Proper Texture Extensions For Spintires 03.03.16
Written Up by Draconus
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Ive seen alot of mods coming out on sites and also on workshop of improper texture extensions being used or none at all so decided id help a bit and do a write up on this …….For the Vee Engine to render a texture properly and at its best the following ones are current for ST and ive also included definitions as what each type of texture actually does when rendered on a 3d model for those whod like to learn about this and getting into modding Spintires and may help modders whod like to better understand how textures work
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Albedo Maps(Diffuse Texture)
The diffuse texture is how the object is painted…it wraps around the model based on the defined UV map of the model.
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SPECUALR MAPS– are used to define an objects shininess and highlight colour. The whiter a pixel, the shinier the surface will appear in-game, meaning surfaces such as stone or old wood tend to have a very dark specular map, while surfaces like silver or plastic would tend to have lighter specular maps.
The colour of a pixel is also used, to calculate the resulting colour of the surface. A very saturated specular map will have a very different visual effect than a grey specular map. If you need a more “neutral” highlight on a surface, your specular map should use the opposite of the diffuse map’s colour. Using the same colour on the specular as on the diffuse will result in a more saturated highlight when viewed in the game.
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NORMAL MAPS– is how light reacts to the surface of a model giving it fake bumps and groves with high areas being lightly colored and low areas being darker which is controlled by the values of the color used (typically a light violet/blue color). There are many methods and tools to create normal maps. The preferred method is the use of a high resolution model that can be used to “bake” the details into the normal map of a lower-polygon model inside programs such as Blender and 3ds Max. Normals can also be created from the texture files alone. Plugins for 2D image editors like Photoshop, GIMP and Paint.NET can be used to create normal maps,for mine i use photoshop and can create really hi res ones . The specularity (amount of light reflected) is controlled by the alpha channel of the normal map which is why normal maps are always exported in DDS format that retains alpha channels such as DXT5 format which is what i use for all my texture work
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Best Image Save Format for Spintires that will look the best in game
PHOTOSHOP SETTINGS—- For Savin Image In DDS Format
DXT5 ARGB 8bpp|interpolated alpha
2-D texture setting
Generate Mip Maps
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PAINT.NET— Settings For Saving In DDS format
DXT5(interpolated alpha)
compressor type—
Lterativefit (Slowest/HQ
Error Metric–
Uniform
Additional Options—
Generate Mip Maps
Setting Below that is FANT
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ALBEDO MAP TEXTURE(OLD NAME DIFFUSEMAP)
Texturename__d —-for texture with just Mip channel being used….
Texturename__d_a —-for texture with alpha channel added
Texturename__d_uncmp —– Adding the uncmp allows the texture to be rendred uncompressed
Texturename__d_a_uncmp —-same as above but with alpha channel added
If you want the Alpha channel to render as well
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NORMAL MAPS TEXTURE
Texturename__n —— Can be used
Texturename__n_d ——Makes normal map look better when rendered by adding mip channel
Texturename__n_d _uncmp —–Adding uncmp at end renders the texture uncompressed
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SPECULAR MAPS TEXTURE
Texturename__s —-Can be used
Texturename__s_d —-Makes the spec map look better by adding mip channel
Texturename__s_d_uncmp —-Adding uncmp at end renders the texture uncompressed
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