Alien_397

I’ve already posted this on SC4D, but I wanted to include the ST community in this as well, though I haven’t buttered ya’ll up quite as much. Hope you like what you see, and looking forward to any feedback. As Promised to a few folks, I’m starting this thread to showcase and get feedback on my present project, which I’m affectionately calling the Rural Renewal Project or RRP(what would a project be these days without a three letter acronym?) This of course includes the most visible part of it that I’ve shown in a few pictures, my new fences, along with a number of other elements currently in progress or planned designed to increased the realism, fluidity(yeah, like non-grid type s***), and diversity of rural areas. But enough of talking, pictures are worth a thousand words, so here are a few dissertations on the subject for you(in pixilated form) So to start off with a breakdown of items currently in progress. Elements Base Set Fences Overhanging Lots The Pieces with paths under them indicate sections with overhanging props, so that the paths are actually separate lots placed under the props. As you can see, all of the gates have been done in this fashion, which means paths and networks can be run through them, though I still have to render the diagonal gate(notice only one is done at present, the models exist, they just haven’t been rotated and rendered) to be in the right position. GatesThese are using prop families such that there is only one lot for closed ortho. gates(actually two, one overhanging to the left, one to the right), same for ortho open gates, then just one for diagonal open and diagonal closed(these don't need a left and right version as far as I've seen so far, but haven't really tested yet) Current Progress Most of this set is done, with the exception of the gates which have to be rendered and modded. Other than that I have a couple of mirrored pieces to make of one or two lots seen above(such as the ‘S’ Curve with the base texture still showing.) Furthermore Ltexts for them all, and a few custom icons have to be done for the newer ones. Gravel/Dirt Paths Current Progress Still a couple missing here too, in particular 4-way pieces. Most of what is left to do here is though is icons and naming. If anyone sees any important missing pieces I didn’t think about let me know. As a side note you might also have noticed that the street transition is transit enabled. In the next update I’ll try to show a few of the additional elements I’ve got planned including additional ‘pasture’ mayor mode flora in the works(you might have seen some of it up in the top pictures,) as well as some additional props and buildings. In the next update I’ll try to show a few of the additional elements I’ve got planned including additional ‘pasture’ mayor mode flora in the works(look around you'll see a few) as well as some additional props, buildings, and entrances. On that note, one more teaser. Anyone interested in testing these out for me and giving any suggestions for additional pieces, just PM me and within a couple of days I’ll have the base set ready for ‘beta’ purposes. I’m trying to build this to be as flexible as possible, so you’re input is appreciated.

The only thing I can think of, there's a short instant before the rendered image gets diced up into 256x256 bitmaps that the actual output bitmap is set to the perspective render, and if I remember right, only the alpha image actually. If something short circuited the dicing process after that but didn't crash the render perhaps, but I still can't imagine what would cause that. If that's even what we're seeing. What's the S3D for that same view look like, and did it only have one image for that view (e.i. normally, you'd have a number of 256x256 bitmaps for each view dividing up the correct render)?

That's an odd one. Could you get a picture of it in the reader at zoom 3 in one of the rotations that's not showing, with wireframe on. I can think of a number of things that could cause something like that, but they're all long shots too. For it to happen to only two rotations at one zoom. Since there are no 'checkerboard' pattern, we know it should actually has fsh's applied there. That leaves an error in the BAT exporting the S3D and for some reason culling the faces on those two rotations, or perhaps somehow getting a blank alpha for them as potentials, but what would cause those errors is then a question in and or itself. Nor is that the only possibilities.

The most common cause of what you're describing occurs when the SC4model name has spaces in it. This prevents FSHtool (the dos window that pops up when pressing 'FSH Batch Build') from processing the files, which is why "DAT FSH Insert" can't find any FSH files. Check the filename of the SC4model file you're exporting to for spaces. If it's got any, either delete them or replace them with "_"s and try exporting again. Chris

Monkee Boy, The main thing that would cause Gmax to create such large LODs is if you've got hidden or frozen geometry. You won't see it unless you unhide it, but Gmax still considers it when building the LOD. As for custom ones, I haven't a clue why they would give you that particular error. In fact, it's a pretty hard one to replicate. In fact I've only seen it in the scripts, never actually seen it occur in a render. And I've done lots of custom LODs. My suggestion... first check for hidden geometry that might be causing Gmax to exaggerate the LODs. If that's not the culprit, allow it to create the LOD's, delete 4 and 5, then resize LOD3 (by selecting and moving the faces or vertices). Once you've got it sized correctly, copy it out to LOD4 and LOD5. And of course watch that the LODs are named properly when you're done doing that. Hope that helps.

Joseph, Make sure you've set the camera first. To do that you've got to press either a rotation or zoom button in the preview panel when you open a model before you can use the preview. I can't tell if this is exactly what you're getting without knowing the error message, but it's the most common and likely. Anyway folks, I've been working on quite a bit of scripting for Bat4Max as of late, but I'll be discussing it over at SC4D (nothing personal, it's just that ST's forum software doesn't get along with my computer.) edit: finally got the link to to work, here's the thread: https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=5512.msg174263;topicseen#msg174263>Chris's Bat4Max Addons I'll be introducing additions periodically there for discussion. Take a look, for now I'm discussing my additions to the previews, but there are quite a few things beyond that I'll be getting into. Chris

Hi Monkee boy, some screen shots of what you're trying to render and the LOD's themselves would help a lot in figuring out what's going wrong.

Look back at my second to last post Jayo(the one without any pictures) And thank you Jacky

Actually Scipio, I was just thinking about updating the foam texture along the seam to match better , but I haven't had any time to revisit that. Right now I'm working on getting the road functional. I've basically reworked the LOD's to allow a bridge to be dragged across, and there will be a special bridge without any columns made for it. Until we can get the bridge put together(threestooges over at SC4D is giving me some help on the technical aspects there), I ran this test with a standard Maxis bridge(hence the column sticking down through the dam)to make sure it's all put together right. I've still got a spot or two to fix on LOD's as this is just a test, but other than that it works fine. You can also see some new details I've added in, such as the guard rails. The extra set of street lights has been removed from my model since I took these pictures since they'll be T21'd in like the Maxis ones seen here width=800 height=600> width=800 height=600>

Hi un1, it's actually an alpha mapped texture applied to a flat plane. I talked about it a bit more(with some pictures) in this post, since I've already discussed it there. Glad you're liking this, it's been a fun project for me so far(and I can't wait till it's released either )

Things have moved along a little bit on the Lake Livingston Dam, here's a new shot, with Diggis's pond lots he's working on forming the lake in this case, and in-game water below the dam:

roboo1: Try here: https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?board=249.0 . All the flora I've made is available in the sticky note at the top of each page, along with the fences and paths. I'm presently making the Lake Livingston Dam, in Texas: The big challenge is that I'm making it for in-game water, using a few tricks with perspective and LOD's to give an impression that the spillway side is lower than the lake side(despite the fact we know it can't be) Here's the newest shot showing the ladders added on the front and the beginnings of the control building on the side. Chris p.s. I've no clue why line breaks and word wrapping aren't working. I tried to fix it with no luck.

Well, just a couple of pictures here. I've been working on throwing several new flora into the mix, a couple of tall weed models, and (my favorite) some new grass that will blend into the terrain much better than the old. And an update to the muddy water(to match the water mod in the picture seen above)

Jacky: Thank you so much. I'm really putting a lot into making this as good as I can, so it's always good to see your encouragement Gn_leugim: I've got a link to download the flora at my SC4D thread JanYpe: Thanks alot, glad you like it. Sim shady: Look forward to seeing you there.

Oooh, why not. I'll keep yall posted here every once in a while. I've started a new project as of late. Most of you I'm sure are familiar with transparent ploppable water(from now on TPW) since Jeroni released the first model some half a year ago. While these are a huge leap up from the old flat ploppable water, I've always wanted to do a little more with it. Recently Jeroni was kind enough to share with me the process of making ploppable water, well, transparent. I'll mostly introduce what I'm up to here, though I'd like to keep the main discussion at SC4D for simplicity for me, as I'm more comfortable with the forum setup there. The main things I'm trying to do is add more complexity and realism into the 'texture' of the water, as well as add some extra functionality. If you've used TPW before, you know that you can spend all the time in the world detailing the bank with flora and rocks from one view, only to have the bank 'jump' as soon as you switch views, throwing it all off. The way to correct this is to lower the model. In Jeroni's, all of the pieces are set to 4 meters above the ground. I'm adding to these pieces(just the small ones) set at 2.2 and .6 meters that will allow for more 'anchored' bank lines for larger bodies of water, and to be the water for smaller streams. A second benefit of this comes when trying to produce the appearance of a shallow stream, because flora and rocks that wouldn't have broken the water's surface before are now able to. Any way, I know, I know, where are the pictures. Here's some developement shots. The 'original' crop of textures(on the left), next to the JRJ ones(on the right) Comparison of new 'blue' textures, next to original Comparison of 'Green' textures, next to original 0.6 meter height TPW, notice that small rocks are able to break the surface. This also has almost no bank 'jump' from different angles This one's my favorit so far. The water mod is a new one that we're planning to make compatible with the new TPW. The results are quite promising so far. The 'Blue' TPW seen here is likely to replace the blue textures seen before, as it's made specifically for the water mod here and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. There's a bit more technical discussion at SC4D for those interested, but I'm curious to see what folks here think. Chris

