How to import custom textures into StarCraft 2 editor
So, I’m releasing some custom texture packs for StarCraft 2 soon, and I thought I’d write a tutorial on how to use them inside the SC2 editor to accompany the texture sets. Or ofc, you could use this tutorial to import your own self-made textures :)
First thing you need to do is to click the import button, the one I circled in red here.
A new window will open up, from the menu click on Data -> Import Files (or click ctrl-I), now browse to the folder containing your textures, and select the textures you want to use. Don’t forget to import a white texture, you will need it later in this tutorial. When you’re done importing, click save (ctrl-s), and you can close the import window.
Next, you need to click on Map -> Map Textures and the Map Properties will open. Click on Modify, a new window will appear again…
With the ‘Terrain Texture Set’ tab selected, right click in the area that I marked above and select ‘add object’, type in a name, click on suggest, and then select copy from BraxisAlpha next to Field Values, hit OK. Another step done!
Now click on the Terrain Textures tab, at the top of the window. Right click in the same area as illustrated above again, and click add object. Give a name for the texture you want to add, hit suggest again, and click ok. Now to the right you should see the same as the picture below, if not, make sure that the red circled button is selected.
click the field next to ‘CTerrainTex_Texture’ and fill in the filename of the texture you want to use, including any subfolders you put the texture in, don’t forget the file extension (eg. grass.dds) and hit enter when you’re done. Now click on the field next to ‘CTerrainTex_Normalmap’ and fill in the name of the white texture. When you’re finished click save.
Back to the Terrain Texture Sets tab, select the set that you made earlier and to the right the same sort of window as above will appear. Double click on the field next to ‘CTerrain_BlendTextures and a window named ‘Object Values’ will appear, there are 2 lists there. On the left are all available textures listed and on the right are the textures available for use in your map. You can only use a maximum of 8 textures in a map. Find your own texture in the list to the left and select it, also select the top texture of the list on the right. Click on ‘Replace’, click OK, and then you can close the Data editor window.
Now, in the map properties window click on the box I circled in red in the picture below.
In the dialog that pops up select your new texture, click OK, and click OK again in the Map Properties window. A dialog will appear asking you if you are sure, click YES. Et voila, your new texture should appear in your map. Congratulations.
Still, I have a problem. My textures are a really dark. I think it's a problem with the normal map.
Can somebody explain how to make a good normal map of a texture?
haven't really looked into it yet, but here's something you can try
goto the data editor (press f7) and select 'lights' from data type. Create a new light setting there, go to the 'Terrain textures sets' tab, select your tileset, and find the item named 'CTerrain_Lighting' in the right side of the screen. Input the name of your light setting.
Without doing anything, with the settings I made yesterday, in game, I have this :
By doing what you said, in the Terrain Editor, I have this (yerk!) :
But, still, in game, I have this :
In game, there is no bug like on the Terrain Editor, but it's pretty dark.
I can't explain why the render in game and in the Terrain Editor is so different.
I was looking for a way to make my own textures for a sc2 map when i found this post:) , i think your light problem might have to do with your normal maps.
In my opinion you cant use a white texture for your normal maps but i can be wrong.
I got a nice program called grazy bump and it can create amazing normal maps based on the texture so i will give that a try tonight.
I was looking for a way to make my own textures for a sc2 map when i found this post:) , i think your light problem might have to do with your normal maps.
In my opinion you cant use a white texture for your normal maps but i can be wrong.
I got a nice program called grazy bump and it can create amazing normal maps based on the texture so i will give that a try tonight.
I'm interested in a write-up of your procedure. Using a white texture hasn't given me any problems yet tho, but always willing to learn new tricks here :)
I was looking for a way to make my own textures for a sc2 map when i found this post:) , i think your light problem might have to do with your normal maps.
In my opinion you cant use a white texture for your normal maps but i can be wrong.
I got a nice program called grazy bump and it can create amazing normal maps based on the texture so i will give that a try tonight.
Never heard of grazy bump, but I use crazy bump for all my normal maps. Amazing tool, cheap to buy and an excellent demo. Makes normal maps, parallax, spec, ambient occlusion, and a few modifiers for diffuse (remove shadows/highlights namely)
LOL yes crazy bump:)
I tried a normal map in the editor and it did nothing:( The normal maps that sc2 uses are 2 different colors, one is greyish (looks like a bump map) and the other one is orange (unlike the purple looking normal maps that im used to)
And after loading a normal map from sc2 in photoshop i noticed that it uses the alpha channel just like the textures do and the other channels look kinda weird to me also (1 channel is all black)
This is kinda a bummer, i hoped to get the normal maps to work:(
I am having difficulty with one of the ending procedures of this guide. When i go back to the terrain textures sets tab for the final time and double click on the field next to CTerrain_BlendTextures no window pops up. All it does is allow me to modify the text field of that row.
