how to bind a 64k normal map

[Luciusperca]

Hi,

I made a 64k earth normal map just like it is discribed in the step-by-step
workout on celestialmatters.org. So I have a "earth_normal_map" folder with 6 level folders inside ( level 0, level 1, level 2, level 3, level 4, level 5). I converted the the Images to .dxt5nm format.
So the images are named like that: tx_0_0.dxt5nm, tx_1_0.dxt5nm and so on...

What do I have to do to use this 64k normal map in celestia 1.5.0 pre 1?
Must I bind the BMNG 64 Texture or any other earth surface map?

[cartrite]

A good place to start is here. http://www.lns.cornell.edu/~seb/celesti ... notes.html
Sections 5 and 13 should get you going.
In short. You need to create a directory structure => Addon/textures/medres/normalmap/leveln1, leveln2 etc.
In the folder Addon/textures/medres/ you create a ctx file.
In the Addon folder you create a ssc file.
Those 2 files bind the actual textures to the addon/alternate_texture.
The ssc file contains a line that points to the ctx files.
The ssc file can also point to a file. earth.png for example.
The ctx files describe the data folder with all the levels.
cartrite

[t00fri]

Hi,

I made a 64k earth normal map just like it is discribed in the step-by-step
workout on celestialmatters.org. So I have a "earth_normal_map" folder with 6 level folders inside ( level 0, level 1, level 2, level 3, level 4, level 5). I converted the the Images to .dxt5nm format.
So the images are named like that: tx_0_0.dxt5nm, tx_1_0.dxt5nm and so on...

What do I have to do to use this 64k normal map in celestia 1.5.0 pre 1?
Must I bind the BMNG 64 Texture or any other earth surface map?

Congratulations! I am always pleased to see people succeed with the tools! The rest is much easier (see Cartrite's references). You mainly have to decide whether you want the new textures to be a permanent or rather a temporary replacement. Then you will find a simple set of instructions in Selden's nice notes.

Bye Fridger

[selden]

umm, guys, that page is subtitled "cryptic notes" for a reason...

A better page for understanding how textures get placed on Celestia's objects is
http://www.lepp.cornell.edu/~seb/celestia/textures.html

[t00fri]

umm, guys, that page is subtitled "cryptic notes" for a reason...

A better page for understanding how textures get placed on Celestia's objects is
http://www.lepp.cornell.edu/~seb/celestia/textures.html

Oh, too bad That's of course the page I meant that link was pointing to ...That's the one I also have.

Bye Fridger

[cartrite]

I guess that if I saw that page a couple years ago when I was just starting to use Celestia, it would have blown my mind. Sorry.
cartrite

[Luciusperca]

Thanks a lot!

I tried to bind the 64k normal map to the BMNG64k.
I edited the BMNG.ssc file:

Code: Select all

AltSurface "64K Blue Marble Next Generation" "Sol/Earth"
{
   Texture "BMNG.ctx"
                NormalMap "earth_normal_64k_dxt5nm.ctx"
   HazeColor [ 1 1 1 ]
   HazeDensity 0.25
   SpecularColor [ 0.5 0.5 0.55 ]
   SpecularPower 12.0
}


and the earth_normal_64k_dxt5nm.ctx looks like that:

Code: Select all

VirtualTexture
{
        ImageDirectory "earth_normal_64k_dxt5nm"
        BaseSplit 0
        TileSize 2048
        TileType "dxt5nm"
}


The .ssc file is located in the /extras/BMNG directory.
The .ctx files is in the /extras/BMNG/textures/hires folder.
And there is also the image directory "earth_normal_64k_dxt5nm".

But it don't works

Celestia loads only the tiles from the BMNG64k surface map, but not the tiles of the normal map.

Where did i make a mistake?
[/quote]

[cartrite]

What are you naming the level folders? From your first post I noticed you typed level 0 level 1. They should be level0, level1 etc. No spaces between level and number.
Other than that I can't see anything wrong. I'm not sure when dxt5nm was implemented in the pre versions. Maybe try pre3?
cartrite

[Luciusperca]

mmh, i renamed all level folders. But it still not works.
where can i find the pre3?
I'm using Windows XP pro. I could only find the pre 3 for MacOS yet.

[selden]

Lucius,

Look in the Users Forum.
Windows v1.5.0pre3 is described in a Sticky Posting near the top.

[cartrite]

Users forum http://www.celestiaproject.net/forum/viewtopic ... 8140#88140

[Luciusperca]

ok, tried the same with pre3 but it still not works.
I woundered also why there is no error message in celestia.
In the .ssc and .ctx files is discribed that celestia have to load the this normal map. But that is ignored.
There is no error in the "loading log" ("alt gr" + "+").
Do i have to edit solarsys.ssc or have i to do some other essential things to bind such a normal map?

[cartrite]

Luciusperca,
I've been searching the forum here and at sourceforge and I can't find any note that says dxt5nm was implemented in any pre-release. During the development of version 1.4.1, some of the features that were available in the cvs version were not in the pre release versions. That may be the case here too. Not sure.

Anyhow, try running Celestia and and type the "~" key. That will show whats loading and any error messages on the screen. Be sure to check that names are exactly alike, case and all, folder names too. And make sure that your card can handle dxt5nm format? Not sure if that is even an issue. Driver's updated?
cartrite

[cartrite]

Luciusperca,
I did a check on Celestia pre3. The cvs version and pre3 loaded a dxt5nm without any problems. A solid 4k texture and a vt. So you must have some other issues. Recheck the names, etc. I can't see anything wrong with what you posted.
cartrite

[steffens]

What render path are you using? Try switching to another render path that supports normalmaps (ctrl-v).
You put your texture under $addon/textures/hires - maybe you have to switch to hires textures by typing 'R' (Shift-r). I don't know out of my head if Celestia will search the hires folder if it can't find a texture file in the medres folder.

steffens

[cartrite]

steffens,
I think you may have found his problem. I can confirm that the dxt5nm files will not load unless I'm in OGL2 rendering mode. However, the textures did load from the hires folder no matter what resolution I was in.
Luciusperca,
As steffens posted "ctrl v" changes the rendering modes.
cartrite

[Fightspit]

When you do that:

Code: Select all

AltSurface "64K Blue Marble Next Generation" "Sol/Earth"
{
   Texture "BMNG.ctx"
                NormalMap "earth_normal_64k_dxt5nm.ctx"
   
   HazeColor [ 1 1 1 ]
   HazeDensity 0.25
   SpecularColor [ 0.5 0.5 0.55 ]
   SpecularPower 12.0
}

You must put the ctx file and the folder "earth_normal_64k_dxt5nm" in /extras/BMNG/textures/hires folder.

It should work.

[Luciusperca]

ok, i tried it with all render modes, but it still not works.
But I made a second normal map with .png tiles, which works without any problems!
What are the diffenrences (Quality, Performance) between .png and .dxt5nm?

[t00fri]

ok, i tried it with all render modes, but it still not works.
But I made a second normal map with .png tiles, which works without any problems!
What are the diffenrences (Quality, Performance) between .png and .dxt5nm?

.dxt5nm gives a huge performance improvement. The quality is slightly better for the lossless .png format. Did you mark "dxt5nm" as format in your relevant .ctx file? Also you may hit the ~ key to control which textures were loaded.

Good luck,
Fridger

[cartrite]

Luciusperca,
Just curious, what did you use to convert the tiles to the dxt5nm format?
cartrite