Ok just to let anyone know who is reading this i have read literally everything on diffuse maps on this forum, i can successfully do spec , normal , emissive and diffuse maps and have general working knowledge of what doe what.
On to the problem
What happens generally is upon applying my diffuse maps(i have a few, switching textures by id) in the editor looks great fine no problems, once in the game, rendering (diffuse, spec, normal applied), its like i have tiny white lines/streaks that appear on the edge of the models surface when certain light hits it. After doing various testing i found that the problem is mostly cleared up by removing the sc2 normal map.
This was until i went to texture switch a normal sc2 unit with a diffuse i created (merely an overlay in photoshop of the orinigal units texture) so nothing special i done the texture switch and once again white lines, cracks appeared on the sc2 unit.
Am i doing diffuse maps incorrectly
i use photoshop cs 5.1 + dds plugin exporting size is 256 by 256
below is a picture i circled areas where the effect happens the same problem occurs, I'm not the only person who has viewed the models so i know its not my machine or graphics card. Settings in game are ultra to high, (spec map, has no problems with, or without it the issue still occurs).
if anyone has encountered this problem or knows how to address it i would be grateful, not asking for a tut or someone else to do my textures. trying to learn myself, but this is one thing i just can't seem to find a fix for.
This happens on all models i try to apply a new diffuse to.
Might be hard to see (and no its not the light tileset of the map, happens under all light sets)
I'd be very thankful to any one with knowledge to fixing or correcting this issue.
I suggest the use of mip maps. SC2 textures use them, and the game can get laggy for people running low-quality graphics. I use DTX5 with generated mip maps for my textures.
The interaction of diffuse + specular maps can cause some weird effects. Specular alone might not cause it, diffuse alone might not cause it, still the interaction of these two could cause it. I'm not sure, but I had this kind of problem, I edited a diffuse then the entire model was too bright / shiny and I had to tweak the specular too.
Check the model carefully, some SC2 models use duplicated textures, some of them use the diffuse texture for both diffuse and specular and so on. Sometimes you think you're editing the correct texture but you're not.
I guess I didn't help you find a solution but at least those ideas are good to have in mind when working with SC2 textures.
Thanks for reply, as you can tell im keeping an eye out for replys while i do some modeling :). i'll try mip mapping, but i read sc2 generates its own and using mip mapping can reduce the overall quality. I'll reply if it works wont take 5 minutes to check lol.
@Commlink: Go SC2 does not generate mip maps. Try editing a huge texture, like I did for the Void Seeker, and save it witrhout mip maps... what happens is that all players are forced to use the full size of the texture, which means all will use the best quality possible. It caused my game to freeze for some seconds before I could see the model. And I run it on high. The effect isn't as bad when you're editing smaller textures like 256x256, but still if you have lots of such textures going on at the same time it can be annoying for players.
Mip maps won't reduce quality, they will make the game use the correct quality for each player's graphics.
hmm looks like it might actually be worse =/, yea i noticed sc2 model where funny with what they wanted to use and can never make up what layer wants to be what, so many years in the making yet their ability to name files correctly sucks.
Ah thank for for the information on mip mapping thats very useiful, i read the original post for importing textures, i believe its somewhere at the top.
In the post, when it came to exporting it mentioned mip mapping although tiny and i followed those instructions believing it was tried and tested.
I should update my models accordingly.
If anyone else has information regarding the way this problem occurs or can be solved let me know.
trying to correctly get this to work is at best frustrating :).
It's a bit hard to tell what the problem is from the screenshot. If you're having issues with white lines appearing, it could stem from either your diffuse map or your spec map. Here's a few troubleshooting tips.
In the editor, you can change the shader mode to isolate viewing of each texture map. Under 'View -> Show Shader Mode' you will see a variety of different modes that will let you see your units diffuse or specular separately. The options I usually use are 'Full Bright Diffuse' to see Diffuse maps, 'Specular' to see Specular maps, and 'Diffuse Lighting Only' to check normal maps (it shows a unit affected by lighting/bump detail with no diffuse or spec).
If you're seeing these white lines appear on your unit in Full Bright Diffuse, you will know the problem lies with your diffuse map.
Thanks, thats really helpful i didn't know that about the editor, kept having to go back and fourth between launching the game every time, very time consuming.
So after checking the various layers according to the editor and from what i can tell, mine has no spec?(picture attached) but yours does although im using the standard unit with only texture swap that happens in game on the difuse that can't be right.
exported the model does have a spec looked in the cut scene(previewer) and it has a spec texture so no idea why it wouldn't show up like yours. Didnt work on any other model ether, strange.
Maybe im over looking a setting. On my other models (custom) the problem is nether the diffuse or spec i have both working and look great its once i introduce the normal map that i get the white streaks or pixels.
