Great! Helps a lot. Thanks :-) I've been playing around all evening with the add color node function and just couldn't get it to work. Thanks again :-)

Yep, I get it all but how do I create the color production function? Just an explanation will do. Thx (I'm using Vue-I)

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/viewed.ez?galleryid=1140867&Start=1&Artist=chippwalters&ByArtist=Yes

I found an existing picture to work from which helps a lot.

JC, did you check 'Indirect skylighting' for radiosity? If you do, it takes more time and is a bit more textured, but I think it will generate a better finished image. I notice light areas above your shelves which IMO wouldn't be there. Indirect lighting will fix this. Just a suggestion.

-Chipp

Interesting thread. I spent some time trying out various settings and ended up with the following 2 interior rendering tests. Both are lit with only a single spotlight and no sun.

More about how these were done can be found at: www.altuit.com/webs/altuit2/VueLab/IndoorRadiosity.htm
The scene files can be found there as well.

Message edited on: 11/27/2005 00:16

Attached Link: RenderCow Tutorial

Check out the URL below for a quick tutorial on setting up RenderCows using Vue-Infinite. Not exactly sure how it works with Vue Esprit.

best, Chipp

Joe,
I'm sorry, I don't have any email I can identify from you, but I do have a record indicating a purchase, and an email cc'ed me with the registration info. I've forwarded it to your IM area.

So sorry for the delay.

Please contact support@altuit.com if you have any further questions/problems.

best, Chipp

I had a similar problem with Serious Magic and a host of upgrades. As an early adopter of their fabulous Visual Communicator, I ended upgrading it half-a-dozen time. Then of course, my hard disk fried, and I got a new computer, and lo and behold, I had to install it all 6 different times! I, too was frustrated and called their tech support. Friendly bunch. They immediately Fed X'd me a brand new copy of the current version without it being an 'update.' So, now all I ever need to do is install only 1! Very happy customer :-) IMO, keeping your customers happy is priority number one. (perhaps someone at e-on is listening?)

Veritas777 You need to make sure your terrain resolution matches exactly the pixel resolution (width and height) when pasting. I've had no problems pasting Grayscale 16-bit images into Vue. -Chipp

Veritas777, Hmmm. Perhaps that is the case. They probably don't support importing 16-bit, (have you tried copy/paste?), but in any case, I believe they represent a higher resolution for terrains internally than 8-bit, otherwise why would the Diffusive filter work so well? I can blur until I'm fuzzy in the face in Pshop, and still see artifacting. But a few repetitions of Diffusive and things are as smooth as a baby's you-know-what. So, perhaps in some sense, we're both right. I'm very interested in knowing more about the subject..and thanks for the great link to the Poser tutorial(another possible market for altTerrain Builder?). Let me know if you hear anything from Vue on the subject. best, Chipp

Terrain Draping...Now that sounds interesting. Let me get this straight, the idea is to place objects ON TOP of existing terrains? I'll think about it. Of course, it could be done super easy inside Photoshop, but wow what a cool idea!

Chuck,

Good point about not understanding them. You might try checking out http://www.altuit.com/webs/altuit2/altTerrainBuilder/UsingaltTerrainBuilder.htm for a simple example of how they work.

Veritas777,

I'm not so sure Vue doesn't already support 16-bit grayscales as terrains appear smoother when I paste native 16 bit grayscale vs 8-bit. Course it might be my old eyes;-) In anycase, it's obvious a few clicks of the Diffusive button under Erode tab helps smooth things nicely.

Check out this smooth tent map create using altTerrain Builder. The resolution is low at only 256 x 256, but the rendering is pretty smooth.

(from the website)This tent terrain is an example of an object created completely using terrains from altTerrain Builder.

The first profile was used to render terrain A, and the second profile created terrain B. Both are 256 x 256 terrain maps.

Then A was imported into a terrain, followed by importing B and setting the Mixing Mode to Blend, inverting B and rotating it 90 degrees.

A dozen or so pushes of the Diffusive button creates a very smooth surface.

Thanks for the tutorial. I didn't know that VUE worked with 16-bit grayscales, but after some tests, it appears to work a smidge better than 8-bit versions. I just copied and pasted into the terrain directly the 16-bit data.

Of course, if you really want to smooth out your terrain, just use the Diffusive button under Erode tab, as it is basically a guassian blur-- in 16 bits. Works very nice.

Message edited on: 09/13/2005 00:04

Attached Link: http://www.altuit.com/webs/altuit2/VueLab/TestRenders.htm

Here are a couple of images processed by the Demo copy:

BEFORE

AFTER