Feedback for Megascans

Maximum-Dev

Hi guys,

Everything regarding the scans is absolutely fantastic. Overall I'm happy with it. But since it's feedback time I thought I'd post my issues here as I move forward. (Everybody are welcome to write feedback here as well).

1) There is currently no option to download the surfaces/atlases in other file formats. Everything we download comes as .jpg which at least in case of normal maps is very unexpected. I have seen in the official videos there were file format options before downloading but they're not there at the moment and .jpg downloads as default. Picture

2) Megascans Studio 0.8.62 doesn't generate large surfaces from smaller 1 x 1 m samples. (This needs a quick fix since 1 m surfaces look too repetitive). Notice as we increase the ground size nothing changes and the pattern just repeats). Picture

Maximum-Dev

3) Search doesn't really work as expected. Most of the assets don't have proper tags. For example ground scans have "color names" as tags and when you are looking for something i.e soil surfaces if you type "soil" in the search bar only a handful of them appear and the rest remain hidden. Picture

defragger

Maximum-Dev said:

2) Megascans Studio 0.8.62 doesn't generate large surfaces from smaller 1 x 1 m samples. (This needs a quick fix since 1 m surfaces look too repetitive). Notice as we increase the ground size nothing changes and the pattern just repeats). Picture

Please correct me if I´m wrong, but I´m afraid this is how the textures are scanned.
You can clearly see the 1 x 1 m tiling in the Tiled preview.

But 1 x 1 m surface textures would be unusable. The repetition would be ridiculous!
We need clarification from Quixel on this.

musashidan

I'm sure that the tech(machine) Quixel use to capture the scans is limited to 1x1m? I'm guessing that the idea is to old-school mix multiple textures to hide the obvious tiling, and maybe a 100 x100m(or anything greater than 1x1m) sample is procedurally randomised?

Also,  no doubt the .jpeg issue is just a beta thing and will be sorted ASAP as this is obviously the last format people would want.

Maximum-Dev

defragger said:

Maximum-Dev said:

2) Megascans Studio 0.8.62 doesn't generate large surfaces from smaller 1 x 1 m samples. (This needs a quick fix since 1 m surfaces look too repetitive). Notice as we increase the ground size nothing changes and the pattern just repeats). Picture

Please correct me if I´m wrong, but I´m afraid this is how the textures are scanned.
You can clearly see the 1 x 1 m tiling in the Tiled preview.

But 1 x 1 m surface textures would be unusable. The repetition would be ridiculous!
We need clarification from Quixel on this.

This is my interpretation from this video and this page. (So I might be wrong). The Studio program is supposed to let you choose the dimension you want i.e 2x2 m then automatically generates a non repetitive 2x2 m texture from the 1x1 sample you download. But right now the issue is when I change the ground size to anything no operations happen on the pattern but just repeats itself as opposed to the video and the link I posted above where it's supposed to do what's mentioned there.

Synaesthesia

We actually have 1x1, 2x2, and 4x4 scans!

1x1 and 2x2 are currently on the site. Here's a 2x2: https://megascans.se/assets/pjuu520

Maximum-Dev

Synaesthesia said:

We actually have 1x1, 2x2, and 4x4 scans!

1x1 and 2x2 are currently on the site. Here's a 2x2: https://megascans.se/assets/pjuu520

How do we actually know which ones are 1m and which 2m and up? (without checking the details on the surface in render).
Can you also please clarify whether Megascans Studio is supposed to to create 2x2 and up from 1m surfaces? wondering if the functionality is broken or what else.

Thanks for the reply.

Synaesthesia

Right now, it's based on tile size. The bigger the tile in the library, the bigger the scan. We'll be improving this as the service matures. Please let us know if you have any suggestions!

