UV map active for rendering

Can someone help me to understand to this:
Since blender supports multi UV maps for cycles material, is there any reason keep button “Set the map as active for rendering” (camera icon)? Because with this new node you can use more than one map for rendering.


mont29 wrote me, it is used by BI. But what I tried I can’t confirm that.
BI use UV map selected in Texture Properties panel > Mapping, doesn’t matter what activate UV map is in Object data panel.

How does it works?
Thank you for help.

Here is a sample file with two UVmaps.
One map is activated for rendering in Object data panel (UVmap).
In Properties > Texture panel > Coordinates is selected UVmap.001 and this map is rendered.

Attachments

test-UVmap Layouts.blend (556 KB)

The camera is for selecting the UV Map used by the 3D viewport, and also on the “Multitexture” in the Game Engine.

The UV output on the texture coordinate node always uses the active map. Also, several Cycles textures, including the image texture, use the active UV map when nothing is connected to their vector input. Basically, the active map is the default map used if a particular UV map isn’t explicitly specified.

Cycles



If you wont connect any texture coordinate, UVmap with this little camera is used.

@SolarLiner: are you sure it doesn’t seem to me to have connection to 3d viewport.
With GE I don’t have experience, so OK :slight_smile:

@J_the_Ninja: ah, now I see. That is why it doesn’t work for me. It works only if map is not specify in texture panel or texture coordinate node. That seems to me over complicated uff…

Isnt it it more clear just by default use first uv map if unwrapped. And if there is more maps? Ok, just choose it from already existing texture coordinate node or in texture mapping panel, there is a right place to specify map. (Possible in BI and Cycles)
I just don’t see the profit. It is a place to create manage maps, but if you want to use you go to texture setup. Like this you have more places where to activate and if you set active via this icon, field in mapping panel stay empty. Isn’t it strange, confusing, complicated?

Another thing is what is the benefit of separated UVmap node for cycles?
It could be more consistent, merge it with existing texture coordinate node.
Plus -why cycles missing feature from 2.49 - give texture coordinates of another object?
it could looks like this … https://www.dropbox.com/s/8lzuwxtow3x1l3y/TexCoord_02.png

@gorion: sorry, screen is ok… Sentence doesn’t make me a sence.




If no Texture coordinate is connected to texture, then UV selected as active for rendering is used.

OK, thanks for explanations to all of you.

Do you thinks it is useful this camera button?
Thank you

Yes if you are trying out several different unwraps it’s easier to switch there instead of in all the other places. And although this is not used often you can keyframe it. Keyframing in the node editor does not always update.

To switch quickly between uvmaps for previewing how uvmap looks like you can just click on a name of uvmap in object data panel (viewport - texture draw mode). That is handy because in this state of work you work on geometry and unwrapping.
Later when you want to setup material and render, your screen occupy material panel or node material window.
So its easier and closer to switch uvmaps there for render.

Now I see also Material draw mode shows selected map in a list not selected for render.
That doesn’t seems to me so much useful, because it means - if you have several objects in a scene and each object has just selected (highlighted by blue) one map and you have selected for render another one - viewport will looks totally different than render.
It doesnt sounds so good…