Hello everyone,

I am very new to Vue Infinate. I think I've had the program about 2 weeks.

I am finding it to be a difficult program to understand at this early point in time.

I know there are tutorials out there. I just do not really know where to start. Is there an actual place to begin. I have found that, in a lot of the tutorials I've seen, they explain how to get to something. Some sort of an action to bring about a wanted result. What I am missing, is the background of knowledge necessary to make sense of what they are doing.

Kind of like watching a surgeon perform brain surgery while verbally giving the steps along the way, as he does it. Then he hands you a blade & asks you to do the same thing, to the next person.

You would first need to understand the purpose for doing it, not just how to. You also need to understand the terminology, otherwise, it won't mean much to you. They might as well be speaking another language. Things like frame selected object/area, the list goes on. One word I understand is populating. How to populate a tree to an area of ground. I see nothing in the program that says populate. I see import and load object, but not populate.

It would be good to have a actual one on one tutor to get you started & to help you understand the way the work flows. It would also be good to be CAD savvy.

Can anyone offer some words of wisdom on this.

Thanks  :)

Go to geekatplay.com , plenty of tutorials, for all levels of knowledge

Adding to Bruno's excellent advise (there is no better place than Geek at Play for Vue tutorials), I would suggest you go to the Site Map page:

http://www.geekatplay.com/sitemap.php

and from there just start at the beginning.  Even though the beginning tutorials are for versions 6 and up, they are still applicable.  If you click on Epic Landscapes I, for example, you are taken to the older GaP tutorial pages.  From there, click on Tutorials in the menu at the top, go down to Vue and then the Vue Weekly fly-out menu, and on to Tutorials 1-35.  That's a great start.

Because they have so many tutorials, I know it can be daunting to figure out where to start.

bruno021 & Marie-Anne, Thank you both so very much!

I will definately join the geekatplay site & both purchase & watch the many videos there.

Marie-Anne, you are so right! There are so many tutorials out there, it is very hard to know where to begin. I had found watching random tutorials were of no help, because I had no understanding of the topics they were discussing. I did however find geekatplays tutorials helpful on the user interface of the program. I seen them over at youtube.

Its great to know I can go to geekatplay's & watch & purchase videos in some semblance of order.

Thank you both again!

Rick

Yes, GeekAtPlay is the main source for tutorials....free online or download
for a fee (very reasonable).  

Also, check out Digital Tutors.........I think the first set, The Beginner's Guide to VUE, is free. 

http://www.digitaltutors.com/learningpath/42-How-to-Get-Started-in-Vue

If you subscribe ($45 US/month), you get all the VUE tutorials as well as all tutorials for all the other apps (a long list). 

The only drawback is you can't download or get CDs of the tutorials.

I felt the same way about learning VUE....overwhelmed.....but it gets easier as you use it. 

I still am low on the learning curve, but am absorbing it faster now, and
enjoying it very much. Lots of bells & whistles, but you don't need to know
all of them at once to make music. 

Good luck!  

Thank you so much cmcgaugh,

You give me hope. I will certainly use these two. I will probably subscribe to the digitaltutors for a couple months, just to get really aquainted with vue in some semblance of order. I will certainly buy some of geekatplay's vids as they are very reasonable in price.

"I still am low on the learning curve, but am absorbing it faster now, and enjoying it very much. Lots of bells & whistles, but you don't need to know all of them at once to make music"

I play violin quite well & am now in the middle of leaning keyboard. The violin sounds very nice on its own. The keyboard will simply add to its flow.

Thank you again!

Rick

Hi Rick,

happy to help you get a handle on it. 

Maybe some day you will do an animation in VUE that will be sychronized
with your music.

Have fun.  

I learned from examining the sample scenes in the content extras.  The material editor was the hardest part for me.  Trial and error using different slider values.  And reading the PDF for material settings.

Hi Shawn,

That sounds like a very difficult part to learn. Once I get a handle on User interface, I will definately try that. I can see that being a very difficult area. I'm also having a touch time with the gamma. It keeps popping up. I know it has to do the difference between our graphic software & the way our screen handles it. Graphic cards deals with it using a linear math, while our screens reproduce it using a non-linear method. Anyways, What little I have done has been awfully bright. Thats when that gamma warning box pops up.

