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choco's attempts at BATing bridges

Started by choco, June 03, 2008, 09:18:33 AM

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choco

Hello all.

I just wanted to create a thread for some public scrutineering of the bridges i have been working on.  Any and all comments are welcome, but please keep in mind that this is my first BAT, I'm not very good with textures (yet ::)), and I haven't added any T21's or the like.

So please feel free to leave any comments. 

First up is a basic street bridge modeled after the Smartroad Bridge in Virgina, USA.  Its just a basic hollow box girder bridge with simple lines and textures. 


Thanks for lookin!

In the works is an elevated rail bridge similar to the Edmonton LRT bridge.   :-\

callagrafx

First impression is that the textures tile too much and the pathway texture is too large.  However, as a first attempt I'd have to say excellent.
The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it

threestooges

I agree with callagrafx about the textures, but those will develop with time and practice. From the looks of things you've done a good job, especially for your first bridge. I'll look forward to seeing more developments.

choco

thank you.....i appreciate the kind words.  since giving this stuff a try, i've come to develop a lot more respect for the abilities of this modding community.  it is tough to make such good looking material.

callagrafx: im sorry, but im not sure what you mean about "pathing" texture....are you talking about the street texture, or the white block sidewalk?   


on another note, i've got another version of this bridge with a road texture, and made it a 5 piece bridge.  I haven't much idea which i will try to release (if any), unless i somehow become good with textures.


nerdly_dood

Smartroad, eh? The smartroad in Virginia that I know of is between Christiansburg and Blacksburg, and most of the bridges are highways over highways... Even if we're talking about two different smartroads, the bridge isn't bad, first try or not!
My days here are numbered. It's been great and I've had a lot of fun, but I've moved on to bigger and better things.
—   EGO  VOBIS  VADELICO   —
Glory be unto the modder and unto the fun and unto the city game!

choco

thanks!  :thumbsup:

you got it....over wilsons creek i believe.  it was a simple looking bridge to model, but i had to make it street or road since 2-tile network bridges are more challenging to model.  that'll be for later.  im not very creative as an artist per say...i work better from others ideas...which is kinda why i posted the thread.  any ideas are welcome to make my BAT's more friendly for the community. 

ive redone the textures and they look better, but i simplified the LODs and now the bridge loooks bad at zoom 2 and 3.  there's pixel offsets between the pieces now.  i'll post some screenies when i get a chance.     

:newbie:

choco

#6
Well, I have finally made enough progress to post an update.  I think I have all the major issues with the LODs and modding taken care of.  Only have 2 more issues to resolve:

1. I need to make the custom icon, which doesn't seem too bad.  I found the tutorial, but I can't install the programs on my work laptop (they removed my administrative rights  :thumbsdown:).  Once I get home to my PC, I'll get this done.  I tried to insert another image just to verify I could do it, but the DIR file does not reflect the new icon file after re-indexing and rebuilding.  ()what() 

2. More importantly, the streetlights from the T21 dont quite look right.  Since I'm new to the modding aspect of bridge building, I'm not quite sure how to properly align the lights.  The attachments below will illustrate the problem.  If anyone can point me in the right direction, I be be very grateful! 

Thanks for lookin and preemptively for any help....

smoncrie

It is a little hard to help with the placement of props without the bridge model.  All I can do is make the suggestion that you start with the position of the Maxis street lights.

Here are the Maxis LotConfigPropertyLotObject values.  One line is for one side of the street; the other line is for the other side of the street.

0x00000001,0x00000010,0x00000003,0x000D34C9,0x00000000,0x0007B541,0x000C34C9,0x0006B541,0x000E34C9,0x0008B541,0x00000000,0x2AAF3723,0x69AD0000

0x00000001,0x00000010,0x00000001,0x0003984A,0x00000000,0x00077975,0x0002984A,0x00067975,0x0004984A,0x00087975,0x00000000,0x0AAF3713,0x69AD0000

a1n2d3r4e5w6

How's the progress on the Edmonton LRT bridge? You mentioned it in one of the other bridge forums.

choco

RL is killing me now.  i just purchased a house 2 weeks ago and have been pretty busy moving. 

More to point, the model is pretty much done, but I gotta get to texturing.  I'm not very good at it so it's been a slow process. :(

threestooges

Congratulations on the purchase of a house. Take your time, there's no rush around here. I hope you'll post some pics of the bridge when you get some time (and some textures); I am interested to see what you have so far.

choco

#11
Thanks TS....its been alot more work than i ever imagined.  finally getting settled down, but i haven't got my computer room set up.  holes to drill....wires to run.....fun fun. 

Anyway....

I'm not sure if i'm getting better at this or not.... ::)  But here's a few renders of some experiments with texturing and such, as well as the rough model for the LRT.  The ped bridge below the LRT obviously wouldn't be active, but I figured I'd add it in for aesthetics.  It need some details and such, and I need to figure out how to use the alpha to make the railings look nice.  Also, I have 2 versions of the smartroad bridge, one 3 piece and one 5 piece.  The 5 piece is more true to the actual bridge, but I still have some modding to learn before I can get it to work.  Trial and error, but the learning process has been fun.


