Visual distortion glitch with normalmaps

[Don. Edwards]

I think I have found a bug. At least I hope it is some kind of bug. Since installing pre7 I have been noticing some strange pixelization shifting in Earth's mountains. It only is happening with the normal map enabled. I have changed normalmaps but still get the effect. I have a video that shows what I am seeing. Also here is my OpenGL info.

Vendor: NVIDIA Corporation
Renderer: GeForce FX 5900/AGP/SSE/3DNOW!
Version: 1.4.1
Max simultaneous textures: 4
Max texture size: 4096

Supported Extensions:
GL_ARB_depth_texture
GL_ARB_fragment_program
GL_ARB_imaging
GL_ARB_multisample
GL_ARB_multitexture
GL_ARB_occlusion_query
GL_ARB_point_parameters
GL_ARB_point_sprite
GL_ARB_shadow
GL_ARB_texture_border_clamp
GL_ARB_texture_compression
GL_ARB_texture_cube_map
GL_ARB_texture_env_add
GL_ARB_texture_env_combine
GL_ARB_texture_env_dot3
GL_ARB_texture_mirrored_repeat
GL_ARB_transpose_matrix
GL_ARB_vertex_buffer_object
GL_ARB_vertex_program
GL_ARB_window_pos
GL_S3_s3tc
GL_EXT_texture_env_add
GL_EXT_abgr
GL_EXT_bgra
GL_EXT_blend_color
GL_EXT_blend_func_separate
GL_EXT_blend_minmax
GL_EXT_blend_subtract
GL_EXT_compiled_vertex_array
GL_EXT_depth_bounds_test
GL_EXT_draw_range_elements
GL_EXT_fog_coord
GL_EXT_multi_draw_arrays
GL_EXT_packed_pixels
GL_EXT_paletted_texture
GL_EXT_point_parameters
GL_EXT_rescale_normal
GL_EXT_secondary_color
GL_EXT_separate_specular_color
GL_EXT_shadow_funcs
GL_EXT_shared_texture_palette
GL_EXT_stencil_two_side
GL_EXT_stencil_wrap
GL_EXT_texture3D
GL_EXT_texture_compression_s3tc
GL_EXT_texture_cube_map
GL_EXT_texture_edge_clamp
GL_EXT_texture_env_combine
GL_EXT_texture_env_dot3
GL_EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic
GL_EXT_texture_lod
GL_EXT_texture_lod_bias
GL_EXT_texture_object
GL_EXT_vertex_array
GL_HP_occlusion_test
GL_IBM_rasterpos_clip
GL_IBM_texture_mirrored_repeat
GL_KTX_buffer_region
GL_NV_blend_square
GL_NV_copy_depth_to_color
GL_NV_depth_clamp
GL_NV_fence
GL_NV_float_buffer
GL_NV_fog_distance
GL_NV_fragment_program
GL_NV_half_float
GL_NV_light_max_exponent
GL_NV_multisample_filter_hint
GL_NV_occlusion_query
GL_NV_packed_depth_stencil
GL_NV_pixel_data_range
GL_NV_point_sprite
GL_NV_primitive_restart
GL_NV_register_combiners
GL_NV_register_combiners2
GL_NV_texgen_reflection
GL_NV_texture_compression_vtc
GL_NV_texture_env_combine4
GL_NV_texture_expand_normal
GL_NV_texture_rectangle
GL_NV_texture_shader
GL_NV_texture_shader2
GL_NV_texture_shader3
GL_NV_vertex_array_range
GL_NV_vertex_array_range2
GL_NV_vertex_program
GL_NV_vertex_program1_1
GL_NV_vertex_program2
GL_NVX_ycrcb
GL_SGIS_generate_mipmap
GL_SGIS_texture_lod
GL_SGIX_depth_texture
GL_SGIX_shadow
GL_SUN_slice_accum
GL_WIN_swap_hint
WGL_EXT_swap_control

In the video you can plainly see what I am talking about. I have never had this in the past on any build. I plan to make another normalmap to see if somehow if this is the cause. I am using a 16k normalmap and I have also see it with my previous 8k. Also I am using the Forceware 53.03 drivers. I can use the 56.64 or the new 56.72 drivers as they cause an NTkernel panic and I have to remove them in order to get my system back up and running. Hopefully this isn't a driver issue because if it is I am screwed. I will be forced to do a full install of Windows XP and hope this fixes the driver problem. And if it doesn't than I have done all that work for nothing. Hopefully you guys can give me some idea as to what might be going on.

Oh here are the specs for the rest of my system.
Athlon XP 2600+
1.5gigs of DRR RAM
Asus A7N8X motherboard based on the NVidia Nforce2 chipset
eVGA GeForce FX 5900SE with 128MB of DDR VRAM
2 Western Digital 120gig drives
1 Seagate Barracuda 80gig drive
Promise Tech Ultra 133 ATA card
and of course all the built in sound, USB, Firewire, etc...


Here is the video link
http://216.231.48.101/~impulse/1-year-of-16k/002.avi
You will need at least the DIVX 5.05 decoder installed.

Don. Edwards

[chris]

It looks like an aliasing issue to me. Does your normal map have mip levels? If you provide me a link to the normal map you're using, I can take a look into it . . .

--Chris

[Don. Edwards]

Hey Chris,
Yes it does have mip levels. But right at the moment I can't upload it. it is 85MB in size. I was tinking it might be the way I built it. I took the 16k bumpmap and cut it into 4 pieces and then used the NVidia photoshop plug-in to convert the pieces to normal maps. I then reassembled the the pieces into a single 16k texture. I check real close for any seam lines and found none. But I have found the distortions after loading it into Celestia. On second thought the 8k normalmap was built with the same tool and it has the same issue. Maybe I should try and go back to the old NVDXT tools. Unfortunatly I can make a 16k normalmap with that utilty, at least not easily.
If you have any tips on a better way to make a large normalmap I would be interested in hearing them. I might be able to upload the normalmap tomorrow for you to take a look at. I have to upload it at my brothers as I do not have a broadband connection at this time.

Don. Edwards

[Don. Edwards]

Chris,
I just totaly disabled the normalmap and I am still getting the aliasing. Now I am thingking it may be either in the specmap or the main texture itself. I am oing to disable the spacmap and check again and if it is still there than I will re-enable the normalmap and the specmap and change the main texture to another one if the aliasing dissapears than it is an isuue with my new 16k texture. If it is a guess I will have to rebuild it. Again any ideas would be great.

Don. Edwards

[Don. Edwards]

Problem solved. It was in the main texture. Ine of the mimaps must have been off. that is the first time that has ever happend to me. I guess it was bound to happen sooner of later. Thanks for the input.

Don. Edwards