BumpMaps

General discussion about Celestia that doesn't fit into other forums.
Topic author
Rivelli
Posts: 1
Joined: 11.01.2003
With us: 21 years 11 months

BumpMaps

Post #1by Rivelli » 11.01.2003, 16:26

Sorry to ask what's probably a stupid question, but could someone please tell me what BumpMaps are, and how to use them please?


Thanks :D

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selden
Developer
Posts: 10192
Joined: 04.09.2002
With us: 22 years 4 months
Location: NY, USA

Post #2by selden » 11.01.2003, 16:44

Bumpmaps tell the graphics card to make shadows when the light is at an angle. This makes mountains and craters look more realistic near the terminator. They don't actually make protrusions, though. Ceiestia's planets are still smooth spheres.

Bumpmaps only work in Celestia v1.2.5 if you have a graphics card that uses Nvidia graphics chips. They should work for ATI cards in Celestia v1.2.6, but that's probably a few months away.

The easiest way to use a bumpmap is to include the declaratoin "BumpMap" in the definition of an object. Take a look at the file
/data/solarsys.ssc for some examples. They also can be included in some kinds of DDS files.
Selden


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