madhatter106

Thanks, all. Yeah, I like generic. Subtlety is difficult, and something that I like when it's pulled off right. So, I've started to mod and lot and tweak these. I might ask for a volunteer to test their growth and look in-game, as I probably won't have time to do so myself. The modding will take up enough as it is. Looks like this pack will be a total of ten of them, all 3x2 and a mix of CO$$ and CO$$$, depending on title and look/style. In the meantime, here's some tasty tidbits about naming conventions for this set... Keseberg Medical Billing – last among the survivors rescued nearly a year after their departure, Lewis Keseberg became the most infamous member of the Donner Party, the group of emigrants making their way to California who were trapped in the snowbound heights of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the grueling winter of 1846. Having exhausted their food supplies, the two camps eventually resorted to cannibalism to survive; Keseberg became a pariah in the eyes of the public, reportedly having boasted of a preference for human flesh over that of the other livestock available at the end of the ordeal. It was rumored that he opened a restaurant in the Sacramento area in the years afterwards.Essex Annuities – adrift in three small boats with few rations and supplies after their vessel had been sunk by a sperm whale, the crew of the whaleship Essex were compelled to draw lots to determine who would be sacrificed for food in order to survive. Ironically, the crew voted to sail towards South America rather than the closest islands, the Marquesas, fearing that the native inhabitants were cannibals. Accounts of their ordeal would later inspire author Herman Melville to pen his greatest work, Moby-Dick.Dumaru International – after being struck by lightning off the coast of Guam, the SS Dumaru sank on her maiden voyage in the autumn of 1918. Drifting for nearly a month across the Pacific Ocean, the survivors were eventually forced to eat the flesh of those who had died of exposure.Dudley & Stephens, Inc. – the English yacht the Mignonette sank off the Cape of Good Hope in the summer of 1884, compelling her four crew members to escape in a 13-foot lifeboat nearly 700 hundred miles from the closest land. After their rescue, Captain Tom Dudley and Edwin Stephens would be tried for the murder of cabin boy Richard Parker, who was killed so that his flesh could be consumed by the others. The resulting court case and ruling would set a legal precedent wherein the willful murder of another out of necessity (part of the unwritten practice of the Custom of the Sea) is not a viable defense. In an eerie example of coincidence, the only full novel by Edgar Allen Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, (published nearly fifty years before the Mignonette’s sinking) would include a shipwreck resulting in the murder and cannibalism of the cabin boy, also named Richard Parker.Luxborough Legal – carrying rum and sugar on her return to England in 1727, the Luxborough Galley caught fire and sank in the mid-Atlantic, forcing half her crew into one small lifeboat. Only twelve would eventually be rescued two weeks later off the coast of Newfoundland, having survived by eating portions of the hearts of the dead and drinking their blood. The incident would be considered one of the greatest maritime disasters of the eighteenth century.Medusa Media Group – the french naval frigate Méduse ran aground off the coast of Mauritania on July 2, 1816, with 150 of the 400 crew members set adrift on a hastily-constructed raft with meager provisions. Before their rescue two weeks later, only fifteen would survive, the rest having been washed overboard, committed suicide, been murdered by officers or other crew, or dying of malnutrition and thirst. The few survivors confessed to having consumed the remains of the dead; the incident caused a considerable political scandal for the Bourbon government and would be immortalized in the French Romantic painter ThéodoreGéricault’s work, The Raft of the Medusa.Franklin and Greely, Ltd. – attempting to traverse the last remaining uncharted portion of the Northwest Passage, the ships Erebus and Terror (captained by Sir John Franklin) became icebound in the autumn of 1846. After wintering for nearly two years and hundreds of miles from western civilization and suffering from a combination of malnutrition, scurvy, hunger, and lead poisoning, the surviving crew set out to reach the Canadian mainland on foot. Numerous searches ensued, with the remains of several crewmen being discovered with blade and cut marks on their bones, suggesting that the native Inuit stories that the crew had resorted to cannibalism were true. Led by Lt. Adolphus Greely, the International Polar Expedition aboard the vessel Proteus became trapped in the ice in 1881 and was unable to be reached by subsequent relief ships. Only seven of the original crew would eventually be rescued three years after they originally embarked; rumors that the survivors had subsisted on the flesh of those who perished were denied by Greely, despite evidence that muscle tissue had been cut from the bones of the exhumed corpse of the expedition’s second-in-command.Earnmoor Fund Management – the tramp steamer SS Earnmoor sank in a cyclone in the southern Atlantic in September of 1889. The few survivors who could make it to a lifeboat were adrift in the Gulf Stream with no supplies for three weeks before being picked up off Cape Hatteras; after the ordeal, two of the survivors admitted that they had been compelled to eat the corpses of their dead companions, one of which was dismembered by the ship’s cook.Parrado, Canessa & Hartwell – rugby team members Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa made an arduous ten-day trek across the Andes to alert authorities of the crash of their chartered plane in October of 1972. Having been stranded and cut off from all radio contact, the survivors prepared the flesh of their fellow teammates by drying it into a jerkey-like substance on the wings of the wreck fuselage. Their story would be immortalized in Piers Paul Read’s book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors. During the same period of time, Canadian pilot Martin Hartwell crashed a chartered medical evacuation plane in the Northwest Territories; nurse Judy Hill was killed on impact, and Hartwell (whose ankles and left knee were fractured) later confessed that he consumed part of her leg to survive.Alpers & Lindenbaum, LLC. – In 1961, Australian medical researcher Michael Alpers and anthropologist Shirley Lindenbaum conducted extensive research among the Fore tribe of Papua New Guinea, to investigate the cause of the Kuru epidemic endemic to that population. Studies indicated that this degenerative neurological disorder, which caused victims to shake and laugh uncontrollably, was caused by endocannibalism, since victims had consumed the flesh of their dead relatives as part of their customary funeral rites. Despite the fact that this practice had been eliminated during the 20th century, the disease’s long incubation period resulted in some victims manifesting symptoms as long as forty years after transmission.

