Photoshop - combining 2 height maps

[Garasaki]

Hey guys, looking for a clue here.

I'm using photoshop 5.5 to make a track.  I have one disp map where I have my jumps and stuff drawn in, and I'd like to have a second disp map with some hills and stuff.

I know that you can have the track editor put the two maps together.  HOwever, for some reason, every time I try to do that with this particular disp map, the whole thing just turns black and dillo seems to not like it at all.  (oddly, I've had sucess doing this (composite-ing the disp maps) with other disp maps, and I don't know why this one is different).

So, in photoshop, I'd like to set up 2 layers, one with just the jumps, the other with the hills.  How can I then combine those two layers?

In other words, I want the grayscales of the two maps to be additive.  I just can't get that to work right as is. 

The closet I've got is putting the "hills" layer on top and at 50% opaquacy (sp?) but that seems to "bleed" the defination of our my jumps at the highest points on the hills map. 

Anyway, hopefully you guys understand what I'm trying to say and hopefully you know how to accomplish it.

[cR]

Try setting the blending mode to overlay or multiple, that works pretty good most of the time, if it doesn't try some other blending mode.

[VMX_SKYmx99]

Id say screen would work better than multiply.

[Garasaki]

Boy this is really frustrating me.

I've tried all those blending methods, it still dosen't seem to work.  What happens, is they all end up "melting" my jumps when I blend it.  Arg.

Dillo does very strange things when I try to do composites with the maps.  Also ARG.

[cR]

Send me the .psd ill take a look if you want, but I got CS so I dunno if you can open the .psd after it...

[Garasaki]

Sending right now.  If you figure out a method to do it, then maybe getting the file back isn't that important.

[cR]

Hmmm don't you have the layers of the jumps and stuff... you should put the part you want to blend in under them, that should work better.

[Garasaki]

I've tried it a number of ways (notice all the duplicate layers)

The way it's worked best so far is to have the background layer (with jumps) on the bottom, then a 50% opaque layer of the hills above it (screened I think) then a 50% opaque layer of the jumps above that (normal blended).  The problem with that way is that the hills end up being about 20% of the height I had intended them to be.

It's very hard to tell when the jumps have "melted" without loading it into dillo and riding it.

CR, could you try doing the composite mapping thru dillo instead of in the graphics program, and seeing how that turns out?

Also, did you ride it in dillo at all?  Any impressions?

[cR]

I haven't rode it in dillo yet, whats the grid/height?

[ATR_RaTaX2]

how about getting the dismaps then putting them into a 257x514 pixel image, then blend the hills in by blurring,smudging and adding bumps etc. then select the 257x257 on track then select 257x257 for perimeter, import to dillo and make sure smoothing is down to 0, hope i helped

later ratax

[Garasaki]

I haven't rode it in dillo yet, whats the grid/height?

52, 2.2  no edge smoothing, no smooth filter

[Garasaki]

how about getting the dismaps then putting them into a 257x514 pixel image, then blend the hills in by blurring,smudging and adding bumps etc. then select the 257x257 on track then select 257x257 for perimeter, import to dillo and make sure smoothing is down to 0, hope i helped

I don't think we're on the same page Ratax.  I'm wanting to put two disp maps on top of each other to create a composite of the two.  I think you are envisioning me making a track map and a perimeter map, which is not what I'm trying to do.

[Garasaki]

Let me try to explain this a different way.

Every point on these disp maps have a "grayscale" value.  For instance I think my base value is 15.  Pure white is 100.  Ok, I'm sure we all know that.

I have a grayscale map made.  Now, what I want to do is take specific points and ADD numbers to their grayscale value.

For instance, in a particular section lets say I want to add 50 to the grayscale value of each pixel in the section.  I could do it the long way...use the "eyedrop" to find out the grayscale value for each pixel, then manually add 50 to it, then use a paintbrush tool to put in the new pixel with the additional 50.  But, that would take a tremendous amount of time, because I'd be interested in doing that to some 4000 or so pixels.

There must be an easier way.

[Emerson19]

This may be a simple solution that might work, but if your jumps layer is on top can you delete the background on that layer them flatten your image.  You'll probably have to go over the image and smooth out some edges.