Blender and STMR

@forces what will be the next tutorial, looking forward to it

last edited by wrangmog

that pretty much wraps all around blender basics what would you guys like to see see next?

@forces said in Blender and STMR:

that pretty much wraps all around blender basics what would you guys like to see see next?

If you could show us how to get the images out of blender and into a mod/XML that would be super helpful.

lol forgot about it sorry in the Image/UV editor windows click on the lower bar the "image" button and then "save as Image" i prefer to use tga for diffuse maps and jpg for specular (I make them with photoshop i dont use blender for SpecularMaps) and NormalMaps i save them as tga too then convert them to .dds dxt5 in photoshop

@forces said in Blender and STMR:

lol forgot about it sorry in the Image/UV editor windows click on the lower bar the "image" button and then "save as Image" i prefer to use tga for diffuse maps and jpg for specular (I make them with photoshop i dont use blender for SpecularMaps) and NormalMaps i save them as tga too then convert them to .dds dxt5 in photoshop

Man this texture stuff is complicated.☺
So the UV map/image created in Blender is used for the Diffuse image in the mesh .XML? Are the Specular and normal map images required for a mod? If so what's the best way to make them from the diffuse image and how do you assign each image type to the mesh object in the .XML file?

@justafordguy specular is a Black and White version of your diffuseMap (in fact not really needed i just use my diffuse as specular in the frame,wheels,plastic parts,chrome parts in all of my mods) i only use specular maps for the body pannels of the mod

and NormalMaps are special textures i use to create rough looks in parts (Like in rusted body pannels,wheel rubbers) other than that you don't need it

is not that complicated is just that i mixed some info in the last post

DiffuseMap="trucks/textureName__d_a.tga"
MeshParts="Doors,Hood,Box"
SpecularMap="trucks/textureName__s_d.jpg"
NormalMap="trucks/textureName__n_d.tga or dds"

last edited by Forces

@forces said in Blender and STMR:

@justafordguy specular is a Black and White version of your diffuseMap (in fact not really needed i just use my diffuse as specular in the frame,wheels,plastic parts,chrome parts in all of my mods) i only use specular maps for the body pannels of the mod

and NormalMaps are special textures i use to create rough looks in parts (Like in rusted body pannels,wheel rubbers) other than that you don't need it

is not that complicated is just that i mixed some info in the last post

DiffuseMap="trucks/textureName__d_a.tga"
MeshParts="Doors,Hood,Box"
SpecularMap="trucks/textureName__s_d.jpg"
NormalMap="trucks/textureName__n_d.tga or dds"

So can I assume it's the __d_a part of the filename that tells the game to look for UV information in the image file?
And like wise the __s_d for Spec info and __n_d part for Normal map info?

__d stands for diffuse
__s for specular
__n for normal
and _a alpha theyr're just ways for the game to proces the way to load them,
specular makes the game load the image in black and white to create reflections on the meshes

https://spintires.nl/proper-texture-extensions/

keep in mind this

  • albedo is now Diffuse
  • Texturename__s_d_uncmp this cant be used now
  • Texturename__n_d _uncmp this can't be used now
  • textures over 2K (4k,8k,16k) will get shrinked/compress to 2k
  • 3k doesnt exist neither 5k is 1K,2K,4K,8K,16K and so 16+16,32+32 and so

uncmp stands for uncompress this will make texture files take longer to load, i use it allot lately but my textures are 1K for everything and 2K for body pannels

last edited by Forces

@justafordguy Specular Maps are incredibly useful for adding texture and depth to a paint job. When I started to mess about with textures and all that, I didn't use to bother with them, but I learned that they can create a realistic material effects and add authentic light behaviour to a surface.

For example, if you make a truck with rust, dirt, mud or weathered paint work, you can make the muddy/weathered parts of the truck matte by editing the specular map so that those areas are dark greyish, and the parts where the paint is untouched, are more towards the white end of the spectrum. It also effects the way the vehicle looks when it is wet as well.

You can also use metal images to give your vehicle more detail and change the way light is reflected. The metal textures (do a google image search for seamless metal/steel textures) can also help to achieve a rough surface effect.

