povray.tools.general message digest

[Ilya Razmanov] Re: img2mesh geometry improved [217 days 20 hours and 13 minutes ago]

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 18:03:16 GMT

On 23.09.2025 13:46, yesbird wrote:

> I guess this method will be demanded not only by POV-Ray community, may
> be I will manage myself to rewrite it on Javascript to extent Three.js
> library (asking your permission before :)
You are allowed to use it as long as you keep hailing the Toad all the 
time. Oh, and bring me all your money you silly humans.

Seriously, I don't see anything special regarding my algorithm, just 
some common sense, so surely use it at will if you find it useful.

In fact, there is a room for improvements: I use the fact that fold 
geometry is just a particular case of pyramid one, and I use it with 
"sharp" threshold-based "if" condition. Surely I may try some "smooth" 
solution, with folds gradually turning into pyramids, for example, 
linearly based on local contrast. The problem is, all this comes to "I 
like the way it looks" criterion in the end, and I still don't have 
precise mathematical definition for "look", not to mention "like".

-- 
Ilyich the Toad
https://dnyarri.github.io/

[yesbird] Re: img2mesh geometry improved [218 days 3 hours and 29 minutes ago]

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 10:46:41 GMT

On 22/09/2025 12:39, Ilya Razmanov wrote:
> 
> So, the question is: does anybody really need this img2mesh and stuff?
> 
Congratulations, this is excellent work !
I guess this method will be demanded not only by POV-Ray community, may
be I will manage myself to rewrite it on Javascript to extent Three.js
library (asking your permission before :)).

-- 
YB

[Ilya Razmanov] img2mesh geometry improved [219 days 4 hours and 36 minutes ago]

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 09:39:42 GMT

Greeting,

while fiddling with some old ideas I unintentionally managed to improve 
some aspects of my img2mesh Python image to heightfield 3D mesh converter.

You can view the results at the top of img2mesh page, updates section:

https://dnyarri.github.io/img2mesh.html

and download either Python originals or compiled Win10 exe.

In view of recent discussion "I would like to ask the community: do
we really need it?"

I mean new version uses geometry switch based on source local contrast, 
corresponding threshold control is added to program GUI but, obviously, 
it doesn't give real-time preview of final rendering. In theory, I may 
add something like ruby mask preview (like one in Photoshop) for local 
contrast to GUI, but, considering my extremely poor programming skills 
and bad memory, it would be quite time consuming. Surely, I was able to 
make a preview for filtering (you may see it at the bottom of my
POVâ€‘Ray 
Thread: Linen and Stitch at

https://dnyarri.github.io/povthread.html#averager

so I can do this, but it wasn't easy.

So, the question is: does anybody really need this img2mesh and stuff?

-- 
Ilyich the Toad
https://dnyarri.github.io/

[Ilya Razmanov] Re: Canvas and cross-stitching simulation [386 days 20 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Mon, 7 Apr 2025 17:55:25 GMT

On 07.04.2025 18:44, yesbird wrote:
> Excellent work !
> 
> It's very close to what I did in my embroidery viewer:
> https://embview.yesbird.online/
> 
> but I used:
> https://wilcom.com/embroiderystudio
> 
> for converting designs from different machines formats like
> HUS, PHC, PES, DST, etc to PNG.

Don't tell me about formats, I'm not a programmer, I just an old 
amphibian with some ideas that may be implemented using a computer. My 
experience with programming is weird. My first program was written in 
Pascal 2.0 for PDP for rectification column calculations. And so on.

This program, for example, contain PPM/PGM I/O module in pure Python, 
written by me just because I needed something for previewing nested XYZ 
lists as images and I tried to avoid all this "rich Python ecosystem" 
with all its limitations and version conflicts. It took me quite some 
time to make it robust but now I know how to handle even binary formats. 
Well, I know how to handle even binary formats to some degree ;-) To a 
degree enough to avoid handling formats as long as possible :-)

-- 
Ilyich the Toad
https://dnyarri.github.io/

[yesbird] Re: Canvas and cross-stitching simulation [386 days 22 hours and 31 minutes ago]

Mon, 7 Apr 2025 15:44:55 GMT

On 07/04/2025 16:07, Ilya Razmanov wrote:
> Greetings,
> 
> I'd like to inform humans and other species that POVThread finally got 
> user-friendly interface (see attached) and adaptive average filtering 
> included, so now it's sort of self-contained and supposed to run under 
> Python 3.10 and above right out of the zip.
> ...

Excellent work !

It's very close to what I did in my embroidery viewer:
https://embview.yesbird.online/

but I used:
https://wilcom.com/embroiderystudio

for converting designs from different machines formats like
HUS, PHC, PES, DST, etc to PNG.
-- 
YB

[Ilya Razmanov] Re: Canvas and cross-stitching simulation [387 days 1 hour and 9 minutes ago]

Mon, 7 Apr 2025 13:07:00 GMT

Greetings,

I'd like to inform humans and other species that POVThread finally got 
user-friendly interface (see attached) and adaptive average filtering 
included, so now it's sort of self-contained and supposed to run under 
Python 3.10 and above right out of the zip.

Previews remain, as always, here:

https://dnyarri.github.io/povthread.html

and the program itself:

https://github.com/Dnyarri/POVthread

-- 
Ilyich the Toad
https://dnyarri.github.io/

[Ilya Razmanov] img2mesh version 3 [433 days 18 hours and 50 minutes ago]

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 19:26:17 GMT

Good news everyone:

I substantially changed my Python heightfiled to triangle mesh 
converter, img2mesh. Logically, new mesh structure had to be first to 
come to my mind, so, not surprisingly, it took more than a year. 
Surprising is rendering quality improvement - I expected it to be small 
and, actually, tried new scheme just out of curiosity. However, it 
appeared to be quite noticeable.

As an example, I attach a small rendering with source image. Source is 
small text passed through some Gaussian Blur, and I deliberately made it 
small, with font having thin diagonals, to get as many ugly artifacts as 
possible. However, they appeared to look much less ugly than I expected. 
Surely, I see facets at that one-pixel lines, but expected them to turn 
into total mess.

Surely, with bigger original it looks pretty smooth.

So, after getting such a results with POV-Ray, I had no choice but spend 
some time to change OBJ, STL and DXF exports as well, and now released a 
new version, v. 3, of img2mesh.

Some previews and explanation:

https://dnyarri.github.io/img2mesh.html

Git repository:

https://github.com/Dnyarri/img2mesh

and release, beside sources, contain Win64 exe for lazy Windows users:

https://github.com/Dnyarri/img2mesh/releases/tag/3.14.19.10

So it goes.

-- 
Ilyich the Toad
https://dnyarri.github.io/

[yesbird] Re: Diamonds are still forever [434 days 5 hours and 34 minutes ago]

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 08:42:13 GMT

On 19/02/2025 00:32, 00face wrote:
> Can you please provide some examples of how you achieved the facets in your
> gems, or do I have to define each face individually?
> 

All facets are defined as meshes, stored in 'inc' files:
https://github.com/syanenko/povgems/tree/main/gems/inc.

Or if you prefer to browse designs before downloading, you can use:
https://gemview.yesbird.online
and download the complete POV-Ray scene by clicking the icon at lower
right corner. OBJ format also available.
--
YB

[00face] Re: Diamonds are still forever [434 days 16 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:35:00 GMT

yesbird <sya### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> On 03/02/2025 09:37, tTh wrote:
> > https://gemview.yesbird.online/data/designs/pc01006a.asc
> >
> >       Not Found
> >
> >       The requested URL was not found on this server.
> >
> Thanks, fixed.

Can you please provide some examples of how you achieved the facets in your
gems, or do I have to define each face individually?

[yesbird] Re: Gems extension for spectral renderer [449 days 18 hours and 26 minutes ago]

Mon, 3 Feb 2025 19:50:25 GMT

On 03/02/2025 17:18, Cousin Ricky wrote:
> 
> I have updated my SpectralRender mods since you created this repository:
> 
>    https://github.com/CousinRicky/POV-SpectralRender-mods
> 
> Gamut mapping is now much faster, and I added another method.
> 
Excellent, I will update to new version.

> Are you aware that only 1000 *.inc files are available in the gems/inc
> directory?  1270 files were omitted.
> 
>
It's only illusion: the world is not what it seams :):

"This is an artificial limitation of Github and only impacts viewing via 
the browser. If you want to see all the files, you need to clone the 
repository locally."

https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/21480
--
YB

[Cousin Ricky] Re: Gems extension for spectral renderer [449 days 23 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Mon, 3 Feb 2025 14:20:00 GMT

yesbird <sya### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> On 12/05/2024 22:29, yesbird wrote:
> > I wrote a small extension to simplify this breathtaking process:
> > https://github.com/syanenko/povgems
> >
>
> Now all 2265 free gem designs are imported from
> http://www.facetdiagrams.org
> and available as *.inc files for rendering:
> https://github.com/syanenko/povgems

I have updated my SpectralRender mods since you created this repository:

  https://github.com/CousinRicky/POV-SpectralRender-mods

Gamut mapping is now much faster, and I added another method.

Are you aware that only 1000 *.inc files are available in the gems/inc
directory?  1270 files were omitted.

[yesbird] Re: Diamonds are still forever [450 days 3 hours and 35 minutes ago]

Mon, 3 Feb 2025 10:41:03 GMT

On 03/02/2025 09:37, tTh wrote:
> https://gemview.yesbird.online/data/designs/pc01006a.asc
> 
>  Â Â Â Â  Not Found
> 
>  Â Â Â Â  The requested URL was not found on
this server.
>
Thanks, fixed.

[tTh] Re: Diamonds are still forever [450 days 7 hours and 38 minutes ago]

Mon, 3 Feb 2025 06:37:43 GMT

On 2/3/25 00:28, yesbird wrote:
> Hi, all !
> 
> Gems rendering gives no rest to me, and I wrote the following web
> application for browsing and online rendering of gem designs:
> https://gemview.yesbird.online.

https://gemview.yesbird.online/data/designs/pc01006a.asc

      Not Found

      The requested URL was not found on this server.

[yesbird] Diamonds are still forever [450 days 14 hours and 48 minutes ago]

Sun, 2 Feb 2025 23:28:02 GMT

Hi, all !

Gems rendering gives no rest to me, and I wrote the following web
application for browsing and online rendering of gem designs:
https://gemview.yesbird.online.

It supports geometry-only export to OBJ and POV formats,
POV-Ray scene includes spectral rendering features from:
https://www.lilysoft.org/CGI/SR/Spectral%20Render.htm
adjusted as here:
https://github.com/syanenko/povgems.

All designs are fetched from this great resource:
http://www.facetdiagrams.org under author's permission.

Advice and any kind of criticism are welcome.
--
YB

[yesbird] Diamond are still forever [450 days 14 hours and 50 minutes ago]

Sun, 2 Feb 2025 23:26:22 GMT

Hi, all !

Gems rendering gives no rest to me, and I wrote the following web
application for browsing and online rendering of gem designs:
https://gemview.yesbird.online.

It supports geometry-only export to OBJ and POV formats,
POV-Ray scene includes spectral rendering features from:
https://www.lilysoft.org/CGI/SR/Spectral%20Render.htm
adjusted as here:
https://github.com/syanenko/povgems.

All designs are fetched from this great resource:
http://www.facetdiagrams.org under author's permission.

Advice and any kind of criticism are welcome.
--
YB

[yesbird] Re: Gems extension for spectral renderer [450 days 16 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Sun, 2 Feb 2025 21:54:50 GMT

On 12/05/2024 22:29, yesbird wrote:
> I wrote a small extension to simplify this breathtaking process:
> https://github.com/syanenko/povgems
>

Now all 2265 free gem designs are imported from
http://www.facetdiagrams.org
and available as *.inc files for rendering:
https://github.com/syanenko/povgems
--
YB

[yesbird] Re: Layered textures added to POV Mosaic [538 days 17 hours and 12 minutes ago]

Wed, 6 Nov 2024 21:04:12 GMT

On 05/11/2024 13:32, Ilya Razmanov wrote:
> Hm. With minimal efforts irregular may be blobs...

Yes, blobs may work well for this case, but it's difficult to control
them to achieve expected results. May be will be better to look toward
splines, for example ? And start from classic Voronoi pattern ;).

> https://dnyarri.github.io/sporadic/OHO.html

Very impressive- I like this effect !
--
YB

[Ilya Razmanov] Re: Layered textures added to POV Mosaic [540 days 3 hours and 43 minutes ago]

Tue, 5 Nov 2024 10:32:40 GMT

On 02.11.2024 10:50, yesbird wrote:

> Didn't you think about irregular patterns

Hm. With minimal efforts irregular may be blobs... I must admit I have a 
couple of blob variations on this theme, not included into public repo - 
I tried them as possible voxels and, for a beginning, as an alternative 
to my img2mesh, but blobs appeared to be not exactly what I was looking 
for (although, I must admit, some variants gave funny special effects. I 
don't remember whether I sent this link here already:
https://dnyarri.github.io/sporadic/OHO.html
).

Giving blobs irregularity and using just the same things I did not like 
before for a new purpose may be interesting...

-- 
Ilyich the Toad
https://dnyarri.github.io/

[yesbird] Re: Layered textures added to POV Mosaic [543 days 6 hours and 25 minutes ago]

Sat, 2 Nov 2024 07:51:04 GMT

On 01/11/2024 22:44, Ilya Razmanov wrote:
> Greetings,
> 
> this is to inform you that I overcame my unwillingness to make output of 
> my POV Mosaic programs

Looks very accurate and beautiful, mosaic is a favorite game of my
childhood. Didn't you think about irregular patterns,
like Antonio Gaudi did ? :)
--
YB

[Ilya Razmanov] Layered textures added to POV Mosaic [543 days 18 hours and 32 minutes ago]

Fri, 1 Nov 2024 19:44:21 GMT

Greetings,

this is to inform you that I overcame my unwillingness to make output of 
my POV Mosaic programs

https://dnyarri.github.io/povzaika.html

too complex, and replaced previous short texture with fully blown 
texture{}, thus giving an ability to add layered textures to each little 
thingie. Currently output includes placeholder with completely 
transparent overlay, which can be easily redefined somewhere in the 
beginning of the scene file ("easily" means that I tried to dilute it 
with comments so you may find it among tons of other stuff you can 
"easily" redefine).

Also, as I presume this would be final release (I tend to presume it 
every time), currently PyPNG is included into repository and 
downloadable, as a result, all programs will work upon just double 
clicking after downloading and unzipping, assuming you have standard 
Python installation.

-- 
Ilyich the Toad
https://dnyarri.github.io/

[yesbird] Re: Canvas and cross-stitching simulation [571 days 1 hour and 48 minutes ago]

Sat, 5 Oct 2024 12:28:22 GMT

On 05/10/2024 08:43, Ilya Razmanov wrote:
> That's because it's POVRay rendering quality ;-)
YES !
> 
> But well, the company which paid for that was devoured by something bigger, and 
> this bigger decided to bury a lot of stuff rather than digest the devoured.

I have the same sad experience - 25 years ago.

> I'm trying to push as much work as possible to POVRay, since it's not 
> only uses text format even I can understand and make programs output to, 
> but also releases me from writing a lot of programming stuff myself ;-)
>
This is the reason I like it and continue using it while a lot of new
modern raytracers around, moreover it's free. :)

Back to embroidery - Wilcom has a non-free REST-service that converts
embroidery machine formats (DST, PES, HUS) to PNG.DST is the 
postÂ popular and well known:
https://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/Embroidery_format_DST

Don't you see some niche here for your next project ? ;)
--
YB

[Ilya Razmanov] Re: Canvas and cross-stitching simulation [571 days 8 hours and 33 minutes ago]

Sat, 5 Oct 2024 05:43:02 GMT

On 04.10.2024 23:14, yesbird wrote:

> I have liked embroidery since my childhood, last year I started this
> project: https://embview.povlab.online (not POV-related).
> 
> It's based on https://oesd.com designs converted to PNGs by
> https://wilcom.com
> software.
> 
> Your rendering quality is really high, at least comparable with Wilcom.

That's because it's POVRay rendering quality ;-)

Actually all this have some long history; about 20 years ago I was 
creating prototype for cross stitching visualization, using some mini-C. 
At that time only bitmap pattern based solutions seemed to exist, I made 
something algorithmical, with antialiasing and moving light. But well, 
the company which paid for that was devoured by something bigger, and 
this bigger decided to bury a lot of stuff rather than digest the devoured.

But since about half a year ago I decided to take a look at that Python 
people seem to praise, I apparently reincarnated some old ideas, 
including POVRay export ones. And since computers became faster during 
that 20 years, I obviously decided to reassign as much work as possible 
to POVRay ;-)

Unfortunately I can't directly transfer my old shaders to POVRay, and, 
I'm afraid, my declined vision limits my capabilities to visually 
inspect real materials for subsequent POVRay implementations, but well, 
it seems that using functions for normals somewhat helps in 
transitioning old stuff based on better vision. I'll try to add some 
more realistic finishes and normals to all this. One of the great things 
is that I can access POVRay's Perlin noise, that's really helpful. So 
I'm trying to push as much work as possible to POVRay, since it's not 
only uses text format even I can understand and make programs output to, 
but also releases me from writing a lot of programming stuff myself ;-)

-- 
Ilyich the Toad
https://dnyarri.github.io/

[yesbird] Re: Canvas and cross-stitching simulation [571 days 18 hours and 1 minute ago]

Fri, 4 Oct 2024 20:15:07 GMT

On 04/10/2024 18:44, Ilya Razmanov wrote:
> 
> Hopefully you find it useful for making greeting cards or something ;-)
> 
Really good, great job !

I have liked embroidery since my childhood, last year I started this
project: https://embview.povlab.online (not POV-related).

It's based on https://oesd.com designs converted to PNGs by
https://wilcom.com
software.

Your rendering quality is really high, at least comparable with Wilcom.
--
YB

[Ilya Razmanov] Canvas and cross-stitching simulation [571 days 22 hours and 32 minutes ago]

Fri, 4 Oct 2024 15:44:19 GMT

Greetings,

I'm glad to inform you that some of my tiny Python programs, offspring 
of POVRay Mosaic (which apparently was updated), currently considered 
worth a release:

https://dnyarri.github.io/povthread.html

Currently it includes two programs, one for converting PNG image to 
colored canvas simulation, another one for simulating cross-stitch using 
POV objects (torii in these cases). Canvas and stitches may be deformed 
according to Perlin noise, giving some realism to resulting rendering.

Hopefully you find it useful for making greeting cards or something ;-)

-- 
Ilyich the Toad
https://dnyarri.github.io/

[Render64] Blender POV-Ray Pattern Node Issue [623 days 12 hours and 16 minutes ago]

Wed, 14 Aug 2024 02:00:00 GMT

Hi all!

Ive recently started using POV-Ray with Blender and I've got a majority of
things working.

One thing I still can't figure out is how to get patterns working while using
Povray Object Nodes. The nodes are called Other patterns,Image pattern, and
Texture map.

If anyone knows how to setup pattern nodes, do let me know. Thanks!

For anyone struggling to get POV-Ray working in general with Blender, I've made
this thread
https://blenderartists.org/t/pov-ray-3-7-with-blender-4-1-basic-setup-guide/1543362

[Ilya Razmanov] 3/6 POVRay mosaic (was Re: POV Mosaic rewritten) [646 days 2 hours and 43 minutes ago]

Mon, 22 Jul 2024 11:33:29 GMT

Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for... sorry, 
couldn't resist.

Last missing part was added to POVRay mosaic: the one for triangular 3/6 
pattern:

https://dnyarri.github.io/pov36zaika.html

IMHO it's the least promising part of the collection, but may be it's 
just because I personally can't imagine such a variability of patterns 
as it is possible with the others.

Speaking of the others, other programs in this pack got some 
improvements, and some more presets are added, including supposedly 
funny ones (example of new 44zaika preset "44_puzzle.inc" rendering 
attached).

-- 
Ilyich the Toad
https://dnyarri.github.io/

[Ilya Razmanov] img2mesh mapping added (was Re: img2mesh PNG hei... [677 days 21 hours and 39 minutes ago]

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 16:36:46 GMT

Ok, I was lying when I promised to stop updating img2mesh PNG 
heightfield to 3D mesh conversion utility:

https://github.com/Dnyarri/img2mesh

I realized that, when doing something with heightfields "for fun", that 
is, not trying to convert some actual geometry data but, say, creating 
fake coins or medals, I often repeat one procedure: in Photoshop, apply 
"Curves" to image, save it, convert to mesh, render, say "I need extend 
gradations here and invert this small part" and repeat it again and 
again (including saying).

To reduce time for resaving and number of resaying I implemented 
"Curves" right in exported POVRay file - with img2pov (and, 
correspondingly, img2mesh when POV export option is used) version 
2.8.2.5 z-coordinate of mesh triangles, generated and saved according to 
source PNG pixel brightness, is fed to map function in POVRay when 
rendering. By default exported map is five points linear spline, 
corresponding to straight line describing "identical" transform, i.e. 
input=output. Map description is placed near the beginning of scene file 
and I guess its two-column layout makes it easy to understand - input is 
the first column, output is second column, third column contains unused 
zeroes.

Note, that map does not change actual z coords in mesh, it is applied 
when scene is rendered, so map is non-destructive and may be returned to 
"identical" 0/0 - 1/1 line anytime you want. Note that, as a result, map 
works only in POV file - with STL and OBJ export there is no map, since 
only POVRay allows easy internal recalculation of every facet according 
to user-defined function.

Have fun,

-- 
Ilyich the Toad
https://dnyarri.github.io/

[Ilya Razmanov] Re: Visual Studio Code Extension for pov-ray [682 days 8 hours and 51 minutes ago]

Sun, 16 Jun 2024 05:24:49 GMT

On 29.05.2024 20:22, yesbird wrote:
> And tell me please how to start colormap editor ?

It seems like on mouseover over colour_map preview pops up, having 
"Edit" in there. Also there is "Color Mixer" icon close to "Render" one 
in right top area (at least for me it's right), but it seems to start 
insertion rather than editing.

-- 
Ilyich the Toad
https://dnyarri.github.io/

[yesbird] Re: POV Mosaic rewritten [686 days 1 hour and 12 minutes ago]

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 13:03:43 GMT

On 12/06/2024 12:20, Ilya Razmanov wrote:
> I would like to inform that POVRay mosaic collection of Python programs

Excellent !
I like the cylinders as basic form and different angles layout.
Looks like it's possible to implement fur this way.
--
YB

[Ilya Razmanov] POV Mosaic rewritten [686 days 4 hours and 55 minutes ago]

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 09:20:31 GMT

Greeting,

I would like to inform that POVRay mosaic collection of Python programs
https://github.com/Dnyarri/POVmosaic
was completely rewritten, hopefully providing more flexibility and 
simplicity for end users.

POVRay mosaic is a set of programs, which read every pixel of source 
image and convert it into a 3D object, colored after source pixel, 
together with neighbour objects, thus creating something like 3D-mosaic. 
Object properties (location, size, rotation) can be made dependent 
(mapped) on source pixel brightness.

Several old programs were converted to just two: 3zaika and 4zaika, 
packing objects into triangle and square grids correspondingly. Main 
idea of rewriting was compressing all variables, introduced into initial 
versions, into compact set of #define objects, vectors and stuff. For 
example, default output of 3zaika is a union of tightly packed spheres, 
but you can turn it into perfectly packed hexagonal prisms by changing 
"#declare thingie = thingie_1" to "#declare thingie = thingie_4" in the 
"Selecting variants" section of exported POV files. Similarly you can 
switch predefined finishes and transfer functions. Surely, you can write 
your own - easiest way is patching scene with preset.inc files (some 
examples are provided). Some rendering examples are provided at 
https://dnyarri.github.io/
in corresponding sections. Help file, describing options in presumably 
human-compatible form, is included.

Hopefully you'll find it funny enough to start boring your friends with 
mosaic pictures.

Suggestions on extending are quite welcome.

-- 
Ilyich the Toad
https://dnyarri.github.io/

[] Re: Visual Studio Code Extension for pov-ray [697 days 4 hours and 36 minutes ago]

Sat, 1 Jun 2024 09:40:00 GMT

Ilya Razmanov <ily### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> On 30.05.2024 23:55, Paco Garc�a wrote:
> > Hi, you can download the last version from this link:
> > https://www.arakne.es/en/visual-studio-code-extension-for-povray/
>
> Actually I can't - timeout somewhere after
> ams-ix-1.airenetworks.es [80.249.211.91]
> right after 10.50.109.190
>
> Why don't you just make a release in your github repo and place vsix
> file there? Github can stand even my programs (as all Python programs in
> general, and ones having GUI in particular, they produce pretty big
> exe), I'm sure it can keep your releases forever.
>
> --
> Ilyich the Toad
> https://dnyarri.github.io/

Hi Ilya, you can download the vsix for testing from the github repository

[Ilya Razmanov] Re: Visual Studio Code Extension for pov-ray [698 days 11 hours and 3 minutes ago]

Fri, 31 May 2024 03:13:09 GMT

On 30.05.2024 23:55, Paco Garcï¿½a wrote:
> Hi, you can download the last version from this link:
> https://www.arakne.es/en/visual-studio-code-extension-for-povray/

Actually I can't - timeout somewhere after
ams-ix-1.airenetworks.es [80.249.211.91]
right after 10.50.109.190

Why don't you just make a release in your github repo and place vsix 
file there? Github can stand even my programs (as all Python programs in 
general, and ones having GUI in particular, they produce pretty big 
exe), I'm sure it can keep your releases forever.

-- 
Ilyich the Toad
https://dnyarri.github.io/

[] Re: Visual Studio Code Extension for pov-ray [698 days 17 hours and 16 minutes ago]

Thu, 30 May 2024 21:00:00 GMT

Hi, you can download the last version from this link:
https://www.arakne.es/en/visual-studio-code-extension-for-povray/
This new version adds a tool for converting strings with non ASCII characters to
 UTF8


Ilya Razmanov <ily### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> On 23.05.2024 7:50, Paco Garc�a wrote:
>
> > Indeed, it is a new branch to which I am adding tools that are useful to me when
> > editing my pov files. As it takes a while to add them to the main branch and
> > publish it in the extensions marketplace, I will make them available for
> > download on my website shortly so that I can get feedback from users and detect
> > errors.
>
> As long as I understand, there is even a Github "job" for building
> *.vsix for releases. In theory, all this can be done by users but I'm
> too old to learn new tricks, and would much prefer having this extension
> in "point and double click" form. I can stand downloading it from Github
> instead of vscode store while it's in development stage, but I
> definitely want it as .vsix rather than whole Git branch "ok and there
> do I put it now?" form.
>
> So yes, I'm a VSCode user, and I've just decided to turn some of my
> Python POV-generators into something elegant rather than "one more
> program for each idea" junk yard, so, if you provide your extension as
> .vsix, I will definitely give it a try.
>
> --
> Ilyich the Toad
> https://dnyarri.github.io/

[yesbird] Re: Visual Studio Code Extension for pov-ray [699 days 20 hours and 53 minutes ago]

Wed, 29 May 2024 17:22:57 GMT

On 29/05/2024 20:13, yesbird wrote:
> Is there any way to install this extension from prebuilt 'vsix' file or
> from inside of vscode ? Now I see only version v2.1.1 there.

And tell me please how to start colormap editor ?
Thanks in advance,
--
YB.

[yesbird] Re: Visual Studio Code Extension for pov-ray [699 days 21 hours and 2 minutes ago]

Wed, 29 May 2024 17:14:00 GMT

On 21/05/2024 07:31, Paco Garcï¿½a wrote:
> Hi, i'm adding new features to the vscode extension like preview of colors in
> the pov file and color editor, preview of images, and preview of color_maps and
> editor, you can download the last changes from github:
> https://github.com/jfgartol/vscode-povray2

Hi, Paco !

Thanks for sharing this extension, I would like to use as I need
to edit colormaps in my DICOM/df3 viewer
(https://povlab.online/?scene=dicom.pov), but unfortunately can' not
install ÑˆÐµ from github, getting error after running:

vsce package --no-yarn

'tsc' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

Is there any way to install this extension from prebuilt 'vsix' file or
from inside of vscode ? Now I see only version v2.1.1 there.

All the best.
--
YB.

[Ilya Razmanov] Re: Visual Studio Code Extension for pov-ray [705 days 22 hours and 44 minutes ago]

Thu, 23 May 2024 15:32:25 GMT

On 23.05.2024 7:50, Paco Garcï¿½a wrote:

> Indeed, it is a new branch to which I am adding tools that are useful to me when
> editing my pov files. As it takes a while to add them to the main branch and
> publish it in the extensions marketplace, I will make them available for
> download on my website shortly so that I can get feedback from users and detect
> errors.

As long as I understand, there is even a Github "job" for building 
*.vsix for releases. In theory, all this can be done by users but I'm 
too old to learn new tricks, and would much prefer having this extension 
in "point and double click" form. I can stand downloading it from Github 
instead of vscode store while it's in development stage, but I 
definitely want it as .vsix rather than whole Git branch "ok and there 
do I put it now?" form.

So yes, I'm a VSCode user, and I've just decided to turn some of my 
Python POV-generators into something elegant rather than "one more 
program for each idea" junk yard, so, if you provide your extension as 
.vsix, I will definitely give it a try.

-- 
Ilyich the Toad
https://dnyarri.github.io/

[] Re: Visual Studio Code Extension for pov-ray [706 days 9 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Thu, 23 May 2024 04:55:00 GMT

Ilya Razmanov <ily### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> On 21.05.2024 7:31, Paco Garc�a wrote:
> > Hi, i'm adding new features to the vscode extension like preview of colors in
> > the pov file and color editor, preview of images, and preview of color_maps and
> > editor, you can download the last changes from github:
> > https://github.com/jfgartol/vscode-povray2
>
> Ok, this is a fork of Virtual Whirlwind which I use, and extending it is
> good idea (especially taking into account that I'm just about to bring
> some order into my own programs for creating POV files).
>
> The question is - how do I safely install it under VSCode, considering
> the fact that you have no releases at Github, and nothing present at
> vscode store? Please take into account that I manually edit vscode
> config only when I absolutely definitely surely have no other way to fix
> something :-)
>
> --
> Ilyich the Toad
> https://dnyarri.github.io/

Indeed, it is a new branch to which I am adding tools that are useful to me when
editing my pov files. As it takes a while to add them to the main branch and
publish it in the extensions marketplace, I will make them available for
download on my website shortly so that I can get feedback from users and detect
errors.

[Ilya Razmanov] Re: Visual Studio Code Extension for pov-ray [708 days 5 hours and 34 minutes ago]

Tue, 21 May 2024 08:42:16 GMT

On 21.05.2024 7:31, Paco Garcï¿½a wrote:
> Hi, i'm adding new features to the vscode extension like preview of colors in
> the pov file and color editor, preview of images, and preview of color_maps and
> editor, you can download the last changes from github:
> https://github.com/jfgartol/vscode-povray2

Ok, this is a fork of Virtual Whirlwind which I use, and extending it is 
good idea (especially taking into account that I'm just about to bring 
some order into my own programs for creating POV files).

The question is - how do I safely install it under VSCode, considering 
the fact that you have no releases at Github, and nothing present at 
vscode store? Please take into account that I manually edit vscode 
config only when I absolutely definitely surely have no other way to fix 
something :-)

-- 
Ilyich the Toad
https://dnyarri.github.io/

[] Visual Studio Code Extension for pov-ray [708 days 9 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Tue, 21 May 2024 04:35:00 GMT

Hi, i'm adding new features to the vscode extension like preview of colors in
the pov file and color editor, preview of images, and preview of color_maps and
editor, you can download the last changes from github:
https://github.com/jfgartol/vscode-povray2

[yesbird] Gems extension for spectral renderer [716 days 18 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Sun, 12 May 2024 19:29:39 GMT

Hi, folks !

Being very impressed by gems rendering example in SpectralRenderer by
Ive from LILYsoft:https://www.lilysoft.org/CGI/SR/Spectral%20Render.htm

I wrote a small extension to simplify this breathtaking process:
https://github.com/syanenko/povgems

Extension contains few gems geometries, imported from this database:
http://www.facetdiagrams.org/database,
importing instruction and scripts for preview and final renderings.

Please feel free to ask me questions or post proposals and advises.
Happy 'gamming' !
-- 
YB

[yesbird] Gems spectral rendering extension [716 days 18 hours and 49 minutes ago]

Sun, 12 May 2024 19:26:37 GMT

Hi, folks !

Being very impressed by gems rendering example in SpectralRenderer by
Ive from LILYsoft:https://www.lilysoft.org/CGI/SR/Spectral%20Render.htm

I wrote a small extension to simplify this breathtaking process:
https://github.com/syanenko/povgems/tree/main

Extension contains few gems geometries, imported from this database:
http://www.facetdiagrams.org/database,
importing instruction and scripts for preview and final renderings.

Please feel free to ask me questions or post proposals and advises.
Happy 'gamming' !
-- 
YB

[yesbird] Gems spectral rendering extension [716 days 18 hours and 51 minutes ago]

Sun, 12 May 2024 19:24:57 GMT

Hi, folks !

Being very impressed by gems rendering example in SpectralRenderer by
Ive from LILYsoft:https://www.lilysoft.org/CGI/SR/Spectral%20Render.htm

I wrote a small extension to simplify this breathtaking process:
https://github.com/syanenko/povgems

Extension contains few gems geometries, imported from this database:
http://www.facetdiagrams.org/database,
importing instruction and scripts for preview and final renderings.

Please feel free to ask me questions or post proposals and advises.
Happy 'gamming' !
-- 
YB

[yesbird] Gems extension to spectral renderer [716 days 18 hours and 55 minutes ago]

Sun, 12 May 2024 19:21:26 GMT

Hi, folks !

Being very impressed by gems rendering example in SpectralRenderer by
Ive from LILYsoft:https://www.lilysoft.org/CGI/SR/Spectral%20Render.htm

I wrote a small extension to simplify this breathtaking process:
https://github.com/syanenko/povgems/tree/main

Extension contains few gems geometries, imported from this database:
http://www.facetdiagrams.org/database,
importing instruction and scripts for preview and final renderings.

Please feel free to ask me questions or post proposals and advises.
Happy 'gamming' !
--
YB

[Ilya Razmanov] img2mesh PNG height field to POV mesh converter ... [740 days 3 hours and 30 minutes ago]

Fri, 19 Apr 2024 10:46:10 GMT

Greeting,

bothering you to inform about (hopefully) final version of img2pov 
converter of PNG heightfields into POVRay 3D-mesh. The program uses 
image tracing algorithm quite different from normal, creating four 
triangle pyramids per pixel, rather than two triangle fold per four 
pixels as most programs do. Program is written in Python and is 
available from:

https://github.com/Dnyarri/img2mesh

In supposedly final 2.8.1.0 version POVRay output is completely 
rewritten to remove all POVRay transforms, hopefully making things to be 
parsed faster. Textures and stuff reorganized and reformatted to improve 
readability.

Also Wavefront OBJ and streolithography STL outputs added. Attached is a 
screencap of Windows Explorer window, showing icon preview of output 
generated from 2x2 pixels checkerboard PNG image (no idea who decided to 
introduce such a previews for potentially huge files but in this case it 
allows me to easily show them side by side without complex presentation).

Internally, img2pov, img2obj and img2stl programs converted into 
self-calling functions, thus allowing both running them as standalone 
and importing into some other program. For Windows users it gives a 
benefit of having single img2mesh GUI with import of all three of the 
above programs into single compressed EXE file, thus reducing the size 
of this all-in-one converter (exe file is available for download from 
"Release" section.

Hopefully this appear of some use :-)

-- 
Ilyich the Toad
https://dnyarri.github.io/

[Ilya Razmanov] Height field to mesh - POV, OBJ, STL support [744 days 18 hours and 32 minutes ago]

Sun, 14 Apr 2024 19:43:37 GMT

During major update of img2mesh utility for conversion of PNG 
heightfield into 3D mesh in an unusual way (and often better), complete 
rewriting of POVRay export code was made, removing all POVRay transforms 
(and apparently some artifacts) and supposedly making it render a tiny 
bit faster.

Beside that, Wavefront OBJ and stereolithography STL format output 
added. All Python sources available at:

https://github.com/Dnyarri/img2mesh

For Windows users, standalone Win64 exe compiled:

https://github.com/Dnyarri/img2mesh/releases/latest

-- 
Ilyich the Toad
https://dnyarri.github.io/

[Ilya Razmanov] Print on canvas and cross-stitch added (was Re: ... [787 days 5 hours and 35 minutes ago]

Sun, 3 Mar 2024 08:41:24 GMT

Greetings,

while trying to understand POVRay functions and turn them into 
procedural textures takes time, I decided to release my Python programs 
for creating POV scenes simulating textile and cross stitches in their 
current state, functions to be implemented later. So they are available 
for download at

https://github.com/Dnyarri/POVmosaic

in "tori" subfolder.

Also, I decided to reduce POVRay newsgroups server load, and create sort 
of preview site at

https://dnyarri.github.io/

There you can see some preview renderings at default settings. Most of 
projects described there are POVRay related.

Ilyich the Toad
https://dnyarri.github.io/

[Ilya Razmanov] Cross-stitch and print on canvas (RFC, sort of) [810 days and 36 minutes ago]

Fri, 9 Feb 2024 13:40:26 GMT

Greetings hunams,

I'm sort of in hopes of some feedback. As some may have noticed, I keep 
exploring idea of turning 2D image pixels into POVRay 3D objects and 
seeing what happens, and keep trying to use Python for that.

Attached are two small programs and one combined preview. One program 
turns image into something like print on canvas, while other turns image 
int cross-stitch.

The main problem is I'm not satisfied with normal. I did simulation os 
textile long ago and have some algorithmic normals witten in mini-C, 
but, unfortunately, I don't see the way to reproduce in with POVRay. SO 
far, I used spiral, but it's far from ideal.

Also I'm not quite satisfied with finish, but that's mostly problem of 
my not so perfect vision.

I have a high hope that someone take a look at it, dare to start it 
(hopefully Python is installed already) and probably give some feedback.

Note that these programs are not released yet, only sent here since I 
hope for feedback allowing me to improve it.

Ilyich the Toad
https://github.com/Dnyarri/  -  image to POV utils

[BayashiPascal] Re: Using SpectralDB.com's SPDs in Ive's Spectra... [982 days 6 hours and 26 minutes ago]

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 07:50:00 GMT

> Wow, the website (spectraldb.com) offers many good reference.

Yes, it's a great resource.

> Your website is interesting, too.

Thank you.

[And] Re: Using SpectralDB.com's SPDs in Ive's Spectra... [986 days 9 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Thu, 17 Aug 2023 04:20:00 GMT

"BayashiPascal" <inf### [at] baillehachepascaldev> wrote:
> Thanks to the recent post by Cousin Ricky I came to know about Ive's Spectral
> Render System. It's really clever indeed, but it lacks input data: SPDs are not
> easy to obtain. Ive addresses the problem by providing macros to create new SPDs
> from existing ones, and Cousin Ricky by providing macros to create new SPDs from
> RGB values. But there also exists databases of accurate SPDs for real world
> materials. spectraldb.com is a very large one of them (1294 measurements at the
> time of writing). It happens I've made a tool to edit SPDs for my own purpose,
> which can exploit that database, and I realised it would be straightforward to
> adapt it to easily use spectraldb.com's SPDs in Ive's Spectral Render System.
> You'll find the app here:
>
> https://baillehachepascal.dev/Tools/ReflectanceEditor/index.html
>
> and explanations in the article linked in the footer of the app. In short, the
> app lets you select one of the SPDs available in spectraldb, and has a
> functionality to convert the data into the format expected by Ive's tool, ready
> to copy-paste.
>
> Hoping it will be useful to some of new, questions and comments are welcome.
>
> Pascal

Wow, the website (spectraldb.com) offers many good reference.

Your website is interesting, too.

[BayashiPascal] Using SpectralDB.com's SPDs in Ive's Spectral Re... [994 days 7 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Wed, 9 Aug 2023 06:30:00 GMT

Thanks to the recent post by Cousin Ricky I came to know about Ive's Spectral
Render System. It's really clever indeed, but it lacks input data: SPDs are not
easy to obtain. Ive addresses the problem by providing macros to create new SPDs
from existing ones, and Cousin Ricky by providing macros to create new SPDs from
RGB values. But there also exists databases of accurate SPDs for real world
materials. spectraldb.com is a very large one of them (1294 measurements at the
time of writing). It happens I've made a tool to edit SPDs for my own purpose,
which can exploit that database, and I realised it would be straightforward to
adapt it to easily use spectraldb.com's SPDs in Ive's Spectral Render System.
You'll find the app here:

https://baillehachepascal.dev/Tools/ReflectanceEditor/index.html

and explanations in the article linked in the footer of the app. In short, the
app lets you select one of the SPDs available in spectraldb, and has a
functionality to convert the data into the format expected by Ive's tool, ready
to copy-paste.

Hoping it will be useful to some of new, questions and comments are welcome.

Pascal

[Ray Gardener] renderSight 2.0 update [1147 days 12 hours and 5 minutes ago]

Thu, 9 Mar 2023 02:11:00 GMT

The renderSight Scripter 2.0 vector graphics IDE is now free without 
registration, available with just a simple download link available at:
https://www.daylongraphics.com/products/renderSight_scripter.php

Cairo is used as its rendering backend.

Ray Gardener
Daylon Graphics Ltd.

[Mr] Re: Pov files into Blender [1509 days 17 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Fri, 11 Mar 2022 21:10:00 GMT

"An Ordinary Fox" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> "Mr" <m******r******at_hotmail_dot_fr> wrote:
> > "An Ordinary Fox" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> >
> > > why it dosen't apear nothing for me, even the test files?
> >
> > Did you update your blender build (https://builder.blender.org/download/daily/)
> > ?
> > or did you click the update addon button from preferences ?  (the latter is not
> > that tested, so maybe you encountered another bug there ? )
> >
> > Did you try to feed the importer an avogadro output, these should work.
>  what is an avogadro?

Avogadro is an open source software for modeling molecules which can output them
to POV file

[jr] user info in png file header [1518 days 6 hours and 36 minutes ago]

Thu, 3 Mar 2022 07:40:00 GMT

hi,

creating this thread to discuss extra information which could be embedded in the
headers of rendered images, like for example legalese and details of source file
(and render settings), as suggested by Bald Eagle in
<https://news.povray.org/povray.binaries.images/thread/%3Cweb.621faeb7c1365d06ed36e5cb6cde94f1%40news.povray.org%3E/>.

"the idea" is to come up with a few thought-useful standard tags which would
then be the (informally) "recommended" means for POV-Ray users to .. augment
their images.

"comments" included in a PNG (expect Jpeg to be same) consist (technically) of
type 'tEXt' chunks, which are simple key value pairs, where values frequently
contain further, nested key value pairs.

POV-RAY inserts something like (with added spacing):

  Software
    POV-Ray v3.8.0-alpha.10008988.unofficial

  Comment
    Render Date: 2019-01-12 17:00:02Z
    Platform:    x86_64-slackware-linux-gnu
    Compiler:    g++ -std=gnu++11 4.8.2


for the source file I'd suggest something along the lines of:

  Source
    File name:
    File date:
    File ref:

where 'File ref' could be a fossil/git "artefact" id, for instance.  (obvs
naming + details etc all up for discussion)

so, if you're interested in adding a copyright notice or any such to your
images, comment(s) please.


regards, jr.

[dreamylake] Re: Infinity 3D real-time ray tracer [1528 days and 41 minutes ago]

Mon, 21 Feb 2022 13:35:00 GMT

Paolo Gibellini <p.g### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> This project required for sure a lot of efforts!
> Do you think that in the future part of the code can be released as Open
> Source and integrated into POV-Ray?

Thank you! I would say that it is unlikely that main parts of the code
would be open sourced except possibly under some form of dual licensing.

[Paolo Gibellini] Re: Infinity 3D real-time ray tracer [1531 days 2 hours and 37 minutes ago]

Fri, 18 Feb 2022 11:39:02 GMT

Il 15/02/2022 10:29, dreamylake ha scritto:
 > Hello POV-Ray community,
 >
 > I'm posting about my real-time ray tracer Infinity 3D, that like POV-Ray
 > supports directly ray traced non-triangle based geometry and is CPU 
based. Here
 > is a video from 2022 that shows how it runs and looks with comparisons to
 > rasterization: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGaCKWnCHlc
 >
 > I posted about Infinity 3D here in 2016 but the technology is now 
more advanced.
 > There is a tech demo standalone editor that has very limited support 
for both
 > editing and importing .pov files. Meshes, primitives and CSG shapes are
 > currently supported. It is free for commercial use and can be found here:
 > https://www.infinity3dengine.com/get-infinity .
 >
 >

This project required for sure a lot of efforts!
Do you think that in the future part of the code can be released as Open 
Source and integrated into POV-Ray?

Paolo

[dreamylake] Infinity 3D real-time ray tracer [1534 days 4 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 09:35:00 GMT

Hello POV-Ray community,

I'm posting about my real-time ray tracer Infinity 3D, that like POV-Ray
supports directly ray traced non-triangle based geometry and is CPU based. Here
is a video from 2022 that shows how it runs and looks with comparisons to
rasterization: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGaCKWnCHlc

I posted about Infinity 3D here in 2016 but the technology is now more advanced.
There is a tech demo standalone editor that has very limited support for both
editing and importing .pov files. Meshes, primitives and CSG shapes are
currently supported. It is free for commercial use and can be found here:
https://www.infinity3dengine.com/get-infinity .

[An Ordinary Fox] Re: Pov files into Blender [1541 days 17 hours and 16 minutes ago]

Mon, 7 Feb 2022 21:00:00 GMT

"Mr" <m******r******at_hotmail_dot_fr> wrote:
> "An Ordinary Fox" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
>
> > why it dosen't apear nothing for me, even the test files?
>
> Did you update your blender build (https://builder.blender.org/download/daily/)
> ?
> or did you click the update addon button from preferences ?  (the latter is not
> that tested, so maybe you encountered another bug there ? )
>
> Did you try to feed the importer an avogadro output, these should work.
 what is an avogadro?

[Mr] Re: Pov files into Blender [1543 days 23 hours and 26 minutes ago]

Sat, 5 Feb 2022 14:50:00 GMT

"An Ordinary Fox" <nomail@nomail> wrote:

> why it dosen't apear nothing for me, even the test files?

Did you update your blender build (https://builder.blender.org/download/daily/)
?
or did you click the update addon button from preferences ?  (the latter is not
that tested, so maybe you encountered another bug there ? )

Did you try to feed the importer an avogadro output, these should work.

[An Ordinary Fox] Re: Pov files into Blender [1545 days 15 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Thu, 3 Feb 2022 22:55:00 GMT

"Mr" <m******r******at_hotmail_dot_fr> wrote:
> "Mr" <m******r******at_hotmail_dot_fr> wrote:
> > "An Ordinary Fox" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> > > "An Ordinary Fox" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> > > also what this error means:
> >
> > This supposedly means that the file you fed it is not UTF-8 (most standard
> > international text character set). if that file is available online can you
> > share / send it ?
>
>
> Never mind : I managed to generate a file that triggered the exact same error to
> validate my fix. It should again be available to you tomorrow in that same
> place. What the fix does is convert any input file to utf-8 by removing non
> utf-8 characters since these generally can't happen in language directive,
> rather in user declared names. Which shouldn't be a problem as the alteration
> should be quite similar almost everywhere, except when two names differ only by
> one different non uniode char in exactly the same place (like e.g. two
> accentuated similar words with different accents)
>
> Attached image shows morphine molecule from Avogadro pov output with deliberate
> trema accentuated a inside comment, resaved to non utf-8 (nordic) encoding.
>
> Can you try again to import the same file of your own previous attempts to
> confirm it at least no longer reports that error?

why it dosen't apear nothing for me, even the test files?

[Mr] Re: Pov files into Blender [1547 days 16 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Tue, 1 Feb 2022 21:55:00 GMT

"Mr" <m******r******at_hotmail_dot_fr> wrote:
> "An Ordinary Fox" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> > "An Ordinary Fox" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> > also what this error means:
>
> This supposedly means that the file you fed it is not UTF-8 (most standard
> international text character set). if that file is available online can you
> share / send it ?

Never mind : I managed to generate a file that triggered the exact same error to
validate my fix. It should again be available to you tomorrow in that same
place. What the fix does is convert any input file to utf-8 by removing non
utf-8 characters since these generally can't happen in language directive,
rather in user declared names. Which shouldn't be a problem as the alteration
should be quite similar almost everywhere, except when two names differ only by
one different non uniode char in exactly the same place (like e.g. two
accentuated similar words with different accents)

Attached image shows morphine molecule from Avogadro pov output with deliberate
trema accentuated a inside comment, resaved to non utf-8 (nordic) encoding.

Can you try again to import the same file of your own previous attempts to
confirm it at least no longer reports that error?

[Mr] Re: Pov files into Blender [1548 days 23 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 14:30:00 GMT

"An Ordinary Fox" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> "An Ordinary Fox" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> also what this error means

Otherwise if file is proper utf-8, it could also mean that only path to the file
contains non UTF-8 characters.

[Mr] Re: Pov files into Blender [1548 days 23 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 14:20:00 GMT

"An Ordinary Fox" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> "An Ordinary Fox" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> also what this error means:

This supposedly means that the file you fed it is not UTF-8 (most standard
international text character set). if that file is available online can you
share / send it ?

[An Ordinary Fox] Re: Pov files into Blender [1549 days 11 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 03:05:00 GMT

"An Ordinary Fox" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
also what this error means:

[An Ordinary Fox] Re: Pov files into Blender [1549 days 13 hours and 26 minutes ago]

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 00:50:00 GMT

"Mr" <m******r******at_hotmail_dot_fr> wrote:
> Apparently I was a little too brutal in the first step of the - still
> ongoing - refactoring, This is now fixed and should be made available in the
> next highest numbered build downloadable from
> https://builder.blender.org/download/daily/ by tomorrrow. Thanks again for the
> report!

Your welcome

[Mr] Re: Pov files into Blender [1549 days 14 hours and 36 minutes ago]

Sun, 30 Jan 2022 23:40:00 GMT

"Mr" <m******r******at_hotmail_dot_fr> wrote:
> "An Ordinary Fox" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> > "Mr" <m******r******at_hotmail_dot_fr> wrote:
> > > "An Ordinary Fox" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> > > > is there a way to import povray files into blender? cuz i'm having trouble to
> > > > importing it (sorry if it is a bit off topic)
> > >
> > > No problem, yes, there is an importer ; just let me know what doesn't work.
> > >
> > > The afore-mentioned icons and workspace tools /tooltips have been added too, if
> > > you get one of the latest builds from here:
> > > https://builder.blender.org/download/daily/
> >
> > Am I doing something wrong cuz any file that i import dosen't show up on
> > blender, is it normal or i'm doing something wrong?
>
> Oh! I just made a quick test and it's broken, indeed without any error message,
> I have to investigate and will let you know when it's fixed, Thanks for the
> report and sorry for the inconvenience.

Apparently I was a little too brutal in the first step of the - still
ongoing - refactoring, This is now fixed and should be made available in the
next highest numbered build downloadable from
https://builder.blender.org/download/daily/ by tomorrrow. Thanks again for the
report!

[Mr] Re: Pov files into Blender [1550 days 23 hours and 1 minute ago]

Sat, 29 Jan 2022 15:15:00 GMT

"An Ordinary Fox" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> "Mr" <m******r******at_hotmail_dot_fr> wrote:
> > "An Ordinary Fox" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> > > is there a way to import povray files into blender? cuz i'm having trouble to
> > > importing it (sorry if it is a bit off topic)
> >
> > No problem, yes, there is an importer ; just let me know what doesn't work.
> >
> > The afore-mentioned icons and workspace tools /tooltips have been added too, if
> > you get one of the latest builds from here:
> > https://builder.blender.org/download/daily/
>
> Am I doing something wrong cuz any file that i import dosen't show up on
> blender, is it normal or i'm doing something wrong?

Oh! I just made a quick test and it's broken, indeed without any error message,
I have to investigate and will let you know when it's fixed, Thanks for the
report and sorry for the inconvenience.

[An Ordinary Fox] Re: Pov files into Blender [1553 days 16 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Wed, 26 Jan 2022 22:05:00 GMT

"Mr" <m******r******at_hotmail_dot_fr> wrote:
> "An Ordinary Fox" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> > is there a way to import povray files into blender? cuz i'm having trouble to
> > importing it (sorry if it is a bit off topic)
>
> No problem, yes, there is an importer ; just let me know what doesn't work.
>
> The afore-mentioned icons and workspace tools /tooltips have been added too, if
> you get one of the latest builds from here:
> https://builder.blender.org/download/daily/

Am I doing something wrong cuz any file that i import dosen't show up on
blender, is it normal or i'm doing something wrong?

[Mr] Re: Pov files into Blender [1554 days 4 hours and 31 minutes ago]

Wed, 26 Jan 2022 09:45:00 GMT

"An Ordinary Fox" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> is there a way to import povray files into blender? cuz i'm having trouble to
> importing it (sorry if it is a bit off topic)

No problem, yes, there is an importer ; just let me know what doesn't work.

