What Are Scalar Maps?

[stevejjd]

Hi, in Texture Painting, Rendering and look Dev, what are Scalar Maps?

Are they used as

- Displacement Maps
- Specular Maps
- Masks
- Black and white Maps

Why are they used?
What do they do or offer?

Are Linear Maps the Same?

[stevejjd]

In the case of displacement, it refers to the magnitude or length of the displacement.

In the more general use-case it's typically used to describe a single-channel input (typically a floating-point value). Think of parameters which have names like gain, strength, intensity, multiplier, scale or weight in them.

For example, Diffuse Gain, Diffuse Weight and Diffuse Strength all kind of mean the same thing, Diffuse = Diffuse Gain * Diffuse Colour.

Raw is typically used to say "use the actual value in the texture", don't colour-correct it or transform it in any way - for example a gamma correct.