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How to create a simple Tileset Terrain with nwMAX?


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#1
Raven_Xantrice

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Hello out there!
Have searched a lot of time for a tutorial explain me how to create by my self a Terrain/Group... for a Tileset! Have found only nwvault.ign.com/View.php this! This is an good explained tutorial on how to create a Tileset but I think its outdated because there is no use with nwMAX! So I'm started how I did:
First I open 3dsmax8. Creating a aurora base named "tiy_a01_01", thats my base for the Tileset Tile. Than I create a plane with the scale of 100x100 and a second plane with the same scale. The on I make with the modifier tab to editable trimesh and the other to walkmesh (before I make them to editable mesh). Now I make a texture on my first plane, the trimesh-plane! Link them to the aurora base. Done? No! The nwMAX script don't export a .wok! I need a wok! :( Have search in existing tilesets and import/export for testing purpose but there it export an wok! Don't know how to to and find no tutorial of it!

Attachement 1: The AuroraDLIght it don't know really what it is but I copy it name it tiy_a01_01ml1 and linket it too!

Attachement 2: I have placed the two planes on y=500 because want to create later a chasm!

Attachement 3: Think the mdl is correct maybe I've forgotten something to write. But thats it!

Thank you for reading and maybe explaining! Have found no tutorial for .wok and Tileset creation but the one of velmar!

Edit: Okay, that model has to be named as tiy01_a01_01! Than it worked - solved. :)

Modifié par Raven_Xantrice, 21 septembre 2011 - 04:07 .


#2
OldTimeRadio

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Tiles need to be 1000x1000cm, not 100x100cm.

I can't help very much with specific questions, unfortunately.  I haven't created a tileset in a while.  But I can say that NWMax can definitely export a WOK and that you should probably be using Velmar's Tileset Creator.  You can download it here.  There, you can also download the tutorial videos which will help you use it.  Watch carefully and take notes.

Begin making simple things.  Then make more complex things.  I tried to start making complex tiles and I was very frustrated.  I had to start over and over again.  Finally, I just started making individual tiles.  Once I made 5-10 individual tiles, I started working with tile groups.  It is much easier and less frustrating that way.

I recommend (at least) a copy of the NWN Omnibus (to search for answers) and the BioWare Tileset Construction guide.  The BioWare construction guide is mostly useful just for the pdf/doc.  I don't think the utilities will probably work for you.  HarvestMoonConsortium had some very good tutorials/help but I just checked and they appear to be down.

:unsure:

If you go slow, read and read and read and take notes, you can achieve almost anything.  This is a single 15x16 tile group made from a mesh I exported from 3D Ripper DX, ripped from the Fallout 3 G.E.C.K. editor.  Be patient and you can achieve whatever you want.

VelsTools is also absolutely invaluable.

Edit: I hear that HarvestMoonConsortium will probably be back up soon-ish, so be sure to check them over the next few days.  Lots of tileset-specific tutorials and information there.

Modifié par OldTimeRadio, 21 septembre 2011 - 05:32 .


#3
Raven_Xantrice

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Okay, have this checked! :) The tileset (there is only >>ground<< work for now fine. Yes, I think i will start with simple ones! It's not sooooo difficult, but a lot of work and correction i Think!

#4
Bannor Bloodfist

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Shoot, you responded that you had it figured out, just about the time I had finished creating a whole bunch of screen shots on how to do it for you.

Anyway, I will post them here for anyone else that has the same sort of issues.

NOTE: I used VelTools v1.25 for creating tile dummies, it is faster and easier by far than manually creating things. It automatically links all the dummies to the correct main tile dummy, and allows you to set the tilename etc right from the first.

Image IPB

That takes care of creating all the dummies you might need for a tile (other than emitters).

Image IPB

Your first ground plane:
Image IPB

Your modifier stack:
Image IPB

Your walkmesh:
Image IPB

How to link them:
First select the ground plane object, then click the buttons in this next screen;
Image IPB
Image IPB

There are some basic details in those shots so please read the text in them as well.

