Terragen Animation Forum

[Hetzen]

And yet, there are a lot of us using TG for animations already.

For someone that uses TG in a production environment, I'm glad they are concentrating on a 64bit version over something that will essentially be a curve editor, that most will only use for camera moves. I tend to export my cameras into TG anyway, so there is really very little need to plot them within app.

The import options have been improved considerably over the last 18 months, film backs, scaling, etc. Brilliant stuff.

If you want linear movement, ie no ease in/out, the 'get frame' node is more than sufficient.

TG animation in it's essence, allows you to output a stream of framed images. Running out of memory from 32bit population/mask restrictions is a bigger issue, which thankfully has a higher priority and is close to being achieved.

[rkphelps]

I'm happy for you Hetzen, glad you will be getting what you deem is most important .

But when this was marketed they were not selling the 64bit version, or the what Herzen thinks is most important module or even what will be what's most important to the people on the forums module. Yes Hetzen there are plenty of ways to use other programs to add animation and I own plenty of them and have used most, but I was promised an integrated module that would make all this easier and that's why I took the hook.

All I'm asking for is what was promised to me when I paid my hard earned money or at least info on the status of the Animation Module 2 years after the fact, nothing more, nothing less. Again I just want what I paid for, I'm funny that way when I buy things .


Terragen 2 Animation
With the optional Animation module, Terragen 2 becomes a virtual movie camera. Almost every parameter in a Terragen 2 project can be animated over time, not just the camera. This can be used to render dramatic fly-throughs, time-lapse effects and more.
  The Animation module is still being developed, so we are offering it as a pre-purchase option, but many animation features are already available now if you pre-purchase the Animation module. You can key-frame parameters, import key frame values from text files and render image sequences from the user interface or frame by frame from a command line. Camera paths are plotted. You can preview fly-throughs in real time in the 3D Preview.
In 2010 we will add a graphical curve/key-frame editor, more interpolation options and powerful import/export functions. These will be released in free updates for anyone who pre-purchases the Animation module.

[Oshyan]

Phelps, you're absolutely right and I certainly understand your frustration. Work is proceeding on upgraded animation functionality, including a curve editor and better import/export support. Any release time frame I could give would be a rough estimate and likely ring hollow after the last one was not met. But if it's any consolation it is our major focus after the upcoming 2.3 release which focuses on 64 bit.

Again I understand your feelings, and we don't want unhappy customers. So if you'd like a refund on the animation portion or the whole purchase, please let us know.

- Oshyan

[rkphelps]

Thanks Oshyan for your reply

Good to hear that the Animation Module will be a priority after the next release, so I sure hope that means a 2011 release.

Rob

[Nico3333fr]

I can't wait to see this animation module...  anyway, if you want to see animations, I already managed to make some using Terragen 2 : http://www.nicolas-hoffmann.net/source/animations-terragen2-terragen-apophysis.php

Otherwise, I admit that it takes time to render one, but you can have correct rendertimes, if you are not too greedy with the quality. My last one "Alone in the light" took only 10 days to render on a single PC.

[WShawn]

So, can you or can you not animate a camera in Terragen 2 with the Animation module?  I'm seeing Terragen 2 animation samples all over the web, and one part of the Planetside website says you can do animations, but another part says the Animation module is still in the works.  So how are these animated flythrus being created?

I'm evaluating whether Terragen 2 would be a suitable tool to create a Google Earth-type animation of a geographical feature located in California.  I have another post up with more detail.

Thanks.

Shawn Marshall
Marshall Arts Motion Graphics

[Oshyan]

You can create basic camera paths and animate a great many other settings, what's mostly incomplete is the actual editing interface for keyframing, motion curves, etc. Right now you essentially edit by moving things where you want them to be, on the frame you want them to be there, and adding a key frame for the values you've changed. You don't have much control over the interpolation curve aside from adding more key frames to specify exactly how you want the motion to be. So we're working on improving those things along with better import/export of camera and geometry data for the final release of the animation module coming up later this year.

Right now you can certainly create simple camera path animations, which seems to be your goal. For greater control many choose to create camera paths in other applications and import the data into Terragen. This can be accomplished by exporting data in the Nuke CHAN format, which TG2 supports.

- Oshyan