Hi all, I'll post some of the images i've done with CS2 now . I'll start by some render tests :) This first one shows the color bleeding with the new Global Illumination engine . litst litst@chez.com http://www.chez.com

Second one : No lights in the scene, just a glowing cylinder . Note the caustics, even with no lights ! :)

More caustics, with a reflective floor . The light spreads on the walls .

There's a mirror in the air that casts its silhouette on the ceiling . Very clean, don't you think ? :)

An ice cube ...

... falling on the floor, with a procedural shader .

Now, modelling . Here's an unsmoothed model ...

... with subdivision surfaces . Cool algorithm, ain't it ? :)

A model I'm working on ...

The texture is not finished yet ... Exported the model unsmoothed to OBJ, UVmapping in UVmapper, then back to Carrara to apply Subdivision Surfacing and texture the animal . It's waiting for bones ...

Last one for now ... I've re-rendered my night vision goggles with GI . A bit of post-render, but not that much (noise, glowing LED ...) I hope you like those images :) I'll post an image in the gallery later . litst

Only $35 for night-vision binocular head-set with illuminator? Where do we place our orders? But seriously, they all look very good to me, especially having a smoothing algorithm. I never saw any good results from the C1.1 "smooth edges" command. One question: what are caustics?

Ha, caustics ... When the light passes through a transparent object, it gets refracted . See the ice cube : the light on the floor is not even because it has been refracted by the ice . The light can also be reflected by a reflecting object . Caustics show that too (fourth image with the mirror) Refraction and reflection don't stop the light with the new engine, like they did with Raytracing .

Oh by the way, smoothing is subdivision surfacing . It basically subdivide in real time, so you can work on a simplified model by editing its mesh cage while seeing the changes on the final subdivided model .

I'd like to see a comparison beteewn a model rendered in C1.1 Vs. C2. side by side

I was half expecting a new (amapi style) vertex modeling room so I was concentrating on Amapi, but I will have to take a second look now! Very cool, thanks. One question- does the metaball modeler have quad views now?

Here's my first goggles image rendered with CS1 . Compare :) Note that i've tried my best at simulating the radiosity at the time . It was very long, but kinda challenging . It took me about half an hour to tweak the scene to adapt it for the new engine .

To Ppowellaa : no changes on the metaballs side as far as i know ...

Thanks litst

Yeah, Thanks for the images litst. That frog thingy is great. I can't wait to get my hands on CS2. Keith

Great job Litst!! So am I seeing correclty? It looks like you can move the control cage around and see the sub div in realtime??? and it supports quads?? WOW!! Also was that Bevel a result of a beveling tool or did you just pound that out by hand??? Anyway..C2 looks great and you did an excellent job showing it off Litst...GREAT JOB!

Excellent material! I'm glad to see the Nurbs/Lattice added to the Mesh object. That frogfish is really cool, can't wait to see it hopping.

I very much appreciate your posting these. Good to see you knocking around here still! -Kix

To Litst: If I may ask, how did C2 handle? Did you find it slower, faster, than C1.1? Were there any surprises that caused difficulties when you were testing. The images look great and I have C1.1 but found it a little awkward to use from RD 5.5. I'd like to know how you found working with C2. chrisf

If I may. Carrara Studio 2.0 works faster than C1.1. I have notice that files load up quicker. The new OpenGL real time render engine gives you more realistic 3D view and it is also very fast. Surprises during testing? Other than the fact that the development team can work out miracles in a record time! :-) We can't really comment on what happens during beta testing. Other than the fact that at Eovia we had a complete alpha and beta testing cycle unlike MetaCreations. MetaCreations would ship product with the bugs hanging out of the application and beta test after it got ship. Not with Eovia. Ringo

Thanks for your comments guys :) Brent, the bevel you see on the cube was done by hand . Carrara 2 still lacks a bevelling function, but the package includes Amapi 5 wich has bevelling, chamfering ... Well, you know : Amapi :) To Chris : Handling Carrara 2 is pretty much the same as handling Carrara 1 . The biggest change in the interface is the rotation tool . Its handles are much easier to use, and it's never too little of too big anymore (see the pic) . Handy ! There is always some technical problems in beta testing, and the Eovia team has done a great job at fixing them, like Ringo said :) . I guess people will find bugs that went through our little beta-testers neurons, but i'd bet Eovia will quickly release a patch when they come out . Currently the app is running smooth here (WinME), and it's been a while i haven't had any crash . For RDS users like you, upgrading to Carrara 2 will surely make a big change ... New interface, functions, shader tree, rendering engine (way faster and much better quality !) . But you should get used to the modellers quickly because they're behaving a lot like RDS's modellers . litst

Thanks for filling us in. I have a question. The Eovia description includes this: "NURBS Modeling (Amapi 3D)". Above you say "but the package includes Amapi 5, which has bevelling, chamfering...". Does C2 include NURBS or do you have to use the included Amapi for that?

