Voltaire

Thanks TP, Pixelrage, blahdy, chocolatemax & RG59061! I'm still fiddling with the tail of the 707 trying to get rid of the awful black bands on the leading and trailing edges. I've got several airlines in mind for further skins, first up will definitely be a couple of those you mentioned RG. I too miss the clipper liners, I'll do both the 707 and DC-7 with period-correct Pan Am markings soon. I'll send a PM about those airports RG, I haven't seen them yet but I'm going to take a look now.

You're on the right track RG59061 (and another bunny for knowing your piston types!) I've decided to convert the midprop into a DC-7, since it's already the right length and adding the Lockheed triple-tail isn't possible. How about this for some retro coolness It's not quite done yet, but the livery is basically complete. Modeling a Connie (or better yet, a Super Constellation) would be uber-cool, but I dont think it can be done with the current automata. To satisfy my own curiosity I compiled a list of the Maxis midprop's construction, it looks like they threw it together from various parts of popular late piston-era planes: - the fuselage and (center) tail of a Lockheed Constellation (not the L-188 as I wrote before) - engines and windows of a Douglas DC-6 - the wings of a Douglas DC-7 - red/gold livery on a pastel purple hull How about a screenshot SpokaneFlyBoy? I'd really like to see how a real pilot makes his SC4 airport. And I'll PM you later on some ideas for getting involved in airport-making that don't involve modding & modelling. But if you're interested in learning how to BAT, T Wrecks is holding classes inside a thread somewhere, search for "school" in the forums and it should pop up. The initial set of grass-shoulder diagonal taxiway lots is assembled and ready for modding: Upon further testing I found that 2 or 3 more fillers are needed for completeness. This entire set will be replicated with both asphalt and concrete outside each piece, so you'll be able to run any piece next to/through aprons and ramps. Each turn is split in half so you can combine the pavement & grass pieces to suit your needs. There are several compact intersections, elbows, and a convenient quarter-turn, plus the basic diagonal wedge pieces. Most of the work was in the geometry of the edges; compound curves had to be used in many cases to make them look right. Standard intersections between diagonals will only need the quarter-turn and 3 basic pieces. It's harder to combine othogonal and diagonals, many configurations require building out the center of the intersection, in order to provide enough space to attach the necessary parts. All in all though, it's a pretty good system. More pics of assembed intersections are on the way as soon as I finish the fillers.

The only wide runways I've done yet were in RMIP 1.0, but further development is around the corner, possibly next month. And btw those rolling stairs were released in S.A.E. Volume 2 -- they're mainly on the midprop lots though, so if you've avoided using them, you may not have noticed the stairs.

A bunny for you RG59061, for recognizing the livery airline and date. I'll release it at some point, but not yet -- there's still work to be done, mainly on the windows and tail. Braniff and a couple other defunct airlines are at the top of my list for additional skins. But for now, I've become interested in modding the "midprop" automata: This model, more than any of the other aircraft, is in need of improvement. The default skin is chunky and off-color, the wireframe itself is deformed in several places, and the uv map needs serious attention. So far, I've re-shaped the nose and made a test skin. It looks 100% better already, and once I'm done, it should look like a whole new plane. For some quality BATed buildings I'd also recommend the SWAP and MICairport packs Michael1980. Terminals from years ago are still available on the STEX too, though they are essentially LE'd recombinations of Maxis buildings. I'll have an update with pics of the Volume 3 taxiways soon, probably on the weekend.

I think what you mean by "switch lots" are actually the Menu Management Lots, developed by Andreas Roth and BSC. I have already done them, search Voltaire on the stex. I hate writing out "Menu Management Lot" every time, so I just write MML instead. Like I did in the 6th post on this page .

