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Dunedain19

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As I am planning on creating and using my own models and textures for my upcoming WIP, I have decided to follow in the footsteps of Bikerdude and Springheel and create my own thread.

 

I have been busy working my way through the Textures Wiki (http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Textures), specifically the Basic Tutorial on creating Textures (http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Texture_Creation_-_Basic_Tutorial).

 

Immediately, I need to draw attention to the fact that the 'GIMP texturize' plugin can no longer be downloaded; moreover, its use is equally not well defined. Furthermore, the wiki could really use some updating and clearer instructions for someone who has never used GIMP/Photoshop before - it is a basic tutorial after all.

 

At present, I have created diffuse, normal and specular maps for a texture. They are all different layers of the same .xcf file. I have selected each layer and exported it as the appropriate .tga file. However, my attempts to locate ATI's "The Compressonator" application version 1.21.1044, have been unsuccessful - is it still required and if so, how do I go about converting the required .tgas to .dds?

 

Also, where do I find the 'materials' file? The way the wiki is written, all these file locations are readily accessible (i.e. already extracted from their .pk4 libraries); which is very confusing and raises the important question - do I have to re-bundle all the now-extracted wood textures into a .pk4 to ensure that my addition will be seen by DarkRadiant?

 

If somehow could please assist me in creating textures, I would be very much obliged.

 

By the way, below you can see the texture that I'm working on:

 

post-8592-0-34248300-1423672525.jpg

Edited by Dunedain19
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Here's the correct version:

 

http://www.katsbits.com/files/Compressonator_for_DOOM3.zip

 

Here is where I found it:

 

http://www.katsbits.com/tutorials/textures/making-dds-using-ati-compressonator.php

 

we do not yet compress normal maps so only compress the diffuse.

 

You we also suggest that if you auto-generated the normal map that you tweak it in njob:

 

http://charles.hollemeersch.net/njob

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Please visit TDM's IndieDB site and help promote the mod:

 

http://www.indiedb.com/mods/the-dark-mod

 

(Yeah, shameless promotion... but traffic is traffic folks...)

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Also, where do I find the 'materials' file?

 

 

If you're making your own textures, you should make your own material file. Just create a folder in your darkmod folder called "materials", and save your file with a .mtr extension.

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Ok i'll try to give a easy breakdown on how to input your own custom textures

 

Lets say you have a texture called persiancarpet1

 

Step 1) Place persiancarpet1.tga (the regular texture) and persiancarpet1_local.tga (the normal map texture) into a folder in your fm folder called "**baseFMdirectory**/textures/carpet/"

 

Step 2) Create a material file called mapname.mtr so for example my current project (the accountant 2) is called ac2.map so the material file is called "ac2.mtr" and place that in "**baseFMdirectory**/materials/"

 

Step 3) Inside that material file place the following. I have bolded the parts which you will need to change per material

 

textures/carpet/persiancarpet1
{
// Use on of the predefined surface types like:
// none, metal, stone, flesh, glass, wood
stone
// Or use "surftype15" and add the surface type as the first (or only) word of the description,
// the following are possible:
// tile, carpet, dirt, gravle, grass, rock, twigs, foliage, sand, mud, brokeglass, snow, ice, squeakboard,
// puddle, moss, cloth, ceramic, slate, straw, armor_leath, armor_chain, armor_plate, climbable, paper, hardwood
surftype15
description "carpet This is a carpet texture."
qer_editorimage textures/carpet/persiancarpet1
bumpmap textures/carpet/persiancarpet1_local
diffusemap textures/carpet/persiancarpet1
// This is the code required for frob highlighting this texture
{
if ( parm11 > 0 )
blend gl_dst_color, gl_one
map _white.tga
rgb 0.40 * parm11
}
{
if ( parm11 > 0 )
blend add
map textures/carpet/persiancarpet1
rgb 0.15 * parm11
}
// TDM Ambient Method Related
{
if (global5 == 1)
blend add
map textures/carpet/persiancarpet1
scale 1, 1
red global2
green global3
blue global4
}
{
if (global5 == 2)
blend add
program ambientEnvironment.vfp
vertexParm 0 1, 1, 1, 1 // UV Scales for Diffuse and Bump
vertexParm 1 1, 1, 1, 1 // (X,Y) UV Scale for specular
vertexParm 2 global2, global3, global4, 1
fragmentMap 0 cubeMap env/gen1
fragmentMap 1 textures/carpet/persiancarpet1_local // Bump
fragmentMap 2 textures/carpet/persiancarpet1
// Diffuse
fragmentMap 3 _black // Specular
}
}
Edited by Goldwell
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@Goldwell

 

Thanks for the above!