#5
Raven_Xantrice

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Thank you very much! :) I read this and try! I want to create a modern/postmodern/gothic city tileset with chasm and not water. I know it will be easier to retexture but thats not my goal! ;)

Edit:
First goal:
Image IPB

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Modifié par Raven_Xantrice, 21 septembre 2011 - 07:49 .


#6
Bannor Bloodfist

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Hmmm... there are a couple ways to go about it all I guess.

One way would be to take a tileset where the buildings are close to what you want, and modify that tileset.

Say for the water tiles, call them chasm instead, and remove the water plane... and adjust the wok object to prevent walking, a water surface of type 6 WILL allow you to walk, while a type 17 (deepwater) won't. Or you you could change that surface type to a type 7, which is a no-walk surface.

Much of that could be done fairly automatically. Getting you a working set, without a great deal of effort, and giving you a base to work from. Once you have that done, you could deepen the water tiles, to make them appear deeper, change the texture on the ground (under what was originally water) to some other texture etc...

I can and do create NEW stuff, but about 80% of the time, I start with some tile/group/set that someone else created, and add/modify as I want.

3dsmax is not intuitive to me, and the NWN engine constraints make it even harder for some things. Using NWmax, Veltools and Velmar's tileset creator, all make it easier, but you still have to CREATE things, and the way 3ds does that, makes it a bit more difficult.

I know I hate that I am limited by the default shapes that 3ds allows you to create, IE box, pyramid, plane, etc.. but just about anything can be created from those simple objects. One of the key things I have learned is to raise the default division counts a bit.

IE a plane defaults to a single division per side. That limits you a great deal, and NWN needs vertices at 125cm intervals on a ground plane to allow you to paint two tiles next to each other without visible gaps.

Anyway, take your flat tile that you just created... assuming it has those vertices at 125 cm intervals, you can duplicate that tile now, rename the duplicate to tile xxxx_a02_01 and start modifying it's shape.

Select the base ground plane, then select vertice mode on the modifier stack.

Now, your vertices show up as little blue dots (you will grow to hate them I expect, as you get more into this whole tile creation thing, and having to chase down those little blue dots...). Anyway, select a few of them, and drag them down, under the main plane. Now you have a "ditch/chasm". Not very realistic looking, but the more you adjust things, the more skilled you will become.

This brings up an issue that you need to keep in mind. For two flat tiles to connect in game to each other, they can be the same, or as in your screen shot, just one tile. For a tile that has a different shape, in this case a chasm/ditch, you need TWO tiles to make it work. One where the chasm crosses the entire tile, and one where it ends in the middle, leaving the flat part on the one side. So, now your set has 3 tiles total.

If you want to have a large chasm, one that goes completely across the tile, and does not go back to flat level on the other side, you will need more than 3 total tiles. You have to create one that is flat on one corner, and chasm on the other three, one that is flat on two corners, and flat on the other two, and one that is flat on 3 corners, with chasm on the final 4th corner. So, that means you have 5 tiles now, instead of just one...

Flat - all 4 coners
Flat - 3 corners, chasm on 4th
Flat - 2 corners, chasm on other two (on same side of tile)
Flat - 2 opposite corners, chasm on other 2 opposite corners.
Flat - 1 corner, chasm on other 3.

5 tiles. That is without having any variations on those tiles.

Variations are where say, you have chasm on half the tile, flat on other half, but you change the shape of the edge between flat and chasm... First tile xxxx_a02_01, might have a straight edge, while tile xxxx_a02_02 might have a curved in section, where the chasm goes slightly further across the tile into the center...

Anyway, I can create some basic images for that if you need it.

There is a basic naming convention used on tilesets.

xxxxx_a01_01 <-- where xxxxx is the 5 character name of the tileset. ttr01 for rural as an example.
ttr01_x01_01 <<-- where the "x" is the character chosen to represent the basic terrain, this letter doesn't matter all that much, but I try to follow Bioware basic naming to help me keep track. In this case, using an "a" would basically mean, this is the first terrain type in the set. In your case, I would assume "ground" which might mean grass, or cobble or stone. You would want to only use the letter "a" for a tile that is of that specific terrain type.

ttr01_a01_xx <-- where the "xx" is the variation. Most tilesets have at least one variant for each tile created, many, have many many more variants.

