Art Assets in Civilization 6: A Modding Guide

[Shirotora Kenshin]

i got one very Special question. what if parts of the model or the decal geometry of a wonder have to be water ? how i could achieve that this one mesh have a water look and water shaders ? thanks in advance

 

[esosorcdc]

Congratulations! I know it is a real mission getting your head around all this stuff so well done.

Some feedback on some of the points in your outline.



I've never used Mark Seams so it isn't essential to the process. I guess is something you can use to achieve a certain look for your model in Blender.



Only the Albedo or Base texture is essentially. You can just use a 4x4 texture of RGB 255,128,128 for a completely flat normal map. I've added several assets where the only non plain texture is the base and they can look fine - especially if the shading, balance of dark/light and saturation match the levels of other assets.



Again I've never used this so I don't believe it is essential to the process.



As I've said there is no need to use Blender to make your textures - you can use Gimp 2, Paint.NET or Photoshop to make your .dds files.

Thank you for all your help and input. Now it is time to tackle my unit's art. A few questions to get me started. I just want to reuse a base game body asset, and just make a new robe and a staff for the unit in Blender. From what I understand, the body, clothes, and weapons are all separate assets, and the clothes and weapon assets just get attached to the body asset through attachments in AssetEditor, right? So would I, copy/paste/rename a base game body asset (.ast), then load it's geometry file (.geo) in to blender so I could build the robe around it and just delete it after I am done so that only the robe remains. And do the same thing for the staff. Then do pretty much the same steps I did with the building to make the robe and staff art files (.tex, .mtl, etc...). Then I would add the robe and staff .ast files as attachments in the body's .ast file, right? Then assign my unit just to the body .ast file in my Units.artdef file. Then would I only need one .xlp file (Units.xlp) with the robe, staff, and body .ast files being referenced in that same file? And the Mod.Art.xml, with an element for Units.artdef under consumerName Units, and an element for units (.blp) under libraryName Unit, right? And finally, any mods you recommend for me to look at that did the same thing?

 

[Deliverator]

i got one very Special question. what if parts of the model or the decal geometry of a wonder have to be water ? how i could achieve that this one mesh have a water look and water shaders ? thanks in advance

I believe that @sukritact's Floating Marketing district in his Siam mod does something like this.

From what I understand, the body, clothes, and weapons are all separate assets, and the clothes and weapon assets just get attached to the body asset through attachments in AssetEditor, right? So would I, copy/paste/rename a base game body asset (.ast), then load it's geometry file (.geo) in to blender so I could build the robe around it and just delete it after I am done so that only the robe remains. And do the same thing for the staff. Then do pretty much the same steps I did with the building to make the robe and staff art files (.tex, .mtl, etc...). Then I would add the robe and staff .ast files as attachments in the body's .ast file, right? Then assign my unit just to the body .ast file in my Units.artdef file. Then would I only need one .xlp file (Units.xlp) with the robe, staff, and body .ast files being referenced in that same file? And the Mod.Art.xml, with an element for Units.artdef under consumerName Units, and an element for units (.blp) under libraryName Unit, right? And finally, any mods you recommend for me to look at that did the same thing?

There are some Robes and Staffs in the base game that you could use if you don't want to start from scratch. You can import the base game assets into Blender via .cn6 format using CivNexus6 if you want.

Some example Modbuddy projects where I've made new attachments:
https://forums.civfanatics.com/resources/moar-units-art-cooker-modbuddy-projects.26060/
https://forums.civfanatics.com/resources/even-moar-units-macedon-and-persia-modbuddy-project.26241/

 

[Shirotora Kenshin]

I believe that @sukritact's Floating Marketing district in his Siam mod does something like this.

yes, but i have his Siam Mod subscribed, and the mod Folder doest contain geometry files, so no fgx or geo files. but i will look if i can get it working for my Building, first i have to study his Floating Market Asset file, and the material file i think.

 

[esosorcdc]

yes, but i have his Siam Mod subscribed, and the mod Folder doest contain geometry files, so no fgx or geo files. but i will look if i can get it working for my Building, first i have to study his Floating Market Asset file, and the material file i think.

Well I've been also learning to use Unreal Engine 4, I know that Civ 6 uses a different game engine, but water is simply a plane with a material that has a series of texture normals ran through nodes (like the Larp node which fades each texture in and out) to give it movement (animation). And looking through the Pantry/Textures and the Pantry/Animations folder you can see a bunch of different water textures in the Textures folder, but nothing about water in the Animations folder, so as far as water on the map it looks like thats what they do to create rivers, lakes, and oceans in Civ 6.

Spoiler UE4 ScreenShot :

But as far as water in objects, look at the Beach Resort, and more specifically the "Platform" part.
Pantry/Geometries: IMP_Beach_Resort_Platform.geo
Pantry/Animations: IMP_Beach_Resort_Water.anm
Patry/Assets: IMP_Beach_Resort_Platform.ast

Spoiler IMP_Beach_Resort_Platform.ast In AssetEditor :

Hopefully this helps.

 

[esosorcdc]

I believe that @sukritact's Floating Marketing district in his Siam mod does something like this.



