Nielsoncp's Ballpark Concepts and 3D Models

[nielsoncp]

Originally Posted by seanstephans

EDIT: I filled out the Google forms for AAA stadiums...but I actually have come to realize that what I am seeking may not be something you're interested in completing. That's okay. Your the proprietor; I'm the freeloader. Having said that, if you are interested in what I'm about to ask, I would be happy to help in whatever way I can (I have zero design skills for this venture, mind you).

So, I want all AAA stadiums in their naked glory. Nothing more than what they currently are. I don't want them to seat MLB-sized audiences. I want the intimacy that comes with minor league baseball. Many of your stadiums are truly breathtaking and would be an excellent place to start for completing this process. Thus far, I have 3 and 1/2 authentic MiLB stadiums I have drawn from other sources on these forums. I say 3 and 1/2 because I am including a lovely rendition of Cashman Field, which is not currently in use for baseball because the Las Vegas Aviators moved into their new ballpark this season.

So...for completed AAA stadiums, I have found the following:

Chuckhansi Park
McCoy Stadium
Raley Field

This is a huge ask...and I quite understand a polite "no thanks." So before I resubmit any Google forms and waste your time, I was hoping to hear from you to get your temperature on this request. Regardless of what you decide, I think you do exceptional work. Thanks in advance.

So this will be my polite "no thanks" for now. After the last couple of months of chipping away at random Canadian stadiums, I think I'm going to slow down and do a few "expansion" stadiums for MLB teams. BUT, if at some point I decide I want to go to work on the minors (or other IRL stadiums), I'll send you a message and we can figure out where to go from there.

Also - you should check out the thread eriqjaffe is doing. He's working his way through the International League at the moment, and the results have been outstanding.

[nielsoncp]

I did complete a new MLB-adjusted minor league stadium. This time I'm taking Dell Diamond in Round Rock and transporting it from the suburbs to downtown Austin, in place of the current UT stadium. There were a couple fun new techniques I used in this model, particularly with the outfield bleachers.

The park is relatively hitter friendly and, being an outdoor park in texas, a bit of a band box. Get your groundballers here.

Zip File can be found here

Park Factors



Day



Night (with new night skyline thanks to the directions in this Silvam post)

[endgame]

nielson, if I might be so bold to inquire. The plethora of prolific recent contributions have me looking at origins.

I'm not sure where the "original Portland post" resides, but can you recall that time period, that incident of first contribution and presumably first acceptable (to you) completion of a park? What brought you to that point, interested you about the act of creating these metaphorical circus tents, shall we say, for others to buy tickets, enter in, and enjoy the show?

'strickert's whispering to me, "Pare it down, eg. Just ask him how this all started."

[nielsoncp]

Originally Posted by endgame

neilson, if I might be so bold to inquire. The plethora of prolific recent contributions have me looking at origins.

I'm not sure where the "original Portland post" resides, but can you recall that time period, that incident of first contribution and presumably first acceptable (to you) completion of a park? What brought you to that point, interested you about the act of creating these metaphorical circus tents, shall we say, for others to buy tickets, enter in, and enjoy the show?

'strickert's whispering to me, "Pare it down, eg. Just ask him how this all started."

Thanks for asking endgame. As a kid I doodled baseball stadiums (my middle school notebooks are filled with little math and lots of Miller Park concepts), so the 3d stadiums were always kind of interesting to me. I'd played around with it a bit in the past, but back in November I started editing eriqjaffe's Brooklyn stadium from the USBL thread because I wanted to make some tweaks for a team I was running. Around that time the Portland Diamond Project and the Howard Terminal concepts were released, and I decided to see if I could make them in sketchup. The reception was pretty positive for those, so after that I decided to do some stadiums for other cities i frequently expanded to, then went to Canada for a while (that was crazy) and... now we're here. I hope that helps to fill in a few of the details.

[brewertoby]

These are amazing....is there a link where I can DL all of them at once?

[nielsoncp]

Originally Posted by brewertoby

These are amazing....is there a link where I can DL all of them at once?

There is not - sorry. You'll have to pick and choose what you want a la carte.

[brewertoby]

No apologies necessary for sure. This is amazing work. I would PAY for this!!! Thank you so much.

[nielsoncp]

This one feels like a small, personal victory. A couple of months ago, when I was starting out in the stadium creating process, I tried to do Globe Life Field... and it didn't go well. But, after the many hours (and learning) of the last few months, I finally made a version of the stadium I'm happy with. So, enjoy your 2020 season with the correct stadiums.

The park is relatively batter friendly, but the large outfield makes it a dead space for home runs.

Also, I made two versions of this stadium - one with the roof open, and the other with the roof closed.

Zip file for open roof here

Zip file for closed roof here

Park Factors



Open Day



Open Night



Closed Day



Closed Night

[Lawn Loaf]

Originally Posted by nielsoncp

I did complete a new MLB-adjusted minor league stadium. This time I'm taking Dell Diamond in Round Rock and transporting it from the suburbs to downtown Austin, in place of the current UT stadium. There were a couple fun new techniques I used in this model, particularly with the outfield bleachers.

