This is very outdated. While it works, it's not the best way to do them. There is probably better tutorials out there now.
for your first question, I've never done anything skin related in FO4 or know how that differentiates between static model and skins so I couldn't tell you if it works or not but I know now that FO4 uses BC5 for Normal and Specular maps. I can't say if that's the same for the faces. Give it a go and see if it works.
For the second, Yes you lower the scale to weaken the strength but if that goes into negative, it'll start strengthening again but the normal map will be inverted, so '0' is no depth at all.
I'm sorry but your tutorial is better addressed to Skyrim than Fallout 4. _s maps in Fallout try basically to fake PBR lighting. As someone stated in one of the comments, all spec maps must be between yelow an red, yellow and green and the blue channel( unused) must be black. The red channel represents the metalness and the green channel represents the glossiness. The problem with Gimp or Photoshop is that, when you export , they invert the red and green channel making your texture wrong. To solve this you must use the NVidia textures tools 2 or the Intel plugins for Gimp and Photoshop. Also all _n and _s maps must be exported using ATI2n or BC5 format. Not DXT5.
I know this is old but do you happen to know properly how to make the normal map and specular for falout 4? Normal map looks really different than skyrim, from the color. Skyrim looks purple and fallout 4 seems... using other color
Hello, to make your normal map you make a classic normal map, like for skyrim, you have a blueish colored map. The difference with the map from FO4 is when you save your map to DDS format. If you use the DXT5 format all channels of the map will be exported and you'll get the same kind of map you have in Skyrim. These maps, despite being wrong still work. But if you use the BC5 or ATI2n compression you'll get the normal map used in Fallout. Because the blue channel is ignored during the compression, the normal map is not blue but darkbrown/greenish. The nvidia plugins for photoshop can't make this kind of normal maps, you must use the intel plugins for photoshop or Gimp. Also, normal map in Skyrim have an alpha channel that is used for the specularity of your object, Fallout normal maps don't have an alpha channel.
For metal/spec maps, you must create a black and white map for your metal parts , a black and white map for your specular parts. Then, create a new RVB map fill all the map with black, put the metal map in the red channel, the spec map in the green channel, leave the blue channel all black.You'll get a Red/Orange/Green map. For the export, this the same as the normal maps, BC5 or ATI2n format, no alpha channel
I know this comment is four years old, but this is the only thing I've seen that mentions that the maps use different color channels for different things, which is the answer to a question I didn't even know I was asking and explains a lot about how they work. most things I've seen will tell you what buttons to hit to make it do the thing, which is all fine and good, but understanding why it's doing what it does helps a ton with being able to refine the end result or fix things when they don't work as expected.
I'd like to give you a hearty thanks, Gaigestorm. I had a poor match of head and body on my new character lady due to the preset I wanted. The head was off compared to the body. I learnt elsewhere it was likely a specular mismatch. Which in fact it was.
Using your guide and the accumulated wisdom here, I was able to bring the two pretty much together in looks. OK, I still have the Besthesda neck welding line (lol), but the head and body skins are now as close as they can get. She looks pretty good, all said and done.
I'm 99% useless at Paint.net and Gimp, but I learnt enough here to make my lady character satisfactory before starting off on my new play-through.
One option would be to open a spec map for something similar to what you're making.
Then open your colour map and desaturate it. Isolate the blue channel and change it to pure white (bucket fill). Now edit hue and saturation on the red and green channel until its the same shade as the Vanilla map. You'll need a little trial and error but you can probably get it.
In your tutorials, you said Normal Maps should be saved with DTX5 compression and Speculars should be saved with DXT1. While this will work with some items, like armors and weapons - the game prefers it if you save them both with BC5 / ATI2 (3Dc) compression, especially if you're doing face and body retextures, else you'll get black face and other graphical bugs.
AFAIK using 3Dc makes the blue color channel completely white and removes the alpha channel, which is how every normal and specular texture in the game is set up. IDK if this compression method has any other special properties other than making everything blue-tinted and removing the alpha, but it works.
I've done this for years like it and never had any problem. And i have done environments and also furnishings. I've done it all like this and never had any problems. There are more ways than one to correctly code the textures to work with fallout.
You are using the Skyrim method to do this and it's working. But you're not taking any benefit of the PBR lighting offered by the engine upgrade and the textures upgrade of Fallout 4. It's a shame the lighting is so much better than Skyrim's without any ENB
This tutorial is completely wrong about the _s texture which should have a completely dark blue channel and the end product should be a purpley or greeny colored texture. Not a grey scale texture.
It's actually not. The Blue/Green RGB channels for a specular aren't easily accessible for most people. the programs either don't work correctly or the other programs that do people can't afford. This works not as well obviously but it's a method everyone can do simply and enjoy
That's a shame, I mean, I knew how to make bad speculars in Gimp already, was hoping Paint.net was something different.
When you say RGB channels are not easily accessable. Does that mean due to software restrictions, Like is only photoshop capable? Or is it just more complicated but possible with Gimp?
Iike, can you make images layer by layer and use the Paste as layer feature then merge all down?
I'd rather a propper tutorial, even if its complicated.
