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Dec 29, 2011. xNormal 3.17.8 |
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Solved a problem scaling derivative maps.
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Recompiled using the latest libraries. |
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Nov 25, 2011. xNormal 3.17.7 |
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- Added support to import/export WebP images ( which is aimed to
replace JPG/JPG2K/GIF/PNG images ).
- Now it's possible to write image importers/exporters using Java.
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- The FBX mesh importer has been completely rewritten. Now it can load the
tangent basis from the files which is specially good if you use the Unity
engine.
- Fixed several bugs ( CS5 filters, problem closing the SBM exporter in 3dsmax,
use shortest diagonal, dilation in the OS2TS tool, Optix error message with some
GPUs, etc... ). |
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- Added a new experimental renderer based on the Caustic Graphics / Imagination
Technologies's OpenRL ray tracing API.
- Added a new map type: the derivative normal maps ( which
are aimed to replace old-school problematic tangent-space normal maps ). Thanks to Morten Mikkelsen again. |
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May 19, 2011. xNormal 3.17.5 |
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- Added support for Maya / 3dsmax 2012.
- Added more options to the triangulator ( use shortest diagonal, etc...
). We also added an option to offset the lowpoly mesh's UVs.
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- Updated the GPU renderer with the latest Optix 2.1 library ( which is
much faster rendering and precomputing data ).
- Added a new standarized tangent-basis calculator by Morten S. Mikkelsen which
solves problems with UV seams and it provides great compatibility across
applications. |
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February 9, 2011. xNormal 3.17.4 |
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- Added a post-render visual tool to control better the height map's clamping.
- Now its possible to output unnormalized raw floating point height maps /
vector displacement maps.
- Improved a bit the curvature map's algorithm.
- The ASE mesh importer now can read vertex colors.
- The Optix renderer is now twice faster.
- Fixed some bugs. |
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October 5, 2010. xNormal 3.17.3 |
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- Added a "toggle visibility" to the highpoly's context menu.
- Now you can render a new kind of map: the curvature map.
- Fixed several bugs. |
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Jul 28, 2010. xNormal 3.17.2 |
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- Added support for Growl notifications.
- Optimized the software CPU rendering a 5%.
- Fixed reveral bugs ( displacement map computations with MatchUV, Win7 .NET 2.0
detection, OpenGL 3.2 with Optix, hang rendering, DDS mipmaps, etc... )
- Recompiled using the latest libraries ( Optix 2.0 final, DX June 2010, etc...
) |
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May 25, 2010. xNormal 3.17.1 |
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Fixed some bugs:
- The TGA files exported from xNormal now can be loaded correctly by 3dsmax.
- Solved a problem loading dotXSI / Collada meshes that was crashing the program.
- The Optix renderer will take into consideration the "Ignore this device"
option. |
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May 7, 2010. xNormal 3.17.0
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Added support to import compressed meshes using the Marcus Geelnard's
OpenCTM format. You can compress a 10M polygons mesh in 1Mb without any
quality loss ! It also supports lossy compression if you need to reduce the size
more! HERE you have a video showing how
to convert a .OBJ/LWO/COLLADA into a .CTM file.
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Recompiled using VS2008. Now the program is 10% faster.
Upgraded a bit the quality of the AO using better probabilistic computations.
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Added support for Autodesk 3dsmax 2011, Maya 2011 and Phosothop CS5.
Added support for vertex colors in the PLY and DotXSI mesh importers.
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Added support in the .OBJ mesh importer to read ZBrush's Polypaint vertex colors.
The 3dsmax/Maya exporters/importers now can import/export vertex colors.
Also, it's possible to project the highpoly mesh's vertex color to a texture.
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Added an experimental ray tracing renderer based on the NVIDIA's Optix / CUDA
technology. The results are very good:
HERE
you can download the results in OpenOffice's .ODF format .
As you can see, NVIDIA's GPU cards beat the i7's software ray tracing performance
by a big margin.
I couldn't imagine what a Fermi card could do!
Go and test by youself! Just three notes:
1. The Forceware 196.21/196.34b drivers are bugged and crashes
Optix, so you'll need the previous 195.62 ones or the 197.13 / 197.45. For the
Quadro you'll need the 197.57 or above.
2. If you only have a GeForce card installed and you're using
WinXP probably the Windows's watchdog won't allow you to render maps.
3. Although Optix can run using a GeForce, I really recommend you to
use a Quadro / Tesla card to get the maximum performance.
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January 13, 2010. New tutorial.
