CGMan

Octane Issue

Added 2023-05-06 05:43:18 +0000 UTC

So this is the problem...

Octane does not support every feature that is available in Lightwave. It does not support traditional methods of texture mapping with UV Maps. And it APPEARS it does not support weight maps. It does support three UV Maps per model. Pretty limiting. Nadia has 18 UV Maps. Her various body parts have their own UV Map with multiple displacement maps, typically one for her muscles relaxed, and another for the muscles flexed... And then another for her veins. I use weightmaps as masks to isolate each body part, so if she flexes her bicep, the relaxed displacement map blends into the flexed displacement map and the Bicep UVMapMask is the weightmap used to isolate this effect the the proper part of her body.

From what I am seeing so far, this kind of dynamic blending in and out of displacement maps in Octane is impossible. The base mesh can change shape as the muscle flexes, but the displacements for the smaller-level details that make it look like the muscles under her skin have tensed would not change.

I COULD be wrong, but this looks like the limitation I am running into with Octane. So it would be a faster delivery, but a less sophisticated result; from an anatomical standpoint. One analogy that comes to mind is it would look less like a motion picture animation and more like a video game.

I am going to continue to research my options.. But for now I will resume the original rendering.

EDIT: I was just informed that Octane does support weightmaps. I'll keep digging.