baking Ambient maps max8 (render to texture)

[seforin]

ok I understand you have to use mental ray when your baking your maps, and im just doing defaults, but the maps arent coming out correct there like all dark for the most part and kinda grainy,I noticed theres some settings you can put in slected element unique settings tab, are there some magic numbers that make the maps come out correctly?

im using a 1024 X 1024 map right now, so the details should show up, because they show up nicely on the normal map?

[seforin]

anyone know this is really holding up me working on my scene right now

[Eric Chadwick]

Maybe this?
http://boards.polycount.net/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=234661&an=0&page=0&vc=1

[seforin]

hmm still isnt quite doing it..when I render I bake my normal map and then go back on my low poly , flip the normals? and then bake the AO map that way or am I doing this wrong?

[Eric Chadwick]

Nope, re-read the 2nd post in that thread. Do that just before you render the AO.

[Mark Dygert]

I'm 2 kinds of confused... the low poly mesh is getting in the way or the shadows are blotchy and speckled?

[seforin]

ok I got it now , go into the render to file, do your projection cage get it all setup, render normal map, after that delete the normal map as a render to texture tab, go back to your mesh


in your mesh under projection and go to edit poly

go to element

select all your low poly

Go to hide selected face, after that your low poly will disappear so to speak

while your still in your tab go back to projection

after that go to your render to texture, set to mental ray high, and then click ambient occlusion map

render it out, now it will render normal, no numbers needing to be played with

/images/graemlins/smile.gif