EarthQuake

Feedback on the Studio tool:

I'm having a lot of difficulty accomplishing what I want to in this tool, which is: To blend various similar looking scans to create a larger (2x2 or 4x4) texture that doesn't have noticeable repeating patterns (most of the scans have very unique detail, which is cool, but it makes them unsuitable for direct use when tiled). However, no matter what I seem to do with the tools, the unique detail of each layer is retained, which means that I can't hide the tiling artifacts, I just introduce more tiling artifacts with each new layer I add. I don't know if this isn't what the tool is meant to be used for, but some sort of manual mask painting would help a lot, some tools similar to the masking tools in dDo for instance. As is, I'll probably use dDo for this purpose instead.

Here is an example, 3 layers tiled but the tiling artifacts from each layer are visible at 2x2:



The height noise tool can add a certain degree of variation, however it seems limited. Perfect for dirt or sand but not really useful for flat surfaces like concrete floors or walls.

The image output settings are confusing, the way it is by default I thought I had to manually set up every channel of every input. The specular preset (or any preset really) should be enabled by default to reduce confusion.

Performance/memory usage does not seem to be very good. I exported a 8k texture with 3 4k layers and it ate all my available ram, ~12GB, and basically made my computer unusable.

gnoop

I have a few questions before even trying it.   Would be appreciative if somebody make it clear.

1.Is it indicated somehow which scan is 4m ?     To be honest smaller ones are pretty useless for us .   We actually need environment textures covering at least 8-10 meters in the engine.   It's by the way  a reason why I hardly use Quixel suite at all . Textures are apparently too repetitive. Looks ok only on small props.

2.   Could somebody elaborate more  what Indy studio/freelancer could sell to bigger studio without any legal encumbrance/ extra costs 

4.   Can I use Megascan studio software with our own photogrammetry based materials ?     Does it work with 2x1 , 4x1 scale factors ?  To be honest we don't use square factored environment textures at all.  They are always 2x1 at least. 




  

Maximum-Dev

4) Sorting options would be helpful. Sorting based on date added, most popular, scan size (1x1m, 2x2m, etc.)

kurt_hectic

My feedback will be short, for the production we need about:
-20 soils
-30 grasses
-30 concretes
-30 bricks
-30 woods
For now there is almost nothing from this

Studio soft looks great.

Maximum-Dev

^ And more 2x2 m and up surfaces.
5) Bridge takes about 20% of my CPU every time I have it open (even if minimized). 4790K here.

Synaesthesia

Keep the feedback coming! We're monitoring this thread.

@gnoop

1. 4m scans are coming soon!

2. So long as you're creating work as an indie artist or studio, you won't need a full studio license.

4. You can soon! We're adding custom material support ASAP!

defragger

Synaesthesia said:

Keep the feedback coming! We're monitoring this thread.


1. 4m scans are coming soon!

any chance of 8m scans? That would be sweet.

Synaesthesia

8m scans would theoretically be possible. If we create them, it'll be closer to year's end.

Maximum-Dev

6) The albedo for this scan is too dark. https://megascans.se/assets/pftmA0

(Cropped a very small part of it)

Synaesthesia

Use the "report this asset here" button for that one, @Maximum-Dev. It's located directly below the Download button.

gnoop

I didn't try Megascan Suite yet but from the video it still lacks some very important yet very common features of regular image editors.    An ability to crop/copy image into pieces, re-scale  and re-compose  it into a new one.   Hand paint  depth adjustment/variations in-between layers .    In a word  to make a new variant covering bigger space  non-repetitively.  

I don't know any solution to do it right procedurally.   "Make it tile" from Substance Designer rather mess things up  to something losing its natural appearance and in general   hardly usable with hi res scanned sources.    Imo we in need of decent texture composer  with  Z/depth combine for years already.     End nobody yet  tried to fill this gap really.   

While both Photoshop and Substance Designer are capable to do so,  both are extremely inconvenient ,   each from it's own  perspective.   Zbrush 2,5 mode is just pure archaic and totally destructible   so not an option too.

Steppenwolf

Finaly found the time to give the new Megascans Studio and Bridge a proper shot. Love how straightforward, easy to use and quick Studio is.
At the same time i catch myself thinking i wish i could do this and that that i can do in Substance, so i'm really looking forward to see how Studio will evolve and how both tools will compete in the future for composing of scanned content.

