Terrain Models

[threedees]

G'Day all,

 

I'm looking to make some nice terrain for Oblivion and I was wondering if it was possible to import terrain that I have modeled in 3dsMax/Maya into the TES:CS or if I am stuck with using the CS editor...

 

Cheers,

DDD

[arrenmog]

all you need to do is export it as an .nif file and add the things need for it to work in oblivion in something like nifskope by copying from another object or making yourself (very few people know how)

 

if 3dmax or maya doesnt have the capabilities to export . nifs then youll need to get a plugin that will allow you to do that. you can use blender which is very popular with oblivion modders and there are a lot of tutorials for it and what you need to download for it to be able to import and export .nif files. heres a link........

 

http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index...talling_Blender

 

im pretty sure you need nifskope to get them into oblivion (its what i use).

 

i hope this has helped.

 

EDIT: i noticed you said terrain and that you probably know all that if your part of team serpant anyway. im pretty sure you have to stick to TES:CS for that by either pressing 'H' in the render window (litle bits like a small hill) or the height map editor (an entire island). you can add trees, rocks and stuff to the new land by using reigons for a quick random, realistic and natural coverage.

 

2ndEDIT: if you mean like trees and stuff, then yes.

 

p.s. i found this page as you checked my member page, thanks.

[Septim741]

I think you could also make a rock/terrain .nif and texture it was whatever grass you want. it would just be like a rock, with you able to place it and rotate it and all.

[Vagrant0]

G'Day all,

 

I'm looking to make some nice terrain for Oblivion and I was wondering if it was possible to import terrain that I have modeled in 3dsMax/Maya into the TES:CS or if I am stuck with using the CS editor...

 

Cheers,

DDD

Essentially, no. Terrain in Oblivion is not controlled like standard nifs. Only LOD terrain can be edited in a standard 3d program. Much of the reason behind this is that every single cell is made up of hundreds of verticies. Every worldspace is made up of thousands of cells. To try and make even a 100x100 cell quad in a 3d program would be more than most normal computers could handle. Even if you could, there would be no way to import it into Oblivion. Large single objects (bigger than a cell) don't usually work well since they get removed once you move out of range. Even if you play with VWD, it still doesn't work right since havok and other things don't work the same. Oblivion comes with a heightmap editor and landscaping tools, even though they technically suck, they would still be more effective than trying to piece together dozens of cell wide objects or working with one big object. It would also be easier to adjust, and texture, among other things.

[TheTerminator2004]

Don't any of you lot check the date? This thread's been here since April :P

 

But if you were only trying to do small scale stuff, smaller than a cell, you could export it as a .nif, then put it in the CS as a static object, and just use it in conjunction with the existing terrain... like a giant rock.

[threedees]

Heh, forgot all about this...

 

I managed to get around the terrain editor by modeling terrain and creating a series of interior exteriors if that makes sense... kinda like an outdoors dungeon :P

 

Made for some really nice linear level design, something that I think is often better than large open enviroments...

[TheTerminator2004]

Clever... so how exactly did you set it up? I'm always interested in new ways to make levels :)

[Vagrant0]

Don't any of you lot check the date? This thread's been here since April :P

 

But if you were only trying to do small scale stuff, smaller than a cell, you could export it as a .nif, then put it in the CS as a static object, and just use it in conjunction with the existing terrain... like a giant rock.

Meh, it was obviously unanswered, or unnoticed until lately, so isn't necromancy. But blame the person who dug it up irregardless :).

 

creating a series of interior exteriors if that makes sense... kinda like an outdoors dungeon

It's an interesting method, but still has the distance limitations, in addition to a few more, and requires piecing together lots of statics to make the ground, something worldspaces already accomplish. While you can kinda do something like a false cave exterior that goes right into the interior without a door between, you end up running into trouble if you begin to go beyond what would normally be a 10x10 cell grid. Not only do things start disappearing after you've moved a bit away, but the actual way that area functions begins to get funky. I wouldn't really advise using it anywhere you expect players to travel through. There is afterall a reason why Mornhold was broken into seperate areas. That reason wasn't solved in Oblivion, it was just made irrelevent with the addition of worldspaces.

[threedees]

I was only doing fairly small scale sections, I got around a lot of the far-plane clipping/distance LOD (or however this gamebryo monster works :P ) by having twists in the path, as this was a winding path through a dense huanted-forest-like-thing. oh also fog/mist helped :P its all smoke and mirrors...

 

Also I was testing how a linear leveled mod would work, it went very nice, alternating between caves/interior dungeons and short exterior paths, the modelling of the outdoor terrain allowed for a lot more detail and coolness than a topographical height map.

 

This probably will not be a releasable mod, just me messing around seeing what I can get away with in blivy