Sta Fee - 3D city

[Pingyao]

'nevets2001uk' asked how i go about creating a building and the level of detail used. Here's a brief explanation.

I start with the area I'm going to build on and start slicing it with the knife tool, creating the outline of the building\/.



Then I extrude the outline of the building up from the plane\/.



I apply a texture to the facade\/.



Continue extruding the building up as I texture it, making sure everything is to scale. In this instance this portion is 1 floor lower, so i use the texture as a guide to it roof height\/.



Add details like services on the roof\/.



And the final building finished. The whole thing probably took about 10-15mins\/.

[nevets2001uk]

Thanks Pingyao. Great information and very interesting to see how you go about you work. I suspect that before I can build big cities I need to do some work on collecting and editing textures.

[Pingyao]

Yes, collecting textures can be a full time job in itself. I've now got 400+ facade textures, each with their overall height to make it easier to sort (you can see them in the materials pane in the screenshots above). Just start with a single street and work up from there.

[Pingyao]

North bank now 50% done.

[Flamesrule]

Really nice!Really like the North Bank!!!

Is cimea4d(spelling)hard to use?

[nevets2001uk]

This is looking really great. Impressive work.

[Pingyao]

Originally Posted by flamesrule

Is cimea4d(spelling)hard to use?

Cinema4d was the first 3d software i ever used. I got a free version with a 3D magazine about 5-6years ago. I basically taught myself how to use it and made this-[youtube]ZUWVzhl8lBQ[youtube]

Apparently its easier to learn than some other pro packages, although for what i use it for does not require a huge amount of knowledge. It is huge software and can do stuff I wouldn't know how to.

[verticalextropy]

Originally Posted by Pingyao

Cinema4d was the first 3d software i ever used. I got a free version with a 3D magazine about 5-6years ago. I basically taught myself how to use it and made this-[youtube]ZUWVzhl8lBQ[youtube]

Apparently its easier to learn than some other pro packages, although for what i use it for does not require a huge amount of knowledge. It is huge software and can do stuff I wouldn't know how to.

I don't use sketchup, i use cinema4D. I know sketchup runs into memory problems and lags like hell when your model gets too detailed. Cinema 4D is better for that, but eventually even that has problems. I'm trying to use textures more than polygonal detail to limit such problems. Patrick's Staunton also employs textures, which probably explains how he's managed to avoid these problems so far. A lot of people don't like applying textures and prefer to model facades and details, but I don't have a problem with them. Plus you can make a much larger model.

Pingyao your city's looking even better.

So just to be clear, you're saying, or are we concluding, that Cinema4d handles better textures and allows for, low-poly bigger cities?

I guess my question is: What actual advantage offers Cinema to Sketchup+Render?

Have you ever tried importing a skp to cinema?

Is it as easy to use? For example in Sketchup we've got useful ruby plug-ins, from the least complicated (mirror) to tensile structures, etc.

[Pingyao]

Originally Posted by verticalextropy

Pingyao your city's looking even better.

So just to be clear, you're saying, or are we concluding, that Cinema4d handles better textures and allows for, low-poly bigger cities?

I guess my question is: What actual advantage offers Cinema to Sketchup+Render?

Have you ever tried importing a skp to cinema?

Is it as easy to use? For example in Sketchup we've got useful ruby plug-ins, from the least complicated (mirror) to tensile structures, etc.

Sketchup is just that, a 3d tool to 'sketch up' a design. Its probably quicker and easier to model a detailed building in sketchup...but once that detailed building becomes twenty detailed buildings, so sketchup has trouble, its just not a program designed to handle masses of detail. Cinema 4D is, and in my last two cities I had tonnes of detail, but I reached a limit there as well, and so now I'm looking at ways of building an even bigger city with a texture detailed as opposed to polygon detailed approach.

I'm not sure how sketchup works or its various plugins, but C4D is easy to use for me, but then again this is my third city, so I kind of know my way around now, however as I mentioned its a massive program and I only know a fraction of what it can do. I have never tried to open a skp file in C4D.

[Pingyao]

Most of the first plane has now been finished.

The northbank of the Sta Fee river has been completed along with one of the cities trendiest bars the StaBar. Right on the river frontage this oh so cool spot has fast become the cities hippest place see and be seen. The neighbouring 'Sails' restaurant is also a grerat spot for an evening meal.



