Thanks Rutra! We`ll see... :-)

Great, is it gonna work in lesser versions, ie Vue esprit 7/8 etc?

Quote - Great, is it gonna work in lesser versions, ie Vue esprit 7/8 etc?

Can`t say for sure, Allig68. I have only Vue7/8 Infinite but two testers checked with Vue Complete and found it to work,
...although one of them said "big problem for v7complete and probably all other artist versions, nodes have no names displayed in the FE window. If you click on the node you can see".

I have asked someone at C3D to check out the compatibility thing, but no feedback on this so far.

I'll be buying both.  Thanks for the products.

Ok,thanx for info...anyway fantastic product!

w00t, Can't wait for them to be released

Cloud Control is of most interest to me. Interestingly enough, I have from next Friday to New  Years day off to play. I'm hoping Cloud Control is next Friday?

Any decision on price yet?

Wonderful clouds by the way.

Wonderful news, warming up my paypal account :) You provide some (very beautiful) fish and you provide the knowledge to catch more of them, I really like that, thank you :)

Really cool stuff Dick. I tested it and found the atmos incredibly easy to use. I think it will be a big success.

Thank you folks!

It`s a pleasure to read all your posts. 

blaineak: I have little influence on which product will be released first. The price for each of the two products will probably be USD14.90.

Here is another comment from one of the testers concerning the useability of the atmospheres with "lower" versions than Vue Infinite.

"I had a quick look at the comparison chart
There is no difference in the atmosphere, so I think users wont have a problem using your clouds as is or changing the sliders in the atmosphere editor. But they probably wont be able to modify things in the function editor unless they buy the 'AdvancedGraph' module. 
Also the comparison chart says something about not being able to hide cloud layers without the 'deepAccess' module. That's inconvenient but not terrible as I think  they can still delete layers."

 

That's Great!
I guess someone will have a nicey Chistmas gifts for themselves (at least I'll do)  ;-)
So, eonite - WHEN?

Oops, sorry. Missed the beginnign of this page (was so excited with coming release :-) .
Now I see when and what...
P.S. And this one for moderator (may be?) It's strange I can't edit (delete) my own post after I close the page in browser. Can we solve this issue? OK, nevermind...

 Thanks, vUeser! I`m confident it will make a nice Christmas gift :-)

Lol, looks like Cornucopia's server will have a hard time on Friday :)

 LOL! ...hmm...one of the rare cases  where I am happy when others are having a hard time :-)

Went to Cornucopia, found Cloud Control, bought it, downloaded it, put a big DO NOT DISTURB on the door, added a big dog in front of the door to play safe, prepared some coffee and now getting ready to read :) :) :)

:-))))
I'm the second one here... (did almost the same ;-)

LOL!

Abraham and vUeser, thanks for making the announcement for me... and  of course for buying! :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:

I hope you guys are having a great time with CloudControl. Feedback is always appreciated. If you have any questions don`t hesitate to ask.

Go out and BUY it! NOW!

Seriously, anyone who has just the slightest interest in improving his or her cloud skills mustn't miss this package. The real value is the PDF documentation. It's full of hints and tips, detailed explanations and great screenshots.

A lot of thought went into the making of this product, and I can recommend it to every Vue user out there. It's well worth the price.

Thanks for thanks and vica versa... ;-)))
OK. Though I've just get into it (more or less) can say - very impressive ! (but I guess you knew and heard that already... :-)
So, should we consider this thread as 'on-line support' now? ;-)

Quote - Go out and BUY it! NOW!

Seriously, anyone who has just the slightest interest in improving his or her cloud skills mustn't miss this package. The real value is the PDF documentation. It's full of hints and tips, detailed explanations and great screenshots.

A lot of thought went into the making of this product, and I can recommend it to every Vue user out there. It's well worth the price.

Thanks, Daniel!...your post was so nice, I had to quote it ! 

Quote - So, should we consider this thread as 'on-line support' now? ;-)

 Sure, vUeser, since it makes more sense to ask questions regarding products in a forum , it might be best to post them here on this thread.

