Frequently Asked Questions

SURFACE is a high-performance standalone desktop application for transforming images into production-ready PBR materials. Designed for 3D artists and game developers, it allows you to extract regions from any source image, correct perspective distortion, and instantly generate a complete set of Physically Based Rendering (PBR) material maps.

The fully non-destructive workflow includes seamless tiling, AI upscaling, height blending, filters, and a real-time 3D preview that lets you visualize your material as it is created.

• COMMUNITY (WEB): FREE for personal, non-commercial use on 1 device. Includes standard map generation, perspective cropping, and exports up to 1024PX. Requires an internet connection.
• INDIE (WEB): COMMERCIAL LICENSE ($69.00 ONE-TIME) FOR UP TO 2 DEVICES. Includes unlimited export resolution, height blending, filter stack, and AI upscaling. Includes 12 months of free updates and requires a periodic internet connection.
• STEAM: Same features as Indie (Web), purchased and launched through Steam. Includes lifetime updates (no renewals required) and runs directly through the Steam client without requiring a GRIEFS login. Requires a periodic internet connection.
• PRO (WEB): COMMERCIAL STUDIO LICENSE ($199.00 ONE-TIME) FOR UP TO 5 devices. Includes all features from the Indie license, plus offline activation and operation. When connected to the internet, the app utilizes your connection to retrieve updates, changelogs, and core feeds.

It's built for anyone who works with 3D materials and textures. This includes Game Developers (both indie and AAA), 3D Artists, Technical Artists, VFX Artists, Architectural Visualization Specialists, and Hobbyists. If your work involves creating realistic materials from real-world photos or other image sources for use in engines like Unreal Engine, Unity, or renderers like Blender Cycles, then SURFACE is designed to be an essential tool in your arsenal.

SURFACE is currently available for Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit), while compatible with latest ARM devices packing (Snapdragon X Elite) and most Linux distributions.. For the best experience, the following is recommended:

• A modern, dedicated graphics card (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 / AMD Radeon RX 580 or better) is highly recommended for the 3D preview and fast PBR generation. Although we have tested SURFACE on machines with modern integrated graphics cards, and while stable and working, we cannot promise REAL-TIME experience.
• The AI Upscaling feature requires a GPU with up-to-date drivers and support for the OpenGL 4.0 / Vulkan API.
• At least 16GB of RAM is minimum, with 16GB or more being ideal for working with very high-resolution source images. For working with AI Upscaled Images runtime 32GB of RAM is recommended.

Yes. The Steam and Web (Community & Indie) editions require a continuous or periodic internet connection to authenticate, run, and validate the license.

The PRO Web edition can be activated and used entirely offline. When the host device is connected to the internet, the application uses the connection to retrieve updates, changelogs, and core news feeds, keeping your workspace up to date.

A perpetual license means you pay once and receive permanent access to the versions of SURFACE released during your active updates period. There are no recurring subscription fees; once purchased, you can continue using your licensed version indefinitely.

Each license includes 12 months of free updates. After this period, you can optionally renew updates at a 50% discount ($34.50/year for Indie, $99.50/year for Pro) to access newer features, or stay on your last eligible build indefinitely at no additional cost.

Each plan comes with a limit on the number of devices you can be logged into simultaneously (e.g., a desktop and a laptop). If you reach your limit and try to log in on a new machine, you will be notified. To free up a slot, simply visit your user dashboard on our website, where you can see a list of your active devices and unregister any you are no longer using. Steam version handles this automatically as you can use only 1 instance running simultaneously.

No. The Community plan is intended for personal, non-commercial use and for educational purposes. To use any assets created with SURFACE in a commercial project, you must purchase an Indie or Pro license.

No. Licenses purchased through our website are only valid for the web application, and Steam licenses are only valid for the Steam application. If you would like to use both, you will need to purchase a separate license for each platform.

Yes. Licenses purchased through our website and Steam are valid for both Windows and Linux. If your purchased plan supports at least 2 simultanously registerded devices, you can use your license on both Windows and Linux and switch between them as often as you like. Steam version always supports 1 running instance no matter the platform.

SURFACE can generate a complete set of PBR maps for the Metallic/Roughness workflow. This includes: Albedo (delighted base color), Normal (OpenGL/DirectX compatible), Displacement/Height (16-bit), Ambient Occlusion (AO), Roughness, and Metallic.

Absolutely not. The entire workflow is non-destructive. Your original source images are never modified or overwritten. All cropping data, image adjustments, and PBR settings are stored in a .json project file. This means you can always go back and make changes, tweak your settings, or re-export your textures with different parameters at any time.

ORM packing is a critical optimization technique used in modern game engines. It involves packing three separate grayscale maps into the Red, Green, and Blue channels of a single RGB texture. SURFACE supports the standard convention:

• Red Channel = Ambient Occlusion.
• Green Channel = Roughness.
• Blue Channel = Metallic.

Using a single ORM texture instead of three separate textures saves a significant amount of video memory and reduces the number of texture samples required by your material's shader, leading to better performance in your game.

This is a very common issue caused by different standards for the green channel of a normal map. Game engines like Unreal Engine use the DirectX format, while others like Unity use the OpenGL format. The only difference is that the green channel is inverted.

In SURFACE, you can easily fix this. Go to the PBR Editor, expand the Normal section, and check the Invert Y Axis box. This will flip the green channel and ensure your normal map renders correctly in your target engine.