Raymond's Newbie Thoughts

[CorinaMarie 29,605]

Updated the code.

Ofc, remember to change the line to a path your comp likes. And always, always, (always) work only with a copy of files when dealing with experimental code.

-- List all Exemplars and Their Properties (Changes Uint32 to Sint32 to get Hex Value of OccupantGroups rather then the XML Lookup text.)
-- NOTE: Do NOT save the data file. This is for the text export only atm.
function reader.main (this)   
    local file = io.open("E:/Lua for Reader 1.5.4/writetest.txt", "w")
    pos = reader:entries_GetHeadPosition()     
    while pos~=0 do
        entry,pos = reader:entries_GetNext(pos)
        flag = reader:entry_GetFlag(entry)  
        if (flag == 7) then
            T,G,I = reader:entry_GetTGI(entry)
            exemplar = reader:ex_Decode(entry) 
            proppos = reader:exprop_GetHeadPosition(exemplar)  
            file:write("Entry: ", Dec2Hex(T,8), "-", Dec2Hex(G,8), "-", Dec2Hex(I,8),"\n")
            file:write("=================================\n")
            file:write(" DataType  Rep   Name Value   Name                                                         Value\n")
            file:write(" --------  ---   ----------   ----------------------------------------------------------   ---------------------------------------------\n")
            while proppos~=0 do
                exprop, proppos = reader:exprop_GetNext(exemplar,proppos)
                cmReadType = reader:exprop_GetType(exprop)
                if cmReadType == 256 then cmDataType = "Uint8  "
                  elseif cmReadType == 768 then cmDataType = "Uint32 "
                  elseif cmReadType == 1792 then cmDataType = "Sint32 "
                  elseif cmReadType == 2048 then cmDataType = "Sint64 "
                  elseif cmReadType == 2304 then cmDataType = "Float32"
                  elseif cmReadType == 2816 then cmDataType = "Bool   "
                  elseif cmReadType == 3072 then cmDataType = "String "
                end
                if cmReadType == 768 then
                  reader:exprop_SetType(exprop,"0x700")
                end
                cmTmpRep = tonumber(reader:exprop_GetRep(exprop),16)
                cmRep = string.rep(" ", (3 - (string.len(string.format("%x", cmTmpRep))))) .. string.format("%x", cmTmpRep)
                desc, descname = reader:exprop_GetDesc(exprop)  
                valuestr = reader:exprop_GetValueStr(exprop)
                local cmDescNameStrLen = string.len(descname)
                local cmPrintDescName = descname .. string.rep(" ", 58 - cmDescNameStrLen)
                file:write(" ", cmDataType, " - ", cmRep, " - 0x", Dec2Hex(desc,8)," - ", cmPrintDescName," = ", valuestr, "\n")  
            end
            file:write("\n")
        end
    end
    reader:refresh()
    file:close()
end

function Dec2Hex(IN,cmLen)
    OUT = string.rep("0", (cmLen - (string.len(string.format("%x", IN))))) .. string.format("%x", IN)
    return OUT
end

 

Sample output:

