• Welcome to SC4 Devotion Forum Archives.

Village - Modeling?

Started by Lowkee33, April 14, 2012, 07:15:28 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Lowkee33

I've been spending some time with 3dsMax lately.  I don't know (where's the crazy emoticon?).  I'm having a hard time getting all of my plugins in order, and thought "well, maybe I can just make something".  Call it a "start from scratch" disorder if anything.

I wanted to do something like each growth stage is another addition to a house.  Its all very simple stuff right now, the main goal is to bang a family out and see it in game.  When things become more stable I will probably refine the buildings some more.

They are designed for R$ 1x2 lots, and are low density relative to this (the stage 2 is barely stage 2 via PIMX).  They also have 1x1 counter parts.

Stage 1 is a moderate 6x8x8 house, holding 6 people.  The diagonal holds 7, because it is for corner lots (a diagonal road is a corner, btw) and it needs an edge against its orthogonal sister.

Stage 2 is 2 meters longer with a master bedroom, 4 meters wide.  11 and 12 people respectively.  I think I want something in between these two, as the 1x1 is a stage 4.  I will also probably make some 1x3 lots for this to be stage 1.  (right now there are 3 of each, representing each of the Maxis grass textures).

Stage 3 is in the works.  A 3.5 meter second floor is added, the original house wider by a meter (it looked a little funny, call it a stairwell).  Still haven't finished the siding (or gone through the mass 3dsMax/BAT/PIMX configuration).

Stage 4 will probably see the original addition gone, with the whole thing being a two family house (two doors in the middle).  Stage 5 might add another floor and remove the sloped roof.  Stage 6 would add something to the back...

Anyway, thought I would share what I've been up to as far as SC4 goes.



R$$ and up could be pretty much the same but for amenities (porches, side lights, chimneys, details)


mattb325

Nice one, you are off to a good start. :thumbsup: The 6x8 is a killer to model given how small it is and how over-sized small details need to be. I had the same issue with the Maxis replacement stuff that I am still working on.

The 8x10 is much more forgiving, but I believe with 3DS max you should be able to get a few more windows & other architectural details into these little buildings...the resolution is sharper than gmax so it would be worth putting a window at the front next to the door and so on. Sills, rainspouts, gutters, ridgecaps, fascia boards etc would also be on the cards.

I think your colours need a tiny bit more saturation and need to be pulled closer to a warmer, apricot hue. The blue in particular is quite cool, and combined with the green-grey shingles is making that model somewhat washed out.

But as I said, great job for someone new to 3D modelling...I'll definitely keep an eye on this  ;)

Lowkee33

#2
Thanks Matt.  Yeah, they all seem to be a little cool in color.  Details are another thing, with you and Jim working on small houses, I don't see these as being very valuable other than for my practice.

Marcszar's return got me looking through his thread and I was inspired to try to make some real scale textures.  I admit that the building is not to scale, but that wasn't the point.


The trim around the windows and the garage door are giving me the toughest time.  I wanted corregatid iron for the door, and something metallic for the frames. 

This is loosely based off a real-life building, Kayem Foods, a local hot dog factory (you may have heard of it).  I ride passed it on my way to the city.  I might try to make this one for real at some point, though it is a pretty drab building. Link

Local things have been interesting me the most.  Here is an image of Chelsea Clock.  Doesn't look too hard to make, and it would fit in the inside of a diagonal intersection (though in RL it has a loading dock that would prohibit this).

Another one I have my eye on is the Schraffts Candy plant, with it's landmark nightlights.

Finally, Boston's CITGO sign.  There were many attempts to take it down, it is massive, a piece of Las Vegas in Boston.  Visible over Fenway's Green Monster, it is apparently refereed to as the "see-it-go sign", but I've lived here my whole life and haven't heard that once.  This would be an extreme mod job, as it would be implemented as an animation: YouTube.

I also have a bird's eye view of an oil distribution center, as well as live almost directly under the Tobin Bridge.  We'll see :)

Girafe

A really nice start, I would advice you to use a ground map for all reflective materials (glass above all)  ;)
The Floraler

This is the end, hold your breath and count to ten, feel the earth move, and then...

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *    *   *   *   *   *    * 

vortext

Nice to see you BATting, something I don't have any experience with whatsoever (yet  $%Grinno$%) so I can't give any advice but I'll say that candy factory would be a nice addition. Besides, who doesn't loves candy   :D
time flies like a bird
fruit flies like a banana

Lowkee33

#5
Thanks Vortext, every day you mod is another you say "what is BAT anyway?" :)

I'll have to learn about reflections, ground and enviornment maps.  Right now I just throw a bitmap into the reflection material, then make numbers higher or lower until things look right.  The glass is like this in RL Link, still looking for the "make duller not darker" number. :)

Edit: So here's a question, how can you get objects to reflect the objects around them?

NCGAIO

#6
Quote from: Lowkee33 on April 25, 2012, 05:15:34 PM

.... Edit: So here's a question, how can you get objects to reflect the objects around them?

If you are referring to the ground plane to see .... 

http://community.simtropolis.com/topic/42299-library-tower-us-bank-tower/#entry1140238



If you are referring to the creation of a reflective material so try this ...

http://community.simtropolis.com/topic/4778-jasons-bats-tutorials/page__st__2070#entry1146816