Next terrain, in your case chasm, would go with the next letter so your tile name would be:
ttr01_b01_01 for the first tile. Notice the change from a01 to b01.

Where two different terrains meet, you should pick the first letter of the first terrain, and the variants of that same tile that connect to the other terrain. ie a01_02. instead of b01_01. (leave the b01_01 as the base of that chasm terrain).

It can get real complicated, but once you get a feel for things, you will understand why tiles are named the way they are.

Groups, typically use much higher letters, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y etc....
Crossers, like fences, streams, roads, typically start with letter g, though j or k, depending on how many different crossers you create.

Anyway, once the Harvestmoon website is back up, which should be very soon (damn isp's) there are lots of tutorials/information things regarding tilesets located in our custom content forums, the link is in my sig.

#7
Raven_Xantrice

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Yes, I see it. ^^ The chasm I want to create as second part I named tiy01_b01_xx, okay don't use the bioware standard maybe stupid :S. But I want to try, don't know really if I want to use the set but I will learn with it... See it with the chasm, have think about it before. What I've forgotten?

Image IPB

#8
Zwerkules

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You have forgotten one tile with only chasms on it. If you plan on making variations, the first one with chasms in opposite corners is rarely used, so one variation is probably enough. The second one is used very often and should have the most variations, at least 3-4. The third one is used less often than the second and forth, but still more often than the first. The fourth one is almost used as often as the second one. Give it at least 3 variations.

If you invert the image you made so that you have ground where you have chasms now and vice versa, you won't have to rotate tile pathnodes. For example the pathnode 'I' has the walkable part on the left, while your second image has the chasm to the left. So the pathnode would have to be rotated by 180 degrees. It doesn't really matter. You could have the chasm at the top of the image and the ground at the bottom, but in most tilesets the tiles are made so that they match the pathnodes without rotation. Hmm, I'm talking too much. :blush:You probably shouldn't worry about pathnodes yet.

For the first image you could have two different ones. In your image the corners of the ground parts of the image don't touch, but you could make a tile where you could walk across the chasm from one corner to the other.

Modifié par Zwerkules, 21 septembre 2011 - 09:44 .


#9
Bannor Bloodfist

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You need chasm on all 4 (ie deep bottom) and stone/ground on all 4 (which you already created in your first screen shot), but otherwise, you have a good handle on the basic shapes needed to get started with.

If you play around with getting those working in game/toolset before going with creating variations or other terrains, you will get a better understanding of how the different terrains work.

Once you have that understanding, actually editing the tiles so that your chasms have walls that reach up from the bottom to the flat terrain, doing the same thing with the wok for that tile, texturing the pieces etc...

It really is not all that hard, the devil is in the texturing and details. The more you play with it, the more you will understand.

If you are using the TSC (tileset creator by velmar) it will allow you to add tiles to the set (they don't have to exist yet) with the proper details associated with each tile.

Adding a tile to a given tileset:

Image IPB

Adding/Adjusting the details for each tile:
Image IPB

If you don't have the details set correctly for each tile, the tile will not work in toolset and game.

Be sure to "SAVE or Apply Changes" the updates each time you make adjustments to the details or add a tile. TSC will not automatically make those changes permanent for you, you MUST "Apply Changes" and "Write the set".

#10
OldTimeRadio

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Great tutorial you got going there, Bannor! I'm bookmarking this thread to refer back to- it's easy for all these little details to scamper away from my memory right when I need them the most.

#11
Bannor Bloodfist

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Thanks OTR... once Harvestmoon is back up (dang ISP's, take your money and shut you off anyway) I will be posting this as a tutorial there. Maybe flesh it out a bit more as I go along. Add more screen shots, like tying in the details for the 4 corners with an actual pic of the resulting tile etc...simple shapes only, not a real tile in a real set but enough for a demo.

