Simtropolis Shipyard

[AP 3,588]

LAST UPDATED: 16/07/2023

Hiya all together,

As some of you may be aware of, I have been into creating BATs for a while now and am currently invested in a major project with @Dreadnought creating historic naval content.

Most of my published content is linked to the wind and offshore industry, but I am really impressed by all sorts of vessels and always keen to improve the variety of our offshore content and bring unique additions to the game. I know we have a few people who are interested in this topic as well, and there are some great ships out there by @Barroco Hispano.

I decided to start this topic to display some of my work in intermediate creation stages and in angles that would normally not be seen in the ship (and I want to avoid spamming all of you in "Show us what you're working on" with endless pictures of ships )

I would encourage anyone else who is interested in this topic to post suggestions/inquiries/ideas or their own creations on here as well!

The range of ships goes from offshore construction vessels over sailboats, submarines to historic battle cruisers. So really everything is welcome here.

Also, for myself I will start a register listing all my ships under here

CONTENT LIST

Historic ships

• Armoured Cruisers
  • SMS Victoria Louise (1897)
    
  • SMS Hertha (1897)
    
  • SMS Freya (1897)
    
  • SMS Vineta (1897)
    
  • SMS Hansa (1898)
    
  • SMS Fürst Bismarck (1897)
    
  • SMS Prinz Heinrich (1900)
    
  • SMS Prinz Adalbert (1901)
    
  • SMS Friedrich Carl (1902)
    
  • SMS Roon (1903)
    
  • SMS Yorck (1904)
    
  • SMS Scharnhorst (1906)
    
  • SMS Gneisenau (1906)
    
  • SMS Blücher (1908)
    

 

• Battlecruisers
  • SMS Moltke (1910)
    
  • SMS Göben (1911)
    
  • SMS Seydlitz (1912)
    
  • SMS Hindenburg (1915)
    

 

• Submarines
  • M-class Submarines
    
  • Type U23 sub
    
  • U 139 Class
    

 

• Fleet Colliers
  • Prometheus-class Collier (1908)
    
  • Jupiter-class Collier (1912)
    
  • USS Vestal (1908)
    

 

• Tug boats
  • Harbour Tugs (Midgard, Asgard, Thor, Odin)
    
  • Power Tugs (Nordwind, Passat)
    
  • Deep-sea Salvage Tugs (Langeoog, Spiekeroog)
    
  • Wheel Tugs (Sophia, Esmeralda, Helena)
    

 

• Sail boats
  • Schooners
    
  • Sloops
    
  • Barque (Maria)
    
  • Brig
    
  • Clipper (Cutty Sark)
    

 

Modern era ships

 

• SAR cruiser (Ernst-Meier-Hedde)
  
• Pilot boat
  
• Cable Laying Vessel - CLV
  
• Wind Turbine Installation Vessel - WIV
  

(and many more that need to be listed...)

I will not post any more than these thumbnail front/side-views of the battleships, since I want their full beauty and detail to be showcased in @Dreadnought CJ! (so you will need to wait for his magnificent work!) 

[Barroco Hispano 26,785]

It looks amazingly detailed!

And yes, I have a lot of ships, among them 62 sail ships "ready" to export 

[AP 3,588]

5 minutes ago, Barroco Hispano said:

It looks amazingly detailed!

And yes, I have a lot of ships, among them 62 sail ships "ready" to export 

Can't wait! Please feel free to post some pics here! I am always keen to see other models and would enjoy if we share those!

[Dreadnought 8,227]

Just now, Barroco Hispano said:

It looks amazingly detailed!

And yes, I have a lot of ships, among them 62 sail ships "ready" to export 

Sixty-two models -- !! -- ??

You might very well have something that might fit into the 1880 to 1940's period -- mostly merchant vessels, of course......

And -- YES -- @AP makes simply stunningly detailed "Hi-Def" models!!!

