The long-awaited new build of the POV Superpatch is now available for 
download from http://twysted.net/patchstation .  Also, please stop by 
and check out our shiny new Superpatch forum at the same URL.  Please,
please make sure you read the README file before you run the program; 
there is at least one thing in there that you'll need to know to get 
it to work properly.

New in this version:
--------------------
o #ifdef(array[index])
o The pattern image type now understands transparency.
o The pattern image type now allows you to specify hf_gray_16 as the first 
  parameter to make higher-resolution height_fields.
o The new (POV 3.1) editor has been added.
o Better documentation!!!  I've merged and massaged the documentation from 
  all of the included patches into one big MS Word 97 file.  If you can't 
  read Word files, download the free viewer from Microsoft's web site.  I 
  hope to provide these docs in PDF, plain text, HTML, and perhaps WinHelp 
  form as well.  

Things I still have to do:
--------------------------
o Example files.  If you have a nice one, please consider sending it to me 
  for inclusion in the next version, especially if it demonstrates one 
  feature particularly well.
o More documentation formats

Patches I have but haven't had the time to add:
-----------------------------------------------
o Some new and exciting warps from XenoArch: cylindrical, spherical, toroidal, 
  planar
o Some great new lighting patches, also from XenoArch: parallel light_sources, 
  flexible group-based shadowing and illumination, "masked" lights
o Nathan Kopp's updated UV mapping patch, plus his new reset_children warp
o Wyzard's new metallic reflection patch

Patches I don't have yet but will probably add anyway:
------------------------------------------------------
o A use_image warp similar to Photoshop displacement maps (but 3D, of course)
o A patch to make "#if (myvector=0)" meaningful

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I have a "stupid" question:

Do you have a features list available describing a few details
of each feature that the "Ron Parker SuperPatch" has to
offer and the advantages of having said features.

Thanks,

Ken Tyler

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On Tue, 24 Nov 1998 06:49:25 -0800, Ken <tyl### [at] pacbellnet> wrote:
>I have a "stupid" question:
>
>Do you have a features list available describing a few details
>of each feature that the "Ron Parker SuperPatch" has to
>offer and the advantages of having said features.

Just the documentation, i'm afraid.  I'll see what I can do about
making a nice webpage for it sometime.  Probably won't happen this
month, though, as after today I'll be off the net for about a week.

I posted a list of the features in the original version to 
povray.programming sometime in mid-October.  Add the list of features
I just posted and you should have a pretty good clue what's there.

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Ron Parker wrote:
> 
> Patches I have but haven't had the time to add:
> -----------------------------------------------
> o Some new and exciting warps from XenoArch: cylindrical, spherical, toroidal,
>   planar
> o Some great new lighting patches, also from XenoArch: parallel light_sources,
>   flexible group-based shadowing and illumination, "masked" lights
> o Nathan Kopp's updated UV mapping patch, plus his new reset_children warp
> o Wyzard's new metallic reflection patch
> 

Is there any info on the web about XenoArch's patches?  I myself just made a
modification to cylinder lights so that they shoot parallel beams (just a quick
test of parallel light beams, though... nothing really serious).  I'm also
interested in the other changes.

-Nathan Kopp

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On Tue, 24 Nov 1998 15:23:38 -0500, Nathan Kopp <Nat### [at] Koppcom> wrote:
>Is there any info on the web about XenoArch's patches?  I myself just made a
>modification to cylinder lights so that they shoot parallel beams (just a quick
>test of parallel light beams, though... nothing really serious).  I'm also
>interested in the other changes.

To tell the truth, I don't know.  He emailed them to me, so I don't know
whether he's making them available to the general public or waiting for 
them to be in the superpatch.  Offhand, I think not, but you'd have
to ask him.  Unfortunately, I also don't have his current email address
handy, and I won't be able to get it to you for another week now.  (I
hope someone else from #povray can step in here and fill in the gaps.)

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Is there going to be a DOS-version of the superpatch, or is this a
win95-only program?

-- 
main(i){char*_="BdsyFBThhHFBThhHFRz]NFTITQF|DJIFHQhhF";while(i=
*_++)for(;i>1;printf("%s",i-70?i&1?"[]":" ":(i=0,"\n")),i/=2);} /*- Warp. -*/

Post a reply to this message

On 24 Nov 1998 16:11:41 -0500, Nieminen Mika <war### [at] assaricctutfi> wrote:
>  Is there going to be a DOS-version of the superpatch, or is this a
>win95-only program?