I would say in the short term high on the priority list should be masking and randomizing options. Would also be nice to be able to set things back to their default values.

The quality of the Megascans assets is outstanding. Good job and congrats to the successful release!

Maximum-Dev

7) At Bridge all tile sizes are the same so we can't see what size each scan is i.e 1x1 m, 2x2 etc. A small size indicator on each tile would be helpful.

oglu

on my wishlist are two things for now...

1. mask painting for layers in megascans studio....
2. custom geomentry...

Synaesthesia

Those are actually on our wishlist too!

WarmHotTea

8K Texture options are not available on Google Chrome on my side. I thought it was omitted on launch of the megascans till I try it the Edge browser. I can see the 8K option with Edge now. Is it just me having this on Chrome? 
EDIT: Hmm not browser related. I login on Edge and 8K option is gone now. Is this a bug or do I have to pay more for other subscription or something ? 
EDITII: Seems mostly 3D Meshes have the 8K option. So its ok now.
Cheers.

waqarazim

WarmHotTea said:

8K Texture options are not available on Google Chrome on my side. I thought it was omitted on launch of the megascans till I try it the Edge browser. I can see the 8K option with Edge now. Is it just me having this on Chrome? 
EDIT: Hmm not browser related. I login on Edge and 8K option is gone now. Is this a bug or do I have to pay more for other subscription or something ? 
EDITII: Seems mostly 3D Meshes have the 8K option. So its ok now.
Cheers.

Actually it depends on the subscription you have purchased. You can see what resolution your susbcription supports by checking out the plans here (http://megascans.se/pricing)

Do note that the free sample assets are available for download at the highest resolutions which is what you might be on when seeing 8K options. Let me know if theres any confusion.

Cheers,

Maximum-Dev

The library is showing no items for me. It's all empty. As well as the My Scans and Favorites tabs.
Happens often. But they appear after some time.

Edit: Thanks for the new Bridge update. CPU is now free!

Maximum-Dev

8) One thing I have came to notice is that the roughness maps aren't really that good. What I'm seeing is that roughness maps have a shading direction as if it was built on the normal map G channel. The other thing is that the roughness maps don't represent the surface roughness very well i.e if there is a small water puddle on the ground the roughness of that wet part is the same as the dry chunks of the material. I know these are automatically created but maybe you can improve that a little more.

Maximum-Dev

Hello Quixelers,
Here's the first couple rows of the library. Feels life as if you have scanned many of them once, then flipped them and scanned again. What is the backside usually used for? because the silhouette is almost exactly the same between the two. I'm thinking it might have been useful for films somehow. But would like to know more specifically.

Billy Lundevall

Hello, well sometimes you do see the bottom of a plant. For example, when you are walking in a forest with very tall trees. They are also there just in case somebody wants the actual scanned underside on their plant, or to get the unique values of the underside for an automatic shader .

Maximum-Dev

Thanks for the reply.
Would be really nice to have 3D preview of the 3D models. Like Marmoset viewer or Sketchfab..

Fisher007

I just came across this and wanted to say that I really second Maximum-Dev's suggestion having 3D preview, or at least higher resolution preview images. Right now I'm looking for big rocks and it's really hard/impossible to judge if they have the right kind of surface details that I'm looking for.

Fisher007

Another issue I just found: it seems that there is no option for 3D meshes to export out AO maps, while there is for tiling materials. Am I doing something wrong or do they really not exist for meshes?

Synaesthesia

You can generate texture space AO from the normals supplied. The AO itself can be generated using a tool like xNormal for the low-poly mesh, although there wouldn't be a whole lot of occlusion on most of these rocks.

tmammela

I like your assets mostly. There was a problem with one asset, it was saved with the most brand new FBX format so not even Autodesk FBX converter could open it. BUT I did contact Megascans support and they were quite helpful. In the end they said that there might be some assets that can't be "repaired", but they will make sure that they will use more compatible formats in all new assets.

One wish: you have lots of great 3D stone assets, but all of them are quite sharp and rough stones. I couldn't find a single smooth stone! I need them for shores where all stones have been smoothed round by the water during thousands of years.