Model WaterTower

[Blobolob]

Thought I'd share this with you, show that I'm still doing something

The map I'm making has two structures on it like this, so I thought I'd make them as a prop rather than world geometry, more for practice than anything else.

This model will be devided into four peaces, the tower water container, the brick building, the water hose, and a ladder which is out of shot (the ladders in game arnt broken enough for my liking)

All in the scene currently weighs 2102 tries, 888 for the water tank, 138 for the brick base, 904 for the hose and 172 for the ladder. I asume this is better than 12000 I had on the one cart

 

[YM]

Hint: use TF2's brick texture and normal

 

[Blobolob]

Its tempting, normal mapping isn't something I've tackled before. I asume its similar to bump mapping...

*google search*

So normal mapping is high detail 3D model thats burned into a image file then placed on a lower poly version (or in this case flat version)?

I was under the impression that they were avoided in most cases in TF2, does the brick actually have it?

I am still considering only using the top half of the tower and making the lower half in Hammer, depends how closely I can match the brick texture (and if I dont make my own brick texture).

Thanks for the tip, might try get there texture just as a comparison regardless.

 

[Pocket]

There are quite a large number of normal-mapped textures in TF2, yes. Self-shadowing bumpmaps as well!

 

[Blobolob]

Ok :S I'll have to have a look into this next.

Just for general info though, this normal mapping, if I were to use it, Id have to...

> Creat a high poly model version of the model, then use that to produce a normal map

or

> paint a bumpmap style image using the current texture.

I've made bump maps in the past using just the texture, playing around to make it black and white (and grey) then using that with the texture to imply depth. I'll look into this next but would be nice to know where to start

My experience of this stuff is the colour texture, the "grey"(bump) one and the "pinky-blue" (normal) one. And I've never used the "normal" :S (as you might have guessed)

Cheers

 

[Freyja]

Normal mapping is basically a better bump map. There's basically no reason to use a bump map over a normal map these days. It can be generated from a hi-poly model, and lots of people do that, but it doesn't have to be. There are enough normal map generators out there that can take a texture and generate an acceptable normal from it. nDo2 is my recontamination, but crazybump works too. They both have sliders and settings you can tweak, and a live preview to see what it looks like.

Both of them can also generate a normal map from a bump map.

 

[Blobolob]

Ok great, I'll look into those two first

I really don't fancy modeling a high poly brick wall, I'm sure there is a quick way of doing it, but I don't know it

Oh, during my reading, I found that something called "baking" is used http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=73559

Now, it mensions abient occlution in the 3rd segment, I vaugly remember this from uni, but it was a rendering pass rather than a material applied to the model.

I asume to use it the prop needs to be renderd in the 3d modeling program, then the shadows are "baked" into the texture itself before exporting to source.

Edit

That was easier than expected, thought it was going to be weeks of failing again :S

I've added a new image, of some different normal maps, just some quick work but opinions?

3 and 5 are probably closest to what is needed I think, dont want the effect ot be too dramatic.

Oh, I think its glossy because I've attached the normal to my Phong E material, there fairly shiny :S

 

[Blobolob]

So I have been playing around with this normal mapping, just experimenting with the sliders.

I keep getting this checkerd look on all my texture / Normal maps however and I'm not having much luck getting rid of it.

I've been taking the original texture and then I loading it in Crazybump. I'm not using the 3D projection method of building a high detail model then imposing it on the low detail one.

I've looked over the normal map texture file (the bluepurple one) and it looks smooth enough, no obvious sharp checkers anywhere.

Anyway, I'm posting this just incase its a silly little mistake I've done or error or something to do with Maya's rendering that one of you may have seen before and theres no actual issue so you can save me a bunch of time.

 

[Freyja]

Are you saving the normal map as a .jpg? It could be jpeg compression messing with the colour data (where all the normal data is stored). Save as a targa and try again.

 

[Blobolob]

Knew it would be something simple Thank you Aly

Still recon I need to clean the normal map a bit to get rid of some of the strange highlights, nothings really working sliders wise.

Another question, does Maya read Normal maps in reverse to other programs? my brinks were all being pushed out in Crazybump, but pushing in when in Maya. Its not big issue I can just reverse the bump, but then, will it be an issue when I import it? Hummm, I think I know the answer to that one already :S.

Scratch that, yes, my crazybump wasn't set up right