I love this. It looks gorgeous, and reminds me of my college days. Though I wasn't at Pitt, I was at Carnegie, just up the street. But the Cathedral of Learning was always in sight. Yay Pittsburgh!

Aaron Graham - nah, I'll keep it as an office building. More cash, fewer donuts. jasoncw - how sad that they did that to the windows. It's a great building, too bad it's sitting empty. I've been struggling with the texturing and lighting on one of the BATs in a prior pic here; I cornered myself with the way I modeled it, so I had to tweak it a bit in order to finish it out. I did like the original curved front, but the texturing was tricky; plus the nightlights would have been rough with it. It's okay and horribly generic now, which I guess is something it has going for it...?

The "singed edges" and pixels were something that I first encountered a few years back. Check out page 16 of my BAT thread, as there's a whole discussion and analysis of what might be the trouble. (Oh the memories, four years ago...) As near as I could tell, I could replicate the error on different computers with different graphics cards. It was only something that would show up in the Lot Editor or in-game for me, depending on what the rendering setting was. I think it involves gmax and using transparent textures; or at least that's what we possibly determined. I think a few people, spa included, had the same issue, and we all used gmax and transparent textures for nightlights and windows. I think someone in my thread even did progressive test renders and it was only after he added the transparent window texture that things started going funky. I did check out the .fsh files in the reader for the BAT that had it, and they looked clean and clear - it was just something that showed up after the fact of modeling and rendering, and only on particular BATs. Just a fluke, but a maddening one at that...

LOL that's because it is the old Detroit Police HQ. So that's what city I was doing web searches in when I downloaded that pic... They've changed the windows since, for the worse it seems. I rather like the ones in my swipe file pic...

And look what happened to him...

Thanks, all. I looked at the "green" on a couple of different computers, as well as my iPhone, and I decided against changing it. I did knock down the saturation on the base/ground floor and mezzanine texture by about 10%. Plus the ADA forced me to add a handicapped-accessible ramp on the side; I figured that the steps, while glorious, were too much and that this place would have built out a ramp to comply with federal law... I also took a stab at texturing that flashcube-style office. Modeling went quick, but boy did I bite off more than I can gag on with this one. Glass is always tricky to do in gmax, and big huge swaths of it makes for a Herculean labor... I warmed up the rooftop texture since the whole thing was looking a touch too cool, and I think I overdid it. Gotta knock it down a bit, it's looking like someone spilled coffee all over it...

The thing that jumped out at me in the article was this... "...during an hour-long speech — which included several profanities..." Presidential material?

