GISD (Global Illumination Surface Detail) settings test on objects

[Kadri]

As in another thread Oshyan already said this setting can be good for some scenes and not so good for others.
I made many different renders with this basic object to see how different it can get.
In some renders i used different GI cache details too.
This is not a scientific test.
As i said only to see that you can get many different lighted scenes with objects.
The same is probably true for standard landscape scenes.

I for one think that an Occlusion weight between 0.1 and 0.25 or so is more realistic for objects.
But that is very subjective probably.
The second from the last renders (07) is with default and the last (08) with only 0.25 Occlusion weight.

I have one question.
If you look at the images fast and sequentially you will see that the wall straight ahead is blotchy.
Not only near the edges even in the far side too. To show this better i used PNG files.
How can we get rid of those blotches ?

[Kadri]

The last 3 images.

[TheBadger]

Thank you Kadri. This is more helpful for me than you may guess.

Probably add the images to the wikki page for GISD too.

[Kadri]

Thanks Michael
But as i said there were some small different settings that i don't remember much now (like cache detail and blur radius) .
Thus it is better seen as i said that you can get different views and not seen as strictly for every feature difference only.
But i think those settings haven't much of an impact (small at least) to the renders here.

[Kadri]

The test scene if you want to test it yourself.

[TheBadger]

I agree that .02 looks best (the last one). Can you post all relative settings for that one? I think that would be the best starting place for most of my models.

[Kadri]

The most important setting is in the image name of the files Michael.
The others i don't remember.
I saved only one instance of the file and that is the one i posted above already.

[bobbystahr]

I've found Ambient Occlusion to be most impressive/useful where there is displacement and/or bump maps involved.

[Kadri]

In uneven places like ground and-or like you said displacement and-or maps it might be good.
Probably this is one of the settings to remember scene by scene basis mostly.

[fleetwood]

It might be well to distinguish between selecting the Ambient Occlusion method inside the GI Surface Detail settings versus using an Environmental Light which uses Ambient Occlusion.  Renders have been set up using more than one Environmental Light, using both Global Illumination and also using Ambient Occlusion, with levels adjusted to taste.

For example I refer to Marcos Silveira's beautiful Wuhen Coast -----> http://www.planetside.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,14937.msg145464.html#msg145464
The file for that render is here    ----------->   http://www.planetside.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,14961.msg145720.html#msg145720

[Kadri]

Yes many options to choose from.

[bobbystahr]

I generally set GI and AO in the Lighting Tab as well as in the GI off the Render Tab...in the lighting tab you have control of the colour which an be a make or break thing, but that Bounce setting and the Occlusion slider are downright dangerous used indiscreetly.

[Kadri]

Yes and Terragen does have for me a kinda experimental nature too
So no harm to test many different things, if you have time especially.

[bobbystahr]

Yes and Terragen does have for me a kinda experimental nature too
So no harm to test many different things, if you have time especially.

Indeed, lately I've been fixated on Stained Glass but fear it's not doable how I want till we get full grayscale transparency. In Imagine3D we had the ability to use a colour map for everything but alpha and the filter part worked a treat for Stained Glass...I figure I can get closer to that with grayscale transparency. I like to really beat a thing to either life or death before I move on, heh heh heh.

[Oshyan]

The blotchiness can probably be fixed with increased GI Sample Quality and/or Cache Detail.

- Oshyan