Attached Link: fire djinn

fire faerie:  http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/seachnasaigh/3D_faeries/Reiley_firewalk3.gif

  For example, if I'm working in Poser and get materials applied to an imported obj and then save it as a prop, Vista doesn't put it into Poser's props folder, but rather into a compatibility files folder which is associated with the Poser props folder.  You can move things from compatibility files into the regular folder manually.

     It's no longer an issue for me, as I've moved my Poser Pro downloads/runtime out to the Poser 8 downloads folder in the shared files, where Vista doesn't challenge me every time I add/delete something.  Poser Pro and Poser 8 now both use this library.

P.S.  I'd not know how compatibility files was translated into Danish, but hopefully the icon will match.

Thank you, MikeJ - I knew there was another browse address category I wanted, but I couldn't remember what it was!

[]   P8's IDL

[]   Get the movie node working for the 64bit render engine

[]   Add the option to render animation frames in reverse order, to facilitate cooperative rendering without networking.  E.g., Valkyrie is set to begin rendering at frame 001 and step upward (begin 001, end 900), while Pixie is set to begin rendering at frame 900 and step downward (begin 900, end 001).  I stop both computers when they reach the same frame.

[]   Remember separate browse addresses for:
------------------------->  loading texture images to material room
------------------------->  open/save scene file
------------------------->  import/export raw mesh (obj)
------------------------->  rendered images

Regarding a greatly improved render engine (64bit), I would expect a considerable price increase for such, but I would choose that option if available.  I.e., I am willing to pay more to get it.

Trac, another thought occurs to me;  did you parent the imported bikini obj to the doll, then assign all of its vertices to constrained?

Attached Link: edit constrained group: the red vertices will simply follow the doll

Trac, I suspect that your problem is due to there not being identical vertices in the bikini cloth and its hems, so weld won't do anything.  Bridge (or merge points) will connect them, but you'll need to be able to use a modeler to do that.

Attached Link: edit dynamic group: the selected vertices will highlight red

I don't see a way to link a second image, much less be able to post a clickable thumbnail, so here is the address of a screenshot showing the constrained group being edited, using the same dress.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/seachnasaigh/tutorials/edit_constrained_group.jpg

  All the vertices in this dress are either in the dynamic group or the constrained group;  it doesn't have any soft decorations, rigid decorations, or choreographed parts.

If you see an "icicle" growing during a dynamic simulation, check for an errant vertex, such as one vertex assigned to choreographed which should have been assigned to dynamic.

TrekkieGrrrl, for the issue of a hem -which will need to be in the dynamic group- I have an idea which may (or may not) work.  Try loading the obj into a modeler and merge all the groups.  Then, use bridge to connect polys of the hem to the polys of the bottom edge of the dress.  Basically you want to form a contiguous ball-chain web.

Quote - Well yes I have XP now (that doesn't even come in 64bit does it?) So if I'm understanding you right, to get the full potential of the quad core you need 64bit. But if f I can only afford to upgrade one thing though (for now) is it better to get the processor first or upgrade to Vista 64bit first?

If you are cramped by lack of rendering capacity, then I think your best option would be to wait (and save up some money), then upgrade to a 64bit version of Windows 7 and upgrade to Poser Pro 2010 (which will have a 64bit render engine).  If you can get 6Gb or 8Gb of RAM in the chassis, that would be worthwhile.

Going back to your initial post, regarding rendering in large dimensions with IBL/occlusion in P7, it is probably the ambient occlusion which is eating up render time. But the limiting factor is Poser 7, more than your machine.  You really already have as much hardware as can be brought to bear using Poser 7.  It is a 32bit app, and not as good at juggling memory as the high-dollar apps.  You may have to search for a combination of render settings which will give you a good image without running your machine out of memory.

Attached Link: preview render settings to get the 8800 to tile materials ("enable hardware shading")

I don't have cottage model, or forest ruin so I can't try it, but what are preview render setting in both cases? Cottage interior looks like it has different textures for floor and ceiling for gamer (or beter said regular) card case when compared to quadro, and wall texture is strectched across the wall, i.e. like wrong U and V scale settings in material room.