Think of a 3d box, the corner its dark and you have a light around it. my problem would be the light is around the corner yet i have a spot of light coming from the corner where it should not be if that makes sense.
This all only appears in game and is hard to show in a screen shot here is another picture of the viking if you look at his top left gun you will see the white pixel type effect im talking about(might be hard to see) now when he walks he looks like tin foil or a christmas tree with white pixels and light hitting it and going on and off. Everything on this unit is standard sc2 a part from the diffuse so i'm confused right now are my diffuse maps incompatible with sc2 normal maps, i read all the tutorials and guides i could find an have things working great until i tried to do this.
I really am thankful for all this advice and feed back.
Are you using orange normal maps? With the Red channel copied as the Alpha and the Blue and Red channels Black and White respectively? Normals control how light affects models, so using an incorrect Normal map could possibly cause your Spec issues. Check the 'Modelling and Exporting for StarCraft2 ' sticky thread for more information on this.
I'm not sure if you're importing a new model out of max either, but if you are you might want to check your material settings to make sure spec is turned on (try a specular property of 60 and spec multiplier of 1.0+).
If you're just importing new textures, then here's a few things as well. Every time you import a new texture, the engine doesn't update automatically, so you should always save, close and re-open the editor before your changes really take effect. I would also suggest doing tests with your maps separately, try replacing one at a time or using extreme examples of your textures to see if they are working correctly or at all (pure white spec map).
How i export my models is (custom) 80, 3.0 , 2.0 unfogged, (beofre was using the same as sc2 marine 80, 1.0, 2.5) this gives off a nice metallic shine on my units that looks great, add in a normal map and it goes to hell. spec is turned on .
The editor advice i do constantly, its how i have been checking my models.
I will give your suggestions a go,
Also, whats supposed to show up in the black "Specular only" if specular is the white "Diffuse lighting only " because as you saw on a standard viking you got some shine, where i did not although unrelated i'm looking into all areas never know.
Specular Only setting should show up completely black by default. Any specularity affecting your models should show up in this mode, either in white or in color if you're using a colored spec map.
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Ok just to let anyone know who is reading this i have read literally everything on diffuse maps on this forum, i can successfully do spec , normal , emissive and diffuse maps and have general working knowledge of what doe what.
On to the problem What happens generally is upon applying my diffuse maps(i have a few, switching textures by id) in the editor looks great fine no problems, once in the game, rendering (diffuse, spec, normal applied), its like i have tiny white lines/streaks that appear on the edge of the models surface when certain light hits it. After doing various testing i found that the problem is mostly cleared up by removing the sc2 normal map.
This was until i went to texture switch a normal sc2 unit with a diffuse i created (merely an overlay in photoshop of the orinigal units texture) so nothing special i done the texture switch and once again white lines, cracks appeared on the sc2 unit.
Am i doing diffuse maps incorrectly
i use photoshop cs 5.1 + dds plugin exporting size is 256 by 256
dds export options are:
DXT3 ARGB 8 Bpp | Explicit Alpha , no mip mapping (2d texture)
or
DXT5 ARGB 8 Bpp | Interpolated Alpha , no mip mapping (2d texture)
i have no alpha channel in my texture.
below is a picture i circled areas where the effect happens the same problem occurs, I'm not the only person who has viewed the models so i know its not my machine or graphics card. Settings in game are ultra to high, (spec map, has no problems with, or without it the issue still occurs).
if anyone has encountered this problem or knows how to address it i would be grateful, not asking for a tut or someone else to do my textures. trying to learn myself, but this is one thing i just can't seem to find a fix for.
This happens on all models i try to apply a new diffuse to.
Might be hard to see (and no its not the light tileset of the map, happens under all light sets)
I'd be very thankful to any one with knowledge to fixing or correcting this issue.
the white tiny squares ..
I suggest the use of mip maps. SC2 textures use them, and the game can get laggy for people running low-quality graphics. I use DTX5 with generated mip maps for my textures.
The interaction of diffuse + specular maps can cause some weird effects. Specular alone might not cause it, diffuse alone might not cause it, still the interaction of these two could cause it. I'm not sure, but I had this kind of problem, I edited a diffuse then the entire model was too bright / shiny and I had to tweak the specular too.
Check the model carefully, some SC2 models use duplicated textures, some of them use the diffuse texture for both diffuse and specular and so on. Sometimes you think you're editing the correct texture but you're not.
I guess I didn't help you find a solution but at least those ideas are good to have in mind when working with SC2 textures.
Thanks for reply, as you can tell im keeping an eye out for replys while i do some modeling :). i'll try mip mapping, but i read sc2 generates its own and using mip mapping can reduce the overall quality. I'll reply if it works wont take 5 minutes to check lol.
