Custom Content Challenge - April 2022 : Dual Challenge

[Tarot_Redhand]

The themes for this month’s challenge: “Fly me to the Moon” and “Let’s Catch the Catbus”

Fly me to the Moon

Lunar themed objects, tilesets, creatures for modern, fantasy or sci-fi settings!

This theme was suggested by Havelock.

and

Let’s Catch the Catbus

All things Studio Ghibli. This is not just from the films directed by Hayao Miyazaki, but from all of their films. OK the Catbus from “My Neighbour Totoro” might be a really big ask, but there is so much that is not so hard. In fact I think Totoro itself should be relatively easy. There is such breadth of material here that there are things that would fit into any world not just an orientally themed one.

This theme was suggested by Tarot Redhand.

Guidelines:

• It must be fully working in game.
• Use of vanilla NWN or publicly available texture is fine. Just remember that NWN textures must have dimensions in powers of 2 (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc.).
• Teamwork is welcome.
• Beginners most welcome. Don’t be afraid, just try, you’ll be surprised!
• “Custom Content” includes many sorts of things: models, scripts, prefabs (areas, items, creatures, conversations, quests, etc.), sounds, portraits, or anything else new for the game.
• All submissions must be finished, working, and emailed to nwvaultccchallenge@gmail.com (or a non-Vault link provided) by December 1st, 2021. Sooner than that is perfectly fine too.

Some things you could include in the download/email that would make packaging everything up easier and faster:

• Any 2da lines needed.
• Screenshot from in game for use on the Vault page. Formats: .bmp, .jpg, .png, or .tga
• Portraits (if needed) of your new goody. Placeables and monsters should include a portrait.
• Inventory icons (if needed) of your new goody.
• Any credits you would like listed.
• If this is your first entry, please tell me what name you would like your work listed under and provide a link to your other NWN content if you want that displayed as well (the link bit is totally optional).
• Remember, the Challenge is all about fun, sharing, creativity, and surprise!

This thread is for all sorts of discussion about this month’s theme: ideas for things to make, questions/concerns, announcement of what you intend to make, screenshots of work in progress and/or finished projects.

If you want to discuss the Monthly Custom Content Challenge idea as a whole or wish to submit ideas/themes for future monthly Challenges, please post in its thread here -

Custom Content Challenge - Theme Suggestions.

When submitting a new theme, please provide a title and short summary of the theme.

If you have a technical question about some custom content creation, please create a separate thread so that the answers can be found later by anyone, not just people interested in this Challenge.

We’ll try to help!

Have no fear and join the fun!

And finally, you can:

Custom Content Challenge - Theme Suggestions.
Vote 4 for May’s theme
Email content to: nwvaultccchallenge@gmail.com

TR

[quevy]

Laputa (Studio Ghibli)

free totoro character anime 3d model

Catbus(My Neighbor Totoro)

[Mecheon]

I got a stupidly dumb but also easy idea to make that’s inspired me ever since the first time I saw Spirited Away

but uh, just saying, if anyone’s gonna whip up a moon tileset and needs some. various help, i am Very Much in the market for a moon tileset even though my touch is still slight poison to tilesets (And not just because I’ve played roughly enough Endwalker to be Far Too Much)

[Tarot_Redhand]

Well if we are to fly there we might as well have a moon (placeable) -

Initial texture from the Celestia Motherload and created by Philip Iveic in 2010. I’ve resized (4k x 2k) it so that the sides are power of 2. For the EE version I’ve used it to create PBR maps for it too.

In game terms this moon is around 30 metres in diameter. As you are not supposed to be able to get to it, there is no pwk.

One other thing. I have a 3D model of the crater Tycho (featured in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey) that I don’t know where I got it from. It was originally in stl format (a 3D priniting format I believe). I have managed to convert it into both obj and fbx formats. In Blender (after corrective rotation) it looks like -

If resized and simplified then sliced up it might make a nice tile group but that lot is certainly beyond my current abilities and available time. If anyone would like to take it on pm me I’ll see about getting it to them.

TR

[Tarot_Redhand]

On the Let’s Catch the Catbus front, anyone willing to take on the Soldier from “Laputa : The Castle In The Sky”? There’s an old free model of it here -

Don’t know for sure but I think it will need rigging/animating as well. I think I’ll see if I can make a placeable version too.

