Railworks America

Hi,
I am making a diesel locomotive and i am quite satisfied with the texture results. But I don't know how to get the required amount of shine and reflectivity. I am using "trainbumpspecenv.fx", and accordingly used a diffuse map with alpha(full black), a normal map and a 64x64 black dummy. I don't know if i am missing anything else or doing it wrong. So someone please guide me.
My model :

I am trying to get the shine like the loco below. How can i achieve this result

aksingha wrote:Hi,
I am making a diesel locomotive and i am quite satisfied with the texture results. But I don't know how to get the required amount of shine and reflectivity. I am using "trainbumpspecenv.fx", and accordingly used a diffuse map with alpha(full black), a normal map and a 64x64 black dummy. I don't know if i am missing anything else or doing it wrong. So someone please guide me.
My model :

I am trying to get the shine like the loco below. How can i achieve this result

You should be using TrainBumpSpecEnvMask.fx. Your diffuse texture should be put also into the specular slot (which will use the texture's alpha channel to determine the amount of shine for each pixel).

Awesome, can you also do a version of it without the bumpers as well, that way it will look like a EMD MRS-1 fit to run on the American railroads in it's later years as it would have been used for.




I think it's looking great and I also noticed that it looks to have the knuckle cuplers as well.

Also, it looks almost like a spitting image of the EMD MRS-1 road switcher engine.

mrennie wrote:You should be using TrainBumpSpecEnvMask.fx. Your diffuse texture should be put also into the specular slot (which will use the texture's alpha channel to determine the amount of shine for each pixel).

Thanks Mike, i have switched to "Trainbumpspecenvmask.fx", but how do i configure there. And i am using 3ds max

jpetersjr wrote:Awesome, can you also do a version of it without the bumpers as well, that way it will look like a EMD MRS-1 fit to run on the American railroads in it's later years as it would have been used for.
I think it's looking great and I also noticed that it looks to have the knuckle cuplers as well.

Also, it looks almost like a spitting image of the EMD MRS-1 road switcher engine.

I will think about it.

aksingha wrote:

mrennie wrote:You should be using TrainBumpSpecEnvMask.fx. Your diffuse texture should be put also into the specular slot (which will use the texture's alpha channel to determine the amount of shine for each pixel).

Thanks Mike, i have switched to "Trainbumpspecenvmask.fx", but how do i configure there. And i am using 3ds max

Make sure you use the uppercase and lowercase letters exactly as I said: TrainBumpSpecEnvMask.fx

I don't use 3DSMax (can't afford it ... I envy those who can) so I can't tell you how to configure it, but I would expect it to be similar to 3DC, with slots into which you insert the texture file you want for each of the texture features (the diffuse, normal/bump, specular shine, dummy environment reflection) as well as somewhere for specifying the name of the shader and any other attributes.

In 3ds max, the shader name/type can be selected from a drop-down list, there is no need to enter the name. I don't know what values to enter in the UV arguments box.

Enter a value of "32" for the UV arguments in Slot 1.

Hack wrote:Enter a value of "32" for the UV arguments in Slot 1.

after using "TrainBumpSpecenvMask.fx" and using the settings below, My model is not shining anymore. It appears the same as it is in 3ds max.

Diffuse texture with alpha(full balck),normal map and 64x64 black dummy.
UV Arg slot 1 - 32
UV channels - 1

I don't know what values to enter in the other UV arg fields. I just can't get it right, what am i missing?

aksingha wrote:

Hack wrote:Enter a value of "32" for the UV arguments in Slot 1.

after using "TrainBumpSpecenvMask.fx" and using the settings below, My model is not shining anymore. It appears the same as it is in 3ds max.

Diffuse texture with alpha(full balck),normal map and 64x64 black dummy.
UV Arg slot 1 - 32
UV channels - 1

I don't know what values to enter in the other UV arg fields. I just can't get it right, what am i missing?

TrainBumpSpecEnvMask.fx

That's a capitalised E on Env.

If your alpha channel (in the diffuse texture) is all black, that means absolutely no shine. The specular is a grey (or gray if you prefer) scale. RGB=0,0,0 means no shine. RGB=255,255,255 means 100% shine. You should use intermediate values.

mrennie wrote:If your alpha channel (in the diffuse texture) is all black, that means absolutely no shine. The specular is a grey (or gray if you prefer) scale. RGB=0,0,0 means no shine. RGB=255,255,255 means 100% shine. You should use intermediate values.

Thank you, will change the alpha color and see if it works.

OK, It did change a little bit, The loco does not shine, but it looks more brighter. I want my loco to shine and reflect like the original loco image i posted in my main thread. Don't know what to ..

It has become more brighter, thus decreasing some minor details

aksingha wrote:after using "TrainBumpSpecenvMask.fx" and using the settings below, My model is not shining anymore.

You mentioned above that your alpha channel is full black. Try making a very dark greyscale version of your main texture and use that for the alpha channel. Full black will make things dull-looking.

Hack wrote:

aksingha wrote:after using "TrainBumpSpecenvMask.fx" and using the settings below, My model is not shining anymore.

You mentioned above that your alpha channel is full black. Try making a very dark greyscale version of your main texture and use that for the alpha channel. Full black will make things dull-looking.

I made it full white and that made it brighter, will see if darkgrey works.can u please give a specific number, tat u think might work. Thank you for the help.

There's a lot of trial and error involved in texturing. Just try different values, such as 70, and see what happens. Keep in mind that if you use any shine at all, the colours rendered in-game will be brighter than what you see in the texture file itself, so you have to darken the image in the texture file. I do that by using one or more hue/saturation/lightness layers (I usually use more than one, each with a mask to cover specific parts of the texture, rather than a "one size fits all" approach). Also, and this is extremely important, make sure that the shadows in the image are copied into the alpha channel, so that the shadowed areas of the model are also much less shiny (or completely matt). That makes the shadows more noticeable and improves the contrast, bringing out the details. The easiest way to do that in Photoshop is to paint the shadows in a separate layer, and then copy that layer and paste it into the alpha channel (after covering the alpha channel with a generic specular colour of, say, 70).
Most importantly of all is to use layers in the photoshop file so that you can experiment and adjust things until it looks right in-game.