Custom Ground Textures and other interesting prop shader tricks.

[boformer 3,169]

That might only work on flat terrain, and accurate prop placement can be very iffy.

Best bet would be a very large subdivided plane you could plop on the other side of Shrooms assets, they would just slide underneath like a doormat and you could zone or build on top / underneath.

Guess yes if you switch to fence shader. But I wouldn't want to try and align 20 line props.

I don't know if it is the fence shader.it looks like the prop is really painted on the ground.

From what I've seen (I can't be certain!) it's the same one used for anything that follows the ground, road markings, hedges, Jap garden, tunnel, road and bridge meshes etc. If there's another one I would love to find it

Edit: Assuming the game uses legacy shaders from Unity 4 I believe all of those are based on http://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/shader-TransCutBumpedSpecular.html

As far as I know there's no other technique for supplying heightbased d+s+n+a...

Sorry lol really going offtopic technical XD

Ok, here is the answer:

Decal Shaders:

The shader name is

• "Custom/Props/Decal/Blend" for road arrows, parking spaces, tiles, old asphalt
• "Custom/Props/Decal/Solid" for manholes

Both props use a simple box as a mesh, and a diffuse + alpha texture.

This stuff could probably be used to create custom ground textures (e.g. for plazas, or flowerbeds, or a crime scene). It opens up so many possibilities.

Fence shader:

The prop hedges and industrial fence use the "Custom/Props/Prop/Fence" shader, which is quite self-explaining. It makes the prop follow the terrain.

Default Shader:

"Custom/Props/Prop/Default"

Script to change the shaders:

https://gist.github.com/boformer/38d97d663779d48a21ed
(Important: Read the comments and modify the script before you run it!)

Use the Mod Tools console to run the script.

Here is a test result using a simple cube and the script run with the set vakzes. I don't understand completely how it scales the texture:

It seems like the UV map of the cube is ignored.

 

  Edited October 22, 2015 by boformer  

[GC_Vos 714]

Interesting! Super useful I will definitely try this. Do you know if these can be used for asset or props only?

[boformer 3,169]

Interesting! Super useful I will definitely try this. Do you know if these can be used for asset or props only?

The shader was definitely made for props. You could modify the underground building texture script to apply the shader to a building.

 

  Edited October 23, 2015 by boformer  

[boformer 3,169]

So far it looks like every texture is rendered as a 4x4m decal. I wonder how we can influence the size. Maybe with the prop scaling options?

[boformer 3,169]

I created some cobblestone props! There are 3 densities for smooth transitions.

The textures are blending in smoothly when you zoom in.

The props can be found in the Residential prop category when using More Beautification.

Workshop Collection

I'm still trying to find out how to create larger texture props. I know that it is possible.

[Ryno917 102]

This.

Is.

AWESOME.

[Cool_Z 1,547]

WOAAAHHHHH 

 

 

[boformer 3,169]

I developed this little mod which allows you to place the props in the water: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=552705090

[Cool_Z 1,547]

I don't know if it's really related, but would there be a way to use custom textures on the ground when importing an asset ? Like adding our own square tiles.

[boformer 3,169]

CO uses the same technique for their volleyball and the tennis field. There are 2 hidden props for that.

The problem is that I don't know how to create decal props with a size larger than 8x8m. You can already use this feature for your buildings if you only want to cover small surfaces.

The other way would be to use the fence shader for your building (the one that allows underground textures).

The landfill uses a different feature: multiple meshes (displayed depending on used capacity) using the "fence" shader. This feature can not be used by asset creators because the serialization is missing (just like light props).

[Cool_Z 1,547]

 

The other way would be to use the fence shader for your building (the one that allows underground textures).

 

The fence shader allows for a perfectly flat ground, is that the trick ? So you can use a flat surface as a base ?

