Can’t access displacement shader in Substance 3D Designer

Question

Hi everyone,I’m new to Substance Designer and I’ve run into a problem I can’t figure out. No matter how many times I create a new graph and select the Metallic-Roughness preset, I cannot find the option to choose Translucent + Displacement (or any PBR shader) in the 3D View.The only material available is AdobeStandardMaterial, and it’s always marked as “default (overridden)”. I don’t see any way to load other shaders.I’ve searched for solutions, but most tutorials show that by choosing the Metallic-Roughness preset, the PBR shader options should appear automatically. In my case, they don’t.Has anyone else had this issue, or knows why this is happening?It’s really frustrating and I’d appreciate any advice.Thanks in advance!

davescm · Accepted Answer

To use alternative shaders you will need to go to the renderer tab and switch the renderer to the old OpenGL rendering engine.Dave

guillermo_5327 · Answer

&#9881;&#65039; The New Height System in Substance 3D DesignerIn recent updates, OpenGL and Tessellation have been deprecated and replaced by a new GPU Path Tracer renderer (and Vulkan backend).This means that height and displacement are now handled differently — through microdisplacement rather than classic tessellation.🧭 Step-by-step: Adjusting Height in the New Renderer1&#65039;&#8419; Use the GPU Path TracerIn the 3D View, go to the top bar and open the renderer dropdown.Select “GPU Path Tracer” (or sometimes “Vulkan Renderer” depending on your version).OpenGL renderers still work but are no longer recommended or supported.2&#65039;&#8419; Open Renderer → Edit SettingsGo to the 3D View menu bar and click: Renderer → Edit Settings This opens the Render Settings panel.You’ll see several categories like:  Lighting Material Displacement Render Sampling  3&#65039;&#8419; Configure DisplacementIn the Displacement section, you’ll find the new height controls:Setting Description Enable DisplacementTurns on true microdisplacement in the path tracer.Height ScaleControls how strong the height map appears (the displacement intensity).Displacement Mid LevelAdjusts the “zero” point — useful if your height map appears floating or sinking.Subdivision / QualityControls the microdisplacement detail level (like tessellation, but adaptive).&#9888;&#65039; Note: The new system does not use tessellation — it subdivides geometry dynamically during render (similar to Blender Cycles or Unreal Nanite).4&#65039;&#8419; Make sure your graph has a Height OutputIn your graph:Add or check an Output Node with: Identifier: height Usage: Height Without this, the renderer won’t know which map to use for displacement.5&#65039;&#8419; Fine-tune your height mapIf your height map looks too weak or too strong:Insert a Levels or Histogram Scan node before the Output to remap the value range.Keep your height normalized (0–1 range) and adjust only via the Renderer’s Height Scale.&#9989; SummaryOld (OpenGL) New (GPU Path Tracer) TessellationMicrodisplacementHeight Scale in material settingsHeight Scale in Renderer → Edit SettingsFixed geometryAdaptive subdivisionOpenGL rendererGPU Path Tracer / Vulkan renderer

Can’t access displacement shader in Substance 3D Designer

2 replies

⚙️ The New Height System in Substance 3D Designer

🧭 Step-by-step: Adjusting Height in the New Renderer

1️⃣ Use the GPU Path Tracer

2️⃣ Open Renderer → Edit Settings

3️⃣ Configure Displacement

4️⃣ Make sure your graph has a Height Output

5️⃣ Fine-tune your height map

✅ Summary

Enable Displacement	Turns on true microdisplacement in the path tracer.
Height Scale	Controls how strong the height map appears (the displacement intensity).
Displacement Mid Level	Adjusts the “zero” point — useful if your height map appears floating or sinking.
Subdivision / Quality	Controls the microdisplacement detail level (like tessellation, but adaptive).

Tessellation	Microdisplacement
Height Scale in material settings	Height Scale in Renderer → Edit Settings
Fixed geometry	Adaptive subdivision
OpenGL renderer	GPU Path Tracer / Vulkan renderer

⚙️ The New Height System in Substance 3D Designer

🧭 Step-by-step: Adjusting Height in the New Renderer

1️⃣ Use the GPU Path Tracer

2️⃣ Open Renderer → Edit Settings

3️⃣ Configure Displacement

4️⃣ Make sure your graph has a Height Output

5️⃣ Fine-tune your height map

✅ Summary

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