Arden Tree Controller Help Desk

[jdenm8]

First there's the modelling. As far as I'm aware, it's simply not possible to take a prop and conveniently turn it into an automata. It would require some 3d program, with which I'm unfamiliar, to import them and take the skin or start modelling from scratch.

The latter. Without the original model used to render the prop, there is no way to do it. You would have to do it from scratch.

Then there are minor issues like pathing. The streets are designed to have the carriages in the middle, which would make the automata in opposite direction crashing into each other all the time. Unless I redesigned the whole darn thing 

It's a popular misconception that cars would crash into each other. In the game's reality, crashes only happen in areas of high congestion. Simply placing two paths too close together doesn't trigger a crash (Look at the Maxis Highway Ortho to Diag curve, the paths are very close together there).

[vortext]

@noah Yup, it's coming along nicely, not as fast as I want to but it'll get there. And it's encouraging to know at least one person would take an interest in an eventual MD 

@jdenm8 Thanks for the info on the modelling. However I didn't mean the carriages would necesarily crash and spin out of control but that since they're in the middle, automata in opposite direction would appear to go right through each other visually.

[vortext]

Long time no update and I'm somewhat sorry to say this one won't contain any street geekery. In part due to RL being, how shall I put it, tedious?
On the other hand I decided to start over yet again, this time around on a even smaller scale (bit obsessed with the idea of developing a region as chronologically / historically accurate as possible). This led me to fiddle with the terrain controller, trying to create a nice shoreline which I myself feel did turn out rather well. 



And with the advance of seasonal MMP's lately I began to feel a need for other seasonal stuff to cover the ground and had a go at modding a few. So far I have done PEG weeds, which are green in summer, dead in autumn and simply disappear at winter. From Chris Adam's pasture flora I've taken the yellow wildflowers and blue bonnets which are bright in summer, normal in autumn and both have green grass for winter. From the same flora I've combined the green and brown rye grass for summer and autumn respectively, for winter it has PEG leaves. Also this last one exists in 3 formats. 'Small' with grass scaled at 50% and leaves at 100%; 'Medium' with grass at 75% and leaves at 150%; 'Large' with grass at 100% and leaves at 200%.



When I finally had the hang of it (and wanted to plop a seasonal willow tree at the shoreline  ) I turned to the JENX tree prop pack. However here a small and rather odd problem arised.



 

In case you didn't noticed, what the F is up with this colour inversion? Moreover, it only happens for these two trees and only at these two particular orientations and zoomlevels.   
If someone has any idea how this happened and more important how to undo it, please let me know.

That's it for now, feel free to leave me a comment 

[jdenm8]

I'd say the render didn't work out properly on those two or the texture's corrupted as they're being rendered correctly in-game. You could probably copy the Model Exemplar from the prop pack into your mod and change the values to use one of the other rotation's models (It would also "fix" the issue in any other uses of the tree), probably the opposite side's one. It wouldn't look as good as inverting and rebuilding the texture and fixing the Alpha, but it'd be a quick fix.

[dwelln8hss32]

The shoreline rocks along your coastal terrain are very cool, I don't remember seeing any shoreline rock strata that rounded. It's also great to see you working with seasonal flora most folks probably already have. I too am obsessed with historic timelines and accuracy (19th c. MD coming soon), so I commend your dilligence. As for your willow tree problem, wish I had something useful to offer 

Nice to see what you're up to, keep it up!

~Jake

[chester]

Just finished looking through this thread and all I can say is WOW! I am so impressed buy the skills of all you modders and batters. The roads, the fields, the shore textures. Its all amazing.

[vortext]

@jdenm8, thanks for pointing me in the right direction.    Should have been obvious it had something to do with the model textures but somehow I kept fooling around with the flora parameters.

@Jake, thanks for stopping by. As for your MD 'coming soon', it had me lolling 'cause in all earnest I myself thought my MD could be premiering early 2011. However as it stands now, it will be a miracle really if I make it early 2012  .  Anyway, let me know when yours is due, curious to see how the 19th century pans out and maybe you can put some of my stuff to the test. 

@chester, I'm all by myself and don't have any BAT skills whatsoever but I'll take your praise anyway  . Glad you like it!

[vortext]

With the most recent addition to the growing collection of seasonal MMPs from the VIP team, it occured to me that someone really ought to make a seasonal street mod using these trees. After giving it some thought, I figured that someone might as well be me. 

It was a pleasant surprise to find the trees from the Rural Expansion Pack actually have a spring model (as well as a snowy winter model). The first step was to incorperate those into the usual 3-model-scheme and create nice transitions in-between seasons. Second item on the to-do-list was creating the appropriate T21s, et voila. 





Finally achieved the same alternating pattern for diagonals, something which discouraged me when trying the same for the lightposts previously. 


However, I'd rushed things a bit and the trees were annoyingly close on the edge (living dangerously, which we all know trees do) and thus cutting into farm crops, not to mention buildings.  This had to be fixed, even though it's probably unavoidable for the larger models.



Meanwhile I'd come across FrankU explaining the 'prop random chance' property. It turns out this is pretty useful for street modding, since it introduces some randomness to the otherwise repetitive nature of T21's.
The first application was adding leaves to autumn and winter (not wholly). At the moment it's still in lotting stage, to get a feel for the randomness.




There's still a small chance no leaves appear at all, though I'm not sure it should for every single tree.
Finally when it comes to zoning, I'm thinking about small trees for residential, the larger models for rural and unzoned. Still some work ahead to be sure so stay tuned. Happy Holidays

[noahclem]

Awesome work vortext    Indeed, about time someone made a street mod with those beautiful new trees and I'm glad someone was you     As far as size goes, I really like them big though I can understand that can cause problems. You've got some room to move them inward from the tile's edge which should solve most of the problems. Girafe used to say his trees were too big for a street mod and would have to be re-scaled (I can't tell if any of those are his at your zoom, but the size is similar) but I've long had a suspicion that wasn't necessary. Looking forward to more 

[dedgren]

A K-point for some really nifty tinkering here, my friend.  Now that I've found this thread, I don't plan to lose track of it.


