Custom Map Makers

Raise the contrast of the alpha channel.

Raising the contrast of the alpha channel seems to work. Now what is this about diffuse maps? Can I include that and have it factored in? Is it like texturename_d.tga, the way bump maps are texturename_b.tga and normal maps are texturename_n.tga?

Diffuse map also called color map is what we call "texture". NO special extensions at the end needed.

OK. Are there any other types to include other than diffuse, bump, and normal?

Not for now.

I have also seen specular strength and specular exponent maps. I wonder if those are going to be implemented eventually?

As for the brightness, I missed something obvious. Increasing brightness and removing white with the alpha channel or decreasing brightness and removing black with the alpha channel helps get rid of all that glare. I have some nice looking ice bricks and snow now.

I am guessing that not everything needs a normal map? Some things (like wood) seem to look weird with any normals.

Not everything need normals. But wood can use it you just need to do as Rayne tells you to get good results. I havent been eble to do it myself yet but i hope to get there

Wood looks fantastic when normal mapped. Especially bark and rough wood. You just have to make a super dark often completely black alpha channel and make a good blue channel occlusion.

Rayne wrote:Wood looks fantastic when normal mapped. Especially bark and rough wood. You just have to make a super dark often completely black alpha channel and make a good blue channel occlusion.

Would love to see a tutorial for that

it;s exactly the same as the video tutorial i posted before, only difference is that since wood is rough (unless it's polished wood in which case blue channel occlusion isn't needed, except in few specific situations) specular should be extremely low.
Mainly cause right now we can't control the glossiness so we always have the same wide specular that makes a surface look metallic/plastic/stone.