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Difference between revisions of "Art for Total War - Terminology"

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==Introduction==
 
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This is meant as somewhat of an overview about many aspects of art for the Total War games.  Its intended towards new modders but I hope experienced modders can take things from this as well.  It is not intended as a tutorial or "how-to" for anything specifically, it is meant to provide overview and grounding for different areas of 3D art and modding.
 
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Fortunately for the entire community, modding TW art-wise is easy.  The specs are low, the meshes are similar, the texture layouts are nice and straight, and the content of the mods is somewhat limited.  For the beginning artist, especially those without proper training, this means you can still achieve quite a lot without much art skill or experience.
 
  
 
==Terminology==
 
==Terminology==
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If you're not familiar with computer/game art, some terms may seem alien.  I'll give a very basic overview of common terms here in alphabetical order.  I will assume you know the very basics of 3d art (such as what a texture, model, vertex, or polygon is).  If you are new to 3D, then I strongly suggest getting a good grasp on the following list before you continue on.
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If you're not familiar with computer/game art, some terms may seem alien.  Here follows a basic overview of common terms in alphabetical order.  If you are new to 3D, then it would be useful to familiarise yourself with these terms.
  
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===Modelling===
 
;Binding
 
;Binding
 
:The process of assigning vertices to bones.  The vertices take on a child relationship according to their weight (between 0 and 1) to the bone, which acts as the parent.  Also called weighting, painting weights, or incorrectly called rigging.
 
:The process of assigning vertices to bones.  The vertices take on a child relationship according to their weight (between 0 and 1) to the bone, which acts as the parent.  Also called weighting, painting weights, or incorrectly called rigging.
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:Object that vertices of the model are attached to.
 
:Object that vertices of the model are attached to.
 
;Child
 
;Child
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:An object that inherits its transformations from its parent object, and can move independently as well.
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:An object that inherits its transformations from its parent object, and can move independently as well. (3ds Max)
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;.dds, Direct Draw Surface
 
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:A compressed texture file, the format Total War games use for unit textures and more.
 
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;Gloss map
 
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:see Specular map.
 
 
;Hierarchy
 
;Hierarchy
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:Series of parent-child relationships.
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:Series of parent-child relationships. (3ds Max)
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;Normal map
 
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:Displays the "bumps" on a surface.  They have an overall blue color (128, 128, 256 RGB to be exact).
 
 
;Parent
 
;Parent
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:Controls the transformation of its children.  When you move, rotate, or scale a parent, the child objects behave accordingly, using the parent's pivot point as their own.
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:Controls the transformation of its children.  When you move, rotate, or scale a parent, the child objects behave accordingly, using the parent's pivot point as their own. (3ds Max)
 
;Polycount
 
;Polycount
 
:Correctly refers to the number of triangles in a model.
 
:Correctly refers to the number of triangles in a model.
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;Quad, Quadrilateral
 
;Quad, Quadrilateral
 
:A 3D surface connecting 4 vertices.  A quad is composed of two triangles.
 
:A 3D surface connecting 4 vertices.  A quad is composed of two triangles.
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;Resolution
 
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:Concerning art, usually refers to the size of a texture, in pixels.  All texture sizes must be in a power of 2 (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096).
 
 
;Rig
 
;Rig
 
:The system by which animators manipulate bones that animate the character.  It also incorrectly refers to the binding or weighting of a character.
 
:The system by which animators manipulate bones that animate the character.  It also incorrectly refers to the binding or weighting of a character.
 
;Skeleton
 
;Skeleton
 
:A hierarchy of bones that create the armature for animation of a character.
 
:A hierarchy of bones that create the armature for animation of a character.
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;Specular map
 
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:This controls the highlights, or shine, on a surface.
 
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;.tga, Targa
 
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:An uncompressed texture file, which means the image does not lose any detail when it is saved (in comparison to something like a jpeg which can have all sorts of artifacts.  Its file size is also very large, and thus not often used for display of real-time content.
 
 
;Tri, Triangle
 
;Tri, Triangle
 
:3D surface connecting 3 vertices.  All 3D surfaces are broken down into triangles.
 
:3D surface connecting 3 vertices.  All 3D surfaces are broken down into triangles.
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;Vertex
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:Node point in 3d space.
 
;Weighting
 
;Weighting
 
:See binding.  Also called painting weights.
 
:See binding.  Also called painting weights.
  
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==Texturing==
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===Textures===
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;.dds, Direct Draw Surface
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==Modeling==
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:A compressed texture file, the format Total War games use for unit textures and more.
 +
;Gloss map
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::see Specular map.
 +
;Normal map
 +
:Displays the "bumps" on a surface.  They have an overall blue color (128, 128, 256 RGB to be exact).
 +
;Resolution
 +
:Concerning art, usually refers to the size of a texture, in pixels.  All texture sizes must be in a power of 2 (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096).
 +
;Specular map
 +
:This controls the highlights, or shine, on a surface.
 +
;.texture
 +
:CA's proprietary texture format (.dds file with header added)
 +
;.tga, Targa
 +
:An uncompressed texture file, which means the image does not lose any detail when it is saved (in comparison to something like a jpeg) which can have all sorts of artifacts.  Its file size is also very large, and thus not often used for display of real-time content.
  
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==Rendering==
 
  
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==Binding==
 
  
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==Animation==
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[[Category:Modding]]

Latest revision as of 09:49, 18 April 2017

Terminology

If you're not familiar with computer/game art, some terms may seem alien. Here follows a basic overview of common terms in alphabetical order. If you are new to 3D, then it would be useful to familiarise yourself with these terms.

Modelling

Binding
The process of assigning vertices to bones. The vertices take on a child relationship according to their weight (between 0 and 1) to the bone, which acts as the parent. Also called weighting, painting weights, or incorrectly called rigging.
Bone
Object that vertices of the model are attached to.
Child
An object that inherits its transformations from its parent object, and can move independently as well. (3ds Max)
Hierarchy
Series of parent-child relationships. (3ds Max)
Parent
Controls the transformation of its children. When you move, rotate, or scale a parent, the child objects behave accordingly, using the parent's pivot point as their own. (3ds Max)
Polycount
Correctly refers to the number of triangles in a model.
Polygon
A polygon is a 3D surface connecting 3 or more vertices.
Quad, Quadrilateral
A 3D surface connecting 4 vertices. A quad is composed of two triangles.
Rig
The system by which animators manipulate bones that animate the character. It also incorrectly refers to the binding or weighting of a character.
Skeleton
A hierarchy of bones that create the armature for animation of a character.
Tri, Triangle
3D surface connecting 3 vertices. All 3D surfaces are broken down into triangles.
Vertex
Node point in 3d space.
Weighting
See binding. Also called painting weights.

Textures

.dds, Direct Draw Surface
A compressed texture file, the format Total War games use for unit textures and more.
Gloss map
see Specular map.
Normal map
Displays the "bumps" on a surface. They have an overall blue color (128, 128, 256 RGB to be exact).
Resolution
Concerning art, usually refers to the size of a texture, in pixels. All texture sizes must be in a power of 2 (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096).
Specular map
This controls the highlights, or shine, on a surface.
.texture
CA's proprietary texture format (.dds file with header added)
.tga, Targa
An uncompressed texture file, which means the image does not lose any detail when it is saved (in comparison to something like a jpeg) which can have all sorts of artifacts. Its file size is also very large, and thus not often used for display of real-time content.
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