Normal Maps for Lightwave

Lamont · 05-03-2003, 08:02 PM

Iketeru... this is a great plug-in for you real-time people (Jin... )

http://amber.rc.arizona.edu/lw/normalmaps.html

Now back to work...

Mike_RB · 05-03-2003, 11:01 PM

Hell, its a great plugin for anyone non realtime who wants to severly reduce rendertimes.

Mike

Lamont · 05-03-2003, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mike_RB
Hell, its a great plugin for anyone non realtime who wants to severly reduce rendertimes.

Yeah, I'm using it for some stone floors right now ^_^!! It's great that it's using it correctly in the Lightwave renderer. I don't know of any 3D app that uses normal maps at render time.

Mike_RB · 05-03-2003, 11:10 PM

there are plugins for maya, xsi and max already. We are the last to get this functionality.

Mike

Lamont · 05-03-2003, 11:11 PM

Now I know ^_^!

Lamont · 05-03-2003, 11:17 PM

Hey Mike,

Isn't this an alternative to that other method that I can't think of that Renderman does? My mind is numb, or I'm just dumb.

Mike_RB · 05-03-2003, 11:32 PM

what method?

Lamont · 05-03-2003, 11:34 PM

I really can't find the link. It was a feature request here a while back. The example had a dinosaur with bumpy skin...

Mike_RB · 05-03-2003, 11:38 PM

lamont, you're a freak. Stop watching this thread like a hawk. I think the renderman thing you're talking about is Micropoly displacement. It's like our bump displacement except you dont have to subdivide the object at all, it subdivides at rendertime to the level it needs to get the detail in the map, and its apperently lightening fast.... So no. Normal maps have nothing to do with with actually making displacements (micropoly or not).

Mike

Lamont · 05-03-2003, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mike_RB
lamont, you're a freak. Stop watching this thread like a hawk.

Ehhh... I use Pop Peeper so I get alerts, besides, when fiance is 6000 miles away... and I'm always on the comp if I ain't playing games or reading. And I'm workin' ^_^! I know, exscuses... I am a looser.

Quote:

Originally posted by Mike_RB
the renderman thing you're talking about is Micropoly displacement.

Ahhh!! That's it!! ^_^!!!

Quote:

Originally posted by Mike_RB
Normal maps have nothing to do with with actually making displacements (micropoly or not).

Yeah, I knew that.. but I wasn't sure of the micro-poly method. Cool, I knew you'd make sense of what I was trying to say...

Mike_RB · 05-04-2003, 12:12 AM

This works really really well... I need to give it a shot with quemloss3 poly reducer, which keeps morphs intact!

Mike

Lamont · 05-04-2003, 12:16 AM

Yeah, QuemLoss3 is so badass.. I love the control it gives.

This plug-in rocks...

jin choung · 05-04-2003, 03:07 AM

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Dude! MarvinL is my motherf#$$ing HERO!!!

and lamont, you are his herald!

THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP!!!

wow... i've been aware of the ati plugins for max and maya and there was an ORB normal mapping program that was an external app that did this that was free as well but nothing for lw specifically....

well, there is another commercial app but it's mucho bucks and it looks like this free plugin does the same thing for free!

awesome. awesome. awesome.

yah, i think the next version of our engine is going to have normal mapping too so this is gonna be super useful.

plus, the fact that there's a normal map shader allows us to use low poly proxies in non RT projects for objects that are in background and such for super fast, optimized renders!

if marvin didn't provide us with a normal map renderer inside lw, we'd have to rely purely on bump maps (to the same effect) but fortunately, marvin provides a method of encoding the hi poly info into a bump map too!

marvin landis, you rock!

and thanks again lamont.

boy, i can't wait to start generating mods and stuff for the next gen games like doom3, half-life2, thief3, etc. woo hoo!

jin

jin choung · 05-04-2003, 03:30 AM

dang,

it doesn't make grey scale maps so you can apply it as a bump map.

no big diggie cuz he has indeed included a lw normal map shader.

but it would be really cool to have the option to generate a grey scale map too so that one day, when SDS UV MAPPING is fixed, we can apply the grey scale map as a DISPLACEMENT MAP!!!

that would be a great way to generate a really hi rez, frozen poly model with lots of ultra detailed bevels and such, then simply bake the detail as a displacement map to be applied to the more manageable, un-super-detailed SDS cage!

it's the stuff that they did on nurbs models for LOTR...

anyhoo, neat stuff. i may email marvin about it though.

jin

Mike_RB · 05-04-2003, 04:12 AM

dvix 5.03

http://www.3dluvr.com/blackbourn/web...alMap_DIVX.avi

1.93 mb

Mike

PS: jin, email martin about it, I already have and if we pester him enough....