Character Design to In Game Character
by Kevin Mitchell · in Artist Corner · 10/24/2012 (8:56 pm) · 11 replies
Trying to find some method to get these into game ready. I know about texture baking, but my main issue is that when I get these maps they do not all translate into T3D as it would seem they should.
Is there any kind of detailed book or introduction to all of the art layers that is T3D's material layers and what they do exactly?
Thanks for your help.
Below are my current designs I am trying to get in game.
Thanks for you help in advanced.
Is there any kind of detailed book or introduction to all of the art layers that is T3D's material layers and what they do exactly?
Thanks for your help.
Below are my current designs I am trying to get in game.
Thanks for you help in advanced.
About the author
Riding Solo since 2005. Current Project: Fated World 2005-Present RPG Engine Tool Kit - Now available.
#2
10/25/2012 (1:18 pm)
How far have you got with getting them into T3D? Where exactly are you getting stuck?
#3
I perform texture baking in Max. I have the following map:
Base_WithUVDiffuseMap.png
Base_WithUVHeightMap.png
Base_WithUVLightingMap.png
Base_WithUVNormalsMap.png
Base_WithUVShadowsMap.png
Base_WithUVSpecularMap.png
I know where diffuse, Normal and specular maps go. And what they do.
As for the shadows,or height i have no idea where they are used.
With the editor, What type of map is a details map. Is this a height map with grey scale?
Detail Normal. Is this the same as the normal map?
Overlay map. How is it used.
Light Map. Is this needed when using advanced lighting?
Tone map. How is this used.
Env Map... For reflections?
10/25/2012 (4:29 pm)
My process is this. I perform texture baking in Max. I have the following map:
Base_WithUVDiffuseMap.png
Base_WithUVHeightMap.png
Base_WithUVLightingMap.png
Base_WithUVNormalsMap.png
Base_WithUVShadowsMap.png
Base_WithUVSpecularMap.png
I know where diffuse, Normal and specular maps go. And what they do.
As for the shadows,or height i have no idea where they are used.
With the editor, What type of map is a details map. Is this a height map with grey scale?
Detail Normal. Is this the same as the normal map?
Overlay map. How is it used.
Light Map. Is this needed when using advanced lighting?
Tone map. How is this used.
Env Map... For reflections?
#4
Remember also that colour is affected by light, colour and surface texture - light being sunlight. The torque engine has some good tools but I would suggest that you use the base three maps plus adjust to sunlight settings and the various subsets options of those 3 maps. Also use the little colour button next to the diffuse setting map as this can help you make adjustments without changing textures. Trial and error. I can't tell you how long I've been trying to get a good grey skin colour right given all the effectors of colour.
Keep things simple to start with as it will help as the more things you throw at the model the more things there are for the light to react with and change things up.
Will be interested to see these.in the engine. Post up a screenshot
10/26/2012 (1:31 am)
Ok, I think you need to honestly look at what you want to do and how you will use these models. Just becausr you have a bag of tools doesn't mean you need to.use them all for every task. Also think about texture memory and if you load up your characters with lots of heavy textures you'll grind thinks down. What texture sizes are you using. You know there are 4 texture layers too. For character work I would suggest just the diffuse, spec and normals should be good to get you going.Remember also that colour is affected by light, colour and surface texture - light being sunlight. The torque engine has some good tools but I would suggest that you use the base three maps plus adjust to sunlight settings and the various subsets options of those 3 maps. Also use the little colour button next to the diffuse setting map as this can help you make adjustments without changing textures. Trial and error. I can't tell you how long I've been trying to get a good grey skin colour right given all the effectors of colour.
Keep things simple to start with as it will help as the more things you throw at the model the more things there are for the light to react with and change things up.
