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Post by LynxLord on Jul 20, 2021 18:27:09 GMT -5
I'm here again with a new issue: my normal map is turning the sims wearing the cc using it shiny, even their skin, which I'm pretty sure shouldn't happen. Otherwise it works as intended, the buttons on the texture get a little extra oomph which was my main purpose of using it. Here is the link to the .package in case anyone can figure out what's wrong. Here is what the sim looks like with the clothing on.
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Post by mauvemorn on Jul 20, 2021 18:32:13 GMT -5
Hi. I can’t check the file right now but it is probably caused by the fact that the alpha channel is not preserved. Save the dds with DTX5 (or BC3) with interpolated alpha.
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Post by LynxLord on Jul 20, 2021 19:37:43 GMT -5
I tried doing that in Photoshop, the issue remains. Maybe it's a problem with Photoshop not saving things correctly? I have no idea, whenever I try to open a .dds file, it crashes on me, so I can't open the files I've saved to check if the alpha channel is there.
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Post by Fwecka (Lolabellesims) on Jul 21, 2021 0:36:06 GMT -5
The bump map does not look right. The easiest way for me is to take your diffuse and desaturate it (Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation) and save it as a PNG. Go to Normal Map Online and upload your PNG, do whatever you want with the settings, then download the finished PNG. Open the PNG in Photoshop, make a new alpha channel. Copy and paste the red channel to the alpha channel, then copy and paste the green channel to the red and blue channels. Then flatten the image and save as DXT5 Interpolated Alpha. I can't make a bump map in Photoshop because PS crashes every time without fail. You can bake a bump map in Blender if you'd rather do that. Here is a tutorial.
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Post by LynxLord on Jul 21, 2021 1:51:58 GMT -5
Thank you, I'll try the Photoshop method with Photoshop 2018 as the .dds reader plugin is from that year. Here is what the normal map looks like once I've been to Normal Map Online with it, saved it, opened it again in Photoshop and copied over the different channel layers: Is this right? The alpha channel turned red, probably because I copied the red layer into there.
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Post by mauvemorn on Jul 21, 2021 5:04:26 GMT -5
No, the alpha channel just works like that. Alpha is a transparency layer. I defines where the image has transparency and where it is opaque. We can’t really tell much by looking at it like this, but if you import it in the package instead of a maxis one and it looks darker, the alpha is not saved. If it’s vaguely the same, then you’re good to go
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Post by LynxLord on Jul 21, 2021 6:38:26 GMT -5
Thank you for your reply! I used the old version of Photoshop and the image looked pretty much like a Maxis one, so I guess that's sorted, then. It might be the specular map causing this issue, instead, since the sims are oddly shiny.
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Post by LynxLord on Jul 21, 2021 7:14:54 GMT -5
Here is the .package if anyone can figure out what exactly is wrong, I've done everything I could to figure it out and I'm stumped. Here's an image of what it looks like in game, the weirdness stretches down to the hands and up to the neck. I've tried doing the normal map in different sizes, I've done exactly as I've been told, this is just driving me crazy because I can't understand what is wrong. Usually I can understand why something is wrong, like why overlapping meshes is bad, but here I just plain don't get what's causing this or why. I want to say a huge thank you for your patience and help, I know it must be boring dealing with these kinds of questions all the time, you're so kind for answering them regardless.
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Post by mauvemorn on Jul 21, 2021 7:29:00 GMT -5
Export any maxis normal map and compare it to yours. Normal map must have no transparency, the background of all channels must be gray
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Post by LynxLord on Jul 21, 2021 10:12:59 GMT -5
Solved, thank you so incredibly much, this has been bothering me all day and it's finally solved! The issue was that the background of the normal map was left transparent instead of solid grey!
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Post by LynxLord on Jul 25, 2021 11:01:44 GMT -5
Updated because my new versions of these clothes (adult female, child, toddler) also get weirdly shiny. I'm pretty sure this is a normal map fault and not the fault of the specular map. Here is the female clothes, here is the child version, here is the toddler version. If I make the normal map blank in S4S, the problem goes away, but I want a normal map on these clothes and I can't remember exactly what I did to fix the normal map for the male version. I'm sorry for repeating the same question, it's just that normal maps seem to cause me an awful lot of trouble. If anyone could take a peek at those .packages and tell me if they find something that's wrong I'd greatly appreciate it.
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Post by qolygonal on Jul 25, 2021 12:12:56 GMT -5
And again, your alpha layer is empty. Always check it. Sometimes, when you edit a normal map and then convert it to a bump, Ps doesn't save the result. In such cases, it's better to edit your texture, save it, close, reopen, and only then convert it.
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Post by LynxLord on Jul 25, 2021 14:38:28 GMT -5
Ohhh, so that's why, thank you.
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Post by LynxLord on Jul 25, 2021 15:35:45 GMT -5
I have now added the steps to double-check the alphas in my little checklist document for making clothes.
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Post by Fwecka (Lolabellesims) on Jul 28, 2021 7:39:46 GMT -5
LynxLord , I'm so sorry, I skipped a step when I told you how to make a bump map. Posting this here in case others stumble across it. Here are the steps: Desaturate your diffuse Upload to Normal Map Online, play with the settings if you want, download your finished image (it'll be a PNG) Open the image you downloaded from Normal Map Online in Photoshop Make a new layer and fill it with #8080ff (This is the step I skipped, dang it. Sorry) Merge the two layers Make an alpha channel Copy and paste the red channel to the alpha channel Copy and paste the green channel to the red and blue channels--your image should turn grey Flatten the image Save as DXT5 Interpolated Alpha There's a tutorial here that teaches you how to bake a bump map in Blender if you're interested. Editing this post for posterity's sake: If you are using a PNG file that has a transparent background, then you will need to make a new layer and bucket fill that layer with #8080ff (it's a purple color) after using Normal Map Online. A bump map should have no transparency in the image. After filling the layer with #8080ff, move the layer down so it's below the bump map you downloaded from Normal Map Online (or that you baked in Blender; that, too, will produce a PNG image with a transparent background that must be filled), then merge the layers and do what I outlined above with copying and pasting channel contents. If your diffuse does NOT have a transparent background and you desaturate it and run it through Normal Map Online, then obviously there is no need to make a new layer. Regardless, your bump map will need to be in DDS form since a PNG cannot support an alpha channel.
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