The afore-mentioned icons and workspace tools /tooltips have been added too, if
you get one of the latest builds from here:
https://builder.blender.org/download/daily/

[An Ordinary Fox] Pov files into Blender [1554 days 13 hours and 16 minutes ago]

Wed, 26 Jan 2022 01:00:00 GMT

is there a way to import povray files into blender? cuz i'm having trouble to
importing it (sorry if it is a bit off topic)

[Thomas de Groot] Re: POV workspace tools icons for Blender [1556 days 6 hours and 40 minutes ago]

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 07:35:51 GMT

Op 23/01/2022 om 19:52 schreef Mr:
> Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
>> Op 21-1-2022 om 05:12 schreef Mr:
>>> Hello, here are the new icons for the POV primitives inside Blender, can you
>>> guess which is which ? (some will be nested as rolldowns inside others)
>>
>> For several I understand the meaning, but some are puzzling. Examples
>> (Rows from top to bottom, columns from right to left):
>>
>> - column 1 / row 6 (infinite sign)
>> - column 2 / row 3
>> - column 4 / row 3 (compared to column 1 / row 1 : torus)
>>
>> Maybe you could provide a list of meanings so we could make suggestions?
>> --
>> Thomas
> 
> Thank you so much for the feedback !
> 
> Your remarks led me to make two modifications out of three, hoping it's better.
> The other remark can't be taken into account without intended context because
> both the roll down hierarchy and the mouse-over tooltip will supposedly further
> disambiguate all categories and items. Here is the new version.

Ok, yes; still a bit puzzling but I forgot about the mouse-over tooltip 
which is always an important item whenever one goes into (un)charted 
territories. :-)

-- 
Thomas

[Mr] Re: POV workspace tools icons for Blender [1556 days 19 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Sun, 23 Jan 2022 18:55:00 GMT

Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> Op 21-1-2022 om 05:12 schreef Mr:
> > Hello, here are the new icons for the POV primitives inside Blender, can you
> > guess which is which ? (some will be nested as rolldowns inside others)
>
> For several I understand the meaning, but some are puzzling. Examples
> (Rows from top to bottom, columns from right to left):
>
> - column 1 / row 6 (infinite sign)
> - column 2 / row 3
> - column 4 / row 3 (compared to column 1 / row 1 : torus)
>
> Maybe you could provide a list of meanings so we could make suggestions?
> --
> Thomas

Thank you so much for the feedback !

Your remarks led me to make two modifications out of three, hoping it's better.
The other remark can't be taken into account without intended context because
both the roll down hierarchy and the mouse-over tooltip will supposedly further
disambiguate all categories and items. Here is the new version.

[Thomas de Groot] Re: POV workspace tools icons for Blender [1558 days 2 hours ago]

Sat, 22 Jan 2022 12:16:04 GMT

Op 21-1-2022 om 05:12 schreef Mr:
> Hello, here are the new icons for the POV primitives inside Blender, can you
> guess which is which ? (some will be nested as rolldowns inside others)

For several I understand the meaning, but some are puzzling. Examples 
(Rows from top to bottom, columns from right to left):

- column 1 / row 6 (infinite sign)
- column 2 / row 3
- column 4 / row 3 (compared to column 1 / row 1 : torus)

Maybe you could provide a list of meanings so we could make suggestions?
-- 
Thomas

[Mr] Re: POV workspace tools icons for Blender [1558 days 4 hours and 51 minutes ago]

Sat, 22 Jan 2022 09:25:00 GMT

"Mr" <m******r******at_hotmail_dot_fr> wrote:
> Hello, here are the new icons for the POV primitives inside Blender, can you
> guess which is which ? (some will be nested as rolldowns inside others)

Adding this one if it's up to the rest.

[Mr] POV workspace tools icons for Blender [1559 days 10 hours and 1 minute ago]

Fri, 21 Jan 2022 04:15:00 GMT

Hello, here are the new icons for the POV primitives inside Blender, can you
guess which is which ? (some will be nested as rolldowns inside others)

[Mr] Re: WIP Blender addon test files [1785 days 13 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Wed, 9 Jun 2021 00:20:00 GMT

* Source is an original model by Mike Pan under CC0 licence ! Thanks !

[Mr] WIP Blender addon test files [1785 days 14 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Tue, 8 Jun 2021 23:35:00 GMT

Good evening / good day
I would like to create a couple of test files for the Blender addon. ideally
they would have to look nice and render fast. So this is a first step in the
first file, which renders really slowly. I guess there's room for improvement if
we set the anti aliasing to method 2 (stochastic) since the scene uses aperture
(camera depth of field)... But I'd rather wait for a couple of crossplatform
builds of v3.8 to be available before switching this option on. Meanwhile I
believe there could be more tweaks already available in version 3.7 that could
improve render time at not too high of a quality expense ?  Some more seasoned
users will probably spot bad defaults or wrong options to modify from the
scene's statistics below before next iteration? thanks in advance !

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Parser Statistics
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finite Objects:          129
Infinite Objects:          0
Light Sources:             1
Total:                   130
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BSP Split Nodes:         295
BSP Object Nodes:        280
BSP Empty Nodes:          16
BSP Total Nodes:         591
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BSP Objects/Node Average:           3.59          Maximum:              15
BSP Tree Depth Average:            12.34          Maximum:              18
BSP Max Depth Stopped Nodes:           0 (0.0%)   Objects/Node:       0.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Parser Time
  Parse Time:       0 hours  0 minutes  5 seconds (5.937 seconds)
              using 1 thread(s) with 5.928 CPU-seconds total
  Bounding Time:    0 hours  0 minutes  0 seconds (0.000 seconds)
              using 1 thread(s) with 0.000 CPU-seconds total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Render Options
  Quality:  9
  Bounding boxes.......On   Bounding threshold: 3
  Antialiasing.........On  (Method 2, Threshold 0.030, Depth 1, Jitter Off,
 Gamma 2.50)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Render Statistics
Image Resolution 960 x 540
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pixels:           553521   Samples:               0   Smpls/Pxl: 0.00
Rays:            8985915   Saved:            258762   Max Level: 4/4
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ray->Shape Intersection          Tests       Succeeded  Percentage
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mesh                      217718609382     97646791188     44.85
Sphere                      1402839410               0      0.00
Bounding Box             4414078518151   1486363038246     33.67
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shadow Ray Tests:       83585871495   Succeeded:           34847860902
Shadow Cache Hits:      29816821261
Reflected Rays:             3921023   Total Internal:            83274
Refracted Rays:             1187575
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Radiosity samples calculated:               89 (0.00 %)
Radiosity samples reused:             23190843
Radiosity sample rays shot:               2670
Radiosity octree nodes:                     24
Radiosity octree samples/node:            3.71
Radiosity blocks examined:          1543170794
Radiosity blocks passed test 0:     1543170794 (100.00 %)
Radiosity blocks passed test 1:      829683772 (53.76 %)
Radiosity blocks passed test 2:      555680174 (36.01 %)
Radiosity blocks passed test 3:      357767513 (23.18 %)
Radiosity blocks passed test 4:      310127134 (20.10 %)
Radiosity blocks passed test 5:      295010649 (19.12 %)
Radiosity blocks rejected:          1248160145 (80.88 %)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Radiosity Depth 0 calculated:               89 (0.00 %)
Radiosity Depth 0 reused:             23190843
Radiosity Depth 0 rays shot:              2670
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Radiosity (final) calculated:               33 (0.00 %)
Radiosity (final) reused:             23106413
Radiosity (final) rays shot:               990
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Pass     Depth 0           Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  1             23              23
  2             19              19
  3             14              14
  Final         33              33
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Total         89              89
  Weight     0.102
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Peak memory used:         166371328 bytes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Render Time:
  Photon Time:      No photons
  Radiosity Time:   0 hours  1 minutes 57 seconds (117.198 seconds)
              using 8 thread(s) with 792.966 CPU-seconds total
  Trace Time:       7 hours 51 minutes 48 seconds (28308.650 seconds)
              using 8 thread(s) with 210100.333 CPU-seconds total

[Ray Gardener] renderSight Scripter 2.0 beta available [1829 days 18 hours and 1 minute ago]

Sun, 25 Apr 2021 20:15:04 GMT

Hi everyone,

For those looking for ways to create bitmap textures:

The Cairo-based vector graphics IDE renderSight Scripter
is now at version 2.0, with a free beta available for
those interested to try it out, provide feedback, etc.

https://www.daylongraphics.com/products/renderSight_scripter.php

The UI has received a major overhaul, and Lua has been
added as a language option. Scripts and texture assets
are identified by GUID so renaming/moving files doesn't
break references, and makes scripts/assets easier to share.

Ray Gardener
Daylon Graphics Ltd.

[adamskijh] Re: 3D reconstruction from photos [free] [1849 days 19 hours and 36 minutes ago]

Mon, 5 Apr 2021 18:40:00 GMT

"adamskijh" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> "adamskijh" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> > Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> > > Op 03/01/2020 om 15:25 schreef Stephen:
> > > > "Bald Eagle" <cre### [at] netscapenet> wrote:
> > > >> This looked quite interesting, for anyone who might want to give it a whirl
and
> > > >> see how well it works and if it can be included in a POV-Ray scene workflow.
> > > >>
> > > >> "How to 3D Photoscan Easy and Free!"
> > > >>
> > > >> "Learn how to do photogrammetry and create some amazing 3D scans with
Meshroom
> > > >> and Blender for free in this tutorial!  "
> > > >>
> > > >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4NTf0hMjtY
> > > >
> > > > Just in case anyone thinks, like I did. That you could use Meshroom to
mesh-ify
> > > > could not find it. At least I think that's why it crashed. Shame really.
> > > >
> > > > Stephen
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > > Smart idea indeed. I didn't think of that.
> > >
> > > --
> > > Thomas
> >
> > I had this idea myself, but thought I'd see if anyone had actually tried it. I'm
> > currently running an "orbit" around a scene then using python and EXIFTool to
> > insert exif data into the images. Meshroom isn't liking the images without it,
> > but you need a "sensor width" value (as you would with a real camera) but I'm
> > not sure what it would be. In theory it's either zero or maybe its the size of
> > the image plane. I certainly think it's possible to meshify a POV ray object.
> > You could change the texture to a purely diffused one, maybe with a checkboard
> > pattern. For a complex scene you could maybe render each part independently.
> > Adam
> So I took the Biscuits.pov example and orbited around it using rotate. I tried
> setting the EXIF tags to the equivalent of a Canon 7D (the camera I have) and
> the sensor width in the camera as:
> POVRay;POVRay;22.3;guessed
> and the angle parameter in the camera definition was 40 (degrees) to make the
> equivalent of a 50mm camera. This is the result...it's a bit messy but shows
> some potential. I saved as JPEG but PNG would be cleaner, but I'm not sure
> Meshroom picks up the PNG chunks or not. I think maybe the next step is to
> remove reflection and specular highlights, and perhaps a grid or spotty pattern
> to aid the feature detection.

[adamskijh] Re: 3D reconstruction from photos [free] [1849 days 19 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Mon, 5 Apr 2021 18:30:00 GMT

"adamskijh" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> > Op 03/01/2020 om 15:25 schreef Stephen:
> > > "Bald Eagle" <cre### [at] netscapenet> wrote:
> > >> This looked quite interesting, for anyone who might want to give it a whirl and
> > >> see how well it works and if it can be included in a POV-Ray scene workflow.
> > >>
> > >> "How to 3D Photoscan Easy and Free!"
> > >>
> > >> "Learn how to do photogrammetry and create some amazing 3D scans with Meshroom
> > >> and Blender for free in this tutorial!  "
> > >>
> > >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4NTf0hMjtY
> > >
> > > Just in case anyone thinks, like I did. That you could use Meshroom to mesh-ify
> > > could not find it. At least I think that's why it crashed. Shame really.
> > >
> > > Stephen
> > >
> > >
> >
> > Smart idea indeed. I didn't think of that.
> >
> > --
> > Thomas
>
> I had this idea myself, but thought I'd see if anyone had actually tried it. I'm
> currently running an "orbit" around a scene then using python and EXIFTool to
> insert exif data into the images. Meshroom isn't liking the images without it,
> but you need a "sensor width" value (as you would with a real camera) but I'm
> not sure what it would be. In theory it's either zero or maybe its the size of
> the image plane. I certainly think it's possible to meshify a POV ray object.
> You could change the texture to a purely diffused one, maybe with a checkboard
> pattern. For a complex scene you could maybe render each part independently.
> Adam
So I took the Biscuits.pov example and orbited around it using rotate. I tried
setting the EXIF tags to the equivalent of a Canon 7D (the camera I have) and
the sensor width in the camera as:
POVRay;POVRay;22.3;guessed
and the angle parameter in the camera definition was 40 (degrees) to make the
equivalent of a 50mm camera. This is the result...it's a bit messy but shows
some potential. I saved as JPEG but PNG would be cleaner, but I'm not sure
Meshroom picks up the PNG chunks or not. I think maybe the next step is to
remove reflection and specular highlights, and perhaps a grid or spotty pattern
to aid the feature detection.

[adamskijh] Re: 3D reconstruction from photos [free] [1849 days 22 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Mon, 5 Apr 2021 16:05:00 GMT

Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> Op 03/01/2020 om 15:25 schreef Stephen:
> > "Bald Eagle" <cre### [at] netscapenet> wrote:
> >> This looked quite interesting, for anyone who might want to give it a whirl and
> >> see how well it works and if it can be included in a POV-Ray scene workflow.
> >>
> >> "How to 3D Photoscan Easy and Free!"
> >>
> >> "Learn how to do photogrammetry and create some amazing 3D scans with Meshroom
> >> and Blender for free in this tutorial!  "
> >>
> >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4NTf0hMjtY
> >
> > Just in case anyone thinks, like I did. That you could use Meshroom to mesh-ify
> > could not find it. At least I think that's why it crashed. Shame really.
> >
> > Stephen
> >
> >
>
> Smart idea indeed. I didn't think of that.
>
> --
> Thomas

I had this idea myself, but thought I'd see if anyone had actually tried it. I'm
currently running an "orbit" around a scene then using python and EXIFTool to
insert exif data into the images. Meshroom isn't liking the images without it,
but you need a "sensor width" value (as you would with a real camera) but I'm
not sure what it would be. In theory it's either zero or maybe its the size of
the image plane. I certainly think it's possible to meshify a POV ray object.
You could change the texture to a purely diffused one, maybe with a checkboard
pattern. For a complex scene you could maybe render each part independently.
Adam

[jr] Re: Any news of Moray? [2015 days 5 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 08:55:02 GMT

hi,

"jartim" <tim### [at] yahoocom> wrote:
> Hi guys
> It's been many years since Moray was acquired by the Povray team, but nothing
> has come of it, has it?  Moray was a promising modeller and had all sorts of
> niceties, including rendering in place in the modelling window.  It would be
> great to see an updated version after all this time!

see what you'll think of the (few) recent comments by the best-informed people.
:-(

<http://news.povray.org/povray.off-topic/thread/%3Cweb.5efdaf83f0cdacfc4d00143e0%40news.povray.org%3E/>

regards, jr.

(hands up all who knew that there's a RSS feed for new messages?!
<http://news.povray.org/digest/messages/rss/>  :-))

[jartim] Any news of Moray? [2016 days 14 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 23:30:00 GMT

Hi guys
It's been many years since Moray was acquired by the Povray team, but nothing
has come of it, has it?  Moray was a promising modeller and had all sorts of
niceties, including rendering in place in the modelling window.  It would be
great to see an updated version after all this time!

[Mr] Re: Do we have a linux-friendly mesh exporter? [2225 days 16 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Wed, 25 Mar 2020 21:55:00 GMT

"Bald Eagle" <cre### [at] netscapenet> wrote:
> I usually use Pose-Ray (of course) for things like this,
>
> but I was wondering if any of the linux users have any other tools for taking
> obj, stl, or other mesh files and converting that to a file easily used in
> POV-Ray.
>
> I found this, which seems to have been dropped for the moment...
> https://github.com/monkstone/povmesh
>
> Just as an interesting aside:
> If anyone understands the file structures well enough, it would be rather
> interesting to do the conversion completely in SDL, especially if the output
> format were mesh2 - since it would provide a framework for showing how to do
> that.  It would sort of be its own tutorial.  :)

Blender

[Le Forgeron] Re: NURBS [2237 days 17 hours and 59 minutes ago]

Fri, 13 Mar 2020 20:17:16 GMT

Le 11/03/2020 Ã  22:21, Bald Eagle a Ã©critÂ :
> 
> Le_Forgeron <jgr### [at] freefr> wrote:
> 
>> If you are on Nurbs, I did them in hg-povray.
>> http://wiki.povray.org/content/User:Le_Forgeron/nurbs
> 
> I knew you'd tackle them eventually.   It must have been virtually irresistible
> for you.  :D
> 
>> It's just missing a modeler to export the raw data (all the modelers
>> I've seen export them as mesh, something easily done in SDL).
> 
> Well, I had thought about trying to do something with NURBS in Javascript, as a
> project to spur me along the learning curve, and use as a qualification of some
> sort.
> 
> From the "small" of amount of reading I've done, the big difference between
> NURBS and Bezier are the basis functions - NURBS control points being much more
> local in their effect on the curve. I'm going through Piegl's _The NURBS Book_ -
> which is excellent - very thorough, and with code examples.
> I'm assuming that for a good modeler, knot insertion, refinement, and removal
> would be highly desirable.
> 
> I saw a while back that you had started on NURBS, and actually did rational
> Bezier - that seemed easy.   Did you find it a real challenge to get proper
> NURBS working correctly?

The main issue I remember was understanding knots and weights.

And when you look at most implementations, they are limited in the
supported order and often optimised (far too optimised) to compute mesh.

De Boor's is really your friend, and it was nice to still remember how
to compute derivation, at the formula level.

I had the luck to find a very comprehensive document (see code, it is
cited there (source/core/shape/nurbs.cpp) ).

The interesting point of rational bezier is that there is a solver to
compute the intersection with a ray, something that I give up on the
Nurbs due to the opened order (and knots!).

Nevertheless, you can also generate a mesh from the ration bezier
(trading speed against memory and accuracy of real formula)

[Bald Eagle] Re: NURBS [2239 days 16 hours and 51 minutes ago]

Wed, 11 Mar 2020 21:25:01 GMT

Le_Forgeron <jgr### [at] freefr> wrote:

> If you are on Nurbs, I did them in hg-povray.
> http://wiki.povray.org/content/User:Le_Forgeron/nurbs

I knew you'd tackle them eventually.   It must have been virtually irresistible
for you.  :D

> It's just missing a modeler to export the raw data (all the modelers
> I've seen export them as mesh, something easily done in SDL).

Well, I had thought about trying to do something with NURBS in Javascript, as a
project to spur me along the learning curve, and use as a qualification of some
sort.

From the "small" of amount of reading I've done, the big difference between
NURBS and Bezier are the basis functions - NURBS control points being much more
local in their effect on the curve. I'm going through Piegl's _The NURBS Book_ -
which is excellent - very thorough, and with code examples.
I'm assuming that for a good modeler, knot insertion, refinement, and removal
would be highly desirable.

I saw a while back that you had started on NURBS, and actually did rational
Bezier - that seemed easy.   Did you find it a real challenge to get proper
NURBS working correctly?

Thanks, Jerome  :)

[Le Forgeron] Re: NURBS [2239 days 17 hours and 31 minutes ago]

Wed, 11 Mar 2020 20:44:44 GMT

Le 05/03/2020 Ã  01:12, Bald Eagle a Ã©critÂ :
> 
> I've been looking into doing some sort of implementation of NURBS recently, and
> came across this:
> 
> Open-source, cross-platform NURBS
> http://verbnurbs.com/
> 
> Haven't had the opportunity to DL or install...
> 
> 

If you are on Nurbs, I did them in hg-povray.

http://wiki.povray.org/content/User:Le_Forgeron/nurbs

It's just missing a modeler to export the raw data (all the modelers
I've seen export them as mesh, something easily done in SDL).

[Bald Eagle] NURBS [2246 days 14 hours and 1 minute ago]

Thu, 5 Mar 2020 00:15:01 GMT

I've been looking into doing some sort of implementation of NURBS recently, and
came across this:

Open-source, cross-platform NURBS
http://verbnurbs.com/

Haven't had the opportunity to DL or install...

[Le Forgeron] Re: Do we have a linux-friendly mesh exporter? [2284 days 19 hours and 55 minutes ago]

Sun, 26 Jan 2020 18:20:43 GMT

Le 24/01/2020 Ã  19:27, Bald Eagle a Ã©critÂ :
> 
> Le_Forgeron <jgr### [at] freefr> wrote:
> 
>> I made a custom extension to import & export STL (as well as GTS).
>> As SDL is only able to handle text (and not binary file), it was not an
>> option.
> 
> I saw some search results regarding hgpovray38, but I didn't really "get" it.
> Don't we have the ability to read/write binary files in SDL?
> I was searching for a way to write GrADS data, and finally reminded myself that
> it was possible.
> http://wiki.povray.org/content/Reference:File_I/O_Directives
>   uint8              - unsigned byte (0..255)
>   sint8              - signed byte (-128..127)
>   uint16be, uint16le - unsigned 16-bit word (0..65535)
>   sint16be, sint16le - signed 16-bit word (-32768..32767)
>   sint32be, sint32le - signed 32-bit word (-2^31..2^31-1)
> 
Writing: yes. But reading ?

>> Problem with STL: there is 2 opposite specifications for colour, so I
>> just dropped that part too, only load & save the shape.
>>
>> OBJ specification is text, but not made only of triangle (you can have 4
>> points faces).
> 
> Well that's "easy enough" to grapple with - just use corners 1, 2 & 3, and 3, 4,
> & 1 to make 2 separate triangles.

I write code that I need, usually (I once wrote Nurbs support, only to
get no modeler at the end that would export raw nurbs data). I did not
need Obj support, whereas I was in need of STL (due to converting povray
object into real 3D printed object) and GTS (because the rabbit is so
lovely and the GTS collection was interesting).

Feel free to play with Obj if you need:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wavefront_.obj_file

I was wrong above, a face has a minimum of 3 points, but no upper limit,
and you can encounter other elements (full spec in
http://www.martinreddy.net/gfx/3d/OBJ.spec )


> 
>> I also made an extension to be able to read back the data of a mesh, it
>> could be used to save it as mesh2 (but really, STL is faster if you can
>> cope with the constraint of being in the positive corner cube)
> 
> Huh.
> I got the impression from the documentation that mesh2 was "better" - so why is
> STL faster?

Ok, it depends on the number of points.
On reading:
Mesh2 is filled directly in pov structure, but each number need to be
parsed from its text form to binary.
STL is binary, so no parsing time, but the structure in memory need to
be searched as it grows to provide an efficient set of data for povray.

On writing: the speed is probably about the same.

> I'm impressed that you coded something up for mesh2 - I was mulling over how to
> do that, and it seemed like a lot of record-keeping to  know which triangles
> were which and what ones shared vertices....
> 

Mesh2 is an external representation of the internal "mesh" structure. It
is as raw as possible. Mesh is more natural description for the same
data, but it is slower to parse (the same way STL is) because additional
computations and searches must be performed to get into the "mesh"
structure.

>> Whatever, I use *meshlab* to convert between these formats (and perform
>> also other operations, including preview).
> 
> Yes, I think I stumbled across a link to meshlab.  I'll try to install that some
> time soon, as it a nice program for viewing and fixing meshes.
> 
>> Also, *makehuman* is a nice way to get mesh of human bodies if you
>> intend to have a set of Greek statues.
> 
> Hmmm.  IIRC that project was abandoned some time ago - I'll look and see if I
> can find the files for that.
> 
> 
> 

Please check http://www.makehumancommunity.org/

Seems still alive, as 1.2.0 alpha4 was announced on 16th December 2019.

[jr] Re: Do we have a linux-friendly mesh exporter? [2286 days 4 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Sat, 25 Jan 2020 10:05:00 GMT

hi,

"Bald Eagle" <cre### [at] netscapenet> wrote:
> ...
> regarding gts, it seems like Melody might like the Puget Sound and Grand Canyon
> models to complement his cool Hawaiian islands animations.   :)
> https://www.cc.gatech.edu/projects/large_models/

nope, I don't see GTS data there.  :-(


> > > Just as an interesting aside:
> > > If anyone understands the file structures well enough, it would be rather
> > > interesting to do the conversion completely in SDL,
> > that does sound, um, a little masochistic.  :-)
>
> I opened STL in text editor, and it's just an issue of syntax.
> SDL well and truly sucks for manipulating text, however I wrote a LibreOffice
> spreadsheet last night in no time that converts STL to POV-Ray mesh {} format.
> Looks like it ought to be just as simple to write something in C, C++, or as a
> shell script.

the STL file format is from 1987, according to Wikipedia, so you'd think that
somebody already wrote such an utility (in those 30-odd years).


> ...
> With regard to the #read directive:
> "Undefined identifiers will be turned into global identifiers of the type
> determined by the data which is read. Previously defined identifiers remain at
> whatever global/local status they had when originally created. Type checking is
> performed to insure that the proper type data is read into these identifiers."
>
> It would be SO NICE to have an end-user function in SDL for type-checking data.

agree, POV-Ray would benefit from having more (any! :-)) "introspection" tools.


> > the user ought to have choice of 'mesh' or 'mesh2', imo.
>
> Agreed, but mesh is trivial - my point was only that mesh2 seems to be so
> challenging that seeing how to go about coding it would be a valuable tutorial.

v little difference for GTS data, may be different for other format(s).


regards, jr.

[Bald Eagle] Re: Do we have a linux-friendly mesh exporter? [2286 days 19 hours and 26 minutes ago]

Fri, 24 Jan 2020 18:50:00 GMT

"jr" <cre### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> hi,
>
> "Bald Eagle" <cre### [at] netscapenet> wrote:
> > I usually use Pose-Ray (of course) for things like this,
>
> you can run that on a Linux box?

Not that I'm aware.   It's what I used when I ran Windows.

regarding gts, it seems like Melody might like the Puget Sound and Grand Canyon
models to complement his cool Hawaiian islands animations.   :)
https://www.cc.gatech.edu/projects/large_models/

> > Just as an interesting aside:
> > If anyone understands the file structures well enough, it would be rather
> > interesting to do the conversion completely in SDL,
>
> that does sound, um, a little masochistic.  :-)

I opened STL in text editor, and it's just an issue of syntax.
SDL well and truly sucks for manipulating text, however I wrote a LibreOffice
spreadsheet last night in no time that converts STL to POV-Ray mesh {} format.
Looks like it ought to be just as simple to write something in C, C++, or as a
shell script.
I might continue with my initial efforts in SDL just because it will likely
yield some useful text-handling macros.

STL looks to be just:

solid Mesh

  facet normal -0.296431 -0.955054 -0.000000
    outer loop
      vertex -67.932732 36.474884 24.903671
      vertex -82.486053 40.991966 22.546505
      vertex -67.932732 36.474884 20.042015
    endloop
  endfacet

  ... repeat ...

endsolid Mesh

So I just started with "mesh{", ignored the loop lines, commented out the
normal, consolidated the "vertex" lines into "triangle {<1>, <2>, <3>}", and
closed it with "}"
Done.
[FYI - triangle{} did not like a trailing extra comma after the 3rd vertex]

With regard to the #read directive:
"Undefined identifiers will be turned into global identifiers of the type
determined by the data which is read. Previously defined identifiers remain at
whatever global/local status they had when originally created. Type checking is
performed to insure that the proper type data is read into these identifiers."

It would be SO NICE to have an end-user function in SDL for type-checking data.

> the user ought to have choice of 'mesh' or 'mesh2', imo.

Agreed, but mesh is trivial - my point was only that mesh2 seems to be so
challenging that seeing how to go about coding it would be a valuable tutorial.

[Bald Eagle] Re: Do we have a linux-friendly mesh exporter? [2286 days 19 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Fri, 24 Jan 2020 18:30:00 GMT

Le_Forgeron <jgr### [at] freefr> wrote:

> I made a custom extension to import & export STL (as well as GTS).
> As SDL is only able to handle text (and not binary file), it was not an
> option.

I saw some search results regarding hgpovray38, but I didn't really "get" it.
Don't we have the ability to read/write binary files in SDL?
I was searching for a way to write GrADS data, and finally reminded myself that
it was possible.
http://wiki.povray.org/content/Reference:File_I/O_Directives
  uint8              - unsigned byte (0..255)
  sint8              - signed byte (-128..127)
  uint16be, uint16le - unsigned 16-bit word (0..65535)
  sint16be, sint16le - signed 16-bit word (-32768..32767)
  sint32be, sint32le - signed 32-bit word (-2^31..2^31-1)

> Problem with STL: there is 2 opposite specifications for colour, so I
> just dropped that part too, only load & save the shape.
>
> OBJ specification is text, but not made only of triangle (you can have 4
> points faces).

Well that's "easy enough" to grapple with - just use corners 1, 2 & 3, and 3, 4,
& 1 to make 2 separate triangles.

> I also made an extension to be able to read back the data of a mesh, it
> could be used to save it as mesh2 (but really, STL is faster if you can
> cope with the constraint of being in the positive corner cube)

Huh.
I got the impression from the documentation that mesh2 was "better" - so why is
STL faster?
I'm impressed that you coded something up for mesh2 - I was mulling over how to
do that, and it seemed like a lot of record-keeping to  know which triangles
were which and what ones shared vertices....

> Whatever, I use *meshlab* to convert between these formats (and perform
> also other operations, including preview).

Yes, I think I stumbled across a link to meshlab.  I'll try to install that some
time soon, as it a nice program for viewing and fixing meshes.

> Also, *makehuman* is a nice way to get mesh of human bodies if you
> intend to have a set of Greek statues.

Hmmm.  IIRC that project was abandoned some time ago - I'll look and see if I
can find the files for that.

[Le Forgeron] Re: Do we have a linux-friendly mesh exporter? [2286 days 20 hours and 15 minutes ago]

Fri, 24 Jan 2020 18:01:25 GMT

Le 22/01/2020 Ã  21:57, Bald Eagle a Ã©critÂ :
> 
> 
> I usually use Pose-Ray (of course) for things like this,
> 
> but I was wondering if any of the linux users have any other tools for taking
> obj, stl, or other mesh files and converting that to a file easily used in
> POV-Ray.
> 
> I found this, which seems to have been dropped for the moment...
> https://github.com/monkstone/povmesh
> 
> Just as an interesting aside:
> If anyone understands the file structures well enough, it would be rather
> interesting to do the conversion completely in SDL, especially if the output
> format were mesh2 - since it would provide a framework for showing how to do
> that.  It would sort of be its own tutorial.  :)
> 
> 
I made a custom extension to import & export STL (as well as GTS).
As SDL is only able to handle text (and not binary file), it was not an
option.

Problem with STL: there is 2 opposite specifications for colour, so I
just dropped that part too, only load & save the shape.

OBJ specification is text, but not made only of triangle (you can have 4
points faces).

I also made an extension to be able to read back the data of a mesh, it
could be used to save it as mesh2 (but really, STL is faster if you can
cope with the constraint of being in the positive corner cube)

Whatever, I use *meshlab* to convert between these formats (and perform
also other operations, including preview).

Also, *makehuman* is a nice way to get mesh of human bodies if you
intend to have a set of Greek statues.

[jr] Re: Do we have a linux-friendly mesh exporter? [2288 days 10 hours and 16 minutes ago]

Thu, 23 Jan 2020 04:00:00 GMT

hi,

"Bald Eagle" <cre### [at] netscapenet> wrote:
> I usually use Pose-Ray (of course) for things like this,

you can run that on a Linux box?

> but I was wondering if any of the linux users have any other tools for taking
> obj, stl, or other mesh files and converting that to a file easily used in
> POV-Ray.
>
> I found this, which seems to have been dropped for the moment...
> https://github.com/monkstone/povmesh

had not known of this either.

self prefers small, dedicated tools.  the source linked ('gts2pov'[*]) builds a
small and reasonably quick executable, used for these:
<http://news.povray.org/povray.text.scene-files/thread/%3Cweb.5e1881adbbdf84bb8c662f470%40news.povray.org%3E/>

to compile:

  $ cc -std=c99 -pedantic -Wall -Wextra -O2 -fPIC -o gts2pov gte2pov.c

edit line 40 to raise the maximum vertices per mesh, default 1M.

[*] <https://drive.google.com/open?id=14Luh5u-39MWQzo8NSbTldAH2MUMNXC5T>

> Just as an interesting aside:
> If anyone understands the file structures well enough, it would be rather
> interesting to do the conversion completely in SDL,

that does sound, um, a little masochistic.  :-)

> especially if the output
> format were mesh2 - since it would provide a framework for showing how to do
> that.  It would sort of be its own tutorial.  :)

the user ought to have choice of 'mesh' or 'mesh2', imo.

regards, jr.

[Bald Eagle] Do we have a linux-friendly mesh exporter? [2288 days 17 hours and 16 minutes ago]

Wed, 22 Jan 2020 21:00:00 GMT

I usually use Pose-Ray (of course) for things like this,

but I was wondering if any of the linux users have any other tools for taking
obj, stl, or other mesh files and converting that to a file easily used in
POV-Ray.

I found this, which seems to have been dropped for the moment...
https://github.com/monkstone/povmesh

Just as an interesting aside:
If anyone understands the file structures well enough, it would be rather
interesting to do the conversion completely in SDL, especially if the output
format were mesh2 - since it would provide a framework for showing how to do
that.  It would sort of be its own tutorial.  :)

[Thomas de Groot] Re: 3D reconstruction from photos [free] [2307 days 6 hours and 45 minutes ago]

Sat, 4 Jan 2020 07:30:47 GMT

Op 03/01/2020 om 15:25 schreef Stephen:
> "Bald Eagle" <cre### [at] netscapenet> wrote:
>> This looked quite interesting, for anyone who might want to give it a whirl and
>> see how well it works and if it can be included in a POV-Ray scene workflow.
>>
>> "How to 3D Photoscan Easy and Free!"
>>
>> "Learn how to do photogrammetry and create some amazing 3D scans with Meshroom
>> and Blender for free in this tutorial!  "
>>
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4NTf0hMjtY
> 
> Just in case anyone thinks, like I did. That you could use Meshroom to mesh-ify
> a Pov object. The program looks for the photoâ€™s metadata and
crashed when it
> could not find it. At least I think that's why it crashed. Shame really.
> 
> Stephen
> 
> 

Smart idea indeed. I didn't think of that.

-- 
Thomas

[Bald Eagle] Re: 3D reconstruction from photos [free] [2307 days 12 hours and 31 minutes ago]

Sat, 4 Jan 2020 01:45:01 GMT

"Stephen" <mcavoys_AT_aolDOT.com> wrote:

> Just in case anyone thinks, like I did. That you could use Meshroom to mesh-ify
> a Pov object. The program looks for the photo’s metadata and crashed when it
> could not find it. At least I think that's why it crashed. Shame really.
>
> Stephen

Hmmm.   Good to know.  Hopefully they've fixed that, or there's a way to just
add the EXIF metadata to the renders.

But that's an excellent idea.  The lighting and exposure can be _perfect_ and
the camera orientations for all of the views can be run as an animation   :)

Kinda seems like the long way around, and you don't get any internal cavities -
but it would at least be doable.

Hope all is going well with you.   All the best to you and yours in 2020.

[Stephen] Re: 3D reconstruction from photos [free] [2307 days 23 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Fri, 3 Jan 2020 14:30:01 GMT

"Bald Eagle" <cre### [at] netscapenet> wrote:
> This looked quite interesting, for anyone who might want to give it a whirl and
> see how well it works and if it can be included in a POV-Ray scene workflow.
>
> "How to 3D Photoscan Easy and Free!"
>
> "Learn how to do photogrammetry and create some amazing 3D scans with Meshroom
> and Blender for free in this tutorial!  "
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4NTf0hMjtY

Just in case anyone thinks, like I did. That you could use Meshroom to mesh-ify
a Pov object. The program looks for the photo’s metadata and crashed when it
could not find it. At least I think that's why it crashed. Shame really.

Stephen

[Thomas de Groot] Re: 3D reconstruction from photos [free] [2309 days 6 hours and 19 minutes ago]

Thu, 2 Jan 2020 07:56:38 GMT

Op 01/01/2020 om 21:29 schreef Bald Eagle:
> 
> This looked quite interesting, for anyone who might want to give it a whirl and
> see how well it works and if it can be included in a POV-Ray scene workflow.
> 
> "How to 3D Photoscan Easy and Free!"
> 
> "Learn how to do photogrammetry and create some amazing 3D scans with Meshroom
> and Blender for free in this tutorial!  "
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4NTf0hMjtY
> 
> 

Noted. Thank you for the link.

With the additional use of Poseray, to convert the mesh files to mesh2, 
those could be easily included to a POV-Ray scene.

-- 
Thomas

[Bald Eagle] 3D reconstruction from photos [free] [2309 days 17 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Wed, 1 Jan 2020 20:30:07 GMT

This looked quite interesting, for anyone who might want to give it a whirl and
see how well it works and if it can be included in a POV-Ray scene workflow.

"How to 3D Photoscan Easy and Free!"

"Learn how to do photogrammetry and create some amazing 3D scans with Meshroom
and Blender for free in this tutorial!  "

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4NTf0hMjtY

[Dick Balaska] Re: building povmodeler? [2322 days 5 hours and 28 minutes ago]

Fri, 20 Dec 2019 08:47:31 GMT

Am 12/11/19 11:00 AM, also sprach jr:

> 
> 
> (how did you manage to create a bathtub, _anything_??)

I installed the .deb, which I think put all of the right files in place.
The exe in the .deb doesn't work.
I got it to build and run fine in qtcreator using Qt 5.13.1
It suffers the OpenGL init errors if I build it under Qt 5.9 (the 
current debian version).

It's weird that it requires such a new version of Qt, since the program 
was ported from Qt 3.

-- 
dik
Rendered 49,882,521,600 of 49,882,521,600 pixels (100%)

[jr] Re: building povmodeler? [2330 days 22 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Wed, 11 Dec 2019 16:05:00 GMT

hi,

Dick Balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:
> Am 12/10/19 1:18 AM, also sprach jr:
>  > btw, re 'qtpovmodeler', what's with the baseinsertrules.xml file not
> found?
>  > (same for the docmap xml).
>
> Did you do make install?  I got these installed from the povmodeler.deb
> file.
> $ ls /usr/share/povmodeler/
> baseinsertrules.xml  examples  library  povraydocmap.xml  questionmark.png
>
> I would guess you have the same in /usr/local?

not quite.  I only built the executable, then tried it in-situ (temp build dir);
both the exe and the supporting xml were in the same directory though.

> But. I did not set up make install in the qmake file yet.  You would
> have had to have done that from the povmodeler's cmake.

will you be adding the install procedure in the near future?

>  >  also, and that may be my window manager to blame
>  > (WindowMaker 0.95.7), main menu accelerator key bindings do not work
> for me.
>
> They don't work for me either.

not my setup then, ok.  another "not working for me" item is the preferences
dialog, afaict it does not save changed setting between sessions.

(how did you manage to create a bathtub, _anything_??)

regards, jr.

[Dick Balaska] Re: building povmodeler? [2332 days 4 hours and 59 minutes ago]

Tue, 10 Dec 2019 09:17:00 GMT

Am 12/10/19 1:18 AM, also sprach jr:
 >
 > btw, re 'qtpovmodeler', what's with the baseinsertrules.xml file not 
found?
 > (same for the docmap xml).

Did you do make install?  I got these installed from the povmodeler.deb 
file.
$ ls /usr/share/povmodeler/
baseinsertrules.xml  examples  library  povraydocmap.xml  questionmark.png

I would guess you have the same in /usr/local?

But. I did not set up make install in the qmake file yet.  You would 
have had to have done that from the povmodeler's cmake.


 >  also, and that may be my window manager to blame
 > (WindowMaker 0.95.7), main menu accelerator key bindings do not work 
for me.

They don't work for me either.

-- 
dik
Rendered 49,882,521,600 of 49,882,521,600 pixels (100%)

[Ton] Re: building povmodeler? [2333 days 14 hours and 26 minutes ago]

Sun, 8 Dec 2019 23:50:02 GMT

>
> Hoy! Mr Ton.
>
> Those are both very useful tips.  Thank you!
>
> Agreed about getting rid of the useless MessageBox.
>
>
> --
> dik
> Rendered 42,220,569,600 of 49,882,521,600 pixels (84%)

Hello Dick, you can skip that mr. I'm just Ton!

If you replace this code in pmpovrayrenderwidget.cpp

   //eticre add +D +P for preview  png default format +FP
   m_args =  m_args + QString( "+I" ) + m_pTempFile->fileName() + " +O-" + "
+FP"
               + "\n" + " -D" + " -P";

   QFileInfo file_info( documentURL.toString() );

   if( !documentURL.isEmpty() && documentURL.isLocalFile() )
   {
      m_pProcess->setWorkingDirectory( file_info.path().remove( 0, 6 ) );
   }

   m_progress = 0;
   m_bPixmapUpToDate = false;


    //get user input modify args
//    QInputDialog qi;
//    qi.setInputMode( QInputDialog::TextInput );
//    qi.setOptions( QInputDialog::UsePlainTextEditForTextInput );
//    m_args = qi.getMultiLineText( this, "povray", "
 ______________________cmdline____________________
    ",
//                                   m_args, nullptr, Qt::Widget,
Qt::ImhMultiLine );

that messagebox is gone. Also those arguments for creating a movie are gone.

Cheers
Ton.

[Bald Eagle] Re: building povmodeler? [2334 days and 16 minutes ago]

Sun, 8 Dec 2019 14:00:01 GMT

Dick Balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:

> I assume you installed povmodeler-1.1.4-linuxmint-19.2.deb so that all
> of the support files are in the right place.

or not  ;)

> wget http://www.buckosoft.com/tmp/qtpovmodeler.bz2
> bunzip2 qtpovmodeler.bz2
> chmod +x qtpovmodeler
> ./qtpovmodeler

qtpovmodeler $ ./qtpovmodeler

../qtpovmodeler: /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libQt5DBus.so.5: version `Qt_5' not
found (required by ./qtpovmodeler)
../qtpovmodeler: /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libQt5Gui.so.5: version `Qt_5' not
found (required by ./qtpovmodeler)
../qtpovmodeler: /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libQt5Core.so.5: version `Qt_5.13' not
found (required by ./qtpovmodeler)
../qtpovmodeler: /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libQt5Core.so.5: version `Qt_5' not
found (required by ./qtpovmodeler)
../qtpovmodeler: /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libQt5Xml.so.5: version `Qt_5' not
found (required by ./qtpovmodeler)
../qtpovmodeler: /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libQt5Widgets.so.5: version `Qt_5' not
found (required by ./qtpovmodeler)

[Dick Balaska] Re: building povmodeler? [2334 days 5 hours and 29 minutes ago]

Sun, 8 Dec 2019 08:46:31 GMT

Am 12/7/19 8:38 PM, also sprach Dick Balaska:
> 
> Well, forget that.
> I just built this one and it has the failed OpenGL init nonsense.
> I'll have to unwind where I killed it.


I can't get it to work with the debian/ubuntu/mint default Qt version of 
5.9.5. (I'm still working on it) It works fine with Qt 5.13.1.

I'm curious if this works. Try this.
I assume you installed povmodeler-1.1.4-linuxmint-19.2.deb so that all 
of the support files are in the right place.

This is a built binary  that works on my machine. It's all static linked 
so it *should* run for you.


wget http://www.buckosoft.com/tmp/qtpovmodeler.bz2
bunzip2 qtpovmodeler.bz2
chmod +x qtpovmodeler
./qtpovmodeler


-- 
dik
Rendered 44,001,792,000 of 49,882,521,600 pixels (88%)

[Dick Balaska] Re: building povmodeler? [2334 days 12 hours and 37 minutes ago]

Sun, 8 Dec 2019 01:38:36 GMT

Am 12/7/19 4:53 PM, also sprach Bald Eagle:
> Dick Balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:
> 
> OK, that seemed to work "better."
> 

Well, forget that.
I just built this one and it has the failed OpenGL init nonsense.
I'll have to unwind where I killed it.

-- 
dik
Rendered 43,456,435,200 of 49,882,521,600 pixels (87%)

[Bald Eagle] Re: building povmodeler? [2334 days 16 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Sat, 7 Dec 2019 21:55:06 GMT

Dick Balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:

OK, that seemed to work "better."

Got a bunch of the usual stuff, some

warning: unused parameter ‘foo, bar, etc’ [-Wunused-parameter]


and then

src/pmpart.cpp: In member function ‘void PMPart::initActions()’:
src/pmpart.cpp:380:42: error: no matching function for call to
‘QAction::QAction(const char [7])’
    m_pImportAction = new
QAction("Import");//m_pShell->get_fileMenu()->addAction( "Import" );
                                          ^
In file included from /usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets/qmenu.h:40:0,
                 from /usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets/QMenu:1,
                 from src/pmshell.h:29,
                 from src/pmpart.cpp:23:
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets/qaction.h:174:5: note: candidate:
QAction::QAction(QActionPrivate&, QObject*)
     QAction(QActionPrivate &dd, QObject *parent);
     ^
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets/qaction.h:174:5: note:   candidate
expects 2 arguments, 1 provided
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets/qaction.h:89:5: note: candidate:
QAction::QAction(const QIcon&, const QString&, QObject*)
     QAction(const QIcon &icon, const QString &text, QObject* parent);
     ^
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets/qaction.h:89:5: note:   candidate
expects 3 arguments, 1 provided
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets/qaction.h:88:5: note: candidate:
QAction::QAction(const QString&, QObject*)
     QAction(const QString &text, QObject* parent);
     ^
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets/qaction.h:88:5: note:   candidate
expects 2 arguments, 1 provided
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets/qaction.h:87:14: note: candidate:
QAction::QAction(QObject*)
     explicit QAction(QObject* parent);
              ^
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets/qaction.h:87:14: note:   no known
conversion for argument 1 from ‘const char [7]’ to ‘QObject*’
src/pmpart.cpp:384:42: error: no matching function for call to
‘QAction::QAction(const char [7])’
    m_pExportAction = new QAction("Export");
                                          ^
In file included from /usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets/qmenu.h:40:0,
                 from /usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets/QMenu:1,
                 from src/pmshell.h:29,
                 from src/pmpart.cpp:23:
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets/qaction.h:174:5: note: candidate:
QAction::QAction(QActionPrivate&, QObject*)
     QAction(QActionPrivate &dd, QObject *parent);
     ^
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets/qaction.h:174:5: note:   candidate
expects 2 arguments, 1 provided
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets/qaction.h:89:5: note: candidate:
QAction::QAction(const QIcon&, const QString&, QObject*)
     QAction(const QIcon &icon, const QString &text, QObject* parent);
     ^
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets/qaction.h:89:5: note:   candidate
expects 3 arguments, 1 provided
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets/qaction.h:88:5: note: candidate:
QAction::QAction(const QString&, QObject*)
     QAction(const QString &text, QObject* parent);
     ^
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets/qaction.h:88:5: note:   candidate
expects 2 arguments, 1 provided
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets/qaction.h:87:14: note: candidate:
QAction::QAction(QObject*)
     explicit QAction(QObject* parent);
              ^
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets/qaction.h:87:14: note:   no known
conversion for argument 1 from ‘const char [7]’ to ‘QObject*’
make: *** [Makefile:9649: pmpart.o] Error 1
make: *** Waiting for unfinished jobs....

[Dick Balaska] Re: building povmodeler? [2334 days 17 hours and 27 minutes ago]

Sat, 7 Dec 2019 20:48:57 GMT

Am 12/7/19 8:44 AM, also sprach Bald Eagle:
> 
> I'm thinking it's just an edit in the make file to append '-std=c++11' to the
> compiler command?

make clean
git pull
qmake
make -j4


-- 
dik
Rendered 43,099,776,000 of 49,882,521,600 pixels (86%)

[jr] Re: building povmodeler? [2334 days 21 hours and 36 minutes ago]

Sat, 7 Dec 2019 16:40:00 GMT

hi,

Dick Balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:
> Am 11/28/19 10:26 AM, also sprach Bald Eagle:
> > Dick Balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:
> >> It built first shot in qtcreator!  And it runs fine, go figure.
> > Can you provide instructions so I can replicate?
>
> Hey Baldy, try this:
> ...

instructions work.  even for people with hair.  :-)  minor problem, it complains
(on startup): Rule file 'povmodeler/ "baseinsertrules.xml" ' not found.  the
file does exist though.

then five "Asking for share context for widget..." warnings/errors, followed by
a number of "QMainWindow::saveState(): 'objectName' not set for QToolBar", each
with a different pointer/address (one per button?).

regards, jr.

[Bald Eagle] Re: building povmodeler? [2335 days and 26 minutes ago]

Sat, 7 Dec 2019 13:50:01 GMT

Thanks - I only needed 2 of the -dev packages, but probably need one or two more
things to get this to work smoothly.
Here's what happened.

