How to import custom mip maps?

Development Rendering
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Is there a way to import custom mip maps into unreal? The auto-generated maps are degrading to invisible at distance on vertical alphas (imagine black and white vertical stripes where the black is alpha). I could fix this with custom maps, but can’t figure out how to import them. Any other trouble-shooting suggestions would be appreciated.

1 Like
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not related to importing mipmaps directly, but have you seen this:

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You can import them when using a DDS file.

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You can import custom mip maps using DDS. for 2D textures only ARGB8888 will work. In Photoshop using Nvidia plugin: File, save, select 8.8.8.8 ARGB 32bpp | unsigned.

Trick if you want to draw something different on each mipmap:

  1. save your file as dds
  2. load back the DDS in Photoshop : File, Open, On the popup windows don’t forget to check load MIP maps
  3. you will then have a single image with all MIPs that can be edited in Photoshop.
  4. save as .DDS ARGB8888, check use existing MIP maps:All
  5. import in Unreal import your image using level of detail/mip map gen settings: LeaveExistingMips
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Hello, how do you get the dds/mip map from ue4?

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Hello, do you know where the LeaveExistingMips option is located in the 2020 Nvidia plugin version?

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This dose not work, ue4 dosent import those files. More here: https://answers.unrealengine.com/questions/32577/view.html

As of exporting Gimp DDS plugin seams menagable. Also more resources:DDS texture tools - Nexus Mods Wiki

If you have any idea how to force unreal to import custom mipmaps for standard 2D texture please help.
Its like twelfth time I needed that and couldn’t do it and Im going quite mad.

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This dose not work, ue4 dosent import those files. More here: https://answers.unrealengine.com/questions/32577/view.html

As of exporting Gimp DDS plugin seams menagable. Also more resources:DDS texture tools - Nexus Mods Wiki

If you have any idea how to force unreal to import custom mipmaps for standard 2D texture please help.
Its like twelfth time I needed that and couldn’t do it and Im going quite mad.

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Works fine for me. My test setup:
GIMP 2.10.20
UE 5.1.1
Texture size: 16

Steps to test this:

  1. Create 16x16 solid color image in GIMP
  2. Save as DDS: No compression, auto-generate MIPS
  3. Open the DDS in GIMP and choose to read MIPS
  4. Change color of each MIP to another solid color
  5. Save as DDS: No compression, use existing MIPMAPS
  6. Drag-drop DDS into UE content drawer
  7. Open texture, note it should have defaulted to MipMapGenSettings = LeaveExistingMips … if not the case then may need to set this and re-import
  8. Change LOD bias upward to see your imported mips