==General==

Properly texturing a model is perhaps one of the easiest aspects of modeling to actually do, but possibly the hardest to do well. There are two types of texturing methods, tiling and mapping, each with its own distinct advantages and disadvantages. I am not qualified to explain mapping (also called texture wrapping or unwrapping), as this is by far the more difficult of the two to do well. This form of map is most commonly used on fighters, although some capships (many FS1 cruisers, as well as distinct ships like the Lucifer) make use of full mapping. The advantage comes in a form-fitted map, that has each piece distinctly textured to reflect the designer's intentions as to what function each section should serve. However, especially with the older 256x256 maps, large scale mapping can be blurry and inconsistant if extreme care is not given to the construction of a map. Mapping a ship also requires you to be able to create techy maps in a photoshop-like program, and there really isn't an effective substitute.

Texture tiling: This method is simple, and (besides being the primary capital ship texturing method used by Volition) produces a consistantly crisp and consistant hull if applied correctly. When constructing a model, the choice between mapping and tiling generally comes early; anything with large flat or gradually curved expanses can easily exceed the optimal resolution for wrapped textures and makes tiling extremely noticable. As a general rule of thumb, don't create large expances of unbroken hull and you won't have this problem. If you can't get around it, though, try to split the section into two or more horizontal or vertical sections that can be mapped with similar textures or otherwise find a way to break overly repeated textures up. Using a varient of the same texture (such as ~C~Tile1 and ~C~Tile5 from the stock FS2 textures) can work really well here. Once your model is ready to texture, you must provide UV coordinates for each polygon so that the game renderer knows how to display your textures. I start out usually by applying a box UV map to the whole object, and then work from there. This comes with the advantage of lining everything up for tiled textures, but can create some odd seaming effects around 45 degree facings. I then go back and planar map (TS5) or unwrap (3ds Max) any parts that require special attention, such as engines, viewports, corners, etc. so that they fit the scheme I want. I would advise against spherical, cylindrical, or shrinkwrap UV map options, as they tend to create unstable normals (in TS) and almost always create an unexpected "pole" effect around the ends which is difficult to rectify. For a step-by-step walkthrough, I would strongly suggest taking your modeling program of choice and just playing with it. See what you can come up with. And that's all of the texture section until someone who is better at it than I am comes along and fixes this page up.

==SCP Team Recommendations==
The new HT&L feature of Freespace 2 SCP has allowed a vast increase in the number of polygons that can be displayed at any one time, however, in order to keep gameplay smooth, the SCP team recommends the following rules when making models for use in Freespace 2.

'''Textures :-'''

1 : Use as few textures per model as is possible, optimization is the key, for fighters and bombers you should only need a single 512 x 512 map for the model. Capital ships can use more textures, but the less textures and the less memory they take up, the better.

2 : Unless it is absolutely vital, use the .DDS format for storing your images. These format files are compressed and are automatically decompressed by your video hardware, so they take up far less memory, thus improving performance. Freespace 2 also supports .TGA format files, but these should only be used where .DDS files are causing noticeable compression errors on your texture (this can happen most noticeably with semi-transparent textures.

3 : For highly detailed ships, it is better, from a memory point of view, to use one large texture than several smaller ones.

4 : ALWAYS use texture sizes that are a power of 2, i.e. 256, 512, 1024 or, at most, 2048. You can have different ratios, such as 512x256, but always use these sizes. If you don't then the Engine will only wast memory by allocating space that is not used.

1 : Use as few textures per model as is possible, optimization is the key, for fighters and bombers you should only need a single 512 x 512 map for the model. Capital ships can use more textures, but the less textures and the less memory they take up, the better.

2 : Unless it is absolutely vital, use the .DDS format for storing your images. These format files are compressed and are automatically decompressed by your video hardware, so they take up far less memory, thus improving performance. Freespace 2 also supports .TGA format files, but these should only be used where .DDS files are causing noticeable compression errors on your texture (this can happen most noticeably with semi-transparent textures.

3 : For highly detailed ships, it is better, from a memory point of view, to use one large texture than several smaller ones.

