Mr Normal Launched by HPTWare
by Matthew Genge · 08/02/2014 (11:03 am) · 17 comments
Mr Normal is a normal and specular map generator for windows. Mr Normal creates maps from diffuse textures, functions and normal map painting to produce unique assets for your projects.
Normal Maps from Diffuse Textures
Mr Normal can generate normal and specular maps from diffuse textures. Normal maps can be customized by changing the balance of fine, medium and large topographic features, the over all intensity (z weight) and the sense (y-up, y-down, x-right, x-left) of the normal map. Generating normal and specular maps from diffuse textures is quick and easy.
Normal Maps from Functions
Mr Normal allows normal maps to be generated from a range of mathematical functions allowing complex topographies to be generated. Normal maps generated from mathematical functions are highly useful in creating maps for architectural features and allow a single diffuse texture to be used in combination with several different normal maps to generate a wide range of different objects in your end application. Up to three functions can be layered and combined using add, subtract and penetrate to produce an enormous range of normal map topographies. Functions include perlin noise that can generate natural looking surfaces. Functions can be combined with normal maps generated from diffuse textures.
Painting on Normal Maps
Normal maps created in Mr Normal, or existing maps, can be modified using drawing tools in Mr Normal. Various brushes allow features to be added and emphasised within normal maps to generate truly unique maps. Tools include smooth and sharpen brushes that decrease or increase the slope of existing topography.
Fixing Normal Maps.
Mr Normal allows the intensity and sense (y-up, y-down, x-right, x-left) to be changed easily in an existing normal map.
Previews
Mr Normal allows created normal maps to be previewed on several geometries using several different diffuse textures.
Batch Processing
Normal maps can be generated in batch using different user-defined presets including functions.
Licenses
Free License
The free version of Mr Normal allows you to create normal maps from diffuse textures up to 1024x1024 pixels in size. The free version provides you with a quick and easy means of producing custom normal maps from diffuse textures.
Reward License
The Reward version of Mr Normal is for our existing registered users of Medusa Pro (the rock generator) and Forester Pro (the tree generator). We decided that Mr Normal would be ideal for users of our other products and allow generation of normal maps for trees and modification of normal maps provided with Medusa Pro and rock packs. As a thanks for purchasing our other products the reward version of Mr Normal allows you to generate normal maps from diffuse textures at any size and allows you to modify existing normal maps. To upgrade to the Reward version simply enter your serial code for Medusa or Forester in the register window of Mr Normal. This offer will include all future purchases of Medusa Pro and Forester Pro.
Pro license
The Pro License of Mr Normal includes all of its more advanced features including functions, batch processing and normal map painting. A pro version license is $30. To upgrade to Mr Normal Pro enter the serial code in the register window of Mr Normal, no further downloads are necessary.
You can download Mr Normal from our website.
www.hptware.co.uk/mrnormal.php
Normal Maps from Diffuse Textures
Mr Normal can generate normal and specular maps from diffuse textures. Normal maps can be customized by changing the balance of fine, medium and large topographic features, the over all intensity (z weight) and the sense (y-up, y-down, x-right, x-left) of the normal map. Generating normal and specular maps from diffuse textures is quick and easy.
Normal Maps from Functions
Mr Normal allows normal maps to be generated from a range of mathematical functions allowing complex topographies to be generated. Normal maps generated from mathematical functions are highly useful in creating maps for architectural features and allow a single diffuse texture to be used in combination with several different normal maps to generate a wide range of different objects in your end application. Up to three functions can be layered and combined using add, subtract and penetrate to produce an enormous range of normal map topographies. Functions include perlin noise that can generate natural looking surfaces. Functions can be combined with normal maps generated from diffuse textures.
Painting on Normal Maps
Normal maps created in Mr Normal, or existing maps, can be modified using drawing tools in Mr Normal. Various brushes allow features to be added and emphasised within normal maps to generate truly unique maps. Tools include smooth and sharpen brushes that decrease or increase the slope of existing topography.