Entry: 6534284a-88cd66e9-00000001
=================================
 DataType  Rep   Name Value   Name                                                         Value
 --------  ---   ----------   ----------------------------------------------------------   ---------------------------------------------
 Uint32  -   0 - 0x00000010 - Exemplar Type                                              = 0x0000000D
 String  -   0 - 0x00000020 - Exemplar Name                                              = Terrain Properties
 Uint8   -   4 - 0x097f4c4e - Unwatered Terrain Color                                    = 0xB6, 0x77, 0x74, 0x66
 Uint32  -   5 - 0x295961f2 - kSC4RetainingWallPropertyWallTextures                      = 0x695C00C6, 0x695C00C7, 0x695C00C8, 0x695C00C9, 0x695C00CA
 Float32 -   0 - 0x295961f3 - kSC4RetainingWallPropertyWallTextureSize                   = 16
 Bool    -   0 - 0x297f42b7 - Draw Unwatered Terrain Cell Color                          = True
 Float32 -   0 - 0x29ab15c0 - WaterDepthForMaxAlpha                                      = 30
 Uint8   -   0 - 0x29ab15c1 - WaterMinAlpha                                              = 0x00
 Float32 -   0 - 0x29ab15c2 - WaterDepthToColorGradientFactor                            = 0.75
 Bool    -   0 - 0x29ab15c3 - DisplayWaterSurface                                        = True
 Bool    -   0 - 0x29ab15c4 - DisplayTerrainSurface                                      = True
 Float32 -   3 - 0x29ab15c5 - WaterNightColorAdjustment                                  = 0.1, 0.2, 0.80000001
 Float32 -   2 - 0x29ab15c6 - CityEdgeLayerHeights                                       = 55, 65
 Float32 -   0 - 0x29ab15c7 - CityEdgeBrightnessKludgeFactor                             = 0.89999998
 Float32 -   3 - 0x48cd7b20 - MaxNormalTerrainHeight                                     = 308, 308, 308
 Float32 -   0 - 0x48cd7b21 - SeaLevel                                                   = 250
 Float32 -   3 - 0x48cd7b22 - MinRegularHtFactor                                         = 0.25, 0.25, 0.25
 Float32 -   3 - 0x48cd7b23 - MaxRegularHtFactor                                         = 0.30000001, 0.30000001, 0.30000001
 Float32 -   3 - 0x48cd7b24 - MinMountainHtFactor                                        = 0.40000001, 0.40000001, 0.40000001
 Float32 -   3 - 0x48cd7b25 - MaxMountainHtFactor                                        = 1, 1, 1
 Float32 -   0 - 0x48cd7b26 - MaxTerrainHeight                                           = 2500
 Float32 -   0 - 0x48cd7b27 - MinTerrainHeight                                           = 20
 Float32 -   0 - 0x48cd7b28 - ImageImportScaleFactor                                     = 3
 Float32 -   0 - 0x48cd7b2a - DefaultTerrainHeight                                       = 300
 Float32 -   0 - 0x48cd7b30 - TemperatureRangeFactor                                     = 0.30000001
 Float32 -   0 - 0x48cd7b31 - WaterProximityRangeFactor                                  = 1.10000002
 Uint32  -   0 - 0x48cd7b40 - NumInitialErosionPasses                                    = 0x00000004
 Uint32  -   0 - 0x48cd7b41 - NumHydraulicIterationsPerInitialErosionPass                = 0x00000001
 Uint32  -   0 - 0x48cd7b42 - NumWindIterationsPerInitialErosionPass                     = 0x00000004
 Float32 -   3 - 0x48cd7b43 - SeaLevelChangeDueToWaterSlider                             = 10, 10, 10
 Uint32  -   0 - 0x48cd7b50 - MinCellsInUsefulFlatArea                                   = 0x000003E8
 Float32 -   0 - 0x48cd7b51 - MaxHtChangeToFlattenFactor                                 = 0.003
 Float32 -   0 - 0x48cd7b52 - MaxTerraceAltitudeFactor                                   = 0.89999998
 Float32 -   0 - 0x48cd7b53 - MinTerraceAltitudeFactor                                   = 0.1
 Uint32  -   0 - 0x48cd7b54 - AutoFlatAreaEdgeSmootheningRadius                          = 0x00000006
 Uint32  -   0 - 0x48cd7b60 - MinShoreCliffSize                                          = 0x0000000F
 Float32 -   0 - 0x48cd7b61 - MinShoreCliffCandidateHt                                   = 3
 Float32 -   0 - 0x48cd7b62 - MinShoreCliffHt                                            = 60
 Float32 -   0 - 0x48cd7b63 - MaxShoreCliffHt                                            = 100
 Uint32  -   0 - 0x48cd7b64 - MaxShoreCliffSize                                          = 0x0000003C
 Float32 -   0 - 0x48cd7b65 - MaxNormalYForCliff                                         = 0.5
 Float32 -   0 - 0x48cd7b70 - MinSeaLevel                                                = -10
 Float32 -   0 - 0x48cd7b71 - MaxSeaLevel                                                = 200
 Float32 -   0 - 0x48cd7b72 - SeaRaiseLowerAmount                                        = 5
 Float32 -   0 - 0x48cd7b73 - TerrainRaiseLowerAmount                                    = 40
 Uint8   -   0 - 0x48cd7b80 - AutoFlattenUponCreation                                    = 0x00
 Uint8   -   0 - 0x48cd7b81 - ShoreCliffsUponCreation                                    = 0x00
 Float32 -   5 - 0x48cd7ba0 - TypicalBrushAngleIncrement                                 = 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5
 Uint32  -   5 - 0x48cd7bf1 - NumFlowStepsPerWaterErosionBrushApplication                = 0x00000001, 0x00000001, 0x00000001, 0x00000001, 0x00000001
 Uint32  -   0 - 0x48cd7bf2 - NumWaterErosionIterationsPerInvocation                     = 0x00000014
 Uint32  -   0 - 0x48cd7bf3 - NumSmoothingIterationsAfterWaterErosion                    = 0x00000002
 Float32 -   4 - 0x48cd7c00 - EdgeReconcilliationSmoothingRadiusVsHeightDiff             = 0, 6, 300, 40
 Uint32  -   0 - 0x48cd7c01 - EdgeReconcilliationSmoothingIterations                     = 0x000000C8
 Float32 -   0 - 0x48cd7c02 - EdgeReconcilliationHtDifferenceThreshold                   = 15
 Uint8   -   4 - 0x497f42a4 - Unwatered Building Color                                   = 0xB6, 0x2F, 0x00, 0x66
 Float32 -   0 - 0x69ac5640 - MinWaterDepthForDeepSeaBedTexture                          = 50
 Float32 -   0 - 0x69ac5641 - MaxWaterDepthForDeepSeaBedTexture                          = 500
 Uint32  -   0 - 0x69db8d00 - TextureUpdateIntervalForTerrainBrushes                     = 0x000003E8
 Float32 -   0 - 0x69db8d01 - ModKey1StrengthMultiplier                                  = 0.25
 Float32 -   0 - 0x69db8d02 - ModKey1WidthMultiplier                                     = 0.80000001
 Float32 -   0 - 0x69db8d03 - ModKey2StrengthMultiplier                                  = 2
 Float32 -   0 - 0x69db8d04 - ModKey2WidthMultiplier                                     = 2
 Float32 -   0 - 0x69db8d05 - ApplicationTimeIntervalForFullBrushStrength                = 0.1
 Uint32  -   0 - 0x89861864 - VolcanicAshLifeTime                                        = 0x11E1A300
 Float32 -   0 - 0x89a312c0 - TerrainTexTilingFactor                                     = 0.2
 Uint32  -   5 - 0x89a312c2 - TextureRandomizationGridSize                               = 0x00000020, 0x00000010, 0x00000008, 0x00000004, 0x00000002
 Uint8   -   4 - 0xa97f42ce - Watered Terrain Color                                      = 0x7D, 0x83, 0xFF, 0x66
 Uint8   -   0 - 0xa9c283d0 - MaxBeachWidth                                              = 0x02
 Float32 -   0 - 0xa9c283d1 - MaxBeachAltitude                                           = 4
 Uint8   -   4 - 0xe97f42b0 - Watered Building Color                                     = 0x00, 0x12, 0xFF, 0x66

