Matth85

The industry standard way of modelling today is: Base in Maya/3ds max - No, blender is NOT standard industry software for AAA titles. High poly model in Zbrush/Mudbox. Import back for retopo, or do it directly in Zbrush/Mudbox. UVW Unwrap and Bake out the normals. Texture the model Add a normal detail pass from the difuse. It really isn't any special workflow.

The thing is, most of the textures IS a modified picture. However, what makes them look non-realistic is the size and the normal map. Due to the size of the game, lots of normal maps are very small. This will, of course, be fixed with mods. Oh, and yes. 90% of texturing today is taking a photo, or a few, and modify it. You either get a royalty free photo or take your own. The only exeption is hand painted textures. But that only really fits for MMOs like Warhammer and WoW, not for action RPG. That is my opinion though. Cheers, Matth

Not reading through it all, but: Skyrim is i the COLD north. Taken from the VIkings. Here, in the north, you really do not got exotic colors all over. The game does not got a depressed tone, it got a realistic tone. It's not like a unicorn puked out some raninbow colors all over, like a flew places in Oblivion. Here you got what the real world got. It is cold, so the flowers are limited. The cities are degraded because of war and struggles. Now they got dragons too. In oblivion, a crisis recently hit. Which means that the cities was generally OK looking. In Skyrim, the crisis never ended, and a new on started. That means every city is broken down. That's why you do not see a marbled city, like the Imperial City. Personally, I find this game to have a perfect balance of colours. The only thing: The dungeons are too lit, and some things are a little unrealistic lit. A sealed tomb, that nobody by the dead have been in for a hundred year. Yet, there are candles lit..... small.. candles..

I played like that on my first character. I didn't know I could sprint before 30 houres in.... I don't think I really did any quest chains, just simply exploring and random quests! Reading the manual for every future game! I really should've known about sprinting.

Very easy when we get the Construction kit. You know, I wake up every morning hoping for the Construction kit >.< So, you'll have to wait for the CK to get out, and then ask somebody, or do it yourself.

Nerdraging much? :o Sorry, I had to. Now, a little tips, since enchanting is NOT hard to level, and should not be cheated. This can also be used to get up Smithing. 1) Firstly, no matter which class, buy soul gems. Unfilled soulgems, start with petty. 2) Save all enchanted items in the start. 3) Buy/find absorb Stamina/Health/Magicka item and disenchant it. This is a real moneymaker! 4) Get some iron. Easiest thing to enchant is iron daggers. 5) Bunnies, foxes, goats and chickens. Yes, kill them. They give souls! I know, it hurts. I always feel sad killing a fox who randomly walks around :( As a mage: Start the game, and get apprentice perk as soon as possible. That way you can cast Soul Trap easy enough. Now, use your summons and destruction spells, and you should be able to fill your gems pretty fast. My way of doing it was soul trapping every enemy nearby, and sending my summon and my compation. Then in the background I kept throwing spells. Very early in the game you are sent to get the dragon table thing. In this tample/cave you will find a lot of undead. You can easily fill up a tons of soulgems here! As a warrior/Assassin: Simple. Get some starter gold, find a weapon in any stores that got soul trap. Disenchant it and enchant your favourite weapon. I started with a 2 handed Steel sword on my warrior. Now, you got 12 Petty Soul gems filled, but what now? Get some iron ingots and leather, make some iron daggers and enchant them with Absorb X ( Health, Magicka, etc). They will net you 150 Septims per. So 12 soul gems will net you 1800 Septims as well as 12 enchanting levels early on. Now you start questing and exploring, always having empty soul gems. Every time you got a full batch, you make some iron daggers and enchant them. Works fine. You can choose the star, or the black soul gem. Both works as ONE infinite Grand/Black soul gem. Meaning if you get the star whole, you can get a soul in it, use it, and still got it. Usefull for recharging, but not really for enchanting gear. 1 enchant is really not amazing. The black one is usefull though, since it works as a black sould gem. That means you can actually get some souls early on from the bandits that roams the world. There are a mine with Ebony ore. I managed to get 25 ingots from it. Hardly rare. You can also get about 5-6 hearts from dadreic shrine quests, and a guy in the College sells 2 of them for 900ish per. He also restocks every 48 hour. So not rare, but expensive. Not really expensive if you enchant though ;) Uh... Oh, a tip: Dragons If you look for dragons, check out the places you get shouts. Some dragons like to hang around them often. You can also find them by going to outdoor cites. I've had 3 dragons at the College and 2 in the first village you get to. They can also attack bigger cities, but only had that happen to me once. Consider that is an interior, of sort. You mostly find them by listening to the scream. If you hear a dragon scream in the background, be ready to look around! However, dragons are random unless it's plot-related. You might not see one dragon, you might see 20. Cheers, Matth