Likely this will be a few days down the road, the ISP is claiming 18 hour response time... funny how that works... they auto-shut down your site (without even checking their payment pages), but have absolutely nothing in place to turn you back on... has to have a human involved.

#12
Raven_Xantrice

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Yes, the board work! :) Thanks to all people that make this possible: Bannor Bloodfist, OldTimeRadio and Zwerkules!

#13
Bannor Bloodfist

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Raven_Xantrice wrote...

Yes, the board work! :) Thanks to all people that make this possible: Bannor Bloodfist, OldTimeRadio and Zwerkules!


Ok, Then I will stop attempting to anticipate your next question(s).

You are a VERY fast learner it appears, which is a good thing, considering how much there is to learn regarding tilesets.

If you have any other issues, questions, whatever, please ask away, and I am sure someone here, will help you find the answer(s).

#14
Estelindis

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Yes, an excellent tutorial - just like all the other ones Bannor gives, in my experience! Thanks to Zwerkules and OTR as well. :-)

#15
Raven_Xantrice

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Too many questions :D, with tileset it is more difficult to tryandtestanderrorandresolve than the other things I've tried: armor making, weapons... ... but I need all for my project^^
One question: Can I make more than 1 walkmesh in a tile? Have think about a bridge and I know you cannot walk on top and under the bridge.. will I let the chasm without any walkmesh under the bridge? Okay maybe dummie question! ;)

#16
Bannor Bloodfist

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Raven_Xantrice wrote...

Too many questions :D, with tileset it is more difficult to tryandtestanderrorandresolve than the other things I've tried: armor making, weapons... ... but I need all for my project^^
One question: Can I make more than 1 walkmesh in a tile? Have think about a bridge and I know you cannot walk on top and under the bridge.. will I let the chasm without any walkmesh under the bridge? Okay maybe dummie question! ;)


Only one walkmesh allowed per tile, but you CAN duplicate the tile, rename the duplicate to a variation _02 etc, and adjust the wok for that as you see fit.

That was how the Castle Drawbridges in Castle Rural was done.  Same tiles, renamed/duplicated, but the woks changed to allow either walking UNDER the gateway, or ABOVE the gate using the alternate tiles.

#17
Estelindis

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On that theme, personally I'm thinking of getting around the limitations on elven tree cities by making two versions of the same tileset: one with ground-level-walkmesh and the other with tree-platform-level-walkmesh. (When I have time. Which will probably be never. But I think it's a good idea!) Apart from the differences in walkmesh, the tilesets would be identical. One would just area-transition between two different versions of the area whenever one wanted to go from lower city to upper city.

#18
henesua

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Estelindis wrote...
One would just area-transition between two different versions of the area whenever one wanted to go from lower city to upper city.


Is there a tool that enables you to duplicate an area, but change the tileset?

#19
Failed.Bard

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GFF editor allows changing of the tileset within the .are file, though I have to assume if any tile names are different between the sets it'd cause some problems doing that.

#20
Bannor Bloodfist

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It could be accomplished via some sort of script-able program. Essentially you pull the .are file, convert to xml, search/replace the tileset prefix with the new tileset prefix.

So, if your area is built with ttr01, and your exact duplicate tileset is named ttr02 but otherwise all tilenames are identical, you can do a search / replace.

OldMansBeard did things like this for CTP back in the day when he was working with us. We used his knowledge and utils to generate exact tilename placeables for every tile in a given area, but the idea is basically the same. Since you would be working with a .xml version of the .are file, a search/replace will work for the tilenames. Then convert back from .xml to .are, and import the area.

I have some notes, and an open office macro that does a large part of the placeable naming bit.

