Getting Fine Detail to Show At Distance

Started by WAS, August 30, 2020, 03:43:59 PM

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WAS

So, I have a rock complex, from 10m down to 0.1 meature. However the dense filler at 0.1-2.5m doesn't really seem to show at all, and looks smooth at a distance. Any way I can get its roughness to show? I tried cranking cache settings, and custom AA at 0.01 but looks the same.

pclavett

Have noticed the same thing with some of my rock complexes with rocks from 0.1 to 2.5 meters ! We tend to lose the displacement texture and also the colour seems to blend together into a rather uniform colour. I wonder if this does not relate to real life though as details tend to blend together from a distance ???
It will be interesting to see if there are people with some ideas on this !
Best of luck !
Paul

WAS

Yeah that seems to be the case. I can't figure out a work around yet. I even tried making those smaller stones excessively taller to "poke up" more at a distance but it didn't really help, in fact, weirdly it only helped around other larger rocks, the filled space between them still gets smooth.

Dune

I don't really see the problem in your example. I see large stones (are they 10m?), smaller and quite small. The 0.1m are probably too small to discern at this render size. I suppose they are several sizes merged? Maybe the displacement PF isn't sufficient to lift medium stones out of the smallest layer, hence less medium sizes? Or reduce coverage of the smallest. If I get your problem right, that is.

WAS

#4
There should be roughage even at a distance because of shadowing, and points, that's the problem, they are being omitted by the renderer. Even if this was gravel it's definition would be noticeable at this distance, it wouldn't become smooth muddy looking terrain. Especially accentuating their height and shadow in troughs and points in highlight. The colour is also just a surface layer, no displacement to effect FS.

Similar problem with my sand, the sand detail is lost really quick at even a small distance. I had to use a dark low colour just to keep the appearance of displacement at even a small distance.

james adamson

Is this not a result of aa samples that a 2d solution can solve?
Less aa samples version either spliced or comped using alphas for relevant elements or sometimes a difference matte with main version. Ive done that before its not particularly elegant and it means two renders.
Or am I missing the point completely?

WAS

It seems to be a MPD detail issue. Ramping up to 0.8, and accentuating stone height to 1.5 did the trick.

Dune

So, it's not really an issue, but a setting ;)    Good that you solved it.

WAS

#8
Quote from: Dune on September 01, 2020, 01:53:53 AMSo, it's not really an issue, but a setting ;)    Good that you solved it.

I still think it's a issue because the detail is culled rather than there, and polygony. Those are pretty excessive settings for some ground at about 100m. In all MPD, AA, and fake stones settings. Seems more like defeating a basic calc problem culling detail at a distance, then just a settings issue. Killing render time for some small stones is pretty silly, when up close they'll render fine.