4 : ALWAYS use texture sizes that are a power of 2, i.e. 256, 512, 1024 or, at most, 2048. You can have different ratios, such as 512x256, but always use these sizes.

'''Models :-'''

Remember that any Level of Detail models are going to be stored in memory, so use them sensibly. Freespace SCP now uses Mipmap technology, so you no longer need to create LOD’s for the textures, an old requirement of Freespace 2 modding. Whilst polygon count does not have as dramatic effect on performance as texture size does, it is, as always, best to optimize where possible.

===Texture Types===
Freespace 2 SCP uses mostly .DDS and .TGA format images. These can also be linked together to form animated maps (see later). Also, .PCX files are commonly found as they were the original format of Freepsace 2 Textures.
===Texture naming conventions===
Whilst the textures on your models can be called anything, there are certain naming conventions in creating effects textures such as glow-maps or specularity, basically the naming convention works as follows.

'''TextureName.xxx''' – This is the colour map for the material. It should be mapped out to the models UV Map. This can use an alpha map for transparency.

'''TextureName''-glow''.xxx''' – This is the glow map for the model. It simulates the effect of ‘portholes’ or other glowing part of the ship. Using the same UV Map, and a black background, make any flat lighting effects you want on the ship on this texture. These are different from Glow-points, which are points on the model and are covered later.

'''TextureName''-shine''.xxx''' – This is the Specular map of the model, once again using the UV’s for the model, colour in all the parts of the surface which are metallic, using whatever colour you want the shininess to be. The brighter the colour, the shinier it will be.
'''NOTE:''' Shine maps can also have an alpha map. This alpha map is used to define the level of ‘reflection’ when environment mapping is operating.

==Lithium UnWrap==

Lithium Unwrap is in my opinion, the best texturing program. It allows you to texture a model in one of two ways.

Lets start with the [Tutorial Ship] Modeled by Max Sterling. (click name to go to a download area)

*1. Open the file. File ----> Model ----> open

*2. Here you see a jumbled mess of faces, first we want to assign these faces to a material. We do this so we can begin UV mapping our Uylesses.

*3. Select all faces by clicking the arrow icon in the tool bar at top. Then drag a box around all faces you can see, if you can see only some faces or nothing at all, try zooming in or out by using the magnifying glass icon in the toolbar. Click and hold while moving your mouse up and down to zoom in or out.

*4. After selecting the faces, a red box should show up around them. Now click materials ----> modify -----> Mat 0 ----> Assign ----> ok and close the menu. Now normally Lithium will create a material and assign all faces to it if you dont already have one, but its good to know this.

*5. Now select material0 in the left hand column, expand materials by clicking the + if you have to.

*6. Drag select all the faces again and now click Tools ----> Uv Mapping -----> Box mapping ----> ok

*7. Now its slightly more organised but still a bit confusing if youe never used this before.

someone else can continue this.

Modelling

2006-05-26T04:00:42Z

Flipside:

=Modelling basics=
What modelling program(s) do the community use? 
See [[#Programs]].

Which one do you recommend?
It depends on which program do you get used to the best. You may try as many as you can, so you could see which one better fits your preferences. Some say [[TrueSpace]] is simple but sometimes annoying. What is sure you will need it to set the hierarchy using this program.

What does a FreeSpace model consist of? 
Your FreeSpace model must have one main body, which is basically the ship itself, other subobjects must be turrets or radar dishes. Your model must consist of at least two subobjects, which must be grouped together. If your model consists of only one subobject, you can add a local light and group the two. 
A turret and a radar dish has to grouped together, too. See [[#Default Hierarchy]].