Fixing Normal Maps.
Mr Normal allows the intensity and sense (y-up, y-down, x-right, x-left) to be changed easily in an existing normal map.
Previews
Mr Normal allows created normal maps to be previewed on several geometries using several different diffuse textures.
Batch Processing
Normal maps can be generated in batch using different user-defined presets including functions.
Licenses
Free License
The free version of Mr Normal allows you to create normal maps from diffuse textures up to 1024x1024 pixels in size. The free version provides you with a quick and easy means of producing custom normal maps from diffuse textures.
Reward License
The Reward version of Mr Normal is for our existing registered users of Medusa Pro (the rock generator) and Forester Pro (the tree generator). We decided that Mr Normal would be ideal for users of our other products and allow generation of normal maps for trees and modification of normal maps provided with Medusa Pro and rock packs. As a thanks for purchasing our other products the reward version of Mr Normal allows you to generate normal maps from diffuse textures at any size and allows you to modify existing normal maps. To upgrade to the Reward version simply enter your serial code for Medusa or Forester in the register window of Mr Normal. This offer will include all future purchases of Medusa Pro and Forester Pro.
Pro license
The Pro License of Mr Normal includes all of its more advanced features including functions, batch processing and normal map painting. A pro version license is $30. To upgrade to Mr Normal Pro enter the serial code in the register window of Mr Normal, no further downloads are necessary.
You can download Mr Normal from our website.
www.hptware.co.uk/mrnormal.php
About the author
I am an Earth Scientist who likes writing games for fun.
#2
I had a little issue with a normal map from a 512x512 texture, it generated ugly pixelated artifacts.
08/03/2014 (2:51 pm)
Just tried it out and generated some quick normal maps, the quality was good from what I had so far. I compared it to some other normal maps from other tools and MrNormal did the fine details slightly better.I had a little issue with a normal map from a 512x512 texture, it generated ugly pixelated artifacts.
#3
If you can post or send us the diffuse texture (support@hptware.co.uk) will fix whatever caused the issue. So far we've encountered some artifacts with over sharpening, but not with diffuse image generation. It "should" be size invarient....but I am sure we can sort this out.
Best,
Matt
08/03/2014 (3:44 pm)
Hi Duion,If you can post or send us the diffuse texture (support@hptware.co.uk) will fix whatever caused the issue. So far we've encountered some artifacts with over sharpening, but not with diffuse image generation. It "should" be size invarient....but I am sure we can sort this out.
Best,
Matt
#4
08/03/2014 (9:06 pm)
This is so cool. Will definitely give this a try. Thanks for the Rewards version ... Greatly appreciated. 8-}
#5
08/06/2014 (9:52 am)
I just noticed there is no heightmap function, but a heightmap is necessary if you want to produce parallax textures.
#6
Your wish is my command. Expect a heightmap in the next version...I'll include it along with the reward version.
Best,
Matt
08/07/2014 (4:45 pm)
Duion,Your wish is my command. Expect a heightmap in the next version...I'll include it along with the reward version.
Best,
Matt
#7
I just got another idea, you could add an ambient occlusion layer, this is similar to bump map filter, I use it sometimes as well as the sharpen filter to enhance my diffuse maps.
08/07/2014 (6:53 pm)
Cool, if it's that easy, I should come up with more ideas.I just got another idea, you could add an ambient occlusion layer, this is similar to bump map filter, I use it sometimes as well as the sharpen filter to enhance my diffuse maps.
#8
The normal map needs a blur function, since sometimes, you get pixelated normal maps or you want smoother normal maps.
The preview needs a lightsource that can be moved around, so people can test how the texture behaves under different light.
The exporter needs settings, so that you can setup what layers you want to export and how they should be called, since not everyone calls them "texture_01_normal", some people use a shorter named version.
08/08/2014 (3:23 am)
More features that some people may want:The normal map needs a blur function, since sometimes, you get pixelated normal maps or you want smoother normal maps.
