SPAs Urbanist BAT Thread

[Jasoncw 11,941]

It happens with me too, but not as bad as I've seen on other people's stuff.  I don't remember what kind of card I have though.  So this is a problem that should be ignored?

I noticed the parts covering up the stairwells weren't cut out.  Did something go wrong?

Do you have any plans for your next project?

A lot of questions.

[yoder7652 21]

Spa...so I found a fix that works for my machine with the NIVIDIA GeForce FX 5200. I messed around with the NIVIDIA control panel (btw, learning that there is more to video cards than meets the eye ) and really couldn't find anything that made a difference. So I next moved to messing with the graphics options within SC4 (probably should've started here), anyways this worked for me and the splotches are now gone....load a city and go to options - graphic options - renderer and make sure that software is selected. You'll have to turn off the game for the changes to take place and restart it. You'll also have to readjust the rest of your graphic settings (e.g., automa level of detail, visibility of waves, etc.) back to the way you want them....I tend to have the max detail on everything, 32-bit, and all the options selected. Anyways, I didn't really see much difference in performance by changing from hardware to software...except the splotches were GONE!! Let me know if this works for you as well.

[spa 970]

Simdad1957: Thanks. 99% of everyone around here is quite good but sooner or later everyone bumps into a bad apple. Sometimes too its just misunderstandings too. One of the rude commenters apologised. Thanks for your support. Its Simtropolians like you that make contributing to the community worthwhile.

Jasoncw: It seems to be a graphics card issue. I have more info further down in this post. Graphics settings change it, but it seems to be, so far, limited to Nvidia cards. As for Kensingto Manor I didn't cut out the ground cover that hid the because... well, honestly I just was tired of dealing with it. When it came to LODs it just seemed like a lot of effort for a very minimal return. My next projects are to finish up the Tandori Hut and Trend Fashions which I began earlier. After that I don't know. I'm moving across the country on the 27th so I mightn't have time before I have to pack everything up. We'll just have to wait and see how things go.

Yoder: I have found that same on my machine with a few caveats. Check out the results below.

So this update is primarily about the splotchy graphics issue which thanks to Yoder seems to have been figured out. The problem seems to be with Nvidia graphics cards and depends on certain graphics settings. In game, just like Yoder, I can make the bug appear or go away be selecting software render or hardware render under the graphics setting. Below are images.

Hardware

Software

I didn't run the simulator but switching between the two does have a cost on my machine. I can get rid of the blotches but some of the other graphics suffer. The software render doesn't do as good a job on shadows, it's darker and it makes for a more speckled appearence (check out the differences in ground texture). So this seems to be a Maxis/Nvidia issue and not anything I can fix. Nice to have it figured out, but too bad that it seems to be beyond my control.

[SC4Noobie 5]

That's real strange... I run with hardware rendering. I have an NVIDIA FX 5200. Same as yonder. I haven't messed with the settings, but I'll just drop you my system specs.

XP Pro

2 gig RAM

160 gig HD

NVIDIA FX 5200.

Sound Card Realtech AC97

Pentium 4 3 ghz HT

And if you need more info, just tell me.

[spa 970]

Are you saying SC4Noobie that this glitch hasn't appeared on your computer?

[SC4Noobie 5]

Nope, I haven't tried the software render, though... I don't know why it wouldn't happen on my PC.

[sorchin 18]

Well spa your BATTING skills are wonderful. Sorry I haven't been in here before. I hope the graphics card glitch gets fixed my friend.. Are you working on a new BAT?.. Let me (us) know...

[spa 970]

SC4Noobie: hmm well keep me updated on anything that you find on your machine since this really seems to be a graphics card issue.

Sorchin: Thanks! I have been tinkering with three different bats, one of which is posted below.

So today I was out and about. I walked all the way from Kesington to Marda Loop with the camera. I took some pictures as I went. Completely by accident I stumbled into a neighbourhood called Garrison Woods. Garrison Woods is built on former military land and its streets reflect that (they're named after World War I battles). As far as suburbs go it's not bad. The new urbanist influence is pretty clear. Central green spaces, some higher than normal densities for a suburban area, the buildings hug the street, parking is streetside or in garages behind the buildilngs, the architectural style is consistent and there is a network of pedestrian paths. You can check out the neighbourhood at this address http://www.garrisonwoods.com/en/default.htm or take a look at the pictures I snapped below.

And below is my starting effort

Lots to do yet, but not a bad beginning. Once I have this one modelled I'll copy it three times so that I'll have four of them. I'll make some slight changes to each of the copies so that they won't all be completely identical. Unlike most batted rowhouses, I won't be making any 1x2s. 1x2s are out because to get this to fit w2w as a lone building, I would have to add on another 4 metres across and in my first attempt, I quickly found that 16 across is just too fat for this style. The Garrison Woods rowhouses are slender, not short and squat. That's why I'm going with four on a 3x2 lot because 12x4 = 48 which is exactly w2w on 3 tiles across. Eventually there will be 3 lots with different variations of the same style. 

I don't know that I'll have a chance to finish Garrison Woods before I move on the 27th but I'll try. I think Tandori Hut and Trend Fashions will be finsihed though. I have done some more work on the Tandori Hut but nothing I want to show just yet. Anyway, this is what I have been up to. I'll update again when I have made some significant progress on one of my three projects.

[jacqulina 162]

excellent work

[spa 970]

Thanks, as always, Jacqulina.

So I didn't work on Garrison Woods at all today, instead I finished up the Tandoori Hut. You can check out the pictures below.

It's nothing special. Just a generic little restaurant (Tandoori Hut) a nail parlour (Shari's) and a tattoo parlour (Body Inc.). Its funny, with this one a lot of the interesting details ended up around back. Tandoori Hut's rear parking lot will fit with my other 3 deep bats to make an alley. This is another addition to my Kensington set. In real life, it's right next door to Ridley's Cycles. Anyway, I'll probably upload this sometime tomorrow.

[Mulefisk 15]

Very nice!

Your BATs are some of the few growable ones I actually download, because they're just all so realistic, and fit in so great with any city enviroment.

Keep up the good work!

[SC4Noobie 5]

Im real sorry about this spa, but I gave you false information.... I realized that I always play on zoom 4 and 2. Sorry again. Well, that's real strange now, it's definatly a NVIDIA card issue. The new building looks good.

[josefmayor 8]

I like that BAT I can't wait to use it!

[jacqulina 162]

very nice and great detail and you are welcome

[yoder7652 21]

I didn't notice too much of a difference with speed by switching to software rendering, but I did notice that my shadows were not as defined and the ground texture was not quite right. I broke down and purchased a new graphics card that works perfectly....I am splotch free and my shadows are back, as well as ground texture. I stuck with NVIDIA and got a 6200 it has 256 MB DDR....

[simdad1957 3]

Your Garrison Woods project looks quite interesting. It's probably good that you are looking at lots sized 3x2 because it might be easier to get a whole neighbourhood to grow in this style with proper zoning. There are so many 1x2 and 2x2 lots out there that it would be much more difficult to generate a homogenous streetscape.

[JBSimio 152]

Looks nice Spa!  I like the ducting that runs down the back of the building... cool little touch.

I had my first instance of the "splotchy bug" myself yesterday.  NVIDIA 5900 is what I have.  The software render did work, but I absolutely hate the way it made things look.  Very grainy... I guess I'll just live with the blemishes for now.

JB

[Sim shady 12]

the back looks excellent, like the sirection you are going here. the grafetti (ugh cant remember how that word is spelled) definitely adds a great sense of realism to it.

[spa 970]

Wow everyone. Thanks for all the comments. Replies below.

Mulefisk: Thanks. I have benefitted from the subject material available to me (I live in Calgary's most walkable neighbourhood). I'm glad that my creations have found a home in your cities.

SC4Noobie: No problem. I think we can close the book on the mystery of what's causing the bug since JBSimio has reported his first instance of it too and he has practically the same Nvidia card as everyone else who has reported the problem is using. Thanks for adding to the knowledge.

Josefmayor: Thanks. It's on the STEX now.

Jacqulina: Thanks. It may be small and generic and unglamarous but I did spend a fair bit of time on the small details, especially on the back side of the building. Thanks for noticing

Yoder7652: hmm well I probably won't buy a new graphics card anytime soon. I'll probably replace the computer before I buy anymore new parts. It's good to know however that the splotch problem doesn't appear on all Nvidia cards since I prefer Nvidia over ATI. Thanks again for all your help on this one. You don't know what a relief it was to solve this one. Thanks so much.

Simdad1957: I'm kind of excited about it too. I haven't done any residental buildings yet. I have even bigger plans beyond a simple residental lot though. I'm hoping that when I'm done the three or four versions of Garrison Woods I'll be able to render them as props and make them into a prop family. A prop family would be nice because the four different spots on the 3X2 will be then filled randomly by the different variations of my rowhouse. This opens up a huge number of potential combinations on the lot. This will take a while for me though. I have never made a prop or a prop family before so it'll mean some digging through Simtropolis so that I can figure out what the heck I'm doing.

