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Scholar
Original Poster
#1 Old 5th Dec 2006 at 9:24 AM
Default Custom envcube maps?
How do you turn your own texture image into a envcube map??
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One horse disagreer of the Apocalypse
#2 Old 5th Dec 2006 at 9:40 AM
I *think* you just call it as one from the relevant TXMT field. In case there are any rules about size etc you could try finding an existing envcube to start from. I used one of my own textures as an envcube once, and while it looked very unsatisfactory, the game did accept it.

"You can do refraction by raymarching through the depth buffer" (c. Reddeyfish 2017)
Scholar
Original Poster
#3 Old 5th Dec 2006 at 11:40 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Inge Jones
I *think* you just call it as one from the relevant TXMT field. In case there are any rules about size etc you could try finding an existing envcube to start from. I used one of my own textures as an envcube once, and while it looked very unsatisfactory, the game did accept it.


i tried that but it shows up as the 10001 missing texture file in the game.
Scholar
Original Poster
#4 Old 5th Dec 2006 at 1:03 PM
ok i figured it out but it doesnt look right only a certain spot of the image is actually showing up now the whole image?
One horse disagreer of the Apocalypse
#5 Old 5th Dec 2006 at 1:04 PM
That's where my knowledge ends. I don't know what determines how the envcube fits to the object's shape.

"You can do refraction by raymarching through the depth buffer" (c. Reddeyfish 2017)
Scholar
#6 Old 6th Dec 2006 at 4:21 AM
The ones used in the game are mostly 64 x 64 in size, although the "outdoor" one used on the cars is 128 x 128.

And the Maxis "template" itself is 256 x 256.

I would suggest using one of these sizes for your image.

I would also assume that it must be square, since it is called a cube - the game may be set to only use a square image for this, so at the very least make sure your image is square, and in one of the standard image sizes (64 x 64, 128 x 128, 256 x 256, 512 x 512)

And keep in mind that the image itself is rotated 90 degrees to the left on the Maxis ones, so your image should be rotated that way too if there is actually a picture on it.

If this doesn't make sense, use the finder in SimPE to search for "envcube" and take a look.
Scholar
Original Poster
#7 Old 6th Dec 2006 at 5:22 AM
ok i made it 256 x 256 DXT5 format. rotated it 90 deg left and went into game. i can see it a little better but it stil isn't showing the whole image but i'm guessing my glass door isnt really big enough for it to show properly in the 1st place. at least it works though.
Scholar
#8 Old 6th Dec 2006 at 9:28 AM
I don't think it ever will show the whole image of the envcube, because it isn't stationary.

Look at a big object in the game - (a car is a good example).

As you move the "camera" in the game, the car rotates - and so does the envcube image, but not at the same speed, so it looks like real reflections. So the reflections are constantly changing, just as it would in the real world.
Scholar
Original Poster
#9 Old 6th Dec 2006 at 12:36 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Dr Pixel
I don't think it ever will show the whole image of the envcube, because it isn't stationary.

Look at a big object in the game - (a car is a good example).

As you move the "camera" in the game, the car rotates - and so does the envcube image, but not at the same speed, so it looks like real reflections. So the reflections are constantly changing, just as it would in the real world.


yeah i figured as much. at least i know how to do them now.
One horse disagreer of the Apocalypse
#10 Old 6th Dec 2006 at 12:39 PM
But I'd love to know some day how they're mapped, cos I was trying to do a silk sofa cover and I needed one of those effects how you get the shimmery zigzags as you move about. I just ended up making it look like PVC

"You can do refraction by raymarching through the depth buffer" (c. Reddeyfish 2017)
Scholar
#11 Old 6th Dec 2006 at 10:10 PM
It seems to respond to the way your parts are uv_mapped.

As in the places where my uv_mapping is kinda wonky, the envcube mapping goes wonky too...

I think you could get the effect you want by making for example a "plane" surface in MilkShape that is made of many rectangles - like a grid.
Then uv_mapping it straight on.
Then pulling every other row of vertices up/down so the grid itself looks zig-zag, but leave the uv_map straight if you see what I mean.

That way I think the envcube effect would be put on in a zig-zag way, over what would actually look like a rectanglur area.

The thing that makes this such a pain is that there isn't any way to preview it without putting your object into the game and then having a look.
Scholar
Original Poster
#12 Old 15th Dec 2006 at 6:32 PM
still having problems i created a custom envcube however it isnt showing up right the original image is showing up as well as the new image this is weird! how do i fix this??
Mad Poster
#13 Old 16th Dec 2006 at 3:20 PM
ToRnado,

why don't ypou post the extracted txmt file out and/or even the cres gmnd file?
One horse disagreer of the Apocalypse
#14 Old 16th Dec 2006 at 3:42 PM
Did you update the envcube image across all sizes?

"You can do refraction by raymarching through the depth buffer" (c. Reddeyfish 2017)
Mad Poster
#15 Old 16th Dec 2006 at 4:05 PM Last edited by niol : 16th Dec 2006 at 4:31 PM.
lol... , jusy realised ToRnado's thread
http://ambertation.de/simpeforum/si...m-envecube-maps

Haha... I hope Inge might have got it... the mip-map thingy

But according to the dl from the SimPE site, the mimap of "future-envcube_txtr"was seemingly done alrgiht to me. But, its format is in Raw24bit, and this doesn't seem to do with the problem reported...

gonna run it in my game to see.
Alright, in that package, ToRnado forgot to add the envcube map name "##0x1C050000!future-envcube" into the the tab "file list".
May also remove "outdoordaytime-envcube" when unnecessary, yet keeping it doesn't harm.