I'll try Crazy Bump, then I'll post a screenshot of my work.
One question : when I link the texture in the Object Editor, why have I to link the one that's in my HardDisk?
Is there no a possibility to link the one that I imported?
Well, I did the test with the NormalMap with Crazy Bump, but it seems that's not working.
In Crazy Bump, I had this :
I'm aware I did something wrong, so could somebody make a tuto about that, with pictures (because I don't understand everything you write " )?
Then maybe I will be able to make my own tuto in french for friends. ;)
Here is my texture (from World of Warcraft, in 1024x1024, format PNG).
Hi i made a video tutorial, i hope it helps out a bit.
Im not sure if i do everything right but it seems to work.
No sound but i think you will get it:)
If you dont do the steps i did in photoshop (the alpha layer) the texture will be very bright and the normal maps just wont seem to work, atleast thats what i had.
I assume you have Photoshop CS4?
I only have CS3.^^
When I try to save my texture in .DDS with 5 channels (RGB, Red, Green, Blue, Alpha1 [put on "invisible"]), Photoshop says "Too many channels to export (5)".
Do I need to ... hmmm ... "get" CS4, or do I need a plugin for CS3, knowing that I can save in .DDS ?
I used "DDS Converter 2" to convert my texture that I saved as .PNG with CS3 to .DDS, and since then, I have done exactly what you did (well, not really, I haven't created a new set of texture, I've just replaced Bel'shir Brush texture : same result as before.
I think I need a better way to convert my textures to .DDS...
Or maybe I could try to save in .PSD instead of .PNG, then use "DDS Converter 2".
Anyway, thanks for the tuto, I learned one or two things very usefull! :D
My DDS Converter didn't save the alpha channel, I just needed to check the option.
Now, next problem, make a best configuration for my normal map in Crazy Bump."
I can't show a good screen (the best would be a youtube video, but just for showing a fail... boarf )
My grass texture looks has bigger reflections than braxis metal planes.
I'll show you when it will be finished! :)
Thanks a lot!
How to import custom textures into StarCraft 2 editor So, I’m releasing some custom texture packs for StarCraft 2 soon, and I thought I’d write a tutorial on how to use them inside the SC2 editor to accompany the texture sets. Or ofc, you could use this tutorial to import your own self-made textures :)
First thing you need to do is to click the import button, the one I circled in red here.
A new window will open up, from the menu click on Data -> Import Files (or click ctrl-I), now browse to the folder containing your textures, and select the textures you want to use. Don’t forget to import a white texture, you will need it later in this tutorial. When you’re done importing, click save (ctrl-s), and you can close the import window.
Next, you need to click on Map -> Map Textures and the Map Properties will open. Click on Modify, a new window will appear again…
With the ‘Terrain Texture Set’ tab selected, right click in the area that I marked above and select ‘add object’, type in a name, click on suggest, and then select copy from BraxisAlpha next to Field Values, hit OK. Another step done!
Now click on the Terrain Textures tab, at the top of the window. Right click in the same area as illustrated above again, and click add object. Give a name for the texture you want to add, hit suggest again, and click ok. Now to the right you should see the same as the picture below, if not, make sure that the red circled button is selected.
click the field next to ‘CTerrainTex_Texture’ and fill in the filename of the texture you want to use, including any subfolders you put the texture in, don’t forget the file extension (eg. grass.dds) and hit enter when you’re done. Now click on the field next to ‘CTerrainTex_Normalmap’ and fill in the name of the white texture. When you’re finished click save.
Back to the Terrain Texture Sets tab, select the set that you made earlier and to the right the same sort of window as above will appear. Double click on the field next to ‘CTerrain_BlendTextures and a window named ‘Object Values’ will appear, there are 2 lists there. On the left are all available textures listed and on the right are the textures available for use in your map. You can only use a maximum of 8 textures in a map. Find your own texture in the list to the left and select it, also select the top texture of the list on the right. Click on ‘Replace’, click OK, and then you can close the Data editor window.
Now, in the map properties window click on the box I circled in red in the picture below.
In the dialog that pops up select your new texture, click OK, and click OK again in the Map Properties window. A dialog will appear asking you if you are sure, click YES. Et voila, your new texture should appear in your map. Congratulations.
Thanks a lot for this tutorial!
Still, I have a problem. My textures are a really dark. I think it's a problem with the normal map. Can somebody explain how to make a good normal map of a texture?
See for yourself :
This is the rendering the grass should have... Image on ImageShack
What can I do?
haven't really looked into it yet, but here's something you can try
goto the data editor (press f7) and select 'lights' from data type. Create a new light setting there, go to the 'Terrain textures sets' tab, select your tileset, and find the item named 'CTerrain_Lighting' in the right side of the screen. Input the name of your light setting.