[Dreadnought 8,227]

@AP

This is my new favorite thread to drop in on, Mate !!

[AP 3,588]

2 minutes ago, Dreadnought said:

@AP

This is my new favorite thread to drop in on, Mate !!

Thought we could maybe also share some of our development thoughts here. So if you research some beautiful vessels, and have a few lines of historical background that you need to drop somewhere...

[AP 3,588]

And here we are:

[Barroco Hispano 26,785]

Looks great!!!

I didn't even know a ship like that could be made in GMAX 

By the way, what scale did you use on the ship and how tall are your sims? 

[Dreadnought 8,227]

1 hour ago, Barroco Hispano said:

Looks great!!!

I didn't even know a ship like that could be made in GMAX 

By the way, what scale did you use on the ship and how tall are your sims? 

They are TALL men to go with TALL ships !!

Sorry -- I couldn't resist the cheap humor!  My apologies --

My guess is that they are just a bit over 2 meters -- but I could be wrong.

 

[Dreadnought 8,227]

@AP

THIS IS PERFECT !!

I am really impressed with your color choices and the way they contrast, while actually acting in harmony.  Especially that deck texture -- VERY nice!

I hope you are assigning names to all these sailing ships......I'd really hate to call them #1 - #2 - etc.

[AP 3,588]

Hope that

On 11/02/2022 at 9:55 PM, Dreadnought said:

@AP

THIS IS PERFECT !!

I am really impressed with your color choices and the way they contrast, while actually acting in harmony.  Especially that deck texture -- VERY nice!

I hope you are assigning names to all these sailing ships......I'd really hate to call them #1 - #2 - etc.

Hope this answers your question (I might make them dark, so they stand out more against the hull texture)

To be fair, the letters are too small to be readable in after the model is rendered anyway...

On 11/02/2022 at 7:58 PM, Barroco Hispano said:

Looks great!!!

I didn't even know a ship like that could be made in GMAX 

By the way, what scale did you use on the ship and how tall are your sims? 

Yeah, GMAX is actually pretty powerful, in its modelling capabilities, I have almost all functions I could wish for. The texturing has big deficits though, so you will always have an advantage using 3dsMAX.

The ship does not really have a scale since it's fully imaginary (there is no real life ship I tried to copy - of course I looked at some vessels to take details and inspiration from). But the dimensions of it are ~64m length (~80m including bowsprit and jib boom), 12m beam, ~56m main mast-height. The Sims are 2.2m tall.

@CarstenB Maybe a nice homage to your home town

[SIM-ple Jack 17,445]

Really want to see what 3 of our site's naval geniuses can concoct from this thread!

[Dreadnought 8,227]

52 minutes ago, SIM-ple Jack said:

Really want to see what 3 of our site's naval geniuses can concoct from this thread!

It is -- almost -- unfolding before your very eyes, Jack! 

When "IMPERIAL DOCKYARDS: CUXHAVEN" makes its' debut (soon I hope) -- you will see many things that will "educate, elucidate, and electrify" !!!  "Just step over to the ticket booth and give the little lady one thin dime...just one tenth of a dollar!"  (Read that imagining W.C. Fields murdering the accent.)

[Lucario Boricua 7,031]

Gonna do an unusual post here, there was a super short-lived city journal I attempted back in 2016, but which quickly went bust between my first student job hogging my time, web hosting issues with Photobucket, and the arrival of Windows 10 disabling my SC4 disc copy.

     Some of you might remember the Republic of Drakensberg, which features some shipyard action!     

 

The city of Canopus was a hastily-built settlement following the retreat of the government of the Republic of Drakensberg in the war against the Kingdom of Hydrakonei. They had to set up a naval force to regain their mighty coastal cities!

 

In a surprisingly short amount of time, a really productive shipyard was set-up to pump out sailing ships in preparation of said war efforts!

 

The promontories near the Bay of Canopus were also being fortified, as a precautionary measure against retaliation from the Hydrakoneian forces!     