Any comments are welcome...good or bad.  Most folks here have a better eye for texturing than i do, so dont feel bad for ripping my work apart.  Criticism will only help in the long run. 


Thanks again for looking, and for any comments as well! :thumbsup:

edit: clean up old links


choco

#12
jus wanted to post a couple more pics....definitely not complete, need more details and texture work.  nevertheless, slow day at work.  ???

i'm headed to japan next week for almost 2 weeks, so I may have some down time in the hotel to get some actual work done. 

edit: cleaning up links

threestooges

Nice work there. The road bridge looks pretty good. Is it the same one as the one I'll be testing or is it a new one? It looks a bit similar, just with different textures. Speaking of textures, I like the way the pylons turned out, but I would suggest taking the gray brick part and making it look a bit dirtier. Right now it looks a bit too clean compared to the rougher looking stone that surrounds it (if that makes any sense).

The rail (El/GLR?) bridge has a neat design. It looks like the bottom part is meant to serve as a passenger walkway or something. That should be a good one when you get some textures on it.

I'll try to look at your bridge over the weekend and get back to you. Enjoy your time in Japan. I've never been, but I'd like to go at some point.

choco

#14
its getting better i hope... ;D

they're all based on the same model, im just kinda experimenting on the textures and # of pieces to get the hang of this.  Thought the street bridge would look better with a few extra pieces, so it'll give me a chance to write a RUL.  with any luck, i'll be able to start building more models of all the works i have in mind.

finally got this in the game last night....LODs were bad so I couldn't get a screenshot, but meh...


 
edit: cleaning up links

Meastro444

its real sexy ;).

i do think pedestrians will work, because the problem with Double decker bridges is that the capacity doesnt increase. (difficult for to explain). pedestrians however wont cause congestion. you would need a special puzzle piece to get the pedestrians on the bridge.

regard

Meastro444
Friend of the Certified Drama Queen :)

choco

if someone knows how to path it for pedestrians, im sure i can learn to make the puzzle pieces.  the real LRT bridge has a circular ramp for the peds, which could only be done with puzzle pieces.  I'll look into it when it get closer to complete.

i wanted to post up some of the RUL for another bridge in hopes someone could explain a couple things to me.


section s
   piece <0x3a010000, 3>:580
   piece <0x3a020000, 3>
end

section r
   piece <0x3a030000, 3>
end

section p
   piece <0x3a040000, 3>
   piece <0x3a050000, 3>
   piece <0x3a040000, 3>
end
   
   length 11
      piece s 2*r p 2*r rev(s)
   end


OK, I've reviewed every bridge RUL i could find and i need some clarification to help expedite the process to get this bridge into testing.  The items above in red are what i am not sure about. 

First example: 3>  -  I have seen entries in other RULs (0>, 1>, 2>, and 3>) and can only presume that this is the orientation of the piece; N, S, E, W?

Second example: 3>:580  - I have no idea what the colon and number mean (:580).  it only appears on some pieces, and only in certain sections.


Any help would be great.... :thumbsup:

threestooges

Choco,

I've started learning a bit about RULs, and after reading a bit of the Bridge Controller RUL file, I think I may be able to answer some of your questions:

-The 3 is, as you presumed, an indication of the rotation
-The > that follows it, just serves to close off that section
-The :580 is designed to indicate the presence of a support piece and the depth it is at

From the RUL file:
Quote#    piece <instance, rotation>                             Simple piece
#    piece <instance, rotation, htdelta, yoffset>      Sloped piece with the given height change over the tile and model Y offset
#    piece <instance, rotation>:depth                    Simple piece with support column (: syntax also works for long form)
#    piece section-name                                      Reference a section

I'm still learning all this myself, but I hope that helps a bit.

choco

that helps a ton.....think i can get the rest worked out to minimize the amount of tinkering required by the NAM team. 

you've been a great help threestooges.....and i greatly appreciate your time helping along the new guy.   :thumbsup:


on another note:

- i fixed the LODs and am currently re-rendering the street bridge.  might end up trying some new textures....im not really satisfied yet; i dont think the pixel/meter ratio is quite right.   
- the el-rail bridge is almost ready for scrutineering, but I have some questions regarding using the ped bridge as well, which would require a puzzle piece or 2.  im not sure if its worth the time, since i have no idea what the status of the tsing ma is on the devex.....
- the road bridge model is complete ('cept some details), and i have been writing the RUL for it.  still haven't got it into the game....i think im missing simething, but i'll address that later.

already thinking about a couple other projects...




whats everyone think of a OWR bridge with RHW4 textures?

threestooges

It's my pleasure to help. Especially when it results in some fine work being added to the community. Remember, we all had to start somewhere, and I'm still new at this too (I only just started my BAT thread in January), so it's a good learning experience for both of us.

Good to hear the LODs have been straightened out, and remember, there's no hurry to release these things, keep going on them until you are satisfied with them. I'm not sure about the requirements for the dual-networking required for the el rail ped bridge thing, but I'm sure someone associated with the NAM can offer some advice. I believe that Tsing Ma dual-network development has slowed to a halt (though I'm not sure). Keep me posted on the RUL progress, and I'll take a look at the results when you get there.

Until then, take it easy, and good work.