 

And the .dds file, where does that go?

 

Silly question, but...if I go about creating a dedicated FM folder for my map, how will DR see these textures? When I have extracted other FMs, DR always renders their unique textures as the blue-and-black "no shader."

Edited by Dunedain19
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Silly question, but...if I go about creating a dedicated FM folder for my map, how will DR see these textures? When I have extracted other FMs, DR always renders their unique textures as the blue-and-black "no shader."

You tell it what FM folder you are working on under Edit > Preferences > Game > Mod (fs_game), and paste in the full path to the FM folder e.g. c:/games/darkmod/fms/mymission

 

I don't know about the .dds file... those are always a mystery to me

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Thanks, SteveL. I'm going try see if I can get the texture in the mission now.

 

Update:

 

Have followed the above instructions, and unfortunately, I am not having any luck.

 

The texture is simply not appearing in DR. There is a folder in 'Other materials" where a folder entitled "wood_planks_clean" does exist - but opening it sees endless drop folders with no texture in sight.

 

:mellow:

Edited by Dunedain19
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Thanks, Springheel and nbohr1more.

 

What about compressing the specular map? I've seen that some textures have and others don't? Will it make a difference if I leave it as a .tga?

Converting to .dds is not necessary, it just saves space. I wouldn't worry about it until you start thinking about packaging your mission.
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Can you upload the folders containing texture and material here. Also, do the images you use for diffuse and bumpmap have height and weight that are powers of two?

 

Do you get any console warnings when attempting to run a mission using this texture (this sometimes helps, for example if there is a typo in the material file)?

FM's: Builder Roads, Old Habits, Old Habits Rebuild

Mapping and Scripting: Apples and Peaches

Sculptris Models and Tutorials: Obsttortes Models

My wiki articles: Obstipedia

Texture Blending in DR: DR ASE Blend Exporter

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Sure thing, Obsttorte. They're hi-res, so I'll put them on MediaFire and link from here. They're all 1024x1024 - I assume this is fine?

 

No console warnings because I have not been able to even access them in DR and apply them to a surface.

 

Edit:

 

Link to folder containing a created texture (not the one in post #1) and the material file is below:

 

https://www.mediafire.com/folder/ze6s4odn1fajx/TDM_Materials

Edited by Dunedain19
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Fixed.

 

A couple of things:

  • If you upload several files pack them please.
  • The material file format was screwed up. I fiyed it and now it works. This can happen with some text editors.
  • In your material file you refered to a file ended with _clean. Such a file doesn't exist.
  • Material files go into materials folder, the images must be placed in the folders as referred to in the material.

Here is the fixed setup: http://www.mediafire.com/download/iws2u029fw38q14/dunedain.zip

FM's: Builder Roads, Old Habits, Old Habits Rebuild

Mapping and Scripting: Apples and Peaches

Sculptris Models and Tutorials: Obsttortes Models

My wiki articles: Obstipedia

Texture Blending in DR: DR ASE Blend Exporter

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Furthermore, the wiki could really use some updating and clearer instructions for someone who has never used GIMP/Photoshop before - it is a basic tutorial after all.

Well the authors (myself included) have already put a lot of work into those tutorials as they are and we don't have personel for Wiki managing (sorry?). Also, someone who has never used GIMP or Photoshop before could just go ahead and search the web for basic Photoshop or GIMP tutorials, now how about that? :D But well, I guess you're right. A basic tutorial should start with instructions on how to start the computer and use mouse and keyboard (and Google). :-P
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Thanks for your help, Obsttorte - I will remember to zip the files in the future. The 'clean' is an old reference to the first texture I was working on - can't believe I missed that!

 

The little room you made in the map that was packed in the zip, did you texture that with my texture? Because when I put all those respective files in place of my own ones, DR just showed the blue/black 'shader not found' texture when viewing it in Texture Mode.

 

I then put the texture inside the actual tdm_textures_wood01.pk4 archive and miraculously, it appeared while in the engine and I was able to apply it; however, when I switched to Lighting Mode (F3), the blue/black 'shader not found' texture. Also, when running TDM, the wall where I applied the shader reverted to the previous texture.

 

@STiFU

 

What do you think I did as soon as I started working with GIMP? I looked for tutorials on creating and working with textures, your baseless assumption that I did not is frankly uncalled for. That first post was not written five seconds after glancing at the Wiki tutorials on texturing, but rather after four hours of working through every single one, tracking down textures, learning the basics of GIMP, etc.

