I have a project that I want to start but do not know where to begin. Without getting too advanced in what is needed, is it possible to begin with the basic tools of design.
Let me start by saying what I have in mind.
Volcanic glass (obsidian) crystals.
Blackened ground. (drought scales and cracks) Maybe also lava glow between the cracks.
Basalt Walls, Tunnels and Caves.
Crystal encrusted walls, tunnels and caves.
Basalt Placeables. (such as, shards and flint spikes and spires, large and small geodes)
I have already been through the NWVault and there is nothing like this. There are existing tiles that could be retextured, but I have no idea where to begin.
A list of tools is all I need.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
New to Tile Creation
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Estelindis
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This entry on the Vault gives you many of the tools that you need for custom content work in one package: http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Ot ... il&id=1389
It's easier to start tweaking existing work as your first task than to try and create a tile from scratch before you've done anything else. So perhaps taking a look at the following tilesets and seeing what you can change would help:
Scorched Earth by Lord of Worms (textures in this are particularly lovely): http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Ha ... il&id=6631
Abyss by Elesias: http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Ha ... ail&id=130
Lava Caves by John Gestalt Bye: http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Ha ... il&id=1230
Now, in terms of actually making your tileset: I would suggest using an existing tileset as a base. Choose the tileset you want to start with, and then use Tileset Duplicator to create a unique copy of that tileset with a different naming convention - you can then edit the models and textures in this tileset without messing up anything else.
You can find lots of textures all over the web, both in work that has already been published on the Vault and on texture websites. Any textures that you make or modify for your tileset should have certain pixel dimensions if they are to work properly. In terms of width and height, I believe that 16 pixels, 64 pixels, 128 pixels, 256 pixels, 512 pixels, 1024 pixels, etc., all work fine. At the moment, I'd say the standard size for textures is 512x512. While you're working on your tileset, make your textures TGA (with no compression - free image editors like Gimp are great for this, as you can choose "no compression" while you're saving). The reason for this is that GMax can view TGA textures. Later on, when you're distributing your work to your players, you can convert the TGA textures to DDS to save space and to help performance (apart from *water* textures, which must be no greater than 256x256 in size and must be in TGA format).
As for 3D editing... You'll need GMax, which is included in the first download that I linked above, and also NWMax. If I were you, I'd grab VelsTools as well. Install NWMax and VelsTools - then start up GMax. Now, do to the NWMax toolbar (which should be floating separately from the rest of GMax if you've installed NWMax - it starts up automatically with GMax) and click on MDL Loading. Find the tile model you want to edit, make sure that "import geom+anims" is selected, and click "import."
Now, there are some basic things you need to understand about modelling. Models are made using a big bunch of 3D coordinates called vertices (singular = vertex). However, you never see the vertices in the game - what you see are the triangles that are drawn between sets of three vertices. These triangles are called faces.
Incidentally: I find that the best view of a model in GMax is "smooth + highlights" - and, whenever you want to see the faces precisely, also choose "edged faces." You can make this choice precisely by right-clicking any of the viewpoint titles (such as "top," "front," "left," or "perspective") in the top left corners of the viewpoint windows.
A model is made up of many objects, all linked to the model base in some way. To help you understand this, click "select by name" (it's in the standard toolbar at the top of the screen, or you can access it via the edit menu -> select by -> name). Check the "display subtree" box. Now you will be able to see the hierarchy of the tile! At the very top is the aurorabase - that it, the model base, to which all other objects in the model are linked.
Now, some objects you see in NWN, and others you don't. The only objects you want to be texturing at the ones that you actually see in-game. You don't texture the model base. You also do not texture area lights (typically, they're named as the model base but with "ml1" or "ml2" at the end), the animation base (named as the tile but with "a" at the end), door nodes (named as the tile but with "_D01", "_D02", etc at the end) or the object ignore_NGon01. Also avoid texturing the walkmesh, which should appear immediately as a white object that covers most things in the tile but usually turns multicoloured after you click it. All other objects you should be able to change the textures as you please (though, of course, it is quite possible to change textures without ever opening up GMax, just by using the texture swap utility that is part of Set Editor (part of the big download I linked at the top of this post).
First: save your model as a scene file. If I were you, I'd make the file name the same as the model name (it gets handy later, once you get to know your tileset so well that you recognise tiles based on their names). Make sure you save periodically as you work, so that you don't lose what you've done (GMax sometimes crashes).
To start experimenting with 3D modelling, I would suggest selecting a "visible" object that isn't the walkmesh, the model base, the animation base, ignore_NGon01, a door node, an area light, an emitter, or anything like that. Something big and chunky. Right-click the object and choose "hide unselected" - now you are just looking at the object you selected (everything else is still safe; you just can't see it). This helps one not to be confused. Now, go to the right-hand window. There is a tab at the top of this window with lots of little symbols. Click the one that looks like a blue rainbow (the "modifiers" tab). You should see a list of modifiers for your object appear. At the very least, you should see AuroraTrimesh and Editable Mesh. Click on the little plus to the left of Editable Mesh to open up the options for editing your object.
If you select Vertex, then you will see lots of little blue dots appear. Try selecting one (just drag a selection box over it) and moving it around (remember, you can undo anything you do, and you have your scene saved anyway, so don't worry about that). You can either move it by dragging it once you have the "select and move" arrow chosen or by simply typing in another X/Y/Z value in the position boxes at the bottom of the screen.
