Textures - Bump map

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Quality Guideline: Textures - Bump map

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Possible Assessments

Approvable	TS4	TS3	TS2	Title	Description
				None	The bump map doesn't really seem to match the texture. The reason for this might be due to the fact that you significantly changed the regular texture but kept the original bump map. Though it could also be due to the fact that you might have used a desaturated version of the texture or maybe none at all!
				None	Your bump map appears to be a tad too harsh. With too much contrast it could lead to the textures becoming too harsh and maybe even be showing some weird stripes and details on your mesh! If you're not sure if your bump map is too rough for the game itself, the easiest way to check it is to compare it to a similar EA bump map. So for example, if you made a shirt recolour you can compare it with some of EA's own shirts :)
				None	Your bump map is pretty good. It's not over-strong, and the details you've chosen to bump map are appropriate - OR you have used a neutral bump map to remove the bump mapping entirely. Nice work! :)
				None	Your bump mapping is quite good. The strength of the bumps is right, and you've bumpmapped all the right areas. Nice job!
				None	Your bump map is fantastic! It makes your textures look perfectly 3D and very realistic. Excellent!

General Guidelines

Bump maps (also known as normal maps) are texture files that create small details in the mesh. These texture files use areas of shadows and highlights to create the visual effect of bumps, such as for buttons and wrinkles. If they were created using the actual mesh instead, it could make your mesh incredibly high in polycounts. Therefore, the gaming industry came up with an idea to create the bump map! Maxis/EA use this type of texture in their CASparts.

Here is an example if you're still a bit confused:

Bump map example

It's also important to look at the bump map when you create a recolour. Sometimes you might recolour something that changes a lot on the diffuse texture (which contains the actual colours and/or pattern design), then the original associated bump map might look out of place. That's why it's important to make sure that your bump map fits well with your recolour!

For example, you've chosen to recolour a jacket that has multiple buttons and bulky zippers in the Maxis version, but you don't want all of those details in yours. If you were to only change the diffuse texture, you're still going to see shadowy areas that make it look like those buttons and bulky zippers are still there. You would then go in and adjust the bump map to smooth out those areas. :)

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Examples

Correct - A good bump map

Why is this correct?

As you can see, the bump map works really nicely with our diffuse map. It's not too harsh, it fits perfectly on the detail-y bits of our mesh and is just perfectly done! :)

Incorrect - Not quite there yet!

Why is this incorrect

We can see that the bump map is nicely done, however shifted a little. This could happen when converting your CC from a 1024x2048 texture into a 1024x1024 bump map for TS4. For the Sims 3 and 2, it's more recommended to start making your bump map from the diffuse map.

Incorrect - Wrong-looking bump map

Why is this incorrect

As we can see, our bump map texture is showing up but clearly isn't the correct one! Sometimes this happens if you excessively changed your diffuse texture but keep the bump map! With that, it's recommended to remake your bump map. If you're not sure how you can take a look at the tutorials section on this page. :)

Incorrect - Too harsh!

Why is this incorrect?

Even though it might show those awesome details you might have wanted to show off, sometimes 'too much' can actually be too much! Especially in this case. If you're not sure if your bump map is too rough for the game itself, the easiest way to check it is to compare it to another EA mesh. So since we are recolouring jeans, we could either take a look at the original jeans we cloned or just another pair of jeans and see how harsh the bump map is on that.

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