Weird moire-ish normal map
 

Here's what I did:

Modelled the high res mailbox and used the surface sampler to create a normal map.

I created a new Blinn and a new 2dplacedtexture file and pointed it to my normal_map.tga file, then used the connection editor to map OutColor to NormalCamera.

I turn on High Quality Rendering, hit 6, and this is what I get.

The details like the rivets and the rounded edges I added with photoshop. These details are much glossier (note, no spec map added yet) than what was generated from the get-go by Maya.

I have a ho-hom PC with a Quadro 750 using both the most recent version of drivers as well as the last certified version on the Maya qual charts. I have deleted my Maya folder and let maya recreate it. I have reset all the defaults on my video settings.

Even more frustrating is that it does it as well on my work PC, which is a GeForce 6800, but not a friends PC who is an environment artist.

What gives?

Thanks,
Christian

Here's a screenshot from Maya

does it look like that when you hit the render button?

... and you can always go into the card´s drivers graphic configuration and look what´s on/off and to what degree in each of the pcs if that issue really pisses you...

I haven't tried rendering the model yet, but as far as the settings, it's set to the Maya default settings. I monkeyed around with it some but couldn't anything to change.

Are you guys certain that this isn't a Maya setting that I could have accidentally screwed up?

Thanks.

I'm thinking it's a Maya setting with the rendering, or I am looking at two different issues.

I rendered the image, and it has a freakin mirror sheen. So I do a quick and dirty spec map and drop it on there. Now, when I do a render, I lose the normal map quality, and I see all the hard edges and what not.

Is there like a global reset button I can push??? Maybe uninstall/yank out the registry entries for Alias/Autodesk/reinstall?

just delete your prefs folder and it'll push everything back to default... but it'll get rid of any mel scripts you may have picked up along the way

That doesn't work. I've tried it. I've also tried applying different base material types to it, like Phong, with the same effect.

what kind of video card does your friend have?

A vanilla GeForce 6800.

update: I have uninstalled every trace of Maya from my system and the registry (all alias/maya keys). I reinstalled the PLE and without changing anything, opened my file. Same thing. It's only in the specular highlight that I see this. If I attach an all-black TGA to the specular color channel, then , this banding doesn't occur.

I'm ready to give up and wait till I can build my new system in August (or so my Wife says).

Thanks,
PG