32k Spec Map Case

[Buzz]

A jpg won't help, because it will have to be expanded by Celestia. A dds is too big for my current site. Actually, the performance of older systems goes up when using virtual textures, so why don't you give it a try?

[danielj]

I insist that in your site,there is only a link to the old 8k png specmap.Where?s the 16k VT specmap anyway?

[Buzz]

Strange! Don't you see this:
"Update: 16k specular reflection "virtual texture" for use with Celestia 1.3.1
It includes all surface water: oceans, seas, lakes and rivers. Sorry, no screenshots yet.
download: part 1 part 2 part 3"?

[danielj]

I enter this link http://home.tiscali.nl/celestia/,and the only thing I can see is "I added lakes to the 8kspecular reflection map for Earth;you can download it here".And below "This shows what Earth can look like with it? and below this,a photo of Scandinavia showing the reflection map
Could be another link?

[selden]

Daniel,

Your Web browser is showing you an old version of the Web page.

Either
you need to tell your Web browser to do a "reload" (there is an icon for this in the top row)
or
you are accessing the Web through a Caching Proxy Server (you need to contact your ISP about how to get the server to update).

[danielj]

Now it works

Daniel,

Your Web browser is showing you an old version of the Web page.

Either
you need to tell your Web browser to do a "reload" (there is an icon for this in the top row)
or
you are accessing the Web through a Caching Proxy Server (you need to contact your ISP about how to get the server to update).

[TERRIER]

Buzz

A dds is too big for my current site. Actually, the performance of older systems goes up when using virtual textures, so why don't you give it a try?

Have you an idea of what the file size would be for yor texture, if it was in DDS format? I am currently running a level 3 DDS VT that Jens (Jim) has made available, but I think it is only to the equivalent of 8k resolution? The file size for this is around 20MB. I like to have my textures in DDS format mainly for performance reasons, but also for the spectexture, I have higher detailed spec maps in DDS for some small island groups. I would like to keep everything in DDS. I'd really like to use a 16k specmap, but these are the main reasons why I am holding back from downloading yours at the moment.

regards
TERRIER

[Buzz]

Selden: thanks for helping Daniel.
Daniel: I hope it works!
Terrier: I don't know, because I run it as pngs myself with a good performance (with a 32 MB GeForce 2). I will seriously consider converting (and finding another webhost).

[Buzz]

I have updated my 16k spec map; it is now in dds dxt1c format. I did a short test with 32k spec maps, but found the 16k to be more pleasant to the eye, because with 32k res the coast lines tend to get too blocky. O, and by the way: my source materials can be found here: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/LCC/
The 1km maps include light blue areas for water, without antialiasing. Let me take this opportunity to thank the American tax payers for funding this great organization

[danielj]

I don?t like the results.The DDS version don?t make the lakes so shiny like the png version.And the blue spec lighting became red in Saara desert,for example.I don?t know what happened,but the DDS version couldn?t substitute my png.Although,with the DDS,the perfomance is better...

[Don. Edwards]

Buzz,
I have just finshed downloading the first half of your new specmap and I just had to look at the contents under Photoshop. WOW! You hit the river data just perfect. This is going to my my default specmap as soon as the second half is finished. This is going to just go beautifuly with my 16k Earth texture.
Buy the way. Due you have the non VT vesion available and how big is the 16k .dds before being cut up. If you can make it available along with the lower res versions I can mirror it on Earth Central. A good SpecMap has been missing and I have heard about it. Of course you will get full credit for the work. You would be the first true out-sourced texture for the Hub.
You can PM with any info.

Don. Edwards

[Star Lion]

That 16k specmap is way better than the 8k one that I had befor, it has rivers, and it dosent make my 128k islans look washed out.

Thank you, I cant wait for the 32k

[Buzz]

Thanks Star Lion; you can try it now: I have uploaded the 32k spec map in dds format with 512 pixels wide tiles. This width will ensure smooth cooperation with many of the bigger virtual textures around, like the blue marble VT. I had to split the VT into different parts, but I trust this will not be a problem.

[DJ_Night]

Thanks Buzz... amazing.. best spec map ever made. all the the river data are covered, looks great. keep up the good work...

The only thing that's holding us back now is a good 32k VT Normal Map. Im working on a 16k VT NM. my bump-map source is not so good and I dont have enough main memory to work with such big files.. it takes ages.
P3 1ghz 512PC-133 3GB Virtual Mem. I guess its time for an system upgrade... $$=[

so I will leave that to Unix/gimp users with 4GB main memory and 10gb virtual memory

one again, thanks Buzz for sharing the spec-map with us...




for those with more graphic/system mem. use:

VirtualTexture
{
ImageDirectory "Earth_Spec_32k"
BaseSplit 0
TileSize 128
TileType "dds"
}


TileSize 128 or 256... insted of 512... looks better and more detailed from distance.

[Buzz]

DJ_night, thanks! I agree we need a good normalmap. Some people have been creating 32k ones, but they are not publicly available. Maybe they are too big, I don't know. I do know a good source: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/topo/gltiles.shtml. Is that what you use? And how do you process your data? I am trying to create something myself (with a system comparable to yours by the way )

[Star Lion]

Why are your new tiles smaller size (Level 3 is 16MB) and your ald times much larger(Level 3 is 64MB)? It seems odd that a better textur is smaller in size .

[MindToAsk]

I have a problem with the 32k spec map: it only works with a 8k texture, or perhaps I did something wrong in the ssc file. Here it is:

Code: Select all

AltSurface "earthspec32k" "Sol/Earth"
{
   Texture "BlueMarble DDS.ctx"
   SpecularTexture "earthspec32k.ctx"
   SpecularColor [ 0.5 0.5 0.55 ]
   SpecularPower 25.0
}

this shows only the spec map (white seas and black land)

Code: Select all

AltSurface "earthspec32k +" "Sol/Earth"
{
   Texture "earth8k.dds"
   SpecularTexture "earthspec32k.ctx"
   SpecularColor [ 0.5 0.5 0.55 ]
   SpecularPower 25.0
}

And with this it works just fine.
Where could the problem be?
The only difference between the two files is that the Blue Marble (32k) is in the extras directory and the other one (the 8k) is in the textures\hires

[Buzz]

Star Lion: level 3 in the new texture has a lower resolution than in the old one, because they have the same amount of tiles, and the new tiles are smaller! I changed the size because you get rendering problems if you combine VT's of colour, normal maps and specular textures if the tile sizes are different; the blue marble VT has 512-pixel tiles.

MindToAsk: I have it working with the 32k Blue Marble. I use essentially the same ssc that you do. I have both the blue marble and 32kspec in the extras directory under medres (!). It's hard to see why it does not work with you...

[Star Lion]

Thanks Buzz, the new texture looks grate !

[MindToAsk]

Now I can see the Blue Marble texture, but it seems to be no differece with or withouth the 32k spec (only that I get a reflection inside the land - something like the pictures in the page 2 or 3 of this topic - the ones with the reflection from Australia). The problem was that I had two ssc files with the altsurface for earth.
Could someone please post his ssc with the altsurface for bluemarble and 32k spec, and the directory structure of the specular map?