Planet Spinner

Started by efflux, July 26, 2007, 02:24:44 PM

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efflux

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/media/folder_149/file_1488489.jpg

TG2 is really awesome! As you can tell, this looks kind of Mojo like but I've used Mojo and I wanted to see what Mojo things TG2 could do. It turns out I can do almost all of what I was doing in Mojo. In fact some things are much better. The only major thing that Mojo has which TG can't match is the volumetrics plugin because it can do all sorts, including terrains not just cloud forms but it's tricky to use anyway.

To get that scaly type texture I used a graph following the node pattern below. You can process X, Y and Z separately and differently if you want and then rebuild a vector. I'm no maths head at all but this stuff is easy with some trial and error. Just look it up if you don't know and it makes absolute common sense what these functions are going to do with your shapes. This is an exact example of how I came about the effect as I experimented.

-I HAVE REMOVED THIS PART-

See first screenshot in later message below (I just noticed that the formatting had been messed up in pasting the text to the message anyway)

The Multiply scalar and Power scalars need Constant scalars hooked in to input 2 to give them multiplying and powering values. The multiply in this case is actually multiplying by say 0.5 on one scalar so dividing. The others were set to 2. It just depends what size you want the features in each dimension. I'm using a basic setup like this to hook things all sorts of ways to get different results, add other maths functions, remove some etc.

I also used nodes to drive displacements via altitude. There is a thread on this forum somewhere about that. The rest is simply blending up standard things. I used voronoi nodes to drive some textures and voronoi is actually a part of the terrain displacement.

Sine and Cosine is capable of all sorts. Bricks, tiles, corrugations, cushions, weaved cloth, scales, blobs etc etc.

The possibility of having sliders simply changing lots of features is also awesome. You can just bring in a whole other planet as a clip and play around so easily. Sliding from one planet to another to take this to extreme. The ease of the nodes UI is magical. This planet is better than anything I ever did in Mojo and made in a fraction of the time. I'll probably take more shots soon.

Next I need to work on texture detail more, lighting etc, get the realism up to scratch.

Mavcat

Dont make it look easy :o i hate the functions and they hate me ! Nice picture btw :p very nice terrain

efflux

It is easy, honestly. The function graph may seem frightening but it's the key to TG2's power and the stuff I'm doing is simple. The most difficult part is imagining how you are going to use the results artistically.

rcallicotte

Thanks efflux.  The more of this the merrier.  I can't believe how much I've learned by taking things like these and just dabbling with them on my own and then referencing the source (you, in this case). 

Great work and great fun.   ;D
So this is Disney World.  Can we live here?

Volker Harun


old_blaggard

http://www.terragen.org - A great Terragen resource with models, contests, galleries, and forums.

ProjectX

Excellent function use! Hmm... I wonder what a tan scalar would do in place of the cos scalars...

FrankB

Hi,

I am fascinated by your image. I have tried to reconstruct the functions network as you advised, however the formations resulting from it when plugged into the displacement port of a surface shader don't look anywhere close to what you've got.
I'm wondering if you could create a simplified version of your image as a project file and upload it here.

Also, I can't find no function like "complement vector". Where have you got yours from?

Cheers,
Frank

efflux

#8
Sorry, you found a mistake FrankB. Thanks for spotting that. I originally used a complement scalar. There is no complement vector. This function simply reverses the displacement. You don't need that to begin with, Sorry about that folks. I have corrected it. I should have posted a screenshot. I had intended to put these shots at a central place but couldn't access it for some reason but here it is. This is the actual working graph from that planet. As you can see, this setup lets me easily change the different dimensions with different functions.



This is what to start with:



Notice how I have this in a group named Clips which is kept away from the other groups so I can save it and the nodes to bring it into any other graph, except I don't save the displacement shader and base colours (power fractal) because I sort that out in the new graph.

This is how to get it to work initially. First you need to see it. Start with a flat TG. No terrain. Set your camera  to position 0, 20, 0 and rotation -45, 0, 0. Create these nodes, hook the displacement shader into the input node of the default base colours shader (which should be there in the default set up that opens). This obviously then goes to planet surface. You'll see something straight away before adjusting any sizes of anything. This is how I work. I make surfaces on a flat TG terrain to get them right and experiment. Often these surfaces end up being actual terrains. Also, in the base shader, set it's colour contrast and roughness to 0. You want it smooth with no distractions. I also disable the rendering of atmosphere and shadows, we don't need that. I just want a gray shade on the shapes. What you should see is something that looks like a pin cushion displacement. If any of this doesn't work let me know or if I'd made a mistake in the description. It's kind of hard to know what things might be defaulted to before you do any of this but it's better than me providing a file because you'll learn better. Now you can start playing with this hooking up the X, Y and Z scalars to different functions.

efflux

As for the complement scalar business it would be a good one to try putting before the build vector to change maybe just one or two dimensions. The possibilities here are immense. I'll post some shots of some variations I've got experimenting with this angle. This is without even using any fractals. It's why TG2 is so fantastic. Very powerful. Probably a lot of my techniques are flawed but if it gets the visual results then I'll use it.

efflux

#10
Here are some examples. I'm building up hundreds of materials. There is literally no end to it. Whatever you imagine. This is just stuff following the basic ideas I've described. The nodes are not the nightmare you might think. One of the problems is lack of info about how to use them. It's the same with Mojoworld and I think partly responsible for the downfall of that app. Frozen development. Difficult to work stuff out by yourself but it just takes a few examples to help. There were only a small number of people using Mojoworld who were creating great planets and sharing the files so lots of people rendered from those and used parts of them. Not very creative for everyone involved and now some of those planet builders are no longer using Mojo - at least that's how it seems.


old_blaggard

Interesting patterns.  I haven't actually had much time to use the function nodes myself, but as has been said, you can model almost any mathematical function with the functions.  I'm really looking forward to what people come up with next ;).
http://www.terragen.org - A great Terragen resource with models, contests, galleries, and forums.


mogn

Efflux, You can save 4 nodes in your sineblocks:

Replace for 3 multipy scalar constants with a vector.
Remove the 3 multiply nodes.
Insert a multiply vector after the getposition:

   MultiplyVector(GetPosition(),Constant vector)



efflux

#14
OK mong, yes on that actual clip from the planet I could cut things out but it was just the way I was working at the time because I was swapping stuff around in each dimension. I was keeping it all in separate paths even if some nodes were still doing the same thing. Thats one of the reasons I actually initially just posted a kind of diagram to begin with instead the screen shot to show the principal.

In fact I should clean that up and repost it. I'll do it later. Not enough time right now.