Trigger_tre

haha, like I care I've got a new computer within a few weeks, and this one is a budget computer that can't even run old games. So I don't care. This budget computer deserves nothing more. Ask I-will-crush-u.quote> Would you treat your new pc the same way? Just seems arrogant not to use the available resources, especially when they are free. Do you use the same thougth process when your deciding to brush your teeth? Bathe? Rooten teeth.... haha, like I carequote>........Bad body odor....haha, like I carequote> Just curious -trigger -----------------------

Here is an update on some stuff i have been working on. First this is a picture of a Helicopter currently under construction. I will probably add it as a prop in my Police HQ. But I might also add it as a replacement for the ingame helicopter when I am done. This is an update of my Police HQ. I remodeled the police cars so they are smoother, but I might retexture them a little. This picture is just to show how the 5 different transit types work with the Police HQ. Note that the Hospital will have the similar effect except avenue & ground highways will be able to intersect beneath it. -trigger -----------------------

ok, that made no sense at all...quote> I agree -trigger -----------------------

The thing with SC4 is that it is really sloooooow getting the first city going. However, once you start building neighboring cities the demand in other cities increases. A few tips: When you first start your city build a few elementary schools and a big hospital. I know you dont need a big hospital but it has many doctors which are $$$ residents. Start in the far corner of the map. Get the city started with a few RCI lots and maybe let time go for a year. Then save/exit out the the region view. Build another city adjacent to the city you first started in the nearest far corner. Repeat this same process until you have 4 cities connected in the far corners. This will bump up the demand in each city tremendously and your RCI meter will be in high demand. Try to keep pollution down or in another city completely. Try to set up your transit systems like roads so that Sims have to pass by Commercial areas on their way to and from work. -trigger -----------------------

I dont even have a cell phone. I was affraid my wife would call me tooooooo much. -trigger -----------------------

Great. A thread where hackers can come figure out what programs they need to get by to hack certain people. No Thanks.quote> Your kidding right. LoL, how many hackers dont already know several million people use the same programs that I do. Now thats just silly. heh, thats funny... I don't have any protection tool, and I have the windows firewall always turned off. This works for me since like one year. However, once I feel that my computer is running slower than it should, I simply format the hard drive and reinstall everything. There isn't much data on my system anyway.quote> WOW. I can most certainly garuntee you have several keyloggers, dialers, etc. on your pc. It would behoove you to ad least download Spybot S&D or Ad-Aware. Download one of them, update it and run a system scan. I will garuntee you have some uglies on your pc already. Geez no protection, no firewall. Ever heard of the phrase "if you play with fire, your gonna get burned -trigger -------------------------

In less than 6 days (technically about 5 full days operational) we now have these STEX upload numbers. Oh Noooz! 1 day left. LOTS/BATs: 67 MAPS: 21 OTHER: 5 GRAND TOTAL: 93 -trigger SORRY BUT..... Micah: You Lose SuzyAngel: You Lose sim1234: You Lose justanothersim86: You Lose -------------------------

Interesting -trigger -------------------------

Ok, well I was debating whether to reply to this thread or not. I just saw this thread a minute ago and looked through some of the posts. Though I am a happily married heterosexual man myself, I am not one to judge others because of their sexual orientation. Its just not my place. What I found interesting while sifting through some of the posts, was how heterosexuals are regarded as "straight" I am just curious where/when the label straight became associated with heterosexual. I am sure its been like that a loooooooooong time, but was just curious. I guess what I am getting at is that Heterosexual and Homosexual are opposite of eachother right? I mean a Heterosexual Man likes women, when a Homosexual Man likes the opposite, a man. Of course these apply to Heterosexual and Homosexual women too. All in all they are opposites of eachother, right? Well so if Heterosexual is the antonym of Homosexual and Heterosexuals are considered "straight"........Then what are Homosexuals? Are they the antonym of straight which is......"crooked". Let me stop for a second a just say that I am in no way calling gays, lesbians, homosexuals, metrosexuals, bi-sexuals, or even Homo-sapiens(humans for the Layman's) "crooked". I am simply trying to put myself in a Homosexuals shoes for a minute (wow those are nice shoes). I just think that if I were gay then I might take offense to others being considered straight, because if they are straight then what am I "crooked"? By calling them straight wouldnt I just be reassuring/reinforcing to the world that the label as a Homosexual is "crooked" or wrong. It just seems odd to me, perhaps I am thinking too deeply on the issue, I dont know really. Again let me stress the fact that this is just an observational view. I am not agreeing or disagreeing with anyones sexual orientation. I just thought I would welcome you all into my brain for a minute to see how I usually analyze situations. -trigger -------------------------

