| 1 | [[TOC]] |
| 2 | = Parallax Normal Maps = |
| 3 | == Introduction == |
| 4 | The Pyrogenesis engine supports a type of map called a 'parallax map' in addition to [wiki:NormalMaps normal maps]. Those maps are a special kind of [wiki:NormalMaps normal maps] with an alpha channel. The alpha channel defines the intensity of the parallax effect. |
| 5 | |
| 6 | |
| 7 | |
| 8 | == Examples == |
| 9 | |
| 10 | **Important**: The parallax map only work if there is actual normal information: |
| 11 | |
| 12 | ||= Combinations =||= Result =|| |
| 13 | || Alpha + Normal || Big effect || |
| 14 | || Normal || Small effect || |
| 15 | || Alpha - Normal || No effect || |
| 16 | || Plain Normal `#8080ff` || No effect || |
| 17 | |
| 18 | Full transparency (Alpha at `#000000` (Black)) means maximum depth. |
| 19 | No transparency (Alpha at `#FFFFFF` (White)) means no parallax. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | To disable parallax completely you need to use a [wiki:MaterialSystem material] without: |
| 22 | |
| 23 | {{{#!xml |
| 24 | <define name="USE_PARALLAX" value="1"/> |
| 25 | }}} |
| 26 | |
| 27 | == Tips == |
| 28 | |
| 29 | * Baking the ambient occlusion (AO) of a more detailed mesh works nicely as an alpha channel mask. |
| 30 | * Just like for the normal avoid noisy alpha channels, and prefer clean simple ones instead. |
| 31 | * In GIMP, you can create your mask as normal channel on top of your existing texture, then paste it as a mask for another layer. |
| 32 | * If your texture uses parallax for everypixel, it's better to set the default alpha color to a medium gray (e.g. `#777777`) this way you have more control over depth. Anything below that value will be a crease, and anything above that value will be a bump. |
| 33 | * If you notice some weird glitches try the edge split modifier in Blender. |
| 34 | |
| 35 | == Caveats == |
| 36 | |
| 37 | * Don't mirror UV coordinates when using parallax as it may generate a color discrepancy. |
| 38 | * Don't use parallax if you don't need to. Sometime a simple normal is all you need. |
| 39 | |