The preview needs a lightsource that can be moved around, so people can test how the texture behaves under different light.
The exporter needs settings, so that you can setup what layers you want to export and how they should be called, since not everyone calls them "texture_01_normal", some people use a shorter named version.
#9
All very good suggestions. I am making a list. You'll know from Forester and Medusa that we like getting suggestions and implementing them to make our software better.
We're also working on something cool...we are just playing around at present on getting the GPU to do more of the number crunching to see if we can massively increase performance.
08/08/2014 (4:52 pm)
Hi Duion,All very good suggestions. I am making a list. You'll know from Forester and Medusa that we like getting suggestions and implementing them to make our software better.
We're also working on something cool...we are just playing around at present on getting the GPU to do more of the number crunching to see if we can massively increase performance.
#10
08/09/2014 (4:41 pm)
Maybe just fine,medium and large are not enough, sometimes I want more control over the different scales, maybe one or two more values like fine, small, medium, large, huge or make it dynamic, since it seems to be based on texture resolution. 1024x1024 textures seem to work best, this was also in most other tools I used, but when you go smaller or higher, the results are not that good.
#11
Also I feel that the menu is a little uncomfortable, I would make the preset menu fixed to the left side and the image fixed to the right side, this will fit good, because most screens are widescreens and most textures are square and I would remove the functions, since they take up much space in the menu, but are not used that often, better make a switch to activate them optional. The function to add some extra noise to your texture as a normal map is a fine idea, but the other functions like slat lines, ripples, criss-cross lines and so on are a different field of program, they are more for texture generating, not for making a normal map from a diffuse, but for a texture generator MrNormal is not sufficient at the moment.
08/10/2014 (6:06 am)
Most other tools also have a realtime-preview of what you are doing, so if you change a value it will instantly calculate this change and show it to you in the picture.Also I feel that the menu is a little uncomfortable, I would make the preset menu fixed to the left side and the image fixed to the right side, this will fit good, because most screens are widescreens and most textures are square and I would remove the functions, since they take up much space in the menu, but are not used that often, better make a switch to activate them optional. The function to add some extra noise to your texture as a normal map is a fine idea, but the other functions like slat lines, ripples, criss-cross lines and so on are a different field of program, they are more for texture generating, not for making a normal map from a diffuse, but for a texture generator MrNormal is not sufficient at the moment.
#12
Realtime Preview
There is a realtime preview. Just select show cube, sphere or cylinder in the right mouse context menu. When you change parameters in the create window and recreate the map the preview will be updated.
Functions and the Menu
Functions are a crucial and unique feature of Mr Normal. They allow you to create a wide range of normal maps that differ from simply a height map of a diffuse texture. This is extremely useful since they allow you to use normal maps to create different topographies using the same diffuse texture. Say you have a walls with several different architectural features, you can use the same diffuse texture and different normal textures halving the textures that are loaded. But I do like your suggestion to add a rollout option that will show the functions. We can quite easily implement this.
Texture Generation
Diffuse texture generation using Mr Normal is a possibility in future released, however, normal maps on the same diffuse texture have the same effect. We might in future do a Mr Diffuse since there are many other features that could be added to make decent diffuse textures.
Thanks for all the suggestions
08/10/2014 (9:23 am)
Hi Duion,Realtime Preview
There is a realtime preview. Just select show cube, sphere or cylinder in the right mouse context menu. When you change parameters in the create window and recreate the map the preview will be updated.
Functions and the Menu
Functions are a crucial and unique feature of Mr Normal. They allow you to create a wide range of normal maps that differ from simply a height map of a diffuse texture. This is extremely useful since they allow you to use normal maps to create different topographies using the same diffuse texture. Say you have a walls with several different architectural features, you can use the same diffuse texture and different normal textures halving the textures that are loaded. But I do like your suggestion to add a rollout option that will show the functions. We can quite easily implement this.
