Tips on creating content

Tips and Tricks for Creating Content

Four ways to make content:

Modelling Tips:

.obj is natively supported as an export in Blender. However, it may have a larger filesize than md3.
.obj is also static: no animations.
.md2, .md3, .md5, .smd and .iqm formats allow for animation.
Try to keep the face/vertex/edge count small for better rendering. You can use normal maps and such to give the appearance of some things.
Depending on the 3D modeller used, you may have to find an exporter for a certain format.

Texturing Tips:

For textures with a ton of detail, ALWAYS save in jpg format. png files like that take up an extremely large amount of space.
Save your diffuse and specular maps as .jpg, and your normal maps as .png.
Also, use .png files for icons, GUI parts (guislider, etc), and anything with transparency, such as 3D grasses.
If you want a seamless texture that doesn't immediately seem to have a pattern (I'm thinking rock and such), try to use bigger dimensions.
- Powers of two, all the way.
Some textures are often better with normal/bump/spec maps, which determine the appearance of a texture via shading. Normal and bump maps give the appearance of a texture with bumps, while it may not be the case. Specularity maps determine how a texture receives light.

Skybox Tips:

I've heard of people using Terragen to create skyboxes.
In-game, skyboxes can (should?) be used to view things that are outside of the map. I've read about this being used in one of the Fable games, where a skybox shows a tower (the Citadel, I believe) that can't be accessed, but there is the entrance to it at the end of the map. Think of how you'd use a skybox when making it.

Music Tips:

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