What Are All These Texture Files?

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Article link: What Are All These Texture Files?

 

There are 3 kinds of textures: Diffuse (a.k.a. Color Map or just plain "Texture"), Normal Map (a.k.a Bump Map), Glow Map

 

Each model must have two textures...a diffuse and normal. (Menu/2D items do not need normal maps)

 

The Diffuse texture is how the object is painted...it wraps around the model based on the defined UV Map of the model. The name of the texture and its path is controlled inside the NIF file using the texture path. If the texture cannot be found using the path inside the NIF, the game may crash or the object will appear pink. To update the path, please read this tutorial: How To Fix Hard-Coded Texture Paths in NIF Files.

 

The Normal Map is how light reacts to the model's surface giving it a "fake" heights causing lighter areas and "fake" lows causing darker areas which is controlled by the values of the color used (typically a light violet/blue color). I use a tool called CrazyBump to create these Normal Maps (a.k.a. Bump Maps). To get a better understanding of what it does in-game, take a look at CrazyBump's intro movie: Creating Materials with CrazyBump. The game engine automatically determines the name of the normal map by using the name of the diffuse texture and adding "_n" to it. Example: Helmet.dds --> Helmet_n.dds. The game can crash if the normal map does not exist...or it can render the object invisible.

 

The Glow Map controls the color and intensity of the glow on the surface of the texture. The game engine automatically determines the name of the glow map (if it exists) by using the name of the diffuse texture and adding "_g" to it. Example: Helmet.dds --> Helmet_g.dds. You could make an object glow by controlling the material settings inside the NIF but that would cause the entire object to glow. Using a glow map allows you to make just certain parts glow. Glowmaps 101

 

Each texture might make use of the Alpha Channel which is a black-n-white only (or shades of gray). What the alpha channel does depends on what it is used on in the game and which texture it is in. For example, I can use the alpha channel of the Diffuse texture to control the amount of transparency of the object (such as glass) but the NIF must be configured to utilize the NiAlphaProperty. The Alpha in the Normal Map controls the amount of shine on the material when light is cast on it. A Black alpha channel looks like a very dull material like wood but a white alpha channel makes the material look very shiny / reflective. There are other tricks you can do to make use of special materials to make an uber-reflective materials...Reflective Metal

 

Even though these tutorials were created for Oblivion, I believe they hold true to Fallout 3 as well since it is the same game engine. Reflective Metal might be a bit different but I'm sure it is the same procedure but maybe with different names.