They cost a thousand each. By the time you should have 90 smithing, the cost to make and improve a full set is not high. Let's see, gauntlet, armor, boots, helmet, weapon 1, weapon/shield 2. That's 6 hearts for a full set, and 6 more to upgrade. The hearts go for about 900ish per, so 11k if we round slightly upwards. 11k gold is very easy to have by that time. Let's also remember the daedric quest for hearts. Azura there is 2, 3? And I believe a few with Mehrun Dagon. So that will cut the cost down to approximately 6000-7000 Septims. And dragons are very random. On my warrior, level 32, I've encountered 2 dragons randomly. The other 3 I saw escaped. 2 dragons, netting me 6 bones and 5 scales, is enough for what, 1 piece? Maybe 2? On the other hand, I got full dadreic and sit on a nice pile of 20k gold for now. Though it should dissapear as I make a new dadreic set for my companion, and buy a house. My point is: They are almost equal, I agree. And the different is min/max or taste. But do not say that dadreic is harder to get than Dragon. Because unless you consatantly go on dragon hunts, you might not have met a single random dragon before you got full dadreic. Making 11k gold is easy using smithing/enchanting, alchemy or generally looting. Just do not buy a house in the start, and it's all good.

Summon 2 Dadreic Lords, watch the giant die in less than a minute. Repeat forever, since the mana cost of 2 dadreic lords is low. Yeah, mages are overpowered >.<

Possible? Yes. Easy? No. Here we talk a whole magic overhaul. If you want dual cast, we also ask for hardcore scripted things. This is something that would take a lot of time. Understand that about every decent modder is playing Skyrim and cooking up ideas now. I never believed I could be looking so much forward to the CK. When will it be released?! >.< On a second note: Get skyrim. It's awesome. It needs some work with mods, but generally awesome! Cheers, Matth

If it does not use .nifs, which I believe it will, no software can export it to the correct file at start. Not Bethesda decides to use Cryengine or UDK, which wouldn't happen. If it is an all new engine, we would need some nice coders to code us exporters. I believe Meo over at TESAlliance made a castle resource from scratch not too long ago. Might contact him about it? Cheers, Matth

So, in short, you want: 1) Drinking a specific beverage gives you a power temporarily. 2) Some can burn many, some can burn only 1. Generally: Just a ton of scripting and a little CS work? Hm.. How would you get these drinks/metals? People might want to know some more :) A quest to learn about it? Finding the materials around, then combining it with a beer? Somebody should be able to tackle this, but remember: It is skyrim soon. People are gearing up for it. Cheers, Matth

http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=40953 If there is any problems, please tell me. I am not going to work any more on this sword, as I got my hands full. So the scabbard isn't amazing, the AO isn't amazing, the specularity and normal pass is weak and there is no runes on the blade. Hope it serves you well though! Cheers, Matth

Good reply, but one thing: Isn't quite right. Basically a normal map itself is used to fake lightning and depth. Simplified it makes an object look better than it is. Older games didn't use normal map, and it was barely getting standarized when Oblivion hit. Many modders never dabbled with it before Oblivion. However, in Oblivion they tried to save space by turning the normal map into specularity map, by using the alpha. This is means the normal map Oblivion uses is both lightning and depth, and how shiny the object is. So, a normal map itself is a simple image that is calculated to fake depth and lightning. No models needs a normal map, in itself, but it is used to greatly increase the quality of a model. However, a model needs a specularity map, else the game engine does not know how to calculate the lightning that hits it. And since these 2 maps are combined, you need a normal map. Even a non-detailed Normal Map with a all white Alpha is good enough, since now the game knows how to calculate the reflections and the shine. Cheers, Matth

Or do it the harder way: Take the clothes and the armor, fit/merge them in your favourite 3d package, re-rig it, and put it in-game. Quite easy if you are familiar with exporting/importing, modelling, rigging and how to use nifskope. Cheers, Matth

Decided to post my progress on this weapon. Done most of the texturing, exluding the normal pass and some runes on the blade. I might end up dropping the scabbard, or change it. It looked a lot better before the bake >.> http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/4937/swordfy.jpg Cheers, Matth

This is usually a shader problem( the purple map on the floor thing). Download http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=20348 At least that fixed it for me, some years ago. If any other problems come, I suggest a reinstall. It generally means you've screwed up something somewhere, or something happened while installing. Cheers, Matth

