johnnie2

Eh? War?

I hope you don't mind me watching...

Excellence. I just realized how much I like those rolling hills in St. Paul's gated community.

Welcome to the Split Buildings Initiative (SBI)'s ideas thread. ( Read about split buildings and the Split Buildings Initiative. ) This thread is dedicated to receiving ideas for new split building designs and content. Feel free to post your idea along with any photo(s) or links to photo galleries that illustrate the concept, if available. A more comprehensive idea description will undoubtedly attract more comments and feedback. Please post any general feedback to SBI's commons/administrative thread .

LOL, exquisite! The color choices in that first shot... I do wonder why the curvatures of the balconies lack symmetry, though; as you can see, the shape of the railings on either side of the escalators do not mirror one another. Excellent choice of the night still-shot. You are certainly welcome to travel to Copenhagen to take pictures, if such is your desire.

Beautiful shots, vester. Very high quality finds, and they have some artistic quality all their own. Mmm, seems just right that a dark building of rectangular design should sit upon such a platform overlooking the sea in that first shot, eh? Though the Danish Royal Library main buildings and the Black Diamond were certainly constructed in differing eras of style and design, they seem to naturally go together here. Excellent shot of a building-bridge in the second photo. Nice color composition overall for that matter. The last photo certainly catches my eye...it's as if the ceiling and the ground were reversed, so that the photo was actually taken upside-down. An interesting hallway design. Thanks vester! *saves copies of photos to local system*

Aww, why'd you change the part about turning down the music? That was funny. I hear the unrelenting voice of Scooby-Doo; the one from the animated cartoons written < 1985.

After seeing these innovative and realistic buildings for release and in city journals, I felt compelled to launch a topic on split buildings. I use the term to refer to buildings that develop on opposing sides of a transit conduit, such as a highway or avenue. Some excellent split buildings I've encountered include: pegasus' Charas BT Records citynut's Newman Inc Memorial Hospital II , used very nicely in Darmok's Anduin Valley Revisited My goal in creating this topic is to build a centralized collection of links to split buildings on the STEX and elsewhere, enabling city builders to search the forums and find a comprehensive source for this type of building; and also to encourage the use of technology that enables this building design. That said, feel free to post examples of edifices that span roads, avenues, highways, and the like. Update: Visit this thread to: learn about the two classes of split building read information crucial to new content developers creating split building content (BAT's, lots, related textures, props, etc.) learn about the Split Buildings Initiative, or SBI follow SBI administrative entries that may be posted by any SBI supporter access SBI multimedia read community feedback and relaxed posts from developers and other interested parties Then: post ideas, photos, and links to photo galleries to the Split Buildings Initiative: Ideas thread post links to existing split building content on the STEX and announcements of new split building content (BAT's, lots, related textures, props, etc.) to the Split Buildings Initiative: Releases thread post general feedback and goings-on to this, the SBI commons/administrative thread.

, ExiL3. Your enthusiasm for proper split buildings is of course welcomed. Ah, ardecila, beautiful! I've been tracking this since your original post in the PDA thread. Now that you've brought it to SBI commons, I can finally release my restraints. Will you be using SBI's content management system when you release on STEX?

A majestically deep voice intertwined with the white noise of a searing fire.

Yes, I like this idea. I like these thoughts because they offer a slightly different perspective on what it means to be a split building---like a breath of fresh air. The city block turned open-air mall doesn't just reside over a network of roadways: it's truly built around the roadways, and uses that network to ensure its own survival and growth. The network provides needed pedestrian traffic to the mall, and the mall provides those pedestrians a very interesting shopping experience. Can you imagine walking into this scene ? That has to be one of my favorites from the photo gallery Kazeneko linked in his last post: those second and third-floor building-bridges sweeping across the picture and off to the right are just excellent. A multi-floor open-air mall with building-bridges might be the precursor to a more generalized set of pedestrian bridges connecting greater structures (high-rises and the like). I also took notice to your mention of outside escalators, Kazeneko. This interests me because it is similar to an idea I had about a conveyor belt reaching over a roadway in an industrial sector of a city. I see this industrial area as being densely-populated, thus requiring the built-over conveyor belt, and somewhat dark, as if the smokestacks from surrounding factories, overhead conveyor belts, and airborne dust and gas were blotting out the sun. A hardcore industrial area, you might say. Outside escalators, like specialized pavement for the former roadways, are excellent considerations. One would have to think a bit on how to weather-proof those escalators, depending upon one's need for realism. Thanks for your thoughts, Kazeneko.

