xNormal 3.16.3 DX10 realtime vector displacement mapping tesellation

[jogshy]

@senorfreebie, I use a custom closed-source shader but I can explain it a bit:

I use instanced geometry to simulate a constantly-tessellated patch. Then I perform per-vertex displacement using water-tight sampling to avoid cracks.

I think Ignacio Castaño ( ex-NVIDIA engineer ) created a presentation explaining a similar technique.

[senorfreebie]

Can you explain your process here? I'm curious, is this a shader you wrote or does it come with xNormal. I'm trying to figure out A - how to bake VDM and B - how to render them in viewport in 3Ds MAX with the view to creating the tools and shaders if they don't exist.

[alkafrazin]

It's too bad that most engines require DX11 for hardware tessellation. I'd love to see this retrofitted to UE3 and run UT3 with tessellated paralax mapping.

[super6plx]

notice that with all of these tech demo style videos and 3d renderings etc.. the youtube video pauses at the beginning of the video and you have to click a little bit past the beginning for it to play

this happens with damn near every video I come across that has anything to do with tech demos etc.. but never with games

oh and cool vid, I wish I could have tesselation in my DX10 games but they're making it dx11 only... after I went out and bought a dx10 card too!

[narutokunkun1234]

can you create a tutorial on how to generate a successful displacement map inside xnormal?

[RiVvenGuard]

ooOOoo

[digimikeh]

hi nice video, i´m looking for a way to apply ambient occlusion image to a diffuse map, joint them... some idea?

thank you!

[jogshy]

The point is that with a 512x512 vector displacement map and a 1k poly mesh you can get the same appereance of a 20M poly mesh... so you save a lot of video memory.

[frongosk8r]

You use tesselation to decrease the memory footprint of the model. Instead of loading a 10k polygon model into the vram to display it, you can load a 2k polygon model and a displacement map to recreate the 10k polygon model, and you only used 1/5th the space.

[SupaPoopaScoopa]

I don't see the advantages of displacement mapping in games as I understand it. Rather than let the hardware automate tesselation isin't it better to have an artist control the number and placement of polygons?

[gbear1984]

If the engine can handle it why not let the the computer do it.

[SupaPoopaScoopa]

But we are talking about games here... as a developer you'd want to use the extra polygon/power on creating more elaborate assets. And not just wasting power on tessellating what u already has?

But I heard somewhere that it take 1/4 the power to tessellate using some nifty algorithm than the standard poly building method. If thats so then I can understand.

[rpenri]

Tessellating, if used correctly, can turn an otherwise bland model into something elaborate and complex whilst also saving on space and increasing quality by not using normal maps which only appear good from a distance. Organic models suffer most as their complex shapes require high number of polygons which normal mapping just cannot "fake". Everyone who has played a recent game knows this. Their character model looks hi poly, but closer inspection shows hard angles where it should be smooth.

[rpenri]

It can also be used to supplement normal/displacement maps to add softer edges to already complex models while adjusting the amount of tessellation on the fly for the best performance to quality ratio. It all depends on the artist/developer's skill. Not everyone will use it in the best way, as we all know that not every game that is DirectX 9, 10, 11 is good or great. That depends on the actual game and its content.

[senorfreebie]

@SupaPoopaScoopa There is a few handy and programmable features, like tesselating more where there is contrast on the map. Never as good as having an artist build LOD's but the issue really isn't poly-count anymore ... not with Dx11 cards, it's art-budgets and RAM use; the 2 things tessellation solves.

[rouncer81]

I love watching hi detailed structures, games are gonna look amazing soon.

[podtech115]

You used ZBrush, DIDN'T  YOU? :D

[jogshy]

Yep, DX10.0 instanced hardware tessellation ( although the algorithm could work in DX9 too without much problems ).

[villukka121]

Your face is like an horses ass! Thanks very much!