Level Editor - Outdoor Environments
Outdoor Environments Tutorial
Note: This tutorial assumes you have some experience with the HPL Level Editor.
Hello fellow modders, I thought I'd just give a few tips on one of Amnesia's most touchy subjects - outdoor environments. Amnesia is somewhat limited in this area, as the game is mostly meant for dark indoor environments. However, including a breathtaking outdoor area can serve as a contrast to your scary inner-dungeons, making those dark areas all the more terrifying and the outdoor areas all the more peaceful.
Step 1:
The Skybox
Perhaps the most important thing in distinguishing an area as being outdoors is the skybox. Fortunately, this is a pretty easy thing to add, but hard to get completely right.
Open Level Settings. Skybox should be the first menu already selected, so no need to go anywhere else. First, click “Active.” This will color the sky whatever the default color is. That doesn't look very good, however, so we need to actually include a giant CubeMap (.dds) texture to serve as the actual skybox. A .dds file is essentially a JPEG (or whatever other format) that is cut into different sections, that when folded together, makes a cube.
To make a .dds format file, you will need a Photo editing program. Adobe Photoshop is preferred, but the free “GIMP” can be used as well. For either program, you will need a special program that can convert normal pictures to .dds files.
Photoshop .dds Plugin
GIMP .dds Plugin
Advanced modders can now create their own skyboxes by cutting an image into the appropriate shapes and saving it as a .dds. For those less experienced, you can download a LOT of Skybox textures at http://www.cgtextures.com.
Here is a link to pre-made sky CubeMaps. Pick any sky you would like to see in-game.
Be sure to select the CubeMap file and not the normal .JPEG . Select the largest size you can download for highest resolution. Next, open the CubeMap .jpg you just downloaded in Photoshop or GIMP. Change the image size so that both Height and Width are multiples of 2. ( 8192×1024 is a good size. Don't worry that the quality shrinks when you enlarge it, it will be shrunk back down in game). Next, save the file as .dds. Pictured is the Photoshop plugin .dds exporter. For the GIMP you can view this video tutorial to learn what needs to be done to save to a .dds file compatible with Amnesia. For convenience you can use the cubemap layers generator script for the GIMP to do most of the work for you.
Make sure the settings match mine.
Assuming you have created a custom_story folder, save your .dds in (custom_stories/your game/textures/). Then, go back to your SkyBox settings in the Level Settings menu, and simply select the .dds file you have created. The sky should display in-game now.
Step 2:
Making the Sky Realistic
Just because you stuck a pretty sky in the area doesn't mean your actual area will now look good.
Creating the Sun (or the Moon)
To make a direct source of your area's light, make a Billboard with the White Halo as the texture.
Change the settings of the Billboard to “Point”, and then scale the size of it upwards to however large you would like the Sun or the Moon to look. Change the color to a yellow-ish tint if you want the Sun to, well, look like the Sun.
Place the newly created Billboard at the brighest spot in your Skybox texture. This actually creates a pretty realistic looking sun.
Next, to simulate the actual light coming from the Sun, create a Sp