Judith on 23/11/2018 at 07:13
Actually, ingame version looks better than the photo :) Did you make a medium-poly version of the frame? Frame texture could benefit from some baked details to give it more depth.
gamophyte on 23/11/2018 at 07:49
So, I actually did every single detail - as far as the polys. But the PHONG shader smoothed it out depending on where the torch is, but straight on as you see it looks nice. I agree about the frame but, it is dromed, and so the rest of the level is in similar non baked theme. For what it is, it will be so dark with moon light contrast, people will forget missing detail in textures. Plus flooding the place with greenery. If it was Darkmod, I would def bake that frame..
But all aside, thanks for commenting. It means a lot.
Edit: Oh I should mention, there will be a "grunging" of everything later in dev. So if I find that 1024x1024 is too uniform, it will be 2048 more unique, later on. At least those places that show. However, this painting may not change per something I can't tell yall yet.
Judith on 23/11/2018 at 09:06
Yeah, normals and speculars is what makes the difference in TDM, although even simpler diffuse-based workflow can benefit from baking AO from mid-poly models. E.g. this is how my window and door frames look like with diffuse texture only:
(
https://postimg.cc/6yHvJg0k)
Inline Image:
https://i.postimg.cc/6yHvJg0k/obraz.pngThe biggest problem is that it takes much time to do this, so spending that time on level design might be a better idea.
gamophyte on 23/11/2018 at 10:30
Very pretty room Judith.
gamophyte on 25/11/2018 at 10:51
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/WBe5jdF.pngNot a spectacular update visually but, I burned a day working on small facade details and how they relate to the overall WIP uniformity of the build. Mostly in deciding how to strike a median between emulated and realistic, anchored to my skill and the engine's capability. I finally rested on a format, that can be applied to all exterior sides, so I don't have to think about it too much. Just, go...
I reworked some large brushes as well, as hashing out details, revealed that some areas needed to be changed. I ended up going with a more gungy exterior texture, now free from copying the IRL chateau. But really all textures at this early stage are likely to change later during the "weathering" stage.
Outside of building, I've been corresponding with Phantom this whole time, going over several AIs to be featured in the mission. He will be helping me bring them to life, but asked him to take his time as I want to show more promising progresses before he puts major work into meshes. For the meshes we've got so far though, I'm super excited. I may have to at least show one in a early screen of the interior.
Hope my writing made sense, I'm super tired and foggy brained. Heading to bed.
Judith on 25/11/2018 at 14:43
Not sure if I understood correctly, but texture for the wall details isn't done yet, right? Because right now they're almost indistinguishable from the wall texture. IMO you'll need some other material here, as it all looks too uniform, and all the work you put into those details is hardly visible.
gamophyte on 25/11/2018 at 18:09
Correct, the weathering make the whole place more distinct. Also the alternate textures overall. The light will not be like this either, so these details are mostly for those happening to pass them face to face on a rope arrow, or for those time where the moonlight casts a shadow from them. The point is that they are established and ready to emulate on all faces, and represent what you find on the real deal. Even on the face we're looking at it's not done.
Inline Image:
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3737/10652520743_df2409ac43_o.jpgIf I already wanted a better screenshot, I just angle the hack-light and turn up the brick material texture size to be less busy, and it's already looking better.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/70774g9.pngI will have to be careful of running out of cells, and objects, so this is the standard I came up with.
Judith on 25/11/2018 at 19:43
IMO copying materials 1:1 will be a bit boring. It might be realistic, but in terms of game environment, using one texture for all the elements will impact their readability. You can change the material to something like light stucco, as long as it looks interesting.
gamophyte on 25/11/2018 at 21:37
I mean you're speaking to the choir here. The sides of the window are not going to change much, they are brushes so, I want to take advantage of brick alignment. Most of all else will be weathered and look very stucco. Not to leave out, I will be opening up old object files and "breaking" them and reimporting. There will be blotchy worn areas and green grime. My initial post was saying exactly that it will be uniform as a placeholder, and was little about texturing or texture differentiation.
It was finding the level of detail in objects/elements necessary for interesting architecture, but still within this engine, that is also not going to tax me later. Textures will be reworked a lot. If fact I have to watch that I don't overly contrast the elements to their wall/setting. Keep in mind if you sub to this, you are going to see a lot of unfinished stuff, but I do heed the warnings.
vfig on 26/11/2018 at 00:13
Don't have anything to say on the technical side of this, but the latest screenshots are stunning! Lovely work!