This black and white method has worked for me on clothing and skins, just to reduce the shine, But atm creating Flat tree lods and getting some weird effects because sunlight, time of day, weather type etc all seem to change appearance, even where there is no cubemaps texture added in the nif or material file.
From what i know Gimp can't create Specular maps. I'm not saying it can't at all since there may be some sort of plugin for it but i haven't been able to find any info. I myself would love a Gimp plugin for Specular maps. This isn't a professional or even proper tutorial on doing this type of stuff. I made this to help people get on their feet with modding. If there is a program or plugin for Specular maps other than that ripoff photoshop then i'm all ears. I really wish i could help more but I just made this with what works. Kinda like Jury rigging textures or poor man's design.
I appreciate that you're trying to make the texture editing accessible to everyone. That's cool. I've been editing my own specular maps in gimp. They're a real pain to get right to be honest.
Thank you so much for this. I don't mod for fall out, but this really helped me with my textures for DAO. For a texturing noob like myself, everything I found prior to finding this little gem was way over my head. This was easy to follow and didn't leave me scratching my head trying to figure out what you were doing.
Thanks for making this. There are other tutorials out there, but they're not nearly so clear and to the point. Leave it to an Aussie to provide us Yanks with a clear use of the English language for this purpose! (P.S. My grandmother was Australian, my dad was born there but moved here as a baby, and I am thus technically eligible for Australian citizenship--no disrespect to Australia or you was intended--I'm knocking us, not you).
37 comments
I have two questions if you don't mind?
I'm working on a normal map for the face, BC3/DXT5 is the compression method i need to export it with, right?
And i need to lower the scale more if i want to make it super smooth, correct?
Thanks in advance.
for your first question, I've never done anything skin related in FO4 or know how that differentiates between static model and skins so I couldn't tell you if it works or not but I know now that FO4 uses BC5 for Normal and Specular maps. I can't say if that's the same for the faces. Give it a go and see if it works.
For the second, Yes you lower the scale to weaken the strength but if that goes into negative, it'll start strengthening again but the normal map will be inverted, so '0' is no depth at all.
_s maps in Fallout try basically to fake PBR lighting.
As someone stated in one of the comments, all spec maps must be between yelow an red, yellow and green and the blue channel( unused) must be black.
The red channel represents the metalness and the green channel represents the glossiness.
The problem with Gimp or Photoshop is that, when you export , they invert the red and green channel making your texture wrong.
To solve this you must use the NVidia textures tools 2 or the Intel plugins for Gimp and Photoshop.
Also all _n and _s maps must be exported using ATI2n or BC5 format. Not DXT5.
to make your normal map you make a classic normal map, like for skyrim, you have a blueish colored map.
The difference with the map from FO4 is when you save your map to DDS format. If you use the DXT5 format all channels of the map will be exported and you'll get the same kind of map you have in Skyrim. These maps, despite being wrong still work. But if you use the BC5 or ATI2n compression you'll get the normal map used in Fallout. Because the blue channel is ignored during the compression, the normal map is not blue but darkbrown/greenish. The nvidia plugins for photoshop can't make this kind of normal maps, you must use the intel plugins for photoshop or Gimp.
Also, normal map in Skyrim have an alpha channel that is used for the specularity of your object, Fallout normal maps don't have an alpha channel.
For metal/spec maps, you must create a black and white map for your metal parts , a black and white map for your specular parts.
Then, create a new RVB map fill all the map with black, put the metal map in the red channel, the spec map in the green channel, leave the blue channel all black.You'll get a Red/Orange/Green map.
For the export, this the same as the normal maps, BC5 or ATI2n format, no alpha channel
Using your guide and the accumulated wisdom here, I was able to bring the two pretty much together in looks. OK, I still have the Besthesda neck welding line (lol), but the head and body skins are now as close as they can get. She looks pretty good, all said and done.
I'm 99% useless at Paint.net and Gimp, but I learnt enough here to make my lady character satisfactory before starting off on my new play-through.
Cheers!
Then open your colour map and desaturate it. Isolate the blue channel and change it to pure white (bucket fill). Now edit hue and saturation on the red and green channel until its the same shade as the Vanilla map. You'll need a little trial and error but you can probably get it.
AFAIK using 3Dc makes the blue color channel completely white and removes the alpha channel, which is how every normal and specular texture in the game is set up. IDK if this compression method has any other special properties other than making everything blue-tinted and removing the alpha, but it works.
But you're not taking any benefit of the PBR lighting offered by the engine upgrade and the textures upgrade of Fallout 4. It's a shame the lighting is so much better than Skyrim's without any ENB
When you say RGB channels are not easily accessable. Does that mean due to software restrictions, Like is only photoshop capable? Or is it just more complicated but possible with Gimp?
Iike, can you make images layer by layer and use the Paste as layer feature then merge all down?
I'd rather a propper tutorial, even if its complicated.
This black and white method has worked for me on clothing and skins, just to reduce the shine, But atm creating Flat tree lods and getting some weird effects because sunlight, time of day, weather type etc all seem to change appearance, even where there is no cubemaps texture added in the nif or material file.