Re: the green - the real life building is a dingy, grimey cream color. I didn't want something too warm and creamy, so there's a touch of cyan and green in the color balance. Perhaps too much for some monitors, because on both my laptops it is very, very subtle. There are a couple of Maxis buildings that skew into this green territory (one of which is a 1x1 little office tower that's a personal favorite of mine). I shall have to check it against my other stuff and some of the Maxis fare to see if it's too much. I do think it's a touch too saturated overall - I think I may shave about 5% of the saturation off, particularly the base color. Re: bleaching - gmax really, really, really bleaches the hell out of flat surfaces that are perpendicular or nearly perpendicular to the ground plane. I've often said that my rooftop textures look positively black in Photoshop, but when put under the "hot white lights" of the gmax camera and light rig, they really lighten up. It's deceptive when making stuff in Photoshop, as you have to constantly check and recheck and adjust and re-save and then do lots of preview renders. Re: first floor - yeah, SimCoug, I think this is a bank building in real life; I think I'm making it a bank or a fund management company. I wish I could remember which city it was in, if I ever did know in the first place...would love to see what the back of it looks like, so I could have a clue as to how to model it...

Yeah I think they did their stuff in standard 3dsmax, then when the game was released they created the BAT to "fit over" little old gmax, so novice users like myself could try our hands at creating stuff. At any rate, here's another one - it ended up rather tall, but since I was modeling it from a source pic from my swipe file, it needed to be that high. I rather like it, and it's probably one of the closest "copies" of something I've done from a source in a good long while. It still needs some tweaks and texture fixes, especially the stairs in front, which really bleached out in the preview rendering...

If I'm not mistaken, I think gmax came along after SC4 was released. Not sure what program they used to model the original buildings, but I'm guessing it was 3dsmax? No doubt someone on here would know for certain. But thanks for the compliment. Though you can't do everything in gmax, I manage to get by okay, if I do say so myself...

Freshman year - Julius Caesar.Sophomore year - A Midsummer Night's Dream, Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet.Junior year was American Lit - so we had Inherit the Wind, The Crucible, The Glass Menagerie, and suffering through the first two scenes of Beyond the Horizon with possibly the two worst "out-loud" readers in the class.Senior year - Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello; a few of us convinced the teacher to have us read The Comedy of Errors for the last couple of days, since there were two sets of twins in the class.

Thanks, all. It looks like this pack of midrises will be a mix of older style buildings and more modern fare. I'm avoiding the nightlighting on this last one (because of the tedium it usually is), and began messing around with this little monstrosity... Haven't done the lobby doors detailing yet, as I'm not quite sure I like the overhang above it.

Building families would work for my stuff, if I were to do different color variants. However, each of these little guys is a different size, shape, and has a different LOD footprint. So unless I were to reign things in and design them all of the same size, the lotting wouldn't be as efficient. It's something that I might have implemented a while back, but at present I think I'm painted into my proverbial corner. It's fine, and may be something I revisit in the future. But usually when I sit down to do these, there's not as much forethought and planning for the modding end of it. I just do 'em and then mod 'em. Here's the slightly more textured and detailed version of the latest. I still haven't done the back window details or the lobby interior, which will be shown when it gets nightlights. I think I need to darken the mullions and casings on all the lobby windows and doors...they're getting lost next to the glass...

T Wrecks - by the time you posted this, I had already done the ornamentation - it made total sense once the setback was done, and looking at my reference pics in the swipe file, it fits perfectly. We are in tune and on the same wavelength! Hotwheeler - thanks. I am rather getting a kick out of doing these. Indeed, they aren't the final colors, I just haven't gotten to them yet; I usually start at the roof and work downwards. As far as several versions, I'm more inclined to just do lots of different outright variations on these, plus setting up the building families are something that (while interesting) I don't have the time to commit to learning and experimenting with. I am probably going to do a whole slew more of these, and have rather enjoyed doing a more "antiquated" set of BATs, which would make it easier to sort into the Chicago and New York building tilesets for those inclined modders. There will be tons more office buildings coming up; if I can find the time to sit down and pull them out of me... Jack_wilds - thanks!

Meanwhile, giant lobsters...

TWrecks - yeah, something has been bugging me about this BAT. After reading your post, I thought to give it a try and see what it might look like as one of those C-shaped floorplans. (There's an architectural term for it, I am sure, but I couldn't figure out what it might be.) So I took the model and pushed the front inset pieces in exactly three meters, and added some narrow windows along the newly formed inset "sides." The result is not too shabby, and looks more deliberate and believable... I like both variations, but I'm leaning towards this newer one. Though if I do go with it, I think I need to extend the length between the ground floor lobby level and the floor above it; in effect, giving it a taller mezzanine style height. Right now it looks a bit squat and squished.