 

I've already volunteered my service to help improving/updating the Wiki (in another thread), so you have someone ready, willing and able to assist in that regard. I could explain in detail about how the "Texture" tutorials could be improved, but your sarcastic closing remark has put me off doing so at the moment.

 

There are parts of the wiki that need updating, STiFU - that's not a "newcomer" dismissing all the effort you and others have put into creating other tutorials. On the contrary, it's a "newcomer" saying that a specific wiki needs some TLC, particularly because the instructive elements and links on it are either outdated or could be clearer to assist those who are just starting out.

Edited by Dunedain19
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@Springheel: Of course. I've spent far too many hours trying to get these new textures to work. I still don't know what I'm doing wrong (apart from what Obs pointed out), but I'm seriously worn out on this endeavour, so I'm calling it a night.

 

Update:

 

Tried one last attempt, while I can see both my textures in DR and apply them (and view in both Texture and Lighting modes) - during dmap I'm now getting two "Couldn't load image..." errors (listing both new textures) and dmap is now also "detecting" a leak, which appears when the texture is applied to the entire brush. By contrast, when it is applied to just the player facing surface, I'm greeted by the black void (though the map now loads).

Edited by Dunedain19
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A texture that doesn't load can't seal against the void, so that will cause the leak. Best to texture a cube around your map with a default texture to keep it sealed, and then apply your custom textures to brushes inside that.

 

Where are you placing the textures? From your description, it sounds like you might have then in a folder structure that TDM doesn't recognize. If you're not packaging your custom files into a pk4, then you need to put them in the correct folders under the main darkmod folder. While you can point DR to a specific folder path, TDM needs things in default locations.

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I had followed Goldwell's steps above and so I created a folder for my map within the fms folder. Inside it I created "materials", "maps" and "textures" folders. I placed my textures and the .mtr file in their respective places. The problem I had then was that dmap wouldn't work. So I returned my .map file to the maps folders (under the main Dark Mod folder) so I could actually dmap.

 

I then tried bundling the textures into their own unique pk4 file - that didn't work, so I put them inside the tdm_textures_wood01.pk4 file, but I'm still having no joy.

 

If you could please show me how your Dark Mod file structure looks like, that would be immensely beneficial.

Edited by Dunedain19
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Other people may do it different, but I'd suggest this for now. Assuming "darkmod" is your main TDM folder, make the following folders:

 

darkmod/materials

 

This folder should contain your .mtr file, named whatever you want.

 

darkmod/textures/darkmod/map1

 

Put all your .tga files in this folder.

 

When you write your material shaders, call your textures:

 

textures/darkmod/map1/[name]. Make sure the textures point to the proper location of the .tga files. For example:

 

diffusemap textures/darkmod/map1/persiancarpet1

 

 

Leave your map file in the darkmod/maps folder for now, so you can dmap it.

 

Don't put anything in a pk4 file for now...you can worry about that when you get close to packaging your mission.

 

You shouldn't need to point DR to any specific location for darkmod/textures/map1 to show up in the media folder structure.

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I did not apply the texture to the walls. If I would have done that, you would see the image you refered to as qer_editorimage on them (that's what it is for ;) ).

 

Select the brushes, apply the texture and dmap. Than you'll see the texture ingame.

 

Btw.: If you want to use custom stuff in your fm, keep them in the folder structure like I've provided and pack them up in one pk4 (yyour fm pk4). Do not create seperate pk4's for all kind of stuff, this is unneccessary. In tdm we use several pk4's so the stuff can be easier found later on.

 

On regardence to the wiki tutorials. If you want to find out how the folder structure etc. is, you just have to take a look at the existing structures in the pk4's shipped with TDM.

 

The folder structure in your fm folder is as the one in the darkmod folder, for example:

def - this is where your entity definitions are placed
maps - place your map files etc. here
textures - place images here for usage in material files
materials - material file definitions
models - custom models go here
script - custom scriptobject files go here
particles - custom particles go here

and so one and so forth ...

It's pretty self-explanatory.

 

EDIT: To be able to install the mission so you can dmap it, you need the darkmod.txt file. Copy one from another fm and change the entries to your needs.

FM's: Builder Roads, Old Habits, Old Habits Rebuild

Mapping and Scripting: Apples and Peaches

Sculptris Models and Tutorials: Obsttortes Models

My wiki articles: Obstipedia

Texture Blending in DR: DR ASE Blend Exporter

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