Ah, I love watching this CJ unfold. Now, who could launch such a calculated incursion on San Bugatta? The attackers apparently have access to advanced technology and targetted only the driller and associated rail lines; no civilian casualties were reported, and even the bank of solar power plants went untouched. Who would have such a specific agenda, and what is their ultimate purpose? I must add, nice use of the natural environment as an entity participating in the story. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the high tide drowned out the impending fire. Addendum: I am pleased to inaugurate page eleven!

, aleking. Ah, Ottooo, beautiful. I love the look of those curved girders up top and that concave deck reaching around the middle of the structure. Thanks for introducing such a high-quality photo of the arena and its surroundings as well as providing background information. I appreciate that a member of few words wishes to share a portion with us in SBI: Ideas. The Stadium Guide's Amsterdam Arena page contains a photo showing the boulevard exiting the arena before reaching the railway (or vice versa, depending upon driving direction). See the fourth picture a little over halfway down the page. Something about Ottooo's post highlighted to me the need to backup the photos and blueprints appearing in this thread, thereby allowing a graphic to be quickly restored in the case of an external link failure or other unfortunate event. As a result, I've stored to my local system all split building photos (schooner2, lakeyboy, ExiL3, Kazeneko, aleking, and Ottooo) and concept drawings (Murakumon, cammo2003, and I-will-crush-u). I ask that contributors posting new material join with me in saving a local copy to their systems.

Ah, thanks for the clarification, ardecila. It's good to hear that your post office BAT is very much underway. I await the preview with restrained anticipation.

Nice, aleking. An excellent shot capturing the distinct and alluring architecture of the CHX trading floor's exterior as it all but consumes Congress Parkway. (Congress must be a particularly special expressway; ardecila mentioned at the beginning of the ideas thread that a now-abandoned U.S. post office spans another section of the same road.) Definitely an interesting perspective in the second shot; looks like we're hovering just above the tarmac! Thanks for your insight, aleking. I'll carry your post and my response over to SBI: Ideas so that the CHX may join the gallery of possibilities for prospective BAT'ters.

From the commons thread : Date: 4/11/2005 2:57:23 PM Author: aleking i was just thinking of the chicago stock exchange when reading this thread funny! that would be sweet and perfect example of a split building, hint hint please build someone with more artistic talent then me. Nice, aleking. An excellent shot capturing the distinct and alluring architecture of the CHX trading floor's exterior as it all but consumes Congress Parkway. (Congress must be a particularly special expressway; ardecila mentioned at the beginning of this thread that a now-abandoned U.S. post office spans another section of the same road.) Definitely an interesting perspective in the second shot; looks like we're hovering just above the tarmac! Thanks for your insight, aleking.

Another high-quality shot! Thanks, Kazeneko. The LACC has a certain clean and modern look that brings out the building's attractiveness; the choice of cyan-tinted glass and white panelling for its exterior was a good one, IMO. This web page on the official site shows the LACC's meeting room concourse extending over Pico Boulevard (to the right in the photo). Official notice of the center's split buildings status is interwoven into the Design Features section further down the page. Also, see the front exterior during the 2003 E3 expo and a grandiose side profile of the building ; pictures courtesy of Colin Fahey's 2003 E3 coverage (contains many hi-res pics, beware long loading times). I am honored, Kazeneko, that one of two posts in your year-long+ membership appears in the SBI: ideas thread.

Excellent find, ExiL3. High clarity and quality, especially with your editing, and the building does look cool. @everyone: What do you think about the skybridge concept discussed above?

