MrBossManJoin Date: 2008-04-10
Post Count: 7206 |
For those of you who don't know what a bump map is, it's what the materials, such as diamond plating and foil, use to look textured without having to load extra polygons. It's a 2D (usually) black-and-white image that changes the way light effects an object, without actually changing its shape.
Now, my idea is, what if users were allowed to make them? Since they're basically images, just rendered in a different way, it'd be simple to moderate them. There's little room for abuse with them, anyway. After they're uploaded they can be applied to a surface like a decal, except in a different object that tells it to be loaded as a bump map. This would add a whole new dimension to building: texture.
Now, while you may say that this could cause undue lag, I think that in a great many cases it could actually reduce lag greatly. When people are making things like brick walls, tile or hardwood floors, blinds, bark on trees, or several other things, they could just add a bump map rather than having to use a brick for each individual tile/brick/you get the point. |
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Less textures and decals, more bump maps! A new BumpMap object. I like it. |
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MrBossManJoin Date: 2008-04-10
Post Count: 7206 |
This could also be used for clothing, to make it look realistically three-dimensional without having to mesh out and render each shirt. I think it may be easier to abuse if you let BumpMaps be used on other meshes, but with whatever system you use for shirts on the new bodies I think it's quite safe.
Just to be absolutely certain nothing inappropriate is made, though, each BumpMap should be affixed to only one shirt, rather than being a separate and interchangeable object, and should be viewed by the moderation team as mapped to that shirt. |
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MailehJoin Date: 2011-06-14
Post Count: 1067 |
legit idea |
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MrBossManJoin Date: 2008-04-10
Post Count: 7206 |
Come to think of it, why aren't studs and inlets bumpmapped? It would certainly look a lot better. |
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xwkJoin Date: 2010-12-18
Post Count: 1429 |
Support. |
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So I can tell where all the bumps are on these threads? O boi, o boi. |
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Buddy033Join Date: 2009-03-01
Post Count: 447 |
I support, even though doing the one brick at a time IS more detailed.
But I still support. |
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aka303Join Date: 2012-05-25
Post Count: 2063 |
Support
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.use a bump map to find thibump |
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ThieftyJoin Date: 2013-01-13
Post Count: 4178 |
SUPPORT! |
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MrBossManJoin Date: 2008-04-10
Post Count: 7206 |
@Buddy: Sometimes it's not a matter of detail, but a matter of efficiency. Not all places are building projects, and not all want to do things the hard way.
Besides that, this is useful for all manner of other things as well. Engravings, for one. If you script it to change repeatedly it could be used for ripples in fabric or water. I think it's even possible to script it so guns leave realistic-looking bullet holes. And this is all besides the great potential in clothing, i.e. the ability to make shirts look wrinkled or have jackets pop out over the shirts they cover. |
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*drools over the idea of bump-mapping for clothing.* I honestly doubt it will happen, although bump maps are highly efficient ways of adding 3D effects to flat surfaces, as it is end-calculations on lighting applied to already existing vertices, that doesn't mean it still doesn't take something, and even then the work that goes into making it an option isn't nothing either. For all we know the entire back-end of the clothing rendering system might need to be re-written, though at the same time for all we know it's a simple tack-on of bump mapping to the processing.
Overall I really do support this idea and would love to hear some staff weigh-in. |
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MrBossManJoin Date: 2008-04-10
Post Count: 7206 |
I may just be a country boy from [SUBJECT HOMETOWN HERE] with very little programming experience, but I believe adding in bump maps would be no more difficult than going from just t-shirts to shirts and pants, or than putting said shirts and pants on the meshes of the new bodies. I believe.
Actually, it shouldn't be hard at all, considering the bump map of an object has nothing to do with its texture (decals and shirts) other than they both change the appearance. Adding bump maps to clothes would just be putting in another layer, basically.
That said, I'm just now beginning to doubt whether they could get decals and bump maps to play nice. If I recall correctly, decals put over materials don't take the shape of the materials. I think they'd have to use parallax mapping for that, which is a relatively more intensive process, though still not too bad for most systems. And besides that, it's going to be optional of course. |
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surge905Join Date: 2010-12-04
Post Count: 3118 |
Support. |
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"Parallax mapping." Yerp. Thanks I couldn't remember the name of it, but I was pretty sure that bump mapping only applied to mathematically rendered colors (Such as a solid color, or a surface with shaders applied).
Parallax mapping, while not terribly more complicated, is still more complex than the simple bump map. Still I would love love love to see more use of bump maps and parallax maps. The performance saving capabilities as compared to using many polygons to make a rough surface is incredible, and I see no reason why they shouldn't try, or inform of of their thoughts on the matter. ^.^ |
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MrBossManJoin Date: 2008-04-10
Post Count: 7206 |
Don't thank me, citizen. Thank Wikipedia!
Srs though, all my knowledge of bump maps comes from reading the wiki page about it, both out of curiosity and to make sure I don't use the wrong terminology xP |
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MrBossManJoin Date: 2008-04-10
Post Count: 7206 |
Bump.
No pun intended. |
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ThieftyJoin Date: 2013-01-13
Post Count: 4178 |
No bumps to be supported, I already supported this, so yeah. I think. |
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MrBossManJoin Date: 2008-04-10
Post Count: 7206 |
I'd love to have a staffer reply to this/put it on Feedback Loop, because I'd really like to see this implemented some day. I can see so many possibilities with it. |
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MrBossManJoin Date: 2008-04-10
Post Count: 7206 |
Keepin' this up near the top and junk. |
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Cav33Join Date: 2012-09-04
Post Count: 1375 |
I support. Big time! |
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MrBossManJoin Date: 2008-04-10
Post Count: 7206 |
One more bump so it doesn't fall away. |
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