Hi,
Quote from: Erwin0265 on March 28, 2012, 09:43:37 PM
Jo,
I am afraid I am still very lost.
QuoteI take it you mean "How do I find the multiply and and bias nodes to tweak this planet?
- I don't know - because I am still quoting Rich's original post which says, QuoteThe main features are controlled with multiply and bias scalars hooked to the voronoi node.
I have gone into the planet node; I must be totally blind because I simply cannot find any of what you mention:-
Did you go to the *internal network* of the planet as I described how to do? Rich also told you exactly how to do find these settings in his first post. Instructions and help aren't much use if you don't follow them :-).
Double clicking the node *will not* get you to the internal network of the node. This opens the parameter view for the node. The parameter view is where you can change settings/parameters for that specific node. If you follow the instructions given to open the internal network of the planet node you will find what you are looking for.
Quote
QuoteFor example in the internal network of the Rendered Planet node there is a Bias scalar node called "Bias scalar 01". A Bias scalar node takes two scalar inputs. In this case the Bias parameter of the node is connected to the "Distance between walls" node, which is a Constant scalar node. Double click that to edit the value which is being used for bias.
Sorry, but that doesn't really help me right now..........
Yes it does. I told you what you need to know:
- The settings you are looking for are in the *internal network* of the Rendered Planet node. We told you how to get to the internal network in multiple ways.
- The settings described (bias, multiply etc.) are represented as nodes in the node network.
- I described how the settings work. For example there is a Bias node which applies a bias function (this is documented in the node reference). To change the Bias function you need to edit the value being input, which is represented by the "Distance between walls" node, which is a Constant scalar node (also documented).
I presume as a maths teacher you are familiar with mathematical functions. Function nodes (the blue nodes in the network) are a graphical representation of a mathematical function. They have inputs and an output. You connect other nodes to them to provide these inputs. These nodes might represent other calculations (variables in maths terms I suppose) or they might represent constants (constants in the maths terms).
Think of the Bias node as a function like f(x, b). f() is the function (Bias in this case). x and b are inputs. In this particular case (if you look in the internal network of the "Rendered Planet" node as instructed) the x input is the result of the "Multiply scalar 01" node. The b input comes from the "Distance between walls" node which is a constant scalar. In pseudo maths it might be like:
result = f( x, b )
where:
f() is the Bias function
x is the result of the "Multiply scalar 01" node
b is the scalar (number) value output by the "Distance between walls" node, a constant scalar. The b input controls the Bias curve (described in the docs).
Mathematically speaking in this situation x is a variable and b is a constant.
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QuoteIn this case the Bias parameter of the node is connected to the "Distance between walls" node, which is a Constant scalar node.
I can't find a bias parameter, nor a distance between walls node.
Did you look at the internal network of the Rendered Planet node as I described how to do? Because it's all there. Did you try what both Rich and I described?
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Telling me that it is a Constant scalar; you may as well tell me it's a Fubbyloofer - because I still don't know what a scalar is [remember, notes gone.........].
I *did* tell you want a scalar is. It's a number, simple as that. A Constant scalar node outputs a number. Double click the node in the network view to open its parameter view and change the number.
As a background there are three main types of data used in function node (blue node) networks. Scalars are single numbers. Vectors are sets of three scalars, typically corresponding to X, Y an Z coordinates. Colours are sets of three scalars treated as being RGB values. The names of function nodes typically have "scalar", "vector" or "colour" appended to them to describe what sort of data they primarily deal with. However TG2 will automatically convert data of one sort into another if needed, or there are nodes to do it explicitly.
Scalar isn't really jargon anyway, it's a mathematical term. We didn't make it up.
This stuff is quite advanced in terms of TG2 usage. Function networks are really the most advanced thing you can do with TG2. It's graphical maths programming. Using function nodes is not essential to making great scenes with TG2. They're more to let you expand on what is offered by TG2. This is what is meant by it being an open system. You can do things we never envisaged, we just provide the building blocks to do it. As such we can document the function nodes (and they're virtually all documented) but if you want to understand what someone has done with them either they need to document it or you need to figure out what they've done.
Now quite obviously you have missed the fact that these nodes (bias, multiply etc.) people are talking about are in the internal network of the "Rendered Planet" node. Hopefully things will be a little clearer if you follow the instructions we've provided. It might beg further questions so I provided the background information above to fill things in a bit. As a maths teacher you may find that function nodes are quite easy to use if you understand the maths - all you need to do is hook them together to create equations.
Regards,
Jo