There isn't much to add to what has already been said, a must have, very clear and comprehensive on the cloud generation in vue and a great incentive to play with the settings. Also a very nice way to gain more control of the generated skies (you can sometimes generate great sky by "accident", now with this information you can actually generate great skies which will actually look the way you intended them to, with the shape you wanted and where you wanted. Thank you Dick for this wonderful resource :)

 You`re welcome, Abraham!...and thanks for your nice feedback.

Its a big releave for me to get such positive response. I mean, you never know... When you develop something new, you know it works for you. But you dont really know if it will be helpful for anyone else. 

I am very happy, folks!

Got it, read it and will no doubt read it again several times over the next couple of days.  Very good explanations of all the different parameters etc.  I'd definitely recommend you get hold of it if you have any slight interest in good looking skies (and lets face it - why would you have Vue if you didn't? )

 Hey, thank you, FrankT! 

Good point. Vue`s sky potential was probably the main reason why I got hooked to Vue.

Saw it in the store at Cornucopia... came here to see what folks had to say.  Went back to Cornucopia and clicked 'buy.'

Hi Dick,

Anything that saves me the tediousness of trial and error is most welcome. Nice product and I hope you sell many copies.

I've started reading through the PDF and it's clear you put some thought and care into your presentation. It is very easy to follow.

Your price point is very fair by the way. Thanks.

Blaine

:b_drool:

Outstanding stuff. Very well written manual, good examples.

One question though: Where do I find the additional metanodes described in the "metanode reference" (instances3, ranges3, cumulus tower A, ...) ? I did not see the metanode files anywhere? Are they part of the next set?

Thanks for the great tool and info!

Ciao
TD

Thanks so much, folks! I hoped you would like it...and now I know :biggrin:

A big thank you also goes to the beta testers, Walther Beck (Wabe), Christina Bartsch, Linda Daireaux (Incredibly Lush), Pnina Osguthorpe (ArtPearl) and Dax Pandhi who all did a wonderful job.

TD: Yes, there are metanodes mentioned in the "Metanode Reference" which are not part of CloudControl.
Those will be used in the upcoming CloudScapes Collection #1 set. 

Quote -
TD: Yes, there are metanodes mentioned in the "Metanode Reference" which are not part of CloudControl.
Those will be used in the upcoming CloudScapes Collection #1 set. 

Awesome. Thanks, will go right into the cart when it arrives in the store.

Ciao
TD

Forgot to add: It might be useful to add a note in the metanode reference that states which metanodes are available in which pack to avoid confusion.

Ciao
TD

Quote - Forgot to add: It might be useful to add a note in the metanode reference that states which metanodes are available in which pack to avoid confusion.

You`re right, this would avoid confusion.

My thought on this is that "Metanodes Reference" is not a document you study from the top to the bottom, but which you consult when you work with the metanodes in the FE and feel unsure about what the parameters are doing.

I should probably make a note that not every metanode is used in every pack.

Things are constantly evolving and sometimes there are last minute additions. For example in the upcoming CloudScape collection I decided to include a Cirrus cloud layer. At the heart of the function generating the cirrus clouds there is a metanode named "Cirrus 5" or so.
It has some great potential but its too new, so its not referenced in the existing "Metanodes Reference".

Just wanted to echo what others have said about the quality of the pdf tutorial and additional files. You've really given us "cloud control"! What fun : )

 sangelico, thanks for your nice feedback!

Attached Link: Touched by a Rainbow:High Aspirations

In the linked image I used the cloud front from 'CloudControl' (3 layers, each with a cloud front in a different location). Really helpful to have the mats and metanodes as a starting point and with easily accessible parameters to control the clouds.

I still find it difficult that it is impossible to see where the clouds are and how they look in the 3d preview windows. The little preview  world browser preview window doesnt provide an representative enough image either. I had to do many many trial renders to get them exactly as they were in my imagination. This is not to belittle eonite's product, just a general vue deficiency at the time being.

Thanks Dick for inspirational discussions and products!

