Objects - Finding part pieces

[WAS]

I have been going through the searches for awhile here. And while I have found some other info I was a unaware of, there doesn't seem to be much perspective for a user unfamiliar with models all together.  I am importing a nice "Star Destroyer". However, when imported. I get a series of "Default shaders" without names. Only 3 pieces were provided names (the windows) which helped in starting the piece as now I have my glowing windows instead of flat gray ones. But I am having issues distinguishing parts.



Is there a easier way to find out what each part is without enabling/disabling and rendering a preview? Before my search I was enabling/disabling parts to render and look for changes, for the first three parts (took almost a hour) no changes were even noticeable. From what I can see in the preview, each engine piece is a part on the main triangle shape of the star destroyer.


(my skybox preview seems to be broken after a Windows Update, not sure what's happened)

I am trying to find the engine pieces so I can add the plasma glow. I assume I can add a surface layer, and a SSS with luminescence to achieve this. Bright enough to obscure the fact it's not actually a plasma object within the engine faring.

[Kadri]

You could use different ways.

You could use a temporary surface that is glowing red for example and attach it to the surface-es.

I would prefer a dedicated decent 3D software.If you use models this is much better in the long run.

But even Poseray might be enough (ones again i know) if you you don't want use other software.

When you click in the "Material"  tab  on every surface you can see the surface in red in the Poseray preview window.
There is a "Rename" button too to make the surface layer names more reasonable.

[WAS]

You could use different ways.

You could use a temporary surface that is glowing red for example and attach it to the surface-es.

I would prefer a dedicated decent 3D software.If you use models this is much better in the long run.

But even Poseray might be enough (ones again i know) if you you don't want use other software.

When you click in the "Material"  tab  on every surface you can see the surface in red in the Poseray preview window.
There is a "Rename" button too to make the surface layer names more reasonable.

Is Poseray free or have a trial version? I am learning off freeware right now. 

But thank you, that should help a lot. The disabling method didn't seem to do much, the coloring should be much more noticeable. However your method in Poseray sounds to be the right way. I am actually looking for a Object editor now. I found Sculptris, though I do not believe it can import objects. Now trying kHED Object Editor.

[Kadri]

Poseray is free.

[WAS]

Poseray is free.

Kudos, downloading.

[Kadri]

I had a look at the model. The Lightwave version does have much better naming of the surfaces.
If you want you can import that LWO file to Poseray and export it as an OBJ file for yourself to use in Terragen.
But not sure how much the two versions might differ.

[WAS]

Well I figured out my engines in Poseray, but ran into a problem. All 7 engines are one part. So I'm not sure how to apply a surface layer to make circles around the actual jet emitters for the luminescence effect. :\ Basically a glow on the circle in the center. Not sure how to do that on 7 objects when I have 1 surface. . xD

I'll take a look at the LWO version as well. I think those are his main files of choice so no doubt more effort into them.

[WAS]

I still am not sure how to add the shape to those engines so I can get all 7 emitters to have a surface to glow so I gave up and moved on. -____-

Using the same technique for export/navigating objects I did this last night real quick like



Yay for starting to understand. Now how to add/edit objects is next on my list.

[Kadri]

Do you want an animation? For a still image doing it in post is very easy.

[bobbystahr]

I still am not sure how to add the shape to those engines so I can get all 7 emitters to have a surface to glow so I gave up and moved on. -____-

Using the same technique for export/navigating objects I did this last night real quick like



Yay for starting to understand. Now how to add/edit objects is next on my list.

Here y' go, al separated, just load at the same positions etc. of the ship

[WAS]

I still am not sure how to add the shape to those engines so I can get all 7 emitters to have a surface to glow so I gave up and moved on. -____-

Using the same technique for export/navigating objects I did this last night real quick like



Yay for starting to understand. Now how to add/edit objects is next on my list.

Here y' go, al separated, just load at the same positions etc. of the ship

Awesome possum! Taking a look at what this is right now. I'm assuming a separate object that should line up at same position?

Do you want an animation? For a still image doing it in post is very easy.

I don't know how to animate anything yet, so no I wasn't (don't think you can on free version?). But for the sake of dynamic scene setup it would be nice to be able to achieve Blooms within Terragen easily. Not sure why atmosphere has to always play a part. I mean, when a lightbulb burns out, it doesn't matter if there is literally no haze, there will be a huge bloom because the eye of the beholder creates a bloom due to refraction on the lense of their eye/camera.

[Kadri]

The main problem is probably that Terragen is firstly a landscape software.
All the other small things you expect are secondary.
And in another software like Lightwave, Max etc. it is the other way around.
So there are differences how they work.
It would be nice for example to pick a cloud and place it anywhere.
You can do it but it is hard.

Edit: There is no animation capability in the free version.

[bobbystahr]

yup WASasquatch...Just load it at the same place.

[WAS]

The main problem is probably that Terragen is firstly a landscape software.
All the other small things you expect are secondary.
And in another software like Lightwave, Max etc. it is the other way around.
So there are differences how they work.
It would be nice for example to pick a cloud and place it anywhere.
You can do it but it is hard.

Edit: There is no animation capability in the free version.

Well, for scenery, in landscape, it is a necessary thing too. For example, if I have a distant reflective object I only get a specular highly, not the distant halo and bloom it would provide in the real world through the atmosphere. That is very much a key part of simulating landscapes/atmosphere/worlds.

It'd be cool to see this in later releases. It already uses a rendering method which works best for any sort of bloom/lighting in rendering.

yup WASasquatch...Just load it at the same place.

Thanks a lot Bobbystahr! It is really much appreciated. You are amazing. I tried a lot of programs last night trying to just add little circles to the engine emitters that would be separate parts to edit. No go. I could have just used the other Star Destroyer but they ask that no one edit it, and I'd like to honor that.

I really feel, with less then a months experience I am learning SOOO much! And it genuinely makes me feel good about myself, that I can ya know, still learn. Lol I've been trying to learn new langauges and it's not as easy as it was for me being 11 and starting to learn PHP so it's like a second langauge and how my brain functions now xD

I hope it's noticeable, I did come here with virtually no 3D experience at all. Just years in Graphics Design via Pixels. xD

[bobbystahr]

All I did was get the parts shaders to show in PoseRay, then took it into Deep Exploration ( a free version from years ago) and selected the thrusters and hit invert selection and hit delete. Then I click seperate meshes, a function I just discovered this year, woohoo...no idea how but pushing some button caused a menu to appear that was never there before, and 7 thrusters appear like magic. My life's like that.