Looking for Someone to Write a Vertex Blending Shader (Paid)
by Dashiva · in Jobs · 09/28/2012 (3:20 pm) · 9 replies
One of the things missing in Torque right now is the ability to do texture blending like UDK or Cryengine or Unity. http://freesdk.crydev.net/display/SDKDOC2/Blend+Layer is an example of the Cryengine shader, and it is probably the simplest to do as it requires only the shader and not any editor modifications (like the vertex blending in UDK). Essentially the shader would take the information in the vertex color of the mesh and use it to blend two materials together, similar to the wind implementation already in Torque (perhaps it's better to go with vertex alpha because of this this).
This is something that is important for my current project and I can't find anyone who knows Torque well enough to do it. It should be fairly easy with shadergen.
This is something that is important for my current project and I can't find anyone who knows Torque well enough to do it. It should be fairly easy with shadergen.
#2
I would figure that it's a matter of performance/resource consumption. Rather than having yet another layer to load in for your material as a whole, use the data already available plus the very low requirements of vertex color info, and out pops a nice effect.
Working on this right now, should have something pretty soon on it.
09/29/2012 (3:32 am)
Quote:Hmm why not use a pixelshader and a blend mask? Might just be me missing the point of the vertex shader.
I would figure that it's a matter of performance/resource consumption. Rather than having yet another layer to load in for your material as a whole, use the data already available plus the very low requirements of vertex color info, and out pops a nice effect.
Working on this right now, should have something pretty soon on it.
#3
The hard part would be creating editors for it tho.
09/29/2012 (3:49 am)
Would be awesome to have something like that on a per object basis.The hard part would be creating editors for it tho.
#4
09/29/2012 (7:50 am)
You don't really need editors. You can do it in any modern DCC tool (Max,Maya,Blender).
#5
09/29/2012 (7:52 am)
Depends on how you would do it. My thought was that you could have different vertex painting on each instance of an object ( yeah I wrote that wrong in the original thread thus the confusion )
#6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UNpThobAkY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjJyD0j6We8
That includes a modification to the editor that modifies something in the mesh or level data when you paint on it (I don't think it's vertex colors, there's probably a per mesh file that's generated somewhere).
The Cryengine implementation is far simpler, which is why I'm suggesting it. The only real editor modification it would be a box to select the vertex blending shader, and maybe an intensity slider.
09/29/2012 (8:30 am)
This is true. I'm not sure how UDK handles it technically, but they do allow you to do it in editor. This in conjunction with their material editor, though, and getting that sort of functionality into Torque would be a huge undertaking. I think I've posted these in the IRC channel (I think you've seen them Lukas). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UNpThobAkY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjJyD0j6We8
That includes a modification to the editor that modifies something in the mesh or level data when you paint on it (I don't think it's vertex colors, there's probably a per mesh file that's generated somewhere).
The Cryengine implementation is far simpler, which is why I'm suggesting it. The only real editor modification it would be a box to select the vertex blending shader, and maybe an intensity slider.
#7
Edit: I could actually maybe do it if I had the time for it, maybe it will be my next project.
09/29/2012 (8:57 am)
Well letting each instance safe it's vertexcolor seperately isn't too much of an issue, so the technical part sounds like it would be easy enough the hard part is the editors. What use is it if you have the functionality but not the tools to utilize the functionality?Edit: I could actually maybe do it if I had the time for it, maybe it will be my next project.
#8
09/29/2012 (9:11 am)
The tools to use the functionality are already in any 3D app. All Torque needs to do is read the extra data from the vertex colors and render accordingly.
#9
The next step after this will of course be editor functionality, and that'll be a doozy. I'll keep updates.
09/30/2012 (1:23 am)
May be pleased to know that my progress is coming along quite smoothly with this. I admit I'm not very familiar with the procedural shader system, so I'm having to spend a lot of time to learn that as I go. But in any case, the basics are already in place, I just need to get the shader refined a bit. I should have a screenshot showing it off in a couple days.The next step after this will of course be editor functionality, and that'll be a doozy. I'll keep updates.
Torque Owner Lukas Joergensen
WinterLeaf Entertainment