Adventure kit Terrain tile question
by Kevin · in Torque Game Builder · 10/06/2006 (7:04 am) · 18 replies
Hi, I was playing with the terrain tiles in the adventure kit but I found out that the frame 62 and frame 60 for the groundTiles_map is not seamless. They are two frames that joins at the corner and should be seamless right?
may be there is something wrong with what I did? please help.
thanks in advance
may be there is something wrong with what I did? please help.
thanks in advance
#2
Now, I do know that the filterMode setting of the texture will tend to mess with the seams of a tile, more or less noticable depending on it's resolution. I've found that if I get close enough to these tiles with the filterMode set to "smooth" (which is default for the AdKit), I can see a seam, but for the most part at the intended viewing size the seam is difficult to spot. Could this be what you're seeing?
If so, you could try setting the filterMode to "off" for groundtiles.png, and if you're dispaying the tiles as large as it sounds like you are, you should be OK, and it will get rid of those weird seams. The reason the filterMode on that tilesheet is set to "smooth" by default is because of some artifacts that show up due to the interpolation of the pixelly art when panning across the ground tiles when it's set to "off". You may or may not experience this depending on what size you are viewing the tiles in-game.
Russell
10/06/2006 (2:43 pm)
Just to make sure we're talking about the same thing... you mean the corner tiles of the sandy ground like the ones below, correct?Now, I do know that the filterMode setting of the texture will tend to mess with the seams of a tile, more or less noticable depending on it's resolution. I've found that if I get close enough to these tiles with the filterMode set to "smooth" (which is default for the AdKit), I can see a seam, but for the most part at the intended viewing size the seam is difficult to spot. Could this be what you're seeing?
If so, you could try setting the filterMode to "off" for groundtiles.png, and if you're dispaying the tiles as large as it sounds like you are, you should be OK, and it will get rid of those weird seams. The reason the filterMode on that tilesheet is set to "smooth" by default is because of some artifacts that show up due to the interpolation of the pixelly art when panning across the ground tiles when it's set to "off". You may or may not experience this depending on what size you are viewing the tiles in-game.
Russell
#3
this is what I meant here:
Kevin
10/06/2006 (5:26 pm)
Sorry, I should have posted a pic like you did :) I tried the filterMode like what you said but it didn't make any difference.this is what I meant here:
Kevin
#4
It seems that you've found a pretty large error on my part. I'm currently looking into how a quick fix can be officially released. Thanks for pointing this out!
10/06/2006 (6:02 pm)
Ah, sorry for the misleading advice about the filterMode.It seems that you've found a pretty large error on my part. I'm currently looking into how a quick fix can be officially released. Thanks for pointing this out!
#5
How about give me a little tip on how to make the wall textures? hehe
I'm not an artist but I'm really learning. Is it best to draw it from a 3d program first and do some twicking in photoshop?
Kevin
10/06/2006 (6:42 pm)
No problem:) and thanks for the quick response.How about give me a little tip on how to make the wall textures? hehe
I'm not an artist but I'm really learning. Is it best to draw it from a 3d program first and do some twicking in photoshop?
Kevin
#6
10/07/2006 (2:47 am)
I've actually been working on a free update that tweaks a few things and adds some art items that we wanted to see included in the first release but just didn't make it. After discussing it internally it looks like we'll just aim to release that next weekend. And it'll include the fix for these sands tiles. Again, thanks greatly for pointing that out.Quote:How about give me a little tip on how to make the wall textures?Absolutely! But I'm not sure I know what you mean. What are you trying to create?
#7
I'm aiming for a sci fi style for the walls. It is in the same point of view as the stone walls in ADV Kit. How do you think I could improve it so it would have more depth?
10/07/2006 (5:01 am)
Okay so here it is what I have so far:I'm aiming for a sci fi style for the walls. It is in the same point of view as the stone walls in ADV Kit. How do you think I could improve it so it would have more depth?
#8
10/08/2006 (12:27 am)
A shadow next to the walls will improve the appearance of depth a lot.
#9
You could just change the contrast between them and boost the lightness on the top of the wall for a quick fix, just so the top and sides are separated a bit more:
10/09/2006 (3:53 pm)
I actually like the walls!... The only comment I really have about them is that it's a little difficult to tell where the sides meet the top, and which part is which, meaning it's not easy to understand what the shape is. Maybe it's the bluish line on the top that makes it confusing. Or maybe the texture in the top of the walls just doesn't look like the top of a wall. Not really sure.You could just change the contrast between them and boost the lightness on the top of the wall for a quick fix, just so the top and sides are separated a bit more:
#10
10/11/2006 (10:22 pm)
Thanks for the suggestions, so here is what I have now. I did the constract and sharpen the image file.
