Skyboxes

[Argyll]

So I'm exploring the wonderful world of creating skyboxes...

Using Terragen to make them and was wondering if anyone else has any skyboxes that they have made to show off and/or any tips or cool settings to use for some nice effects.

Here is my first ever skybox:

It's scaled down to make a smaller preview, but yeah... also needs to photoshop the black away. It's supposed to be dusk in a desert setting, or something like that.

Pimp off any better ones! I know there must be some out there...

[mikezilla]

if you're doing this for hl2 i suggest making a sky dome model and texturing that

boxes are stupid and have distortion issues

but it has nice color.

[Minos]

really nice argyll, looks really natural

I've also made some skyboxes (check'em on my site), and what I can suggest u is to use gamma at "1", instead of 1.5 which is the default. Also try to make it darker cuz they look really brighter ingame. And fiddle a lot with the clouds, they really make the difference when making a sky

[mike-0]

pretty good. i've been fooling around in terragen a little, maybe i'll post screens sometime.

[von*ferret]

very nice argyll Glad to see some stuff out of you, keep it up.

[Duff-e]

i think we can all agree when i say "about damn time"

[Argyll]

^ Update. Changed the gamma as you suggested Min0 (the previous one was set at 2). Looks too dark here, but I'll see what it looks like in-game (as you said it's lighter in game).

[Minos]

oh great argyll I really love it now ~

[Argyll]

So I did the second one (couple posts up) for in-game... was rendered at 512x512 and the textures are at that as well, but the skybox looks like it is in Half-Life Anyone (Zaphod...) know what's going on? Are there any specific settings that I need in the vmt or do the textures have to be 1024x1024. Hope they don't have to be that high since TerraGen doesn't allow you to render that.

[Minos]

I bet HL2 skyboxes were made with photos (3d-mike makes his skys with photos as well and they are a lot better than terragen ones). Terragen will always look like that

[Wreta]

How did u get that sky ingame?

I have tryed to get my sky ingame but keeps failing

[DaanO]

Tsk tsk Mino, you have no idea. I have about 2,5 years experience with Terragen now and i think that the things that especially others did would amaze you. These are Terragen shots as well:

http://lucbianco.free.fr/3D/Ter152.jpg

http://lucbianco.free.fr/3D/Ter222.jpg

http://lucbianco.free.fr/3D/Ter216.jpg

http://lucbianco.free.fr/3D/Ter162.jpg

Anyway, about the skyboxes: If you want a desert setting, just add landscapes. Terragen can do those you know . It's not bad as a start. I suggest you get yourself some good concept material, also try to imagine being at the place you just made. In the first one the air look really thick, and the whole enviroment looks a bit foggy. For a desert, i'd make the sky really clear, with a brighter sun. Also, i'd slightly increase the red near the horizon, it's almost a sunset on your sky so make it look like it.

The second one is more interesting, but the sun is just too small. I like how you lighted the clouds around it, it looks really good ingame as well. The best practise for making skies by the way, is not to just make something (anybody can make something looking ok with Terragen) but to try and make something exactly the way you wanted it to be. Try picking a picture and remaking that. Overall: good start, not keep going and don't try to be satisfied with what you've got but try to keep on pushing.

[Pericolos0]

we have a 3d skybox now to add landscapes..

Have to agree that terragen can create some cool stuff, but the clouds are looking pretty fake most of the time. Dunno i'm a terragen nub myself but i yet need to see a terragen sky that has some realistic clouds.

[DaanO]

No, you are right. The clouds are pretty bad. It cannot do layers for example.