I think the ability to hyperlink images in SIGS should be available. Its available when posting, but not in sigs. This might be a security issue, so I am not expecting us to get it anytime soon. But it would make those sigs a little more sleek looking. I have tried and failed to get this to work and have been unsuccessful. Perhaps its working now, not sure. -trigger -------------------------

Megadude: From the sound of it, you want a pc that will last for at least 2 years, will be easy to setup & use, and something you dont have to tinker with much. So it sounds like you dont really want to BUILD your own. OK here is THE best option then. Its a Gateway. I bought a Gateway a year ago and no problems whatsoever. If your worried about included software dont be. Some stuff like NERO, might be on there but its kinda useful. Most likely they will give you a stack of software CD's to install yourself if you like, just like they did for me. MOST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK BELOW: Gateway Desktop PC (GT5032) CLICK HERE Total Price: $869.69-$70.00(mail-in rebate)+60.90(Tax) = $860.89 Corsair ValueSelect 1gb RAM 2.5 latency CLICK HERE Total Price: $66.90+4.81(shipping) = $71.71 GRAND TOTAL at THIS POINT: $941.60 I recommend you buy the pc first and test it out with the onboard graphics card. You will be surprised that it will handle SC4 flawlessly and CIV4 shouldnt be a problem. If in a few months if you decide to purchase a high-end-graphics-demanding-game then go ahead and purchase the following below. NOTE: the prices below are the current cost, and in 6 months these should drop significantly. Especially the 7900GT which would probably be between 250-300 by then. Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply (NOTE: you only need this if you get the new video card) CLICK HERE Total Price: $89.99-$15.00(mail-in rebate) = $74.99 MSI NX7900GT-T2D256E Geforce 7900GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card (this thing is insane, 24-pipelines, 256mb, PCIExpressx16) CLICK HERE Total Price: $329.99+5.99(shipping) = $335.98 GRAND TOTAL AFTER 2 YEARS: Probably around $1200-1300.00 but thats over two years which is a looooooooong time. TRUST ME this setup will last you at least 2 years, simply because of its upgrade potential. I predict that in 2 years the minimal RAM will be 1-2GB. This Gateway has the potential to get 4GB. So in 2 years when all your buddies have to go out and spend $800-1000 on a pc with 4GB you just have to buy the correct memory sticks, which will be fairly cheap by then. Current 2x1GB sticks are $200, in two years, LOL try about less then half that in two years. I know thats alot of info but buying a new pc is a big investment and we all want to make our hard-earned money last. Trust me you wont be disappointed. I have an AMD64 3500+ with 2GB and just the onboard graphics card (which is equivalent to and ATI x200) and I run SC4 without any problems. -trigger Yes you could go with the 3700+ single core, but in 1-2 years, when the gaming industry starts pushing the power of pcs again you will have wished that you followed my recomendations. -------------------------

Neat didnt see this topic. I play drums (or percussion for the musically savvy). I have a 5-piece Pearl set with 4 various Sabien symbols. I have had 1 garage band (when I lived in Moreno Valley, CA), we never had a name but just played all the great alternative stuff that came out in the 90's. I have had 1 gig band (when I was in highschool), we were called "High-Strung". We played at a Mello Mushroom Pizza joint several times. It was fun. We had 8 original songs and several covers. I sometimes play for my church when needed. I am currently trying to teach myself how to play piano. -trigger

