Homefryes' BATatorium

[homefryes]

Welcome! As I've mentioned elsewhere, I come and go around these parts. Occasionally the mood strikes and the creative juices flow. Up to this point, I have three¹ creations available:

• American Four Square homes (LEX and STEX)
• American Four Square v2 (STEX)
• My original Substation Pack (STEX)

¹ I also have an unfinished fourth project which has gotten lost in (my own) testing; I believe it has only one minor issue that needs resolving ... but I'll save that for another day!

At the forefront right now is my current project I call HomePower Corporation. You may have seen my interaction in the Rural Power Lines [linkie] thread. My HomePower project thus far consists of ploppable utility poles (the current set of which are nearly complete as I write this) and an older style of power substations. The substations are designed such that they can be used in conjunction with my ploppable utility poles or they can be used on their own, it's entirely up to those who wish to use them. Because of this, I intend to offer them for release by themselves separate from the utility poles.

When I created my first set of substations, I assigned their properties based on the fact that real-life substations do not "produce" power, they just transfer (and transform) it from high voltage to something lower. The original set does not have any power producing properties as designed. However, in the interest of fitting into a more rural or old-time feel, which seems to be a trend I see more and more in various MD's here at SC4D, I'm feeling that a change in my "no power" stance could be a real benefit for some mayors. While there are other power-producing solutions on the exchanges which enable you to power your farming villages without having to use the Maxis-standard methods (unsightly wind turbines² or lung-clogging coal power plants), I thought it might be good to come up with another alternative: a substation that (secretly) produces power for you!

² Really, I find wind turbines to be fascinating. For the purposes of this topic, I'm thinking along the lines of trying to create a true historic rural feel, and wind turbines just don't work for that genre!

Now, here is where I need help from interested mayors. I need to know what parameters people think would be good for these substations to adequately produce power for your uses, as well as to what levels some of the other properties might need to be set (monthly cost if any, plop cost, etc.). Obviously pollution could be nil, and it depends on what side of the fence (no pun intended) you're on as to whether you feel these should have a negative NIMBY affect. Obviously those in the know are able to adjust the parameters themselves to suit their needs, but for those who simply enjoy adding custom content to their games without being bothered by customizing things any further, what levels would be appropriate? Keep in mind that the object would be to have this successfully power a nice rural community (hopefully) without needing help from another source ... at least that's what I'm envisioning. Additionally I also plan to package a set that does not produce power, for those who might want them (I'd package them all together and the mayor can decide which to install).

If you haven't seen these at the Rural Power Lines thread, here they are for your review:

Large rural substation (even a region of the smallest of farming communities needs to have a large distribution substation!):




Medium rural substation:




Small rural substation:




I look forward to your input!

— Don

[metarvo]

As soon as I saw the link to your thread, I knew that I couldn't stay away.  So, here I am.    So, let's see what we've got here...

I admit that my power poles are currently based on the 1x1 Maxis Green Lot park, and they consequently have a YIMBY effect, which is somewhat unrealistic.  However, I do think that a slight NIMBY effect is realistic.  In a past version of SimCity, SimCity 3000, the in-game power lines did have this effect.  IRL (in real life), houses that are near substations and high-tension power lines are often seen with For Sale signs for long periods of time, because no one wants to move there.  I do think that you have a good idea about releasing power-producing and non-power-producing versions.  A large city tile has been considered to be the equivalent of 4 km², or about 2.5 mi.  Do you really see power plants every 2.5 miles?  Absolutely not, and that's why your idea of making power-producing substations is a much-needed workaround.  I look forward to more, Don.

[projectadam]

Don,

It is good to see your own thread for development, always interested to see what you are up to and creating. I believe that you were also the one that was working on the wooden telephone/electric poles. I think those were plopable and I have no clue when it comes to custom content but could those be made to produce a little bit of power? I know that is unrealistic but like metarvo stated, it is even more unrealistic to have a power plant every 2.5 miles and for large regions the neighborhood connections seems faulty. Just a thought, keep up the good work

[homefryes]

metarvo and projectadam: Thanks for the support, as always! I am the one working on the utility poles. Point by point:

• Yes, a slight NIMBY affect I think is necessary (though it wouldn't bother me a bit to live next to a substation, but I'm goofy that way!).
• Exactly my point about power plants every 2.5 miles; and having the substations produce power would eliminate the need for the high-voltage lines for the purposes of buying power from a neighbor city, if using them is not desired or does not fit into one's theme.
• I based my lots on the coal power plant, so they currently carry ALL of their affects, both positive (kW of power generated) and negative (pollution, NIMBY, etc.); of course those need to be changed, but I haven't bothered yet.
• As for the utility poles creating power, I don't know that it's an option. Those are basically "trees" (they're in the Flora menu and carry those properties), which could produce an interesting positive affect, I suppose (helping to eliminate air pollution; kinda cool, eh?). But to add power-generating properties, I don't even know if that's possible. I'd have to look into that. Interesting concept, though.

So that brings me to the question of what does anyone believe the properties should be on the substations, as far as how much power they should put out mainly, but other things too that I haven't yet thought of?

— Don

[Pat]

Hey Homefryes looking good here and I like the substation there!!!

