- Dec 25, 2007
- 566
- 440
Here's the space skybox I used in my cpoint mini-contest entry.
I am making it available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 2.5 UK: Scotland licence, which means you are free to reuse, alter or adapt it as long as you credit the original author (me) and are not using it in a commercial work. See the link above for full details.
To use: extract the files into your team fortress 2\tf\materials\skybox folder.
Edit: Note that this skybox has full 2048x2048 textures in each direction (the high resolution was necessary to keep the stars looking like stars). To keep your map's size down, if you don't need some directions, I suggest you:
Here's the light_environment settings I'm using:
These are chosen specifically for the "outer space" feel in this map; it results in extremely bright lit areas, with very dark unlit areas, and quite sharp-edged shadows. Since most of koth_skylab is effectively indoors, this choice allows me to use the environment lighting less for illumination and more for the effect of light streaming in through the big round window.
These settings will probably not be suitable for an outdoor map in space, as the harsh contrast will make it hard on the eyes, and the low ambient may result in too many poorly lit areas. For example, if I was making a moon map with this skybox--where this is still no atmosphere to soften the light--I would lower the sun brightness and increase the ambient brightness a little, but then add bright angled point_spotlights to areas where I wanted the effect of harsher lighting, such as crater edges.
Also, since there is no sun in the skybox, and no terrain in it to appear lit from any particular direction, you should choose angles that suit your map; there's no reason to prefer the angles I use above.
I am making it available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 2.5 UK: Scotland licence, which means you are free to reuse, alter or adapt it as long as you credit the original author (me) and are not using it in a commercial work. See the link above for full details.
To use: extract the files into your team fortress 2\tf\materials\skybox folder.
Edit: Note that this skybox has full 2048x2048 textures in each direction (the high resolution was necessary to keep the stars looking like stars). To keep your map's size down, if you don't need some directions, I suggest you:
- rename all the files (e.g. to sky_yourmapname)
- edit the .vmts to update the texture names accordingly
- delete the .vtfs you don't need
- edit the .vmts for those directions to use 'tools/toolsblack' as the texture.
Here's the light_environment settings I'm using:
- Brightness: 255 255 255 1200
- Ambient: 118 114 139 50
- Pitch Yaw Roll: -35 270 0
- Pitch: -35
- SunSpreadAngle: 5
These are chosen specifically for the "outer space" feel in this map; it results in extremely bright lit areas, with very dark unlit areas, and quite sharp-edged shadows. Since most of koth_skylab is effectively indoors, this choice allows me to use the environment lighting less for illumination and more for the effect of light streaming in through the big round window.
These settings will probably not be suitable for an outdoor map in space, as the harsh contrast will make it hard on the eyes, and the low ambient may result in too many poorly lit areas. For example, if I was making a moon map with this skybox--where this is still no atmosphere to soften the light--I would lower the sun brightness and increase the ambient brightness a little, but then add bright angled point_spotlights to areas where I wanted the effect of harsher lighting, such as crater edges.
Also, since there is no sun in the skybox, and no terrain in it to appear lit from any particular direction, you should choose angles that suit your map; there's no reason to prefer the angles I use above.
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