free skyboxes

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11 comments, last by ssnhavok 20 years, 3 months ago
I had a great skybox from http://www.planethalflife.com/crinity/skymain.htm but I want it for the contest and that site doesn''t state ok for commercial use. I tried to contact both crinity and the author but one doesn''t have an email listed and the others email address is dead. The site hasn''t been updated since 2001. Does anyone know sources for skyboxes? I need something forest like but I might have to go with something diffrent. Does anyone know of tutorials on making skyboxes from photographs? Or any tutorials on making them with a program? Alot of them look like they might be done in bryce but I am unsure, only messed with bryce once. Any info would be appreciated, even if it''s just a link to a site with some info.
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If you scroll to the very bottom of the page he says to email him if you have comments or suggestions. where the word says email is his email if you click on it or just hover and look in the statusbar window.
Its not a bug, its a feature!!
My buddy Luis Sempe has a Skybox and Skydome tutorial, code, and example over at www.spheregames.com. Should work with most projects with minimal changes.
I would check out terragen. Its easy to use and as of the current version wont cost you anything. They have links to several tutorials on using it there too.

http://www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/


[edited by - bu11frog on January 14, 2004 12:06:38 AM]
Hard work USUALLY pays off in the future, but laziness ALWAYS pays off right now.
Thanks for all your replies.

CyberJay82: Sorry my post must have been written confusingly. I did try to email Crinity and his email address is dead (returns my mail saying that his username doesn''t exist).


ichor: I think the site you linked me to has code for skyboxes but what I meant was I want to know how to construct the textures that make up a skybox, from photos or a program. Thanks for your reply though.


bu11frog: I did see terragen already and it looks pretty good. But the site says it is not free for commercial use. I want to use the skybox in my Creative contest entry, so it must be free for commercial use. I will probably end up using it for personal projects in the future though, so thanks.



Any more ideas? I know other people will have skyboxes in their contest entries. Where are you getting your skybox from or how are you creating it yourself?
I think that all this should be solved if someone makes(made) a program in which you render stuff and then take 6 pics with the camera in pixel-perfect positions It would also be suited for reflection-cube map texturing I never tryed it but I might make a test in something like 3DS MAX(just to see how cameras get aligned)

Relative Games - My apps

-sky photos: http://www.1000skies.com/
-Creating Backgrounds for 3D Games tutorial: http://www.gamasutra.com/features/19981023/bell_01.htm
-Terragen with the plugin terrasky is another good and easy option.
Forum about terragen, terrasky.
http://www.modtheater.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8767
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Hey jaba, those skies at the 1000 skies website, how do you use them? I mean, do they go on a skybox? or can you texture it onto a sphere? I looked at their little 3d viewer demo but i can''t figure out what they texture them on.
Author Freeworld3Dhttp://www.freeworld3d.org
I use them to make sky box(generate 6 textures) with 3d max, the gamasutra tutorial explains how to make it. I don''t try it, but texturing a hemisphere (skydome) with the photo can look very well too.
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jaba, thanks for your info.

It looks like I would need to buy a sky from http://www.1000skies.com/.

The partial skies are around $5 I think, but they look like they don''t match up at the sides. Would I be able to use a partial sky on a skybox? or would I need the full skies($50) that match up on the sides?

The gamasutra article was helpfull but I think it was saying I need to make a 3d model of surroundings and then take renders of it. I don''t think I can make a 3D model of the quality that most skyboxes have, in a timely manner. I would like to just convert a image file like the skies on 1000skies.com into the 6 skybox pictures, I don''t think the gamasutra article was about doing it from a single picture. Is it really easy to make the 6 pictures from 1 in photoshop and I am just not realizing?

Are other people making demos for the contest using skyboxes? I know there are some. Did you make your skybox? How? From photos you had? Image you made in photoshop? 3ds model renders? Or did you buy/ask permission for skybox textures from someone?

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