I also need to do some very heavy reading on 3d in general. I've had Poser pro for a number of years. That was a very easy program to learn. Not near the complex settings of some of the things in Vue. The render in poser is as simple as it gets. Of course using the Octane renderer in Poser is a little more complex. But still.

I've been watching video after video while following along in Vue Infinate & taking written notes. Filled my cart up at geeksatplay. Does not take long to tally up. There are still so many vids I want there. Anything to help. Even thinking of joining that digital tutors. As pricy as they are.

Thanks again Shawn & have a great day!

PS Enjoying your youtube vids. :)

Rick

Also highly recommend the book,  VUE7 from the Ground Up by Ami & Vladimir Chopine (the creators of GeekAtPlay).  

Even though it's several versions old, it's still very relevant to VUE11. 

I use it almost everyday, and had it spiral bound for easier use. 

They may sell it at GeekAtPlay, although I didn't see it there. You can get it at Amazon for about $35 including shipping/tax. 

cmcgaugh, I will definately check into that book. I think I seen the guy from geek&play also highly suggested it in one of his reference videos.

Thanks again I really appreciate it. :)

Rick

You're very welcome. 

BTW, I just emailed you here. 

We all learning in different ways. some like project base approuch some instructional.

If you like project based, check Epic Landscapes at www.geekatplay.com/vue.php

If you like more instructional then http://www.geekatplay.com/dv11.php will work better.

All tutorials free to watch online. and if you need any help, please email to me.

geekatplay,

is VUE7 from the Ground Up available at GeekAtPlay.com or just at Amazon? 

Geekatplay, thank you for that directional guidance, I really appreciate it! I was on your site last night, heading back there again today.

Just got & replied to your email cmcgaugh, thanks!

Thank you all once again for all your help. It really has helped me. THis is one great forum!

take care & have a great weekend!

Rick :)

Hi everyone, hope your weekend is going well!,

Well, I was looking at the material editor today. It did not look to bad. I then found myself in the advanced material editor. That is one ugly looking beast. I could not figure out what was what in there. I am sure in time it will somehow come together.

I have a question regarding a one of the downloads I bought over at geekatplays.

It is called Moab Pack. I am really confused what to do with some of these things. I do not know much about the content folder yet. I know if I add  to a folder, like materials/metals and just drop files into it without a subfolder, I have to go into vue, delete the metals out of the materials browser, then click att collection & put them back in order for them to show up in the browser.

I managed to put one folder into its right place, because they had a subfolder with a name that went with the contents. There are others however, that do not have that.

For examples there is one folder called water. It contains a file called jungleswamp. Now do I put it in the materials folder under water as the folder reads, or do I move it to liquids where the other water is, folder & all, or do I take it out of the folder & put the file in liquids?

All these files have a relationship to each other, so I cannot just guess at where to put them. They are part some project. Rocks and landscapes folders have loose files in them, no sub folder. Do I just drop the loose files in these folders? They have a relation to the terrains files or prt files. The terrain folder of this download called terrains has no sub-folder, just loose files.

Another folder called functions. I have no idea what this folder even does. It sounds important. The Functions folder to is just loose fnc files, no sub folder. Do I just drop them loosely into the fuctions folder?

The model folder, which I assume is an object did have a sub-folder called Metablobs. They are vob files. Anyways, the only file folder that went beyond the first level was the one with metablobs in it. I hope this makes sense.

I have sent geeksat play an email yesterday. Been waiting on him.  I have used poser pro 2012 & the file system there has to be just right or else you are made to search manually for the files. I hope this program is not that fussy.

IF anyone has downloaded this product, I would really appreciate knowing what you did.

I would have thought he'd have a simple readme file in his products. I guess its not done with vue.

Thanks

Rick

sounds like you're having fun already. 

I have Moab, but hadn't unpacked it yet. 