@Commlink: Go SC2 does not generate mip maps. Try editing a huge texture, like I did for the Void Seeker, and save it witrhout mip maps... what happens is that all players are forced to use the full size of the texture, which means all will use the best quality possible. It caused my game to freeze for some seconds before I could see the model. And I run it on high. The effect isn't as bad when you're editing smaller textures like 256x256, but still if you have lots of such textures going on at the same time it can be annoying for players.
Mip maps won't reduce quality, they will make the game use the correct quality for each player's graphics.
hmm looks like it might actually be worse =/, yea i noticed sc2 model where funny with what they wanted to use and can never make up what layer wants to be what, so many years in the making yet their ability to name files correctly sucks.
Ah thank for for the information on mip mapping thats very useiful, i read the original post for importing textures, i believe its somewhere at the top. In the post, when it came to exporting it mentioned mip mapping although tiny and i followed those instructions believing it was tried and tested.
I should update my models accordingly.
If anyone else has information regarding the way this problem occurs or can be solved let me know.
trying to correctly get this to work is at best frustrating :).
@Commlink: Go Can you attach the texture to your post? This way I could take a closer look.
It's a bit hard to tell what the problem is from the screenshot. If you're having issues with white lines appearing, it could stem from either your diffuse map or your spec map. Here's a few troubleshooting tips.
In the editor, you can change the shader mode to isolate viewing of each texture map. Under 'View -> Show Shader Mode' you will see a variety of different modes that will let you see your units diffuse or specular separately. The options I usually use are 'Full Bright Diffuse' to see Diffuse maps, 'Specular' to see Specular maps, and 'Diffuse Lighting Only' to check normal maps (it shows a unit affected by lighting/bump detail with no diffuse or spec).
If you're seeing these white lines appear on your unit in Full Bright Diffuse, you will know the problem lies with your diffuse map.
Thanks, thats really helpful i didn't know that about the editor, kept having to go back and fourth between launching the game every time, very time consuming.
So after checking the various layers according to the editor and from what i can tell, mine has no spec?(picture attached) but yours does although im using the standard unit with only texture swap that happens in game on the difuse that can't be right.
exported the model does have a spec looked in the cut scene(previewer) and it has a spec texture so no idea why it wouldn't show up like yours. Didnt work on any other model ether, strange.
Maybe im over looking a setting. On my other models (custom) the problem is nether the diffuse or spec i have both working and look great its once i introduce the normal map that i get the white streaks or pixels.
Think of a 3d box, the corner its dark and you have a light around it. my problem would be the light is around the corner yet i have a spot of light coming from the corner where it should not be if that makes sense.
This all only appears in game and is hard to show in a screen shot here is another picture of the viking if you look at his top left gun you will see the white pixel type effect im talking about(might be hard to see) now when he walks he looks like tin foil or a christmas tree with white pixels and light hitting it and going on and off. Everything on this unit is standard sc2 a part from the diffuse so i'm confused right now are my diffuse maps incompatible with sc2 normal maps, i read all the tutorials and guides i could find an have things working great until i tried to do this.
I really am thankful for all this advice and feed back.
Are you using orange normal maps? With the Red channel copied as the Alpha and the Blue and Red channels Black and White respectively? Normals control how light affects models, so using an incorrect Normal map could possibly cause your Spec issues. Check the 'Modelling and Exporting for StarCraft2 ' sticky thread for more information on this.
I'm not sure if you're importing a new model out of max either, but if you are you might want to check your material settings to make sure spec is turned on (try a specular property of 60 and spec multiplier of 1.0+).
If you're just importing new textures, then here's a few things as well. Every time you import a new texture, the engine doesn't update automatically, so you should always save, close and re-open the editor before your changes really take effect. I would also suggest doing tests with your maps separately, try replacing one at a time or using extreme examples of your textures to see if they are working correctly or at all (pure white spec map).
The normal maps are done correctly > sc2 style.
How i export my models is (custom) 80, 3.0 , 2.0 unfogged, (beofre was using the same as sc2 marine 80, 1.0, 2.5) this gives off a nice metallic shine on my units that looks great, add in a normal map and it goes to hell. spec is turned on .
The editor advice i do constantly, its how i have been checking my models.
I will give your suggestions a go,
Also, whats supposed to show up in the black "Specular only" if specular is the white "Diffuse lighting only " because as you saw on a standard viking you got some shine, where i did not although unrelated i'm looking into all areas never know.
I'll test with each map and give screen shots.
Specular Only setting should show up completely black by default. Any specularity affecting your models should show up in this mode, either in white or in color if you're using a colored spec map.