Entry: 6534284a-89c2a517-00000001
=================================
 DataType  Rep   Name Value   Name                                                         Value
 --------  ---   ----------   ----------------------------------------------------------   ---------------------------------------------
 Uint32  -   0 - 0x00000010 - Exemplar Type                                              = 0x0000000D
 String  -   0 - 0x00000020 - Exemplar Name                                              = Texture01
 Float32 -   0 - 0x09c2aef0 - TextureBlendStrength                                       = 1
 Float32 -   5 - 0x09c2aef1 - Unknown                                                    = 32, 32, 32, 32, 32
 Float32 -   5 - 0x09c2aef2 - Unknown                                                    = 64, 64, 64, 64, 64
 Float32 -   6 - 0x09c2aef3 - Z0_TextureSpreadCurve                                      = 0, 1, 32, 1, 64, 0
 Float32 -   6 - 0x09c2aef4 - Z1_TextureSpreadCurve                                      = 0, 1, 32, 1, 64, 0
 Float32 -   6 - 0x09c2aef5 - Z2_TextureSpreadCurve                                      = 0, 1, 32, 1, 64, 0
 Float32 -   6 - 0x09c2aef6 - Z3_TextureSpreadCurve                                      = 0, 1, 32, 1, 64, 0
 Float32 -   6 - 0x09c2aef7 - Z4_TextureSpreadCurve                                      = 0, 1, 32, 1, 64, 0

Full text output: SC_1.dat - All Exemplars - Reader Lua Script Output by Cori.txt.zip

 (Btw, it's best to open the included text file with line wrap turned off in your fav text editor program.)

[Raymond7cn 6,772]

Hiya CoriBoom™, i hope you don't mind that i quote this pic here:

Your creative art drives me crazy, the magic colors and shapes, then i was thinking what an art is? isn't it just the most simple shapes and colors? but the way they combine with together makes it becomes to magic, and @Terring have you noticed that the colors of CoriBoom™ are cyberpunk? Anyway, i will use these in the night scene of it:

will begin lighting after some works of roof.

