ok i found the scene.
first attachment: original pic with only one cloud layer.
second: 5 cloud layer, notice how the surfce is darken, and what i can see is this: the cloud layer seems bigger than the original and it's basically the same: in my opinion it's too uniform: i tryed to play with your script some times ago but i have no success.
it looks like the cloud map is exactly the same for each layer, I guess it's not adjusting the levels properly
Aszazeroth and Davide
I have found yet another way to adjust the opacity.
Drop the cloudmap into a "Color Correction" map, set it to monochrome and enable Advanced in Lightness.
Then you can adjust the gamma with a slider/valuefield, and you don't need to animate it to be accessible via Maxscript.
Use these commands to prepare the map if necessary,
$.material.opacitymap.rewireMode = 1
$.material.opacitymap.lightnessMode = 1
And then you can adjust the gamma with this:
$.material.opacitymap.gammaRGB = 0.5
Also, this should make sure that the cloudmap is instanced, and only takes up the memory once.
Now, my IRML port renders had -no- opacity tweaks at all, as mentioned above, just the same map, stacked 21 times. It was only a proof of concept and to show that I did not get the "darkening" effect.
The shadows need to stay, as IRML says, otherwise the 3D effect is partially destroyed.
@Melak. Sounds like a nice way to get around the opacity.map.curve-needs-to-be-animated. I shall updated the script to use that and investigate the possibilities of that correction map.
OK, I will be the first to admit my ignorance, but cannot seem to find the "color correction" map, nor the cool maxscript nodes that were posted. Did they come with any of the recent versions of max ?
OK, 5 layers, old opacity tweak with the animated Color Map (Mono) in the output channel of each copied material.
Dirty fast tweak though, need to explore the parameters. But this is essentially the exact same code as the 0.4 Stratospherify.ms script but for planes.
Here is the code:
-- Script:IRML_port.ms
-- Version: 0.1
-- Author: Stefan "Aszazeroth" Ivarsson, www.dragondesign.se
-- Usage: Select your default plane and run script (CTRL-E)
numberOfplanes = 5.0
select $
set animate on
$.material.opacitymap.output.mono_color_map.curve_1.point_1 = [0,0,0]
moveConstant = 0.2
for i = 1 to (numberOfplanes ) do
(
objCopy = copy $
objCopy.material = copy $.material
objCopy.material.opacitymap.output.clamp = true
curveStepping = (-2)/numberOfplanes
objCopy.material.opacitymap.output.mono_color_map.curve_1.point_1 = [0,curveStepping,0]
moveObject = [0,0,moveConstant]
move objCopy moveObject
select objCopy
)
MAJOR NOTE: As before the curve NEEDS to be animated BEFORE for the script to work at all and change the opacity. This is a limitation (well documented) to the maxscript API. I bet one can circumvent this by calling directly on the C API building a plugin instead, but I have not gotten there yet.
I think I have found a way that's closer to IRML's original idea:
The first layer in the composite map (not material!) is simply the cloudmap, the second is a gradient ramp set to Map Channel #2.
Add a UV map (set to channel #2 as well) like in the image (make it slightly larger than fitting), and finally set the blend mode to colour burn. Ta-Da!
However I haven't yet gotten this to work with spheres, because of obvious mapping difficulties.
I'm currently exploring other maps (a fallof map in "Distance Blend" mode, or a gradient in "lighting" mode, with a helper/light at the center of the spheres), I will let you guys know if something comes of it
I used soft selection to paint the innermost sphere, thereby painting a gradient onto the outer spheres
Then I used the vertex map instead of the gradient in the composite map...though I feel this "composite" map might be a new thing, so users of older version os max (<2009) might need to use something else.
is that you painted the map from left to right, when it should be from bottom to top, I take it you fixed that for your last renders?
each sphere layer should have the same value all over, and the values should increment from the bottom to the top, like if you have 10 layers it should be: 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%
hope that makes sense, it looks like you've got it
Posts
First render is with 1 layer, the next with 21 layers. Note: There are no darkening effects on the blue plane.
