Autodesk 12812-051462-9011 User Guide 3 - Page 1124

Component Options (Selected Elements Unique Settings) For a lighting map, you can choose not to render shadows, direct light, or indirect light. Normals Map A normals map saves a color gradient that indicates the direction of normals on the surface of the object. With a normals map, Direct3D rendering can make simple geometry appear more complex. With DirectX 8, you can view a normals map in shaded viewports by using the Metal Bump Direct3D viewport shader on page 5761. With DirectX 9, you can view a normals map in any shaded viewport. Component Options (Selected Elements Unique Settings) There are two unique settings for a normals map: Output into Normal Bump When on, assigns a Normal Bump map to the Target Map Slot, and places the rendered Normal Bump map in the Normal component of the Normal Bump map on page 6033. Default=off. Render Height Map into Alpha Channel When on, renders a grayscale height map and assigns it to the alpha channel of the Normal map. If you are rendering to a file type that doesn't have an alpha channel, this setting has no effect. Default=off. Height Map A height map is a grayscale map that stores the relative height of the source object when you render with normal projection. (See Creating and Using Normal Bump Maps on page 6384.) You can use the height map as a displacement map on the target object. This is a way to add detail to the edges of the low-resolution object, because edges are not affected by the normal bump map itself. NOTE When using a height map as a displacement map with the mental ray renderer, be sure to use the Height Map Displacement shader on page 6000. Also, turn off Smoothing, either globally on page 6294 or for the individual object on the Object Properties dialog > mental ray panel on page 322. In addition, when rendering with mental ray, if you're applying the height map to a standard material, apply the map as a Displacement map on the mental ray Connection rollout on page 5385 (unlock the map first), not on the Maps rollout. Baked Texture Elements | 6379