Thanks. I think this one turned out rather well; I don't have an available snap of it with the remaining detail and roof access, but it finally ended up being pretty good. Here's an earlier one started that's a little bit further along; it ended up resembling a façade in my swipe file, so I worked up some details inspired by that pic. I wish I hadn't done an "inset" front on the model, as it would probably be better as just a rectangle, but it was too far along to change. Ah well, I think it will be okay... Needs some final modeling details, like side doors and front lobby windows, but I couldn't help doing the roof. Sometimes these BATs are dead and lifeless until I start in on the roof detailing and texturing, and that can really breathe some life into the rest of the process. When I used to do costume sketches, I would always have to start with painting in the face and flesh tones, because the sketch wouldn't have any spark until I did that...so I just started doing it in the beginning...

I would "cheat" the wall thickness a little tiny bit in the area where we can actually see it, ie. the doorway...maybe as much as 0.1 more. Right now it looks like it has no thickness, or barely any thickness at all. I know it's not supposed to be as thick as masonry, but a little bit added will make it appear more 3D. Also, in one of the preview renders earlier, be careful how you align your texture - the vertical "slats" or striations in the texture lined up with the vertical side of the doorway on the left side, but not on the right - it appeared the doorway was "cut" into one of them, rather than lining up with the side of one of them. (Difficult to describe, but I hope it makes sense?)

Yeah, I do hate doing my texturing work on a laptop computer. I am so used to old school, CRT monitors with desktops, that when I do any substantial texturing on a laptop, it skews my perspective on color and texture. Sadly my desktop gave up the ghost some time ago, so I only have the old laptop at work and the new stupid lousy one at home. Though usually basing my textures off original ones from a while back has helped a bit.... I couldn't see the white for what it was, so I did tweak it to a light gray - the tendency for gmax to really blast out and brighten surfaces that are completely flat is really pronounced in this BAT. I'm always marveling at how dark some of my rooftop textures look in Photoshop, and then they look perfectly fine in the preview renders in gmax. At any rate, here's another BAT that went lightning fast the first two hours...and then slowed to a glacial crawl afterwards. This particular baby has been difficult in the birthing...it still needs roof access details and I haven't even done the back wall and windows and details yet (not pictured)...

I agree, I love the green. Gives the whole model a good little "pop." Regarding the other, flat roof texture - with all the warmth in the colors of the building's other surfaces and textures, I think it needs a bit of "cool" to balance it. One thing I tend to do in my models is use a give-and-take when it comes to warm and cool; if the building walls are warmer colors, creams or red brick or salmon-colored stucco, I tend to do a cooler toned rooftop, something with a bit of blue or purple. Just the slightest hint. And vice versa - if it's a paler, cooler color scheme for the walls and other textures, I'll add some tiny hint of warmth to the flat roof surface. This is where the tools and tweaks in Photoshop (and other imaging programs) come in handy - you can adjust color balances and hue and saturation and all that to find the right mix of stuff.

I remember the Lucky Penny...!

The Burger King is shaping up nicely. I would check out some similar fast-food restaurants on Google Maps or Bing or whatnot, to see what their roof junk and HVACs look like; there should be lots of exhausts and vents and stuff due to the nature of the building. (I remember SimGoober commenting in my thread years ago about how you usually have a hood or vent over every cooking surface, and he's totally right.) As much as the rooftop texture is worn and aged (and rightly so), the remainder of the building looks brand-spanking-new. I would add some subtle shadowing and variations, even a bit of grime, especially on the lighter surfaces. Just car exhaust from the drive-up window alone would be enough to destroy a fresh paint job. The trick is to do it just enough to be able to "read" it, but not to make it look too run down or aged.

Yeah, I kind of hated the rooftop lounge area. I wanted to do tables and chairs, but it didn't seem to click. And there wasn't enough hedge and shrubbery details; I had to duplicate them and move them around a lot in order for them to even read. Lots of tweaking and messing around with this small footprint, but overall it makes a big impression... the devil is in the details... plus you read my mind, as I had been leaning towards putting a trashcan up there by the doorway access... The great difficulty is not loading in too many details - and then it becomes clutter, or so specific that when more than one grows in the city, they all stick out like a sore thumb.