Skyboxes!
 

From this day forward, I'm going to post them in this thread.

That said, we begin with a farm field east of Kalkaska, MI. It's a lightly clouded sky with a dazzling late afternoon sun. The stadium is asrivkin's Charles C. Hughes Memorial Stadium in Sacramento. Hughes had an excessively short LF line as it was actually a football stadium. (Trivia note: Gorman Thomas once hit 50 odd homers there in slightly over half a season.)

https://mega.nz/file/bF5kFLTR#GEbmMT...21mHgmftz77quk

Wilderness State Park
 

One of the favored place for Mrs. Cobb and I. We took a road trip there yesterday with the dogs and I caught this beautiful stormy sky from the shore of Sturgeon Bay. The ballpark is Ballpark of the Gateway, from Eriqjaffe.

https://mega.nz/file/OU50WT6I#A4knnM...YGEAXhv1wZlgPo

Skyboxes have taken a back seat to personal life of late. My 85 year old mother had to be moved into a Memory Care Unit. 10 days later, she went into the hospital, and remains there with an uncertain outlook. I've got scads of boxes ready to process, but they're waiting until life stabilizes. Thanks for understanding.

Production resumes
 

Mom has entered terminal decline. I'm going to begin producing boxes again because the process will help me to regain focus. I've got some surprises up my sleeve, and am almost done with a tutorial.

Those who want to wish me well in any way (y'all KNOW what I am partial to) may do so via PM or email or simply in your thoughts. I'll be grateful, as I was during my cancer recovery. You guys are the best.

Painted Sky
 

The first box of the New Year! Surprise #1 is the resolution: 4096x4096 per panel. Stadium is the in-game Busch Stadium. It's called Painted Sky due to the noise in the image. Download link is below. Enjoy!


https://mega.nz/file/v6hlCBIL#pqCVE1..._GZ9nD1QcffXVw

Four New Skyboxes!
 

Three day, one night.

Enjoy!

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqNWSey-QBtYgmFP...64S9c?e=kNvHsA

Did not realize how crappy those previews looked. Trust me, they're better in real usage.

Reider School Road at Sunset
 

Another one suitable for an early evening sky. This one is shown behind Muelebach Field.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqNWSey-QBtYgmgk...Whtiv?e=zNqvDs

Late afternoon...
 

This time in Ponce de Leon park of Atlanta, it's a shot from Anderson Road SE of Kalkaska, MI. More of a sunset than a true daytime, but too far from night.

STILL hoping we'll soon be able to have evening skyboxes...


https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqNWSey-QBtYgmm3...MHZu2?e=8Y0fXd

Menacing sky
 

Shown over the game included citizen's bank park.

https://mega.nz/file/4vBGhKoa#7fvAcZ...D5TveK3QI9SFxQ

Thanks to you, we have a great selection of skies. I love the variety!

hank ou! Have almost got the tutorial completed (I hope). Testing it with Mrs. Cobb tonight.

Your skies are always a great addition. Love them. Thank you.

Thanks!

Change of Pace
 

A mostly clear sky with a pinkish late afternoon glow. I did NOT take the original pic. It's from one I found in a forum online...no idea the author, but purports to be Bali.

Shown behind Angels Stadium because I haven't yet populated my 24 folder with custom parks.

https://mega.nz/file/AvhxHCzL#illA5Y...OZ2AOalndgvRho

Soft sky over a canyon
 

Shown behind Kaufmann because...reasons. A lightly clouded sky. Again, this is not one of mine. I grabbed it from google earth...yeah, you can do that if you have the needed tools. Easy giveaway it isn't my photo? I can't afford the drone that took this. Mrs. Cobb humors me in my hobby, but drones are a no-go zone.



https://mega.nz/file/Nq4QDY4C#S71THX...Iz-fTO8L2hnLNc

just skies
 

Are there any sky boxes that are just skies, i.e. no buildings, water or land?

There are commercially available ones like that. Generally they're mirror image shots. They're also copyrighted and protected by Prince-of-Darkness level corporations...I avoid those at all costs.

Right now, I've got about 600 skybox images of my own/public-domain to work on though, and I'll be going out more in the warm weather. Mrs. Cobb and the puppies love the rides, and Michigan is a lot prettier when it isn't wintertime.

I'll look through them and see what might work for mirroring. I've just never tried that sort of thing before—you're the first that's asked. That said, I love a challenge. :D

Out of my cocoon for a bit...
 

and have three new skyboxes. I didn't take the original photos, instead found them in a public forum ostensibly under Creative Commons. I believe the ballparks used are Uconn, SunTrust, and Plant City. There are some truly awesome pix coming over the next few days...scored a ****load from the South Pacific!

As always, thank you to the fine community of model creators we have!

Did I mention these are 4k?

#9 is located here: https://mega.nz/file/A2oRWIAa#WQ45gW...v7LFqtZ1ijRlhI

#11 is here: https://mega.nz/file/9yIAhQjZ#N9BPsI...0fhh50HXT-zPdQ

#15 is here: https://mega.nz/file/R6h1QTYL#BR2ZRs...Ng07G4DWPGQXWc

Thank you Ty. And say hello to the snow dogs if you see them.

It's a big one.
 

93MB. It's also a fake. As I age, I'm becoming more interested (obsessed?) with trying new art forms. This one is not a real place at all. I'll be particularly interested to hear thoughts on this. Shown at Boise State's Veterans Memorial Stadium.

I started a blog here. It's much more of a personal place than the forums. I welcome you all to come by and chat about anything except politics. I've been around long enough to remember when this place was much more personal. Drop by, chat, vent, talk, be friends again.


https://mega.nz/file/liQGzR5J#kDCFuh...eJ0FKmzVgBzh1w

These are awesome! Where do I put these???

