procedural railroad

[Dune]

The smoke was a pain to get right. The rails are just 2 masks (sleepers and bolts+), rest is simple shapes. This can't be done entirely procedural. Well, perhaps it could, but why bother.

[bla bla 2]

Merci pour le tutorial.

Thank you a tutorial.

[Hetzen]

Ingenious the use of a repeating texture. But how did you get the texture to indent through the Y for the rails? I'm baffled.

[Dune]

What do you mean exactly by 'indent through the Y for the rails'? I just warped the repeating texture, excluding or including things that shouldn't or should be displaced by merge shaders, if that's what you mean. The only thing that can't be done is to get rid of the stuff just under the rails (although I did have a way earlier, but that's doesn't work properly in other ways). There should be a gap. 

[Dune]

A snowy version, but I should have put more effort in the terrain. The point here is; I used RT reflections on the rails, but that's no good as you can see, no-RT reflections are way smoother. I have to test what kind of refraction index should be good for metal, I thought a high number...

By the way; measurements of gauge, sleepers and such are based on European (continental) standards.

[dandelO]

These are all just great, Ulco! The rails and sleepers really look to be separate objects from the planet, I'd never guess these were done with shaders if I didn't know.
I'd think a higher render detail should fix the jaggy RT reflections, basic specular wouldn't get optimized at render time so 0.6 is fine and looks smoother in that case. That'd be my guess anyway.

[Henry Blewer]

I think most carbon based metals have a refraction of about 0.4. I had an index for this once. I don't know where it is. Probably in my long gone Blender books I loaned out.

[Dune]

Refraction list; http://interactagram.com/physics/optics/refraction/

[Zairyn Arsyn]

thanks for posting that link
there was a time, several year ago when i had been looking for a list like that, in my early days of 3D then i lost interest and forgot about it. then i went back to traditional art.

the wooden planks on the tracks look fantastic!

[Henry Blewer]

That list is much more complete than any other list I have seen. Great link!

[Dune]

Not really procedural, but an object, freshly constructed. I didn't bother to add rails to the tracks going through the mountains, but hid it with Lightnings bushes.

[Dune]

And because I can't let go... I wish there was a way to get decent thick smoke coming out of 1 point and widening. Smoke/cloud growing from a central area outwards along a line, or something....

ps. One part didn't render 100% I noticed.

[Dune]

Got the method for making the smoke, but now for all the other mistakes    By the way, this one took 4.5 hours.

[choronr]

This is outstanding. the smoke; the pov and light - all comes together. That is one precarious run for the tender.

[j meyer]

Got the method for making the smoke,...

Please tell us more.