There are some Robes and Staffs in the base game that you could use if you don't want to start from scratch. You can import the base game assets into Blender via .cn6 format using CivNexus6 if you want.

Some example Modbuddy projects where I've made new attachments:
https://forums.civfanatics.com/resources/moar-units-art-cooker-modbuddy-projects.26060/
https://forums.civfanatics.com/resources/even-moar-units-macedon-and-persia-modbuddy-project.26241/

Thanks, good idea. I could just get the robe from the missionary and staff from the great prophet and build off of those since they are already the right scale.

 

[sukritact]

@esosorcdc can confirm this is how Firaxis handles water in their assets. The same is true of the Stepwell and my Floating Market.

 

[Shirotora Kenshin]

@esosorcdc ha ! thats really helpful so thanks. will see if i can get this to work for my 3rd Wonder

 

[esosorcdc]

In CivNexus6, how do I export animations so I can load them in to Blender?

Exporting meshes worked fine for me, but when I try to do the same for the animations I get an error. I tried clicking all 3 options. When I click [ Export Models (All Models) ] nothing happens, When I click [ Export Model (Current Model) ] it throws up an error and creates a 0KB .cn6 file, when I click [ Export Animation to NA2 ] it opens a window to open a .fgx file so I click on the animation file's .fgx and it just throws up an error.

Spoiler Error Screen Shots :

[ Export Models (All Models) ] Button Pressed:

[ Export Animation to NA2 ] Button Pressed:

 

[Shirotora Kenshin]

@esosorcdc you Need first to load a fgx file of a model, a unit for example. Then you can load animations and then export the animations and then load them into blender 2.49, the blender scripts do only work with blender 2.49

Take a Look Here, its for the old nb2 na2 br2 scripts But the Process should Be Similar

https://forums.civfanatics.com/thre...blender-and-re-import-to-civ-v-civ-be.564873/

 

[Deliverator]

@esosorcdc you Need first to load a fgx file of a model, a unit for example. Then you can load animations and then export the animations and then load them into blender 2.49, the blender scripts do only work with blender 2.49

Take a Look Here, its for the old nb2 na2 br2 scripts But the Process should Be Similar

https://forums.civfanatics.com/thre...blender-and-re-import-to-civ-v-civ-be.564873/

Yeah, the main point is that you need to have the model itself loaded before you do the .na2 export of its animations.

The process is actually exactly the same - just substitute .fgx for .gr2. I attempted to make a .na2 import script for Blender 2.7+ but I gave up as I just couldn't get all the bone rotations correct. Given that the Blender 2.49 .na2 process works fine and is reliable for editing and re-import there was not too much incentive to keep bashing my head against that brick wall of matrix mathematics.

 

[esosorcdc]

@esosorcdc you Need first to load a fgx file of a model, a unit for example. Then you can load animations and then export the animations and then load them into blender 2.49, the blender scripts do only work with blender 2.49

Take a Look Here, its for the old nb2 na2 br2 scripts But the Process should Be Similar

https://forums.civfanatics.com/thre...blender-and-re-import-to-civ-v-civ-be.564873/

Yeah, the main point is that you need to have the model itself loaded before you do the .na2 export of its animations.

The process is actually exactly the same - just substitute .fgx for .gr2. I attempted to make a .na2 import script for Blender 2.7+ but I gave up as I just couldn't get all the bone rotations correct. Given that the Blender 2.49 .na2 process works fine and is reliable for editing and re-import there was not too much incentive to keep bashing my head against that brick wall of matrix mathematics.

Thanks, that worked.

Now I got another problem, the Missionary_Attack animation was not what I was looking for, I thought it was the "lightning attack" they do, but it appears that the "lightning attack" is a Particle Effect. (FX_Apostle_Attack_Ground_01.psb/.ptl) Can we load and mess with particle effects in Blender? Or if not, could I do it in Unreal Engine 4 (which is free btw), and copy/paste the file to my ModBuddy project?

 

[esosorcdc]

Scale issues with geometries made in Blender solved:

My first 3D model was super tiny and I had to go back and re-scale it and everything, well I recently found out how to avoid this. The default Blender scale is not really set to anything, it is just defined in "units". So to fix this you can tell Blender what scale to use. Under the Properties Menu, then under Scene, then under Units, set Length to Metric and Unit Scale to 0.01, then in the 3D View's Properties Menu, then under View, then under Clip, set End to 100m. *Note, change these settings before making or importing any mesh. And of course this is mainly if your creating a new mesh since imported base game meshes will already be to the correct scale.

Spoiler Settings and Example ScreenShots :

Settings:

With Blender Default Units (See how big it is):

With New Settings (thats how it should look):

Source: A YouTube video titled Blender to UE4 | Live Training | Unreal Engine. Yes, it is the settings for UE4, but it is the same for Civ 6 as seen in the screenshots. It must be an industry standard or something.

 

[Deliverator]

Thanks, that worked.

Now I got another problem, the Missionary_Attack animation was not what I was looking for, I thought it was the "lightning attack" they do, but it appears that the "lightning attack" is a Particle Effect. (FX_Apostle_Attack_Ground_01.psb/.ptl) Can we load and mess with particle effects in Blender? Or if not, could I do it in Unreal Engine 4 (which is free btw), and copy/paste the file to my ModBuddy project?

