Displacement Map Creator

Hey just found this here:
http://66.70.170.53/Ryan/heightmap/heightmap.html

Its a small tool that creates a displacement map for parallax and other effects from a normal map.

What is a Displacement map?
How is it used?
Why is it used?
Why should one use it?

(Not trying to be an a.s.s., just curious...)

e.g. parallax mapping (kinda advanced normal mapping effect) needs 3 maps, the diffuse (color), the normal (structure) and displacement map (defines/limits height displacement).
also useful for simple bump mapping, relief mapping and real displacement mapping.

they are used in parallax mapping. Look around on Achnex Unlimited for the shader. You can get some nice results.

nice find!
if have been looking for something like this for quite some time

If only normal maps were easy to make.... damn.

Ok, thankz for the info.

How much damage did that rendering do?

They are easy to make. You can make a high poly model and create a normal map with a program like this one: http://www.santyesprogramadorynografista.net/projects.aspx without doing all that stuff with photographs

(this also creates a displacement map in the alpha channel of the normal map)

What is the diffrence between normal mapping and displacement mapping? Cant you get that result with a normal map? Talking about the pic.

Normal mapping just alters the normals of the surface. Parallax mapping offsets the textures so they appear 3D. Displacement mapping actually changes the surface geometry, and can be done using shader model 3.

Parallax mapping is generally used in conjunction with normal mapping.

Parallax mapping doesnt do any lighting at all, but it does offset the texture according to the heightmap and the view angle, creating the illusion of actual 3D bumps. Normal mapping alone will always look 2d , especially from an angle or when the camera is moving.

Parallax mapping solves the flat-look problem, but also introduces new problems, like texture distortion and still doesnt look correct from acute angles.

An improved solution can be found among a group of similar effects i will call relief mapping.

Normal relief maping however, is very slow, and still not accurate. The best solution i have seen so far is called cone-step mapping. I may implement this into the next Sphere update.

wow, thisxNormal-prog is even cooler" gonna try it...

Thanks matt.

Thanks for the link to the tool looks very slick…

Quote:

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Look around on Achnex Unlimited for the shader

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Any hints as to where on the Achnex Unlimited site this shader can be found? Can’t seem to find it any where. Is it called something else perhaps?

Cheers