I purchased the product on its day of release and eagerly await part 2.  eonite is a master of clouds with much to teach and I am grateful that he is willing to. 

My pleasure, Artpearl and Paloth :-)

Artpearl: personally I have no problem with the camera preview in Vue. Most of the time I can rely on it when working on clouds, for instance in the FE, and find it representative enough.

Quote - I purchased the product on its day of release and eagerly await part 2.  eonite is a master of clouds with much to teach and I am grateful that he is willing to. 

Thanks Paloth! 

 Just a quick note:

Other than expected, the Cloudscapes Collection #1 is available now! 

Merry Christmas, folks!

Just grabbed it, getting ready for some renders and a rereading of the tutorial with the new elements :)

Merry Christmas :)

once I upgrade to Vue 8, this and SkinVue are probably going to be my first buys

As I said, the problems I have with the clouds were not introduced by the metanodes. I just generally have difficulties with the clouds positioning. For example- I put 2 cloud layers each a ' front' at altitude 0 and 1km, both with height of 2km, so there should be an overlap, as seen in the top right image (overlaping grey bands). But when I render it, there is a gap between the layers(top left image). I understand that the various density function manipulations change the appearance of the layer, and some areas in the band will have no density. But it would be nice to be able to see it in the preview windows. (Enabling cloud preview is completely useless, terribly slow and misses out on large areas, like the whole of my blue cloud which is seen from the top doesnt show up at all) The other thing I dont follow, is the units of many of the parameters and the position of the pivoting point. I tried for example to use the offset-rotate-scale metanode to rotate the cloud layer - I have difficulties understanding what it's doing and I think it's becuase I dont know where the pivote point is. I also tried to change the 'amount' parameters which should define where the edge of the front is. I changed the value in the x direction from 0 (top left) to -1.5 (bottom left) and -2.0 (bottom right). (y value left unchanged). I find it hard to understand the changes. (and what sort of units are these numbers...). I had other problems that mistified me - changing the scale of the cloud material(in the range of 0.5-2) moved the position of the front's edge...

Why do I want to introduce  all these parameter changes? good question:)  Same reason people climb mountains, just becuase they are there. Obviousely I have my ideas what they should do, but quite often it doesnt work as I thought it will. Probably still large gaps in my understanding, but these products contribute to shirinking these gaps.

 Thanks, Abraham and FrankT!

Abraham: Yes I think its good to go back to the tutorials sometimes, since the cloud layers of the CloudScapes set are built on those techniques. If questions do remain dont hesitate to ask.

Quote -
For example- I put 2 cloud layers each a ' front' at altitude 0 and 1km, both with height of 2km, so there should be an overlap, as seen in the top right image (overlaping grey bands). But when I render it, there is a gap between the layers(top left image). I understand that the various density function manipulations change the appearance of the layer, and some areas in the band will have no density. But it would be nice to be able to see it in the preview windows.

Well, the camera view shows the cloud layer thickness. Within this thickness layer the clouds are located. As long as you have a density falloff  near the top and bottom "(Custom Cloud Layers Profile" or a function) there will probably be a gap between two cloud layers, even if you see overlapping layers in the camera views. If you want the layers to actually overlap you need to for example lower the altitude of the upper layer.
This is the way it is and it seem logic to me.
You can rely on the Camera Preview, not necessarily on the camera views.

Quote - (Enabling cloud preview is completely useless, terribly slow and misses out on large areas, like the whole of my blue cloud which is seen from the top doesnt show up at all)

Agree. I rarely use it.

Quote - The other thing I dont follow, is the units of many of the parameters and the position of the pivoting point. I tried for example to use the offset-rotate-scale metanode to rotate the cloud layer - I have difficulties understanding what it's doing and I think it's becuase I dont know where the pivote point is.

The "pivot point" is 0/0/0, unless you apply an offset by adding an "Offset" node ABOVE the "Rotation&Twist" node.

 

Quote - I also tried to change the 'amount' parameters which should define where the edge of the front is.
I changed the value in the x direction from 0 (top left) to -1.5 (bottom left) and -2.0 (bottom right).
(y value left unchanged). I find it hard to understand the changes. (and what sort of units are these numbers...).

