We Need A Dummy Node (yes really)

Thank you for your response! I'm aware of the dot node (I use it a ton), but what i'm talking about would serve an entirely different purpose.

The main justification for this node is to have a better replacement for the gradient map and grayscale conversion nodes when automatically converting an output to match an input type. However, it would also serve as a convenient node for up/downsampling, forcing to a particular bit depth, or maybe you just want to access those sweet mipmaps, all without any extra fluff.

The issue with the gradient map is that it is not entirely free, and at least with the linear interpolation mode (which is what it is set to when used to automatically convert a gray output to color) it slightly alters the values of the input. The only atomic node that comes close is channels shuffle, but it only has an output type color, and is not dockable due to having 2 inputs.

There aren't any atomic nodes that have a single dynamic input plus the ability to manually set the output type, with mipmaps to boot.

I should also note that nearly all of my custom nodes that use a pixel processor have either a channels shuffle or a levels node at the start of the node chain for better up/downscaling, because the pixel processor does not use mipmaps. I find myself needing to do stuff like this in other scenarios as well.

Hi @ShaderGod,

Thanks for the suggestion.

The Dummy you're mentioning sounds a lot like the Dot node! This is what we use as dummy, it has a Dynamic input, and you can even hide its connection in order to use it as a Portal.

However, the Dot node can't convert the output. When converting a map from RGB to Grayscale (or opposite), there are some parameters to tweak in order to get the desired result. Those parameters don't fit with the Dot node purpose, so we have nodes like Grayscale conversion.

Regards,