ive tried everything and my normal map just isnt working XD help pleaseee!!! :(

mageypoo · Jan 2017

so the lp and the hp match up perfectly and all that. ive followed so many tutorials about xnormals and cages to the letter but this is still hapeening XD anyone??

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/jn/pd7tf6s9fc5a.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/7n/mnu4frivizu9.jpg

every edge is a hard edge and ivs are all split along those edges. could it be my uvs?

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/t2/1ovrjgh3s3pf.jpg

Clark Coots · Jan 2017

I see some horizontal artifacts in the middle of some of the shells, that is odd. I'm not 100% on that, but looking at your layout here are some things I would improve that may clear up any artifacts, especially along edges if you straighten your UVs.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/dg/mqe7aqc84106.jpg

mageypoo · Jan 2017

OMFG i wasnt expecting help like this thank you so much XD!!!!!! your amazing that you took the time to label my uvs like that!!!!! also would you worry about the amount of seems on a model like this??

Clark Coots · Jan 2017

The amount of seams is fine. You did it correctly by splitting the UVs where there are hard edges on your model. I just realized something else, inbetween about 0.55 and 0.6 in the V axis are those polygons edges hard as well? You said everything was hard edges, so if that was the case you'd have to split those UVs too to avoid small artifacts. To make your life easier if the angle between polygons isn't too drastic, you can have a soft edge there and not have to split the UVs.

mageypoo · Jan 2017

oh awesome!! ty!! yh i heard that if its around 90 degree angle then make it hard edge. when u get these weird shadows (below) is that another sign to bassically make the edge hard?? no those edges where soft edge cause of their angle. also would u bother triangulating mesh when exporting to xnormals? cause a lot of people say to do it then a lot say not do cause xnormals triangulates it anyway. sorry for question overload ty for taken time to answer these questions XD. amaze me how little they told me in uni lol

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/o5/hjcbftawqye1.jpg

musashidan · Jan 2017

It's good practice to triangulate before baking and to use that same triangulated mesh in-game. The reason is because every engine has a different method of triangulation and because the data in a tangent normal map is calculated to a specific mesh topology any change in topology(triangulation) will lead to artifacting.

mageypoo · Jan 2017

aahhhh awesome thank you

these replies are soo quick its amazing!!

musashidan · Jan 2017

Also, one more thing to note: rather than thinking of "I need a split where there is a 90degree corner", it's more that you should think in flat surfaces. So you might even have a UV split on a transition between a flat surface and curved surface with a much lower angle than 90.

mageypoo · Jan 2017

awesome i think i get that

mageypoo · Jan 2017

XD why am i struggle so much?? my hp and lp are in the exxt spot and all that. haha so tried splitting all my uvs are they to.... clustered

??

and these black lines? are appearing there was a bit more improvement when i split all uvs

THANK YOU!!

Clark Coots · Jan 2017

I suppose next thing to check, is looking at the HP vs LP in those areas where the black lines are showing, your bake settings, and what program you're viewing the model in.

[Deleted User] · Jan 2017

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rohMizuno · Jan 2017

it feels like like a ray distance issue to me, did you tried using a cage, or increasing the read and frontal distance?

Joopson · Jan 2017

I'll ignore the creepy doppelganger stuff right above me and say, did you check the high-poly to make sure nothing is screwed up with it? And none of your UVs are overlapping or anything weird like that? Beyond that, really not sure what it could be.

[Deleted User] · Jan 2017

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mageypoo · Jan 2017

loving all these replies thanks all!!! where is this back face culling option? i used cage exported from maya and through xnormal 3d viewer. eerrrmmm increased ray distance didnt do a lot

. redid my uvs so they r all straighten out didn't do much although improved it bit better XD. and high poly is all good to. XD this is crazy!!!! bahah at such a loss.

mageypoo · Jan 2017

if anyone wants to take a look at the the files and see if they can come up with a solution would love it haha. would owe u the world XD!! help me polycount your my only hope!!!!!

mageypoo · Jan 2017

chances of two people with meat as there pics on the same topic is crazyy!! XD

[Deleted User] · Jan 2017

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rohMizuno · Jan 2017

I was never meat.

mageypoo · Jan 2017

mageypoo · Jan 2017

ITS THE CAGEEEEE!!!!!!! i just tried to bake without a cage dont no why i just tried to now XD and it bakes basically perfect apart from the seems that r showing due to the lack of a cage!! ive tried cages from maya and cages from xnormal using the 3d viewer and they both create horrific results. any suggests peeps??

kanga · Jan 2017

I had problems with cages in Max. The problem was that I had to inflate the cadge a wee bit motr before export.

mageypoo · Jan 2017

omfg its such a simple thing and i went over everything for like a week XD all i had to do was make the cage biggers as u said bahaha

mageypoo · Jan 2017

although now i have these things going on.....??

musashidan · Jan 2017

Can you upload you high/low poly meshes as separate .fbx files? I can take a look if you like.

mageypoo · Jan 2017

thank soo much!! is it stupid that i dont no how cause it says the files r to big and they are compressed?

musashidan · Jan 2017

Dropbox is a good option. The files shouldn't be that big. Lowpoly especially..

mageypoo · Jan 2017

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/q0hph43579i0hab/AAD6mjmIcSWciwmD-tLMEJVZa?dl=0

musashidan · Jan 2017

I'll have a look after work. I'm in a time zone far, far away...........

mageypoo · Feb 2017

Awesome!!!

whatcha working on atm??

