Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: Duedel on July 17, 2002, 05:22:48 PM

Title: Bumpmapping
Post by: Duedel on July 17, 2002, 05:22:48 PM: Bumpmapping? What's that?
Title: Bumpmapping
Post by: Dux on July 17, 2002, 07:47:55 PM: Duedel, I guess you just read the Q&A...lol.

Bump mapping is a way of adding surface detail to the texture map of a 3-d model. Look at any of AH's planes now... see those wing panels? Those are painted on, just lines.

If you added a bump map channel to the color map, you can give the illusion of intricate surface detail without having to actually model it (which adds countless polygons = not good for rendering engines). The bump map actually works with the active light source, and will alter the effect of the "bumps" as the light source moves around it... or rather as the plane maneuvers under the sun. Much more effective than just painting on a panel line, plus you didn't add any polygons to the model.

Imagine someday in AH, as youfly in your cockpit and rock your wings back and forth, the shading on all the dials and nuts and bolts changes with the orientation of the cockpit. :)
Title: Bumpmapping
Post by: Blank on July 17, 2002, 11:10:47 PM: Duedal heres an example I just rendered in 3ds max.

Its just a flat panel with noise (noise random light and dark patches) used as a texture and a single light illuminating it from just above the top left corner.

Picture 1, has no bump mapping:
Title: Bumpmapping
Post by: Blank on July 17, 2002, 11:13:38 PM: sorry I dont know how to do multiple images (help required)

And here is the same flat plane with the same texture used for the colour also used as a bump map.

Now imagine as Dux said, that it was an aircraft and you now have surface texture, the panel lines would show, and it would look more realistic.

hope this helps :D
Title: Bumpmapping
Post by: Duedel on July 18, 2002, 02:30:46 AM: WOW! Great explanaitions. Thx guys, no I'm really looking forward for BUMPS .
Title: Bumpmapping
Post by: Kevin14 on July 18, 2002, 09:04:00 AM: Thanks also, I just got done reading the Q&A and was wondering the same thing when I tripped over this thread, thanks all
Title: Bumpmapping
Post by: AcId on July 18, 2002, 09:38:56 AM: About a year and a half ago when I first started flying in AH I had a dream one night that I was playing AH and flying through a canyon in which the canyon walls were bumpmapped :cool:

I posted about it and HT said he has that same dream too :D
Title: Bumpmapping
Post by: LePaul on July 18, 2002, 10:29:37 AM: Man that would be great, I finally have a video card that can support that (upgraded from a Voodoo 5500 to a GeForce 4 4600).

3d Game Studio...wow, forgot I own that (Pro version)...I was having bookoo problems rendering anything with it on the Voodoo....time to re-install and try again!
Title: Bumpmapping
Post by: Raly on July 18, 2002, 10:35:50 AM: Most cards (from GeForce 2 and on) support at least software bump mapping. Matrox cards like to boast about their hardware-supported environmental bump mapping, but only on games that support bump mapping (of course). Go here http://www.matrox.com/mga/3d_gaming/embm.cfm (http://www.matrox.com/mga/3d_gaming/embm.cfm) for screenshots.
Title: Bumpmapping
Post by: AcId on July 22, 2003, 09:39:49 AM: Check out my reply from a year ago on bumpmapping....:D I can't find the original post I was referring to It must have been on the old boards.

Seems the dream is about to come true for both of us HT.
Title: Bumpmapping
Post by: ramzey on July 22, 2003, 10:46:15 AM: small example, look on the ground only

with bumpmaping
(http://www.matrox.com/mga/3d_gaming/enhanced_games/media/battleisle/infantry_embm.jpg)

and without /like we current have/

(http://www.matrox.com/mga/3d_gaming/enhanced_games/media/battleisle/infantry_noembm.jpg)
Title: Bumpmapping
Post by: AcId on July 22, 2003, 10:51:12 AM: ramzey did you even bother to read the whole thread? :D
Title: Bumpmapping
Post by: ramzey on July 22, 2003, 10:54:26 AM: nope, should i read more then 2 first posts?;)
Title: Bumpmapping
Post by: SlapShot on July 22, 2003, 11:02:44 AM: When he showed us that demo, he didn't even have mipmapping on either ... it will look even better when he turns that on.

Bumpmapping will be a setting that can be turned on and off via the setup menu.
Title: Bumpmapping
Post by: Blank on July 22, 2003, 12:41:58 PM: bump mapping pfff

displacement mapping is the way forward :D

just a thought as the newer vid cards these days support it and its nicer looking than bump mapping, though might it might have a slight effect on frame rate mmm ;)
Title: Bumpmapping
Post by: ccvi on July 22, 2003, 12:44:55 PM: Quote
Originally posted by Raly
Most cards (from GeForce 2 and on) support at least software bump mapping.

:rolleyes: :D
Title: Bumpmapping
Post by: Skuzzy on July 22, 2003, 01:25:05 PM: Blank, only ATI supports displacement mapping. NVidia does not have a product that supports it, even though it is a DX9 feature.