I just bought Bryce Universe and when I loaded it, following the instructions included, i got what is shown in the attatched image, which looks nothing like the promo images. Has anyone else bought theis product and if so, how do you get it to look like the promo images.

Bryce Universe? Never heard of it....link?

Attached Link: http://market.renderosity.com/softgood.ez?ViewSoftgood=8647

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Attached Link: http://www.diardsoftware.com/

here's another universe, if you want to try this..

I already have that one.

I don't have the product in question ,but I gave the "read me" file a quick glance. Did you remember to change the sky preset to the 'Simple Black Background'? you apparently have to do this in order to have a clear looking starfield. The other sky presets all have atmospheres, which will cause probs with how the stars render using this product. Also there are 2 versions of the product included, one is Bryce4, and the other bryce5. Did you install the right one?

Yes, I used the simple black background, and the Bryce 5 version (I have Bryce 5.5). The above image is the result.

I think you've leftt he camera looking at the horizon...try raising your pov.......

Raising the POV does mkae the stars fill the whole view, but the ones on the bottom are distorted and out of focus. So far the only thing that sems to work is to export the material and apply it to a sphere.

I can't say for sure but to me it looks like he added a cloud plane, turned 90 degrees on the x-axis and moved away from the camera by several thousand Bryce units, applied an infinate cloud material, scaled that down, changed the color of the cloud plane and added transparency in the materials editor. Anyway, this is how I simulated the blue 'galactic dustclouds'

His star field is probably in front of that background cloud plane. I had to use the default Bryce starfield generator in the sky lab since I don't have his product.

If this is what he did in his promo images, he should have mentioned it - truth in advertising... Edited to add.. BTW - did you contact the artist with your question?

Message edited on: 10/22/2005 16:12

Yes, I'm still waiting for a reply.

Actually using Bryce's custom starfield instead of the random setting and bumping up the amount to 8000+ gives a decent starfield.

I say if you use the default star field, then like alderon, reduce the intensity and crank up the amount. But saying that, I use universe image creator now and post work the thing.

let's try this again..flinkin' router x'd out my last post..;) delete the ground plane, point at the sky..the starfield intensity reduction bit is a very good idea..you can also take primitives and use some volume mats on them (if you don't mind waiting)..and there's also another program called Celestia..which is good. If the back issues of 3d world, et al, had mojoworld in them, you could use that (I actually got it for the skies..go figure..;) plenty of ways to do it..

martian_manhunter what you need to do is, once you have loaded the Bryce Univers file to the work window tilt the camera up so you are looking at the top of the sphere it is in. Turn off/untick all fog/haze in the Atmosphere section

OK, thanks, that seems to work. Now it looks like it des in the promo images. Now I'm working on tweaking the settings on the blue gas material to create different effects.

Even the promo pics don't look good to me...

Attached Link: http://www.weirdass.net/starryones_archive/2002/Starry_week_06_17_2002.html

What I do is go here - http://hubblesite.org/ and a few other FREE PUBLIC DOMAIN nasa sites, grab the HI-res version and make a tile of it, and map it onto a sphere set to (size) 99999 xyz. In the mat lab, set it to neither cast, self, nor receive shadows. Then, dupe it into another sphere just fractionally smaller and rotate it 20 degrees on one axis. Then, at the very top of the sphere, and bottom (-99999 and 99999) I'll put in lights. These lights are set to infinite and no shadow, but only at 1 or 2% intensity. This has always worked the trick for me, and allows for 3 point scene lighting. Lots of examples in this technique in our Starry Ones comic strip. Mitch