Cloud cover for 2nd planet

[dsueck]

Hello folks,

I recently bought T3 and can figure most of it out I think.

But for the last couple of days I've been wrestling with the problem of creating a 2nd planet and adding clouds to it's atmosphere. I suspect that I don't have a clear enough understanding of how the fractals/shaders/atmosphere work.

I can create clouds on the initial planet and can create the 2nd planet and place it where I want, everything I've tried for creating clouds on the 2nd planet has failed.

Thanks for your help!

Dean

[kaedorg]

For 2nd planet, you need to enter the internal node of planet 2. You should have the Atmo layer.
Right click, and you have a menu where you can add any layer as cloud layer in atmo section.

When you are in the internal node of planet 2, you also can import a tgc file which includes cloud layers you already prepared.

David

[dsueck]

Thanks for the reply David!

I understand what you're getting at ( I think ) but something confusing is happening. When I create the planet 2, it shows up in the network node list under planet 1 just where it should be, but atmo 2 and the cloud layer that I attach to it are showing up somewhere else and I'm not sure how to connect them. The atmo and cloud layer are showing up in a node network all by themselves and I get a new button that says 'Up One Level'. I don't understand what it's doing here.

Dean

[Dune]

That's exactly where it should be as you are now in the inside level of the second planet. Up one level means your leaving the internals of that node. Look at it as a box; you open it by clicking the 'edit internal network' button (or rightclick) of a particular node/shader that has a +. Then you are inside the box/node, and can add/change nodes.

[dsueck]

Hmmm. ok. I got that, but the current problem is tying the cloud to planet 2. I colored the clouds bright pink but that showed the clouds EVERYWHERE on planet 2. lol. I suppose that's an improvement of sorts ...

I'll attach the code to this msg if anyone gets a minute to look it over.

Thanks,

Dean

[fleetwood]

You've got the atmosphere of Planet01 incorrectly being routed to Planet 02. To fix things, that arrow should be removed.
Then  Planet 02 needs its own atmosphere shader assigned.  Under the Objects tab in the main window (not the node network) you'll see Planet 02 and a box that needs to contain the name of its Atmosphere Shader and then next to that you will see  a  + sign.
Left click the + sign and pick Assign Shader - scroll down the list of shaders to Planet 02 and choose Cloud Layer V2-01 which is the last shader in your Planet 02 Atmosphere group.

The Planet 02 tab should look like this -


As to clouds everywhere, a global cloud layer is the default. If you don't want a global layer , you check Localise in the cloud layer and give it the proper coordinates for its center and give it a radius for the area of the cloud layer.

[dsueck]

I'm sorry folks, I'm just not getting this. Does someone have some code I can look through to see how it's done?

Thanks loads,

Dean

[Oshyan]

Which part are you having trouble with, getting clouds on the 2nd planet *at all*, or just getting them to not be global clouds? As Fleetwood mentions *all* clouds in Terragen are global by default. You can use the Localize option if you prefer a limited area for your clouds.

For managing multiple planets, it is helpful to understand the basics, and I would frankly recommend working in the node list on the left a bit more and somewhat less in the node network. This is because additional planets have their nodes *inside* of the parent Planet node, whereas the default planet has all its nodes externally (primarily because most people don't work with multiple planets, so it's better to have all the node workings exposed for the majority of uses). The node list just lets you see this hierarchy more clearly, but you still need the node network a bit.

So follow these steps:

1: Create a new Default Scene (New from the file menu)
2: Go to Objects tab and create a new Planet (Add Object -> Objects -> Planet)
3: Click the + next to "Planet 02" in the node list on the left; you should now see 2 additional nodes, a Power Fractal Shader and Atmosphere 02. These belong to Planet 02!
4: Click one of the 2 sub-nodes in Planet 02. You will see the node network on the right zooms to show these internal nodes.
5: Right-click the Atmosphere node in the Node Network view on the right, then choose Cloud Layer v2 near the bottom. This will insert a cloud layer.
Viola!

Now, build your surface and atmosphere networks here inside the Planet 02 node in the same way. Lighting, camera, and renderer nodes outside of Planet 02 still affect Planet 02. You can also create and manage as many additional planets as you want this way.

- Oshyan

[dsueck]

Thank you very much! This made sense. I'll try it a bit later on. The problem is that I'm getting confused with all the shaders/fractals/density etc. But "the additional planets have their nodes *inside* of the parent Planet node" sounds like it's what was tripping me up. I didn't realize that.

Thanks VERY much!

Dean

[Oshyan]

Yes, that's a pretty critical piece of info. To be honest you're kind of jumping in at the deep end trying to manage multiple planets, but I understand the impulse.

- Oshyan

[dsueck]

lol. Well, I can handle the multiple planets - creating em, changing, moving etc, but I just didn't want em to look like glass beads floating around the sky with no action to them at all.

lol. Next? RINGS! siiiiiigh



Dean