xNormal v3.0 ( normal mapper tool )

[jogshy]

Originally Posted by discmage

... put in a gizmo for transforming cage vertices (move/scale/rotate similar to 3DSMax gizmo (restricted axis etc)).....Flatten selected vertices to Axis...

Good suggestions indeed. Both will be present in xn4.

When i tourn on Launch viewer in xNormal i have this message :
"this graphics drivers is in alpha state.that means can be unstable and is not yet finished and neither well optimized"

That's because you changed the default graphics driver to the software ray tracing one.
Change the default graphics driver to DX9/Dx10/OpenGL (using the plugin manager) to solve it.

[magia]

Thanks Jogshy, do you know maybe how it could happen i really didn't change it myself , maybe there is some keyboard for this and i put it by accident, because i switch all the time between 4 programs working.

[discmage]

I am having a slight issue with generating normal maps. FOr some reason the maps generated don't look like your standard tangent space map...more like a world space map. Am I muissing something here?

I've tried most of the buttons in Xnormal (I think), I have reset Xform and tried all I could think of in regards to smoothing groups and the like from Max. I can't seem to get it anything LIKE a standard bake similar to what render to texture would do in Max. It worked for my other characters...just not this one! Any help would be appreciated.



Oh, and good news about those cage tweaks on XN4

[jogshy]

Are you checking in the "Tangent space" option in the normal map's options dialog(press the ... button on the Maps to generate->normal map)? If not, a world-space normal map will be generated.

Also sure your UVs aren't overlapping.... and don't (don't don't don't!) use the super-bugged old 3dsmax's max2obj exporter!

On the other hand... are you using cages or constant uniform ray distances?
Notice if you're using cages then they must cover COMPLETELY the highpoly model.

Try to render a "Wireframe and ray fails" with the "Discard backface hits on ray fail" option enabled to see if the rays are failing. I bet what's happening is that the rays are hitting the back faces on the highpoly model due to an incorrect ray distance setup.

And sure the NM's swizzle is set to the default one ( which is X+Y+Z+ ) ... because perhaps you changed it and that's what's messing it hehe!

About xn4, the alpha 1 will be released soon(end of June probably).

[discmage]

doesn't seem to be any of those things...I am completely stumped unfortunately.

[NeXt 0ne]

Hello.
Last few days i've been filding to make xnormal work for cinema 4d. it looks like no mater how i try, what setings do i change, how many tuts do i see i just cant get it looking right. My problem is, i think i get somehow fliped normals, but the thing is c4d has build in function for fliping xyz chanels i fliped al of them tried all combinations. I baked in tangent spae normal. I am really lost here, can somebody try to render this out. I uploaded filles, it's just a test anyway. HALP ME

http://rapidshare.com/files/283143449/lowpoly.obj.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/283143583/highpoly.obj.html

[NeXt 0ne]

I tried to bake my maps as a object space normals, and they work superb now. But why wount it work as a tangent space normal ? i need them to be tanged spaced, so i can mirror them and all.

[jogshy]

@Next: Sorry, I don't know in depth Cinema 4D.
I think it uses an OpenGL's coordinate system like xNormal ( X+ to the right, Y+ to up and Z+ from back to front )... but, just in case, try to use a X+Y-Z+ swizzling when you generate the TS-normal map from xNormal.

If object space works ok then it's surely a tangent space problem.
Sorry... I can't tell you more

Btw... the two parallel lines appear in the normal map because you should setup a cage instead of using contant ray distances.

[NeXt 0ne]

I figured it out, but i have new problem. In cinema i can't use smothing groups. Well, they are there, but i can't export them in obj or other format. it's a shame.