Difference between revisions of "DDS Files"

DDS Files (edit)

Revision as of 15:15, 2 May 2008

273 bytes added , 15:15, 2 May 2008

→‎DDS Settings used by Oblivion

Anonymous user

imported>Madcat221

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-NOTES: Saving a Normal map as DXT1 does not eliminate the alpha map per se, but simply packs it as a highly compressible all-white channel.  This has the unwanted side effect of causing full specular highlighting over the whole mesh to which the texture is assigned to.  DXT3 or DXT5 are strongly recommended for normal maps.
+NOTES: Compression for the RGB channels does not differ between DXT1, 3, and 5.  The differences lie in the manner in which the alpha channel is compressed.  DXT1 compresses the alpha map as all-white, which is highly compressible.  DXT2 has a two-bit alpha channel, either white or black.  DXT3 has a larger grayscale available ("Explicit"), and DXT5 has as wide an alpha map grayscale as it has for the color channels ("Interpolated").
-DXT5 can also function as a normal map format.  DXT3 uses an Explicit alpha map, which has a noticeable step in the grayscale gradients of the map.  DXT5 uses an Interpolated alpha map, which does not have this step and may be better suited for some situations.
+Because of this, saving a Normal map as DXT1 has the unwanted side effect of causing full specular highlighting over the whole mesh to which the texture is assigned to.  DXT3 or DXT5 are strongly recommended for normal maps.
+Though both DXT3 and DXT5 have alpha channels that can function as specular maps, DXT3 has a noticeable step in the gradients; DXT5's more gradual gradient may be better suited to some situations.
 Though parallax and transparency mapping can function at the same time, the formats in which the alpha channel must be configured for the two effects is usually incompatible and may produce unwanted effects.