Outerra forum
Outerra Engine => Ideas & Suggestions & Questions => Topic started by: James on July 25, 2014, 07:17:55 am
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I was very curious about procedural textures, and why more games don't use them. For the past few months the idea that textures could be generated using procedural methods has been running through my head. I was hoping somebody might be able to knock this idea out of my head, or maybe it is practical?
Generating texture randomly using algorithms would be much more appealing than repeating, or even blending, textures. The texture would always be unique. Random pebbles ranging in size and color, different patches of color for grass and dirt, unique blades of grass, or even brick textures with random cracks and particles.
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Having unique, never repeating textures sounds good, but the goal should be having convincing( lifelike) textures.
If repeating gets obvious, it's better using procedural generation, otherwise photographic derived data looks better ( photoreal/non synthetic) in almost all cases.
Look at the trees in OT: textures are computer generated and not very convincing in terms of true to life.
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Having unique, never repeating textures sounds good, but the goal should be having convincing( lifelike) textures.
If repeating gets obvious, it's better using procedural generation, otherwise photographic derived data looks better ( photoreal/non synthetic) in almost all cases.
Look at the trees in OT: textures are computer generated and not very convincing in terms of true to life.
Which just goes to show how different we all are. I'm much more concerned about Outerra ground textures, which continue to be unconvincing in many ways. Looking at them carefully to see what gives that weird feeling of unreality, I've come to suspect that they are simply using too few colors for some reason.
Its kind of like looking at a computer generated landscape using 4 or at most 8 colors.
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I too noticed the somewhat compressed looking colors we see on terrain. It's also because of blending the ground colors, I think. I agree, the color richness should be enhanced for a more lifelike result. Same goes for the trees, their color varies quite a bit from tree to tree but in one tree itself are less colors present than it should be.
Btw: tree textures are not what I would call procedural but terrain is, at least partly, procedural.
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Maybe it wouldnt be as much eye-hurting if some variation in low-flora hits them ... lots of flowers ...
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Maybe it wouldnt be as much eye-hurting if some variation in low-flora hits them ... lots of flowers ...
I remember the original Outerra ground texture before the 3D Grass, was very flowery.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVjCetERjN8 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVjCetERjN8#ws)
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Oh yes, daisies all over!