After unzipping it, I just re-named the e.g. "Atmospheres" folder to "GAP", and copied it to the Atmospheres folder in My Documents > e-on software > VUE11 > Atmospheres > GAP  ...at least for Windows 7.  Whatever the default setup is for the OS.  (see p.37 in the VUE11 User Guide)

When I launched VUE, the GAP atmospheres showed up in the browser. You can name it what you want, or lump all the atmospheres together in one folder.

I don't know if that's the kosher way, but it works. I assume all the contents of all the other folders in Moab, e.g. "functions" would go in the functions folder in My Documents, also in a sub-folder named GAP if you want to distinguish them from the 
others.  

I guess you could put them where you want instead of My Documents, but then would have to hunt for them since it wouldn't be the default that VUE wants. 

Hope that helps. Does anyone have a better way to organize content? 

Thank you so much cm, you are a lifesaver. Thank you for going out of your way like that.  I looked at that folder last night for hours trying to figure it out. I was really worried about the functions, because it sounds important. I was so use to the readme files with poser. They were all packed up, so all you had to do was drop them into your runtime folder. It spoiled me.

I really do not know why I bought that one. I guess I wanted to really give to geekatplays site. So I bought a bunch of vids and some of those other downloads.

I did learn a few things in vue today. I leaned to group primitives together & then apply a bolean or was it metablob, anyways I created this odd looking spaceship by doing it. I would never fly in the thing however. :) I accidently hit something & it started to bake a landscape I had. It took a while. I could not stop it.

I hope one day I can help you, as much as you have helped me. That actually goes to everyone here. I really emjoyed helping others with Poser.

Thanks again & have a great day!!

Rick

If you have used Poser Pro, you at least have an awarenss of 3D. I have always found Poser Pro more complicated in some areas than Vue. I found editing materials in Vue a lot easier than in Poser. Don't try to compare them as you learn Vue, but your ability to utilize them in Poser Pro will help. Believe me, you will end up having an aha moment when Vue falls into place. then, you will keep learning from there.

Years ago, I wrote tutorials for beginners on Vue. I know they have helped people because I have had requests from websites to translate them into Russian and other languages. They are not videos so can be downloaded and followed. http://www.perpetualvisions.com/tocs/toc-articles.htm

Perhaps those can help you. I, also, second using GeekatPlay and their book. It is a fabulous website. The Vue community owes a lot to them.

Hope this has helped.

Thank you so much Paula.

I appreciate the link to your tutorials. And what you've had to say. IT has helped me a lot, thank you.  Like you said, geekatplay is a great source for knowledge & materials for Vue.

I found poser much easier then I have been finding Vue. I don't know why. I am glad to have learned poser. I have about 100 Gb of content. They are so easy to import into Vue. I won't need to buy much in the way of content, aside from terrains & those kinds of things. Objects such as people, buildings, props and so on I have an over abundance of.

I just save a character or prop or a whole scene, after posing them all & save them as a PZ3 file & import into Vue, materials and all. I do find that human skin looks different in vue.

At this point in time, I did not want to get into creating trees, so I found myself purchasing the dual pack 3000 plus trees plants & grass. I really like the trees. MY problem now is getting the roots below ground on many of them. I find when I smart drop them, they connect with the ground by the tips of the roots. Vue considers the tips of the roots as the area of contact & not some place further up the roots. So you have to manually drop a lot of them below the terrain. Not so good for populations, great as hero trees. One day I will try my hand at modeling trees and other things. For now, I think Vue infinite & World Machine 2 are enough to take on, aside from the programs I already know & have.

I do have to say, I am a little scared of the content folder. Adding something wrong & making a mess of the whole thing.

Thank you again Paula, I really appreciate your help & your link to your tutorials.

Have a great Sunday!

Rick

I have Photoshop open now and can't really get into Vue, but there is a setting on ecosystems to set the object below ground. If you can't find it, I'll do a screen capture.

Don't be afraid of the content folder. You really can't make a mistake. The runtimes are much more complicated. If you import Poser characters, you might run into bump issues. I have an ongoing tutorial about DAZ and Vue, but you can apply a lot to Poser. http://www.perpetualvisions.com/new-articles/notes-daz-poser-vue/notes-daz-poser-vue.html

Paula

Thank you Paula,

I will search around & try to find that setting to place objects below ground. That will really help with the XFrog Trees.