An important note:
whenever adding a new and used txtr file into a txmt file, add that in both tabs "properties" and "file list" by turns.

at the poperties tab,
"forceHighQualitySkinning 0" is normally unnecessary coz it's not activated anyway.
blurFactor 0; blurFactor is deactivated; this's the overall blurriness of the overall output of this txmt file including the txtr files and its txmt properties.
stdMatEnvCubeBlurFactor is for setting the blurriness of the graphical output of the envcube map...
To see what I mean may check this and/or that just iin case...
Scholar
Original Poster
#16 Old 16th Dec 2006 at 7:43 PM
i posted the thread at the SimPE site cos i get no replies here. it's like i'm invisible or something...
One horse disagreer of the Apocalypse
#17 Old 16th Dec 2006 at 8:01 PM
Quote: Originally posted by ToRnado
i posted the thread at the SimPE site cos i get no replies here. it's like i'm invisible or something...


Hmmm I see plenty of replies, and suggestions. Do you need to refresh your cache or something?

"You can do refraction by raymarching through the depth buffer" (c. Reddeyfish 2017)
Instructor
#18 Old 16th Dec 2006 at 8:10 PM Last edited by Khaibit : 16th Dec 2006 at 8:19 PM.
Yepp, plenty of replies, already short after posting... I just wonder in which thread (3 so far - or do even more exist?) ToRnado would like people to answer or if the discussion should be splitted into several... well yes? across the WWW. Seems like, in here no acceptable replies so far
So how would you like to be helped, ToRnado?

I tried to download this cube 3 times and it didn't work for me so why don't you upload it in an area where downloader don't have to enter hard to read- security-check codes to get the chance to try helping you?

Yes, I am serious though I'm not serious at all. I'm serious about this!
Even the joker can be deadly serious...
Wichtig ist, was hinten raus kommt!
Entscheidend daran ist, wie?
One horse disagreer of the Apocalypse
#19 Old 16th Dec 2006 at 8:28 PM
Anyway, if you can't get a solution on MTS2, I would be surprised if you can get one anywhere! Maybe we just don't know enough yet, between all of us.

"You can do refraction by raymarching through the depth buffer" (c. Reddeyfish 2017)
Scholar
Original Poster
#20 Old 16th Dec 2006 at 10:49 PM
here's the cube uploaded here. everything works except there are 2 images showing up in the envcube map both the new image and the original. i dont even know how that is possible i did the updated all sizes on the image and commit.
Attached files:
File Type: zip  testcube.zip (2.13 MB, 22 downloads) - View custom content
Scholar
Original Poster
#21 Old 16th Dec 2006 at 10:51 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Inge Jones
Anyway, if you can't get a solution on MTS2, I would be surprised if you can get one anywhere! Maybe we just don't know enough yet, between all of us.


well i know basically everything there is about the txmt i can make stuff shine like real chrome and gold, make animated images, transperent parts, half transperent parts, blended textures you name it. the only thing i havn't figured out yet is this damn custom envcubes.
One horse disagreer of the Apocalypse
#22 Old 16th Dec 2006 at 11:35 PM
I have looked at your package. You should align your envcube name with the name of the other parts, beginning sculpturebigapple-[x-16.12.2006-43b23]. The reason I say that is not because it will only work that way, but because if you have another instance of future-envcube_txtr hanging about in any other package in your whole game folder, the game may be picking that up (maybe an old version) and displaying that instead.

"You can do refraction by raymarching through the depth buffer" (c. Reddeyfish 2017)
Scholar
Original Poster
#23 Old 17th Dec 2006 at 1:16 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Inge Jones
I have looked at your package. You should align your envcube name with the name of the other parts, beginning sculpturebigapple-[x-16.12.2006-43b23]. The reason I say that is not because it will only work that way, but because if you have another instance of future-envcube_txtr hanging about in any other package in your whole game folder, the game may be picking that up (maybe an old version) and displaying that instead.


tried that. no effect old image is still there which was: neighborhooddesert-envcube

this new envcube is in no other packages i created it merly to test if custom envcube maps work.
Mad Poster
#24 Old 17th Dec 2006 at 7:02 AM Last edited by niol : 18th Dec 2006 at 6:46 PM.
ToRnado,

lol just checked your lastest version, those were fixed...

I see your reflection map on the object but connected to the neighbourhood-encube?
What it appears to me is that it seems the repeats of the reflection is still that neighbourhood-envcube?
That's unsupposed coz the other in-game defaults are fine...

Has that to do with the way how cube mesh was mapped? It's clueless to me now...


tested in TS2-NL-OFB-patched


Edited:

The 1st fix was deleted after the 2nd fix was uploaded.
One horse disagreer of the Apocalypse
#25 Old 17th Dec 2006 at 9:15 AM
I got out the mesh, and the envcube texture and looked at how it wraps in UVmapper and it looks fine there. I suspect if it's not looking ok in Tornado's game it's cos it's finding something else on the disk that matches the call to wrap it in.

Also try emptying groups.cache and all that lot in case some old data is cached - and rebuy the cube. I often find after changing the graphics of an object it only picks up part of the changes until I rebuy it from the catalogue.

Niol, what did you change?

"You can do refraction by raymarching through the depth buffer" (c. Reddeyfish 2017)
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