About tiling

[Tetriste]

Hi,

I have a procedural mesh generator that I'm using to create a tile based game and I was wondering if it was possible to create a substance in a way that the result per tile is different, yet it matches with the neighbourhood, so that the big picture isn't an obvious repetitive pattern but looks natural instead (as if the substance was made for the whole room instead of the tile). If it's possible, how would you do it?

[Wes McDermott]

Hi,

I have a procedural mesh generator that I'm using to create a tile based game and I was wondering if it was possible to create a substance in a way that the result per tile is different, yet it matches with the neighbourhood, so that the big picture isn't an obvious repetitive pattern but looks natural instead (as if the substance was made for the whole room instead of the tile). If it's possible, how would you do it?

Hello,

I'm not sure I am following what you need. You can create a custom substance where the edges are seamless. However, if you want each tile to be different, I think you may need to instance the graph and then use the random seed.

Cheers,

Wes

[Wes McDermott]

Hi,

I think this is what you are looking to do. In this image, you can see the substance was divided into a 4-way tile and how two different tiled mesh planes have their UVs arranged on the Substance texture.

The seams of the 4-way tile sections are seamless, but the designs inside the UV shells are different.

Cheers,

Wes

 

[Tetriste]

Thanks, yeah, I basically want seamless edges with different content per tile (of same substance). The image you've shown is pretty much it, but it doesn't cover the continuity of details. For exemple, you can see a trace fade from a tile, and the detail is discontinued on the next tile. Maybe it's just a design matter, I'm thinking, something like an algorithm based on the position of the tile to decide where to put the details around the edge for continuity. I don't know if that's possible though. Maybe it's just possible with some texturing constraints.

Well at least I have somewhere to start , I wasn't sure, I'm a bit new to texturing

[Wes McDermott]

Thanks, yeah, I basically want seamless edges with different content per tile (of same substance). The image you've shown is pretty much it, but it doesn't cover the continuity of details. For exemple, you can see a trace fade from a tile, and the detail is discontinued on the next tile. Maybe it's just a design matter, I'm thinking, something like an algorithm based on the position of the tile to decide where to put the details around the edge for continuity. I don't know if that's possible though. Maybe it's just possible with some texturing constraints.

Well at least I have somewhere to start , I wasn't sure, I'm a bit new to texturing

In the case of the image, it could be made for the details to be continuous. I didn't make that example, so I'm not exactly sure the requirements that were needed. However, it shows a workflow with Substance to setup tileable sections in a texture for modular meshes. I have been wanted to create a tutorial on this type of workflow.

Cheers,

Wes 

[Tetriste]

A tutorial on this would be really helpful in my opinion, it would provide a starting point for similar ideas that others and I might have. It's a bit difficult to have a procedural tiled map with realistic and detailed textures : it gets dull or repetitive like feeling, with only some decals here and there to patch things up a little. I've discussed this with others before, and one of the issues of procedural map making is that people don't feel like the map was made with special attention for the player. While it's somewhat true, I want to be able to provide that special attention feeling to it, while keeping the infinite possibilities open. I think substances are capable of that

Thanks for your answers,

Vincent

edit : just thought about it, but maybe fractals could be a possible approach to compute continuous patterns for tiles, with tiles acting like if they were stencil windows on the global "substance"

[Wes McDermott]

A tutorial on this would be really helpful in my opinion, it would provide a starting point for similar ideas that others and I might have. It's a bit difficult to have a procedural tiled map with realistic and detailed textures : it gets dull or repetitive like feeling, with only some decals here and there to patch things up a little. I've discussed this with others before, and one of the issues of procedural map making is that people don't feel like the map was made with special attention for the player. While it's somewhat true, I want to be able to provide that special attention feeling to it, while keeping the infinite possibilities open. I think substances are capable of that

Thanks for your answers,

Vincent

edit : just thought about it, but maybe fractals could be a possible approach to compute continuous patterns for tiles, with tiles acting like if they were stencil windows on the global "substance"

Hi Vincent,

I think there are different ways to tackle it. An idea I have is to utilize an FX map driven by a procedural shape to create a procedural pattern. Could you post a concept image of what you would like to accomplish and I can see if I can create an example.

Cheers,

Wes 

[Tetriste]

*these are not mine*

Tree roots (the roots would be closer to the wall or directly on the ground, as part of the wall's texture and not a different mesh) and climbing plants across multiple tiles are probably around the most complicated things that I would like to do :


(full image at http://forestkeepersofcapecod.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Tree_roots_cross_section-e1351581137309.jpg)



Probably more simple, but still in the range of what I would like to be able to do, there are patterns that vary, there's a need to do something for continuity if they are to be put on tiles

[mario.baldi]

Thanks, yeah, I basically want seamless edges with different content per tile (of same substance). The image you've shown is pretty much it, but it doesn't cover the continuity of details. For exemple, you can see a trace fade from a tile, and the detail is discontinued on the next tile. Maybe it's just a design matter, I'm thinking, something like an algorithm based on the position of the tile to decide where to put the details around the edge for continuity. I don't know if that's possible though. Maybe it's just possible with some texturing constraints.

Well at least I have somewhere to start , I wasn't sure, I'm a bit new to texturing

In the case of the image, it could be made for the details to be continuous. I didn't make that example, so I'm not exactly sure the requirements that were needed. However, it shows a workflow with Substance to setup tileable sections in a texture for modular meshes. I have been wanted to create a tutorial on this type of workflow.

Cheers,

Wes

Yes please!

[Tetriste]

Another good exemple of something I would like to be able to tile seamlessly would be the electric liquid, meaning that the animation would be continuous across tiles. I'm not saying to change that particular substance to achieve that, but rather, that I would like to know which approach to use to achieve it, because I have a lot of effects in mind that are similar in concept. Could be as "simple" as a lava patch that is expanding across tiles


Edit : I think it's actually possible (and maybe preferred) to simply work on random decals for the roots and climbing plants using a substance material... that would leave the grass, the cracked sand and the cross-tile animation (like electric liquid across multiple tiles) and the use case you've shown above too that I find interesting