Joopson · Feb 2017

Just a heads-up, mageypoo, I'm only seeing the _lp file in that link.

musashidan · Feb 2017

3 things I noticed immediately upon opening your file:

1 - Your scale is tiny. The pillar is only 1cm tall - you should always model in real-world scale.(Marmoset TB operates on a 1m scale by default)

2 - You haven't reset your transforms - you should do this regularly when modeling and especially before unwrapping/baking.

3 - Your UVs are inverted where you are seeing the shading artifacts in the last image - make a habit of checking for flipped/inverted UVs when unwrapping as this affects the baking process.

If you fix those 3 issues your bake should be fine. As a sidenote: a lot of this messing about can be avoided by just using a synced/non-averaged baking workflow.

Your smoothing groups are empty but this is a Maya>Max .fbx issue.

And lastly........@joopson is correct. The HP wasn't uploaded but is unncessary as it turns out.

mageypoo · Feb 2017

Awesome

thank soo much cant thank you enough

let u no how i get on

mageypoo · Feb 2017

i cant find a decent tuorial on how to flip and spot inverted uvs

when i click them they match up please say thats the wat to tell if they r correct or not haha thanks again

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/9j/tbcn12bdaxa2.jpg

musashidan · Feb 2017

The UVs are just a representation of the geometry coordinates in 3D space(XYZ=UVW) so the geometry faces don't have a 'physical' connection to the UV faces. Flipping a geo face will not flip its 'twin' UV face. In Max there is a feature called 'select inverted faces'.

I don't know the equivalent in Maya. Perhaps a Maya user here will chime in.(or check the Maya documentation)

mageypoo · Feb 2017

awesome so is that feature select inverted faces how u find out if uvs r flipped/inverted cause i have no idea how to tell what uvs r inverted

soz for all these noob question turns out uni didn't teach me alot XD so your basically teaching me more than they ever did hah

musashidan · Feb 2017

mageypoo said:

for all these noob question turns out uni didn't teach me alot XD so your basically teaching me more than they ever did hah

3D training + 90% Uni courses in the world = $-scam....

Sorry, no offence. Just joking.

I've never trained 3d/CG at uni/college but I've heard a few horror stories.....

Yes, the feature is basically just to let you know which UV faces are flipped/inverted.

mageypoo · Feb 2017

XD it's a so true!!! And this uni was UCA Farnham which isn't apparently like one of the best uni with one of the best game course. The teachers where/ r horrific XD!!! It was all lies XD!! Basically taught are selves. can't believe how long I have properly suffered inverted uvs XD.

Btw I did the display on maya and all normals and faces r facing the right way none r inverted

it's crazy lol. No idea what's happening haha.

mageypoo · Feb 2017

Also turns out I was on utube this morning looking for tutorial And I went passed a sword tutorial your on utube didn't realise it was u

musashidan · Feb 2017

mageypoo said:

Btw I did the display on maya and all normals and faces r facing the right way none r inverted it's crazy lol. No idea what's happening haha.

Not your geo face normals. Your UV faces. See post above.

musashidan · Feb 2017

mageypoo said:

Also turns out I was on utube this morning looking for tutorial And I went passed a sword tutorial your on utube didn't realise it was u

Oh, that is a VERY old Xnormal tut from a while back. Things have changed a bit for me since then. I am planning a full Normal mapping 101 course in the near future.

mageypoo · Feb 2017

XD thought they would show somthing off some where haha. omfg cant wait for that!!!!!! do u no any good tutorials for me and my current predicament haha so as i dont keep pestering you. im like keep asking to get tips from actual professionals

musashidan · Feb 2017

Don't worry about asking Q's here. That's what the forum is for. As long as you show you're putting our advice to practice and learning/progressing with your issues, people are happy to help.

You shouldn't need a tutorial to fix your current predicament. For basic stuff like this, and whilst learning Maya, you should always have the Maya documentation at your fingertips. You're 99% of the way there. Just flip those inverted UV faces>rebake your maps>result!
Your low/high match well in your image above. Your low geo is fine. Your UVs are done.

In the Maya UV editor click the 'Shaded UVs' button.

Image: https://answers.unrealengine.com/storage/temp/3282-overlapping+uv+example.jpg

To flip UV faces select(from UV editor) polygons>flip.

mageypoo · Feb 2017

im gladd ty!!
amazing your sooo help full its insane ahah!! so had few reds they flipped back added a cage which makes it all bake perfects!! the onlyproblems are these annoying shadings

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/7e/rd8pqenbnfa3.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/lm/8ugaju37534o.jpg

mageypoo · Feb 2017

playing around with cage is making them better so i think that it omfg!!!! musashidan you beautiful patient man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thank you!! and every one else who helped cant tell u hpow much i aprreiate it!! ill porbs b back later with anther probelem

ive tried everything and my normal map just isnt working XD help pleaseee!!! :(

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