[SKY]The Size of the Tilesets and More.

[Daedra993]

Hello,

So, I've now began to mod for real, yay! But some qustions came up as I were building some models in 3Ds Max. First of, in 3Ds Max, I'm working with the unit "metric" But then, I've no idea in what unit/size bethesda built their tilesets? Secondly, what amount of polygons should be used in a model which you will add to a game, in this case Skyrim? I've heard that 3D programs tend to go above the amount used in games And finally! Is it possible to use the games default textures on completely new models, If so, how?

[Hanaisse]

There might be some info in this thread you can use about tilesets. All I know is making them is math-intensive and not my strong suit

As for poly count, just import some vanilla models to get an idea. You obviously don't want to go crazy but I'm sure some are upwards of 10k. It all depends on the size and details.

I wouldn't recommend trying to re-use vanilla textures, unless you want to fight to get your UV exactly the same to fit the texture if it has details. If it's a plain texture such as a brick or stone wall, sure you can re-use. Extract the .dds files out of the .bsa and apply them as you normally would.

[Daedra993]

There might be some info in this thread you can use about tilesets. All I know is making them is math-intensive and not my strong suit

As for poly count, just import some vanilla models to get an idea. You obviously don't want to go crazy but I'm sure some are upwards of 10k. It all depends on the size and details.

I wouldn't recommend trying to re-use vanilla textures, unless you want to fight to get your UV exactly the same to fit the texture if it has details. If it's a plain texture such as a brick or stone wall, sure you can re-use. Extract the .dds files out of the .bsa and apply them as you normally would.

Nice, thanks very much! As I'm atm only making new exterior buildings, I think the easy route (re-use vanilla textures is quite possible, so I'll go with that as far as I can )

+1 for you, mate!

[Meo]

Use Generic Unit, same as Bethesda when they make their games using 3dsmax.

If you're gonna make tilesets, try to keep them 256x256, 512x512, etc. Height only matters if you plan to make them stackable. You should always try to keep your polygons count as low as possible, ie a plane surface doesn't need subdivision unless you plan on having vertex shading, or the smaller the cylinders, the less sides you need to preserves the illusion of roundness. In 3d modeling for games, less is always better. If your stuff is optimized it means everyone will be able to enjoy it.

Yes you can use vanilla textures on your new meshes, but you're gonna have to work hard in the UV mapping department to make them fit. Its not like with Oblivion textures where you had multiple textures for one mesh, they were simple and could be applied to almost anything. The Skyrim textures, like FO3, are based on unwrapped UV maps, meaning they're complex, and you often only have a few per nif.

[Daedra993]

Use Generic Unit, same as Bethesda when they make their games using 3dsmax.

If you're gonna make tilesets, try to keep them 256x256, 512x512, etc. Height only matters if you plan to make them stackable. You should always try to keep your polygons count as low as possible, ie a plane surface doesn't need subdivision unless you plan on having vertex shading, or the smaller the cylinders, the less sides you need to preserves the illusion of roundness. In 3d modeling for games, less is always better. If your stuff is optimized it means everyone will be able to enjoy it.

Yes you can use vanilla textures on your new meshes, but you're gonna have to work hard in the UV mapping department to make them fit. Its not like with Oblivion textures where you had multiple textures for one mesh, they were simple and could be applied to almost anything. The Skyrim textures, like FO3, are based on unwrapped UV maps, meaning they're complex, and you often only have a few per nif.

Generic Unit, eh? I'll take a look at that. cheers for the help, both of ya! Take some :cookie4u: as thanks!