George-III Posted June 16, 2002 Share Posted June 16, 2002 As all of you know there is no real-time light sourcing in the CM engine. However I think I have figured out a way to do a pretty good job of faking it. Its kind of complicated to explain so I will try to keep it as simple as possible. I can post a more detailed explanation (with screen shots) later if someone wants it. Ok here goes.... What you do is fire up the old Voidhawk version of CM and divide up the bmp's of a vehicle into "verticle" and "horizontal" surfaces. The "verticle" surfaces would be the bmp's for the front, side and rear of the hull and turret. The "horizontal" surfaces would be the bmp's for the hull top, turret top and gun barrel. Ok, now open your photo editing software. I use Corel Photopaint 7 but Im pretty sure you can do this with Photoshop as well. Load the "verticle" bmps. Click 'effects', 'render', then 'lighting effects', then select 'ambient' as your light source. Now render 50% ambient lighting on all the "verticle" surfaces. What you are doing is rendering shadows on all the "verticle" surfaces on the vehicle. (note: you will need to apply a color-mask on any bmp with the pink background color otherwise it won't stay transparent) Next load all of the "horizontal" bmb's, only this time your going to render 100% ambient light on these. For surfaces that are at an angle (like the front of a Sherman) I render these at 75% ambient light. The result may seem a bit subtle but it makes a HUGE difference in the game. Tanks look VERY 3d. Almost like metal miniatures. Also, I cant really explain this but tanks look .. well.. HEAVY and menacing. Ok now for some photos. Ill start with a Sherm 105. The first photo is the original texture. The second photo is the same texture but with shadows added: Is that cool or what :cool: .. see I told you they looked heavier Ok next lets look at the Panther. Again first photo is the original texture and the second photo is with shadows added: Oh and one more thing I forgot to add. All of these are the low-rez original bmp's. This whole process doesnt add anything to the size of the bmp's. They just LOOK more detailed. Ok next up is the Chaffee: I love how detailed the textures look yet nothing is changed as far as the size. To BTS: I have been experimenting with this for the past month or so and I can tell you I would NOT go back to the old textures. I am posting this because I am hoping that you guys will be able to use this with the CMBB textures. If you want, I can help you convert the bmp's so you can see if it would help the look of CMBB. I very much want you guys to succeed with CMBB so anything I could do to help just let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George-III Posted June 16, 2002 Author Share Posted June 16, 2002 Now that you get the idea here are some more photos with just the shadows: (sorry about the huge size but you need to see the detail) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
von Paulus Posted June 16, 2002 Share Posted June 16, 2002 Ahem well I think it's a nice work, but the problem is when the tanks rotate, the graphisms doesn't change. Don't worry, you had a good idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George-III Posted June 16, 2002 Author Share Posted June 16, 2002 Originally posted by Von Paulus: Ahem well I think it's a nice work, but the problem is when the tanks rotate, the graphisms doesn't change. Don't worry, you had a good idea Well, you have to trust me on this. The graphics dont have to change when the tank rotates because the shadows are basicaly "high-noon". It even looks good at night but you would have to see it in game to know what i mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomm Posted June 16, 2002 Share Posted June 16, 2002 I *love* your results and I hope that they will have some influence on future CMs and Mods! Good contrast does so much for `fleshing out' 3D structures! Great work! Thomm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runyan99 Posted June 16, 2002 Share Posted June 16, 2002 I think it is a very interesting idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFLC Posted June 16, 2002 Share Posted June 16, 2002 I have to ask one question: Why is the color of the grass always diferent between the shadowed and original pics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George-III Posted June 16, 2002 Author Share Posted June 16, 2002 Originally posted by AFLC: I have to ask one question: Why is the color of the grass always diferent between the shadowed and original pics?I was also doing some experiments with rendering light on the ground tiles. This looks promising but Im still working on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordfluffers Posted June 16, 2002 Share Posted June 16, 2002 Yep, Im afraid they look superb! Hats off to you George. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanonier Reichmann Posted June 16, 2002 Share Posted June 16, 2002 One of the side-effects of what you're doing seems to be a general thickening-up effect on the tanks road wheels due to this area always being in the shaded area. Perhaps it's just me but your changes seems to have given a more solid suspension look to all the tanks. Just for that effect alone I give it 2 thumbs up. Regards Jim R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcm1947 Posted June 16, 2002 Share Posted June 16, 2002 I agree it's much more 3D and real looking. I can't imagine why this wouldn't be used on everything like terrain, troops and all vehicles and equipment. I for one am impressed. What an idea! :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted June 16, 2002 Share Posted June 16, 2002 For something so simple, those are terrific results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