Through intense re-engineering, the number of Lots required for intersections has been cut down from 120 to about 40, and the newer pieces even allow more possible intersections. So it's a win-win situation, except for the extra wait I have to put you folks through. I am moving ahead with texture-segmenting and initial Lot building, after that's done the taxiway signs need to be re-rendered at 45-degree angles. That plus the icons, MMLs, and other modds will take awhile. Please realize I am essentially re-doing half of RMIP-2 here, so it's not a small task. To take a short break from taxiway-making, I started building the final RMIP testbed airport, which will be the centerpiece of my region's air traffic system. I've decided on a name and started some of the terminal areas, and just for fun I made a brand-new 707 skin. It is not just a pasted-on livery, it's a (much needed) redesign which is more accurate to the real-world aircraft than any other skin, including Maxis'. These are the West Concourse gates of Great Ridge International Airport (IATA WLP / ICAO KWLP). This will be a major undertaking in construction, not only the airport itself but the surrounding infrastructure. There is a large seaport in a nearby city, and a major CBD & population center in another. Thanks, and great job with those TE lots blahdy! They'll definitely be used in & around WLP wherever public roadways need to cross airside areas & terminals. I think you'll be impressed shapedy -- these have seriously been redesigned four times already, and the current revision is quite flexible, beyond anything I originally thought possible. Thanks xiziz for helping joost.ueffing. Even though I visit ST nearly every day I'm usually browsing the stex, not looking in on my own thread. And you're right, every one of those is air-transit enabled. To answer your questions: there will be 45-degree runway exit taxiways in Vol. 3, but true rapid-exit (30-degree) exits will only be in the Large Airport Edition. As for the apron lead-outs, I omitted them before, but they (and many more miscellaneous bits) will be part of Vol. 4. The pieces mentioned above by freedo50 will also be in vol. 4. Hey, I haven't even shown a single Vol. 3 lot yet Weird and U3D -- it's nice to see you have faith in the final product before I even (truly) get started! That was really nice to hear ryoshi22, I have always wanted RMIP to be just that -- high-quality content that helps people discover new ways of enjoying the game. With so much angst & animosity running around ST lately, it's especially great to see people like you taking RMIP in the spirit it was (and is being) given. I'll have limited time to play with this on the weekend, as a result the next update will probably be in a week or so, as long as I don't get distracted again.

The PCG is not just "working" for Peg anymore; we test content from many individuals and teams, weeks before public release. So I guess you could say I work for Peg, Barbyw, Ripptide, the MAPP project, Deadwoods, SNM, CSX, and everyone else whom I download beta lots from. Trouble is, I never seem to find much wrong with them -- but it usually takes a couple hours of in-game "testing" to make sure. RMIP-2 Diagonal Taxiways are in progress. The artwork is complete, planning is complete, and I am moving to production now. There will be several changes to the above artwork in the final release; this screenshot shows mainly proof-of-concept layers. I have handed off semi-complete 707 gates to ace_bovenopdeberg for additional BAT work, so Vol. 3 now has my full attention. By the way U3D, SNM (BSC Military Development) isn't dead; the army lots are already available on Peg's exchange, and I've been working with ripptide on the air force set. I haven't heard back from him in a few weeks, but I know that his RL job definitely takes priority over SC4 stuff. Thanks bearmans, and nice job with those taxiways -- your airport will be able to handle ORD levels of traffic with all that pavement you've got planned!

Just wanted to let everyone know that development of this pack continues during Ace's vacation -- I've been working on more textures and some props for the 707 jetways. He'll release them when he gets back. This pic shows the new textures and updated aircraft positioning:

Nice work TinySim, the markings are almost perfect. Two things I noticed though: 1) the runway needs a designator on the Visual end, and 2) on your taxiways, the passenger gate lead-outs (with the circled gate numbers) shouldn't be used for cargo ramps or parking aprons. The ALS systems and strobes for wide runways will be in the large airport edition boom_box. The wider ALSF-2 and SSALS/R models are done already (been sitting in my plugins for months), and there will be a new kind as well. I'm thinking of modeling the Calvert-type high-intensity system, which is still quite popular outside the US. I've been working a lot more hours in RL lately, so this project has been moving much slower than anticipated. I still want to get it all done, it's just nearly impossible to find the time. Also, I have been working with Ace's 707 jetways while he's away, which is why I didn't get the diagonal taxiways going yet. Patience, patience... as I've said before, the final product will be worth the wait.

The MML Lots are up on the STEX, please obtain & read the main BSC files before using because there are some limitations. The bsc files are not a dependency, I just like the way Andreas explained everything. Hopefully this will make RMIP a bit less painful to scroll through, especially considering the number of Lots that will be coming out in future editions. Even with the current number of Lots, I find the MMLs to be indispensable. I may get a screenshot or two of the next Lots posted this weekend - don't really know yet if I'll have time though. About the preferred vs. affordable thing - I believe most smaller airports depend on usage fees and public (tax) money for revenue. So unless an airport is well-used by commercial flights on a regular basis, or serves mainly high-class clients, the available funds are never enough to build everything the owners want. The regs reflect this by requiring only the most basic markings and lighting at VFR runways, and non-precision instrument requirements aren't too complex either.

Great work Ace! Just remember to let folks know both volumes of RMIP-2 are dependencies (Vol. 1 for the building cohort & Vol. 2 for ground textures). None of the pieces are airport-enabled Fischbob. I'm partly to blame for that, so don't come down on ace too hard. We both decided to leave our Lots eye candy for now due to continuing issues with airport modding. Airports are not ordinary transit-switch points with trip capacities (like train & bus stations); they were designed by Maxis as upgradable reward Lots, with multiple controller files which are not yet fully understood.

