Problem with creating a skybox

Game Engine Game Engine Support and Discussion
#1

I was thinking of doing a skybox for a game, searched around a little and found this tutorial http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?t=96131

With the file from that thread I try to render with the camera pointing to the south and the one pointing to west, then I merge the pictures next to each other in GIMP to see the result, as you can see in the attached image (look at the seam in the middle of the picture) the result is not very good when looking at the water, probably because of the raytracing and using cameras from different directions, are there any way to fix this? Creating realistic looking water without having to use raytracing or some other solution?

Attachments

skybox.jpg1024×512 64.5 KB

#2

hi Guran,

Instead of using cameras, use a Cube and create an Environmental Map. It’s quicker, easier and the seams line up every time.

To create an Environmental map:

  1. Add a Cube. Place it where you put the cameras.
  2. Add a material and a texture to the Cube.
  3. Texture buttons (F6). Texture Type: EnvMap
  4. Envmap Tab:
    Ob: your cube name should already be entered.
    CubeRes: I like 512
    ClipEnd: How far away do you the cube to render for the envmap?
  5. Render it. (F12 key)
    It will use the 6 sides of the cube as cameras to render the envmap and then it will
    render the active camera (which won’t be part of the envmap.)
  6. Save the Environmental map to your hard drive.
    Envmap Tab: Save EnvMap

Now, use GIMP to do your cut and paste for the Skybox.

EnvMap.
Top row. Left cube side – back cube side – right cube side
bottom row. Bottom – top – front

Note: If you decide to render another Environmental map, be sure to free the environmental data.

Envmap Tab: Free Data and Free all EnvMap. I do both. I don’t know if you have to but that’s what I do.

Clark

#3

Thanks a lot for the answer, but the water came out really flat looking because the envmaps probably cant handle raytracing at all, but it’s a technique used to fake raytraced reflections from what I’ve read, and raytracing depends on a camera view, so it kind of makes sense that you cant use raytracing in the envmap…

I don’t have any more ideas than baking the whole scene or something and then create a envmap, but I don’t know how/if that’s possible, I could always do some scene without water/reflections though.

Attachments

skybox2.jpg1024×1024 77.3 KB

#4

hi Guran,

I misread your question. I thought you wanted an easy way to create a skybox texture that didn’t use raytracing.

Clark

#5

No harm done, at least I did learn something about envmaps!