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You can find a new xNormal tutorial at Eat3D:
"In this demonstration we go through taking a finished ZBrush model and generate
texture maps from it using xNormal. Everything from exporting your models with polypaint
in ZBrush, to generating ambient occlusion maps in xNormal are covered. "
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November 9, 2009. xNormal 3.16.13
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Solved a problem importing .OBJ files exported with ZBrush 3.5.
By popular demand, the examples are now sepparated from the xNormal installer and
they're available as an independent 7zip file.
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November 6, 2009. xNormal 3.16.12
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The SBM mesh exporter now works with Maya 2010.
Solved a problem rendering tiled/wrapped maps. The UVs no longer need to be in [0.0f,1.0f]
range.
Improved the sampling quality for ambient occlusion, bent normals and radiosity
normal maps.
Added an option to skip back-faces for the AO.
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Fixed a problem importing SBM meshes into 3dsmax that was causing the Projection
modifier to deform the cage.
We've new forums available. Thanks to Eat3D
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Now it's possible to specify a background color independently for each map.
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Improved the compatibility with Windows 7.
Solved some bugs.
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June 8, 2009. xNormal 3.16.10
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Made the ambient occlusion render softer.
Added an option to skip the file overwrite warning.
Added bright/intensity/contrast/gamma options to the Simple GPU AO Tool
Corrected a lot of bugs.
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April 20, 2009. xNormal 3.16.8
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Added 3dsmax 2010 support.
Improved the software bent normals rendering speed a 200%.
Optimized the BMP image importer a 500%
Solved some bugs ( Maya tangents, DX10 starfield, weld vertices, etc... )
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By the way... Matt Corcoran
has made an excellent tutorial about using xNormal.
I recommend you to take a look.
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March 17, 2009. xNormal 3.16.7
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Modified a bit the mesh cages to produce better results for non-organic models.
Added the "break" and "weld" options to the cage editor.
Now, by default, the cage will be continuous. The user can make it discontinuous
if required.
Improved the software AO rendering speed a 200%.
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February 17, 2009. xNormal 3.16.6
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Solved some bugs:
- OpenGL ".0f" error in the Simple GPU AO tool.
- Ambient occlusion / normal map misalignment.
- Minor problems.
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January 8, 2009. xNormal 3.16.4
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Added SBM mesh importer/exporter support for Maya 8.5, 2008 and 2009.
Added an option to see the vector displacement map's seams in the 3D viewer
Added a new tool: the SBM file converter.
Added a occluded/unoccluded color to the Simple GPU AO tool.
Solved some bugs ( AO from command line, unsigned height map, unnecessary tangent
computation, etc... )
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November 21, 2008. xNormal 3.16.3
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Added an option to display vector displacement maps in the DX10 graphics driver
( in both object and tangent space ).
It's very interesting because:
1. It gives very good results compared with parallax/relief/cone normal mapping.
2. It's relatively fast ( you gain 100x detail with only a 4x rendering speed cost
).
3. It could be used in DX9 and OpenGL too without problems. Just requires SM3.0
or above.
4. It saves a lot of video memory ( compared with a pre-tessellated static mesh
).
5. It can be used together with animated models.
6. It gives you an idea about the upcoming DX11's techniques.
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A lot of bugs were solved too ( cavity map MatchUV, Simple GPU AO tool cosine modes,
fixed command line arguments, etc... ).
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October 27, 2008. xNormal 3.16.2 released.
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Added an option to match UVs for subdivided meshes.
This can be used to render the maps faster and also easier ( you won't have to setup
any cage nor to measure ray distances )... the primary rays won't need setup.
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The internal renderer can manage now very dense lowpoly meshes in case you want
to use a subdivided model. This, combined with the new Match UVs feature, can be
a very powerful tool.
Solved some problems with the height maps and now it's possible to render vector
displacement maps. Also it's possible to render multiple maps in one pass.
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Added a new tool to measure the uniform ray distances in case you don't use cages
and neither the new MatchUV feature. Also added ray blockers support.
The height / thickness / proximity maps are now auto-normalized, so you won't need
to set the min/max distances manually never more.
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Added support for Self-Occlusion Radiosity Normal Maps ( SSBUMP), used in directional
light mapping ( in both projective rendering and also in the height map/normal map
tool.
Improved a bit the ambient occlusion algorithm with occluded/unoccluded colors and
added a new CosineSq distribution to preverve better the detail for wrinkles
and roughness.
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Added Adobe® Photoshop® CS4 support ( including x64 filters ).
Added a new tool to generate ambient diffuse cube maps from cubic environment mapping.
It also can output spherical harmonics coefficients.
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Improved the memory management for the images. Now should be possible to render
bigger bitmaps without running out of RAM.
Improved the SDK's compatibility with some compilers.
Solved a lot of bugs.
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