I'm thinking it's just an edit in the make file to append '-std=c++11' to the
compiler command?

qtpovmodeler $ make -j4

g++ -c -m64 -pipe -O2 -Wall -W -D_REENTRANT -fPIC -DQT_DEPRECATED_WARNINGS
-DQT_NO_DEBUG -DQT_OPENGL_LIB -DQT_WIDGETS_LIB -DQT_X11EXTRAS_LIB -DQT_GUI_LIB
-DQT_XML_LIB -DQT_DBUS_LIB -DQT_CORE_LIB -I. -I. -isystem /usr/include/freetype2
-isystem /usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5 -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtOpenGL -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtX11Extras -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtGui -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtXml -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtDBus -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtCore -I.
-I/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/mkspecs/linux-g++-64 -o main.o src/main.cpp
g++ -c -m64 -pipe -O2 -Wall -W -D_REENTRANT -fPIC -DQT_DEPRECATED_WARNINGS
-DQT_NO_DEBUG -DQT_OPENGL_LIB -DQT_WIDGETS_LIB -DQT_X11EXTRAS_LIB -DQT_GUI_LIB
-DQT_XML_LIB -DQT_DBUS_LIB -DQT_CORE_LIB -I. -I. -isystem /usr/include/freetype2
-isystem /usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5 -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtOpenGL -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtX11Extras -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtGui -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtXml -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtDBus -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtCore -I.
-I/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/mkspecs/linux-g++-64 -o pm2dcontrolpoint.o
src/pm2dcontrolpoint.cpp
g++ -c -m64 -pipe -O2 -Wall -W -D_REENTRANT -fPIC -DQT_DEPRECATED_WARNINGS
-DQT_NO_DEBUG -DQT_OPENGL_LIB -DQT_WIDGETS_LIB -DQT_X11EXTRAS_LIB -DQT_GUI_LIB
-DQT_XML_LIB -DQT_DBUS_LIB -DQT_CORE_LIB -I. -I. -isystem /usr/include/freetype2
-isystem /usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5 -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtOpenGL -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtX11Extras -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtGui -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtXml -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtDBus -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtCore -I.
-I/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/mkspecs/linux-g++-64 -o pm3dcontrolpoint.o
src/pm3dcontrolpoint.cpp
g++ -c -m64 -pipe -O2 -Wall -W -D_REENTRANT -fPIC -DQT_DEPRECATED_WARNINGS
-DQT_NO_DEBUG -DQT_OPENGL_LIB -DQT_WIDGETS_LIB -DQT_X11EXTRAS_LIB -DQT_GUI_LIB
-DQT_XML_LIB -DQT_DBUS_LIB -DQT_CORE_LIB -I. -I. -isystem /usr/include/freetype2
-isystem /usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5 -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtOpenGL -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtWidgets -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtX11Extras -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtGui -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtXml -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtDBus -isystem
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtCore -I.
-I/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/mkspecs/linux-g++-64 -o pmactions.o
src/pmactions.cpp
src/pm2dcontrolpoint.cpp:31:4: warning: identifier ‘nullptr’ is a keyword in
C++11 [-Wc++0x-compat]
    m_pBasePoint = nullptr;
    ^
src/pm2dcontrolpoint.cpp: In constructor
‘PM2DControlPoint::PM2DControlPoint(const PMVector&, PM2DControlPoint::CPType,
int, const QString&)’:
src/pm2dcontrolpoint.cpp:31:19: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this
scope
    m_pBasePoint = nullptr;
                   ^
In file included from src/pmshell.h:23:0,
                 from src/main.cpp:23:
src/pmdockwidget.h:319:5: warning: identifier ‘nullptr’ is a keyword in
C++11
[-Wc++0x-compat]
     PMDockTabGroup( QWidget *parent = nullptr )
     ^
src/pmactions.cpp:33:4: warning: defaulted and deleted functions only available
with -std=c++11 or -std=gnu++11
  = default;
    ^
make: *** [Makefile:4912: pm2dcontrolpoint.o] Error 1
make: *** Waiting for unfinished jobs....
src/pmdockwidget.h:319:39: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
     PMDockTabGroup( QWidget *parent = nullptr )
                                       ^
In file included from src/pmshell.h:23:0,
                 from src/main.cpp:23:
src/pmdockwidget.h:393:64: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
                       const QPixmap &pixmap, QWidget* parent = nullptr, const Q
                                                                ^
src/pmdockwidget.h:1167:41: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
     PMDockMainWindow( QWidget* parent = nullptr, Qt::WindowFlags f = nullptr/*
                                         ^
src/pmdockwidget.h:1167:70: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
    PMDockMainWindow( QWidget* parent = nullptr, Qt::WindowFlags f = nullptr/* |
                                                                     ^
src/pmdockwidget.h:1210:78: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
 DockWidget* createDockWidget( const QPixmap &pixmap, QWidget* parent = nullptr,
                                                                        ^
In file included from src/pmglview.h:39:0,
                 from src/pmshell.h:26,
                 from src/main.cpp:23:
src/pmviewbase.h:96:54: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
     PMViewBase( QWidget* parent, Qt::WindowFlags f = nullptr )
                                                      ^
In file included from src/pmobjectaction.h:27:0,
                 from src/pmglview.h:44,
                 from src/pmshell.h:26,
                 from src/main.cpp:23:
src/pmmetaobject.h:359:71: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
    PMMetaObject( const QString& className, PMMetaObject* superClass = nullptr,
                                                                       ^
src/pmmetaobject.h:360:56: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
                  PMObjectFactoryMethod factoryMethod = nullptr );
                                                        ^
src/pmmetaobject.h: In member function ‘bool PMMetaObject::isAbstract()
const’:
src/pmmetaobject.h:382:50: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
    bool isAbstract() const { return m_factory == nullptr; }
                                                  ^
src/pmmetaobject.h: In member function ‘PMPropertyBase*
PMMetaObject::property(const QString&) const’:
src/pmmetaobject.h:401:51: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
         if( it == m_propertiesDict.end() ) return nullptr;
                                                   ^
In file included from src/pmshell.h:26:0,
                 from src/main.cpp:23:
src/pmglview.h: At global scope:
src/pmglview.h:70:32: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
              QWidget* parent = nullptr, Qt::WindowFlags f = nullptr );
                                ^
src/pmglview.h:70:61: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
              QWidget* parent = nullptr, Qt::WindowFlags f = nullptr );
                                                             ^
src/pmglview.h: In member function ‘virtual PMViewBase*
PMGLViewFactory::newInstance(QWidget*, PMPart*) const’:
src/pmglview.h:555:63: error: call to ‘PMGLView::PMGLView(PMPart*,
PMGLView::PMViewType, QWidget*, Qt::WindowFlags)’ uses the default argument for
parameter 4, which is not yet defined
       return new PMGLView( part, PMGLView::PMViewPosX, parent );
                                                               ^
In file included from src/main.cpp:23:0:
src/pmshell.h: At global scope:
src/pmshell.h:144:67: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
    PMDockWidget* createView( const QString& t, PMViewOptions* c = nullptr,
                                                                   ^
In file included from src/pmrendermanager.h:26:0,
                 from src/main.cpp:24:
src/pmobject.h:157:57: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
                    const PMObjectList* objectsBetween = nullptr ) const;
                                                         ^
src/pmobject.h:166:57: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
                    const PMObjectList* objectsBetween = nullptr ) const;
                                                         ^
src/pmobject.h: In member function ‘PMTreeViewItem*
PMObject::getTreeItem()’:
src/pmobject.h:60:82: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
 wItem* getTreeItem() {  if ( pmt_item ) return pmt_item; else return nullptr; }
                                                                      ^
src/pmobject.h: In member function ‘virtual PMObject* PMObject::firstChild()
const’:
src/pmobject.h:185:50: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
    virtual PMObject* firstChild() const { return nullptr; }
                                                  ^
src/pmobject.h: In member function ‘virtual PMObject* PMObject::lastChild()
const’:
src/pmobject.h:189:49: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
    virtual PMObject* lastChild() const { return nullptr; }
                                                 ^
src/pmobject.h: In member function ‘virtual PMObject* PMObject::childAt(uint)
const’:
src/pmobject.h:194:53: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
    virtual PMObject* childAt( uint ) const { return nullptr; }
                                                     ^
src/pmobject.h: In member function ‘virtual PMViewStructure*
PMObject::viewStructure()’:
src/pmobject.h:298:54: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
    virtual PMViewStructure* viewStructure() { return nullptr; }
                                                      ^
src/pmobject.h: In member function ‘virtual PMDeclare* PMObject::linkedObject()
const’:
src/pmobject.h:443:53: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
    virtual PMDeclare* linkedObject() const { return nullptr; }
                                                     ^
src/pmobject.h: In member function ‘bool PMObject::mementoCreated() const’:
src/pmobject.h:467:55: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
    bool mementoCreated() const { return m_pMemento != nullptr; }
                                                       ^
In file included from src/main.cpp:24:0:
src/pmrendermanager.h: At global scope:
src/pmrendermanager.h:261:40: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this
scope
     PMRenderManager( QWidget *parent = nullptr );
                                        ^
src/main.cpp: In function ‘int main(int, char**)’:
src/main.cpp:29:21: error: ‘nullptr’ was not declared in this scope
    PMShell* shell = nullptr;

[Dick Balaska] Re: building povmodeler? [2335 days 7 hours and 44 minutes ago]

Sat, 7 Dec 2019 06:32:27 GMT

Am 12/4/19 6:12 AM, also sprach Ton:
> Hi Dick, if you edit pmpovrayrenderwidget.cpp, and change the +D and +P into -D
> and -P (line 122), povray doesn't show the render window, and it doesn't pause.
> That whole messagebox for changing the arguments could be removed as well, not
> very useful.
> I assume you know that you have to recompile povmodeler. Changing the text file
> by itself is not enough.....
> To copy one object into a text file, you can just select that particular object,
> press Ctrl-C, and then in the text file Ctrl-V, and that object appears,
> magically, in your text.
> 
> Cheers
> Ton.

Hoy! Mr Ton.

Those are both very useful tips.  Thank you!

Agreed about getting rid of the useless MessageBox.


-- 
dik
Rendered 42,220,569,600 of 49,882,521,600 pixels (84%)

[Dick Balaska] Re: building povmodeler? [2335 days 7 hours and 47 minutes ago]

Sat, 7 Dec 2019 06:28:49 GMT

Am 11/28/19 10:26 AM, also sprach Bald Eagle:
> Dick Balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:
> 
>> It built first shot in qtcreator!  And it runs fine, go figure.
> 
> Can you provide instructions so I can replicate?

Hey Baldy, try this:

sudo apt install libfreetype6 libfreetype6-dev
sudo apt install libqt5x11extras5
sudo apt install libqt5x11extras5-dev
sudo apt install libqt5opengl5
sudo apt install libqt5opengl5-dev

cd goodplace
mkdir qtpovmodeler
cd qtpovmodeler
git clone https://github.com/dickbalaska/qtpovmodeler.git
cd qtpovmodeler
qmake
make -j4
(get a beer)
./qtpovmodeler

That's what I had to install extra to get it to build.  (And I made a 
qmake file).  I don't know if I had other things installed already that 
you don't.  Let me know.

I renamed my clone of the project because I want to make a .deb and 
there is already a povmodeler.deb .

-- 
dik
Rendered 42,162,508,800 of 49,882,521,600 pixels (84%)

[jr] Re: building povmodeler? [2337 days 21 hours and 1 minute ago]

Wed, 4 Dec 2019 17:15:02 GMT

hi,

Dick Balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:
> On 12/3/19 4:54 AM, jr wrote:
> > Dick Balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:
> >> On 11/28/19 5:06 PM, Bald Eagle wrote:
> >>> ...
> >> Hey Jr, are you still using qtpovray?  Do you see this missing text
> >> I-beam nonsense with slakware?  (BE and I are both Mint; a sample size
> >> of 1.)
> >
> > v quick try (haven't really gotten into using it yet[*]).  no, I do not see the
> > "I-beam nonsense" :-)  (Slackware.  reliable.  ;-))  switching focus between
> > panes, always get the insertion thing; line highlighting too works as it should.
> >   v 3.80.0, built mid July last year.
>
> Yeah, I expect that one to work.  It's something recent that made it go
> kablooey.  It's hard because I switched from Ubuntu to Mint at about the
> same time I noticed it.
>
> > [*] if you could integrate eticre's code base with qtpovray, _that_ would change
> > everything.  :-)
>
> I played with this a bit more.  It's not as bad as I originally thought.
>   I built a bathtub in it.
>
> I'm thinking of two changes to it.
> 1) Integrate povrayws, my websocket povray.  Right now, he calls
> /usr/bin/povray lots, waits for user to terminate it, and reads the
> results.  povmodeler *could* just display the texture preview, rather
> than go through those hoops to get it.
>
> Or, I have libpovray.a built.  Maybe I should use that. (That would be
> trickier because I'd need to make a public API out of the VFE in the pov
> source tree.)
>
> 2) Exporting SDL is primitive.  Right now, after exporting a scene, one
> must cut/paste the useful object into their own code.  I want
> #declare Bathtub=union {...}
> and then be able to use that file directly.

looks to me like Ton's copy+paste info indicates that integration (sorry to bang
on about it) with you own editor should be straightforward.  I really think that
a single UI/frontend would work.

> My files are organized so that I can either render them directly, or
> include them in another file:

I've started having '#if (0) ... #end' guards around each scene element, and
switch most things off while tuning some bit.  crazy.  :-)


regards, jr.

[Ton] Re: building povmodeler? [2338 days 3 hours and 1 minute ago]

Wed, 4 Dec 2019 11:15:01 GMT

Hi Dick, if you edit pmpovrayrenderwidget.cpp, and change the +D and +P into -D
and -P (line 122), povray doesn't show the render window, and it doesn't pause.
That whole messagebox for changing the arguments could be removed as well, not
very useful.
I assume you know that you have to recompile povmodeler. Changing the text file
by itself is not enough.....
To copy one object into a text file, you can just select that particular object,
press Ctrl-C, and then in the text file Ctrl-V, and that object appears,
magically, in your text.

Cheers
Ton.

[Dick Balaska] Re: building povmodeler? [2338 days 14 hours and 12 minutes ago]

Wed, 4 Dec 2019 00:04:06 GMT

On 12/3/19 4:54 AM, jr wrote:
> hi,
> 
> Dick Balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:
>> On 11/28/19 5:06 PM, Bald Eagle wrote:
>>> ...
>> Hey Jr, are you still using qtpovray?  Do you see this missing text
>> I-beam nonsense with slakware?  (BE and I are both Mint; a sample size
>> of 1.)
> 
> v quick try (haven't really gotten into using it yet[*]).  no, I do not see the
> "I-beam nonsense" :-)  (Slackware.  reliable.  ;-))  switching focus between
> panes, always get the insertion thing; line highlighting too works as it should.
>   v 3.80.0, built mid July last year.

Yeah, I expect that one to work.  It's something recent that made it go 
kablooey.  It's hard because I switched from Ubuntu to Mint at about the 
same time I noticed it.

> 
> [*] if you could integrate eticre's code base with qtpovray, _that_ would change
> everything.  :-)

I played with this a bit more.  It's not as bad as I originally thought. 
  I built a bathtub in it.

I'm thinking of two changes to it.
1) Integrate povrayws, my websocket povray.  Right now, he calls 
/usr/bin/povray lots, waits for user to terminate it, and reads the 
results.  povmodeler *could* just display the texture preview, rather 
than go through those hoops to get it.

Or, I have libpovray.a built.  Maybe I should use that. (That would be 
trickier because I'd need to make a public API out of the VFE in the pov 
source tree.)

2) Exporting SDL is primitive.  Right now, after exporting a scene, one 
must cut/paste the useful object into their own code.  I want
#declare Bathtub=union {...}
and then be able to use that file directly.

My files are organized so that I can either render them directly, or 
include them in another file:

bathtub.inc

#version 3.7;
#ifndef (True)
   #declare True=1;
   #declare BATHTUBINC_TEST=1;
   camera { blah blah }
   light_source { test lights }
#end

#declare Bathtub = union {}

#ifdef (BATHTUBINC_TEST)
   object {Bathtub}
#end

> 
> regards, jr.
> 
> 

-- 
dik
Rendered 40,182,220,800 of 49,882,521,600 pixels (80%)

[jr] Re: building povmodeler? [2339 days 4 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Tue, 3 Dec 2019 09:55:01 GMT

hi,

Dick Balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:
> On 11/28/19 5:06 PM, Bald Eagle wrote:
> > ...
> Hey Jr, are you still using qtpovray?  Do you see this missing text
> I-beam nonsense with slakware?  (BE and I are both Mint; a sample size
> of 1.)

v quick try (haven't really gotten into using it yet[*]).  no, I do not see the
"I-beam nonsense" :-)  (Slackware.  reliable.  ;-))  switching focus between
panes, always get the insertion thing; line highlighting too works as it should.
 v 3.80.0, built mid July last year.

[*] if you could integrate eticre's code base with qtpovray, _that_ would change
everything.  :-)

regards, jr.

[Dick Balaska] Re: building povmodeler? [2339 days 14 hours and 9 minutes ago]

Tue, 3 Dec 2019 00:06:42 GMT

On 11/28/19 5:06 PM, Bald Eagle wrote:
> Dick Balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:

> 
> If you're gonna ask, I'd love to see the render button moved to somewhere over
> the text-editing region (I let the rest of the stuff hang off-screen),

Press ^R to start a render?

> and maybe
> have the render window gain focus on starting a new render.

So, you have the Render window set to not-always-on-top and you want it 
to pop on top when you start a render?

Hey Jr, are you still using qtpovray?  Do you see this missing text 
I-beam nonsense with slakware?  (BE and I are both Mint; a sample size 
of 1.)

-- 
dik
Rendered 39,329,971,200 of 49,882,521,600 pixels (78%)

[Bald Eagle] Re: building povmodeler? [2343 days 16 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Thu, 28 Nov 2019 22:10:00 GMT

Dick Balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:

> 3) In Qtcreator, enable cmake
> Menu -> Tools -> Options
> Left Menu - Kits

Hmmm.   I have 3.5.1   I don't see this and that following stuff.

> This is driving me crazy.  I was gonna ask if you started seeing it too.
> I am to the point where I need to ask on Qt forums "wtf?".

I was wondering if you were seeing it or had somehow glossed over it.
No breaky the Qt.

If you're gonna ask, I'd love to see the render button moved to somewhere over
the text-editing region (I let the rest of the stuff hang off-screen), and maybe
have the render window gain focus on starting a new render.

Go eat.
Happy Thanksgiving   :)

[Dick Balaska] Re: building povmodeler? [2343 days 17 hours and 26 minutes ago]

Thu, 28 Nov 2019 20:50:02 GMT

On 11/28/19 10:26 AM, Bald Eagle wrote:
> Dick Balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:
> 
>> It built first shot in qtcreator!  And it runs fine, go figure.
> 
> Can you provide instructions so I can replicate?

0) make build directory
mkdir ~/povmodelerton
cd ~/povmodelerton

1) Clone his repo
git clone https://github.com/eticre/povmodeler.git

2) Make sure you have cmake
sudo apt install cmake

3) In Qtcreator, enable cmake
Menu -> Tools -> Options
Left Menu - Kits

3a)
Top Tab - CMake
Add
I called mine cmake-3.10.3
Path: /usr/bin/cmake
I have "Autorun cmake" checked.

3b)
Top Tab - Kits
Add
Name: cmake
It should auto-fill in everything else. Important fields:
   Device Type: Desktop
   CMake Tool: (The one you just created in the cmake tab)

OK to put this mess away

4)
Menu -> Open File
~/povmodelerton/povmodeler/CMakeLists.txt

This takes you to the "Projects" screen.
All of the "Build and Run" options are dimmed out.
Click on "cmake" to enable it.

This will create a slew of text boxes for options, and it should 
auto-fill the bulk of them.

This is done.  There is no "OK" to put it away.

5)
Now, in the grey strip on the far left of the window, click the Edit 
button (Above Design).  Note the project "qt5-pov".

On the bottom of the grey strip, the monitor icon is surrounded with 
"qt5-pov" "Debug"

6)
Build it.  Type ^B to build or if you're really brave ^R to build and run :)

The bottom strip buttons "4 Compile Output"  will let you follow along.

7)
Go get a beer.  Or two.  This takes a while.

> 
>> It's um, very mouse-main-menu oriented.  It seems like a lot of work to
>> do a little.
> 
> I figured - but that's why we code.  Though some things are very hard to do
> _without_ a modeler....

Agreed.  But, I'm not seeing any particular benefit to this modeler.
It's a great start, but for me it needs

1. Tree Editor to easily rearrange the nodes in the tree.

2. Better context menus in the tree.
   I want to right click in the tree, "Insert -> Simple shapes -> Box"

3. Filtered menus.
   Right now every option is always present.  So there are a 1000 menu 
entries with "Pigment" buried in the 23rd menu of the 23rd menu.  If I'm 
on a "texture" node in the tree, I don't need "Global Settings", I need 
"Pigment".

4. Resize object by click-drag in the modeler windows.
   (Grabbing in the Camera view would be hard, but Top/Left/Front views 
should be easy)

5. Highlight the current object when selected in the tree.

6. A bug.  "Render" launches /usr/bin/povray and it and its window just 
stay when it's done.  One must go to the shell and kill it to terminate it.

7. Hotkeys.  I want ^R to render, etc.

> 
> 
> ALSO:
> I just did an apt-get upgrade, and while I was helping out jr, I noticed that
> qtpovray editor now loses my cursor for a while until I arrow-key up and down.
> If I just click on a line, I get a yellow highlight but I have no idea where in
> the line the cursor is.   :(

This is driving me crazy.  I was gonna ask if you started seeing it too.
I am to the point where I need to ask on Qt forums "wtf?".

> 
> 

-- 
dik
Rendered 29,795,558,400 of 49,882,521,600 pixels (59%)

[Bald Eagle] Re: building povmodeler? [2343 days 22 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Thu, 28 Nov 2019 15:30:00 GMT

Dick Balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:

> It built first shot in qtcreator!  And it runs fine, go figure.

Can you provide instructions so I can replicate?

> It's um, very mouse-main-menu oriented.  It seems like a lot of work to
> do a little.

I figured - but that's why we code.  Though some things are very hard to do
_without_ a modeler....

ALSO:
I just did an apt-get upgrade, and while I was helping out jr, I noticed that
qtpovray editor now loses my cursor for a while until I arrow-key up and down.
If I just click on a line, I get a yellow highlight but I have no idea where in
the line the cursor is.   :(

[Dick Balaska] Re: building povmodeler? [2344 days 6 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Thu, 28 Nov 2019 07:19:34 GMT

On 11/27/19 6:55 PM, Ton wrote:
> Dick Balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:

>> ...
>>
>> Next I have to get it to build in qtcreator, so I can debug it.
>>
>> (I have built and run other qt opengl apps.)
>>
>> --
>> dik
>> Rendered 29,374,617,600 of 49,882,521,600 pixels (58%)
> 
> Well done, Dick!
> Why you don't have the graphics, I don't know. My Qt version here is 5.13, and
> it works. It would be hard to imagine 5.13 works, and 5.9 doesn't.
> qtcreator uses the same commands (cmake and make) like you used in the
> commandline, so that should just work. I'll try later today.
> 
> Cheers
> Ton.
> 
> 
> 

It built first shot in qtcreator!  And it runs fine, go figure.

It's um, very mouse-main-menu oriented.  It seems like a lot of work to 
do a little.

-- 
dik
Rendered 29,714,688,000 of 49,882,521,600 pixels (59%)

[Ton] Re: building povmodeler? [2344 days 14 hours and 16 minutes ago]

Thu, 28 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Dick Balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:
> On 11/27/19 4:09 AM, Dick Balaska wrote:
>
> >
> > build is progressing...
> >
>
> Got it built.  I get the same log output as I posted in my previous
> thread "povmodeler blank windows".
>
> $ ./povmodeler
> qt5ct: using qt5ct plugin
> qt5ct: D-Bus global menu: no
> Asking for share context for widget that does not have a window handle
> QOpenGLWidget: Cannot be used without a context shared with the toplevel.
>
> ...
>
> Next I have to get it to build in qtcreator, so I can debug it.
>
> (I have built and run other qt opengl apps.)
>
> --
> dik
> Rendered 29,374,617,600 of 49,882,521,600 pixels (58%)

Well done, Dick!
Why you don't have the graphics, I don't know. My Qt version here is 5.13, and
it works. It would be hard to imagine 5.13 works, and 5.9 doesn't.
qtcreator uses the same commands (cmake and make) like you used in the
commandline, so that should just work. I'll try later today.

Cheers
Ton.

[Dick Balaska] Re: building povmodeler? [2345 days 4 hours and 58 minutes ago]

Wed, 27 Nov 2019 09:18:29 GMT

On 11/27/19 4:09 AM, Dick Balaska wrote:

> 
> build is progressing...
> 

Got it built.  I get the same log output as I posted in my previous 
thread "povmodeler blank windows".

$ ./povmodeler
qt5ct: using qt5ct plugin
qt5ct: D-Bus global menu: no
Asking for share context for widget that does not have a window handle
QOpenGLWidget: Cannot be used without a context shared with the toplevel.

...

Next I have to get it to build in qtcreator, so I can debug it.

(I have built and run other qt opengl apps.)

-- 
dik
Rendered 29,374,617,600 of 49,882,521,600 pixels (58%)

[Dick Balaska] Re: building povmodeler? [2345 days 5 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Wed, 27 Nov 2019 09:09:38 GMT

On 11/27/19 3:54 AM, Dick Balaska wrote:

> The debian version does not seem to have qt5X11Extras
> $ ls /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/cmake
> Qt5Â  Qt5ConcurrentÂ  Qt5CoreÂ  Qt5DBusÂ 
Qt5GuiÂ  Qt5Network 
> Qt5OpenGLExtensionsÂ  Qt5PrintSupportÂ  Qt5SqlÂ 
Qt5TestÂ  Qt5WidgetsÂ  Qt5Xml
> 
> 
> I don't see a package to install to fix that.Â  There *is* a -doc package
> 
> $ apt-cache search qtx11
> python-pyqt5.qtx11extras - Python 2 bindings for QtX11Extras module
> python-pyqt5.qtx11extras-dbg - Python 2 bindings for QtX11Extras module 
> (debug extension)
> python3-pyqt5.qtx11extras - Python 3 bindings for QtX11Extras module
> python3-pyqt5.qtx11extras-dbg - Python 3 bindings for QtX11Extras module 
> (debug extension)
> qtx11extras5-doc - Qt 5 X11 extras documentation
> qtx11extras5-doc-html - Qt 5 X11 extras HTML documentation
> 

found it:
$ sudo apt install libqt5x11extras5-dev

build is progressing...

-- 
dik
Rendered 29,374,617,600 of 49,882,521,600 pixels (58%)

[Dick Balaska] Re: building povmodeler? [2345 days 5 hours and 22 minutes ago]

Wed, 27 Nov 2019 08:54:29 GMT

On 11/27/19 1:40 AM, Ton wrote:
> I'm a bit surprised that your qt-include directories are in /opt, but that
> should not be a problem.
> Could you run the next command:
> 
> pkg-config --cflags Qt5Core
> 
> My output here is:
> -DQT_CORE_LIB -I/usr/include/qt5/QtCore -I/usr/include/qt5
> and my include file is located at:
> /usr/include/qt5/QtX11Extras/QX11Info
> 
> So now the compiler knows how to find that file.
> 
> The problem with cmake is that you never know the command line of the compiler,
> so you don't have a clue about the include directories it's using.

Ah ha.

$ pkg-config --cflags Qt5Core
-I/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5/QtCore 
-I/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt5

qmake knows I want to build with /opt/Qt/5.13.1
cmake does not.  It uses the debian installed version, which I think is 
5.9.5.

The debian version does not seem to have qt5X11Extras
$ ls /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/cmake
Qt5  Qt5Concurrent  Qt5Core  Qt5DBus  Qt5Gui  Qt5Network 
Qt5OpenGLExtensions  Qt5PrintSupport  Qt5Sql  Qt5Test  Qt5Widgets  Qt5Xml


I don't see a package to install to fix that.  There *is* a -doc package

$ apt-cache search qtx11
python-pyqt5.qtx11extras - Python 2 bindings for QtX11Extras module
python-pyqt5.qtx11extras-dbg - Python 2 bindings for QtX11Extras module 
(debug extension)
python3-pyqt5.qtx11extras - Python 3 bindings for QtX11Extras module
python3-pyqt5.qtx11extras-dbg - Python 3 bindings for QtX11Extras module 
(debug extension)
qtx11extras5-doc - Qt 5 X11 extras documentation
qtx11extras5-doc-html - Qt 5 X11 extras HTML documentation

-- 
dik
Rendered 29,374,617,600 of 49,882,521,600 pixels (58%)

[Ton] Re: building povmodeler? [2345 days 7 hours and 31 minutes ago]

Wed, 27 Nov 2019 06:45:00 GMT

I'm a bit surprised that your qt-include directories are in /opt, but that
should not be a problem.
Could you run the next command:

pkg-config --cflags Qt5Core

My output here is:
-DQT_CORE_LIB -I/usr/include/qt5/QtCore -I/usr/include/qt5
and my include file is located at:
/usr/include/qt5/QtX11Extras/QX11Info

So now the compiler knows how to find that file.

The problem with cmake is that you never know the command line of the compiler,
so you don't have a clue about the include directories it's using.

Cheers
Ton.

[Dick Balaska] Re: building povmodeler? [2345 days 12 hours and 4 minutes ago]

Wed, 27 Nov 2019 02:12:01 GMT

On 11/26/19 5:41 PM, Ton wrote:
> Hi Dick
> 
> I assume you use Linux....
> 
> please, in your home directory, give the following commands:
> mkdir povmodelerton
> cd povmodelerton
> git clone https://github.com/eticre/povmodeler.git
> cd povmodeler
> mkdir build
> cd build
> cmake ..
> make -j4
> .../povmodeler
> 
> I just tried that here, and it all works. If it doesn't, show the output of
> make. Make sure you have those libraries.
> 
> Cheers
> Ton.
> 
> 
> 
> 
/home/dick/povray/github/povmodelerton/povmodeler/pmrendermanager.cpp:48:10: 
fatal error: QtX11Extras/QX11Info: No such file or directory

I have that file.

dick@cyd:~/povray/github/povmodelerton/povmodeler/build$ locate QX11Info
/opt/Qt/5.13.1/Src/qtx11extras/include/QtX11Extras/QX11Info
/opt/Qt/5.13.1/gcc_64/include/QtX11Extras/QX11Info

I tried adding
find_package(Qt5X11Extras REQUIRED)
to CMakeLists.txt

but that says

dick@cyd:~/povray/github/povmodelerton/povmodeler/build$ cmake ..
CMake Error at CMakeLists.txt:22 (find_package):
   By not providing "FindQt5X11Extras.cmake" in CMAKE_MODULE_PATH this 
project
   has asked CMake to find a package configuration file provided by
   "Qt5X11Extras", but CMake did not find one.

   Could not find a package configuration file provided by 
"Qt5X11Extras" with
   any of the following names:

     Qt5X11ExtrasConfig.cmake
     qt5x11extras-config.cmake

   Add the installation prefix of "Qt5X11Extras" to CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH or set
   "Qt5X11Extras_DIR" to a directory containing one of the above files.  If
   "Qt5X11Extras" provides a separate development package or SDK, be sure it
   has been installed.

-- Configuring incomplete, errors occurred!
See also 
"/home/dick/povray/github/povmodelerton/povmodeler/build/CMakeFiles/CMakeOutput.log".

-- 
dik
Rendered 29,374,617,600 of 49,882,521,600 pixels (58%)

[Ton] Re: building povmodeler? [2345 days 15 hours and 1 minute ago]

Tue, 26 Nov 2019 23:15:00 GMT

"Ton" <ton### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> Hi Dick
>
> I assume you use Linux....
>
> please, in your home directory, give the following commands:
> mkdir povmodelerton
> cd povmodelerton
> git clone https://github.com/eticre/povmodeler.git
> cd povmodeler
> mkdir build
> cd build
> cmake ..
> make -j4
> .../povmodeler
>
> I just tried that here, and it all works. If it doesn't, show the output of
> make. Make sure you have those libraries.
>
> Cheers
> Ton.

Typo alert:
that last line should be
../povmodeler

[Ton] Re: building povmodeler? [2345 days 15 hours and 31 minutes ago]

Tue, 26 Nov 2019 22:45:01 GMT

Hi Dick

I assume you use Linux....

please, in your home directory, give the following commands:
mkdir povmodelerton
cd povmodelerton
git clone https://github.com/eticre/povmodeler.git
cd povmodeler
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make -j4
.../povmodeler

I just tried that here, and it all works. If it doesn't, show the output of
make. Make sure you have those libraries.

Cheers
Ton.

[Bald Eagle] Re: building povmodeler? [2346 days 1 hour and 51 minutes ago]

Tue, 26 Nov 2019 12:25:01 GMT

Dick Balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:

> Has anyone built povmodeler?

I did.
I don't get anything in the 4 windows either.   All the rest is kinda beyond
me...

Probably just a few more small things to fix.  90/10 Rule, and all that.

[Dick Balaska] building povmodeler? [2346 days 7 hours and 33 minutes ago]

Tue, 26 Nov 2019 06:42:37 GMT

For the next scene in my movie, I need to build a bathroom.  I want to 
do this in povmodeler.  The .deb provided doesn't work for me, as I get 
blank windows.  I thought I'd build it and see if I could debug the 
OpenGL failure.  But I'm spending too much time just trying to bootstrap 
a build.

Has anyone built povmodeler?

I am not familiar with cmake and the instructions are lacking (point to 
a dead page).

I loaded CMakeLists.txt in qtcreator.  It compiles for a long time and 
tips over linking, missing all of the qt libraries. (QApplication, 
QEvent, QWidget, QDom, etc)

I don't know how
find_package(Qt5Core REQUIRED)
relates to
target_link_libraries(povmodeler Qt5::Widgets Qt5::Core  ...

and why Qt5::Core and Qt5::Widgets are apparently missing after passing 
the "REQUIRED" test

-- 
dik
Rendered 28,677,888,000 of 49,882,521,600 pixels (57%)

[Bald Eagle] Audacity update [2346 days 11 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Tue, 26 Nov 2019 02:35:01 GMT

https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2019/11/audacity-2-3-3-removes-effects

I case folks use this to add sound to their animations.

[Dick Balaska] povmodeler blank windows [2349 days 12 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Sat, 23 Nov 2019 02:05:23 GMT

I am having trouble with povmodeler.
I installed povmodeler-1.1.4-linuxmint-19.2.deb

When I run it, the 4 windows that I assume should be showing the model, 
are blank.  See attached.

I think it is an OpenGL init failure.  See text below.


$ povmodeler
qt5ct: using qt5ct plugin
qt5ct: D-Bus global menu: no
Asking for share context for widget that does not have a window handle
QOpenGLWidget: Cannot be used without a context shared with the toplevel.
PMSPhere::setUSteps: U must be greater than 1

PMSphere::setVSteps: V must be greater than 3

PMCylinder::setSteps: S must be greater than 3

PMCone::setSteps: S must be greater than 4

PMTorus::setUSteps: U must be greater than 1

PMTorus::setVSteps: V must be greater than 3

PMLathe::setSSteps: S must be greater than 0

PMLathe::setRSteps: R must be greater than 3

PMSurfaceOfRevolution::setSSteps: S must be greater than 0

PMSurfaceOfRevolution::setRSteps: R must be greater than 3

PMPrism::setSSteps: S must be greater than 0

PMPlane::setPlaneSize: Size must be greater than 0.1

PMDisc::setSteps: S must be greater than 3

PMBlobSphere::setUSteps: U must be greater than 1

PMBlobSphere::setVSteps: V must be greater than 3

PMBlobCylinder::setUSteps: U must be greater than 1

PMBlobCylinder::setVSteps: V must be greater than 3

PMSuperquadricEllipsoid::setUSteps: U must be greater than 1

PMSuperquadricEllipsoid::setVSteps: V must be greater than 1

PMSphereSweep::setRSteps: R must be greater than 3

PMSphereSweep::setSSteps: S must be greater than 0

PMHeightField::setVariance: V must be less than 52 & greater than 0

Asking for share context for widget that does not have a window handle
QOpenGLWidget: Cannot be used without a context shared with the toplevel.
Asking for share context for widget that does not have a window handle
QOpenGLWidget: Cannot be used without a context shared with the toplevel.
Asking for share context for widget that does not have a window handle
QOpenGLWidget: Cannot be used without a context shared with the toplevel.
Asking for share context for widget that does not have a window handle
QOpenGLWidget: Cannot be used without a context shared with the toplevel.

-- 
dik
Rendered 26,985,830,400 of 49,882,521,600 pixels (54%)

[StephenS] Re: Bishop3D [2361 days 18 hours and 1 minute ago]

Sun, 10 Nov 2019 20:15:16 GMT

On 2019-11-07 8:34 a.m., Fotto wrote:
> I tried to get "Bishop3D" working with Win10. No Problems with WinXP, which is
> running virtual with VMWare (Povray 3.62)
> 
> With Win10 I failed and Bishop3dD is not working with 3.60, 3.62 or 3.7  :(
> 
> Anyone knows, how to get Bishop3D working in Win10?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Fotto
> 
> 

I have 3.7.1-beta.4+msvc14.win32 running with Bishop3d in Win10.
I start both manually with 'run as administrator".

Stephen S

[Fotto] Bishop3D [2365 days and 41 minutes ago]

Thu, 7 Nov 2019 13:35:01 GMT

I tried to get "Bishop3D" working with Win10. No Problems with WinXP, which is
running virtual with VMWare (Povray 3.62)

With Win10 I failed and Bishop3dD is not working with 3.60, 3.62 or 3.7  :(

Anyone knows, how to get Bishop3D working in Win10?

Thanks,

Fotto

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Upgraded PolPrm polygon & prism editor [2373 days 6 hours and 9 minutes ago]

Wed, 30 Oct 2019 08:07:16 GMT

Op 29/10/2019 om 22:41 schreef Leroy:
> 
> I've spent the last two weeks or was it three adding things to my old windows
> PolPrm program.
> 
>   I put it on my website today!
> 
> It's at Leroy's World  http://leroyw.byethost15.com/
> 

A very big thanks!

There are little nuggets on your site which I had forgotten about.

-- 
Thomas

[Leroy] Upgraded PolPrm polygon & prism editor [2373 days 16 hours and 31 minutes ago]

Tue, 29 Oct 2019 21:45:00 GMT

I've spent the last two weeks or was it three adding things to my old windows
PolPrm program.

 I put it on my website today!

It's at Leroy's World  http://leroyw.byethost15.com/

Just click on the window and you're there .

I still need to tweak the website a bit but you can download it NOW!

PolPrm has a lot of neat stuff. So much so that the help file is bigger than the
program. But ain't that the way it always is:)

 I could list all the thing it can do. But I ain't, I tired of typing today.

So Have Fun playing wit it!

[Bald Eagle] ShaderToy comp graphics articles [2476 days 13 hours and 26 minutes ago]

Fri, 19 Jul 2019 00:50:01 GMT

Really nice collection of articles dealing with some computer graphics math.

http://iquilezles.org/www/index.htm

[Bald Eagle] Re: Finding and extracting GDAL elevation data [2535 days 12 hours and 26 minutes ago]

Tue, 21 May 2019 01:50:01 GMT

> > I also have "holes" in my heightfield when I try to texture it with an image
> > map.  They appear to be at places that are over a certain elevation.

Simple mistake, but amazingly deceptive results.
The image_map was never rotated x*90, and I think it was just shifted so that it
didn't extend up that far.   :|


> My intuitive answer to 'Does that ever happen' would be an emphatic
> "No". However... I am no fan of Sketchup and thus do not know what kind
> of quaint things may happen.

I'm not using Sketchup, I'm just using the web-based Height Mapping tool to get
the grayscale map.   Then Google Maps to get the satellite and street maps.


Still having a bit of a struggle getting the overlay textures aligned to the
topolgy, but perhaps some more searching and experimenting will give me good
results that are easily reproduced with other locations.


Posting progress over on pbi

http://news.povray.org/povray.binaries.images/thread/%3Cweb.5ce356f7d68a971b4eec112d0%40news.povray.org%3E/

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Finding and extracting GDAL elevation data [2537 days 7 hours and 30 minutes ago]

Sun, 19 May 2019 06:46:23 GMT

On 19-5-2019 3:20, Bald Eagle wrote:
> 
> I've found a pretty convenient tool for getting heightfield elevation maps
> directly.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd2dqe3v7nU
> 
> https://tangrams.github.io/heightmapper
> 
> Now I just need to figure out a way to make the heightfield, the satellite
> image, and the street map align and be scaled properly.
> 
> 
> I also have "holes" in my heightfield when I try to texture it with an image
> map.  They appear to be at places that are over a certain elevation.   Does that
> ever happen?   CAN it ever happen?  I'd expect an image to be rgb in the range
> of 0-1.

My intuitive answer to 'Does that ever happen' would be an emphatic 
"No". However... I am no fan of Sketchup and thus do not know what kind 
of quaint things may happen.

> Is there a mechanism in POV-Ray to scale the rgb range of a heightfield image to
> the proper range?

Imo, by putting the image_map-containing texture /before/ any scaling of 
the height_field; but you certainly know that already.

-- 
Thomas

[Bald Eagle] Re: Finding and extracting GDAL elevation data [2537 days 12 hours and 51 minutes ago]

Sun, 19 May 2019 01:25:00 GMT

I've found a pretty convenient tool for getting heightfield elevation maps
directly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd2dqe3v7nU

https://tangrams.github.io/heightmapper

Now I just need to figure out a way to make the heightfield, the satellite
image, and the street map align and be scaled properly.


I also have "holes" in my heightfield when I try to texture it with an image
map.  They appear to be at places that are over a certain elevation.   Does that
ever happen?   CAN it ever happen?  I'd expect an image to be rgb in the range
of 0-1.
Is there a mechanism in POV-Ray to scale the rgb range of a heightfield image to
the proper range?

[Bald Eagle] Finding and extracting GDAL elevation data [2543 days 21 hours and 31 minutes ago]

Sun, 12 May 2019 16:45:00 GMT

I came across this during a search for an entirely different subject (as usual)
but have a long-standing interest in data-based heightfields for rendering IRL
terrain in POV-Ray.

https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/User:Maxbe/Relief_mit_POVray

In English:
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwiki.openstreetmap.org%2Fwiki%2FUser%3AMaxbe%2FRel
ief_mit_POVray

I'm not sure how to locate the grid that I want, and get the data.
I've managed to get that data in the past, and somehow magically open the files
and process them, but it seems to work differently every time, and the last time
I tried I failed.   :(

I'd prefer to do this in Linux, but even if I need Win, I'd just like to get the
data and quickly and efficiently make a heightfield.

A simple, documented workflow would likely help anyone else interested in doing
this in the future.

Like GrADS, the learning curve seems to initially be a bit steep.  :|

[Thomas de Groot] Re: GrADS - for world builders? [2565 days 7 hours and 33 minutes ago]

Sun, 21 Apr 2019 06:42:47 GMT

On 20-4-2019 14:29, Bald Eagle wrote:
> 
> I came across this the other day looking to analyze global data over time, and
> just thought that some folks might like to take a look.
> 
> I'm not sure if any of the data can be used to create scenes in POV-Ray, however
> it's open source, and the tutorial may give folks some ideas about adapting some
> of the code to SDL - since historically, so many Povvers have shown interest in
> making globes, planets, solar systems, creating weather systems, etc.
> 
> Apparently you can step through time points to show an animation, but I haven't
> yet gotten that to work (slowly enough to see it)
> 
> http://cola.gmu.edu/grads/gadoc/tutorial.html
> 
> 

It looks like a (simplified?) GIS program like ArcGIS/ArcView. It 
doesn't tell so, but I would expect the use of voxels here...

Potentially interesting...

-- 
Thomas

[Bald Eagle] GrADS - for world builders? [2566 days 1 hour and 46 minutes ago]

Sat, 20 Apr 2019 12:30:01 GMT

I came across this the other day looking to analyze global data over time, and
just thought that some folks might like to take a look.

I'm not sure if any of the data can be used to create scenes in POV-Ray, however
it's open source, and the tutorial may give folks some ideas about adapting some
of the code to SDL - since historically, so many Povvers have shown interest in
making globes, planets, solar systems, creating weather systems, etc.

Apparently you can step through time points to show an animation, but I haven't
yet gotten that to work (slowly enough to see it)

http://cola.gmu.edu/grads/gadoc/tutorial.html

[J Max Wilson] POV-Ray Extension for Visual Studio Code [2570 days 10 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Tue, 16 Apr 2019 03:20:01 GMT

I first encountered POV-Ray in the early 90s when I downloaded it from a BBS. As
a programmer I loved the unique scene description language approach and I was
able to create awesome 3D rendered images and animations that impressed my
friends and family. I've continued to tinker with it periodically for decades.
However, I haven't actively used it for some time.

In recent months I started tinkering with POV-Ray again. I naturally opened up a
scene file in Visual Studio Code, which I basically use for everything there
days. In case you haven't heard of it, Visual Studio Code is a free, open
source, cross-platform code editor created by Microsoft. It features a powerful
extension API. Users have created extensions to add support for just about every
programming language and file type under the sun. It has become one of the most
popular and powerful code editors available. And it represents a major shift at
Microsoft toward a more open, cross-platform approach.

Usually when I open a new kind of file, VS Code prompts me to install extensions
for that for type. But not with .pov files. Apparently nobody had created a
POV-Ray extension. So I decided to learn how to write a VS Code extension and I
created a POV-Ray extension.

Since I only tinker with POV-Ray, I don't know if it would be useful to the
average POV-Ray user, but I thought I'd share a link just in case anyone wants
to give it a try. It includes:

* Rendering the current .pov or .ini scene file in the VS Code integrated
terminal
* Syntax Highlighting and Snippets for common scene elements
* Settings to control the output image format, dimensions, and output file path
* Running POV-Ray as a Docker Image

You can download Visual Studio Code from https://code.visualstudio.com/

The extension is available in the VS Code Marketplace and can be installed
directly from inside VS Code:

https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/itemdetails?itemName=jmaxwilson.vscode-povray

If anyone opens a .pov scene file in VS Code they will be notified about the
extension and given the option to install it.

The extension is open source and available on GitHub under an MIT license if
anyone wants to fork it or submit pull requests for improvements or bug fixes.

https://github.com/jmaxwilson/vscode-povray

Compatible POV-Ray docker images are here:

https://hub.docker.com/r/jmaxwilson/povray

I have tested it on Windows 10 using the standard Windows command prompt,
Powershell, and WSL Ubuntu Bash as my integrated shell. I have  tried it out on
Mac OS X. And I have run it using Docker and POV-Ray docker images on both
Windows and Mac. I believe it will work on Ubuntu and probably other Debian
based linux distros that can run VS Code and POV-Ray or Docker.

Thanks for all of the years of enjoyment I have had using POV-Ray.

[ingo] Re: gadients.inc a bunch of functions [2661 days 20 hours and 9 minutes ago]

Mon, 14 Jan 2019 18:07:02 GMT

in news:5c376cc9$1@news.povray.org William F Pokorny wrote:

> It's perhaps worth posting again with the correct spelling of the 
> include file in the subject line

Reposted it in the proper group and with the right spelling
Message-ID: <XnsA9D7C1F3776F3seed7@news.povray.org>

http://news.povray.org/povray.binaries.scene-files/thread/%
3CXnsA9D7C1F3776F3seed7%40news.povray.org%3E/

ingo

[ingo] Re: gadients.inc a bunch of functions [2665 days 14 hours and 48 minutes ago]

Thu, 10 Jan 2019 23:27:35 GMT

in news:web.5c37b354cbe7b4b2c38922450@news.povray.org Leroy wrote:

> I think I most of these here, a round some
> where.

Exactly why I started collecting them in one file. There may be more, my 
archives are a mess :(

ingo

[ingo] Re: gadients.inc a bunch of functions [2665 days 14 hours and 50 minutes ago]

Thu, 10 Jan 2019 23:26:12 GMT

in news:web.5c3796f4cbe7b4b248892b50@news.povray.org jr wrote:

> improves on the test scene.

:) I'll come up with some examples how to use these. A big chunk of them 
only provide 'refinement' of what already can be done with texturing. 
Different interpolation between gay values etc.

In general, I think tutorials on fragment shaders for webglw (GLSL (OpenGL 
Shading Language)) etc. will give clues how to use such funtions.

It would be nice if the functions VM language would evolve a bit in that 
direction, without throwing away the goodies we have. If only it was for 
readability of the code,

ingo

[Leroy] Re: gadients.inc a bunch of functions [2665 days 17 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Thu, 10 Jan 2019 21:05:00 GMT

ingo <ing### [at] tagpovrayorg> wrote:
> 30+ functions for animations, building isosurfaces and textures. All
> visualised as curves and gradients.

Thanks! I just took a quick look.. I think I most of these here, a round some
where. But it's nice to have them all in one place!

[jr] Re: gadients.inc a bunch of functions [2665 days 19 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Thu, 10 Jan 2019 19:05:00 GMT

hi,

ingo <ing### [at] tagpovrayorg> wrote:
> An example use case,

improves on the test scene.  :-)

you say "30+ functions", but what good can they be to people who, like me, do
not have the maths, without some documentation (and perhaps usage examples)?


regards, jr.

[ingo] Re: gadients.inc a bunch of functions [2665 days 20 hours and 36 minutes ago]

Thu, 10 Jan 2019 17:40:26 GMT

in news:5c376cc9$1@news.povray.org William F Pokorny wrote:

> It's perhaps worth posting again with the correct spelling of the 
> include file

I'll do so later Bill, I also noticed there are some comments missing 
here and there. 
An example use case,

#version 3.8;
global_settings{ assumed_gamma 1.0 }
#default{ finish{ ambient 1 diffuse 0 emission 0}} 
#include "gradients.inc"
#include "functions.inc"

camera {
  orthographic location <0,0,-1> look_at  <0,0,0>
  right x*image_width/image_height
}

//==
// Remember the Agfacontour film for equidensitometry? Old Skool.
// Three narrow bands of a pattern
// Pf: a pattern or noise function
// pigment{function{Equidens(x,y,z,f_noise_generator(x,y,z,3))}}
// pigment{function{Equidens(x,y,z,f_wood(x,y,z))}}
#declare Equidens  = function(x,y,z,Pf){
                       G_cubic_pulse(Pf,.2,.05)+
                       G_cubic_pulse(Pf,.5,.05)+
                       G_cubic_pulse(Pf,.8,.05)
                     }

box {
  <-.5,-.5,0>, <.5,.5,0>
  texture {
    pigment {
      function{
        Equidens(x,y,z,f_wood(x,y,z))
      }
      color_map {
        [0.0 color rgb 0.0 ]
        [1.0 color rgb 1.0 ]
      }
      scale .05
    }
  }
}


ingo

[William F Pokorny] Re: gadients.inc a bunch of functions [2665 days 22 hours and 13 minutes ago]

Thu, 10 Jan 2019 16:03:21 GMT

On 1/9/19 5:31 PM, ingo wrote:
> 30+ functions for animations, building isosurfaces and textures. All
> visualised as curves and gradients.
> 
Thank you.

It's perhaps worth posting again with the correct spelling of the 
include file in the subject line as some - like me - search for posts by 
subject.

Seeing your collection has me thinking again about extending the built 
in function set with "helper" functions such as these where performance 
warrants.

Bill P.

[ingo] gadients.inc a bunch of functions [2666 days 15 hours and 45 minutes ago]

Wed, 9 Jan 2019 22:31:11 GMT

30+ functions for animations, building isosurfaces and textures. All 
visualised as curves and gradients.

[ingo] Re: povsdl2html [2672 days 1 hour and 1 minute ago]

Fri, 4 Jan 2019 13:14:56 GMT

in news:web.5c2f4e45411ead1b48892b50@news.povray.org jr wrote:

> thinking how html5 could be used to
> allow on-the-fly annotation, and saving of

Will have a look at that, never used it,

ingo

[jr] Re: povsdl2html [2672 days 1 hour and 56 minutes ago]

Fri, 4 Jan 2019 12:20:01 GMT

hi,

ingo <ing### [at] tagpovrayorg> wrote:
> Came across my old syntax highlighter yesterday and updated it to 3.8 beta
> syntax. Requires python3 and generates html of your code,

had a quick try, looks good in browser.  thinking how html5 could be used to
allow on-the-fly annotation, and saving of.

regards, jr.

[ingo] povsdl2html [2672 days 22 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Thu, 3 Jan 2019 15:54:37 GMT

Came across my old syntax highlighter yesterday and updated it to 3.8 beta 
syntax. Requires python3 and generates html of your code,

Ingo

[Thomas de Groot] Re: vector direction turned into rotation angles [2759 days 7 hours and 30 minutes ago]

Tue, 9 Oct 2018 06:46:06 GMT

On 8-10-2018 22:07, Kenneth wrote:
> But the ironic thing is, I don't *think* that I've ever had to actually USE
> calculus during my lifetime(!) So my 'mental machinery' has become quite rusty.
> Yet, trig concepts-- the basic ones-- have always stuck with me. And I do find
> uses for those from time to time.
> 

I join Kenneth with my own thanks too. I would add to that that I never 
ever was taught vector calculus (like dot product) either. And as for 
use in RL (professionally or otherwise): no, never. So, nice new 
knowledge indeed!

-- 
Thomas

[Kenneth] Re: vector direction turned into rotation angles [2759 days 18 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Mon, 8 Oct 2018 20:10:01 GMT

clipka <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:

>
> Speaking of dot product...
>
>
>   ______ ..........__
>    |    /:\ |       /\
>    |  Ba :__|90    / B
>    |     :        /
>    |    /|\      /
>    |   A |      /
>   L|     |     /
>    |     |    /
>    |     |   /
>    |     |  /
>    |     | /
>    |     |/
>   ------ *
>

Hey, that's great :-)  Nice and graphical. Thanks for taking the time and effort
to explain it so well. Now, I can go back to the pertinent Wikipedia article
with some new-found knowledge, to try and understand *that* description.

(If I was ever taught anything about do-products while in college those MANY
years ago, I've certainly forgotten it.)

Funny thing: Of the many maths classes I had to take (even prior to college),
CALCULUS was actually the most interesting and easily-grasped, for me-- the
direct result of having an excellent teacher. On the other hand, GEOMETRY (well,
its proofs) was exactly the opposite-- and for the same (opposite) reason.

But the ironic thing is, I don't *think* that I've ever had to actually USE
calculus during my lifetime(!) So my 'mental machinery' has become quite rusty.
Yet, trig concepts-- the basic ones-- have always stuck with me. And I do find
uses for those from time to time.

[clipka] Re: vector direction turned into rotation angles [2759 days 20 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Mon, 8 Oct 2018 17:34:38 GMT

Am 06.10.2018 um 09:12 schrieb Kenneth:

> Honestly, I would say that I understand maybe half of those things, from a
> conceptual/3-D spatial viewpoint (my preferred or ONLY way of thinking about
> math concepts.) Others like dot-products I have a really hard time visualizing.
> And of the ones that I *do* understand, I'm just not sure how or when to use
> some of them. THAT's quite frustrating-- to know that they are useful, but to
> not know when to apply them.

Speaking of dot product...

> VAngle(V1, V2), VAngleD(V1, V2)-- Compute the angle between two vectors.
> 
> VCos_Angle(V1, V2)-- Compute the cosine of the angle between two vectors.
> 
> [hey, where's VSin_Angle(V1 V2) ??]

Because `VCos_Angle` is more fundamental (see below) - even more
fundamental than `VAngle`.

> VProject_Plane(V1, Axis)-- Project vector V1 onto the plane defined by Axis.
> [Uh, then what? Does it return a length? A vector?]

A vector.

In essence, the "portion" of `V1` that is perpendicular to `Axis`.
Or what is left of `V1` if you take away the component in the direction
of `Axis`.

For example, if `Axis` would happen to be +z or -z, the result would be
equal to `<V1.x,V1.y,0>`; or if `Axis` would happen to be +x or -x, the
result wold be equal to `<0,V1.y,V1.z>`; and so on.


> ..... but their actual operations still appear a bit mysterious to me. Maybe it's
> the rather terse 'textbook' descriptions that give me a hard time, I dunno.

The core building block of these all happens to be the dot product.

For me, the key property of the dot product is as follows:

Suppose you have a /unit-length/ vector A specifying a direction, and an
arbitrary vector B:

  ______ ..........__
   |    /:\ |       /\
   |  Ba :__|90    / B
   |     :        /
   |    /|\      /
   |   A |      /
  L|     |     /
   |     |    /
   |     |   /
   |     |  /
   |     | /
   |     |/
  ------ *

(The orientation of A may be aribtrary; it's only axis-aligned here
because it makes ASCII art easier ;))

Then picture a right-angled triangle as drawn above, with B as the
longest leg (hypotenuse for the initiated), and one of the other legs
(one of the catheti) in the /direction/ of A.

Then the dot product of A and B gives you the length L of the A-aligned
leg - in other words, the distance between the common corner and the
right-angled corner.


(Remember, this only works if A is of unit length; otherwise, the dot
product grows or shrinks proportional to the length of A; not sure where
one would explout that - to me it is just a nuisance.)


This property can be put to good use in the following ways:

- Dividing L (the dot product) by the length of B gives the cosine of
the angle between the two vectors. (Or, if B is also of unit length, the
dot product /is/ the cosine.)

This is what `VCos_Angle` and `VAngle` use.[*]

- Multiplying A by L (the dot product) gives us the vector from the
common corner to the right-angled corner of the triangle (Ba in the
above diagramoid) - the component of B that is co-linear with A, if you
will. Or the projection of B onto A.

This is what `VProject_Plane` uses[*], by subtracting this vector Ba
from B, thus getting the component of B that is perpendicular to A.