If you select Face, you might choose to delete a face and then create it again (so you can learn how to create faces). Remember, "Edged Faces" helps you to see the faces if you've selected "smooth+highlight" in your view.
There's a lot more I could say, but it all might overwhelm you. I'll see if you post back. Then you can say what might have confused you.
If you're going to release any of your work to the Vault, you may wish to contact anyone whose resources you have included to thank them for creating and sharing their stuff and to make sure they don't mind that you intent to republish it.
It's easier to start tweaking existing work as your first task than to try and create a tile from scratch before you've done anything else. So perhaps taking a look at the following tilesets and seeing what you can change would help:
Scorched Earth by Lord of Worms (textures in this are particularly lovely): http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Ha ... il&id=6631
Abyss by Elesias: http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Ha ... ail&id=130
Lava Caves by John Gestalt Bye: http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Ha ... il&id=1230
Now, in terms of actually making your tileset: I would suggest using an existing tileset as a base. Choose the tileset you want to start with, and then use Tileset Duplicator to create a unique copy of that tileset with a different naming convention - you can then edit the models and textures in this tileset without messing up anything else.
You can find lots of textures all over the web, both in work that has already been published on the Vault and on texture websites. Any textures that you make or modify for your tileset should have certain pixel dimensions if they are to work properly. In terms of width and height, I believe that 16 pixels, 64 pixels, 128 pixels, 256 pixels, 512 pixels, 1024 pixels, etc., all work fine. At the moment, I'd say the standard size for textures is 512x512. While you're working on your tileset, make your textures TGA (with no compression - free image editors like Gimp are great for this, as you can choose "no compression" while you're saving). The reason for this is that GMax can view TGA textures. Later on, when you're distributing your work to your players, you can convert the TGA textures to DDS to save space and to help performance (apart from *water* textures, which must be no greater than 256x256 in size and must be in TGA format).
As for 3D editing... You'll need GMax, which is included in the first download that I linked above, and also NWMax. If I were you, I'd grab VelsTools as well. Install NWMax and VelsTools - then start up GMax. Now, do to the NWMax toolbar (which should be floating separately from the rest of GMax if you've installed NWMax - it starts up automatically with GMax) and click on MDL Loading. Find the tile model you want to edit, make sure that "import geom+anims" is selected, and click "import."
Now, there are some basic things you need to understand about modelling. Models are made using a big bunch of 3D coordinates called vertices (singular = vertex). However, you never see the vertices in the game - what you see are the triangles that are drawn between sets of three vertices. These triangles are called faces.
Incidentally: I find that the best view of a model in GMax is "smooth + highlights" - and, whenever you want to see the faces precisely, also choose "edged faces." You can make this choice precisely by right-clicking any of the viewpoint titles (such as "top," "front," "left," or "perspective") in the top left corners of the viewpoint windows.
A model is made up of many objects, all linked to the model base in some way. To help you understand this, click "select by name" (it's in the standard toolbar at the top of the screen, or you can access it via the edit menu -> select by -> name). Check the "display subtree" box. Now you will be able to see the hierarchy of the tile! At the very top is the aurorabase - that it, the model base, to which all other objects in the model are linked.
Now, some objects you see in NWN, and others you don't. The only objects you want to be texturing at the ones that you actually see in-game. You don't texture the model base. You also do not texture area lights (typically, they're named as the model base but with "ml1" or "ml2" at the end), the animation base (named as the tile but with "a" at the end), door nodes (named as the tile but with "_D01", "_D02", etc at the end) or the object ignore_NGon01. Also avoid texturing the walkmesh, which should appear immediately as a white object that covers most things in the tile but usually turns multicoloured after you click it. All other objects you should be able to change the textures as you please (though, of course, it is quite possible to change textures without ever opening up GMax, just by using the texture swap utility that is part of Set Editor (part of the big download I linked at the top of this post).
First: save your model as a scene file. If I were you, I'd make the file name the same as the model name (it gets handy later, once you get to know your tileset so well that you recognise tiles based on their names). Make sure you save periodically as you work, so that you don't lose what you've done (GMax sometimes crashes).
To start experimenting with 3D modelling, I would suggest selecting a "visible" object that isn't the walkmesh, the model base, the animation base, ignore_NGon01, a door node, an area light, an emitter, or anything like that. Something big and chunky. Right-click the object and choose "hide unselected" - now you are just looking at the object you selected (everything else is still safe; you just can't see it). This helps one not to be confused. Now, go to the right-hand window. There is a tab at the top of this window with lots of little symbols. Click the one that looks like a blue rainbow (the "modifiers" tab). You should see a list of modifiers for your object appear. At the very least, you should see AuroraTrimesh and Editable Mesh. Click on the little plus to the left of Editable Mesh to open up the options for editing your object.
If you select Vertex, then you will see lots of little blue dots appear. Try selecting one (just drag a selection box over it) and moving it around (remember, you can undo anything you do, and you have your scene saved anyway, so don't worry about that). You can either move it by dragging it once you have the "select and move" arrow chosen or by simply typing in another X/Y/Z value in the position boxes at the bottom of the screen.
If you select Face, you might choose to delete a face and then create it again (so you can learn how to create faces). Remember, "Edged Faces" helps you to see the faces if you've selected "smooth+highlight" in your view.
There's a lot more I could say, but it all might overwhelm you. I'll see if you post back. Then you can say what might have confused you.
If you're going to release any of your work to the Vault, you may wish to contact anyone whose resources you have included to thank them for creating and sharing their stuff and to make sure they don't mind that you intent to republish it.