Texture problems for old ships

[gamerdude873]

I was importing an old ship mod designed for Legends into Merc. When I ran the game, the ship model texture was black/gray, despite it working in the old game just fine.

I converted the textures into a .dds format without any other changes, and placed them in the \\ships directory. The textures are ship specific, not general one size fits all, yet the customizing kit lists no way of dealing with that. Is this a feature yet to be implemented, or do I need to create custom normal maps and specular maps?

And if I needed to create normal/specular maps, could someone direct me to a place that would show me how? I've got enough knowledge to continue from there I suppose.

[Edited on 12-4-2010 by gamerdude873]

[Vice]

Couple of points:

- You can use default texture or specify custom textures. If you use custom textures, you will need to include a normal map, specular map, and possibly emissive map depending on the object you are working on. For generating a normal map, Nvidia offers a plugin that works with Photoshop and Paintshop Pro:

http://developer.nvidia.com/object/phot ... ugins.html

- You will need to make sure your model includes normals in the mesh. To apply compatible normals, you can use a tool like Lithunwrap. Just load the model and resave it and Lithunwrap will automatically apply the needed normals.

[gamerdude873]

What exactly do the normal/shader maps need to be named? is it:

frame21shader.dds
frame21normal.dds

The guide doesn't exactly say.

Thanks in advance!

[Vice]

Just the civilian and military texture filenames specified in the kit:

hull2.dds = Base texture for civilian frames and components (512X512 recommended)
hull2-0.dds = Color option 1 texture for civilian frames and components (512X512 recommended)
hull2-1.dds = Color option 2 texture for civilian frames and components (512X512 recommended)
hull2-2.dds = Color option 3 texture for civilian frames and components (512X512 recommended)
hull2-3.dds = Color option 4 texture for civilian frames and components (512X512 recommended)
hull2normal.dds = Normal map for civilian frames (512X512 recommended)
hull2shader.dds = Specular map for civilian frames (512X512 recommended)
lights.dds = Emmissive map for lights for capital ships
lights2.dds = Emmissive map for lights for Vonari capital ship
mplane.dds = Base texture for military frames (512X512 recommended)
mplanenormal.dds = Normal map for military frames (512X512 recommended)
mplaneshader.dds = Specular map for military frames (512X512 recommended)
ship1_0.dds = Base texture for capital ship hulls
ship1_0normal.dds = Normal map for capital ship hulls
ship1_0shader.dds = Specular map for capital ship hulls
vonari1.dds = Base texture for Vonari capital ship and small ships (also used to define specular)
vonari1normal.dds = Normal map for Vonari capital ship and small ships

[gamerdude873]

I must be missing the point entirely.

How can the shader/normal map be just a general file when I have specific textures and models that they need to fit on? I'm still pretty much a noob when it comes to this sort of thing, but unless I'm completely mistaken that means that having individual textures with different models isn't possible because they have to function off of a single texture/normal/shader map at the very least. Becaues the way I'm reading this:

mplane.dds
mplanenormal.dds
mplaneshader.dds

Without any numbers or specifiers to say which texture/normalmap/shadermap goes on what ship, that would change the ALL the ships and not just the two that I want.

I'm really sorry if this is aggravating or if the solution is right under my nose.

Well, there is also the possible problem that I might not be making the shader map properly. My understanding is that the shader map is a grayscale image that dictates the shine/brightness of a texture on a model. Do I need to link the shader map with the model in something like metasequoia or will it work without further prodding as long as I convert and name it properly?

[Vice]

For part A of your post, yes, you need to use those filenames and image slots. One way the game can render so many different objects/graphics simultaneously is by standardizing texture data. So it uses 1 X 3 texture maps for each 'class' of ship rather than 32 X 3 separate images. The game takes sections from each one that it needs for a particular model and applies them. You can do the same if you prefer a more custom look for each ship, just use one large texture image and UV map what you want from it for each ship type.

For part B regarding the specular map, yes, it is basically a grayscale image that defines the gloss of the surface. You do not need to link secondary texture layers with the model itself, the game's engine will take care of applying each layer as needed. You only need to define which parts of the texture you want applied to the ship via UV mapping.

[gamerdude873]

Oh ok, now it makes sense. But yikes, this looks like a lot of work for me to reconfigure the texture mapping, something that I unfortunately don't have time for now. But thanks a ton vice. this'll make a great little project over christmas break or something.

Cheers,
Joker

[Edited on 12-5-2010 by gamerdude873]

[Vice]

You might want to wait on that for a little while I've actually been working on trying to implement custom textures for individual ship types today and have had some success with initial testing. Granted, you'll need to be aware of the memory implications this brings (ie ~40 X 3 textures at 512X512 each can add up pretty quick), but the new texture options should let you specify a unique set of 3 textures in DDS format for a custom ship design. I will try to have the updated build ready for testing later tonight or tomorrow. The plan is for a file name system like this:

frameX.dds = Base texture for civilian frame (X range = 0-9 for Alliance, 40-49 for Federation)
frameXnormal.dds = Normal map for civilian frame
frameXshader.dds = Specular map for civilian frame
mplaneX.dds = Base texture for military frame (X range = 20-31)
mplaneXnormal.dds = Normal map for military frame
mplaneXshader.dds = Specular map for military frame
vonariX.dds = Base texture for vonari frame (X range = 10-12)
vonariXnormal.dds = Normal map for vonari frame
vonariXshader.dds = Specular map for vonari frame

[Edited on 12-5-2010 by Vice]

[Vice]

Ok, the update is ready for download. Download and install this build to use custom texture files for individual ship types:

http://www.starwraith.com/evochronmerce ... yb1188.exe

Note that this download will be removed once the update becomes official.

[Capt_Caveman]

oh man thats awsome. thank you lots

[Edited on 12-5-2010 by capt_cronic]

[gamerdude873]

Holy hell Vice, I sincerely hope that you didn't do that because I was whining. But I guess you must have. A million kudos points for Vice. WOOT!

I suppose I can't thank you enough, But thanks,

Joker

[Capt_Caveman]

hey vice, I renamed my files according to your post and the custom civ and mil textures/frames work great together but....
I have a problem with vonari 1 2 and 3
I tried to apply custom textures to the vonari 1,2 and 3 several ways;

vonari10 thru 12.x
vonari10 thru 12.dds
vonari10 thru 12normal.dds
vonari10 thru 12shader.dds
no custom model or texture displayed, just default

vonari1 thru 3.x all 3 models work
vonari10 thru 12.dds not displayed
vonari10 thru 12normal.dds not displayed
vonari10 thru 12shader.dds not displayed
custom model displays with default texture

vonari1 thru 3.x all 3 models work
vonari1 thru 3.dds only vonari1 displays
vonari1 thru 3normal.dds only vonari1 displays
vonari1 thru 3shader.dds only vonari1 displays
custom model AND textures are displayed but also applied to vonari capital ship.
I assume this is because vonari1.dds is default for capital ship and my texture overides it.

so it seems only vonari1 textures are being applied and to all vonari models.
and vonari textures 10-12 are not being recognized




[Edited on 12-5-2010 by capt_cronic]

[Vice]

Ah yes, use vonari1-3.dds rather than 10-12. The capital ship will only use one custom texture (shared with the fighter class ship, vonari1.dds), but the smaller ships should enable with values from 1 to 3 for each type. Will likely be better to use the 10-12 range for the release build to avoid confusion between the two ship types.