I was wondering if you can give all us mac users an estimated date on the release of ZMapper for mac ?
I feel frustrated like i just bought half a program! I am really looking forward to the realese, sins i am working with Maya along side ZBrush.
ZBrush 3.12 already has natively the majority of the things that ZMapper accomplished. For quality alone, the normal map calculation routines that are native to ZBrush 3.12 have been optimized in ways that make ZMapper unnecessary.
The primary purpose of ZMapper was to be able to create a normal map via projection from one object to another. ZBrush 3.12 can do this via the Tool>SubTool>Project All feature, and with more control than is possible via ZMapper. You simply project the details from mesh A onto mesh B and then go to mesh B’s first level to create the normal map.
The other big advantage of ZMapper was being able to create normal maps using details that come from a bump map. That made it possible to caclulate maps with more details than could be sculpted with the polygon densities that were possible at the time. This is actually something that was only possible in ZBrush 2. It does not work in 3.1 for the PC. In ZBrush 3.12 the polygon counts that are possible exceed the maximum detail resolution that a 4096x4096 map can hold. That means that in 3.12 you can sculpt all the details that ZBrush 2 was relying on a bump map to achieve.
All that really leaves for ZMapper is the presets. The problem is that those presets go out of date as soon as the destination program releases a new version. In version 3.12, simply find out what color flipping (if any) you need and then use the appropriate settings in the Preferences>Importexport menu.
In short, ZBrush has been optimized and streamlined to the point where ZMapper is no longer necessary. About the only thing that 3.12 cannot do is actually display the normal map on your model, and that is a hurdle that cannot currently be overcome via a plugin.
This would be great punctuation on many other threads I’ve read concerning Zmapper for MAC. Thank you for clarifying.
Actual usage of zmapper, xnormal and ZB 3.12’s mapping and evaluating the results may alter your opinion.
Hence many mac users want Zmapper3 and Multidisplacement3 with their additional support and settings. (I myself simply stopped using ZB on a Mac–it’s pipeline usability is, to be generous, limited.)
-K
I appreciate the response. I teach two classes (in a MAC lab) dependent on the Zbrush/Maya pipeline, so this Spring Break I’ve been pounding away at this issue. It has only been a couple day, so I’m catching your drift. I have one PC in the lab… it may be time for a sign up sheet. Thanks Kerwin.