(the easter egg will be more obvious when you see the full image)

[CorinaMarie 29,605]

1 hour ago, Raymond7cn said:

Hiya CoriBoom™, i hope you don't mind that i quote this pic here:

We don't mind.

That pic was created completely by CB. It's one of his specialties.

 

Here's a new version of my Reader 1.5.4 Lua Code for you. Same as before, be sure to change the path in the file = io.open line. The additions are that it now lists all Cohorts in addition to the Exemplars and their properties as well as I fixed it so the workaround for obtaining the hex values of the OccupantGroups (instead of the XML text lookup) now only applies to that property itself. The other Uint32 are back to using use the original Lua function returned string values.

Spoiler

-- Added Cohort Entries and Parent Cohort to display list
-- List all Exemplars and Their Properties (Changes Uint32 to Sint32 to get Hex Value of OccupantGroups rather then the XML Lookup text.)
-- NOTE: Do NOT save the data file. This is for the text export only atm.
function reader.main (this)   
    local file = io.open("E:/Lua for Reader 1.5.4/writetest.txt", "w")
    cmTotalCohorts  = 0
    cmTotalExemplars = 0
    pos = reader:entries_GetHeadPosition()     
    while pos~=0 do
        entry,pos = reader:entries_GetNext(pos)
        flag = reader:entry_GetFlag(entry)  
        if (flag == 5) or (flag == 7) then
            T,G,I = reader:entry_GetTGI(entry)
            exemplar = reader:ex_Decode(entry) 
            proppos = reader:exprop_GetHeadPosition(exemplar)  
            file:write("Entry: ", Dec2Hex(T,8), "-", Dec2Hex(G,8), "-", Dec2Hex(I,8), " - ")
            if (flag == 5) then
              cmTotalCohorts = cmTotalCohorts + 1
              file:write("Cohort\n")
              file:write("==========================================\n")
            elseif (flag == 7) then
              cmTotalExemplars = cmTotalExemplars + 1
              file:write("Exemplar\n")
              file:write("============================================\n")
            end
            file:write(" DataType  Rep   Name Value   Name                                                         Value\n")
            file:write(" --------  ---   ----------   ----------------------------------------------------------   ---------------------------------------------\n")
            cmCohortPrintCount = 0
            while proppos~=0 do
                exprop, proppos = reader:exprop_GetNext(exemplar,proppos)
                if cmCohortPrintCount == 0 then
                  TC, GC, IC = reader:ex_GetParentCohort(exemplar)
                  cmCohortDisplay = "0x" .. Dec2Hex(TC,8) .. "," .. "0x" .. Dec2Hex(GC,8) .. "," .. "0x" .. Dec2Hex(IC,8)
                  file:write("                              Parent Cohort                                              = ", cmCohortDisplay, "\n")
                  cmCohortPrintCount = 1
                end
                cmReadType = reader:exprop_GetType(exprop)
                if cmReadType == 256 then cmDataType = "Uint8  "
                  elseif cmReadType == 768 then cmDataType = "Uint32 "
                  elseif cmReadType == 1792 then cmDataType = "Sint32 "
                  elseif cmReadType == 2048 then cmDataType = "Sint64 "
                  elseif cmReadType == 2304 then cmDataType = "Float32"
                  elseif cmReadType == 2816 then cmDataType = "Bool   "
                  elseif cmReadType == 3072 then cmDataType = "String "
                end
                if cmReadType == 768 then
                  reader:exprop_SetType(exprop,"0x700")
                end
                cmTmpRep = tonumber(reader:exprop_GetRep(exprop),16)
                cmRep = string.rep(" ", (3 - (string.len(string.format("%x", cmTmpRep))))) .. string.format("%x", cmTmpRep)
                desc, descname = reader:exprop_GetDesc(exprop)
                valuestr = reader:exprop_GetValueStr(exprop)
                if (cmReadType == 768) and (descname ~= "OccupantGroups") then
                    reader:exprop_SetType(exprop,"0x300")
                    desc, descname = reader:exprop_GetDesc(exprop)
                    valuestr = reader:exprop_GetValueStr(exprop)
                end
                local cmDescNameStrLen = string.len(descname)
                local cmPrintDescName = descname .. string.rep(" ", 58 - cmDescNameStrLen)
                file:write(" ", cmDataType, " - ", cmRep, " - 0x", Dec2Hex(desc,8)," - ", cmPrintDescName," = ", valuestr, "\n")
            end
            file:write("\n")
        end
    end
    file:write("------------------------\n")
    file:write("Total Cohorts   = ", comma_value(cmTotalCohorts), "\n")
    file:write("Total Exemplars = ", comma_value(cmTotalExemplars), "\n")
    reader:refresh()
    file:close()
end