 

And this is the literal city journal entry from Admiral Salascala Sadal, the military commander designated as war governor of Drakensberg to more effectively overcome this crisis!

[SIM-ple Jack 17,445]

19 hours ago, Dreadnought said:

It is -- almost -- unfolding before your very eyes, Jack! 

When "IMPERIAL DOCKYARDS: CUXHAVEN" makes its' debut (soon I hope) -- you will see many things that will "educate, elucidate, and electrify" !!!  "Just step over to the ticket booth and give the little lady one thin dime...just one tenth of a dollar!"  (Read that imagining W.C. Fields murdering the accent.)

I just want to fire some of those guns, especially the Gneisenau and Scharnhorst.

[AP 3,588]

Nice little schooner to be launched soon!

Hope you like it! If anyone has deep knowledge about fore-and -aft rigged ships could you please comment on my running rigging I am not fully sure about this yet:

[SIM-ple Jack 17,445]

You guys planning on doing any submersibles? U-Bs, and maybe Civil War era? Steamships?

[Barroco Hispano 26,785]

USS Forrest Sherman

OPEN THE IMAGE IN A NEW TAB TO SEE IT IN FULL RESOLUTION

[AP 3,588]

9 hours ago, Barroco Hispano said:

USS Forrest Sherman

OPEN THE IMAGE IN A NEW TAB TO SEE IT IN FULL RESOLUTION

HOLY COW! The detail on this model is INSANE!
BRAVO ZULU

[AP 3,588]

Rigg much?

[AP 3,588]

Latest progress... anyone knows her name, despite lots of details still missing? (@Dreadnought is not allowed to guess, of course he knows)

The 6 unused gun ports give her away easily...

[AP 3,588]

[AP 3,588]

 A new scratch built collier is progressing: (watch till the end ~10 sec)

 

[AP 3,588]

Another sneak peek of our tug boat package, including deep sea selvage tugs, harbor tugs, and a wheel tugs...

[AP 3,588]

A new collier is nearing completion:

[AP 3,588]

One of our latest projects in the making:

[Tyberius06 12,211]

Holy-ssssshiiiips!  

I was not aware of this topic! Wow, these are some beautiful ships. Keep up the good work on them! 

Amazing stuff!

- Tyberius

[justforfun 7,878]

Simply amazing models, in one of the hardest fields to recreate.  I am very much looking forward to seeing these on the STEX, just wondering... do you think it might be possible to release also versions with no sims on board? It is just a pet peeve of mine, I don't use any static people props because at high zoom, no matter how beautifully designed, they necessarily look like statues (I had to forego several Pegasus models just because they came with baked-in sims).  I would love to park the "empty" tug boats along canals and rivers for scenic effect. Thank you for consideration.

[Dreadnought 8,227]

6 hours ago, justforfun said:

Simply amazing models, in one of the hardest fields to recreate.  I am very much looking forward to seeing these on the STEX, just wondering... do you think it might be possible to release also versions with no sims on board? It is just a pet peeve of mine, I don't use any static people props because at high zoom, no matter how beautifully designed, they necessarily look like statues (I had to forego several Pegasus models just because they came with baked-in sims).  I would love to park the "empty" tug boats along canals and rivers for scenic effect. Thank you for consideration.

Yo, guy --

FIRST -- I do not presume to speak for @AP on his own thread -- but I thought I might contribute to the deliberative process.

One of the key elements in our design philosophy is to bring the "history" of the topic/ships "to life".  No ship is ever deserted (Until she reaches the breaker's yard).  Even warships "laid-up in ordinary" have a watch posted aboard.  Tugs "parked" along a seawall or a quiet corner of an anchorage always have crewmen wandering about.  You might give a bit of consideration that element.  The people make them more "real". 