Let me know if that works.. :)
Without doing anything, with the settings I made yesterday, in game, I have this :
By doing what you said, in the Terrain Editor, I have this (yerk!) :
But, still, in game, I have this :
In game, there is no bug like on the Terrain Editor, but it's pretty dark. I can't explain why the render in game and in the Terrain Editor is so different.
I was looking for a way to make my own textures for a sc2 map when i found this post:) , i think your light problem might have to do with your normal maps.
In my opinion you cant use a white texture for your normal maps but i can be wrong.
I got a nice program called grazy bump and it can create amazing normal maps based on the texture so i will give that a try tonight.
I'm interested in a write-up of your procedure. Using a white texture hasn't given me any problems yet tho, but always willing to learn new tricks here :)
Never heard of grazy bump, but I use crazy bump for all my normal maps. Amazing tool, cheap to buy and an excellent demo. Makes normal maps, parallax, spec, ambient occlusion, and a few modifiers for diffuse (remove shadows/highlights namely)
LOL yes crazy bump:) I tried a normal map in the editor and it did nothing:( The normal maps that sc2 uses are 2 different colors, one is greyish (looks like a bump map) and the other one is orange (unlike the purple looking normal maps that im used to)
And after loading a normal map from sc2 in photoshop i noticed that it uses the alpha channel just like the textures do and the other channels look kinda weird to me also (1 channel is all black)
This is kinda a bummer, i hoped to get the normal maps to work:(
I am having difficulty with one of the ending procedures of this guide. When i go back to the terrain textures sets tab for the final time and double click on the field next to CTerrain_BlendTextures no window pops up. All it does is allow me to modify the text field of that row.
That's a change from the latest update, just fill in the name manually to replace on of the older names
http://gradient-mesh-tool.weebly.com/sc2-mapping.html
Normal maps working!:)
Great work on your texture, Ganjaman. ;)
I'll try Crazy Bump, then I'll post a screenshot of my work.
One question : when I link the texture in the Object Editor, why have I to link the one that's in my HardDisk? Is there no a possibility to link the one that I imported?
Well, I did the test with the NormalMap with Crazy Bump, but it seems that's not working.
In Crazy Bump, I had this :
I'm aware I did something wrong, so could somebody make a tuto about that, with pictures (because I don't understand everything you write " )? Then maybe I will be able to make my own tuto in french for friends. ;)
Here is my texture (from World of Warcraft, in 1024x1024, format PNG).
Hi i made a video tutorial, i hope it helps out a bit.
Im not sure if i do everything right but it seems to work.
No sound but i think you will get it:)
If you dont do the steps i did in photoshop (the alpha layer) the texture will be very bright and the normal maps just wont seem to work, atleast thats what i had.
I assume you have Photoshop CS4? I only have CS3.^^
When I try to save my texture in .DDS with 5 channels (RGB, Red, Green, Blue, Alpha1 [put on "invisible"]), Photoshop says "Too many channels to export (5)".
Do I need to ... hmmm ... "get" CS4, or do I need a plugin for CS3, knowing that I can save in .DDS ?
I used "DDS Converter 2" to convert my texture that I saved as .PNG with CS3 to .DDS, and since then, I have done exactly what you did (well, not really, I haven't created a new set of texture, I've just replaced Bel'shir Brush texture : same result as before.
I think I need a better way to convert my textures to .DDS... Or maybe I could try to save in .PSD instead of .PNG, then use "DDS Converter 2".
Anyway, thanks for the tuto, I learned one or two things very usefull! :D
Yeah, I find the problem!
My DDS Converter didn't save the alpha channel, I just needed to check the option.
Now, next problem, make a best configuration for my normal map in Crazy Bump." I can't show a good screen (the best would be a youtube video, but just for showing a fail... boarf )
My grass texture looks has bigger reflections than braxis metal planes. I'll show you when it will be finished! :) Thanks a lot!
To convert a blue normal map to an orange one...
Take your blue normal map. Invert it. Go to red channel. Copy and paste red channel into your alpha layer. Go to red layer and fill in with black.
You have a orange normal map now. Remember to save with alpha layer.
I found the dds import file for photoshop cs here :
Link Removed: http://www.mediafire.com/?yitywgya2bn
That will give you the same menu i had in the tutorial.
In the zip is no installer just dds.8bi that you have to put in the right folder (Import-Export or File Formats) i put them in both so im not sure:)
Btw nice info about the converting from blue to orange normalmap, i will have to see if they work even better:)
Nerf, it does not work with Photoshop CS3.
Not sure why you would say that because im working with Photoshop cs3.
What happend when you try to use it?