[Kenneth] Re: vector direction turned into rotation angles [2762 days 7 hours and 1 minute ago]

Sat, 6 Oct 2018 07:15:01 GMT

"Bald Eagle" <cre### [at] netscapenet> wrote:

>
> Although I LOVE that you worked it out a priori:
>
> You know that there are macros and functions for this, right?
>
> http://www.povray.org/documentation/view/3.6.2/459/

Honestly, I would say that I understand maybe half of those things, from a
conceptual/3-D spatial viewpoint (my preferred or ONLY way of thinking about
math concepts.) Others like dot-products I have a really hard time visualizing.
And of the ones that I *do* understand, I'm just not sure how or when to use
some of them. THAT's quite frustrating-- to know that they are useful, but to
not know when to apply them.

That's really why I wanted to work out this angle-finder code from scratch (so
to speak); I could follow my own step-by-step construction, while using just
basic tools. Of course 'basic tools' is a relative concept-- I can tell that
you're WAY ahead of me in the maths department ;-) But I'm learning some
important things from your discussions.

From that docs page, I DO see some tools that I could have used...

VAngle(V1, V2), VAngleD(V1, V2)-- Compute the angle between two vectors.

VCos_Angle(V1, V2)-- Compute the cosine of the angle between two vectors.

[hey, where's VSin_Angle(V1 V2) ??]

VProject_Plane(V1, Axis)-- Project vector V1 onto the plane defined by Axis.
[Uh, then what? Does it return a length? A vector?]

.... but their actual operations still appear a bit mysterious to me. Maybe it's
the rather terse 'textbook' descriptions that give me a hard time, I dunno.

[Thomas de Groot] Re: vector direction turned into rotation angles [2762 days 7 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Sat, 6 Oct 2018 06:55:19 GMT

On 5-10-2018 21:20, Bald Eagle wrote:
> 
> You know that there are macros and functions for this, right?
> 
> http://www.povray.org/documentation/view/3.6.2/459/
> 
> 

Ha! Got it! That is where my earlier hunch came from of course! I used 
/those/ in some scene macros in the past!

I have to do something about my memory I guess ;-)

-- 
Thomas

[Bald Eagle] Re: vector direction turned into rotation angles [2762 days 18 hours and 51 minutes ago]

Fri, 5 Oct 2018 19:25:00 GMT

"Kenneth" <kdw### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> Hey, I figured it out!  :-)

As I knew you would.   Excellent work!   :)

> // The PROJECTION of the 'VECTOR' length onto the horizontal X/Z plane--

Although I LOVE that you worked it out a priori:

You know that there are macros and functions for this, right?

http://www.povray.org/documentation/view/3.6.2/459/

[Bald Eagle] Re: vector direction turned into rotation angles [2762 days 18 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Fri, 5 Oct 2018 19:20:01 GMT

If all you're doing is applying a series of rotations to an object, then start
with the default transformation matrix, and sequentially multiply it by the
rotation matrices of the individual rotations.

If I understand the power of a transformation matrix, then all of the rotations
you perform will be condensed into a single operation so that you can then
perform a rotate <x, y, z> operation with those values.


Easiest way I can think of to work this out is to take a highly asymmetric
object - the Stanford Dragon or just 3 arrowed axes - and instantiate it with
each progressive rotation.

Then in the same scene have the object as transformed by the matrix.

Then you can visually work out the matrix step by step if you have to until it
matches the rotate, rotate, rotate version.

[Kenneth] Re: vector direction turned into rotation angles [2762 days 22 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Fri, 5 Oct 2018 16:10:01 GMT

"Kenneth" <kdw### [at] gmailcom> wrote:

>
> You might notice that the code produces rotations for only TWO axes, around x
> and y; but that's enough for determining the proper orientation of an object.
> The third rotation axis is 'synthesized' by the other two, in a manner of
> speaking...

Now that I've had a chance to stand back and look at the results, I see that the
'3rd-axis' of rotation isn't really there. It would be the additional 'spin' or
facing-direction of the POV-Ray logo. Currently, the logo direction is just a
natural and automatic consequence of the code rotations in x and y.

I've already worked out one conceptual way of adding that spin-- to keep the
logo always facing -z, for example:

rotate (1 - (VECTOR.z))*90*y
THEN, the main rotations...
rotate <X_Y_PLANE_ANGLE,X_Z_PLANE_ANGLE,0>

The ordering of these is important. Note that there's a rotation in y first,
then a rotation in x, then *another* rotation in y. Simply adding the first
y-rotation within the 2nd rotate command does not produce the same results.

But I want the final rotation vector to be a *single* entity-- all the rotations
being combined-- in order to GET the final rotation angles themselves. The only
way to do that is to combine these two rotation statements into a transform, for
use. But I want to avoid using a transform-- because it becomes a pure matrix
behind-the-scenes, with no (easy!)way to then reconstruct the individual
rotations.

Although-- I'm still studying some matrix-to-angle code suggestions made by
others here  ;-)

While it's true that this 3rd-axis 'spin' can EASILY be added *manually* to an
object-- see the end of my scene file-- it would be far more elegant to do so
within the code (especially for animation purposes, where the 'spin' rotation
might need to constantly change.)

The code as-is is perfectly usable, though; it's just not as elegant or
self-contained as I'd like.

[Thomas de Groot] Re: vector direction turned into rotation angles [2763 days 6 hours and 27 minutes ago]

Fri, 5 Oct 2018 07:48:37 GMT

On 5-10-2018 5:12, Kenneth wrote:
> Hey, I figured it out!  :-)
> 

Smart and well done, sir! I shall not pretend that I already understand 
everything, but with some messing around that may well be in my future.

[I have some nagging feeling in my brain that I did something similar in 
the past but it totally escapes me. Most probably a false positive] :-)

-- 
Thomas

[Kenneth] vector direction turned into rotation angles [2763 days 11 hours and 1 minute ago]

Fri, 5 Oct 2018 03:15:01 GMT

Hey, I figured it out!  :-)

If you have a vector direction, or spatial point position, or a traced(...)
normal, this code will find the angles that it makes with the <0,0,0> origin.
In other words, it finds the actual rotation angles for a given <x,y,z> vector,
to use for whatever purpose-- like rotating an object to align to that vector.
Or for placing into a #debug statement.

There are already tools in POV-Ray that align objects FOR you-- like
Point_At_Trans and Reorient_Trans-- but they don't give you the actual rotation
angles that are used. That's why I wrote this.

I went back to basic trigonometry to figure it out... then had to do some
reading-up on the  asin  function  (arc-sin.) There are only a few 'special
rules' in the code, to take care of certain asin behavior.
And... no matrix math ;-)

For grins, I've included the visual trig diagrams-- the triangles. They helped
me to work out the code.

You might notice that the code produces rotations for only TWO axes, around x
and y; but that's enough for determining the proper orientation of an object.
The third rotation axis is 'synthesized' by the other two, in a manner of
speaking... and it has its own weird but understandable logic: Imagine that you
(as an 'object') are standing vertically, with your arms in front of you,
holding onto a vertical pole. As you tilt backwards, you will always still face
the pole, no matter how far you spin around it in y. Same logic here. (Of
course, you could pre-spin the object in y to face some other direction,
*before* applying the found rotations.)  I might work up some code to counteract
this-- so that an object always faces a set direction when it's rotated; but
that's icing on the cake for now.

In the code, there are two meaningful objects-- a BLACK rod, which is simply the
physical embodiment of the vector; and a WHITE rod as a 'real' object, made
later and rotated with the code's results. But you'll see only a *single* rod,
with speckles-- that's  both rods occupying the same space, to prove that the
code works. I used POV-ray's coincident-surface phenomenon as proof! ;-)  If you
mess with the code in some bad way, you'll probably see BOTH rods.

If you see a way to make the code simpler or more elegant, speak up. I
eventually want to turn it into a macro(?)

[You may have guessed that I plan to use this in my on-going 'position finder'
work, to solve a problem *there*.]

------------------
// October 3-4 2018

#version 3.7; // or 3.71 or 3.8
global_settings {assumed_gamma 1.0}
#default{finish{ambient .1 diffuse .9}}

#declare VECTOR = <-.9,.8,.6>; // or whatever values

//------------------------------
camera {
  perspective
  location  <.5, 1.5, -2.5>
  look_at   <0, .3, 0>
  right     x*image_width/image_height
  angle 35
}

light_source {
  0*x
  color rgb .8
  translate <200, 400, -200>
}

light_source {
  0*x
  color rgb .5
  translate <-200, 100, -200>
}

background{rgb .1}

// origin indicators
union{
cylinder{<-.15,0,0>,<.15,0,0> .010}  // X
cylinder{<0,-.15,0>,<0,.15,0> .010}  // Y
cylinder{<0,0,-.15>,<0,0,.15> .010 } // Z
    no_shadow
    pigment{rgb <1,.6,0>}
    }

plane{y,0
   no_shadow
   pigment{
      cells color_map{[0 rgb .1][1 rgb .6]} translate 3
          }
      }

//-------------- THE CODE -----------
// Important 'fudge factors' due to POV-Ray's inner workings, to prevent
// fatal "uncategorized error" (because of vnormalize below?)--
#if(VECTOR.x = 0)
#declare VECTOR = <0.0001,VECTOR.y,VECTOR.z>;
#else
#end

#if(VECTOR.y = 0)
#declare VECTOR = <VECTOR.x,0.0001,VECTOR.z>;
#else
#end

#if(VECTOR.z = 0)
#declare VECTOR = <VECTOR.x,VECTOR.y,0.0001>;
#else
#end

#declare VECTOR = vnormalize(VECTOR);

// The visual stand-in for the VECTOR
cylinder{0, VECTOR .015 no_shadow}

// The trig construction lines...
// RED
union{
cylinder{VECTOR,<VECTOR.x,0,VECTOR.z> .007}
cylinder{0,<VECTOR.x,0,VECTOR.z> .007}
pigment{rgbt <1,0,0,.5>}
no_shadow
}

// GREEN
union{
cylinder{0,<VECTOR.x,0,0> .007}
cylinder{<VECTOR.x,0,0>, <VECTOR.x,0,VECTOR.z> .007}
pigment{rgbt <0,.2,0,.5>}
no_shadow
}

#declare X_Y_PLANE_ANGLE = 90 - degrees(asin(VECTOR.y/1));
// to get the degree of rotation, referenced to an imaginary
// 'rotated' X/Y plane-- think of it as the final 'elevation'.
// It's the arc-sin of y/R in that plane--
// R (the hypoteneuse length) is 1.0-- the VECTOR length

#declare NEW_HYPOT = sqrt(pow(VECTOR.x,2) + pow(VECTOR.z,2));
// The PROJECTION of the 'VECTOR' length onto the horizontal X/Z plane--
// its length *there* compared to its real length of 1.0. This is for use
// in the X_Z_PLANE_ANGLE equation below, as the 'R' for its trig function.
// sqrt(x^2 + y^2 = R^2) to find the length of this 'new'
// hypoteneuse-- with the Z value substituted for Y.

// NOTE: At this point, the NEW_HYPOT value is always positive-- which may or
// may not be a good thing(?). But it causes no problem.

// This #if is the KEY to getting things right...
#if(VECTOR.x < 0)
#declare X_Z_PLANE_ANGLE = degrees(asin(VECTOR.z/NEW_HYPOT));
// to get the degree of rotation, AS SEEN ON the horizontal X/Z plane--
// it will actually be the rotation around the y-axis, to be applied AFTER
// the previous x-axis 'elevation'. Arc-sin of y/R, as seen looking DOWN
// on X/Z plane. NEW_HYPOT is NOT 1.0 in this plane.
#else
#declare X_Z_PLANE_ANGLE = degrees(-asin(VECTOR.z/NEW_HYPOT)); // ditto
#end

// The special rules...
#if(VECTOR.x < 0)
#declare X_Z_PLANE_ANGLE = X_Z_PLANE_ANGLE - 90;
#else
#end

#if(VECTOR.x >= 0)
#declare X_Z_PLANE_ANGLE = X_Z_PLANE_ANGLE + 90;
#else
#end

#declare FINAL_ROT =
<X_Y_PLANE_ANGLE,X_Z_PLANE_ANGLE,0>; // the final rotations!

// --------- END OF CODE ------------

// NEW rod, using the found rotation values
union{
cylinder{0,1.0*y .015}
text{ttf "cyrvetic.ttf" "POV-Ray" 1, 0
    pigment{
         gradient z
         color_map{
             [.5 rgb .6*x]
             [.5 rgb .2*z]
                  }
         scale 1.1
         translate -.05*z
           }
    scale .5*<.2,.2,.04>
    translate <-.2,1,-.02>
     }

// rotate ... *y // optional, to add any desired pre-spin to the object

#if(VECTOR.y < 0) rotate 180*y #else #end // optional, and only if
// VECTOR.y goes negative--  to keep the visual orientation of the
// object consistent with positive VECTOR.y appearance.
rotate FINAL_ROT
pigment{rgb 2}
no_shadow
}

[Stephen] Re: Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2770 days 6 hours and 3 minutes ago]

Fri, 28 Sep 2018 08:12:57 GMT

On 28/09/2018 07:27, Thomas de Groot wrote:
> On 27-9-2018 21:29, Stephen wrote:

>>
>> There is a nice little TRS utility called Capture2Text that selects a 
>> portion of your screen then OCR's the text and copies it to the 
>> clipboard. I find it very handy.
>>
>> http://capture2text.sourceforge.net/
>>
> 
> Thanks! That is very useful!
> 

I have been using it for a couple of years and it is probably my most 
used utility. In Pov you might need to change he message pane, font and 
size for the OCR to work properly in English. I have not tried using any 
of the other languages or translation functions.

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2770 days 6 hours and 45 minutes ago]

Fri, 28 Sep 2018 07:30:47 GMT

On 27-9-2018 20:29, Kenneth wrote:
> Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
>> On 27-9-2018 0:09, Kenneth wrote:
>>> Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> 
>>
>>> BTW, I noticed a slight mistake in your code:
>>> [Given]
>>> //=======================================
>>> // TEST ROD
>>> // ======================================
>>> //Rod at position given by:
>>> //#declare screen_x_position = 260;
>>> //#declare screen_y_position = 850;
>>> cylinder {<0,0,0>, <0,100,0>,5 pigment {rgb <1,1,0>}
>>> translate <-2426.313, -269.700, -1300.118>
>>> }
>>>
>>> ..... but the actual translation that's returned from those screen
>>> percentages is
>>> translate <-2315.395, -298.978, -1668.753>
>>>
>>> There's still a position error, but not quite as large.
>>
>> That is bizarre because I literally copied the translation values from
>> the screen. So there seems to be a slight difference between computers
>> too...
>>
> 
> Well, I discovered why we arrived at different values: It was a really simple
> and dumb mistake I made. I've been running your code tests at 800X600
> resolution; I didn't notice that your own tests used 1280X640. Uh, that does
> make a difference :-)  Using your aspect ratio, my values now agree with yours.
> Duh. Sorry for the confusion-- and I'm glad it turned out to be so simple!!

Ouch! glad it is solved! I should have mentioned the change in aspect 
ratio. One of the things I tested was if widely different aspect ratio's 
influenced the outcome, but no.

Something I thought about this night: would the height_field resolution 
influence the trace? compared to a primitive object? Answer: no, it does 
not.

Next, after I restored the lineation on the height_field, I found 
something for your thoughts. It appears, at least in my test file, that 
the shift is /only/ along the z-axis, and furthermore, that the shift 
approximates 200 pov units. Is that chance? Is it significant? I have no 
idea (yet).

The restored height_field looks like this:

//start code
height_field {
     function 500,500 {pattern {bozo scale 0.08}}
     smooth
     translate <-0.5, 0, -0.5>
     texture {
       pigment {
         average
         pigment_map {
           [1.0 rgb <0.5, 1, 0.3>]
           [0.6 gradient x frequency 100
                color_map {
                  [0.07 rgb -0.3]
                  [0.07 rgb <0.7, 1, 0.7>]
                }
              ]
           [0.6 gradient z frequency 100
                color_map {
                  [0.07 rgb -0.3]
                  [0.07 rgb <0.7, 1, 0.7>]
                }
              ]
         }
       }
       finish {ambient 0 diffuse 0.5}
     }
     scale HF_scale
     translate -HF_scale.y*y
     scale <1, 0.5, 1>
   }
//end code

>>>
>>> As an experiment to see the effect of a changing camera angle, try this...
> 
> Well, those values are now wrong as well :-O  Although, it would still be useful
> for you to run two renders with vastly different camera angle values, to see how
> the found translation value gets more accurate at 'telephoto/zoom' settings.

I did, and the results are certainly better when using the zoom effect.

> 
> BTW, Norbert's position-finder code also #debugs the found rotation/translation
> values to the message pane. My own (Windows) set-up for *using* those values is
> to go there, then EDIT/COPY PANE, then paste the contents into Windows' Wordpad
> or Notepad. Then, I re-copy the two values and simply paste them into my scene
> code. (Instead of copying them by eye from the preview render.) It's fast and
> foolproof.
> 
> Meanwhile, I continue working...
> 

Me too...


-- 
Thomas

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2770 days 7 hours and 49 minutes ago]

Fri, 28 Sep 2018 06:27:26 GMT

On 27-9-2018 21:29, Stephen wrote:
> On 27/09/2018 19:29, Kenneth wrote:
>> Â  My own (Windows) set-up for*using*Â  those values is
>> to go there, then EDIT/COPY PANE, then paste the contents into 
>> Windows' Wordpad
>> or Notepad. Then, I re-copy the two values and simply paste them into 
>> my scene
>> code. (Instead of copying them by eye from the preview render.) It's 
>> fast and
>> foolproof.
> 
> 
> There is a nice little TRS utility called Capture2Text that selects a 
> portion of your screen then OCR's the text and copies it to the 
> clipboard. I find it very handy.
> 
> http://capture2text.sourceforge.net/
> 

Thanks! That is very useful!

-- 
Thomas

[Stephen] Re: Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2770 days 18 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Thu, 27 Sep 2018 19:30:00 GMT

On 27/09/2018 19:29, Kenneth wrote:
>   My own (Windows) set-up for*using*  those values is
> to go there, then EDIT/COPY PANE, then paste the contents into Windows' Wordpad
> or Notepad. Then, I re-copy the two values and simply paste them into my scene
> code. (Instead of copying them by eye from the preview render.) It's fast and
> foolproof.


There is a nice little TRS utility called Capture2Text that selects a 
portion of your screen then OCR's the text and copies it to the 
clipboard. I find it very handy.

http://capture2text.sourceforge.net/

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Bald Eagle] Re: Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2770 days 19 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Thu, 27 Sep 2018 19:05:00 GMT

"Kenneth" <kdw### [at] gmailcom> wrote:

> BTW, Norbert's position-finder code also #debugs the found rotation/translation
> values to the message pane. My own (Windows) set-up for *using* those values is
> to go there, then EDIT/COPY PANE, then paste the contents into Windows' Wordpad
> or Notepad. Then, I re-copy the two values and simply paste them into my scene
> code. (Instead of copying them by eye from the preview render.) It's fast and
> foolproof.


I had the idea that it would be a handy feature to be able to write directly to
the clipboard from POV-Ray.
Not sure how much that would take under-the-hood to do...

[Kenneth] Re: Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2770 days 19 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Thu, 27 Sep 2018 18:30:07 GMT

Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> On 27-9-2018 0:09, Kenneth wrote:
> > Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:

>
> > BTW, I noticed a slight mistake in your code:
> > [Given]
> > //=======================================
> > // TEST ROD
> > // ======================================
> > //Rod at position given by:
> > //#declare screen_x_position = 260;
> > //#declare screen_y_position = 850;
> > cylinder {<0,0,0>, <0,100,0>,5 pigment {rgb <1,1,0>}
> > translate <-2426.313, -269.700, -1300.118>
> > }
> >
> > ..... but the actual translation that's returned from those screen
> > percentages is
> > translate <-2315.395, -298.978, -1668.753>
> >
> > There's still a position error, but not quite as large.
>
> That is bizarre because I literally copied the translation values from
> the screen. So there seems to be a slight difference between computers
> too...
>

Well, I discovered why we arrived at different values: It was a really simple
and dumb mistake I made. I've been running your code tests at 800X600
resolution; I didn't notice that your own tests used 1280X640. Uh, that does
make a difference :-)  Using your aspect ratio, my values now agree with yours.
Duh. Sorry for the confusion-- and I'm glad it turned out to be so simple!!
> >
> > As an experiment to see the effect of a changing camera angle, try this...

Well, those values are now wrong as well :-O  Although, it would still be useful
for you to run two renders with vastly different camera angle values, to see how
the found translation value gets more accurate at 'telephoto/zoom' settings.

BTW, Norbert's position-finder code also #debugs the found rotation/translation
values to the message pane. My own (Windows) set-up for *using* those values is
to go there, then EDIT/COPY PANE, then paste the contents into Windows' Wordpad
or Notepad. Then, I re-copy the two values and simply paste them into my scene
code. (Instead of copying them by eye from the preview render.) It's fast and
foolproof.

Meanwhile, I continue working...

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2771 days 7 hours and 2 minutes ago]

Thu, 27 Sep 2018 07:14:23 GMT

On 27-9-2018 0:09, Kenneth wrote:
> Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
>> On 26-9-2018 8:32, Thomas de Groot wrote:
>>> Something else though, troubles me from even before your work. There are
>>> scenes where the results from the trace are significantly away from the
>>> initial screen position given to the macro...
>>>
>>
>> I have got a test scene where the problem is demonstrated...
> 
> Yes, I've noticed as well that the found translation doesn't always agree with
> the 'point-of-interest' that's chosen. I think the problem is based on the given
> camera angle. In my earlier tests, I tried to include a slight 'fudge factor'
> value to correct for this-- but found that the value needed to change
> dynamically (in a way that I couldn't figure out.) It *may* be because screen
> size vs. camera angle is not a 'linear' relationship(?), although I haven't
> really investigated that, nor as to how Norbert's code is actually using cam_ang
> in his math. As a practical solution, my *own* fix for this position problem is
> to simply change the found translation vector values until things look correct!
> :-P
> 

Yep! That was my practical solution too! :-) Still, I do not quite 
understand /why/ this happens though. My naive reasoning would tell me 
it should not, but then of course, what do I know about the deeper 
arcane workings of ray-tracing?

> BTW, I noticed a slight mistake in your code:
> [Given]
> //=======================================
> // TEST ROD
> // ======================================
> //Rod at position given by:
> //#declare screen_x_position = 260;
> //#declare screen_y_position = 850;
> cylinder {<0,0,0>, <0,100,0>,5 pigment {rgb <1,1,0>}
> translate <-2426.313, -269.700, -1300.118>
> }
> 
> ..... but the actual translation that's returned from those screen percentages is
> translate <-2315.395, -298.978, -1668.753>
> 
> There's still a position error, but not quite as large.

That is bizarre because I literally copied the translation values from 
the screen. So there seems to be a slight difference between computers 
too...

> 
> As an experiment to see the effect of a changing camera angle, try this (but
> first make your rod object a little taller--
> cylinder {<0,0,0>, <0,500,0>,5
> 
> Then,
> CamAng (or cam_ang) = 15;
> 
> ROD translation:
> translate <-2180.222, -99.162, -876.054>
> 
> Now, try to choose the screen coordinates of the rod on your Landscape
> (screen_x_position and screen_y_position.) My own visual attempt is at the
> screen precentages 126,873-- which places the arrow almost exactly where it's
> supposed to go  :-)
> 
> But now, change CamAng to 80 (leaving the rod where it is), and repeat the
> trial. (Hopefully, you can still see the rod!) My best guess for the new screen
> percentages is 442,558-- and there's now a slight offest in the arrow position.
> 
> As a practical solution to the offset problem, it's probably best to use more of
> a 'zoom' camera angle to initially choose a point-of-interest and to place the
> object.

I am going to do this homework thoroughly...

> 
> (BTW: Gille's macro doesn't appear to interfere in any way with the
> position-finder macro or vice-versa, so no worries there. Neither macro depends
> on the other, as they are different as to their purposes, so both can be used at
> the same time-- as you have been doing, of course.)
> 

I thought you would be interested. It is very helpful to me as I 
regularly automatically trace large number of objects (like trees) on my 
landscapes. It helps to sift out all those positions falling outside of 
the screen.

-- 
Thomas

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2771 days 7 hours and 32 minutes ago]

Thu, 27 Sep 2018 06:43:37 GMT

On 27-9-2018 6:09, Kenneth wrote:
> "Kenneth" <kdw### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
>>>
>>> I have got a test scene where the problem is demonstrated...
>>
>> Yes, I've noticed as well that the found translation doesn't always agree with
>> the 'point-of-interest' that's chosen. I think the problem is based on
>> the given camera angle.... It *may* be because screen
>> size vs. camera angle is not a 'linear' relationship(?)...
> 
> Sorry if that sounded confusing; 'screen size' was the wrong phrase. What I
> meant was, there may be a non-linear relationship between camera angle and the
> resulting view in a render or screen preview-- meaning, as the angle value goes
> higher (more wide-angle), the camera view takes in a larger portion of the
> scene, but the change may not follow a strictly linear relationship to the
> changing angle. (The change in the 'visual' distance between two objects, vs.
> the
> real POV-ray distance there.) I've never tested this; it would be interesting
> to construct a plot of distance values (as seen in the preview render,
> horizontally for example) with the camera angle changing all the way from 1 to
> 90(!)
> 

You have brought a couple of interesting things to my attention. I have 
scratched my head a lot in the past without results, so now I am going 
to test this again: My next week-end seems booked ;-)

-- 
Thomas

[Kenneth] Re: Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2771 days 10 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Thu, 27 Sep 2018 04:10:01 GMT

"Kenneth" <kdw### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> >
> > I have got a test scene where the problem is demonstrated...
>
> Yes, I've noticed as well that the found translation doesn't always agree with
> the 'point-of-interest' that's chosen. I think the problem is based on
> the given camera angle.... It *may* be because screen
> size vs. camera angle is not a 'linear' relationship(?)...

Sorry if that sounded confusing; 'screen size' was the wrong phrase. What I
meant was, there may be a non-linear relationship between camera angle and the
resulting view in a render or screen preview-- meaning, as the angle value goes
higher (more wide-angle), the camera view takes in a larger portion of the
scene, but the change may not follow a strictly linear relationship to the
changing angle. (The change in the 'visual' distance between two objects, vs.
the
real POV-ray distance there.) I've never tested this; it would be interesting
to construct a plot of distance values (as seen in the preview render,
horizontally for example) with the camera angle changing all the way from 1 to
90(!)

[Kenneth] Re: Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2771 days 16 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Wed, 26 Sep 2018 22:10:00 GMT

Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> On 26-9-2018 8:32, Thomas de Groot wrote:
> > Something else though, troubles me from even before your work. There are
> > scenes where the results from the trace are significantly away from the
> > initial screen position given to the macro...
> >
>
> I have got a test scene where the problem is demonstrated...

Yes, I've noticed as well that the found translation doesn't always agree with
the 'point-of-interest' that's chosen. I think the problem is based on the given
camera angle. In my earlier tests, I tried to include a slight 'fudge factor'
value to correct for this-- but found that the value needed to change
dynamically (in a way that I couldn't figure out.) It *may* be because screen
size vs. camera angle is not a 'linear' relationship(?), although I haven't
really investigated that, nor as to how Norbert's code is actually using cam_ang
in his math. As a practical solution, my *own* fix for this position problem is
to simply change the found translation vector values until things look correct!
:-P

BTW, I noticed a slight mistake in your code:
[Given]
//=======================================
// TEST ROD
// ======================================
//Rod at position given by:
//#declare screen_x_position = 260;
//#declare screen_y_position = 850;
cylinder {<0,0,0>, <0,100,0>,5 pigment {rgb <1,1,0>}
translate <-2426.313, -269.700, -1300.118>
}

..... but the actual translation that's returned from those screen percentages is
translate <-2315.395, -298.978, -1668.753>

There's still a position error, but not quite as large.

As an experiment to see the effect of a changing camera angle, try this (but
first make your rod object a little taller--
cylinder {<0,0,0>, <0,500,0>,5

Then,
CamAng (or cam_ang) = 15;

ROD translation:
translate <-2180.222, -99.162, -876.054>

Now, try to choose the screen coordinates of the rod on your Landscape
(screen_x_position and screen_y_position.) My own visual attempt is at the
screen precentages 126,873-- which places the arrow almost exactly where it's
supposed to go  :-)

But now, change CamAng to 80 (leaving the rod where it is), and repeat the
trial. (Hopefully, you can still see the rod!) My best guess for the new screen
percentages is 442,558-- and there's now a slight offest in the arrow position.

As a practical solution to the offset problem, it's probably best to use more of
a 'zoom' camera angle to initially choose a point-of-interest and to place the
object.

(BTW: Gille's macro doesn't appear to interfere in any way with the
position-finder macro or vice-versa, so no worries there. Neither macro depends
on the other, as they are different as to their purposes, so both can be used at
the same time-- as you have been doing, of course.)

[Kenneth] Re: Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2771 days 19 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Wed, 26 Sep 2018 18:35:03 GMT

Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
>
> I have got a test scene where the problem is demonstrated. I attach it
> here, together with a slightly changed version of your position finder
> and Gilles Tran's Visibility Test macro...

Thanks! I will investigate this. Gille's macro is also new to me-- so
double-thanks for bringing it to my attention :-)

My many code trials have been real brain-twisters; sometimes one 'fix'
introduces yet another problem. At times, I've had to step away from the code to
regain my sanity ;-) But it's *slowly* improving as I continue work on it.

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2772 days 6 hours and 36 minutes ago]

Wed, 26 Sep 2018 07:39:53 GMT

On 26-9-2018 8:32, Thomas de Groot wrote:
> Something else though, troubles me from even before your work. There are 
> scenes where the results from the trace are significantly away from the 
> initial screen position given to the macro. I shall try to get a demo 
> scene together where this is demonstrated.
> 

I have got a test scene where the problem is demonstrated. I attach it 
here, together with a slightly changed version of your position finder 
and Gilles Tran's Visibility Test macro (which might be necessary). This 
last one I often use to get the right zoom value for the camera in order 
to calculate traces exactly within the visible screen scene. If I make 
myself understood... I don't think however, from my testing, that that 
influences the issue at hand in any way.

I am curious to learn what you think.

-- 
Thomas

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2772 days 7 hours and 43 minutes ago]

Wed, 26 Sep 2018 06:33:04 GMT

On 25-9-2018 22:12, Kenneth wrote:
> Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> 
>>> I like it! I really do, and I shall replace my own version with yours.
> 
>>>
>>> I may re-instate my 'kludge' fixes for some of the remaining traced 'normal'
>>> behavior...
> 
> I've just come across another subtle flaw in the code-- NOT normal-related--
> that's probably been there since my *early* experiments. I  may have introduced
> it with my own fixes, I don't know. Basically, *sometimes* the arrow or 'new'
> object suddenly flips from one side of the preview render to the other. But it
> happens only with certain juxtapositions of camera and lookat point, and their
> positions relative to the x/y plane at the origin. It's strange that I didn't
> see this flaw previously,  even after 100-plus tests of the code! (All my
> previsous tests just happened to avoid this situation, amazingly.)
> 
> Luckily, I've been able to deduce the 'rules' that govern this behavior, so I'll
> add a fix for it-- as soon as I figure out how ;-)
> 

That is strange and I have no clue - nor experience - about this.

Something else though, troubles me from even before your work. There are 
scenes where the results from the trace are significantly away from the 
initial screen position given to the macro. I shall try to get a demo 
scene together where this is demonstrated.

-- 
Thomas

[Kenneth] Re: Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2772 days 18 hours and 1 minute ago]

Tue, 25 Sep 2018 20:15:01 GMT

Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:

> > I like it! I really do, and I shall replace my own version with yours.

> >
> > I may re-instate my 'kludge' fixes for some of the remaining traced 'normal'
> > behavior...

I've just come across another subtle flaw in the code-- NOT normal-related--
that's probably been there since my *early* experiments. I  may have introduced
it with my own fixes, I don't know. Basically, *sometimes* the arrow or 'new'
object suddenly flips from one side of the preview render to the other. But it
happens only with certain juxtapositions of camera and lookat point, and their
positions relative to the x/y plane at the origin. It's strange that I didn't
see this flaw previously,  even after 100-plus tests of the code! (All my
previsous tests just happened to avoid this situation, amazingly.)

Luckily, I've been able to deduce the 'rules' that govern this behavior, so I'll
add a fix for it-- as soon as I figure out how ;-)

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2774 days 6 hours and 54 minutes ago]

Mon, 24 Sep 2018 07:22:24 GMT

On 23-9-2018 21:26, Kenneth wrote:
> Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
>>
>> I like it! I really do, and I shall replace my own version with yours.
>>
> 
> Thanks, glad to hear that it's useful!
> 
> I may re-instate my 'kludge' fixes for some of the remaining traced 'normal'
> behavior; I found a way to include that stuff in a brute-force kind of way (it's
> not very elegant code, but produces results.) I'm currently running more tests,
> to see if there are *other* kludges that I need to add ;-)  If it all works out
> in a satisfactory way, I'll post the updated macro here.
> 
> 

That would be excellent.

-- 
Thomas

[Kenneth] Re: Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2774 days 18 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Sun, 23 Sep 2018 19:30:00 GMT

Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
>
> I like it! I really do, and I shall replace my own version with yours.
>

Thanks, glad to hear that it's useful!

I may re-instate my 'kludge' fixes for some of the remaining traced 'normal'
behavior; I found a way to include that stuff in a brute-force kind of way (it's
not very elegant code, but produces results.) I'm currently running more tests,
to see if there are *other* kludges that I need to add ;-)  If it all works out
in a satisfactory way, I'll post the updated macro here.

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2775 days 2 hours and 49 minutes ago]

Sun, 23 Sep 2018 11:27:29 GMT

On 19-9-2018 11:38, Kenneth wrote:
> Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> 
>>
>> Well done, sir! I have little time at this particular moment, but be
>> sure that I am going to test your code. Just wanted you to know that I
>> was aware.
>>
> 
> Many thanks!
> 
> NOW, I'm finally going to take a leisurely look at your own code. I was on a
> "mission from God" (as the Blues Brothers would say), to see how far I could get
> on my own. Wow, did that hurt my brain!! Fun yet frustrating, at the same time.
> 
> 
> 

I like it! I really do, and I shall replace my own version with yours.

-- 
Thomas

[Kenneth] Re: Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2778 days 17 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 20:30:00 GMT

"Kenneth" <kdw### [at] gmailcom> wrote:

>
> *The code seems to be more precise if, for cam_ang, you use more of a 'zoom'
> angle than a wide-angle (i.e., 30 is better than 67, for example.) This would
> just be temporary, until the new object is correctly placed and you no longer
> need the macro.
>

Hmm. The 2nd part of that little paragraph needs clarifying (only because the
code is presently a self-contained test scene): The accurate placement of an
object *depends* on the camera angle (cam_ang) staying the same. It needs to be
pre-set with whatever value you choose, and NOT changed (at least *while* using
the macro). For example, with a given set of...

cam_loc
lookat
cam_ang

....for the camera, the preview render will look the way you want, and you then
choose a 'point of interest' in the scene. If you then *change* cam_angle, that
chosen point will not be where you thought it would be-- since the essence of
the code is to work solely with the visual on-screen preview (which 'sets' the
point of interest BASED ON the three parameters.) A different cam_angle would
naturally create a different-looking on-screen preview.

Again, this caveat applies only to the current test scene set-up.

BTW, you CAN currently use the macro itself in one of your own scenes, to try it
out. Just make sure the three camera parameters match those of the 'real' camera
in your scene. (And the macro call needs to go somewhere AFTER your own scene
camera; the macro's built-in camera temporarily replaces it.) Once you've placed
your new object, you no longer need the macro, and you can then change your own
camera parameters to whatever you like.

[Kenneth] Re: Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2779 days 4 hours and 36 minutes ago]

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 09:40:00 GMT

Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:

>
> Well done, sir! I have little time at this particular moment, but be
> sure that I am going to test your code. Just wanted you to know that I
> was aware.
>

Many thanks!

NOW, I'm finally going to take a leisurely look at your own code. I was on a
"mission from God" (as the Blues Brothers would say), to see how far I could get
on my own. Wow, did that hurt my brain!! Fun yet frustrating, at the same time.

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2779 days 7 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 07:05:02 GMT

On 19-9-2018 1:02, Kenneth wrote:
> Back in 2006, Norbert posted a really interesting macro 'tool' -- an object
> 'position finder' (or 'new object placer' as I call it)--that I've only recently
> become aware of. (Thanks, Thomas de Groot.) The code had a few flaws that I
> thought I would try and fix, as it's quite magical in what it does.  Norbert
> even mentioned at the time that in was not very mature. My own code is below, in
> a preliminary form. Currently, it's a stand-alone scene, for testing; I want to
> turn it into an include file eventually..
> 

Well done, sir! I have little time at this particular moment, but be 
sure that I am going to test your code. Just wanted you to know that I 
was aware.

-- 
Thomas

[Kenneth] Re: Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2779 days 8 hours and 36 minutes ago]

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 05:40:01 GMT

"Bald Eagle" <cre### [at] netscapenet> wrote:
> Nice job, Walker.   :)

Thanks! I've been *slaving* over this code, day after day. (But I'm still
irritated that I couldn't get it completely worked out. I haven't given up yet!)
You may have already guessed that my recent post about matrix use and transforms
was a last-ditch effort to solve the remaining flaws in this code.

>
> I tried the macro with a point not on the 'surface' and just got the macro
> message - I'm wondering if instead the macro ought to return a normalized vector
> indicating the direction from the camera to that selected pixel.
>
> Then you could translate the object to the camera position, and then some
> multiple along that vector, so that you could place things "in the air".

Like you, I've been wondering how to get such 'in air' positions, which didn't
seem possible with the way the code was constructed. But I tried some more
tests, per your suggestion (going about it the wrong way, naturally), and
realized that your PLANE idea wouldn't need such an arrow...
>
> I suppose a vertical semi-transparent plane would work just as well.
>

That is a brilliant idea! It didn't occur to me at all. And the plane can be
positioned (and rotated if necessary) to get any in-air position anywhere. Add
this code into the SURFACE object-union (and comment it out if it's not
needed)...

plane{z,0  // a transparent plane, for picking positions IN SPACE
     texture {
  pigment{
     average
     pigment_map{
     [0.6 gradient x frequency 8
          color_map{
                  [.07 rgb -.3]
                  [.07 rgbt <1,0,0,.7>]
                  }
     ]
     [0.6 gradient y frequency 8
         color_map{
                  [.07 rgb -.3]
                  [.07 rgbt <1,0,0,.7>]
                  }
     ]
                }
       }
  finish {ambient 0 emission .5 diffuse 0}
     }
  rotate 37   // whatever you want
  translate -1.3*z // wherever you want to put it
    }

BTW: When an in-air POSITION is returned, it's probably best to ignore the found
ROTATION-- as it has no real meaning re: the normal traced on that 'artificial
plane'.

[Bald Eagle] Re: Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2779 days 12 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 01:55:00 GMT

Nice job, Walker.   :)

Thanks to you, I understand much better what this whole thing is all about.

I'll see if maybe I have some time to sketch it out and run some experiments to
see where the bugs are coming from.   But as we know, I have my good days, and I
have my bad days   ;)

Perhaps the 'surface' ought to be renamed the 'target group' or 'target
object[s]' since it clarifies the use of trace.

I tried the macro with a point not on the 'surface' and just got the macro
message - I'm wondering if instead the macro ought to return a normalized vector
indicating the direction from the camera to that selected pixel.

Then you could translate the object to the camera position, and then some
multiple along that vector, so that you could place things "in the air".

I suppose a vertical semi-transparent plane would work just as well.

I wonder just how much photogrammetry could be developed along these lines...
https://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-10/new-program-slips-super-accurate-false-images-existing-photographs


Keep up the good work   :)

[Kenneth] Norbert Kern's 'Position-Finder' code-- redux [2779 days 15 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Tue, 18 Sep 2018 23:05:00 GMT

Back in 2006, Norbert posted a really interesting macro 'tool' -- an object
'position finder' (or 'new object placer' as I call it)--that I've only recently
become aware of. (Thanks, Thomas de Groot.) The code had a few flaws that I
thought I would try and fix, as it's quite magical in what it does.  Norbert
even mentioned at the time that in was not very mature. My own code is below, in
a preliminary form. Currently, it's a stand-alone scene, for testing; I want to
turn it into an include file eventually..

The general idea of his code is to add and place an extra object into your scene
after the fact, purely by choosing  pixel coordinates of a 'visual' point in
the screen preview render (or in a rendered image.) His code returns a rotation
and translation that you then plug into your new object, and it magically shows
up in proper 3D space in your re-rendered scene. (Then, you no longer need the
macro.) As Thomas pointed out elsewhere, this sames gobs of time trying to
'deduce'  the new 3D coordinates that you need. (The scene here already includes
a 'new' test object.)

For all of this to work, a 'surface object' in the scene needs to be
pre-#declared and given to the macro-- usually the ground object in your scene;
that surface is traced automatically (within the macro.) It's a key concept of
Norbert's code. But this 'surface' can actually be a union of *many* objects;
then you can choose a position on any of them.

It's still Norbert's magic; I've just tried to make it more consistent. Many of
my own changes were arrived at experimentally, so the code may not be very
elegant. BTW, I didn't want to amateurishly fumble around with his core math;
that's intact.

Something I didn't understand at first: Of the two transforms that are
returned-- rotate and translate-- the rotation actually aligns the placed object
along the surface normal there. That's a nice Norbert touch (but see below.)

Here's Norbert's original code...
http://news.povray.org/povray.binaries.scene-files/attachment/%3Cweb.4478509041a06b1c9bff7e8b0%40news.povray.org%3E/pos
ition_finder.pov.txt


.... and his initial post about it...
http://news.povray.org/povray.binaries.images/thread/%3Cweb.44784f2141a06b1c9bff7e8b0%40news.povray.org%3E/?ttop=423977
&toff=3700


For picking  the 'point of interest' in the initial preview render (the 2-D x/y
pixel position), Norbert originally chose to use screen *percentages*. I thought
of changing that to the render's actual pixel positions-- but Norbert's idea is
better: the code doesn't depend on the actual size/resolution/aspect ratio of a
render; that's taken care of automatically. (The slight CHANGE I made to that
scheme is, instead of the render percentage going from 0 to 100, it's now 0 to
1000 to get better precision for the point-of-interest-- simply because of the
way POV-ray shows percentages at the upper-left corner of a render preview when
you move your mouse cursor around: like 0.216 for the x-percentage there, which
would then be 216 as used in the code.)

A BIG caveat: I don't like posting code when I know it still has flaws, but
that's the case here, But rather than continuing to work on it for the next
week/month/year(!), I wanted to get it out for testing.  The remaining flaw is
*specific* to chosen points on the 'underside' of objects (like the lower half
of a sphere.) As far as I can tell, the original code was not designed for this
situation. The trouble appears to be when Norm.y goes *negative*, and might also
depend on the camera location vs. the 'point-of-interest' (the vector between
the two.) I think  the code lines that use   vaxis_rotate   and/or   atan2  are
the culprits,   but I don't know how to fix them, try as I might. Some things
need 'flipping' somewhere, when Norm.y goes negative. I tried lots of different
ad-hoc code additions elsewhere-- kludges, really-- which do work in *most*
circumstances but not all. (For example, my experiments worked for the underside
of horizontal cylinders , but not spheres.) For clarity's sake (and sanity!), I
left out all of that stuff.  But if you restrict the point-of-interest to the
'upper surface' of objects, it seems to work consistently.

Also: The found rotation (based on the traced normal of the 'surface') is not
very accurate at times; put another way, the rotation gets better as the traced
normal approaches the  +y direction (and not just 90-degrees orthogonal to any
particular surface, but basically parallel to the sky vector.) I've tried lots
of workarounds for this, but I haven't been able to disentangle all the things
that are going on.  (To see this effect, try some positions on the upper
hemisphere of the large sphere but close to the horizontal mid-line; also move
the camera around.)

HOWEVER, the found *position* always works the way it should. AFAIK!

Some of my changes:
* The macro has its own camera now (temporary, used only when the macro is
actually in use.) It replaces your scene's camera, but uses the same data which
you supply.

* The camera and its look-at point can be anywhere now , with consistent results
(although I haven't tested EVERY possible combination)

* The indicator arrow now remains the same size (more or less), no matter where
it  happens to be in 3D space. IMO, this aids clarity.

* The on-screen text is now fixed in the upper-left of the render. (I used a
matrix to do that, but I can't take credit for it-- it's 'borrowed' from the
original screen.inc file.)

* A strange mirror-flipping behavior (along the x-axis) has been eliminated.

* Note that it only works with a typical perspective camera.

*The code seems to be more precise if, for cam_ang, you use more of a 'zoom'
angle than a wide-angle (i.e., 30 is better than 67, for example.) This would
just be temporary, until the new object is correctly placed and you no longer
need the macro.

---------------- the code ------------
// 9/1-16/18   [Norbet Kern's original code from 2006, with modifications
// by Kenneth Walker]

#version 3.7;  // or 3.71 or 3.8
global_settings{assumed_gamma 1.0}

// definitions (for test scene below) _____________________________________
#declare screen_x_position = 420; // screen percentages X 1000  (0 to 1000)
#declare screen_y_position = 623; // ditto

#declare cam_loc = <2,4,-8>;
#declare lookat  = <.3,-.1,-.2>;
#declare cam_ang = 50; // 36

// [optional origin markers; pointing only in the POSITIVE directions]
union{
cylinder{0,.8*x .03 pigment{rgb 1.5}}     // X-- WHITE
cylinder{0,.8*y .03 pigment{rgb <0,1,0>}} // Y-- GREEN
cylinder{0,.8*z .03 pigment{rgb <0,.2,1>}} // Z-- BLUE
text{ttf "cyrvetic.ttf" "+ X" 0.2, 0 scale .28
     translate <.9,.04,0> pigment{rgb 1.5} no_shadow} // " + X"
text{ttf "cyrvetic.ttf" "+ Y" 0.2, 0 scale .28
     translate <-.2,.9,0> pigment{rgb <0,1,0>} no_shadow} // " + Y"
text{ttf "cyrvetic.ttf" "+ Z" 0.2, 0 scale .28
     translate <-.13,.04,.9> pigment{rgb <0,.2,1>} no_shadow} // "+ Z"
      scale 1.3
      translate .19*y
    }

// [The NEW object you want to place in the scene...]
#declare NEW_OBJECT =
union{
cylinder{0,.6*x .06 pigment {rgb 1.5}} //     WHITE for x-axis
cylinder{0,.6*y .06 pigment {rgb <0,1,0>}} // GREEN for y-axis
cylinder{0,.6*z .06 pigment{rgb <0,.2,1>}} //  BLUE for z-axis
box{0,.3 translate -.15 pigment{rgb <1,.7,0>}} // YELLOW
    scale .7
    translate .15*y
}

#declare SURFACE =
union{
height_field {
    function 500,500 {
            pattern {bozo scale 0.08}
    }
 smooth
 translate <-0.5,0,-0.5>
 scale <7,0.4,7>
 texture {
         pigment{
              average
              pigment_map{
                      [1.0 rgb <0.5,1,0.3>]
                      [0.6 gradient x frequency 8
                           color_map{
                                    [.07 rgb -.3]
                                    [.07 rgb <0.7,1,0.7>]
                                    }
                      ]
                      [0.6 gradient z frequency 8
                           color_map{
                                    [.07 rgb -.3]
                                    [.07 rgb <0.7,1,0.7>]
                                    }
                      ]
                        }
                  }
         finish {ambient 0 diffuse 0.5}
         }
             }
sphere{0,.9
pigment{
        average
        pigment_map{
             [1.0 planar
                  pigment_map{
                    [.5 bumps scale 2]
                    [.5 rgb -.5]
                            }
             ]
             [1.0 planar
                  pigment_map{
                    [.5 bumps scale 2]
                    [.5 rgb -.5]
                            }
                  rotate 90*z
             ]
             [1.0 planar
                  pigment_map{
                    [.5 bumps scale 2]
                    [.5 rgb -.5]
                            }
                  rotate 90*x
             ]
                  }
        scale .03
       }
   translate <-1.8,.85,1.8>
    }
box{0,2 translate -1 rotate 45*x rotate 45*z
pigment{bumps scale .05}
translate <-1.8,-.6,-1.5>
}
union{
cylinder {-1.4*z,1.4*z, .7
pigment{
        average
        pigment_map{
             [1.0 planar
                  pigment_map{
                    [.5 bumps scale 2]
                    [.5 rgb -.1]
                            }
             ]
             [1.0 planar
                  pigment_map{
                    [.5 bumps scale 2]
                    [.5 rgb -.1]
                            }
                  rotate 90*z
             ]
                  }
        scale .03
       }
       translate <1.5,0,0>
    }
cylinder {-1.4*z,1.4*z, .7
pigment{
        average
        pigment_map{
             [1.0 planar
                  pigment_map{
                    [.5 bumps scale 2]
                    [.5 rgb -.1]
                            }
             ]
             [1.0 planar
                  pigment_map{
                    [.5 bumps scale 2]
                    [.5 rgb -.1]
                            }
                  rotate 90*z
             ]
                  }
        scale .03
       }
       rotate -90*y
       translate <2.8,0,1.4>
    }
    rotate 90*y
    translate <1.5,.7,4.0>
    }
} // end of 'SURFACE' union


// creating the macro___________________________________________________
#macro pos_finder (SURFACE, cam_loc, lookat, cam_ang, screen_x_position,
screen_y_position, arrow_scale)
#if(cam_loc.z <= 0)
// do nothing
#else
#local screen_x_position = 1000 - screen_x_position;
#end

#local screen_x_position = screen_x_position/10;
#local screen_y_position = screen_y_position/10;

#local cam_mirror = #if(cam_loc.z < lookat.z) -1; #else 1; #end
#local cam_z = 0.5*image_width/image_height/tan(radians(cam_ang*0.5));
#local cam_a = cam_mirror*image_width/image_height;
#local cam_s = y;
#local cam_d = vnormalize (lookat-cam_loc);
#local cam_r = vnormalize (vcross(cam_s,cam_d));
#local cam_up = vnormalize (vcross(cam_d,cam_r));
#local cam_dir = cam_d*cam_z;
#local cam_right = cam_r*cam_a;

#local TEXT_OBJECT_TRANSFORM =
   transform {
      matrix <
         cam_r.x, cam_r.y, cam_r.z,
         cam_up.x, cam_up.y, cam_up.z,
         cam_d.x, cam_d.y, cam_d.z,
         cam_loc.x, cam_loc.y, cam_loc.z
             >
             }

#local dir_y = vaxis_rotate (lookat-cam_loc,vcross (lookat-cam_loc,cam_up),
(0.5-screen_y_position*0.01)*cam_ang/image_width*image_height);
#local dir_xy = vaxis_rotate (dir_y,cam_up,
(0.5-screen_x_position*0.01)*cam_mirror*cam_ang);

#local Norm = <0,0,0>;
#local Inter = trace (SURFACE,cam_loc,dir_xy,Norm);
#if (vlength (Norm) != 0)
        #local rx = degrees (atan2 (Norm.z,Norm.y + .0001));
        #local rz = -degrees (atan2 (Norm.x,Norm.y + .0001));
        #local precise = 3;

       union{
          cylinder {0.2*y,0.6*y,0.02}
          cone {0,0,0.2*y,0.06}
          text{ttf "cyrvetic.ttf" "POV-Ray" 0.2,
          0 scale .2 translate <-.40,.5,-.02>} // "POV-Ray"
                rotate <rx,0,rz>
                scale arrow_scale*.0040*vlength(cam_loc - Inter)*cam_ang
                texture{
                pigment {color rgb .6*x}
                finish {ambient .15 diffuse .85 specular 0.3 roughness 0.1}
                       }
                translate Inter
                 }
       union{
          text{
              ttf "cyrvetic.ttf"
              concat ("rotate <",str (rx,0,precise-1),",0,",
              str (rz,0,precise-1),">")
              0.02,0
              translate .6*y
              }
       text{
           ttf "cyrvetic.ttf"
           concat ("translate <",str (Inter.x,0,precise),",",
           str (Inter.y,0,precise),",",str (Inter.z,0,precise),">")
           0.02,0
           translate -.6*y
            }
    no_shadow
    scale .025*(cam_ang)/90
    translate <-.38*(cam_ang/90),.32*(image_height/image_width)*
   (cam_ang/90),.5>
    transform{TEXT_OBJECT_TRANSFORM}
    pigment {color rgb z}
    finish {ambient .15 diffuse .85}
         }

#debug concat ("\n","rotate  <",str (rx,0,precise-1),",0,",
str (rz,0,precise-1),">\n")
#debug concat ("\n","translate <",str (Inter.x,0,precise),",",
str (Inter.y,0,precise),",",str (Inter.z,0,precise),">\n\n")
#else
#debug concat ("\n","chosen position not on traced SURFACE, please try
        other screen_x_position or screen_y_position values\n\n")
#end

camera {
        perspective
        location cam_loc
        look_at lookat
        right cam_right
        angle cam_ang
        direction -z
}
#end  // [end of macro]

// test scene __________________________________________________________________

// The macro call
pos_finder (SURFACE, cam_loc, lookat, cam_ang, screen_x_position,
screen_y_position, 1.0)

light_source {0 color rgb .7 translate <-200,200,-200>}
light_source {0 color rgb .7 translate <200,200,200>}

background {color rgb .7}

object {SURFACE}

object{NEW_OBJECT

// rotate ...*y // [optional, in case you don't like the basic x or
// z 'direction' that the new object is pointing in. This needs to come
// BEFORE the following transforms that are returned from the code]

// [the RETURNED on-screen rotation and translation-- replace with the
// new ones, in this order]
rotate    <5.01,0,5.12>

translate <2.844,0.229,-2.911>
}

[Bald Eagle] Re: qtpovray 3.80.6 for Linux [2811 days 14 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Fri, 17 Aug 2018 23:55:01 GMT

dick balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:

> Yes, I see this too.  Not a nice default. :)

Perhaps a future improvement would be the "get focus on render" that works
(sometimes) in Windows.