==Default Hierarchy==
===One-part turret===
A one-part turret is basically only one subobject, with a local light grouped to the turret mesh. The local light is the point where the weapon projectile will appear when the turret fires, so set it to an ideal place. 
http://freespaceserver.cjb.net/topace/wiki/turrethrc.jpg
===Multi-part turret===
Multi-part turrets are hard to do for the first sight, but in realty, you won't find it difficult if you follow each step exactly and precisely.
First, draw the turret, with the barrels. Set everything into its prefered condition, then set the angle of the turret base, then move it to the bottom of the turret base. Then do the same with all the barrels(set the axes' position to the bottom of each barrel). Only after you have set all the axes to the appropriate position, you can glue the parts, accordingly to the image. 
http://freespaceserver.cjb.net/topace/wiki/mparthrc.jpg
===Radar dish===
Radar Dishes are rotating sub-models on large capital ships which will permanently rotate unless the subsystem is destroyed. They are one of Freespace's many eye-candy features.
===Level of Distance (LOD)===
Level of Distance (or Detail) models are progressively lower polygon versions of the same model which are used at increasing distances. This mean that when a model is only a tiny 'dot' in the background, the game engine is only rendering a few polygons for it instead of trying to compute values for the highest-detail model every frame. LOD levels are created during the modelling stage alongside the main model and converted into the Freespace 2 .POF format files by programs such as Pof Construction Suite. A Ship does not have to have LODS, however, not having them can cause a performance hit. especially for larger ships. It is sometimes useful just to work with getting the main model working in game before adding these.
http://freespaceserver.cjb.net/topace/wiki/lodhrc.jpg
===Debris===
Debris are part of the .pof file and are created along with the main model. They consist, as the name suggests, of the remains of the ship which will fly out from the explosion when that ship is destroyed. Debris, like LODS, are not essential to making the ship perform correctly in game, but are an effective form of eye-candy.
=Typical mistakes=

=Programs=
[[Caligari TrueSpace]] 
[[3D Studio Max]] 
[[GMax]] 
[[Rhino 3D]] 
[[Blender]] 

=Tutorials=

[[Category:Modding]]

Modelling

2006-05-25T17:04:29Z

Flipside:

=Modelling basics=
What modelling program(s) do the community use? 
See [[#Programs]].

Which one do you recommend?
It depends on which program do you get used to the best. You may try as many as you can, so you could see which one better fits your preferences. Some say [[TrueSpace]] is simple but sometimes annoying. What is sure you will need it to set the hierarchy using this program.

What does a FreeSpace model consist of? 
Your FreeSpace model must have one main body, which is basically the ship itself, other subobjects must be turrets or radar dishes. Your model must consist of at least two subobjects, which must be grouped together. If your model consists of only one subobject, you can add a local light and group the two. 
A turret and a radar dish has to grouped together, too. See [[#Default Hierarchy]].

==Default Hierarchy==
===One-part turret===
A one-part turret is basically only one subobject, with a local light grouped to the turret mesh. The local light is the point where the weapon projectile will appear when the turret fires, so set it to an ideal place. 
http://freespaceserver.cjb.net/topace/wiki/turrethrc.jpg
===Multi-part turret===
Multi-part turrets are hard to do for the first sight, but in realty, you won't find it difficult if you follow each step exactly and precisely.
First, draw the turret, with the barrels. Set everything into its prefered condition, then set the angle of the turret base, then move it to the bottom of the turret base. Then do the same with all the barrels(set the axes' position to the bottom of each barrel). Only after you have set all the axes to the appropriate position, you can glue the parts, accordingly to the image. 
http://freespaceserver.cjb.net/topace/wiki/mparthrc.jpg
===Radar dish===
Radar Dishes are rotating sub-models on large capital ships which will permanently rotate unless the subsystem is destroyed. They are one of Freespace's many eye-candy features.
===Level of Distance (LOD)===
Level of Distance (or Detail) models are progressively lower polygon versions of the same model which are used at increasing distances. This mean that when a model is only a tiny 'dot' in the background, the game engine is only rendering a few polygons for it instead of trying to compute values for the highest-detail model every frame. LOD levels are created during the modelling stage alongside the main model and converted into the Freespace 2 .POF format files by programs such as Pof Construction Suite.
http://freespaceserver.cjb.net/topace/wiki/lodhrc.jpg
===Debris===

=Typical mistakes=

=Programs=
[[Caligari TrueSpace]] 
[[3D Studio Max]] 
[[GMax]] 
[[Rhino 3D]] 
[[Blender]] 

=Tutorials=

[[Category:Modding]]