I'm happy to report that the RJ jetway in Volume 2 fits onto both concourse styles in ace_bovenopdeberg's new terminal pack. So go get it on the STEX if you haven't already. The MML modding is almost done, sorry it's been a while since new Lots have been shown, all I can say for now is that I hope to begin work on constructing Lots for Volumes 3 & 4 soon. :: Edit -- forgot to say I like your airport bmag_20, that's a good example of what I had in mind while designing the Small Airport Edition. I'd also like to say a word about how the Large Airport Edition will be different - the runways of course, but also the taxiway intersections, aprons, and ramps will be larger and more elaborate. I still have many many more ideas in reserve, hardly any of which have been mentioned yet! I just have to find the time to make them all ::

I have not missed or forgotten anything, though several omissions have been made on purpose. Mainly in order to shorten menu length. If the MMLs work well, I'll reconsider releasing an expanded Ramp-making set later. At present though, the ramp pavement style is not intended to replace all asphalt around terminals. It's only designed to be directly behind each gate, under the staging area, and within rows of parked planes. Please remember this is still the SMALL airport edition folks -- small (untowered & municipal) airports don't have jetways leading to every plane, nor do they have complex taxiway systems. They certainly don't serve heavy jetliners. Using this edition to make big airports is like banging a square peg down a round hole - you can force it if you want, but it won't be an easy fit. To avoid certain layout issues in the future, I would like to suggest placing a row of grass, a row of asphalt, and a row of staging area at the end of each concourse. That leaves room for upcoming RMIP features yet to be announced, and avoids the need for (as yet) non-existent intersection pieces. Doing variations on this layered style can add some complexity to the overall look of the terminal, especially at zoom 1 & 2. And remember, SMALL airports don't pave over everything in sight -- pavement costs money, but turf is cheap! Thanks SpokaneFlyBoy, you're right on... I've been splitting the Lots up into volumes to reduce time between releases. If I decided to keep everything to myself until the whole Edition was finished, I would never hear the end of it!

Yes, that's it. Do your terminals appear in the region view after loading and re-saving the city?

Hey, cool - volume 2 was on the front page two days in a row! Perhaps he/she/they who select the Spotlight item is/are airport nuts too? Thanks yoder7652, KyNYC, bmag_20, Weird, and jackel.22. For those with little playing time on their hands, remember that building small can be realistic too. Most metro areas in North America have a dozen landing strips, but only one major commercial airport. I have two public and three private airfields within 15 minutes of my house, and most people have no idea they exist. The diagonal taxiways are the second-next project MishaTennis. I have some artwork started for them, but that's all so far. I am trying to come up with an elegant way to make them modular without compromising the accuracy of markings and lighting. WeirdOne, SpokaneFlyBoy, freedo50: Most of the items you mentioned have been on my list for some time, I plan to put them in the first or second volume of the large airport edition. I've seen many requests and ideas posted lately, so I thought I'd better write a bit about where this project is headed. These items will occupy me for six months or more (no kidding): - BSC Menu Management lots, for current and previous versions of RMIP done! - Small Airport Edition Volume 3: Diagonal Taxiways done! - Large Airport Edition Volume 1: Runways & Taxiways - Additional volumes of the Large Airport Edition I am also involved in three projects headed by other members, as a technical advisor and/or texture-maker. Those will occasionally take time away from RMIP development. Also, I am not planning to model new terminals or aircraft, because 1) I can't BAT very well yet, and 2) it would duplicate the excellent efforts of other members which are already underway.

You probably need Swamper77's Airport Support File. It is a modd which enables certain custom Lots to behave like airports. There has been some discussion about what to name the folder containing the support file. The name is important, because SC4 loads plugin folders alphabetically. I find that loading the support file before all other Lots (by prepending its folder name with "AA") works for me. You'll have to see which way works for you.

Volume 2 is now on the STEX! Here is a big screenshot of what's inside (caution: 430KB): I took time to clutter up the terminal gates with service trucks, personnel, and assorted props. Most of the lots are 1x1 for maximum flexibility in layout; I had to give up some of the more complex textures for the sake of modular-ness but I think it worked out nicely. Thanks kaji and bmag_20, I hope you like the latest finished product. Next project is around the corner... I'm going to attempt some menu modding using BSC Menu Management. At this point, with over 200 Lots released in all versions of RMIP my airport menu is getting out of hand, and I suspect everyone could use a break from scrolling. I know many of you want the new(er) concrete runways to be next up -- be assured that I have it on the to-do list, and it will get done eventually, after some other things are out of the way.

