Getting Started
T2 can be confusing to start with! One of the best methods of learning your way around the system is to load one of the provided examples, generate the texture (Create), view the world (Create Mesh) and then try experimenting with the various input values.
This page is split into the following sections:
Sample Projects
There are many sample projects included with T2 which, as well as acting as starting points, show off some of the capabilities of T2. Some of the most interesting ones are described below:
island1
This sample shows a naturally textured island. Many inputs are used for grass, rock etc. and bump maps used to give more roughness to the look.
Sunset
This project has a very low red light that shows off the shadowing very effectively. It also has a skybox oriented for best effect.
misty
This is an interesting project as the river seems to be covered in mist. This is created using a noise texture and some basic colours.
lights
A test project showing how to use more than one light. Four lights shine onto the T2 heightmap from different directions.
sleepingDragon
This project shows the use of two height maps. One for the dragon shape and one for its eyes. It would be impossible to do this without using multiple height maps.
Chocolate Bump Test
This project shows off bump mapping with materials. It can also be useful if you create your own bump maps to try them out first with a flat height map like the one used here.
There are more samples. Just load them, press Create then Create Mesh to view. You can also obtain new projects, textures and materials via the add on packs. See the extras page for more details.
FacingTest
This example project shows of the use of the Facing control on an input.
T2 Controls
All Screens
- F1 - Bring up help
- F2 - Take a screenshot
Main Editor Screen
- Delete - delete current input
Mesh View Screen
- Mouse left button down and move to rotate camera
- W or Up Arrow - move forward
- S or Down Arrow - move backward
- A or Left Arrow - move left
- D or Right Arrow - move right
- Q - rotate left
- E - rotate right
Tips
- Often the best way to try out techniques is to initially use a very simple heightmap and few inputs and slowly build more detail.
- When you move the mouse over the heightmap image it changes to a cross and the height and slope at that point is displayed below. This is a very useful way of determining where an input should begin and end. Additionally you can use the sample tool next to the slider to sample into the height map.
- Click on any slider control to enter a value manually
- Double click on names to edit them
- Use the preview function for a quick idea of the effect of an input. With complex projects texture creation can take some time and so this method is a quick way of finding problems. You can find it under the input menu.
- To speed up texture creation:
- Initially use only a small output texture and / or lightmap, say 64 by 64
- Disable shadow creation until last
- Use fewer lights
- Use fewer inputs
- Be careful not to burn out the light. If you have a lot of strong lights and emissive materials you may find everything is coming out very bright and detail is being lost. To solve try reducing the light levels, use the darkness slider and the normalise lighting option.
- If you cannot see your bump mapping try lowering the reflectance of the material
- Test materials initially with bump maps using the flat height map with one texture and one light
- Use the function curves, they can make all the difference in blending textures together across seams.
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