[Static] East Timor static / hut

[lucky.BOY]

Hello,
In response to these treads, i have started to work on a hut static.

https://www.realitymod.com/forum/f388-p ... timor.html
https://www.realitymod.com/forum/f388-p ... atics.html

I am however trying to make it generic, so it can be used in multiple theatres.

This is my refence:


What I have so far:




269 tris so far.

Questions:
I would like to make walls from one plane instead of two planes, right now they have thickness, which i want to get rid of (except for the entrance) to save up on tris. Sloud I do this? If yes, how do I do this? I dont quite understand how do I make a 2 sided poly, and how can i convert a 2 sided poly into a 1 sided poly...

EDIT: Also, as of now the model has 18 sides, and is about 3 meters across. Are 18 sides enough? Too many? Too few?

[Rhino]

Looks like an ok start but really could do with some more, bigger edged face shots and also wire shots. This should help: https://www.realitymod.com/forum/f388-p ... ssets.html

The main thing you should be concerned about right now before you start modelling is textures. Currently there are no textures like that in the mod iirc and you should probably be looking into make a few new texture palettes since with statics, you really need the textures before you model as you model to the textures, rather than texture to the model.

I would like to make walls from one plane instead of two planes, right now they have thickness, which i want to get rid of (except for the entrance) to save up on tris. Sloud I do this? If yes, how do I do this? I dont quite understand how do I make a 2 sided poly, and how can i convert a 2 sided poly into a 1 sided poly...

To start off with, you can't have a double sided face in BF2 (other than when working with overgrowth). As such you should setup Max to view models in the same way you will see them ingame, by turning the Backface Cull on:

[quote=""'[R-DEV"]Rhino;1686321']]First of all, when modelling for BF2 always have backface cull on, as this will render faces the same way BF2 dose, ie, if there is no face there it wont show it, where when you have it off it will add faces on to the back side of a face, making it look like there is a face in some places where there is simply no face. to do this simply select the object(s) and go into there object properties and check the box shown below.


Also you go to Customize at the top, > Preferences > Viewports tab, then check the Box in the top right section "Backface cull on object creation" will then make all new boxes etc you create have this option by default

[/quote]

So all in all, no you shouldn't get rid of the thickness, which even if you did would look much less realistic having a wall without any thickness to it.


[quote="lucky.BOY""]EDIT: Also, as of now the model has 18 sides, and is about 3 meters across. Are 18 sides enough? Too many? Too few?[/quote]

Looks about right, possibly a few more edges for lod0 wouldn't hurt but not really necessary, you just need to smooth it.

[lucky.BOY]

Update
- added sides, it has now 21 sides
- added detail to the edge of the roof
- decreased edge count on the bottom of the foundation to save tris
- applied noise to the roof edge
- improved smoothing

The model seems pretty much final to me, but it probably isn't

345 tris at the moment

Images:

[sylent/shooter]

I would try adding the supports that go around the circumference of the cylinder (little wire belts) It might make it to high tri count though. But worth a shot...

[lucky.BOY]

I would try adding the supports that go around the circumference of the cylinder (little wire belts) It might make it to high tri count though. But worth a shot...

Yeah, thought about that, I dont think its worth the tris it would add. They will be textured in, and they dont really stand out on the siloutte of the thing.

Also, thanks Rhino for all that info, its really usefull. Right know im trying to figure out the texturing tutorial, and then ill try to make some new texture palletes, hopefully.

-lucky

[lucky.BOY]

I've been working on textures in the last days, and im getting pretty close to having them all ready. However, I have some questions on texture palettes:


- detail textures. They are transparent, but how exactly? Shoud it be transparent whole by one exact percentage, or should the transparency vary trought the texture?

- manual editing of normal maps. Isnt there any tut or anything on how to effectively edit normal maps, or is it all trial end error?

- texture palette layout. Where should i look for well made texture palettes, and what layouts should i avoid?

- This is more about actual model texturing - where can i find good dirt texture palettes, i mean those that contain actual dirt textures?


-lucky

[lucky.BOY]

Bumping this, because im now totally out of ideas on detail maps. I really have no clue on how to add transparency to detail map, i.e. what should i do with tileable texture to make it a detail map. Isnt there any tut on making texture palettes for BF2?

