• Welcome to SC4 Devotion Forum Archives.

Simmer's Lotting Lab.

Started by Simmer2, December 11, 2015, 07:24:45 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

belfastsocrates

That's a fantastic agri addition to the game!
A unique nation fusing technological prowess and unparalleled grandeur

"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination" - Oscar Wilde

mattb325

It looks great. I love the diagonal arrangement of the silos. Nice touch  :thumbsup:

Simmer2

#1502
Thank you everyone!!.

Here are a bunch of lots and another prop pack up for grabs.

SM2 Prop Pack Vol11 http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3605
SM2 ADM Grain Elevator SD http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3606
SM2 ADM Grain Elevator HD http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3607
SM2 ADM Grain Elevator SD Cal Canal http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3608
SM2 Steampunk Bus Stops http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3609
SM2 Old Coal Tower Spur http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3610
SM2 Old Texaco Station http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=3611

Page 1 list has been amended http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=17211.0

At a glance...


Have fun!

Simmer2/Nick

________________________________________________________________________________


PaPa-J

Lighten up, just enjoy life,
smile more, laugh more,
and don't get so worked up
about things.

Unconstantean

OMG it's christmas again  :bnn: :bnn: :bnn:

Simmer2

#1506
Thanks everyone!

A little hint on what is in the pipelines....

What could it be uhmmm  :P
.


SImmer2
________________________________________________________________________________

Tyberius06

Finally!!!!
After how many years? 1-1,5 now? Attack of the subway cars? :D :D  &apls &apls &apls &apls &apls
Keep them coming, Nick! :)

Thanks for your work!

- Tyberius/Tibi
You may find updates about my ongoing projects into my development thread here at SimCity 4 Devotion: Tyberius Lotting Experiments
or over there on Simtropolis into the Tyberius (Heretic Projects) Lotting and Modding Experiments.
I'm also member of the STEX Custodian and working on different restoration projects on behalf of non-anymore-active custom content creators.
Current projects: WMP Restoration and SimCity Polska Restoration.
Member of the NAM Team and RTMT Team.

Kitsune

I've been debating where to put a subway yard or three in my region. I know Toronto has 3 different types of subway yards, and a 4th to be added.
~ NAM Team Member

brick_mortimer

Wow!

Time to start downloading  :thumbsup:

Quote from: Simmer2 on April 24, 2018, 11:38:03 AM
...
A little hint on what is in the pipelines....

What could it be uhmmm  :P
....
I dunno, airplanes?  $%Grinno$%
Busier than a one legged man in an ass kicking contest
Me no coffee function without so good

Unconstantean

NY metro junkyard? <3 <3 <3

Simmer2

Thank you.

This is one hell of a complex base texture to make!! The third rail is a :angrymore: to make it conform. Been at it for several hours.

This is a tiny tiny tiny section. It is most definitively WORK IN PROGRESS.
.

.


Simmer2/Nick


________________________________________________________________________________

eggman121

If this is what I think it is I am really excited about this project!

I have considered stationing/ Depot yards for a while now to the point that I planned to make some of my own. I am so glad that such a project has been taken up and is in very capable hands :thumbsup:

-eggman121

Kitsune

How do you do your massive base textures? Is it one giant texture that is Guillotined in gimp and then carefully placed in game ?
~ NAM Team Member

Tyberius06

Quote from: Kitsune on April 25, 2018, 08:16:05 AM
How do you do your massive base textures? Is it one giant texture that is Guillotined in gimp and then carefully placed in game ?
As I know, yes, he is doing something like that just with PS (PhotoShop), but he will correct me, when he is here and if I'm wrong. :) He makes the whole base of the lot, than cut it up, than turn the pieces SC4 base textures...
Something what I'm not able to do, so I try to reuse and modifying existing textures, but so far I haven't done to much, that's why some of my projects ON HOLD atm. :)
But yepp, Nick's scennarios are masterpieces from the buttom to the top... :)

- Tyberius
You may find updates about my ongoing projects into my development thread here at SimCity 4 Devotion: Tyberius Lotting Experiments
or over there on Simtropolis into the Tyberius (Heretic Projects) Lotting and Modding Experiments.
I'm also member of the STEX Custodian and working on different restoration projects on behalf of non-anymore-active custom content creators.
Current projects: WMP Restoration and SimCity Polska Restoration.
Member of the NAM Team and RTMT Team.

