Sky textures

[Adam3]

I just wanna know, How do you make sky textures? I mean the panoramic kind

[ReX]

eviladam said:

I just wanna know, How do you make sky textures? I mean the panoramic kind

A panoramic sky is simply a 128 unit tall, 1024 unit wide texture. [Note that in, say, ZDooM you can use skies that are 240 units tall.] It differs from a regular sky texture in that the latter consists of a repeating graphic, while a panoramic sky typically does not repeat the use of graphics. You can either create a single patch with those dimensions and use it in the texture, or you can create several patches and assemble them in your panoramic texture.

[Adam3]

Ok and my next question is:how do I apply a skytexture to my Map?

[ReX]

eviladam said:

Ok and my next question is:how do I apply a skytexture to my Map?

Please clarify what you mean by "apply". Insert a new texture into your wad? Use an existing texture in your wad? Use as a non-sky texture?

[Adam3]

no i just mean put a sky texture in the map

[ReX]

Refer to this thread. Specifically:

You will need a resource editing utility such as XWE or Deep Sea. You can use the utility to insert the new graphic (known as a patch) into your PWAD (your own wad file, not the DooM.wad or DooM2.wad files). If you replace an existing patch with a patch of the same size (dimensions) then you will not need to edit the TEXTURE lump. As you are planning to replace one DooM sky with another one, you will not need to edit the TEXTURE lump (unless you create the panoramic sky you were referring to).

IMPORTANT: Do not edit your IWAD (doom.wad or doom2.wad). Instead, always work with a PWAD. Better yet, if you don't have the original install disks or CD, make a copy of the IWAD before messing with stuff in an editor.

[bfg10k]

i'd figure i should just post in here instead of making another topic on the same subject.

i too am have trouble with sky textures. my problem is that my sky textures always look like wall textures. i can never get the paranorma effect to work (no matter how big i make it...)

"A panoramic sky is simply a 128 unit tall, 1024 unit wide texture"

this does not fix the problem which is why i am posting for help. help is nice.

[deathbringer]

Do you mean you want the sky to "come down to the floor"? what you need to do is make a new sector outside the one you want the sky to come to the edge of, and make the floor and ceiling height of this new texture the same, then make the sky the ceiling texture (using f_sky1) and (important!) leave the "above" texture of this new sector BLANK!, then you'll have your "sky on the wall"

For some reason, having a sky "outside" a window creates a HOM, so you'll need to make a thin "buffer" sector outside the window and then a third sector with the sky in it.

[ReX]

bfg10k said:

i too am have trouble with sky textures. my problem is that my sky textures always look like wall textures. i can never get the paranorma effect to work (no matter how big i make it...)

"A panoramic sky is simply a 128 unit tall, 1024 unit wide texture"

this does not fix the problem which is why i am posting for help. help is nice.

If you put the sky texture on a "wall" (e.g., a one-sided linedef) it will look like a wall texture. However, if you want to create a sky with that texture, follow what deathbringer said. I will clarify with the following points:

1. The sky texture is acually "applied" via a flat - a floor or ceiling, not as a texture. To make a "sky", simply apply the F_SKY1 flat to the ceiling (or floor, if you choose) of a sector and the sky will appear in that sector. This is how skylights are created in an indoor area.
2. To make an outdoor sky where the horizon does not need to be visible, create a sector with the appropriate height and apply the F_SKY1 flat to the ceiling. The sides of the sector then become the walls.
3. To make an outdoor sky where the horizon needs to be visible (i.e., the sky "comes down to the floor", as db put it) requires a bit more work. Refer to db's explantion, or ask if you need more help.

[bfg10k]

i know that much... i just want sky textures to work with the paranorma effect. i know that the F_Sky 1 will work with the paranorma, but i want to use the ones like walltexture SKY3 to work.
(i never understood why they made sky textures as walltextures instead of ceiling textures)

[myk]

bfg10k said:
i know that much... i just want sky textures to work with the paranorma effect. i know that the F_Sky 1 will work with the paranorma, but i want to use the ones like walltexture SKY3 to work.

Only F_SKY is read as a sky by the engine, which means there is only one sky you can place, which varies only with the episode (either actual episode in DOOM or a section of DOOM II). SKY1 always appears in E1 when you place the "sky flat", SKY2 in E2, Sky3 in E3, and so on.

Some engines based on the released source allow more possibilities (either the MAPINFO option allowing you to select a sky graphic from ZDoom, which is an easy way to define a different sky for each map or section, or the line transfer from MBF allowing you to choose a texture to be used like a sky on a section of ceiling, which is a way to use more than one sky in one map).

(i never understood why they made sky textures as walltextures instead of ceiling textures)

It's all in the mechanism where the sky is only one (flat) but changes with the episodes (each specified in TEXTURE1 by textures and their patches, chosen by the engine per the episode played).

[bfg10k]

that really sucks. i guess i'll have to use wintex, or xme, or somethin i dunno. thankyou for your help anyway.

[sinyx]

Are you building in Zdoom only? If you're using Doom Builder then the Sky to the ground ability is really simple, and all it requires is a line def.

If you build in Zdoom (Doom in Hexen format) then you get a few extra options (bridges most notable). The option will give you an infinte horizon, meaning the 2 textures on the ceiling and floor will continue to a vanishing point. From what I can tell this is the effect you want.
The line def is under the Line catagory and will be H horizon or something to that effect. Simply giving the line this def eliminates all the extra work. Hope this helps you any.