Quote from: Hetzen on November 29, 2012, 05:16:22 PM
How does Mojo apply it's displacements? There must be a hierachy of where the surface meets the next displacement? I've not played with Mojo at all, I should have a look.
If you look at that link, there is a bit where Calyxa describes (and with picture) the differences of using World Position, Surface Position and Undisplaced Surface Position. There is also Undisplaced World Position but you also have slope and altitude or any other positioning graphs you can tweak up. Positions are nodes (like TG2) except in Mojoworld nothing has a set position. You can choose that. There are no closed off red nodes.
Calyxa creates the spires which can sit on top of another terrain but they are still terrain. This is all done in a terrain part of the app that has no colour applied. Colour and further displacements are done elsewhere as materials. This is where she uses Undisplaced Surface Position as the blend positioning to blend the materials between spires and surround because she takes the spires fractal as the mask and she wants it's surface position but before displacement otherwise any further displacements will move outside the initial surface position and colour will go wrong because that will be in a new position. The colour from surface position must move with the displacement.
Most importantly, Mojoworld can have surface piled on surface and you have full control of all the positioning and hence the masking needed. TG2 on the other hand give you no control when using fractals. It's the single most crippled aspect of the app. I actually don't think any other 3D app limits you to such an extent. The fractal at minimum needs a box where you choose whatever positions are available but better still, you should be able to choose to hook in a positioning node (or nodes).
I wish I didn't keep having to harp on about Mojoworld but the fact is that despite it's other major flaws including being pretty useless now for rendering (not multu core) there is no other procedural app that even begins to come near Mojoworld in it's tweakability. This is really a tragic situation. There may never be an app again like Mojoworld. Seems crazy but this can happen with software like things in the real world. Somebody makes something and nobody ever matches it. Often for financial reasons. Lightzone is what I use for post editing. That's dead now. Already it doesn't work right on Windows 7. Fortunately there is a Linux version which means it lasts forever as is.
You might think code is code so can be replicated but it doesn't always happen. Also, some code is secret. You have to know how to replicate it and have people willing to pay for that. Not really that different from knowing how to make something in the real world. Gibson guitars are junk now but the guys who made the original Gibson electrics still make guitars. I have one and Gibson's Gibsons are no contest yet they appear to be the same.