Lining things up in the CS

Xui'al · Post by **Xui'al** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 7:46 pm

Currently, I am making a castle/manor for Mournhold/Almalexia, and lining everything up perfectly is a pain. There are no blending textures, but I made the outline of first floor, (quite sizable) to find to my horror that there was one little grey space at the end. Tiny, tiny, tiny, but no way to cover it up. So I spent close to two hours working on it, to no avail. The grey area is even smaller, but it is still present. Yes, all the angles are proper and the Z-axis is correct. What do you do to correct this problem? Should I simply start my claim again?

Stumpytheguar · Post by **Stumpytheguar** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 7:53 pm

Go to 'preferences' and turn on gridsnap and anglesnap. I usually turn it to 16 units when placing static floor meshes, and then I simply turn it off when I start detailing. It helps a TON.

Xui'al · Post by **Xui'al** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 9:00 pm

So Stumpy, you seem to be a local veteren to the project, a status that I fully intend to obtain... But thats not my question, I am wondering how long it takes you (or any other elite TR member that cares to answer) to build a quality interior cell. Also, are NPC's to be included? (couldn't find it in the FAQ)

CommonsNat · Post by **CommonsNat** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 9:05 pm

I'm sure Stumpy would agree that there are more veteran members here, such as the moderators and admins for example, but that's a different story.

How big of a quality interior are we talking about here? My last was a huge manor, it took in total, I'd say 4 hours just to outline, but I don't think this is what you mean.

Stumpytheguar · Post by **Stumpytheguar** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 9:19 pm

I've been around nearly as long as anyone else currently here. True, I'm known to dissapear for months at a time, but I'm never gone.

How long does it take to do an interior? Well, it really depends on the cell. If you've got it worked out in your head beforehand, you know how you want it to look, and you know which peices will fit, then the basic floor layout shouldn't take much more than twenty minutes. Important static placements (Tables, counters, chairs) follow, taking from 10 minutes to half an hour, followed by ten to fifteen minutes for lighting, then any containers, activators, or doors adds on another ten to twenty minutes... and them minor statics (rugs, plants, decorations) will add another half hour or so. Finally, you can add miscelaneous items to 'clutter' it up, finishing a well planned interior in about than two hours.

If you're playing with a tile set you've never used before, you don't know how it's supposed to fit, or you simply wing it, then the same interior can take you nearly three times as long. Like Commons said, it's really dependant on what you're doing and if you know how to go about it.

Xui'al · Post by **Xui'al** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 9:26 pm

Has anyone had any luck running multiple copies of the CS at once? I took lots of pictures of the exteriors, but its plenty handy to be able to see the exterior and rotate it.

Eraser · Post by **Eraser** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 9:35 pm

My god! TESCS uses enough of my memory with it open once!

I'm not sure what you mean, perhaps you have grid snap and wound up on a funny angle? Have you made sure all pieces are of the same style? there are some similar looking ones and wouldn't match up perfectly.

Xui'al · Post by **Xui'al** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 9:56 pm

I got all the angles working, my two hours of work were deleted and my new outside layout was done in 15 minutes. Thanks for your help.

Thane · Post by **Thane** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 2:25 pm

I have a problem with CS. I can only move objects on a horizontal plane, y'know sideways, back and forth. How do I move objects up and down?-This problem is really hindering my work.

Stumpytheguar · Post by **Stumpytheguar** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 2:30 pm

Hold down your 'Z' key while the object is selected and move your mouse up and down.

Vegor · Post by **Vegor** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 2:33 pm

Also useful to know is you can restrict movement on 'X' and 'Y' axis by holding X and Y while moving the object.

Thane · Post by **Thane** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 2:36 pm

Thank's Stumpy.

Kothloth · Post by **Kothloth** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 8:55 am

When making the general layout for interiors, I recommend put the gridsnap to 64 units and activate it, then you can create any layout in minutes. For other objects, try to keep such a high snap unit as possible, and always keep to doubles (2,4,8,16,32,64,128 etc). Effective use of the snapping tool, both angle and grid snapping is something you must master before being able to interiors at fastest speed

The more organized you keep things through snapping, the better it will look and easier it will be to change anything later on. Remember that you can also change the coordinates and rotation exatcly by opening the preferences of the objects. This can be useful if you need to have an odd angle exactly the same way on several projects.