|
|
PanoViewer -HDRI realtime background generator
About Truespace Archives
These pages are a copy of the official truespace forums prior to their removal somewhere around 2011.
They are retained here for archive purposes only.
PanoViewer -HDRI realtime background generator // The Garage
Post by mrbones // Oct 13, 2008, 10:43am
|
mrbones
Total Posts: 1280
|
This object was originally created by David Bokon and Modified by Glen Gordon.
To use
* Import library into tS7.6
* Use library browser to open library into stack view
* Drag Pano Viewer into LE or 3d Window
* To change image, go to Pano Viewer image on panel in LE, hold ctrl key and double click to open file menu
o Select panoramic to view.
* Special camera can be used to keep background always with original camera viewpoint, see image below to see how to hook up.
Works good for VRAY renders too.
Use in conjunction withl DX shaders by using the same image as panoviewer as the reflectance layer in metal or glass shader.
That way you get realtime enviroment reflections in glass, metal, water , etc.. |
Post by Burnart // Oct 13, 2008, 12:08pm
|
Burnart
Total Posts: 839
|
Sounds very interesting and useful. Thanks to those responsible. |
Post by noko // Oct 13, 2008, 1:18pm
|
noko
Total Posts: 684
|
I have a newer version which allows shadows to be seen on the Pano if desired plus better control over background coloring. The old version will sync up with how lightworks positions the Pano when using special camera, this was ment to help setup a scene using HDRI to optimize where to place items from the HDRI light sources for Lightworks. Vray actually positions the HDRI Panoramic 180 degrees off and I do believe mirrored. New version took out all the correction/positioning of the Pano for lightworks to speed it up. Plus new version uses constant texture of base Pano so lighting has no effect unless you use another Pano to modify the first, more on that later. If anyone is interested I will post later when I get home from work. |
Post by Nez // Oct 13, 2008, 10:17pm
|
Nez
Total Posts: 1102
|
Note - for those that are interested, the use of this tool and the 'camera' noko mentions are well documented in the HDRI video course now freely available from the Caligari website here ('Master courses'):
http://www.caligari.com/products/trueSpace/ts5/Courses/newHDRI_LW.asp?Cate=Training&SubCate=Master
Though obviously it sounds like there are certain factors that need to be accounted for with Vray as mentioned above.... |
Post by RichLevy // Oct 13, 2008, 10:35pm
|
RichLevy
Total Posts: 1140
|
I have a newer version which allows shadows to be seen on the Pano if desired plus better control over background coloring. The old version will sync up with how lightworks positions the Pano when using special camera, this was ment to help setup a scene using HDRI to optimize where to place items from the HDRI light sources for Lightworks. Vray actually positions the HDRI Panoramic 180 degrees off and I do believe mirrored. New version took out all the correction/positioning of the Pano for lightworks to speed it up. Plus new version uses constant texture of base Pano so lighting has no effect unless you use another Pano to modify the first, more on that later. If anyone is interested I will post later when I get home from work.
I would be interested, I bought the course back when it came out. Great tutorial.
Rich |
Post by RichLevy // Oct 14, 2008, 3:30am
|
RichLevy
Total Posts: 1140
|
I have a question:
Geosphere's are horrible for editing, I tried to place a regular sphere in the scene and replace the geosphere. The regular sphere does not have the same type of node as the geosphere... What can I do to place my regular sphere in this scene?
I am trying to see if I can make a 3D 360 degree panorama out of the pano, it appears that it can be done with some basic tests I did on the geosphere, but editing one of thsoe critters takes way too much time and patience.
Rich |
Post by noko // Oct 14, 2008, 7:28am
|
noko
Total Posts: 684
|
Thanks Nez and Rich. Here is quick run down. New Pano tool works a little bit different, most items are accessed by using material picker on background which will open up the adjustment panel in stack view. Less need to work inside of LE.
Below is an example of rendering a sphere in workspace using VRay, converting to a Pano (using outside program) and then using Pano Tool to have a raytraced custom generated background for the real time environment.
Last image is an example of shadows capability of tool.
