Can someone provide a thorough breakdown of all the Cloud Layer input nodes do?

Started by eapilot, October 14, 2018, 11:45:06 AM

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eapilot

I recently made my first Terragen purchase of Luc Bianco's Cloud Layer 3 to learn how he made such good clouds.  I was surprised and confused by his setup.  I have looked at many cloud files shared on the this forum and most only pipe cloud fractals into the Density shader tab, and sometimes the Depth modulator tab.  In the file that I just purchased, Luc only used the Depth modulator and the Final Density modulator inputs.  Why would you use these instead?  The functions of these inputs have never been explained in the Wiki (or I could not successfully navigate to those explanations).

I am ultimately trying to find an efficient workflow to make good cloudscapes for skydomes in general.  Any advice would be great!
Thanks,
Ethan

WAS

The wiki is pretty comprehensive. Have you navigated to the bottom of the page for links to other tab options?

https://planetside.co.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Cloud_Layer_v2 (Yes I realize this is Cloud Layer v2, but it has most the bits and bobs. I'm not sure where v3 page is. I tried manually entering it into the URL and it redirected back to V2 clouds.)

What he has done is used the Final Density as the Density Shader. The Final Density is handy to add filler or haze between cloud shapes, but can also be used to mask, and other stuff.

When there is no Density Fractal plugged into the Cloud Layer, it creates a solid blanket of cloud at the desired albido settings in the Colour Tab. So he's basically just "Masked In" clouds, as apposed to using the Density Fractal to tell the cloud layer to create the clouds from noise.

One thing I would suggest is to give some testing a try. What if you plug that Final Density into the Density Fractal? How does it look than? Better, worse? What about with/without the Depth Modulator? (https://planetside.co.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Cloud_Layer_v2_-_Functions_Tab)

From some quick testing, it seems using the Final Density creates smoother clouds with the Depth Modulator. Interestingly, quicker render too.

eapilot

I regularly refer to the wiki page, which is very helpful sometimes.  For the inputs I mentioned, there is no info.  What is the difference between the Density Shader and the Final Density?  Why would one choose to use it?  There must be an intended purpose for all three inputs.  I prefer to have an explanation instead of experimenting blindy.

@ WASaquatch.  I appreciate your experimentations, and it is helpful feedback, I was hoping to find some better answers by disecting this .tgd file.

WAS

Quote from: eapilot on October 14, 2018, 09:33:50 PM
I regularly refer to the wiki page, which is very helpful sometimes.  For the inputs I mentioned, there is no info.  What is the difference between the Density Shader and the Final Density?  Why would one choose to use it?  There must be an intended purpose for all three inputs.  I prefer to have an explanation instead of experimenting blindy.

@ WASaquatch.  I appreciate your experimentations, and it is helpful feedback, I was hoping to find some better answers by disecting this .tgd file.

Like I had mentioned, the Final Density is the "Final" Density, like a mask. You can supply a Density Fractal and then mask it out, which seems to provide smoother results than masking the Cloud Fractal before plugging into the Density Fractal, and masking however many nodes you have to supply to Density Fractal...

From the Wiki
Quote from: Planetside WikiFinal density modulator: The Final density modulator is masking the cloud density shader

https://planetside.co.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Cloud_Layer_v2_-_Functions_Tab

eapilot

Thanks for the clarification! My normal approach is to mask the Density Fractal but now I will try this approach.
On what conditions do you consider using a Cloud Density Fractal to drive the Depth Modulator?  Most cloud .tgcs that I have studied usually leave this blank although some use it.  When I have experimented with adding a Cloud Density Fractal to the Depth Modulator, the cloud (mostly cumulus) decreases significantly in size.  It is something that I wasn't sure how to control.

WAS

Quote from: eapilot on October 15, 2018, 12:06:05 AM
Thanks for the clarification! My normal approach is to mask the Density Fractal but now I will try this approach.
On what conditions do you consider using a Cloud Density Fractal to drive the Depth Modulator?  Most cloud .tgcs that I have studied usually leave this blank although some use it.  When I have experimented with adding a Cloud Density Fractal to the Depth Modulator, the cloud (mostly cumulus) decreases significantly in size.  It is something that I wasn't sure how to control.

It is basically the depth of the cloud, modulated. So white (1) would be the maximum, and black (0) the minimum, which I believe can be exceeded (<0 would be no clouds). So that is why the clouds look smaller because what isn't white (1) will push the clouds down. This can be handy for adding extra folds to the clouds or modulating the shape while retaining the original fractal detail with larger subtle differences like with a perlin soft shader.

Tangled-Universe


N-drju

"This year - a factory of semiconductors. Next year - a factory of whole conductors!"

Matt

Just because milk is white doesn't mean that clouds are made of milk.

WAS

To the points explained there too, this method that Luc used, seems to defeat the heavy pinching that cuts soft areas seen in the examples I posted using a Density Fractal.