qer_normalImage texture: sets the normal map for bump mapping

Working with the shaders of Darkplaces/Xonotic I got a few issues. Like that you don't declare all the textures inside the shader itself, rather it is automated to look for filename appendixes like _norm, _gloss; etc.

This might seem initially convenient but it means also that you're wasting a lot of VRAM as you will end up using quite a lot duplicate textures for normalmaps and glossmaps.

Noe I found a parameter in the wiki for defining the normalmap by different name,
qer_normalImage texture: sets the normal map for bump mapping

Problem is that I can't seem to get it to work. Also, it's prefixed by qer_ wich suggests it's only used in the actual editor, aka define the normalmap for use during texture baking.

It's a bit confusing to be honest. But if anyone could shed some light on this issue, I would be greatful.[/size]

Here is the wiki page referred to in the OP: http://dev.xonotic.org/projects/3/wiki/C...r_keywords

I can't find any reference to it in the source code. I have no idea where that list in the wiki came from.

It's possible it is deprcated from the Id Tech 3 shaderdecl where you could use normalmaps on the textures when you were baking the lightmaps for the levels. (can't recall how exactly it worked, cause I never bothered much with it back then)

Anyway, here's a basic example of how Id Tech 4 materials ref handle the different textures in a material.

Code:

textures/base_floor/roundfloor1
{
    metal

    qer_editorimage        textures/base_floor/roundfloor1.tga
    bumpmap            textures/base_floor/roundfloor1_local.tga
    diffusemap        textures/base_floor/roundfloor1_d.tga
    specularmap        textures/base_floor/roundfloor1_s.tga
}

Granted that it's nice and convenient to not always have to bother with this. But the shaders should at least support these so it won't be so wasteful when you set up your resources.