Request: Better lava

[Bikerdude]

Evening

 

Im looking for a better version of lava than we currently have, atm it just move like a river and have a nice coloured smoke effect. But I would like staick lava with bubbling/erupting effects iff possble. I've spent the evening looking online for fan made D3 maps with the relevent texture/s and particle to no avail and only found one link from that prolific IDT4 artist, Kat from kats bits -

 

- http://www.katsbits.com/download/textures/kats-lumpy-lava.php

 

So can anyone direct me to some links with maps etc or a tut on how to create better lava.

 

many thanks.

[nbohr1more]

This is a similar request as for making better water. It's simply artist intensive.

 

You need:

 

1) A diffuse texture for non-glow portions

2) Specular for shine

3) Bump

4) An "emmisive" texture (blend add) for the glow

 

Example from Doom 3 (does not have diffuse):

 

textures/hell/lava21hell_hub
{
  qer_editorimage      textures/hell/lava1movenoshadow.tga
   noSelfShadow
      noshadows


  {
     blend       bumpmap
     map          textures/hell/hhlava_local.tga
     translate   time * 0 , time * -0.02
     scale .35, .35
  }
  {
     blend       specularmap
     map      textures/hell/hhlava_s.tga
     translate   time * 0 , time * -0.02
     scale .35, .35
  }   
  {

     blend add
     map textures/hell/hhlava_fx.tga
     //rgb      fireballtable[ time * .5 ]
     translate   time * 0 , time * -0.02
     scale .35, .35
  }



}

 

The problem is, making all this look good takes a pretty crack animator and modeler in Blender or someone

very clever at taking video sources (frames) and turning them into textures, normal maps, etc.

 

Rich_is_Bored actually did something similar for the former when we were discussing water...

 

After sitting on this awhile, you could basically:

 

1) Find a decent video for a top down view of some lava

2) Capture frames from the video and save them as images

3) Use your favorite bump tool to extract a normal map from each image

4) separate out the glowing portion and make your emissive textures with those

 

Then take this whole mess and use either make long "filmstrip" textures you can scroll to animate

or make individual frames and use a table and timer to flip each frame...

 

Phew...

 

One even easier way would be to use the video itself (converted to roq) as a texture using videomap:

 

video/example_lava
{
  translucent
  {
      videoMap loop "video/lava_video.roq"
      linear
  }
}

 

The downside will be that the lava won't have depth unless you have a normal map (or animated normal map).

[rich_is_bored]

You can do some pretty amazing things with shaders now days.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCYM_h3OEno

 

But since TDM isn't up to that you'll have to fake it as best as you can.

 

A model with intentionally distorted UV coordinates and some subtle texture scrolling/oscillation could work. Vertex colors or blending might help too. But Id Tech 4 is a fickle bitch that refuses to do what she's told. She doesn't like image sequences or ROQ movies being fed in as normal maps.

[Obsttorte]

I would use the heathaze.vfp shader program. It is used for creating distortion (like with hot air). I think some of the glass shaders uses this. Using ambient lights of different reddish color on top of the lava may also provide improvement.

[RJFerret]

I used heathaze, and also didn't just put the existing lava texture on a flat surface, but a couple curved, so at least it appears to be coming up from a spot and "flowing" outward. A crackling sound and red lights completed the effect.

[Bikerdude]

Ok, I can use the heathaze effect. whats an example line of text and how would I apply that to the existing lava texture..?

[Obsttorte]

It works like the TDM enhanced ambient thingie, but the program name is heathaze.vfp IIRC.