I will certainly look at your article. Bump maps are certainly important, if you want to create a realistic look & most certainly for closeups.They'd be fine way in the background. Without bump maps, things look painted on. I am really noticing that skin will take on a washed out bright look in Vue. The lighting must have to be re-set for Poser/Daz Studio characters & objects in Vue.

Thank you once again for your help Paula, its greatly appreciated!

Rick

Hi Rick, 

glad it helped you......it helped me, too. 

I tend to try to run before I can even crawl in my eagerness (and laziness) to 
get going on a new app.

I wish I could be in a structured class 2hr a day, then spend 2hr applying the teaching.

But since that's not feasible for me, I use books, videos, the User Guide, and
these forums when I get stuck......Shawn has bailed me out several times, especially
on using DEMS.

Everyone learns differently, but I find that going from A~Z is boring.
Instead of going through someone else's project,  I just think of something I'd like to accomplish, and learn as I go.

It leaves gaps in my knowledge, but I enjoy learning more, and it
eventually comes into focus. 

As Paula said, "Believe me, you will end up having an aha moment when Vue falls into place. then, you will keep learning from there."

I'm appreciating GeekAtPlay more & more.....what an incredible resource.
Good people, too.  

Keep at it and have fun. 

Hi cmc,

I am like you when it comes to trying to just jump in without knowing enough about it.

I am however, trying to take the long path this time, as jumping in for me with Vue is not working well. It is boring leaning taking the long route there.

Learning all about the Control Tool Bar at the top & how they are grouped into sections, like first you have the File group which can also be found in the drop down file at the top, is your first 4 icons at the top, then we have the next group, the Edit group, which can also be found in the edit menu, things like cut, paste, copy, duplicate, undo re-do, & next there is the Automation Group dealing with Macros, oh we can't forget the object & atmosphere group, then the Eco-System group, and so on until we finally get to the Render Group.

Lets not forget the side panel or objects panel. Used to create objects in Vue......

We then have the Scene Panel located at the right side & its broken into 3 sections, the objects properties, camera properties & of course the World Browser. In the objects panel we hve 3 icons, Aspect, Numerics & of course---Animation. And on & on it goes.

Really dry stuff. I understand not wanting to take that route. :(

I've tried jumping ahead to simple things like loading a terrain, which is fine unless it is one of the infinite ones. I always end up under the ground when it comes in.

I do get above & try loading objects. Today for instance, I loaded a elephant from poser into Vue. I cannot find them in the camera view. I can see them in the other views but cannot find it in the main camera. Never thought you could loose an elephant.

Sometimes I find them way out in the distance or on the other side of the hills. I cannot get in front of me. If there is no terrain in the scene, the objects are right there in front of me. Is there some magic way to find these things or bring them to the front when loaded onto a terrain?

At this point, my biggest battle is with terrains & objects loading where I can get them or see them.

I've realized with poser imports, things like houses people animals, I have to set the bump map to 0 or they end up looking so very sharp & & full of deep thin grooves. I will certainly be rading Paula's article on this.

I also find when I load certain terain types that a box pops up asking me if I want to where the water level is, something like that, anyways, I say yes & I end up under the ground. I've changed textures on a terrain & once in a while, it renders a different scene to what I am seeing in the Camera view. Strangely odd. I do however really want to combat this terrain/objects thing. Dropping an object to the ground or smart dropping it, does not bring it into my view. How would you place things if you can't find them? Just load a bunch of objects onto a terrain, let it render for a few hours, hope for the best.  It will end up looking like there was some kind of mass disaster. Perhaps a meteor hit.

The long route there is boring and you run the risk of loosing interest before you accomplish anything. It would be a great thing to do in a class setting. I will end up knowing everything about the interface & nothing about creating anything with it.

I'm sure it will work out in the end. No one said it would be easy.

I bet you are thinking to yourselves, WOW! That was a boring read! :)

I am so sorry for that. I'll pay for it in the next life.