Very nice work El Burro. I can see where a couple of the textures are stretched, but most of them look great. Here's a little RRP Project I've been fiddling with. Chris

I didn't want to keep yall at ST totally in the dark. This is part of a larger post at SC4D. Again, I apologize that I have to chose, I just don't have time to keep up two threads on different sites. Anyways, here's some new pictures, if you like what you see, come over to my SC4D thread and check it out. I've got links for all the flora, as well as the fence and paths there until I finish up a few little details and documentation for a final release. Chris

For the record, I'm back and doing finishing touches on the RRP projects I started, though I don't really have time now to maintain two threads. I will check here occasionally, but for the most part you can follow development at https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=2352.280. I've already released betas for my flora there, and the fences are all but ready. Chris

Several Months ago I started a project to add some new football options to SC4 that's finally getting ready for release, so to catch everybody up, here's the basics: The first release planned will be a series of rec football lots(outlined in red) similair to the Maxis soccer field, which is shown for comparison. I’ve decided to release two sizes of fields, one similair in size to the Maxis soccerfield (5x3 tiles), and one that is set to real world size(6x4 tiles), so that players can pick what suites their playing style better. For each field I’ve also created a lot with stands and one without stands again for versatility. Through the miracle of timed props, the stands will fill up at game time(in this case from 11:00 AM to 4:30 PM.) Not picking on anyone in particular(so please no one get offended), but a lot of fields on the STEX have LOD’s covering the field itself which prevents props being placed on the field. Therefore I have created the fields and stands as separate props. Given Maxis didn’t make any American football fields, there are no animated football props. To get around this I’ve just used the soccer ones instead(for these lots, the kids soccer props and effects), which actually doesn’t come out half bad. I’ve also created a mod(I don’t even like calling it that it’s so simple) that will remove the soccer ball, but of course it will remove it from actual soccer fields as well, so it would be optional. Next post I'll have more on Albriet Stadium, my first major project:

DarkEldar: Thanks, just to aviod any confusion, the best buy I used for those example lots is a Simgoober building, I'd just picked a random building to use for those as they were just showing the parking lot textures. And thanks as always Jacky. I've also decided that over the next several days I'm going to get an initial release of the fences and paths put together. It won't have everything I'd like it to, but I'll add on to it in later updates. I've just got to fix a few lots, change the menu placement and make sure everything has custom icons.

The lack of replies hasn't been by choice, I recently moved appartments and don't have internet set up here yet. I'm just occaisionally being able to pick up other wireless networks, so bare with me. As for using regular timed props as Jason suggested, the shadow problem is actually associated with the reskey 4 property, not the randomized aspect, so any timed or seasonal prop will have this problem. Thus there will be open and closed lots as in the beta. Thanks for everyones input on the issue. Due to RL stuff, I haven't gotten much done on my larger projects lately, I've just confined myself to smaller simpler ones that don't require quite so much organizing and such. Living in central Texas, we have a lot of Dairy Queen's, and Kevdan did a DQ some time ago, but it was a much more modern looking one. So I decided I wanted to make one representative of the older style that I'm used to, and which can be found in just about every small town around here. The results: Some of you might notice you've never seen these parking lots before as well, and for good reason. I'd been wanting to add to the possibilities with some of the existing parking lot textures for a while, and the lot gave me the perfect reason to finally do it. These are additions to the Peg scenic drive textures and the NDEX ADC parking lot textures. I've made the new textures in both styles, here's some examples of what they can do: There are 'T' parking, two types of corner parking, and numerous transitions between seamless parking areas, or those broken up with curbs as in the original Peg textures. These images just show all the new textures, in no particular order, just to give a better idea. So I haven't been idle, and I haven't been ignoring you guys, but you will have to be patient with me, there's a lot going on right now, and as I said before, internet is pretty touch and go until I can set up my own connection. Chris

Ah, human nature, we all want to see everything. However in reality, such areas are usually left overgrown in most settings, at least in my experience. Thus the glimpse of it passing through the trees rather than a clear detailed shot of the creek itself is what I sought after. On top of that you have to see the creek as a modifier, a foil, to the development next to it, as opposed to the center of the photo-it's there to build on the rest of the composition. I also have no idea why I'm going into such detail on this, it's probably just the alcohol from last night talking, so I'll stop my senseless rambling and let everyone get back to their day. Are you still reading this? What's wrong with you, I said scat!, go! back to your day. All right, I'm done.