planet skybox

[captain0terror]

hi!

I'm a CSGO mapper, and i'm working on a space elevator map, and for the the skybox i need to be looking down at the earth.

If anyone can point me to a tutorial to achieve this, i'd be greatly appreciated. Alternatively, if anyone here could do it for me,
i'd be willing to trade mapping work and gamebanana points, or we could negotiate a price and i'd pay you.

I've tried to figure out terragen before, without much luck. Also i've tried to use skypaint before to get the seams to line up for the
skybox images, but that turned out dreadful!

Another Question: is there a plugin for PS that will line up the edges of the 6 images for the skybox, so you can more easliy blend them?

thanks in advance for any help someone can give, and i apolgize for the noobish post!

[FrankB]

Hi back!

So, you need one skybox, shot from orbit.... Or higher up in space? In Terragen you can easily render a seamless skybox. Your "problem" is creating a planet to render in the first place. What resolution do you want your skybox images?
And, I assume in CSGO you only need to specify six images and it creates the skybox for you? Or do you have to preassemble the six images somehow before you can put them to use in CSGO?


Frank

[captain0terror]

The shot need to be pretty high up, about 50 miles, so it's actually still in the amosphere, but if you look up you will see stars, like the guy that did the space jump is a good example. the skybox images need to be 512x512, and they require no further processing, besides naming them, e.g., <skyname>Up, <skyname>down, and so on for all six images.

[FrankB]

Now, that's easy. If you are ok with an "earth-like" planet and not exactly our Earth, then have a look at this http://www.planetside.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,15611.0.html

If you like what you see there, I can render the 6 images for your skybox, based on that planet. Send me a PM if you are interested.

Cheers
Frank

[captain0terror]

beauty, sending pm!

[captain0terror]

Update!

With FrankB's help with the skybox, i finally have a working concept going for the map! Preview alpha images:



The Concept is a "waystation", or platform on the way up to the top of a Space Elevator. The platform is suspended at a high elevation by giant hot air ballons, (so this isn't actually in orbit--think the guy that did the space jump).

The purpose of this station would be to protect the Space Elevator from attack, and offer medical/rest to passangers on their way up to the top, as it would take them about 5 days to ascend to the top(32,000 miles of cable wit the car traveling at 300mph).


I plan to include defensive structures like missile clusters and phalynx-type miniguns, as well some sort of interceptor spaceplanes and vtol craft to defend the station from attack, similar in look to f22 raptors, stealth fighter, and the stealthhawk chopper(even though i know at this altitude they'd never fly).

The "capsule" in the center of the map is the elevator car, which would carry freight as well as passangers to the top(the entire cable would be anchored by i big asteroid at the end and some sort 2001-esque space base), and the capsule would then be re-used as a reentry vehicle to earth for passangers and equipment, or the components would be modular so they could easily be absorbed into whatever space station platform that is at the top in orbit.

Just a reminder these are alpha screens, and the map will look a lot different when finished and textured!

Cheers, and a big thank-you to you FrankB for rendering the skyfiles! =)
ct

[FrankB]

You're welcome, and I am sure this is going to be a great map to play on The planet shows through nicely behind the space station!

Cheers!
Frank