#11
thanks
10/11/2006 (11:05 pm)
I would like to add shadows to the walls but my game will have every wall section to be breakable. Do I make a new shadow texure the walls or is it best to draw them on the same sprite? The reason that I ask is wouldn't the shadows overlap with each other when the walls are too close. Could you give some suggestions?thanks
#12
Breakable walls are just replaced by sprites of broken walls, so I would think that you would embed the shadows into each texture, and not share a shadow sprite between the two. Hope I'm understanding you there.
Is that human character animated? If so, could you share your experience creating it here? It looks great.
10/12/2006 (6:25 am)
Quote: wouldn't the shadows overlap with each other when the walls are too closeYes, this is exactly why I didn't put shadows under the walls. Actually, I did at first and removed them because of this problem. The direction of light on all the sprites is more or less straight down, so I could take out the shadow on those and it would still look fairly normal. Now, you could put shadows under them and just be very careful when building your level and not let them overlap.
Breakable walls are just replaced by sprites of broken walls, so I would think that you would embed the shadows into each texture, and not share a shadow sprite between the two. Hope I'm understanding you there.
Is that human character animated? If so, could you share your experience creating it here? It looks great.
#13
thanks so much,
Kevin
Edit: now I find out it is the filter mode that causes this but I just don't see why it works okay for the Kork sprite and not mine. Thanks in advance
10/12/2006 (8:26 pm)
I have posted some info about what I did to get my animated sprites into the game but right now, I have a problem. I get this white artifacts around the edges of the sprites when I scale up my image. I noticed that the orc character doesn't have that. Would you please let me know what is the best way to remove that from my sprite?thanks so much,
Kevin
Edit: now I find out it is the filter mode that causes this but I just don't see why it works okay for the Kork sprite and not mine. Thanks in advance
#14
Kevin
10/13/2006 (5:55 am)
Sorry, I had motion blur turned on in the renderer and it is causing the artifact. Funny it only shows up in TGB but not in photoshop. Well, lesson learned. Kevin
#15
I'm just thinking the outline may be colors bleeding in from the normally unseen alpha area.
10/13/2006 (6:27 am)
Sounds like you fixed the problem, but I'm just curious... what is the color of the alpha areas in your animated sprites? Are they white? I'm just thinking that if they were closer to the color of your character's oufit, then that outline that shows up during the motion blur may not be noticable.I'm just thinking the outline may be colors bleeding in from the normally unseen alpha area.
#16
Both the characters above has this artifact so it is kind of funny because one of them has white outfit and one of them has a black outfit.
10/13/2006 (6:43 pm)
I think they don't have any color. they are transparent so there should be no color right? Sorry because I am really new to this:) I think may be it is black because the background in 3d Max is black.Both the characters above has this artifact so it is kind of funny because one of them has white outfit and one of them has a black outfit.
#17
The best thing to do is to fill your background with a color that will be less noticable when it leaks in. A solid color may work, and that's what I used for the sprites in the Adventure Kit, but I've seen some people paint a little more selectively or use a blurred and duplicated version of the sprite. It might be noticable if the color of the character's pants bleed around it's face, or vice versa.
10/13/2006 (9:40 pm)
Well, see alpha (in this case) is just a designation of transparency, so I suspect that the "background" behind your character is white, even though the alpha renders it invisible. Now as your character is re-sized, the alpha channel can become fuzzy (as digital art tends to do when resized), so it's letting a little of that white leak in around the edges.The best thing to do is to fill your background with a color that will be less noticable when it leaks in. A solid color may work, and that's what I used for the sprites in the Adventure Kit, but I've seen some people paint a little more selectively or use a blurred and duplicated version of the sprite. It might be noticable if the color of the character's pants bleed around it's face, or vice versa.
#18
Perhaps, you could tell me how to change the background color and set it as transparent in photoshop please?
Now I find out that even without resizing, I still get the bleeding if the filtermode is smooth. If it is none then I don't get any of that white thingy around.
10/14/2006 (2:01 am)
Thanks so much for the letting me know the technical details.Perhaps, you could tell me how to change the background color and set it as transparent in photoshop please?
Now I find out that even without resizing, I still get the bleeding if the filtermode is smooth. If it is none then I don't get any of that white thingy around.
Associate Russell Fincher
Sickhead Games
Russell Fincher
www.sickheadgames.com