Quote from: cyphyr on September 16, 2012, 07:19:41 AM
1. Power Fractal node/Density fractal node ~ do these as one ~ contrast and compare
3. Surface layer/Distribution shader ~ do these as one ~ contrast and compare
4. Compute Terrain
2. Cloud layer
5. Cloud node
Richard
Exactly this +
Planetside really needs to document (expected) input and output data types for every node!Would #2 not be 'cloud layer/node' Richard??
If so, then 5 would be rendersettings.
If you would do these 5 above properly then a LOT of TG2's basics will be covered.
If I'd set up a learning programme it would look like this in a nutshell:
- UI overview
- UI overview, show elements of scene by tab-based system vs node-network system (each tab also has a network group) and why to use the node-network from the beginning and never use the tab-based system. Really!
- Node network: explain top-down data stream principle with a planet as end-point.
- Node network/data: briefly explain data types (vector, scalar, colour) and how these are passed along the network -> explain input/output ports
- Node network/data: using the default scene with HF and explain why this is the result we're getting, covering the above aspects.
Then the parts covered in this discussion and as suggested by Richard:
1. Power Fractal node/Density fractal node ~ do these as one ~ contrast and compare
3. Surface layer/Distribution shader ~ do these as one ~ contrast and compare
4. Compute Terrain
2. Cloud layer/node
5. Render settings
Understanding TG2 basically means:
Understanding flow of data in network.
Which datatypes exist and what is needed for what?
How does the powerfractal work? Understanding the powerfractal's possibilities covers SO much of TG2 "modus operandi" (Richard;))
Blending/masking options.
Rendersettings.
Rendersettings is also really important.
At the moment the information on how the rasterized renderer and raytracer work is really too shady.
What do we know about TG2's GI? According to Matt it's "something like Irradiance Cache and/or Photon Map".
What do we know about the rasterized renderer? "It's something like the REYES implementation on micropolygon creation and shading".
Ok, good to know, but not good enough. The "something" part of the information is too shady.
Take a look at this for example:
http://www.spot3d.com/vray/help/150SP1/http://www.vray.com/vray_for_sketchup/manual/http://docs.autodesk.com/MENTALRAY/2012/CHS/mental%20ray%203.9%20Help/files/manual/index.htmlhttp://www.mentalimages.com/fileadmin/user_upload/PDF/arch_and_design.pdfVray and Mental Ray manuals I googled and found in under 5 seconds. Many aspects of these 2 renderers are explained in text and in visual.
I realize not everyone is interested in in-depth knowhow of the renderer, but it really helps in trouble-shooting, optimizing and (also of some importance) having the right expectations of what you can/can not.