vue - Spectral Atmospheres 2

[rcallicotte]

The lighting looks good.  Can't wait to see what this will do.

If you visit the website http://www.vue7.com/ you can see a first render of the new Spectral Clouds 2. It's hard to tell how much detail there's really in there, the image is to small for that. But IMO it's already a big improvement over the Vue 6 clouds. Whether it is as good as TG2 remains to be seen, though.

[old_blaggard]

Looking at that image, Calico, I feel that the clouds themselves aren't rendered as nicely, but the actual noise function for them is better than that in most TG2 clouds that I've seen.

[rcallicotte]

O_B, maybe you're right.  I can't tell by this one image...of course.  But, when we get a chance to see more, I hope we can look more closely.  I'm thinking it might look pretty good if it was part of an animation. 

[PorcupineFloyd]

Vue's spectral atmosphere model is just different. It's hard to judge it's quality compared to TG2. It's different in approach and also in scale. TG tries to use real world values while Vue emphasizes on the overall effect, not the real world correctness. Vue renders cumulus clouds at ~200m with depth at ~500m and is a more hybrid rendering engine than TG.

TG is mainly procedural software while Vue uses many techniques of setting scene up and doing the final renders (DOF for example - distributed ray-tracing or hybrid 2.5d).

I've played with Vue for some time and I was quite happy with results, but as someone stated before - Vue is designed more for short, specific scenes, not necessarily real if you look at them from project point of view.

As for the clouds take a look at some of my works:
http://porcupinefloyd.deviantart.com/art/The-Ultimate-Art-85997441
http://porcupinefloyd.deviantart.com/art/Fire-Flies-and-Empty-Skies-89178800
or just a "Vue" gallery - http://porcupinefloyd.deviantart.com/gallery/#Vue

They are wispy at the edges but still have some depth and internal shadows. A different approach to rendering skies leads to different effects.

[latego]

Vue's spectral atmosphere model is just different. It's hard to judge it's quality compared to TG2. It's different in approach and also in scale. TG tries to use real world values while Vue emphasizes on the overall effect, not the real world correctness. Vue renders cumulus clouds at ~200m with depth at ~500m and is a more hybrid rendering engine than TG.

Vue atmospheres have a setting called Aerial Perspective which is by default set to 10. This means that your 200m/500m cloud behaves as if it was 2km high/5km thick, which are resonable values for cumuluses.

In Vue everything is "small": if you want to work with realistic sizes, set Aerial Perspective to 1 and enlarge everything appropriately (e.g. the defualt 256x256 terrain is 25.6 x 25.6... METERS!).

Bye!!!

[rcallicotte]

@PorcupineFloyd - Thanks for letting us in on your art and ideas about Vue clouds.  I can't wait to see what Vue 7 will bring.

@Latego - Good to understand.  Thanks.

[PorcupineFloyd]

Yes, Aerial Perspective can be tweaked and  therefore allows user to literally fake different worlds. So, it's a hybrid approach to rendering - you can make wide landscapes and very small, one "shot" oriented renders.

And after working for some time with TG2 I have a feeling that this software is trying to be more physically correct and is not only oriented on the final effect of a render, but also on a physical correctness of a scene itself.

In my opinion both programs are good for rendering purposes but they are let's say "crafted" from a different approach.

Calico, no problem - I'm always happy to share and to evolve by sharing ideas and effects with others I'm also waiting for Vue 7 but now I'm oriented on TG2.

Just give me Vue like object positioning tools in TG2 and I'm sold forever ;-)

[rcallicotte]

Yes!  And clouds need a touch or two.

Just give me Vue like object positioning tools in TG2 and I'm sold forever ;-)

[lightning]

here are a couple of shots from vue 7 from the eon newsletter i get




they look pretty awesome i admit the clouds in the second render easily match the clouds of terragen 2's

[rcallicotte]

I got the same newsletter (with pricing) and I'm paying attention.

[buzzzzz1]

here are a couple of shots from vue 7 from the eon newsletter i get

they look pretty awesome i admit the clouds in the second render easily match the clouds of terragen 2's

Yes they look pretty damn good and I wouldn't be afraid to bet that the render time is somewhat acceptable too. I'm rendering a TGTP  scene with one layer of cumulus and one layer of cirrus. 1680x1050, cropped one 1/4 of the sky and it's been 17 hours so far. Cumulus samples 300, atmo samples 75, soft shadows 1 w/ qlty 16 and render qlty set at .8, GI settings only at 1-2 and blur radius @ default. So roughy 68 hours for the sky only.   Vue is looking pretty good I think. 

[moodflow]

That sharp mountain with clouds image could easily pass as a TG2 image. 

[reck]

Vue 7 is now shipping.

http://www.e-onsoftware.com/

There is also information on new features and a comparison chart comparing the different editions.

Some new features

    * EcoSystem Generation III
    * Scene Graph
    * MetaNodes
    * High-definition 16 bit data in standard terrains
    * Motion blur for wind effects
    * Improved depth of field algorithms
    * Spectral II Cloud Technology
    * Indoor and Outdoor Radiosity
    * Loose Tracking and Linking
    * Improved SolidGrowth 4
    * New Plant Species
    * Water Editor
    * Real-life camera aberrations
    * Clumpy or feathery cloud shapes
    * Displacement mapping of infinitely detailed procedural terrains
    * Slope dependent bump or displacement mapping
    * "Foam" output in Open Ocean node
    * Faster Rendering
    * Improved Anti-aliasing
    * New OpenGL Engine
    * Macro Automation
    * Procedural Terrain Style Presets
    * Collada File Import
    * Enable or disable lights with one click
    * 3Dconnexion range of 3D navigation controls
    * High precision animation curve control
    * Separate animation range and render range
    * Rename individual render passes
    * Disable/bypass Visual Browsers
    * Intelligent re-titling of files
    * New Software Architecture
    * Bucket Rendering
    * Redesigned Network Services
    * New License Server
    * Advanced Support Options
    * Run several instances of Vue simultaneously
    * Embedded error reporting
    * Easily change the location of your content folder after installation
    * Disable abort render on click
    * Disable/customize frame padding
    * Content files accessible from all system accounts

Something seems strange though. Why haven't we been bombarded with amazing new images and animations from this new version, both when it was first announced and now when released? I would have thought they would have had a demo reel or something out promoting it. Wonder what the reason is for the lack of images?

[sjefen]

There are some new images provided if you read the new features.
http://www.e-onsoftware.com/products/vue/vue_7_infinite/?page=1

- Terje

[rcallicotte]

Thanks reck and Terje.  I'm going to pay attention.  I'm not sure how much I want to learn a new system.  But, I might be convinced.