Will be interested to see these.in the engine. Post up a screenshot
#5
Also I was planning on only using the base 3 i knew about already. My plan was to use a 2048 dds maps for these characters as they are main game characters and would get a lot of close up views so I wanted to make sure the quality would be seen. Basic NPC's would use a 1024 maps and I'm trying to make them all have shared maps. Which I do not know if they need to share a material.cs file or is sharing the same texture image would solve the issue.
I'm also interested in how some of the AAA game models look the way they do and what mapping layer techniques they use. I'm currently in the process of downloading some FFXIII character models that were extracted form the game some how. My goal is to examine the geometry techniques and see if there's a way to optimize the geometry and optimize the texture to get the look I want.
Another thing I'm looking into is if I can get effects like Reflective armor with in the same map. I know before that I used too many maps and map types on a single character that caused my draw calls to shoot it's self in the foot. So i'm trying to keep things as simple as possible while at the same time trying to get that AAA gaming look. Or at least something close.
I am only one guy tring to learn everything I can. I know I won't making anything perfect but I've been learning this stuff for years now and I at least know I can make things 20% cooler than I've done in the past.
10/26/2012 (4:30 am)
Well I do not plan on having something for every slot. But I just would like to know what they do and affect. If I shouldn't really worry about it I won't just I like to know about things more before I start using them. Also I was planning on only using the base 3 i knew about already. My plan was to use a 2048 dds maps for these characters as they are main game characters and would get a lot of close up views so I wanted to make sure the quality would be seen. Basic NPC's would use a 1024 maps and I'm trying to make them all have shared maps. Which I do not know if they need to share a material.cs file or is sharing the same texture image would solve the issue.
I'm also interested in how some of the AAA game models look the way they do and what mapping layer techniques they use. I'm currently in the process of downloading some FFXIII character models that were extracted form the game some how. My goal is to examine the geometry techniques and see if there's a way to optimize the geometry and optimize the texture to get the look I want.
Another thing I'm looking into is if I can get effects like Reflective armor with in the same map. I know before that I used too many maps and map types on a single character that caused my draw calls to shoot it's self in the foot. So i'm trying to keep things as simple as possible while at the same time trying to get that AAA gaming look. Or at least something close.
I am only one guy tring to learn everything I can. I know I won't making anything perfect but I've been learning this stuff for years now and I at least know I can make things 20% cooler than I've done in the past.
#6
10/26/2012 (4:47 am)
And then there is hair... I'm trying to find a simple easy way to get hair to work. 
#7
Quick question tho, are you trying to use daz/poser models ?
10/26/2012 (5:35 am)
Most game engines, if they have hair support use tessalation for it. That's what I have noticed.Quick question tho, are you trying to use daz/poser models ?
#8
The second is to use Alpha Treshold and setup an appropriate value for a good visual effect. Anyway the edges may not seem very nice and smooth, but this is an option...
I would not recommend using Transparency with "Lerp Alpha" because the most common case to make hair in video games is to use multiple well unwrapped planes (with hair texture) and you will have problems with the z sorting in T3D.
10/31/2012 (9:45 am)
For hair you have two options I think. The first one is a shader (which will cost performance and a lot of coding).The second is to use Alpha Treshold and setup an appropriate value for a good visual effect. Anyway the edges may not seem very nice and smooth, but this is an option...
I would not recommend using Transparency with "Lerp Alpha" because the most common case to make hair in video games is to use multiple well unwrapped planes (with hair texture) and you will have problems with the z sorting in T3D.
#9
10/31/2012 (10:44 am)
Might just make the whole mesh I need with out alphas. Then use optimize to lower the poly count...
#10
10/31/2012 (10:46 am)
The low poly might not have to 100% match the high poly model to get the same results...
#11
10/31/2012 (12:13 pm)
you can achieve a high poly look even if you optimize the mesh. Your goal should be around 6k - 8k polygons to save the high poly look. If this is still too heavy for your in-game scene you might need to go under 5k and make a compromise with some parts of the body... 
Torque Owner Lukas Joergensen
WinterLeaf Entertainment