BETA of Snug Houses

[rageingnonsense]

For the snow issue; where snow goes is dictate by your AO texture.

I saw your fbx file, and I noticed that all of your houses are on top of each other, occupying the same space. I dunno if you generated your AO texture when them positioned like that, but that will interfere with the ray casting.

To me, it looks like you had another model very close to the house models, and as such the AO baking made one side of the roof very shadowy, causing a lack of snow. Try to move one of the houses someplace further away from the others (preferably above them), and then bake your AO texture. That should correct the issue.

[slink]

For the snow issue; where snow goes is dictate by your AO texture.

I saw your fbx file, and I noticed that all of your houses are on top of each other, occupying the same space. I dunno if you generated your AO texture when them positioned like that, but that will interfere with the ray casting.

To me, it looks like you had another model very close to the house models, and as such the AO baking made one side of the roof very shadowy, causing a lack of snow. Try to move one of the houses someplace further away from the others (preferably above them), and then bake your AO texture. That should correct the issue.

There are lots of things new to me in your reply.  Thank you.

I did not generate an AO texture in 3ds MAX.  I did as @RedKetchup told me he does, and used a blank white png file for that purpose.  I have to assume, therefore that the AO texture you are referring to is not the same as the one that the game requires to be in MaterialInstance.

I have heard the "baking" with regards to applying materials to models, but I never did that.  I don't know how.  That does not mean it was not done to the model before I acquired it.  The model as I acquired it had three identical huts in a row.  That would explain the other model that was close to the hut that I eventually modified.

There is a lot I have to learn about using 3ds MAX, and it would be helpful if the tutorial did not start with a fully developed scene and try to teach esoteric operations before I even know what most of the buttons mean.  It is trying to teach me to run before I know how to walk.  Thus, I hobble.

I'll try to weed through the help and see if I can use your valuable input to remedy the situation with the snow on the houses.  What baffles me is that there is no problem with the snow on the brewery and the tavern, both of which models came from the same source.  More study is needed.

Thanks again.

[rageingnonsense]

I wish I could help you, but I only know how to bake an AO texture in Blender.

At first, I was mystified by it. I saw the apiary and wondered how in the hell Luke made that AO texture. It became clear to me when I found out that the modeling software is responsible for it; no way a human could do that! haha.

Basically though, the process is to create a second UV channel (this is in the readme file). This UV channel contains the uv coordinates for the light generation, and can be entirely different than the UV map you use for the main texture. Then, your modeling software should be able to bake the lightmap to this uv map.

How it works is it will fire a gagillion rays at the model, and figure out how light reflects off of parts. It will slowly generate a black and white image for each face based on this. Then all you have to do is save this image!

The snow appears based on how white the area is. Full white will be full snow coverage. Black parts will not have any snow at all. In addition, Banished also uses this when texturing the model. The result is better lighting on your model, which gives an appearance of depth and detail. In my Sawmill, the AO texture is quite dark for the interior of the work area. Without it, that area would be unnaturally bright.

Here is an album with a few images that show my AO texture, the AO UV map, and the main texture UV map:

http://imgur.com/jzGneO5,NyyWtQY,bXbWGtB#0

You'll notice in the top of the pic of the AO UV map, that the model has a natural shading to it based on the AO texture. If you just use a png full of white pixels, that model would just look completely white.

[rageingnonsense]

On another note, regarding separate points for each model...

This worked wonderfully for me. I figured out how to do this in Blender despite the renaming of points. I am noticing a weird issue though where citizens only use some of the points. for other points, they just go to the central point node. As a result, they walk right through walls to get to the center of the model!

It is really weird, because the smoke is in the right place for the most part, and the citizens will use some of the points; just not all of them. I was wondering if you had this issue too, and if so, how you fixed it?

[slink]

On another note, regarding separate points for each model...

This worked wonderfully for me. I figured out how to do this in Blender despite the renaming of points. I am noticing a weird issue though where citizens only use some of the points. for other points, they just go to the central point node. As a result, they walk right through walls to get to the center of the model!

It is really weird, because the smoke is in the right place for the most part, and the citizens will use some of the points; just not all of them. I was wondering if you had this issue too, and if so, how you fixed it?

I sometimes had to elevate the build, use, and create points just slightly above 0 (on the Z-axis).  I don't know why, but I did.  It might have to do with the size of the dummies.  I tried to make them one game tile across, but I did not always succeed and I don't remember whether the ones that were one tile across are the ones that worked at Z=0, or the ones I had to elevate.  But if your people are going to the center, try elevating the other dummies by a tiny amount.  @RedKetchup said it won't work to move the other points when they are children of "points", so I have been unlinking them before moving them, but I don't know if that is true.  I still don't understand why moving something on the screen of the editor isn't really moving it, unless you grab it by the vertices first.  When I change words on the screen in a word processor, they are edited.  I don't have to highlight them in any special way before editing them.  However, a word processor is not 3ds MAX.  It does explain how build0 and build1 in apiary.fbx could be located where they are in the fbx file and still sit on the building site as if they were centered over 0,0,0.  I had assumed there was some kind of offset recorded somewhere, but there isn't.  They just work where they are.  It is a strange editor.

