I've seen these - rendered with VistaPro.

You'll get a lot more out of these DEM's if you "process" them outside the program, bring the altered meshes into Vue, and use what Vue offers concerning mesh handling.

So turning on "dynamic subdivision", playing around with the smoothing angle, etc. will certainly make the blocky mesh from VistaPro look better then the examples from what is shown in the link.

And again: concerning the user manual, there only is some basic instruction.

A fast search brought up this here:

http://casde.unl.edu/imagery/dem/tutorial.php

This covers really all there is. Due to being extremely fast on actual machines, experimenting with the settings will give you results in no time - hopefully :).

Well, using the Help menu in VistaPro you'll get some basic information.

The rest - it is just a matter of changing dials and render (only if you want to really render inside VistaPro).

The way I use it - mostly as a tool to get DEM's into readable form for other apps, so it does not matter for me how exactly VistaPro might render any mesh.

:) glad you found it.

Like I said - what you will get out of VistaPro still needs some additional work, but all of this is done fast and easy. Depending on your needs the means of Vue alone might be sufficient.

Anyway: have fun editing! 

...seen it - the link I gave is kind of  dead, sorry.

The way I use VistaPro (if at all) is just to get out the DEM's for Vue.

Exporting in dxf format works pretty well. Certainly you'll have to work on the mesh, either inside Vue or in any modeler that can read dxf (a lot to choose from).

All DEM's that come with VistaPro = 700 MB, roughly.

cmcgaugh -

don't know from where you tried to get it, so

http://www.creative-3d.net/vistapro.cfm

might help. You'll find the link to the dev's on the site.

Again - best of luck!

Well, there is something to say about proggies that - although somewhat outdated - still continue to run on actual machines, I guess.

About what you can get out of it - a lot can be changed for the better (resolution) using the means of Vue.

Had been reading about the steps involved doing DEM's "your way" - lots of rituals involved :) ...

Maybe you should go and ask NASA about the tricks they used to feed us with these simulations.

Good luck editing!

Have you tried VistaPro?

I know: outdated and all - but >>> VistaPro carries tons of DEM's with it.

And, I guess that half of Mars is present. You can export from VistaPro in different fromats.

Tried it once with Vue6infinite - worked quite well.

Good luck...

... you could place a primitive (Vue's own) at the spot where your object has to be.

Then import the obj,

save it off as vob**,

delete the obj,

select the primitive (place holder), and "replace by" this with "load obect" (right select the placeholder to get to these options).

**Now, the conversion to vob might look time consuming, but in the end you probably "should" do this conversion anyway - normally the converted files (vob format) are somewhat smaller in size (MB), load faster and whatnot.

The method of >bruno< will work just as well, sometimes it is a bit tedious to get the right coordinates, though.

OK, another method would be:

put a camera at the spot where you want your object to be (using the different views in Vue - not a problem, you can actuall SEE where you "go"),

import your obj, 

lift it up along Z,

go into the top view and place the obj right above (and in front) of the new camera that you had created,

drop the obj to the floor (left hand menu, last icon), and adjust there (rotation, etc.) as needed.

Using more camera's then the default one will solve more then one issue, from placement to scene views.

Hope some of this helps ...

Quote - Is it somewhat stable? Does everything still work? Are the renders really quicker or did they just tweak the settings again? Are the new features worth the upgrade price? Do the plants look better this time?

This is for versions 11"Complete":

Is it somewhat stable: if "somewhat" means 50% of the working time, then yes.

Does everything still work: importing obj works with a minimum system load. Collada (still) has the silver foil (can be removed in the material eddy), Splines are sluggish to work with.

Rendering: still the snail. Vue6Infinite (same scene on version 6 and version 11) beats version 11 Complete easily.

What definitely does NOT work (considering performance):

• setting up more then one library: 11 tends to crash while trying to show/load any item.

• 11 needs too much time to recover from an interrupted render, very good chance to crash.

• 11 needs too much time to show an obj after import, very good chance to crash.

Got (installed) Vue5Esprit, Vue5Infinite, Vue6Infinite, Vue9Complete, Vue11Complete - and from testing these I can safely say that Vue6Infinite is the most reliable version of the versions I've got. Fast to work with, fast to render, no crashes (98%).

There are other issues for render results and 11 Complete, but they do not differ much from 9 Complete, so I will not bother you with the nasty details :).

Seems e-onsoftware somehow has lost some very talented developers/coders so now each new version is more an open beta with the users as beta testers - for a fee.

Machine specs: Intel i72600@3.4GHz, GTX 580, 16 GB Ram, Windows 7/64 - I can assure you: REAL programs (like ZBrush, Blender, 3DCoat and others) are performing flawless.

Hope that helps.

OK, the solution is as simple as I am clumsy:

whithin the IvyGen (Thomas Luft, yes) there is a button called "birth".

Following my queer kind of logic I double clicked on my model for the starting point of the growth, then I clicked "birth" (seemed only natural to me), then "grow", and exported the grown Ivy as obj.

Had been my thought - BUT: you've got to press "birth" NOT before growing, you have to click on it PRIOR TO EXPORTING!

Only then it works like it should, and for the whole "problem" >> entirely my bad.

Don't feel actually bad, though :), it works, and I will turn again more to reading handbooks and/or FAQ's.

Wonder what I might have missed with Blender and the remaining greyed out obj's in Vue...

Anyway, thank you for bothering!

Used IvyGen a couple of years ago successfully, and had been surprised by the behavior of the "new" version (might still be the older version, I don't know).

Used it for trees, bushes, whatever. Had been simple but reliable.

At any rate, the obj file from IvyGen should contain something.

Checking for answers from the maker now...

Ok, bit by bit it seems to become more clear what might cause the problem:

Started with IvyGen, and

• made a cube in Silo, saved as obj

• the same cube went to IvyGen, "populated" with a small Ivy

• Vue imported the cube, but not the altered cube out of IvyGen - just as I would have predicted.

So I went and opened both obj's within wordpad (obj files are "simple" textfiles, after all). And - while the unaltered cube had tons of text within, the obj from IvyGen had been totally ----- EMPTY.

Not one single letter, empty file.

I think nobody can blame Vue for importing this kind of file as it does: empty file - nothing to show :).

Contacting the maker of IvyGen now to see what might be wrong there.

Evaluating the same problem with Blender now ...

No, of all the possible things I have not tried this (but I'll certainly check it out!).

It certainly helps by not feeling that much alone anymore :), thank you!

... well: is there any reason that you save your models from within D|S as collada file format?

If not, just try the Wavefront obj format. Works well in most situations.

Good luck...