Texturing for GMAX

[daderic888 215]

I'm about to start texturing using SC4BAT, however I noticed that there's more to texturing than meets the eye.

It seems that there are programs out there that would give me better textures than if I were to just simply use SC4BAT / GMAX to texture, which would give me plain flat renders of exterior walls, windows and roofs.

Am I right? Is there anything out there that would provide more realistic texturing? If so, are there any free ones available?

Thanks in advance.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

I haven't done any of this for a long time, but bear in mind that any texturing you do will be flattened into a 2D orthographic projection in 20 views.  I used to make my own textures using the GIMP and extracting from existing photos.  For example, would you believe that the dome texture on the temple of mota is a detail from the Sistine Chapel ceiling.  This done doesn't light at night because this BAT was made before nightlight textures were available.

Remember, although you are working in 3D, the rendered model will be a set of 2D orthographic projections.
 

[mattb325 28,879]

Use the Gimp - it's free. I've used it for years and it is very straightforward. There is a good tutorial (written for photoshop, but the same principles apply in gimp) here which really hits the nail on the head in terms of what ends up looking good in game: https://community.simtropolis.com/forums/topic/51698-photoshopgimp-textures-and-your-bat/

[daderic888 215]

Thanks guys.

Would it be a good idea if I was to save images of textures from Google and work on them in Photoshop or GIMP. If so, do you know which format of images is recommended? (jpeg bmp, gif, png).

Which version of Gimp should I use for SC4BAT / GMAX?

[MushyMushy 3,617]

The version of photoeditor you use (GIMP or any other one, although as far as I know GIMP is the best freeware one) doesn't matter. Newer is better since it will have more features and such.

I use bitmaps and jpegs for my textures. I'm not sure if I've ever used a png for a texture. I'm sure they would work though. I'm not for certain, but I'd assume any of those three would work? As long as you don't compress the image file I think they should turn out fine.

[daderic888 215]

Ok thanks guys.

Here goes.....

[madhatter106 3,903]

I've never been able to get a .jpeg to properly texture in gmax.  But since I am downloading or creating stuff and editing it anyways, I can save as a .bmp before I bring it into gmax to begin with.

I can't speak to the use of GIMP, but I use Photoshop - and truth be told, the version I have (CS2) is so old that I think it has been abandoned.  I think you could even get it free from the Adobe site a while back.  But it doesn't really matter - I only really need the basics anyway.  Any program that will allow you to do basic "painting" and tweaking of colors, hue, saturation, and brightness will get you more than well on your way.  Plus something like Photoshop will allow you to work in layers, which can save some time when it comes to painting in details and variations...a quick photo overlay, a reduction in saturation, and a tweak of colors, and you're at a  good starting point...

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Since I am on Linux, GIMP is the only decent editor for textures because inkscape is really for the net (output is XML).  Any of these editors will output whatever format you like, and as I recall I used jpeg, but bmp is probably the safest.  png files tend to be rather oversize due to the amount of layering such files retain, and I think something flat is better.

[daderic888 215]

Thanks guys.

I've done a few textures in GIMP and they're in xcf format. Is this okay to use in GMAX or would I need to change the format?

[MushyMushy 3,617]

I'd probably make them bitmaps (.bmp). That's gmax's preferred file type if I remember correctly.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

xcf is the GIMP's internal format.  I don't think it is readable by gMax.  Just export it to whatever format you like.  I agree that bmp is probably the safest, if large.  You could also try JPEG.

[tigerbuilder 131]

I always save the .xcf file also, this way i can return to the GIMP layers and such if (almost always) I need to return for tweaks to the texture. When I want to try a render, I "save as" to the other formats for use in BAT. Saving as the other formats "flatten" the image, combining layers into one, with no way to return.

[MushyMushy 3,617]

@tigerbuilder

Yeah, that's the best way to do it. I use an old Photoshop so I save .psd files of all of my textures so they still have layers and can be edited easily. Then I just save a copy of it as a .bmp or .jpeg for modeling.

[daderic888 215]

Ok thanks.

I was thinking that their format needs to be changed and I prefer bmp's too.

Thanks heaps guys.