Avanya's buildings (Update 7/1: Cargo rail stations released)

[Avanya 2,605]

So I've been busy playing Snowfall and checking my assets. My oil tanks do have a weird effect with the snow on the sides, which is due to me not knowing what I know now about shading. I have wanted to go back to my first assets and improve them anyways and now will prob be the time (while a take a short break from doing recycling :P). I want to update textures as well, but I'm wondering how big changes I should do and when it's better to stick to the original design.

On the left is the current version with a concrete look. Since then I've realised tanks like these actually have steel plating.  I also wanted to make a more interesting roof in the same process. I think I'm definately on the right track, but I'm not sure if the leaking/rust is too much. I've also changed the logo to only be on the front and not both back and front (I had left way too much empty space on my texture map, so figured I'd use it for something). I will also look into making a staircase around it like on my small biogas facility (hoping it won't increase the tris too much). Anyways if you guys have any feedback on improving my older assets please let me know. I don't want to change things so much ppl will miss the old one - then I'd rather have two versions.  

(Oh and the right one doesn't have anything but diffuse texture atm)

[Koesj 659]

I think the new one looks fantastic!

[boformer 3,169]

I also like the new one. You could use the colormap to randomize the rust and dirt intensity.

[Avanya 2,605]

10 hours ago, boformer said:

I also like the new one. You could use the colormap to randomize the rust and dirt intensity.

Good idea! I keep seeing ppl doing this and then forget when I do my own buildings

[Avanya 2,605]

So I played around with the terrain theme editor and ended up with a semi desert theme I'm pretty happy with. I have some other ideas, but they'll have to wait. My focus now is the recycling center and updating my oil and ore growables. Doing the alpha map for the new staircase around the oil tank got boring and Snowfall is full of new distractions.   Anyways here's my semi desert theme!

[boformer 3,169]

I love the oil texture!

[Feindbold 1,190]

Looking really nice, especially the oil texture!

[Avanya 2,605]

Ty guys  Glad you like the oil texture - I really wanted that dried and cracked texture and figured oil would be a good choice

[GC_Vos 714]

Looks sweet! I might actually steal that dried earth idea if you don't mind.

[Avanya 2,605]

Sure go ahead!   

A bit of progress on my oil tank. Left one is without color applied (it's never gonna be completely clean  ) and then a few variations. Stairs are more or less done and I redid the railing at the top to be alpha mapped instead. I tried that when I first made it but I sucked at alpha maps back then and it didn't look good. So I modelled it, which was barely visible. Might add a top of the railing on the stairs - the tris count is a bit lower than the original, so I can afford that. And then it'll need a normal map.

[Matthias King 348]

These look awesome. I can't wait until they're finished.

Would it be possible to make one that isn't oil-specific? It would be nice to put some of those at my port or other places that aren't zoned for oil industry.

[Avanya 2,605]

Tyvm As a park/ploppable or as generic industry?

[Matthias King 348]

Generic Industry, though a ploppable might be better. You could have it anywhere, but it wouldn't create traffic like industry does.

[Ocram's Razr 964]

I would make it a ploppable, then you can make it compatible with ploppable RICO

[Avanya 2,605]

19 hours ago, OcramsRzr said:

I would make it a ploppable, then you can make it compatible with ploppable RICO

I won't set it up for RICO since it's a 4x4 growable. It could work as a subbuilding of a refinery, but I'm not sure it would really be worth it. Would be much more flexible to just place the park or growable version nearby.

I finished the fixed roof oil tank today and it's up as both a growable (should just replace the old one in cities) and a park/ploppable. The Shell version will be next as it's a minor change

[Roadman20 601]

Yasss, more fuel tanks for the fuel god.

[Avanya 2,605]

Last update for today I promise.  I ended up doing the Shell version even though I was planning on leaving it for tomorrow. I also put up the default van from the game as a prop. And I've done a bit on the next part of my modular recycling center.  

[Matthias King 348]

The tanks look awesome, and thank you for the van.

I can't wait until your recycling center is done. I've been looking forward to seeing that one when it's finished.

[Ocram's Razr 964]

Those oil tanks look great! They fit in perfectly amongst L1 Industry and refineries! If high volume import/export buildings & trucks are ever implemented (semi trucks with capacities between default trucks and freight trains), your oil tanks would be perfect as sub-buildings for a petroleum depot. If ploppable sub-buildings were ever implemented (like in SimCity 2013), they would be even more useful.

[Avanya 2,605]

Plastic MRF is done and I finally got around to looking at stats for them. All the MRFs will have slightly varying stats as I found it too boring to just have them all the same. I looked at the landfill and incinerator's stats as well as the popular recycling centers on the workshop. Later today I plan on testing them in a city to see if they feel under or overpowered.  I'm gonna do paper and scrap (I think) and then I'll release the whole thing. And then when I have more time I'll look into adding extra fancy things to them with RICO.

[Matthias King 348]

I'm looking forward to them!

My only suggestion would be to use the vanilla industrial fence, or maybe Soldyne's chain-link fence instead of the hedge. Just my opinion.

[Avanya 2,605]

The hedges aren't meant as deviders which is why I picked them over any fence. They're just a bit of green decoration - alot of the modern recycling centers I looked at for inspiration have neat little green areas. Let me know if it looks strange like that - I could always add a flowerbed under them like the main building has.

Today I got a bit distracted by Boformer's Vanilla Asset Review and ended up releasing an improved version of a vanilla house, Anne's Home Sweet Home.   And now back to my recycling center! (Unless there are more distractions)

[boformer 3,169]

[Avanya 2,605]

They look really good together like that!  

[Avanya 2,605]

The paper MRF is pretty much done - no stacks of paper though as I figured having it outside makes it go everywhere. Instead there's a bunch of tanks and pipes as lots of water is used to recycle paper. Not sure I'm happy with the props. The containers aren't that pretty, but the front area also looked a bit too empty with nothing there.  

[Matthias King 348]

Looking better all the time.

[Avanya 2,605]

Ty ^^ Today I played around with the terrain theme manager again. This time I went for a tundra look - inspired especially by Greenlands nature. Not sure I'm happy with it though. The bright red/orange plants in the greener moss is hard to capture in Skylines.  It kinda just gets brown. With fertile land and oil I managed to get some decent effect though. Sand is snow - considered ice/glacier, but the textures I had to work with just wouldn't look good with it. As tundras are very bare there's also some tiling visible. 

Got a pic from where I took inspiration and a screenshot of my progress  

 

[Avanya 2,605]

Figured I'd share a little WIP picture. I'm working on a material handler prop for my scrapyard/metal recycling. It's currently at 1.4k tris but I'm hoping to get it a bit lower - gotta test how much detail is actually visible in the game   It's coming along nicely though and shouldn't be too long before it's done (metal recycling is halfway done).

[Ryno917 102]

Looks cool! I think you can probably shave a lot of tris from the tires and the hydraulic arms.

Tires you could have the sides just be one solid polygon (2 triangles) with an alpha for the round shape as seen from the side, and then make the circumference an 8 or 10 sided shape and really cut down on the polys there. With proper smoothing you won't even be able to tell it's low poly! If that made no sense, I can whip up a mockup image of what I mean. 

The hydraulics you could probably get away with making a consistent diameter all the way through instead of modeling both the piston and the cylinder, and then just differentiate them through the texture. That would cut their poly count in half, and they should probably be no more than 6-sided.

[Mr_Maison 2,426]

Some awesome works Avanya! Love those tanks especially.