First, I want to state that I have not yet used twister, so I don't know
exactly which features your are referring to.

Claude Mench <c.m### [at] adilinstrumentscom> wrote...
>
>         - Will it exist an API allowing to use POVRay
>           in a programmatically mode, for instance, POV
>           could exist as a python module (like lightflow).
>           It could be proprietary but it will be good to
>           overcome some parts of the parser when used in
>           conjunction with diverses pov front-end object
>           generators or modelers.


Not in version 3.5.  Whether this is done in future versions is unknown.
However, the wording of POV-Ray's license currently does not allow this (to
avoid the exploitation of POV-Ray).

>         - Can we expect an preview mode using OpenGL (I'm
>           aware that the tessalation of all objects existing
>           in pov will be difficult, and infinity ojects also...)

If tesselation of all primatives is done, then this would definately be a
possibility.  However, POV-Ray is primarily a ray-tracing engine, so this
would likely not be a priority.  As was mentioned, using a preview mode
(with quickcolor, no refraction or reflection, minimal lighting, etc.) can
render many scenes quite quickly.

>         - Will the photon map be improved to perform optimised
>           global illumination and shadows optimisation ?

I do plan to extend photon mapping to work with global illumination.  There
are a variety of misunderstandings with how photons work with the current
global illumination model (instead of replacing it).  Anyway, yes, I am
working on that.

I will likely no use photons for shadow optimizaiton.  More recent papers by
Jensen downplay the actual worth of this technique.  To quote from Jensen's
SigGraph '99 course notes: "Using a derivative of the photon map method we
can compute shadows more effciently using shadow photons [Jensen95c]. We do,
however, not normally use this approach since it can lead to artifacts in
the shadows (that are very noticeable to the eye)."

>         - Is there an official binary format of scene file
>           planned ?

Not for version 3.5.  The past policy has been not to have a binary format
for platform-specific reasons.  However, it is my opinion that a
platform-independent binary would be possible and would make sense.

>         - Extended particle system for simulating fur or grass?

The POV scripting language can support much of this.  Some features are
being added (such as the trace() function) which help.  If this could be
done much more efficiently with a built-in object, then it is possible that
it might be added in the future.

>     I was looking in Softimage Twister specifications and several
> reviews from it, I finded this very innovative, I was so entousiastic
> about it, that I dreamed to see a free rendering package going in the
> same direction...
>
>     I hope that a free package could be as ambitious as twister
> (layer rendering, interactive renderer with object hierachy, etc).

Some of these features (such as layered rendering) probably wouldn't be
built directly into the rendering engine.  However, support for them could
be incorporated into the engine (such as z-buffer output) so that external
interactive programs could offer these features.

Remember when comparing POV to other products that POV is only the rendering
engine.  Twister, for example, is a combination of Softimage's Mental Ray
rendering engine with their modeling environment.  To compare apples to
apples, POV should be compared to Mental Ray (in which case, MR still has
featuers that have not yet been implemented in POV).

-Nathan

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