Hyperion

[sitters]

Adding detail is no problem for me, it is just a new painting layer.

But the point is how it's fitting in the game ?
I have made beautiful models for an other game, and it looks like shit in the game
because it dint fit in the environment of the game.

When you place an highly detailed model in an less detailed environment it looks not good.
I think best way is to evaluate the model in the game and then looks what the best changes are for it.

The models, brush prefabs and textures must have a good blend, especially when the engine is ready for normal mapping with textures and models.

And for textures, make a real normal map and don't use the nvidia plug in for converting from texture
to normal, because it looks like shit in the game ( first paint a high map and convert this one ).

And in the case of very big models, we have just one material in MD2.
and when you rescale the texture for more easy distribution, also detail getting lost.

That's why some people makes rivets like golf balls on the skin of an airplane, that also don't look good.

I say evaluate the model in the game and when you like more detail, say it and I make it.

Willem

[Mattn]

a little off-topic - but can you describe how you do your normalmaps? i'm currently creating normalmaps for some textures in base/textures. i create a highmap first, too - but maybe you have  a faster way to handle it or to get a roughly working highmap which only needs minor tweaking?

in general i grayscale and flatten the colors until i'm stock at 4 or 5 colors (depends on the image and the highlevels) - after that is done i repaint the shapes to make the sharp and create the normalmap (where i encode the height in the alpha channel - due to parallax mapping)

[TrashMan]

mattn is very adamant about the translation issue, though. Symbols would work fine, but no text.

As someone who always puts warning labels on his fighters, let me tell you that you won't be able to read the text even at 1024x1024 texture, let alone at 512x512, yet you know what it means. Here's some examples:


http://img53.imageshack.us/img53/542/htlclay2vu4.jpg  <--- same bomber, without shine and normal maps

<-- look above he engine



As for how to create normal maps - there are several methods. One is to make it manually by making 3 layers (R,G,B). I don't reccomend it, it's tedous.
another method is to use NVidias DDS plugin for photoshop to generate it from a heightmap.
Or you can use CrazyBump with a pre-made heightmap.

[sitters]

a little off-topic - but can you describe how you do your normalmaps? i'm currently creating normalmaps for some textures in base/textures. i create a highmap first, too - but maybe you have  a faster way to handle it or to get a roughly working highmap which only needs minor tweaking?

in general i grayscale and flatten the colors until i'm stock at 4 or 5 colors (depends on the image and the highlevels) - after that is done i repaint the shapes to make the sharp and create the normalmap (where i encode the height in the alpha channel - due to parallax mapping)

The problem when you make gray scale from an normal texture then you dont have a real highmap, black can also being high, and white can be low.

When I want to have a nice texture for a door or somethings else, i do the same as doing in the
game industry, I model the texture and then render the normal and diffuse map and speculair from it.
but thats a lot of work, but the result is very good ( see example some testing ).




For models I paint the high-map same as the diffuse map, and then render it to an normal map.
Also what I do is making an hi poly model and bake the normal map from that, and use it on my
low poly model.

But maybe the best way for direct conversion from a texture, you can use crazybump, this program is free to download and gives is most cases good result, you can convert the texture to bump, normal, specular and displacement

Willem

[sitters]

As someone who always puts warning labels on his fighters, let me tell you that you won't be able to read the text even at 1024x1024 texture, let alone at 512x512, yet you know what it means. Here's some examples:


http://img53.imageshack.us/img53/542/htlclay2vu4.jpg  <--- same bomber, without shine and normal maps

<-- look above he engin

Nice models.

[BTAxis]

As someone who always puts warning labels on his fighters, let me tell you that you won't be able to read the text even at 1024x1024 texture, let alone at 512x512, yet you know what it means. Here's some examples:

Yeah, if the text isn't distinguishable, then that's perfectly fine, because then you don't have to translate it.

Looking good, by the way, especially the first one.

[Mattn]

i see willem,

i think i'll come back to you when i do some normalmaps again

btw. what about this texture? did you create it yourself? what is the license? can we use it ?

[Winter]

Except it's running on antimatter, like all alien propulsion craft.

The Hyperion isn't, never was supposed to be. It's an early game pre-antimatter craft.

Regards,
Winter

[sitters]

i see willem,

i think i'll come back to you when i do some normalmaps again

btw. what about this texture? did you create it yourself? what is the license? can we use it ?

Yea I make it myself, and it's just as all my stuff (GPL).
I can make more textures, if you like, but must know the theme.
I programming all day for my profession, and graphic stuff is a nice break.

Willem

[BTAxis]

The Hyperion isn't, never was supposed to be. It's an early game pre-antimatter craft.

I know, I just thought we were talking about the Starchaser, is all.

[Mattn]

Yea I make it myself, and it's just as all my stuff (GPL).
I can make more textures, if you like, but must know the theme.
I programming all day for my profession, and graphic stuff is a nice break.

cool - i would be nice if you could re-render this texture in a higher res version.

we also still need a lot of replacements for the textures shown here - they are not gpled - and thus we have to completely recreate them:
http://phidev.org/~dino/ufo/html/textures/696b031073e74bf2cb98e5ef201d4aa3.html

it would be nice if you could do some of them. (with normalmaps please )

[sitters]

cool - i would be nice if you could re-render this texture in a higher res version.

we also still need a lot of replacements for the textures shown here - they are not gpled - and thus we have to completely recreate them:
http://phidev.org/~dino/ufo/html/textures/696b031073e74bf2cb98e5ef201d4aa3.html

it would be nice if you could do some of them. (with normalmaps please )

This textures are also on my website 1024X1024

http://www.md2.sitters-electronics.nl/textures1.html

When I start with the textures I open an other topic.

Willem

[BTAxis]

Remind me, were you also still going to try your hand at the Raptor dropship? Not trying to push it on you, just do what you want to do.

[TrashMan]

A good way to do a heigtmap for normal map generation, epsecially for paneling, is the following:

Make a new layer over the texture. Paint over the indented parts, like gutters and holes with dark blue.
Make another layer. Paint over raised parts with RED. you can use various shades for different depth.
Add another layer below these two that is grey.
Convert to greyscale.

Feed the heightmap into CrazyBump
I get great results this way.

[sitters]

OK ,

Here how the final version is going to look, if you like it i finisch all the stuff.
I add some detail, but not to much.

Willem

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