Rural Renewal Project

[TheTeaCat]

Good job I had my spill proof mug when I clicked on your thread Chris 

Btw the way here is your well deserved cuppa -  ooh look Donuts too




What a lot I've missed and what incredible work on the dam. The water effects are to die for 
the model itself is one of the most realistic version of anything I have seen so far. The attention to detail is superb 
the guard rails, the Cars , the spillway wash 

Just a thought is there some way a smaller version of the wash would work with TPW? it'd be great for rapids,weirs etc



I was wondering if you would consider adding these two items to you rural fences.

"kissing Gates" which cater only for walkers would be perfect for rural trails
1. 2.

"Stiles"
3. perfect for crossing a fence while on foot with out the need to open the main gate unnecessarily. (observing the country code of course )


But everything you've done so far gets incorporated into every city tile I build on. When I need that special bit of flora for just that location, yours invariably fits the bill .

Well worth investing in that spillproof mug


Bravo my friend

Derry

[Chrisadams3997]

DTP:  No problem.  My offer to pass it along if you find someone who'd like to work on it still stands.

Matt:  Thanks Matt.  I'm going to go ahead and use the sample bridge(from the tutorial) to check the size and color so it's all ready.  Then I'll pass it on to you .  I'll also look at the T21's.  Should be just a matter of editing the ones for that bridge I used in my pics to work in the new one, and maybe replace the light pole with mine.

Fred:  It almost sounds like a cool idea, doesn't it .  But invariably it runs into a whole host of problems the longer you think about(as I have):
-the dam isn't completely symmetrical from one end to the other(this is surmountable, but with some diffulculty, as it requires RULing)
-the wash must be built for a particular width of the dam, so couldn't be included
-no ability to use timed props
-the work's almost done on the present method , why throw it out now?
-the BIG one: It's not scalable vertically

By contrast, the simple bridge method saves me time, works perfectly with the rest of the model, accomplishes all my goals for functionality, AND, can be reused for additional versions of this dam(yes, there's one planned) as well as future projects by me or others.  While it may seem like a good idea to make the whole thing into a bridge, it's just not that practical.

Owen:  Thanks.  The water level at the spillway is actually a little point of contention I'm fighting with right now, as it's very hard to visualize exactly how the LOD will interact from each front view with the water there, and I haven't entirely decided where and how I want the water to show.

Derry:  You're far too kind .  Thanks for those pictures of the gates, those are kinds we don't have here, and would make a nice addition.  The kissing gate is rather straight forward, but I'm not sure I quite understand how the stile works just yet, but as long as I only made I closed version, the picture's good enough I wouldn't have to!

edit:  Do you actually walk 'over it', using those boards as steps?

And thank you to Simzebu, Bat, and Etherian too

[TheTeaCat]

Do you actually walk 'over it', using those boards as steps?

Yep thats exactly what you do
 

Usually placed by gates so that they don't have to be opened if animals close by.

regards
Derry

[Chrisadams3997]

Hey, that's a good idea, maybe we should have those over here

[deathtopumpkins]

We have stiles here in Virginia in more rural places. Or, rather, we did, but every one I can think of has been run over by a car within the last few years, and they've not bothered to build another. And ours actually had full sets of stairs on each side of the fence, as they were intended for tourists.


I'll tell you if I find someone to do them.

[Kitsune]

Those guardrails are sickening good, maybe a setup like the fences for them is on order? (as I and many others could prolly use them in a lot areas....)

[girlfromverona]

The dam is looking so very very awesome!!! 

[Chrisadams3997]

Kitsune:  See what I told DTP about them

Marisa:  Thank you.

I tried the road texture from the bridge modelling tutorial, but was not very impressed with it.



It's actually much farther off than the Maxis bridges(as seen above it in the pic, and is way too dark particularly in the middle of the lanes.  I'd had a much better transition just reducing the lightness of the original Maxis road texture, so I went to work on it to finish the job.



It took a good while with re-renders, jumping back and forth between the game, PSP, and Max, and this is about as close as it's going to get with a rendered texture I believe.

I also forgot to mention about the 'expansion joints' that Matt commented on.  That's actually a glitch where the bridge shadow shows through the bridge when they are close to or completely flat.  I'd personally prefer to just remove the shadows from our 'dummy' bridge, but if people like it, it can be left in as well.  I can actually add an expansion joint to the starter bridge piece awfully easy that would look better anyway.

