rubik3

Hmm, looks like the plaza was pretty dark, but I think I remember Bigmac saying that when they renovated the plaza they added a bunch of lighting to lighten the place up. But thanks for the image, if I can't find another one I may have to go off of that. I think I've narrowed down what the shop was. The most likely candidate was a NY Coffee Station but it could also have been the Cosi Sandwhich Bar or the Greenhouse Cafe, but I think the later 2 were actually in the Marriot hotel. If any of these names ring a bell for anyone and if you can let me know which ones were where, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks for the compliments everyone, but without all of the pictures that have been provided I couldn't have gotten this far. Speaking of which, I'm still anxiously awaiting any sort of night images of the plaza itself. And I think if I don't find an image of the coffee shop sign in a few days, i'll just make it a starbucks unless there's a different local new york coffee shop that I could use. I managed to refine the LOD for the east stairs a bit more and I no longer have the problems with the sculpture getting cut off. I also managed to get some more props exported. Here's the night scene so far. I think in this image I forgot to raise the lampposts so if they look small, that's why.

Here's a shot of the exported props for the East stairs so far. As you can see I have a slight problem with the LOD for the trees but other than the peace on earth sign getting cut off it's coming along nicely.

It turns out that I have quite a large library of trees and bushes that I can get materials from so it looks like the gmax fauna is going to turn out alright. I actually like it a little better because these trees will have the correct shadows whereas the LE trees would be completely sunlit whether they are in sunlit area or not. Here's a pic of the East side stair area which will have the peace on earth sign as well as the other sculpture on top of it. These planters look a hellova lot better with trees in them.

Ok here's a version of the planters with the trees and flowers rendered along with it. I think I need to lighten up the plants a bit but I think it'll work better than using 50 fauna props.

Thanks for the offer Equinox, it's much appreciated....and needed. I don't think I'll need your help this week but I'll see if I can get a few things ready to export for next monday. I only use msn so that should make you happy, and my username is jmcleod90@hotmail.com so that you know who I am when I eventually IM you. I managed to export a couple of small props last night to see how well the sc flora would match up to my planters. And it looks good from one view, but once rotated the flowers come off the planters by a couple of feet. So what I'll probably end up doing is created my own bat plants so that I can render them along with the planters.

I think I can start exporting some of the many props that I have to work on, though I'd rather get the entire base finished first. So until I can find some nighttime images as well as some signage pics for the coffee shop I think I'll get the fountain area exported since it is the closest to being finished. Here's a pic of the first prop to be exported, the centerpeice fountain. I've gotten the sculpting done to the best of my ability but freehand sculpture isn't my best skill, but it still looks more exact than the previous one.

Actually the signs are consistant but it looks like I have 2 generations of signs. I have the maroon signs for the street side entrances for each towers, then I have the grey ones for the plaza entrances. That's the first image i've seen that have the plaza side signs in the maroon style. Here's an image showing the pedestrian overpass that connected to the WFC. Don't mind the grass texture as it's only a temporary one.

I just realized how huge I made the awning for the north tower. Here is a more accurately scaled version of it.

Hey Rubik ... do you need help rendering? That thing looks like a beast to render ... I'd be glad to help if you'd like. I'll take any help I can get when it comes to computer resources. I really can't afford to have my computer inaccessable for days at a time these days, and I probably have 2 weeks worth of export time left. I plan on pretty much redoing every building because as I look at each one of them I can see something not quite right or a small detail missing that needs to be fixed. I'm probably still a week or two away from needing help but I'll definately need it once I get this plaza base done. Thanks for that link bigmac, it's nice to finally have a place to look at all the pictures rather than spending time going through all these pages. Though I looked through them and I couldn't find a nighttime image....any luck finding one? Here are some more detail shots showing the signage for the towers and some more planters that I saw in a pic from that link. Since you can't really see the signs in the images, here are the textures I used, and what you should be able to see in the final high quality version.

