Adding Texture Zones

gdijedi7

Greetings!

 

So, I have several items, swords mostly, where the whole prop is one big texture zone, but periodically, I want a metal hilt with an ice blade, or a glowing blade, and the available texturing doesn't seem to allow this. Is there any way to take a pre-existing item and add a zone to it that will allow me to apply a different texture preset without changing the rest of the item?

 

Thank you

NorthOf45

In Studio, you can use the Geometry Editor to select polygons to define a new Surface. Load and select your prop, switch to Geometry Editor tool, then carefully select the parts you want to redefine. Right-click in the viewport and select "Geometry Assignment -> Create Surface From Selected". If you miss a few polys, you can continue to add more using the "Assign to Surface" once it exists. The Geometry Editor selection modes are fairly easy to understand, so it shouldn't be much trouble.

Sometimes there is geometry hidden behind another surface and is inaccessible directly, but you can hide the polygons that are in the way and select the ones you want to include in the new surface. Once you have things to your liking, you need to "Save As -> Support Asset -> Figure/Prop Asset" to make the changes permanent. You can overwrite your existing one or make a new one. This process creates a geometry file in the /data/ folder with the new surfaces and new UV mapping (to correspond to the new surfaces), and a scene subset file that loads the geometry. Consider in advance where you want to save the prop and geometry file, and what name you want to use for Vendor and Product. Those fields will determine where in the data folder it will be saved. (You can just leave them as is if already filled, just give it a new Item Name if you want to make a new asset).

Once that is all done, clear your scene and load your new prop to make sure it does what you expect. If you need to modify the surface selection, "Save As -> Support Asset -> Save Modified Assets" to overwrite the existing version when done.