Texture Generation
Diffuse texture generation using Mr Normal is a possibility in future released, however, normal maps on the same diffuse texture have the same effect. We might in future do a Mr Diffuse since there are many other features that could be added to make decent diffuse textures.
Thanks for all the suggestions
#13
The whole point of normal map generators is to generate the additional layers you need for a material when you don't have them, like with photo textures, this includes the diffuse, the diffuse is more likely an output of a normal map generator than an input.
You likely do not have perfect diffuse textures, they can only be rendered, the normal map generator extracts the diffuse and the geometry and exports it into different layers.
From perfect diffuse textures you cannot generate normal maps at all, since they don't contain lighting, you can only add geometry through your functions, but in this case the whole other normal map generator is useless.
For me there are not enough functions at the moment to use MrNormal for generating different geometry for one diffuse texture.
So you may focus on the different areas of application and not mix them, before one is fully functional.
08/10/2014 (10:17 am)
This is not realtime preview, you have to enter the numbers, then click on generate, wait and you see the result, other tools instantly show you the result when you change something. Most tools use sliders, so if you move the slider a bit, the image gets updated at the same time, no need to enter numbers, click generate, wait and see the result. I don't know if it works well with numbers to enter, but it is very comfortable with sliders, you may consider using sliders.The whole point of normal map generators is to generate the additional layers you need for a material when you don't have them, like with photo textures, this includes the diffuse, the diffuse is more likely an output of a normal map generator than an input.
You likely do not have perfect diffuse textures, they can only be rendered, the normal map generator extracts the diffuse and the geometry and exports it into different layers.
From perfect diffuse textures you cannot generate normal maps at all, since they don't contain lighting, you can only add geometry through your functions, but in this case the whole other normal map generator is useless.
For me there are not enough functions at the moment to use MrNormal for generating different geometry for one diffuse texture.
So you may focus on the different areas of application and not mix them, before one is fully functional.
#14
I always appreciate your comments, since even though they are always somewhat on the critical-side, they often contain helpful little suggestions that we can use to make our software better. There's been lots of good ideas here that will appear in future releases.
Realtime Preview
Yes you have to press a button, wait a few seconds, and then the preview is updated. I think this is pretty much realtime. If you do this with other normal generators they also pause for a a second or two before they update. They just don't show a progress bar like ours. We don't use sliders because they have a major disadvantage. They have a specific maximum and minimum and limit the values you can select. I will, however, be the first to admit that Mr Normal is not the fastest normal map generator, we are looking at ways of speeding it up.
Normal Map Generation
I am afraid you are mistaken on how normal maps are generated from diffuse textures. There is no extraction or addition of a geometry. A heightmap is generated from the image and split into components using high, low and medium bandwidth passes. All normal map creators work this way. I personally don't know a single normal map creator that also creates a diffuse texture. Mr Normal is, as far as I know, the only normal map creator that uses functions to generate additional topography not included in the diffuse texture. This is useful in generating architectural features. You are right, however, that some diffuse textures are no good in generating normal maps, a completely plain, one colour diffuse texture will not produce a good normal map. You can, however, use normal maps created from one diffuse texture with an entirely different diffuse texture in your end application. In the preview of Mr Normal you can swap the preview diffuse texture for this reason.
All features in Mr Normal are fully functional, they all work and produce effects exactly as advertised. We think that Mr Normal provides more than the majority of other leading normal map creators....and a lot of features are free....
08/10/2014 (11:42 am)
Dear Duion,I always appreciate your comments, since even though they are always somewhat on the critical-side, they often contain helpful little suggestions that we can use to make our software better. There's been lots of good ideas here that will appear in future releases.
Realtime Preview
Yes you have to press a button, wait a few seconds, and then the preview is updated. I think this is pretty much realtime. If you do this with other normal generators they also pause for a a second or two before they update. They just don't show a progress bar like ours. We don't use sliders because they have a major disadvantage. They have a specific maximum and minimum and limit the values you can select. I will, however, be the first to admit that Mr Normal is not the fastest normal map generator, we are looking at ways of speeding it up.
