Matching a texture

[MTT9]

Hey guys,
I've been trying to make a 16mx16m prop using a texture from the game. But even if i used a tutorial by gascooker, this prop doesnt have the texture it is supposed to have. Can somebody help me so that gmax doesn't change the texture, or by changing the texture so that the rendered prop texture matches the in game one?
Sorry for my english,
Matt

[Couchpotato]

Hi Matt

Not sure I understand what you're trying to create.   Could you please post a picture and perhaps show the link to gascooker's tutorial. 

[MTT9]

I took this from the SCTool:


Then change it using this tutorial

But the end result doesn't look like the original texture


I'm doing something wrong?

Matt

[Couchpotato]

You're not doing anything wrong.   It's just the lighting in gmax so you can see it.   
It should look fine in the game.   

[MTT9]

Actually, it doesn't seem to be better now...



After a few tests, it seems that the gmax's lights make the top lighter...



Matt

[jmyers2043]

Hello Matt

I think what you're after is the impossible.

From your picture, it seems that you are trying to make a cement slab using a Maxis base texture. The problem is that the gmax slab will change brightness and hue when you rotate the game N to S or E to W. I've tried this before when making a ramp for a barn. I can use a Maxis dirt texture and make that dirt look exact after some brightness and contrast adjustment. But not from all compass headings. You may have to settle for close - but not exact. 

If that's not what you're after (or similar) then I stand corrected.

Jim

[MTT9]

Actually, i've tried looking this cube from evey angle...



They look the same from every angle, the problem seems to be that i can't avoid the top to be brighter than the rest...

Does anyone knows how to change the top's color to match the rest of the cube and the base texture?

Matt

Edit: when i say "how" i mean "how much" (saturation, contrast, etc).

[Diggis]

Jim,  Part of the reason you're was changing as you rotated it was because it sounds like it wasn't flat so would show different amounts of light depending on rotation.

Matt,

Realisticly you wouldn't want it to have the same shade on all 3 sides.  If you did you wouldn't see it's a 3D object, it would lose all depth.  There is more light on the top surface because it's closest to the lights and the camera.  What you really want to do is darken the whole texture slightly so the top is closer in colour to the ground plan and the sides will be darker as there is less light reflecting off them.

[MTT9]

I don't want to make a cube. I't was just a test, to show how the sides of it were as the original texture but the top was brighter.
I want to make a 16x16 plane as shown in the first pictures above.
I guess i'll have to try until i can darken the texture so that it matches the base.

Matt

[Diggis]

Ahh, in that case... yes, you are correct, that is what you have to do.  Unfortunatly, the game messes with both textures.  What you are seeing is the concrete texture messed with once by the FSH conversion and ingame lighting, and another different process where it's messed with by the BAT and ingame lighting.

I'm trying to do a similar thing with the plaza texture.  I've got close... but not close enough yet.  It's trial and error really.  You might also be able to play with the material setting in the BAT to edit the amount of light it reflects.

Aditionally, you seem to have got gascookers process to work well on the front face.  What you need to do is use that process on top face, not on the front face.  This will give you a darker original texture which, when lit, should lighten to match the ingame planes.

[MTT9]

Well...
I've been trying to apply the tutorial to the top face but...



When i try to change the curve i get this message, because for the output=192 input=255/255/250!
i don't know what to do about it...

Matt

[Diggis]

use 251 instead, it's as close as you'll get I guess

[MTT9]

No advance...

I tried using the closest number but the colors changes in wierd ways.
I tried using another number instead of 192 but the curve changed too much.
I tried using many numbers (0;64;100;128;145;175;192;255) but the colors changed in wierd ways once again, so i ended up with a brown texture instead of the grey ones.

I don't know what to do now... It seams that almost immposible to know how and why the top texture changes. And it's pretty easy to see that it changes in a wierd way, casuse the color 192,192,192 turns into an almost white one.

I'll try to figure this out...

Matt

PS (sorry i used the word wierd too much)

[Diggis]

It is hit by about 10 lights, and given the angle of the plane to the lights and the camera it's reflecting a large portion of the light into the camera, hence the whiteness of the face.  It will be very difficult to get it perfect, but you should be able to get it close enough.

[MTT9]

Do you think this is good enough?

[Diggis]

It is pretty good I would say. 

   Do you have this as a single file to change them?  If so it would be very good if you could upload it here for others. (myself included, I'm so selfish )

[MTT9]

If you can improve it, don't hesitate sharing it with me 

[Diggis]

hehe, I didn't mean the texture itself.   Gascookers tutorial process had a save option, I wondered if you used that to create this and had a single file you load to change the settings.

[MTT9]

No... I just changed the bright, contrast and color balance many times till i got something good enough... sorry 

[Diggis]

Thats OK, I was just trying to be lazy.  It's what I expect to end up doing as well