Another Re-imagined Enterprise

[AndyM]

Very nice Alt 1701.

[MadKoiFish]

This is what I got earlier that day in MR it is using some other method. Seems in MR there are many ways to do one thing -_-; what one needs to do is try them all and find out which are fastest. Sucks is MR changed with each version of max it seems the one that came out after 9 is diffrent yet again UGHH took me a few hours to find settings I used to know.

and yeah the stupid glory stick, wrenched render times through the roof since almost everything on that pos is reflective.

[PixelMagic]

Originally Posted by MadKoiFish

This is what I got earlier that day in MR it is using some other method. Seems in MR there are many ways to do one thing -_-; what one needs to do is try them all and find out which are fastest. Sucks is MR changed with each version of max it seems the one that came out after 9 is diffrent yet again UGHH took me a few hours to find settings I used to know.

and yeah the stupid glory stick, wrenched render times through the roof since almost everything on that pos is reflective.

Something you may want to consider, is reducing the number of ray bounces to reduce render times. I know max scanline defaults to 9 bounces known as "Maximum Depth" which for what you are doing, is far overkill. You'd only need 1 or 2 bounces at most.

I'm not sure where the setting for it is in mental ray, but I may try to find it later on tonight.

[seanr]

Originally Posted by MadKoiFish

Oh wow my attachment space is dwindling so um guys/gals, start saving those early samples if you want them ill clear them out soon!

The admins ought to go ahead and give him extra space - he's clearly earned it!

[MadKoiFish]

I think final gather only has one bounce or none. I forget where I left it. The reflections off the glorystick and ground plane together made for a long render. The WIP plane is maybe a 20sec render? if that. Add the raytraced refect mess of that GS and well it bloats but not horribly. The Wings of War project will be all Mental Ray for now. All I need to do now is figure out how to get that dark shadow crud around sharp inside edges like with scanlines lighttracer and skylight. I think it will entale relearning the GI settings in MR Since most of it isnt anything like what I had for max7. Tempted to install max7 just so I can side by side things to see if that helps some but I have yet to look at MAX9's tut files, hoping to get to that today. But I doubt it.

Seanr; no worries really since Scifi3d and Foundation3D have permanent archives, least untill they trim the threads that is. (dunno if that will happen though) Or a um well you know, dont want to jinx. scifi3d has the most archived since I started the project there.

[PixelMagic]

If you don't mind using multiple passes, and compositing, the Ambient Occlusion shader will give you a skylight look, which you can render in a separate pass and composite with your other lighting passes. I believe this is also possible somehow with Final Gather, but I'm not sure how.

[MadKoiFish]

uh yeah, Im not spending that level of work for WIP images. ;p

[PixelMagic]

Originally Posted by MadKoiFish

uh yeah, Im not spending that level of work for WIP images. ;p

Oh, I didn't know you were talking about WIP images. Nevermind.

[Basajaun]

Very nice design MadKoiFish!

Regarding the blurry shadows you were talking about, I'm sure you can achieve the same result with MAX's Scanline renderer by using a Raytrace map in your reflection channel. Then you need to choose either Fast Adaptive Antialiaser or Multirresolution Adaptive Antialiaser and play around with the Blur/Defocus (Distance Blur) options.

From the 3ds max user reference:

Blur / Defocus (Distance Blur) group

Blur Offset is similar to blur offset for Bitmaps, while defocus is based on distance.

Blur Offset—Affects the sharpness or blurriness of the reflections or refractions without regard to distance. You can use Blur Offset to soften or defocus the details of a reflection or refraction. The value is specified in pixels. Default=0.0.
Tip: The default Blur Offset setting usually produces good results. If you see aliasing in reflections or refractions, increase its value in increments of 0.5 until the aliasing goes away.

Blur Aspect—This is an aspect ratio that changes the shape of the blur. Usually you will not need to change it. Default=1.0.
Tip: If you see aliasing that occurs mostly along horizontal lines, try increasing Blur Aspect to 1.5. This changes the shape of the blurred effect. The reverse is also true. If aliasing occurs mostly along vertical lines, try decreasing Blur Aspect to 0.5.

Defocusing—Defocusing is a blur based on distance. With Defocus, objects near the surface are not blurred, but objects farther away are blurred. The rays cast are spread as they leave the Raytrace material object's surface. Default=0.0.
Tip: Increasing the value of Defocusing can give a good distance blurring effect. Small adjustments are usually adequate. Try starting with a value less than 0.1, and increase or decrease it as necessary. Also try adjusting Reflect Falloff in Raytrace material or Attenuation in Raytrace map to get the best distance blurring effect.

Defocus Aspect—This is an aspect ratio that changes the shape of the defocusing. Usually you will not need to change it. Default=1.0.

I hope this helps

[PixelMagic]

Wow, thanks Basajaun. That's very useful information. I may play with that tonight.