Mini tutorial: Graphics Basics

[dutchking]

A DUTCHKING TUTORIAL
Graphics Basics
This tutorial is basically a small article on little things you should know about working with Graphics in Civ IV. It covers things I've spent ample time talking about in my other tutorials, but in future ones I'd like not to spend time talking about it and just putting it all here. To start out I'd like to cover texturing basics. I'll add more and more as I go on. Bare with me. I'll post more things here like cool stuff you can do with NifSkope and SceneViewer too. Just things that in the long run will save you lots of time. To start out, lets cover some small things (I'll add way more later this is only what I can do right now).
Chapter 1
Shaders and Nonshaders
Shaders are the nicest looking texture add-ons in Civ IV, they add shine and make the graphic look realistic. Most commonly you will have one base texture that is the actual graphic itself, and in the NIF it adds shaders on top of this texture. With lower-specification machines that don't support shaders, you have nonshaders, which tries to make the base texture look realistic by itself alone, without shaders to try to make it look realistic. Comparisons:
Shaded:

Not-Shaded:

There is a big difference...
After I come back, we'll cover UV editing using NifSkope. (editing how a texture clamps on to an object by just clicking dots)
Chapter 2: UV Editing
What you will need:
1. NifSkope
All right, now we're on to UV Editing using Nifskope. Basically this will save you a lot of time, and not a lot of people know how to do this. You can use this method for small tweaks without having to work on the skin, being lazy and just taking the UV of an arm and putting it on the already skinned body, etc.
OK, so now, this is just an example I will use because I have done it before (for Henry VIII, don't get any ideas, already made it ).
I again assume you have the assets to Vanilla unzipped. Now, let's open up NifSkope and get started. Copy the "napoleon" Leaderhead folder to your desktop. Now, copy the texture file "John_DIFF.dds" file from C:/Program Files/Firaxis Games/Sid Meiers.../BTS/Assets/Art/Leaderheads/JohnII/ into the napoleon LH folder. We're going to make napoleon with joao's skin. 8)
Now, open "napoleon.nif" in the LH folder:

Make sure you have the "block list" open (view>Blocklist) and click on Napoleon's body.
Now, change the source texture "napoleon_DIFF.dds" to "John_DIFF.dds".

Don't get freaked out! The weirdest is yet to come!

Now we'll actually edit the UV, when you first start, it should look like this:

Now start editing, it's a simple but tedious concept, you'll see a "web" of his clothes, and face, etc. on the map, this is how the texture wraps around his body. You can change that now, simply by clicking and dragging a box around a group of webs, and dragging them to the place where they should be/you want them to be. This is the hardest part, I suggest moving smaller things out of the way first just so you can get a cleaner map.
While you're editing it should look something like this:

After LOTS of hard work, napoleon should look somewhat like this: (minus the hat etc.)

I made that a few months ago, wasn't sure if I should upload it or not, but I'd like to do more tweaks to it.

 

[dutchking]

*moved from civunited*
Screenshots take a little bit to load.

 

[The Navy Seal]

How do you make the background image behind the leader? Nice tutorial!

 

[dutchking]

You edit the (leadername here)_BG.dds to whatever picture you want it to be, and make sure its the same dimensions as it was when you opened it.

 

[Ekmek]

I tried to make it have "blank/empty" parts in the bg so I can use the sky.dds but it only caused a crash. any idea on that?

 

[dutchking]

You mean you made transparency, and it crashed?
Ekmek, what are you talking about.

 

[Ekmek]

yeah I tried to make it a transparency...


here are my notes again in case you wnat to add it

Draw Program
	Convert skins to TGA


BLENDER
download blender (2.4.3)
download python
download Nikscripts
Set Blender to export NIF
Set Blender to 20.4.XXXXX

TIPS:
- Vertex Error – See NIFSkope tips
- To just get a hat –select all the faces then go to object mode. 
- when selecting faces save blends as you progress in case you accidentally unclick it all
- You can select the faces you want rapidly by going to edit mode and selecting the muscle group and then select and continue to do so, then you can separate the object by mesh->edges->mark seam and then edit->mesh->vertices->separate
-	If joining  a hat mesh to a body mesh first in object mode select the hat, then go to edit mode, then select all. Then go to object mode shift click add the body mesh – go back to edit mode and your hat should be all lit – easily rig/assign it to the b_head.
-  when joining meshes click the new object then shift-click the object that has the bones that way it will be assigned to the scene root parent
- to remove bone assignments and assign all to torso or something go through each component and click on the bone then select then remove keep it lit and move to the next bone then assign it all to the torso (if that’s what you want to do) 


NIFSKOPE
-	Trishapes
-	If you have more tri then just add them to the end – don’t try to replace anything
-	Less tri remove branch
TIPS: If noskininstances
		IfNiNode error then reset skininstance to scene root
TIP: If you joined a noshader nif to a shaded nif (or a unit.nif) then you need to click on that piece and remove the alpha property.
TIP: Remove Vertex property

SCENEVIEWER
Setting the objects
Click and drag the orange trishape under the main body
Resetting by numbers
TIP: you can add stuff from units. After you loaded your leaderhead go to File->adda file then pic the unit you want … This will require you to go back to blender to reposition etc and redo everything – so I’ll consider this an advanced technique.

 

[dutchking]

- when selecting faces save blends as you progress in case you accidentally unclick it all

Ctrl+Z

If joining a hat mesh to a body mesh first in object mode select the hat, then go to edit mode, then select all. Then go to object mode shift click add the body mesh – go back to edit mode and your hat should be all lit – easily rig/assign it to the b_head.

Unneccesary, you only need to copy and paste it in nifskope.

TIP: you can add stuff from units. After you loaded your leaderhead go to File->adda file then pic the unit you want … This will require you to go back to blender to reposition etc and redo everything – so I’ll consider this an advanced technique.

All you need to do is copy the thing from the unit and paste it on a node in nifskope, not a very advanced technique.
Ekmek, sorry but half of those didn't make much sense.

 

[Ekmek]

those half was the only way I learned how!

Ctrl+Z

son of a... Something that would have been useful yesterday

 

[dutchking]

Well, you found out a hell of a lot on your own. (as did I) I congratulate you.

 

[Ekmek]

I'm hoping that if we make it easy enough we'll have more artists out there. I encourage everyone to try it. we will help!

 

[bernie14]

I'm hoping that if we make it easy enough we'll have more artists out there. I encourage everyone to try it. we will help!

agreed!

 

[The Navy Seal]

I just got nifskope and blender but nifskope wants me to get visualC++ or something which installs directly on you're comp (which is not my editing comp) so I'm probably going have to get the CD.

 

[dutchking]

Download an older version. I didn't have to install C++.

 

[The Navy Seal]

Thanks I'll see if I can find one!

 

[dutchking]

Just look at sourceforge, they've got every version there. I think I have one from November or December.
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=149157&package_id=170735

 

[The Navy Seal]

I'll check it and see if I can get an older version cause I tried the last version and it didn't work either. Thanks!

P.S When I export the leader from blender and load it in scene viewer the hands or part of the leader is a million miles long? I can't figure out why it does that.

 

[dutchking]

Screwed up scripts most likely.

 

[The Navy Seal]

I'll try it again and if it doesn't work I guess I'll have to re d/l the script.

 

[dutchking]

Or try a different script.

I'm running 2.2.7 Nif Scripts, Blender 245, and PyFFI 0.7.4