Texture Creation

[Black]

I'm currently looking for people to help me with some texture making. I need people who can make textures (preferably from stratch) that will follow a very sinister outline. The Doom 64 textures may be a good inspiration although I do not want to use those specific textures. If you are interested please email me or respond to this topic. Thank you.

Black

[mmnpsrsoskl]

Usually you won't get much help from around here...try and do some textures yourself...if people like them they will most likely help you then...

Probably...

[Black]

Oh, is that how this place works? I love the wonderful Doom community! Heh…

No really, in that case, can anyone direct me to a good texture creating utility? I suppose I will in fact have to create the textures myself even though they will probably still suck since I've never done any of that kind of stuff before. I'll do what I can I suppose.

Death to America,

Black

[sirgalahadwizar]

Hey, you want some tips on how to make textures seamless?



Take a texture that you've either created or obtained, open up your photo editing software (paint shop pro or photoshop will do).

Paste the texture in a large image (like 640x480), and then paste copies of the texture on all four sides of it (or all 8 sides if you want it to be diagonally compatible too).

Now, any place where it's not "seamless", and you can tell that it starts a new texture, you need to correct.

Use accurate judgement, correct color picking (preferrably the eyedropper), one of the spray-can tools (also known as airbrush), put it on a really small setting (like 5x5 pixels), and turn down it's rate of spray (the rate at which it paints on the image - otherwise you get unrealistic stretches of blank color).

When clicking use light taps instead of holding it down..

[Black]

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind sirgalahadwizar. I have never created a texture before from scratch so I'm sure they will be bad. Hey, can anyone maybe direct me to a TC that has dark, gothic textures in it? I would still need tech lab and base like textures too, but they should be overall darker and more sinister. I don't know. You guys probably know more than I do. Thanks.

Black

[Kid Airbag]

Erm...Requiem or GothicDM come to mind, but I have no idea who to contact about getting permission to use those.

[Black]

Hey here is a question. Could you possibly make mirror floors? Like so that you could see yourself or demons or whatever in the floor? I don't know but I figured I'd ask. Thanks.

Black

[mmnpsrsoskl]

I don't think you would be able to make those mirrored floors...but you know...that would be a good idea for DooM3...:)

You might be interested in this, read the readme file. They are all the textures/flats used in Gothic DM 1 and 2...use can use them as long as you include there disclaimer and stuff...just look at the readme. :) Enjoy

[ReX]

Black said:

Could you possibly make mirror floors? Like so that you could see yourself or demons or whatever in the floor?

Currently, neither DooM nor its ports support reflecting floors. It was a feature request for ZDooM, but my guess is that it's a long way from implementation.

About texture creation, here's a suggestion. If you have no experience with creating them you're better off not trying to do so on a large scale. It's time consuming and gets frustrating very quickly. In the end if you come up with mediocre results your mod will not be appreciated as much.

I realize there's a pride that goes with doing something yourself, but you should probably take it one step at a time. I would advise you to visit the Graphics folder of 3dArchives and browse for your desired texture set. Remember to give credit to the creator of the originals.

[Lüt]

Black, you might want to visit the Wally Homepage, it's a free texture editing tool. I'm not sure how it works (I've never downloaded it myself) but apparently a lot of people like it, so it may be of use.

[ReX]

I've used Wally, but mainly for texture extraction. Didn't realize it had extensive graphics editing capabilities as well.

[Black]

Well, I figured out would I'd like to do. I sat back for a day thinking;
"There is no way in hell I'll be able to create textures that would be good enough to use in my TC without totally ruining everything that I'm trying to achieve."
So after all this time, I've decided to use other textures afterall. Earlier today, I came here and I found a lot of good suggestions one of which by Rex which told me to check out some of those textures in the 3dArchives. Well, I found some nice textures that would go great with my TC. But low and behold, I've got a problem. They suck up like 3 MB of file size. So I still don't know what to do other than to ask questions. Is it possible to save on file size as far as textures and flats go other than only using the textures/flats that I really want to use?

Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm thinking go with it. Then while I'm making my TC I'll mess around with that Wally utility to see what I can do. I am sincerely thankful for everyone who has given me whatever little bits of help/information that they could and most of all thanks for your time.

Black

[Black]

OK... I thought that the Quake 2 textures would be great but they are just too much. Not to mention that they only fit the first episode of my Doom TC. I have an idea though. I had proposed this before in a different forum but no one gave me a strait answer. What would you people think if I released my TC in four parts (one for each episode). Since by the time I get it the way I really want it, the TC will be too large especially for people trying to download it with a modem. This way it will come out as four parts probably being about 20MB-40MB or so each. That still seems like a lot. I'm stuck between my original vision and a dose of reality. Tell me what you think. Thanks again.

Black

[ReX]

Black said:

Is it possible to save on file size as far as textures and flats go other than only using the textures/flats that I really want to use?

Unfortunately, no. The only graphic format currently supported by DooM and practically all its ports is bitmap. Further compression is not possible at this time.

What would you people think if I released my TC in four parts (one for each episode).

