AngryMozart's BAT symphonies

[Angry Mozart 1,198]

Hello everyone.

Welcome to my BAT orchestra. Please take a seat  'cause this symphony is about to start!

In this thread I'll show you some of the other projects I'm working on (besides of my freight train prop pack).  I want/need this space because sometimes I'm working on several things at the same time, and I thought it would be more comfortable to have all that in just one place, as many batters do.

My finished projects are:

Ok, enough introduction for now, let get this symphony begin!

[Angry Mozart 1,198]

I'm gonna start with these few trailers I've been working on. When I was finising the freight train prop pack, I realized that I forgot to build a container chassis for road operations. After some research and a few days working with the BAT, they come up quickly, but I didn't built enough chassis (there were only four by the time), and they didn't make it to be released in that prop pack, abandoning the project for months. These trailers are highly inspired by the Cheetah gooseneck container chassis, being very common on the roads, with a 40 ft version:

and a 53 ft version:

These container chassis are compatible with most of the containers released in the freight train prop pack, as shown below.

I trying to make them standalone, so they can be loaded with any container in that pack, reducing the number of props (as I don't have to make multiple loaded versions) and increasing the number of possibilities.

Also, a new skin for the 53 ft dryvan (also found on the so-mentioned pack) was made, this time a Swift transportation trailer:

I want to read your opinions.

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Wow, talk about a pleasant holiday surprise! Smart idea with those trailers, too. You're absolutely right, keeping them independent reduces the overall amount of props and allows for more flexibility, so I'd agree that this is the way to go. In terms of colour / brightness / saturation, the props look good in game IMHO.

In short, my opinion can be summarised like this:

[matias93 7,535]

Yet another beautiful thing I didn't know I needed in the game!!

The trailers look fantastic and are a great contribution to realism, but maybe a bit more of grunge would be adequate: after all, truckers could be very obsessed with their vehicles but they don't always have the money or the time to keep them looking new.

Lastly, I know that this is more complicated, but have you thought about making automatas from those trailers? Maybe @airman15 could give us some hints on how to reuse the models, if you are interested.

[Angry Mozart 1,198]

Thanks. @T Wrecks I think I'll be adding two colors more (gray and green), and a few more versions (45 ft maybe 48 ft and 20 ft , bi-axle or tri-axle).  @matias93 I was thinking that too, add a little bit of dust and oxide, after all, many of them can be found on salty and humid environments, like ports. About that other thing,  I would like to see them on road as automatas,  if its possible of course.

Also, I want to make this stacking configuration:

It shouldn't be that hard.

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Yo dawg - I heard you like trailers, so I brought you a trailer trailer so that you can trail trailers on your trailer.

[DavidDHetzel 1,816]

I've seen trains full of those trailers before, Let me see if I can find the pics.

[Angry Mozart 1,198]

I made an old, weathered version of the 40 ft container chassis, here are the results:

I tried to make it look more "rusty", like if it have spent most of its lifetime in a seaport, but some of the details I added (like faded paint, oxide layers, etc.) are nearly impossible to see. Anyway, there are some differences between this two versions, being the most notable the color of the body, the mud flaps and the trailer legs (in most of the, with and old, dusty  container chassis in the left and a new one, recently painted in the right.

@DavidDHetzel Which trailers? the container chassis? if so, please post your pics if you can, I've never seen one loaded with these  and it would be something interesting to replicate.

[DavidDHetzel 1,816]

 

Here's what I am referring too.

(I photographed this 4 years ago, jeeze it feels more recent)

[Angry Mozart 1,198]

@DavidDHetzel Thanks. Interesting how they move those trailers. Maybe I'll add it on the next update of the freight train prop pack, it would make an interesting load to add.

[T Wrecks 10,209]

@DavidDHetzel: Whoa, I wasn't even aware that such trailerceptions exist IRL: a trailer made to transport other empty trailers, and all that on a train car that appears to be built for this particular purpose, too.

@Angry Mozart: The weathered version looks great!

[Jasoncw 11,840]

Yeah it's a shame that the rust isn't more visible. You could make the rust spots bigger to make them easier to see. It also doesn't help that the value (the brightness or darkness) of the rust and paint are about the same, so they blend together, even though the hues are different. To make the rust stand out better you could try changing how bright the rust and/or paint is, until there is more contrast. It looks good anyway, just not as weathered as it could be. 