function Dec2Hex(IN,cmLen)
    OUT = string.rep("0", (cmLen - (string.len(string.format("%x", IN))))) .. string.format("%x", IN)
    return OUT
end

function comma_value(amount)
  local formatted = amount
  while true do  
    formatted, k = string.gsub(formatted, "^(-?%d+)(%d%d%d)", '%1,%2')
    if (k==0) then
      break
    end
  end
  cmRightJustified = string.rep(" ", 6 - string.len(formatted)) .. formatted
  return cmRightJustified
end

See what you started me on!

 

[Raymond7cn 6,772]

32 minutes ago, CorinaMarie said:

hat pic was created completely by CB. It's one of his specialties

Actually, i have thought of it, he should consider to make more designs so that i could use them in my model.

32 minutes ago, CorinaMarie said:

See what you started me on!

Well, i see this word a sort of encouragement. 

May i ask that: %d = any numbers and %x = any Hex value? and 

32 minutes ago, CorinaMarie said:

"^(-?%d+)(%d%d%d)", '%1,%2'

is it called Regular expression ? 

[CorinaMarie 29,605]

13 minutes ago, Raymond7cn said:

is it called Regular expression ? 

I believe in Lua they are called string format directives. They are essentially the same as the printf parameters in C.

[Raymond7cn 6,772]

Vertiport progress: The work of rooftop has been finished, then I decided that i should stop, since it would never end if i add every thoughts on it, E.g. this one:

I thought i need to make it with the cortana as an individual building, The vertiport is big enough otherwise it would be a burden to user.

So the next step, before lighting it, i should render and export it to see if it could work on my ideas, My thought is an airport in the sea, meanwhile, it could be a ferry as well so that people could go to the airport. and also the airplane effects Robin shared to me, Terring has shared a Lot for reference, Anyway, let me give it a shot first. 

[Terring 6,473]

Your vertiport looks more like a celebration of so many futuristic designs. Not sure if the future will be industrious or shiny? Bring them all, and add some Tron-style 80's neon for some nostalgia and because it's too cool to let it go. All you need is adding some green roofs and you'll have an epic cyberpunk-nanopunk-solarpunk mix

As about Cortana, I'll agree that it's better to not overload a building with too many elements. Put Cortana to somewhere else more suitable. Looking forward to see the vertiport in action

[BartonThinks 3,416]

Agree w/ Terring that it would be best to save new features for future builds. You don't want to overcrowd the model, and it's good to reserve some of your best ideas for other buildings that can be paired alongside this one.

I didn't realize the CoriBoom team had ventured into telecommunications...

[Raymond7cn 6,772]

Thank you very much, @Terring @BartonThinks You are right, Frankly, I want my style could be more unitary not it appears right now, Yes this is a good wish but hard to achieve, it's the result caused by a poor head got too much infos within a short time. Really appreciate your tips, it's not too late so that i still could tinker with its texture (green).

6 hours ago, BartonThinks said:

I didn't realize the CoriBoom team had ventured into telecommunications...

 

Now the model is rendering and about 8 hours left, so allow me to talk about CoriBoom, Yes Barton, I didn't notice that as well, Strange! Here is what i know about this mysterious company:

-----

Many many years ago, There were Corillionites live in the earth, we don't know much about when and where they appeared, we just know that some of their stories has been written by J. R. R. Tolkien in his the Lord of the Rings, these happy Corillionites are versatility and smart who lived for many years in peace and posterity. Then something happened and they all had to flee. which left the castle walls and infrastructure still standing to this day.

Then many years later, The only and the last descendant of royal family (the king) Corina was found out by her people, Nowadays the Corillionites have been well known as many famous politicians and scholars and doctors and CEO etc, they love their Queen and want her to awake the lost civilization of Corillion, then the Queen meet an English gentleman and scientist during her legendary adventure, Dr.Cyclone, The Doctor respects the brave Queen and helps her to find out many treasure (most of them are books), Maybe they all have the noble blood, Then they found the company CoriBoom™, we don't know where is the headquarters, It's a company similar as Warner Bros that produces film, television and music entertainment at the beginning. then the company started making a wide variety of household electronics and transportation and energy etc.

Under Corillionites's patronage, the company also helps children in poor or war-torn countries develop and grow through sports and arts and medical etc. Because of its founders, the company is kind and helpful until today……

-- A story heard by the court artist of Queen when painting pictures of her.