I have to say that the plaza is coming along better than I had hoped. It's probably going to be the best part of the overall lot apart from the observation deck, which I think is my favorite part of what I've done so far. And just imagine what it will look like once I get all of the fauna and people added. Here's another pic of the plaza center with a few more kiosks added as well as the banners on the lampposts. That's only a draft render so you really can't see the detail on the flags but this is what you'll be able to see with a high quality version. The second flag for each lamppost is just the simple 3 stripes down setup with the same colors. And here's a shot showing the lightened stone. It's pretty close to the shade that DoubleJ2K's pic showed. I think the rest of the day will be spent going back through all of the pages of this thread to find some stuff I may have missed. I know I still have the awning for the north tower to do as well as the signs for each tower, but there's probably other stuff that I've forgotten about.

Thanks for the confirmation DoubleJ2k I had thought so but know I can be sure. But it does look like, from that pic, that the stone texture i have is a little dark. I'll get that lightened up for future versions. This time around, if possible, could you make it so we can easily pick and choose between which versions we want? Ya I'll organize it a little better this time. I finally got around to render out some high quality images, which took about 6 hours for one pic, for all of you since you've been so patient over the past couple of weeks. I'm going to find some time to get some work done on it this week even if it means not sleeping. The overall view. Close-up of the garage which I don't think you've seen yet. Another view of the peace on earth scupture. And another closeup of the fountain area. I'll make sure to remove the red stripes in the middle for the next render. Apart from the detail work on the fountain sculture and the banners on the lightposts, this area is pretty much complete.

It's been fun to see Rubik and BigMac work together. You guys are really moving this along. Well Bigmac the only one keeping this project moving, unfortunately I am slacking on it. It's been another hectic week with having to find another host for one of my websites along with 2 renovation jobs that had a tight deadline. I was hoping to get some more work done this weekend but it looks like i'll be spending most of my time doing a couple of website proposals. It's really making me mad that I'm sooo close to done yet I can't seem to find the time to complete it. Was there really brick around the coffee shop? I won't know.... I'm not exactly sure either...that's why I need some pics. I know that the front of the hotel had a stone base running all the way to the intersection between the base and the north tower but I don't know if it wrapped around to the south tower.

I've looked for quite a while and all I can seem to find is problems...the actual solutions seem to be hiding somewhere. You comments about the Wiz makes me think about doing another version of the complex, one that will have references to various movies made at the site like the glider from Escape from New York...and....well thats all I can think of at the moment but I'm sure there must be more. Wasn't there a King Kong movie that had him scaling the WTC instead of the ESB? If you know of other movie memorabilia that could be added let me know, i'll keep track of them and maybe plan a future release after I get the real version done. Here is a closeup of the corner coffee shop underneath the hotel. I need to know what signage they had though because I really don't feel like making it a starbucks.

Thanks for the info, the plaza now has some added color and the peace on earth sign is a little less deep, though the texture still leaves something to be desired. I think i'll use the maxis cafe tables and chairs instead of making my own as well as the small food cart. Night shots would be nice if you could find them as I'm just guessing right now. On a side note and a question for you Bigmac, do you know anything about Dreamweaver MX and remote mysql database connections? Currently I'm about to shoot my computer as I can't seem to find a way to connect to my database on a remotely hosted server. Actually I can create the connection but it won't find the database no matter what settings I try.

Actually, I would like to see it as a totally inert landmark as a tribute to those who died...and those of us who didn't. Well I have plans for multiple versions. There will probably be either 4 or 6 seperate landmarks. I haven't quite decided on all of them yet, but most likely I will be creating one original version, one concert set-up version, and one memorial version, then each of those will have a fully functioning landmark as well as the standard landmark. I still haven't exactly figured out what I'm going to do with the memorial version so I may just leave it all up to the individual, but I'm always up for suggestions. Here are some close-ups of the recent progress. I'd like to remind everyone that all plants and trees will be added in the lot editor and individual props will have more detail added when they are exported to their own files, i.e. the fountain sculpture and food kiosk will have much more detail when they are done. Scaling is a little tough since this is such a huge lot so if you see anything that looks out of scale, let me know.

