3 Texture Height Blend

[Ricardo Teixeira]

Oh yes you are right... you can open only with Unity 2017.3.
I think newer Substance Design nodes works only with this version.
I know the result with Amplify could be different, but it's not problem.
I compare the two methods only to show where is the problem with the actual shader.
Regards

No problem, thank you for letting us know. Unfortunately, we do not support beta releases, we won't be able to provide official Unity 2017.3 Beta support.

We'll check your scene in order to be sure that it's working as expected.

[Ricardo Teixeira]

Hello,

Just tested your sample and it seems to be working as expected. The only problem that I found was the the Grass height texture that was not set to white(1) and some of the height values that needed tweaking. After painting a few weights, it should be possible to approximate the effect.

Try to think think of it as the lower layer peaking trough the grass, adjusting the rock scale and offset will create a similar effect to your substance reference. However, keep in mind that there will definitely be differences between the techniques.



I'll send you the corrected sample via WeTransfer.

Thank you for your patience.

[argenzio]

Hello Ricardo
Yes, painting on vertex could produce similar result. No height accurate but similar.
But the limitation on this technique shows herself when using Heightmap input as Tesselation and POM.

Note about the shader:
For the Designer material I have modify the example Tesselation shader, adding Normal and Metallic.
About your example shader "HeightBlendLayertest" i have simply added Tessellation as in Screenshot.

Above all I thank you for the time you are dedicating and sorry if I am so insistent.
But for me, having the ability to blend material by Heightmap, Paint, and the possibility to use in conjunction of Tesselation and POM... could be a real revolution in the environment creation.
Both for my work (architecture visualization), but expecially in level design for gaming.
There are many solution available.. but all of them are "closed". Having the ability to make it in Amplify and modify it as needed... really get me excited.

Regards

Screenshot13.jpg (94.9 KiB) Viewed 109893 times

Tesselation2.jpg (150.94 KiB) Viewed 109893 times

[argenzio]

This is an example made in UDK.
It uses a specific HeightLerp node, but unfortunately uses only 2 layer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dghCetkArJI

[Ricardo Teixeira]

Hello,

Hello Ricardo
Yes, painting on vertex could produce similar result. No height accurate but similar.

You don't want paint Vertex Weights? This shader was made specifically for that purpose, you might need a different solution.

But the limitation on this technique shows herself when using Heightmap input as Tesselation and POM.About your example shader "HeightBlendLayertest" i have simply added Tessellation as in Screenshot.

Not a limitation per-say, it was not made for that purpose. However, with a few adjustment your should be able to add tessellation. You will have to manually setup how you want to blend the heightmaps, don't connect the current output shown in your screenshot, those values are not suitable.

Above all I thank you for the time you are dedicating and sorry if I am so insistent.
But for me, having the ability to blend material by Heightmap, Paint, and the possibility to use in conjunction of Tesselation and POM... could be a real revolution in the environment creation.

No problem at all, we are always happy to help. Unfortunately, we are a small team, we're unable to take on complex shader requests immediately. However, we do register all user contacts in regards to new samples, I'll definitely add a note for this specific use.

Both for my work (architecture visualization), but expecially in level design for gaming.
There are many solution available.. but all of them are "closed". Having the ability to make it in Amplify and modify it as needed... really get me excited.

We understand, that's why we offer full source code.

This is an example made in UDK.
It uses a specific HeightLerp node, but unfortunately uses only 2 layer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dghCetkArJI

I'm familiar with the sample, you might be able to replicate it in ASE. Their height node is a Material Function, double-clicking it will reveal the used node network.

Alternatively, check the included simple Height Based Blending node.


That said, you can add tessellation by manually defining how the HeightMap textures are blended, will this work for you?

Thanks!

[argenzio]

How do you get the heightmaps to work in your example?
Could you please send it to me?
It could be the last piece of the puzzle for what I am trying to do.
Thank you so much!

[Ricardo Teixeira]

Hello,

It's a simple example, I recommend trying to lerp the height maps on your side as you see fit in order to achieve the effect that you are looking for.



In that example, I just plug the Rock height into the Lerp B port, the Dirt into the A port, and the inverted Rock height into the Alpha port. Not the most accurate, just an example, hope it helps.

Thanks!

[Esskil]

Hey guys! Just started using Unity and Amplify Shader Editor, and Im trying to get my head around creating a height blend material. I just can't seem to get my head around it... I need it to be driven by vertex painting as well, But I just feel that the height maps aren't blending at all in between themselves. I saw that what you guys talked about was way more complex than my shader setup and I'm wondering if theres an example shader that I'm missing in the package or if you would be so kind to let me have a look at the example shader that you guys were referring to. Couldn't find any step by step tutorials either so I really appreciate it! Thanks guys! ^_^

[Amplify_Borba]

Hey there, thank you for your support!

We do have a height blend sample that supports vertex painting, feel free to access it below and use it as a starting point:

HeightBlendTest.zip

(3.55 KiB) Downloaded 3537 times

Do note that its not included in the official package, it serves only as a possible example on how to achieve this sort of effect.

Please let me know it if helps, thanks!

[DuvE]

Hi,

Found this thread, last shader example from Amplify_Borba was great, but it kinda uses the different technique, right? I've seen Depth Blending before in some Assets and they used RGB to define each texture. In the example above, you actually need, for example, paint with (0,1,1) to get the first texture, with (0,0,1) to get the second one, and with (0,0,0) to get the third one visible. But overall this is working and can be modified.

I just want to ask, is there a better, more modern Height Blending technique for 3 textures?

PS: As I understand, with 2 textures you can achieve a perfect Height Blend material + Tessellation (Here are 2 examples, one from this thread and one I've found - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dghCetkArJI and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IazC6u ... e=youtu.be). But with 3 textures, it's a little tricky and I don't really know how to do this properly. I know only one example - https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... jZqn6veI0c it's a Vertex Tools Pro Asset, they somehow managed to make 3 texture blending with tesselation.