Poser sold to Rendo

[Miss B]

Miss B, isn't your laptop using a different preview mode than my computer does? I forget whether you're using SreeD or whether you're laptop isn't able to use hardware antialiasing/shading/shadows.

OK, I just checked, and I have the Normal Map plugged into Gradient_Bump, and the Gradient_Mode is set to Tangent Space Normal Map, BUT, Satira just reminded me, I can use Hardware Antialiasing, but NOT Hardware Shading. I had totally forgoten that little tidbit, which I discovered when I first started testing her products, because I wasn't previewing the clothing textures as they rendered.

Whether this is because I don't have a GPU, I'm not sure. It's possible that an integrated CPU can't do the Hardware Shading/Shadows/AO options. I can select them, but it doesn't change anything.

 

[RAMWolff]

Will a normal map map correctly in the Bump input? I'm not sure WHY ANY of the previous owners of Poser software never incorporated a proper Normal map input with the correct values set in all the builds and updates over the years. Gradient Bump doesn't seem like a logical input to me, nor a logical name to plug in a normal map too.... just weird to me....

 

[Ken1171]

Will a normal map map correctly in the Bump input? I'm not sure WHY ANY of the previous owners of Poser software never incorporated a proper Normal map input with the correct values set in all the builds and updates over the years. Gradient Bump doesn't seem like a logical input to me, nor a logical name to plug in a normal map too.... just weird to me....

I was going to explain what the problem is, but @willyb53 has already answered it pretty well. This is an known issue with Poser OpenGL previews concerning normal maps set to values other than "1.0". In Poser we can adjust the normal map intensity, but it will only display properly when set to "1.0". This only affects preview mode, so renders will be fine.

Normal maps were popularized much later in Poser history, so they decided to preserve the "gradient map" input for it to keep backwards compatibility, but we have to change the mapping type on the next channel to "tangent space", and make sure the map is set to gamma= 1.0 to avoid color overexposure.

In a similar manner, the DawnSE and DuskSE default materials are based on "alternate diffuse" and "alternate specular" channels, which will produce poor results in Superfly. Those pins should be disconnected, and plugged into the regular diffuse and specular channels if you want to render in Superfly PBR. It's just some things we have to do to the materials in Poser depending on how you want to render.

 

[Ken1171]

Will a normal map map correctly in the Bump input? I'm not sure WHY ANY of the previous owners of Poser software never incorporated a proper Normal map input with the correct values set in all the builds and updates over the years. Gradient Bump doesn't seem like a logical input to me, nor a logical name to plug in a normal map too.... just weird to me....

No, it won't. You have to use "gradient bump" and set it to "tangent space" with the map gamma set to 1.0. This is how Poser understands normal maps. This is to preserve backwards compatibility with older materials, and also because normal maps only came out much later in Poser history. We can set normal map intensity to any values you like, but it will show incorrectly if set to anything other than "1.0" in OpenGL preview mode. This will not affect renders, so it's only a cosmetic issue in previews. It's not too bad, since in DS we cannot see the effects of anything until rendered.

 

[RAMWolff]

and where does one change it to gamma 1.0 and why aren't Dusk's map set up set up that way to begin with? That's sort of annoying!

 

[Glitterati3D]

and where does one change it to gamma 1.0 and why aren't Dusk's map set up set up that way to begin with? That's sort of annoying!

The gamma maps are set to 1. I checked them all today.

What is not set to 1 is the normal map itself.

This setting needs to be 1.0 and then Dusk displays properly.

 

[Semicharm]

Regarding "Gradient Bump", from the manual: "Poser 4 and previous versions used our proprietary gradient (.BUM) file format for mapping bumps."

It's been a long time since I've seen one in the wild, but I think they were some sort of "normal" map format. When RGB normal maps that could be written and read from common image formats became the norm, they simply added those under the old "Gradient Bump" input.

 

[Ken1171]

and where does one change it to gamma 1.0 and why aren't Dusk's map set up set up that way to begin with? That's sort of annoying!

Gamma can be set whenever you click on the "image_source" from a texture node. Only greyscale and normal maps need to be set to "1.0", if not already. Chances are they are already set to "1.0" on DawnSE and DuskSE materials. But it's the "gradient map" intensity value that causes this issue on OpenGL previews, and only when it is set to anything other than "1.0".

 

[RAMWolff]

OK, so I just set the Gradient Bump to 1.0 and your correct, everything displays correctly. My question though is will the Normal map without a lesser value be TOO much when rendered in close up's? Makes me think of the old set up for 3Delight where there are no value strength sliders and often times at a full 1.0 things can get a bit ugly when rendered!

 

[Ghostman]

OK, so I just set the Gradient Bump to 1.0 and your correct, everything displays correctly. My question though is will the Normal map without a lesser value be TOO much when rendered in close up's? Makes me think of the old set up for 3Delight where there are no value strength sliders and often times at a full 1.0 things can get a bit ugly when rendered!

1.0 is the way to have it no matter if it's close ups or from a distance.

 

[RAMWolff]

Thank you so much!