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Truly NUTS: Cali at BAT

Started by Cali, February 26, 2011, 10:04:34 PM

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Jmouse

Cali, it's wonderful to see you back at BAT. It's just good fortune that I saw your post - for some reason I didn't have the thread bookmarked. Possibly because I had to reinstall Yahoo!Mail on the laptop so I could see my email, and I reformatted the HD on my desktop twice.

Your work is shaping up well, but texturing is the most difficult part. I have a roof that's giving me a fit right now, and I don't usually have quite that much trouble with roofs. I like the simple, functional shapes of your structures. And listen closely to mattb's advice. He'll be a great help to you, and I'll shoo Arne (Vester) over this way, too.

I have you bookmarked now, so I'll definitely be watching closely.

-Joan

vester

Mattb325, posted some good advice about the textures.
I use tons af time on them. Have 10 different copper texture, if not more.

The roof just look to clean to be. A bit to solid.
The top of the wall on the tower, should be cover with some sort of metal. (Here its a civil engineering speaking) or the wall will be soaked.

Cali

I'm still in the process of testing materials for the Willcox house but here is an update to the truck repair shop


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I can't figure out what else i can do with it(or rather don't have the experience,) so I'd like to upload the model here. All the textures are with it.If anyone can make it better. then by all means :) so, if anyone can help me out...great!
"It's not a design flaw, It's my signature"

Cali

Ok, I worked some more on the repair shop, and i don't really feel the ground texture is working, but i have two ingame shots, and to tell ya the truth, i'm kinda proud of what i accomplished so far(I know it's no frank lloyd wright)


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also, i'm still only testing the lot so I know it looks like it's floating :) I'll fix it, as well as the text. It's pretty hard to read.
"It's not a design flaw, It's my signature"

Jmouse

You have built a good structure that looks like a repair shop. I like the half-open bay door - most people wouldn't have thought of that detail.

To improve this already-good model, the roof needs more grit and grime. If I might borrow one of Matt's favorite lines, "Darken the roof *fill in name*." The building could use a bit more grime at the bottom, too. It's the base texture that screams out, though. You have the grunge idea down pat, but the dirty and clean areas don't make sense. Tire tracks and motor oil stains might work better.

Also, you need to place the largest semi rig in front of a bay entrance and make sure it will fit through the opening. The gray one in the back with the blue trailer would work just fine. From what I see in the first photo, those road hogs couldn't squeeze through the door.

These are just things I learned in my early days of BATting while I was creating the Mouse House, and I'm passing them along to you. My garage door wasn't big enough and the Sims would have bumped their heads on the eaves. :D BTW, you've done a good job on the night lighting. I've no idea how to create the spots like you did.

threestooges

Joan has some good advice, though I would say that the roof actually looks pretty good as it is.

One thing I noticed, was the ground texture. Is that supposed to simulate oily concrete or something like that? If so, it's a bit black and white for that I think, and a bit overdone. I'd suggest removing it, or at least reducing it to an interior floor of the building. Other than that, the night lighting, especially that of the blue signs looks good. I think the daytime color of the blue is a bit saturated though. Perhaps desaturate the sign color there.
-Matt

GMT

I'd say get rid of the ground plane, instead make some ground textures for the game and apply them to your lot. works and looks better imho

... really, it is. I swear.

bat

Great repair shop there! Also the other BATs are wonderful... :thumbsup:

Cali

ok, did some repair work and a couple other things i.e replaced the a/c textures with more realistic ones, added barriers, and new bay door textures. Also i shortened the floor texture to just be inside. In addition, i also fixed the nightlighting and added a couple more signs.


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and for my friend jmouse, these are the parameters i used for the outside lighting


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I exported it to the plugin manager, so after i lot it, i'll put ingame shots. also i increased the size of the building to allow better access for trucks.
"It's not a design flaw, It's my signature"

Mulu2065


Jmouse

Cali, this is looking really good. When it's finished, I'll certainly DL it. I'm eager to see a test render and an in-game pic.

