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Spa's Atlantic Retreat

Started by spa, February 25, 2007, 01:13:45 AM

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spa

Glenni: I think so too. As Gottingen went downhilll some areas where demolished and turned into parking lots or just left to become vacant lots. The buildings that were next to the Galleria, as you can see, are long gone. All that remains is that small and still attached piece of the Galleria's old neighbour.
Antoine: Thanks
Jeronji: Thanks. It's definitely a strong blue isn't it? :)
Metasmurf: I actually have a very big library of potential projects that I have photographed. I like to do buildings that I have actually seen in real life. Still that's a building in the style I tend to do so maybe one day I'll pick it up.

Just a small post today. I finished texturing another one of the models I was working on at my parents place. Below is the building in real life

Colourful eh? It's another old Maritime building with old wooden siding. Judging by the appearence, my guess is that this building was once a house, but it has been renovated over the years to accomodate the store front. Now it's a place where yuppies can go to paint pottery.

And my version

jmyers2043

#41
This is very nice. I like the multi colored window frames. Although I would have thought differently if I had not seen the real photo. A handicap ramp is something you don't see in simcity too often.  I studied the picture very carefully and think I make out a very slight gradient on the walls? That is the way I like gradients. Just subtle enough to make the wall look 'not flat' but not so bold so as to distract the eye. Well done. I also like the parking in the rear. Lot makers don't to it often enough. The 2nd story deck is a nice color and I like the matching railings.
Jim Myers  (5th member of SC4 Devotion)

simdad1957

Hello Spa, I thought I should post a comment on your new thread here at SC4D.

I Like the new Halifax additions that you are making to the "small town series". I must admit I chuckled at the rainbow windowsills on the "clay cafe" but seriously, I have seen this a number of times especially in the rural Maritimes and this should add some colour to mainstreet in the game. Good job.

Any idea when the sovereign building will be released?
Go Sens!!

spa

Jmyers: Thanks! Indeed the disabled are very much an after thought in much of Sim City. I know what you mean about the gradient. It can be real tough getting it right. The line between noticable and oppressive is a very fine one. I agree fully about the rear parking. In real life it's quite common in dense urban areas. Personally, putting on my planning hat, I like the idea of stashing cars off the streetscape and around back. It has been one of my guiding principles since I started batting.
Simdad1957: Thanks. Indeed you can't beat Maritimers when it comes to colour. There is a small house down the street from my parents place that switches colours every two or three years when it comes time to paint. It has been every colour of the rainbow over the years. The Sovereign Building... well Jason did some work on the windows for me and I'm going to take another look at it. I was really sick of working with the roof and windows so I had to put it down. Once I'm done the 1x2s I'm working on I'll pick it back up so sometime in the next few weeks would be my guess. That said Barby's the one who does the installers and a lot of the in game testing for the BSC and she's really busy these days so it might end up being June. I would be surprised if it were later than June though.

Just a quick update. I added another chimney to the Galleria, but it's now ready to go. I'm going to change the roof texture on the Clay Cafe to one that's more fitting of a flat roof. Before that though, I have worked on ABL and I'm ready to declare it done. Below is the result.

Quite a different look eh compared to the Galleria or the Clay Cafe. Amazing what taking pictures on a cloudy day does to the look of things (ABL and Galleria come from opposite ends of the spectrum!). You might recognize the shingles texture on ABL.  Since I'm not going to use it on the Clay Cafe it can go to good use here. After all, it's a shame to waste a perfectly good texture. Next up, adjust the Clay Cafe and finish up the half done Attica and Province House Credit Union models.

Andreas

Hmm, I think the grey walls are a bit dark, but otherwise, it looks really good. I like the small details, like the half-opened door.
Andreas

spa

#45
Andreas: Thanks. I'll try out a lighter shade on the grey walls tomorrow. I don't know that I can lighten them a whole lot though because I want the walls to be significantly different in shade from the trim and electrical wiring to ensure that the later are noticable. It's not really fair the comparison ABL is getting. It just had the bad luck to follow the bright and cheerful Galleria and Clay Cafe  :)

So just a small post today to test the waters on the new Clay Cafe roof texture and to introduce another of my 1x2s that's underway, Attica.

The new Clay Cafe roof is a tarpaper texture that I got from one of the BSC crew. If the consensus is that the new texture is more appropriate for the flat roof and works with the building I'll render the Clay Cafe tomorrow and send it off to the BSC testing phase.

