Greetings, I got Vue 3 today, I updated it to v3.1 right away and I am really impressed of what I have seen yet. It's got more features than I thought and it allows me to interact with LightWave in a much better way than Terragen does. :) I just have a few questions though: -I couldn't load any of my DEM files...any ideas if this is a known thing and will Vue 4 have a better DEM support? I use standard DEM files and 10 meter DEM's with 3DEM and Terragen and I managed to import 12+ DEM's merged into Terragen...can we do such a thing in Vue? -Can we hide a certain object/terrain or not make it appear in the test renders? -Is there a clone tool for vegetation? So that we don't do copy/paste 100 times. :) I don't know if the Vue 4 manual is worth the 24$ US since I have the Vue 3 manual? I am really not sure if it's worth it, is there a lot that will get it with the upgrade? Finally, I must say I am impressed by Vue's render speed and the ability to control the mesh and image maps while exporting to LW. :) Here is my "Newbie First Pic" done in Vue, it's not a Picasso but I simply find Vue as friendly as Terragen. :) http://www.thealphachannel.com/images/JF/Vue/Arizona.jpg Cheers!

Hi Flywaver :) I personally can't tell you about the DEM files as I've never used them. You can hide things that you don't want to render for test renders...just go into your render options. There are choices that allow you to render all, selected objects, etc. It may be best to put all the things that you don't want to render on a separate layer, then make the layer that does have the objects you want to render the active one and set your render options to render only the active layer. There is also a way to clone vegetation (or anything else for that matter)under Edit/Duplicate. Make sure your object is selected first. If you want to make fields of grass or lots of trees, use Edit/Scatter Objects. Place 4 different vegetations at four corners encompassing the area you want to fill. Select them all, then choose Edit/Scatter Objects. Enter how many copies you want and you will wind up with lots of plants :). You may just want to purchase the Vue 4 manual as Vue 4 is a major upgrade to Vue 3 :). I hope this helps a little, and someone will come along who can answer your DEM question :). Laurie

Hi Laurie, Thanks a lot for the tips!! I checked almost everywhere lol. I should have thought about the layers...it's a nice feature. I am really digging most of Vue's features, I can't believe how easy and how fast it is! :) I guess you are right I should get the manuals since it is a major upgrade...I am ready to get the v4, it will give me a few days to learn the v3 in most parts. The only bummer is the DEM's for now but I am sure someoe will give me some hints and v4 seems to have a better DEM integration. Thanks again for the infos. :) Cheers!

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?Form.ShowMessage=277662

You might want to read this whole thread... -SMT

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?Form.ShowMessage=247147

...and this one as well. -SMT

Hey, welcome to Vue! Isn't it great? I've been using it over two years, and I'm still excited about it! grin DEMs are usable in Vue. You should see the option available in the terrain editor for importing them. There are folks using 'em (I'm not one of them who does), so someone who does will probably spot your message soon and respond. Perhaps they'll have tips for the import. Otherwise, don't hesitate to contact E-on's tech support. It might take a day for them to get back to you, but they are very good about helping users work out difficulties. :)

Or you can go over to http://www.big-i.com in the Vue forum and check with Steve (Digreal). He uses them with Vue for his work.

Hello Flywaver and welcome! As for DEM's, I've used them a few times, and yes they do work pretty well. I don't know much about the diferent kinds of DEM's so without any more info I don't know what to say other than what SMT and Varian have said. If you're having a problem with one or more, maybe you could direct me to a URL to find one and I can have a look at it? Good first picture. Soon you'll see just HOW much Vue is capable of. :) Cheers, Mike

Attached Link: http://www.thealphachannel.com/images/JF/Vue/Arizona_hires.jpg

Hi all and thanks to SMT, Varian and Mike...it's great to see another active Forum. :) I did try out Leveller a few times and I didn't like it much but I guess if it's needed I shall try again. I use and abuse the high resolution DEM's of the Washington and Oregon States and I also did a Grand Canyon scene in Terragen that uses 24 DEM's merged in 3DEM. Then 3DEM exports to Terragen terrains so the tasks are extremely fast and nicely done. I tried opening dozens of perfect DEM files in the terrain editor yesterday and it always told me it couldn't read the files. :( Oh! can we export the atmospheres to comp in another application? I think I might upgrade without the manual, I already know most features that will be in Vue 4 as they are existing in LightWave. Anyways, I can't believe I didn't get Vue sooner than that and now that I have it I checked the Vue 4 shots again and I think we are in for a nice treat! woohoo! Oh! this is a new test image with the nice scatter objects tool and a different ambient atmosphere: http://www.thealphachannel.com/images/JF/Vue/Arizona_hires.jpg Cheers!

As I understand it Vue 3 only supports "one degree" dem files, also known as "1:250,000" dem files. If you're trying to use "30 Meter" dem files, I don't think they'll work directly. However, I believe there are one or more utilities that will convert any dem file into a gray-scale tga bitmap, which Vue will import without any problem. -SMT

Aaargh! I use 30m and 10m DEM files only! But I know there is a way to save TG terrains as BMP's with a plugin I will try it out. :) Cheers!

Attached Link: http://www.ridgecrest.ca.us/~jslayton/software.html

Meet Wilbur. Wilbur is the best solution I've found for getting around this whole problem. Wilbur understands. Wilbur is your friend. Wilbur will help you. :) -SMT

Attached Link: http://www.e-onsoftware.com

Good to see you got some good high quality help today Flywaver. :) You asked about if Vue can exoport atmospheres, and that's what "Ozone" is, which is a plugin for Light Wave to use Vue atmospheres within the LW program itself. I don't know much about it other than that, but it's made by E-on and you can read about it at their site. I hope you got the info you were looking for. :) Cheers, Mike

Thanks guys, I totally forgot about Wilbur, I have it on my PC but it was collecting dust! ;+) About Ozone it's sort of pricey for just compositing atmospheres, there should be another way via the Vue Alpha renders no? I didn't see any infos on how Ozone interacts with Vue...but anyways I will wait and see because Vue 4 will cost about 200$ CDN in total while Ozone is almost 400$. :) Thanks for the infos though. Cheers!