[Translation] cryengine3 texture creation Guide

Cryengine3 texture creation Guide

Cryengine textures are generally created using the crytif plug-in Adobe Photoshop and saved as the tif file format. However, Tif images cannot be directly applied to games, but are converted into a more optimized format (usually DDS) using resource compiler ). Not all textures use the same settings. For example, normalmap requires a different compression format than diffusemap. For this reason, the resource compiler converts the tif file based on the user's selection settings.

General principles

All textures must be in Tif format and must be saved using the crytif plug-in. The resource compiler automatically generates the final DDS texture.

The crytif plug-in is also required for the normalmap process created from the grayscale bumpmap, which ensures the correct normal orientation.

The engine does not support the conversion from bump to normalmap during the loading phase. This is because it can be more efficient in the preprocessing and compression phases.

All textures must be 2 to the power (for example, 128*128 512*512*1024 ).

Preset conversion of special textures

In the crytif plug-in Photoshop, the artist can specify an appropriate preset conversion for TIF. The resource compiler automatically matches certain settings based on the content, file name, and preset settings of TIF from different sources. When no special settings are specified for the tif file, the resource compiler will perform the following operations:

If the suffix is _ DDN or _ bump, The tif file will generate an uncompress rgba or u8v8 normalmap DDS file, and store the height information in the transparent channel.

If the tif file has an alpha channel (for example, the alpha channel is not completely white), it will generate a compressed DDS file in dxt3 format.

If the tif file does not have an alpha channel, the dxt1 compression format DDS file will be generated.

If the tif file is preset during conversion, the resource compiler will try to match the specified preset with the target format.

In sandboxApply texture

Applies only to the option slot that applies the normalmap texture to the bumpmap in the material editor.

Use a single specularmap when a major visual difference is required. For specularmap, if specularmap is grayscale or does not require good visual effects, diffuse Alpha is used,

(Gloss in the Generation option of diffuse Alpha shader in the material editor). This saves texture memory. CPU performance and texture settings overhead. In addition, the shader can be very simple and can read less than one texture. In another example, setting the same texture in different texture option slots means that two different textures are read and colored, because they are the most identical, but it does not mean saving other expenses. Generally, the less textures you set in the material editor, the better. Use as few textures as possible to complete the work.

Texture creation skills

1.Reuse normalmap and specularmap can save the most texture memory. In particular, normalmap, because its memory overhead is twice that of normal textures. For example, if a region uses textures such as floor tiles, brick walls, and concrete walls. It is a good choice to make them use the same normalmap and specularmap when creating textures.

Use the same normalmap for two different surface textures

2.Combine textures and small-sized general components, such as parts and railings, can be combined into a texture, which can save the drawcall and texture space of materials.

A simple but complex House consists of wall textures, roof textures, and all the detailed textures such as windows and doors.

3.Texture consistency ensures that the points on the texture are no larger than the points when they appear on the screen. The roof texture of a tall building, no matter how close the role or camera looks, is very small. The absence of normalmap and specularmap on the ground saves a lot of performance and texture overhead.

4.To improve the texture quality and compensate for the quality loss caused by the texture memory and quantity overhead, we can use the following techniques to improve the texture quality. Use a sticker. The use of contaminated or colored decals is a simple way to break the texture duplication.

　　

It is a tile wood floor texture of the wood saw factory. The wood chip sticker in the Alpha map breaks the obvious boundary between the floor and the corner.

Below is an example of using a sticker on a wall where the broken sticker is placed at the link between the farm building and the Earth's surface.

5.Use vertex colors to create various depth and color changes. Vertex rendering and pre-baked vertex lighting are a direct and inexpensive method to increase the depth of the model, which can make them look more interesting, add shadow or small color changes to the model using small tiled textures

6.Replacing five colors with a single-tone or grayscale texture saves texture memory. The farmhouse on the top is originally a white paint texture, which is adapted to brown Using Color adjustment options. More things can use this technology, such as car paint, barrier, oil bucket, box bottle, coffee cup and other small items.

The following figure shows a car that shares the same gray texture.

 

Author: Wuhua wujiu Source: wine.