<the code>:
//Dr.Asz
Cheers
//Dr.Asz
edit - same with the test renders above
at the moment you guys are getting this:
http://www.foundation3d.com/uploads/art/2009/06/-14-193527.jpg
when you should be getting this:
http://www.foundation3d.com/uploads/art/2009/06/-14-193524.jpg
exactly!
I have found yet another way to adjust the opacity.
Drop the cloudmap into a "Color Correction" map, set it to monochrome and enable Advanced in Lightness.
Then you can adjust the gamma with a slider/valuefield, and you don't need to animate it to be accessible via Maxscript.
Use these commands to prepare the map if necessary,
And then you can adjust the gamma with this:
Also, this should make sure that the cloudmap is instanced, and only takes up the memory once.
Now, my IRML port renders had -no- opacity tweaks at all, as mentioned above, just the same map, stacked 21 times. It was only a proof of concept and to show that I did not get the "darkening" effect.
The shadows need to stay, as IRML says, otherwise the 3D effect is partially destroyed.
@Melak. Sounds like a nice way to get around the opacity.map.curve-needs-to-be-animated. I shall updated the script to use that and investigate the possibilities of that correction map.
Keep you updated with progress soon.
//Dr.Asz
yeah it's true...i'm stupid...i forgot to add the ambient light! :shiner::fishslap:
melak, thanks for this tips! i've never heard about color correction map...i'm waiting for the render, you know, with 41 layers it takes a lot of time
ok, first attach is the old version...second attach is the modify version of the script with the color correction map.
we have to find another way!
it should be a pure white surface and the only place the cloud map touches is transparency
I'm using max 2009, and as far as I can tell, I don't have any plugins installed.
i tell you: too much physics destroys my brain today.
thanks for noticed it to me.
Dirty fast tweak though, need to explore the parameters. But this is essentially the exact same code as the 0.4 Stratospherify.ms script but for planes.
Here is the code:
MAJOR NOTE: As before the curve NEEDS to be animated BEFORE for the script to work at all and change the opacity. This is a limitation (well documented) to the maxscript API. I bet one can circumvent this by calling directly on the C API building a plugin instead, but I have not gotten there yet.
//Dr.Asz
I think I have found a way that's closer to IRML's original idea:
The first layer in the composite map (not material!) is simply the cloudmap, the second is a gradient ramp set to Map Channel #2.
Add a UV map (set to channel #2 as well) like in the image (make it slightly larger than fitting), and finally set the blend mode to colour burn. Ta-Da!
However I haven't yet gotten this to work with spheres, because of obvious mapping difficulties.
I'm currently exploring other maps (a fallof map in "Distance Blend" mode, or a gradient in "lighting" mode, with a helper/light at the center of the spheres), I will let you guys know if something comes of it
I think the problem here is that Max' gradient ramp map is 2D, not 3D like e.g. the noise map..
The BlurBeta pack (available for every version of max I think) contains a 3D gradient, this *should* make this easy.
http://www.foundation3d.com/uploads/art/2009/06/-14-1935210.jpg
look at that screenshot, but imagine the weight map was added on a sphere by sphere basis, instead of poly by poly, it's really very simple
The closest thing in max are probably soft selections, but as far as I know those cant affect maps.
The only way I can even do it with planes like that is by projecting a gradient onto them from the side...
Looks like this:
...I spot a seam in the cloudmap.
i discovered the vertex map only few days ago, and it's really usefull also for this work! Thanks Melak!
Then I used the vertex map instead of the gradient in the composite map...though I feel this "composite" map might be a new thing, so users of older version os max (<2009) might need to use something else.
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/2779/clipboard01tya.jpg
is that you painted the map from left to right, when it should be from bottom to top, I take it you fixed that for your last renders?
each sphere layer should have the same value all over, and the values should increment from the bottom to the top, like if you have 10 layers it should be: 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%
hope that makes sense, it looks like you've got it