It’s time for another “work-in-progress” update, a weekly post where I share my progress of making the AquaDeco mod. I’m almost caught up with the things I have yet to show you. So let’s close that gap!
Today it’s mainly about the “other things” you could find in an aquarium. I’m talking about the backstage areas, the stuff that goes on to keep the aquarium in good condition.
One idea I had floating around in that dark void, was a couch kind of a bench. The in-game vanilla benches, to me, seem mostly suited for outdoor use. Of course, they work on any path, anywhere, but I wanted something softer. More of a lounge-y feel. A couch or a large “Fatboy”.
Here’s (above) a screenshot of the first version. I went for a somewhat more generic design, so it is not only (visually) suited for peeps on beaches.
In the image you can see that I’ve stacked a couple of the triangular benches over one another. You can’t really stack benches on the same tile, but the object is so big that two separate benches, connecting to a path corner, overlap.
Although I did like the cosy feeling of a pile of peeps enjoying a lolly.. this iteration didn’t work well, visually that is. The technical side worked fine, but there was a lot of walking/clipping through the object. I was happy with the direction though, so I started adjustments.
Here I’ve made the benches quarter (of one tile) sized. The idea is to be able to make you’re own bench, in a modular way. Or use them for in a diner, or a small toilet for instance.
Another issue came up with this though. Because the benches are placed on the sides of paths, they are offset from the center on the tile grid. Using quarters like this - and being able to pair the up next to each other to make a half, for example - ..it gets fiddly and confusing. It’s not clear to see where the origin of a placed piece is located, and you can easily replace one when accidentally stacked on the same tile. All in all, this design didn’t work as smoothly as I wanted it to be. I do really like the concept, I think this could be really neat and handy..
Talking about visually communicating; When they’re all side by side - and the majority is vandalized - it’s easier to see. But you might not have spotted that some benches, are also vandalized in the first image of the same scene that was shot a bit earlier in time. This is not very helpful. You should be able to see, clearly, what’s going on. This is especially true in a potentially busy theme park with lots going on on-screen.
To display vandalism, he vanilla benches get replaced by a “broken” model variant. This is something (currently, as I’m writing this) that I have yet to learn to implement. If that is possible at all, at this time.
Above you can see that I’ve tested to see if I could hide an object within the bench model. I did this to see if the hidden object would become visible when the bench gets vandalised and thus tilted at an angle. But sadly the object (the trapezoid/cube within the triangle) also tilts with the bench, as a single object.
Fingers crossed things like this will become easier to implement in the future when the modding tool gets an update. Until then, I’ll make the buttons on the couch fabric easier to see (if I didn’t remove them already in the last iteration - if so, I’ll add them, or some other detail), so the tilt is easier to spot. I also wanted to remove the border along the bottom, kept it for this reason (see below: the couch in the middle has one of four vandalized). But, this is the best I can do for now and I hope it works well enough!
Now your guests can have a bit more comfort as they enjoy your aquarium, cinema, theater, restaurant, museum, library etc. And I’ll add a non-triangle one in the meantime, if you want a “regular” version.
Right, enough about that bench! Still keeping it in the homeware realm with another way to chill.
When I think of the aquarium, a reptile house or any other indoor humid atmosphere at the zoo - or perhaps in an actual, real-life, outdoorsy, tropical climate (not the climate I’m in, or used to) - I remember how warm and humid it is (also, the smell). This might be not as common as a memory, but it is real (I convince myself).
Keeping theme parks in mind, combined with the warmth of the simulated exotic exhibits; I figured that we needed some air!
Aside from the table fan, there’s also a separate fan without a stand. Both can be resized and custom colored. In the image above you can see some tests of applications. Of course you can use the fans for keeping your waiting peeps cool in the queue, build a hovercraft, airship or perhaps using it as a wind effect in a dark ride or coaster. Anyway, you can use it for whatever!
Sadly, does not actually cool anything, it’s just decor. But, it definitely tries;
This was also to try out some other, less complex animations. Turns out, it works really well. I found a way to avoid the use of invisible collision triggers, which is amazing to know. Doing it this new way makes my animated objects selectable and recolor-able etc. in-game! It’s not a solution for all circumstances, but it’s a good way (easier for the player, as they function like any other object without special cases) to at least try to incorporate in all the animated assets (if the animation is not too complex).
If you want to keep your lovely livestock “a bit longer”, you will need to install some hardware to keep them happy!
Here are some pieces to cater to those needs. Instead of making very specific aquatic equipment, I chose to make it so you could build your own - or as a result use it for other things as well. :)
Above you can see a large reservoir, which would be the water filter and a metal foundation plate. Also, a basic metal cabinet, and a monitor screen. I still need to google to find out how these types of “electro technical closets” are called (please fill me in if you recognize something, I used no reference for these :P).
Ah yes, and you might have spotted the buttons and triggers. These could be placed on the cabinets, or be used somewhere else in the park in any combination. I will also add a “facing up” variant of each button and trigger. I mainly based these on how I remember coaster control booths (which is me saying, with no reference but my memory). I used no reference, mainly to not get caught up in too much detail, as they are quite small already. It, again, is more the idea of it, than the actual thing. But, if I missed a crucial part that’s missing, let me know!
One thing that I know is missing, is a water heater/cooler. And other equipments of basic aquarium keeping. Those are still on the to-do list! :)
If you actually hate machinery with a passion, and are only hear for the animals. Thanks for enduring, so much, and here’s something I worked on today:
Work in progress model of the (..or a) new shark! The model in the image here is not done, I’m working on optimizing the mesh and such (this was taken before that). After that will come the animation bit.. But that will be next time! I am still not caught up.
I’ll be on the Parkitect sub-Reddit or in the Discord for comments and such! :)
