Warning!!! There will be lots of pictures.
Adding a helmet FAIL
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/418974_10150675850901393_579041392_11472701_419774904_n.jpg)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/424358_10150675851211393_629021943_n.jpg)
Upside down shield FAIL
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/399866_10150675851521393_579041392_11472710_1549307625_n.jpg)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/420334_10150675851576393_579041392_11472711_724624982_n.jpg)
DW Beer Mugs WIN
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/417126_10150668622816393_579041392_11454775_470637757_n.jpg)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/399948_10150668622871393_579041392_11454776_1599064994_n.jpg)
Blocking with a beer mug WIN
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/s720x720/166974_10150668623021393_579041392_11454778_138417862_n.jpg)
Upsidedown beer mug BOOOOO
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/427977_10150668622951393_579041392_11454777_1202326714_n.jpg)
Giant Purple Gem Hammer Thing WIN?
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/394116_10150677967691393_579041392_11477686_1083926762_n.jpg)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/426800_10150677966866393_579041392_11477678_1171478887_n.jpg)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/395582_10150677966936393_579041392_11477679_836298671_n.jpg)
NO YOU CANNOT HAVE MY BEER!!!!
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/422515_10150676083541393_579041392_11473403_342002682_n.jpg)
those shields look righteous! and I would love to fight sword & mug style. Great idea for a mod. You should make a french bread sword.
THIS is why I regret playing on console.
Quote from: Cramulus on February 10, 2012, 03:16:35 PM
those shields look righteous! and I would love to fight sword & mug style. Great idea for a mod. You should make a french bread sword.
THIS is why I regret playing on console.
Don't thank me. Thank Blizzard. Also thank Blizzard for having the mapping for the textures fubar'd. I'm using them to learn about texturing and mapping. Going from World of Warcraft to Skyrim does crazy things to some of the models. :lulz:
I wonder which way I should go though. Continue to adding crap, OR add my own quests, OR replicate Outland from WoW into Skyrim. I do want to make more complex fights, espcially with dragons and high level boss type enemies.
CURSE YOU BLIZZARD FOR USING LOW RESOLUTION TEXTURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :argh!: :argh!: :argh!: :argh!:
Now this is a shield that was very near and dear to me when I playing WoW.
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-10_00001.jpg)
However I made it a little too small.
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-10_00011.jpg)
So blewed it up.
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-10_00014.jpg)
But I am not happy with how the textures are rendering in game, so I maked a grid texture to figure out how it is mapping.
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-10_00017.jpg)
Coyote, talentless hack.
Quote from: Cramulus on February 10, 2012, 03:16:35 PM
You should make a french bread sword.
And I WILL DAMNIT!!!!!
Quote from: Pope Coyote of the Wolffnords on February 10, 2012, 11:37:55 PM
Quote from: Cramulus on February 10, 2012, 03:16:35 PM
You should make a french bread sword.
And I WILL DAMNIT!!!!!
AND I DID DAMNIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-10_00018.jpg)
AND NOW FOR A BALANCED SNACK!!!! DW BREAD LOAVES!!!!!!
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-10_00023.jpg)
I know it looks shitty, but that is because I need to make texture maps just for this instead of using the original bread maps.
mmmm, delicious bread sword!
Now you just need cheese plate mail.
Quote from: Nigel on February 11, 2012, 02:01:25 AM
Now you just need cheese plate mail.
And a tomato shield?
Quote from: Pope Coyote of the Wolffnords on February 10, 2012, 11:37:55 PM
CURSE YOU BLIZZARD FOR USING LOW RESOLUTION TEXTURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :argh!: :argh!: :argh!: :argh!:
But I am not happy with how the textures are rendering in game, so I maked a grid texture to figure out how it is mapping.
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-10_00017.jpg)
Coyote, talentless hack.
Now you're getting into the mechanics of UV unwrapping and material creation. Nice.
Quote from: Telarus on February 11, 2012, 07:58:50 AM
Quote from: Pope Coyote of the Wolffnords on February 10, 2012, 11:37:55 PM
CURSE YOU BLIZZARD FOR USING LOW RESOLUTION TEXTURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :argh!: :argh!: :argh!: :argh!:
But I am not happy with how the textures are rendering in game, so I maked a grid texture to figure out how it is mapping.