It`s hard to generally say what those values represent.
What I can say is that, when you apply an offset by using the Offset-Rotate-Scale Metanode, a value of 1 represents roughly an offset of 250 meters.

Quote - I had other problems that mistified me - changing the scale of the cloud material(in the range of 0.5-2) moved the position of the front's edge...

This is because when you are scaling the cloud material you are also scaling the function. Setting the scale of the cloud material to 2 for instance will double the offset applied to the front.

Artpearl, I suggest you are making more tests by just using one layer and get a good feel for the placement of the clouds.  A lot can be explored by using the examples in CloudControl.

Must say that I'm delighted with my purchase. The quality is nothing shot of excellence. Hyper realistic results and so far I'm finding them easy to work with.

Thanks for a great product.

James

Quote -

Artpearl, I suggest you are making more tests by just using one layer and get a good feel for the placement of the clouds.  A lot can be explored by using the examples in CloudControl.

:) :) :)
Being that  I already said that there might be gaps in my understanding, and that your products contribute to narrowing these gaps, I cant disagree with your 'rtfm' type comment(even if it does suggest I'm not advanced enough to use 2 layers at the same time)...:)

However, I doubt it is possible to argue that not being able to see what you're doing with clouds is a
desirable, or even  acceptable, way of doing CG. You wouldnt say that having a large bounding box for an object and only being able to move it by typing in numeric values, is a nice way of working. You wouldt say that having a gizmo for manipulating  objects is not needed. Clouds are not different. With practice I can learn to walk with a blind fold, but that doesnt mean i'd be happy with it or recommend it.
Maybe my requirements are somewhat different from most users- I dont want clouds just for something pretty in the background, or for something that by itself looks realistic. Coming from traditional art, I want them to be integrated in the image, compositionally and in a narrative sense. For this I need to see exactly what they look like and position them presicely in relation to other items in the scene. Not easy and quite slow to do at the moment.
In case it wasnt clear, even though I thought I said it - I think your product advances the practicality and understanding of  the use of clouds in Vue.  As Vue content goes, yours is  much more valuable and rewarding than anything else available. But the bottom line is that clouds in Vue are still not what interactive CG is supposed to be.

 My pleasure and thanks, Tubbritt!

I am really happy that so far you find them easy to work with.

 ArtPearl, just in case you felt offended by what I was saying, this was not my intention.

I don`t want to get into discussion about whether Vue clouds are controllable or not. Personally I am happy with the way we can shape and offset our clouds. As I said earlier, for visual control I am relying on the camera preview. Also, I have no problem placing the clouds where I want them.

What`s important to be aware of is that, unlike regular objects, clouds are generated with random fractal noise. You cannot predict how each cloud will look like, but you can give the clouds a certain look and feel...just like with procedural terrains.

No worries, we're good:)
It might also be better in V8 and/or on more powerful/newer computers.

By the way - I think it's a real pity CloudScape is for v8 only. Actually I can still read the mat files into v7 and they look fine. The atmosphere files hang the application :(
Is it really that different in v8 that it isnt worth providing a set of v7 compatible atm files? It may not look as nice as in v8, but it would be nice to enable v7 users  to have a 'complete' suite of your cloud tools.

Hmm...I didn`t know that the cloud layers could be loaded into Vue 7...

Making the CloudScape set available for Vue8 only was not an easy decision. I finally decided against Vue 7 because the clouds were looking so much nicer in Vue 8.

Here are some of the improvements compared to Vue 7:

1. Clouds are rendering faster
2. The sun is actually hiding behind the clouds.
3. Clouds Anisotropy is a new parameter in the atmosphere editor which can add beautiful effects, especially visible when you have clouds near the sun. For instance you can cause the edges of the clouds to "glow" in the vicinity of the sun.
4. More cloud details on clouds near the camera.
5. Cloud shadows cast onto other clouds are looking far better.
6. More stable when you are working in the FE.