Shader Mixer with Uber Shader Problems
Dude3DLab
Posts: 38
Hello everyone. I wanted to add a custom parameter to the Uber Shader, and I learned that to do that, one must use the Shader Mixer.
But I stumbled upon a problem even before I started doing anything...
The thing is, I opened the Uber Shader in the Shader Mixer and reapply it without doing anything, and for my suprise the output is already different.
Is this a bug? Am I missing something? Does anyone know what's going on? I’ve sent an image to illustrate what I’m talking about and the different results I got.
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Comments
Which uber shader? The iray Uber base? It isn't a brick shader created in Sahder Mixer so some changes are inevitable.
Yes the Iray Uber Base, and I Understand that some changes are inevitable but I won't call the end result just "some changes"
It looks like the translucency map completly broke
Basically the only shaders that can be loaded back into the Shader Mixer are shaders that were built in it.
Of the shaders that come with DS only AoA's SSS shader can actually be reloaded back into the Shader Mixer correctly, as it was built using the Shader Mixer.
Some of the others can be loaded, but what you get is a rough approximation created by an algorithm, which usually breaks chunks of the shader.
A simple example of this was the default surface shader in DS3, reflection maps got flipped roughly 180 and lost their "fisheye" effect, also the min/max displacement settings got flipped resulting in displacement going the wrong way.
Sorry for the noob question but where can I get AoA SSS?
It's included in DS, as a specific file called "Subsurface shader base". For the record, it's a 3DL shader.
wow, did not know this....
I've often been loading shaders into Shader Mixer and then reapplying them to other surfaces as a way to copy a surface from one object to another with a different shader applied. I usually do this with PBRskin or Omnihair? would those not be made in Shader Mixer?
How else do you build a shader if not in Shader Mixer? Substance Designer to write the mdl file?
From what I've read Substance Designer has an MDL export function, so yes you could build your shader in that and export it, but DS doesn't use MDL files directly, so you will likely have to create a "Definitions" file ( the channels you see on a selected Surface) as well as a preset to load the base settings.
No idea how you would do that though as it's not something I've looked into, I just stick to building my shaders from scratch in the Shader Mixer.
Opt/alt drag the MDL file (from a mapped MDL diectory) into Shader Mixer and you will create a new custom brick for the file plus a settings brick to access its properties. Note that, as I recall, the Substance MDL shader has dependencies on some of its own libraries and I don't believe those can be shared with others.
Richard have you ever given that a real good look, while yes you can drag/drop an MDL into the Shader Mixer, much of the functionality coded into the MDL is now missing, and will have to be redone in the Shader Mixer.
Drag/drop is fine for those single function vMaterial shaders from nVidia, it can be a bit of pain accessing the built in presets though, a complete nightmare for anything more complex especially if it requires the ability to chop and change textures.