sharethread - what do you preview normalmaps with
grand marshal polycounter
Hi all,
I thought that with the increasing number of engines and standalone apps availlable it would be nice to a thread here where we could gather the different methods we use to preview lit normalmaps in realtime (renders banned!). Obviously in-engine solutions are always the best for studio work but I am mostly thinking about solutions available to the individual ie with tools easily at reach. This includes :
- Viewport preview in Max, Maya and others with either built-in solutions or custom shaders,
- Standalone viewers and/or bakers ala Xnormal
- Editors shipped with released games.
Please don't post a full list of available solutions since we are aware of most of them more or less. Plus we already had something like that here amongst others. I'm thinking more along the lines of individual artists posting the solution(s) they end up using for what and what reason. Posting personal work showing finished pieces would be nice also. Also feel free to elaborate on somebody else's post.
I'll start.
---
DerTon's md5 viewer
Normals generated in Max.
I used that because it was one of the first and only app by then to support all the basic maps (spec diff normal+overlaid BW bump) and it also supports cast shadows. Those are just like Doom3's ie projected geo shadows hence have polygonal edges as opposed to the more recent texture-based selfshaows, but still, neat.
Supports mirrored normalmaps.
Downside : No way to boost the maps inside the viewer. If the spec is not speccy enough you have to edit the source image accordingly.
Personal examples:
Bobodemon - handpainted normals.
Aquaboy - with cast shadows.
Careful too. Early versions of the app supported so-called 'classic' normalmaps very well but then it seems the author modified it's code in order too, I think, display the Doom3 default ones instead (smarter angle precision basically). I can dig up an old version if needed.
---
JI Styles' Skinshader, 3DSMax .fx
Normals generated in Max and/or Xnormal
I like it not only for skin but also for metals and stuff since it gives great controls to boost specular parameters or instance. Also the 'skin' bit is just an option you can very well put the fake transluency to zero and you've got a rock solid, all-around shader.
Supports mirrored normalmaps.
Downside : no self shadows nor cast shadows. Have to bake cast shadows to a groundplane.
Personal example:
FZero challenge
Feel free to add your own examples, correct eachother's misconceptions aso. But please post visual examples each time.
I thought that with the increasing number of engines and standalone apps availlable it would be nice to a thread here where we could gather the different methods we use to preview lit normalmaps in realtime (renders banned!). Obviously in-engine solutions are always the best for studio work but I am mostly thinking about solutions available to the individual ie with tools easily at reach. This includes :
- Viewport preview in Max, Maya and others with either built-in solutions or custom shaders,
- Standalone viewers and/or bakers ala Xnormal
- Editors shipped with released games.
Please don't post a full list of available solutions since we are aware of most of them more or less. Plus we already had something like that here amongst others. I'm thinking more along the lines of individual artists posting the solution(s) they end up using for what and what reason. Posting personal work showing finished pieces would be nice also. Also feel free to elaborate on somebody else's post.
I'll start.
---
DerTon's md5 viewer
Normals generated in Max.
I used that because it was one of the first and only app by then to support all the basic maps (spec diff normal+overlaid BW bump) and it also supports cast shadows. Those are just like Doom3's ie projected geo shadows hence have polygonal edges as opposed to the more recent texture-based selfshaows, but still, neat.
Supports mirrored normalmaps.
Downside : No way to boost the maps inside the viewer. If the spec is not speccy enough you have to edit the source image accordingly.
Personal examples:
Bobodemon - handpainted normals.
Aquaboy - with cast shadows.
Careful too. Early versions of the app supported so-called 'classic' normalmaps very well but then it seems the author modified it's code in order too, I think, display the Doom3 default ones instead (smarter angle precision basically). I can dig up an old version if needed.
---
JI Styles' Skinshader, 3DSMax .fx
Normals generated in Max and/or Xnormal
I like it not only for skin but also for metals and stuff since it gives great controls to boost specular parameters or instance. Also the 'skin' bit is just an option you can very well put the fake transluency to zero and you've got a rock solid, all-around shader.
Supports mirrored normalmaps.
Downside : no self shadows nor cast shadows. Have to bake cast shadows to a groundplane.
Personal example:
FZero challenge
Feel free to add your own examples, correct eachother's misconceptions aso. But please post visual examples each time.
Replies
ShaderFX from Lumonix is probably my main one. It allows you to build your own shaders with a simple node-based editor. I can quickly make a shader to preview my base, normal and spec map.
personal example:
ShaderFX
xNormal is what I use for generating most of my maps, because of it's speed and antialiasing capabilities on floating geometry. It's viewer is no slouch though. It can preview any common map, including emissive and displacement maps. It also supports soft shadows, which is a nice touch.
personal example:
xNormal