> > But now it's stuck in the old behaviour of always being on top   :(
>
> This I can't duplicate.  So when you try the context menu, does the text
> change?  It should toggle between "Always on top" and "Reenable docking".

Context.... menu....
When it's docked and I right click on it, I get "refresh delay"
When it's undocked, I get "resize to 1024 x 768" and "refresh delay"

I don't see any other options, or anything in the menu hierarchy.

(I have Xfce desktop instead of Cinnamon, if that somehow makes a difference)

> This I also can't duplicate.
> When you deselect the file , do you get a little blue arrow?  It should
> point to the currently selected tab/file currently on top in the editor.

Nope.

> Can you send me a screenshot of this?

Once I figure out how --- Yes.

> I'm open to suggestions for different text other than "Remove render". I
> guess "Deselect render" is better.

Deselect render is better, though with the new dual-behaviour, perhaps "set as
default / override file to render" and "switch to tab-controlled render" would
be better.   I don't think the space for that is that limited...

( One thing I have often thought of having for POV-Ray is having the render
window contents reflect what tab is selected.   So if a tab has already been
rendered, then display that latest render - if not, display --- nothing, POV-Ray
logo, the transparent checkerboard pattern, or a custom image. )

[dick balaska] Re: qtpovray 3.80.6 for Linux [2811 days 16 hours and 7 minutes ago]

Fri, 17 Aug 2018 22:08:55 GMT

On 08/17/2018 02:09 PM, Bald Eagle wrote:
> dick balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:

I just tried on mint 18.3

> 
>>   * Bug 7 - When the render window is undocked, allow it to not always
>>     be on top.
> 
> So, I started a render, and somehow the render window was undocked already, and
> it was UNDER the main window - heh.

Yes, I see this too.  Not a nice default. :)

> But now it's stuck in the old behaviour of always being on top   :(

This I can't duplicate.  So when you try the context menu, does the text
change?  It should toggle between "Always on top" and "Reenable docking".

> 
> 
>>   * Bug 4 - If no file is selected for render, then render the currently
>>     displayed tab.
> 

> I deselected the file that had the little green arrow (confusing language in
> right-click popup for that) and it wouldn't render anything, claiming nothing
> was selected for render.  :(

This I also can't duplicate.
When you deselect the file , do you get a little blue arrow?  It should
point to the currently selected tab/file currently on top in the editor.

Can you send me a screenshot of this?

I'm open to suggestions for different text other than "Remove render". I
guess "Deselect render" is better.
> 
> Let me know how you'd like me to proceed and what data I can collect for you.
> 
> 

Thanks.

-- 
dik
Rendered 344576 of 345600 pixels (99%)

[Bald Eagle] Re: qtpovray 3.80.6 for Linux [2811 days 20 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Fri, 17 Aug 2018 18:10:06 GMT

dick balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:

>   * Bug 7 - When the render window is undocked, allow it to not always
>     be on top.

So, I started a render, and somehow the render window was undocked already, and
it was UNDER the main window - heh.
But now it's stuck in the old behaviour of always being on top   :(

>   * Bug 4 - If no file is selected for render, then render the currently
>     displayed tab.

I deselected the file that had the little green arrow (confusing language in
right-click popup for that) and it wouldn't render anything, claiming nothing
was selected for render.  :(

Let me know how you'd like me to proceed and what data I can collect for you.

[dick balaska] Re: qtpovray 3.80.6 for Linux [2815 days 16 hours and 8 minutes ago]

Mon, 13 Aug 2018 22:08:19 GMT

On 08/13/2018 03:25 PM, Bald Eagle wrote:
> dick balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:
> 
>>   * Bug 12 - Mosaic preview doesn't draw the preview
>>   * Bug 7 - When the render window is undocked, allow it to not always
>>     be on top.
>>   * Bug 4 - If no file is selected for render, then render the currently
>>     displayed tab.
> 
> Assuming that means bugs were fixed and new features were added.

Yes, one bug fix, two new features.  But everything is a bug now, even
if its severity classification is "enhancement".

https://tinyurl.com/y9qkah2n
or
http://www.buckosoft.com/qtpovray/bugzilla/buglist.cgi?bug_status=__open__&columnlist=component%2Cassigned_to%2Cbug_status%2Cresolution%2Cshort_desc%2Cpriority%2Cbug_severity%2Cchangeddate&list_id=55&order=changeddate%20DESC%2Cbug_status%2Cpriority%2Cassigned_to%2Cbug_id&query_format=specific


Undocked not on top was fun. I had to create a new "parentless" window,
copy the graphic into it and delete the dock window. I expected more
grief from Qt than it gave me.

Updated docs (included with qtpovray):

Render window undocked:
http://www.buckosoft.com/qtpovray/renderView.html

I wanted to write more about the new "soft select" render file:
http://www.buckosoft.com/qtpovray/render.html

-- 
dik
Rendered 344576 of 345600 pixels (99%)

[Bald Eagle] Re: qtpovray 3.80.6 for Linux [2815 days 18 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Mon, 13 Aug 2018 19:30:00 GMT

dick balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom> wrote:

>   * Bug 12 - Mosaic preview doesn't draw the preview
>   * Bug 7 - When the render window is undocked, allow it to not always
>     be on top.
>   * Bug 4 - If no file is selected for render, then render the currently
>     displayed tab.

Assuming that means bugs were fixed and new features were added.

Whee!  :)

I'll see if I can take a look tonight.  Thanks so much as always

[clipka] Re: qtpovray 3.80.6 for Linux [2816 days 4 hours and 25 minutes ago]

Mon, 13 Aug 2018 09:51:03 GMT

Am 13.08.2018 um 06:33 schrieb dick balaska:
> I guess I should announce these here...

How about povray.unofficial.patches?

The rationale being that it is not just an arbitrary tool that works /in
combination with/ official POV-Ray, but rather a /replacement/ for the
official POV-Ray application itself.

[dick balaska] qtpovray 3.80.6 for Linux [2816 days 9 hours and 42 minutes ago]

Mon, 13 Aug 2018 04:33:34 GMT

I guess I should announce these here...


  * Bug 12 - Mosaic preview doesn't draw the preview
  * Bug 7 - When the render window is undocked, allow it to not always
    be on top.
  * Bug 4 - If no file is selected for render, then render the currently
    displayed tab.

 -- Dick Balaska <dic### [at] buckosoftcom>  Sun, 12 Aug 2018 20:58:20 -0400
-- 
dik
Rendered 344576 of 345600 pixels (99%)

[jr] ann: df3-tools-0.5.0 [2819 days 16 hours and 1 minute ago]

Thu, 9 Aug 2018 22:15:00 GMT

hi,

announcing 'df3-tools-0.5.0'.

three "big things" have happened since I released the previous (0.4.0) version.

first, a few weeks ago I found an other package on the interweb named
"df3tools", a Python project released in December last year, and entirely
unrelated to the 'df3-tools'.  this has prompted me to settle on a formal name
for the project and use one, hyphenated spelling throughout from now.

second, the 'df3-tools' now is a "proper" package, that is, I'll provide a
single archive from here on.  there are options to build/install only the tools
you select.

third, and perhaps most important, 'df3-tools' has become a "gateway" to XML,
the lingua franca for data exchange.  XML '<volume>' data can be converted to
DF3, and vice versa.

'df3-tools' should build cleanly[*], and install[**] on any 64-bit GNU/Linux
machine, and on 'Cygwin' under Windows.  a packaging script for Slackware is
available on request.

download the source distribution archive from here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ao26MsDL0AQp72xI376eiMxTbraerRkh/view?usp=sharing

its 'md5sum':
a88fe192a2c84c46c13be270afbe6640  df3-tools-0.5.0.tar.xz

the following lists the package content:

-----
 df3
-----

the library, the core of 'df3-tools'.  it provides an API for accessing DF3
files, and is fully documented in section '3' of the man pages.  no "external
dependencies".

note the XML related files will be installed, even if none of the tools get
built and installed.

---------
 df3util
---------

a command-line utility for working with DF3 files.  it has a number of different
commands which cover everything[***] from creating new files to reporting their
contents.  a veritable "Swiss Army knife (tm)"  :-)

building the program requires 'libpng' version 1.4.20 or later.

---------
 xml2df3
---------

a simple command-line utility which converts XML '<volume>'s to DF3.

it comes with a POV-Ray include file which contains two macros to write array
data (adapted from a POV-Ray distribution macro) and to "scan" objects (within
an object's bounding box).

building the utility requires 'libxml2' version 2.9.4 or later.

I posted two items showing off the results of scanning objects with the
'xmlVolumeFromObject' macro.  the knight and rook from the (distribution) scene
file "chess.pov" in p.b.images ('rook + knight'); note camera position and angle
are close but not identical.  the second is an animation of the "Boy Surface", a
shape I took from the povray.general thread "Boy's Surface", posted by Bald
Eagle; the animation was posted in povray.binaries.animations.

---------
 contrib
---------

a collection of archives with a variety of contents.


enjoy, jr.

[*] there are warnings during configuration, about the ('C') pre-processor and
the compiler disagreeing on the "usability" of various header files; I don't
know enough about the GNU autotools to fathom why, and would appreciate someone
telling me how to deal with them.

[**] there is one additional step which is not performed as part of the
installation.  the user's '.bash_profile' or '.profile' needs to set the
'XML_CATALOG_FILES' environment variable to include the newly installed catalog,
typically something like:
      export XML_CATALOG_FILES=\
          "/usr/local/etc/xml/catalog $XML_CATALOG_FILES"

[***] let me know if it doesn't, a "feature request" perhaps?

[dick balaska] My POV-Ray desktop [3049 days 9 hours and 10 minutes ago]

Sat, 23 Dec 2017 05:06:09 GMT

http://www.buckosoft.com/qtpov/g/dicksPovrayDesktop20171222.png

Thought I would share this, both monitors, hard at POV-Ray work.

The left monitor features qtpov and bsAniPic combining to develop the 
next sequence in my movie. Last time on our show, the kid had just 
entered the cave. Now he's jumping on the Moray for a ride. The top 
screen I am trying to get the Moray to rear back, like a stallion, by 
dynamically altering the control points on the spline.

The right monitor is my renderfarm. 4 little bash windows each watching 
a server. Bigger window above that is the client console. Little 
"listening on port 4401" window is my qtpov povray server. [1]
The renderfarm is currently re-rendering the scene where the kid first 
passes by the fishtank. Lots of detail work has happened in that room 
since I ran those frames.  The browser shows work that's occurring; 
frames done (black), in progress (white), todo next (tan), and todo 
later (green).


[1] As I contemplate the big merge, I'm thinking I still want to release 
3 packages.  console only, qt integrated, and my current separate 
websocket executables.  It is so much faster for development to run this 
way. I have saved hours not waiting on an unnecessary povray build.

--
dik

[Le Forgeron] setting vi for povray (gvim) [3051 days 16 hours and 19 minutes ago]

Wed, 20 Dec 2017 21:56:31 GMT

Just sharing before Xmas.

I was interested in povclipse, povclipse2 (was nearly good, but
refreshed too much to be usable: every character typed in editor
triggered a refresh of everything, too expensive in resources), and I
have seen qtpov announcement but not tried it yet.

Then I wondered what am I expecting from an editor working with povray,
keeping the Unix approach: a small set of dedicated tools are better
than an integrated tools that try to do everything.

Gvim is my favourite editor but never quite worked out of the box with
pov files.

Until I spent a bit of time to make it works.
The syntax colouring was already there, getting the indentation working
by default (it sometimes worked after a bit of hammering, but not with a
fresh file... fixed) is the good news for me.

Starting the rendering from the editor is easy, and the bonus is that it
collect automatically the output, it's just less known how to get to it.

The short command to remember:
":mak" launch povray
":cope" open the resulting output (as a normal buffer)
":clo" close that buffer

The coloring & indenting are the usual ways.

The syntax & indent files so far are the old ones for the 3.7 by David
Necas (Yeti), back from 2011 and 2002, but updating the syntax seems
rather easy, even to support Hg-povray !

It was there all the time, just missing some settings to make it works
without trouble.

Not sure I would be now missing something else from a dedicated editor
like qtpov... (but it won't fix the problem for Windows platform... I do
not know at all the Mac platform.

Happy Xmas 2017.

[Stephen] tga2df2_2 [3114 days 6 hours and 17 minutes ago]

Thu, 19 Oct 2017 07:59:19 GMT

I have posted in povray.binaries.utilities a version of tga2df3 that 
creates three df3â€™s, one for each colour channel. It was written by
jr 
of these newsgroups.


-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Stephen] Re: Blender exporter improvements [3209 days and 8 minutes ago]

Sun, 16 Jul 2017 14:08:23 GMT

On 7/16/2017 2:53 PM, Stephen wrote:
> On 7/16/2017 1:59 PM, Mr wrote:
>> "Mr" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>> Here are some of the latest Blender to POV-Ray exporter's developments:
>>>
https://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Dev:Ref/Release_Notes/2.79/POV-Ray#Blender_2.79:_POV-Ray
>>>
>>>
>>> If you want to test them before Blender 2.79 is out, and maybe give a
>>> quick
>>> feedback, you can test from the builds provided here:
>>> https://builder.blender.org/download/
>>
>>
>> I would be interested to know if anyone found any missing keyword from
>> our
>> syntax color highlighting?
>>
>>
>
> Not me. I've downloaded it but have not  looked at the editor.
>
>

I am waiting for the resolution to the bug report I sent in about PovRay 
failing when I used a specular map. I don't want to continue with it or 
I will get lost.
I'm looking at a problem where the exporter does not handle image maps 
very well and used "None" for the type.
I am trying to cut it down to a minimal scene and I have just found out 
about orphans.

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Stephen] Re: Blender exporter improvements [3209 days and 23 minutes ago]

Sun, 16 Jul 2017 13:53:07 GMT

On 7/16/2017 1:59 PM, Mr wrote:
> "Mr" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
>> Hi,
>> Here are some of the latest Blender to POV-Ray exporter's developments:
>>
https://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Dev:Ref/Release_Notes/2.79/POV-Ray#Blender_2.79:_POV-Ray
>>
>> If you want to test them before Blender 2.79 is out, and maybe give a quick
>> feedback, you can test from the builds provided here:
>> https://builder.blender.org/download/
>
>
> I would be interested to know if anyone found any missing keyword from our
> syntax color highlighting?
>
>

Not me. I've downloaded it but have not  looked at the editor.


-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Mr] Re: Blender exporter improvements [3209 days 1 hour and 11 minutes ago]

Sun, 16 Jul 2017 13:05:00 GMT

"Mr" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> Hi,
> Here are some of the latest Blender to POV-Ray exporter's developments:
>
https://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Dev:Ref/Release_Notes/2.79/POV-Ray#Blender_2.79:_POV-Ray
>
> If you want to test them before Blender 2.79 is out, and maybe give a quick
> feedback, you can test from the builds provided here:
> https://builder.blender.org/download/


I would be interested to know if anyone found any missing keyword from our
syntax color highlighting?

[Mr] Re: Blender exporter improvements [3226 days 23 hours and 36 minutes ago]

Wed, 28 Jun 2017 14:40:00 GMT

William F Pokorny <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
> On 06/27/2017 11:14 AM, Mr wrote:
> > Hi,
> > Here are some of the latest Blender to POV-Ray exporter's developments:
> >
https://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Dev:Ref/Release_Notes/2.79/POV-Ray#Blender_2.79:_POV-Ray
> >
> > If you want to test them before Blender 2.79 is out, and maybe give a quick
> > feedback, you can test from the builds provided here:
> > https://builder.blender.org/download/
> >
> >
> "Colored syntax highlighting" in the editor. Interesting!
>
> I've never used modelers, but given my editor doesn't handle any POV-Ray
> SDL highlighting, will put trying the editor on my to-play-with list.
>
> On another subject I had stumbled across a mostly blender related
> software building site called "GraphicAll.org" while trying to better
> understand how other projects build their cross platform software. You,
> however, just referenced "builder.blender.org".
>
> Are these two sites disparate or somehow intertwined ?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Bill P.

Note that blender community has an auto-completion addon which works for pov
scenes as well.
Graphicall is mostly for experimental features while Blender build bots is daily
builds of the official trunk repository. so what you get from the latter will
generally be in next official release.

[William F Pokorny] Re: Blender exporter improvements [3227 days 3 hours and 13 minutes ago]

Wed, 28 Jun 2017 11:02:53 GMT

On 06/27/2017 11:14 AM, Mr wrote:
> Hi,
> Here are some of the latest Blender to POV-Ray exporter's developments:
>
https://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Dev:Ref/Release_Notes/2.79/POV-Ray#Blender_2.79:_POV-Ray
> 
> If you want to test them before Blender 2.79 is out, and maybe give a quick
> feedback, you can test from the builds provided here:
> https://builder.blender.org/download/
> 
> 
"Colored syntax highlighting" in the editor. Interesting!

I've never used modelers, but given my editor doesn't handle any POV-Ray 
SDL highlighting, will put trying the editor on my to-play-with list.

On another subject I had stumbled across a mostly blender related 
software building site called "GraphicAll.org" while trying to better 
understand how other projects build their cross platform software. You, 
however, just referenced "builder.blender.org".

Are these two sites disparate or somehow intertwined ?

Thanks.

Bill P.

[Stephen] Re: Blender exporter improvements [3227 days 22 hours and 35 minutes ago]

Tue, 27 Jun 2017 15:40:41 GMT

On 6/27/2017 4:14 PM, Mr wrote:
> Hi,
> Here are some of the latest Blender to POV-Ray exporter's developments:
>
https://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Dev:Ref/Release_Notes/2.79/POV-Ray#Blender_2.79:_POV-Ray
>
> If you want to test them before Blender 2.79 is out, and maybe give a quick
> feedback, you can test from the builds provided here:
> https://builder.blender.org/download/
>
>

Thanks

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Mr] Blender exporter improvements [3227 days 22 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Tue, 27 Jun 2017 15:20:00 GMT

Hi,
Here are some of the latest Blender to POV-Ray exporter's developments:
https://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Dev:Ref/Release_Notes/2.79/POV-Ray#Blender_2.79:_POV-Ray

If you want to test them before Blender 2.79 is out, and maybe give a quick
feedback, you can test from the builds provided here:
https://builder.blender.org/download/

[dick balaska] Re: bsAniPic [3277 days 6 hours and 49 minutes ago]

Tue, 9 May 2017 07:26:46 GMT

Have you ever been developing a POV-Ray animation and thought to 
yourself, "Gee, I wish I could see and correlate the povray debug output 
with each image? That'd be neat".

Well now you can, with new improved bsAniPic v0.5 .

Home page:
http://www.buckosoft.com/bsAniPic/

bsAniPic **in action**
http://www.buckosoft.com/bsAniPic/demo/

Instructions to wire bsAniPic into your POV-Ray animation workflow.
http://www.buckosoft.com/bsAniPic/usage/


-- 
dik

[dick balaska] Re: bsAniPic [3284 days 11 hours and 48 minutes ago]

Tue, 2 May 2017 02:28:03 GMT

Am 2017-04-16 06:20, also sprach dick balaska:
> bsAniPic is a Qt app that can "animate" a series of images.

I've made him a proper web page.

http://www.buckosoft.com/bsAniPic/

-- 
dik

[dick balaska] Re: naughty zoot and her semicolons [3294 days 16 hours and 15 minutes ago]

Fri, 21 Apr 2017 22:01:08 GMT

Am 2017-02-02 09:31, also sprach clipka:
> Am 02.02.2017 um 11:37 schrieb dick balaska:
>> I'm stuck on my parser. :(
>>
>> I use the colefax spline macro like this.
>> #declare fishpath=create_spline(array[3] {<1,2,3>,<2,3,4>,<3,4,5>} 3)
>>
>> povclipse2 needs to see it like this.
>> #declare fishpath=create_spline(array[3] {<1,2,3>,<2,3,4>,<3,4,5>}, 3);
>>
>> povray lets me sneak that comma separator in, but refuses to accept the
>> trailing semicolon.
>>
>> I don't know how to resolve this.  To me, there is a rule that says
>> "start with #declare and run to a ;"  I don't know that it's a funky
>> macro at this point, it's just opaque text.  It is the same as
>> #declare one=cos(0);
>
> There's a difference: cos() is a function, and is therefore always
> well-behaved; create_spline() is a macro, and macros /can/ do extremely
> funky stuff that leaves the official parser in a completely different
> state than a function would. For example, a macro designed to be used in
> a "#declare" may already contain the trailing semicolon, which would be
> poor macro style yet perfectly legit. And there are other things that
> can interfere.
>

Yes, but I don't know that cos is a function and create_spline is a 
macro at this point. I'm trying to extract a sentence for further 
evaluation.  The eclipse parser is all about drill down.  The first 
"sentence" is the entire file.  In colors.inc, the next sentence (after 
the comments) is everything between #ifndef(Colors_Inc_Temp) and its #end

It would be helpful if a bare[1], 'unexpected' semicolon was a NOP, like 
in C, instead of a fatal error.
http://www.povray.org/documentation/view/3.6.0/237/
says "Semicolons after other declarations are optional."  so, sometimes 
they are a NOP.

[1] by bare, I mean top level, not in the middle of an evaluation.
like C's  int i=0;;

-- 
dik

[Kenneth] Re: using povray with openGL [3297 days 9 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Wed, 19 Apr 2017 04:55:01 GMT

"Meher" <nomail@nomail> wrote:

>
> ...In the paper, the rendering method is
> explained for openGL and when we asked our professor he told us to implement the
> method from the paper in openGL and then add global illumination using povray.
> So, now we're kind of stuck as we don't know how to do that.
>

Sounds like there's some confusion somewhere. You can render the scene in OpenGL
*OR* in POV-ray, but not both at the same time. In POV-ray, you would use
radiosity for that (along with a surrounding dome or sphere that has your
sky(?)image on it, to supply the 'global illumination')-- assuming that your
scene can be re-written in POV-ray's scene description language, as a first
step.

[Kenneth] Re: using povray with openGL [3297 days 10 hours and 51 minutes ago]

Wed, 19 Apr 2017 03:25:02 GMT

"Bald Eagle" <cre### [at] netscapenet> wrote:

>
> My motivation would be to have them write it out in SDL .... so we can check
> their code and make sure that it's correct   ;)

I would agree. I assume that the original paper's 'scene' or code example was
written specifically for rendering in OpenGL (?)  That's completely different
from POV-Ray and its own SDL ("scene description language.") I've never coded
anything for OpenGL, so I don't know how difficult it would be to translate from
one 'scene description' into another. But it doesn't sound like an overnight
assignment!  ;-)

The abstract of the article says (regarding OpenGl rendering):  "This makes it
possible to utilize graphics hardware, resulting in fast image generation." I
assume that means a computer's GPU. POV-ray doesn't actually make use of GPU
instructions or accelleration (as far as I know!)

If it were my assignment, I would mention these caveats to the course instructor
(gently, of course!)

[LanuHum] Re: using povray with openGL [3297 days 21 hours and 1 minute ago]

Tue, 18 Apr 2017 17:15:01 GMT

Clouds in Blender:
Manually:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmIxcUXHRsg
Auto:
use particle system,

[Stephen] Re: using povray with openGL [3297 days 23 hours and 31 minutes ago]

Tue, 18 Apr 2017 14:44:33 GMT

On 4/18/2017 12:54 PM, Bald Eagle wrote:
> Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
>
>> Then export the data as a density file or as a
>> matrix of blob (metaball) components. For PovRay to read?
>
> Who are you?   Christopher Walken?   :D
>

No, Carlos the Terrorist. (I've just got the first two books in Ken 
MacLeod's latest trilogy.)

> As you say, we don't know the instructor's motivation.
>
> My motivation would be to have them write it out in SDL .... so we can check
> their code and make sure that it's correct   ;)
>
>

My take on it would be to write a mini- Moray/Bishop3D/Blender program 
that displayed the scene in OpenGL and exported it to PovRay in SDL.
If that were the case. I would love a cloud generator.

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Bald Eagle] Re: using povray with openGL [3298 days 2 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Tue, 18 Apr 2017 11:55:01 GMT

Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:

> Then export the data as a density file or as a
> matrix of blob (metaball) components. For PovRay to read?

Who are you?   Christopher Walken?   :D

As you say, we don't know the instructor's motivation.

My motivation would be to have them write it out in SDL .... so we can check
their code and make sure that it's correct   ;)

[Stephen] Re: using povray with openGL [3298 days 16 hours and 28 minutes ago]

Mon, 17 Apr 2017 21:47:38 GMT

On 4/17/2017 8:30 PM, Bald Eagle wrote:
> Paper here:
> http://nis-ei.eng.hokudai.ac.jp/~doba/papers/sig00_cloud.pdf
>
> I'm guessing they want you to do it in OpenGL, and then do it (again / over) in
> SDL with global illuminatinon to see the difference and compare / contrast the
> ease/difficulty of the 2 methods.
>

You can never tell about motivation. ;)

Do you think it would be cheating to do the calculations for the cloud, 
in the OpenGL program. Then export the data as a density file or as a 
matrix of blob (metaball) components. For PovRay to read?

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Bald Eagle] Re: using povray with openGL [3298 days 18 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Mon, 17 Apr 2017 19:35:00 GMT

Paper here:
http://nis-ei.eng.hokudai.ac.jp/~doba/papers/sig00_cloud.pdf

I'm guessing they want you to do it in OpenGL, and then do it (again / over) in
SDL with global illuminatinon to see the difference and compare / contrast the
ease/difficulty of the 2 methods.

[Stephen] Re: using povray with openGL [3298 days 19 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Mon, 17 Apr 2017 19:10:11 GMT

On 4/17/2017 6:43 PM, Meher wrote:
> Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
>> On 4/17/2017 3:50 PM, Meher wrote:
>>> For a course assignment, I need to render a scene in openGL and then add global
>>> illumination (of any kind i.e., photon mapping, radiosity etc.) to the scene
>>> using povray. I'm new to povray and I couldn't find any way of doing this. Can
>>> anyone help me out with this? Thanks in advance.
>>>
>>>
>> I am slightly confused. PovRay and openGL are two different rendering
>> methods.
>> What is your course assignment, how is it worded?
>>
>> --
>>
>> Regards
>>       Stephen
>
> The assignment tells us to implement a research paper (from a given list) and
> then add global illumination to the rendering. The paper we chose is
> http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=344795. In the paper, the rendering method is
> explained for openGL and when we asked our professor he told us to implement the
> method from the paper in openGL and then add global illumination using povray.
> So, now we're kind of stuck as we don't know how to do that.
>

I am just guessing, here and I would ask for clarification from your 
tutor first.

If the paper describes how to create an object that can be exported as a 
mesh or an isosurface or a density file. You could implement your 
software to build your cloud and display it in OpenGL then export it as 
SDL to PovRay. Where it can be raytraced with global illumination.


-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Meher] Re: using povray with openGL [3298 days 20 hours and 31 minutes ago]

Mon, 17 Apr 2017 17:45:00 GMT

Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
> On 4/17/2017 3:50 PM, Meher wrote:
> > For a course assignment, I need to render a scene in openGL and then add global
> > illumination (of any kind i.e., photon mapping, radiosity etc.) to the scene
> > using povray. I'm new to povray and I couldn't find any way of doing this. Can
> > anyone help me out with this? Thanks in advance.
> >
> >
> I am slightly confused. PovRay and openGL are two different rendering
> methods.
> What is your course assignment, how is it worded?
>
> --
>
> Regards
>      Stephen

The assignment tells us to implement a research paper (from a given list) and
then add global illumination to the rendering. The paper we chose is
http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=344795. In the paper, the rendering method is
explained for openGL and when we asked our professor he told us to implement the
method from the paper in openGL and then add global illumination using povray.
So, now we're kind of stuck as we don't know how to do that.

Thanks,
Meher.

[Stephen] Re: using povray with openGL [3298 days 23 hours and 9 minutes ago]

Mon, 17 Apr 2017 15:07:29 GMT

On 4/17/2017 3:50 PM, Meher wrote:
> For a course assignment, I need to render a scene in openGL and then add global
> illumination (of any kind i.e., photon mapping, radiosity etc.) to the scene
> using povray. I'm new to povray and I couldn't find any way of doing this. Can
> anyone help me out with this? Thanks in advance.
>
>
I am slightly confused. PovRay and openGL are two different rendering 
methods.
What is your course assignment, how is it worded?

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Meher] using povray with openGL [3298 days 23 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Mon, 17 Apr 2017 14:55:01 GMT

For a course assignment, I need to render a scene in openGL and then add global
illumination (of any kind i.e., photon mapping, radiosity etc.) to the scene
using povray. I'm new to povray and I couldn't find any way of doing this. Can
anyone help me out with this? Thanks in advance.

[dick balaska] bsAniPic [3300 days 3 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Sun, 16 Apr 2017 10:20:18 GMT

I've been using a 1997 picture viewer (with the slideshow set to 42ms) 
to preview my animation work.  It's a bit crusty and I've been wanting 
to write my own for a while. -- Like refreshing the directory can be a pita.
So I finally did. bsAniPic is a Qt app that can "animate" a series of 
images.  Oh, and since we're here, my renderfarm is aware of the text 
returned by povray as well, so I can optionally display that.
It's cool to have the debug numbers run in real time with the images.

Screenshot:
http://www.buckosoft.com/bsAniPic/g/bsAniPic.png


-- 
dik

[dick balaska] Re: povclipse2 [3358 days 11 hours and 33 minutes ago]

Fri, 17 Feb 2017 02:43:16 GMT

Am 2017-02-16 11:14, also sprach William F Pokorny:
> On 01/17/2017 04:53 AM, dick balaska wrote:
>
> I see a "parseTest.pov" in one of your attached images. I'm interested
> in a relatively complete, reasonably concise, set of SDL test files I
> might run when twiddling with the parser.
>
> Is there a collection of such test files for the povclipse<n> work ?
>

Sorry, no.  The closest I have is a single file that I process through 
JUnit, so not much use to you.  It contains things like this:

@@testDecls@@
// test various decls
#declare a = 0;			// 0
#declare b = 1;			// 1
#declare c = a + b;		// 1
#declare d = c + (a+b);		// 2
#declare e = f;			// error
@@

@@testDeclsAfter@@
// Test that a token defined after use is not seen.
#declare a = 0;
#declare b = c;			// error
#declare c = 1;
@@



-- 
dik

[William F Pokorny] Re: povclipse2 [3358 days 22 hours and 1 minute ago]

Thu, 16 Feb 2017 16:14:34 GMT

On 01/17/2017 04:53 AM, dick balaska wrote:
> Progress on povclipse2 has moved along.
> I have basically implemented SDL as one giant 1000 line tokenizing
> function.  I keep looking at how to refactor that, but, it's one
> function that just recursively builds a parsed tree.
>

I see a "parseTest.pov" in one of your attached images. I'm interested 
in a relatively complete, reasonably concise, set of SDL test files I 
might run when twiddling with the parser.

Is there a collection of such test files for the povclipse<n> work ?

Bill P.

[clipka] Re: naughty zoot and her semicolons [3372 days 23 hours and 45 minutes ago]

Thu, 2 Feb 2017 14:31:27 GMT

Am 02.02.2017 um 11:37 schrieb dick balaska:
> I'm stuck on my parser. :(
> 
> I use the colefax spline macro like this.
> #declare fishpath=create_spline(array[3] {<1,2,3>,<2,3,4>,<3,4,5>} 3)
> 
> povclipse2 needs to see it like this.
> #declare fishpath=create_spline(array[3] {<1,2,3>,<2,3,4>,<3,4,5>}, 3);
> 
> povray lets me sneak that comma separator in, but refuses to accept the
> trailing semicolon.
> 
> I don't know how to resolve this.  To me, there is a rule that says
> "start with #declare and run to a ;"  I don't know that it's a funky
> macro at this point, it's just opaque text.  It is the same as
> #declare one=cos(0);

There's a difference: cos() is a function, and is therefore always
well-behaved; create_spline() is a macro, and macros /can/ do extremely
funky stuff that leaves the official parser in a completely different
state than a function would. For example, a macro designed to be used in
a "#declare" may already contain the trailing semicolon, which would be
poor macro style yet perfectly legit. And there are other things that
can interfere.

[dick balaska] naughty zoot and her semicolons [3373 days 3 hours and 39 minutes ago]

Thu, 2 Feb 2017 10:37:16 GMT

I'm stuck on my parser. :(

I use the colefax spline macro like this.
#declare fishpath=create_spline(array[3] {<1,2,3>,<2,3,4>,<3,4,5>} 3)

povclipse2 needs to see it like this.
#declare fishpath=create_spline(array[3] {<1,2,3>,<2,3,4>,<3,4,5>}, 3);

povray lets me sneak that comma separator in, but refuses to accept the 
trailing semicolon.

I don't know how to resolve this.  To me, there is a rule that says
"start with #declare and run to a ;"  I don't know that it's a funky 
macro at this point, it's just opaque text.  It is the same as
#declare one=cos(0);

-- 
dik

[dick balaska] Re: povclipse2 [3379 days 15 hours and 14 minutes ago]

Thu, 26 Jan 2017 23:02:10 GMT

Am 2017-01-17 07:08, also sprach clipka:
> Am 17.01.2017 um 10:53 schrieb dick balaska:

>> I had to break spec only once...
>
> Wow, that's impressive!
>

Eh crap. Two other failures (that I've used in my own code).
Basically, I can't deal with mixed (broken) nesting between directives 
and objects.

1)
#declare MyObject=
     #if (1)
         box {0,1}
     #else
         box {2,3}
     #end

2)
#declare MyObject=
     #if (needUnion)
         union {
     #end
     #for (I,0,needUnion)
         box {0,1}
     #end
     #if (needUnion)
         }
     #end

-- 
dik

[dick balaska] Re: povclipse2 [3388 days 18 hours and 52 minutes ago]

Tue, 17 Jan 2017 19:23:39 GMT

Am 2017-01-17 07:08, also sprach clipka:
> wondering whether your colour tooltip does proper
> gamma correction.

Gamma is an illusion.

(I was actually wondering if it does filter and transmit correctly, 
looks funky to me)

-- 
dik

[clipka] Re: povclipse2 [3389 days 2 hours and 8 minutes ago]

Tue, 17 Jan 2017 12:08:13 GMT

Am 17.01.2017 um 10:53 schrieb dick balaska:
> Progress on povclipse2 has moved along.
> I have basically implemented SDL as one giant 1000 line tokenizing
> function.  I keep looking at how to refactor that, but, it's one
> function that just recursively builds a parsed tree.
...
> I had to break spec only once...

Wow, that's impressive!

> TPTB can yell at me for attaching 20KB worth of pics in a non-binaries
> newsgroup.  The rest of you can laugh at my M$Paint worthy cursor pasted
> on the tooltips.

TBTB have better things to do than to worry about 20KB (could just as
well be a long text post, right?) -- for instance laughing at your
M$Paint worthy cursor ;)

Or, for that matter, wondering whether your colour tooltip does proper
gamma correction. /That/ is something one of TPTB is genuinely (semi-)
worried about. (Does it honor `assumed_gamma`? Does it properly handle
`srgb`? Is it tasty? Is it scruuuuuumptious?)

[dick balaska] povclipse2 [3389 days 4 hours and 23 minutes ago]

Tue, 17 Jan 2017 09:53:10 GMT

Progress on povclipse2 has moved along.
I have basically implemented SDL as one giant 1000 line tokenizing 
function.  I keep looking at how to refactor that, but, it's one 
function that just recursively builds a parsed tree.

The tooltips are cool.  Wolfgang did all the heavy eclipse lifting on 
those, but then only looked at surrounding words in the document for 
triggers.  I can trigger on any word in the project, and show the 
results of any simple math.
You can click on any word and go to it's definition, on any file in the 
project.

It displays errors if you supply the wrong number of parameters to a 
macro, among other errors.

I had to break spec only once...
This is evil, yet legal in SDL:
	#declare a = array[5]

These two are fine...
	#declare a = array[5];
	#declare a = array[5] {blah}

I still have to rebuild the outline view and completion processor.

I wrote this just to better work with the 122 main files of my animation 
(not including the java generated per-frame files).  I've just got 
povclipse2 to the point where I can actually use it for myself.  It is 
cool to be able to ctrl-click through the include tree

TPTB can yell at me for attaching 20KB worth of pics in a non-binaries 
newsgroup.  The rest of you can laugh at my M$Paint worthy cursor pasted 
on the tooltips.

dik

[Coral] Re: Real-time ray tracer with POV-Ray SDL support [3436 days 23 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 15:05:00 GMT

There is now a video, giving a glimpse of how this real-time ray tracer looks
like and also how possible coming releases of the modeler show imported POV-Ray
objects.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR4DSgjPVWg

Note: This nick represents this software.

[Stephen] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3493 days 17 hours and 24 minutes ago]

Tue, 4 Oct 2016 20:51:45 GMT

On 10/4/2016 9:09 PM, lelama wrote:
>
>>
>> If you can compile it for Windoze I would be willing and happy to test
>> it. I can't help with that but I am good at breaking things. ;)
>>
>
> This is Python code, so there is nothing to compile.  The only requirement is to
> install the required python modules used, as indicated in the doc.
>
> Python is os independent, so it could work. But maybe I have not been careful
> and I called some Linux specific command at some places. This should require
> only very minor adjustments I guess. But I admit I have no real experience on
> this problematic and I shouldn't count my chickens before theyâ€™re
hatched.
>
>

Okay, I use Blender and Poser so there is a good chance I will be able 
to run it on my machine.

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[lelama] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3493 days 18 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Tue, 4 Oct 2016 20:10:00 GMT

>
> If you can compile it for Windoze I would be willing and happy to test
> it. I can't help with that but I am good at breaking things. ;)
>

This is Python code, so there is nothing to compile.  The only requirement is to
install the required python modules used, as indicated in the doc.

Python is os independent, so it could work. But maybe I have not been careful
and I called some Linux specific command at some places. This should require
only very minor adjustments I guess. But I admit I have no real experience on
this problematic and I shouldn't count my chickens before they’re hatched.

[Stephen] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3493 days 18 hours and 42 minutes ago]

Tue, 4 Oct 2016 19:34:21 GMT

On 10/4/2016 1:29 PM, lelama wrote:
>
> Sure Stephen, I will be happy if you try and test it. Bug reports, but also
> comments and proposals for amelioration are welcome.
>
> Just one thing, I have not tested it with windows. If little changes are
> required, I am ready to incorporate them so that it works for you on windows.
> But you will have to help me on this point ( I have no windows machine neither
> at work or at home ).
>
> Laurent.
>
>

If you can compile it for Windoze I would be willing and happy to test 
it. I can't help with that but I am good at breaking things. ;)

>
>
>
> Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
>> On 10/3/2016 3:54 PM, lelama wrote:
>>>
>>>> Good luck with it. If you manage to either find one or manage to code
>>>> one. Let us know. It would be useful.
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>>
>>>> Regards
>>>>        Stephen
>>>
>>>
>>> Hi Stephen, this is done. You can now inspect any pov file with a graphical
>>> interface to move the camera around, zoom, turn you head on the right  ...
>>>
>>> See the appearance ( not perfect) of graphical interface here:
>>>    http://math.univ-angers.fr/~evain/_images/viewer.png
>>>
>>> You can inspect any pov file, even if it is not modelled with pycao. Just adjust
>>> the camera.file variable to the file you want to visit. But you
>>> have to install the pycao modeller to use the viewer.
>>>
>>> Laurent.
>>
>> That looks good.
>> Let me know if you want it Beta tested. ;-)
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Regards
>>       Stephen
>
>
>
>


-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[lelama] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3494 days 1 hour and 41 minutes ago]

Tue, 4 Oct 2016 12:35:00 GMT

Sure Stephen, I will be happy if you try and test it. Bug reports, but also
comments and proposals for amelioration are welcome.

Just one thing, I have not tested it with windows. If little changes are
required, I am ready to incorporate them so that it works for you on windows.
But you will have to help me on this point ( I have no windows machine neither
at work or at home ).

Laurent.

Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
> On 10/3/2016 3:54 PM, lelama wrote:
> >
> >> Good luck with it. If you manage to either find one or manage to code
> >> one. Let us know. It would be useful.
> >>
> >> --
> >>
> >> Regards
> >>       Stephen
> >
> >
> > Hi Stephen, this is done. You can now inspect any pov file with a graphical
> > interface to move the camera around, zoom, turn you head on the right  ...
> >
> > See the appearance ( not perfect) of graphical interface here:
> >   http://math.univ-angers.fr/~evain/_images/viewer.png
> >
> > You can inspect any pov file, even if it is not modelled with pycao. Just adjust
> > the camera.file variable to the file you want to visit. But you
> > have to install the pycao modeller to use the viewer.
> >
> > Laurent.
>
> That looks good.
> Let me know if you want it Beta tested. ;-)
>
>
> --
>
> Regards
>      Stephen

[Stephen] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3494 days 22 hours and 53 minutes ago]

Mon, 3 Oct 2016 15:22:52 GMT

On 10/3/2016 3:54 PM, lelama wrote:
>
>> Good luck with it. If you manage to either find one or manage to code
>> one. Let us know. It would be useful.
>>
>> --
>>
>> Regards
>>       Stephen
>
>
> Hi Stephen, this is done. You can now inspect any pov file with a graphical
> interface to move the camera around, zoom, turn you head on the right  ...
>
> See the appearance ( not perfect) of graphical interface here:
>   http://math.univ-angers.fr/~evain/_images/viewer.png
>
> You can inspect any pov file, even if it is not modelled with pycao. Just adjust
> the camera.file variable to the file you want to visit. But you
> have to install the pycao modeller to use the viewer.
>
> Laurent.

That looks good.
Let me know if you want it Beta tested. ;-)


-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[lelama] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3494 days 23 hours and 16 minutes ago]

Mon, 3 Oct 2016 15:00:01 GMT

> Good luck with it. If you manage to either find one or manage to code
> one. Let us know. It would be useful.
>
> --
>
> Regards
>      Stephen


Hi Stephen, this is done. You can now inspect any pov file with a graphical
interface to move the camera around, zoom, turn you head on the right  ...

See the appearance ( not perfect) of graphical interface here:
 http://math.univ-angers.fr/~evain/_images/viewer.png

You can inspect any pov file, even if it is not modelled with pycao. Just adjust
the camera.file variable to the file you want to visit. But you
have to install the pycao modeller to use the viewer.

Laurent.

[lelama] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3502 days 1 hour and 51 minutes ago]

Mon, 26 Sep 2016 12:25:01 GMT

>
> Good luck with it. If you manage to either find one or manage to code
> one. Let us know. It would be useful.
>
> --


OK. I have played a little bit to see if this is doable and I have a working
"Zoom button". It is not as dynamic as I wanted :  it takes 2 seconds even with
medium quality to change the view.  But this is nevertheless faster than
changing the code, recompiling, redisplaying the image... If I am not
too lazy, I will go on and add a few  other buttons to play with the camera view
 ;-)

[Stephen] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3503 days 2 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Sun, 25 Sep 2016 11:34:52 GMT

On 9/22/2016 10:51 PM, lelama wrote:
> Probably we need to code one. It is probably not too difficult if we want only a
> viewer (without modeling).
>
> We could have a simple window with a display of the .png image and a few
> buttons, to zoom, rotate around the object...When the user presses one button,
> for instance a zoom, a line is added at the end of the .pov file to update the
> camera, a command is sent to povray so that the .png file is recomputed,
> then the .png would be redisplayed.
>
> With python, for instance written in pygtk, this would work both for Linux and
> Windows :-)
>
> Laurent.
>

Good luck with it. If you manage to either find one or manage to code 
one. Let us know. It would be useful.

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[lelama] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3505 days 16 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 21:55:01 GMT

Probably we need to code one. It is probably not too difficult if we want only a
viewer (without modeling).

We could have a simple window with a display of the .png image and a few
buttons, to zoom, rotate around the object...When the user presses one button,
for instance a zoom, a line is added at the end of the .pov file to update the
camera, a command is sent to povray so that the .png file is recomputed,
then the .png would be redisplayed.

With python, for instance written in pygtk, this would work both for Linux and
Windows :-)

Laurent.

Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
> On 9/20/2016 10:13 PM, lelama wrote:
> > Hi,
> > I am looking for an interactive viewer "a la Blender".
> >
> > Something very simple...
>
> 24 posts later. I wish I had just said. No I don't think there is.
> Because I have not heard of any and I am looking for one too, Windoze
> though.
>
>
>
> --
>
> Regards
>      Stephen

[lelama] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3505 days 16 hours and 36 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 21:40:00 GMT

"Mr" <nomail@nomail> wrote:

>
> POV importer is new.  could you share the pov file for some bug fixing attempt?

I have tested several more examples today. Unfortunatly, none of them worked.
Sometimes I see something, but this is very different from the povray render.
Here is one simple example below. A few tubes with bearings.
I see one tube,  but without colors and without bearings.


#include "colors.inc"
#include "metals.inc"
background {Blue}

camera { perspective
location <0.0,-4.0,2.0> right <-1500.0,-0.0,-0.0> up <0.0,800.0,0.0> angle
9.16476547932 sky <0.0,0.0,1.0> look_at <0.0,0.0,0.076> }

light_source {<0.0,-4.0,12.0> color White }




//Unnamed Object
cylinder{<0.0,0.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.1>,0.0125  material{texture{ pigment {color
Red} finish{metallic phong 1} }}
 matrix <1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0>}

union {difference {
//Unnamed Object
cylinder{<0.0,0.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.01>,0.0135  material{texture{ pigment {color
Silver} finish{metallic phong 1} }}
 matrix <1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 ,
0.071>}
//Unnamed Object
quadric{<1.0,1.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.0>,-0.00015625matrix <1.0 , 0.0 ,
0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.071>} } difference {
//Unnamed Object
cylinder{<0.0,0.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.01>,0.0215  material{texture{ pigment {color
Green} finish{metallic phong 1} }}
 matrix <1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 ,
0.071>}
//Unnamed Object
quadric{<1.0,1.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.0>,-0.00018225matrix <1.0 , 0.0 ,
0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.071>} }  }

union {difference {
//Unnamed Object
cylinder{<0.0,0.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.01>,0.0135  material{texture{ pigment {color
Silver} finish{metallic phong 1} }}
 matrix <1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 ,
0.02>}
//Unnamed Object
quadric{<1.0,1.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.0>,-0.00015625matrix <1.0 , 0.0 ,
0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.02>} } difference {
//Unnamed Object
cylinder{<0.0,0.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.01>,0.0215  material{texture{ pigment {color
Green} finish{metallic phong 1} }}
 matrix <1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 ,
0.02>}
//Unnamed Object
quadric{<1.0,1.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.0>,-0.00018225matrix <1.0 , 0.0 ,
0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.02>} }  }


//Unnamed Object
cylinder{<0.0,0.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.06>,0.023  material{texture{ pigment {color
Bronze} finish{metallic phong 1} }}
 matrix <1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.052 , 0.0 ,
0.03>}


//Unnamed Object
cylinder{<0.0,0.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.06>,0.023  material{texture{ pigment {color
Bronze} finish{metallic phong 1} }}
 matrix <1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.152 , 0.0 ,
0.03>}

union {difference {
//Unnamed Object
cylinder{<0.0,0.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.01>,0.0135  material{texture{ pigment {color
Silver} finish{metallic phong 1} }}
 matrix <1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.152 , 0.0 ,
0.08>}
//Unnamed Object
quadric{<1.0,1.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.0>,-0.00015625matrix <1.0 , 0.0 ,
0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.152 , 0.0 , 0.08>} } difference {
//Unnamed Object
cylinder{<0.0,0.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.01>,0.0215  material{texture{ pigment {color
Green} finish{metallic phong 1} }}
 matrix <1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.152 , 0.0 ,
0.08>}
//Unnamed Object
quadric{<1.0,1.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.0>,-0.00018225matrix <1.0 , 0.0 ,
0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.152 , 0.0 , 0.08>} }  }


//Unnamed Object
cylinder{<0.0,0.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.1>,0.0125  material{texture{ pigment {color
Red} finish{metallic phong 1} }}
 matrix <1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.152 , 0.0 ,
0.009>}

union {difference {
//Unnamed Object
cylinder{<0.0,0.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.01>,0.0135  material{texture{ pigment {color
Silver} finish{metallic phong 1} }}
 matrix <1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.152 , 0.0 ,
0.029>}
//Unnamed Object
quadric{<1.0,1.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.0>,-0.00015625matrix <1.0 , 0.0 ,
0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.152 , 0.0 , 0.029>} } difference {
//Unnamed Object
cylinder{<0.0,0.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.01>,0.0215  material{texture{ pigment {color
Green} finish{metallic phong 1} }}
 matrix <1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.152 , 0.0 ,
0.029>}
//Unnamed Object
quadric{<1.0,1.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.0>,<0.0,0.0,0.0>,-0.00018225matrix <1.0 , 0.0 ,
0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.152 , 0.0 , 0.029>} }  }

[Stephen] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3505 days 17 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 20:30:18 GMT

On 9/20/2016 10:13 PM, lelama wrote:
> Hi,
> I am looking for an interactive viewer "a la Blender".
>
> Something very simple...

24 posts later. I wish I had just said. No I don't think there is.
Because I have not heard of any and I am looking for one too, Windoze 
though.

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Stephen] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3505 days 17 hours and 57 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 20:19:26 GMT

On 9/22/2016 8:00 PM, LanuHum wrote:
> Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
>> On 9/22/2016 6:54 PM, LanuHum wrote:
>>> clipka <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
>>>> Am 22.09.2016 um 17:29 schrieb LanuHum:

I am not comfortable hijacking this thread. It is bad manners to the 
original poster and it deserves a thread of its own.
I am not comfortable discussing it in this detail when I am not part of 
your group. No one wants an outside busybody telling them what to do.

And as they say in the SAP world. If there is only one way to do it. 
Then you are doing it wrong.

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[LanuHum] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3505 days 19 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 19:05:00 GMT

Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
> On 9/22/2016 6:54 PM, LanuHum wrote:
> > clipka <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
> >> Am 22.09.2016 um 17:29 schrieb LanuHum:
> >>
> >>> We will need the sample files from all types of objects that can be created on
> >>> Bishop export. All modifiers, media{}, photons{}, interior{} and so on.
> >>> We need to learn how to Bishop writes the text: where to put spaces and line
> >>> transfers.
> >>
> >> Uh... no, actually you need to generally learn the intricate details of
> >> POV-Ray's scene description language. Because you certainly don't want
> >> to limit your importer to POV files created by Bishop3D.
> >>
> >> Oh, the fun you'll have! ;)
> >
> > I see.
> > The problem of parsing the scene that you allow the user to wear underpants on
> > his head. :))))))))))))
>
> Some users do not have underpants to wear. ;)
> Some only want to point and click.
>
> That is who mostly use modellers.
>

If you are working only with the mouse, the program creates the standard file in
a style that is easy to handle.

#declare CoPigment = pigment{granite color_map{...}}
#declare CoNormal = normal{granite 1 normal_map{...}}
#declare CoFinish = finish{brilliance 2 ...}
#declare Concrete = texture{pigment{CoPigment}normal{CoNormal}finish{CoFinish}}
#declare Spheroid = sphere{0,1 texture{Concrete}}
object {Spheroid}

This order and the well-read


>
> > Your SDL encourages mess.
> > But nor is it terrible. There is no desire to write when no one needs.
> > ...pov file can be easily read using python, but it will take a lot of work
> >
>
> It is a template, yes?
> It is not for me to criticise what I cannot do myself.
>

If the user writes himself, he does so:

sphere {0,
    1 texture{pigment{granite

color_map{...}}normal{granite 1
                      normal_map{...}}finish{

brilliance 2
......}
   }
}

Then the user writes here:
Lanuhum!Your importer does not work!
Povray does not find an error!!!
:)))))))

To read such a mess with no errors in the Povray written source code parser
almost the size of one megabyte!!!!!!!

[LanuHum] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3505 days 19 hours and 51 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 18:25:00 GMT

Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
> On 9/22/2016 6:05 PM, clipka wrote:
> > Am 22.09.2016 um 17:29 schrieb LanuHum:
> >
> >> We will need the sample files from all types of objects that can be created on
> >> Bishop export. All modifiers, media{}, photons{}, interior{} and so on.
> >> We need to learn how to Bishop writes the text: where to put spaces and line
> >> transfers.
> >
> > Uh... no, actually you need to generally learn the intricate details of
> > POV-Ray's scene description language. Because you certainly don't want
> > to limit your importer to POV files created by Bishop3D.
> >
>
> It is a start.
>
> > Oh, the fun you'll have! ;)
> >
>
> With me helping. It is guaranteed. ;-)
>
>
> --
>
> Regards
>      Stephen

:)))))

[Stephen] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3505 days 19 hours and 58 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 18:18:04 GMT

On 9/22/2016 6:54 PM, LanuHum wrote:
> clipka <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
>> Am 22.09.2016 um 17:29 schrieb LanuHum:
>>
>>> We will need the sample files from all types of objects that can be created on
>>> Bishop export. All modifiers, media{}, photons{}, interior{} and so on.
>>> We need to learn how to Bishop writes the text: where to put spaces and line
>>> transfers.
>>
>> Uh... no, actually you need to generally learn the intricate details of
>> POV-Ray's scene description language. Because you certainly don't want
>> to limit your importer to POV files created by Bishop3D.
>>
>> Oh, the fun you'll have! ;)
>
> I see.
> The problem of parsing the scene that you allow the user to wear underpants on
> his head. :))))))))))))

Some users do not have underpants to wear. ;)
Some only want to point and click.