Thanks as always Bigmac. I had a look at the original site plan I found a while back and basically replicated what was originally planned. I think as far as the big planters go, little was altered from the original plans, though if you find a pic that contradicts it pls post it. I'll be back with some closeups when I get the kiosks done.

Np Tuna, I just had to make sure nobody took it to mean that I abandoned the project. I have some free time for the next couple of days, so I'm going to try and get as much done as I can in that time. Here is an image showing what I need for detail images. I have the WTC3D site but I need some actual pics to confirm everything.

Maybe he could have a dollar or more from everyone who has downloaded it. If someone could organize it, with paypal or a place to send money. I'd sure would be willing to contribute! Anyone else?! There's a lot more important things than my car so save your money for something more worthwhile. For example I notice that Simtrop funds are getting a little low. This project might really get abandoned if this site ends up being dismantled. Or you could give that dollar to someone who really needs it and donate it to the many 9/11 charities. But don't worry about me, a car is just a car. And if I need to I'll sell my car and buy a moped. Anyways, thanks for understanding. Right now it looks like I might be able to find some time later this week to get back to work on it.

Abbandond. Just because I've taken a couple of weeks off doesn't mean I'm abandoning the project. I've been working on this project off and on for almost a year now....another month shouldn't make much difference. I can either start living out of my car, which means I won't have a computer to work on, or you can wait for me to make some money to pay my bills. Trust me, unless the sky starts falling and the planet starts crumbling away, this project will get done. If you want you can check out the WTC section on my site to see an overview of the best pics so far. www.redmoonimagery.com

Also Rubik, will you make the over hang for the main entrance to WTC 1?? I wouldn't want my rich sims to get wet! Ya it's one of the many props I still have to build. Unfortunately I've been busy trying to make some money so the bank doesn't repo my car. I apologize for how long this is taking, I know it should be out by now, but spring time is my busiest time of the year, and I've been swamped with work.

So, rubik, consider this as confirmation that the transit enabling will be possible. There's only one thing you'd have to live with, though. I do not believe that the 'U' driveway can be transit enabled. Well I guess all of the New Yorkers that hated that the WTC was built over 2 roads are really gonna hate me for taking away main street from the u-drive it guys. But I think that once completed it will be well worth it. Just remember when you're driving around that bus that you keep in mind that you're going to hit a brick wall if you try to go down main.

That sounds good, but if anybody makes the WFC, it should be you. Well I might decide to delge into the WFC sometime in the future, but I think for my next project I'm going to do something a little different. I can only spend so many hours looking at photographs trying to match every minute detail before my mind starts to go insane. I haven't exactly figured out what I'm going to do yet, but when I do, i'll let everyone know. The only thing is on any lot that isnt standard in game drawable, you will have to create completely new sc4path files for it. Namely this would apply to all your 15 degree roads. This shouldnt be too hard though with darkmatters new sc4path viewer It's always good to hear something's going to work from one of the masters of modding. I've been talking with Red Lotus and he's going to do some testing for me to see if it will indeed work as hoped. I'm really hoping (and I'm sure everyone else is as well) that it will all work as it does in my head....though my brain lags more than the game does. My work comes in spurts and unfortunately I've hit a busy period so I don't know how much time i'll be able to spend on the plaza for the next few days. So updates will be sparse while Red trys to figure out this transit stuff and I try to get this pile of work done.

I'm not currently doing the WFC but I'm trying to make my lot so that it will blend with it whenever someone gets it done. Speaking of the lot. I've been trying to figure out if I can transit enable to lot like I want to and there is no point in going forward with the design if it won't work when it's done. I think I might be forced to make 45 degree roads instead of the 15 degree roads that I currently have on there in order to be able to make cars travel on the lot.