Working with skyboxes

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Jeremy
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A skybox is a texture used to provide distant scenery in the background of a scene. It is displayed on a cube at the outer limits of the scene, and is ideal for providing the illusion of a sky or other distant details. This article provides an overview of uploading and setting skybox textures in your scenes.

Uploading a skybox texture

If you are interested in uploading a skybox in to Sansar, see Uploading items in Sansar for a step-by-step guide on the upload process. 

Note:

  • A skybox texture must be .exr file format, and its aspect ratio must be 6:1 (for example, 3072x512).
  • Additionally, the height of the skybox image must be a power of 2.

Setting the skybox in a scene

To set your skybox texture as the skybox in your scene:

  1. Select Tools > Scene Settings from the top toolbar in while editing the scene.
  2. Once the Scene Settings properties panel opens, click the Skybox dropdown and choose your skybox texture from the list.
Scene_settings_skybox.png
 The Skybox section in the Scene Settings panel.

 

Note:

  • It may take a few seconds for the new skybox to load. During this time, the dropdown continues to show the old skybox texture name.
  • A purchased skybox texture is automatically added to the Skybox dropdown once it is in your inventory. 

Adjusting the skybox texture

If you wish, use Sky Rotation to change or adjust the orientation of your Skybox within the scene. You can also adjust the other properties under Atmospheric Settings to add additional effects such as Fog, Sky Color, and Sky Distance to your scene's overall ambiance. 

Creating a skybox texture

You can create your own skybox textures for use in Sansar experiences. Skybox textures are mapped onto a cube, and must therefore conform to a specific template: A 6:1 rectangle divided into squares, with each square mapping to a side of the cube. A template image is provided below for your convenience.

SansarSkyBox_setup.png
Skybox image template. Click here to download.

 

 

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3 Comments

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  • 0
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    Poppet McGimsie

    Creating a Skybox Texture: Perhaps add info that in photoshop, images need to be in Image>Mode>36 bits per channel in order for exr (as openexr or openexr alpha) to appear as choices in Save As.

  • 0
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    skip

    I did create texture in exr format, but it does not upload. (neither do FBX objects)
    permissions are ok - do I have to apply for an upload permission somewhere ?

  • 0
    Avatar
    Agustine

    Hi skip, how are you preparing your fbx and exr files?

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