SHroom told me about this shader when I asked how he made his parking lot... but I have zero idea how it works... and won't it cause trouble if the building tries to grow on a sloped terrain ? (Yeah I really have NO idea  ) 

[boformer 3,169]

The shader is used by the japanese garden and the cemetery and the metro entrance

y=0 is always on the terrain if you use that shader.

It will deform your buildings if the terrain is too steep.

[Cool_Z 1,547]

Ok... then not usable :/

 

Only solution left is the decals like the tiled floors or the parking space marker in the asset editor

[boformer 3,169]

I added 3 new textures: Fallen Leaves (2x) and a "special" for people who like to tell stories in their city journals.

  Edited November 12, 2015 by boformer  

[Judazzz 1,936]

Lol, that's awesome! (in a morbid way).

Love the fallen leafs as well: they are props, right? Kind of surprised that they seem to follow the 'terrain' in the same way as the street/pavement textures (becoming distorted/stretched) - I thought props were plopped onto the underground, not fused with it... (note that I have zero idea how things work under the hood...)

[boformer 3,169]

Lol, that's awesome! (in a morbid way).

Love the fallen leafs as well: they are props, right? Kind of surprised that they seem to follow the 'terrain' in the same way as the street/pavement textures (becoming distorted/stretched) - I thought props were plopped onto the underground, not fused with it... (note that I have zero idea how things work under the hood...)

That's because it uses the "decal" shader. The arrows on the roads and the manholes are also props.

[Judazzz 1,936]

Lol, that's awesome! (in a morbid way).

Love the fallen leafs as well: they are props, right? Kind of surprised that they seem to follow the 'terrain' in the same way as the street/pavement textures (becoming distorted/stretched) - I thought props were plopped onto the underground, not fused with it... (note that I have zero idea how things work under the hood...)

That's because it uses the "decal" shader. The arrows on the roads and the manholes are also props.

TIL  

[Cool_Z 1,547]

That's an amazing pic !!!

[boformer 3,169]

Ok... then not usable :/

Only solution left is the decals like the tiled floors or the parking space marker in the asset editor

With the new sub-buildings mod, this is definetely usable. You have to create 2 assets:

The main building using the default shader, and the ground mesh using the fence shader. Then just overlay them.

If the mod is not installed, only the main building will be displayed as a fallback.

[toxicpiano 125]

could this be used for concrete and field 'brushes'?

[boformer 3,169]

Yes. Though right now the size is limited to 8x8m.

 

[boformer 3,169]

Just added 2 new textures:

[ReneXL 16]

I developed this little mod which allows you to place the props in the water: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=552705090

Some mods are should probably not be released  like this  

[GC_Vos 714]

Love it, the more textures the better Have you figured out the scaling on this? Is it a 4x4m tile?

[boformer 3,169]

It is still 8x8m. no time to find out today.

[OwiHH 240]

problem i have creating ground tiles ( i really like this option for citybuilding) is that normal maps not used right. Even you can giv one to the tiletexture if you drop it to the ground it blends in the normal map of the underlaying texture. Used blend shader.

[boformer 3,169]

that's right. It is a limitation of the blend shader.

btw, here is how to make these decals:

Create a cube in origin. Size: 8x8x8

Import the prop with the desired texture (diffuse + alpha)

Run this script: https://gist.github.com/boformer/eead42035bac7862081f

it will also change prop category and priority.

  Edited November 16, 2015 by boformer  

[OwiHH 240]

is there anyway get that normal map shown up?

[boformer 3,169]

is there anyway get that normal map shown up?

no. In that case you have to create a "fence" prop (plane 10cm above y=0).

[boformer 3,169]

I just found out how to create larger decal props! Any size is possible!

That means now it is possible to create custom ground textures for parking lots, football fields and all that stuff. Or more realistic cliff textures.

Next week I will create a tutorial.

Here is a quick test (size 16x8):

Thanks to IUltimateLP, who pointed my into the right direction.

  Edited November 21, 2015 by boformer