Help with creating custom _msn maps

[marius2k4]

I can do basic texture modding on everything but actors, thanks to the actor textures' use of object/model-space normal mapping. Is there a tool that I can use to generate an _msn file in the same way that the GIMP Normal plugin can generate a _n file? There seems to be no way that the normal map plugin I currently have will generate a msn with light source information. Again, I can create the plain, pink tangent-space maps, but need a quick tutorial on creating the rainbow-like model-space maps, preferably off of the diffuse (plain .dds without a suffix) texture. I've seen nude mods where the _msn is created from a texture and not a mesh, as information missing from the mesh but present in the texture is present, and I can't imagine that the person creating the mod did it themselves, pixel-by-pixel. (If you've got no problem with rather frontal female nudity, see 4uDIK's RETEX mod and its femalebody_1.dds vs femalebody_1_msn.dds.)

 

I'd like to contribute to the modding community (and no, not necessarily the nude modding community), and not knowing this has been rather bothering me.

 

Thanks for any help, guys, and Happy New Year.

[buddah]

http://www.3dkingdoms.com/tutorial.htm

 

http://www.surlybird...pace/index.html

 

http://http.develope...ugems_ch35.html

 

http://www.nvidia.com/object/melody_home.html

 

might be informative

[marius2k4]

http://www.3dkingdoms.com/tutorial.htm

 

http://www.surlybird...pace/index.html

 

http://http.develope...ugems_ch35.html

 

http://www.nvidia.com/object/melody_home.html

 

might be informative

 

I'll check these out. Thanks for replying!

[jimhsu]

Basically, you need Blender or 3ds Max in order to generate _msn maps because they include object space information (hence the name). This thread might be a start: http://www.thenexusforums.com/index.php?/topic/471526-need-help-creating-object-space-normal-maps/

 

You need to

1. Have a model to work with

2. Bake the existing textures onto the model (there's an option in 3ds max to "Render to Texture") and probably a similar option in Blender

3. Save the result as a _msn

4. "Tweak" the existing result to get it looking correct and fixing seams (the part I really don't get)

 

I'll jump out of this thread and let someone more experienced explain further.

Edited January 2, 2012 by jimhsu

[throttlekitty]

As far as I know, there's no way to directly go from a texture to object-space normal maps, or overlay details like we can with tangent space. Like jim points out, you'd need a high poly model for starters, and a way to apply your painted details to that model. (ZBrush or displacement mapping comes to mind) Then do the bake process.

 

However, normal maps aren't really meant for fine surface detail.

[jimhsu]

The part I don't get is why BS chose to use object space anyways, if object space is supposedly "bad for deformation" and bodies most definitely do deform. Wonder if there's a NIF setting hidden somewhere, or a renderer option, that removes the need for object space maps entirely (so that we can go back to using tangent space for bodies) Edited January 3, 2012 by jimhsu

[throttlekitty]

There probably is. I haven't checked for it yet, I stopped nif decoding for the holidays.