Requesting ideas for luminosity, pure colour output

Started by Matt, January 01, 2022, 09:21:27 AM

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WAS

Quote from: digitalguru on January 04, 2022, 04:48:59 AMThe main reason I would use such a shader would be to render an image for vector/scalar displacement - in which case "Luminous" would be slightly misleading if I was coming to Terragen fresh (even more so for "Radiant"). Perhaps the best option would just be to add an input to the Constant shader? And an emission only switch in the default shader for other purposes?

Thats not even its intended use, though, so thats more just a weird thing you'd be doing with it. Its the same as surface layer, and default, and most people use it for lighting.

As for people just used to going through a shader and zeroing things out... That doesn't seem like a valid excuse but admittance of its annoyance and you just not caring. Seems incredibly bias.

Dune

It's just one parameter that needs a zero, and I think it's pretty normal that one checks every shader and sets parameters like they're needed. You can't just add a shader and expect it to work as you need without adjustments. I also change the breakup shader, e.g. as I don't like the very warped lines created when greys are broken up. I could call that annoying, but I don't see it that way.

WAS

Quote from: Dune on January 05, 2022, 02:55:36 AMIt's just one parameter that needs a zero, and I think it's pretty normal that one checks every shader and sets parameters like they're needed. You can't just add a shader and expect it to work as you need without adjustments. I also change the breakup shader, e.g. as I don't like the very warped lines created when greys are broken up. I could call that annoying, but I don't see it that way.

Isn't  that ironic though because that's  literally  the point of the aforementioned  suggested shader? And aforementioned options for the default  shader? So it is more straightforward and to the point. Need a lit surface? Drop in a Luminous Shader and do simply that. Not extrenous options TG needs to check to see if it's doing this or that at runtime before rendering that were never part of your intended goal. In coding this would be bad logic as it just adds to the runtime execution.  However  miniscule  it seems for one function, can add up for several, or dozens.

Again this seems more personal, and more just not wanting to be bothered with change. Not that it's actually  valid beneficial points. Should be more open and not  set in ways.

If you want to test this yourself. Use a default shader with no fresnel naturally, and a surface layer, use a 0.5 colour. Now benchmark both these shaders for just colour against a constant shader. The constant shader is faster in all tests, because naturally it is not going through a series of checks to see what it's doing beyond the intended goal. I have no terrain in my scene, and default camera and resolution of 800x450.

Surface Layer: 11s
Default Shader: 12s
Constant Shader: 9s

D.A. Bentley (SuddenPlanet)

I also vote for "Luminous Shader".  It sounds similar to what I think of as a "Self Illumination" shader from my years in 3DS Max, and other software.

Derek

digitalguru

Quote from: WAS on January 04, 2022, 12:23:20 PMThats not even its intended use, though, so thats more just a weird thing you'd be doing with it. Its the same as surface layer, and default, and most people use it for lighting.
Strange to see you describe it as a "weird thing" when you expressed your desire for more apps to support vector displacement:

https://planetside.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,29760.msg291398.html#msg291398
Until there's a standard way to achieve this in Terragen (and we're not likely to see this until Terragen 5 at least) having an simple input to a constant shader seems a logical way to go (with no disruption at all to any other workflow), and for my money not uncaring at all or bias.

WAS

Quote from: digitalguru on January 09, 2022, 06:41:30 AM
Quote from: WAS on January 04, 2022, 12:23:20 PMThats not even its intended use, though, so thats more just a weird thing you'd be doing with it. Its the same as surface layer, and default, and most people use it for lighting.
Strange to see you describe it as a "weird thing" when you expressed your desire for more apps to support vector displacement:

https://planetside.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,29760.msg291398.html#msg291398
Until there's a standard way to achieve this in Terragen (and we're not likely to see this until Terragen 5 at least) having an simple input to a constant shader seems a logical way to go (with no disruption at all to any other workflow), and for my money not uncaring at all or bias.

You worded it as something we are all doing and it's main use or something. Hadn't even heard of that use by anyone here -- and relating to the end-user discussion being had.

I get what you mean, it just was not relating to what I was discussing here.