Popping Clouds

[sjm]

Hi all,
I've tried searching for a solution to this on the forums but haven't had much luck. Apologies if it's been covered before.
Basically, I'm getting very severe popping on one of my clouds - it's a very large one, it's quite thick and dark. I've included a small quicktime to show the issue as well as the scene. Any thoughts on which way I should steer to solve it wold be HUGELY appreciated.
Regards
Simon
P.S. in the .tgd file it's the one called 'MASSIVE'

[luvsmuzik]

I do not do TG animation in the newer methods, I used the scripter. This link might help. Or ask in the Terragen Animation link too.
http://www.planetside.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,22691.msg228956.html#msg228956

[Matt]

The first thing I would do is try increasing the "Cloud GI Quality" (in GI Settings, on the "GI in Clouds" tab). Try increasing it to at least Sequence Quality x1 or Sequence Quality x2, and see if there's any improvement.

But there may be other factors causing the flicker. Using a GI cache file can help in some cases. Even though the GI cache isn't directly used to generate GI on the cloud, it affects the atmosphere around the cloud and that could be a big source of flicker in some scenes. This thread has some detailed advice:

http://www.planetside.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,21929.msg232056.html#msg232056

Matt

[Matt]

On second thoughts, there's an easy way to tell if the overall scene GI (from the Enviro Light) is the main source of flicker. Render with the Enviro Light disabled (and without reading a GI cache file). It might change the look a little bit, but if that significantly reduces the flicker then any remaining flicker should be controllable with the Cloud GI Quality setting. If you don't like the look without the Enviro Light and need to bring it back, render out a GI cache file sequence and that should allow you to stabilise the GI.

Matt

[sjm]

Thanks all.

Matt, turning off the enviro light worked a treat and didn't cause too much difference in look. It was all happening from that node. Hooray!

Regards

Simon