I have a vivid imagination.  I spent a good many years visiting American Civil War battlefields, and from the very first visit -- I could "see" the gun smoke, "hear" the cannon, and "visualize" the battle flags streaming and long lines of soldiers closing for battle.  I first visited an active-duty battleship as a young man and fell in love with their mystique. I am just as excited by the thought of a warship of the German Imperial Navy.  I have studied them for just over 60 years and find their appearance both mighty and graceful, and their design elements brilliant.  "AP's" amazing talent is bringing them "to life" for me -- and I hope, for everyone who sees them.

Dockyards are busy places and our shore scenes are filled with people going about their duties.  Our harbors will be crowded with ships, barges, and tugs bustling about -- the "busy harbor" theory.  "People" add "life" to what is, otherwise, a "sterile" environment.  The harbors are designed to be viewed at zoom-out as well as zoom-in.  Zoom out provides the overall picture, while zoom-in provides all the tiny, realistic, features of daily life.  So a viewer can appreciate the "overall" appearance of the harbor as well as the interesting details within it.

It is, of course, for "AP" to answer your question -- not me.  But you might consider that an officer on the bridge, or a crewman working a winch, are just as important to the realism of the model as a gun turret.

Ta, Mate --

[justforfun 7,878]

3 hours ago, Dreadnought said:

Yo, guy --

FIRST -- I do not presume to speak for @AP on his own thread -- but I thought I might contribute to the deliberative process.

One of the key elements in our design philosophy is to bring the "history" of the topic/ships "to life".  No ship is ever deserted (Until she reaches the breaker's yard).  Even warships "laid-up in ordinary" have a watch posted aboard.  Tugs "parked" along a seawall or a quiet corner of an anchorage always have crewmen wandering about.  You might give a bit of consideration that element.  The people make them more "real". 

I have a vivid imagination.  I spent a good many years visiting American Civil War battlefields, and from the very first visit -- I could "see" the gun smoke, "hear" the cannon, and "visualize" the battle flags streaming and long lines of soldiers closing for battle.  I first visited an active-duty battleship as a young man and fell in love with their mystique. I am just as excited by the thought of a warship of the German Imperial Navy.  I have studied them for just over 60 years and find their appearance both mighty and graceful, and their design elements brilliant.  "AP's" amazing talent is bringing them "to life" for me -- and I hope, for everyone who sees them.

Dockyards are busy places and our shore scenes are filled with people going about their duties.  Our harbors will be crowded with ships, barges, and tugs bustling about -- the "busy harbor" theory.  "People" add "life" to what is, otherwise, a "sterile" environment.  The harbors are designed to be viewed at zoom-out as well as zoom-in.  Zoom out provides the overall picture, while zoom-in provides all the tiny, realistic, features of daily life.  So a viewer can appreciate the "overall" appearance of the harbor as well as the interesting details within it.

It is, of course, for "AP" to answer your question -- not me.  But you might consider that an officer on the bridge, or a crewman working a winch, are just as important to the realism of the model as a gun turret.

Ta, Mate --

Yo, Dreadnought! 

I guess I was a bit confusing when making my point. First, I was asking whether there might be versions without crew and versions with crew, so that one could choose.

Second, my pet peeve is not with having people populate scenes. Quite the opposite, I like my cities to be as vital as possible, and to achieve this I like animations, not static sims which inevitably look like statues. There are only two circumstances where I use static people props: for military guards, and for sleeping sims, which are supposed to be still in real life too. 

Of course, static people props are fantastic if one wants to take pictures of a scene, and the ones AP has made are incredibly detailed and realistic for that purpose. However, I like to browse my streets and watch people walking, talking, hopping, etc. rather than frozen in a move. As limited as Maxis sim animations may be, they do make the city feel alive.

Lastly, on the banks of the river here in the Big Smoke I see plenty of empty boats of all kinds. I can definitely see your point for big ships, however it is tugboats, barges, and small boats that I would like to park along my canals, and which therefore I would love to be available in no-crew versions as well. Pleeeeease