REM (1) Use NWNExplorer to export the area files from the module into an empty folder
REM or just load the module into the toolset and take them from modules\\temp0.
REM You need the .are, .git and .gic files for each area.
REM (2) Using NWNEditor > GFF Data > Tools > GFF -> XML
REM -- Navigate to the right folder for input and ouput
REM -- Files *.*
REM -- Flag Add Extension, Flag Change Extension xml (without the dot)
REM -- Apply
REM (3) Edit WorkingDirectory$ below to be correct
REM (4) Compile and Run this macro
REM (5) Using NWNEditor > GFF Data > Tools > XML -> GFF
REM -- Navigate to the right folder for input and ouput
REM -- Files *.newgit
REM -- Clear all the flags
REM -- Apply
REM (6) Using nwhak start a new file and add resources
REM -- Navigate to the right folder
REM -- CTRL-Click and add all the .are, .gic and .GIT files (one for each area)
REM -- but not the .git.original, .newgit or .xml files
REM -- save As omb_<module name>.hak, attach to the module in the tileset


Anyway, I know it is possible, but someone would have to build the scripts/macros for you.

The tileset would HAVE to be an EXACT duplicate for this to work. Meaning the only difference being the first 5 characters of the tile name.

IE: ttr01_a01_01 would mean that ttr01 could be replaced with the new tileset prefix of ttr02 or whatever 5 character prefix you choose.

The macro I have only affects the GIT file, which is the placeable items in a given area, but it should be entirely possible to directly edit the .ARE which is the file that contains the individual tilenames, placement order, direction that those tiles were rotated to be etc...

#21
henesua

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I have a text editor that use regular expressions in its find and replace function. Good to know that I can make use of it here. Thanks.

#22
Bannor Bloodfist

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henesua wrote...

I have a text editor that use regular expressions in its find and replace function. Good to know that I can make use of it here. Thanks.


Yes, you can, provided the following:

1) you export the area first.
2) Use NWNEditor > GFF Data > Tools > GFF -> XML on the exported .are files.
3) do your search replace.
4) Use NWNEditor > GFF Data > Tools > XML -> GFF to convert the xml back to .gff file type.
5) import the files back into the module.  

Some caveats:

Doing a search/replace on filenames can be VERY dangerous if the tilesets are not exact duplicates in layout.  IE tile ttr01_a01_01 is layed out the same as the replacement ttr02_a01_01.  

The engine stores the tile name, position, rotation and elevation positions in the .ARE file.  That data should match the tile being replaced.  IE if tile ttr02_a01_01 is rotated differently, you will get some really bad looking areas, and may crash, and totally screw up your module.

For what Estelindis wants to do, a fairly simple replacement of the woks, it shouldn't be that hard, provided that she is renaming the entire set to the new set name.

Anyway, YMMV as the saying goes.

#23
Bannor Bloodfist

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Ok, I just found out that the tool I mentioned in the above post "NwNEditor" is no longer found on the vault. It has no listing anywhere that I can find. I CAN find lots of posts related to this utility in serveral other game forums, like Star Wars Knights of the Republic, etc, but no valid links to the actual file.

I have a copy of the original but I have no place to host the file right now. I also do not know who the original author/creator was, and I would hesitate to host such a file without at least attempting to figure out who created this.

Edit: Found author's name, but he/she has nothing live on Vault anymore, and no way to contact them.  "Dawuid" created this util, based off of some coding from Torlack.

I don't have source files, only what was originally released on the vault.

Modifié par Bannor Bloodfist, 23 septembre 2011 - 08:54 .


#24
Raven_Xantrice

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I don't know this tool. :(

www.lucasforums.com/showthread.php is that the same or near on it?

nwvault.ign.com/View.php should be work too?

Modifié par Raven_Xantrice, 23 septembre 2011 - 10:16 .


#25
Bannor Bloodfist

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Raven_Xantrice wrote...

I don't know this tool. :(

www.lucasforums.com/showthread.php is that the same or near on it?

nwvault.ign.com/View.php should be work too?


The GFF editor is not the same.  The other link is invalid so I don't know about whether it works or not.


Ok, finally that link worked, but NO, that file is nothing like the NwNEditor.exe.  NwNEditor has features set to choose by menu, how to handle/export files, it will take a GFF and convert to XML, and vice-versa, which allows you much greater control on the actual data in the GFF. 

By converting the gff to xml, you can then use XML/Search/replace tools etc.  It makes handling the internal GFF data much easier for some things.

Modifié par Bannor Bloodfist, 24 septembre 2011 - 03:12 .