cdbaric <CD Baric> wrote:
> Simple - when I draw an object, I have a visualization of what the finished
> object should look like. I look at what I have drawn and compare it with
> that visualization.

> I love and use the command line interface for many tasks, including ripping
> DVDs and CDs BUT creating a visual experience without instant visual
> feedback seems to me to be unintuitive - how can it be otherwise.

  Not everyone needs a graphical modeller to create 3D scenes. Many
people visualize what they want in their head and, having experience
with three-dimensional cartesian coordinates they can enter the parameters
mostly correctly (fine-tuning them with the aid of test renders).

  It's easier than it sounds when said like that. It just requires some
experience.

  One would justly ask: Ok, many people can do that, but why bother? Why
not use a graphical modeller which makes things much easier?
  Fair question. The problem is that there exists no good modeller for
povray which all people like. Also, in some cases modellers impose
limitations when trying to perform tasks which are mundane with a scripting
language. Many people just don't feel the need to use a graphical modeller
for the simple tasks they want to perform with povray.

  Sometimes it's fun. For example, consider this image of mine:
http://warp.povusers.org/pics/RubiksRevenge2.jpg

  I made it with POV-Ray's scripting language (without any modellers),
and I made it so that I can easily rotate the pieces in the cube with
simple commands. The script automatically calculates the end result
after rotating each piece, exactly as the real thing works. (Those
cubes in that image have been created by performing, in script, the
exact same rotations which are needed to create the same result in
the real cube.)

  Or consider this (also made 100% with scripting, no modellers):
http://warp.povusers.org/pics/Chess.jpg

  I made the script so that I can enter the moves of the game in an
easy syntax as a string. The script parses the string and moves the
pieces according to it, removing eaten pieces (and putting them on the
side of the board). This way I can easily reconstruct any position of
any game with the scene file.

  This also uses scripting to create the position (although it doesn't
reproduce a game, just the position):
http://warp.povusers.org/pics/Goban.jpg

  If I had to "manually" enter all the pieces (even if it's with the
mouse), it would be a load of work.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

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