I hope to make a DOS build and a Linux build available soon.  Obviously, it
will also be necessary to convert the documentation to a more portable format
first.  I will also be making source available in the very near future, so
in theory it could be built for any platform.

Post a reply to this message

Nathan Kopp wrote:
> 
> Ron Parker wrote:
> >
> > Patches I have but haven't had the time to add:
> > -----------------------------------------------
> > o Some new and exciting warps from XenoArch: cylindrical, spherical, toroidal,
> >   planar
> > o Some great new lighting patches, also from XenoArch: parallel light_sources,
> >   flexible group-based shadowing and illumination, "masked" lights
> > o Nathan Kopp's updated UV mapping patch, plus his new reset_children warp
> > o Wyzard's new metallic reflection patch
> >
> 
> Is there any info on the web about XenoArch's patches?  I myself just made a
> modification to cylinder lights so that they shoot parallel beams (just a quick
> test of parallel light beams, though... nothing really serious).  I'm also
> interested in the other changes.
> 
> -Nathan Kopp

I've sent syntax docs to Ron. But here are brief (well i intended brief
heh)

Okay First off parallel light sources. Yes you can make cylinder lights
parallel. Without giving too much programming detail, it is basically a
key word applicable to all light sources to make it parallel. Then for
each light/shadow ray cast it uses the point on a plane closest to the
intersection to determine the center of the light. The plane is defined
by a point (location) and a perpendicular (location -> points_at) since
it uses points at parallel must become before the points_at keyword for
normal point lights. For fade lights the distance is determined by
intersection and location.  So parallel fade lights are a little weird.
for area lights only the center of the light is determined by the
closest point on the plane. This is so you can still get soft shadows. 

flexible group-based shadowing and illumination: This is a little more
difficult to explain. You basically can assign light sources to
different groups name them what ever (except none and all, those are
special names all lights are 
in group all and no lights are in none, this is to retain backwards
compatibility)
then you can specify which group illuminates an object. If it doesn't
illuminate 
an object then that object doesn't cast shadows from that light source.
you can also specify a no_shadow group. One use of this is to specify
different indoor
and outdoor fill lights.

"masked" lights :
You can assign a light source an invisible shape (defined by
projected_through). Any light rays must pass though that shape to be
cast. And any object between the light and its projected_through object
doesn't cast shadows. with this you can simulate reflected light
sources. I've heard it called virtual lights also. 

The new warps are basically for mapping 2D patterns (checker/hexagon) 
to cylinders,spheres and tori.

I have intened these patches for Super patch only cause Ron mentioned
one day
that he would like the warps. SO i went to work on that, then i was
doing an image
that needed something like the light_groups so I then added the light
groups.
Then Ron mentioned he wanted a planar warp and in the same convo he
mentioned people wanting parallel lights. Next day i asked him some
questions on parallel lights then he off the cuff mentioned masked
lights. I was just a patching fool that week heh. And in the 3 weeks
since then i belive i've squashed all the bugs.

FYI: I am planning other patches. But i will wait till the current que
is done
for super patch and alter the SP code directly. (besides i need to work
on my artwork and get my portfolio done)

Patches in Planning (these are NOT gaurenteed):
o Motion Blur with blurring only speciffic objects and not
  rendering the scene x times. May incorproate with 
  a kind of keyframe patch for easier animations.
o Faster Media (have no clue how at this moment)
o Glowing Interior, faster then doing it with media.
	
-XenoArch

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Ron Parker <par### [at] my-dejanewscom> wrote:
: I hope to make a DOS build and a Linux build available soon.  Obviously, it
: will also be necessary to convert the documentation to a more portable format
: first.  I will also be making source available in the very near future, so
: in theory it could be built for any platform.

  A povhelp format of the documentation would be really cool...

-- 
main(i){char*_="BdsyFBThhHFBThhHFRz]NFTITQF|DJIFHQhhF";while(i=
*_++)for(;i>1;printf("%s",i-70?i&1?"[]":" ":(i=0,"\n")),i/=2);} /*- Warp. -*/

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