November 18, 2021

• Big Changes

  • Performance improvements!
    • For this rework, you will mainly notice a performance boost. The effects will look the same (or even better) as previous versions.
      • Now when using the whole setup it will consider only the active effects / sliders when computing.
        • This will save up a lot of time when using just a few effects.
          • Up to x3.6 times faster!
        • Also, we recommend using the 3.0 version of Blender with it as it basically reduces the render time by half.
      • Added new individual outputs for each effect. (Masks & Shaders)
        • Now you will find two new outputs per effect apart from the main output. One of them will give you the shader output and the other one the effect mask.
        • As you now have access to each effect mask, you can now use them to get a preview and have much faster feedback when working on a specific effect. This will also be helpful in case you may want to bake the mask for other purposes.
      • Reworked effects for optimization
        • "Scratches and Rust" (S/R section)
          • Node setup revisioned and much lighter to compute by default.
          • Added an extra "Optimize" Slider to optimize it even more (at the cost of some realism). Basically, it is a slider that works as a toggle. Any value that is greater than 0.5 "mutes" the bump effect. This makes the shader be processed x2 times faster.
        • "Smudgeness" and "Dust"
          • Subtle changes that boosted its performance.
        • "Dirt" and "Splashes"
          • Added an extra "Optimize" Slider as well.
  • Paint your effects!
    • Now you can use a "Paint" layer to fine-tune by hand the result of the procedurally created effects. For this option to work, your model will need to be UV unwrapped.
      • This new input is available for the Scratches and Rust, Dirt, and Splashes effects.

• Small changes

  • Fixed the not loading import Smart Weathering button bug for Mac OS users. Now, this button will import the shader into the scene as expected.
  • New effect, Cracks!
    • This new effect can be enabled/disabled inside the “Scratches and Rust” section.
      • Added variables
        • S/R Cracks
        • S/R Cracks Scale
        • S/R Cracks Mask
        • S/R Cracks Mask Scale
  • Interface changes
    • Added some "Input separators" to let you better see and understand where each section starts and ends.
    • Some sliders have been moved slightly in position for better grouping.
  • Reworked effect
    • The "Dust Variation" Slider now adds more contrast to the mask used. The new default is 0.5 instead of 0.8
  • Added variables
    • General
      • “ID (On/Off)” (toggle slider input)
        • This toggle will easily let you choose which material shows in the material preview mode (in 2.0.0 it showed the ID color unless you manually plugged another shader). The default value is still the ID color material to let you know at first sight which material has SW applied on it.
      • “Metallic Base Shader” (optional information input)
        • Input to connect and let it mix with the "Metallic" mask output information of the SW node. Only needed when the base shader has this information. Know more when and how to use it in the link above.
      • “Metallic” (mask output)
        • A Metallic output map has been added for baking purposes. This output collects the metallic information of the SW node and combines it with the metallic information got from the "Metallic Base Shader" input.
    • S/R
      • "S/R Optimize" (effect toggle slider input)
      • "S/R Bump" (effect slider input)
        • Controls the strength of the bump effect. It affects all the bumps of the S/R effects. Consider that this will not have an effect if the "S/R Optimize" slider is enabled "1".
      • "S/R Paint A (Stains)" & "S/R Paint B (Bubbles and Cracks)" (effect input)
        • Inputs where to plugin the hand-painted mask you create
    • Dirt
      • "Dirt Optimize" (effect toggle slider input)
      • "Dirt Paint" (effect input)
        • Input where to plugin the hand-painted mask you create
    • Splashes
      • "Splashes Optimize" (effect toggle slider input)
      • "Splashes Scale" (effect slider input)
        • This will allow you to cover more area (when set to 1) with splashes the object and control where it is not applied with the Splashes variation slider.
      • "Splashes Paint" (effect input)
        • Input where to plugin the hand-painted mask you create
    • Smudgeness
      • "Smudgeness Invert" (effect toggle slider input)
        • This new toggle will let you invert the effect of the generated mask.
  • Renamed
    • "S/R Bubbles Cavity Influence" to "S/R Cavity Influence"
    • "S/R Bubbles Cavity Influence Distance" to "S/R Cavity Influence Distance"
  • Removed
    • "Dust or Wetness (Toggle)" slider, now both effects run separately
  • Improved a bit the realism of the shader of the different effects.