Cori's Conversion Project

[CorinaMarie 29,558]

As I learned in the Atlantis Condo Error topic, the Atlantis Condominium Landmark is only for the original game and does not work in Unlimited. So, I've installed the original game, added the required plugin, and here's what it looks like:

^ That little arrow is showing one of the ways to recognize old SC3.

 

My first step was to lasso and copy the building:

 

Then I opened the 5x5 template-0.bmp file that comes with the SimCity 3000 Unlimited Rendering Kit:

 

Next I extended the canvas upward to 558 pixels whilst anchoring it in the lower left corner:

^ In case you are wondering, that #FF00FF pink background is the required color to be transparent.

 

Next I pasted and positioned the building on my Condo Base template I'd just made:

 

Now, ofc, I should clean up the debris, but I first wanted to see it converted to an Unlimited Landmark. So I did the same for the other 3 sides and off to the Rendering Kit:

 

And here it is in an Unlimited game:

^ Notice there is still clean up to do. (And the pink arrow shows one of the indications we are in the Unlimited game.)

 

After more cleanup on that side, but still not completely done:

 

And I still have the other 3 sides to work on.

 

[Cool_Z 1,547]

But... I'm using SC3KU and i've got this monument... 

[CorinaMarie 29,558]

2 minutes ago, Cool_Z said:

But... I'm using SC3KU and i've got this monument... 

Really? How'd you get it? I couldn't make the original one work in Unlimited. After a whole topic about it we decided it was only available for the original game.

[SecretMbr_735754 2,157]

This is an excellent building for a coastline.  If there's now 2 versions of the same building that will work in SC3U then all the better.

[CorinaMarie 29,558]

1 minute ago, RandyE said:

If there's now 2 versions of the same building that will work in SC3U then all the better.

Well, I'm going to abandon my project if I'm just being dumb and can't get the original one to work like @Cool_Z did.

[SecretMbr_735754 2,157]

14 minutes ago, CorinaMarie said:

Well, I'm going to abandon my project if I'm just being dumb and can't get the original one to work like @Cool_Z did.

But if the one you have from City-Builders didn't work while others did, and there is no other known source for the file, then we don't get to download and use it.   Either way, it would be nice to have at least 1 version that works. 

[CorinaMarie 29,558]

1 minute ago, RandyE said:

But if the one you have from City-Builders didn't work while others did, and there is no other known source for the file, then we don't get to download and use it.   Either way, it would be nice to have at least 1 version that works. 

I presume @Cool_Z will provide a copy that works or explain how to make the one from catty work.

[Cool_Z 1,547]

I don't get it... you've got a copy of SC3KU without the Atlantis Condo ? Because the fact that "these files are not made for SC3K Unlimited" is... because they're already there... no ? 

[CorinaMarie 29,558]

2 minutes ago, Cool_Z said:

... they're already there... no ? 

Ah. My list isn't sorted alphabetically.

Yep. It's in there.

Ok, just disregard all of the above.

[Cool_Z 1,547]

[Cool_Z 1,547]

Actually this topic reminded me of soething I've already been trying to do (without success) and that (even if the results for have been nada) I wanted to try to push forward again... and even expand...

Conversion... from game to game.

I've already asked twice in the SC4 builders section if someone was interested in converting my Cities:Skylines buildings for SC4... but apparently there are too many SC4 buildings being released these days... *cough cough*

I've given one of my buildings files to another french citybuilder player and he converted it to Cities XL (here, bottom of the page : http://xlnation.city/threads/drazicdesign-project.2283/page-6 )... and that's it.

Wouldn't it be nice if the builders for different games shared their work instead of sitting in their respective corners ?????

Imagine the number of buildings more we would get for the games we love ? Ok there's still a bit of conversion/rendering/etc job... but it's amazingly less than creating stuff from scratch.

[SecretMbr_735754 2,157]

If a conversion needs to be made then we have a good resource here for making the conversion.  More information seems to be yet required.  So all of the landmarks that were for SC3K are present in any distribution of SC3U?   There seems to be more to the puzzle as represented in the Atlantic Condo Error discussion.  A lot of references are made there to different .DLL files that may signal an error.  This topic is in regard to SimCity 3000?  

[catty-cb 4,381]

1 hour ago, CorinaMarie said:

Ah. My list isn't sorted alphabetically.

Yep. It's in there.

Ok, just disregard all of the above.

So I need to update CB Web to say the SC3K (SimCity 3000) files are available in the SC3KU (SimCity 3000 Unlimited) game?

