Some basic questions ...

[ThinkPink]

I love these photorealistic images made with Terragen shown here in the forum or in other galeries like these examples:

http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=8053.0
http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=8047.0

I try to make such images too but unfortunately my images look always "artificial". I'm still working with the FREE VERSION of T2.
I know these renders were made by people who work with Terragen since years. They are experts ..... and I am always a beginner ... but .....:

Is it generally possible to get a photorealistic image with the free version or do I need the full version? (sure, the full version would be better).

I think, the main problems in my renders are the settings of "light" and "render". Sometimes I could read settings like "AA 11" i.e. that doesn't work with the free version.
So my question is always: Do I try an unpossible thing with the free version or am I only too stupid to do the right settings 

And ... what are the "right" settings (i.e. for camera, render, light). I know, the settings depend on the image and the effect you want to get and there is not "the one and only setting combination". But I think, there must be a "range" of settings (i.e. contrast 0.5 to 0.7) or so that would work in the most renders, the rest is "fine tuning". The standard settings are OK ... but the result is not photorealistic ...

Meanwhile I do some renders, mostly unhappy with the result, pause some weeks (or months) and start a new trial .... and so on.

comments and hints are welcome!

Thanks
Oliver

[Henry Blewer]

It is possible to do some quite realistic scenes with the free version. I used it for some time. It gets a little less realistic depending on the objects you import, how close to the camera they are. Object free scenes turn out fantastic. Distant objects, like an overview of a forest (smaller looking trees) are very good.
The best advice is to use the program. It took me a long time to learn some things. You've already got me beat. I tried to learn without the forum; a mistake.

[Oshyan]

The free version is quite capable. Really the only limitation that will have a possibly significant effect on your ability to achieve realism is the 3 population limitation, and this can be worked around creatively, depending on the scene. The detail limit of 1 is really not much of a limit, seldom do you want to use more than 1 in fact, and the AA limit of 3, while more restrictive, is still capable of achieving good realism in many cases. Vegetation will be more challenging with low AA, but terrain, skies, etc. do fine at that level.

Anyway overall the free version is quite capable of achieving highly realistic results. It's just a matter of practice. You can prove this in fact by downloading some of the completed scene TGDs that people have provided and rendering in your version. The results are identical to the registered version at equivalent detail.

- Oshyan