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Texturing problem

Xpand

Xpand

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nicaragua
Hey! This hasn't much to do with FS, but it's been haunting me for quite a while.
I have this racing track..
atlantica.jpg
...that I want to texture. I already textured one section of the track all "by hand" selecting each and every set of faces and manually mapping them, which is very labour intensive and I can't achieve the desired result.

atlantica_mapped.jpg

I also work in blender and there's an option to make the whole texture map follow the turns of the track.
I made the track by modeling a box to the shape of the section of the track and extruding it along the way. (because at the time I didn't know about the lofting ability). I'm using 3ds max 8.
Is there a way of texturing the track easily without having to do what I've been doing for a year?
The map is a 512x1024 sheet that has the track texture from side to side.
 
Model a single segment and then clone it until you have your track?



P.S: What game? Racer?
 
Well, if I modeled the track from a lofted spline it would be easier. But what you're sugesting is what I've been doing, although I already have the whole track modeled, as the image shows, I would like it to be completely and correctly textured when you added the material.

This is for a futuristic racing game based on the Wipeout series I'm developing with some people via the wipeout-zone forum.
 
Don't know if this helps, but you can apply a mapping to a loft on creation in gmax. :confused:
 
This is similar to aircraft inside window sills. Also door edges and door sills. I have developed a technique that works awesome for things like this. It partially uses Tiling, but not by much.

I first create a straight track of texture. I then shoot the side of the 'sill' (loop) from the faces. I then go into the UVW Unwrap and delicately straighten out all the lines of the mesh. You must do it in a way that they keep their distances perfect from the face on shot of the Plannar. When you have separated all the lines of the UVW mesh, then you adjust them into the track tile of texture.

Then you must do it again for the top/bottom, as the loop is 360 degrees, so again it is carried out on a select few that are face-on with the new UVW Map, and then carefully straightened out in the UVW Unwrap as like the first set.

Next, if any are out of alignment, or grids (like your track tiles) are mis-scaled, select the Polygons, adjust them with a UVW Unwrap, and continue till its perfect.

The technique, once you learn quick ways of grabbing the lines of UVW mesh, becomes very very fast, and you can do sills and borders in high speed. You can also 'tile' these from a 'edge' of a bitmap sheet, so it doesnt take a ton of textures to do them.



I'll find some graphics to show you what this looks like.


Bill
 
I did some quick screenshots to show what I was talking about.. You should be able to do the track in the same way. Distortion by compression should be possible on your top down 'tile view' that the track would have... Though, as I think about it, it should 'auto compress; the tiling on the inner edges...

Anyways, here are the screenshots..


Bill
 
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Some more..

Note that when you need to 'edit' squashed (mis scaled) mappings on a group of polyons, you do not need to remap them, just attach a new UVW Unwrap on them, move the UVW mesh around until they look right, then recompress the stack (collapse the stack). To do this, have the part 'collapsed' and go to Polygon mode, select polys that have stretched or squashed appearences, then click on UVW Unwrap, and use Scaler to stretch or compress the UVW mesh on the tile strip until they look proper. Slide them left or right to adjust screws and bolts, tile, brick lines, etc....

You must collapse the stack (object) each time you redo sets and sides of polygons. Otherwise, your stack could end up being 30 layers high, and its a huge impact on RAM and Gmax memory. You can crash the 3D engine with a ton of stacks on a group of parts.. at least on my machine.


Bill

By the way... Isnt that a Hot Wheels track? :D
 
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Thanks a million! But that only solves a bit of my problem. I want the track (the track ground, where the ships race) texture to follow the corners as well. That's what's been bugging me...

Lol, actually this track is for a game I'm making based on Wipeout Anti Gravity racing.
 
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with my mapping, you should be able to map the curves with straight textures. Thats my point. Thats how I map the sides of bends and curves. You just have to expand them evenly to maintail their X synchronization.

Hard to explain.

I dont know, maybe it wouldnt work. It was just an idea.

The other alternative, which I do frequently also, is screenshot/shotgun texturing in Gmax. I take a screenshot of selected Polygons only (you can hide all mesh but the ones being mapped) and take a screenshot. Bounce to Photoshop via Alt/Tab, have a texture sheet prepaired, click Control/V to paste the view onto the texture sheet, delete out the surrounding area' of the poly structure zone so that only the part is visible, Save (Control/S), Alt/Tab back to Gmax, select M (Material Manager) and attach material to object, add UVW to those selected Poly's, Add UVW Unwrap, map right then.

Continue above until the track is all mapped. You would probably need several sheets for all the track, but then you would have 'exactness' in your screenshots and parts, and you would be mapping ALL polygons in succession, right then. When you are done creating texture bases and mapping, then you go back and create the art onto the mesh.

I call it shotgun mapping. You screenshot and create a texture, and map it, all at once. Then later, go back and finish the art.
 
Yeah, that's probably the best option, though it has the issue of the whole texture set being too "heavy" on the game engine...
 
Then figuring out a technique for tiling it is then your best possibility. Maybe a straight away tile, then a curve texture sheet. Use only those two texture sheets for all of the track that has standard texturing.
 
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