Skybox Textures

[Social]

SKYBOX TEXTURES

The following sites contain full skybox textures available for download.
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www.3delyvisions.com/skf1.htm - 17 skybox sets, blue sky's, mountains, grasslands, sunsets.

http://amethyst7.gotdoofed.com/env.htm - 40 skybox sets, textures for many settings, good variety. Don't let the single side preview pic fool you, these are full sets.

http://www.planetside.co.uk/terragen - I thought that mentioning this would be worthy of note, since "TerraGen" was the software used to make most of these skybox textures. Just in case you needed/wanted to make your own someday.

If I find any other sites hosting similar resources I will add the links here. If you are aware of any other sites that might be containing some exquisite skybox sets please post here so that I can update the information accordingly.
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ORIGINAL POST
Does anyone know a website that might be hosting some free skybox textures, that I could use in the BGE?

[DanielSefton]

Not sure if you already know about it, but here are a few:

http://www.elysiun.com/forum/viewtop...hlight=skymaps

Hope that helps,
From Daniel

[Social]

Originally Posted by DanielSefton Not sure if you already know about it, but here are a few: http://www.elysiun.com/forum/viewtop...hlight=skymaps Hope that helps, From Daniel

Yes I do know about those, but they are too high res, I require something smaller, and covering all 6 sides of the box. (correct me if I am wrong but those in the link you specified cover only 4 sides).

I need skybox textures specifically made for in game use (Preferably; 256x256, or 512x512 - per side).

[scabootssca]

if they are too high res scale them down and usually skymaps dont have toe bottom use thosev with a half sphere

[Social]

Originally Posted by scabootssca if they are too high res scale them down and usually skymaps dont have toe bottom use thosev with a half sphere

The whole point of me looking for a site that provides game specific skybox textures is so that I dont have to bother resizing them.

Also I would like to use the least amount of polys possible, so using a "box" is better than a sphere in that aspect.

[Siegel]

Originally Posted by Social The whole point of me looking for a site that provides game specific skybox textures is so that I dont have to bother resizing them. Also I would like to use the least amount of polys possible, so using a "box" is better than a sphere in that aspect.

WTF is wrong with u :-?

[Social]

Originally Posted by Siegel WTF is wrong with u :-?

..............??

Wow, what did I ever do to you? Did I say something to offend you maybe?? %|

[3DGURU]

go here there is a blend in the first file

http://glaby.free.fr/Jeux/GlabyRally-en.html

then dld it and then see how the skybox were done

[Social]

Originally Posted by 3DGURU go here there is a blend in the first file http://glaby.free.fr/Jeux/GlabyRally-en.html then dld it and then see how the skybox were done

I know how to make a skybox, all I need is the textures.

[scabootssca]

Heres Some

[DanielSefton]

Originally Posted by Social Originally Posted by scabootssca if they are too high res scale them down and usually skymaps dont have toe bottom use thosev with a half sphere The whole point of me looking for a site that provides game specific skybox textures is so that I dont have to bother resizing them. Also I would like to use the least amount of polys possible, so using a "box" is better than a sphere in that aspect.

By the time you've posted a thread about it, you could have resized them :P

From Daniel

[Social]

Originally Posted by DanielSefton By the time you've posted a thread about it, you could have resized them :P From Daniel

Did you read the second part of my post?

Originally Posted by Social Also I would like to use the least amount of polys possible, so using a "box" is better than a sphere in that aspect.

[DanielSefton]

Originally Posted by Social Did you read the second part of my post?

Yeah, but you could still tweak them to fit a box - it could be an arkward job though I suppose if you need the top face, it's just that AFAIK there is no where you can find perfect skybox textures (at least without paying), I have spent forever in the past searching for them with no luck whatsoever... your best bet is to either modify a current skymap texture, create your own or put up with a semi-sphere.

Just out of interest, what is it for, surely you don't need to restrict your poly count that much anyway? And what type of sky are you wanting? If you get really stuck, and I have the time I'll mock one up for you if you want...

From Daniel

[bigkahuna]

You can find some there:

http://www.loopix-project.com/

Go to the free 3D models page. The model is in .MDL format, but you should be able to find a file conversion app to convert them to a format you can use.

[Social]

Originally Posted by bigkahuna You can find some there: http://www.loopix-project.com/ Go to the free 3D models page. The model is in .MDL format, but you should be able to find a file conversion app to convert them to a format you can use.

Hey bigkahuna,

Thanks for the try, but all I want is textures, not these MDL files (weird, that he didn't put up images as a download.)
Also, even if I could find a conversion program for the .MDL files, what am I supposed to convert them to?

All I need is skybox "textures", covering at least 5 sides of the cube(the 4 standard sides, along with the top "sky" section)

PS: I never thought that it would be so hard to find these types of textures, I can barely believe it, since skyboxes are so common in a mojority of 3d games.

Originally Posted by DanielSefton Just out of interest, what is it for, surely you don't need to restrict your poly count that much anyway?

I don't have to restrict my poly count that much, I just don't like to leave any loose ends, to me using more polys than necessary to make a believable illusion of open space is sketchy. I like to keep things as neat as possible.

[goldentaiji]

Lol, if you can't find them (assuming you searched really hard)... we probably can't either.

Along the way I've seen a couple of skybox textures out there, but they're more or less mainly for their specific type of game. I think if you try to google some half life mod skyboxes or something, things should pop up.... hmm or was it unreal (can't really remember).

Try to make your own (I know easier said than done, I've yet to try and make a good one), but you can get exactly what you want that way. Plus from your other posts, I'm assuming you want to go professional someday, so just take the extra jump and try making a custom one.

Jason Lin

[bigkahuna]

Originally Posted by Social ...but all I want is textures, not these MDL files...

The .MDL file includes the skybox textures, so when you convert the file, you'll probably export a set of 6 .TGA's or .BMP's. I use a commercial program "Ultimate Unwrap 3D" to do this conversion, and it allows me to save the files as .TGA's. You could probably get the free demo version and try it with that.

There are other sources for skyboxes out there, I don't have any links handy but if you check some of the more popular indie game engine sites you may find some.

Other options are to create your skyboxes with Blender or Terragen. There's a script somewhere (a search of the Python and General sections would probably find it) that automatically sets up the camera positions, but you can do it manually. I know several people have used Terragen, so I know it's possible to use that also. I use another commercial app (Carrara Pro) for my sky maps. Creating my own gives me infinite control over my sky, terrain, horizon, etc.

Yes, it will take some work, but most game developers create their own skyboxes anyways.

On the topic of skyboxes versus skydomes versus other types of meshes, I've tried them all and ended up using a "partial" sky dome. I've removed the top 45 degrees of the dome, since it get's distorted anyways, and restrict the camera from seeing it. The poly count is pretty low, probably 1/2 of a full dome, and the effect is much better than a skybox. The problem I had with sky boxes is you cannot use fog or mist with them, and they never look really authentic.

Of course the lowest poly solution is to use a single plane that always faces the camera and fills the entire view. Then use a custom script that uv animates the background. But I think you'll find that the time lag you get by using a script will probably defeat the advantage of lower poly's.

Just remember that everything is a compromise, hope this helps you find what you need...

[Social]

I found a variety of skybox textures, refer to the initial post for the links.