The tallest buildings so far in the city are the twin ComSat Towers 87m 292ft, built in 1985.



The northbank seen from the southern bank, Herbert gardens in the foreground. Map will follow soon.

[Trantor]

one of the important things to remember about Pingyao´s textures is that they are not simple bitmap textures... notice they have proper reflection maps too, which is very important to make a proper city... have the glass reflecting but not the bricks, hehe.

Pyngiao, any other maps you use on the textures? Do they have bump, specular, etc?

btw, would you like to share those awesome trees in the last picture?

[Pingyao]

Originally Posted by Trantor

one of the important things to remember about Pingyao´s textures is that they are not simple bitmap textures... notice they have proper reflection maps too, which is very important to make a proper city... have the glass reflecting but not the bricks, hehe.

Pyngiao, any other maps you use on the textures? Do they have bump, specular, etc?

btw, would you like to share those awesome trees in the last picture?

Thanks, yes the textures do use different channels. I have made separate textures for the reflection channels so just the glass reflects. The same basic idea is used for the trees too, with an alpha channel to cut out the background of the trees. I have used bump noise channel on the water, although I don't bother on the facades.

Check out http://free-textures.got3d.com/natur...tree-textures/ a cool texture resource with bags of trees.

[Trantor]

Thanks Pingyao, but that bags of trees dont have the alpha channel map... meaning... they are not transparent... and I find it very difficult to create alpha channels for such complex objects.

Wouldnt you be willing to share your READY MADE tree texture?

[Pingyao]

Links for trees and alpha channels...

http://yfrog.com/5rtree06j
http://yfrog.com/2ptree06alphaj
http://yfrog.com/0etreeacj
http://yfrog.com/0ltreeaalphaj
http://yfrog.com/5ktreebdj
http://yfrog.com/0etreebalphaj

[nevets2001uk]

Originally Posted by Pingyao

Thanks, yes the textures do use different channels. I have made separate textures for the reflection channels so just the glass reflects. The same basic idea is used for the trees too, with an alpha channel to cut out the background of the trees. I have used bump noise channel on the water, although I don't bother on the facades.

This is a great idea and something that I now plan to implement in my own city. I've been mulling over the use of the detailed models and think you're right that SU will die long before I get a complete city. Therefore I plan to combine some higher detail models alongside much simpler texture based ones such as you're using. One thing that concerned me was lack of reflection etc but I've just done a quick test using your reflection map approach and it's worked a treat. I may even make some bump/normal maps to detail the textures further

[Pingyao]

The first map is done. This is the completed 1km square section. I'll update all future maps on the first post of this thread.

[Pingyao]

Plane 2

After completing the first 1km square plane, i've now begun plane no 2, directly south of the first one. This area will focus around one of the main civic and community based zones, currently under construction. At least one third of the plane will be taken up with the green lung, which is Maberley Park, a popular escape for 'StaFeeans' on those notoriously hot summer days that the city enjoys.

Heres a view of the lake in Maberley park taken from the lakeside cafe.

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The civic centre is partly housed in the beautiful 41m art deco building on South Wilmington Avenue, built in 1932. Directly behind is the small Links Park, choc'a'bloc full of civil servants on a week day lunchtime.

[Flamesrule]

Wait so did you finish downtown and going up uptown or are you still doing the dontown?Need to update the map!

[Pingyao]

Originally Posted by flamesrule

Wait so did you finish downtown and going up uptown or are you still doing the dontown?Need to update the map!

I am working on the next section directly below the map (to the south), although its not my intention to update the map until this section is finished. I suppose this part is downtown, although i hadn't really thought of it like that. Hmm maybe I should do an overview sketch showing what I'm planning...give me a day or so to put that together....

[Pingyao]

Small update - gradually moving south.

Here's a view of Links Park with Civic Centre too the right.



The Searle Parker Convention centre was built in 1991 and provides one of the largest purpose built convention and exhibition spaces in Sta Fee. It contains nearly 60,000 sq ms (645,000 sq ft) of usuable floor space on 7 floors (2 sublevels). The centre is also used for community events, business conferences, wedding receptions, religious and cultural events and political conferences.