Here's my example. First is with default render preview settings, and second is with maxed settings.***

Thank you, Solo761!***   Despite having two 8800GTX in SLI, Poser's default is to not use hardware shading in the preview render settings;  tick the enable hardware shading box and you get tiled materials!  Hurray!  Apparently, of my machines, only the big Quadro sweet-talked Poser into engaging hardware shading by default.  I would think that Scullygirl's 8800 should be well able to handle hardware shading for Poser.

P.S.  the elvish cottage is a freebie:  http://faeriewylde.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?t=32043
leafy recliner chairs for cottage's  balcony:  http://faeriewylde.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?t=32153
gazebo and pergola causeway for elvish cottage:  http://faeriewylde.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?t=32017

Attached Link: sytem info, specifying a 64bit OS

Attached Link: system info, 32bit Vista Ultimate notebook

Correct.  Same pz3 (scene file), previewed on two different video cards.  The point is the ability to see -in preview- how a tiled material will apply, and that this is a convenience when adjusting material settings because you see the results of any change immediately.  The 8800 previews as if a single image is stretched over the entire wall, even though the Uscale and Vscale are set the same as in the Quadro preview (remember, same pz3).  The wall, ceiling, floor, roof, and the stone arch were each textured with (their own) single tiling image, and the Uscale and Vscale were set to tile the image across the material zone.  So, from one floor tile image, I cover the entire floor.

If someone with the newer generation of GeForce cards sees this manner of preview with tiled materials, please post it.

Quote - Right now I looked I have a Core 2 Duo 2.6ghz so if I upgrade that to a quad that should make a big difference? I thought quad was much better (4 cores compared to 2) but the speeds are around 2.6 still so is that (the speed) just as important or is it more by the number of cores? Also another dumb question, how do you know if Vista is 64 bit does it say specifically or can they all be? I was looking on some sites and only saw the ultimate I think it was in 64 bit.

On a 64bit sytem, more cores is the easier way to greater overall render speed.  But on a 32bit system, all the cores must share a limited amount of RAM, so you quickly reach the point of diminishing returns.
If you didn't specify a 64bit system when you bought the computer, it is probably 32bit.  Mouse down to the lower left of the screen to the Start button, and follow Start/control panel/system and it show pop up a window which details what OS you have.  In XP, you'll see a plain text window;  in Vista, a graphic window.  See link above for an example;  when you see no reference to 32bit or 64bit, it is 32bit.

Attached Link: Quadro preview compared to gamer card preview - "Forest Ruin" arch

Important note:  Not all Quadros will preview like this Quadro FX5800.  The 3600M in my notebook does not, for example.

I am not implying that the 8800 is insufficient;  mine has always served well for Poser use.  I was making "wishlist" recommendations - 64bit OS, 8Gb RAM, with a Quadro would be great!

Attached Link: Quadro preview compared to gamer card preview - cottage roof dormer

Attached Link: Quadro preview compared to gamer card preview - cottage interior

This image (linked above) is a merged overlay of two preview screenshots;  the area within the green dot boundary is the preview seen via an nVidia Quadro FX5800, and the area outside the boundary is the preview as seen via a pair of nVidia GeForce 8800GTX in SLI.

Compare:
*  the tiled materials on the wall, floor, and ceiling.

*  the matrix material (animated flames) on the ceiling lamp.

*  the graphite-grey procedural material on the doors.

*  anti-aliasing on the ceiling joists

Quote - In the meantime though I don't think I am able to add any more ram without the 64bit. So going on 9 hours for an 8x10 render with occlusion isn't abnormal? (it's still running). I would not use it but after comparing now I think all my old renders look like plastic, probably because I'm not good with lights. Adding the ambient seemed to solve my problems and make it more realistic.

I'll attach one of the old renders so you all can see how much is in the image which isn't much. The last times I rendered it I hid a lot of the stuff in the photo I didn't need (like the unused tombstones)

Large pixel dimensions combined with ray-traced effects like AO and high quality settings can take a long time.  If the resulting image is not worth the time invested, try to reduce quality settings in such a way that you still get a good picture, but reduce the render time.  An unnecessary number of raytrace bounces will bog you down, for instance.   I've had a couple of my computers run four and a half days to render out 40sec of video frames, but that was hi-def.

I have had the CPU meter peg out;  that is of no concern to me.  What I nervously watch is the RAM usage.  Windows allocates so much memory to the Poser executable (the program) and so much to the render engine.  If you exceed the allocation limit or run out of total RAM, you crash.