The park is relatively hitter friendly and, being an outdoor park in texas, a bit of a band box. Get your groundballers here.

Zip File can be found here

Park Factors



Day



Night (with new night skyline thanks to the directions in this Silvam post)

I really hate to ask this of you, as I was just installing the RR Express in my league with your Hastings Stadium, but is there any way you could be so accommodating as to also include this park with the Round Rock background? I am not asking anything else except the background to look a bit more rural like the Dell Diamond. If not no problem. Thanks for your consideration!

[nielsoncp]

Originally Posted by Lawn Loaf

I really hate to ask this of you, as I was just installing the RR Express in my league with your Hastings Stadium, but is there any way you could be so accommodating as to also include this park with the Round Rock background? I am not asking anything else except the background to look a bit more rural like the Dell Diamond. If not no problem. Thanks for your consideration!

Hey Loaf! I can create it for you, but the process should be relatively easy - so I'll outline it here for you and others:

1. Find the location you want to use in google earth. Click on save image, then choose the highest quality option from the dropdown menu.

2. Open up the image in GIMP and crop as much of the skyline (or horizon, as the case may be) as you want to use. I've generally found that a narrower band focused on the distant background is better than a broader band that includes more of the google image foreground - it's hard to get the angle right.

3. Open up the corresponding skyline template that should be included in the stadium templates file. Remove the current skyline and copy in your new skyline, then save the file with the same name as the current skyline, and in a .png format.

4. BONUS - if you want to create a night time skyline for that or the stadiums moving forward, follow Silvam's directions here.

5. Paste your new skyline (or skylines) into the textures folder, copying over the old .png file.

6. Load up the game or reload your 3d model. When you open up the stadium, the new skyline should appear in the background.

Let me know if you still want me to do it, or if you want to take a run at it.

[eriqjaffe]

That Globe Life Park is a thing of beauty, sir.

[Lawn Loaf]

I have swapped images on a few of your stadium models to be more team specific, so I do know how to do that. The problem I run into with the skylines are getting them transparent. I use irfanview to make my images transparent, and it always worked well with the jerseys I did, however when I import them into sketchup the top never comes out as transparent.

I am not too knowledgeable with GIMP, but that will be my next step.

By the way, I am sending you a PM with the updated progress I have made on the ballpark I am working on and would love to hear your feedback.

And in regards to the background I requested, if it's not to big of a deal I'd appreciate it.

[nielsoncp]

Originally Posted by Lawn Loaf

And in regards to the background I requested, if it's not to big of a deal I'd appreciate it.

I downloaded the background from Round Rock and resized it here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...X-?usp=sharing. Let me know if that works or if it needs to be sized up.

[Lawn Loaf]

Works like a charm. Thanks a ton, really like your Austin background too.

[nielsoncp]

A couple years ago I traveled to Fresno and was shocked when I found out the city was bigger than Milwaukee. It reminded me just how populous California is, that a city that size barely makes a blip in the state. I was reminded of that again when I was working on this stadium. The Riverside-San Bernadino MSA has over 4.2 million people, making it larger than 23 states, including Oregon, Oklahoma, Connecticut, and Utah. It's also appeared on a possible expansion city list, so I decided to create a stadium for the metro area. I also wanted to add a few local touches, so I decided to bring in some of the area's citrus history (it was nicknamed the citrus empire back in the day) with the scoreboards and the field name (Farmers (insurance) Grove). It's also branded with Angels colors and font, if you''re looking for a place to relocate the Angels in 2023.

The park plays relatively pitcher friendly, especially with the distances to the corners. There is plenty of space for doubles and triples though, so be speedy if you're going to play here.

Zip file can be found here

Park Factors



Day



Night

[jparker2112]

you may have outdone yourself on this one my friend!

[kjb023]

Haha I love those orange and lemon videoboards!

[nielsoncp]

I know baseball in Florida is a tricky proposition so far, and I don't think an MLB team would ever actually land in Orlando - and yet, when I poke around and look at potential expansion listicles, Orlando always somehow appears on the list. So, I took Champion Stadium (soon to be the former spring training home of the Braves), added a third tier, and now we have an Orlando stadium for an expansion site. The actual stadium has the yellowish stucco that is a key feature of this particular model, as well as the slatted roof and bell towers that are behind the camera angle in game.

The park itself plays relatively hitter friendly, particularly for right handed power hitters.

Zip file can be found here

Park Factors



Day



Night

[nielsoncp]

Mexico City often gets mentioned as a potential expansion location, and the local team just opened a really cool looking stadium (see video here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzfiRcPDIJw ) so I added a third level, but kept most of the original staidum structure, including trying to make a run at the roof.



Because it's at elevation and relatively small, the park plays very batter friendly.



Zip file can be found here



Park Factors







Day







Night

[Isedelyod]

This is great. I was just downloading images to take a run at this one.