I will expand on this but I have to go to work. Thanks all once again. |
Post by RichLevy // Oct 14, 2008, 9:07am
|
RichLevy
Total Posts: 1140
|
I am surprised more people are not interested in this great utility. This is great for backgrounds, realtime enviroments and just simple panorama viewing. I am as guilty as anyone for that, I have been using other 3D programs for years to display my own panos in, this does it6 very easily...
Now if only there were a way to change that dreaded geoshere out and place a polygon sphere in there, that would make me one happy camper.
Rich |
Post by trueBlue // Oct 14, 2008, 9:18am
|
trueBlue
Total Posts: 1761
|
You might try exchanging the Shape or Editible mesh to a Sphere Shape. Have you tried a Nurbs Sphere? |
Post by RichLevy // Oct 14, 2008, 9:56am
|
RichLevy
Total Posts: 1140
|
You might try exchanging the Shape or Editible mesh to a Sphere Shape. Have you tried a Nurbs Sphere?
If I take the output from the Shape node (Mesh) and plug it into the (Mesh) output on a sphere node, nothing happens I loose the pano on the biosphere and the biosphere disappears. No sphere though...
As far as I am aware I would not be able to edit a Nurbs sphere... I'll give it a try anyway...
Rich |
Post by RichLevy // Oct 14, 2008, 10:06am
|
RichLevy
Total Posts: 1140
|
Have you tried a Nurbs Sphere?
Son of a gun, it worked! It is all tri'd up, but it is way easier to work with than a geosphere. Let me see about getting a texture on this and than see about modeling it.
I thought Nurbs crashed the bridge, that was probably a very long time ago.
thanks
rich |
Post by noko // Oct 14, 2008, 1:37pm
|
noko
Total Posts: 684
|
Rich, what is the reason for wanting a sphere? I used a geosphere since it had less distortion at the poles. Maybe that has been corrected hmmmm.. Really shouldn't be a problem with a sphere, I originally used a sphere before a geosphere. |
Post by RichLevy // Oct 14, 2008, 2:47pm
|
RichLevy
Total Posts: 1140
|
Hey Dave
I am using the pano scenes in the same way I do the heads, and model pictures into 3D objects.
Your little pano viewer is perfect for turning those panos into 3D scenes also. The problem with the geosphere is the way the geometry is laid out, if I use the Nurbs Sphere it converts over nicely and I only need to delete the triangle edge for one sphere, save it to a library and reuse it if I need to for another scene. It is a simple matter of just using the PE modeling tools to make your pano into a 3D scene, or have more 3D depth to it than they already do...
This is a very powerful tool you have created here TYS really needs stuff like this :)
I have some to learn about it yet, I am going to go thru the tutorial to get up to speed on it again. As for the poles, I had not noticed any stretching, but I really was not looking specifically for it either.
Rich |
Post by noko // Oct 14, 2008, 4:18pm
|
noko
Total Posts: 684
|
ahhh, got it, hey that sounds rather cool. If you want I can make a sphere version. Now I was thinking along the same lines but with cubic maps. I have a basic cube map viewer (more basic then what was in the course) which gives flat surfaces to work from, I wonder if that approach would be a better option or just another way of doing the same thing. |
Post by RichLevy // Oct 14, 2008, 11:48pm
|
RichLevy
Total Posts: 1140
|
In some cases a cubic mapping would be good, in others the spherical is better, than in the case of partial panos you would want to work with a cylindrical mapping. If you feel up to it and want to add those that wold really make te tool awesome... it is great with just the spherical though :D
Thanks Dave!
Rich |
Post by johnhoward // Nov 2, 2008, 12:49pm
|
johnhoward
Total Posts: 231
|
I have been wishing for just this tool since I use panoramic shots for backgrounds often and render in Vray.
However, I can't get this to render in Vray. I have tried just about every setting change I can. I turned off the HDRI color modifier in the Pano Viewer and the color in the environment. Nothing works - render is always bright yellow as in photo below.
I loaded the same panorama into Vray environment and can render that way if I make the Pano Viewer image invisible during the rendering. However, the image in the Pano Viewer is mirror of the same image in Vray. If I create a mirror image for the Pano Viewer (so they both agree), I still can not get them to agree on alignment, no matter how I adjust the yaw, pitch, & roll in the Pano Viewer.
