NDO 2 - Need Help
polycounter lvl 10
Hey guys, I've just purchased NDO2 finally and so far its been pretty usefull. I do have an issue that keeps popping up and before I file an official post to Quixel, I want to make sure there isn't an easy fix.
I am working on a texture for a character and have baked out the hipoly details using xnormal. I am trying to convert the normal into a height map. Everytime I try the map is generated but althought the texture is the same dimensions, the document shrinks down to around 100 pixels. I am using a 4096 map in TGA format. NDO also breaks down everytime i have multiple layers within the document i am trying to convert. It will only work when flat. Has anyone been suffering this problem.
Before anyone says, I know i could rebake the heights using xnormal, but that takes too long since the original files are huge. Also I do know Xnormal can do a conversion of this sort but I want to resolve my issue with ndo since i want to maintain a simple pipelne in a future project.
I am working on a texture for a character and have baked out the hipoly details using xnormal. I am trying to convert the normal into a height map. Everytime I try the map is generated but althought the texture is the same dimensions, the document shrinks down to around 100 pixels. I am using a 4096 map in TGA format. NDO also breaks down everytime i have multiple layers within the document i am trying to convert. It will only work when flat. Has anyone been suffering this problem.
Before anyone says, I know i could rebake the heights using xnormal, but that takes too long since the original files are huge. Also I do know Xnormal can do a conversion of this sort but I want to resolve my issue with ndo since i want to maintain a simple pipelne in a future project.
Replies
@NAIMA, i believe there is a trial but don't know since i had ndo2 since beta, but it;s workflow is not comparable to CB or XN at all, takes a very different and much more flexible approach to creating normal maps in PS.
but why do you need your normal map converted at all? i mean, you would add some more normal mapping on top of your baked stuff. you can paint some greyscale stuff, convert it with ndo and then overlay it on your bake.
@naima: the good thing with nDo, opposed to crazybump, is the use of photoshops layer system. You cna simultaneously create a normal map layers for big and small shapes and then, for instance, if you dont like the small ones, you can just hide em. or change the settings. without thouching the big shapes, too.
And btw did anyone try ddo?
Just try it, hard to explain ndo2 to someone who hasn't used ndo1 or 2, since it is so different from CB.
@passerby - The only reason i really want to try and convert this way is to make sure ndo is working properly. This feature would be perfect when there is no hipoly model to work from and all details are fleshed out in ndo.
@xXm0RpH3usXx - Unfortunatly I dont have Nvidia filters since last I checked they didn't work with an ATI graphics card. Again the same reason i dont paint it out myself is to make sure the software is working. As mentioned in my post i know there are many ways to achieve this without baking. As to the reason for why I am converting a height from normal is to add a new texture for marmoset that will make use of tesselation and parallaxmapping. It will define the overall shape for the model much clearly without tearing the normal and give an extra "pop". For a lot of directx11 shaders, the use of a normal and height(displacement) can be quite effective.
Yes i have also tried ddo but I found that it takes alot of work to get a unique texture and the features it has for dirt and grime along with preset materials look stylised. If you have the time to play around with it you can get some great results and I would recommend it for creating base textures. Although alot of people are probably used to standard methods of texture creation.
As mentioned above in my post, The objective of trying to get ndo working is to try and create a pipeling that with remove the need of hipoly modelling. I know many people out there will probably question the decision but this would not be my major pipeling and would be used in instances where hipoly modelling can be avoided. For character art, hipoly modelling cannot be replaced but for environments, this process is sometimes taxing and to achieve a great result in a short space of time I think ndo will be the best option. Let me know what you think, I am open to try alternative methods.
As for the multiple layer "problem", can you explain what you're doing? Try to do this with multiple layers:
-Ctrl + A (Select all)
-Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy merged, like copying a flattened layer)
-nDo: Convert CLIPBOARD to heightmap
That might not be the problem at all, but check your memory usage, maybe your computer can't handle 4k, don't know (Photoshop is using 6.7 GB currently for me).
the last entry with an image might help
he says he