The model looks solid! The texture .. looks like, I am sorry for the language, crap. No offense meant! I'll give some pointers, to clear what I mean: Too much noise, simply tiled around, and the horn got a weird material in the final render. There is no man in the world that would use a helmet that rusted. It would fall in pieces, it would give you a nice rusty color on your hair, it would be of no use. There is also no scratches to join the rust. Does that mean this helmet have been lying under rain for a few years, never used? Not very practical. The horns material look wierd. It got too much yellow in it. If this is meant to be of bone, it needs to be cleaner, and perhaps more broken up. If it is metal, it needs a little work on the overall texture. A better base texture, a better plan and some scratches would make this look a lot better! I'd also point out what I mean about "too much noise". There are 3 kind of "noise" used in textures: - Big shape noise, like the cloud filter in photoshop. There is no realistic way to use these, unless it is grunge. - Small compact noise, like this. Little in the world got that kind of noise, and it looks messy. The lower part of your helm got a decent/good use of noise, the top got too much. - Something in the middle. Some areas got small compact areas of noise, others got big shapes. This is how the real world works. Other than that, the specularity needs some work. It doesn't got any shine as far as I can see. Metal without shine is concrete, or really, REALLY degraded/rusted metal. The horn also need some kind of specularity, to sell the material. Wood/Metal/Bone. There is a difference here. Metal reflects, and shines. Wood don't reflect, and got barely any shine. Bone doesn't reflect unless polished hard, but got a little shine. Yes, I know tons of people will probably rage at me for saying it, and being honest. I see improvement, so I'll tell what I see. Take this as you wish, it is meant good either way. Cheers, Matth

"Simple" is relative. Building a shader, making quite a few models and being able to script with OBSE, is quite s lot to know. Most people specialize into 1 area, not 5. And Evil is a misused word. Am i Evil if i break the law by breaking into a store? No. Is cannibalism evil? No, just not accepted in our society. Evil is what I'd call somebody who does something terrible for fun, or for personal gainage. A man killing his wife isn't evil, but mad. A guy killing 5 people for fun, is evil. And in the subject: Is it the gun, or the shooter, you call criminal? The brotherhood is the gun, the people hiring them is the shooter. There is no feelings connected to a job. This is, of course, meanings and is subjective. Cheer, Matth P.S. This is written on an Iphone, so excuse any weirf format and/or grammatic errors.

I don't see them as "evil". They do the dirty work, they are not emotional connected to anything, and they get things done. It's not like they feel like killing a whole town for fun - which I consider evil. Business is business, it only becomes evilness if emotions is involved. Yes, being bored count as an emotion here :P On the subject: It would be too clumsy to do this. Sure, we could make you 20 different models, each a small difference from the other, then control it with a script. However, the message that would pop up "removing X" "adding x" would be insanily annnoying. If the scripting part could be done cleaner: Then it wouldn't be any problem. Any 3d artist and their dog can make a few basic swords, and any decent artist can make the more advanced one. The only problem I can think of, is that people probably want some shiny effects with their weaponries. A bluish glow as a saint, a evil red glow as evil dude. There is limited people that got the software to make particles for Oblivion( Still not sure how it will go in Skyrim), and even less know how to do it. A few does, of course, but we all know there is a lack of people doing things for others at the moment. Due to the dead-time waiting for Skyrim. I also like the concept. In most rpg/adventure games it seem you pick up generic boring weapons that everybody can get. Whilst NPC heroes 'always' got some kind of personal-unique weapon that have followed them for ages. This is mostly a weapon gained from raiding some kid of ancient tomb, crafted, or simply a sword that fits good. I really enjoy playing an RPG and feeling as that kind of "hero" in the end. Wielding a unique sword, killing like no tomorrow, doing what needs to be done.

Well, I figured I'd make this. Just because I need something simple to make, after spending so much time having Max crashing at me over another request. I am a little unsure about the hilt. It looks.. not right as of now. Perhaps you can figure that part out, wether I misunderstood or the concept you had in mind is not enough in 3d. http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/1999/swordy.jpg Cheers, Matth