As for Attica, I'm almost done with the front but I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the back and sides just yet. The real building is in a very narrow old block of Halifax and doesn't actually have any sides or back for me to use as reference because the whole block is built up. So I'm going to have fill it in from my imagination. I do, however, have to fix that shadow effect on the front as it looks kind of weird (don't rotate small objects 45 degrees in places where light will be blocked, gmax doesn't cope well).

Just for reference, below is a picture of the real Attica on Barrington Street that I posted earlier on Simtropolis

I think I'm going to leave the advertising banners off... the front already has enough  going on and I think they would just detract from the whole. Maybe I'll include them on the sides as wall banners.

Pat


Spa those building are just fantatic i really do love them great work - pat

Don't forget the SC4D Podcast is back and live on Saturdays @ 12 noon CST!! -- The Podcast soon to Return Here Linkie

spa

#47
Pat: Thanks! I'm glad you like them.

So I finished my first week of work out in the real world. Started in the Canadian Federal Government at the Department of Public Works on Monday and it looks promising. I think it'll be a good place to work and there seems to be a real possibility based on the looming retirements in their office that if I like it there and they like my work, I'll be hired full time when I graduate next year. Of course working 8 hours and then squeezing in 2 hours of schoolwork has meant that I haven't had time to do much batting lately. I did, however, get into texturing Province House Credit Union. Below is a picture of the model (I have had it for some time and a fair start into the textures).

Not much to say at this point. One little detail that will probably get washed out when I do the glass is the Province House logo on the street ground floor windows. Anyway, I'm hoping that I'll be able to finish this either tonight or tomorrow but no guarantees since I'm going out with the girl friend and her brother tonight and then I'm going to see the folks for mother's day. I'll update again when I have a final version ready.

bat

great picture of that building! :thumbsup:

jayo

I'm back

spa

#50
Bat and Jayo: Thanks!

So just a quick update. I'm "done" Province House Credit Union. Below are the pictues of it all textured up.

I think it looks quite stately on Sim main street and the Yellow Brick is a definite change of pace. This one, alongside the Galleria and the Clay Cafe will broaden the colours of Sim Main Street. As you can see and as usual I have made this 1x2 small town compliant. I think it should fit particularly well with JB's stuff because it is an older North American style building and it lacks loud signage. Anyway, I do have to rerender because the second floor window on the front far left is too dark. I need to lighten that part of the glass texture just a little bit. I think the dark blue ledge between the second floor and the ground also needs to go because it disappears into the dark glass patterns and makes the front middle post look like it doesn't touch anything at the top. Both are minor and quick fixes, but since I'm going to rerender anyway, I'm open to suggestions if there are any. If not I'll render tomorrow and add this to Barby's queue.

jeronij

These are some great bussines, and this size is always welcome  :thumbsup:
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jmyers2043

Hi Spa ... I like the burgundy colored parapets. The chimney in the middle of the roof struck me as being out of place. the front facade has a lot of visual interest. The two story to the right is done well with all of the geometry. Colors are nice especially the awning in that is it not so black that it is in the mud but just dark enough to know it is supposed to be black. I generally like your's and JB's small shops. The color palettes and scaling is usually on the money.
Jim Myers  (5th member of SC4 Devotion)

bat

another great commercial building!

nofunk

I didn't know you had started Province House! It looks fantastic, Sam!

JosefBrisko135

Your signature was TOO BIG and TOO BULKY ... System ADMIN

spa

Marc: Thanks. Indeed these older bats from Halifax will fit alongside JB's fairly well. I bat what surrounds me and I walk past older buildings every day now that I'm back in Halifax (Calgary is so very very new in comparison). This one does have a bit of a theater feel to it. I actually thought that before so it's nice to have an architect to be confirm my gut reaction. As for the job, it's going quite well and it really looks like it's a potential career which is nice to know.
Jeronji: Thanks
Jim: Chimeny in the middle is gone for the final edition. Thanks for the detailed feedback and I agree about JB's stuff. We came into batting at the same time so it has worked out well... of course one can't forget your own small commercial set! Most of them see frequent use in my cities :)
Bat: Thanks
Nofunk: Yeah I snuck that one in there. One thing with having a full-time job is that I have less time. That has meant less frequent updates, but still roughtly the same amount of batting. I'm glad you like it. I'm particularly pleased with this one. I actually think it is one of my better bats.
Josef: Thanks

So you might have noticed I'm not posting as much as I use to. Working will do that. Fewer hours in the day has meant less online time... although I have still found time to bat. It's mainly the online wandering that work has eaten into. However, with the help of the BSC crew and an excellent tutorial in the omnibus, I have made custom queries for all my bats. It was just the thing to push me into a long planned and overdue update of my old creations.

