[Request] - FSS needs an update...

[N-drju]

First off, I'm sorry about a rant-ish type of post. But here goes...

I grow increasingly annoyed with the current fake stone shader. Or, to be more precise, with the way the stone displacements are being aligned and computed. Right now I have two options, neither of which is good enough for me;

1. Put the FSS after the compute node as a "shader".

Standard way. But whenever the stones are up on a slope, they start to take on the "y" axis displacement... I hereby officially coin the term "phototropic rocks".

2. Put the FSS before the compute node.

Displaces the stones along the normal, making them look natural... But negates every single possibility to mask them through shaders which require computed terrain information (e.g: "distribution shader".)


I think you see that neither of these ways is preferable. Right now, it seems, FSS can only be used on relatively flat surfaces which is clearly nonsense. I would like FSS to always be displaced along the normal unless I really want otherwise. If not, I kindly ask for an alternative (and no, for many reasons the "rock" object is not among them.)

[Matt]

If you put the Fake Stones Shader after the Compute Terrain it should follow the normal computed by the Compute Terrain node. If you put it before the Compute Terrain it will think the normal is pointing upwards (usually cloese to the Y axis). So I'm confused by the results you're describing, as it sounds the opposite of what I'd expect. Can you show some renders?

[WAS]

If you put the Fake Stones Shader after the Compute Terrain it should follow the normal computed by the Compute Terrain node. If you put it before the Compute Terrain it will think the normal is pointing upwards (usually cloese to the Y axis). So I'm confused by the results you're describing, as it sounds the opposite of what I'd expect. Can you show some renders?

It sounds like the weird behavior I've been noticing where we now need to drop in a texture coordinates after compute terrain which was never needed before.