Jesus, can you give me 1 comment, at one point, that is not offensive in some way? ... What's your problem? And no: Nobody can throw down a awesome model in 15 minutes. Why? It takes at least 20 minutes to model a model, using both 3ds max and Zbrush/any other combo of softwares. Then it takes another 5 minutes to render out the bakes. Then it takes another half an hour to get a detailed texture. Slapping on a base texture is not awesome. You need subtle details, painted scratches, logical bumps. Then it takes some more minutes to get a good specularity, which most people forget, and to take your time to get out a decent normal detail map. If you can do all that in 15 minutes, I salute you. Because I know of none. I believe you and me got a different opinion on amazing. Amazing for me is stuff that is on portfolios of industry experts. Stuff that takes months to make, where every detail is planned out. You might think a flashy sword with a base texture, and the chrome shader on, is awesome. Of course, you can make DECENT things in 15 minutes. Even that is limited. Most speed MODELLING competitio is set for an hour. Then the texture one is set for 1-2 houres. Yes, this is the competition freelancers and experienced modellers take. I've seen amazing models people SAY they spend 10 minutes on, while they spent a week. I've seen the most awesome armor set they say they spent an hour to make, whilst they used a month. If you really think the good models is made in 15 minutes, I want a video of it. Where the whole procces is done, and the texture is detailed. No bopy/paste - finish kind of thing. I talk about real texturing. Yeah. It's totally "me". Because this disussion is relevant to what you, and me, can do. That's totally the topic. Right? Stop going personal, please. This is the second time you've manage to do that to me. >.< So, I dare you, show me a video of you, or anybody, making something really planned out and well done, in less than 20 minutes. I want the whoe proccess of 3ds max/blender --> Zbrush --> 3d package --> Photoshop --> final render. The render time can be cutted out, since I feel nice today. Now, can we please get a discussion going on, not offensive or personal? Or are you leaving me hanging yet again, without replying? P.S. Yes, this is off topic. Yes, I/we are done. Yes, I am annoyed by Alonsomartinez attitude towards me. No, my personal 3d skills is not relevant. Cheers, Matth

A direct port is against the rules. The only way to get something from one game to another, is to make it from scratch using the original model as a reference. That way you hold the copyright, nobody else.

A good sword takes houres, a plain/old school weapons ( No bake) takes 15 minutes. A god texture for the sword takes an hour itself, a plain one takes 5 minutes. It all depends on the model itself and the time the modeller spends on it. I've spent half a day on a very basic model, I've also spent half an hour on a complicated one. The quality different was huge. A little checklist to make a good request: 1) Reference pictures. A picture at 50x50 pixels and shows 1 side of a armor, is not good. 3 images of a sword at 1024x1024 pixels would be magical. 2) Do your research. If you want something made, know exactly what. Don't get a picture of armor set, and call it a day. Do you want it exactly as that? Do you want it changed in some places? Doesn't it matter? 3) Be aviliable and active. If I make a model, I will ask what the requestor want. I then want Him/her to be able to answer as soon as possible, so it moves a long. The bigger the project is, the more I 'demand' him/her to be able to answer fast. 4) Remember that the longer a modeller works on a model, the bigger the chance is he will leave it. This is because 'we' usually got hundreds of projects planned, and if the motivation goes down, we want to change the project. Why does this happen? Well, modellers are rarely proffesional artist who are amazing. We are usually people who wants to learn. So if I want to learn anatomy and make a human. making a sword for somebody will really not be fun for too long. 5) Know that this takes TIME. People like to go "Yeah, can you make a super high tech model with some ornamented thingies, OH, and a laser in the middle?". It is a hobby, so it takes no priority over other things. If I got to do homework, go to work, be with friends or simply want to game Nintento, I will. 6) The modeller is in NO WAY bound to finish/do any requests. We do not get paid, so we do not need to finish it. I can work on a model for haf a year, and send you a message "Sorry, can't be arsed", and it's all fine. The only time this is not OK, is if you'd pay for it. But of course, no right modeller for Oblivion takes payment for a model. 7) Lastly, and quite important, If you want a model - DON'T PM the modeller after a day and say "nvm, somebody else did it", "Found somethig similar on tesnexus" or "You know what, I don't want it after all". I swear, this has happened so many times for me. It is disrespectfull and rude. Following these 7 steps, and you'll be any modellers best friend. By the way, some insight into the industry and how people would work: A Sword, or a simple prop, would be given a day to finish. A work day, so 8 houres. Most people would be able to ut out 2 decent models in 1 work day. An armor, or other big humanid creations, is given a work week. That's 8x5 houres. This is because it is big, and usually goes through the 3ds max --> Zbrush --> 3ds max -- > photoshop --> game transformation. A gun is given a few work days. This is because they are comlicated, but not as complicated as something organic. So you see, 15 minut models is something we, modders, do because we are not good enough, we don't want to perfect it, or we simply can't be bothered sitting through a 2h procces of painting a good texture, and having a good bake. Hope this helps somewhat Cheers, Matth

It's a little too bumpy if I may be so bold. I am not sure, but that is a really messed up glass. It looks more like bendable plastic, since the waves act like that. A better approach would be to have a less bumpy normal map, and keep a interesting specularity. That way it doesn't look too wavy, yet the light doesn't hit it unnatural. Another way to get a "light" effect is to take the same image, blur it really hard, add an alpha and put it slightly in front of the original glass. That way it looks like it glows slightly. I don't try to nag here, just trying to get some opinions and critisism :) In such a big project, it is easy to loo yourself blind on the model. Then everything either looks perfect, or ike crap, for you. If you feel it doesn't help, I'll stop commenting. No worries! Cheers, Matth