Info for noob texture artists?

[slapnutz]

Ok, I was recently able to download DX for free using my IGN points and thus my interest in DX texture packs have arisen. Basically, I'd like to know what I would be getting myself into/involved with IF I was able to join the NV/HDTP team/s.

I'll just blurt out a whole bunch of questions (from an noob Texture Artists view) so you might get an idea of what I'm rambling on about....

(HDTP & NV)
- Are you able to give a short description of your workflow?
- How are jobs/tasks assigned to me?
- Do you supply the original texture or do I have to extract it from my copy of DX?
- If its a non-planar surface, do I have to UV wrap the mesh or is a unwrapped UVMap supplied?
- Is PS CS2/3 able to create textures for DX in the correct format or is an export script required? I noticed some .JPG examples here so I'm guessing yes.
- Who would test the texture ingame?
- Is there an im/exporter for getting DX meshes in/out of Autodesk Maya?


Ok and heres the REALLY noob questions.
(Unreal Ed)
- Whats a great web resource for learning how to mod UEd? (yes that noobish)
- Covering things like:
* Export/import meshes/textures out from UEd/DeusEx
* Export/import UV maps " " "
* Working with transparancies/alphas

Lastly, which version of UEd is used for NV/HDTP and is it free somewhere?.. or.. at least packaged with any Unreal Engine game?


I hope this doesnt come across as some aggrogant demand post but I though it would be nice to get an idea of the environment and skill required for this.

I realise that you guys are already busy as hell with this and other commitments so any feedback is much appreciated. Whilst this would be my first attempt at modding, I'm sure this post would be helpful to "lurkers". I plan to self-educate myself in modding so I just needed to be pointed in the right direction.

Lastly, I hope this post made some sense at least.

(The real "lastly", if I happened to be an extreme retard and have missed a thread that has already explained all my questions then please delete this and except my thousands of "sorry, my bad".

[DaveW]

(HDTP & NV)
- Are you able to give a short description of your workflow?
- How are jobs/tasks assigned to me?
- Do you supply the original texture or do I have to extract it from my copy of DX?
- If its a non-planar surface, do I have to UV wrap the mesh or is a unwrapped UVMap supplied?
- Is PS CS2/3 able to create textures for DX in the correct format or is an export script required? I noticed some .JPG examples here so I'm guessing yes.
- Who would test the texture ingame?
- Is there an im/exporter for getting DX meshes in/out of Autodesk Maya?

For HDTP they just take the original model and look at the texture - build a new mesh based on the original and then model in some of the detail that was included in the texture. The large military bot in the latest media release, for instance - a lot of the detail that is now modelled was just on the texture in the original.
With NV we make a new texture on top of the original, keeping key areas the same so they line up properly. It's pretty much all done based on photo's, either made by ourselves or (far more commonly since I'm lazy) from CGTextures.com.

With HDTP there's a clear system...with NV there isn't. I still need to assign the other guy (Thijs) textures, which I was supposed to do ages ago.

You can download all the original DX textures here. With HDTP stuff it's easy enough to extract them using "WOTGreal"s exporter.

Depends what your job is. If you're just a texture artist, someone will UV map it for you.

Yes, go to "Image > Mode > Indexed Colour" and it'll convert it to 256 colour, which can then be saved as .PCX and imported into UnrealEd.

With HDTP, DDL imports them because it's a slightly complicated process. With NV it's just a simple replace job in UnrealED.

WotGreal exports to .3ds, and Maya can im/export .3ds - so you're fine both ways.

[slapnutz]

Woah, cheers for the prompt reply! I decided to have a casual play with Unreal Ed and just wanted to clarify a few quick things.

What version of UEd should I use? I'd just like to keep things as consistent as possible so that "you see what I see" if I decide to send an test example to you. Also prevents me for wasting time with features/functions that are modified between versions.

What version of DX do you use for testing?

With HDTP there's a clear system...with NV there isn't. I still need to assign the other guy (Thijs) textures, which I was supposed to do ages ago.

Lol, yeah I saw that thread. June 15th been a while now.

As mentioned before, no rush in answering these.


**********
UPDATE: It seems that UEd 2 is supposedly much better/stable than UEd 1 since it was written in C++ as opposed to VB?)
http://www.wiki.beyondunreal.com/Legacy ... d_Versions

My GOTY edition of DX seems on have UEd 1 only. I can grab UEd 2 from my copy of UT2k4. Would this cause any issues?
**********
**********
UPDATE 2: Ok so I've found the "hacked" Unreal Ed 2 for DX. Which is obviously old news for you guys.
Unfortunately I'm getting the awesome "Critical Error - ReadFile Beyond EOF...". If I ever sort my shit out, I'll let ya know.
**********

[DaveW]

For textures, models etc. - it really doesn't matter. Both editors save to the same texture format. Personally, I use Ued1 because it's less hassle (Ued2 offers no advantage to me because I am not a mapper).

