They're the same thing. Albedo, base colour, diffuse colour, diffuse coefficient... all just means the colour of the surface under no lighting conditions.
Yep, they are the same thing but you'll find that different renderers/engines name it differently. In Marmoset Toolbag it is Albedo, in UE4 it is Base Color etc.
In the metalness workflow, the albedo/base color map defines the diffuse color for non metals and the specular color for metals. Essentially, the base color of the material, as pure metals get their color from specular reflections.
EQ thanks for clearing that one for me in your precise words. Someone has probably said it but you have huge talent of explaining complex concepts for others in a way thats easy to understand. Have you ever considered writing a book?
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This is different from spec-gloss.