Shader Troubles in Radiant?

[Botdra]

Probably a stupid question, but how do I get plant sprites and skyboxes working in my map? There's textures in the base folders to use for them but I don't know how to actually get them to work properly and not just be a brush with flowers/backgrounds on it. Also, if I wanted to add a moon to a skybox, how hard would that be? And lastly, I wanted to create very specific layouts of flowers similar to this, how could I achieve that?

 

[ChalklYne]

Probably a stupid question, but how do I get plant sprites and skyboxes working in my map? There's textures in the base folders to use for them but I don't know how to actually get them to work properly and not just be a brush with flowers/backgrounds on it.

 

That many sprites would bog your map down especially if you had to create entire rows of flowers like that. But, to answer your question... you would need to find the shader for said sprites and whatever it's named there... find that texture in radiant. 

i.e.

textures/yavin/grasspatchy_swampsprite
{
	qer_editorimage	textures/yavin/groundjungle
	q3map_material	ShortGrass
	q3map_nolightmap
	cull	twosided
    {
        map textures/yavin/groundjungle
    }
    {
        map gfx/sprites/y_grass_tall
            surfaceSprites vertical 32 36 42 500
            ssFademax 1500
            ssFadescale 1
            ssVariance 1 2
            ssWind 0.5
        alphaFunc GE192
        blendFunc GL_SRC_ALPHA GL_ONE_MINUS_SRC_ALPHA
        depthWrite
        rgbGen vertex
    }
}

 

So instead of looking for "textures/yavin/groundjungle" in radiant... you woulfd need to find "textures/yavin/grasspatchy_swampsprite" which it says will have the qer image of the "groundjungle"

 

 

Also, if I wanted to add a moon to a skybox, how hard would that be?

 

Simple as making your moon, then slapping it in one of the textures for whichever skybox you're modifying. If you wanted "actual moonlight".. it will get trickier.

 

 

 

And lastly, I wanted to create very specific layouts of flowers similar to this, how could I achieve that?

 

Models. I mean map_objects. You'll save tons of memory and time this way. Models with a few alpha planes sticking up here and there for the flowers that are taller... the rest will be textured in.

 

Another option for you, would be to make the brushwork for the flower objects... then export it as an .obj and have someone model it and UV it for ya. I see that as the only real inexpensive way of handling that and making it look better than what you're seeing there.

 

My 2 cents...

[mrwonko]

You'll need to write a shader to have the transparent parts of your texture be transparent in the game - take a look at e.g. a grate in imperial or some leaves in yavin for how such a shader has to look.

 

Changing a skybox (e.g. adding a moon) is a matter of painting onto the texture (or a copy, ideally, then copying the shader and adjusting paths).

 

As for the prismatic brushes in the picture - take a look at the 2-point-clipping tool (shortcut X) to cut through brushes as the least error prone method of shaping them.

[Botdra]

You'll need to write a shader to have the transparent parts of your texture be transparent in the game - take a look at e.g. a grate in imperial or some leaves in yavin for how such a shader has to look.

 

Changing a skybox (e.g. adding a moon) is a matter of painting onto the texture (or a copy, ideally, then copying the shader and adjusting paths).

 

As for the prismatic brushes in the picture - take a look at the 2-point-clipping tool (shortcut X) to cut through brushes as the least error prone method of shaping them.

 

I've already shaped them that way as brushes, but doing them as sprites is another matter.

 

Thanks boys. I'm still a bit confused on the skybox/sprite deal. Let me try and simplify it for myself... the textures I'm wanting to use for my skybox are the "textures/skies/b_bk" series. Now those textures - if I understand correctly - are just that, textures. They will just look like stretched textures with seams in game. How do I apply the shader to make them look like a proper skybox?

 

As for the plants, say I wanted to use "textures/yavin/temple_vinesalpha" as some ivy/vines on a wall. I just created a new caulk brush just in front of the wall, and put that texture on the front of it. I'm assuming that's the wrong way to do it, so how do I properly do it?

 

And lastly with the plant sprites, @@ChalklYne wouldn't that method require me to use a certain ground texture in order to have the grass/flower sprites show up?

[ChalklYne]

Essentially, you'll want the flowers to be a completely different texture. What I was saying, is export those flower brushes, the triangles and whatever I see there.. that you've modelled in Radiant.. export em as .obj and let someone remake them as map_objects. It would just be a few minutes to make... and then we can set the methods side-by-side and see what's going to work out best for ya.

 

 

 

@@Botdra

EDIT: see? If we did it with models, you could bake in the alpha shadowing giving the illusion of leaf shadows and such. Excuse the texture this is just an example