[Angry Mozart 1,198]

First post of the year! (By the way, happy new year everyone, a little bit late but not too late). @Jasoncw you're right, they are dark enough for making the rust details invisible, I've made the other color versions and details are more visible in brighter tones:

They are more visible in the yellow, orange and red chassis than in the blue an black ones. Or it is just my imagination? 

Also, I've worked on another dryvan, this time a Schneider International 53 ft dryvan:

I hope to have a new model in the next days, as dryvans are not too hard or interesting. 

[Angry Mozart 1,198]

Trailers by themselves can't (and won't) move.  They need  trucks to move them from point A to B, and this is why I decided to build a couple of trucks for these trailers. The first one is  a Kenworth T800, built a few months ago:

And the second one, built through the whole week and finished a couple hours ago, a Freightliner FLB:

I'm trying to make them compatible with trailers, being standalone trucks. The only one I've tested in-game is the Kenworth T800, as shown in one of the first pictures I posted here. What do you think?

[Angry Mozart 1,198]

Hello everybody

It's been a long long time since I posted here,  I've been busy with school these last weeks, but I managed to have some spare time to work on my BATs, and I got a lot to show.

The first thing I want to show you are a couple of dryvans (again). I'm working on a few more and probably post them in the future. Maybe I'll add some 28 ft dryvans too.

Also, I decided to build more models to add variety to this pack. These next models are quite simple, they are just a few flatbeds:

a set of five flatbeds: three normal aluminium flatbeds, a dropdeck flatbed, and a double dropdeck flatbed (they are like a normal flatbed, but lower to acomodate taller loads).  For oversize or heavy loads, there are special flatbeds known as Lowboys. These can be found on a bi-axle or tri-axle configuration:

and finally, the newest model I've made, a car transporter:

I have some loaded versions, but I'm not sure about the size of the cars. I'll be testing them in the next few hours.

Sugerences?

 

[matias93 7,535]

Sorry, I wasn't putting attention after "lowboy", this is the only thing I could think of:

***

Nah, really nice models, I'm sure that @redfox will put them to great use. Just a doubt: those beige surfaces are meant to be plywood? Maybe you can add some (a lot of) grit over them? Those things are really easy to stain, and in an industrial environment even more.

[Jasoncw 11,840]

I agree and I think it looks a little bright even for brand new wood.

Keep it up

[Fantozzi 4,067]

Well, sorry if this is selfish and a little of topic, but your stuff made me remember an older idea I had already forgot about, of an animated container transfer terminal like this:

 

I have the crane model (bat for max) but for doing it animated you would need the train cars in both version empty and loaded and the truck the same, empty and loaded - and I don't have such models and I am not skilled enought to create them.

Now, you're doing exactly what I miss - those empty container trailers. 

So please understand, I get a little bit excited and want to mention my idear, even if it doesn't belong here. Sorry. 

 

 

[Angry Mozart 1,198]

@matias93 @Jasoncw Hahahaha, yes, in fact, it was suposed to be plywood, but it is too bright. I'm fixing it right now.

@Fantozzi Oh don't worry, it is not selfish at all, in fact, it is useful because it's an example of how these props can be used. Back in 2016 I was inspired by the Simmer2's Intermodal terminal and had more or less the same idea, because I wanted to modify the terminal a little bit for personal purposes, but I was limited by the existing props, so I decided to make my own props to make an loading-unloading effect among other things I wanted to do, and that's how I get into BATing (this is actually selfish haha). I'm glad that you shared your idea, it helps me to give me a perspective of what else is needed or what can be improved.

[Angry Mozart 1,198]

I found a more "dirty" wood texture and replaced it on the lowboys, these are the results:

Also replaced it on the dropdeck flatbeds:

I think this texture makes them look a little bit more older or used, also it gives a "greasy effect" on the plywood.

I also tested the flabeds and their LODs:

I loaded them with props from different packs. I'm trying to do the same thing I did with my flatcars in my freight cars prop pack to make these flatbeds compatible with almost any prop that fits on the flatbed. Opinions?

[Jasoncw 11,840]

There's something humorous to me about props carrying other props.

[redfox85 659]

Its really appreciated on how you can fit other props on the bulk heads and flat cars, something I really like about your props.