Take care

Rick

Hi Rick, 

when you load something and don't see it in the viewports, 
select it in the "tree" on the right, and then change it's coordinates
to 0,0,0.

I usually select it, then zoom out till I can see it, too.

But there may be an easier way to tell VUE where to put it in the first place (?)

cmc, thank you so much!

If I should ever discover a way to tell vue where it put it ahead of time, I will certainly pass that on to you.

Thanks again for the hehp. I will be setting it 0,0,0

Have a great week!

Rick

we're learning VUE together. 

FYI, I added a sphere, cylinder, and pyramid to a scene just to see
if VUE put things in a default spot......they all were placed
on top of each other at the above coordinates. 

When I create an empty scene, VUE puts primitives @ 0,0,3.

Maybe it depends on what is already in the scene. 

The first scene with the strange default coordinates  already had a 
terrain & clouds. So maybe VUE offset the primitives so they wouldn't
be obscurred (?).

There may be a reference about it in the User Manual, but I couldn't find one. 

Lots to learn! 

That is really interesting, Fantastic cmc!

I will definately look through & try to find a reference to that. I was wondering why objects appeared right in front of me in an empty scene. Then be so far away in any direction. Guess it depends on the shape & size of your terrain & other things ouside the objects you bring in.

Things can land far away way, down in between the two sides of a hill or mountainous type of terrain as a result of the offset . It would probably be easier to change in that position box to 0,0,0, the move it where you want. Terragen 2 is set up where you can mouse around your screen & you automatically get the coordinates for x, y & Z. Then you just copy them over to the object box. IT would be nice if coordinates were pointed out anywhere you set your mouse on the screen. It would make it easier to place & find objects. Coordinates other then 0,0,0, are only good, if you know where the 3 points intersect.

You can only put numbers in that numerics section if you have those numbers. Why would they point out numbers to you in that box if you can't locate them? There has to be a way your mouse can give you coodinates anywhere on your main camera view port. Then I can point my mouse anywhere, have the location & pass it on to the object. Instead of having to drag it all over the place, to get it where you want.

I gues they have 4 screen views for a reason.

ITs great, learning Vue together! :)  Yes, there certainly is lots to learn! :)

I learned how to add new layers tonight & move objects from the first layer to the second. :)

Take care cmc!

Rick

Hey Rick, 

I forgot to tell you about another very good (& complete) set of video
tutorials for VUE.  They are at VTC online for $30/mo, or you can buy
the CDs for $99 US.  

http://www.vtc.com/products/Vue-8.5-Tutorials.htm

Mark Bremmer is the teacher, and is an excellent trainer.....easy going,
well prepared.

The set is based on VUE 8.5, but still very worthwhile.

It's like DigitalTutors......if you subscribe, you get all the apps they carry. 

I have the CDs and loaded them on my computers to watch offline
and without having to keep the CD in the drive.

So many good tutorials, so little time!  

Cal  

Thans Cal, I will definately have a look at those. You are right about the so little time. I am trying to fit in so much in & make time to learn this program. His videos sound really good & at least you can buy them. I am still using the free online tutorials at DigitalTutors. They are good as well, just do not like that I cannot buy their tutorials. I guess its a way for them to avoid pirated copies & also a way for them to make money in the memberships.

Fifty a month is a lot for a membership. Especially if you cannot put as much time into learning as you would like. Its nice to have the cd's & you can watch them at your without the stress of trying to fit in so many vids, to get your moneys worth.

Thanks again for the heads up about VTC Online.

Have a great day Cal!

Rick :)

Hi Rick, 

here's one more that looks good, though I haven't bought any yet. 

http://www.asilefx.net/catalog/index.php?cPath=21_27_86

Each teacher has a different perspective and approach. 

Thank you Cal!

That looks great! It says you do not need a much knowledge in that Whats New in Vue 11 vid. Thats a good thing as well.

They seem to sell a few useful things there as well. Things like textures. However, you have to convert these to mat files.

Even so, there are a number of interesting things there. Can't have too many resources for stuff.  I wonder how advanced advanced praticles is?

The more perspectves & sources, the better!

Thanks again Cal!

Rick