Guide to use the sculpt maps you've purchased
- How to use the sculpt maps
- Ok, now I have applied the sculpt map. How do I texture it?
- Broken sculpties? LOD settings
How to use the sculpt maps
New to building? Then follow this very simple guide to learn how to use your sculpt maps.To use a sculpt map, you have to begin by making sure that you are in an area where it is allowed to rez. Then click the "Build" button from your viewer or, alternatively, click CTRL 4.
Now, click on the ground. This will rez a box (unless you had another shape selected from before.)
Right click on this box, and select the "Edit" option from the menu.
Click the "Object" tab from this window, and look at the parameters on the right side of this window.
You may see a drop-down menu labeled as "Building Block Type". Other viewers won't show but the pull down menu itself. Click the little arrow to open it, and then select "Sculpted". The right side of the "Edit" window will change, showing us the following: a "rainbow" texture and a few options below ("Mirror", "Inside-out" and the stitching type.)
This "rainbow texture" is what defines the shape for the sculpted prim, and it's called "the sculpt map." You will find sculpt maps that are not a "rainbow" but transparent. This is okay. Those sculpt maps are "alpha protected" but will work too.
You should click on that "rainbow." This will open a menu that will allow you to select a sculpt map from your inventory folder. You would select one of the sculpt maps you've acquired.
Check the samples provided to know how to fill in the rest of fields: "Mirror", "Inside-out" and the "Stitching type." Usually, you will have to worry only about the last one. All my sculpt maps specify which stitching type you should select in its name.
An example, if you see one of my sculpt maps named as:
[Black Tulip] Shelf 5 - Stitching_PLANE
that means that, for that specific sculpt map, you should select the stitching type "Plane" (or "Plane/none" for some viewers) on the "Edit window" under the "Stitching type" pull down menu.
Ok, now I have applied the sculpt map. How do I texture it?
Apart from the sculpt map itself, which defines the shape for the sculpted prim, we need also to apply a texture on the sculpted prim, as usual, under the "Texture" tab in the "Edit" window.Some sculpties will need that you define a very specific number of repeats and offsets. Specially, those that have the stitching type "Plane."
At times, those repeats may go over 100. Some viewers won't allow you to type such a number over 100. So in order to help you, your purchase has also several scripts that will change the repeats for you, and after that they will self delete. If you find yourself in the situation of not being able to change the repeats over 100, by all means use the scripts. They won't cause any lag at all, as they get immediately deleted from the primitive after completing their task of changing the texture settings.
Those scripts are:
[Black Tulip] Change Repeats 4x256
[Black Tulip] Change Repeats 4x128
[Black Tulip] Change Repeats 2x256
[Black Tulip] Change Repeats 2x128
[Black Tulip] Change Repeats 1x256
[Black Tulip] Change Repeats 1x128
Use the one that better suits your sculpties. Begin by trying out "[Black Tulip] Change Repeats 4x256" and if you don't like how those repeats look like, then try with less repeats.
Broken sculpties? LOD settings
If you see your furniture like "breaking" for you as you get further away from it, by changing your LOD settings should fix this problem for you.For this, go to your "Advanced" menu (click CTRL ALT D if you don't have it -COMMAND key instead of CTRL for Mac-)
Then, scroll down to "Debug Settings..."
This opens a little window.
Type in it the following:
renderVolumeLODFactor
and then change the suggested value to 3 or 4.
Going over 4 won't make basically any difference and may be overkill if you don't own a powerful graphics card.
Set it to 3 in that case.
You will find also this text under the notecard "[Black Tulip] Broken Sculpties? LOD settings". Its purpose is for you having a notecard with a text ready so you can deliver it to your customers, explaining about the LOD settings.
I wish this information helps you in using sculpted prims in your creations.
-- Auryn Beorn