Hi Michael . Carrara 2 doesn't include NURBS, but Subdivision Surfacing, a new feature that enhances modelling, especially for organic models . You'll have to launch Amapi, included in the package, if you want to use NURBS . Amapi is dedicated to modelling and that's why it has more power than Carrara on this side .

Litst - thanks for the great pics the rendering engine LOOKS fantastic! But - what? No bevels! I'm really disappointed - but I think this goes along with eovia's plans - the intergration of Amapi into Carrara (why have redundant abilities in Carrara?). I got a question - can you back load an image into the modelers??

Hi David, Unfortunately, you can't load an image as a background when you model :( . One of the missing features of the VM, with bevelling . Right now, you can only get the backdrop to show in the Assemble room or the Scene Preview window .

Uggg - I knew it! Didn't eovia listen to anything we asked for? Ahhh, man :( But I look on the bright side - right? Oh, oh, - Litst - here's maybe the all time question ..... ready ..... DID WE GET THE "NUDGE" KEYS BACK??? please say yes!

Hum ... lemme check ... Nope, i don't think so :/

AH CRAP! I DON'T BELIEVE IT :(

To Ringo and litst, thanks for the information, I have pre-ordered a copy of C2 and hope I enjoy as much as you both are enjoying it currently. Thanks again. chrisf

Regarding Nudging, don't forget that if you highlight the numeric box you are adjusting and then hold the Option Key (mac) or Alt Key (pc) nudge arrows will pop up in the number box that you can click on... Litst, with your current set-up, what kind of render times are you experiencing with the new lighting settings? Thanks!

Hello Mark . i don't have the render times in mind, so i can't say for the previous images . So i've rendered this pic . My system : AMD 1400, 512 RAM, WinME, no swap when rendering . The scene : lightning comes from a skydome and from a distant light with 2048x2048 soft shadows ( yep ! ) . 42736 facets in the scene, and a bunch of texture maps . I've rendered with good settings (fast GI with 10000 photons, best AA, all effects turned on) Render time : 29 min @ 800x600 Not bad at all, i don't know how it compares with other softs though . I've found that Carrara slows down where there is transparency and reflection together (the eyes) . We're used to that, aren't we ? Later, litst

Looks great litst. I don't know if you want a crit on that LOL. But I would like to say everything looks great...except for his tongue...looks thicker then it should be..and rigid..though I'm not an expert so maybe it should be that way. A few questions... In modeling, did you experience any lag on your system, when modeling that frog creature Do the particles have object collision detection now? Can you go over an overview on how the bones are attached...give us something more to look forward too? Ok..I have more..but my mind is numb from looking at all the wonderful pictures..

Hi Nicholas, Thanks for the comments on the frog :) . I'll make some tries concerning the thickness . The texture of the tongue is not finished, and i hope it will look more realistic when done . Concerning lags, well actually if you set the smoothing level too high you may have some delays . A smoothing level of two is enough for modelling in most cases and doesn't give me any delays . Then, you can set it higher for rendering if you want . I think the particles have collision detection, yes ... though i'm not sure . I'll check when my current rendering is finished . I'll show you a bit of the bones system too then . Later, litst

Yay! Thanks, looking forward to more info.

Attached Link: http://nateowens.com

Dang! YOu did it now! I just placed my pre-order and I was going to hold off! Those beee-you-teefull images did the job. Looking for more stuff when you have time to post it. Are these going into some gallery so they can be checked again later, or do we need to download them?

Looks really promising, that C2.

Thanks for sharing the goods.

http://nateowens.com

Hi Nate, i'm glad you like the images :) . I'll put some of them on my website when i have the time : http://www.chez.com/litst . Nicholas86, i've checked and the new functions of the particles emitter are : - you can now emit spheres . - you can freely move the emitter without moving the existing particles . It seems that particles collison is only with the floor like before, not with objects . Sorry for the false joy ... For the bones, here's the procedure : 1- model your character or import one 2- the new "Bones" tool will let you build your skeleton by creating joints . This part is pretty fast . 3- select your skeleton and your model, and run the Attach function . Now you can move your skeleton but there's probably some tuning to do . 4- You can automatically assign constraints and Inverse Kinetics to your skeleton so it's more easy to animate . 5- you'll likely want to fine-tune your constraints after that and this part can take time . A good constraint setup is critical for animation . 6- even if the default settings are quite effective, your model may get deformed when you rotate bones too much . So you can go to the VM and specify how bones will influence each part of the model . I can't say if it's productive or not, i haven't had the time to go deeply into that yet . At first sight it looks okay and effective . litst

ehhh its ok. At least there are some improvements. The bones look nice. Thanks for the little preview:) Keep them coming if you want..thought another thread might be a good idea:-p

well like anything new.. im sure it's going to have a few problems.... but right now all i can say is.... GIMME GIMME GIMME!!! LOL