-- Raymond

[Raymond7cn 6,772]

5 hours ago, justforfun said:

Raymond, you are warned! From now on, if I read that you call yourself a "rookie" again I will get seriously angry. You are definitely a pro by now. 

Hiya @justforfun, Sorry to reply you here, i just don't want to ruin the moment in that thread due to verbose words (i'm aware of too many 'I' in my English.), I want to clarify a bit in case others would thought Ray is hypocrisy, Anyway, Welcome to Raymond's newbie land!

I don't know if we have a tool of simtropolis which could count the online time, if so, i would be a challenger,  From the first day i came to simtropolis, I spent everyday in here with you, No absence, God blessed me so that i don't have any chance to waste my life as before, learning SC4 in simtropolis fills every gaps of my life even sleeping sometimes. Your great works and posts maybe not a big deal to yourself, but they means knowledge of English and culture and Math and Art and architecture and chromatics and Coding and 3ds max etc…

Yes, You could imagine how steep of my learning curve is, i mean my poor head is full of those stuffs just in one year, meanwhile, along with the more i learned, i found out the more i don't know, so much i need to work hard to learn from those great names, Fortunately, some of them are still active here in simtropolis Including you. 

In terms of playing SC4, I haven't play my cities for almost one year, I do miss it, but because of my steep learning curve, i couldn't, i knew i will forget them which i have tried my best to memorize if i pause a bit. so i kept writing even awful English, i kept modeling, i kept thinking, all i want is that my memories could be more steady and firm.

Well, Actually, i thought you @justforfun could understand me, I knew you were just encouraging Ray to learn and do more with confidence, Thanks a million my friend, if one day i could play my cities again, i may won't call myself a newbie instead of Super newbie,   it's my nature and God told me to be humble always. Anyway, by now i'm happy and enjoying the time of seeing my work in your beautiful CJs.

i'm extremely happy that i could be a newbie since my learning will never stop, so I hope experts as Robin @rsc204 would help me to keep the SC4 alive no matter what changes of my computer in future, since it's my whole life game.

Yours Sincerely,

-- Raymond

[Raymond7cn 6,772]

I found out what cliff i wish to achieve in SC4, It's probably impossible.

So it kind of looks like i want make a cliff or mountain, then bulldoze the bottom part of it, well, i don't think the game would allow me to do that, the only chance i could think of maybe the big cliff Lot or the test i did which replaces those secret PNGs and FSHs.

[Raymond7cn 6,772]

②② T21 Mod: 

One year ago, I came to simtropolis with a simple goal, i want to beautify my city by replacing the trees of JRJ T21 Mod to giraffe's HD trees, I made many mistakes then, such as i mistook @Tyberius06 for Jeronij,  Anyway, @rsc204 finally taught me in this thread,

After tons of hours tedious work, I did it!

I still remember how excited i was then, though some efforts seems to be stupid now, I believe i could make one T21 mod by myself after one year learning. And also i thought i should record every steps of Newbie's T21 mod here. Looking forward the correction from everyone then.

[Raymond7cn 6,772]

The Globe progress:

Give CB's Map a try,

Tell me your thoughts if you download it, Thank you!! --- Park menu 9x9

Has been published below.

[Whte_rbt 1,431]

9 hours ago, Raymond7cn said:

I found out what cliff i wish to achieve in SC4, It's probably impossible.

The only way I can think of to make that work would be to create the overhanging cliff face as a BAT that overhangs off the edge of a normal in game hill. Would need the hill to be nearly the same shape each time to make the BAT fit. Not impossible, just of seriously limited use.

Additional Thoughts (4hrs later...): Would this be easier to fit into an area if the BAT was set to pull its base textures (Grass, cliff, flora possibly?) from the terrain mod already installed. This would probably depend on it loading after the terrain/tree controller mods. Is this even possible?

[Raymond7cn 6,772]

6 hours ago, Whte_rbt said:

Would this be easier to fit into an area if the BAT was set to pull its base textures (Grass, cliff, flora possibly?) from the terrain mod already installed. This would probably depend on it loading after the terrain/tree controller mods. Is this even possible?

Hiya @Whte_rbt, If your idea is same to my way of thinking, then I am not alone in this,  Maybe hard but whatever, I plan to give it a shot with my Terrain mod.

---- 

Dear Friends, I got a good idea about the Globe when i was watching an old movie with my boy, You will know what i mean after 24 hours, I was just inspired by a short part at the beginning.