Wet and rough

If you zoom in to the above image, you can see that the front of the truck looks kinda rough and the light reflections appear to be only on the smoother parts of the surface. This is because of the way that I have used the specular map with a rough metal texture, making dark greys for the rough parts and lighter greys for the smooth parts.

damaged paint work

damaged and scratched

Again, if you zoom in on the above images you should be able see how the light reflects from the surfaces due to all the imperfections and weathering on the bull bars and the truck itself. This was all achieved with specular maps. The original texture for the bullbar was just a grey square which meant it looked like a smooth 3D rendered shape, once the weathered effect was applied to the specular map and the normal map, the bullbar looks like its seen some action, and ultimately a bit more 'real'. This was the same for the truck. To get the weathering to seem like its got depth, you can create a normal map from the specular map and then blend that with the normal map that was created for the truck. This will give the weathering effects more depth.

I wanted to make it look so that it has had a large part of the paint work scratched off on the door and the bonnet so I used the specular map to make the exposed metal shiny in comparison to the corroded paint work. For this I made sure that the metal parts where really light grey so that the light shines at its brightest on these parts.

From what I have gathered when creating specular maps, they use the same UV map as the diffuse texture, so if a truck you want to create a specular map for is just a grey square image, you can import your trucks diffuse map (using Photoshop or whatever) and start to create a specular map from that to ensure that the shiny parts are on the right part of the truck. To save processing power, you can make the specular map half the size of the diffuse map, but this will obviously reduce the quality of the effects, but its only really noticeable when zoomed really close in. If you make the specular map the same size as the diffuse map it can negatively effect performance of the game depending on how many other things are on screen at the same time or how big the other textures are.

The video below was where I learned most of the methods to make metal look like metal in-game using specular maps:

Youtube Video

I hope that helps in some way.

Thanks a ton Forces and Kingpin, This gives me something to work with. I can't wait to dig into this texturing some more.

@forces Very useful. I'm learning to use Substance Painter at the moment, but I still find Photoshop much easier to work with for the time being!

@kingpinn, Thank you very much for this video. That's something I didn't know about and will surely help to make things look better.

@tattoo no problem dude.. glad it will come in handy.

last edited by Kingpinn

I just remembered some more tricks that can be done texture wise:

Another thing that specular maps are good for is windows.. You can have a pretty simple grey square for the window diffuse texture, and then use the window texture that has all the dirt and smears or what ever for the specular layer, I find it gives a better look and is slightly easier to see out of!

To save on polys and time in general when creating models you can use normal maps to create an embossed logo or create raised areas of rust or just details in general, with minimal effect on performance and optimisation of the mod.

Here's a pic for demo:

Windows and normals

You should be able to see the rusted parts are bumpy and look like they are bubbling up underneath the paint. Also note the logo is indented into the door. I have painted this white on the diffuse texture, but this can be left out which will leave you with just the indentation on the model. Using the 'inner shadow' effect in photo shop's layer blending options can give a faux AO effect to give the texture more depth. The windows have the marks from the windscreen wipers, but they are not to prominent and kind of subtle. I made the parts that are dirty, dark grey to make them less shiny when reflecting light.

If you use Photoshop, you can use Nvidia's plugin which makes this whole process really easy:

https://developer.nvidia.com/nvidia-texture-tools-adobe-photoshop

Here is a video that explains how to use the Normal map tool in Photoshop:
Youtube Video

This video is how to create normal maps from diffuse maps (very useful)
Youtube Video

Tip:

When saving your .dds files, use these settings:

nVidia dds settings

last edited by Kingpinn

Dang there is a lot to this texture stuff, it's giving me a headache. 😛

@ Kingpin, That Kamaz looks Awesome. 😁

@justafordguy It's a lot to get your head round initially, but if you take it step by step, it all start to make sense and becomes easier the more you do it..

That Kamaz is by GolmanRS for spintires (https://www.worldofmods.com/spin-tires/cars/24486-kamaz-polar-v60.html), he hasn't converted it to Mudrunner officially yet, I did it myself, but needs to be done properly so would be good if he did. lol..I've changed the textures and the wheels as well as the tuning.

Well I worked on making UVs and images for one of my trucks last night. I got them in the game and working (they still look like crap but getting closer). Unfortunately just as I thought I had it figured out my MOD freaked out. Now the mesh for the main body of the truck is all out of wack. It has missing parts and odd angles jutting out the side. Any ideas what I could have done wrong? It still looks fine in Blender.

Update: I started over and it's working now. Still not sure what happened but at least it's working. 😁

last edited by JustaFordGuy

this forum post system is not working or is just me??

most likely you didn't apply rotation and scale to the meshes inside the cdt or the cdt itself