[REQUEST] Creating and Importing Model A-Z Tutorial

[cinephile]

I just put up a video myself covering this (Blender to Skylines building). Thanks to help from the community (in another topic) and some good ole fashion trial and error.

You can find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ShfdBv-mF4&feature=youtu.be
Not perfect, and that mic can be a little annoying. But it does go from complete blank project to successfully importing! Also I think sometimes I fudge up saying object/edit mode when I meant the opposite. Helps if you have Blender experience already... otherwise just look at the dropdown box to see which mode I'm in.

This was great, thank you.

However, are we still all in the dark about how to control lot upgrading? It seems like some people have achieved it. Or is it just a case that the lots get replaced entirely with a random asset of a higher level?

 

[cinephile]

There is no mention of size or does the model have to be a combined model or can it be peices. There are things left out of this tutorial. I'm not using 3dsmax and instead maya before I am forced to go to max. I cannot get the fbx exports to show up 99% of the time in the import list. The names there but nothing shows and it won't let me continue. The units are in meters, outside of the material which i figured I could do after wards, what else could cause the model to just not show or be useable on fbx export?

I have the same issue. Model not showing up after exporting (only shows up if I export one object).

edit: I think my issue was that my objects were not joined in Blender. They had to be joined before exporting.

The other hard part of the tutorial to follow was the texturing part. Not a bad thing in the end, but I had to read multiple other guides in order to learn exactly what was happening there, and what the key commands are. For example, exporting using smart UV project and then scaling using S key, and translating using G. It feels clumsy though, I assume there are commands to do things like 'draw a square on your texture image and use this square for texturing'. I had to manually drag the points on the texture a few times to get a square area applied to my faces.

Snap to pixel and 'dont go out of bounds' were pretty essential for the texturing part as well.

Also, I guess there is some method for simply filling an area with a solid colour? I know that there is the material part of Blender, is that the same thing? If I export with a green diffuse on a face will it appear green in-game?

 

[thomthom]

With assistance from the good people here at the forum I found a workflow to export directly from SketchUp Pro:
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/modeling-with-sketchup.837565/

Summarized it here: http://www.thomthom.net/thoughts/2015/04/export-from-sketchup-to-cities-skylines/

 

[dna.rt]

I don't think it warrants a thread just yet, but these are my processes using Sketchup and/or just 3dsMax. The latter of which; using just Max, is detailed in the following:

1. Create the model as one normally would, using 3dsMax. Texturing is no different than for any other model.
2. Finish creating the model. All modifications to the model must be complete at this point. It's time to start the export process for Cities: Skylines!
3. Click Render, then Render to Texture (hotkey "0"). Scroll down to "Output". select Diffuse, Specular and Normal maps. I would recommend that the maps be 1024x1024.
   
   Follow workflow A. or B. if a step is noted as such:
   
   
4. A. Click "Unwrap only".
5. B. If certain textures are too small in the render (e.g. a detailed sign) you can go the model's "Modifiers" tab and click "Unwrap UVW". Take note of the map channel. Set it to 2 if it isn't already. Under "Selection" (still within the "Unwrap UVW" menu) click "Polygon". Finally, click "Open UV Editor", select everything, and flatten the UV map (under "Mapping"). You are now free to move the corresponding parts of the UV map around and resize them, according to your needs.
6. B. In the "Render to Texture" window, under "Use Existing Coordinates" select "Channel 2".
7. Make sure your output (under "Selected Elements Common Settings") is set to .jpg and take note of where you are exporting these UV map images to.
8. Click "Render"
9. B. Collapse the "Unwrap UVW". Right click the modifier in the menu to the right and select "Collapse To".
10. Go to the "Utilities" tab and select "Reset Xform" then click "Reset Selected".
11. Finally, go to "File" > "Export" > "Export Selected" (be sure your model is selected in the viewport and that it is the only model in the scene).
12. In Windows Explorer, go to "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Colossal Order\Cities_Skylines\Addons\Import". Add your .fbx and those UV maps/textures you had made earlier to this folder. Rename both the .fbx and the UV files to any desired name, so long as the UV files have the exact same name (case sensitive) with the addition of _d, _s, _n etc. for their respective use as diffuse, specular and normal maps.
13. Start the game, navigate through the Asset Editor. Once you've selected a lot to create or modify, you should see your model in the list at the left. Select it and play with the orienation tools. I recommend increasing scale by 100%.
14. If the textures aren't quite to your liking, simply modify them in an image editing program and reload the game.
15. Have fun with your one-of-a-kind model made with your own tears, sweat and blood (well, hopefully none of the latter)!

Using Sketchup and 3dsMax.

1. In an image editing program, create your diffuse, bump (normal), specular etc. maps. Make sure they register properly when overlayed. (Note that greyscale bump maps work in place of true normal maps).
2. Save your maps as the same size I would recommend 1024x1024 for most applications. Make sure they have the same extension (I use JPEG).
3. Make a new material in Sketchup using your newly created diffuse map. Be sure it is the only texture in the entire scene with the exception of the default material on backfaces.
4. Delete all groups and components. The sketchup model must be a single object.
5. Import the .skp file to 3dsMax.
6. There will likely be two groups in the scene. Click "New Scene Explorer" under "Tools" and delete the second group.
7. Select the remaining group; the model you had created. (It should appear no different after deleting the second object in the scene).
8. In the modifiers tab, select "Unwrap UVW". Right click this modifier and select "Collapse To".
9. Go to the "Utilities" tab and select "Reset Xform" then click "Reset Selected".
10. Finally, go to "File" > "Export" > "Export Selected" (be sure your model is selected in the viewport and that it is the only model in the scene).
11. In Windows Explorer, go to "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Colossal Order\Cities_Skylines\Addons\Import". Add your .fbx and those UV maps/textures you had made earlier to this folder. Rename both the .fbx and the UV files to any desired name, so long as the UV files have the exact same name (case sensitive) with the addition of _d, _s, _n etc. for their respective use as diffuse, specular and normal maps.
12. Start the game, navigate through the Asset Editor. Once you've selected a lot to create or modify, you should see your model in the list at the left. Select it and play with the orienation tools. I recommend increasing scale by 100%.
13. If the textures aren't quite to your liking, simply modify them in an image editing program and reload the game.
14. Have fun with your one-of-a-kind model made with your own tears, sweat and blood (well, hopefully none of the latter)!

I'd like to give a big thanks to all of you who had helped me out with 3dsMax and Cities: Skylines importing. I could of never got here without your assistance!

Hi, Thank you for your suggestion but I have a question. I have download model for 3D warehouse which model have a lot of detail and not map.
I want to you teach me "How to import SU model to 3Ds max or Blander and export to the game"