[Terring 6,473]

10 hours ago, Raymond7cn said:

After tons of hours tedious work, I did it!

Congrats, Ray. This is awesome

7 hours ago, Whte_rbt said:

The only way I can think of to make that work would be to create the overhanging cliff face as a BAT that overhangs off the edge of a normal in game hill.

I'll agree, this is the only way to make those cliffs.

7 hours ago, Whte_rbt said:

Would this be easier to fit into an area if the BAT was set to pull its base textures (Grass, cliff, flora possibly?) from the terrain mod already installed.

Or do the opposite and make the BAT brushing the surrounded area with its colors. @xannepan has made a set of lots available at JENX POSEIDON Water Effects mod, that paints the ground around them.

With this technique you can add sand, rocks, and even surface water anywhere you wish, even on sloped ground.

So maybe the solution would be making the plop-able cliffs painting the ground around them to their color.

1 hour ago, Raymond7cn said:

Dear Friends, I got a good idea about the Globe when i was watching an old movie with my boy, You will know what i mean after 24 hours, I was just inspired by a short part at the beginning.

I really, really, really hope that movie is what I'm thinking right now

[CorinaMarie 29,605]

Per your suggestion, @Raymond7cn, CB and I have created a dedicated topic for my Lua explorations:

 

[rocker289 75]

Thank you all you people I Never Thought I would learn so much from all you people
I Read and learn
Thank you for all the Info
It Is A Something every one should consider
Thank you for giving every one Hope 

That SC4 Deluxe will survive The next

Trial in time
 

[Raymond7cn 6,772]

19 hours ago, Terring said:

So maybe the solution would be making the plop-able cliffs painting the ground around them to their color.

Thank you so much Terring, You and other veterans have suggested @xannepan many times to me, really want to give it a try as soon as possible, I guess i need to learn how to use it properly first, Right?  it must be a great Mod, since i have read some posts by xannepan in many places, i'm pretty sure that i have many same idea with him or her, Anyway, i will record every steps that i experience of it here. Looking forward your corrections then.

19 hours ago, Terring said:

I really, really, really hope that movie is what I'm thinking right now

Actually, That movie seems you or Steve @thecitiescenter recommended to me, And i thought you at least have guessed out some, Just keep the secret a while, I ran into an issue of 3ds max, but will fix it as soon as possible.

18 hours ago, CorinaMarie said:

CB and I have created a dedicated topic for my Lua explorations:

Thank you Cori and CB, Next time i could consult you about LUA there, Cori's LUA land, Bravo!

Hiya @rocker289, Thank you for your heartwarming words, Like CB has said before, That's the spirit of Simtropolis, I always feel the same way as you, Honored that i could walk along with Giants.

[Raymond7cn 6,772]

Ok, I will reveal the answer, It's frames (I don't know how to say it in English.)of Universal Picture from Back to the future, @Terring

 

Tell me the thoughts if you try it.

HD-Park menu-9x9

Has been published below.

 

[CorinaMarie 29,605]

21 minutes ago, Raymond7cn said:

Tell me the thoughts if you try it.

With planning, this would go well as a centerpiece for a large city.

I plopped it in a forest for testing.

[thecitiescenter 3,045]

5 hours ago, Raymond7cn said:

Ok, I will reveal the answer, It's frames (I don't know how to say it in English.)of Universal Picture from Back to the future, @Terring

 

Tell me the thoughts if you try it.

HD-Park menu-9x9

Earth2.zip

If you made it smaller and put it on top of a fountain youd have half the Universal Studios entrance...

[Raymond7cn 6,772]

2 hours ago, thecitiescenter said:

If you made it smaller and put it on top of a fountain youd have half the Universal Studios entrance...

No problem Steve, I searched and got many Universal entrances and none of them are identical, whereas i guessed you meant the Orlando's.  Began to model.

[Raymond7cn 6,772]

@thecitiescenter Hiya my friends, how about this one?

For Note: Spent hours on a very strange issue, I wanted to make a smoke water so i used Volume Fog and assigned it to a container, I was pretty sure about this since have succeeded before, but couldn't be rendered this time, i did many tests with different settings, sometimes the Fog could be rendered even i didn't change anything, so weird, Anyway, i will try to figure out or consult it someday. I didn't use Volume Fog or Particle system this time instead of a fog model from scratch.

[thecitiescenter 3,045]

On 8/27/2020 at 5:08 PM, Raymond7cn said:

No problem Steve, I searched and got many Universal entrances and none of them are identical, whereas i guessed you meant the Orlando's.  Began to model.