The Particle Effect .psb files are made in the commercial product Fork Particle Studio and can't be made or edited outside of that program as far as I know. I have re-scaled and re-used some of the existing VFX for example to make the flaming boulder in the Trebuchet attack. It looks like it might be possible to switch the ParticleTextures and ParticleModels in the .ptl and there are a number of cooking parameters in the .ast files for visual effects which might be useful for changing their behaviour and appearance. So far I haven't managed to change them in any way though and I don't know whether any cook settings would change the appearance in the Asset Previewer.

 

[Shirotora Kenshin]

EDIT: so...no Problem anymore about the Animation creation, but in asset Editor when i load my test water plane, the following appears :

The Animation : ( WON_Hagia_Sophia_Movie.gr2 ) could not bind to the model ( FX_Animated_Water_Plane ) in the asset WON_my_asset ) if you're expecting it to bind,then ensure that the Animation contains at least one track that includes the model, if not then ignore this message.

and the model is loaded, but its not animated...

 

[esosorcdc]

I got a piece of my unit in game, my armor shows up and moves like it should, but everything else is invisible. It looks like an army of ghosts! And looks like my building's auto obstruction profile is not working either. So why would the armor show up but not anything else? Any ideas?

Spoiler Units.artdef ScreenShot :

Spoiler Ghosts! :

 

[Deliverator]

I got a piece of my unit in game, my armor shows up and moves like it should, but everything else is invisible. It looks like an army of ghosts! And looks like my building's auto obstruction profile is not working either. So why would the armor show up but not anything else? Any ideas?

Is your Armor rigged to the same skeleton as the Male_Medium_Body_Hands?

Also check any custom components are being loaded from .blp in the Firetuner in-game Asset Preview. If not you may have issues in the Unit_Bins.artdef, .xlp -> .blp cooking or a missing Mod.Art.xml reference.

 

[Shirotora Kenshin]

@Deliverator i Dont Want to Stress you, really not. I ask Again just in case you have not Seen My question :

in asset Editor when i load my test water plane, the following appears in the output :

- Cooker: The animation : [C:\Users\User\Desktop\WaterPlane4.fbx] could not bind to the model : [WON_Movie_Camera] in the asset : [WON_Movie]. If you're expecting it to bind, then ensure that the animation contains at least one track that includes the model, if not then ignore this message.
The animation : [WON_Hagia_Sophia_Movie.gr2] could not bind to the model : [WON_Movie_Camera] in the asset : [WON_Movie]. If you're expecting it to bind, then ensure that the animation contains at least one track that includes the model, if not then ignore this message.
The animation : [C:\Users\User\Desktop\WaterPlane4.fbx] could not bind to the model : [FX_Animated_Water_Plane] in the asset : [WON_Movie]. If you're expecting it to bind, then ensure that the animation contains at least one track that includes the model, if not then ignore this message.
The animation : [WON_Hagia_Sophia_Movie.gr2] could not bind to the model : [FX_Animated_Water_Plane] in the asset : [WON_Movie]. If you're expecting it to bind, then ensure that the animation contains at least one track that includes the model, if not then ignore this message.


and the model is loaded, but its not Animated, so what Could this mean ? Thanks

 

[esosorcdc]

Is your Armor rigged to the same skeleton as the Male_Medium_Body_Hands?

Also check any custom components are being loaded from .blp in the Firetuner in-game Asset Preview. If not you may have issues in the Unit_Bins.artdef, .xlp -> .blp cooking or a missing Mod.Art.xml reference.

I'm guessing maybe something to do with the rigging and attachment points. I only have 2 custom objects, the armor and the staff, everything else I am just using base game parts. Now I was able to attach the hands in Asset Previewer, and a base game staff, since my custom staff was not an option to choose from, but the head ended up floating off to the right. Now, the way I did this was loaded the missionary armor in to Blender and modified the mesh and added my own textures, so the base game bones and stuff was already there, although I did have to clear parent and parent the mesh to the bones again. But a couple things I noticed that was off, one was a set of bones between the model's feet not connected to the rest of the bones. They are named Male_Caucasian_HeadM, IKFootL, and IKFootR. I don't know why they are there since the top bone where the head is supposed to be is called Head, and there are two bones where the feet are supposed to be called LFoot and RFoot. So should I delete the three loose bones? And second there is an Armature Modifier not applied, however when I apply it then I can not export to .cn6 anymore, it throws up an error. I didn't apply this modifier for my building and it shows up fine in game, but maybe since we actually need to use these bones for units then maybe we need to apply this? Though again, it won't let me export when I do.

Spoiler Blender ScreenShot :

As far as .xlp, I just need one Units.xlp correct?

Spoiler .xlp ScreenShot :

As far as Mod.Art.xml, I just need to define Units.artdef and Unit_Bins.artdef, and units/units library right?

Spoiler Mod.Art.xml ScreenShots :

 

[RFormica]

I tried to make a custom unit with a new model and texture, but the texture does not show up. Please help!

Thanks!