David

[vortext]

@David, thanks for the K-point. And yes, I like to tinker    Be sure to keep an eye out, it's almost done and without mayor setbacks, I plan to make a new update anytime soon.

@Noah, the issue with Girafes trees isn't so much the scale as is the fact they're clusters, making them unsuitable to line the streets with. In fact his 3 4 packs (Birch/Oak/Maple (x2)) each contains only 1 single tree and in comparison they're rather too small than too big. However, I did use some of his clusters for the wide curves. Like I said, it's almost finished and hope to show it soon enough.

[vortext]

Finally a proper update with full-fledged, unadulterated street geekery. So let's get on with it.

Trees
18 in total. As stated before, smaller models for residential, larger models for rural & unzoned and two-toned leaves in autumn and winter. Added a number of different T21s to the wide curves.



To be clear, I did use some extra mmps, just wanted to show off 

Chickens and pigeons
Though scattered throughout, the former will appear more often in residentials zones, the latter more often in agricultural zones.


Ravens
These are notoriously hard to spot and I've considered leaving them out. On the other hand, it is quite fun to spot a bird once in a while.



Pigs
Foraging all around. Also notice the wide curves again.


And that's it. 

Well, it sorta is as far as the props involved are concerned. The most significant aspect of this mod however is the variabilty in appearence, at least to me it is. Not only are the trees seasonal but due to a combination of properties in the prop exemplars, the animals will come and go in a random fashion, yet retain a yearly cycle. For instance, in summer and spring there'll be more pigs (with piglets) then in winter. And in autumn there'll be more birds in general then in spring, when they are nesting. It's hard to convey this in static pictures, so here's an animation to get an idea, it loops through one year, click

Needless to say there're still minor issues to be ironed out (specifically prop timing with regard to seasonal MMPs) but overall I'm pretty happy 

In fact, I was thinking about releasing this mod into the wild for the trolca dirt streets. Or perhaps for the PEG streets, though the trees would be awful close on the street shoulder. However, before deceding wether to do so, I need to know two things.

First, would you be interested in such a mod?

Secondly regarding dependencies, some of the leaves were taken from SFBT_voltaic_Props.dat and I have no clue whatsoever which download it originally came with. If anyone does, please let me know.

Finally for those who may be wondering what happened to the previous street mod. No worries, it's safely tucked away on an external HD waiting to be revitalised. It may be a while though, given the chronological development I'm aiming at. Which, as you may have guessed, just entered medieval times while the so-called Dirt Streets were designed to fit a later period (19th and early 20th century). Besides, I've started something new already 

That sums things up for now. Your comments, suggestions, critism or just random remarks are all much appreciated, so leave me a message.   

[Lowkee33]

looks real good Vortext.  Your video didn't work, but the link does.

I believe SFBT_voltaic_Props.dat is in SFBT Essentials (or should I say, gets installed when you install that).

I also think that if the Seasonal Flora were made into Props, then that would be a good mod on it's own.

[Gringamuyloca]

 

Wow! so absolutely, incredibly, so, so, so... awesome! 

I think a karma point should head your way - toot sweet! 

[FrankU]

Hi Vortex,

This is very good work! I propbably won't use it, because I decided not to use seasonal trees. It's just.... well, it's so much work.
Besides that: playing the game isn't what I do. I make lots these days....

But it would be foolish to think nobody will be interested!

And the SFBT_voltaic_props is indeed part of the SFBT Essentials.

[dwelln8hss32]

I think it looks great, and I'd definitely use your dirt streets mod in the game. I'd have to keep an eye on my mods folder and only use this in "dated" city creations, since obviously this wouldn't be compatible with SFBT's Street Treet Mod, or Jeronij's Sidewalk Mod. I'd suggest testing for compatibility with PEG's Agricultural road mods, but that's your call. Also, love the nice touch with the animal props!

[vortext]

@Lowkee33 / Carl, thanks. Too bad the video didn't work. And still doesn't btw, how hard could it be right 
And yes, all flora was made into timed props  Should come in handy for use in the lot editor indeed.

@Gringamuyloca / Tamara, be carefull now, don't forget to breathe  Glad you like it.

@FrankU / Frank, it's more or less the same for me, I spend way more time modding and lotting than actually playing. When I do however the seasonal stuff is all the more worthwhile 

@dwelln8hss32 / Jake, compatibilty is an issue I haven't been bothered with yet. But you're right, I suspect it isn't with any mod mentioned. In fact, it would probably be best if the end user would remove SAMs T21 alltogether. From a developmental stance it would be anyway but it might be too complicated for regular users. Anyhow, will look into it.

On a sidenote; does anyone notice anything different on this page? No, nothing yet? Look carefull at my profile . . closer still . . you see ? 

[Gringamuyloca]

On a sidenote; does anyone notice anything different on this page? No, nothing yet? Look carefull at my profile . . closer still . . you see ? 

I won't say I'm the most observant person around.... but I believe that NAM Associates badge I see there is rather new. 
Congrats! 

remembering to breathe. 

[dedgren]

Big 'grats for becoming a NAM Associate, my friend.  I hope transit modding doesn't distract you too much from the great rural detailing work you are doing here.  Your last update was fantastic stuff.


David

[noahclem]

Great detailing on this update again vortext! Things are really progressing and looking nice 

And a big congrats on becoming a NAM associate!  Feel free to ask me if you have questions about anything