SC2Mapster

Hi guys! You all remember the old starport attachment, right?

I've been working on this model some time just for the sake of learning. I managed to get the original structure feeling while adapting it a little to the StarCraft II style.

Includes:

• Models: normal, placement, death and death detached.
• Textures: diffuse, normal, specular, emissive. Also has TC and animated holo texture. Moreover, I provide the button and wireframe images (thanks to Soulfilcher).
• Animation: stand, attached start/end, working, build... Death animation (normal) includes some physics to give variance.

Here's a test map for you to try the model. Later I will upload the assets to sc2mapster.

Thanks to everyone who helped me out and gave feedback. Without you guys, I couldn't have made it.

OOO very nice. I like it, and I'm sure some specular and normals will help shape this up. Team Color wise I'd add it in place of the yellow lines. With the right animations and colors I'm sure this will turn out to be awesome.

Thank you very much for the impressions.

BTW, the more I look at the model, the more I have the feeling that details such as the light or the needle antenna like won't be "seen" ingame. I mean, the details won't have enough definition from the game camera distance. What do you guys think?

it looks currently amazing, keep the good work!

Ok, thanks to all.

Any more feedback on the things I pointed out? I really need that...

@XibadivS: Go

Do you use Art Tools?

@Zolden: Go

Yep

Quote from Forge_User_71805868: Go

1. No specular, no normals. I still have to do a little Frankenstein thing to put them there and I'm not sure it will come out ok.
2. No team colors nor decals. I don't know where to put them. Suggestions?
3. No rigging, only did a basic animation without bones to see the thing with all it's elements showing.
4. The windows in the main tower should be black and only glowing one at a time in the working animation. I don't have a clue how to change the texture from black to glowing yellow/orange... yet.

1. If you use default sc2 textures, they include normals/speculars, just add them to the material too.
If you create your own diffuse texture, you probably need to create normal maps by yourself. It can be done by creating a high poly model and generatiing a normal map. Then you need to use nDo program to generate another normal map, based on diffuse texture. Then you "overlay" one normal map with second one. Then you generate specular map using nDo. And then you need to turn normal map to sc2 format: copy red channel to alpha and invert green.

2. I'm not the best source of design suggestions

3. Well, there are shitloads of rigging tutorials on youtube. But simple animating meshes works too.

4. You can animate "rgb multiplier" of a material layer. So, you need an emissive layer with animated rgb multiplier, which will make it 0 at unlinked anim, and 1 (or more) at linked anim.

@Zolden: Go

Thanks.

About 1, that is the next step I'm going to take, I used SC textures, yes, but only to create my own diffuse. I mean, I understand it's not wise to uv with different textures since the game would be loading all those textures only for 1 model. And let's not talk about the resolution, cause if you use textures that are yet done, you have to rescale your uv to that piece, screwing up the overall resolution of the texture (maybe you use more uv space in parts that you don't need so much res and viceversa). But maybe I'm wrong.

I thought of that at the beginning, even the first model I did was this way: adapting my uvs to the different textures that are there. That way is easier to have the normal maps there and the speculars as well cause they use the same uv coordinates. Easy as pie. But with the copy paste in own diffuse thing, wouldn't I have to cut out the normal map pieces and create the same diffuse pattern with normals?

I only did my own AO and normal in the windows and tower "carvings" to have a guide in where to paint. I expected to combine it with the normal maps in the game, I'll have to do little trial and error there. I used xnormal, but I've read some post from you recommending using ndo, I have already downloaded it but I have to figure out how to use. You talk about creating specularity with the app, and that is very interesting, because I haven't always had no idea how to start creating specular maps.

About 3, well I have watched some of them. Eventually I will rig this thing.

About 4, thanks for the tip, I will look into this ASAP.

BTW about the details I commented earlier, this is a image of the model seen from the game perspective. The details are barely seen, maybe should I remove them? (sorry about the quality of the gif, it's the first time I do so)

@XibadivS: Go

nDo isn't an alternative to xNormal, they both have to be used. In xnormal you create a tangent space normal, so your low poly model look like a high poly one. Then you use ndo to create diffuse-related normal map, so, details of the diffuse map has some bumps and pushes above the high-oply-related normal map.

And I wouldn't recommend to use normals from the default sc2 texture, no matter you use the textures themselves or cut pieces to create your own texture. Because default normals's curvature is individual for each model, and if you use it on your new model, lights will look a bit awkward.

Using nDo is easy:

1. Load your diffuse.
2. Run nDo.
3. Go presets->pick the preset, click "active document" button.
4. It will generate a normal map.
5. Then adjust the parameters of the normal map to choose the appropriate one.
6. Save normal map.
7. Go "convert", and pick normal to specular.

Just try, it should work, with more practice you will understand, how can you modify a copy of diffuse map, to generate better normals.

Also, the specular map nDo generates may be a bit too dark, or too contrast. Usually I mix it with debrightnessed and a bit desaturated diffuse map.

Just make a simple test model and a diffuse for it. Try to create normal/specular maps for it, play with parameters to understand what affects what, and gradually u'll understand how to make decent normals/speculars.

I wouldn't remove the extra detail from the model, display resolutions are always increasing which allows such detail to be seen plainly, and Blizzard has gone way overboard with removing details on their models.

Quote from Forge_User_62748943: Go

nDo isn't an alternative to xNormal

You mean the free version, right? Cause there's something called nDo2, that is shareware. BTW, doesn't nvidia dds plugin do some sort of similar thing?

Anyway I've downloaded the free script and installed it. Later I will review the guide and your tips, to see what I can do. Thank you very much for your advice, It's really appreciated.

Quote from Zarxiel93: Go

Need TC

As I said in the first post: "No team colors nor decals. I don't know where to put them. Suggestions? "

Quote from Forge_User_62748943: Go

I wouldn't remove the extra detail from the model, display resolutions are always increasing which allows such detail to be seen plainly, and Blizzard has gone way overboard with removing details on their models.

So the detail is staying then. I'll try to scale it a little bit, see if it fits and if there's no clipping with the animation.

Quote from Forge_User_71805868: Go

You mean the free version, right? Cause there's something called nDo2, that is shareware. BTW, doesn't nvidia dds plugin do some sort of similar thing?

Yes, nDo2. Find the latest release on torrents.

nvidia plugin does it the simplest way, it interprets the gradient linearly, while nDo creates multiple layers with different interpretation of the gradient, so it's much easier to find the desired look, also it visualizes the normal on a box or even a mesh you import, which is useful especially for noobs, and also it generates specular maps

For specular can't you turn your diffuse gryescale, then make the metal light grey if too dark. For normal, generate it with gimp/photoshop out of the diffuse, follow how to make it orange normal

As Emitr said, make the normal form the diffuse its way easier. And that's how blizzard made SC2 normals.

Yes, blizz use smoothing groups to smooth the low poly model, and use normals nicely made from diffuse. which is almost as good as if you would create a tangent space normal from high poly model.

But actually, there are some models that have tangent space normals. Some zerg models, for example. And also, I suspect that the simple normals are not made fomr diffuse. They are created partially from modified high poly (with bumps and pushes), or jsut sculpted.

So, it's probably better to try all ways and choose the one you like most.

A little update here.

Normals applied, white specular 100% (still has to be tuned up).

TC added. Took me its time to look good. Noobish skills.