NEW Texture Universe PREVIEW feature! :)

[[MUTTS] Das]

Hello!

I just completed a Beta run of a new method of previewing textures...tiled, in perspective...at Texture Universe (http://www.TextureUniverse.com)

I've only done 10 texture previews so far, so if you want to check it out, please follow these instructions:

1) Got to http://www.TextureUniverse.com
2) Click on "latest textures" in the left navigation frame.
3) Scroll down to the LAST 3 rows of textures. Click on the thumbnail image and it will create a pop-up preview of how the texture would look tiled in perspective. I've only done previews for those last 3 rows so far.

and....
4) Come back here and tell me if you love it, hate it, had technical problems with it, whatever!

This should give mappers a much better idea of what textures will look like repeated. Keep in mind...that any texture, when tiled over a large area, will show some repetition. It's your job to try and create visual tricks to help get around that. But this should give you a great head-start on knowing what you're downloading and how it will look.

OH! And is anyone using any textures? I'm looking forward to seeing them get used. Please let me know if you end up using them or see someone that does. :) :) I wouldn't mind creating a gallery section with those maps.

Regards,

Scott
[muTTs] Das
TextureUniverse.com

[Aphex]

Ooooh I like it.
But is there any chance of seeing a bit higher up - ie more into the distance?

[[MUTTS] Das]

It's possible to see more into the distance, but the trade-off is that the foreground starts to become an unrealistic angle that doesn't show the texture very well. On some textures I will increase the angle purposefully to show that. Unfortunately, I can't increase the height. Right now I am trying to make the angle a good balance between seeing the foreground texture and seeing what it does once it repeats over a realistic area.

Now, as I mentioned earlier, any texture with a pattern (such as the skulls texture), will show some repeating lines to the horizon if tiled over a very large area....so those textures aren't really for creating a huge battlefield surface, unless you're OK with some repetition. Maybe in a map like Twin Valley, where there are interruptions of hills, etc..., or in a depression or dungeon area of a DM-map would be best. They'd be good outside, you just can't tile 100 of them without the pattern becoming noticeable. That's the basic liability of this stuff and I work pretty hard at previewing the the textures constantly to make it as subtle as possible.

On the other hand, something like the brick windows or mosaic floors would be fine, because repetition would be irrelevant because you'd expect them to repeat.

The general rule would be that the more chaotic a texture is, and the less contrast it has, the more you can tile it.

So I'm going to try to balance illustrating those things in tiling them in perspective...but as I said, I want the angle to be realistic-looking and not too-extreme. :) :) :)

Glad you like it! :)

Scott
[muTTs] Das
Texture Universe (http://www.TextureUniverse.com)

[[MUTTS] Das]

Two more things:

1) If you're interested, I used the Photoshop plug-in Kai's Power Tools 3 to create the perspective views. I think KPT3 is a *great* set of filters for texture making. Unfortunately, it's discontinued now that Corel bought much of MetaCreation's product line. You can still get it on eBay though, for about $30-$40, which is what I did.

2) Regarding the whole tiling thing....I have to say, one of the biggest mistakes I see mappers routinely make in texturing isn't in texturing itself: it's in architecture. Huge flat stretches of uninterrupted wall or floor don't make good surfaces for tiling textures. The "Design Tips" area of my site (off the left menu bar) addresses some key ways of getting around that. I'm going to make a "Ten Commandments of Texturing" that includes that info.

Mappers should always try to vary surfaces, even in the slightest way, with hills, beams, walls, valleys, etc... to break-up repetition. This doesn't have to be extreme or be poly-intensive...just adding small visual interruptions makes a big difference in replicating the chaotic nature of reality.

:) :) :)

Scott
[muTTs] Das
Texture Universe (http://www.textureuniverse.com)

[[MUTTS] Das]

The whole "latest textures" page now includes previews....

:)