Tiling Floor Design

kimchee519

Hey guys, I'm quite new to environment art and I knew you guys could help me out. Had a quick question on a floor I'm working on for an environment project. I was wondering how to go about creating a floor design that lays on top of an existing main floor texture. My floor design is so broken up (Starts and stops in many different areas and winds around the floor) that I was thinking the most ideal way to go about it is creating a modular set of floor design pieces on planes and lay them on top of the existing main floor texture. The problem is in UDK I'm getting some odd shadows around the planes with the floor design texture on them, are they not close enough to the ground? Also, I really wanted to do some vertex painting on the Main Floor Texture and the Floor Design plane pieces, but will the vertex painting spread evenly onto both? because they are both on a separate plane? I'll post a pic of a example of what I'm dealing with, it's not the actual layout but it gives a better idea of what I'm talking about. Any comments and help is greatly appreciated.

Brian "Panda" Choi

Could you make 3 seperate tiles, a blank, a straight, and an L-bend tile? That might help solve the issue without using additional geo.

Obscura

Here you go.

The "unnecessary" edges are left there because of the possibility of vertex painting.

I would use one mesh, 2 materials, 2 tileable textures (or more if you want normalmaps, spec, etc).If you dont want the vertex painting on both, then just use a simple material without vertex painting nodes on the second floor mat.

kimchee519

Thanks for the feedback guys, once again I am very new to floor design and modular pieces in UDK and 3D environments so excuse my noob questions.

JadeEyePanda Thanks for the advice. I like you idea, but the picture I posted were to get the idea of what I'm going for across to you guys. My floor designs are actually quite squiggly like and the ground mesh it self is pretty massive and I'm not sure if a bunch of square tiles is the best way to go. I could be wrong though, but does a large environment suffer with a bunch of square ground tile pieces rather than with one big mesh main floor? And can a bunch of square ground tiles pieces for a floor be painted on simultaneously with vertex paint and match up correctly?

Obscura Thank you for laying that out for me, I really like the idea. Like I was telling Panda, the picture I posted were to get the idea of what I'm going for across to you guys. My floor designs are actually quite squiggly like so its hard to work it as if they were simple square tiles. Also, I don't know too much about vertex painting so I'm still kinda confused on what you mean by using a simple material without vertex painting nodes on the second floor mat. Like I asked Panda, do you think a large environment would suffer with a bunch of square ground tile pieces rather than with one big mesh main floor?

I don't know, I guess I just cant wrap my head around what the best method is to create a squiggly design on top of a existing floor that has a separate material ( I'd like to use diffuse, spec, norm on both) as well as using vertex paint on the both of them smoothly which moves into one another, like if I vertex paint on the main floor material then move onto the design squiggly on top of the floor it will translate smoothly, if that makes any sense. Thanks again guys for any feedback.

http://www.concretenetwork.com/staining-concrete/design-ideas/floral-pattern.html

kimchee519

Thanks again for any feedback guys, I'm sure the solution is quite simple I just am trying to figure out the correct way to go about it.

oobersli

1. make it a giant alpha decal to rest on top.. may not blend with vertex painting as you'd like but you can get clean edges with a higher rez map.

2. Create a large mask and normal map. apply it to the floor and then use that mask to control the different materials and how they tile. the normal is probably only needed if you want to have a lip or bevel between the floor and pattern.

3. model it out into the floor

4. rethink your design.

kimchee519

Thanks oobersil, im a little confused about your number 2 step? Would the mask just make it so my alpha can rest better on top of the maim floor texture? If I used vertex painting and it didn't blend with the alphas I feel that the ground will have a odd blotchy look.

kimchee519

Any ideas?

inwar

this may help you

kimchee519

inwar Thanks for the detailed picture of how the mask works. I was curious as to if this method would work if my mask was not so boxy, but in the shape a squiggly line design and if I would be able to vertex paint over both the base material and the squiggly line seamlessly. Here's a picture below of the squiggly line design and base floor below to give an example.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/graffstolemylife/9573333196/

Obscura

Its depending on the size of the pattern.For the big one that you showed now, I would use polygons because a mask would be pixelated at that size.For the smaller that you showed earlier, I would use mask, or simple unique texture

kimchee519

Obscura Yes, the floor area I'm looking to create is a pretty decent size, but because the mask is going to have a the tillable in it won't it not be pixelated? I'm kinda weary about using polygons with the design floating above the main floor texture because I wont be able to vertex paint over them both seamlessly.

inwar

curved line is more prone to jaggy edges doing straight horizontal and vertical lines like in your first post and the example i did it doesnt really pixilate. that shader does put the vertex blend over both btw

Obscura

If I would use polygons, I would make one mesh.Not floating elements.And if we are still talking about this, then one unique texture without mask, or plane without extra polygons is good.But why dont you try out these that we showed?

kimchee519

Thanks ill give the mask idea a try.