3D skyboxes?
Cruor
Join Date: 2004-11-07 Member: 32677Members
Join Date: 2004-11-07 Member: 32677Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Multiple points and emitter textures</div>What wondering about is if there are any plans on implementing 3D skyboxes. Similar to that of the Source engine that uses a 1/16th scale skybox and an emitter texture placed in the real map. That texture then displays information about what can be seen from an input point placed within the scaled down skybox.
I'm hoping and suggesting that the team at some point will allow for the creation of not just one but several of these input points in the 3D skybox and having a flag for the emitter textures for which input point to use.
This would allow an increased freedom when creating maps. I am for example currently working on a map which is aboard a space ship. Since the Commander requires a topdown unobstructed view. It would be hard for me to create a nice exterior of the ship to be seen from various windows and viewports around the ship, including the bridge.
But with a 3D skybox and multiple emitter points I'd be able to create a cool looking prop of the spaceship, in 1/16th scale or whatever the scale difference would be. Then place the input points at the approximate locations of my windows in the full scale map and then assign the different emitter textures to their relative inputs.
Another example would be a biosphere space station. With multiple inputs and emitter textures you wouldn't be limited to only one 3D skybox.
You could for example have some windows display the space outside and the windows of a corridor display the inside of a humongous biosphere with tropical jungle etc. which wouldn't really be a part of the map but purely eye candy at 1/16th scale, saves up on texture sizes and you could construct the entire jungle model in your 3D software of choice.
And just to brighten up this post I'll post a WIP screenshot (photoshopped skybox) of the bridge on my ship. A little bland at the moment without much prop work :D.
<a href="http://img691.imageshack.us/i/bridgewip.jpg/" target="_blank"><img src="http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/4079/bridgewip.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></a>
I'm hoping and suggesting that the team at some point will allow for the creation of not just one but several of these input points in the 3D skybox and having a flag for the emitter textures for which input point to use.
This would allow an increased freedom when creating maps. I am for example currently working on a map which is aboard a space ship. Since the Commander requires a topdown unobstructed view. It would be hard for me to create a nice exterior of the ship to be seen from various windows and viewports around the ship, including the bridge.
But with a 3D skybox and multiple emitter points I'd be able to create a cool looking prop of the spaceship, in 1/16th scale or whatever the scale difference would be. Then place the input points at the approximate locations of my windows in the full scale map and then assign the different emitter textures to their relative inputs.
Another example would be a biosphere space station. With multiple inputs and emitter textures you wouldn't be limited to only one 3D skybox.
You could for example have some windows display the space outside and the windows of a corridor display the inside of a humongous biosphere with tropical jungle etc. which wouldn't really be a part of the map but purely eye candy at 1/16th scale, saves up on texture sizes and you could construct the entire jungle model in your 3D software of choice.
And just to brighten up this post I'll post a WIP screenshot (photoshopped skybox) of the bridge on my ship. A little bland at the moment without much prop work :D.
<a href="http://img691.imageshack.us/i/bridgewip.jpg/" target="_blank"><img src="http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/4079/bridgewip.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></a>
Comments
One has to wonder how will the usual 2D skybox be implemented in that case though, but I think we'll know better sometime later in the alpha.
I'm just saying if I were to look out from say a window on the fore side of one of the wings of my spaceship map. Would I want the players to see a crude attempt of me to make a spaceship exterior with the geometry tools or would I want them to see a much cooler realistic looking and alltogether better representation created in a 3D software existing only in the skybox. I'd chose the latter.
But that would require mulitple input points to see the bridge from the wing and see the wings from the bridge and still be overwhelmed by the scale of the ship.
Perhaps these input points could also have a toggable option to display a panoramic sphere texture a la the old 2D skyboxes. That way you could easily define different types of behaviour for the skyboxes in a map. That way you'd get the best of two worlds.
Not sure how technically challenging it'd be to accomplish and I'm not saying it is a high priority, I do want to see the game out of the pipeline sooner rather than later after all. Just saying it'd be a nice feature to have in the editor at some time if possible.
Having a single continuous map space as opposed to splitting it into playable space and the skybox.
<!--quoteo(post=1745606:date=Jan 4 2010, 01:43 AM:name=Cruor)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Cruor @ Jan 4 2010, 01:43 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1745606"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I'm just saying if I were to look out from say a window on the fore side of one of the wings of my spaceship map. Would I want the players to see a crude attempt of me to make a spaceship exterior with the geometry tools or would I want them to see a much cooler realistic looking and alltogether better representation created in a 3D software existing only in the skybox. I'd chose the latter.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The idea is, you can have an altogether better representation created in 3D software in the map itself.
That is, I don't know if we will or won't have skyboxes, I'm just guessing that's how it'll be.