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-10_00017.jpg)
Coyote, talentless hack.
Now you're getting into the mechanics of UV unwrapping and material creation. Nice.
Funny thing, is I can use the Skyrim model viewer to export the UV maps and use those, but ultimately I will have to use Blender or another 3d modeling program to make my own UV maps, even if I persist in using Blizzard's models. I suspect my problems are combination of lower resolutions, which makes no sense as both Blender and Nifskope do not display the same rendering errors, and the way Blizzard has things mapped, in several cases there is on section of the map used to skin 4-9 individual bits of geometry.
EXAMPLES
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/Sword_2H_Sunwell_D_01.png)
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/sword_2h_deathknight_b_01.png)
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/dwarvengreatsword.png)
Quote from: Nigel on February 11, 2012, 02:20:37 AM
Quote from: Pope Coyote of the Wolffnords on February 11, 2012, 02:05:43 AM
Quote from: Nigel on February 11, 2012, 02:01:25 AM
Now you just need cheese plate mail.
And a tomato shield?
:lulz: Hell yes.
A BLT WARRIOR!!!
QuoteI maked a grid texture to figure out how it is mapping.
Yes it's a hack, but no I wouldn't call it "talentless", it's in fact pretty damn clever.
From your examples, I kind of get the idea that there could be a tool missing in the chain, I can't imagine they'd have a gfx artist bend their imagery around all those corners, when a computer algorithm could do that as well, given a slightly higher resolution version of the texture (which would be what the gfx artist is working on anyway--see how P3NT's originals are also 4x display size)
Quote from: Triple Zero on February 11, 2012, 10:01:54 AM
Quote from: Nigel on February 11, 2012, 02:20:37 AM
Quote from: Pope Coyote of the Wolffnords on February 11, 2012, 02:05:43 AM
Quote from: Nigel on February 11, 2012, 02:01:25 AM
Now you just need cheese plate mail.
And a tomato shield?
:lulz: Hell yes.
A BLT WARRIOR!!!
:lulz: GODDAMMIT NOW I WILL HAVE TO START DOING THAT INSTEAD OF SERIOUS STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :argh!: :argh!:
:lulz:
That is one of the things I am loving about Skyrim and modding. I, or anyone can just do silly stuff, like the retro 8-bit mod I had installed.
Quote from: Triple Zero on February 11, 2012, 10:01:54 AM
QuoteI maked a grid texture to figure out how it is mapping.
Yes it's a hack, but no I wouldn't call it "talentless", it's in fact pretty damn clever.
From your examples, I kind of get the idea that there could be a tool missing in the chain, I can't imagine they'd have a gfx artist bend their imagery around all those corners, when a computer algorithm could do that as well, given a slightly higher resolution version of the texture (which would be what the gfx artist is working on anyway--see how P3NT's originals are also 4x display size)
The orginal textures for the X shield is 128X64 :lulz:, but it also a shield from when WoW first came out; whereas that mug has 512x512 texture. The real reason I tossed up the grid texture was because it is 1024x1024, and has a recognizable pattern. I suspect with the older models and textures it's just the resolution, so I will end up having to make my own higher res textures to save my sanity.
Ok. Secrets time. Yeah. Blizzard is using some pretty heavy trickery (multiple pieces of the model using the same UV/texture space). This is "last gen" thinking as hardware has gotten a lot better since WoW came out, and they target the middle of the market (or a technique for use on props in the scene that won't get interacted with much). Anyway, onward.
Most 3d modeling packages will have UV tools, but there are some good free stand-alone alternatives.
Roadkill UV Layout will get you used to the basics of such programs (and it's free!): http://www.pullin-shapes.co.uk/page8.htm
Headus UV is a step up from that in complexity & functionality, with licensees ranging from $100-300 (although you can get a good trail run on the free version).
There are a few others I'm forgetting. These are specialized viewers, not modelers. You can't change the Model Vertices, but you can manipulate UV layouts. Cut seems on your model in 3d space, and the program will attempt to flatten each "island" and lay it out in the 2d canvas according to some rules (pack tightly, or keep relative sale, that sort of thing)...
