Anyone knows how to make a less glow interpolated alpha texture in pho

[scot]

Hello, I was wonder if anyone knows how to make the interpolated alpha (texture_n) less glowy.I´m using photoshop.Thank you for you´r time

[DrakeTheDragon]

You're talking of normalmaps here, that's the "..._n.dds" files. Interpolated Alpha is just 1 of 3 DXT compression types DDS files can be stored in, though the most used for normalmaps.

Anyways, the Alpha Channel, i.e. transparency of the normalmaps defines how much light the object reflects and where. Completely opaque (should be bright white in the alpha channel) means it will reflect massively, like a mirror, just without actually mirroring anything, while completely transparent (pitch black in alpha channel) doesn't reflect any light at all and the mesh stays pitch black ingame, just as if it was "missing" a normalmap. If you keep your alpha channel really very dark, so it's hard to see anything of the normalmap due to its extreme transparency, then you usually have a nice, not-so-shiny appearance ingame.

 

Also mind the render types for the NiTexture property in the NIF. Settings like "highlight" will make it extremely reflective and shiny, although even here the normalmap's alpha channel has the last word in the matter "how much".

A material like "EnvMap" (environment mapping) obviously will also cause certain shinyness and reflectivity, but again, the alpha channel of the normalmap defines how much.

 

Storing normalmaps in DXT1 or any format without alpha channel might work and give you no shine at all, but it could also go wrong and give you extremely shiny or pitch black meshes. Which of these happens is bound to factors I'm not aware of as of yet, so it seems to be pretty random still. Thus it's best not to store normalmaps in formats without alpha channel to begin with. Just playing safe.

Edited June 14, 2011 by DrakeTheDragon

[scot]

I see.The normalmaps I´m doing are for my character body and head textures, yesterday I was able to find a solution by changing the alpha field to 0.0 in normal map setting and it seems to be working.I´m saving the textures with DTX5.Still thank you for you´r time.