and no trees. Both will have dead grass. Mostly complete houses will have no siding, instead will have that paper/insulation stuff that often covers newly-built houses. A small selection of houses in the mostly-complete style may be uploaded either individually or as a set. Possibly as a set as with the lower levels of construction stages. Most in LVL 3 will be the complete kind, with the mostly-complete ones in a set, or if they amount to a large file-size, separate, so they can be optional. Below is shown a complete house with dead grass, left, and a mostly complete house, right (though they'll be more complete than that, but with smaller textures and less detail):

LEVEL 4:

Complete houses. Few or no trees or other props. Green grass. They would look like this:

LEVEL 5:

Complete houses. Possibly the largest houses with a smattering of smaller ones. Lots of trees and green grass and other stuff. They would look like this:

Houses won't necessarily be the same between levels. Their main difference will be in the grass and props/trees, and maybe general fanciness. I'll have to update my existing assets on the Workshop to fit into the new scheme, though I might leave 2A as it is, and 2B higher, but updated with dead grass, with a couple additional versions in upper levels.

Also, if L1 buildings level up quickly, plain constructions sites won't last long. If L2 houses don't stick around and are easy to upgrade, then by L3, you'd only have a few houses which are pretty much complete, just with papering and dead grass and a few less details, but most would be complete. By L4, they're all complete. Most houses would be in the L4-5 range, with a good selection in L3 and only a few smaller ones in L2. None complete in L1.

Would this work better?

[Ryno917 102]

2 hours ago, AJ3D said:

I live about an hour south of Indy, so just like you, I know that these things are built on sub-divided corn fields on the edges of towns. You always see those tacky billboards that advertise prices in the low 100's.

Holy crap! If you want a house in a suburb of Toronto, you're looking at mid 200s for something a good 40 minutes drive out of the city center (if you get lucky and there isn't any traffic at all, which never happens here). You'd have to go a few hours out of the city to hit something in the low 100s, if that's even still a possibility in this province.

1 hour ago, Judazzz said:

I did a quick Google search to see what results would pop up when looking for low-income suburban homes (not sure if the link returns the same results for everyone), and it returned quite a lot of examples of small houses that would supplement the ones you've released so far pretty well: overall looks are rather similar, but obviously they are smaller, look cheaper, etc.

 

1 hour ago, AJ3D said:

The houses hes modeling are often built on ex-farm fields. They don't really develop or grow from anything in a CSL sort of way. They take 3-4 designs, and build dozens of them on a single field. It always takes a year or two for the grass to grow on the depleted farm soil, and 15-20 years for any trees to start to grow.

As AJ3D mentioned, these types of residential developments don't have 'wealth levels.' They take 1-3 basic designs, each with a couple options (shutters on the windows, one or two car garage, siding and roofing options, etc) and then once enough people have 'bought' into the development, they batch-build the houses. There's no wealth levels, they're all the same, basically.

They're bland, soulless, lifeless and depressing. They are a perfect example of why I hate suburbs. Cookie-cutter houses with no inspiration or originality tightly packed into the middle of nowhere with no trees and jerk-offs for neighbours.

BoldyBuilding has captured this perfectly. Almost makes me want to build some suburbs of my own!

45 minutes ago, boldlybuilding said:

Okay, I've done a bit of rethinking. How about this...

LEVEL 1:

Just-begun houses, where construction has just begun. This would range from concrete pads with some framework to sparsely-complete framework. No complete houses would be on this level. Barely complete houses would... <SNIP FOR LENGTH>

I think this is an awesome idea.

  Edited March 16, 2016 by Ryno917  

[boldlybuilding 873]

So as it turns out, you can actually use Boformer's Building Themes mod to prevent those construction lots from growing all over the city, and keep them within developments populated by these houses. So even if I were to do something closer to my original plan, it wouldn't be an issue, though it'd still have to be optional for more casual players, and the construction lots would be best used by more die-hard players.

[Matthias King 348]

The houses under construction might be better suited to parks or unique buildings with all the tourism/attractiveness removed. Basically just glorified props for aesthetic use only, the sell that sense of the suburb development under construction, where most of the houses are done, but there are a few blocks or cul-de-sacs that haven't been completed. That could be cool.

[boldlybuilding 873]

That sort of ruins the point though, which is to give a genuine sense that things are growing and being built. If you have to place them yourself, what's the point? Especially if you have to place a couple hundred of them though a big development. No, the point is for them to grow, otherwise there's no reason to do it.

[Cool_Z 1,547]

Houses under construction would be awesome if they could work in place of the ingame construction method, and much slower (because houses don't grow like mushrooms usually).

...and if they could grow directly at the right level.

[Matthias King 348]

8 hours ago, boldlybuilding said:

That sort of ruins the point though, which is to give a genuine sense that things are growing and being built. If you have to place them yourself, what's the point? Especially if you have to place a couple hundred of them though a big development. No, the point is for them to grow, otherwise there's no reason to do it.

The only problem is the idea of people living in them. People 'living' in an undeveloped concrete slab seems kind of silly.

Plus I don't just zone big areas and let things grow, but that's just me. 

[boldlybuilding 873]

17 minutes ago, Matthias King said:

The only problem is the idea of people living in them. People 'living' in an undeveloped concrete slab seems kind of silly.

Plus I don't just zone big areas and let things grow, but that's just me. 

- I plan to put small construction trailers on the lots so that is less ridiculous. Granted people don;t live in those trailers, but it's better than nothing.

- I think that's just a matter of taste. But keep in mind this is intended to work with these particular assets, which are made to be built in big developments where everything is laid out and zoned in advance and left to grow.

[boldlybuilding 873]

New houses are done:

A: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=646811973

B: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=646845053

C: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=646864944

D: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=646924281

And their respective screenshots:

[Judazzz 1,936]

Holy... wow.... those brick textures are amazing!!!

[Koesj 659]

These houses are fantastic.