by MayorTim: Total Price: $1,246.92 This computer will blow almost every single one of the computers on the page you showed away. It will play 95% of all the games out today on all high settings (your going to need a $2,500ish computer to play Doom 3 on all high settings with no lag or choppyness)quote> Thats funny how your pc you listed will blow mine out of the water since the one I theretically listed has...... AMD Athlon 4200 x2 (better than the one you listed, yours = AMD 3700) 2gb RAM (better than what you listed, yours = 1gb) Microsoft Media Center 2005 (better than what you listed, yours = just XP) 7900GT (better than what you listed, yours 7800GT) This of course would bring MY TOTAL TO ROUGHLY 1,230.00. Over price by $30, which is less than yours, and much better components. So please explain how your lower cpu, less RAM, and lower Graphics card is better. I personally think a sound card is a bit of a waste. NO game on the market has sound quality so extreme that the onboard sound cannot handle it without ease. -trigger -------------------------

Just bulldoze and pray the ones you want start to build. If they dont then bulldoze again. When you get the ones you want make them historical so they stay. -trigger

I am curious how you get that lighting effect from your parking lot lights. I know how to make a spot light but how did you get it to look like a solid beam from the starting point (light itself) to the end-point (the ground). I am modeling a helicopter and would like the solid beam effect from the spotlight in the copters under-belly. Something similar to the beam from a lighthouse. About the updates The first picture is kinda hard to form a perspective, I think its because you havent added any of the props yet. I will look forward to how it looks then and save my comment for then. The other individual pictures of buildings I really like. Especially the yellow-red one and the orange-blue one. -trigger -------------------------

In less than 4 days (technically about 3 full days operational) we now have these STEX upload numbers. LOTS: 48 MAPS: 18 OTHER: 5 GRAND TOTAL: 71 -trigger SORRY BUT..... Micah: You Lose SuzyAngel: You Lose sim1234: You Lose justanothersim86: You Lose -------------------------

Just thought I would bring this up. I just posted a topic a little while ago it was titled The "Suggestion Box" All was fine then when I looked at it a minute ago It looks like this.......... For some reason the "Suggestion Box" part got deleted. How? was it because it was in parenthesis. It worked fine at first, but now its blank. Could an Admin fix this so the title reads as it was supposed to at first. thanks, trigger LOL, nevermind it must have been a slip of the mouse+delete key. IDK -trigger -----------------------

MayorTim: Now thats just silly. Please break down the cost so we can add it up. Dont forget to add in necessary things like an OS, harddrives, etc. The whole point of buying this way is to find a pc that is lacking in 1 or 2 components but excelling in other more important ones. With the $$$ you save you then upgrade those lower end components. Let me break it down for you. YOUR WAY: buying seperately and building yourself 1.) CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Socket 939 (price= $350+) 2.) MOTHERBOARD: A descent one compatible with AMD 64 X2 (price= $100+) 3.) CASE: A descent and compatible one (price= $40+) 4.) POWER SUPPLY: 350w-400w minimal (price= $40+) 5.) CASE FANS: 2 fans 80-120mm (price= $15+) 6.) MEMORY: 1gb descent RAM 2x512 (price= $100-150) 7.) HARD DRIVE: 250gb serial ata (price= $100+) 8.) CD/DVD DRIVE: dual DVD drives (price= $50 for both) CURRENTLY we have reached the same cost of a retail pc but we dont have an OS, we havent put it together, and dont have a good warranty. And you still have a crappy graphics card, and crappy memory. If you were to add those... 9.) WINDOWS MEDIA CENTER 2005: (price= $125) 10.) This doesnt include the savvy video you want and the more RAM you want. If you go my route, you get all the above on a working pc, with warranty, plus you get any bonus software they provide for about $100-200 less then building your own. Its all personal preference, but it will relieve you of a headache. And if your pc goes haywire then at least you know you can just return the whole thing and get a new one. -trigger P.S. if you go my route spend 799.99+tax = $850 for the complete console. Then you could either A.) go to newegg.com and buy 2x1gb RAM for about $150 and then you have $200 left over for a descent graphics card. + you still have 2 empty slots for and additional 2gb of RAM that would give you 4gb of RAM total if you ever upgrade later B.) go to newegg.com and buy 2x512mb RAM (price= $70) to add to your 2x512mb in the pc already, thus giving you 2 gb total. Then spend the $250 you have left on a nice graphics card or go slightly over budget and do as Praetorian Cohort recomends and get a 7900GT (very nice). by Praetorian Cohort: Trigger_tre: you honestly think he needs 3GB of RAM? I would get a $300 graphics card an another $100 for RAM, or pocket the $100 for something else.quote> Does he need 3gb RAM, no he doesnt need it. But, Sc4 is not necessarily a graphics hog game like FEAR, Quake, DOOM, and the likes. Simply because SC4 is not a real-time/anti-aliasing/multi-shader game. Playing Sc4 you will notice a better performance boost with more RAM than you will with a better Video card. Almost all gaming engines nowadays can easily be handled by $200 graphics card. This is how the gaming industry works and has worked for years.......pc makers make graphics cards which can handle all games, then a next generation game comes out pushing the limits of graphics cards so they increase. THis goes back and forth. We are now in the transition phase were games are just not demanding enough for high-end graphics cards. Give it a year though. Another reason RAM is more important is that anything you do on your pc will reap the benefits of more RAM. -------------------------