So, I really need to be able to render the Pano Viewer view in Vray.
Any clues to what I am doing wrong? Thanks. |
Post by mrbones // Nov 2, 2008, 2:11pm
|
mrbones
Total Posts: 1280
|
My first guess is that your camera is a little past outside of the panosphere.
I have been wishing for just this tool since I use panoramic shots for backgrounds often and render in Vray.
However, I can't get this to render in Vray. I have tried just about every setting change I can. I turned off the HDRI color modifier in the Pano Viewer and the color in the environment. Nothing works - render is always bright yellow as in photo below.
I loaded the same panorama into Vray environment and can render that way if I make the Pano Viewer image invisible during the rendering. However, the image in the Pano Viewer is mirror of the same image in Vray. If I create a mirror image for the Pano Viewer (so they both agree), I still can not get them to agree on alignment, no matter how I adjust the yaw, pitch, & roll in the Pano Viewer.
So, I really need to be able to render the Pano Viewer view in Vray.
Any clues to what I am doing wrong? Thanks. |
Post by johnhoward // Nov 2, 2008, 3:08pm
|
johnhoward
Total Posts: 231
|
Thanks MrBones,
I doubt that is the problem. I get that same yellow color when I open your Pano Mod scene and render in Vray with no changes. If I delete the two lights that are in the scene, the render is black.
And by switching to the eye and looking at the PanoView camera, I can see that the PanoView camera is sitting right in the middle of the sphere where you placed it. |
Post by mrbones // Nov 2, 2008, 3:31pm
|
mrbones
Total Posts: 1280
|
Are you looking through the camera?
With the view through camera icon?:icon_Camera: |
Post by noko // Nov 2, 2008, 9:24pm
|
noko
Total Posts: 684
|
Ahhh, object is setup for Real time render so I have the materials different then what you normally find in an object with a material, which usually has one for DX and another for LW (VRay). This tool only has the DX version, one layer up from the normal location. Main reason is prior to 7.6, when the material was placed in the Material object it slowed way down the controls. So it was an optimization which is no longer needed since 7.6 has corrected that bug. So using VRay you won't see anything.
I will have some time this week, I should be able to make new version but you won't have the features like you have on the DX version for blending etc.. Plus get Carpenter the sphere version as well.
I also found out using this tool that turning off mipmaps greatly enhances the quality, more on that later. So new improved version will be coming, plus I need to show how to easily get shadows to show up as well with an example. Second image you can do alot with fine tuning your background. |
Post by johnhoward // Nov 3, 2008, 3:05am
|
johnhoward
Total Posts: 231
|
MrBones,
Yes, I am sure I'm looking through the Pano Camera and that it is in the middle of the sphere. The Vray result is always this radial blend from a white center to greenish yellow and - when I turn global illumination off - it blends toward black.
Noko,
Thanks. I hope you can make this work. It would be a very valuable addition to TS. |
Post by johnhoward // Nov 3, 2008, 6:13am
|
johnhoward
Total Posts: 231
|
And furthermore.....
While the Pano Mod scene was loaded, I went over to the model side and found that same radial blend white - yellow - green - black background.
Weirdness on stilts. |
Post by TomG // Nov 3, 2008, 7:24am
|
TomG
Total Posts: 3397
|
As noted, the shader is a real-time one, dependent on the DX9 rendering which only exists in the workspace real-time view. Given it uses those DX9 processes, the end result is not passed to either the Model real-time view (which is DX8), or to the offline render engines (which use their own shader languages and routines).
Sounds like a version will be developed for the offline engines, but meantime, this would be an expected result - nothing shown if anything other than the DX9 real-time engine in workspace is used.
HTH!
Tom |
Post by trueBlue // Nov 3, 2008, 9:28am
|
trueBlue
Total Posts: 1761
|
You have to do as Mr.Bones discribed whereas you input your image into a Vray/LW Color/Texture for the Sphere. Here is the same scene with LW material. |
|
