Reflection Lite Multi : Off
Poser 4 Render Engine (using Poser 7)
IBL Light, 100% intensity (posted screen up above of 25% intensity result)

Doing the one now with disconnecting the reflection map nodes from the root.

You know, I've been wondering for a long time what the Reflection Lite Mult was -- I've never messed with it either. guilty lol But I had no clue what it did. There's still a LOT in P7 that I've NO clue what it does yet. I cut my poser baby teeth on Poser4... and the Generation 2's. laughs

I'll do a render with the Lite Mult turned off and another with the reflection map stuff disconnected and let you know....

As far as the sphere mapping -- these are the textures the arm came with when I bought the product. Making procedural textures is still way over my head, about my extent of procedural altering is simple stuff like base colour changes... LOL...

I'll post up the needed renders - give me a couple minutes. :)

~ seliah

Bagginsbill,

The entire arm is 'wonky' when rendered except in the IBL. However, if it was the specular, then why would it render FINE in Firefly with IBL, but NOT render fine in P4 with IBL? Does the P4 engine negate aspects of the IBL lighting style?

As far as screenshots... I've got a screenshot posted earlier int his thread with the material settings. It would still apply with the only changes to it being that I reduced the texture strength of the reflection map from 1.5 down to 1.0 and I checked the boxes for all the materials on that arm for 'Normals Forward'.

Repost of link to screenshot is here :
www.childeoffyre.com/matsetup_cyberarmp7.jpg

Yup, you can run into those memory problems even on Windows2000, as well. If my poser has been up and running for a while, eventually the MAT poses will fail. I'll click, it'll time out while it 'loads' the pose, yet doesn't apply the textures. ;) 

Memory management is a stinker - and Poser is even more temperamental about it than most things! LOL

~ Seliah

--With IBL setup in FIREFLY, it renders fine.

--With point lights, it renders just like this - using Firefly or the P4 render engine.

--Spotlights - renders like this using either Firefly or P4 render engine.

--Infinite lights - same thing, renders just like this whether in Firefly or the P4 render engine.

--The only way I've found to control the arm being overexposed IS to use an IBL light and render it in Firefly.

• seliah

This screenshot was rendered with the P4 engine, light intensity 100%. IBL light. (those same settings in Firefly do render the arm fine)

I'm there is, somewhere... I just have no clue what it is, and thus far no one's been able to figure it out, either! LOL It wouldn't be a big deal normally, buuuuuuut... the one item (the arm) I use a LOT as I do a LOT of renders of that one character of mine... chuckles So it's kind of a headache as I have to rather consistently fight with this particular problem. ^_^

~ seliah

Quote - just out of curiousity, when you say fine in p5/p6, do you mean in Firefly?

Nein - they rendered fine in P5/P6 using BOTH Firefly AND the P4 render engines.

~ Seliah

Well.. what do you need screen shots of? The render settings, I assume?

And noted on the links - LOL - sorry. I'm used to forums that automatically insert the hyperlink code when a link is typed into the post. ^_^

I'm sure there's a solution somewhere. But... I haven't seen anyone else report this problem with the exposure vs. procedurals, so I'm wondering if maybe I'm the only one running into it...

~ Seliah

Other examples of the 'glowing' problem with procedural textures ...

Awful Soul's Skorpio Rising :
http://fc02.deviantart.com/fs17/f/2007/189/3/a/blegh__don__t_ask__by_BlueDragoness.jpg

RDNA's procedurals (the floor/background) :
http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs16/f/2007/176/2/e/Nishikihebi_by_BlueDragoness.jpg

Soooo.... it's not just the arm.. annnnd... this didn't happen with these textures until Poser7. Poser5/6 render them fine. LOL Should be noted that I did not change any of the material settings on the above two links (the glowing textures) - those are how the vendors made them and how they render in Poser7. -_-

Aanyway. I'ma hush up as there just doesn't seem to be a solution or explanation to this. -_-;

~seliah

For me?

I use almost exclusively the Vic3/Mike3 figures.

I like the SP3 as well, but as someoen earlier commented - VERY hard to 'un-steph' her face. Extremely difficult to make her face look original. Also very little vendor or freebie support in comparison to the M3/V3's.
Beyond that, I still use my Posette and my M2/V2 figures from time to time as well. Also the Generation 2 kids. (NOT Gen 3's)

But for me, I think the M3/V3 figures are my fav...

Have Aiko - can't stand her - never use her.
Don't have E-Frontier's stuff
Don't have apollo
Don't have...etc...

~ Seliah

True, displacement didn't exist in P4, yet Firefly seems to smooth every texture it renders, at least on my machine. Including textures that have bump map (not displacement) applied. Example of this... :

Firefly Render (poser 7) :
http://fc03.deviantart.com/fs20/f/2007/229/5/3/meh2_by_BlueDragoness.jpg

P4 Engine Render (poser 7) :
http://fc02.deviantart.com/fs20/f/2007/229/5/a/meh_by_BlueDragoness.jpg

(Look at the yello crest, and the metal up between the pauldrons and breastplate - it's most obvious there.)

Render Settings.......

Firefly :
Use Displacement Maps : Yes
All Else Default on the 'Automatic' settings.

My 'manual' settings for Firely are :
Cast Shadows : Yes
Ray Tracing : Yes
Min Shading Rate : 0.2
Raytrace Bounces : 2 (Default setting)
Irradiance Cacheing : 50 (no clue what this does - haven't changed it - that's default)
Pixel Samples : 3
Max Bucket Size : 64
Use Displacement Maps : Yes

My Poser4 Render Settings (also in Poser7) :
Anti-Alias : Yes
Use Bump Maps : Yes
Cast Shadows : Yes
Use Texture Maps : Yes
Ignore Shader Trees : No

Well, I settled on the mix - I wound up rendering in Firefly to avoid the over-exposure of the arm and just kind of layering a P4 render engine version over it to get some of the other details the way I wanted them to look.

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=1547067&member

That's what it finally looks like - I just wish I didn't have to render the thing twice in two different render engines to get what I want. Seems kind of redundant, and overall I'm just NOT very impressed with the Firefly render engine at all.

~ Seliah

Well, while I recognize this might not be the case for some, I'm sure the inability to INSTALL V4 into an external runtime is going to inhibit those who have her, and as a result, those who are making supporting products for her. I'm still using the Generation 3's - you can thank the inability to install her to an external runtime directory for that. The result is that when I DO make freebie items, they are being made for V3/M3, NOT V4....

I'm not a merchant. But I do have a small freebie area, and while some of those are older and i've learned a bit since then, I've taken a liking to the notion of making free items and putting them out, simply because hey - for the longest time that's how I SURVIVED when it came to poser. 99% of my runtime for the first three years was literally jsut freebie items. The other 1% was split evenly between 'factory installed item' and 'daz mil 2's' LOL I consider it sort of giving back to the community, really.

So.. yes. The headache (and yes it is a f)(*£#ing HEADACHE) involved in installing V4 may ALSO be at the least a small contributing factour to the lack of items/textures/clothes/etc/whatever that's available for her in the market places and whatnot.

My thoughts on the matter, for what they're worth.
~Seliah