Three Rivers Region

[Haljackey]

Wow there is always some great stuff happening here @ 3RR!   
I am liking the development with the roads and the signs.  Although I do have something to input to the discussion.   

You can almost read "STOP" on the face of the sign. 

While we continually strive for realism, we must remember the limitations of the game.  SC4, as we all know, is old by today's standards.  I wouldn't say that it is "outdated" or "obsolete", mainly because there is no successor, but it is clearly aging.  Keeping this in mind is key to making the best custom content.  Depending on what is being made, I sometimes find that buildings/objects designed a little different, or larger than life can take best use of SC4's graphics, thus resulting in a better finished product for the game. 

I see this happen all the time with signs.  Signs are relatively easy to make (heck, even I tried to make a couple!), but, sometimes they look downright disappointing when imported into the game.  I have seen this on multiple occasions, and its mainly because they were modeled off RL specifications.  I do not like being unable to see/read what is on the sign, and that is why I try to use signage that is larger and readable, even if it doesn't look realistic in RL.  Remember that SC4 is not RL, even though it has RL attributes (like the roads having an accurate scale), but they are just not the same.

Now, I'm not saying that the signs Ryan/burgsabre87 made are bad (I like all of his stuff!), but, I think they can look much better if they were a little larger.  The difference between reading "Stop" on the sign and not is a big one.  All I am asking is to reconsider realism over looks so there can be a good balance between the two in-game. 

Again, I am no modder/BATter, so I do not know how difficult this is to do, but I have seen it done well before.  I am sure opinions differ on this issue, and I mean no offense to anyone who disagrees with me.  I hope you take this into consideration as you constantly continue to churn out amazing custom content for the game we all love so much!

Simply put, would it be possible to make the signs a little larger so we can see what's on them?  Even though this is not realistic, it would make a big difference in-game!

Anyways, I know that was a long read but I hope you understand the point I am coming from.  Thanks for your time!

Best,
-Haljackey

[Ryan B.]

Hmm, It'd be surprising to me if the LOD's would cause that.  But it's hard to say where it's coming from without knowing how you modeled it Ryan.  Did you actually make the octagon shape, or use a material with an alpha map on a square shape?

It looks like the top of an extruded rectangle that you placed an alpha map on where the top of that extruded shape isn't getting removed by the alpha.  But I can't really tell much without seeing the model or knowing how it's built.

What you think it looks like is exactly what it is, Chris.  Nice eye.   

[thundercrack83]

Simply put, would it be possible to make the signs a little larger so we can see what's on them?  Even though this is not realistic, it would make a big difference in-game!

I think that the eyes would infer that a red, octagonal shaped sign would be a stop-sign, whatever the size. The issue may arise when trying to discern the different yellow signs--intersections, turns, etc.

[Chrisadams3997]

In that case, check you're alpha map.  If it's got a line or area at the top of it that's not completely blacked out, you could get what you're seeing.  The UVW map should be a plane, so nothing appears on the edges of the extrusion.  Also, you don't actually need to extrude the spline here, just make the rectangle and give it a UVW map, or if you're using a box object, give it a height of zero.

Though just so you know(if you don't already), if you apply a UVW map to a spline shape, by default, the texture will only show on the front side of the shape, unless you make the texture itself 2-sided.

[Swamper77]

I've given Ryan a better model to work with, one with the sign actually modeled on it. It's in his hands now.

-Swamper

[Ryan B.]

Jan, thanks for the model!     It's going to take me some time to learn how to do all that UVW stuff, though.  Like you said to me earlier, there's a steep learning curve.

However, for the time being, I think I might have fixed the problem on my own:



I went into the "Extrude" menu and changed the amount to " 0.01 ".  It seems to have worked. 

[threestooges]

Looks great. I think the road signs are in good hands here.

[dedgren]

David contemplates the BAT...


R. Crumb, all rights reserved, 1971

In that case, check your alpha map.  If it's got a line or area at the top of it that's not completely blacked out, you could get what you're seeing.  The UVW map should be a plane, so nothing appears on the edges of the extrusion.  Also, you don't actually need to extrude the spline here, just make the rectangle and give it a UVW map, or if you're using a box object, give it a height of zero.

You guys play so far out of my league I don't even know where the ballpark is.

Later.


David

113624

[thundercrack83]

I'm with you, David--a BAT is still just a flying mammal to me.

Looks like you've got the octagon situation under control, too, Ryan. Excellent job!

[threestooges]

In that case, check your alpha map.  If it's got a line or area at the top of it that's not completely blacked out, you could get what you're seeing.  The UVW map should be a plane, so nothing appears on the edges of the extrusion.  Also, you don't actually need to extrude the spline here, just make the rectangle and give it a UVW map, or if you're using a box object, give it a height of zero.

You guys play so far out of my league I don't even know where the ballpark is.

Sad thing is, I completely understood that.

I would recommend that anyone who has a similar reaction to David's image above, yet still has a desire to learn to BAT, should check out The Mouse House in the NUTs board, or the classic BAT tutorial by phillippbo at ST. It's not an impossible system to learn but, seeing as how road signs are the rage around here:



It can be confusing at first, but it does get easier. At any rate, I now return you to your regularly scheduled developments.
-Matt

[dedgren]

I'm working on stuff today...

...like fixing our gutters...

...but thought I'd take a minute and show you this.



I think it's a pretty good representation of the Big Bang.  I am a huge fan of Ryan Geiss's Winamp Milkdrop visualization [linkie], and captured this one during a Golden Earring [linkie] tune.

Later, friends.  Later.


David

113953

[dragonshardz]

David: I beleive a Maxis program called the PIM can turn a model into a prop without all the sticky hand coding, though i don't know if it can make the prop ploppable.

[girlfromverona]

That sure is purdy, David! Just make sure you don't get accidentally get hypnotised... 

[thundercrack83]

I think it's a pretty good representation of the Big Bang.

It's a pretty good representation of golden earrings, too--quite ironic!

Hope you're enjoying your weekend, David!

Dustin

[dedgren]

Took a late summer hike into the hot springs in Wildcat Township...


3RR Atlas, all rights reserved, 2007
http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=2810.0

Found a thermal pool I'd never seen before.



Makes me wonder if there's a geyser or two up there.

Later.


David

114401

[ben_meissner]

Very nice! After seeing your photos from Yellowstone I wondered if there would be a way to bring that beauty to SC4, and apparently there is.

[threestooges]

Nice little thermal pool texture. I have a feeling that a geyser may not be too far away from discovery, what with all the new developments going on around here... Waiting to see what new things are around the corner.
-Matt

[thundercrack83]

I'm with you, Matt--I can smell the geysers all the way down here in Pennsylvania!

Looking good, as always, David! Looking good!

Dustin

[girlfromverona]

That is beautiful! I tried to make a spring in my city the other day and it was nowhere near as nice. Great work! 

[Ryan B.]

Looks great, as always, David!