Simmer's Lotting Lab.

[Simmer2]

Thanks Noah

Well here goes iteration number 2 
Still working on the actual ramp, that's just a prototype without the master retarder.
I will keep going until it is perfect.

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[Nevermore]

Oh lala, oh lala This is brilliant stuff

[Swordmaster]

Big improvement!! That's actually very close to perfect, if you ask me.


Cheers
Willy

PS: Great to see you Cédric! I do remember those pictures, but what we see here is of an entirely different plane of realism altogether.

[compdude787]

That looks awesome!!! I assume the railcars are timed props and more will appear at various times, right?

[Simmer2]

compdude787 most of them will be timed.

Some stats.

Lot = 50X13. (2 lots at 25X7 and 2 lots at 25X6)
75 switches.
40 tracks.
437 overlay textures.

I had to divide it in 4 sections because PIM-X only allows 33 tiles wide max.
So if we keep this configuration we will end up with 6 lots total (including the sloped STR and the workers house on the hump)



Simmer2/Nick

[art128]

This is really cool.

[Gugu3]

I am left without words...
Awesome work!

[c.p.]

Wow, that's huge.

Really nice work on the textures

[Indiana Joe]

Pefect!  That's what Willy and I first set out to do when I made those initial textures.  I'm so glad you took them and followed through on all this.  It's awesome to see a hump yard come to fruition.  You've done a better job than I could've hoped to imagine.

Geometry doesn't look quite perfect to me, but I think that actually adds to it.  I progressed really slowly because I tried to get every curve and tangent perfect.  But that's not how it works in real life; what you've got really looks like reality.  The detail is fantastic.  The curves look wide enough, there's ample space between each switching branch.  The texture detail is just awesome.

Keep up the good work!   

Matt

[FrankU]

Did anyone say SC4 is dying?
As long as we have people making this kind of awesomeness I don't need any other game. 

Just wow! 

[Simcoug]

Great texture work!  Can't wait to try them out in the LE.

[Simmer2]

Thank you all for the kind words 

Indiana Joe I'm glad I was able to fulfill Willy's and your dream 

Simcoug I designed this texture set just for this lot, its custom made, almost down to pixel level. I don't think they can be used to make other combinations. However once they are released anyone is welcome to try them and who knows perhaps you will be able to combine them into something else.
As a matter of fact I will be including the texture pack (several MB's) with the lot.

I'm now in the process of deciding what base texture to use or if I should create a whole new set.
At 650 tiles total, its not a walk on the park.

If anyone has any suggestions for the base texture please do so. Perhaps you have in mind an already existing one I could use.
Then the only thing I would have to do is custom make the dirt roads rail crossings.
I will be including dirt road passages on the lot as well.

Simmer2/Nick

[Themistokles]

Really nice work I'm not so knowledgeable about rail yard design, but it looks wonderful and I'm sure it'll come to great use!

Regarding the textures, I'd prefer transparency, however with the water bug that's maybe not an option, so then I'd suggest picking a texture affected by mgb's TGN mod (maybe some of the more low-wealth ones for a less manicured look?), so that it'd still blend with the terrain.

[mgb204]

Fantastic work here, I didn't even know what a hump yard was a few days ago! But the results in game with your custom textures are something to behold. I agree with other comments, this really is a step forward in terms of realism. 

Regarding the textures, I'd prefer transparency, however with the water bug that's maybe not an option, so then I'd suggest picking a texture affected by mgb's TGN mod (maybe some of the more low-wealth ones for a less manicured look?), so that it'd still blend with the terrain.

In short that means using the Maxis textures for grass. There is a neat feature of some of these, called Multi FSH. Actually TGN (Gobias versions) does not replace these textures, that's handled by the terrain mod. In most cases though it replaces the multi-fsh textures with just one standard texture.

MultiFSH just means a number (usually 4), of tileable textures is applied randomly when the texture is used (like a prop family). This gives a more random appearance, especially over larger areas filled with one texture. I've done some initial work on bringing such textures into TGN at some point, but it's potentially a long way off. However Maxis used this on quite a few textures included with SC4, that would be the base to go with, allowing user overrides to deal with them where installed. Many creators don't take this approach however, because the results often look better with custom textures in the first instance.

You'd be surprised how many still use the base grass and fillers everywhere though, done well it does look clean at least. So I think this approach fits in the most number of users. The option is always there to save two versions, one with custom bases and one with Maxis grass bases? I wouldn't leave it transparent though (also my preference for rail). Personally I consider the water-bug a no go in my cities, so any lots that trigger it get modded or left out my plugins.

[Simmer2]

Thanks Themistokles.

Robin think of a hump yard like a gigantic mail processing center where all mail pieces (train cars) get sorted out in their respective cities of destination.

This process is nowadays achieved with a computerized system that involves train cars being tagged with bar codes on the sides and the computer reads it with special scanners and then through hydrolic switch actuators directs the train cars on the proper track to temporarily wait until the sorting for that particular address is done and then the entire track (upwards of 40-50 cars) are picked up by a locomotive and together with other cars form the trains that deliver the goods.

Simmer2/Nick

[Simmer2]

While I cook up the humpyard base textures I had some spare time to finish this lovely station.
I used it years ago while I was in Italy.

It is loosely based on that design and I tried to re-create its quaintness by creating a whole new set of aged textures for the pavement. I stitched every stone on this texture 

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[eggman121]

Wow! 

Nick I know this phrase gets used quite often but you are officially awesome!!!

You deserve a K+Point for this

Keep this as a token of my appreciation of all the hard work you are putting into LOTs for the RRW.

We (The NAM Team) Really appreciate you effort 

-eggman121 (Stephen)

[Simmer2]

Thanks Stephen!!

[Themistokles]

Now that's... just simply... wow!

[mattb325]

The station is really lovely and its a very charming relot