Oh, by the way, for Matt, as soon as you get the GI's, I can render these pieces with the proper ones, and I'm working on the T21's so they can be easily added in.  Right now I've just kinda hijacked the GI's of an existing bridge(your covered bridge actually ) to test the appearance of the models.

Chris

[SgtJoeDes]

Oh my! I just finished going through your pages. I must say that you did an astonishing job here. You rock in making land details. Thanks for all these awesome picks. 

[threestooges]

Excellent work Chris. To be honest, most of what I've done that has required roads in game has been covered so I never noticed the color discrepancy. Good work on the fix though, and I'll take a look at the file you left in my BAT thread. Have you checked the color from different zoom levels? I recall that was one issue with some early rail textures (the game appears to use different ones at different zooms causing a color difference for those that only had one version).

As for the 'expansion joint,' I thought it looked a little odd for your standards. Funny that it seems to fit so well though. You're welcome to hijack my GI's for now, when I made mine, I edited the file from Colyns bridge. There have been some recent developments with bridge things, so I may be able to get ahold of the IDs pretty quick, just need to remember where eveything is now.

Since I'm here, I'll also add a bit about your thoughts regarding my new bridge. I do fully intend to include counterweights and wires and all (I'm just slow at the BAT works right now), and thanks for the pics, I've been basing what I have so far off the Steel Bridge in Portland, OR (basing it very loosely) but the extra pics will really help for angles I couldn't get before. I think I'll leave the top deck uncovered for now (both for LOD ease, and for a different look), but who knows, that can always change.

Great work as always Chris, and I'll look into the IDs.
-Matt

[Chrisadams3997]

I checked it at least at the first three zooms, and it was looking better as I zoomed out, so hopefully it still matches at 1 and 2.  Even if it gets off a little there though, I'd count it more important to be matched better at the closer zooms.

Oh, and thanks SgtJoe, I always like to see what people think, and to see new people in here

[Filasimo]

thats one mighty fine dam you got there Chris, I wonder what other aces up your sleeve you got left! 

[MAS71]

Good development you still doingChrisadams3997.
A your making with careful and finely made to me admire always.
I'm looking forward to use your bridge and dam so much.
Please keep it up.

[Chrisadams3997]

Filasimo:

I wonder what other aces up your sleeve you got left!

I actually took precautions and had a playing card factory built in my basement to make sure I don't run out .  No worries Fil, I've got projects lined up from here to Timbuktu.

Mas:  Thank you, I've been watching your thread as well, and have been quite impressed.  You certainly have got the details down as well.  That last water gate you showed is remarkable.  I promise I'll stop by and comment sometime .

[jacqulina]

hiya chris just thought i would show you a couple of pics of some of your flora.

[amapper]

I used to wonder what the next version of Sim City would look like and what it would allow us to do. Looking at this thread I realize we don't really need EA. Folks like you have taken this game way beyond it's original capabilities. It just keeps getting better. Thank you just doesn't express my gratitude for what you all have done. 

[thewolf312]

hey jacqulina, are those dirt roads drivable..if they are, could u plz tell me where u downloaded them?

[deathtopumpkins]

thewolf312: I'm pretty sure they're the mountain trail ped mall textures.

[nerdly_dood]

About the bridge thing... The WHOLE THING is too dark - concrete is never as dark as the asphalt pavement of the road that isn't on the bridge. My intent here is to imply, or state, that bridges where I live are just cement, while all on-ground roads are asphalt.  The exception is with rural roads and small creeks - usually there's just a corrugated steel pipe underneath a gravel road, but occasionally the road is paved above such a pipe. (I think I've seen a pipe like that on the LEX recently, haven't I? )

[Chrisadams3997]

Beautiful pictures jacky(I also saw the other ones in the 'show us your...' thread), I particularly like the second one.

Amapper:  Thanks.

Nerdly_dood:  That's a valid point.  However it's more of a technical point that I don't think most users would have much appreciation for.  Most people just will never think or care about that, and would just assume that the bridge(which should be interpreted as the dam surface and not a bridge so much) maintain visual continuity with the connected road.  I hope you understand my viewpoint on it.

I think I've seen a pipe like that on the LEX recently, haven't I?

Yea, that's mine