That is who mostly use modellers.


> Your SDL encourages mess.
> But nor is it terrible. There is no desire to write when no one needs.
> ...pov file can be easily read using python, but it will take a lot of work
>

It is a template, yes?
It is not for me to criticise what I cannot do myself.



-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[LanuHum] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3505 days 20 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 17:55:00 GMT

clipka <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
> Am 22.09.2016 um 17:29 schrieb LanuHum:
>
> > We will need the sample files from all types of objects that can be created on
> > Bishop export. All modifiers, media{}, photons{}, interior{} and so on.
> > We need to learn how to Bishop writes the text: where to put spaces and line
> > transfers.
>
> Uh... no, actually you need to generally learn the intricate details of
> POV-Ray's scene description language. Because you certainly don't want
> to limit your importer to POV files created by Bishop3D.
>
> Oh, the fun you'll have! ;)

I see.
The problem of parsing the scene that you allow the user to wear underpants on
his head. :))))))))))))
Your SDL encourages mess.
But nor is it terrible. There is no desire to write when no one needs.
..pov file can be easily read using python, but it will take a lot of work

[Stephen] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3505 days 20 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 17:54:51 GMT

On 9/22/2016 6:05 PM, clipka wrote:
> Am 22.09.2016 um 17:29 schrieb LanuHum:
>
>> We will need the sample files from all types of objects that can be created on
>> Bishop export. All modifiers, media{}, photons{}, interior{} and so on.
>> We need to learn how to Bishop writes the text: where to put spaces and line
>> transfers.
>
> Uh... no, actually you need to generally learn the intricate details of
> POV-Ray's scene description language. Because you certainly don't want
> to limit your importer to POV files created by Bishop3D.
>

It is a start.

> Oh, the fun you'll have! ;)
>

With me helping. It is guaranteed. ;-)


-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Stephen] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3505 days 20 hours and 23 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 17:52:50 GMT

On 9/22/2016 6:17 PM, LanuHum wrote:
> Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
>>
>> I think we should start an new thread and not hijack this one any more.
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Regards
>>       Stephen
>
> We are with you, it does not help. :)
> You did not understand anything.

But who but the enlightened, understand anything?

> I help Mr, but I need .pov files with different
> styles of writing. I do not need your importer-exporter.
> :)(:
>
>

I know.
It will be done.

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[LanuHum] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3505 days 20 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 17:20:00 GMT

Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
>
> I think we should start an new thread and not hijack this one any more.
>
>
> --
>
> Regards
>      Stephen

We are with you, it does not help. :)
You did not understand anything. I help Mr, but I need .pov files with different
styles of writing. I do not need your importer-exporter.
:)(:

[clipka] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3505 days 21 hours and 10 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 17:05:51 GMT

Am 22.09.2016 um 17:29 schrieb LanuHum:

> We will need the sample files from all types of objects that can be created on
> Bishop export. All modifiers, media{}, photons{}, interior{} and so on.
> We need to learn how to Bishop writes the text: where to put spaces and line
> transfers.

Uh... no, actually you need to generally learn the intricate details of
POV-Ray's scene description language. Because you certainly don't want
to limit your importer to POV files created by Bishop3D.

Oh, the fun you'll have! ;)

[Stephen] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3505 days 21 hours and 19 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 16:56:56 GMT

On 9/22/2016 4:29 PM, LanuHum wrote:
> Excellent export! 4 unnecessary quantities transferred, but the tuple formatted.
> Oh,oh.
>

<Joke>
Do not blame me. I am only an usurer. [pun]

</Joke>

> We will need the sample files from all types of objects that can be created on
> Bishop export. All modifiers, media{}, photons{}, interior{} and so on.
> We need to learn how to Bishop writes the text: where to put spaces and line
> transfers.
>
> Thanks!:)

No, thank you for offering to write an importer/converter.

<Joke>
Dr John. See how I slipped that into the small print?

</Joke>

I have written to Maurice offering my assistance. He has my contact 
details. Which he can share.

There are just over 20 objects that B3D (Bishop3D) uses. So that bit 
should be simple.
Materials are a bit more complicated for me as I generally use simple 
ones. But we can work through it.
It also has a couple of plugins. One is based on Giles Tan's make grass. 
The other one is for exporting Pov code but should be easy to find as it 
is delimited like:
//------- Sphere0 Raw Script Begin -------
#include "colors.inc"
//------- Sphere0 Raw Script End ---------

I think we should start an new thread and not hijack this one any more.

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[LanuHum] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3505 days 22 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 15:30:00 GMT

Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
> On 9/22/2016 1:16 PM, Mr wrote:
> > I suppose the problem comes from implicit coordinates: your sphere is declared
> > at 0.0 whereas the importer expects tuples cordinates made of 3 axes like
> > <0,0,0>
>
> Yes changing that allows the importer to work.
> Can you do anything about it?
> In Bishop3D only spheres are made like that. That includes sphere
> components in sphere sweeps.
>
> The project Thomas and I are working on. I think we have broken it's
> back. (All the hard and problematic things are done, until the next one
> crops up.) So I will have some time.
> I really want to help with this as a tester. I think it is important.
> I will drop you a line and you can tell me how I can help.
>
>
> --
>
> Regards
>      Stephen




Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:

> ****************************************************************************
> // Created with Bishop3D for Windows
> // Bishop3D Version 1.0.5.2
> // 22/09/2016 - 12:10:10
> // +BS8
> //
> ****************************************************************************

> phong       0.000
> phong_size  40.000
> specular    0.000
> roughness   0.249
> sphere {
> 0.0, 1.000000

Excellent export! 4 unnecessary quantities transferred, but the tuple formatted.
Oh,oh.

We will need the sample files from all types of objects that can be created on
Bishop export. All modifiers, media{}, photons{}, interior{} and so on.
We need to learn how to Bishop writes the text: where to put spaces and line
transfers.

Thanks! :)

[clipka] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3505 days 23 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 15:05:17 GMT

Am 22.09.2016 um 14:16 schrieb Mr:

> I suppose the problem comes from implicit coordinates: your sphere is declared
> at 0.0 whereas the importer expects tuples cordinates made of 3 axes like
> <0,0,0>

You'll certainly need to fix this in the importer. Making use of
POV-Ray's auto-promotion of floats to vectors is a very common idiom in
POV-Ray scenes.

[Stephen] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3506 days 1 hour ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 13:15:49 GMT

On 9/22/2016 1:16 PM, Mr wrote:
> I suppose the problem comes from implicit coordinates: your sphere is declared
> at 0.0 whereas the importer expects tuples cordinates made of 3 axes like
> <0,0,0>

Yes changing that allows the importer to work.
Can you do anything about it?
In Bishop3D only spheres are made like that. That includes sphere 
components in sphere sweeps.

The project Thomas and I are working on. I think we have broken it's 
back. (All the hard and problematic things are done, until the next one 
crops up.) So I will have some time.
I really want to help with this as a tester. I think it is important.
I will drop you a line and you can tell me how I can help.

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Mr] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3506 days 1 hour and 56 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 12:20:00 GMT

Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
> On 9/22/2016 11:52 AM, Mr wrote:
> > POV importer is new.  could you share the pov file for some bug fixing attempt?
>
>
> No sooner said than done.
> I have just tried to import this file.
>
> //
> ****************************************************************************
> // Created with Bishop3D for Windows
> // Bishop3D Version 1.0.5.2
> // 22/09/2016 - 12:10:10
> // +BS8
> //
> ****************************************************************************
>
>
> #version 3.7;  // or 3.6
>
> background { color rgb <0.000,0.000,0.000> }
>
> //
> ****************************************************************************
> // referenced scene items and forced visible scene items declaration begin
> //
> ****************************************************************************
>
> #declare Shadow_Clouds_Bot =
> pigment {
> bozo
> color_map {
> [0.000 rgbft <0.850,0.850,0.850,0.000,0.000>]
> [0.100 rgbft <0.750,0.750,0.750,0.000,0.000>]
> [0.500 rgbft <1.000,1.000,1.000,0.000,1.000>]
> }
>
> rotate    <0.0,0.0,90.000>
> rotate    <180.000,0.0,0.0>
> scale     <1.000,6.000,6.000>
> rotate    <-180.000,0.000,-90.000>
> translate <0.000,-0.150,0.000>
> turbulence <0.650,0.650,0.650>
> octaves 6
> lambda 2.000
> omega 0.700
> }
>
> #declare Shadow_Clouds_Mid =
> pigment {
> bozo
> color_map {
> [0.000 rgbft <0.850,0.850,0.850,0.000,0.000>]
> [0.100 rgbft <0.750,0.750,0.750,0.000,0.000>]
> [0.500 rgbft <1.000,1.000,1.000,0.000,1.000>]
> }
>
> rotate    <0.0,0.0,90.000>
> rotate    <180.000,0.0,0.0>
> scale     <1.000,6.000,6.000>
> rotate    <-180.000,0.000,-90.000>
> turbulence <0.650,0.650,0.650>
> octaves 6
> lambda 2.000
> omega 0.700
> }
>
> #declare Shadow_Clouds_Top =
> pigment {
> color rgbft <0.196,0.600,0.800,0.000,0.000>
> }
>
> #declare Polished_Brass0 =
> texture {
> pigment {
> color rgbft <0.578,0.422,0.195,0.000,0.000>
> }
>
> finish {
> ambient     rgb <0.100,0.100,0.100>
> brilliance  6.000
> crand       0.000
> diffuse     0.800
> metallic    1.000
> phong       0.800
> phong_size  120.000
> specular    0.000
> roughness   0.050
> reflection {
> rgb <0.400,0.400,0.400>, rgb <0.400,0.400,0.400>
> fresnel   0
> falloff   0.000
> exponent  1.000
> metallic  0.000
> }
> }
>
> }
>
> #declare Grey_White_Tiles2 =
> texture {
> checker
> texture {
> pigment {
> color rgbft <1.000,1.000,1.000,0.000,0.000>
> }
>
> normal {
> bozo, 1.000
> scale     <0.050,0.050,0.050>
> }
>
> finish {
> ambient     rgb <0.100,0.100,0.100>
> brilliance  1.000
> crand       0.000
> diffuse     0.600
> metallic    0.000
> phong       0.000
> phong_size  40.000
> specular    0.000
> roughness   0.249
> reflection {
> rgb <0.100,0.100,0.100>, rgb <0.000,0.000,0.000>
> fresnel   0
> falloff   0.000
> exponent  1.000
> metallic  0.000
> }
> }
>
> }
>
> texture {
> pigment {
> color rgbft <0.502,0.502,0.502,0.000,0.000>
> }
>
> normal {
> bozo, 1.000
> scale     <0.050,0.050,0.050>
> }
>
> finish {
> ambient     rgb <0.100,0.100,0.100>
> brilliance  1.000
> crand       0.000
> diffuse     0.600
> metallic    0.000
> phong       0.000
> phong_size  40.000
> specular    0.000
> roughness   0.249
> reflection {
> rgb <0.100,0.100,0.100>, rgb <0.000,0.000,0.000>
> fresnel   0
> falloff   0.000
> exponent  1.000
> metallic  0.000
> }
> }
>
> }
>
> scale     <10.000,10.000,10.000>
> }
>
> #declare Camera0 =
> camera {
> perspective
> location <-4.671,96.889,-178.017>
> up y
> right 1.333*x
> angle 33.000
> sky <0.012,0.894,0.448>
> look_at < 0.000, 7.500, 0.000 >
> }
>
>
> //
> ****************************************************************************
> // referenced scene items and forced visible scene items declaration end
> //
> ****************************************************************************
>
> union {
> light_source {
> < 0.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000 >, color rgb <1.000,1.000,1.000>
> fade_power 0.000
> fade_distance 100.000
> media_attenuation off
> media_interaction on
> translate <15.811000,100.000000,-200.977356>
> }
>
> light_source {
> < 0.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000 >, color rgb <1.000,1.000,1.000>
> fade_power 0.000
> fade_distance 100.000
> media_attenuation off
> media_interaction on
> shadowless
> translate <-24.636320,55.859425,-195.075000>
> }
>
> }
>
> sky_sphere {
> pigment{ Shadow_Clouds_Top }
> pigment{ Shadow_Clouds_Mid }
> pigment{ Shadow_Clouds_Bot }
>
> }
>
> plane {
> y , 0
> texture{ Grey_White_Tiles2 }
> }
>
> sphere {
> 0.0, 1.000000
> texture{ Polished_Brass0 }
> scale     <10.000000,10.000000,10.000000>
> translate <0.000000,10.000000,0.000000>
> }
>
>
> camera{ Camera0 }
>
>
>
> --
>
> Regards
>      Stephen


I suppose the problem comes from implicit coordinates: your sphere is declared
at 0.0 whereas the importer expects tuples cordinates made of 3 axes like
<0,0,0>

[Stephen] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3506 days 3 hours and 1 minute ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 11:14:45 GMT

On 9/22/2016 11:52 AM, Mr wrote:
> POV importer is new.  could you share the pov file for some bug fixing attempt?


No sooner said than done.
I have just tried to import this file.

// 
****************************************************************************
// Created with Bishop3D for Windows
// Bishop3D Version 1.0.5.2
// 22/09/2016 - 12:10:10
// +BS8
// 
****************************************************************************


#version 3.7;  // or 3.6

background { color rgb <0.000,0.000,0.000> }

// 
****************************************************************************
// referenced scene items and forced visible scene items declaration begin
// 
****************************************************************************

#declare Shadow_Clouds_Bot =
pigment {
bozo
color_map {
[0.000 rgbft <0.850,0.850,0.850,0.000,0.000>]
[0.100 rgbft <0.750,0.750,0.750,0.000,0.000>]
[0.500 rgbft <1.000,1.000,1.000,0.000,1.000>]
}

rotate    <0.0,0.0,90.000>
rotate    <180.000,0.0,0.0>
scale     <1.000,6.000,6.000>
rotate    <-180.000,0.000,-90.000>
translate <0.000,-0.150,0.000>
turbulence <0.650,0.650,0.650>
octaves 6
lambda 2.000
omega 0.700
}

#declare Shadow_Clouds_Mid =
pigment {
bozo
color_map {
[0.000 rgbft <0.850,0.850,0.850,0.000,0.000>]
[0.100 rgbft <0.750,0.750,0.750,0.000,0.000>]
[0.500 rgbft <1.000,1.000,1.000,0.000,1.000>]
}

rotate    <0.0,0.0,90.000>
rotate    <180.000,0.0,0.0>
scale     <1.000,6.000,6.000>
rotate    <-180.000,0.000,-90.000>
turbulence <0.650,0.650,0.650>
octaves 6
lambda 2.000
omega 0.700
}

#declare Shadow_Clouds_Top =
pigment {
color rgbft <0.196,0.600,0.800,0.000,0.000>
}

#declare Polished_Brass0 =
texture {
pigment {
color rgbft <0.578,0.422,0.195,0.000,0.000>
}

finish {
ambient     rgb <0.100,0.100,0.100>
brilliance  6.000
crand       0.000
diffuse     0.800
metallic    1.000
phong       0.800
phong_size  120.000
specular    0.000
roughness   0.050
reflection {
rgb <0.400,0.400,0.400>, rgb <0.400,0.400,0.400>
fresnel   0
falloff   0.000
exponent  1.000
metallic  0.000
}
}

}

#declare Grey_White_Tiles2 =
texture {
checker
texture {
pigment {
color rgbft <1.000,1.000,1.000,0.000,0.000>
}

normal {
bozo, 1.000
scale     <0.050,0.050,0.050>
}

finish {
ambient     rgb <0.100,0.100,0.100>
brilliance  1.000
crand       0.000
diffuse     0.600
metallic    0.000
phong       0.000
phong_size  40.000
specular    0.000
roughness   0.249
reflection {
rgb <0.100,0.100,0.100>, rgb <0.000,0.000,0.000>
fresnel   0
falloff   0.000
exponent  1.000
metallic  0.000
}
}

}

texture {
pigment {
color rgbft <0.502,0.502,0.502,0.000,0.000>
}

normal {
bozo, 1.000
scale     <0.050,0.050,0.050>
}

finish {
ambient     rgb <0.100,0.100,0.100>
brilliance  1.000
crand       0.000
diffuse     0.600
metallic    0.000
phong       0.000
phong_size  40.000
specular    0.000
roughness   0.249
reflection {
rgb <0.100,0.100,0.100>, rgb <0.000,0.000,0.000>
fresnel   0
falloff   0.000
exponent  1.000
metallic  0.000
}
}

}

scale     <10.000,10.000,10.000>
}

#declare Camera0 =
camera {
perspective
location <-4.671,96.889,-178.017>
up y
right 1.333*x
angle 33.000
sky <0.012,0.894,0.448>
look_at < 0.000, 7.500, 0.000 >
}


// 
****************************************************************************
// referenced scene items and forced visible scene items declaration end
// 
****************************************************************************

union {
light_source {
< 0.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000 >, color rgb <1.000,1.000,1.000>
fade_power 0.000
fade_distance 100.000
media_attenuation off
media_interaction on
translate <15.811000,100.000000,-200.977356>
}

light_source {
< 0.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000 >, color rgb <1.000,1.000,1.000>
fade_power 0.000
fade_distance 100.000
media_attenuation off
media_interaction on
shadowless
translate <-24.636320,55.859425,-195.075000>
}

}

sky_sphere {
pigment{ Shadow_Clouds_Top }
pigment{ Shadow_Clouds_Mid }
pigment{ Shadow_Clouds_Bot }

}

plane {
y , 0
texture{ Grey_White_Tiles2 }
}

sphere {
0.0, 1.000000
texture{ Polished_Brass0 }
scale     <10.000000,10.000000,10.000000>
translate <0.000000,10.000000,0.000000>
}


camera{ Camera0 }



-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Stephen] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3506 days 3 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 11:05:20 GMT

On 9/22/2016 10:14 AM, lelama wrote:
>
> Tried to read .pov in Blender without success.
>
> First, I tried on Ubuntu studio, latest version. I was not able to activate the
> add-on because of some inexistant file or directory.
>
> Then I downloaded the latest binary blender version on the blender server. I
> checked that the fileI was rendered correctly using povray directly. But it was
> not correctly rendered in Blender Only a grey plane appeared, whereas it was
> supposed to show a person on a bike.
>
> Laurent.
>
>

I had the same problem when I tried it yesterday.
I have not read the documentation on it. So that goes on the todo list.
Once I have finished a project I am working on. I am going to have a 
look to see what I did wrong or not do right.
After the import there was only a plane called: PovInfinitePlane

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Mr] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3506 days 3 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 10:55:00 GMT

"lelama" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> Tried to read .pov in Blender without success.
>
> First, I tried on Ubuntu studio, latest version. I was not able to activate the
> add-on because of some inexistant file or directory.
>
> Then I downloaded the latest binary blender version on the blender server. I
> checked that the fileI was rendered correctly using povray directly. But it was
> not correctly rendered in Blender Only a grey plane appeared, whereas it was
> supposed to show a person on a bike.
>
> Laurent.
>
>
> "Mr" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> > "lelama" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> > > Hi,
> > > I am looking for an interactive viewer "a la Blender".
> > >
> > > Something very simple would be sufficient. Starting from a .pov, I would like to
> > > render the file and click on some buttons to change the camera position and
> > > camera.angle in real time and that's all.
> > >
> > > Is there something out of the box for Ubuntu ? All modelers I have seen seem
> > > dead.
> >
> > Do you know that Blender features a POV importer and exporter? Could you tell us
> > why you don't like it, so we can keep improving it?
> >
> > https://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.6/Py/Scripts/Render/POV-Ray


POV importer is new.  could you share the pov file for some bug fixing attempt?

[lelama] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3506 days 4 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 09:20:01 GMT

Tried to read .pov in Blender without success.

First, I tried on Ubuntu studio, latest version. I was not able to activate the
add-on because of some inexistant file or directory.

Then I downloaded the latest binary blender version on the blender server. I
checked that the fileI was rendered correctly using povray directly. But it was
not correctly rendered in Blender Only a grey plane appeared, whereas it was
supposed to show a person on a bike.

Laurent.

"Mr" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> "lelama" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> > Hi,
> > I am looking for an interactive viewer "a la Blender".
> >
> > Something very simple would be sufficient. Starting from a .pov, I would like to
> > render the file and click on some buttons to change the camera position and
> > camera.angle in real time and that's all.
> >
> > Is there something out of the box for Ubuntu ? All modelers I have seen seem
> > dead.
>
> Do you know that Blender features a POV importer and exporter? Could you tell us
> why you don't like it, so we can keep improving it?
>
> https://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.6/Py/Scripts/Render/POV-Ray

[lelama] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3506 days 5 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 09:10:00 GMT

Ok, thank you guys for the answer. I prefer not to start with something which is
already outdated, spending minutes or hours to bypass the problems that will
eventually happen.

Bishop 3D is unfortunatly only for windows as far as I understand.

Laurent.



Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
> On 9/22/2016 9:08 AM, Thomas de Groot wrote:
>
> >
> > There was Moray http://www.stmuc.com/moray/index.html which was a
> > dedicated modeller to POV-Ray 3.5. It was discontinued for all kind of
> > reasons and may be revived in a distant future (speculation). In the
> > meantime and if you are curious, I recommend to play a bit with it. It
> > can still be very useful in different ways.
> >
> > Otherwise, there is Bishop3D but I do not know much about it. Stephen is
> > the expert.
> >
>
> In a way you are right but it is StephenS who is the real expert. :-D
> I get by with it.
>
> I would recommend against Moray, unless you prefer a coordinate system
> with the Z-axis set as up. (In PovRay the default is Y-axis: up.)
>
> Both Moray and Bishop3D render with older versions of PovRay. Versions
> 3.5 and 3.62 respectively. But the files can be manually run in the
> latest version of PovRay, without modification, taking advantage of your
> machine's multi cores . I cannot overstate how important that is. :)
>
> {Actually I think I just did. ;-) }
>
> --
>
> Regards
>      Stephen

[Stephen] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3506 days 5 hours and 42 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 08:33:32 GMT

On 9/22/2016 9:08 AM, Thomas de Groot wrote:

>
> There was Moray http://www.stmuc.com/moray/index.html which was a
> dedicated modeller to POV-Ray 3.5. It was discontinued for all kind of
> reasons and may be revived in a distant future (speculation). In the
> meantime and if you are curious, I recommend to play a bit with it. It
> can still be very useful in different ways.
>
> Otherwise, there is Bishop3D but I do not know much about it. Stephen is
> the expert.
>

In a way you are right but it is StephenS who is the real expert. :-D
I get by with it.

I would recommend against Moray, unless you prefer a coordinate system 
with the Z-axis set as up. (In PovRay the default is Y-axis: up.)

Both Moray and Bishop3D render with older versions of PovRay. Versions 
3.5 and 3.62 respectively. But the files can be manually run in the 
latest version of PovRay, without modification, taking advantage of your 
machine's multi cores . I cannot overstate how important that is. :)

{Actually I think I just did. ;-) }

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3506 days 6 hours and 8 minutes ago]

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 08:08:29 GMT

On 21-9-2016 19:04, lelama wrote:
> "Mr" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
>> "lelama" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>> I am looking for an interactive viewer "a la Blender".
>>>
>>> Something very simple would be sufficient. Starting from a .pov, I would like to
>>> render the file and click on some buttons to change the camera position and
>>> camera.angle in real time and that's all.
>>>
>>> Is there something out of the box for Ubuntu ? All modelers I have seen seem
>>> dead.
>>
>> Do you know that Blender features a POV importer and exporter? Could you tell us
>> why you don't like it, so we can keep improving it?
>>
>> https://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.6/Py/Scripts/Render/POV-Ray
>
>
>
> I didn't know it. I will try.
>
> On the video, we only see the full fixed rendering and some wireframe
> representation. What I really want is the real time rough representation, not
> with wireframes. Within Blender, I can move with the mouse in this rough
> rendering to inspect the details of my constructions. This a feature I miss in
> povray. To really "see the perspective", I think moving the image is a real
> advantage. It is probably as important as the shadow to really "feel" the
> perspective.
>
> Thank you for the answer. This is very nice when people try to help :-)
>
>

There was Moray http://www.stmuc.com/moray/index.html which was a 
dedicated modeller to POV-Ray 3.5. It was discontinued for all kind of 
reasons and may be revived in a distant future (speculation). In the 
meantime and if you are curious, I recommend to play a bit with it. It 
can still be very useful in different ways.

Otherwise, there is Bishop3D but I do not know much about it. Stephen is 
the expert.

-- 
Thomas

[lelama] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3506 days 21 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Wed, 21 Sep 2016 17:05:00 GMT

"Mr" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> "lelama" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> > Hi,
> > I am looking for an interactive viewer "a la Blender".
> >
> > Something very simple would be sufficient. Starting from a .pov, I would like to
> > render the file and click on some buttons to change the camera position and
> > camera.angle in real time and that's all.
> >
> > Is there something out of the box for Ubuntu ? All modelers I have seen seem
> > dead.
>
> Do you know that Blender features a POV importer and exporter? Could you tell us
> why you don't like it, so we can keep improving it?
>
> https://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.6/Py/Scripts/Render/POV-Ray

I didn't know it. I will try.

On the video, we only see the full fixed rendering and some wireframe
representation. What I really want is the real time rough representation, not
with wireframes. Within Blender, I can move with the mouse in this rough
rendering to inspect the details of my constructions. This a feature I miss in
povray. To really "see the perspective", I think moving the image is a real
advantage. It is probably as important as the shadow to really "feel" the
perspective.

Thank you for the answer. This is very nice when people try to help :-)

[Mr] Re: Looking for a interactive viewer [3507 days 1 hour and 46 minutes ago]

Wed, 21 Sep 2016 12:30:01 GMT

"lelama" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> Hi,
> I am looking for an interactive viewer "a la Blender".
>
> Something very simple would be sufficient. Starting from a .pov, I would like to
> render the file and click on some buttons to change the camera position and
> camera.angle in real time and that's all.
>
> Is there something out of the box for Ubuntu ? All modelers I have seen seem
> dead.

Do you know that Blender features a POV importer and exporter? Could you tell us
why you don't like it, so we can keep improving it?

https://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.6/Py/Scripts/Render/POV-Ray

[lelama] Looking for a interactive viewer [3507 days 17 hours and 1 minute ago]

Tue, 20 Sep 2016 21:15:00 GMT

Hi,
I am looking for an interactive viewer "a la Blender".

Something very simple would be sufficient. Starting from a .pov, I would like to
render the file and click on some buttons to change the camera position and
camera.angle in real time and that's all.

Is there something out of the box for Ubuntu ? All modelers I have seen seem
dead.

[Thomas de Groot] Re: exporting inkscape paths to povray prism or ... [3516 days 2 hours and 54 minutes ago]

Mon, 12 Sep 2016 11:21:54 GMT

Thank you indeed. Very useful.

-- 
Thomas

[] exporting inkscape paths to povray prism or lathe [3516 days 4 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Mon, 12 Sep 2016 10:05:00 GMT

Hi, i have developed an python extension for inkscape that exports paths to
povray prism or lathe objects, you can download from
http://www.arakne.es/en/uncategorized/inkscape-svg2pov-updated-svg2pov-extra-properties/,
and in that link you have a short tutorial on how to use the new options of the
plugin http://www.arakne.es/en/dessign/svg2pov-tutorial-table-part1/

[Stephen] Re: Oosawa 4D Volume Viewer [3542 days 5 hours and 33 minutes ago]

Wed, 17 Aug 2016 08:42:48 GMT

On 8/17/2016 1:15 AM, Bald Eagle wrote:
> Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
>> I found this utility for creating and viewing df3s. It uses OpenGl to
>> view it.
>> It can create df3s from pngs and mesh-ify df3s. It calls it Isosurface
>> and exports a mesh.
>> It was written with PovRay in mind and for medical use. So we are
>> talking animations. It creates df3s from one colour channel of a series
>> of images. So they can be separated.
>> All in all it is worth a look if you are working on df3s.
>
> Hey!  This looks like fun.   I will give it a look in the near future.
> The Dragon is looking much better - I like the colors.
>
>
>
The fun part is using a help file in Japanese. ;)
I've updated the last dragon image with a higher resolution df3.
I will write a "how to" when I work out how I created a colour map.
The program is quite intuitive but there are some things that are hidden.

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Bald Eagle] Re: Oosawa 4D Volume Viewer [3542 days 13 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Wed, 17 Aug 2016 00:20:02 GMT

Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
> I found this utility for creating and viewing df3s. It uses OpenGl to
> view it.
> It can create df3s from pngs and mesh-ify df3s. It calls it Isosurface
> and exports a mesh.
> It was written with PovRay in mind and for medical use. So we are
> talking animations. It creates df3s from one colour channel of a series
> of images. So they can be separated.
> All in all it is worth a look if you are working on df3s.

Hey!  This looks like fun.   I will give it a look in the near future.
The Dragon is looking much better - I like the colors.

[Stephen] Oosawa 4D Volume Viewer [3543 days 7 hours ago]

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 07:15:40 GMT

I found this utility for creating and viewing df3s. It uses OpenGl to 
view it.
It can create df3s from pngs and mesh-ify df3s. It calls it Isosurface 
and exports a mesh.
It was written with PovRay in mind and for medical use. So we are 
talking animations. It creates df3s from one colour channel of a series 
of images. So they can be separated.
All in all it is worth a look if you are working on df3s.

Not all is rosy, the help file is in Japanese but there is an English 
document on the download site. The Iso-Mesh has a couple of problems. It 
exports the decimal separator as Ã‚Â· and has trailing commas in
lists. 
Easily fixed. (Latest Windows version.)



http://qcganime.web.fc2.com/OOSAWA/oosawaE.html#File

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Bald Eagle] Textures and maps [3578 days 23 hours and 51 minutes ago]

Mon, 11 Jul 2016 14:25:01 GMT

Found this at random.
The zip files for the textures seem to have a tilable color image, plus 2 B&W
images that look like they'd be useful for bump-mapping or heightfields.

Might save folks some time trying to work out a procedural texture when
something's needed quickly.

http://resources.maxwellrender.com/news_scripts.php?t=1

[Stephen] Re: Real-time ray tracer with POV-Ray SDL support [3597 days 21 hours and 29 minutes ago]

Wed, 22 Jun 2016 16:46:47 GMT

On 6/22/2016 4:54 PM, Tuomas Tonteri wrote:
> Hi Stephen,
>
> Unfortunately, several features of POV-Ray SDL are not yet supported. In this
> particular case the problem is that string functions are not supported.
> Consequently, the parser expects a quoted string after #include.
>
> A list of unsupported features is available here:
>
> http://www.infinity3dengine.com/about/povray-sdl
>
> To give a general idea, about 33% of scenes in 'scenes/advanced' directory load
> without error and give non-background display.

In that case, keep posting updates as you do them. A parser for SDL will 
be most welcome. :)

OS Win 6 x 64 bit

I found that Ctrl + C * did not exit walk through.
When I am panning, rolling or zooming. It would be useful if shift (or 
another key) would increase the rate of change of the mouse movement.
I hope that makes sense. :)

*
I thought that you were going back to the days when Ctrl + C stopped the 
program running.

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Tuomas Tonteri] Re: Real-time ray tracer with POV-Ray SDL support [3597 days 22 hours and 16 minutes ago]

Wed, 22 Jun 2016 16:00:00 GMT

Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:

> Loading POV-ray scene: F:\Graphics\B3D
> Data\Scenes\Test\Stereo\Earth\06\2\R\R_Lights02_0000.pov
>
> [Snip]
>
> Parser error: filename 'F:\Graphics\B3D
> Data\Scenes\Test\Stereo\Earth\06\2\R\R_Lights02_0000.pov' line number 25:
>
> #include concat("f:\\Graphics\\B3D
>
Data\\Scenes\\Earth_Inside\\Chain02G1\\Chain02G2Y_",str(mod(frame_number,89),-4,0),".pov")
>            ^
> Requiring '"' here

Hi Stephen,

Unfortunately, several features of POV-Ray SDL are not yet supported. In this
particular case the problem is that string functions are not supported.
Consequently, the parser expects a quoted string after #include.

A list of unsupported features is available here:

http://www.infinity3dengine.com/about/povray-sdl

To give a general idea, about 33% of scenes in 'scenes/advanced' directory load
without error and give non-background display.

[Stephen] Re: Real-time ray tracer with POV-Ray SDL support [3597 days 23 hours and 55 minutes ago]

Wed, 22 Jun 2016 14:21:14 GMT

On 6/6/2016 6:23 PM, Tuomas Tonteri wrote:
>
> Hello everyone!
>

[Snip]

.
>
> I hope you find the program useful.
>
> Tuomas
>
>

Hello Tuomas,
I downloaded your program and loaded a Pov file I am rendering.

I got the error bellow.

It is part of an animation that includes another smaller animation, 
repetitively.

Loading POV-ray scene: F:\Graphics\B3D 
Data\Scenes\Test\Stereo\Earth\06\2\R\R_Lights02_0000.pov

[Snip]

Parser error: filename 'F:\Graphics\B3D 
Data\Scenes\Test\Stereo\Earth\06\2\R\R_Lights02_0000.pov' line number 25:

#include concat("f:\\Graphics\\B3D 
Data\\Scenes\\Earth_Inside\\Chain02G1\\Chain02G2Y_",str(mod(frame_number,89),-4,0),".pov")
           ^
Requiring '"' here

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Tuomas Tonteri] Re: Real-time ray tracer with POV-Ray SDL support [3598 days 1 hour and 56 minutes ago]

Wed, 22 Jun 2016 12:20:00 GMT

"Bald Eagle" <cre### [at] netscapenet> wrote:
> Thanks so much, Tuomas, for working on this!  :)

Thanks for feedback!

> I think that a good modeler is something that a lot of people want, and it's
> been a long time since I've used one for creating scenes in POV-Ray.

I think one use of the current release is being able to see real-time
updated viewport while typing in POV-Ray SDL in one's favourite text editor, and
being able to smoothly change the view using mouse controls independent of what
camera is set to in the scene file.

> I'll give you my unfiltered initial impressions, since I myself find that sort
> of feedback most valuable when developing something new.  Familiarity tends to
> sweep things into the cracks.

It is the kind of feedback a dev appreciates.

> I was unsure what to do next, so I explored the menu.
> I tried "Viewport" - "Walk mode"
> Whatever method you're using to move the scene with the mouse is very similar to
> some of 3D molecular modeling packages I've used.  I tend to "lose my way"
> easily, and the scene gets canted ever further from the starting point.  I have
> to do a "swirling" motion with the mouse to progressively rotate the scene back.
>   I find it a little awkward - perhaps something to think about.

Yes, the "walk mode" is for exploring the scene in first person while normal
mouse controls are for 3D modeling - I think you didn't get a change to try the
latter.

> Something very nice would be an "origin marker" that could be moved, and then
> all rotations of the scene would be relative to that.  I'd think that typically
> when one models a scene, one wants to hold there focus on a specific part of it,
> and then switch back and forth between various "views"
> Maybe there could be a toolbar and some hotkeys to "bookmark" these for quick
> access, and a way to return to the default view.

I think these are all very good ideas. Currently, all viewport rotations
happen around world space origin, except in the first person "walk mode".

> I tried to "rotate" the scene, but it appears that what happens is that the
> scene is rotated around the camera location.
>
> The arrow keys perform the same rotation - I was unsure of how to do a straight
> PAN and slide along an axis.

For rotate and slide to work first the "walk mode" needs to be disabled. Then
these work by dragging mouse over the viewport. The first button does slide,
the second button does rotate and the third button does zoom.

> Then I tried to exit "Walk" mode, and the modeller (modeler?) seemed to keep
> full control of the mouse.  Perhaps there ought to be a way to release the mouse
> so that it can be used outside of the modeler window in the rest of the OS.

As you found out in the end, [ESC] exits the 'walk' and releases the mouse - but
[CRTL]-[C] should work also. You found a bug in the Windows version.

> I tried using the [ALT] key to access the menu, but there seems to be some bugs
> there.   [ALT] brings up the underlining of the menu options, but [ALT]-[V] did
> nothing

Apparently, this is another Windows version bug. This menu functionality doesn't
work while in the first person 'walk' mode.

[Bald Eagle] Re: Real-time ray tracer with POV-Ray SDL support [3599 days 1 hour and 51 minutes ago]

Tue, 21 Jun 2016 12:25:00 GMT

Thanks so much, Tuomas, for working on this!  :)
I think that a good modeler is something that a lot of people want, and it's
been a long time since I've used one for creating scenes in POV-Ray.

Finally have some time off work and a bit of time, so I downloaded from your
site and took a quick look.

I'll give you my unfiltered initial impressions, since I myself find that sort
of feedback most valuable when developing something new.  Familiarity tends to
sweep things into the cracks.

The download was very fast - I like the small (13 MB) executable.
Install was fast and trouble-free.
Very nice sample scene - simple, elegant, pleasing to the eye.

I was unsure what to do next, so I explored the menu.
I tried "Viewport" - "Walk mode"
Whatever method you're using to move the scene with the mouse is very similar to
some of 3D molecular modeling packages I've used.  I tend to "lose my way"
easily, and the scene gets canted ever further from the starting point.  I have
to do a "swirling" motion with the mouse to progressively rotate the scene back.
  I find it a little awkward - perhaps something to think about.

Something very nice would be an "origin marker" that could be moved, and then
all rotations of the scene would be relative to that.  I'd think that typically
when one models a scene, one wants to hold there focus on a specific part of it,
and then switch back and forth between various "views"
Maybe there could be a toolbar and some hotkeys to "bookmark" these for quick
access, and a way to return to the default view.

I tried to "rotate" the scene, but it appears that what happens is that the
scene is rotated around the camera location.

The arrow keys perform the same rotation - I was unsure of how to do a straight
PAN and slide along an axis.

Then I tried to exit "Walk" mode, and the modeller (modeler?) seemed to keep
full control of the mouse.  Perhaps there ought to be a way to release the mouse
so that it can be used outside of the modeler window in the rest of the OS.

I tried using the [ALT] key to access the menu, but there seems to be some bugs
there.   [ALT] brings up the underlining of the menu options, but [ALT]-[V] did
nothing, [ALT]-[W] zooms in, [ALT] - [Q][W][E][A][S][D][Z][X] all control the
screen view.  [CTRL]-[C] Turns on "walk" but does not toggle it off as might be
expected.  [ESC] works.

OK, my son is up, and so the rest of my day is tied up  :)   ;)
Hope this helps a little, and thanks again!

[Stephen] Re: Ancient Files. [3610 days 5 hours and 59 minutes ago]

Fri, 10 Jun 2016 08:16:33 GMT

On 6/10/2016 7:42 AM, Thomas de Groot wrote:
>>
>
> You may still have the figure's serial number? If so, you can try to get
> a copy free.

If I do it is buried deep in a laptop I don't have immediate access to. 
Since I am not using realistic textures It won't make a lot of 
difference if I use another model.

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Ancient Files. [3610 days 7 hours and 33 minutes ago]

Fri, 10 Jun 2016 06:42:59 GMT

On 9-6-2016 13:53, Stephen wrote:
> On 6/9/2016 12:26 PM, Thomas de Groot wrote:
>> On 9-6-2016 11:37, Stephen wrote:
>>> I want to resurrect an old scene using the Poser model Stephanie. When I
>>> try to load the scene into Poser Pro 2010. I am asked to find
>>> BLStephanie.obj
>>> Does anyone know where it comes from so I can reinstall it?
>>> I have spent hours looking on 5 old machines for the obj file. <Grrr>
>>> I have a hint that it might belong to Poser 4, a morphed version of
>>> Victoria.
>>>
>>
>> It seems to be originally a DAZ figure and so may not be directly linked
>> to Poser 4 (or, I guess, 5). I do not have the figure in my own standard
>> directories from Poser 5 onwards.
>>
>
> From my reading it was originally based on the Michael 1/2 mesh.
> Well I have some exported obj files for reference so can use another
> female model. Annoying when the new Stephanie can cost more than 100 USD
> and I must have paid for the original one.
>

You may still have the figure's serial number? If so, you can try to get 
a copy free.
-- 
Thomas

[Stephen] Re: Ancient Files. [3611 days 2 hours and 22 minutes ago]

Thu, 9 Jun 2016 11:53:32 GMT

On 6/9/2016 12:26 PM, Thomas de Groot wrote:
> On 9-6-2016 11:37, Stephen wrote:
>> I want to resurrect an old scene using the Poser model Stephanie. When I
>> try to load the scene into Poser Pro 2010. I am asked to find
>> BLStephanie.obj
>> Does anyone know where it comes from so I can reinstall it?
>> I have spent hours looking on 5 old machines for the obj file. <Grrr>
>> I have a hint that it might belong to Poser 4, a morphed version of
>> Victoria.
>>
>
> It seems to be originally a DAZ figure and so may not be directly linked
> to Poser 4 (or, I guess, 5). I do not have the figure in my own standard
> directories from Poser 5 onwards.
>

 From my reading it was originally based on the Michael 1/2 mesh.
Well I have some exported obj files for reference so can use another 
female model. Annoying when the new Stephanie can cost more than 100 USD 
and I must have paid for the original one.

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Ancient Files. [3611 days 2 hours and 49 minutes ago]

Thu, 9 Jun 2016 11:26:55 GMT

On 9-6-2016 11:37, Stephen wrote:
> I want to resurrect an old scene using the Poser model Stephanie. When I
> try to load the scene into Poser Pro 2010. I am asked to find
> BLStephanie.obj
> Does anyone know where it comes from so I can reinstall it?
> I have spent hours looking on 5 old machines for the obj file. <Grrr>
> I have a hint that it might belong to Poser 4, a morphed version of
> Victoria.
>

It seems to be originally a DAZ figure and so may not be directly linked 
to Poser 4 (or, I guess, 5). I do not have the figure in my own standard 
directories from Poser 5 onwards.

-- 
Thomas

[Stephen] Ancient Files. [3611 days 4 hours and 38 minutes ago]

Thu, 9 Jun 2016 09:37:51 GMT

I want to resurrect an old scene using the Poser model Stephanie. When I 
try to load the scene into Poser Pro 2010. I am asked to find 
BLStephanie.obj
Does anyone know where it comes from so I can reinstall it?
I have spent hours looking on 5 old machines for the obj file. <Grrr>
I have a hint that it might belong to Poser 4, a morphed version of 
Victoria.

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[clipka] Re: Real-time ray tracer with POV-Ray SDL support [3613 days 16 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Mon, 6 Jun 2016 21:29:51 GMT

Am 06.06.2016 um 19:23 schrieb Tuomas Tonteri:

> I wish to announce a freeware modelling tool that partially supports POV-Ray SDL
> and provides smooth real-time ray traced visualization.

That's definitely something to take a look at.

(Now where the heck are my round tuits when I need them most?)

[Tuomas Tonteri] Real-time ray tracer with POV-Ray SDL support [3613 days 20 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Mon, 6 Jun 2016 17:30:01 GMT

Hello everyone!

I wish to announce a freeware modelling tool that partially supports POV-Ray SDL
and provides smooth real-time ray traced visualization.

Here is a screenshot of the user interface:

http://www.infinity3dengine.com/get-infinity/3d-modeller/3d-modeller.png?hires

And the program is currently available for Windows and Linux at:

http://www.infinity3dengine.com/get-infinity/3d-modeller

At the time of writing the program supports primitive shapes such as sphere,
cylinder, cone, box, torus etc., several planar shapes, arbitrary transforms and
CSG.

The modeling tool is powered by real-time ray tracing engine that supports
non-planar geometry just like POV-Ray.

The current modeling program is functionally similar to OpenSCAD software
but with POV-Ray SDL instead of the OpenSCAD language and without an inbuild
text editor.

I hope you find the program useful.

Tuomas

[Tor Olav Kristensen] Re: Asking for a tool to transform .txt(x,y,z) d... [3622 days 10 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Sun, 29 May 2016 03:30:00 GMT

"Mengshi" <rsy### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> I want to use the POV-RAY with LIDAR dara. The format of Lidar data could be
> ascii file (txt,csv), or las/laz,all including X,Y,Z.
>  So do you have any recommend tools for transforming xyz data into .pov format??
>
>
> Thanks a lot.


If you have access to 'sed', 'tail' and a shell (e.g. in Linux or Cygwin), you
can do this:

you@linux:~$ tail -n +2 lidar.txt | sed s/' '/', '/g | sed s/$/','/ >lidar.csv

('lidar.txt' is the file with your original lidar data.)
A file 'lidar.csv' will then be created, which can be read from a POV-Ray script
like this:


#version 3.7;

#declare NrOfPoints = 4162388;
#declare Points = array[NrOfPoints];

#fopen LidarFile "lidar.csv" read

#declare Cnt = 0;
#while (defined(LidarFile) & Cnt < NrOfPoints)
    #read (LidarFile, X, Y, Z)
    #declare Points[Cnt] = <X, Y, Z>;
    #declare Cnt = Cnt + 1;
#end // for

#fclose LidarFile

#for (Cnt, 0, NrOfPoints-1)
    #debug "\n"
    #debug concat("Point no. ", str(Cnt, 0, 0), ": ")
    #debug concat("<", vstr(3, Points[Cnt], ", ", 0, -1), ">")
#end // for
#debug "\n\n"


And if you have access to 'wc' you can get the number of lines in the lidar.csv
file like this:

you@linux:~$ wc --lines lidar.csv


--
Tor Olav
http://subcube.com

[tth] Re: Asking for a tool to transform .txt(x,y,z) d... [3626 days 5 hours and 16 minutes ago]

Wed, 25 May 2016 09:00:03 GMT

On 05/24/2016 11:07 AM, Mengshi a dit:
>> What is the typical file size and number of points? If you have a small
>> example it would help.
>> --
>>
>> Regards
>>       Stephen
>
> It just a cloud of points, about 4162388 points.
>
> Like:
> data.csv
>
> X Y Z
> 35174.97656250 446497.71875000 -0.569999
> 35174.97656250 446497.71875000 8.0200046
> 35174.97656250 446497.71875000 6.2580003
> .......

tth@serviette:/tmp$ c### [at] datacsv
X Y Z
35174.97656250 446497.71875000 -0.569999
35174.97656250 446497.71875000 8.0200046
35174.97656250 446497.71875000 6.2580003
tth@serviette:/tmp$ c### [at] scriptawk
#!/usr/bin/awk -f

BEGIN   { print "union {"; }

NR!=1   {
         printf "sphere { <%f, %f, %f>, DSPHERE }\n", $1, $2, $3;
         }

END     { print "}"; }
tth@serviette:/tmp$ ./script.awk < d### [at] acsv
union {
sphere { <35174.976562, 446497.718750, -0.569999>, DSPHERE }
sphere { <35174.976562, 446497.718750, 8.020005>, DSPHERE }
sphere { <35174.976562, 446497.718750, 6.258000>, DSPHERE }
}


-- 
http://weblog.mixart-myrys.org/?post/2016/03/De-la-temporalisation

[Stephen] Re: Asking for a tool to transform .txt(x,y,z) d... [3627 days 4 hours and 38 minutes ago]

Tue, 24 May 2016 09:37:49 GMT

On 5/24/2016 10:07 AM, Mengshi wrote:
> Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
>> On 5/24/2016 9:02 AM, Mengshi wrote:
>>> Dear all,
>>>
>>> I want to use the POV-RAY with LIDAR dara. The format of Lidar data could be
>>> ascii file (txt,csv), or las/laz,all including X,Y,Z.
>>>    So do you have any recommend tools for transforming xyz data into .pov format??
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Is this a cloud of points or does it have some structure?
>>
>> What is the typical file size and number of points? If you have a small
>> example it would help.
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Regards
>>       Stephen
>
> It just a cloud of points, about 4162388 points.
>
> Like:
> data.csv
>
> X Y Z
> 35174.97656250 446497.71875000 -0.569999
> 35174.97656250 446497.71875000 8.0200046
> 35174.97656250 446497.71875000 6.2580003
> ........
>
>


Have a look at Meshlab http://meshlab.sourceforge.net/

That should allow you to turn your point cloud into a mesh. Then you can 
convert it to a povray include file with poseray.

You could also search for Point Clout and PovRay. It will return a few 
threads you could read.

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Mengshi] Re: Asking for a tool to transform .txt(x,y,z) d... [3627 days 5 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Tue, 24 May 2016 09:10:01 GMT

Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
> On 5/24/2016 9:02 AM, Mengshi wrote:
> > Dear all,
> >
> > I want to use the POV-RAY with LIDAR dara. The format of Lidar data could be
> > ascii file (txt,csv), or las/laz,all including X,Y,Z.
> >   So do you have any recommend tools for transforming xyz data into .pov format??
> >
> >
>
> Is this a cloud of points or does it have some structure?
>
> What is the typical file size and number of points? If you have a small
> example it would help.
>
>
> --
>
> Regards
>      Stephen

It just a cloud of points, about 4162388 points.

Like:
data.csv

X Y Z
35174.97656250 446497.71875000 -0.569999
35174.97656250 446497.71875000 8.0200046
35174.97656250 446497.71875000 6.2580003
.......

[Stephen] Re: Asking for a tool to transform .txt(x,y,z) d... [3627 days 5 hours and 23 minutes ago]

Tue, 24 May 2016 08:52:51 GMT

On 5/24/2016 9:02 AM, Mengshi wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> I want to use the POV-RAY with LIDAR dara. The format of Lidar data could be
> ascii file (txt,csv), or las/laz,all including X,Y,Z.
>   So do you have any recommend tools for transforming xyz data into .pov format??
>
>

Is this a cloud of points or does it have some structure?

What is the typical file size and number of points? If you have a small 
example it would help.

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Mengshi] Asking for a tool to transform .txt(x,y,z) data ... [3627 days 6 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Tue, 24 May 2016 08:05:01 GMT

Dear all,

I want to use the POV-RAY with LIDAR dara. The format of Lidar data could be
ascii file (txt,csv), or las/laz,all including X,Y,Z.
 So do you have any recommend tools for transforming xyz data into .pov format??


Thanks a lot.

[Stephen] Re: Blender Q&A [3695 days 19 hours and 10 minutes ago]

Wed, 16 Mar 2016 19:06:23 GMT

On 3/16/2016 6:10 PM, LanuHum wrote:
> Question:
> Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
>> I need a program to create an animation from a series of images. The
>> program IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve used in the past
(TMPGEnc) has changed beyond my needs. It
>> now only joins video clips and if I try to use images it produces a
>> slideshow.
>> Does anyone have a recommendation for a programme that is not a command
>> line one?
>>
>> --
>>
>> Regards
>>       Stephen
>>
>
>
> Answer:
> https://youtu.be/WuGsdG2vU1A
>
>
>
>

Thank you. :-D

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[LanuHum] Re: Blender Q&A [3695 days 20 hours and 1 minute ago]

Wed, 16 Mar 2016 18:15:00 GMT

Question:
Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
> I need a program to create an animation from a series of images. The
> program Iâ€™ve used in the past (TMPGEnc) has changed beyond my
needs. It
> now only joins video clips and if I try to use images it produces a
> slideshow.
> Does anyone have a recommendation for a programme that is not a command
> line one?
>
> --
>
> Regards
>      Stephen
>


Answer:
https://youtu.be/WuGsdG2vU1A

[LanuHum] Re: Blender Q&A [3699 days 18 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Sat, 12 Mar 2016 19:55:00 GMT

:)

Question:
How to create a filament for a bulb in Blender?

Answer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INxbmLNufXE

[Mike Horvath] Re: free CAD software supporting POV-Ray [3916 days 7 hours and 3 minutes ago]

Sun, 9 Aug 2015 07:12:32 GMT

On 6/3/2015 6:56 AM, clipka wrote:
> Hi folks,
>
> looks like there's a free 3D CAD package out there that can generate
> POV-Ray files, yet hasn't gotten any attention in these newsgroups yet
> whatsoever.
>
> The software is aptly named "FreeCAD". It has been under development
> since 2001 based on the Open Cascade CAD kernel, and is currently
> available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS.
>
> See http://www.freecadweb.org/ for details.

Couple of questions that you might not be able to answer.

1. What 3D format does it use natively? What can it import and export?
2. Can I recreate this script using it?

http://lib.povray.org/searchcollection/index2.php?objectName=LegoRoad&version=2.5.5&contributorTag=SharkD

3. How does it handle materials/textures? Can they be generated 
programmatically as well or are only bitmap textures supported?

Mike

[Stephen] Re: Pixar PRMan 20 with official Blender exporter [3917 days 2 hours and 42 minutes ago]

Sat, 8 Aug 2015 11:34:07 GMT

On 8/8/2015 11:44 AM, Doctor John wrote:

>
> FTFY;-)
>

Typical always know best.

I'll reply privately so not to hijack MR's thread any more.

