I'll play around with the texture some more.
Eggpod (2)
Re: Egg (2)
The right is the original egg texture, and the left is the modified brightened colors. As far as the egg core goes, I darkened the colors if that is what you were looking for in your explanation. I originally had the veins sculpted on top of the egg, but because an glow map was agreed upon I went with the flat color.
I'll send the updated textures to Kharnov. If it is still too dark, i would like to compare the old texture with the new texture i'm sending so I can better grasp how the engine renders the colors.
Re: Egg (2)
I could only test on a different system so far but the brightness of the side pieces seems good now. I'll experiment a bit with the core and report back later.
In the diffuse map, you shouldn't add any highlights (or shadows), as they will overlap with those rendered from normal and specular map, which makes the surface appear noisy. The veins and the general structure on the eggpod suffer from this. The very same goes for the specular map: While it can vary intensity based on whether a texel is on or not on a vein, it shouldn't reflect any shadows or highlights produced by a certain light direction.
Your current specular map also gives the tips a much higher specularity than the bottom. This shouldn't be the case given that the pod is made roughly out of the same material. Color differences (including "brightness" in the sense of a HSB color space) should be defined in the diffuse map.
Responsible for: Arch Linux package & torrent distribution, Parpax (map), Chameleon (map texture editor), Sloth (material file generator), gameplay design & programming, artistic direction
Re: Egg (2)
Here's how the new textures look.
Re: Egg (2)
i'd say it's rather lighting than textures what makes it look bad. But i might be wrong.
Re: Egg (2)
That's indeed no particularly bright spot but the egg appears too dark regardless. kharnov's screenshot also examplifies the issue with the specular map I described. Here's a comparison shot with the acid tube in a bright spot (I've been experimenting with the core texture, but I'm not entirely happy yet):
Making the diffuse map a bit brighter can help as well as choosing a middle value between the specularity at the pod's tips and its base/bottom. I'll report back when I have a better concept for the core.
Responsible for: Arch Linux package & torrent distribution, Parpax (map), Chameleon (map texture editor), Sloth (material file generator), gameplay design & programming, artistic direction
Re: Egg (2)
Gooey red actually looks pretty good, I think.
Re: Egg (2)
kharnov wrote:Gooey red actually looks pretty good, I think.
I agree, but I have yet to get it right.
Responsible for: Arch Linux package & torrent distribution, Parpax (map), Chameleon (map texture editor), Sloth (material file generator), gameplay design & programming, artistic direction
Re: Egg (2)
And I don't like the red membrane. I think red doesn't quite fit 'fragile' feel. That thing is supposed to splash at the moment of spawn, right? Also lowering the contrast on the membrane could help (I see you did it for the red one, I think). Green one looks like a watermelon now, which was not my intent. Good job on the eggman anyway!
Re: Egg (2)
It's not really fragile ingame, after all you can jump on it with a battlesuit without destroying it. I'll try a color shift after I finished the red concept though.
Responsible for: Arch Linux package & torrent distribution, Parpax (map), Chameleon (map texture editor), Sloth (material file generator), gameplay design & programming, artistic direction