[CorinaMarie 29,558]

2 hours ago, Cool_Z said:

... converting my Cities:Skylines buildings for SC4...

From the very little I know about SC4 batting it seems that's an extremely involved process inasmuch as the building frame has to be created and then exact textures have to be applied in some arcane manner. (I haven't done it myself so I'm sure I have the terminology wrong.)

 

2 hours ago, Cool_Z said:

Wouldn't it be nice if the builders for different games shared their work instead of sitting in their respective corners ?????

I love the idea. Tho I imagine a creator for one game loves that game and is willing to spend all the time it takes to bring their vision to completion. Porting it to another game prolly wouldn't hold the same passion for them considering one would need a different set of tools.

 

2 hours ago, RandyE said:

So all of the landmarks that were for SC3K are present in any distribution of SC3U?

1 hour ago, catty-cb said:

So I need to update CB Web to say the SC3K (SimCity 3000) files are available in the SC3KU (SimCity 3000 Unlimited) game?

I'll let you know. My trouble started when I merely glanced at the landmarks in Unlimited and they appeared to be alphabetical in the tiny landmark picker window. I wasn't playing the game itself, but got there from testing the uploads I did from the catty collection. I installed them one by one and they automatically made the list jump to the bottom and so I just failed to actually look thoroughly.

 

So, it does seem to me the Cori Conversion method might still have merit if one has sample buildings that are 45^o to the left and 45^o to the right and then whatever angle we need it to be for the looking down part.  Seems to me trigonometry could be used to measure the right and left side angles that go towards the top and the bottom of the template file and calculate what that should be. It'd be nice in this info is available somewhere. (Yeah, I haven't looked for that either.)

 

[Cool_Z 1,547]

2 minutes ago, CorinaMarie said:

From the very little I know about SC4 batting it seems that's an extremely involved process inasmuch as the building frame has to be created and then exact textures have to be applied in some arcane manner. (I haven't done it myself so I'm sure I have the terminology wrong.)

Actually the only problem with SC4 is the process. From 3DSmax (or gmax) to... I don't even remember what. If a sc4 batter does it regularly the process is more or less the same for every building once he has the building itself. (of course I'm talking about starting with a 3D model of a building... which I proposed to provide, not rebuilding something from scratch which is what we have to do when making an existing SC3 building for Skylines). 

2 minutes ago, CorinaMarie said:

I love the idea. Tho I imagine a creator for one game loves that game and is willing to spend all the time it takes to bring their vision to completion. Porting it to another game prolly wouldn't hold the same passion for them considering one would need a different set of tools.

Yep but then the passion would pass on to the person who will import to the game he likes. "hey I can have more buildings... awesome!"

[CorinaMarie 29,558]

7 minutes ago, Cool_Z said:

Yep but then the passion would pass on to the person who will import to the game he likes. "hey I can have more buildings... awesome!"

I definitely agree with that part. We should share our creations. That's why I've said in several places on this site that what I create is free to be used. (Just give me credit.) Like one time @RandyE wanted to use some pics of something in game for a tutorial he was writing and, ofc, I said yes. Well, it turned out he only used links to my Photobucket version and so the html file was borked if viewed on a standalone, isolated comp. I wrote him back and said include the pics. You know, save a copy and distribute them with your file. (He was going out of his way to not take my files and I was like: Go for it, it makes your creation more stable.)

[CorinaMarie 29,558]

I've been making a list (and checking it twice) of all the Landmarks in SC3 and SC3U. Every one that comes with the original game is also in the Unlimited. The reverse, ofc, is not true. Unlimited has 28 additional built-in Landmarks. (Btw, did you know in the old game version you are limited to 10 landmarks in a city? No idea if there is a limit in the later version.)

So, it turns out there are 8 buildings that were add-ons for SC3 Plain that are not available in any file catty gave us. Please let me know if I'm overlooking them cause I'd really rather not go off on a wild goose chase again.

 

SimTheme Park's Halloween Park (East, North, South, West) - SimTheme Park's Lost Kingdom

 

Assembled:

 

Museum Of Modern Art - San Francisco, California USA

 

Palace Of Fine Arts - San Francisco, California USA

 

Transamerica Tower - San Francisco, California USA

 

PCGamer Castle - Brisbane, California USA

 

So, are any of these available for Unlimited somewhere else?