Over the next while all of my old works will be updated and released here on Devotion and Simtropolis. The update means that each of my creations will appear in a consistent order on the menus and they'll all have a custom query for the set they're in. It's just that extra little polish. I also eliminated the lot config family property from my old growable lots, which has been found to allow maxis buildings to grow on custom lots on rare occassions. In addition to the minor fixes I have rerendered a number of my buildings to fix, mainly, craptapular textures from early on. Below are pictures of the changes. Before on the left, after on the right.

Ardmore:

New small-town compatible lot, darker roof and roof trim, new opacity settings for the glass, and the brick and clapboard are more clearly visible.
Bank of Montreal:

New roof texture, bigger less puny looking doors.
CIBC

New brick, roof and roof covers textures. Bigger doors.
Foreign Affair

Large side windows gone (I don't think they fit).
Kensington Plaza

New window texture. The walls were the big thing here though. They're not so flat anymore.
King of Donair:

Lighter shingles
Ridley's Cycles:

Shorter on 2x3 lot that is compatible with my other 2x3s. Less blue roof. I wanted to darken the new roof texture just a bit but unfortunately the Ridley's model is now corrupt so it's one or the other (notice the little texture glitch on the left side too that now can't be fixed). Annoying but that's the way the cookie crumbles.
Royal Bank:

New roof and brick textures. Lot base texture fixed. I never felt that the old rear entrance fit so I dressed it up.
Tandoori Hut:

New glass (the old windows are horrible). Darker front Tandoori awning.
TD Bank:

Darker roof and trim. New brick texture. Side windows scaled down, doors scalled up.

Changes that I'm not Sure About:
Perks:

I know I want to fix the windows so that they're not so dark but I might have overdone it. I have spent a fair but of time tinkering with the glass but I just can't seem to get it. Maybe I'll change the floor on the 2nd and 3rd floors to wood so that the windows look more like the storefront ones.
Trend Fashions:

I don't know about the new bricks. The lines might be a bit strong?
Royal Manor Building:

I like the darker windows but I'm not sure that the plastery walls work.

So that's everything. Any thoughts (especially on the last three)?

kwakelaar

Very nice work on these old models and they have all improved. I think Perks looks fine, Trend Fashion I think the rooftexture is looking a bit grainy and it is a pitty the details on the facade are blending more with the texture of the bricks. The Royal Manor I kinda liked the blue windows better than the purple, (just personal taste) other than that I think it looks good.

nofunk

I've always wanted to revisit a few of my earlier creations and improve upon them. I just have so many projects ongoing right now that I feel I should finish those first lol.

In any case, on the last three:

Perks: I actually like the brighter window textures. You lost the texturing on your chimney though!

Trend Fashions: I'm not sure the grout between the bricks is too strong, but I do think the bricks look too big. Try scaling down the UVW just a touch, somewhere between the brick size you had before and what you have now.

Royal Manor: On my screen, the plaster looks OK! I especially like the new window textures -- the purple tint really adds cohesiveness with the other purple details.

Overall, very nice improvements! I'll have download the new ones once you've made them available.

spa

Kwakelaar: Thanks. I'll try turning down the roof texture and making the brick a little lighter. Lighter brick might keep the facade details from disappearing so easily. I might actually revert to the original Royal Manor. I think I have to sit on it for a few days before I can decide.
Nofunk: Yeah I know what you mean. I have been thinking about going back and updating for a long time but I never had the energy. I would rather create new things. The custom query angle alongside the numerous fixes, however, eventually made it worth doing. So Perks, yeah that chimney texture seems to wander on me. I actually went back to a darker window though. Check it out below. I haven't had a chance yet, but I'm going to try a smaller brick and less gritty roof. As mentioned, I don't know what I'm doing with the Royal Manor right now.

So I have done a little bit more tinkering and I have moved Perks into the final category.

I went back to the darker windows. They're only slightly different than the original but I changed the floor on the 2nd and 3rd floors to wood to give that orangish tinge. I think it's better than the pitch black of the original, but the difference is slight. If I hadn't already spent so much time tinkering with this one I would probably just not bother with it.

Perks may be "done" but Kensington Plaza is back into the being worked on category. I'm tinkering with windows, again. I haven't done them all the way around but below is what I have so far.

Version 3 is definitely a step up from the original but maybe also a step up from version 2 that I posted earlier.

As for the other two, well I'm going to try turning down the dirt on the Trend Fashions' roof and make the bricks slightly bigger and maybe a little lighter and I'm debating just reverting to the original Royal Manor. I don't know though. Maybe I'll sit on that one for a while.