Skybox demo map

(MrLego) #1

I have created a small demo boxmap that uses a custom skybox.

A lot of people have had problems using them in ET, so I put this together in an effort to help. I am not very good at tutorials, so I created this instead - the map source is included in the .pk3 file.

Here is a screenshot of it - not much to look at.

The catwalk defines the boundries of the map.

I cleared a few things up about skyboxes when making this map.

If you use the skybox shader texture directly on your sky brushes it should work correctly every time.

If you use the “props_skyportal” entity it is very easy to get the “HOM” effect if you are not careful about where you place it.

In my worldspawn I have my “_blocksize” set to 1024. If the “props_skyportal” falls within 1024 units of the map brushwork the “HOM” has been known to occur. If I move the “props_skyportal” outside of any adjacent block and more than 1024 units away then the “props_skyportal” works correctly. This distance may vary based upon your “_blocksize” value but I did not test any others. A full vis is required as well.

The direct download for my map is Here

The skybox is by Sock, the direct link to his skybox page is Here

I hope this helps.

EDIT: Screenshot moved.
EDIT2: Download links updated

(MadJack) #2

After reading of lot of problems about the props_skyportal I decided to use my own skybox (made with Terragen) and it was a breeze!

For those interested in doing the same for the first time, you can’t pass that link!

http://www.claudec.com/lair_of_shaders/tutorials/terragen_lloyd_m/terragen_lloyd_m.shtml

(MadJack) #3

I think we have to make a distinction here…

There are sky SHADERS, skyboxes and props_skyportals.

Sky shaders are basic skies that can be found in 90% of maps. The same sky all over the place, sometimes mappers will add a cloud layer.

A Skybox is a complete different thing from a sky shader as it has 6 different images. Each image compose the North, South, East, West, Top and Bottom of the map. Effectively giving the player a “scenery” of some kind… A skybox is not too difficult to make BUT is more time consuming. As far as FPS, I would guess it’s a bit harder on a vidcard but I’ve never really compared the two. I, for one, mostly use skyboxes because it gives the player a definitive feel of distinction from one map to the other. But hey, that’s just me :slight_smile:

As for props_skyportal, from what’ve seen/read it’s a bit of terrain that will be put behind the real map terrain or in front of the sky… I haven’t really tested it and since a ton of people seem to have problems with it I’ll leave it to mature first :smiley:

MadJack

Edit: DOH! Forgot the point I was making before starting to write! :stuck_out_tongue:

So if you (and I’m not talking about you Lego) ask a question or post anything about your skybox/shader/props, please be specific as to what you are referring to. Saying “I need help with my skybox” and I go read the post to give a hand and I realize that you’re talking about sky shader turns my “I’ll give you a hand” feeling off… :slight_smile:

Sorry about that Lego, didn’t mean to interrupt you… Carry on :wink:

(thore) #4

nope, this didn’t turn out to work for me. even if i place my skyportal (with it’s skybox… or skyshader-box to go with madjack’s definition) 5 times my blocksize away from my map, i STILL get HOM. if i put together a simple test-map as you did it almost everytime works fine… but it doesnt in my map where i ‘need’ it :cow: i shoved my sky(shader)box around many times, resized it much more times… i really dont get it to work properly.

(MrLego) #5

Here are a couple more things you can look at.

Make sure that your texture paths are correct in your shader files. This one caught me a few times.

Make sure that you are actually using a sky-shader-texture in your map brushwork - not just a texture image of the sky (shaders have a little white border around them in the radiant texture window)

I am using the sky-shader-texture from goldrush in my map for all sky brushes and only using the skybox-shader-texture for the actual cube surrounding the “props_skyportal” entity. When the map is compiled, the Goldrush texture is replaced by whatever texture the “props_skyportal” sees in that direction.

Make sure that your skybox shader file is listed in your shaderlist.txt file

Download the zip file and unzip the .pk3 file that I created for this post. You can see how the folders are setup internally and how the shader is written.

Also take note of how the skybox textures are named.

There are six distinct names for the skybox textures - one for each side of the cube IE: “your_shader_name_up” is the top image, “your_shader_name_dn” is the bottom image there is also a left, right, front and back image.

One other thing that you can try is to make a small boxmap like I did and put your skybox shader texture on all six sides - do not use the “props_skyportal” entity. If your skybox shader is functioning correctly then you should see it when you load the map.

(thore) #6

in order to distinguish both sky(shader)boxes (the normal and the skyportal one) i use battery and fueldump skyshaders. both are functioning correctly when used alone. i already made a litle boxmap with nothing in it but the necessary two sky(shader)boxes and the props_skyportal. that does work. using the same skyshaders in my ‘real’ map results in a lovely HOM. however i can see (well, better ‘imagine’) the correct skyshader ‘though’ the HOM, if not moving the camera too much after spawn… so basically the skyportal does work, but gets an ‘HOM-overlay’. weird.

(slack) #7

Just wanted to say thanks Lego. Works like a charm. Just wanted to ask one question.

I created all the necessary images using terraingen. I then placed them in a subfolder of textures with the name “skybox-31” ( I know the name is kind of redundant , but this was only a test) I also had to place the textures in the env/skybox-31 folder or I would get the hom effect. Then I created a box with caulk and added the texture skybox-31_skybox to the insides of the box and created the skyportal entity in it. It works fine. My question is do the textures have to be in the textures directory and the Env directory?