Normal Map Generation
I am afraid you are mistaken on how normal maps are generated from diffuse textures. There is no extraction or addition of a geometry. A heightmap is generated from the image and split into components using high, low and medium bandwidth passes. All normal map creators work this way. I personally don't know a single normal map creator that also creates a diffuse texture. Mr Normal is, as far as I know, the only normal map creator that uses functions to generate additional topography not included in the diffuse texture. This is useful in generating architectural features. You are right, however, that some diffuse textures are no good in generating normal maps, a completely plain, one colour diffuse texture will not produce a good normal map. You can, however, use normal maps created from one diffuse texture with an entirely different diffuse texture in your end application. In the preview of Mr Normal you can swap the preview diffuse texture for this reason.
All features in Mr Normal are fully functional, they all work and produce effects exactly as advertised. We think that Mr Normal provides more than the majority of other leading normal map creators....and a lot of features are free....
#15
My whole point with adding architectural features to the textures, that this only works well with real diffuse textures, but the textures you put in are mostly not diffuse textures.
Diffuse means without lighting, but a texture consists of lighting and shadows. Diffuse layer is for this physically based rendering system, but most people get it wrong, but I don't like this technique so much also.
What looks more useful, is the normal map painter, since so far I need to paint them by hand in another program and then bring them back into the generator, so this function has potential to me, but it needs more techniques. Painting by hand is more accurate than generating and can give much better results.
08/10/2014 (12:39 pm)
Diffuse texture is generated through equalizing the lighting, some tools have this function, but it is easy to do otherwise, I just thought, if your program puts out a diffuse texture, it should alter it in some way, since the textures you put in are not really diffuse textures.My whole point with adding architectural features to the textures, that this only works well with real diffuse textures, but the textures you put in are mostly not diffuse textures.
Diffuse means without lighting, but a texture consists of lighting and shadows. Diffuse layer is for this physically based rendering system, but most people get it wrong, but I don't like this technique so much also.
What looks more useful, is the normal map painter, since so far I need to paint them by hand in another program and then bring them back into the generator, so this function has potential to me, but it needs more techniques. Painting by hand is more accurate than generating and can give much better results.
#16
What extra features would you find useful in the painter? We are planning to add more brushes, but these will be mainly different shapes.
We are also planning to add some support to minimize artifacts for images with alpha channels.
08/10/2014 (1:06 pm)
You know we could do this, for example, add ambient occlusion or directional lighting shadows to diffuse textures, even separate diffuse textures not used in generation of the normal map.What extra features would you find useful in the painter? We are planning to add more brushes, but these will be mainly different shapes.
We are also planning to add some support to minimize artifacts for images with alpha channels.
#17
Also I just noticed that MrNormal does not support drag and drop, I am pretty much used to drag and drop. If it would be possible with MrNormal this would be cool, just drag and drop your texture in it and it will processed, browsing through the folders every time can be annoying.
I know I have much critique, but I wanted to say again, that MrNormal puts out quite good results, the fine details are better than any other I had so far, but on the other side it gets crap if you don't need these fine details and want smooth large details, then MrNormal does not good.
08/10/2014 (2:25 pm)
What is needed would be functions for straight lines or simple geometry, like pick up an area and raise it, then smooth it if desired and most importantly the texture should stay seamless. But overall I cannot really tell yet, I did not do a lot of normal map painting. I would pick some example textures and try to quickly paint the geometry on it and see what problems arise.Also I just noticed that MrNormal does not support drag and drop, I am pretty much used to drag and drop. If it would be possible with MrNormal this would be cool, just drag and drop your texture in it and it will processed, browsing through the folders every time can be annoying.
I know I have much critique, but I wanted to say again, that MrNormal puts out quite good results, the fine details are better than any other I had so far, but on the other side it gets crap if you don't need these fine details and want smooth large details, then MrNormal does not good.
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