Solved Map texturing automations

Hey!

How can I automate map texturing? Is there another way besides hand painting with the brush?

I created a terrain in World Machine (WM). It simulates every material I need: grass, rocks, sand, and some erosion products. WM can create a texture for BeamNG from every material. It’s very fast and sometimes user-friendly.

Texture in BeamNG has some properties that affect the gameplay:

1. Color. It helps to know what type of surface is in the distance.
2. Texture details. They give a touch of realism when I look right under my feet.
3. Surface physics. It determines the car's behavior. Snow is slippery, asphalt has a lot of grip.
4. Small objects that stand on the surface. Grass that sways in the wind.

I know, how to create all textures and their properties. But I don’t understand how to paint. I checked the default files and saw, that every texture (or material) has the same Base Color map, but different Macro and Details maps. I don’t understand how level designers control the location of each texture.

I saw one and a half ways:

1. Pick the texture → paint with a brush by hand.
2. Same, but the brush has Slope mask settings. It saves time when each material has a different slope angle. Slope mask settings will not help when different materials have the same slope angles.

Is there another way that is faster and more accurate? For example, use a grayscale map that determines the location of every texture.

 

Use the import terrain feature. You use different black and white masks for the different terrains

 

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Thanks for the advice.

I tried to use Import Texture → Terrain Maps feature, but I did something wrong. I didn’t find any tutorial about this process.

1. Selected a heightmap. In the background, you see the current file which I want to upgrade.


2. Looking for a texture mask.


Which format should the mask be? I have several files in the folder:

1. grayscale .png (screenshotted above).
2. 8 bits/channel color .png. with transparency. I thought of it this way: a colored pixel colors the map. The transparent pixel is ignored.
   
3. Black and white 8 bits/channel color .png. I thought of it this way: the white pixel colors the map according to the Base Color channel of the material. The black pixel is ignored. Or vice versa.

Colored files (2 and 3) are shown gray in World Editor file picker.

What is the right file for the texture mask? Which format? Which color settings?

UPD 7 April. Looks like, I need to use at least two Texture Masks:

1. For warning_material.
2. For my material.

3. Texture Map settings.


How do R, G, and B affect the result? I tried them all but didn’t see any difference in the end. Again, maybe step 2 should have been different — I don’t understand.

4. Wrong result.


The terrain has the right height map, but there is no texture.

5. Textured manually.


6. PBR_Grass material properties, if it helps…


@el_ferrito, can you explain how it should be done properly?

 

I figured it out.

I will write an answer for those who face the same problem. The World Editor interface does not tell you how to do this.

1. You need to preload the desired materials in the Terrain Painter tab. These materials will be used in Texture Maps. If you don't do it, World Editor will make black map using warning material.
2. Import Terrain → Texture Maps. Here you need to select the grayscale file—the same format as the height map.
3. Assign material to each map in the dropdown list.
4. I didn't change the letter R (G or B).

 

It's a bit outdated, and doesn't cover everything you want, but thought this might be helpful.

 

Thanks! I made the same way