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FSX Texture mapping, very confused ideas.....

riccardo74

riccardo74

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italy
Hi guys, I'm getting very very confused....which is the correct method to texture a 3d object?


Suppose I create with Max (I use 2015) a simple box (86m lenght, 65m width, 23m height).


Now how I want to texture it with a brick texture, like this (Image2, large, 3000x1980):

http://www.cgtextures.com/texview.php?id=68170&PHPSESSID=1enjs340fq4krke0ss73sge741


how to proceed?

1) select the object, apply UVW Unwrapp it (select all faces of the box with ctrl+A after "Editable Poly"), obtain the texture mapping template after rendering it as jpg and then paint in editor like Photoshop?

or

2) directly in Max apply on every box's face my texture (Image2)?


I'm asking this because I've quite finished my terminal building and now texturing it.


In the 1) case I decided to render from Max a 1024x1024 texture mapping sheet obtaining all the faces I need to texture in my editor, this:


CqIBd3R.jpg



I open my wall texture (3000x1980), select it and render as pattern, reduce it untill 5%, then create a new layer and begin to paint over the faces of building, and this is the result:

9iPWN3t.jpg


that could be acceptable from far, but if I go close it all the bricks are blurred:

cjBMRIy.jpg



Whit the 2) method I can apply on every faces the texture I want, tiling it accordingly with my needs and the result it's quite perfect (I have a little problem exporting "node or material name 01_-_Default deafult begins with a number. It will be exported as X01_-_Default for you" but this is another story.....), no blur and I don't need to resize it:

Cia2m3A.jpg




So, my stupid question is why I have to create a texture mapping sheet when I can texture directly in Max?

Many tutorials about painting 3d objects for FSX say to create a texture mapping sheet (after UVW mapping object) and then go to paint over the template in GIMP/photoshop. I did it but I obtained blurred texture after resizing my original wall.jpg, I need to resize it because bricks were too big... Maybe my template 1024x1024 is to small and I need 4096x4096?

Sorry, I need help, I am very confused.....

Thanks in advance
 
Hi Riccardo74!

A texture map is used to cut down the amount of draw calls. That is one of the most important reasons texture maps are used.

Make sure When you convert your images to DXT formats make MIP maps? That is the fist thing that I would suggest.

Also by looking at the 2nd to last image that you posted in your e-mail, look at the size of an individual brick compared to the size of the truck. That would be a very large brick. You need to go back to your photo editor and re-scale your brick texture to be closer to the correct size. That could also contribute to the reasons your brick image becomes blurry.

This is just a few things that I can think of at this moment.

Thanks, Kris:-)
 
This idea of changing the scale of the bricks by scaling the image is off base. A basic brick has a known dimension. About 3.5" x 2.25", as I get from googling brick standard dimensions. What you need is your brick texture covering a polygon of the following size: number of bricks in your image wide x 3.5" by number of rows of bricks x 2.25". That image on that size of polygon reveals correctly scaled bricks. It has nothing to do with the scale or size of your image. It has everything to do with the size of the polygon or polygons you are decorating vs the real world area covered by your image.

Now, you say...but what about the fuzziness? That has to do with how much data is in your starting image. You could have a 1024x1024 pixel image of bricks with the same number as you show here, and a 256x256 pixel image with the same number of bricks that you show here. As long as both images are the native source image (by that I mean that each of the 1024x1024 pixels has unique data and each of the 256x256 pixels of the small image have unique data), and they are affixed to the same size of polygon, you will see the bricks looking the same size and the bigger image will have higher resolution (look sharper). However, if you scale the 256x256 image up to 1024x1024 pixels and apply it to the same polygon, the bricks AGAIN will be at the correct scale, however the resolution (fuzziness) will be the same as when it was 256x256, you've changed nothing about resolution, because scaling the image doesn't cause additional information to join the image. All you are doing is stretching the known information over more pixels.

So, the objects pictured in your image tell you how big the 3dsmax polygon(s) should be for the image to remain in proportion to the world. Using the biggest size image that has original source information will give you the best resolution possible over that or those polygons.

Make sense?
 
You ask why not texture directly in 3ds Max and use that? Because FSX doesn't use 3ds Max materials: the results have to be converted to FSX-compatible materials which are applied to a texture mapping sheet.

There's no escape from mapping, I'm afraid.
 
yes, the use of créate texture sheets are to avoid too many drawcalls, this mean materials to load in the game render engine. drawcall are the number of textures you use. and take into account that when tiling a texture won't use these as a texture sheet because other images in texture sheet will be affected equally. so you just can use an image for the tiling. (problably I haven't expresed very well with this poor english)
 
Thank you very much guys for your replies.

So one point to me it's clear: use a texture sheet and not single texture.

Now, how to obtain it? Is it correct this workflow:

1) create an object
2) UVW Uwrapp it, open unwrapp editor, normal/flatten/unfold mapping, render as jpg, open in photoshop
3) regarding my brick texture how can I use it in this template, it's not so clear what bob5568 said about polygon size, infact my front build has a size of 644x174 pixel and the brick texture has a size of 3000x1980....how can I do? Resize it seems to be not the correct way, sorry.....
4) use UVW mapping and Gizmo function to map texture sheet on my object
5) export, convert .x in mdl and texture sheet in .dds, and view in FSX

Is it correct?
 
There are two basic workflows. If you map first and make a render as ______, then you've optimized the sameness of your resolution over your entire object. It works, although I think this technique fits better when designing objects that will be entirely seen, like aircraft. For buildings I always prefered to bias the resolution to the sides that would be normally viewed.

So, yes, your 1 thru 5 above is almost logical, you shouldn't need step 4, as you did it already in step 2.


The other approach is to create the texture sheet without mapping, using as much original data in the image of the biased side as possible.(a multiple of 2^x). This I'd normally do entirely in photoshop.

Once I was happy with my texture, then I'd go to individual polygons, or groups of polygons, and give them individual planar maps, and then map these groups to the existing texture.


In your item 3, you say not clear what I said about polygon size. I'm speaking here of real world units, like the polygon forming the brick wall is 20 feet long by 10 feet high.
 
Can't you create an FSX material using the tiled brick texture and apply that directly using UVW Mapping (i.e. tiled)? That's what I do in FS9, and I know those buildings work fine in FSX. As long as it is an FSX material, does it really matter how you apply it? And you can do this with UVW Unwrap as well - that makes adjusting the tiling easier in some cases.
 
Now I have clear two different approach.

In the case of second one, suppose you create a texture sheet 1024x1024, how big would be the brick texture to obtain a realistic effect based on real brick size in your opinion Bob? And as general rule, how you decide the size of single textures inside texture sheet?

@Tom, yes, you can. But if I well understand this enhance the potential number of drawcalls.

PS: just to know, we all are using standard material when create a 3d object or would be more correct use FSX material?
 
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