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Doctor John] Re: Pixar PRMan 20 with official Blender exporter [3917 days 3 hours and 31 minutes ago]

Sat, 8 Aug 2015 10:44:33 GMT

On 08/08/15 11:11, Stephen wrote:
> 
> No International politics meant here. This is aimed at Dr John. ;-)
> 
>     The people's flag is deepest red,
>     It shrouded oft our martyred dead
> 

The people's flag is palest pink
Best drop it now before we sink
I rather like the Tory Blue
And Cam'ron's policies - I'll have them too

FTFY ;-)

John
-- 
Protect the Earth
It was not given to you by your parents
You hold it in trust for your children

[Stephen] Re: Pixar PRMan 20 with official Blender exporter [3917 days 4 hours and 5 minutes ago]

Sat, 8 Aug 2015 10:11:01 GMT

On 8/8/2015 10:42 AM, LanuHum wrote:
> Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
>
>>
>> Indeed it is. You may call me sir. </joke>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Regards
>>       Stephen
>
> Yes, sir!
> Thanks, sir!
> :)
>
>
>
>

I forgot. I hate being called sir. I am not one of the British ruling 
class :-)

No International politics meant here. This is aimed at Dr John. ;-)

     The people's flag is deepest red,
     It shrouded oft our martyred dead

...

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[LanuHum] Re: Pixar PRMan 20 with official Blender exporter [3917 days 4 hours and 31 minutes ago]

Sat, 8 Aug 2015 09:45:01 GMT

Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:

>
> Indeed it is. You may call me sir. </joke>
>
>
> --
>
> Regards
>      Stephen

Yes, sir!
Thanks, sir!
:)

[Stephen] Re: Pixar PRMan 20 with official Blender exporter [3917 days 5 hours and 47 minutes ago]

Sat, 8 Aug 2015 08:28:50 GMT

On 8/8/2015 8:29 AM, LanuHum wrote:
> Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
>>
>> Jerome ???
>>
>> --
>>
>> Regards
>>       Stephen
>
> Yes! I revealed secret? Sorry!
>

Tut tut. ;-)


> In 'SOR:nurbs or not' clipka wrote:
>> @Jerome: Even if the implementation would be similar to that of bicubic
>> patch type 1, i.e. an internal translation to something mesh-like, so
>> that in a sense the whole job could also be done by the exporter by
>> generating a mesh2 object, I think a NURBS primitive would be beneficial
>> in order to minimize file I/O in the workflow.
>
> It is very good when people call each other by name.
>

Indeed it is. You may call me sir. </joke>


-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[LanuHum] Re: Pixar PRMan 20 with official Blender exporter [3917 days 6 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Sat, 8 Aug 2015 07:30:00 GMT

Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
>
> Jerome ???
>
> --
>
> Regards
>      Stephen

Yes! I revealed secret? Sorry!

In 'SOR:nurbs or not' clipka wrote:
> @Jerome: Even if the implementation would be similar to that of bicubic
> patch type 1, i.e. an internal translation to something mesh-like, so
> that in a sense the whole job could also be done by the exporter by
> generating a mesh2 object, I think a NURBS primitive would be beneficial
> in order to minimize file I/O in the workflow.

It is very good when people call each other by name.

https://github.com/LeForgeron/

:)

[Stephen] Re: Pixar PRMan 20 with official Blender exporter [3917 days 9 hours and 4 minutes ago]

Sat, 8 Aug 2015 05:11:39 GMT

On 8/7/2015 11:57 PM, LanuHum wrote:
> Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
>> On 8/7/2015 6:22 PM, LanuHum wrote:
>>> I will go to gather mushrooms. Without mushrooms the intuition limps to render a
>>> simple cube:)
>>
>>
>> A man after my own heart. :-)
>>
>> --
>>
>> Regards
>>       Stephen
>
> To tell the truth, it would be desirable to find something that will force
> Jerome to change the plans for 20 years
> :) :) :)
>
>

Jerome ???

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[LanuHum] Re: Pixar PRMan 20 with official Blender exporter [3917 days 15 hours and 16 minutes ago]

Fri, 7 Aug 2015 23:00:00 GMT

Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
> On 8/7/2015 6:22 PM, LanuHum wrote:
> > I will go to gather mushrooms. Without mushrooms the intuition limps to render a
> > simple cube:)
>
>
> A man after my own heart. :-)
>
> --
>
> Regards
>      Stephen

To tell the truth, it would be desirable to find something that will force
Jerome to change the plans for 20 years
:) :) :)

[Stephen] Re: Pixar PRMan 20 with official Blender exporter [3917 days 19 hours and 59 minutes ago]

Fri, 7 Aug 2015 18:17:11 GMT

On 8/7/2015 6:22 PM, LanuHum wrote:
> I will go to gather mushrooms. Without mushrooms the intuition limps to render a
> simple cube:)


A man after my own heart. :-)

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[LanuHum] Re: Pixar PRMan 20 with official Blender exporter [3917 days 20 hours and 51 minutes ago]

Fri, 7 Aug 2015 17:25:00 GMT

"Mr" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?375734-Pixar-RenderMan-for-Blender!
>
> https://renderman.pixar.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28298
>
>
> It looks like it's going to be interesting!

I need to study long that to write such exporter.
I will go to gather mushrooms. Without mushrooms the intuition limps to render a
simple cube :)

[Mr] Pixar PRMan 20 with official Blender exporter [3918 days and 6 minutes ago]

Fri, 7 Aug 2015 14:10:02 GMT

http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?375734-Pixar-RenderMan-for-Blender!

https://renderman.pixar.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28298


It looks like it's going to be interesting!

[Anthony D Baye] Re: Chief Architect User [3922 days 18 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Sun, 2 Aug 2015 20:10:00 GMT

Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> On 16-6-2015 18:47, Jaime Vives Piqueres wrote:
>
> > [snip] The only glitch was that the exported files seem to have a
> > different coordinate system, and you may have to swap the Y and Z axes.
> > Try it and let me know if you have specific problems...
> >
>
> This sounds like a right-handed coordinate system like Moray. If that is
> correct, and also the mirroring effect is there, a little transform code
> can be added to the objects after export to POV-Ray :
>
>    scale <1, 1, -1>
>    rotate 90*x
>
>
> --
> Thomas

This is actually a lot of work for a very simple operation. All you really need
to do is negate the right vector in the camera, thusly:

camera {
    perspective
    location POS
    up y
    right -x*(image_height/image_width)
    look_at TGT
}

where POS and TGT are the position and focal points.  Make sure your camera is
pointed in the -z direction, and presto-chango: right-handed coords.

Source: Documentation 2.3.1.1.7
http://www.povray.org/documentation/view/3.7.0/246/

Regards,
A.D.B.

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Chief Architect User [3969 days 7 hours and 15 minutes ago]

Wed, 17 Jun 2015 07:01:12 GMT

On 16-6-2015 18:47, Jaime Vives Piqueres wrote:

> [snip] The only glitch was that the exported files seem to have a
> different coordinate system, and you may have to swap the Y and Z axes.
> Try it and let me know if you have specific problems...
>

This sounds like a right-handed coordinate system like Moray. If that is 
correct, and also the mirroring effect is there, a little transform code 
can be added to the objects after export to POV-Ray :

   scale <1, 1, -1>
   rotate 90*x

-- 
Thomas

[Jaime Vives Piqueres] Re: Chief Architect User [3969 days 21 hours and 28 minutes ago]

Tue, 16 Jun 2015 16:47:48 GMT

El 16/06/15 a las 16:30, Alexis escribió:
> Hello,
>
> I currently use Chief Architect X7 Premier and would like to incorporate POV RAY
> to perform various scene renderings.  Can anyone guide me with the steps to do
> this. I would really appreciate it!
>

http://www.ignorancia.org/en/index.php?page=Chief_Architect

   Just tested a few days ago that this still works with X7: another CA 
X7 user sent me the files and I could render them using my old X1 
tutorial. The only glitch was that the exported files seem to have a 
different coordinate system, and you may have to swap the Y and Z axes. 
Try it and let me know if you have specific problems...

   Regards,

--
Jaime

[Alexis] Chief Architect User [3969 days 23 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Tue, 16 Jun 2015 14:35:11 GMT

Hello,

I currently use Chief Architect X7 Premier and would like to incorporate POV RAY
to perform various scene renderings.  Can anyone guide me with the steps to do
this. I would really appreciate it!

Much Thanks,
Dulcie Alexis

[scott] Re: free CAD software supporting POV-Ray [3977 days 22 hours and 48 minutes ago]

Mon, 8 Jun 2015 15:27:36 GMT

Another alternative I just came across is a web-based CAD package called 
"onshape". It allows export of stl files which can be converted to POV 
meshes with stl2pov, and more importantly when exporting it allows you 
to specify the parameters used when generating the mesh.

It's still in beta at the moment, and it looks like the free version 
allows you to work on up to 5 projects at once.

[lelama] Pycao: python modeller (in progress) [3981 days 22 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Thu, 4 Jun 2015 16:10:01 GMT

Dear all,

I have written a collection of scripts to speed up the description of the
scenes, which has evolved in a modeller.


It is now in a form that can be shown in public, and usable for small projects.
I called this software pycao, and it is
a python modeller, with parent/children, markers, visibility attributes for the
objects...

All is done in python, but at the end, a povray file is produced and it is
rendered with povray.

On my web page, you will see the documentation
http://math.univ-angers.fr/~evain/logiciels/pycao/distributed/documentation/

and the files to be downloaded.
http://math.univ-angers.fr/~evain/logiciels/logiciels.html#

[scott] Re: free CAD software supporting POV-Ray [3982 days 22 hours and 42 minutes ago]

Wed, 3 Jun 2015 15:34:13 GMT

> looks like there's a free 3D CAD package out there that can generate
> POV-Ray files, yet hasn't gotten any attention in these newsgroups yet
> whatsoever.

Unfortunately it seems to convert all geometry to a mesh before 
exporting to POV :-( I was hoping that finally someone had written a 
proper POV exporter from CAD data...

As a CAD tool though it looks an excellent introduction and hobby tool. 
Perfect for creating those "engineered" type objects (especially with 
lots of rounded edges) with the same parametric flexibility that you 
have in SDL.

[Stephen] Re: free CAD software supporting POV-Ray [3983 days 1 hour and 45 minutes ago]

Wed, 3 Jun 2015 12:31:07 GMT

On 03/06/2015 13:24, Stephen wrote:
> On 03/06/2015 12:31, Doctor John wrote:
>> On 03/06/15 11:56, clipka wrote:
>>> The software is aptly named "FreeCAD". It has been under development
>>> since 2001 based on the Open Cascade CAD kernel, and is currently
>>> available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS.
>>>
>>> See http://www.freecadweb.org/ for details.
>>
>> Looks interesting. I shall investigate
>>
>
> It does. I might have a look myself.
>

Is there an echo in here?

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Stephen] Re: free CAD software supporting POV-Ray [3983 days 1 hour and 52 minutes ago]

Wed, 3 Jun 2015 12:24:26 GMT

On 03/06/2015 12:31, Doctor John wrote:
> On 03/06/15 11:56, clipka wrote:
>> The software is aptly named "FreeCAD". It has been under development
>> since 2001 based on the Open Cascade CAD kernel, and is currently
>> available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS.
>>
>> See http://www.freecadweb.org/ for details.
>
> Looks interesting. I shall investigate
>

It does. I might have a look myself.

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Doctor John] Re: free CAD software supporting POV-Ray [3983 days 2 hours and 45 minutes ago]

Wed, 3 Jun 2015 11:31:04 GMT

On 03/06/15 11:56, clipka wrote:
> The software is aptly named "FreeCAD". It has been under development
> since 2001 based on the Open Cascade CAD kernel, and is currently
> available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS.
> 
> See http://www.freecadweb.org/ for details.

Looks interesting. I shall investigate

John
-- 
Protect the Earth
It was not given to you by your parents
You hold it in trust for your children

[clipka] free CAD software supporting POV-Ray [3983 days 3 hours and 19 minutes ago]

Wed, 3 Jun 2015 10:56:59 GMT

Hi folks,

looks like there's a free 3D CAD package out there that can generate 
POV-Ray files, yet hasn't gotten any attention in these newsgroups yet 
whatsoever.

The software is aptly named "FreeCAD". It has been under development 
since 2001 based on the Open Cascade CAD kernel, and is currently 
available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS.

See http://www.freecadweb.org/ for details.

[LanuHum] Re: Convert spheres and cylinders to mesh objects. [3985 days 3 hours and 26 minutes ago]

Mon, 1 Jun 2015 10:50:01 GMT

"Tony Stecca" <Ton### [at] virtualhighschoolcom> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I need meshify spheres and cylinders in scenes of molecular models that I have.
>
> Can any one suggest a macro for this purpose?  I've looked at makemesh.inc but
> can't figure out how to use it.  Basically, I'm looking for a macro like this:
>
>   meshify(Object, File_Name)
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> Tony

Way, difficult at you!
I would use the Blender.
Look:
http://news.povray.org/povray.binaries.images/attachment/%3Cweb.556c35758d10ac1c113a021b0%40news.povray.org%3E/avogadro
_parse.blend.jpg

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Convert spheres and cylinders to mesh objects. [3986 days 6 hours and 48 minutes ago]

Sun, 31 May 2015 07:28:25 GMT

On 31-5-2015 5:37, Tony Stecca wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I need meshify spheres and cylinders in scenes of molecular models that I have.
>
> Can any one suggest a macro for this purpose?  I've looked at makemesh.inc but
> can't figure out how to use it.  Basically, I'm looking for a macro like this:
>
>    meshify(Object, File_Name)
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> Tony
>
>

In your original message at p.newusers I just gave a couple of 
suggestions ;-)

-- 
Thomas

[Tony Stecca] Convert spheres and cylinders to mesh objects. [3986 days 10 hours and 36 minutes ago]

Sun, 31 May 2015 03:40:01 GMT

Hello,

I need meshify spheres and cylinders in scenes of molecular models that I have.

Can any one suggest a macro for this purpose?  I've looked at makemesh.inc but
can't figure out how to use it.  Basically, I'm looking for a macro like this:

  meshify(Object, File_Name)

Any suggestions?

Tony

[And] Re: AFAIK it should be integrated in Povray [3994 days 5 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Sat, 23 May 2015 09:05:01 GMT

clipka <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
>
> Isosurfaces? Surprisingly enough, while isosurfaces are the easiest way
> to already get what you are asking for (provided there is a solution to
> the problem at all), determining where the distance between the ray and
> the surface equals 'd' is outright impossible for generic isosurfaces.

Yes, I realize this is very hard when I tried to make a constant 'd' function on
a very simple example "y = ax^2 ".

https://www.flickr.com/photos/131379210@N05/17810168859/in/album-72157653310776535/

[Thorsten Froehlich] Re: AFAIK it should be integrated in Povray [3995 days 2 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Fri, 22 May 2015 11:35:00 GMT

Lars Rohwedder <rok### [at] gmxde> wrote:
> > I have never found a satisfactory solution to the general rounding
> > problem. Isosurface blobs are good, but isosurfaces take so long to
> > render. Extensive macros for CSG, or hand-modelled meshes seem the
> > best value for time vs results...
>
> My rough idea:
>
> There is already a function that returns whether a vieving ray "hits"
> the surface of a given object's surface (and where it hits). I assume
> this function is used in the render core of Povray, too.
>
> So it should be possible to provide another function that returns the
> point where the distance between ray and object is 0, but where it has a
> given distance 'd'.
>
> Rendering using that function should result in "puffed-up" objects, so
> you have to shrink your objects by 'd' before (which can be done by the
> Povray core automatically, too. AFAIK)

This algorithm will fail for all rays parallel to the object surface, where the
ray does not hit the surface. A simple example where this becomes important is
an L-shaped corner where the object is the left and bottom side of the L-shape
and the ray runs parallel to the L-spahe on the upper-right quadrant. Obviously
you would want that inner corner rounded, but the surface would never be found.

Thorsten

[clipka] Re: AFAIK it should be integrated in Povray [3995 days 20 hours and 17 minutes ago]

Thu, 21 May 2015 17:59:18 GMT

Am 21.05.2015 um 10:05 schrieb Lars Rohwedder:
>> I have never found a satisfactory solution to the general rounding
>> problem. Isosurface blobs are good, but isosurfaces take so long to
>> render. Extensive macros for CSG, or hand-modelled meshes seem the
>> best value for time vs results...
>
> My rough idea:
>
> There is already a function that returns whether a vieving ray "hits"
> the surface of a given object's surface (and where it hits). I assume
> this function is used in the render core of Povray, too.
>
> So it should be possible to provide another function that returns the
> point where the distance between ray and object is 0, but where it has a
> given distance 'd'.

While that sounds like a neat idea at first, it becomes troublesome as 
soon as you try to implement the corresponding function for all the 
various primitives.

Spheres are ok.
Boxes, yes, you can do that.
Cylinders and cones, too.

Meshes and height fields? Things are starting to get a bit more complicated.

Prisms or lathes based on non-linear splines? Text? Bezier patches? It 
gets ugly here, making these objects as complicated as sphere sweeps 
(which are known to be prone to artefacts).

Isosurfaces? Surprisingly enough, while isosurfaces are the easiest way 
to already get what you are asking for (provided there is a solution to 
the problem at all), determining where the distance between the ray and 
the surface equals 'd' is outright impossible for generic isosurfaces.

Fractals? You must be kidding.

[Le Forgeron] Re: AFAIK it should be integrated in Povray [3995 days 21 hours and 10 minutes ago]

Thu, 21 May 2015 17:06:18 GMT

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA256

Le 21/05/2015 10:05, Lars Rohwedder a Ã©crit :
>> I have never found a satisfactory solution to the general
>> rounding problem. Isosurface blobs are good, but isosurfaces take
>> so long to render. Extensive macros for CSG, or hand-modelled
>> meshes seem the best value for time vs results...
> 
> My rough idea:
> 
> There is already a function that returns whether a vieving ray
> "hits" the surface of a given object's surface (and where it hits).
> I assume this function is used in the render core of Povray, too.
> 
> So it should be possible to provide another function that returns
> the point where the distance between ray and object is 0, but where
> it has a given distance 'd'.

- From the intersection point, assuming the normal is known at that
point (usually, but not always, brutal change of surface would remain
problematic), you can use a basic trigonometry with the angle between
the ray and the normal to compute the projection of d along the normal
on to the ray so as to get that point. As long as the ray is not
perpendicular to the normal at the intersection point.

So, run the first function, and adjust the intersection.

But with d>0, you will miss the part when the ray does not intersect
the object, yet is near enough that it would intersect with the
adjusted version.

It might be more usable with d<0, using that computation to make the
object appearing smaller. (and keeping the new intersection only if
the point is still "inside" the model object)



> 
> Rendering using that function should result in "puffed-up" objects,
> so you have to shrink your objects by 'd' before (which can be done
> by the Povray core automatically, too. AFAIK)

scale is not shrink.

Consider a torus (major = 4, minor = 1), shrink by d is another torus
(major = 4, minor = 1-d), that's something you cannot achieve via scale.


> 
> I think the question whether this is possible should go to the
> Povray core developer, not the tool developer. So: Wrong
> newsgroup... ;-(
> 
> Lars R.
> 

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[Lars Rohwedder] AFAIK it should be integrated in Povray [3996 days 6 hours and 10 minutes ago]

Thu, 21 May 2015 08:05:54 GMT

> I have never found a satisfactory solution to the general rounding 
> problem. Isosurface blobs are good, but isosurfaces take so long to 
> render. Extensive macros for CSG, or hand-modelled meshes seem the 
> best value for time vs results...

My rough idea:

There is already a function that returns whether a vieving ray "hits"
the surface of a given object's surface (and where it hits). I assume
this function is used in the render core of Povray, too.

So it should be possible to provide another function that returns the
point where the distance between ray and object is 0, but where it has a
given distance 'd'.

Rendering using that function should result in "puffed-up" objects, so
you have to shrink your objects by 'd' before (which can be done by the
Povray core automatically, too. AFAIK)

I think the question whether this is possible should go to the Povray
core developer, not the tool developer. So: Wrong newsgroup... ;-(

Lars R.

[Stephen] Re: sorry, it does _not_ solve the problem. ;-( [3997 days 5 hours and 59 minutes ago]

Wed, 20 May 2015 08:17:15 GMT

On 20/05/2015 08:33, Bill Pragnell wrote:
> Lars Rohwedder <rok### [at] gmxde> wrote:
>>>> Albeit it does solve the problem I described.
>>>>
>>>
>>> It does? I've not used it myself but I remember when Bill made it.
>>
>> SorryÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ it does _not_.  typo by me.
>

Good, I was beginning to doubt my sanity. ;-)

> Alas, it was intended to be used on pre-rounded CSG to produce meshes for
> surface perturbation. I mostly use it for making weathered bricks, or boulders.
> Nice to see it wheeled out though :)
>
I didn't really mean it as a solution for Lars.
I was looking for a memory of macros that was used to distress columns. 
When I came across yours. The threads were posted at least five years 
ago and Jim Charter's name springs to mind.

> I have never found a satisfactory solution to the general rounding problem.
> Isosurface blobs are good, but isosurfaces take so long to render. Extensive
> macros for CSG, or hand-modelled meshes seem the best value for time vs
> results...
>
>
Me too. Either hand made or using Blender.

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Bill Pragnell] Re: sorry, it does _not_ solve the problem. ;-( [3997 days 6 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Wed, 20 May 2015 07:35:05 GMT

Lars Rohwedder <rok### [at] gmxde> wrote:
> >> Albeit it does solve the problem I described.
> >>
> >
> > It does? I've not used it myself but I remember when Bill made it.
>
> Sorryâ€¦ it does _not_.  typo by me.

Alas, it was intended to be used on pre-rounded CSG to produce meshes for
surface perturbation. I mostly use it for making weathered bricks, or boulders.
Nice to see it wheeled out though :)

I have never found a satisfactory solution to the general rounding problem.
Isosurface blobs are good, but isosurfaces take so long to render. Extensive
macros for CSG, or hand-modelled meshes seem the best value for time vs
results...

[Lars Rohwedder] sorry, it does _not_ solve the problem. ;-( [3997 days 7 hours and 7 minutes ago]

Wed, 20 May 2015 07:08:43 GMT

>> Albeit it does solve the problem I described.
>>
> 
> It does? I've not used it myself but I remember when Bill made it.

Sorryâ€¦ it does _not_.  typo by me.

[Le Forgeron] Re: How to "roundify" objects [3997 days 22 hours and 42 minutes ago]

Tue, 19 May 2015 15:33:53 GMT

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
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Le 19/05/2015 16:41, Lars Rohwedder a Ã©crit :
> Am 19.05.2015 um 15:32 schrieb Stephen:
>> On 19/05/2015 13:39, Lars Rohwedder wrote:
>>> * strong blur that distorts the whole object a lot but looks 
>>> interesting, too.
>> 
>> You might find Bill's macro interesting too.
>> 
>> http://lib.povray.org/searchcollection/index2.php?objectName=meshreli
ef&version=1.0&contributorTag=Bill
>
>> 
> Looks nice. (I pimped the example file that is shipped with Bill's
> macro)
> 
> Albeit it does solve the problem I described.
> 
> And I don't know how to generate (either by Povray macro magic or
> by a self-written C++ program) a mesh that represents "rounded"
> versions of arbitrary objects. :-/
> 

You would need something like a proximity pattern/evaluator, and to
know if the normal at each vertex is toward inside or outside. For
proximity at 50%, you do not move. For other values, you move along
the normal... excepted that there is more than one normal per vertex,
so you need to average them all somehow (weight might not be trivial,
hoping they are all on the same side).

For proximity giving a low density, you move "inward" (erosion).
For proximity giving a high density, you move "outward" (filling hole)

The problem that remains: getting the initial mesh that satisfies the
needed predicats.

> Lars R.
> 

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[Stephen] Re: How to "roundify" objects [3997 days 23 hours and 4 minutes ago]

Tue, 19 May 2015 15:11:43 GMT

On 19/05/2015 15:41, Lars Rohwedder wrote:
> Am 19.05.2015 um 15:32 schrieb Stephen:
>> On 19/05/2015 13:39, Lars Rohwedder wrote:
>>> * strong blur that distorts the whole object a lot but looks
>>> interesting, too.
>>
>> You might find Bill's macro interesting too.
>>
>>
http://lib.povray.org/searchcollection/index2.php?objectName=meshrelief&version=1.0&contributorTag=Bill
>
> Looks nice. (I pimped the example file that is shipped with Bill's macro)
>
> Albeit it does solve the problem I described.
>

It does? I've not used it myself but I remember when Bill made it.

> And I don't know how to generate (either by Povray macro magic or by a
> self-written C++ program) a mesh that represents "rounded" versions of
> arbitrary objects. :-/
>

Neither would I. If I wanted to round a mesh manually. I would subdivide 
it using PoseRay.
It doesn't help though. It doesn't have those command line options. Or 
you could have run it through PovRay.

> Lars R.
>


-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Lars Rohwedder] Re: How to "roundify" objects [3997 days 23 hours and 35 minutes ago]

Tue, 19 May 2015 14:41:14 GMT

Am 19.05.2015 um 15:32 schrieb Stephen:
> On 19/05/2015 13:39, Lars Rohwedder wrote:
>> * strong blur that distorts the whole object a lot but looks
>> interesting, too.
> 
> You might find Bill's macro interesting too.
> 
>
http://lib.povray.org/searchcollection/index2.php?objectName=meshrelief&version=1.0&contributorTag=Bill

Looks nice. (I pimped the example file that is shipped with Bill's macro)

Albeit it does solve the problem I described.

And I don't know how to generate (either by Povray macro magic or by a
self-written C++ program) a mesh that represents "rounded" versions of
arbitrary objects. :-/

Lars R.

[Stephen] Re: How to "roundify" objects [3998 days and 43 minutes ago]

Tue, 19 May 2015 13:32:42 GMT

On 19/05/2015 13:39, Lars Rohwedder wrote:
> * strong blur that distorts the whole object a lot but looks
> interesting, too.

You might find Bill's macro interesting too.

http://lib.povray.org/searchcollection/index2.php?objectName=meshrelief&version=1.0&contributorTag=Bill


-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Lars Rohwedder] Re: How to "roundify" objects [3998 days 1 hour and 37 minutes ago]

Tue, 19 May 2015 12:39:22 GMT

I'd like to "roundify" arbitrary objects, even if they are combined with
CSG.

I wrote an approximation using 3ds files and isosurface. :-)

I rendered the same scene 3 times:

* nearly no blur
* medium blur that results in "rounded edges"
* strong blur that distorts the whole object a lot but looks
interesting, too.

Surprisingly, due to the way isosurfaces work, the "hard" edge version
needed very long time to render, due to the high max_gradient. :-o

Lars R.

[Nevado] Re: How to "roundify" objects [3998 days 2 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Tue, 19 May 2015 11:35:01 GMT

The Object Collection also contains Samuel Benges very useful Rounded L-Prism
macros. They allow you to make complex prisms with rounded or beveled edges.
A version is also available here:
http://news.povray.org/web.5136498a673f3afd2165ae730%40news.povray.org

[Thomas de Groot] Re: How to "roundify" objects [4001 days 6 hours and 52 minutes ago]

Sat, 16 May 2015 07:23:53 GMT

The third way is to use the round edge macros by Cousin Ricky. Look for 
that in the Objects Collection: 
http://lib.povray.org/searchcollection/index.php

-- 
Thomas

[Thomas de Groot] Re: How to "roundify" objects [4001 days 7 hours and 10 minutes ago]

Sat, 16 May 2015 07:05:33 GMT

On 15-5-2015 19:36, Stephen wrote:
> On 15/05/2015 16:59, Lars Rohwedder wrote:
>> I'd like to do "round" some objects to make their edges more natural.
>>
>> It is like a "Gaussian blur" followed by "Sharpening", as I did in 2D in
>> the two attached images.
>>
>> It shold be possible in 3D, too. But how to do that in Povray?
>>
>> Lars R.
>>
>
> You need to do it manually.
> One way is to create a box and difference a cylinder (centred on a
> corner of the box) from it. Then difference that shape from the box you
> want to bevel.
>
> IIRC You might be able to find some macro's or write your own.
>

Another way is to use a superellipsoid instead. For examples, look in 
the folder scenes\objects\ and try superel1.pov, superel2.pov and 
superel3.pov

-- 
Thomas

[Stephen] Re: How to "roundify" objects [4001 days 20 hours and 39 minutes ago]

Fri, 15 May 2015 17:36:45 GMT

On 15/05/2015 16:59, Lars Rohwedder wrote:
> I'd like to do "round" some objects to make their edges more natural.
>
> It is like a "Gaussian blur" followed by "Sharpening", as I did in 2D in
> the two attached images.
>
> It shold be possible in 3D, too. But how to do that in Povray?
>
> Lars R.
>

You need to do it manually.
One way is to create a box and difference a cylinder (centred on a 
corner of the box) from it. Then difference that shape from the box you 
want to bevel.

IIRC You might be able to find some macro's or write your own.

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[Lars Rohwedder] How to "roundify" objects [4001 days 22 hours and 17 minutes ago]

Fri, 15 May 2015 15:59:20 GMT

I'd like to do "round" some objects to make their edges more natural.

It is like a "Gaussian blur" followed by "Sharpening", as I did in 2D in
the two attached images.

It shold be possible in 3D, too. But how to do that in Povray?

Lars R.

[LanuHum] Re: Help to solve a problem: bicubic_patch [4083 days 18 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Sun, 22 Feb 2015 19:30:00 GMT

clipka <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
> Am 22.02.2015 um 14:07 schrieb LanuHum:
> > Hi!
> > There is nurbs-curve with four control points.
> > For an example: (1,1.5,0.5),(0.5,0.5,1.2),(-0.8,-1,0.3),(-2,0.1,0.8)
> > It is necessary to create a tube along a curve, using two bicubic patches
> > Radius tube = R
> > The mathematics is necessary :) :) :)
>
> Note that the mathematics say that strictly speaking this is impossible:
> With bicubic patches you can neither create a tube with perfectly
> circular cross-section (because a cubic spline in 2d space never forms a
> perfect circular arc), nor can you use them for any curved tubular
> structure with constant cross-section (because the parallel curve of a
> cubic spline in 2d space is never another cubic spline unless they both
> are linear).

Not necessarily. Approximate.
I am going to use rectangular triangles for calculation
But, I don't know how it is effective.
Therefore asked masters.

[clipka] Re: Help to solve a problem: bicubic_patch [4084 days and 5 minutes ago]

Sun, 22 Feb 2015 14:11:03 GMT

Am 22.02.2015 um 14:07 schrieb LanuHum:
> Hi!
> There is nurbs-curve with four control points.
> For an example: (1,1.5,0.5),(0.5,0.5,1.2),(-0.8,-1,0.3),(-2,0.1,0.8)
> It is necessary to create a tube along a curve, using two bicubic patches
> Radius tube = R
> The mathematics is necessary :) :) :)

Note that the mathematics say that strictly speaking this is impossible: 
With bicubic patches you can neither create a tube with perfectly 
circular cross-section (because a cubic spline in 2d space never forms a 
perfect circular arc), nor can you use them for any curved tubular 
structure with constant cross-section (because the parallel curve of a 
cubic spline in 2d space is never another cubic spline unless they both 
are linear).

[LanuHum] Help to solve a problem: bicubic_patch [4084 days 1 hour and 6 minutes ago]

Sun, 22 Feb 2015 13:10:01 GMT

Hi!
There is nurbs-curve with four control points.
For an example: (1,1.5,0.5),(0.5,0.5,1.2),(-0.8,-1,0.3),(-2,0.1,0.8)
It is necessary to create a tube along a curve, using two bicubic patches
Radius tube = R
The mathematics is necessary :) :) :)

[Stephen] Re: VR Brainstorming [4236 days 6 hours and 2 minutes ago]

Tue, 23 Sep 2014 08:14:14 GMT

On 23/09/2014 07:13, clipka wrote:
> Am 14.09.2014 19:25, schrieb Stephen:
>
>> Have you thought about the Kinect as an i/p device?
>
> Just found this on the net (via the Elite forums):
>
> http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2465498,00.asp
>

It looks like it would do the trick. :-)

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[clipka] Re: VR Brainstorming [4236 days 8 hours and 2 minutes ago]

Tue, 23 Sep 2014 06:13:30 GMT

Am 14.09.2014 19:25, schrieb Stephen:

> Have you thought about the Kinect as an i/p device?

Just found this on the net (via the Elite forums):

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2465498,00.asp

[clipka] Re: VR Brainstorming [4242 days 19 hours and 34 minutes ago]

Tue, 16 Sep 2014 18:42:11 GMT

Am 16.09.2014 16:55, schrieb Stephen:
> On 15/09/2014 19:34, clipka wrote:
>>> How would that handle parts that are obscured by itself or other
>>> objects?
>>
>> It would have to trace from different locations.
>>
>> Maybe something like, you will initially see only the parts visible from
>> the initial camera position, but tracing continues as you move your head
>> about, and the missing pieces will be filled in over time, maybe with
>> gradually increasing detail.
>>
>
> Real time rendering?
> Is that using the feature from Beta 17?

No, certainly not; that seems to have been a rather specified 
experimental thing.

[Stephen] Re: VR Brainstorming [4242 days 23 hours and 20 minutes ago]

Tue, 16 Sep 2014 14:55:53 GMT

On 15/09/2014 19:34, clipka wrote:
>> How would that handle parts that are obscured by itself or other objects?
>
> It would have to trace from different locations.
>
> Maybe something like, you will initially see only the parts visible from
> the initial camera position, but tracing continues as you move your head
> about, and the missing pieces will be filled in over time, maybe with
> gradually increasing detail.
>

Real time rendering?
Is that using the feature from Beta 17?

>> A manual metal turning lathe would be over complicated IMO.
>> And where is the fun in pushing a button to get your shape.
>> Have you thought about the Kinect as an i/p device?
>
> The idea briefly crossed my mind, but not long enough to be examined in
> any noteworthy detail. Might be a way to go - but then I'd need to
> obtain a Kinect as well, and fight my way through its API in addition to
> the Oculus Rift's. So, bottom line: Kinect input will most certainly not
> feature in the initial version. I might re-visit the idea once the
> Oculus Rift part and the game controller input are flying.

Fairy Nuff. :-)

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[clipka] Re: VR Brainstorming [4243 days 19 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Mon, 15 Sep 2014 18:35:12 GMT

Am 14.09.2014 19:25, schrieb Stephen:
> On 14/09/2014 16:20, clipka wrote:
>> Am 14.09.2014 14:42, schrieb Stephen:
>>
>>>> Whether the conversion process would be render-ish or parse-ish is an
>>>> entirely different question.
>>>
>>> I'm out of my depth here.
>>
>> A mesh representation of the scene would probably be easiest to achieve
>> by parsing the scene, then having dedicated code convert each and every
>> object separately into a mesh.
>
> Not using the tessellation that can be done in SDL, then?

The underlying algorithm may be the same for certain objects (most 
notably isosurfaces), but no - tesselation in SDL is a tad too slow for 
my taste ;-)

Besides, IIRC Jerome has already included some inbuilt tesselation 
features in his fork - still need to steal his code and put it into 
UberPOV...

>> A voxel ("volume pixel", i.e. 3D array of boxes) representation of the
>> scene could be generated in a similar way; it could, however, also be
>> generated by having POV-Ray parse the scene, and then use existing code
>> in the render engine to systematically ray-trace it, collecting not only
>> colour information but also the intersection position information.
>>
>
> How would that handle parts that are obscured by itself or other objects?

It would have to trace from different locations.

Maybe something like, you will initially see only the parts visible from 
the initial camera position, but tracing continues as you move your head 
about, and the missing pieces will be filled in over time, maybe with 
gradually increasing detail.

> A manual metal turning lathe would be over complicated IMO.
> And where is the fun in pushing a button to get your shape.
> Have you thought about the Kinect as an i/p device?

The idea briefly crossed my mind, but not long enough to be examined in 
any noteworthy detail. Might be a way to go - but then I'd need to 
obtain a Kinect as well, and fight my way through its API in addition to 
the Oculus Rift's. So, bottom line: Kinect input will most certainly not 
feature in the initial version. I might re-visit the idea once the 
Oculus Rift part and the game controller input are flying.

[Stephen] Re: VR Brainstorming [4244 days 20 hours and 51 minutes ago]

Sun, 14 Sep 2014 17:25:28 GMT

On 14/09/2014 16:20, clipka wrote:
> Am 14.09.2014 14:42, schrieb Stephen:
>
>>> Whether the conversion process would be render-ish or parse-ish is an
>>> entirely different question.
>>
>> I'm out of my depth here.
>
> A mesh representation of the scene would probably be easiest to achieve
> by parsing the scene, then having dedicated code convert each and every
> object separately into a mesh.
>

Not using the tessellation that can be done in SDL, then?

> A voxel ("volume pixel", i.e. 3D array of boxes) representation of the
> scene could be generated in a similar way; it could, however, also be
> generated by having POV-Ray parse the scene, and then use existing code
> in the render engine to systematically ray-trace it, collecting not only
> colour information but also the intersection position information.
>

How would that handle parts that are obscured by itself or other objects?

>>> As a matter of fact this is the direction the dev team intends to go, in
>>> order to make it easier to integrate components of POV-Ray into other
>>> pieces of software - be it as an input filter or a render engine. But it
>>> won't happen overnight, and I won't be the only one working towards this
>>> goal.
>>>
>> Are we thinking about Pov 4.0?
>
> Not exactly; more like POV-Ray 3.8 and 3.9, as POV-Ray 4.0 will most
> probably be the step that introduces a brand new parser with a brand new
> syntax. That'll obviously be easier to implement once we already have a
> clear-cut API for the render engine.
>

Interesting, thanks for explaining in a way I can understand.

>>> I've even heard tell that it is typically used with sharp tools to
>>> remove parts of the material. :-)
>>>
>> And abrasive ones for Anti-Aliasing.
>
> *ROTFLMAO!*
>

We are here to serve. :-)

>> Think wood turning, it is simpler and more "hands on".
>
> Well, the primary tool used for that /is/ a lathe, isn't it?
>

Yes of course. A lathe is a turning machine.

> Actually that's the thing I'm primarily thinking of - certainly not a
> CNC metal-machining lathe, that would be boring (uh... no pun intended).
>

You know the drill. ;-)

A manual metal turning lathe would be over complicated IMO.
And where is the fun in pushing a button to get your shape.
Have you thought about the Kinect as an i/p device?


-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[clipka] Re: VR Brainstorming [4244 days 22 hours and 50 minutes ago]

Sun, 14 Sep 2014 15:25:46 GMT

Am 14.09.2014 15:37, schrieb Bald Eagle:
> Usually woodlathes are used with a variety of fairly large tools (leverage) and
> you work your way from the rough-turning of an octagonally cut workpiece into a
> cylindrical one, then medium turning to get the countour/profile that you want,
> and then some finer tools that you actually use to sort of slice or peel to get
> a very fine finish.

I think I'd want the user to start with a square or rectangular cut 
workpiece, allowing them to leave some part of the item in that shape. 
Output to POV-Ray would then of course be an intersection of a box and a 
lathe object.

[clipka] Re: VR Brainstorming [4244 days 22 hours and 55 minutes ago]

Sun, 14 Sep 2014 15:20:55 GMT

Am 14.09.2014 14:42, schrieb Stephen:

>> Whether the conversion process would be render-ish or parse-ish is an
>> entirely different question.
>
> I'm out of my depth here.

A mesh representation of the scene would probably be easiest to achieve 
by parsing the scene, then having dedicated code convert each and every 
object separately into a mesh.

A voxel ("volume pixel", i.e. 3D array of boxes) representation of the 
scene could be generated in a similar way; it could, however, also be 
generated by having POV-Ray parse the scene, and then use existing code 
in the render engine to systematically ray-trace it, collecting not only 
colour information but also the intersection position information.

>> As a matter of fact this is the direction the dev team intends to go, in
>> order to make it easier to integrate components of POV-Ray into other
>> pieces of software - be it as an input filter or a render engine. But it
>> won't happen overnight, and I won't be the only one working towards this
>> goal.
>>
> Are we thinking about Pov 4.0?

Not exactly; more like POV-Ray 3.8 and 3.9, as POV-Ray 4.0 will most 
probably be the step that introduces a brand new parser with a brand new 
syntax. That'll obviously be easier to implement once we already have a 
clear-cut API for the render engine.

>> I've even heard tell that it is typically used with sharp tools to
>> remove parts of the material. :-)
>>
> And abrasive ones for Anti-Aliasing.

*ROTFLMAO!*

> Think wood turning, it is simpler and more "hands on".

Well, the primary tool used for that /is/ a lathe, isn't it?

Actually that's the thing I'm primarily thinking of - certainly not a 
CNC metal-machining lathe, that would be boring (uh... no pun intended).

[Bald Eagle] Re: VR Brainstorming [4245 days and 36 minutes ago]

Sun, 14 Sep 2014 13:40:01 GMT

Usually woodlathes are used with a variety of fairly large tools (leverage) and
you work your way from the rough-turning of an octagonally cut workpiece into a
cylindrical one, then medium turning to get the countour/profile that you want,
and then some finer tools that you actually use to sort of slice or peel to get
a very fine finish.

Big industrial ones, like the ones used to make baseball bats or other
high-throughput items use a copying template and really go FAST.
See youtube for "How It's Made"

Metal lathes have the cutter mounted in a carriage that you either move with
screws/gears and a wheel, or by motor-driven means for things like cutting screw
threads.  Different speeds are used to account for things like heat, chatter,
chipping, etc. that are peculiar to the turning and feeding speed coupled with
the type and hardness of the metal you're cutting.
There are also specialized tools like "knurling wheels" that actually press a
texture into the surface of the metal rather than cut the pattern into it.

I'd say youtube is your friend, or if you want an actual lathe manual, I might
be able to dig you up a pdf ...

[Stephen] Re: VR Brainstorming [4245 days 1 hour and 34 minutes ago]

Sun, 14 Sep 2014 12:42:19 GMT

On 13/09/2014 23:51, clipka wrote:
> Am 13.09.2014 23:38, schrieb Stephen:

>> Are you sure? Bishop3D can import a subset of SDL and display it in
>> OpenGl. No I'm not asking you to write a parser as I've read the answer
>> a thousand times. :-(
>> Just a thought.
>
> Well, OpenGL does need a mesh representation of the scene, so yes, I'm
> sure about this statement ;-)
>

I did not know that. You have boggled my mind.

> Whether the conversion process would be render-ish or parse-ish is an
> entirely different question.
>

I'm out of my depth here.

>
> As for the parser: We already have one - it's part of POV-Ray.
>

That I knew. :-)

> Ideally, we'd have a proper clear-cut C++ API for the representation of
> a scene (at present the internal representation /still/ partially C-ish
> and poorly delineated), and the parser would be just one module using
> this API to generate such a scene. Add to that a feature in the API to
> get a mesh representation from any arbitrary shape, and we'd have the
> best core for a POV-Ray SDL import filter one could ever wish for.
>

I like the sound of that.

> As a matter of fact this is the direction the dev team intends to go, in
> order to make it easier to integrate components of POV-Ray into other
> pieces of software - be it as an input filter or a render engine. But it
> won't happen overnight, and I won't be the only one working towards this
> goal.
>
Are we thinking about Pov 4.0?
It all sounds good

>
>>> Unfortunately I have only a rather basic understanding of how a
>>> real-world lathe is used in practice, and have never gotten my hands on
>>> one myself, but I know there are various "handicrafters" among you
>>> people, who certainly have plenty of experience in this area, so I'd
>>> appreciate any input especially from you guys.
>>>
>> It is basically a SOR.
>
> Thanks, my basic understanding of a real-world lathe does cover /that/
> fact ;-)
>

I knew I should have put a smiley there.

> I've even heard tell that it is typically used with sharp tools to
> remove parts of the material. :-)
>
And abrasive ones for Anti-Aliasing.

Think wood turning, it is simpler and more "hands on".
I've never used a lathe myself but I've stood beside people who were 
using them and watched.

In the virtual world you could have an object spinning in mid air to be 
turned (shaped). So to add verisimilitude the left hand side (LHS) will 
have a spindle or a chuck that holds the wood and rotates it. The 
spindle is set into bearings called a headstock. This is driven either 
by a motor or a foot treadle. The RHS of the wood is kept in place using 
what is called a Tailstock.
(At this point I thought that if you could have haptic feedback a 
virtual potters wheel might be simpler. Less parts.)
Or if you are turning a bowl no Tailstock.
You need a toolrest to support the cutting tool.
That is it in its simplest form.

See if these help
http://www.woodworking.co.uk/Technical/Beginners/beginners.html#Lathe

http://www.getwoodworking.com/news/article/turning-for-beginners-part-1/885

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[clipka] Re: VR Brainstorming [4245 days 15 hours and 24 minutes ago]

Sat, 13 Sep 2014 22:51:54 GMT

Am 13.09.2014 23:38, schrieb Stephen:
> On 13/09/2014 21:57, clipka wrote:
>> So, I've made up my mind for good to get me an Oculus Rift DK2 to play
>> Elite:Dangerous with.
>>
> <Green eyed monster> Would a laptop run one?
> I just checked. :-(
>
>
>> (In the long run it would of course be fancy for the tool to also help
>> you pick a camera /location/, but that would probably not be possible
>> without converting the entire scene to some mesh or voxel representation
>> first.)
>>
>>
> Are you sure? Bishop3D can import a subset of SDL and display it in
> OpenGl. No I'm not asking you to write a parser as I've read the answer
> a thousand times. :-(
> Just a thought.

Well, OpenGL does need a mesh representation of the scene, so yes, I'm 
sure about this statement ;-)

Whether the conversion process would be render-ish or parse-ish is an 
entirely different question.

As for the parser: We already have one - it's part of POV-Ray.

Ideally, we'd have a proper clear-cut C++ API for the representation of 
a scene (at present the internal representation /still/ partially C-ish 
and poorly delineated), and the parser would be just one module using 
this API to generate such a scene. Add to that a feature in the API to 
get a mesh representation from any arbitrary shape, and we'd have the 
best core for a POV-Ray SDL import filter one could ever wish for.

As a matter of fact this is the direction the dev team intends to go, in 
order to make it easier to integrate components of POV-Ray into other 
pieces of software - be it as an input filter or a render engine. But it 
won't happen overnight, and I won't be the only one working towards this 
goal.

>> Unfortunately I have only a rather basic understanding of how a
>> real-world lathe is used in practice, and have never gotten my hands on
>> one myself, but I know there are various "handicrafters" among you
>> people, who certainly have plenty of experience in this area, so I'd
>> appreciate any input especially from you guys.
>>
> It is basically a SOR.

Thanks, my basic understanding of a real-world lathe does cover /that/ 
fact ;-)

I've even heard tell that it is typically used with sharp tools to 
remove parts of the material. :-)

[Stephen] Re: VR Brainstorming [4245 days 16 hours and 38 minutes ago]

Sat, 13 Sep 2014 21:38:12 GMT

On 13/09/2014 21:57, clipka wrote:
> So, I've made up my mind for good to get me an Oculus Rift DK2 to play
> Elite:Dangerous with.
>
<Green eyed monster> Would a laptop run one?
I just checked. :-(


> (In the long run it would of course be fancy for the tool to also help
> you pick a camera /location/, but that would probably not be possible
> without converting the entire scene to some mesh or voxel representation
> first.)
>
>
Are you sure? Bishop3D can import a subset of SDL and display it in 
OpenGl. No I'm not asking you to write a parser as I've read the answer 
a thousand times. :-(
Just a thought.


> Unfortunately I have only a rather basic understanding of how a
> real-world lathe is used in practice, and have never gotten my hands on
> one myself, but I know there are various "handicrafters" among you
> people, who certainly have plenty of experience in this area, so I'd
> appreciate any input especially from you guys.
>
>
It is basically a SOR.

StephenS might be able to help if his workshop anaglyphs are anything to 
go by. He is very approachable. He helped me a lot during and after 
testing the aforementioned Bishop3D.



-- 

Regards
     Stephen

[clipka] VR Brainstorming [4245 days 17 hours and 18 minutes ago]

Sat, 13 Sep 2014 20:57:52 GMT

So, I've made up my mind for good to get me an Oculus Rift DK2 to play 
Elite:Dangerous with.

But this is officially not an end-user product but a "Development Kit", 
and me being a software developer by trade, and co-developer of a 3D 
rendering software, obviously I just /must/ also put it to some good use 
related to POV-Ray. Integration into POV-Ray itself doesn't seem to make 
much sense, but surely there must be a few helpful tools waiting to be 
invented?


(1) The most simple of such tools will certainly be a viewer for light 
probes and other 360 degrees imagery, which I guess will make a 
formidable project for the first toying-around with the OR and its API. 
Obviously its primary use in the context of POV-Ray would be to browse 
your library of HDR light probes to choose one for your scene, or to 
view a 360 degrees output image generated by POV-Ray.

Other use cases might be to decide how to orient a given light probe 
within your scene relative to the camera, and maybe also deciding on a 
preliminary camera viewport, so some features might later be added to 
facilitate that.

It might also be used to view a 360 degrees preview render of a scene, 
and from that choose a camera viewport for a final render.

(In the long run it would of course be fancy for the tool to also help 
you pick a camera /location/, but that would probably not be possible 
without converting the entire scene to some mesh or voxel representation 
first.)


(2) Of course we all would want the Oculus Rift to be integrated into a 
full-fledged modeling tool. You know, something like a modernized 
version of Moray with Oculus Rift support. Obviously this would be even 
more work than the above mentioned tool to pick a camera location in a 
static scene, and I wouldn't want to tackle this alone; however, 
specialized modeling tools might also be helpful while being "within 
budget". One thing that came to my mind was what I'd call "VirtuaLathe": 
An immersive tool to model spline-based rotationally symmetric objects.

Now one thing that bugs me about this is that we (or I) don't have the 
proper input device for such a project yet. A "data glove" would be 
fancy, and might be used directly for a kind of "virtual potter's 
wheel", but there's no hot candidate for an affordable de-facto standard 
piece of hardware in that area like the Oculus Rift is for VR goggles. 
The standard mouse & keyboard doesn't seem like a particularly good 
input device for this purpose, as I think we need more than two degrees 
of freedom at our fingertips.

Enter aforementioned Elite:Dangerous, a space flight simulator inspired 
by (and produced by the original author of) the infamous classic Elite 
home computer game. It, too, asks for a special input device that allows 
for plenty degrees of freedom (yaw, roll, pitch and forward thrust like 
in an airplane, but also vertical, horizontal and backward thrust); for 
E:D, the obvious solution to that problem is a modern joystick. So 
somehow the idea got lodged into my brain whether a joystick or gamepad 
might also make a gread input device for that "VirtuaLathe". I haven't 
thought out the details yet, but I guess it could work quite well.

This opens up another train of thoughts: Traditionally, 3D modelling 
tools have a rather analytical approach to the UI, catering to people 
who do modelling as a job; however, I guess for the majority of POV-Ray 
users modelling is a leisure activity, so using the tool should be a fun 
thing to do. And what could possibly be more fun than a game? So I think 
I'll be tackling this "VirtuaLathe" project as a kind of immersive 
computer game. And yes, it will have joysticks and gamepads as its 
preferred choice of input device.

Unfortunately I have only a rather basic understanding of how a 
real-world lathe is used in practice, and have never gotten my hands on 
one myself, but I know there are various "handicrafters" among you 
people, who certainly have plenty of experience in this area, so I'd 
appreciate any input especially from you guys.


That's it for now; comments and related brainish storms, winds and wisps 
welcome.

[CAS] spectral render [4394 days 6 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Fri, 18 Apr 2014 07:55:02 GMT

Hello everyone,
Thank you for your help.What I want is matching POV-Ray output with some
physical measurements.I have used spectral
render.http://www.lilysoft.org/CGI/SR/Spectral%20Render.htm.

#version 3.7;
global_settings{ assumed_gamma 1.0 }
#declare SpectralWavelength =730;
#include "spectral.inc"


light_source {<sun_x,sun_y,sun_z>
             SpectralEmission(E_D65)   //some CIE standard illuminants
             }

My solar irradiance in 730nm is 1.33015(w/m^2),and I have converted irradiance
to illuminance with the lm/w in 730nm,then the value of illuminance in 730nm is
0.47262925(cd/m^2).My issue is how can I input the illminance in 730nm?
"light_source {<sun_x,sun_y,sun_z>
             SpectralEmission(E_D65)
             }  "
With this light_source,the illuminance is E_D65.How can I input my
illminance?Beg you give a help!Expecting your reply!

[LanuHum] Re: Adding POV-Ray to http://www.blender.org/dow... [4418 days 18 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Mon, 24 Mar 2014 19:30:00 GMT

"Markku Myllymäki" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> First of all, I'm very happy with current Blender exporter. I use it very
> extensively in paid work. I don't want it to be broken.
>
> However, if someone would be kind enough to add Povray native functionality,
> like Booleans, to it, I would be very happy. I currently use my own Python
> generator scripts when I need native Povray functionality (i.e. Booleans). Btw,
> the current Blender exporter supports adding "native" POV script too! :D
>
> Anyway, we should always respect other developers and remember that co-operation
> is very important. It is much better to have one exporter with trustworthy
> functionality than two half baked ones. Unnecessary competition can cause
> problems.
>
> I strongly suggest that Blender official routes are used as much as possible,
> then we can have continuity. In the long run, continuity means you have the
> tools even if someone is not willing to develop any more.
>
> Btw, I am really grateful of the things already achieved!

If I use Povray for a render, it is more convenient to me to use own version of
the exporter
But, if my version takes place to be for me, I offer it to another.
If users begin to ask very difficult texture map, developers of the official
version should reconsider the position.

