add baking for Mikk TSpace normal maps and support for viewport and rendering

[companioncube]

add baking for Mikk TSpace normal maps and support for viewport display and rendering of Mikk TSpace normal maps 

[musashidan77]

With MikkT now the standard tangent basis that unifies the workflow(pretty much all modern DCC/baking solutions/game engines/etc have incorporated or are built on this tangent basis) I think it's high time Max reflected this. Max was one of the first DCC to introduce texture baking but, the RTT tools are now hopelessly outdated(comparatively)

The MikkT code is open source and could easily be introduced as an option, especially considering that there is already 3xoptions in the Preferences Settings(Normal Bump Mode) dialogue.

[michael_spaw]

+1

Thanks

-Michael

[revel68]

This would be incredibly helpful.  RTT was one of the biggest reasons to use 3dsMax and made things very powerful.  The normal maps currently don't really work for anything.  A solution for things like Unreal Engine would be amazing.

[musashidan77]

I've posted both of these as separate ideas on here. Max is long overdue for an update in this area. 🙂

[Harlyo]

i think we do need that

[Anonymous]

i read online a lot of people are buying max modeling in it and rendering in blender just because of the fact thier substance painter normals don't  work in max 

here is but one of meny examples https://polycount.com/discussion/199830/normal-map-displayed-flawless-in-marmoset-bad-in-3ds-max-vra...

i did not pay 1800 dollers for 3ds max(when you include taxes from reseller) to render in blender!

max was meant for both the archviz and the gaming industrys and now you need to choose do you want your model to work with max or with your game engine i am not saying replace the thing but add to arnold a mikkt or max tangent option so game models will work in max

nearly every 3d seller is forced to sell the same model as game + max version with no way to ensure it will look good in both

 and it is hurting the 3d industry as a whole please fix this

[brentscannell]

Are you guys in our beta program yet? We have a prototype in the testing phase, we'd love for you to try it out

[companioncube]

Thanks Brent. I'm on the beta, i'll download it today and try some bakes. Thanks to everyone on the Dev team who are working on this. Is it ok to create a few posts on polycount and other game dev sites calling for beta testers to try it out?

[brentscannell]

You're more than welcome to refer them over to this post or to reach out to me directly about the beta program. I'd be more than happy to get as many eyes as possible on this.

[shawnolson]

We have added MikkT normals into Max. You can now bake these with the new Bake to Texture Tool in 3ds Max 2021. For MikkT to be displayed correctly in the viewport, you must also set the option under Customize > Preferences > General > Normal Bump Mode.

[teratron]

This is great, but they still don't render (not bake) correctly in Arnold when you use them on a mesh.