Cali

Hello all, I got some ingame shots for ya. Let me know what you think.


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i'm gonna work on the roof because i messed it up..lol, Also the elevation is slightly off too. but overall it's almost finished. :)
"It's not a design flaw, It's my signature"

Jmouse

Looking much better, Cali :thumbsup: I like the way you've added more detail to the bay doors. You definitely have the right idea with the tire and oil tracks on the concrete. The only problems I see are lines of demarcation and some repetition. The night views look good, but where did the spotlights go? %confuso

Thanks for sharing the lighting parameters. I'm going to have to add some porch lights to the Lodge, so this will give me exactly what I need, and even a basis for experimentation.

Cali

Good day all. I have a couple render pics for you. I think I fixed everything so here ya go :)


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And yes, I fixed the spotlights..:)
"It's not a design flaw, It's my signature"

Jmouse

Looks good to me, Cali. And I just about lost it when I saw the Nuts'! :D What kind of photo editing software do you have? If you've already answered the question elsewhere, my apologies. I'm already two hours behind schedule today because we went hunting for a desk for one of my other computers so I didn't take the time to hunt.

Do you intend to upload to the LEX? If so, I need to get a README template from Shaun. Also, you'll need to post the render here in an attachment because teams are expected to scrutineer their own member's work before it goes in for a final checkup. There's a good checklist here, and I need to get a copy for myself, too.

Good work here...
-Joan

Cali

thank you for your support. I would love to upload here to the LEX. Now as far as uploading the render,is there a file size limit? I've never done this before. At the moment, I'm getting ready to test it in game to make sure it works alright before i send it away. Now the lot it's on isn't exactly what it's going to be, I'm only using it as a test lot. Also, if you could, Explain to me what needs to be done so I can Get everything prepared for upload. And thank you and everyone else for their kind words and suggestions. Oh, I have photoshop, but i've been able to get away with windows paint...only cuz I don't really know how to use photoshop:)). Thank you again :)
"It's not a design flaw, It's my signature"

Cali

ok, here are the in-game shots for ya guys...:)


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hope you all like it :)
"It's not a design flaw, It's my signature"

Jmouse

#37
The shop and lighting look great, but the concrete around it needs work. I can try my hand at it if you need help and don't have good image-editing software. Just wrap up the textures in a zip file and attach them here. Also send me some in-game shots with the grid turned on.

If you want to work it out for yourself, you might want to create the textures similar to the street textures in NAM. Make them in such a way as to create common pathways. For example, think about where trucks will be parked while the drivers go inside the shop. Also consider the truck's path when it leaves the back bays. I'll try and find one of those things that's worth a thousand words to kind of go by. :D

I'm really pleased to see so much improvement in your work... :)
-Joan

*EDIT* I just went back again  and looked at your first post today. You can't upload to the LEX until your project goes through the entire scrutineering process. Technically I could, but I would not do so without guidance from an LEX administrator. I didn't upload the Mouse House. Barby did it for me because I was having computer problems at the time.

I'm far from being a Photoshop expert, but I use it to make my own textures and I've kind of learned the drill when it comes to what's expected in a BAT and lot. So let me know if I can be of help.

Cali

Thanks for the clarification Joan, I know about the scrutiny team, And I'm good with all that. I just need some info on how to start this. I would never want to upload anything that isn't right,(plus my obsessive compulsiveness won't let me..lol). I decided on a certain texture(plus one without)so for now, I'm posting an in-game shot without the base texture, and to tell the truth it kinda looks better. Also there is a line of demarcation in zoom 4, but it isn't visible in all other zooms, or the lot editor, so I don't know why the bat hates me so much.lol Anyways, As far as the lot goes, I put together a small list of whats on it(not that it matters, it's a test lot, but if it was to be used it would be helpful to know whose props are being used.-Jason


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"It's not a design flaw, It's my signature"

vester

Hi Cali

Very good bat, but the textures could use a little more work, to make the bat looks more real. The textures are a bit to colean.