Nice graphic, I-will-crush-u. Ploppable skybridges between existing structures is a concept very worthy of pursuing; your illustration shows how a skybridge might connect separate, preexisting buildings, and Murakumon's excellent graphic posted earlier in the thread opens the way to skybridges joining buildings and transit stations. Shadow_Assassin added that the Airport Pack's Modular Air Terminal does something like this, suggesting that ploppable skybridges are very possible. I believe the next step is working out the (critical) details: at what heights should the bridges be built? Is it possible to construct a benign skybridge whose style fits well with whichever buildings the bridge is meant to connect? Also, I-will-crush-u, I find most intriguing your recommendation that the skybridge be built automatically in response to increasing traffic levels. This would make for some breathtaking behavior in high-traffic areas like city downtowns: a flurry of skybridges forming between skyscrapers to offset a new tide of commuters leaving a newly-constructed condominium via the already crowded avenue below, for example. Does anyone have insight into how this might be accomplished in-game?

Interesting thoughts, Mewwie, but Boston Big Dig-like tunnels, all-transit bridges, and double-decker highways are transit conduits in themselves and are not within the scope of split buildings. I refer you to the NAM: Requests and NAM General Discussion threads for coverage of those subjects.

... Feel free to start a separate thread to discuss this type of split building, if you so wish it.

As SBI is a community initiative, any community supporter is welcome to focus his or her efforts toward furthering the split buildings cause in any way he or she sees fit. As such, development of split buildings is not limited to any single BAT'ting group; any individual or multi-membered team is free to develop lots that span roadways as well as supporting content, including BAT's, textures, props, and so on. To make the content-creation process easier for any interested party (individuals and teams), SBI introduced a content management system that outlines standardized naming conventions and provides a graphical seal along with other graphical specifications unique to SBI. The management system is flexible enough to unify all releases produced specifically for SBI while allowing sole developers and teams to maintain their individuality and, as importantly, retain credit for their productions. This system encourages developers to say, This is my production and is also a split building, while simultaneously bringing together all productions with this split building attribute. As for your question, ExiL3, about whether a BAT group wants to tackle a split building, I can only leave this up to prospective developers. From the response this and the ideas thread have received and the use of existing split buildings in city journals, we know that demand is certainly present. Now we seek the individuals and teams willing to provide the supply.

Some excellent new developments. I believe I most like the first pic: a university area nestled in a pocket surrounded by peaceful forest, interrupted only by a nicely-placed train station. The muffled-green roof of the university proper makes that building a good pick for this location, IMO, as it contrasts well against the darkened reddish hue of the dormitory housing. Adding to this is the natural green of the surrounding woodland, which helps to again highlight the green roof of university proper and set up an intriguing color alternating effect. Another admirable touch is the copious supply of parking spaces at the complex's center and around the train station, bringing in a fresh air of realism. Nice. Also, the turbine power plant (the new from a electricity as you described ) looks very good in that relatively advanced industrial area. Clean, sleek, and cool overall. On a different note, I wonder what political ties the gunman may acknowledge when s/he is caught...

jeronij, Your unyielding dedication to Columbia River is as extraordinary as your drive to do new and innovative things that go beyond any other CJ. Acquiring a domain name for this project is a prime example, and we do recognize the level of commitment required to say that SCR will continue as long as you want. I'm personally excited about some of the features you've thought about and are now possible through owning a separate domain, including a PDF screenshot album and SCR screensavers. Keep rolling, jeroni!

I'm pleased to present a bit of SBI news: SBI gains position in the Simtropolis Glossary of Terms Simtropolis' official glossary of terms now defines the Split Buildings Initiative as the collective effort of Simtropolis members to develop lots that span roadways. Special thanks to Fairlane500 for submitting both SBI and Split Buildings Initiative for inclusion into the glossary. Feel free to make a newspost to log an SBI-wide event you've witnessed or put into motion (like the above), post notifications of split building releases in the releases thread , and unload your new design ideas or thoughts on existing ideas into the ideas thread . Let's keep SBI rolling!