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L-33’s Alpha Paths






It was while working on his POE Building 4 Set that Lee became interested in creating a solution to the problem of shadows not falling on custom content which resulted in his creating a set of paths that are unique in the community. These paths are made up of alpha textures through which the shadows on the ground can be seen. This gives them the appearance they've taken on the in-game shadows, something that’s not possible with other CSO’s. So that you can see the character of each of these alpha textures, all nine are shown below on white terrain.






Image 29A, Showcase! Fall 2018, L-33/Lee, Page 4

The character of each of Lee's textures can be altered depending on the terrain texture that's painted beneath them.












Showcase: Fall 2018 - L33/Lee - Slider A: Terrain Textures Alpha Enhancements

Carefully selecting your terrain textures prior to placing Lee's tiles will increase the versatility of this set and get you closer to the path tile effect you're attempting to achieve. Six of the textures are colorable, two of them 3-way.












Showcase: Fall 2018 - L33/Lee - Slider B: Alpha Paths Colorability

These Alpha Paths are conforming and can be found in the Foliage menu. In addition to the full tiles displayed above there are a variety of curves, straights, diagonals, and quarter tile pieces.






All of the set parts join seamlessly with each other which enables the creation of unique and interesting shapes.






In the image above a dark terrain texture has been placed below the grass tiles which adds vibrancy and depth. The floor tiles have been doubled for more opacity, with the texture showing through from beneath giving the appearance the floor is made of brecciated stone.






If your terrain painting has resulted in blended terrain at the edges of these Alpha Paths, for crisp, defined edges between these paths and ordinary terrain we recommend using large terrain covers that have been flagged to take on the textures of the park’s terrain, a solution that will create a sharp division between the appearance of Lee’s path tiles and the terrain that surrounds them. The terrain covers will permit one texture to be used for the park's terrain along with another texture for use beneath the tiles.






In this example the contrasting terrain texture beneath the Alpha Tiles give the carpet on the left the appearance that spots are included in the carpet's design, while the same texture below the irregular floor tiles at the right makes those tiles look like they're made of granite. The overall effect here has been enhanced with low walls and matching posts.






As can be observed in his example image below, Lee first decided where he was going to build his paths, has painted the terrain there in a sandy color, and then placed his brick path tiles. When Lee’s paths are placed in your park, with the shadows falling upon them they do look quite natural during gameplay.






Image 30, Showcase! Fall 2018, L-33/Lee, Page 4






L-33’s POE Building 4 Set






Around the time he was developing his Alpha Paths Set, L-33’s POE Building 4 Set had been roughed together as a beta for community trials. For a long time it has been unavailable for download.






It is because of Lee’s generosity in sharing with the community his own resources that we’re reintroducing a completed version of Lee’s POE Building 4 Set.






Image 31, Showcase! Fall 2018, L-33/Lee, Page 4

Image 32, Showcase! Fall 2018, L-33/Lee, Page 4

Image 33, Showcase! Fall 2018, L-33/Lee, Page 4

Image 34, Showcase! Fall 2018, L-33/Lee, Page 4

Image 35, Showcase! Fall 2018, L-33/Lee, Page 4

Built at an unbridled pace until it reached a heavenly 500 pieces we realized we were in danger of our missing the Fall 2018 deadline and in this becoming Showcase! Winter 2018 article. When we pulled the brake on this set’s growth we had no alternative but to slash and burn our pre-release version in order to reduce this set to a manageable number of pieces for a release that is more suitable for general use. We’ve used Lee’s models as a creative base, have almost always applied Lee’s textures from the files he shared, and have taken artistic license in the further design of Building 4 Set.






Reduced to a more down-to-Earth number, there are around 200 pieces in the public release version of this set which can be found in these game menus:







Shops & Facilities (Miscellaneous Stalls),


Walls, Roofs, & Buildings


Large Scenery Items,


Path Extras, and


Billboards.






The angle of structures in relation to each other was important to Lee in the creation of his sets to the extent that he began using satellite imagery to align his set angles rather than his own photographs. Rather than knock Lee’s structure about and change it to match the in-game terrain grid, we’ve preserved Lee’s angles in the stairs we created for his Souvenir Shop Entrance which are true to the original location and angle of that structure as we found it in his SKP file. Because of the location of the paths in-game, although the park guests do walk through parts of the stair scenery, at a glance these stairs do look functional and are a visually pleasing addition to Lee’s structure.






You'll find the stalls place at an interesting angle in relation to the direction of the path, and your guests will be served by your park staff at this same angle.






We've described this new community addition in more detail here in our illustrated article: L-33's POE Building 4 Set.






  View Our POE Building 4 Set Article






We've also built a park specifically to test the positioning of POE Building 4 Set pieces, to see how well they could work with other CS, to experiment & get inspiration as for additional pieces and, most importantly, to show the community what could be done with this exciting new set.






  View Our POE Building 4 Set Presentation Park












Lee’s sets are among the few that present us with CSO’s that have as much character as their original counterparts in real life.






It’s not surprising that sometimes Lee was concerned about the number of polys in some of his set pieces. Incredibly detailed with a richness and complexity rarely seen in other CSO’s, Lee’s sets are a delight to build with because it seems we can accomplish a great deal in our parks without placing a countless number of pieces in order to do so. The textures he’s used in his sets are spot on!






Universal Orlando Resort’s Islands of Adventure is made up of seven differently themed islands. At one time the community had requested that Lee begin sets based on IoA’s other islands. He briefly considered making something for Cat in the Hat Island but never got past considering how to make a set containing a moderate number of polys for an Islands of Adventure theme that had no straight lines in it.






With Lee’s desire to spend quality time with his family, and with the day-to-day of real life that takes up so much of our time it seems that, for the time being at least, we’ll have to accept that Lee’s Alpha Paths set is his final release.






We thank you Lee for releasing your sets into the community when you did, for sharing your files, and for the inspirational & energized boost you've given to our creativity here at FlightToAtlantis.net!




























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