Actually I was thinking California, or Singapore, or Orlando or Japan... or any of them really 

[Raymond7cn 6,772]

Hiya Friends, That earth or world or globe has been released:

This one could be thought of as my first birthday present in Simtropolis. I will clean up the expired Links later.

These days i made some progress on other projects as well, made a simple T21 mod, some lights of vertiport, rough model of Churchill,

secret portrait, and some automatas. 

[Cyclone Boom 16,875]

What you've made here Raymond is a beautiful way to recognise how Simtropolis is truly a global community.

We're each from different parts of the world, yet we come together to share the common interest of city-building. The lighting you've added makes it shine spectacularly at night, and it does resemble the entrance to a theme park. Also it's very appropriate because your creations really do light up the world.

Also I was reminded of the Epcot IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth show with the globe, and all the countries surrounding World Showcase Lagoon.

Here's a couple of preview pics I found:

 

And from the show itself with the fountain barges and Earth Globe as the centrepiece:

There were flames and fireworks too in time to a musical soundtrack, and it describes the creation of Earth and the positive achievements of mankind. The show sadly doesn't run nowadays, but I remember visiting in 2015 with family and it was very memorable. There's some videos of it on YouTube if curious.

Your creation reminds me of the scenes and sights (and lights).

[Raymond7cn 6,772]

My learning Note about T21:

These days i learned some tutorials which @rsc204 shared to me before, I have made a simple one, (kind of ugly) I will write down some understanding with more details here later.

This pic will be familiar to you, Yes, i started from it, as i said, Frankly, i have learnt a bit when i still didn't know how to use LotEditor, and a tutorial by my favorite Jeronij (Actually i generally learnt from his mod):

https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=70.0

Here are my understanding by now (Please don't follow my notes, I'm still a Newbie, and i will complete and tidy up my thoughts when i understand it completely.):

1, T21 is Type=0x21, so i mistook it for the 21th type, however it is the 33th type. it's a Network Lot, so it is actually a Lot, Or could be understood as a growable Lot which grows by the rules along with Network tiles. The rules include RCI and wealth and areas (pattern pic above).

2, Some important properties of this Lot's exemplar: Exemplar Name, NetworkPlacementPattern, LotConfigPropertyZoneTypes, LotConfigPropertyWealthTypes, NetworkPieceID (very important). 

3, Props(00000001) and Flora(00000004) could be put into T21 Lot, It seemed we could only use them, I have tried others whereas they didn't appear on it. I haven't tested if Flora could grow up.

4, Parent chorot, Robin has explained it to me, but to be honest, i still need to learn how to use it, From the Mod of Jeronij, it seems could be used as deal with repetition.

5, The size or dimension of T21 seems could.only be 1x1, have tried to add LotConfigPropertySize (0x02 0x02)manually, but couldn't see the difference.

6, Do ReindexLotConfig when modifying the LotConfigPropertyLotObjectData, i made many stupid mistakes since i forgot this tip Cori told me.

7, To achieve random props appear in random places, i seems could use props families and different combination of NetworkPlacementPattern, In terms of NetworkPlacementPattern, i have learned some from some testing, I should make more tests for this someday.

8, The first test i made is for SAM, but seemed SAM already has T21, i could only see my changes when i let it loaded after NAM.

To be continue…

[Raymond7cn 6,772]

31 minutes ago, Cyclone Boom said:

The show sadly doesn't run nowadays, but I remember visiting in 2015 with family and it was very memorable. There's some videos of it on YouTube if curious.

Ah, Just saw your reply while writing, What's a pity it doesn't run again, I will go to enjoy it on YouTube later,  You know what, CB, You just inspired me with another idea, you know I have had your firework, so can we make a simtropolis firework? I mean there will be a text of Simtropolis as a firework shinning in the sky. I know It would be hard, but I thought the best is yet to come, Anyway, i want to give it a try someday.

[Raymond7cn 6,772]

②③ Winston Churchill statue : Just heard of some bad news about this statue, what's a pity. he is a good man from my student's textbook, so i couldn't understand it, however i thought nobody is perfect for God, and Jesus told us to respect and love each other, Not to mention it's just an art, I do hope there are less of hate and despise. Thank you @Dreadnought for this great statue, Frankly, i never thought i could make this so fast, it maybe benefit of recent learning of portrait. @CorinaMarie 

Hope you don't mind it's kind of rough, Anyway, it's just a 1x1 Lot in game.