Coyote has stumbled on one of the keys of UV layout (a grid texture, used to visually see how much info-density a section of a model has.. this is used for various methods, the two most common being "make sure everything is in proportion to each other" by matching square sized, or when figuring out UV space for light and shadow maps (which don't have to be to scale.. the underside of a desk is nearly always going to be in shadow, so we scale that UV island way down to make room for detail elsewhere in the model)... and a few other techniques.
See if Roadkill will work for you to re-lay the UVs (you don't want overlapping UVs if you're painting a new texture). Then you would screenshot the new UV layout, and use this as a guide-layer to paint a new texture.
Have you gotten to Normal Maps yet? :evil:
Quote from: Telarus on February 11, 2012, 10:35:12 AM
Ok. Secrets time. Yeah. Blizzard is using some pretty heavy trickery (multiple pieces of the model using the same UV/texture space). This is "last gen" thinking as hardware has gotten a lot better since WoW came out, and they target the middle of the market (or a technique for use on props in the scene that won't get interacted with much). Anyway, onward.
I think the trickery is kinda clever, and some of the models in SKyrim use it to a degree. I mean, why bother texturing both sides of a blade, when you can have it use the same map for both sides, as it could allow to you put more detail at a given amount of resolution. Buuuuuuuut, I think the extent that Blizz does it, or did it, as I have only been looking at textures from the original game and the first expansion mostly, is what is causing the issues, maybe.
Quote
Most 3d modeling packages will have UV tools, but there are some good free stand-alone alternatives.
Roadkill UV Layout will get you used to the basics of such programs (and it's free!): http://www.pullin-shapes.co.uk/page8.htm
Headus UV is a step up from that in complexity & functionality, with licensees ranging from $100-300 (although you can get a good trail run on the free version).
There are a few others I'm forgetting. These are specialized viewers, not modelers. You can't change the Model Vertices, but you can manipulate UV layouts. Cut seems on your model in 3d space, and the program will attempt to flatten each "island" and lay it out in the 2d canvas according to some rules (pack tightly, or keep relative sale, that sort of thing)...
Coyote has stumbled on one of the keys of UV layout (a grid texture, used to visually see how much info-density a section of a model has.. this is used for various methods, the two most common being "make sure everything is in proportion to each other" by matching square sized, or when figuring out UV space for light and shadow maps (which don't have to be to scale.. the underside of a desk is nearly always going to be in shadow, so we scale that UV island way down to make room for detail elsewhere in the model)... and a few other techniques.
See if Roadkill will work for you to re-lay the UVs (you don't want overlapping UVs if you're painting a new texture). Then you would screenshot the new UV layout, and use this as a guide-layer to paint a new texture.
Thanks, I'll try them out in the next few days.
Quote
Have you gotten to Normal Maps yet? :evil:
OH GODS!!! YES AND I FUCKING :argh!: :argh!: :argh!:
Normal mapping actually fixed the majority of the errors in my big ass gem hammer.
Went from this
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-05_00028.jpg)
To this.
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-08_00068.jpg)
by creating my own normal map, which Blizz was kind enough to not have.
And on another weapon. Which is what I do when I get tired of banging my head on something.
But I am getting the same kind of issues, also I am not sure but I think it might be mirroring the light striking one side on both sides.
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-10_00027.jpg)
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-10_00029.jpg)
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-10_00030.jpg)
Now you've found the reason we don't overlap UVs much. Lighting UV space cannot overlap or it fucks your lighting. Sometimes, a model will have separate UV channels for the Texture and the Lighting UVs.. I haven't dug into SKyrim's engine quite yet so I'm not sure how they have it setup.
Quote from: Telarus on February 12, 2012, 04:37:37 AM
Now you've found the reason we don't overlap UVs much. Lighting UV space cannot overlap or it fucks your lighting. Sometimes, a model will have separate UV channels for the Texture and the Lighting UVs.. I haven't dug into SKyrim's engine quite yet so I'm not sure how they have it setup.
Let me se if I get this straight. Duplicating the UV maps might be part of the problem? Delving into this modeling and texture stuff for s/g is making me want to take some classes on this, while still staggering around half-blind.
Quote from: Pope Coyote of the Wolffnords on February 12, 2012, 04:26:32 AM
but I think it might be mirroring the light striking one side on both sides.
