I am using Vue to create a scene for part of my masters thesis, and I need to know something about the lights. I need to know what the power levels mean in real terms. For example, what does level 50 power mean in candle feet? Not lumens, I need candle feet, because as I understand it lumens is the amount of light an object recieves, while candle feet is the amount an object projects, and I need the latter. Any help would be appreciated.

Hmm, I'm not sure the lights can be converted into real world values, however when looking on google I found this site which might be of interest, www.panoptic.co.uk/light_meas.htm one of the quotes from the site says; -------------------------------- LUMINOUS FLUX This is defined as the total amount of light energy radiated by a source into the space surrounding it and is measured in Lumens. A Lumen is defined as the luminous flux emitted in a solid angle of 1 Steradian by a point source having a uniform intensity of 1 Candela. Examples The luminous flux from a typical 100W incandescent light bulb is 1740 lumens A candle has a luminous flux of 12 lumens The measurement of Luminous flux in Lumens is the best comparison between different light sources eg comparing PANOPTIC MATRIXLITE LED lighting systems to fluorescent light strips. ----------------------------------- There are loads more sites that have better (or worse) explainations so why not spend a while surfin' :) Hope some of that helps

Not all 3D programs have direct correlations between their lighting system and "real world" values. Frankly, it's just not important since 3D programs are intended to create "illusions of reality" rather than simulations of reality. I do know that Lightwave will let you choose color for a light based upon real world light "temperatures" such as Kelvin (among other lighting values) but that's not the same thing you are looking for. Actually, a real world accurate lighting system would be more of a limitation than a boon, since almost every well lit 3D scene requires lighting that would not be possible in the real world, such as certain lights that cast on only certain objects, or that cast no shadow at all. Another common example is the individual selection of shadow casting per object. This would also be tricky with virtual sunlight cast within programs such as Vue, because there would have to be some relative scale coupled with exact placements of light sources to emulate the vast distance between the earth and sun, and that sort of thing is just impracticle for the 3D artist. Best of luck!

Oh well. I guess I'll have to forgot about that one. What I was going to do was import a dem. file and try to demonstrate that the light of a signal fire could have been seen from a certain distance, since I can't afford to actually fly to Britain myself to test it, even assuming they'd let me start a fire at a national monument:) Thanks anyway guys.

If it is any consolation, Vue would not be able to prove your hypothesis anyway, even if you could convert Vue light power settings to standard units. There are just too many other variables. Variables include: 1) Amount of wood in the fire 2) Is the wood damp 3) How high and wide are the flames 4) How much atmospheric haze and absorption is there between the fire and the observer 5) And most of all, what other lighting is the fire competing with, bright sun, normal daylight, dusk or dawn, moonlight, starlight, all with and without overcast clouds. PS. I work on Night Vision Systems and would love it if my hobby could be used in my engineering work. But alas, I must rely on boring proprietary computer simulation programs and expensive experiments.

Being in the UK I'm curious to know a little more about your project. A few details would be nice although I'll understand if you don't have time. ;-)

Cheers,
Mark

Hi, BigGreen. Basically, I was interested in demonstrating that signal fires at one of the turrets or Milecastles along Hadrians could in fact have been seen for some distance, and alerted forces farther away. Recent articles in some scholarly journals had cast doubt on this. But it's no problem, since it's not really central to my thesis. Thanks for the interest.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I used to live close to a couple of beacons sites in the SW of England and often wondered if they did "work". Best wishes for the thesis.

Cheers,
Mark