Adding water to new area graphics

[Acifer]

A good way to add water overlays in new area graphics

Areas that contain water look beautiful, but are among the most difficult graphics to create for the Infinity Engine. Animated water is generated in the Infinity Engine using overlays. The process to add overlays is very time-consuming, giving mixed results.

There were two ways to create these overlays:

1. paint overlays in IETME

2. create them in DLTCEP using polygons.

Both procedures are not quite ideal. It takes an incredibly long time and the results are suboptimal. I create my water overlays using a third method, which I would like to introduce here. So if anyone is using 3D renderings or Photoshop to create new area graphics that contain water, I hope I can share a quick and perfect-looking approach with you.

 

What you need

• NearInfinity
• DLTCEP
• IETME (Infinity Engine Tileset Map Editor)
• A graphics editor of your choice (like Photoshop or Gimp)
• Your 3D Rendering suite

 

Step 1 - use object masks

This is an area I created for my Skyfire modification that contains a hell lot of water. It's Lost Ahjuutal, a city that is slowly sinking into the Spider Swamp. Preparing all the mangrove leaves for the water overlays using the old methods would be nearly impossible and an absolute nightmare.

However, every 3d-rendering-suite and every graphics editor has the possibility to create object masks. In this case, I selected the objects representing water and rendered a black and white mask:

Step 2 - floodfill the water

Using Photoshop, cut out all graphics in the area that do contain water using your object mask.

Place another layer under the cut-out area graphic and fill it with a uniform colour. I chose the RGB colour 255.0.0 (pure red).

 

Step 3 - create your tis-file

Save this area graphic and create a tis file with it.

Open DLTCEP, load the area you want to edit and create an overlay. Create a small polygon in DLTCEP for this overlay and save the area.

How to do this is described here: http://www.simpilot.net/~sc/dltcep/index.htm

 

Step 4 - add the water tilesets

Open IETME, select the overlay and select "Add/Delete Tiles". Now you have to select every tile that contains the red colour. Save the area using IETME and make sure you also save the Tis-file.

 

Step 5 - export the tileset

Open the tis-file in NI, it should look like this:

As you can see, IETME has attached all tiles that contain water to the bottom of the tileset.

Export this tis-file as png.

 

Step 6 - remove the floodfilled water

Open your exported tis-file in Photoshop. Place the original area graphic containing water in the upper part in a new layer.

Select the red colour using a colour mask and delete it from the png image.

Save the file as a png.

 

Step 7 - convert your final tis-file

In NI, go to "tools -> convert -> image to tis", select the png you just created and save it as a tis file under the original tis name. If you take a look at your area ingame you will see perfectly matched water without any annoying edges:

Edited July 18, 2022 by Acifer

[artyfox]

Woah! This is so cool, very inspiring! 

I also checked out the Skyfire mod thread, I think your animation work is just as impressive as your environments.

Will you create an animation tutorial at some point? I'm quite taken...and curious. 

[Daulmakan]

2 hours ago, Acifer said:

A good way to add water overlays in new area graphics

Areas that contain water look beautiful, but are among the most difficult graphics to create for the Infinity Engine. Animated water is generated in the Infinity Engine using overlays. The process to add overlays is very time-consuming, giving mixed results.

There were two ways to create these overlays:

1. paint overlays in IETME

2. create them in DLTCEP using polygons.

Both procedures are not quite ideal. It takes an incredibly long time and the results are suboptimal. I create my water overlays using a third method, which I would like to introduce here. So if anyone is using 3D renderings or Photoshop to create new area graphics that contain water, I hope I can share a quick and perfect-looking approach with you.

 

What you need

• NearInfinity
• DLTCEP
• IETME (Infinity Engine Tileset Map Editor)
• A graphics editor of your choice (like Photoshop or Gimp)
• Your 3D Rendering suite

 

Step 1 - use object masks

This is an area I created for my Skyfire modification that contains a hell lot of water. It's Lost Ahjuutal, a city that is slowly sinking into the Spider Swamp. Preparing all the mangrove leaves for the water overlays using the old methods would be nearly impossible and an absolute nightmare.

However, every 3d-rendering-suite and every graphics editor has the possibility to create object masks. In this case, I selected the objects representing water and rendered a black and white mask:

Step 2 - floodfill the water

Using Photoshop, cut out all graphics in the area that do contain water using your object mask.

Place another layer under the cut-out area graphic and fill it with a uniform colour. I chose the RGB colour 255.0.0 (pure red).

 

Step 3 - create your tis-file

Save this area graphic and create a tis file with it.

Open DLTCEP, load the area you want to edit and create an overlay. Create a small polygon in DLTCEP for this overlay and save the area.

How to do this is described here: http://www.simpilot.net/~sc/dltcep/index.htm

 

Step 4 - add the water tilesets

Open IETME, select the overlay and select "Add/Delete Tiles". Now you have to select every tile that contains the red colour. Save the area using IETME and make sure you also save the Tis-file.

 

Step 5 - export the tileset

Open the tis-file in NI, it should look like this:

As you can see, IETME has attached all tiles that contain water to the bottom of the tileset.

Export this tis-file as png.

 

Step 6 - remove the floodfilled water

Open your exported tis-file in Photoshop. Place the original area graphic containing water in the upper part in a new layer.

Select the red colour using a colour mask and delete it from the png image.

Save the file as a png.

 

Step 7 - convert your final tis-file

In NI, go to "tools -> convert -> image to tis", select the png you just created and save it as a tis file under the original tis name. If you take a look at your area ingame you will see perfectly matched water without any annoying edges:

Colour me very impressed. 

From which game you used the resources to create that map?

[Acifer]

11 hours ago, artyfox said:

I also checked out the Skyfire mod thread, I think your animation work is just as impressive as your environments.

Thank you! I have imported the animations from NWN using 3dsMax. Since it was a long time ago, I would have to search where I saved the corresponding files, then I could create a related tutorial.

9 hours ago, Daulmakan said:

Colour me very impressed. 

From which game you used the resources to create that map?

Thanks! The area graphics are not taken from a game.
I created them on my own in a 3D program.

[Graion Dilach]

Not even the models? Wow, that's impressive (and sounds massively time-consuming).

[Acifer]

22 minutes ago, Graion Dilach said:

Not even the models? Wow, that's impressive (and sounds massively time-consuming).

Thanks! The models are not game models either. However, due to time constraints, I use some licensed models and textures from commercial 3D-asset sites.

[Daulmakan]

10 hours ago, Acifer said:

Thank you! I have imported the animations from NWN using 3dsMax. Since it was a long time ago, I would have to search where I saved the corresponding files, then I could create a related tutorial.

Thanks! The area graphics are not taken from a game.
I created them on my own in a 3D program.

Even more impressive! 

 

@CamDawgMaybe add this thread to the Modding How-Tos and Tutorials list?

Edited July 19, 2022 by Daulmakan

[Daulmakan]

@Acifer is this map going to be part of your Silverrealms mod? 

[Acifer]

47 minutes ago, Daulmakan said:

@Acifer is this map going to be part of your Silverrealms mod? 

No, it’s from Skyfire.

Silverrealms is set mainly in the Underdark.