UFO:Alien Invasion
Development => Artwork => Topic started by: Skorpio on May 22, 2010, 07:06:35 am
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Because I don't want to hijack Arthur's thread (http://ufoai.ninex.info/forum/index.php?topic=4814.msg38748#msg38748) I've started a new one for my alien monster. I've begun to model a low poly version of the monster and have already tried to bake a test normal map. The normal map on the tail doesn't look so good and probably must be changed. The model has about 1100 triangles and 600 vertices, but it still can be improved. And I have to check if the legs are deformable enough for animation.
Does the head have to be separate? I'm asking because I'm not really sure where the head is. *lol*
Here's a screenshot of the low poly model (left without, right with normal map):
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So, have you the same Problem to Bake Normal- or Deformation Map in Blender? I dont know why but i have allways Triangle on it, it looks horrible -.- that was the reasen that i dont make high poly-meshes a long time.
I have all to Smooth shader and the mashes are very close, so i dont know why -.- So the normal maps are not useable.
(http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/6980/normalmistake.png)
MfG Arthur
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Yep, baking normal maps with Blender can be annoying and I also don't have much experience with it. Do you have any overlapping UVs in your unwrap? Blender can't bake mirrored faces correctly and that'll cause artifacts. I think triangulating your mesh before baking can help a bit, and maybe you could try to change the bake settings. If nothing helps I simply paint over the normal map and normalize it then. Maybe we should check out xNormal (http://www.xnormal.net/1.aspx).
And here's the monster with a quick and dirty test texture:
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Yes, I have try all ^^ i have try all what you list.
MfG Arthur
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Can you give a shot from overhead at a slight angle, since that's the view that will be most commonly seen in game?
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Sculptris V 1.0 is out!
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Hi Arthur,
Maybe you have some faces with normals pointing in the opposite way. You can have blender recalculate the in- and outside of your model and then all normals should point in the correct direction.
In edit mode select mesh -> normals -> recalculate out/inside
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you should also not use smoothing - see the normalmap info in the artwork wiki
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Sculptris V 1.0 is out!
The new version is fantastic. Do you know where I can find the additonal brush textures that he mentioned on the download page? I searched on the forum, but couldn't find anything.
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I downloading mine at the Page from ZBrush :) hehe
MfG Arthur
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Here's a new screenshot of the monster with a better normal map. I'm still working on the color texture.
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Wow, huge improvement! (and thanks for the screenshot from above) I really like the rough texture of its skin.
I'm assuming the "shoulder" just isn't quite done yet?
And I don't know how much control you have to specify the poly detail of a particular area, but I think the tail could use a few more polys on each bump to round out the curves.
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I'm having some trouble with the normal map. I noticed that there are some seams after baking, they are not very visible, though. Aren't the baked normal maps in Blender seamless? Will the normal maps always be turned on in-game or can you turn them off? The model doesn't look so good without it.
And what size should the model have in Blender?
BTW I'm also working on some other models (just for fun), but maybe they could be useful for UFO:AI as well. (Actually I should work more on OpenDungeons (http://sourceforge.net/projects/opendungeons/), but the forum has become so quiet that I'm not sure if the other guys are still alive. ;) )
Here's a wip screenshot of "fat guy" and his thin brother (both still need a lot of work) and a insect monster head:
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NICE! I like all of them ;D
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That's some nice work. I don't know what plans the devs have for further aliens, so it'd be worth querying them on what they're looking for.
Have you made any progress on animating the big blob alien? That was a nice bit of work.
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I've been searching for more informations about normal maps in the last days, but I'm still not really sure what I can do about the seams. It seems to me that normal maps will always have visible seams and therefore I have to hide these as good as I can. Or it could be a shader problem. Normal maps begin to drive me crazy. *grablagralagraagh* :P
I think I'll leave the NM as it is now, because the seams are only visible if you zoom in very close.
The model is rigged already, but not yet animated. I'm also not sure how the model should be scaled and what animations are needed. Wasn't there a list somewhere?
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Sorry, I've never used Blender so I can't help with the normalmap issue. Destructavator does so he may be able to help you out.
Here's some info on character animations (http://ufoai.ninex.info/wiki/index.php/Modelling/Character_Animation), some background on the MD2 format (http://ufoai.ninex.info/wiki/index.php/Modelling) UFOAI uses, and some more info specific to Blender (http://ufoai.ninex.info/wiki/index.php/Modelling/Blender) that can help.
Would love to see that big blobby monster in motion, and I know 2x2 units are on the devs agenda (though we don't know when it will be ready). It's really helpful to them to have artwork in place, though, so having the model animated and ready to go would be great.
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Thanks. And do I have to separate the head? I guess that would be rather difficult, because I'm not sure where the head ends and the body starts. lol
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Thanks. And do I have to separate the head? I guess that would be rather difficult, because I'm not sure where the head ends and the body starts. lol
for the fat guy maybe, his thinner brother: yes
for the other monster... not needed.
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I didn't have much time to work on the monster, but I've made some animations now. However, a new problem has popped up. I've read that the model has to be scaled up x16 before exporting it to the md format, but this means the animations would get screwed up when I apply the scale of the armature. Is it possible to scale the model after the export? I have no experience with the md format, so could anyone with more experience take a look at the blend file and tell me if anything has to be changed?
Here's the blend file: http://www.mediafire.com/?tzjn5jvzyo3
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what is the license of the model? "gpl 2 or later" or "cc-by-sa"?
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I released it under GPL 3 and CC-by-sa. I think that means you can pick what you prefer, doesn't it?
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Yes, it mean anybody can use it under GPLv3 or CC-by-SA, or both.