The generated ashlar albedo never showed for two reasons that had nothing to do with the material graph,
which was verified correct the whole time (TextureSampleParameter2D -> Multiply -> Base Color, colour sampler,
texture set, 6x UV tiling):
1. **The map overrode every hero slot.** The generic per-slot material pass in ue_build_demo_map.py assigned
the facade KIT's flat stone to every actor whose slot names looked like stone, banner, glass - including
Hero_Facade. Whatever the import authored was replaced at map build time. The hero is now excluded and gets
its own materials.
2. **Mesh slot assignment does not persist.** Assigning to mesh.get_editor_property('static_materials') returns a
copy; after a reload the mesh still pointed at the original imported materials (measured twice). Component
level overrides do persist in the saved map, so apply_hero_materials() sets them in both builders.
The elevation now renders as coursed, grainy warm limestone with banners, window bays and recessed portals.
Rows 4-6 re-rendered and pending review; the comparison plate is regenerated. Still missing against the
reference: carved inscription, medallion relief, banner lettering, crimson banner tone. The two-model judge
returns no/no (0.90/0.95) - it wants the text and detail that are still absent, which is at least the right
complaint this time.
Used the workflow integration from the previous step for real: generated a warm limestone ashlar albedo
with two profiles compared (AlbedoBase 17.04 vs Krea-2 13.90, AlbedoBase won), saved it as
Art/textures/generated/T_FacadeAshlar_AI.png beside its provenance sidecar, and imported it to
/Game/Hollywood/Textures.
ue_hero_facade_import.py now imports that albedo and, for the two stone slots, builds a material with
TextureSampleParameter2D -> Multiply(tint) -> Base Color, tiling the UVs 6x, so the map carries the coursing
and the tint keeps the value inside the reference's range.
Two real bugs fixed on the way:
- the albedo path was resolved against unreal.Paths.project_dir() (Game/GigLine), not the repository root, so
the import silently skipped;
- the authored materials were never saved - only the mesh was - so after a reload the slots pointed at
nothing and the elevation fell back to one default colour.
Honest status: the nodes are verified present and saved (Constant3Vector, TextureSampleParameter2D,
TextureCoordinate, Multiply) and the source mesh has UVs, but the render still shows the flat tint. Recorded
in TODO.md with the next probe: read the compiled Base Color pin instead of the node list.
THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md gains the AlbedoBase row (commercial use, credit required).
Iterated the loop five times against Art/reference/hero-masonic/. What took the iterations was the material,
not the geometry:
- M_FacadeStone in /Game/Hollywood/Site is the KIT stone; the hero does not use it, so warming it changed
nothing.
- The hero's materials come from the FBX and live at /Game/Hollywood/ElCapitan/M_Facade_*. Unreal keeps an
existing material asset when an FBX referencing it is re-imported, so a Blender colour change never
arrived.
- Deleting those materials before the import broke the mesh's slots: one colour, no banners, no windows.
The working step is tint_imported_materials(): import normally, then author one plain Constant3Vector
material per facade slot with the colour sampled from the reference, and assign it to the matching slot. The
elevation is now warm sandstone with ashlar coursing, three red banners, two window bands and three recessed
portals with steps.
Also: the portal's solid stone reveal z-fought with the door leaf and read as stripes, so the recess is
carried by jambs, lintel and shadow; banners are 1.35 x 6.2 m hung from 7.2 m instead of 1.55 x 5.4.
Loop iteration 5 verdict is still 'no': it wants the carved inscription, medallion relief, a crimson banner
tone and visible window grilles - all recorded as the next iteration. Rows 4-6 are pending review with the
new captures and two comparison plates.
zwitschi