Exporting height map from substance, to use as noise maker in Zbrush (Problem)

processornine

I'm trying to generate some height maps in substance designer and then exporting them for adding tileable height to sculpts in Zbrush. Sometimes using noisemaker, sometimes just using as alpha for a drag rectangle or something.

Right now I'm exporting the height map directly from substance. Anyway, I can't work out how to do it properly. My alpha is showing very distorted and blocky when applying the alpha. I've tried exporting as .png, .tiff, opening and saving in photoshop before importing to zbrush, changing intensity etc. Nothing works.

Does anyone have a solution to this or seen this before? Does anybody already do this, and can recommend a solution or better workflow?

Thanks

poopipe

Last time I looked at this I established that zbrush can't import high bit depth images - it converts everything to 8bit on the way in. 

The only reason I can think of for this is that it's shit and the developers are idiots. 

I imagine there is a convoluted workaround involving creating meshes and capturing alphas from them but I couldn't be bothered fannying around with it and did the work elsewhere

Benjammin

Zbrush definitely accepts 16bit images. Its picky about file formats (I don't think it accepts TIFs?) but will import PSDs.
Make sure you're exporting at 16bit from Designer (your final output node should show "16bpp") -  if you export at 8bit, photoshop can't recreate the lost data. It might also help to save the output directly rather than with the export tools (There's a save button in the 2D viewer). 

Neox

PSD set to greyscale at 16 bit or 32 bit usually works fine for me

gnoop

Zbrush is  a weird  strange thing.     Providing a few unique and fantastically handy features   revolutionized CG   and at the same time   tremendously , monstrously  inconvenient in evry other  small feature and  every  interface detail .  

Through years turning into undecipherable mess of outdated  tools  and a pile of information rubbish  you  are trashing your brain  with.      Looks like someone  trying   to turn in into kind of jack of  all trades  while staying blind to  decades old all same huge issues.

I stopped bothering to learn about updates for pretty a while ago and gradually moving into Blender and 3d coat sculpting just for sake of  simplicity.  To tired of non stop Zbrush puzzles

poopipe

Neox said:

PSD set to greyscale at 16 bit or 32 bit usually works fine for me

That'll be why I missed it - I dont do PSD as a rule. 
I don't suppose it's worth holding our breaths for a fix, I've seen how long it takes to get a response from their customer service

gnoop

Zbrush  reads 32 bit exr   files as  alpha/displacement .   From Blender and 3dmax (set as RGB, not RGBA)         But unfortunately not from Substance Designer for some unknown reason .

Neox

just tested, greyscale tif from photoshop also works. will test with substance

Neox

yerp even tho the settings should be the same. they somehow are not. but that seeams to be an issue on substance designers side (maybe its my lack of knowledge, but i put in a 16 bit map and output it at 16 bit and raw tif, also tested srgb and linear, similar results but even less stepts.

it should be the same - it even looks the same in photoshop. but one file works, the other doesnt