I've made substantial progress on Volume 2 this week. The exemplar modifications and icons aren't done yet, but they should be soon. I'll try and post pics this weekend. Thanks for the kind comments kaji, subedei, weird, spokaneflyboy. I too would like to see more small aircraft props. It seems like super-large jet projects show up in the forums from time to time, but they never get finished. I'd love to see BATers become interested in smaller and easier-to-make planes. The SSALS in fabiocb's pic is facing the right way - its lights are visible from the approach side. It is the correct distance from the threshold, too -- the shortest light tree is 4 tiles (~200 ft.) from the threshold bar. Unfortunately I can't offer a solution to your problem fabiocb, because I have not experienced it myself. I actually removed all NIMBY effects from RMIP-2 Lots, so I don't see how they could cause demand drops. Did you pause the game while plopping many things at once? What else have you built in the city? What Modds do you use (not Lots or BATs, but actual Modds)? What do the desirability, crime, and pollution data views show? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Edit 5/23: I got all the modding and icons done, but there's some more changes to the Lots I want to make. Release should be possible within the month. Here are some preliminary screenshots: The main idea of Volume 2 will be to make ramps and aprons less monotonous, by providing two new pavement types and many new markings. The parking spaces, T-hangars, and passenger gates will generate money for the airport. In the real world, parking is never free -- hangars and tiedowns are rented, and airlines lease gates. I am going to include some more stuff not shown here, but most of the Lots with aircraft are in the pics. Because I cannot expect ramps to have even-numbered lengths, I will create some 1-tile bits of taxiway. I cannot do the same for runways though, because each centerline dash takes up 2 tiles.

Assuming there will be a second runway toward the left side of your pic Fabiocb, the designators on the existing runway should be 18R and 36L. Two other points I'd like to make: - the Exit Taxiway position is fine, there's no rule that it needs to be in the middle. - the SSALS placement is correct. I made the lights overhang the Lot specifically to accomodate blast pads. I need to request that everyone leave answering questions about RMIP Lots to me. I created them, and I've researched their design and application extensively. I don't want incorrect instructions cluttering up this thread. People have different ideas about proper SC4 scale, and I know many folks will prefer a non-standard markings layout for aesthetic reasons. I will not (and I expect everyone else not to) point out how to "fix" others' creations posted here. Fabiocb asked me to clarify the proper designator placement. He did not ask for advice how to re-build his runway. Now, here's what I've been up to this week - a rural turf landing strip. The diagonal runway is 1100 ft. (330 m), and the straight side is 944 ft. (283 m). There are several rural landing strips on the STEX, but none has a V layout, and their landing surfaces are bare dirt. Real-world unpaved runways (in temperate zones) are grassy, because landing in mud isn't safe. I'll be doing more textures for the BSC project this weekend, so the next RMIP update should be next week.

Hi folks, got something new put together tonight: T-Hangars, in stylish Utility Shed Tan. At real airports, detached metal hangers like these are rented out to plane owners that want to pay for secure, long-term indoor storage. There are two versions (hangar door open & closed) which are built at random when the Lot is plopped. The hangar is built to accomodate the standard Cessna 152 prop. I'll be dressing up the floor a bit, and adding ground clutter, but the models are done. So why did that take two weeks, you ask? Because I was re-learning how to BAT - with splines & meshes, instead of just shape primitives. And I've been dividing my time between RMIP-2 and a BSC project. I'll be cranking out more apron Lots soon, in hopes of releasing Volume 2, which should happen in early June at the latest.

No pics this weekend, and probably not until next week. I've been developing apron textures for use in future Lots, and it's taking some time. After they're done, it's on to a couple of small BATs, then back to taxiways. The large runway Lots may be a mid-summer release, because there's so many neat things on the project list which I want to get done first. Thanks Kippis05 and Yisginlasvegas. Glad you're back blahdy! I like that ILS transmitter. Actually I forgot that many warm-weather airports still use stairways cammo. I live where it's winter 6 months of the year (below freezing for weeks at a time!), so I tend to think of airports I've been to - like Buffalo - as normal. I'd settle for 'Quaint' if it meant Gold Coast weather in January! SpokaneFlyBoy - it may have been an overseas vendor's site that I saw the 2-box system. Yeah, a lot of people mistake "international" to mean "overseas flights" - some county airports around here with PCL MIRL and part-time tower staffing call themselves International because they've got a Customs desk.

I forgot to mention the terminal in my last post is not planned for release, it's not good enough and it has a ton of dependencies. Its purpose was to test apron overlay textures. SpokaneFlyBoy - I saw on a vendor's site that PAPI can have just 2 light fixtures, but all pics I've seen do have four -- is the 2-box type no longer used, or just rare? I was saving the 4-box type for larger runways, because it will not fit into 2-tile-wide grass islands possible with the small airport edition. About the documentation: I've been using TERPS, FAA 120- and 150-series ACs, and a 2-page diagram of ALS types from the IAP charts' Legend. But thanks for the AIM link, I'll have a look through there too.