André Posted June 16, 2002 Share Posted June 16, 2002 Wicked idea! Now somebody please convert ALL CMBO mods to look like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParaBellum Posted June 16, 2002 Share Posted June 16, 2002 It's always so easy once someone's got the clue... Great work! I really hope we'll see more like these soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splinty Posted June 16, 2002 Share Posted June 16, 2002 George, could do that with some of the Hi Res stuff? Just to give us a look at what it does for the details? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmead Posted June 16, 2002 Share Posted June 16, 2002 I think this is a good idea. I also think that at the moment, the degree of shadowing is too great and accentuates the blocky polygonal (low polygon count) quality of the current CMBO models. I think that with some addtional adjustment of the values you are using it would be more realistic and attractive. As it is now, it looks crude and really doesn't add to the fine work that the mod artists have provided you with. I applaud your efforts and merely suggest that fine tune your approach. For example, the ground reflects light upward so you might consider applying your effect differently to the lower portions of the bmps like the suspension and lower glacis. Using the rendering mode as a gradient from the bottom to the top will give the effect I describe. In any case keep experimenting to get to where this is a improvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarmo Posted June 16, 2002 Share Posted June 16, 2002 OK, we need an insane modder for creating a ShadowPack of all CM textures... volunteers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarquelne Posted June 16, 2002 Share Posted June 16, 2002 Wow. I'm going to at least try it on some of the lighter vehicle mods. I never liked the that original Panther look, for example, but the "darkened" version looks great in the pic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted June 16, 2002 Share Posted June 16, 2002 Originally posted by Jarmo: OK, we need an insane modder for creating a ShadowPack of all CM textures... volunteers? Isn't Molek back in town? Right up his alley I should think... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka_tom_w Posted June 16, 2002 Share Posted June 16, 2002 if all the .bmp files needed the same treatment and could be identified in one folder an action script in Photoshop could process all of them into shaded textures in NO TIME The real trick here is to identify and collect in one folder all the appropriate .bmp files then just run the photoshop script one them -tom w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalem Posted June 16, 2002 Share Posted June 16, 2002 Would look pretty silly at dawn/dusk, or in the rain. I doubt BFC will settle for "fake" ambient lighting any more than they'd settle for "fake" armor thickness models. At least, I hope they won't. -dale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted June 16, 2002 Share Posted June 16, 2002 Originally posted by dalem: Would look pretty silly at dawn/dusk, or in the rain. I doubt BFC will settle for "fake" ambient lighting any more than they'd settle for "fake" armor thickness models. At least, I hope they won't. -daleNo less silly than the shadows that most mods already have being cast by headlights, barrel rod carriers, etc. They don't rotate with the sun or cast longer shadows at dawn either. This is simply the same concept applied to the whole mod. I like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalem Posted June 16, 2002 Share Posted June 16, 2002 Originally posted by Michael Dorosh: </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by dalem: Would look pretty silly at dawn/dusk, or in the rain. I doubt BFC will settle for "fake" ambient lighting any more than they'd settle for "fake" armor thickness models. At least, I hope they won't. -daleNo less silly than the shadows that most mods already have being cast by headlights, barrel rod carriers, etc. They don't rotate with the sun or cast longer shadows at dawn either. This is simply the same concept applied to the whole mod. I like it.</font> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott B Posted June 16, 2002 Share Posted June 16, 2002 Actually, those pictures have me wondering what they look like at a distance; does the effect look more subtle at higher views? Great idea, by the way - I like the way you're approaching this. Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted June 16, 2002 Share Posted June 16, 2002 Originally posted by dalem: </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Michael Dorosh: </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by dalem: Would look pretty silly at dawn/dusk, or in the rain. I doubt BFC will settle for "fake" ambient lighting any more than they'd settle for "fake" armor thickness models. At least, I hope they won't. -daleNo less silly than the shadows that most mods already have being cast by headlights, barrel rod carriers, etc. They don't rotate with the sun or cast longer shadows at dawn either. This is simply the same concept applied to the whole mod. I like it.</font> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts