Wow Teddy. Awesome update. Thanks for adding that close button (for all of us mac users). I like the tiling option and remove button as well. Good additions.
Photoshop custom brushes will no have a more significant meaning to me than they ever have before. You've made a significant impact on game design and workflow.
Teddy, you are now IMMORTAL.
You are getting this issue most probably because of a corrupt PS preference file. During startup, press CTRL+SHIFT+ALT until a preference reset menu appears - then reset it all, and nDo should start working!
throttlekitty,
I'm sorry about the download. I use Silverlight because it really makes web development more fast and powerful, and the dev tools are wonderful. I know it's still very new to many, but my experience so far tells me it is of good and not evil, despite it being a M$ product. Forgive me again for the extra download,
Yes, this is something I too have been thinking about. The bevel curves sadly do not work in that desired way though (create a sculpt normal and play around with its bevel curve settings 'Gloss contour' and you'll see what I mean). There might be a way though, I will keep you posted if my tests show promise.
I have a little request.
Aside of what Peris suggested with the contour curves something like this would be enormously helpfull in my oppinion.
So you can just select the different regions with the magic wand tool and fill them with wood, metal etc to block out the diffuse/spec/gloss.
I made a copy of all the folders, collapsed eatch individual by hand and assigned a layerstyle with solid fill to them, picking some random colour everytime. Took a whille to finish with dozends of groups.
How do you people currently proced from normal to diffuse meaning how do you create the masks for the different materials?
I will make sure to implement such a feature. This weekend is a bit busy for me, but rest assured you'll see it soon enough.
Also!
For those who don't have Silverlight installed, or do not want to install it, there is now a (quite simplified) html version of the site, which auto-loads if the SL plug-in is not installed. On this simplified version you have access to all necessary links to get you going with nDo.
can t say enough thanks for this tool man! seriously awesome!!, also thats very nice tutorial Philip. I ve been dreamin of some instance tool for a while so this is really cool! besides the other goodness.
teddy:
I have two more suggestions.
Concerning the solid fill you plan. It would be cool to select a gradient where the colours are chosen from. That way nDo would be able to concept different colour variations which could be used afterwards if they turn out nicely.
The other thing would be normal -> height map.
Not shure if you can do this, but since you managed to do normal -> cavity maybe this is possible too.
Your generosity amazes me, thanks for the sharing this amazing tool! Its crazy how once in a while someone like you will take something this good and just give it away, and then proceed to implement new features by requests, idunno, its shocking, especially with so many people out there trying to make a quick buck off of small tool sets like this, and sets not even a fraction as good. Thanks Teddy for the tool and Philip for the tutorial:)
Hey teddy, it's kinda slow for me. Just wondering, doing the first F3 press on a layer takes a few seconds, but every adjustment after that is just as slow. I can sometimes wait for 10+ seconds to get an adjustment calculated. It's better on an new file (also 2048 ), but dunno, takes the fun out of it for me.
oh and my PC is good enough to never give me trouble with anything.
Thanks for your feedback. There is now a new update addressing this, in the form of a new button called "Optimize". This collapses the currently selected normal into a smart object. Optimizing normal layers this way greatly improves the performace when working with many normal layers in high resolution PSD:s. If an optimized normal is selected when nDo is run, the normal will automatically dissolve and become an editable normal to the user again.
So try running "Optimize" on your normal layers and let me know how the speed picks up.
Another minor addition is that there is now a changelog included in the .ZIP.
Hey teddy, it's kinda slow for me. Just wondering, doing the first F3 press on a layer takes a few seconds, but every adjustment after that is just as slow. I can sometimes wait for 10+ seconds to get an adjustment calculated. It's better on an new file (also 2048 ), but dunno, takes the fun out of it for me.
oh and my PC is good enough to never give me trouble with anything.
Ok, I hope this is gonna help. I had about 3-4 crashes already because it gets so insanely heavy on my PC, was about to complain about it but then I see the update
edit: I can see why it starts crashing, there was 20gb worth of Photoshop temp files on my harddrive, just from an hour of working
As requested by THE 5 there is now a button "Make color" for converting your normal document into a color map. You can either choose a custom color palette as base for the map, or apply random colors.
I have made a plan for a new optimization feature, which will drastically reduce the normal map file size, especially in cases such as your own. Bare with me!
This looks awesome, definitely giving it a try soon. I was hoping for something that gets you the detail/control from a bake but without leaving PS, and a black/white map and the nvidea filters didn't really give me that result.
I'm having a problem on latest version, trying to edit a previous layer with NDO and when moving Depth slider it freezes PS, any key pressed make a 'beep' sound.
I think I figured it out. When working furthermore on it I duplicated layers not instancing them, and those seem to crash the script when adjusting settings.
Needs extensive testing but I'm almost sure that's the reason.
I think I figured it out. When working furthermore on it I duplicated layers not instancing them, and those seem to crash the script when adjusting settings.
Needs extensive testing but I'm almost sure that's the reason.
Hi ParoXum, I have no idea if this is the case. But if you manually duplicate a nDo layer group it will add "Copy XX" at the end of the name which will mess up the group when trying to edit it with nDo. If you just remove the Copy at the end of the name it should work, I've done this a few times.
Apologies if your problem is due to something completely different
Also, I'm glad some of you have found the tutorial useful, thanks!
Great tool guys.I've been trying a lot with it.Now normal mapping workflow will be much faster because of the interactivity.Thanks a lot Teddy and Phillip.
I am currently having a issue only with my Photoshop CS2.When i try to create a normal map from a tileable map through "nDO" , even though i choose it's a tileable map, nDo leaves a bevel border for the normal.But it happens only in photoshop CS2 not in photoshop CS5.It's the same file.But different output.
Sorry about this, as I mentioned a few pages back this is due to a design difference between CS2 and later versions of PS (namely how smart objects work). Due to this difference, CS2 users are not able to use the bevel removal and normal tiling features of nDo. I'm very sorry about this.
As requested by THE 5 there is now a button "Make color" for converting your normal document into a color map. You can either choose a custom color palette as base for the map, or apply random colors.
You could have been milionary with a such tool !!! Just tried it today and while i was testing i got adrenaline climbing into my head ... Result are pure power !
I'm really sad, i cannot share the result here but i did pictures before/after using my old methods and with nDo now.
How did you manage to create this ? You're genious !!! Nobody in this industry was able since 2005 to create a such tool, Nvidia, etc ...
Thanks man i'll donate you !
Ps : Why did you post it here ? And not inside Technical talks ? I never go inside this thread ...
Amazing tool, but I have a serious issue!. This is my computer at home:
Windows 7 (English) 64 bit and Photoshop CS5
And this tool works flawlessly. But on the computers I've tried at school:
Windows 7 (Japanese) 64 bit and Photoshop CS5
Windows 7 (Japanese) 64 bit and Photoshop CS4
And every time I try to make a normal, the part that should become normal stays white.
The only difference is that Windows is in Japanese, but on the action list all the stuff that it does shows in Japanese too so that shouldn't be a problem.
I've also tried resetting the preferences using Shift-Ctrl-Alt and also going to the Photoshop CS5 folder and deleting the preference file/s by myself, but nothing changes...
I really appreciate your enthusiasm, thank you for the heart-warming words and your good will
Mik2121,
This actually is a serious issue that has come to my attention just recently. Apparently, some Photoshop scripting features do not run on non-english versions of Photoshop. This means nDo will currently run only for those with English versions installed, which is just not acceptable. I'm investigating a solution for this localization problem, and will let you all know the moment I've fixed it.
I've used it on a "easter European" version of CS5, with the language information altered so that it goes back to English in all of the menus. That was on a English version of XP 32bit though. Just it helps some anyways (:
And great tool I'm going to really try it out in the near future on my ongoing project, i'll see how that turns out (:
...
This means nDo will currently run only for those with English versions installed, which is just not acceptable. I'm investigating a solution for this localization problem, and will let you all know the moment I've fixed it.
...
I use german Win7 x64 aswell as german photoshop CS4, and nDo works flawless. Maybe that information somewhat helps :S
I've used it on a "easter European" version of CS5, with the language information altered so that it goes back to English in all of the menus. That was on a English version of XP 32bit though. Just it helps some anyways (:
And great tool I'm going to really try it out in the near future on my ongoing project, i'll see how that turns out (:
Uhm? Could you tell me how you did that? I thought Photoshop was only in one language when you install it :O
EDIT - I tried having a friend sending me his ja_JP folder from "Locale" inside the Photoshop CS5 folder and changing the language to Japanese that way, but when I restart PS I get an error saying it couldn't verify the license for that language. WTF Adobe?...
Thanks everyone for helping me nail this one! I'll keep you posted on the fix.
Just a minor remark, I've updated cgted.com with a help section, trying to provide solutions for the most common issues. It is a bit basic right now, but I will make sure to extend it continuously.
Uhm? Could you tell me how you did that? I thought Photoshop was only in one language when you install it :O
EDIT - I tried having a friend sending me his ja_JP folder from "Locale" inside the Photoshop CS5 folder and changing the language to Japanese that way, but when I restart PS I get an error saying it couldn't verify the license for that language. WTF Adobe?...
Replies
jeffro - how'd you manage to get squared off buttons in OSX?
mine uses the water droplet buttons and clips off the labels.
Do you guys have a changelog somewhere and a way for me to tell which version I have to help keep up to date?
I just made a website dedicated to the tool -- it's quite basic right now, but at least it shows when the latest revision was added
http://cgted.com/
Check it out! It requires Silverlight (a great new web app framework, download link appears automatically if it isn't already installed).
Teddy
Teddy, you are now IMMORTAL.
But why?
You are getting this issue most probably because of a corrupt PS preference file. During startup, press CTRL+SHIFT+ALT until a preference reset menu appears - then reset it all, and nDo should start working!
throttlekitty,
I'm sorry about the download. I use Silverlight because it really makes web development more fast and powerful, and the dev tools are wonderful. I know it's still very new to many, but my experience so far tells me it is of good and not evil, despite it being a M$ product. Forgive me again for the extra download,
Teddy
thank you it works! but under windows seven the preferences are in other paths
here this helps alot for other seven user's with PS CS4
Aside of what Peris suggested with the contour curves something like this would be enormously helpfull in my oppinion.
So you can just select the different regions with the magic wand tool and fill them with wood, metal etc to block out the diffuse/spec/gloss.
I made a copy of all the folders, collapsed eatch individual by hand and assigned a layerstyle with solid fill to them, picking some random colour everytime. Took a whille to finish with dozends of groups.
How do you people currently proced from normal to diffuse meaning how do you create the masks for the different materials?
I will make sure to implement such a feature. This weekend is a bit busy for me, but rest assured you'll see it soon enough.
Also!
For those who don't have Silverlight installed, or do not want to install it, there is now a (quite simplified) html version of the site, which auto-loads if the SL plug-in is not installed. On this simplified version you have access to all necessary links to get you going with nDo.
Check it out @ http://cgted.com!
Teddy
AWESOME!
You may use this tool in any way you like, there are no restrictions. I'd love to see what you'll come up with!
Teddy
I have two more suggestions.
Concerning the solid fill you plan. It would be cool to select a gradient where the colours are chosen from. That way nDo would be able to concept different colour variations which could be used afterwards if they turn out nicely.
The other thing would be normal -> height map.
Not shure if you can do this, but since you managed to do normal -> cavity maybe this is possible too.
oh and my PC is good enough to never give me trouble with anything.
Thanks for your feedback. There is now a new update addressing this, in the form of a new button called "Optimize". This collapses the currently selected normal into a smart object. Optimizing normal layers this way greatly improves the performace when working with many normal layers in high resolution PSD:s. If an optimized normal is selected when nDo is run, the normal will automatically dissolve and become an editable normal to the user again.
So try running "Optimize" on your normal layers and let me know how the speed picks up.
Another minor addition is that there is now a changelog included in the .ZIP.