Easy process
 

1. Download from the link.
2. Unzip them.
3. Put the folder "sky_box_day" or "sky_box_night" (or both, as a few actually are) into the same folder as the .obj file of your 3d stadium.

There is no evening skybox ability...yet. (Crossing fingers). I've included a screenshot from my Mac showing the path to the file. Windows will be similar.

Thank you for your kind words!

Thank you so much for the information and for taking the time to do these! You're very much appreciated

Love this new style. It's so artistic and actually doesn't look out of place with the ballparks, especially custom made ones.

Ty, these are a game changer for me! Love how much detail these add to my experience. Thank you!!!

Three new boxes
 

Two here, one on the blog.

First up is box4,shown at UC Davis' Dobbins Stadium.

https://mega.nz/file/duJGHL5Y#98ZDhb...sLbnvFp3kZPzes

Second is venerable Les Muakami Stadium.

https://mega.nz/file/gyQi0BKZ#0of2gE...MgRdCQGOz8fd7Y

If you wander by the blog, not only can you get the extra skybox, but you can see the photos of the fire that ravaged our outlying area...scary ****.

Very nice. Thank you.

Default Skybox Tip
 

To replace your default skybox...

1. Open your OOTP folder
2. Open Ballparks folder
3. Open Models folder
4. Open Misc folder
5. Open Skyboxes folder
6. Drop your daytime images into sky_box_day. Remember to ensure they are .webp files and properly named.

This will be overridden if you have a stadium specific skybox, but for the generic ballparks, it's a nice pickup.

You can try seeing if creating a sky_box_night folder with proper imaging works...haven't done that yet.

Out getting some good source material from the Skybridge at Boyne Mountain! Will post in a day or two.

What about Boyne?
 

Well, the best laid plans...don't always work. Apologies to Robert Burns.

A beautiful day, some great pictures, and a great time yielded absolutely nothing that made a compelling ballpark backdrop. I'm a wee bit unhappy about that!

Instead, a last minute shot taken on a lark that same day at the Grayling Little League field yielded this nice late summer afternoon sky...and I'm pleasantly surprised by it.

Shown here behind Nebraska's Haymarket Park.

https://mega.nz/file/LnhxHJiR#DH3Sqd...dfPVO2GR8z-TaA

Wow. Real nice. Perfect for minor league parks. 5*

Another "fake" skybox
 

This is NOT a real place, just a late afternoon/early evening sunset box wrapped around Halifax Stadium.

https://mega.nz/file/7zwmwRRL#0T1mLw...1llKuoLljzgVl0

This one is nice. I like it.

Thanks! Was out last night for a ride, beautiful sunset, forgot the GoPro. Cursed incessantly but took scads of regular sky pics. Will probably do a few 2d sky replacements with those. Timing is uncertain, as I’m behind on yard work and plan on visiting Mom tomorrow.

New Skybox!
 

Taken on M-55 just west of Houghton Lake, MI. It's a nice, moody evening sky. That's the just posted Modern Woodman Park in the foreground.

https://mega.nz/file/SuRVnYob#B4mIcn...fcdzKLhY4S9kmU

Wow! That looks so cool~ this skybox really adds to the atmosphere of the ballpark. And how did you display the park in such clear picture? What resolution do you use? I can never get my game to look so high resolution.

Yes, another good one. Just put it in as evening for Connie Mack Stadium.

I cheat…
 

I use Topaz AI to bump the resolution of the original pic up 4x. My i9 2019 MBP darn near chokes on it when I run it through Blender. Then I use a 3rd oarty utility to amp max screen resolution to 3800x2500 (approximately, on my phone right now) before taking the screen shot. Can’t play the game at that res—text is too small for my old eyes!

My life will
 

return to normal next week, and more skyboxes will be forthcoming. My mother passed away after a long series of illnesses and 9 months in hospice. Those interested can read my blog for details. Both re-skied 2d and skyboxes will flow.

Best wishes for you, man! I hope it was a peaceful passing for your Mom. RIP.

I'm so sorry about your mom. Time with loved ones is so precious and most of us just don't realize how precious it is until they are gone. Praying for you and your family.

Thank you both!
 

Your kindness is appreciated more than you know.

Brooding Winter Sky
 

Gray and cold looking, because we play baseball in the North. This is shown at Bernie Arbour Stadium. It feels good to be back at this, so expect more in the very near future!


https://mega.nz/file/u7oBSABC#QFkynu...dbLAYAFD9pN3Og

Hey Ty,
my condolences for you, losing a mom must be tough. Hope you doing alright.

I was wondering, for a skybox, have you ever thought about doing one that's set in the middle of the woods, trees covering everything in sight, with the sky only visible directly north? Like outside of the ballpark, besides a flat-looking surrounding landscape, it's just trees...is this even possible?

Thank you, sir.
 

And to answer your question, yes it is possible. Sadly, I've yet to master the proper scaling on it. If I do, then you guys will be in for a steady diet of Northern Michigan forest boxes.

Just got it and thank you. Also my condolences on your loss.

Thank you, zappa1. Appreciate the kindness of my fellows here more than any of you know.

A soft, bright sky
 

shown over Arrest Park. Man does it feel good to be making boxes again!

https://mega.nz/file/imYxiQYI#An8yGM...F8jEtDBW3UUD3o

An update
 

to the skybox tutorial: Mac Users Only, Webponize appears to no longer function in the new Sonoma OS. I'd recommend switching to XConvert as a free alternative.