Plastic Gem #12: Kirk Alberts' Urban Decay 2 of 5
by Kirk Alberts · 06/24/2008 (1:21 pm) · 2 comments
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Plastic Gem # 12 : Kirk Alberts' Urban Decay 2 of 5
Difficulty: Easy
Hi, it's Kirk Alberts again from Plastic Games. I have another example buliding using the texture pack described in Gem #11
The textures of whole building fronts that are low resolution look pretty cruddy up close. Those, I intended use for structures that would be placed far away from where the player would be. These would simply be placed to add depth. Since the player would never see them closely they didn't need to be high res. I also would use them on upper stories of buildings with detailed textures placed on brushes near the ground where the player would be. This technique seemed to help the frame rate quite a bit.
If you look at the .dif files I've included in these gems, you'll notice I work layers of brushes a lot. I'll texture a layer of brushes with one texture then work my way up with a brush painted with textures that I deem complimentary of the previous. This allows me a lot more flexibility visually.
A good example is the cement looking texture I used at the bottom of the wall in the included .dif with the next texture up being the windows texture then another row breaking the window texture up so it doesn't look so repetitive visually.
I learned this technique back in the day making Quake 2 custom levels. I would analyze the heck out of everything I saw the level designers do and it's since been something that I just do without thinking about it. I create all my textures with this in mind.
I also use this technique working both on a horizontal and vertical manner when I'm creating interiors that a player can enter (hallways, rooms, etc.)
This has been used for a long time but I felt it was good to show it to those who are new to interior creation. It's definitely a tool to master and will help you create a look and feel you would otherwise have to create per texture. It can get a bit messy but as long as you're being careful and keeping your work clean you'll manage it just fine.
The included .dif was actually created to be used as a 'facade'. We would place it to confine the player who would never see that it was a simple 'wall'. The player perceives it as a building because they'll never see the backside of it. The simple shape is useful in a number of places, yet keeps the performance up. I suppose you could texture the backside with a null texture and even make it better on performance.
Hope this helps anyone working on texture art and interior creation.
This Gem's Sample Interior
In the .zip file for this gem I have included a sample interior you can play with called urbanDecay02.dif. Put this file in the urbanDecay folder you created in Gem #11 and then place in the mission editor.
This interior is just a sample to show how the texture set can be used. It does not have LOD or portals setup.
The Next Gem
The next gem I will give another example interior and talk a bit more about the textures.
Plastic Gem # 12 : Kirk Alberts' Urban Decay 2 of 5
Difficulty: Easy
Hi, it's Kirk Alberts again from Plastic Games. I have another example buliding using the texture pack described in Gem #11
The textures of whole building fronts that are low resolution look pretty cruddy up close. Those, I intended use for structures that would be placed far away from where the player would be. These would simply be placed to add depth. Since the player would never see them closely they didn't need to be high res. I also would use them on upper stories of buildings with detailed textures placed on brushes near the ground where the player would be. This technique seemed to help the frame rate quite a bit.
If you look at the .dif files I've included in these gems, you'll notice I work layers of brushes a lot. I'll texture a layer of brushes with one texture then work my way up with a brush painted with textures that I deem complimentary of the previous. This allows me a lot more flexibility visually.
A good example is the cement looking texture I used at the bottom of the wall in the included .dif with the next texture up being the windows texture then another row breaking the window texture up so it doesn't look so repetitive visually.
I learned this technique back in the day making Quake 2 custom levels. I would analyze the heck out of everything I saw the level designers do and it's since been something that I just do without thinking about it. I create all my textures with this in mind.
I also use this technique working both on a horizontal and vertical manner when I'm creating interiors that a player can enter (hallways, rooms, etc.)
This has been used for a long time but I felt it was good to show it to those who are new to interior creation. It's definitely a tool to master and will help you create a look and feel you would otherwise have to create per texture. It can get a bit messy but as long as you're being careful and keeping your work clean you'll manage it just fine.
The included .dif was actually created to be used as a 'facade'. We would place it to confine the player who would never see that it was a simple 'wall'. The player perceives it as a building because they'll never see the backside of it. The simple shape is useful in a number of places, yet keeps the performance up. I suppose you could texture the backside with a null texture and even make it better on performance.
Hope this helps anyone working on texture art and interior creation.
This Gem's Sample Interior
In the .zip file for this gem I have included a sample interior you can play with called urbanDecay02.dif. Put this file in the urbanDecay folder you created in Gem #11 and then place in the mission editor.
This interior is just a sample to show how the texture set can be used. It does not have LOD or portals setup.
The Next Gem
The next gem I will give another example interior and talk a bit more about the textures.
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Torque 3D Owner Dunsany