[matias93 7,535]

Considering the quality of your new models, I wouldn't use SD props on them: it looks strange to put a bulldozer from the game Minecraft over a realistic lowboy...

[T Wrecks 10,209]

13 hours ago, matias93 said:

Considering the quality of your new models, I wouldn't use SD props on them: it looks strange to put a bulldozer from the game Minecraft over a realistic lowboy...

I see where you're coming from, and I don't even disagree with that point of view. Then again, if you look at the trailers on zoom5 (the closest you'll probably use when building your city or scrolling through it normally), the difference isn't all that bad, and there's simply an enormous number of useful cargo props readily available, whereas HD props would still have to be made. Now it depends on taste and opinion again what you want to make of that - one person might say that's the best reason to stick to the well established SD props, the other one might say it's the best reason to get some more HD props onto the STEX...

Personally, I don't even want to take sides in this matter because I'm very happy with these trailers either way. What a comfortable situation, eh?

[Angry Mozart 1,198]

@Jasoncw Yes, it's funny the idea of a prop that transports other props , but pretty useful when you're working in the LE, I think, I'd have to ask to the people that have already used my other props.

@redfox85 Thanks,  I want to have a model capable of being loaded with any prop, as long as they fit in the freight car or trailer, in that way, IMO, I can give a little bit of "freedom" instead of just  use pre-loaded versions.

@matias93 Yes, I agree with that, they look strange at the closest zoom level and the difference between HD and SD props is pretty visible, but at a more reasonable zoom level (and probably the one that most of us use) they don't look that bad, althought there is a slightly visible difference. Of course, I have planned to make some HD props to use with these flatbeds. Another reason why I used SD props is, as @T Wrecks says, there are a lot of SD props, while is is kinda hard to find HD props, also, I don't have a lot of props in the computer I'm using to make the previsualizations (I haven't played SC4 in a while), and I used the ones I found. But yes, you're right on that point.

Now that we're talking about loads, I've been thinking of the following ones:

• Pipes of different materials (concrete, plastic, metal)
• Cable coils (like the one shown above)
• Aluminium coils (I see a lot of flatbeds loaded with those huge coils when I go to school)
• Ventilation ducts
• Mobile offices
• Hay
• Wood planks
• a tarped, generic load

and that's all I have planned by now.  Does anyone knows what else I could add to this list?

[Angry Mozart 1,198]

Also I've built three new models:

A 48 ft dump trailer, with three loaded versions: dirt, gravel and sand.

a 48 ft Wilson livestock trailer:

and a 42 ft grain trailer also based on a Wilson trailer.

They are usually covered when moving, but I added an open top version to recreate a loading scenario.

[T Wrecks 10,209]

7 hours ago, Angry Mozart said:

Now that we're talking about loads, I've been thinking of the following ones:

• Pipes of different materials (concrete, plastic, metal)
• Cable coils (like the one shown above)
• Aluminium coils (I see a lot of flatbeds loaded with those huge coils when I go to school)
• Ventilation ducts
• Mobile offices
• Hay
• Wood planks
• a tarped, generic load

and that's all I have planned by now.  Does anyone knows what else I could add to this list?

This looks like a pretty good and exhaustive list already - making every particular kind of cargo is, of course, out of the question. Some more ideas that come to mind off the top of my head:

• pre-fab car garages or generic concrete slabs
• generator units or large-scale industrial/marine engines
• generic steel girder structures (prefab elements for buildings, bridges, or cranes)

I wonder if you could put nbvc's boats/yachts on these trailers, too.

[matias93 7,535]

Also:

• Port a potties, that need to be transported vertically
• Modified containers (as in container houses or offices)
• Trees and bushes in pots
• Prefabricated concrete slabs for buildings (check what @jakis is doing right now)
• Tram cars (train cars I think are too long)

[AndisArt 2,066]

9 hours ago, Angry Mozart said:

Also I've built three new models:

A 48 ft dump trailer, with three loaded versions: dirt, gravel and sand.

a 48 ft Wilson livestock trailer:

and a 42 ft grain trailer also based on a Wilson trailer.

They are usually covered when moving, but I added an open top version to recreate a loading scenario.

These looks great! Beautiful work. I love the details and especially the plastic plane cover. I assume you found a great texture for this or did you create it some manual way?

[Jasoncw 11,840]

I agree, the cover looks particularly good.