TR

[quevy]

Apollo lunar module.

Apollo Lunar Module 3d model. Free download. | Creazilla

[Tarot_Redhand]

As a side-note some people will try anything, including real-world working versions of Studio Ghibli craft. Take for example the iconic glider from Nausicaa -

or this RC flying flaptter model -

フラップター 天空の城ラピュタ　Flaptter 19-3 of Castle in the sky : Long Flight in the wind

TR

[Tarot_Redhand]

Back on topic -

Is anyone other than me doing anything for this challenge?

TR

[quevy]

I love Nausicaa.

[Stonehammer]

@Tarot_Redhand

Is anyone other than me doing anything for this challenge?

I have a few things in mind

[quevy]

If I can spare a little of my limited free time, yes, I could do the Placeable Apollo Lunar Module, and a few other things.
Cheese moon.

I was thinking it might also be on the subject, honeymoon, some wedding stuff.

[Mecheon]

FFXIV’s patch just dropped so that’s eaten me, but I got an idea for those origami bird familliers from Spirited Away

(also my dumb idea of a moon tileset was just to retexture the desert and mix in other stuff but don’t think I’ll get to that)

[Fire]

There are many weird placeable objects and weird looking lifeforms, at least according to H.G Wells

The Creatures of The First Men in the Moon - Dark Worlds Quarterly (gwthomas.org)

As a dumb idea, a construct that happens to look like the moon from the Astronomer’s Dream.

[Tarot_Redhand]

So I have managed to import both the Laputa Robot and the Nausicaa Glider into Blender but have now hit a roadblock. I have no idea how to texture them.

Laputa Robot

Nausicaa Glider

Would anyone be willing to do so? The robot is probably the harder one as while I have the initial textures the one for the “face” of the robot needs more work -

As you can see there are patterns in it. (BTW ignore the colours in that picture, they’re wrong. I spent a couple of hours re-watching the movie to double check .) All I have is the base texture. Fortunately the model splits the mesh in two for the purposes of the textures and the “face” is a separate entity.

For the glider it should be a much simpler affair as the majority of it is just white. My problem is that the tubular hand bars and landing struts are white-metal (aluminium probably) and like I said, I don’t know how to do that.

If someone would like to have a go, here are both models (in blend format) -

Blender Projects.7z (1.2 MB)

If someone decides to take on the Laputa Robot, can they pm me and I’ll get the base textures to them.

Thanks.

Last thing, a couple of people indicated they might be working on something for this month. Any updates/pictures etc.?

TR

[Tarot_Redhand]

7 days to go.

TR

[Tarot_Redhand]

I can’t believe I’m the only person with anything for this. I’ll give it another 7 days…

Because of that I have increased the number of moons that I have created using textures from the Celestia Motherload to 6. 4 from Jupiter and one from Saturn - Callisto, Enceladus, Ganymede, Io and Titan in addition to our moon. So we have -

our moon,

and

During the making of these I came across a problem. Where there were the terminus between light and dark there were very obvious triangular jagged markings. I have mostly solved this but it does mean that these will probably not work on older machines. I drastically increased the number of points (aka vertices) so that now each has well over 7,500. This increased the uncompiled size of each model from around 64k to more like 1 meg. To allow for easy editing I will only release the uncompiled versions. If anyone wants to re-release them compiled, be my guest. As each also has PBR texture maps, they will only be available for EE.

TR

[Mecheon]

I do have my Shikigami on its way. I’m not happy with it at the moment, but its coming

it is literately a flattened bird with a flat cylander for a head at the moment, using the texture of… I think one of the books from castle interior? So, not the most happy with it at present.I think it’ll end up being similar to how I have the head. An odd shape all-over, but, appropriate for what it is

[quevy]

The file is very large and heavy to load, I have to see if I can optimize the model a little.

I hope to be able to deliver by tomorrow, TR do you want to make the texture maps?

[Tarot_Redhand]

@quevy

TR do you want to make the texture maps?

Maybe. Depends on if it is already UV mapped. I’m not knowledgable enough otherwise. Oh and the main rocket nozzle should actually be black

TR

[quevy]

Yes, it is already mapped, and I have not done anything to modify it, I only have a tga texture.