Btw, ive got my color map put together:


still WIP

[Doc.Pock]

The Rhino wrote it

[AFsoccer]

Take a look at the bfeditor.org forums, esp this one for textures:
Official BF Editor Forums -> Texture Creation

It has topics about transparency, normal maps, shiny surfaces, etc.

[lucky.BOY]

Doc.Pock, i did that tut, i know about it, it teaches how to use of texture palettes, not how to make them. Thanks anyway . AFsoccer, thanks for the link, i digged deep in there and found some usefull info.

----

Im pretty happy with textures right now, except for one little thing - The crack layer is missing, when i view the model in bfeditor. I really dont know what can cause that. I can see it in the bfmeshviewer just fine. Any advice?




My texture palettes so far:

color, 1024x512


detail, 2048x512


crack, 1024x1024


a cracked soil detail texture, 512x512


I am also using houses_di.dds from pr/textures.

I'll post better pictures of the textured model (with normal maps) when i get the crack texture sorted out.

[lucky.BOY]

Update, I am now hopefully done with textures, only those bamboo bands that go around the sides have somehow messed up normals, as they are shaded upside down. Although that wont stop me from showing the rest of the thing:



Also, here are my normal maps:






Any criticsm is greatly apreciated.
-lucky

[Arnoldio]

This, with some texture tweaks here and there is also good for Africa and Vietnam.

[lucky.BOY]

LODs done!


(form left to right)
LOD0 - 343 tris
LOD1 - 245 tris
LOD2 - 104 tris
LOD3 - 18 tris

-now onto... COLs, is it?

-lucky

[LITOralis.nMd]

IF you snuck a few "long straws" from the vertical stem slats at the bottom of this image
http://i.imgur.com/N1bZb.jpg

on to the top of the rock image, as a visual trick breaking up the transition between the exterior vertical rock wall and exterior vertical slat wall, it would go a long way toward softening that harsh transition area.

[lucky.BOY]

LITOralis.nMd;1750886']IF you snuck a few "long straws" from the vertical stem slats at the bottom of this image
http://i.imgur.com/N1bZb.jpg

on to the top of the rock image, as a visual trick breaking up the transition between the exterior vertical rock wall and exterior vertical slat wall, it would go a long way toward softening that harsh transition area.

Better?


Mind you, you linked a detail texture, not a color texture, but the idea is briliant, i just dont know why i didnt think about it . Thank you.

EDIT: Damn, you mean something completely different! I will try to do that too, will see what i can do there. But you already inspired me to make my LOD3 better, thanks for that

[lucky.BOY]

I have some questions:

For my last LOD, LOD3, can/should I not use any crack texture? Cracks wont be visible at such distance, im wondering if its possible/needed to remove them.

About col3, I am wondering about this; the entrance is smaller that a standing man, so you have to crouch to be able to enter. I wonder if bots are able to crouch in order to get inside, so if i should model the inside on col3? If wouldnt need to, it would spare a fair amount of tris on col3.

-lucky

[Amok@ndy]

be careful with removing crack layer, if it changes the color its noticeable, if its just some posters hanging on the wall you can forget about this but having crack all over the building for some structur or sth like that you cant remove it without making it looks strange if the lods change

[sweedensniiperr]

couldn't you just make the entrance "transparent"?

[LITOralis.nMd]

Sorry if I wasn't clear in my prior message.

As you will see in the video below, the vertical walls of these huts are not usually made of very thin reeds, but of hand hewn plank wood of irregular size.

When they are close to ground, some planks will go in to ground, covering your rock foundation, and some will be several centimeters above the ground, leaving a dark void.

IF you do not plan to vertically stack your rock image, it would be good to create the reed's/timber's uneven transition on the top of the rock image.

I have seen a documentary on Irian Jaya, the island next to Timor, you will like it:

Cannibals and Crampons on Vimeo
Cannibals and Crampons

BBC

1x 60"

In the prototype for BBC Tribe, Bruce Parry and Mark Anstice walk for 77 days through the uncharted jungles of Irian Jaya, to attempt to climb a remote mountain. On the way, they stumble across a tribe of cannibals who have never seen outsiders before.

Winner at Banff Mountain Film Festival, Kendall Mountain Film Festival, the Australian Mountain Film Festival

[Psyrus]

For my last LOD, LOD3, can/should I not use any crack texture? Cracks wont be visible at such distance, im wondering if its possible/needed to remove them

IMO the easiest way to find out is just to do 2 test exports, view them both at a distance and see if it makes any significant difference...