Deer_Creeker

Well, I do plan to update those two lots in the future, but they are already uploaded here and ready for download.

Yeah, so I took a short cut, but I think that the finished version turned out well anyway. And isn't Apu's store the Kwik-E-Mart? quote> Yes, and no. Apu's store is a Kwik-E-Mart, but there are many Kwik-E-Marts. Apu's is identifiable by the custom tranquility garden on top. The idea was to have a generic version that would be growable commercial lots, and Apu's, (with to rooftop garden), to be a ploppable lot. Currently I'm still not able to export that version correctly, but maybe someday. Deer Creeker

As for how I built the lot, it was actually quite easy. I started by building some tires. Simple tubes really, some with room for wheels, and others without. I played with the roundness of the edged and tried to emulate a tire's shape as best as I could. Then I added images of real tires as textures, and on some of them I added tread textures to the outer edge. For others, I just adjusted the amount that the image was repeated along the edge until it gave me a tread like appearance. Here are two of the images I used: Then I placed several tires around at various angles, with various sizes, and captured the image from different angles like the one below. Then I placed those images together and created an overhead image of a pile of tires. Then I made a plane to which I applied the new texture, and stretched it into a mound. I added more 3D tires on top of this mound and around it's edges to hide it's flatness, as well as to break up any patterns in the now mounded plane. Each tire had to be rotated into position depending on how they met the plane where I wanted to place them. Next were the stacks of tires, which are simply stacks of tires. Each tire in a stack is offset slightly from the one below and I rotated some to remove some of the repitition in the textures. Then the fencing, the sign and finally the small shack from which the business end of the tire fire is run. All that remained was to define it as a landmark, edit the stats, and make a lot with smoke and fire. Any questions? Deer Creeker

Here's the scoop on my most recently posted lot: the Springfield Tire Yard. This 2x2 lot acts as a landmark, but has some polluting effects. Ideally it would have some commercial qualities too, (providing a few jobs), since the tires can be purchased, but as I've said before I don't know how to do that fancy stuff, and don't have to time to learn anytime soon. Instead I'll keep doing what I know how to do, and BAT some more Springfield buildings.

With building #3 uploaded, I thought I'd start a Simpsons building thread, at the very least to motivate myself to upload the BAT buildings that I've finished and to finish the ones that I've started. So far there has been the Simpson's house, Moe's Tavern and now the Kwik-E-Mart. https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files/kwikemart.jpg> And Apu's store is coming soon, complete with rooftop meditation garden. Currently it's giving me export headaches. I have one more lot completed, but it needs 'packaged' before I can upload it. (Yes, the same bonus lot I promised months ago!) Stay tuned... DC