(MrLego) #8

It really does not matter what folder they are in as long as the paths are correctly defined in the shader file so Radiant and ET can find them.

I think that Terragen creates it’s shaders based on the Quake 3 folder structure, so once you create it with Terragen you may have to go back and edit the paths in the shader file so they fit into ET’s folder structure better.

In ET all of the file paths start from the \etmain folder, so your skybox textures could be in any subfolder off of that.

The following are all valid folders as far as ET is concerned:

 
\etmain\env
\etmain	extures\env
\etmain	extures\mymapname
\etmain	extures\mymapname\env

In Quake 3 it is setup like this:


\baseq3\env

Many of the skyboxes that are available for download were written for Quake 3, so their shaders point to that folder. To use them in ET you either have to keep them in “\etmain\env” or edit the texture paths in the shader file to suit your needs.

In ET all of the textures are located in"\etmain extures" so in keeping up with the ET folder naming conventions it is probably a good idea to put yours there as well.

I would recommend using “\etmain extures\mymapname\env” so that your skybox is associated with your map and is not mistaken as a built in texture. It is also much easier to create your .pk3 file if all of your custom textures are in one place.

I have used the following folder template on most of my maps


\etmain	extures\mymapname\env      // <------ Skybox textures here
\etmain	extures\mymapname\floors   // <------ Floor textures here
\etmain	extures\mymapname\liquids  // <------ Liquid textures here
\etmain	extures\mymapname\sfx      // <------ Special effects textures here
\etmain	extures\mymapname\sky      // <------ Sky textures here
\etmain	extures\mymapname	rim     // <------ Trim textures here
\etmain	extures\mymapname\walls    // <------ Wall textures here

I hope this helps.

(=DaRk=CrAzY-NuTTeR) #9

:notworthy:

nuff said

(thore) #10

i wish i could agree :cow:

i still miss some official feedback - those guys who implemented the skyportal feature should know somehting about the dos and don’ts when using the portal?
can’t believe it’s sort of a trial-and-error method one has to follow?

uuuhh… this one makes me sad :’(

(Chruker) #11

I have a small test map, which uses the _skybox entity.

You can download it from here: http://junk.chruker.dk/files/mapping/enemy_territory/test_skybox.zip

(MrLego) #12

If you are seeing your skybox but you are getting the HOM effect then it may be the way you are compiling the map.

Try compiling with a full vis.

I tried various compiler combinations on my demo map without changing ANY of the map geometry.

The following compiler options worked every time:

"BSP -meta, -vis, -light -fast -filter -samples"

The following compiler options failed every time:

"BSP -meta" failed every time

"BSP -meta, -vis -fast" failed every time

"BSP, -vis -fast" failed every time.

The following compiler options worked Most of the time.

"BSP -meta, -vis -fast, -light -fast -filter -samples"

Most of the failures were with using the “-vis -fast” option.

I even moved the “props_skyportal” entity around as well and the success still depended on the compile options.

(eRRoLfLyNN) #13

Bah maybe it is just the compile then? Because I haven’t tried any other compile than the most basic one. Does it take much longer to do the compile that you say worked every time? Starting to think it might work!

(eRRoLfLyNN) #14

BTW I like your pic on the loading screen! Is that really you lol? :smiley:

(MrLego) #15

It’s an actual WWII shot of a British soldier stationed in North Africa.

Fits in perfectly with ET :slight_smile:

(eRRoLfLyNN) #16

:smiley:

(thore) #17

sigh apart from lasting for ages (well, at least compared to simple bsp meta ^^) i STILL
get HOM. maybe i’ll start it all over, but for now i’m getting sick working with skyportals…

(MrLego) #18

Post your skybox shader here - maybe we can help you figure it out.

(=ds=bart) #19

thx mister lego i figured it out to lol i had lots of troubles to to geth my texures to line up nicely
i just renamed them en rotated some of my textures and it works fine .
here a link to pictures.
http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mijnendonckx/album?.dir=71ea


// degree of 0 = from the east, 90 = north, etc.  altitude of 0 = sunrise/set, 90 = noon

textures/verdanis/skybox_verdanis
{
	qer_editorimage textures/verdanis/verdanis_view.jpg
	
	surfaceparm noimpact
	surfaceparm nolightmap
        surfaceparm nomarks
	q3map_globaltexture
	q3map_lightsubdivide 256
	q3map_surfacelight 100
        surfaceparm sky
	q3map_sun 227 237 254 100 35 50
	skyparms textures/verdanis/verdanis - -
}
(thore) #20

Digging out old threads is FUN… ^^

Hi there,

I just was bored a little and decided to give that fellow skyportal another try…

Setup: Boxmap 1024^3 with caulk hull containing a info_player_deathmatch and a little outside a 320*320 skybox (textures/fueldump/fueldumpsky)
with a cute little props_skyportal in it. Compiled with BSP -meta and everything was just fine. But when I tried to surround the props_skyportal with
some “Rocky Mountains en miniature” I got that nasty nasty HOM effect I was so afraid of.

The solution of this problem was not that far away: just make your skyportal brushwork DETAIL! :banghead:

(hopefully this hint is helpful to someone else)

~Greetings :banana: