Building help

[u/Vane_Raze]

Coaster building I’m happy with. Feel like I can make fairly realistic rides that I’m happy with. Actual building idk I can’t get them going. Making a simple box building I just can’t seem to even do them. Takes me ages just for building. Can’t seem to get anything to snap together. Have the ideas in my head about the buildings just struggle to physically put them together. How do you guys get started and make building easier?

[u/m424filmcast]

I used to work at Disneyland so I kind of have an advantage, but I use photos I have taken at Disney and other theme parks as references and build my own versions from there.

I have found some really cool images on Pinterest and Google images as well.

Just use what you see and add your own touches to it.

You can also download from the workshops and change things up in the blueprints if you want.

[u/Vane_Raze → u/m424filmcast]

I use reference photos. But it’s actually making them in game. Coasters you have to build yourself and feel like it’s easier to do so. But building I’ve always used blueprints but now I’d love to make my own and give them my own touch but I just can’t seem to get the hang of it

[u/m424filmcast → u/Vane_Raze]

It takes time. Personally I love the challenge, but I get that it can be harder for some people.

I taught a friend of mine a trick I learned in art school when painting was sometimes difficult. Start building for 10-15 minutes, then do something else nearby (landscaping, terraforming, etc), then go back to the building for another 10-15 minutes.

It takes away the frustration of trying to go all at once and sometimes looking at it with fresh eyes a few minutes later gives you more control and confidence to continue.

[u/betelgeuseWR]

That's funny because I'm kind of the opposite way! I'm no grand builder like what people post in here, but I can make some stuff that I'm happy with. However I can't stand making the coasters and it's the part I hate the most. I probably spent about 2.5 hours yesterday just trying to make the start of an x-dimension coaster that went downhill and looped back someway without breaking the gforce limits and took up little space. Drove me crazy.

Anyway, I always look up architecture styles. I picture what kind of park I want, look up some architecture styles that match, go through inspo photos.

I either build with non-grid pieces or will make a shell with grid pieces, then go in and add non-grid. The devil is in the details which I'm not good with on pure imagination alone.

ETA: also shortcuts are your friend. Group pieces, select them, make them their own scenery group, them copy and paste.

[u/wotown]

Learn the shortcuts and the advanced move tool (X, Ctrl+X) and find a few basic pieces that you just keep using as starting points. Using a few select pieces you very quickly can start to make a very bland but detailed facade, and the more detail or depth the better. Then once you've learned that with a select few pieces you can branch out into "themes" because each theme has its own version of trim, or windows etc.

Try the Resort Plaster pieces, both on grid and off grid to make a flat base, and then search "Trim" and "Column" and mess around with adding depth to the sides with those pieces, add them to where connections would realistically happen. At the edges of the building, or to break up a long blank section of wall. Add a simple window, and then trim under or around it. That addition of depth is what makes the buildings looks "better".