Why not get the best of both worlds. Personally I think you should by a pc form say circuit city or best buy (depends on your area and what electronics store are better). The problem with pcs you get from retail stores is that the usually give you some really good hardware then jip you on other hardware. But use this to your advantage. Look for a retail pc (personally I prefer Gateway or HP). Look first for the cpu. Highly recommend AMD Athlon 64 or 64 X2. Look for a pc that has RAM that is "expandable" to 4gb RAM (most likely it will come stock with 512 or 1gb). Dont worry about the graphics card because usually these retail pcs use onboard graphics cards. The point of this is that these retail premade pc are usually ALOT cheaper now then building your own for some reason. People will argue this by saying no I can get a cpu for xxx and a graphics card for xxx and memory for xxx. But how many pc work well without an OS, harddrives, etc. You can but a nice gateway or HP with an AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800-4200 for $700-800. (they come with OS, hardrives, and everything is connected correctly so basically no trial-and-error trying to get it to start up). So with $800 spent and roughly $400 left you can either buy a top line Graphics card (not recomended) or but a descent graphics card for $200 and add 2gb more RAM with the xtra $200. Of course tax isnt included and you would have to take that into consideration. But doing it this way is much cheaper and less headache when you forget a wire or misplace something trying to build your own. follow the link HERE and scroll down to the HP Pavilion Desktop PC (A1350N) & Gateway Desktop PC (GT5032) These are great pcs and easily upgradeable. -trigger -------------------------

Nicely done. I must say, from little barns and a water tower..........to a massively large scale Mill, that is quite impressive. From the pics the textures look good and I really like your choice of nightlighting (its not overdone, its just enough for good effects). I shall have to download this from the STEX to see it at a little closer perspective. -trigger -------------------------

In less than 3 days (technically about 2 full days operational) we now have these STEX upload numbers. LOTS: 29 MAPS: 13 OTHER: 2 GRAND TOTAL: 44 -trigger EDIT: Sorry Micah: You Lose Sorry SuzyAngel: You Lose -------------------------

For some reason that little "update profile" button in the "personal settings" section has something against me. First it messes with my HTML Now if I try to press that same button I get the following error..... I tried to send an email via the Outlook Express windows it suggested but I dont have it registered and dont know my HTTP/SMTP server code that was requested. Anyone have any thoughts on this error. -trigger

Make sure its the "update profile" button under "personal settings" not under "profile". -trigger

If you go into your personal settings section and just hit the "update profile" button at the bottom it will most likely solve this problem. Doing so seems to update your view to the new message board. -trigger

WOW, cogeo. You have been busy mastering the BAT. Your texturing is very realistic and is some of the better textured BATs Ive seen. Also your lighting is very realistic as well. You didnt overpower it with nightlighting, just enough for good effect. I look forward to the final STEX product. -trigger -------------------------