The Old New Babbage

[Rip Wirefly]

I’m not here to harp or complain, or anything of that sort, just bring something to everyone’s attention. Last night Greg Merryman led me into the beta grid and I was shown something quite amazing. New Babbage Square and Palisades, from around one year ago. The land was the same, as was the layout, but the builds were quite different then what is in babbage today.

The first thing that hit me when I teleported in, dirt, the place was far from clean, as an industrial place should be. I looked about, a few of the builds that are still here today were there as well, the Mason Horta hotel, the steam works, city hall, the Paleozoic Museum, though it was far larger than it is today. What struck me was not that those structures still exist today, but the ones around them that are not. So much industry, smoke was seen across the skyline, as should be in an industrial city. As well, the builds, they were not all the most detailed or well built, but what they all had going for them was that they all fit together. Builds did not look like they were different from the one next door, they went together, they fit. It did not look like a bunch of puzzle pieces from different puzzles thrown together. The stores were gritty, the atmosphere just felt like the air was dirty, the city appeared as if it was covered in a layer of dirt, and I loved it.

I am still relativly new here, in my opinion. When I came to babbage it was a completely different monster, the place was clean. Houses were everywhere, though there are no problems with homes in a city, but as well there were so many stores, and each one was pristine. The few factories remaining looked as if they were not in order. It was a different babbage then what I saw it had been. I think somewhere people stopped focusing on the concept of babbage and more on the commercial part of it. I am not saying we ban stores, and cafes, and houses, and bars, but instead attempt to try to recapture the essence of babbae. Learn what your sim’s purpose was, talk to the residents who have been around longer, and find out what babbage is really about. I have been chatting with some older residence as of late, and have been learning much more about what babbage is about.

There is a reason industria is in our motto.

[DreddPirateBob]

I see what you mean about the cleanliness. I used to have smoke billowing (which i'm going to put back in) and much darker buildings. It does look very stark at the moment in places, and its the details that make a place real.

Maybe its time to start a movement to stink the place up! I'm all for it! I'm tired of 90degree corners and symmetry, bored of pretty things and open spaces... actually i think i might be repeating Loki's post form a while ago :D

Grime for Babbage! Citizens! It is your duty to make a mess! its nearly spring so lets see some piles of rubbish out side and some crap revealed as the snow melts.

Soot and Stink forever!

[TriloByte Zanzibar]

Yeah, I was thinking about smoke the other day. When working out the ideas for the remodel of the shop, I had some grand visions of expansion and adding in more of the factory flavor I had been toying with in the earlier days of its design... alas I just don't have the prim overhead to make that go right now.

[Capt. Red Llewellyn]

can someone make an alpha prim or transparent layer of soot or dirt we could put ON our buildings?

like the shadows we put under trees? i would love to dirty up my factory and some other buildings...i already added smoke coming out of my treehouse stove, my factory boiler, but yeah...adding more smoke, soot, dirt...sounds GREAT!

and whatever else Babbage was...it's no more. looking to the past for inspiration is all good...but let's move *forward* people...we have a positive sense of community here now not an exclusive clique of complainers and critics....and the only dirt i want to sling is up on the walls of our structures!

as Bob said ((eep!)) Grime for Babbage! Citizens!

oh and to add to Ceejay's comment...it would be nice to have a diff town hall one where you could easily get to different floors even...for meetings...[grins] not a complaint..an observation.

[Artemisia Paine]

Alpha soot would be great. I made Ogdred Weary House dingy by adjusting the shade to a greyish color on all the outside textures. When I had posters up outside, I made sure to tint them a brownish-grey or yellowed shade. Even in a "clean" sim, I can't stand the brightness of most textures, and think most of them could do with a little muting other than what comes from turning off full bright.

[Ceejay Writer]

That's what I've done, added a grey/brown shade to my stonework, but I think it's still far too bright. I also want to soot up the fireplace in the kitchen area too. Those are never clean!

I'd love a sooty texture, and also would be fond of one to mess up my floors too. Evidence of spills, explosions, various disasters in the past, my floors are just too damn clean.

[Doctor Obolensky]

If you're looking for an overlay texture, you might try the snow alpha that was being passed around. If you altered it's color to grey-brown-black, and added a touch of transparency, it might work.

[Rip Wirefly]

If you want a soot texture, all you have to do is go into the library of textures you have from the beginning and look for an alpha texture like snow or a waterfall background. Then color it black and you are all set ;D

[Ceejay Writer]

Rip and Doctor O, thank you for the texture suggestions. I'll play around with both!

[Capt. Red Llewellyn]

Rip is such a sweetheart and knows me well...he made a soot prim alpha textue and sent it to me! and i've already plastered some on the front of my factory...want me to send it to you, too Ceejay? (if it's trans, that is!) YAY ! SOOT!
~Red

[Ceejay Writer]

Sure! If you (and you too, Rip!) want to share, I'd love that. Just fling it on over. I may not have time tonight to play with them, but I will try to log in long enough to collect notecard and goodies and clear IM's.

[Jimmy Branagh]

"Grime for Babbage!"

((There was talk awhile back of having a "Whitechapel"-style district/sim, to allow for the real grunge of the era. Besides, Bob, it appears your rats will need a new home ...))

[Eggberta Echegaray]

Oh my gosh! My little Tea House is in the third pic there! Cool! Yes, the golden compass town hall, isn't the original town hall...I do have pictures of the original town hall(s) and I will post them. But viewing them will have to wait, for I am currently *smiles* putting together New Babbage's 1st year time line for the online archives. It is a very sllloooowwww process for I am soley doing it myself, and there is a lot to compile. *grumbles*