Making a Skybox
by Kevin Hyk · in Torque Game Engine · 10/12/2006 (6:30 pm) · 4 replies
I've searched long and hard on how to make skyboxes from scratch. I've searched the forums and TDN, and there's a great description there about "click this link to learn this awesome and perfect technique", but THE PAGE IS BLANK... been blank for several months.
Sure, I've looked at the tutorials for Bryce and Terragen on making Skyboxes, but those programs cost money and there's no demos.
Can anyone point me in the right direction of where I can find a tutorial on how to make a skybox from scratch by making images in Photoshop and them throw them into Torque? I'm completely clueless on this topic. Sorry for being a newb.
Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
Sure, I've looked at the tutorials for Bryce and Terragen on making Skyboxes, but those programs cost money and there's no demos.
Can anyone point me in the right direction of where I can find a tutorial on how to make a skybox from scratch by making images in Photoshop and them throw them into Torque? I'm completely clueless on this topic. Sorry for being a newb.
Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
#2
"Terragen is free for personal non-commercial use. In this case registration is optional, but it entitles you to additional benefits and removes the restriction on image size."
Here's the download page:
www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/win/downloadwin.shtml
It does have a restriction of 1280 x 960 on the image size, but that's much higher than you would ever use for a skybox anyway. I was using it before we decided to possibly go commercial in our game endeavor, and it worked great for Torque skyboxes. Now I am using Bryce, picked it up on the daz 3D site with some promotion for $25.
10/12/2006 (11:20 pm)
I'm not sure if you are talking about a commercial use or not, but regarding Terragen for personal use (and I would imagine student also) this is from the Terragen website:"Terragen is free for personal non-commercial use. In this case registration is optional, but it entitles you to additional benefits and removes the restriction on image size."
Here's the download page:
www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/win/downloadwin.shtml
It does have a restriction of 1280 x 960 on the image size, but that's much higher than you would ever use for a skybox anyway. I was using it before we decided to possibly go commercial in our game endeavor, and it worked great for Torque skyboxes. Now I am using Bryce, picked it up on the daz 3D site with some promotion for $25.
#3
I disagree. You need at least 1024, and ideally 2048, for sky boxes to look good (i e, have a 1:1 texel:pixel correlation). Guns with sniper scopes (really narrow fields of view) would push this even higher.
Thus, the fact that I can't do 1024x1024 with the free version is a bit of a bummer.
10/13/2006 (11:31 am)
Quote:It does have a restriction of 1280 x 960 on the image size, but that's much higher than you would ever use for a skybox anyway.
I disagree. You need at least 1024, and ideally 2048, for sky boxes to look good (i e, have a 1:1 texel:pixel correlation). Guns with sniper scopes (really narrow fields of view) would push this even higher.
Thus, the fact that I can't do 1024x1024 with the free version is a bit of a bummer.
#4
Casey
10/13/2006 (12:32 pm)
JW, are you sure you wont beable to do 1024x1024 because technically 1280x960 is a higher res image, but is wide screen, but i havent used the software so i wouldnt know.. just seems a bit funny that the widescreen high res is available and not 1024x1024Casey
Torque Owner J "hplus" W
First, create a sky sphere (or just a sphere surrounding the camera) in POV-Ray.
Then, texture the sphere with some noise-based procedural texture that looks like clouds, sky and ground.
Then, set the camera to 90.1 degrees FOV and square aspect ratio.
Then, render the scene from six viewpoints, to generate the six textures.