So AC is running a normal unwrap say 2048x2048 with AO and details on it etc, and then the alpha masks out where the main body paint is, which is actually a tiled fragment of the colour and specular flake...?
So where is the AO stored for the body paint, or is the rgb channel used for the AO intensity?
So then does the whole shader share the same gloss value, or is there a gloss map too?
Sounds good, but the whole metallic flake thing is over-egged in my view.
Except for a few special after market coats I never really see the flakes, I only see the end result of them which is a soft specular reflection.
By the time I can see flakes, I'm also gonna see the wavy lacquer and other subtle details that are excessive to display on a real-time model any way.
Cheap effect to add though so I guess that is why they do it... but I hate to say it's not something I'm excited about... I'd rather they do what you did Stereo with the occlusion of the envmap for interior chrome materials etc... the AC interiors reflect the road in the chrome hehe
Dave