Simmer2

@eggman121 Been thinking about this project on and off for over a year. As a matter of fact I had already made most of the props a long time ago. Now that I have most of my smaller projects realized, I can focus on this behemoth  :)

Quote from: Kitsune on April 25, 2018, 08:16:05 AM
How do you do your massive base textures? Is it one giant texture that is Guillotined in gimp and then carefully placed in game ?

Tyberius06 has a gist of it.

Photoshop is my main texture editing program and along a couple of other apps, that is what I use to create custom textures.
I basically start with 3 main layers: the asphalt or concrete (depending what I want to make) is made with dozens of textures that I have pre made.  I then stitch them and fade clone them together to form the base.
The second layer is the "Dirt" which is made in a similar fashion and the last layer is the grass, same modus operandi.
Keep in mind that all of these are made to game scale while in keeping the overall scale of the lot and off course the sharpness. A good eye on perspective goes a long way.

I then add the rails after bending them to the shapes that I need, also straights and angled pieces. I also add any concrete bases for the buildings. At this point it is paramount for you to have an idea where the buildings, props, roads, parking and even where vegetation is going to be placed at. A dash of creativity is a must here.
I see the whole assembly before I even click on the first pixel, I already have a pretty good idea where everything is going to go. Also a good idea of dimension is a must, to avoid major mistakes after several edits, it would be tragic to have to go back to the original 3 layers in order to make adjustment.

I do, off course create "save points", for instance when I made the base texture for SM2 Gogar Tram Depot, I created 23 revisions or "save points" once I was done the project folder ballooned to a fat sized 1.3 gigabytes.

Then comes the tedious rail turnouts making, by using lots of careful erase strokes at 1-3 pixel and other wonderful PS tools.

At this point in the game (pun intended) depending on the size and complexity of the lot, you should have anywhere between 50 to 150 layers showing. For example, there are 93 layers so far on this last project. It will probably be around 150 easy, by the time I'm done.

Now comes the fun part, erasing and blending the dirt and grass according with what you want showing on the base texture. This is where your artistic ability come in to play. There is no easy way to explain this phase, you just have to have a feel for it.

Once you are satisfied with the preliminary results, save 1 more time in PSD format and then in PNG format. Make sure you "flatten" the PNG to avoid transparencies.

Grab the next available IID from your texture range, open GoFsH, paste the IID and then after a couple of inputs let it loose!! Rivit (genius dude) added a wonderful function which not only it slices and dices the texture plateau but it will also DAT packs it in one go.

Now you are ready to create the lot. Make sure it reflects the original size of the one you just made (I have PS grid set at 128 pixels) After plopping all the textures and the main buildings and some props, you can get a feel of what you want it to be.
If necessary, you can make minute edits on the main texture and then rinse and repeat. The beauty of this process is that you do not have to create new lots. Just re-assign the same first IID you used the textures will appear correctly once you open either LE or Xpim. As long as you keep the over all size of the lot and do not forget to delete the older texture pack, it works!

There are other steps in this process but that^^^ is the bulk of it.

Also having the ability to create your own props on the fly plays a huge part in facilitating the process :)

Cheers

Nick
________________________________________________________________________________

Kitsune

Holy that is a lot of work! And here I am googling for ashphalt textures lol (I'm a writer ... all kinds too ... very little talent with images etc, what I know with gimp is to just help a little with websites and now simple simple textures ). And yep goFSH is a wonderful tool ... helped me rip over 500 RRW textures, color correct them and re-iid them.
~ NAM Team Member

huzman

@Simmer2, that is a precious bit of information, the most extensive I've have seen from you.
Now, a question of course: I have an old Photo Elements somewhere, can I use it instead of PS?

Thanks for the tut!
« Essayez d'apprendre quelque chose sur tout et tout sur quelque chose. »
             « Try to learn something about everything and everything about something »
                          « Trata de aprender algo sobre todo y todo sobre algo »
                                                                                                    — Thomas Henry Huxley

Simmer2

Quote from: huzman on April 26, 2018, 02:38:40 AM
@Simmer2, that is a precious bit of information, the most extensive I've have seen from you.
Now, a question of course: I have an old Photo Elements somewhere, can I use it instead of PS?

Thanks for the tut!

huzman Unfortunately I'm not familiar with that software. My entire explanation is based on Photoshop because I have been working with it since 2007. I tried Gimp but it just does not compare.

Simmer2
________________________________________________________________________________

Simmer2

No peeking!! :P

Still very much WORK IN PROGRESS.

A random corner...
.

.


Simmer2

________________________________________________________________________________