If we were able to layer surface appearances by having multiple on the same object with a zindex property, this would be significantly more powerful. From messing around with this i’ve noticed that it’s really not replacing most use cases for multiple color variants, as it applies to the whole texture. Meaning currently, you cant have bands of color that change on a otherwise unchanged mesh. With multiple layer you could for instance have a base layer surface appearance which does not get tinted, then another layer on top with transparency outside of where we want to tint. This update is a great step forward, but without this functionality, or some equivalent, it seems my days of uploading variants are far from behind me.
7 Likes
I’ve been dreaming of this for years. Thank you 
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I’m hoping for this too. Specifically for character customization systems, being able to layer PBR textures (and tint them individually) would extremely useful. It’s not currently possible to do this without duplicating the mesh, which is inconvenient, especially for animated rigs.
If this isn’t added, I imagine it will be possible with EditableImage, but having something like ZIndex for SurfaceAppearance would be much more straightforward.
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FINALLY!!! Super happy to see this, thank you so much for your work guys!!! I cannot wait to see how it evolves and also cannot wait for August 22 [I hope it makes it for that date]. It also comes in a great time! Thank youuuuuuu so muchhhhh!!! :]
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This is a great change.
Any chance that we could get a Transparency property for SurfaceAppearances too, and also the ability to apply more than 1 SurfaceAppearance to a mesh (and configure their ZIndex)? This would be absolutely amazing and be a massive step forward.
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Thanks for adding this.
Interesting to see Rojo being acknowledged like this. I always thought it was a fully unofficial third-party plugin.
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Amazing update. I’ll be able to create tree variations automatically when a game loads, and even add seasonal update without any change to meshes.
Cant wait to see this move into game.
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Modelling / rendering shopping list
-
Whole mesh color tinting support for SurfaceAppearance. (Nice!) - Vertex color blending support for SurfaceAppearance. (works without a surface appearance applied.)
- Better vertex alpha transparency support for meshes
- You have to set transparency to 0.0111 for it to work but it would be better suited as a rendering property similar to
DoubleSided.
- You have to set transparency to 0.0111 for it to work but it would be better suited as a rendering property similar to
- Blending between different SurfaceAppearances on a mesh based on vertex RGBA color.
- Emission map support.
-
PreloadAsyncsupport for SurfaceAppearance.
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Very happy this is finally out
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good feature but… emission maps when???
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This is insanely useful, thanks Roblox!
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Very nice update indeed! Kinda disappointed that roblox kept the emmisive maps for themselves (lava cracked texture)… hopefully that’ll be public soon!
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I’ve been waiting for this for so long, we’re finnaly able to change the tone of mesh textures without having to constantly edit and re-upload it.
Thank you so much for this
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I had absolutely no clue that they released a new version, Because I still used an old version from LPGhatguy aka Rojo 7.2.1 , But glad I’ve seen this before its too late.
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Re: Adding maps to SurfaceAppearance (+ @Ron1n_Sim, @gluGPU, @TucsonGuy, @CaioAlbarnBR, @Shinrai12, @SomeFedoraGuy, @Razorter, @PestikLove, @Linux_55)
We have those requests on our radar and especially emissive maps as they are very much requested by the community. At this time, our small rendering team is focused on other higher priorities, so we don’t have any plans to share, but we are tracking these requests and keeping them in mind.
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While it’s sad emission is not worked on at this moment, or atleast actively, it’s rather relieving that the team knows about the request. Thanks for the insight
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Your work is truly amazing. Seeing more and more great features being updated frequently makes every day exciting. Applause to all the developers!
Can i add to this list, the ability to enable/disable PBR both in studio and through scripting, so it can switch to using standard textures.
This would help with mobile support by adding something to a custom settings menu that would let players choose if they want to use PBR or not, depending if their device can handle it.
Thank you! We know how crazy it is to handle so many features, we’re glad you guys are keeping it in mind
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This here will be absolutely amazing. So many use cases i can only begin to imagine, especially neat for making seasons
1 Like