Regarding Normal Mps Please Help Me :(

[Stephen999]

Hello there I was wondering if anyone could lend some advice regarding Normal maps for Skyrim. I mean like for Farmhouses and what not. how are they supposed to be made I know how to make them but not in the same way as Bethesda and other Modders such as yourselves. for instance the texture.

( stonewall01_n)

how and what does Bethesda do to make it look this way and also to not have ridiculously shiny specular. because I have noticed that on most buildings in Nifskope the Specular is on full. but with me I always need to turn the specular down that cant be right I will list the points that I'm hoping you can answer. :smile:

1) how are the Maps Made?

2) What Export Options Do I Need To Choose

for the record I am a Gimp user by heart but a Photoshop user occasionally

I hope you can assist me in these questions. :smile:

[Deleted3897072User]

Skyrim uses the alpha channel in normal maps to control shininess.

 

You need dds format for normal maps, just as you do with ordinary diffuse maps, and they usually have mipmaps turned on.

 

If you use compression it needs to be one that supports RGBA, obviously, and DXT5 is often used but if you have very fine detail it may be better to leave them uncompressed. SSE supports BC7 compression but there's no Gimp plugin for it although there are other tools that will handle it.

 

There is a plugin available for The Gimp that can generate normal maps and it sometimes gives good results if you can find the right combination of options but the usual route is to create them in 3dsMax at the same time as painting the diffuse maps.

[thumbincubation]

Here's the way I do them in GIMP. There is probably a better way, but most of what I do has been trial & error. This will give you a rough normal map, with the difference in scale and filters being only where you've highlighted. I don't know how to make the vanilla-style ones, where the changes are more gradual and appear more like shadowing.

 

With the GIMP .dds plugin installed...

 

1. Open the diffuse map in GIMP. Uncheck "load mip maps".

 

2. colors > desaturate the diffuse.

 

3. colors > brightness/contrast to make the details stand out, but don't go so far as to distort.

 

4. layer > transparency > remove alpha channel

 

5. filters > maps > normal map. Start with something mild. Leave it at 4 sample for now, check 'wrap,' and set scale for about 10. It should turn blue and show you a rough texture. I want to say (not certain) vanilla clothing is between 5-10 scale, usually. If you want more / less texture detail, just keep using edit > undo.

 

6. layer > transparency > add alpha channel

 

7. Double click the eraser tool, set the brush from fuzzy to solid, and slide the brush size until the circle covers the entire texture.

 

8. Set opacity, with the consideration that a lower number is shinier, a higher number is more dull, and above 95 has been said to cause problems. I can't remember which tutorial I read this on, but I have stayed below 95 and never had an issue with it. I generally do 94 for cloth, and somewhere around 80ish for shinier objects, depending on how shiny.

 

* If the texture needs to be shiny and dull, highlight the parts you want to be dull, erase those at about 94% and then select > invert, and move your opacity to however shiny you want it. I do it this way, so the thing I am more likely to change is closer to the last thing I've done, for undo purposes. You can also use the same method, if you want part of the normal map to have a rougher texture than another part. In that case, you would start highlighting right after you've removed the alpha channel, set your scale where you want it, invert, do the next, etc. When you have everything at the texture scale you want, re-add your alpha channel, then go to your eraser the same way, changing the opacity as you invert the selection. The 3x3, 5x5, 7x7, and 9x9 filters seem to make the item seem more embossed, but with less detail. You will want to play around with it some.

 

9. File > export as. Give it the same name as the diffuse, but with _n.dds behind it. Export, give it a compression (I usually use dxt3 but I don't do much high res stuff.)

 

It's a good idea to leave GIMP open and the map up, while testing, as you may need to tweak things, and undo is a lot easier than starting everything again.

 

Use either creation kit texture sets, or the corresponding mesh and diffuse map, in nifskope, to apply and test your new normals.

 

 

 

 

 

[Stephen999]

Thank you all for your input it means a lot :)

[thumbincubation]

You're welcome. Hope it helps. I neglected to mention, when you export and set a compression, make sure "generate mipmaps" is checked, and also "preserve alpha test coverage."