Get the latest version here: http://cgted.com/nDo.zip
Teddy
edit: I can see why it starts crashing, there was 20gb worth of Photoshop temp files on my harddrive, just from an hour of working
As requested by THE 5 there is now a button "Make color" for converting your normal document into a color map. You can either choose a custom color palette as base for the map, or apply random colors.
Get the latest version here: http://cgted.com/nDo.zip
Xoliul,
I have made a plan for a new optimization feature, which will drastically reduce the normal map file size, especially in cases such as your own. Bare with me!
Teddy
Always has to kill myself the PS process.
Vista, PS CS3, 2048 pixels document.
Did previous versions of nDo work for you? I can't think of anything in the updates that could possibly have caused this.
Thanks for the report,
Teddy
Needs extensive testing but I'm almost sure that's the reason.
Hi ParoXum, I have no idea if this is the case. But if you manually duplicate a nDo layer group it will add "Copy XX" at the end of the name which will mess up the group when trying to edit it with nDo. If you just remove the Copy at the end of the name it should work, I've done this a few times.
Apologies if your problem is due to something completely different
Also, I'm glad some of you have found the tutorial useful, thanks!
And yeah Philipk, your tutorials are all excellent.
I am currently having a issue only with my Photoshop CS2.When i try to create a normal map from a tileable map through "nDO" , even though i choose it's a tileable map, nDo leaves a bevel border for the normal.But it happens only in photoshop CS2 not in photoshop CS5.It's the same file.But different output.
Great job on the tool guys and awesome support.
Sorry about this, as I mentioned a few pages back this is due to a design difference between CS2 and later versions of PS (namely how smart objects work). Due to this difference, CS2 users are not able to use the bevel removal and normal tiling features of nDo. I'm very sorry about this.
Teddy
Thanks for the reply.
Thanks a billion man!
Check out the dedicated website for nDo, and you will find a great tutorial and how to instal instruction from there
_Revel
Man your soft is a killer app,
You could have been milionary with a such tool !!! Just tried it today and while i was testing i got adrenaline climbing into my head ... Result are pure power !
I'm really sad, i cannot share the result here but i did pictures before/after using my old methods and with nDo now.
How did you manage to create this ? You're genious !!! Nobody in this industry was able since 2005 to create a such tool, Nvidia, etc ...
Thanks man i'll donate you !
Ps : Why did you post it here ? And not inside Technical talks ? I never go inside this thread ...
Windows 7 (English) 64 bit and Photoshop CS5
And this tool works flawlessly. But on the computers I've tried at school:
Windows 7 (Japanese) 64 bit and Photoshop CS5
Windows 7 (Japanese) 64 bit and Photoshop CS4
And every time I try to make a normal, the part that should become normal stays white.
The only difference is that Windows is in Japanese, but on the action list all the stuff that it does shows in Japanese too so that shouldn't be a problem.
I've also tried resetting the preferences using Shift-Ctrl-Alt and also going to the Photoshop CS5 folder and deleting the preference file/s by myself, but nothing changes...
I really appreciate your enthusiasm, thank you for the heart-warming words and your good will
Mik2121,
This actually is a serious issue that has come to my attention just recently. Apparently, some Photoshop scripting features do not run on non-english versions of Photoshop. This means nDo will currently run only for those with English versions installed, which is just not acceptable. I'm investigating a solution for this localization problem, and will let you all know the moment I've fixed it.
And great tool
I use german Win7 x64 aswell as german photoshop CS4, and nDo works flawless. Maybe that information somewhat helps :S
Uhm? Could you tell me how you did that? I thought Photoshop was only in one language when you install it :O
EDIT - I tried having a friend sending me his ja_JP folder from "Locale" inside the Photoshop CS5 folder and changing the language to Japanese that way, but when I restart PS I get an error saying it couldn't verify the license for that language. WTF Adobe?...
Just a minor remark, I've updated cgted.com with a help section, trying to provide solutions for the most common issues. It is a bit basic right now, but I will make sure to extend it continuously.
Teddy
I followed this little guide and it worked well..