That would suit most people just fine, I believe. If you are planning on using the same graphic and sound resources for all 4 parts, remember to package them separately from the maps, so that they need to be downloaded just once.

Another suggestion -- if you've never released any maps (i.e., you're new to editing) perhaps you should consider something less ambitious than a complete 4-episode TC replacement for DooM. It takes a lot of time, talent, and patience to create even one superior level. Doing 36 levels by oneself is a mind-boggling task. Think about it.

[Black]

I appreciate the response Rex. My way of going about this TC isn't like that though. I am going to release my first level (which will be the first map going into my TC) first. At that time I will probably ask for some help and ideas of what people think to kind of get a feel for what you guys think I should keep doing and what I need to improve on.

I am actually going about this TC on a map by map basis and the only connections that I am acknowledging ahead of time is their dedication to my story line. I really highly doubt as well that I will use the same texture set in my later episodes. Perhaps I will retain a few of the textures and probably most of the flats.

That suggestion was made before to me and I understand it is a worthwhile statement but like I said before I am not really looking at this level I'm creating right now to be Map 1 or anything like that. I am creating individual maps to my fullest and it just so happens I am trying to focus their design on my story line/theme. I'll get it out. Just be patient with me. lol.

Also, I am using Zdoom, I have all the basic editing concepts down except a few. So I'd like to ask a few questions. Is it possible to start a player with a set of light amplification goggles and the player would have to manually turn them on? Or can you run over a linedef and turn them on somehow? Also through a script or something else, could you possibly click only one switch and turn on a vast number or varying light levels? For example could I click one switch and have 2 or more sectors turn to different light levels? I suppose this is all. I am fairly new to scripting and a few of the other things but I'll ask them when they seem appropriate.

[kristus]

ZdoomGL have mirroring floors.

and the GothicDM texture set is free for public use.

[Black]

I have an annoying problem now concerning my flats list. When editing in Wadauthor it's like I have two sets of flats. One good set and one really screwed up crappy set. Does anyone know how to fix this? Thanks again.

Black

Ebola, I am aware that the GothicDM is available for use. Maybe I'll use them later if I ever get that far. ;)
What exactly is ZDoomGL? Is that like another release of ZDoom? I'm fairly naive to these things so sorry for seemingly stupid questions.

[mmnpsrsoskl]

Make sure the flats/textures you are going to implement are 256 colours...otherwise when viewed in DooM/and its editors, they will look all weird...hope this solves your problem.

[Black]

I solved the problem. It was a really stupid mistake on my part. There is so much to do, so little time.

Black

[ReX]

Black said:

Is it possible to start a player with a set of light amplification goggles and the player would have to manually turn them on? Or can you run over a linedef and turn them on somehow? Also through a script or something else, could you possibly click only one switch and turn on a vast number or varying light levels? For example could I click one switch and have 2 or more sectors turn to different light levels?

Currently in ZDooM I don't believe there's a way of turning the goggles on and off at will. A new inventory system is being implemented by Randy Heit that could allow the user to pick up and store the goggles until needed. Aside from that I'm not sure if a script could do the same thing. There may be a way of "giving" the user the goggles via a script that is activated when crossing a linedef. Check at the ZDooM forums.

Turning on a vast number of varying light levels is relatively easy via a script. You'll have to tag all the sectors that will be affected, and put the appropriate information into the script. If your levels are in a hub structure, you could even use a switch in one level to turn on lights in another level.

What exactly is ZDoomGL? Is that like another release of ZDoom?

ZDooMGL is an OpenGL compatible version of ZDooM with MD2 support. It's being developed separately from ZDooM. Read all about it at Kokak's DooM Page.

[Black]

So could someone please explain scripts? I haven't tried to make one yet (since I rarely touch things that aren't of immediate use to me) and I probably will want to in the near future. What would a script for turning on lights like that look like? Thanks for clearing that up for me Rex.

Black

[ReX]

Black said:

So could someone please explain scripts? ....What would a script for turning on lights like that look like?

#include "zcommon.acs"

script 1 (void)

{ Light_RaiseByValue(1,32); //Sector 1, raise by 32
Light_RaiseByValue(2,64); //Sector 2, raise by 64
Light_RaiseByValue(3,96); //Sector 3, raise by 96
Light_RaiseByValue(4,16); //Sector 4, raise by 16
}

Scripts are instructions that you embed in your levels to accomplish various effects within the game. They have a structure and syntax that make them similar to simple programming languages. Check out Rick Clark's excellent ZDooM Editing tutorials for more indormation.

[Black]

Hey thanks Rex. I think I have the lighting stuff pretty much down now. As long as we're on it though, how would you put in a script that would have messages go on screen? In the ZDoom Demo level it has a lot of on screen messages that tell you various things that is more or less defined by the map's creator. Thanks.

Black

[ReX]

Black said:

As long as we're on it though, how would you put in a script that would have messages go on screen?

Here is an example of a script with a text message:

script 1 (void)
{ print(s:"Hydraulic Pumps are off-line.");
Delay(70);
print(s:"Please activate primary power circuits.");
Delay(70);
print(s:"Have a nice day.");
Delay(70);
}