Reflection quality/resolution for trackside object

[Paprika]

I do have 3dsimed, but at the moment my workflow is: set all materials to T1 initially and then do the rest from the browser editor.

 

[redapg]

OK, load the Mesh with the Glas into 3DSimEd, select the WindscreenOutside Shader for the Glas and make the usual Settings, set 1 (Reflection Mapper) to True and 2 (Cube Blend Percentage) to 80 or something like that.
Then load the Track and select that Material in the Web Browser Material Editor, make more Modifications if needed and save everything as a Material JSON File.
To adjust the Cube Blend Percentage now, you can open the JSON File and modify the Value "blendPercent": , until you get the wanted Result.
It's really a Shame, that there is no Slider for that, in the Editor....so you have to always reload the Track to see the Result, after you did edit the Value.

EDIT When you edit the JSON File shut down the Browser with the Material Editor, so that your Changes take Effect.

 

[Alex Sawczuk]

I would use ibl glass shader, and put some subtle normals in there so that you adjust the range of the reflections, a straight flat plane won't capture the same as real life due to the way mappers are rendered. You also need to setup a static mapper Infront of where you want the reflections, but it won't be right all the time, no.

 

[redapg]

I would use ibl glass shader, and put some subtle normals in there so that you adjust the range of the reflections, a straight flat plane won't capture the same as real life due to the way mappers are rendered. You also need to setup a static mapper Infront of where you want the reflections, but it won't be right all the time, no.

I haven't tried with the IBL Glas Shader, but with a Cube Map T1 or the WindscreenOutside Shader, when i use a Static Mapper, the Reflection moves along with the Car, instead of being static.
Or does "Static" for the Static Mapper mean something else?

 

[Paprika]

Ah, so there is some 'hidden' stuff.
Thank you! See, these are the things that would take time for me to discover, if i'd discover them at all.
All the help is much appreciated!

Although, I'm now debating with myself what to do in the end.
The one with windscreen shader has much better reflection quality. but only works with refmap mapper and looks rather distracting.
The one with static mapper is incorrect in all possible ways, but it is way less noticeable and not distracting almost at all.
And I managed to find the worst looking solution of all, series of static mappers. That would have probably looked better if it was the series of A LOT of mappers. But with just a few it's effectively unusable. Even single static mapper seems to do better job in ths case.

And this brings me around to the original thought, since I'm now leaning towards single static mapper solution, if only we could get reflection quality at least like it's with the windscreen shader.
Which one would you go for?
And just a thought, could there be a parameter in json that's effectively limiting factor for the projection resolution...

 

[Paprika]

I would use ibl glass shader, and put some subtle normals in there so that you adjust the range of the reflections, a straight flat plane won't capture the same as real life due to the way mappers are rendered. You also need to setup a static mapper Infront of where you want the reflections, but it won't be right all the time, no.

That's what I went for initially, but I couldn't get reflections nowhere near as sharp even as windscreen ones, let alone the highest quality one shown on the (ibl debug) sphere (yet they're being captured, just not projected).

 

[redapg]

...could there be a parameter in json that's effectively limiting factor for the projection resolution...

I suppose, that the Reflection Quality can not be influenced in the Material JSON of the Material that shall have the Reflection, but i thought that it could be done with the Mapper Value TextureSize = ... (higher Resolution = better Quality i thought), but while testing, i also tried it with 256 and 8192 as Values and it didn't make a Difference.
In Cases like this, it would help the Modders a lot, if we would have full Information about what Shaders and Reflection Mappers are "doing" exactly.

 

[Paprika]

I did test that too. With no luck. I even tried quickly comparing jsons of windscreen material and ibl standard, but i'll need to dedicate a bit more time to that. It's obviously being captured in desired resolution.
And yes, some extensive documentation would be very helpful.

 

[Paprika]

Alright, a little update on reflection quality.
I spoke to Mirza for a tiny bit today and the info is as follows:
Highest quality reflections I speak about are reserved for wildcard materials on cars (these actually are the main bits and it makes sense for them to be considered important).

Edit: And before you ask, i did try with just naming my material in that manner

 

[redapg]

Alright, a little update on reflection quality.
I spoke to Mirza for a tiny bit today and the info is as follows:
Highest quality reflections I speak about are reserved for wildcard materials on cars (these actually are the main bits and it makes sense for them to be considered important).

Edit: And before you ask, i did try with just naming my material in that manner

A bit off Topic, but... in Cars, for Cockpit Textures, i sometimes deactivate the Mipmapping in the Shader Settings in 3DSMax, to get the best Quality, because even if the Surface with the Texture is very close to the Driver, you don't always see the highest Resolution MipMap, if Mipmapping is activated.
But that has no Effect on Reflections.

 

[Paprika]

Ok, so I will be moving on to the next project.
You guys have been nothing but helpful and i thank you greatly for that.
I've learned a lot and I'm really hoping to learn more, so... seeya in another post hopefully!
All the best to you!