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New England Three Decker 6 Pack

New England Three Decker 6 Pack by johncomerford

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OVERVIEW:

A set of 6 variations of the New England "three decker" (also known as "triple decker") which is a medium density staple in cities across the northeast United States.

Optimized for use with the Loading Screen Mod (https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=667342976) to minimize RAM usage.

As these are meant to be filler buildings, they are super-optimized for GPU and RAM performance:
- Low tri count (ranges from 437 to 654 for the main models, 40 to 48 for the custom LODs)
- All 1k main textures shared (in-game memory usage much less than total download size when using the Loading Screen Mod)

The buildings sit on a 1x2 lot and come undecorated so there are no dependencies. Please decorate to your artistic liking in the asset editor, or in-game using BloodyPenguin's Prop & Tree Anarchy (https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=593588108).


FAQ:

How do I make it look like the screenshots in my own game?
- The screenshots were taken using BloodyPenguin's Daylight Classic (http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=530871278), the "Natural" LUT from Ronyx69's More Relight LUTs (http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1539181199), MazK's PostProcessFx (https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=412146081) with the ambient occlusion (SSAO) intensity slider set about halfway and with a small hint of bloom, and BloodyPenguin's Sun Shafts (http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=933513277). I also use Judazzz's Ultimate Eyecandy (http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=672248733) but all the settings were at default for these screenshots. I also highly recommend BloodyPenguin's Adaptive Prop Visibility Distance (http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=625608461), TPB's Painter (http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1372431101), Judazzz's Find It! (http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=837734529) and Quboid's Move It! (http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1619685021).

Why high density instead of low density?
- The simple answer is because there is no medium density, which is what these buildings really are. I had to pick one or the other, and I chose high density because a) compatibility with WG's Realistic Population and Consumption (http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=426163185) and b) these are multi-family units that are comparable to the more traditionally urban-looking row/terrace housing such as Feindbild's Brooklyn series (http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=866047074) and in real life were built as a direct alternative to them. Of course, using BloodyPenguin's ModTools (http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=450877484) you can always change it to low density yourself - the least complicated way is to use the "dump asset" feature of that mod and create a new asset in the asset editor using a low density residential as a template and then selecting the dumped model in the next screen.

Why all level 1 instead of mixing it up?
- Because even though I like to let my residential areas grow, I prefer to have control over exactly what types of buildings can grow in a certain area - which is key to developing realistic-looking neighborhoods. I use Boformer's Building Themes (https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=466158459&searchtext=building+themes) to achieve this, but here's the catch: the only assets that will grow to start are level 1, because all zones first build as level 1. So I want the buildings I want to grow to be the first building to grow, and also the only building to grow. In conjunction with Building Themes, I also use TPB's Plop the Growables Mod (http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=924884948) to make all buildings automatically set as "historical" (requires Industries DLC) so they continue to level up in stats but never change in appearance. Boformer has also just released a new Historical Districts (http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1658773932), which I have not tried (yet) but appears to achieve the same result but allows for modification at the district level. Since it's Boformer, I am sure it works as advertised. Anyways, in real life these buildings could be anywhere from level 1 to level 5 in wealth level, depending on location, location, location.


HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-decker_(house):

A certain type of three-story apartment building is often called a three-decker or triple-decker in the United States. These buildings are typically of light-framed, wood construction, where each floor usually consists of a single apartment. Both stand-alone and semi-detached versions are common.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, tens of thousands of three-deckers were constructed, mostly in New England, as an economical means of housing the thousands of newly-arrived immigrant workers who filled the factories of the area. The economics of the three-decker are simple: the cost of the land, basement and roof are spread among three or six apartments, which typically have identical floor plans. The three-decker apartment house was seen as an alternative to the row-housing built in other cities of Northeastern United States during this period, such as in New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C.

Three-deckers were most commonly built in the emerging industrial cities of central New England between 1870 and 1920. There are large concentrations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Worcester, Massachusetts, was the likely origin of the type, with Francis Gallagher (1830–1911) held to be the originator[citation needed]. Other cities make the same claim, and they can also be found in the former industrial cities of New Hampshire, Maine, and Connecticut, as well as the New York City area (particularly in northern New Jersey). They were primarily housing for the working-class and middle-class families, often in multiple rows on narrow lots in the areas surrounding the factories. They were regarded as more livable than their brick and stone tenement and row house counterparts, as they allowed for airflow and light on all four sides of each building.

It is estimated that by 1920, the city of Boston had over 15,000 three decker houses. Areas such as Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan and Jamaica Plain were popular with the emerging middle class and became "streetcar suburbs" as transportation systems expanded from the older, core sections of the city. Typically, the affordable three decker homes attracted live-in landlords who would collect rent from the other two apartments.

In Worcester, Massachusetts, sewer connection charges were based on street frontage, so builders favored houses with as little frontage as possible. This is one reason why three-deckers are often situated on narrow lots and are rectangular shape, with the smaller sides at the front and the rear.

A different three story style apartment house is also common in urban working class neighborhoods in northern New Jersey (particularly in and around Newark, Jersey City and Paterson). They are sometimes locally referred to as "Bayonne Boxes".

Similar brick apartment buildings were built in Chicago in the 1910s and 1920s. They are locally referred to as "Three Flats".