[Zaphod]

I really like these, something that fills a niche that has managed to go overlooked for a while.

I would consider making one where the fenced in area covers an entire lot, particularly a 1*1 or 1*2? The grass really isn't appropriate in all situations.

Yes, a slight NIMBY affect I think is necessary (though it wouldn't bother me a bit to live next to a substation, but I'm goofy that way!).

The threat of one exploding might bother me personally. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvgbPLTTAwk Some of the large transformers are filled with a non-conductive oil, which can be flammable and explode if it boils in some kind of accident

[homefryes]

I would consider making one where the fenced in area covers an entire lot, particularly a 1*1 or 1*2? The grass really isn't appropriate in all situations.

Well, Zaphod, I suppose that could be argued; however, I envisioned a gravel lot of sorts. Any that I've seen always has some sort of driveway outside the fence. I may (not any time soon) consider making custom lot base textures with transparent edges which would then blend in better with any standard game texture ... that would be nice. But another reason not to have the fence go to the edge is that if using my utility poles with these, there may be a need to have "free" space to plop utility poles. Props on the lot may interfere with that ability (which is why I have the shrubs strategically placed). But I do appreciate the feedback in any case!

— Don

[threestooges]

I know it's been a while since the last update, but I was wondering if there has been any progress on these substations. They look pretty good and I hope you're still working on them.

[homefryes]

Hi, threestooges -
No real progess, I guess. I never obtained the feedback I'd hoped for, which is more on a technical side of things (how much power they should put out and other parameters). So I've made my own attempt at setting some numbers and have been working on a new region to try them out. So far, so good ... so I may try to put together a .zip this weekend and post them here for you and others to try. Thanks for your interest!

— Don

[metarvo]

This is good news, Don.  I was worried about this project, since I had heard no news on it in a while.  At least you are still working on it.  Of course, I'm still interested. 

[threestooges]

Splendid news Don. I had come across a spot where something along these lines would have been helpful. I was looking into making my own when I remembered this project. I'd be happy to run them through the wringer for you.
-Matt

[rushman5]

I really appreciate the detail and testing you are putting into these lots.  Thank you for you 4square houses and these too!

-sean

[Pat]

Don I cant wait to test them out in my cities as these are awesome BATs and LOTs just like your homes you made back some time ago!!!! 

[SimGoober]

Neat idea.  As to the techs of these, I honestly don't think you can overdue the power output.  IRL, these types of stations wold be able to provide power to a large area, so let's say 5,000 kw?  That should power a small town, and not run out too easy.  As to the nimby affects, I'd say make them moderate, but only a small diameter.  Maybe a park affect of -30, over 4 tiles.  That way no one wants to be right next to them, but a few tiles away and noone cares...

[north country dude]

What SimGoober says,...at least, that's what I did with some "kit-bashed" substations I made to integrate metavro's power poles into a medium sized rural mountain region.

btw, how's the Rural Power Lines coming along?

Keep up the good work!

[homefryes]

Thanks for the feedback, all! I'm at work right now, so I don't recall what settings I made, but will look into it tonight or tomorrow. I think I went 2500 for the small, 3750 for medium and 5000 for large; however, I may bump the small and medium up, just to ensure that on a large rural tile, no supplemental power would me needed. I'll see ... and thanks again!

— Don

[homefryes]

Happy Valentine's Day!

Okay ... I took SimGoober's suggestions and wrapped up my substations. Feel free to give them a whirl:
download here
I recommend creating a subfolder in your plugins and call it "hf substations" or whatever works for you; place the unzipped files in that folder. These do produce power and will be found in your power menu. I haven't yet fully tested to see how well these will satisfy the power needs for a full large rural tile. My hope is that one will do the trick; multiple substations in a large rural tile would be extremely unrealistic. I also cut the cost down, which may seem unrealistic, but, frankly, I designed these to do the work of the power plants without all of the overhead associated. Users can alter the parameters to suit their needs, of course.

Feedback is most appreciated ... enjoy!

— Don

EDIT: I neglected to mention that I highly recommend leveling the ground first before placing. Otherwise you get this weird level area where the actual BAT sits, and the rest is sloped. Looks goofy. By leveling first, it all looks nice and smooth.

Additionally, I know there is a dependency (base texture); I can't remember what it is, though. It's from a common mega pack, I'm sure. But I tried installing and running SC4Tool, and it wouldn't work on my computer. If someone else can help me find the actual dependency, or tell me another way to figure it out, I'd really appreciate it!

[BarbyW]

Hi, Don. Do you remember in the dim and distant past - June 2007 - I put your Cambridge townhouses into families for you? Have you ever done anything with them since? Released them anywhere? If not I think you should dig them out - if you have lost them I still have the dats I made and the original models as well - and get them into LEX candidacy. If I remember correctly these were very nice indeed.

[homefryes]

Oh, Dear Barby --

That's the project I referenced at the very beginning of my first post on this page! Yes, I still have the files, and I do need to dig that out and finish it ... and I will (hopefully) soon! Thanks for the nudge!

— Don

[BarbyW]

Excellent, glad to have given the nudge as they are super buildings.