Fun with 3DS Max

daTS · Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 9:17 am Post subject: Fun with 3DS Max

So I found this (very unfinished) little beauty lying about my external drive while I was deep cleaning everything. I don't remember creating it, so either:
a) I was incredibly intoxicated when I started it (which is very possible knowing me. I'm like the American version of Aro) or
b) it is a public asset I found somewhere on the web. (equally as likely, considering I find stuff, download it, then forget about it the next day)

Either way, I've put about 40 hours of work into it so far (it started out as nothing but just meshes), and I'm really liking where it's going. I'm going to convert it into a building for SimCity 4. Smile

Excuse the placeholder textures. I'm still working on the grounds and such. I plan on adding a fountain and a mini-park somewhere. The tiled grass is just a reference point to know how many tiles in SC4 and where to put things.

Anywho, opinions?

LawsonHardman-tester.jpg

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Orac · Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 9:48 am Post subject:

I do not comprehend those reflections.

daTS · Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 9:52 am Post subject:

I'm not sure if you're asking a question, complimenting me or criticizing me. Either way, I'll respond.

Well, Glass doesn't stay completely flat in large buildings. It tends to warp a bit. The best way to do that is to add a minor bump map using the default Smoke material map. The reflections are just raytraced. I used an invisible-to-camera plane with an aerial view of Dallas plastered on it as a base-plane for the reflections to make it look like it's in the city.

If it's a compliment or criticism, I ask that you explain a little more? #Tongue

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Orac · Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 10:19 am Post subject:

I have never seen reflections that distorted but retaining that degree of clarity and sharpness in real life. It looks weird. The white lines weaving through the reflection is also odd. You'll see distortion on a pane-by-pane basis , but that just causes the lines of reflected objects to be broken up, not for them to wobble so massively.

All in all I find it incomprehensible what kind of environment could produce such a reflection in that surface.

Apart from that it looks OK. I'm not personally a fan of the trapezium look since it inevitably causes the interior to have a network of oddly shaped rooms around the outside, but that's personal preference.

Crimsonum · Seth **Joined**: 14 Jul 2005 **Location**: Fineland

Orac wrote:

I do not comprehend those reflections.

You cannot grasp the true form of reflections!

Looks like a nice hotel. A very poor placement choice for the huge glass facade, architectural-wise, considering how it's shaded by the left wing.

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OmegaBolt · Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 1:57 pm Post subject:

I guess the glass looks more like highly polished chrome or something. The reflections would probably be more smudges of colour rather than perfect mirrors.

The model itself though looks nice, I can imagine it fitting in SimCity.

4StarGeneral · General **Joined**: 14 Sep 2006 **Location**: Limbo

It is a very nice building, but I'm with Orac that with a smoke map, it's definitely a wrong distortion, it should be a slight row-by-row horizontally curved bump.
Example:

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Nikademis Von Hisson · Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 4:25 pm Post subject:

how come the left side doesn't have any exhaust fans? The landing pad looks kinda weird, looks like its a basket. i like it

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Madin · Plasma Trooper **Joined**: 05 Apr 2009

Looks very nice!

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Wolven · Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2014 5:47 pm Post subject:

Looks like it would work quite well in SimCity 4.