How do the functions work?

[Mohawk20]

I have not a clue how to use the functions.

For example: I'd like to have some voronoi cells in my scene. I have found a voronoi function. But where do I apply it, how do I connect it, and what should I use as input for the 'Scale' and 'Seed'?

[David Burnett]

There's a tutorial here..

http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=195

[old_blaggard]

Yeah, that's a pretty good basic tutorial, but I don't think anyone except for a few alpha testers have done really complex terrains and images with functions.  When I asked Oshyan, he told me that for the moment, you should be able to achieve almost every effect seen in the alpha testers' images using only shaders.

[David Burnett]

The main problem with functions is the lack of base noises, there's a very limited, clamped, Perlin with no turbulence and a few voronoi types, which makes it hard to do anything fairly interesting at the moment.

I imagine many of the people who are using functions are fellow Mojonaut's playing with a different 'toy' and seeing a familiar interface. And many of us will be using functions to try to do effects that are not in the alpha testers test images 

Dave

[Tangled-Universe]

The main problem with functions is the lack of base noises, there's a very limited, clamped, Perlin with no turbulence and a few voronoi types, which makes it hard to do anything fairly interesting at the moment.

I imagine many of the people who are using functions are fellow Mojonaut's playing with a different 'toy' and seeing a familiar interface. And many of us will be using functions to try to do effects that are not in the alpha testers test images 

Dave

At the moment I'm trying to "fuse" function nodes and shaders. I'm trying to get nice cracks in rock-shaders using function nodes (voronoi).
It's quite hard but I'm slowly on my way, it just takes time which I don't have 

Martin

[Mohawk20]

At the moment I'm trying to "fuse" function nodes and shaders. I'm trying to get nice cracks in rock-shaders using function nodes (voronoi).
It's quite hard but I'm slowly on my way, it just takes time which I don't have 

Martin

Please let us know what you find out, I'm very interested!

[Will]

yea that could have some intresting implcations.

Regards,

Will

[Oshyan]

It's safe to say the function nodes are for the moment a bit of an experimental addition. Not to say that they will not be supported in the future, but they have certainly received less development time and testing than almost any other part of TG2. They are there to experiment and learn from, but don't expect serious functionality or comprehensive capabilities at this point. The available noise functions and other node types will be expanded for the final release to be certain, and they will all be better documented as well.

- Oshyan

[Cyber-Angel]

If the noise types are going to expanded then could we have Subdivide and Displace II form 0.9.43 back or some thing that produces terrains vary much like it, as it produced some vary good results.

The problem with the noise functions we have right now is that while they are vary good for rocky terrain without hard work they are not so good for plains and such like. Talking of terrains what would be nice would be an advanced version of 0.9.43's "Combine" feature which works with multiple terrains both height-field and procedural.

Regards to you.

Cyber-Angel

[Oshyan]

Subdivide and Displace is I think a heightfield-only type of terrain generation system. It may be implemented in TG2 at some point but it would probably be just another heightfield generator type.

You can actually achieve a remarkably wide variety of terrain types with the current procedural functions. I haven't seen much of your work with the Tech Preview yet, but I suspect it's just a matter of further experimentation. Perhaps try the Billows noise type with a low amplitude and roughness.

The Merge shader should largely replace the Combine functions of TG 0.9x.

- Oshyan