[catty-cb 4,381]

Transamerica Tower - was never released in Unlimited due to legal issues (see previous PM not sure which one)

[CorinaMarie 29,558]

3 minutes ago, catty-cb said:

Transamerica Tower - was never released in Unlimited due to legal issues (see previous PM not sure which one)

Yep. I remember that (and in our PM with CB). I wonder if I convert it and name it the Aegon Tower if we'd be ok?

[Cool_Z 1,547]

As was already said, the TransAmerica is a problem because the shape of the tower is in their logo

It's still plain stupidity on their part to prevent the use of the building in a game... "want free advertising ? Naaaaaaah this is copyrighted, remove it !" Do they ask every movie where we can see the tower to remove it also ??? S-T-U-P-I-D

Then... I don't think we could reasonably put the tower to download freely here... maybe just share it between us in the forums, but that's all.

 

What format does it come in ? was it an add-on for SC3 ?

[CorinaMarie 29,558]

On 6/7/2017 at 8:06 AM, Cool_Z said:

What format does it come in ? was it an add-on for SC3 ?

Yes, it comes in the Landmark Pack 1 for plain SC3.

Since they have deeper pockets and significantly more lawyers than I do I'm simply going to drop the issue. I will not convert it. If someone seriously desires it in their own game they can get the SC3 add-on and use the method I've shown above to convert it to their own SC3K game. Let's not discuss Transamerica any further.

 

So, additionally in that same add-on pack is the Museum Of Modern Art. Here it is in the plain SC3:

 

I pretty much followed the steps I outlined in post 1, but this time I deleted the background so I could see the debris easier:

 

Then zoom way in to do the detailed clean up:

 

To keep my perspective of where I'm at I have the original screenshot on my second screen for reference:

 

Once I got this one side reasonably tidy I lassoed it, pasted it into the pink position template, and then imported it in all 4 slots in the Rendering Kit:

 

And here it is in Unlimited:

 

There's still some minor tweaking I feel it needs. Like, the left and right corners need to come to a point better and the top of that white thinger on the roof needs to be smoother.

Surrounding it with roads somewhat hides those corner blemishes:

 

[catty-cb 4,381]

That looks great 

In the same pack there is meant to be the "Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, California USA", it should look like this ... sorry I couldn't find a bigger picture of it

 

[CorinaMarie 29,558]

On 6/7/2017 at 1:14 PM, catty-cb said:

In the same pack there is meant to be the "Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, California USA"

Yep. There is. I'd missed that one too. Here it is in the original game:

I've updated my post above.

[Cool_Z 1,547]

One suggestion for making cutting out much easier, why not make a completely pink terrain ?

[CorinaMarie 29,558]

On 6/7/2017 at 1:42 PM, Cool_Z said:

One suggestion for making cutting out much easier, why not make a completely pink terrain ?

Yep, that's where I was going with my question here.

I'd already tried the palette thinger and I was ecstatic when I saw this:

 

But then dismayed when I zoomed into this:

 

I even painted every single .BMP in the PALETTE folder to solid Pink and still the random noise colors are like that.

[Cool_Z 1,547]

[CorinaMarie 29,558]

After one aha moment and one oh, duh moment I figured out how to do this much easier than I had been doing.

 

And here's all 4 sides in SimCity 3000 Unlimited!

 

And I'll attach it to this post in case anyone wants to test drive it. Now available on the STEX:

Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California USA

 

 

[Cool_Z 1,547]

Excellent !!!! 

 

Btw just got an idea that should work for extracting buildings the same way without any problem. build empty buildings using pink for the floor, plop them around the building you want to create a solid color ground. Job done 

[catty-cb 4,381]

22 minutes ago, Cool_Z said:

Excellent !!!! 

ditto with bells and whistles 

[CorinaMarie 29,558]

On 6/7/2017 at 4:49 PM, Cool_Z said:

Btw just got an idea that should work for extracting buildings the same way without any problem. build empty buildings using pink for the floor, plop them around the building you want to create a solid color ground. Job done 

I had a similar idea, but since there is no Building Architect Tool for plain SC3 that's not an option.

 

My aha moment tho was to surround the building in the old game with residential zoning to get a more uniform background color. And the oh, duh was I had not adjusted the quality level on clip2pic so it was causing blurring when it compressed my original screenshots from the game. So, now with the original pics being lossless I was able to do this:

And just paste and position that in my Base Template. So, after prolly 10 hours of messing around with the wrong file (Atlantis) and micro-tweaking a poor quality image I then did the whole project in like 15 minutes.