[slink]

I wish I could help you, but I only know how to bake an AO texture in Blender.

At first, I was mystified by it. I saw the apiary and wondered how in the hell Luke made that AO texture. It became clear to me when I found out that the modeling software is responsible for it; no way a human could do that! haha.

Basically though, the process is to create a second UV channel (this is in the readme file). This UV channel contains the uv coordinates for the light generation, and can be entirely different than the UV map you use for the main texture. Then, your modeling software should be able to bake the lightmap to this uv map.

How it works is it will fire a gagillion rays at the model, and figure out how light reflects off of parts. It will slowly generate a black and white image for each face based on this. Then all you have to do is save this image!

The snow appears based on how white the area is. Full white will be full snow coverage. Black parts will not have any snow at all. In addition, Banished also uses this when texturing the model. The result is better lighting on your model, which gives an appearance of depth and detail. In my Sawmill, the AO texture is quite dark for the interior of the work area. Without it, that area would be unnaturally bright.

Here is an album with a few images that show my AO texture, the AO UV map, and the main texture UV map:

http://imgur.com/jzGneO5,NyyWtQY,bXbWGtB#0

You'll notice in the top of the pic of the AO UV map, that the model has a natural shading to it based on the AO texture. If you just use a png full of white pixels, that model would just look completely white.

Thank you, again.  I had at first assumed that the AO map of the apiary was a bump map, and I made one for my first buildings by creating a monochrome version and (I think) posterizing it.  That is how I made bump maps for textures in The Sims.  Then I realized I was making my buildings dark, and that the AO map wasn't a bump map.  I was at a loss.

I saw the reference in the readme to a second UV channel, but since I did not know what the first UV channel was (to a spectroscopist, UV means ultraviolet), I was again at a loss.  For me the mod kit readme is a bit like the original Microsoft programming language documentation in that it only make sense once I know what it says, at which point I don't need it.

[Fellow Villager]

slink, now i noticed that the texture of snug house gives me some problem...do you know why??

[RedKetchup]

looks like you need some explanation for the points

if you put the points higher ("z" value in 3 dimensions) it should not change nothing, most of the time. Usually, it works 100% at z=0.

explanations:
points group is always linked to the 0,0,0 position(always get the 0,0,0), where ever on your screen is that group named point, it is always 0,0,0. what we should do if we would be very good and very professional is... we should "calculate" each position of each dummy relative at the central point of all those dummy. but we never do, i never did ^^ i am not enough good for that. but thats the rules.

example:
in a perfect world, if you put one dummy at 15,15 and another one at -15,-15 once you group them, the group points will be at 0,0,0. but it is never the case ( to have a such perfect symetry ). if i said to Slink to always 'ungroup' the dummies it s because the "group point' wherever you place it, it s always 0,0,0. so give you nothing to move the group. you would put the group in Japan, and it will always 0,0,0.

if you want to have your smoke chimney point at 10,15 you need something at -15,-10 (a build_001 for example) but if you don't want your builder there, and just only at -5,-5 ... you need to compensate so when you group them, the smoke point need to be at 10,15 relative at the group points once made (which is always become 0,0,0)

i think you both see now clearly about that....
now: why they go at central point and not at the place they should go ?

there are a couple of factor :
one is : a negative z=-negative position , underground.
but mainly why it happends (98% of the time) ?  it is because where is the dummy, inside your .rsc (mapdescription) fall in same place where they cant go, not allowed to go ( aka a "###" ).
then the game override everything (instead to bug and crash) and make them go at 0,0,0 group points.
just move your dummys abit further and once it is cleared (of "###") they will go there.

if need more answers , just ask

[slink]

slink, now i noticed that the texture of snug house gives me some problem...do you know why??

What sort of problems, @Fellow Villager?

[RedKetchup]

i tried my best to explain it (in english) i know some people (cause it s me and they dont like me for whatever reason...) they will just skip the post ^^

[irrelevant]

@RedKetchup I'll certainly skip it, because, "WHOOSH!" right over my head. But I still like you.

[Fellow Villager]

the texture seems strange...not well defined

[slink]

the texture seems strange...not well defined

Can you post a screendump?

[Fellow Villager]

thx...tomorrow i'll do that.

[rageingnonsense]

@RedKetchup

Thanks so much for the detailed reply man! However, I do think that the position of the points node is actually centered not on object origin, but at the center of geometry, regardless of where it is in the file.

You have an interesting point about citizens being blocked, but I am unsure if that is the case. Sawmill had an issue during development where citizens would walk through the wall to get to one of the use points. I will play with it though.

As I analyzed my issue more, I think what is happening is that the game is using the last set of points for my 4th and final model. I want to play with your suggestions and that as well, but the first thing I need to do is write a utility script to help with my fbx export. Right now, I have to manually change the names of things inside the fbx during each export. I'm tired of doing it, it is time to make a program that does it for me. haha. I'll probably share it with the community in my Blender tutorial thread on banishedmods.com.