*no, that's incorrect. activation of GI obviates the need for the "gather" node,
which may have been added (and tested, unlike GI) in order for users to
have a more fully documented means of faking radiosity.

Well the Gather node gives you far more control over the GI feel for each surface.  In particular, you can modify the angle, which is very useful for different surfaces.  Also, adding gather nodes on a few materials still provides an acceptable render speed (pick and choose which surfaces need the gather node - not all need it).  Plus you can use the gather node with AO.  And you can tweak the gather node (I sometimes mix it with a ray_traced reflection using an adge_blend).

So IMHO, the Gather node is a viable option than the "secret" GI option in FF.

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Creator of OctaneRender for Poser
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