That's what I was referencing. If the lighting-channel UVs (the engine combines a texture layer with a lighting layer to make a material) have islands that overlap each other (as it seems the WoW models often do) then you'll get that effect, where the light hitting one side also brightens the other side, because back in the 2d lighting channel, both mesh pieces are sitting "on top of each other" in UV space (overlap).
The problem is that the new engine is probably using the texture UV space for both texture layer and lighting layer. To fix this, you'd setup a new "UV channel" in a modeling program (textures are usually "Channel 0", lighting usually "Channel 1").
So in Channel 0, you can have overlapping UVs (as you want the same texture on both sides). In Channel 1 (lighting), you want NO Overlap.
Then, in the game, you can tell the engine which Channel to use for which.
This video is for Maya, but gets the idea across: www.digitaltutors.com/11/training.php?vid=959
SO MUCH RAGE!!!!!!!!
I am now convinced that me getting two of the imported models to look nice was a fluke. I am sure it has something to do with normal maps I made, but at the same I think it is linked to their UV maps. I want to stab blender for not working the way I think it should, even when I follow tutorials. I want to kill for a GOOD CAD program. I don't want any of these 3d modeling programs.
Changing gears from importing weapons to importing armor, which will get even more annoying as WoW armor is mostly just textures painted over the bodies.
However
HELMET FAIL!!!!!
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-19_00001.jpg)
As you can see I added a helmet, but...the head is gone.
And then I moved the helmet up to where it is visible, but still no head.
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-19_00009.jpg)
Something is missing telling Skyrim to render a head in the empty space and to mate the helmet to the body for movement. Jumping up and down doesn't move the helmet.
I might have figured out something.
Bear with me while I show an evolution of an idea.
No normal map
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-19_00010.jpg)
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-19_00011.jpg)
Now with normal maps. Watch as I slowly clean up the pixelation.
The high shine is due to no alpha being set. I left it like that just to quickly run through an idea.
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-19_00012.jpg)
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-19_00013.jpg)
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-19_00014.jpg)
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-19_00015.jpg)
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-19_00016.jpg)
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-19_00017.jpg)
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-19_00018.jpg)
And this is where I stopped. I still need to make a environment mask map, but it seems a lot cleaner now.
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-19_00019.jpg)
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-19_00020.jpg)
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-19_00021.jpg)
Basically I blew up the diffuse map from 128x128 to 1024x1024 and painted most of the large colored areas with the same shade of red or black, then generated a new higher resolution normal map.
And back to the Bulwark of Azzinoth AKA Big Ass Spiky Shield
It still has some lingering issues, but much improved.
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-19_00025.jpg)
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-19_00026.jpg)
Rimefang's Claw
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-20_00025.jpg)
And who doesn't want to hit things with a blade made of lava?
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-24_00014.jpg)
IT GLOWS!!!!!
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-26_00001.jpg)
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-26_00008.jpg)
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-02-26_00010.jpg)
The orange bleed between the edge and the lava is due to the weird way I had to port in the meshes. It is in fact three meshes. Two for the lava, both glow but one has a pulsing glow and the other a steady glow, and one for the edges. The UV mapping didn't originally follow how the polygons were arranged in the mesh properly so I am tweaking them slowly.
For my next trick I am thinking of adding particle effects to it, or maybe a flowing lava effect. The particle effect I know can be done; not sure about the animation.
And now some fun with glow maps.
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-03-02_00006.jpg)
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-03-03_00001.jpg)
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/2012-03-03_00003.jpg)
My GF said this, "Do you think you have a big enough axe?" :lulz:
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/Shadowmourne/2012-03-03_00020.jpg)
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/Shadowmourne/2012-03-03_00023.jpg)
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/Shadowmourne/2012-03-03_00014.jpg)
Mmmm, nice emmisives. The green might be a bit overblown, tho...
Quote from: Telarus on March 04, 2012, 07:34:32 AM
Mmmm, nice emmisives. The green might be a bit overblown, tho...
It's weird, in most cases it's not as overblown. The glow is rather inconsistent on some of them. Like the highlights on the axe, Shadowmourne, in some places it looks washed out and grey, but in most it is vibrant blue.
And two ugly vanilla wow models that were requested.
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/ZinRohk/2012-03-04_00020.jpg)
(http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg586/Don_Quixotic/GrandMarshal%20Claymore/2012-03-04_00010.jpg)