JBSimio: Thanks. I'm pleased with the ducting too. It's too bad you've bumped into the splotchy bug. It can be a real pain in the but. Like you I reached the same conclusion. I would rather have a few spoltches than the grainy ground and poor shadows that you get if you turn on software render. I'm just happy to know the cause of the splotch issue.

Sim Shady: Grafitti is indeed a tough one. I have quite a few grafitti image files saved with incorrect spellings! I have been having some fun with grafitti lately ever since I learned how to make alpha maps. It'll probably become a staple on many of my BATs, especially around back or on the sides or in any other out of the way space. The one nice thing about the grafitti on this one is that it won me some major points with the girlfriend. She positively melted when I pointed out the SA heart MM on the one side

So I uploaded the Tandoori Hut this evening. You can download it here: 

https://www.simtropolis.com/stex/index.cfm?id=16670

I also did a little bit of work on Trend Fashions. Nothing I want to show just yet though, but I'll probably have an update ready tomorrow. I think I can have Trend Fashions done before moving day (I'm on a plane for Halifax a week from today). Garrison Woods though will have to wait until I'm settled in Nova Scotia. Hopefully the computer will survive the courier!

[jacqulina 162]

you are welcome you have done well

[frdracaufeu 0]

Spa, thanks for doing such a good job with the BATs. I appreciate them since they give my cities a nice little Canadian flavour. I do have two questions, do you plan on making BATs for buildings in other cities in Canada? Also, do you have any plans for making BATs based on some of the C-Train stations? Or even any other Canadian transit stations?

Thanks again and good luck in Halifax.

[spa 970]

frdracaufeu: Thanks. I have made a few bats from Halifax (all my banks and the Ardmore Tea Room) and one from Toronto (Sam the Record Man). All the rest are from Calgary. This will stay pretty much the same for the forseeable future. I work from digital photos so the bats I do are ones I see. I have a lot of pictures from Calgary and Halifax since I live and have lived in both of them and I have a fair number of photos from Toronto from my last trip there. In the future, I'll probably do more Halifax bats since I'm moving back there on Sunday and maybe a few from small-town Nova Scotia. I don't have any plans to do any transportation bats. My main interest is in small and medium sized commercial buildings and residentals.

So I promised a little peak at my work on Trend Fashions so here it is.

Lots still to do but this is the shape I'm working with. The one thing I'm really not sure about is whether or not to change the texture of the flat part of the roof where the mechanical equipment is. I'm not sure whether a more gravel or tile texture would be better there than the shingles I'm using right now. Plenty of time to figure it out I guess as the sides, the back 1st floor and the 2nd floor deck still need work. Still, any advice would be appreciated.

[Goin2Chicago 4]

well first of all i'd like to say that i love all your bats, you have great talent. 

i think the flat part looks fine and don't really think that if it were a gravel part it wouldn't look right. i do know that whatever you choose it will look awesome. keep up the great work!

[Kwakelaar 92]

I like the way it looks, but if realism is what you are going for yes, you should probably change the rooftexture on the flat part of the roof.

[spa 970]

Goin2Chicago: Thanks.

Kwakelaar: Thanks. I have changed to a gravel tile texture for the flat roof. You can see it below.

So Trend Fashions is well on the way to being done. Today's work is below.

You can see that I changed the flat roof texture to a gravel one. I think it looks a lot better this way. I also added the back and side details. I did decide that I didn't like the look of the deck so I scrapped the rails. I'll make new ones up sometime tomorrow. Beside the deck, all that's left to be done is the lighting. This will definitely be done before moving day. Anyway, I might be able to release this tomorrow so the time is now for any last minute suggestions.

[jacqulina 162]

yes wonderfull texture and great detail excellent work

[JBSimio 152]

Wow... this one really came together quickly!  I really like it.  Decievingly simple until you look a little closer where the details come out.  Very nice!

JB

[josefmayor 8]

Looks fantastic man!

[bixel 1,224]

Yeah! Looks great! I have to say...even though I am into the HK stuff these commercial midrises (lowrises) are very very nice. I am so glad you make the 3x4 3x3 and 4x4. I am sick and tired of Maxis little 2x1 shops.

[simdad1957 3]

Good luck in Halifax Spa. I'm just up the road in Moncton NB.