Maya tangent space

dzibarik

I've baked a test cube into Maya tangent space and yet it looks like that in Maya 2016 (gradients). Is Marmoset still synced with Maya or was it for some old version like 2012?

EarthQuake

dzibarik said:

I've baked a test cube into Maya tangent space and yet it looks like that in Maya 2016 (gradients). Is Marmoset still synced with Maya or was it for some old version like 2012?

Hey, as far as I am aware Maya's tangent space has not changed. The way Maya calculates normals changed I think (it now defaults to face weighted), but that shouldn't affect the tangent space.

To get the best results when baking, you're going to want to make sure the mesh is triangulated before exporting to Toolbag. In Maya, triangulating the mesh changes the normals as well, so you should also lock the normals before triangulating. Basically, try this:

1. Lock normals
2. Triangulate
3. Export
4. Undo

Do that every time you send a mesh out of Maya for best results.
Also, inside Toolbag 3, make sure your lowpoly mesh's tangent space (in the mesh object's properties) is set to Maya . The baker will bake to whichever tangent space you have selected for your low. You can set the default tangent space in Edit -> Preferences.

vickgaza

@EarthQuake
Sorry for resurrecting this thread for a quick question but was reading through the forum as I`m seeking some clarifications on a few normal map things. 
So on a high level, I`m curious how does Triangulating before a bake help, if I end up undoing the triangulation as you describe.
Surely if I undo the triangulation, upon exporting the quad-ed mesh I triangulated previously to the engine will get re-triangulated anyways right ? Am I missing something ? 

EarthQuake

vickgaza said:

@EarthQuake
Sorry for resurrecting this thread for a quick question but was reading through the forum as I`m seeking some clarifications on a few normal map things. 
So on a high level, I`m curious how does Triangulating before a bake help, if I end up undoing the triangulation as you describe.
Surely if I undo the triangulation, upon exporting the quad-ed mesh I triangulated previously to the engine will get re-triangulated anyways right ? Am I missing something ? 

Yes, generally you would want to triangulate before exporting to the game engine too, to make sure the triangulation is consistent all around. The basic problem is that your 3D engine, your 3D app, and Toolbag may all decide to triangulate faces differently, so manual triangulation ensures consistency.

vickgaza

Thank you for the reply @EarthQuake !   Have a lovely weekend