I have the Sold Out GOTY version, but as long as it's patched to the latest version it doesn't matter. You have to have the Enhanced OpenGL driver also.

Also, UT24k is Ued3. Ued2 is Unreal Tournament (1999).

[metche_steele]

Ok, I was recently able to download DX for free using my IGN points and thus my interest in DX texture packs have arisen...

Have you textured before? If so - do you have any examples of your work you can show?

Welcome btw

[m3rc1l3ss]

I just want to know how on earth you texture artists are able to decode what is written on paper, walls, etc.

[chris the cynic]

I remember, long before anyone was thinking about redoing the textures, there was a thread at PDX devoted to decoding what was written on the UNATCO whiteboard. It was a team effort and it was ultimately successfuly. (Thread appears to have died with the archives.)

That was probably one of the easier things to read, so I have no idea how they do it.

[slapnutz]

Ok, I was recently able to download DX for free using my IGN points and thus my interest in DX texture packs have arisen...

Have you textured before? If so - do you have any examples of your work you can show?

Welcome btw

Cheers buddy. Yeah dont pin any hopes on me just yet sorry. Taking an active role in this project is only an idea floating around my head atm.

Yes I've textured BUT never any realtime stuff. Actually, I finished a 3D Animation course using Maya & PS. Stuff I can do is the usual... (In Maya & PS).... Polygon & nurbs modeling, texturing, uvunwrapping, rigging, skinning, lighting/rendering, animation.

As I said, these are all Maya based, so I have no idea about UEd use. Obviously I'm guessing that things like joint setup, skinning, lighting, animation, etc... are more limited in UEd. Unless you can bake out animations in Maya and then export them into UEd. Texturing might be pretty straight forward though.

Unfortunately, most of my time goes torwards freelance work and a new Demoreel I'm working on but I hope to have some time off around the Xmas holidays so I plan to dive into UEd around then or slightly earlier. I could upload some shots of my old student demo reel but their archived offline somewhere. However, I'd rather get to a point where I can render out some shots from my new reel hopefully in the next month or so which personelly would look a lot better.

These series of posts were moreso to get me pointing in the right direction thus I said there no rush in getting reponses. Nevertheless thanks for the assistance.

[Jonas]

As I said, these are all Maya based, so I have no idea about UEd use. Obviously I'm guessing that things like joint setup, skinning, lighting, animation, etc... are more limited in UEd. Unless you can bake out animations in Maya and then export them into UEd. Texturing might be pretty straight forward though.

UnrealEd is strictly a level editor, though it does have a (terrible) mesh viewer (not editor) and a very limited scripting interface built into it. You can't edit meshes (characters, items, decorations, etc.) in UEd, you can only edit the CSG used to make the levels and add actors - scripted objects, often using meshes for their appearance - to the levels.

You might have just meant the Unreal Engine though, in which case you're more or less right.

[DDL]

Yeah, you make your mesh in whatever modelling/animating package you prefer (3dsMax, Milkshape or Maya are all good), UVmap it, then generate a series of snapshot meshes to match each frame of the animation, and THEN export that as a file that can be converted into a file the DX compiler can import.

The unreal editor isn't really used for anything other than seeing how well you did after you're done.

Fun, no?

(to be honest, it's a hell of a lot easier if you're making non-animated stuff, but it's still quite convoluted)

[slapnutz]

Thanks guys.

I finally got UnrealEd working today (kinda). UEd 1 and 2 still give me their odd issues atm. Had to reinstall DX. Anyways, 5mins in and I was able to export out a texture, mod it in PS (i.e. put crude smiley face on it) and import back into the texture package and see it while playing DX.

Woot!

Yeah its hardly anything.. but baby steps for noobs like me. I'm sure once the Modding bug bite me, I wont be able to stop.

[DaveW]

I just want to know how on earth you texture artists are able to decode what is written on paper, walls, etc.

For the most part we don't, and we just make it up. Stuff like the UNATCO board in the break room - the problem about adding text to it as Jonas pointed out to me before (and I hadn't really thought of it) is that when it's used elsewhere and the text is readable, it's not going to make any sense. NSF aren't going to have a notice board with UNATCO symbols and "History of the U.N." posters on it. Still, one of the compromises.

[Ishindri]

So what are you going to do about the aforementioned board? Are you going to make the text deliberately unreadable, or what?

[DaveW]

I'm going to try and make it "somewhat" universal..but it has to have readable text or it defeats the idea of a high resolution texture pack. It'll be centered around UNATCO and the UN though, since that's the package it's in.

[m3rc1l3ss]

Its a shame that you could not do different text for the nsf ones without adding textures and modding the maps. I guess it does make sense though, the nsf are studying the Unatco guys to try to find a way in...