[LanuHum] Re: Adding POV-Ray to http://www.blender.org/dow... [4418 days 19 hours and 1 minute ago]

Mon, 24 Mar 2014 19:15:01 GMT

"Mr" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
>
> I take note of your attachment to POV-Ray booleans as a user and contributor and
> thereby put it as a number one priority on new features request list.
>
> Thanks for your enthusiasm. Please bear with me.

It is difficult for me to understand your code, it is very confused.
Objects used in Boolean operations shouldn't be declared in a scene, but have to
be declared.
Here to you my help:
render.py line 2539

        for data_name, inst in data_ref.items():
            for ob_name, matrix_str in inst:
                use_in_boolean = 0
                for obj in bpy.data.objects:
                    obj_name = "OB" +
string_strip_hyphen(bpy.path.clean_name(obj.name))
                    if obj.type == 'MESH':
                        for mod in obj.modifiers:
                            numberModifiers = 0
                            if mod.type == 'BOOLEAN':
                                numberModifiers += 1
                                mod_obj_name = "OB" +
string_strip_hyphen(bpy.path.clean_name(mod.object.name))
                                if mod_obj_name == ob_name:
                                    use_in_boolean += 1
                            if numberModifiers > 0 and obj_name == ob_name:
                                use_in_boolean += 1
                if use_in_boolean == 0:
                    tabWrite("//----Blender Object Name:%s----\n" % ob_name)
                else:
                    tabWrite("//----Declare Blender Object Name:%s----\n" %
ob_name)
                    tabWrite("#declare %s =\n" % data_name)
                tabWrite("object { \n")
                tabWrite("%s\n" % data_name)
                tabWrite("%s\n" % matrix_str)
                tabWrite("}\n")

    def exportBooleanObjects():
        pass

[] Re: Adding POV-Ray to http://www.blender.org/dow... [4419 days 3 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Mon, 24 Mar 2014 10:35:01 GMT

First of all, I'm very happy with current Blender exporter. I use it very
extensively in paid work. I don't want it to be broken.

However, if someone would be kind enough to add Povray native functionality,
like Booleans, to it, I would be very happy. I currently use my own Python
generator scripts when I need native Povray functionality (i.e. Booleans). Btw,
the current Blender exporter supports adding "native" POV script too! :D

Anyway, we should always respect other developers and remember that co-operation
is very important. It is much better to have one exporter with trustworthy
functionality than two half baked ones. Unnecessary competition can cause
problems.

I strongly suggest that Blender official routes are used as much as possible,
then we can have continuity. In the long run, continuity means you have the
tools even if someone is not willing to develop any more.

Btw, I am really grateful of the things already achieved!

[Mr] Re: Adding POV-Ray to http://www.blender.org/dow... [4419 days 4 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Mon, 24 Mar 2014 09:20:00 GMT

"LanuHum" <Lan### [at] yandexru> wrote:
> Mr! If you use my work, I ask to include my name in structure of developers.
> I regret that I don't know English for full communication.
> For me it is important that our community knew that I make the feasible
> contribution to creation of the exporter.
> It is very important to apply Boolean operations. I over it work.

I credited you in the release logs and such community discussions as are
happening here because I would like to encourage your efforts. I would like to
do it even more than I do now. But so far, that's the best I can do. As a
sidenote I do have to rewrite your code every time because you suppressed from
your version some existing features of the exporter (mostly Blender texture
channels support). It is not really your fault, it is rather because of POV-Ray
syntax not designed to suit that approach: I can agree that having to implement
some kinds of "finish map" hacks to emulate specular maps and the like makes the
script much less straightforward to write, grasp and maintain. As I already
explained to you, support of that basic native Blender workflow is the strategy
for the first development stage of the exporter. Additional interface to native
POV-Ray features is the next step and I am glad that you are already working on
it, but the end product should keep both capacities not cut out blender users
for POV only approach, because POV users already had software for that, like
Moray, Poseray and many others.

The day you decide to keep, port or rewrite these features into your code. I am
sure it will be easier to work on a common version. That is indeed something I
look forward to.

I take note of your attachment to POV-Ray booleans as a user and contributor and
thereby put it as a number one priority on new features request list.

Thanks for your enthusiasm. Please bear with me.

[LanuHum] Re: Adding POV-Ray to http://www.blender.org/dow... [4421 days 20 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Fri, 21 Mar 2014 17:35:00 GMT

Mr! If you use my work, I ask to include my name in structure of developers.
I regret that I don't know English for full communication.
For me it is important that our community knew that I make the feasible
contribution to creation of the exporter.
It is very important to apply Boolean operations. I over it work.

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Adding POV-Ray to http://www.blender.org/dow... [4422 days 5 hours and 52 minutes ago]

Fri, 21 Mar 2014 08:24:29 GMT

I second that.

Thomas

[Stephen] Re: Adding POV-Ray to http://www.blender.org/dow... [4422 days 16 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Thu, 20 Mar 2014 21:20:16 GMT

On 20/03/2014 4:39 PM, Mr wrote:
> I am sorry, I had to cut down a lot of the description for it to be suitable to
> that webpage's format, besides it had to be done quickly

You did a good job.

> as  it was done by Ton
> Roosendaal himself. It's very kind of his as his time is so valuable and he has
> much more important tasks than webmastering, but nobody else was available to do
> it for several weeks.
>

That deserves an "Oo! and an Ah!" ;-)

> Here is the updated page:http://www.blender.org/download/external-renderers/
>
> Povers, be prepared to welcome a few more

> Blenderheads

Not a nice image, BTW. ;-)

> in the future:)

And very welcome, they will be. :-D

We have had a few new people recently (and a few old ones, too). It 
would be good to have a more active forum, as a side effect.


> And thanks again for your guidance so far.

And thanks for your enthusiasm.

-- 
Regards
     Stephen

I solemnly promise to kick the next angle, I see.

[Mr] Re: Adding POV-Ray to http://www.blender.org/dow... [4422 days 21 hours and 36 minutes ago]

Thu, 20 Mar 2014 16:40:01 GMT

"Stephen" <mcavoys_AT_aolDOT.com> wrote:
> Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> > On 20-3-2014 10:17, Mr wrote:
> >
> > > POV-Ray was the first ray tracer to render an image in orbit, rendered by Mark
> > > Shuttleworth inside the International Space Station.
> > >
> >
> > I think you need to add the names of the artists, and a link to the image.
> >
> > Thomas
>
> I don’t know if I agree, Thomas.
> It might read like an Oscar acceptance speech. :-)
>
> Maybe a link to the HOF would be better?

I am sorry, I had to cut down a lot of the description for it to be suitable to
that webpage's format, besides it had to be done quickly as  it was done by Ton
Roosendaal himself. It's very kind of his as his time is so valuable and he has
much more important tasks than webmastering, but nobody else was available to do
it for several weeks.

Here is the updated page: http://www.blender.org/download/external-renderers/

Povers, be prepared to welcome a few more Blenderheads in the future :)
And thanks again for your guidance so far.

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Adding POV-Ray to http://www.blender.org/dow... [4423 days 1 hour and 5 minutes ago]

Thu, 20 Mar 2014 13:11:01 GMT

On 20-3-2014 13:54, Stephen wrote:
> Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
>> On 20-3-2014 10:17, Mr wrote:
>>
>>> POV-Ray was the first ray tracer to render an image in orbit, rendered by Mark
>>> Shuttleworth inside the International Space Station.
>>>
>>
>> I think you need to add the names of the artists, and a link to the image.
>>
>> Thomas
>
> I don’t know if I agree, Thomas.
> It might read like an Oscar acceptance speech. :-)
>
> Maybe a link to the HOF would be better?
>

My statement was muddy. The HOF was in fact the place I had in my mind.

Thomas

[Stephen] Re: Adding POV-Ray to http://www.blender.org/dow... [4423 days 1 hour and 21 minutes ago]

Thu, 20 Mar 2014 12:55:01 GMT

Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> On 20-3-2014 10:17, Mr wrote:
>
> > POV-Ray was the first ray tracer to render an image in orbit, rendered by Mark
> > Shuttleworth inside the International Space Station.
> >
>
> I think you need to add the names of the artists, and a link to the image.
>
> Thomas

I don’t know if I agree, Thomas.
It might read like an Oscar acceptance speech. :-)

Maybe a link to the HOF would be better?

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Adding POV-Ray to http://www.blender.org/dow... [4423 days 2 hours and 9 minutes ago]

Thu, 20 Mar 2014 12:06:50 GMT

On 20-3-2014 10:17, Mr wrote:

> POV-Ray was the first ray tracer to render an image in orbit, rendered by Mark
> Shuttleworth inside the International Space Station.
>

I think you need to add the names of the artists, and a link to the image.

Thomas

[Mr] Adding POV-Ray to http://www.blender.org/downloa... [4423 days 4 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Thu, 20 Mar 2014 09:20:00 GMT

hello, I want to ask Blender.org website to add a link to POV on the external
renderer's page : http://www.blender.org/download/external-renderers/

First, about the logo, do you guys think this
http://wiki.povray.org/uploaded/3/34/DocImgPovlogotext.jpg is the proper one
that would look good on the page?
or is there one that is just as accepted by the pov community with more modern
fonts ?


About the text, I gathered from official sources the following compact and
feature rich description of the software:

The Persistence of Vision Raytracer, or POV-Ray, is the oldest free and
open-source 3D renderer. It generates images from a text-based scene description
language. In addition to standard triangle meshes and geometric primitives, it
supports mathematically defined ones. These are more accurate than their
polygonal counterparts. Objects that can be described in terms of spheres,
planar surfaces, cylinders, tori and the like are perfectly smooth and accurate
in POV-Ray renderings.

POV-Ray has matured substantially since it was created. Recent versions of the
software include the following features:

    *A Turing-complete scene description language (SDL) that supports macros and
loops.
    *Extensive user documentation
    *Library of ready-made scenes, textures, and objects
    *Support for a number of geometric primitives and constructive solid
geometry
    *Subsurface Scattering (sss) and translucency
    *Atmospheric effects such as fog and media (smoke, clouds)
    *Reflections, refractions, and light caustics using photon mapping
    *Lots of procedural patterns, for use in textures, or volumetrics
    *Global Illumination Radiosity: interdiffuse reflections with "color
bleeding"
    *Symmetric multiprocessing (SMP), use multiple processors. (benchmark for
some Intel Corp. processor)
    *Support for High dynamic range imaging (HDRI), including the OpenEXR and
Radiance file formats.
    *Bounding using BSP trees and other methods.
    *64-bit compatibility.
    *Pause and restart a render after shutdown.
    *Real Time Rendering mode
    *A development version with blurry reflections and full motion blur

POV-Ray was the first ray tracer to render an image in orbit, rendered by Mark
Shuttleworth inside the International Space Station.

[FractRacer] Re: Blender Q&A [4429 days 19 hours and 39 minutes ago]

Thu, 13 Mar 2014 18:36:40 GMT

Le 13/03/2014 14:34, Tomas Rapkauskas a écrit :
> Hi,
> you can do in this way: Blender -> save as 3ds file.
> A3dsViewer -> do export to the pov-ray.
>
> Tomas

You can also use Wings3D, which handle import in 3ds format and export 
in povray.

Lionel.

-- 
Do not judge my words, judge my actions.

---
Ce courrier électronique ne contient aucun virus ou logiciel malveillant parce
que la protection avast! Antivirus est active.
http://www.avast.com

[Tomas Rapkauskas] Re: Blender Q&A [4430 days and 42 minutes ago]

Thu, 13 Mar 2014 13:34:17 GMT

Hi,
you can do in this way: Blender -> save as 3ds file.
A3dsViewer -> do export to the pov-ray.

Tomas

On 7/3/2014 9:40 AM, Unit Ball wrote:
> "nemesis" <nam### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
>> "Mr" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
>>> Question:
>>> how do we navigate in Blender?
>>>
>>> Answer:
>>> with Middle Mouse Button for view rotation(orbit) and zoom. Hold Shift key for
>>> panning.
>>
>> question:  who care for Blender in the povray SDL-writing community?
>>
>> answer: ... * howling wind * ...
>
> The only reason I don't do much anything on Povray these days (besides the lack
> of free time) is that it does not integrate well with a top notch 3d-program
> like Blender. I just can't get my self to make scenes using just code. I'm
> good at drawing and stuff and those skills are useless when typing code.
>
> I recently tried a great free modeler called Sculptris (it's amazing!) and
> importing some models in to Povray through PoseRay, it kind of worked but was
> just too slow and not enough.
>
> The ability to set the geometry of the whole scene completely in Blender and to
> use Povray code to embellish the scene (and for rendering) would be a dream come
> true. I'm certainly going to try the Povray exporter for Blender and maybe the
> Blend2Pov when I have the time.
>
>
>

[Tomas Rapkauskas] Re: Blender Q&A [4430 days and 42 minutes ago]

Thu, 13 Mar 2014 13:34:06 GMT

Hi,
you can do in this way: Blender -> save as 3ds file.
A3dsViewer -> do export to the pov-ray.

Tomas

On 7/3/2014 9:40 AM, Unit Ball wrote:
> "nemesis" <nam### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
>> "Mr" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
>>> Question:
>>> how do we navigate in Blender?
>>>
>>> Answer:
>>> with Middle Mouse Button for view rotation(orbit) and zoom. Hold Shift key for
>>> panning.
>>
>> question:  who care for Blender in the povray SDL-writing community?
>>
>> answer: ... * howling wind * ...
>
> The only reason I don't do much anything on Povray these days (besides the lack
> of free time) is that it does not integrate well with a top notch 3d-program
> like Blender. I just can't get my self to make scenes using just code. I'm
> good at drawing and stuff and those skills are useless when typing code.
>
> I recently tried a great free modeler called Sculptris (it's amazing!) and
> importing some models in to Povray through PoseRay, it kind of worked but was
> just too slow and not enough.
>
> The ability to set the geometry of the whole scene completely in Blender and to
> use Povray code to embellish the scene (and for rendering) would be a dream come
> true. I'm certainly going to try the Povray exporter for Blender and maybe the
> Blend2Pov when I have the time.
>
>
>

[Unit Ball] Re: Blender Q&A [4436 days 6 hours and 31 minutes ago]

Fri, 7 Mar 2014 07:45:00 GMT

"nemesis" <nam### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> "Mr" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> > Question:
> > how do we navigate in Blender?
> >
> > Answer:
> > with Middle Mouse Button for view rotation(orbit) and zoom. Hold Shift key for
> > panning.
>
> question:  who care for Blender in the povray SDL-writing community?
>
> answer: ... * howling wind * ...

The only reason I don't do much anything on Povray these days (besides the lack
of free time) is that it does not integrate well with a top notch 3d-program
like Blender. I just can't get my self to make scenes using just code. I'm
good at drawing and stuff and those skills are useless when typing code.

I recently tried a great free modeler called Sculptris (it's amazing!) and
importing some models in to Povray through PoseRay, it kind of worked but was
just too slow and not enough.

The ability to set the geometry of the whole scene completely in Blender and to
use Povray code to embellish the scene (and for rendering) would be a dream come
true. I'm certainly going to try the Povray exporter for Blender and maybe the
Blend2Pov when I have the time.

[LanuHum] Re: Unofficial Blender to PovRay exporter. [4452 days 20 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 17:30:01 GMT

Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> On 16-2-2014 19:21, Stephen wrote:
> > The thread is started, LanuHum.
> >
>
> Maybe, if this is going to be a major Blender discussion centre, a
> povray.tools.blender should be created, like the povray.tools.poser one.
> Chris Cason would be the one to open it I believe.
>
> Thomas

It is possible to transfer discussion here:
http://news.povray.org/povray.binaries.images/thread/%3Cweb.5302425140bf5a347a3e03fe0%40news.povray.org%3E/

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Unofficial Blender to PovRay exporter. [4453 days 2 hours and 18 minutes ago]

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 11:58:16 GMT

On 16-2-2014 19:21, Stephen wrote:
> The thread is started, LanuHum.
>

Maybe, if this is going to be a major Blender discussion centre, a 
povray.tools.blender should be created, like the povray.tools.poser one. 
Chris Cason would be the one to open it I believe.

Thomas

[Stephen] Re: Unofficial Blender to PovRay exporter. [4453 days 17 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Mon, 17 Feb 2014 21:05:01 GMT

On 17/02/2014 5:51 PM, LanuHum wrote:
> Material in Blender = texture in Povray
> Texture in Blender = pigment or normal in Povray.
> It is a problem to satisfy users of Povray and Blender.
>

I would say, keep to the Blender definitions. There is no need to change 
the way that Blender users work.
I am sure that PovRay users will be able manage.

-- 
Regards
     Stephen

[Stephen] Re: Unofficial Blender to PovRay exporter. [4453 days 17 hours and 14 minutes ago]

Mon, 17 Feb 2014 21:01:48 GMT

On 16/02/2014 7:18 PM, LanuHum wrote:
> Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
>> The thread is started, LanuHum.
>>
>> --
>> Regards
>>       Stephen
>
> Thanks!
> I am ready to discuss our problems of export from a Blender in the Povray.
>
> Info:
> In my time zone 23.18
> Monday through Friday I at the computer only after 20.00
> On Saturday and Sunday - from morning to evening
>

Thanks, I don't expect "instant replies". We can continue conversations 
across years here. In fact, recently someone replied to a thread that 
was 10 years old. But I appreciate you stating your availability.

I am new to Blender and I have been using the official addon. I would 
like to try your branch. You would need to tell me how to get and 
install it. And a few ground rules on how to use it.

-- 
Regards
     Stephen

[LanuHum] Re: Unofficial Blender to PovRay exporter. [4453 days 20 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Mon, 17 Feb 2014 17:55:01 GMT

Material in Blender = texture in Povray
Texture in Blender = pigment or normal in Povray.
It is a problem to satisfy users of Povray and Blender.

[LanuHum] Re: Unofficial Blender to PovRay exporter. [4453 days 20 hours and 31 minutes ago]

Mon, 17 Feb 2014 17:45:01 GMT

I started placing examples in pictures:
http://news.povray.org/povray.binaries.images/thread/%3Cweb.5302425140bf5a347a3e03fe0%40news.povray.org%3E/

If it is necessary, I will provide examples in video files

[LanuHum] Re: Unofficial Blender to PovRay exporter. [4454 days 18 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Sun, 16 Feb 2014 19:20:00 GMT

Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
> The thread is started, LanuHum.
>
> --
> Regards
>      Stephen

Thanks!
I am ready to discuss our problems of export from a Blender in the Povray.

Info:
In my time zone 23.18
Monday through Friday I at the computer only after 20.00
On Saturday and Sunday - from morning to evening

[Stephen] Unofficial Blender to PovRay exporter. [4454 days 19 hours and 54 minutes ago]

Sun, 16 Feb 2014 18:21:32 GMT

The thread is started, LanuHum.

-- 
Regards
     Stephen

[James Holsenback] Re: Blender Q&A [4455 days 15 hours and 4 minutes ago]

Sat, 15 Feb 2014 23:11:45 GMT

On 02/14/2014 02:21 PM, nemesis wrote:
> "Mr" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
>> Question:
>> how do we navigate in Blender?
>>
>> Answer:
>> with Middle Mouse Button for view rotation(orbit) and zoom. Hold Shift key for
>> panning.
>
> question:  who care for Blender in the povray SDL-writing community?
>
> answer: ... * howling wind * ...

disagree ... blender is an /important/ item in my toolbox!

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Blender Q&A [4456 days 1 hour and 28 minutes ago]

Sat, 15 Feb 2014 12:47:37 GMT

On 15-2-2014 11:32, LanuHum wrote:
> My opinion: the blender developers and the povray developers - enemies
> They sent to the users secret mail with the prevention of it.
> Here don't want to know Blender.
> Also on a site BlenderArtist don't want to know Povray.
> Only it is visible:  Cycles, Cycles, Cycles,
> as if it is better.

So, nothing particular to POV-Ray users it seems. Parochial /blindness/ 
is universal... :-)

Thomas

[LanuHum] Re: Blender Q&A [4456 days 3 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Sat, 15 Feb 2014 10:35:00 GMT

"nemesis" <nam### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> "Mr" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> > Question:
> > how do we navigate in Blender?
> >
> > Answer:
> > with Middle Mouse Button for view rotation(orbit) and zoom. Hold Shift key for
> > panning.
>
> question:  who care for Blender in the povray SDL-writing community?
>
> answer: ... * howling wind * ...

My opinion: the blender developers and the povray developers - enemies
They sent to the users secret mail with the prevention of it.
Here don't want to know Blender.
Also on a site BlenderArtist don't want to know Povray.
Only it is visible:  Cycles, Cycles, Cycles,
as if it is better.

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Blender Q&A [4456 days 5 hours and 59 minutes ago]

Sat, 15 Feb 2014 08:17:17 GMT

On 14-2-2014 20:21, nemesis wrote:
> question:  who care for Blender in the povray SDL-writing community?
>
> answer: ... * howling wind * ...

Surprise! My name is *howling wind*! :-)

The days that POV-Ray was /only/ used by exclusively SDL-writing people 
are over as far as I understand it.

Thomas

[Stephen] Re: Blender Q&A [4456 days 18 hours and 23 minutes ago]

Fri, 14 Feb 2014 19:53:14 GMT

On 14/02/2014 7:21 PM, nemesis wrote:
> "Mr" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
>> Question:
>> how do we navigate in Blender?
>>
>> Answer:
>> with Middle Mouse Button for view rotation(orbit) and zoom. Hold Shift key for
>> panning.
>
> question:  who care for Blender in the povray SDL-writing community?
>

But that is only a subset of the whole community.

> answer: ... * howling wind * ...
>
>

Or: Me for one and all the folks that used Moray and Bishop3D.

(It has been ages since this *Holy War* reared it's ugly head. I hope 
that all the fundamentalists have gone to bed.)

AlsoI don't think it is a good idea to discourage people from finding 
out about PovRay because they can't code. Oops! I forgot. There are a 
few coders who use blender.

-- 
Regards
     Stephen

[nemesis] Re: Blender Q&A [4456 days 18 hours and 51 minutes ago]

Fri, 14 Feb 2014 19:25:00 GMT

"Mr" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> Question:
> how do we navigate in Blender?
>
> Answer:
> with Middle Mouse Button for view rotation(orbit) and zoom. Hold Shift key for
> panning.

question:  who care for Blender in the povray SDL-writing community?

answer: ... * howling wind * ...

[Mr] Re: Blender Q&A [4456 days 23 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Fri, 14 Feb 2014 14:20:01 GMT

Question:
how do we copy objects in Blender?

Answer:
SHIFT + D for simple copy, then place with mouse move or number value and left
click or enter to validate.
ALT + D for instanciated copy (modifications to one will also affect the other)

[Mr] Re: Blender Q&A [4456 days 23 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Fri, 14 Feb 2014 14:20:01 GMT

Question:
how do we select objects in Blender?

Answer:
Right click!

[Mr] Blender Q&A [4457 days and 41 minutes ago]

Fri, 14 Feb 2014 13:35:01 GMT

Question:
how do we navigate in Blender?

Answer:
with Middle Mouse Button for view rotation(orbit) and zoom. Hold Shift key for
panning.

[Nekar Xenos] Seamless 3d free nurbs modeller withr cool featu... [4465 days 10 hours and 43 minutes ago]

Thu, 6 Feb 2014 03:32:43 GMT

Seamless 3d

I've never heard of this one before, but it seems to have a lot of great  
features. I 'm going to try it out:
http://www.seamless3d.com/features/index.html#t51

There even seems to be some kind of gaming world !?? :)
-- 
-Nekar Xenos-

[Warp] Re: Ivy generator [4519 days 22 hours and 32 minutes ago]

Fri, 13 Dec 2013 15:44:05 GMT

Cousin Ricky <rickysttATyahooDOTcom> wrote:
> Warp <war### [at] tagpovrayorg> wrote:
> >   The background color of the page has not been set, destroying the design
> > if the default background color of the browser happens to be something else
> > than white.

> You would be one to discover something like that!  But you're absolutely right.

Apparently the problem is still not been corrected, even though it would
be a one-liner...

-- 
                                                          - Warp

[Cousin Ricky] Re: Ivy generator [4520 days 12 hours and 36 minutes ago]

Fri, 13 Dec 2013 01:40:00 GMT

Warp <war### [at] tagpovrayorg> wrote:
>   The background color of the page has not been set, destroying the design
> if the default background color of the browser happens to be something else
> than white.

You would be one to discover something like that!  But you're absolutely right.

[posfan12] Spherical image viewer? [4580 days 7 hours and 16 minutes ago]

Mon, 14 Oct 2013 07:00:01 GMT

Is there a good free viewer for panoramic spherical images? I know there is a
Flash viewer called PanoSalado, and I am using it on my website. But I want
something that's quick and easy and doesn't need to be uploaded to my web host.
Thanks.


Mike

[Stephen] Re: LanuHum Blender PovRay exporter [4589 days 3 hours and 37 minutes ago]

Sat, 5 Oct 2013 10:39:04 GMT

On 30/09/2013 5:19 PM, LanuHum wrote:
> Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
>
>> That was quick but what am I looking for?
>> New addon?
>>
>
> I don't understand.
> Look:
> http://yadi.sk/d/uTQTLltQAAcsg
>
>
>
>
Sorry for the delay. I am offline most of the week.

I thought that it was an update. :-(

-- 
Regards
     Stephen

[LanuHum] Re: LanuHum Blender PovRay exporter [4593 days 21 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Mon, 30 Sep 2013 16:20:00 GMT

Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:

> That was quick but what am I looking for?
> New addon?
>

I don't understand.
Look:
http://yadi.sk/d/uTQTLltQAAcsg

[Stephen] Re: LanuHum Blender PovRay exporter [4594 days 21 hours and 50 minutes ago]

Sun, 29 Sep 2013 16:25:33 GMT

>
> Welcome:
> http://yadi.sk/d/N9GATzas6njUA
> render_povray_rc7
> 1. Add mesh2. Assign different materials and group smooth
> Now your choice: to use mesh or mesh2.
> 2. Add shape plane.
> 3. Fix normal_map.
>
That was quick but what am I looking for?
New addon?


-- 
Regards
     Stephen

[LanuHum] Re: LanuHum Blender PovRay exporter [4594 days 22 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Sun, 29 Sep 2013 16:10:02 GMT

Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
> Hi LanuHum
> I created a simple cube and assigned a material (material.000).
> I selected a side and assigned another material (material.001) to it.
> When I rendered the cube, the whole cube was rendered with (material.001).
>
> Looking at the code.
> You are using mesh.
> I think that you should use mesh2 to assign different materials to
> different faces.
>
> --
> Regards
>      Stephen

Welcome:
http://yadi.sk/d/N9GATzas6njUA
render_povray_rc7
1. Add mesh2. Assign different materials and group smooth
Now your choice: to use mesh or mesh2.
2. Add shape plane.
3. Fix normal_map.

[Stephen] Re: LanuHum Blender PovRay exporter [4594 days 23 hours and 42 minutes ago]

Sun, 29 Sep 2013 14:34:13 GMT

On 29/09/2013 2:02 PM, LanuHum wrote:> Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
 >> Hi LanuHum
 >>   I have a comment but this group is not the place to do it. I posted it
 >> in: povray.tools.general.
 >>
 >> LanuHum Blender PovRay exporter
 >>
 >> --
 >> Regards
 >>       Stephen
 >
 > Let there will be one topic

Yes but not in the news-submissions, group.
 >
 >> Hi LanuHum
 >> I created a simple cube and assigned a material (material.000).
 >> I selected a side and assigned another material (material.001) to it.
 >> When I rendered the cube, the whole cube was rendered with 
(material.001).
 >
 >> Looking at the code.
 >> You are using mesh.
 >> I think that you should use mesh2 to assign different materials to
 >> different faces.
 >
 > --
 >> Regards
 >>      Stephen
 >
 > Yes! I studied it.
 > Mesh2 has many lines, mesh is more compact.Heavy scenes difficult parsing
 > Mesh has different materials too, but badly works with glass: ior, 
caustic and
 > so on. Therefore I cleaned this part of a code.Image_map hoping to 
compensate
 > it.

It might be a good idea if you want to export to PovRay to use the type 
of mesh that was designed for PovRay.
MR seems to have done it well.

 > Most likely, I will provide to the user independently to choose: mesh 
or mesh2

A good option.

 > I still badly dealt with a code which is writing down mesh2 from Blender
 > I am not the professional programmer.
 > I will try! :)
 >

I cannot ask more than that.
As I am no programmer at all.

-- 
Regards
     Stephen

[Stephen] LanuHum Blender PovRay exporter [4595 days 4 hours and 35 minutes ago]

Sun, 29 Sep 2013 09:41:27 GMT

Hi LanuHum
I created a simple cube and assigned a material (material.000).
I selected a side and assigned another material (material.001) to it.
When I rendered the cube, the whole cube was rendered with (material.001).

Looking at the code.
You are using mesh.
I think that you should use mesh2 to assign different materials to 
different faces.

-- 
Regards
     Stephen

[Mr] Re: Blender 2.5x exporter for POV-Ray 3.7 [4690 days 2 hours and 36 minutes ago]

Wed, 26 Jun 2013 11:40:01 GMT

"kursad" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> "Conz" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I'm one of the developers for the Blender 2.5x to POV-Ray 3.7 exporter.
> >
> >
> > 1. One of our targets is to have a nice working POV-Ray exporter for the final
> > POV-Ray 3.7 - for that we could need your help as testers.
>
> > Greetings and happy Blending,
> > Conz (at) vrchannel.de
>
> Hey, This is great work. Please, keep it up.
>
>
> k

We did keep up, but still received no feedback. I know time has passed, but
could you make any more comments kursad, or anyone else, on trying the exporter?

[debguy] Re: NEW rayshade and POV Export Mathematica help [4766 days 18 hours and 51 minutes ago]

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 19:25:01 GMT

sorry.  i looked and gave up before then forgot: but it is right there in the
license as you say.

and thanks, have a good day all!  -- John

[Thomas de Groot] Re: NEW rayshade and POV Export Mathematica help [4769 days 7 hours and 17 minutes ago]

Mon, 8 Apr 2013 06:58:35 GMT

On 5-4-2013 22:58, debguy wrote:
> How do I get added to POV-RAY's "Links Collection" on the povray.org website?
>

I suppose by contacting them? Go to http://www.povray.org/ and read the 
topic "Contacting Us"  :-)

Thomas

[Kenneth] Re: NEW rayshade and POV Export Mathematica help [4769 days 21 hours and 51 minutes ago]

Sun, 7 Apr 2013 16:25:01 GMT

I'm somewhat surprised that no one has commented on your proposal; one possible
reason might be that POV-Ray is a much more 'mature' raytracer than Rayshade
(which appears to be an older application from the 1990's.)

However, the Rayshade project itself is interesting (I didn't know about it
until now.) Out of curiosity, I went to its original website...

http://www-graphics.stanford.edu/~cek/rayshade/rayshade.html

.....then clicked on one of the links there ("Notes on Rayshade" by Stephen
Peter)...

http://www-graphics.stanford.edu/~cek/rayshade/raynotes/contents.htm

I picked a subject at random--"Transforms"-- and was completely surprised
by how concise and well-written it is. It's the best description (with
examples!) of using a transform matrix that I've yet seen. Until now, that
subject has been quite a mystery to me. POV-Ray's documentation could use such
an excellent explanation!

[debguy] NEW rayshade and POV Export Mathematica help [4771 days 17 hours and 16 minutes ago]

Fri, 5 Apr 2013 21:00:00 GMT

How do I get added to POV-RAY's "Links Collection" on the povray.org website?

I'd like feedback on this:  Much improved Export for rayshade and POV
raytracing.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/rayshade-math/

http://sourceforge.net/projects/rayshade-linux/

"most missed support".  It'd be nice to hear what is "most missed" for how you
might use it.  Other feedback or advice is certainly welcome.

(rayshade` Makes file.ray that will look much like notebook raytraced with
rayshade.  Views too, even in front-end. POVRay is partially supported too.)

submitted to  http://library.wolfram.com/  but not yet available there - waiting
for approval

Does anyone know if another such raytrace file Export project exists other than
Mathematica build-in?  (not GL/CL/dfx/threescript graphics, raytrace ones)  I
missed it if there is.

Thanks very much !

[Stephen] Re: Returning camera position. [4881 days 23 hours and 17 minutes ago]

Sun, 16 Dec 2012 14:59:29 GMT

On 15/12/2012 10:51 PM, StephenS wrote:
> It's possible the Camera block is of fixed output length. All you would need to
> do is count the steps too the part you want.

The format is always the same but if the location varies by significant 
figures then you might get a missmatch. So I found Location then the 
first instance of "<" from that position then ">" from "location". I did 
not see your use of "val" and I had to concatenate some declares then 
use Parse_String(String) to pass the values back into PovRay. A bit 
"around the houses", as is we say over here. But it works and I can find 
the value of "look_at" as well. So I don't need to use a fixed camera 
when using "screen.inc", now. :-D

-- 
Regards
     Stephen

[StephenS] Re: Returning camera position. [4882 days 15 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Sat, 15 Dec 2012 22:55:01 GMT

Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
....
> Thanks again.
> I got it working this time. IIRC you posted this or something like it on
> the B3D forums. I never got past the first error which was that the
> string size was too long. This time I reduced the indentation to zero
> and removed the comments at the braces.
>
> I managed to parse the string and pass the value to Rune’s GrassTex macro.
>
> I just need to clean it up.
>
>
> --
> Regards
>      Stephen

It's possible the Camera block is of fixed output length. All you would need to
do is count the steps too the part you want.

Stephen S

[Stephen] Re: Returning camera position. [4882 days 22 hours and 10 minutes ago]

Sat, 15 Dec 2012 16:06:09 GMT

On 25/11/2012 9:33 PM, StephenS wrote:

[snip]
> You now also have a variable to give to other macros.
>
> This is not working code, and is taken from different scene files. It is only to
> show, that if you can wrap the exported camera statement in quotation marks, you
> can re-parse the code back into Bishop3d.

Thanks again.
I got it working this time. IIRC you posted this or something like it on 
the B3D forums. I never got past the first error which was that the 
string size was too long. This time I reduced the indentation to zero 
and removed the comments at the braces.

I managed to parse the string and pass the value to Rune’s GrassTex macro.

I just need to clean it up.

-- 
Regards
     Stephen

[Stephen] Re: Returning camera position. [4902 days 16 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 22:10:06 GMT

On 25/11/2012 9:33 PM, StephenS wrote:

That is clever, it is past my bedtime as I have to get up at 5:30. So I 
will study it later.
Thanks.

Stephen

> .....
> Camera
> Box
> force declare, force export; with raw script
> inspect generated script
>
>
> //------- C Raw Script Begin -------
> #declare AA="
> //------- C Raw Script End ---------
>
> #declare C =
> camera {
>   perspective
>   location <-4.000,6.000,-12.000>
>   up y
>   right 1.333*x
>   angle 33.000
>   sky <0.136,0.904,0.407>
>   look_at < 0.000, -0.000, 0.000 >
> }
>
>
> //------- B Raw Script Begin -------
> ";
> //------- B Raw Script End ---------
>
> #declare B =
> box {
>   < -0.5000000, -0.5000000, -0.5000000 >, < 0.5000000, 0.5000000, 0.5000000 >
> }
>
> Bishop3d will update the camera statement for each file in the animation.
>
> #local Mycount = 0;
> //Find the first use of 'scale'
> #while (strcmp(substr(Mystring,Mycount,5) , "scale")!=0 & Mycount !=
> strlen(Mystring)-5)
>    #local Mycount = Mycount+1;
> #end
>
> ** example of parseing, this is for scale**
>
> Recreate the camera statement
>
> #declare C = camera{
> perspective
> location Mystring
> .....
> }
> // C is the name of the camera in
> // this example that Bishop3d exports at the end of the scene file
>
> #if (Mycount != strlen(Mystring)-5) // if scale is found in the string, then
> scale the function
>    #local Scale_x = val (substr(Mystring,Mycount+11,Mycomma-Mycount+11));
>
> You now also have a variable to give to other macros.
>
> This is not working code, and is taken from different scene files. It is only to
> show, that if you can wrap the exported camera statement in quotation marks, you
> can re-parse the code back into Bishop3d.
>
> A better example can be made with time ;-)
>
> Stephen S
>
>


-- 
Regards
     Stephen

[StephenS] Re: Returning camera position. [4902 days 16 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 21:35:00 GMT

Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
> On 25/11/2012 7:05 PM, StephenS wrote:
>
> > With focal_blur no; without, maybe.
> > declare the camera output in a text string.
> >
> > #declare A="
> > .....
> > ";
> > // keep under 256 characters?
> >
>
> That is the problem. I wanted to use B3D's animation system. So the
> camera location changes in a non linear way as does the "look At" and
> FOV.
....
Camera
Box
force declare, force export; with raw script
inspect generated script


//------- C Raw Script Begin -------
#declare AA="
//------- C Raw Script End ---------

#declare C =
camera {
 perspective
 location <-4.000,6.000,-12.000>
 up y
 right 1.333*x
 angle 33.000
 sky <0.136,0.904,0.407>
 look_at < 0.000, -0.000, 0.000 >
}


//------- B Raw Script Begin -------
";
//------- B Raw Script End ---------

#declare B =
box {
 < -0.5000000, -0.5000000, -0.5000000 >, < 0.5000000, 0.5000000, 0.5000000 >
}

Bishop3d will update the camera statement for each file in the animation.

#local Mycount = 0;
//Find the first use of 'scale'
#while (strcmp(substr(Mystring,Mycount,5) , "scale")!=0 & Mycount !=
strlen(Mystring)-5)
  #local Mycount = Mycount+1;
#end

** example of parseing, this is for scale**

Recreate the camera statement

#declare C = camera{
perspective
location Mystring
....
}
// C is the name of the camera in
// this example that Bishop3d exports at the end of the scene file

#if (Mycount != strlen(Mystring)-5) // if scale is found in the string, then
scale the function
  #local Scale_x = val (substr(Mystring,Mycount+11,Mycomma-Mycount+11));

You now also have a variable to give to other macros.

This is not working code, and is taken from different scene files. It is only to
show, that if you can wrap the exported camera statement in quotation marks, you
can re-parse the code back into Bishop3d.

A better example can be made with time ;-)

Stephen S

[Stephen] Re: Returning camera position. [4902 days 17 hours and 18 minutes ago]

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 20:57:43 GMT

On 25/11/2012 7:05 PM, StephenS wrote:

> With focal_blur no; without, maybe.
> declare the camera output in a text string.
>
> #declare A="
> .....
> ";
> // keep under 256 characters?
>

That is the problem. I wanted to use B3D's animation system. So the 
camera location changes in a non linear way as does the "look At" and 
FOV. To make matters worse, the initial target is is one out of more 
than 20,000 created using trace and I can't see it in the view ports. 
Since B3D will not allow a FOV less than 1.0 I had to move the camera 
closer for the initial shot then dolly out while zooming out.
I did manage to extract the camera information by exporting only the 
camera and analysing the files in Excel but when I started to render the 
animation the camera shake was horrendous. So unless someone can answer 
the question when I post it in the right forum. I think that I will go 
back to my pre-B3D days and write the animation code in a static scene.

>
> A sample file would be needed before going into more detail ;-)
>

Not a problem. Well once I clean up the code as I have been 
experimenting with Trace and #write a lot and it is very messy. I hope 
to post an animation along with an entry to TC-RTC next weekend. So 
after that, if you are still interested I will tidy it up. I would like 
someone to look at the BSP file as I am sure that I have made some bad 
mistakes. - Multiple copies of a mesh, one to trace against and one to 
render. That is not right.

BTW, I recently found a way to get a reference to a light source in a 
light group. B3D will not do it but if you force the deceleration of the 
light as well as making it visible in render. you can then declare it in 
a Raw Script within a light group.

-- 
Regards
     Stephen

[StephenS] Re: Returning camera position. [4902 days 19 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 19:10:01 GMT

Stephen <mca### [at] aolcom> wrote:
> Is there a way that I can get the current camera location passed to a
> variable?
> The limitations of Bishop3D animation system makes it hard to use Rune’s
> Grasstex.inc in animations.
> Bishop3D outputs a Pov file for every frame after doing its own
> calculations for location and look_at and I need to pass the camera
> location to Grasstex.inc for each frame.
>
>
> --
> Regards
>      Stephen
With focal_blur no; without, maybe.
declare the camera output in a text string.

#declare A="
....
";
// keep under 256 characters?

parse out the elements, with text string comparison
rebuild the same camera statement

I did something similar, for doing isosurfaces based on the movement of the box
object.

A sample file would be needed before going into more detail ;-)

Stephen S

[Stephen] Returning camera position. [4902 days 21 hours and 40 minutes ago]

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 16:35:53 GMT

Is there a way that I can get the current camera location passed to a 
variable?
The limitations of Bishop3D animation system makes it hard to use Rune’s 
Grasstex.inc in animations.
Bishop3D outputs a Pov file for every frame after doing its own 
calculations for location and look_at and I need to pass the camera 
location to Grasstex.inc for each frame.


-- 
Regards
     Stephen

[Ive] Re: Blender as an editer for POVRay 3.7 [4986 days and 34 minutes ago]

Mon, 3 Sep 2012 13:41:35 GMT

Am 25.08.2012 15:14, schrieb BlueBlender42ZU, The Novice Expert:
> Hello, world!
> I have written an addon for blender 2.63+ and wish to make it known. I call my
> creation POVBlend. I am asking for people to help me test everything. If anyone
> can test this addon, and possibly show some pictures of what IS possible. (I've
> seen quite a few "pretty pictures", but I don't truly know what my addon CAN do)
>

Sorry, I am using Blender, but only as geometry modeler for object that 
are hard to do as CSG. I do all my scene design and texturing within 
POV-Ray so I would be of no help.

-Ive

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Blender as an editer for POVRay 3.7 [4986 days 23 hours and 8 minutes ago]

Sun, 2 Sep 2012 15:07:52 GMT

I would like to help but I am as yet not good enough with Blender (just 
basically starting) to really be useful I am afraid. There are seasoned 
Blender users lurking here though...

Thomas

[BlueBlender42ZU, The Novice Expert] Re: Blender as an editer for POVRay 3.7 [4987 days 1 hour and 46 minutes ago]

Sun, 2 Sep 2012 12:30:01 GMT

Man, sorry about that last post. Basicly, I need people to test out my system,
and post comments or results or questions here. So if anyone can supply this,
would you please help out? Please?

[BlueBlender42ZU, The Novice Expert] Blender as an editer for POVRay 3.7 [4995 days 1 hour and 1 minute ago]

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 13:15:00 GMT

Hello, world!
I have written an addon for blender 2.63+ and wish to make it known. I call my
creation POVBlend. I am asking for people to help me test everything. If anyone
can test this addon, and possibly show some pictures of what IS possible. (I've
seen quite a few "pretty pictures", but I don't truly know what my addon CAN do)

Thanks in advance!

http://projects.blender.org/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=32200

[Fergus Murray] Re: 3D printing [5038 days 2 hours and 51 minutes ago]

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 11:25:00 GMT

I'd be much more interested in outputting .stl files from POV-Ray, since I have
a lot of things that I've made in POV-Ray which I'd love to see 3D-printed...

Any chance?

Alain <aze### [at] qwertyorg> wrote:
> Le 2010-03-17 01:05, Kenneth a écrit :
> > Chris Cason<del### [at] deletethistoopovrayorg>  wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> An example of somewhere this has been done is the candyfab project:
> >>
> >>    http://www.candyfab.org/
> >>
> >> see also 'Slicing STL files in POV-Ray'
> >>
> >>    http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/slicingstl
> >>
> >
> > Good to see that they've posted the how-to info re: POV-Ray. (That was missing
> > when I looked at the site last year.) From a quick view of those sites, it seems
> > that you need to start with an STL file first, then convert it to POV-Ray using
> > their 'stl2pov' utility. I.e., apparently you can't start with a POV-Ray scene
> > that you've created. Am I wrong about that?
> >
> > BTW, their stl2pov utility is pre-compiled as a binary, but only for Windows;
> > Mac users need to compile their own.
> >
> > Ken
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> The slt2pov convert a model into a POV object.
>
> If you skip the part about slt2pov, you can start directly with any POV
> object(s).
>
>
> Alain

[abot] Modyfing the camera [5168 days 21 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Sun, 4 Mar 2012 16:30:01 GMT

Hi

I am new in POV-Ray. Is it possible to modify the camera? for example If I want
to put a pixel based binary filter in front of the camera. Or any other type of
modification. So is there any file corresponds to camera which could be
modified?

Thank you

[thraxian] Effects,inc [5345 days 18 hours and 51 minutes ago]

Fri, 9 Sep 2011 19:25:02 GMT

Some time ago I downloaded a texture "include" file named effects.inc.  As I
have migrated to newer versions of POV and have replaced older with newer
computers, I have lost this file.  I need access to this file because I have
legacy scenes that require it and I liked the mix of textures.  Some of the
textures had names like "Cool," "Bouncy_Ball," "Wierd_Rings," "Geod,"
"Shiny_Orb" etc.

Does any one know where I can download this file or has a copy of the file?

Thanks for the help!

[Jim Henderson] Re: Blender vanished? [5398 days 18 hours and 17 minutes ago]

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:58:51 GMT

On Mon, 18 Jul 2011 05:03:15 -0400, Lioness wrote:

> Warp <war### [at] tagpovrayorg> wrote:
>> Lioness <cat### [at] livecouk> wrote:
>> > I just bought a new computer because my old one died a horrible death
>> > :(. I've downloaded everything I need (including Povray 3.7) but
>> > there's one thing missing ... Blender! No matter what I do, my
>> > browser keeps telling me blender.org doesn't exist.
>>
>> > Does anyone know what's going on here?
>>
>>   Given the size and popularity of that project, it's quite unlikely
>>   that
>> it had suddenly just died. Probably just a temporary hiccup in name
>> lookup servers or whatever.
>>
>> --
>>                                                           - Warp
> 
> Thank you for your quick reply. I'm afraid I panicked a little :). I
> can't imagine that it died either. I'll just have to be patient and try
> again tomorrow.

Worked for me.

Jim

[Lioness] Re: Blender vanished? [5399 days 5 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 09:05:00 GMT

Warp <war### [at] tagpovrayorg> wrote:
> Lioness <cat### [at] livecouk> wrote:
> > I just bought a new computer because my old one died a horrible death :(. I've
> > downloaded everything I need (including Povray 3.7) but there's one thing
> > missing ... Blender! No matter what I do, my browser keeps telling me
> > blender.org doesn't exist.
>
> > Does anyone know what's going on here?
>
>   Given the size and popularity of that project, it's quite unlikely that
> it had suddenly just died. Probably just a temporary hiccup in name lookup
> servers or whatever.
>
> --
>                                                           - Warp

Thank you for your quick reply. I'm afraid I panicked a little :). I can't
imagine that it died either. I'll just have to be patient and try again
tomorrow.

[Warp] Re: Blender vanished? [5399 days 5 hours and 43 minutes ago]

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:32:54 GMT

Lioness <cat### [at] livecouk> wrote:
> I just bought a new computer because my old one died a horrible death :(. I've
> downloaded everything I need (including Povray 3.7) but there's one thing
> missing ... Blender! No matter what I do, my browser keeps telling me
> blender.org doesn't exist.

> Does anyone know what's going on here?

  Given the size and popularity of that project, it's quite unlikely that
it had suddenly just died. Probably just a temporary hiccup in name lookup
servers or whatever.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

[Lioness] Blender vanished? [5399 days 5 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:30:01 GMT

Hi all!

I just bought a new computer because my old one died a horrible death :(. I've
downloaded everything I need (including Povray 3.7) but there's one thing
missing ... Blender! No matter what I do, my browser keeps telling me
blender.org doesn't exist.

Does anyone know what's going on here?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Caz

[Thomas de Groot] Re: PovTree UV mapping [5406 days 23 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 14:54:30 GMT

On 10-7-2011 13:57, Stephen wrote:
> On 10/07/2011 12:29 PM, Thomas de Groot wrote:
>> On 10-6-2011 22:44, Stephen wrote:
>>> I can't get PovTree to uv map a leaf in Win 7. I keep getting the error:
>>> please select mesh leaf type.
>>>
>>
>> Sorry for answering so late to this...
>>
>> Imo, this is a bug with povtree. I have never been able either to map a
>> leaf...
>>
>
> I got round it by using trace to throw lots of leafs at the branches.
> It was for Colin, the TC-RTC developer. It never went further than this:
>
> http://www.bishop3d.com/forum/gallery/image_page.php?album_id=12&image_id=70
>
>
>
LOL

Thomas

[Stephen] Re: PovTree UV mapping [5407 days 2 hours and 18 minutes ago]

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 11:57:30 GMT

On 10/07/2011 12:29 PM, Thomas de Groot wrote:
> On 10-6-2011 22:44, Stephen wrote:
>> I can't get PovTree to uv map a leaf in Win 7. I keep getting the error:
>> please select mesh leaf type.
>>
>
> Sorry for answering so late to this...
>
> Imo, this is a bug with povtree. I have never been able either to map a
> leaf...
>

I got round it by using trace to throw lots of leafs at the branches.
It was for Colin, the TC-RTC developer. It never went further than this:

http://www.bishop3d.com/forum/gallery/image_page.php?album_id=12&image_id=70


-- 
Regards
     Stephen

[Thomas de Groot] Re: PovTree UV mapping [5407 days 2 hours and 47 minutes ago]

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 11:29:06 GMT

On 10-6-2011 22:44, Stephen wrote:
> I can't get PovTree to uv map a leaf in Win 7. I keep getting the error:
> please select mesh leaf type.
>

Sorry for answering so late to this...

Imo, this is a bug with povtree. I have never been able either to map a 
leaf...

Thomas

[kursad] Re: Blender 2.5x exporter for POV-Ray 3.7 [5427 days 16 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 22:05:00 GMT

"Conz" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm one of the developers for the Blender 2.5x to POV-Ray 3.7 exporter.
>
>
> 1. One of our targets is to have a nice working POV-Ray exporter for the final
> POV-Ray 3.7 - for that we could need your help as testers.

> Greetings and happy Blending,
> Conz (at) vrchannel.de

Hey, This is great work. Please, keep it up.


k

[Stephen] PovTree UV mapping [5436 days 17 hours and 32 minutes ago]

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 20:44:03 GMT

I can't get PovTree to uv map a leaf in Win 7. I keep getting the error:
please select mesh leaf type.

-- 
Regards
     Stephen

[Stephen] Re: Cool free modeler [5453 days 14 hours and 17 minutes ago]

Tue, 24 May 2011 23:59:03 GMT

On 24/05/2011 6:15 PM, Nekar Xenos wrote:
>> I downloaded it this weekend and the 64 bit version kept crashing. The
>> demo looks good though.
>>
>
> 64 bit version hasn't crashed on my system yet...
>

I've not had time to do anything serious with it but it looks as if it 
would be useful.

-- 
Regards
     Stephen

[Nekar Xenos] Re: Cool free modeler [5453 days 21 hours ago]

Tue, 24 May 2011 17:15:40 GMT

On Mon, 23 May 2011 22:49:17 +0200, Stephen <mcavoys_at@aoldotcom> wrote:

> On 23/05/2011 7:30 PM, Nekar Xenos wrote:
>> It's not that new, but I don't remember seeing MeshMixer mentioned on
>> these boards.
>> It has some cool Zbrush-like features.
>> http://www.meshmixer.com
>>
> I downloaded it this weekend and the 64 bit version kept crashing. The  
> demo looks good though.
>

64 bit version hasn't crashed on my system yet...

-- 
-Nekar Xenos-

[Stephen] Re: Cool free modeler [5454 days 17 hours and 27 minutes ago]

Mon, 23 May 2011 20:49:19 GMT

On 23/05/2011 7:30 PM, Nekar Xenos wrote:
> It's not that new, but I don't remember seeing MeshMixer mentioned on
> these boards.
> It has some cool Zbrush-like features.
> http://www.meshmixer.com
>
I downloaded it this weekend and the 64 bit version kept crashing. The 
demo looks good though.

-- 
Regards
     Stephen

[Nekar Xenos] Cool free modeler [5454 days 19 hours and 45 minutes ago]

Mon, 23 May 2011 18:30:38 GMT

It's not that new, but I don't remember seeing MeshMixer mentioned on  
these boards.
It has some cool Zbrush-like features.
http://www.meshmixer.com

-- 
-Nekar Xenos-

[Sunny Rays] Re: Free 3D Model Websites [5533 days 19 hours and 51 minutes ago]

Sat, 5 Mar 2011 18:25:00 GMT

Kyle <no### [at] spamok> wrote:
> I ran across this list of "60 Excellent Free 3D Model Websites" and
> figured it would be a helpful resource to others here too.  There are
> many sites listed that I have not run across before.
>
> http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/60-excellent-free-3d-model-websites/
>
> Gilles Tran's Oyonale site is listed at #29.  It looks like he is now in
> the business of making guns.  ;-)

These are good sites. Another one is http://www.findfiles.net , which is
actually a search engine for files. FindFiles.net is, to my knowledge, the only
search engine which allows you to search for wrl files.

[lauris71] A freeware scene builder Khayyam [5544 days 1 hour and 46 minutes ago]

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 12:30:00 GMT

I am currently developing a free scene building and posing application Khayyam:

http://poseablegeometry.blogspot.com/

The latest snapshot release supports importing Poser/DAZ 3D figures, poses and
materials and exporting them in POV-Ray format. Plus some common 3D formats like
OBJ, 3DS and Collada, and some esoteric 3D formats like models from Illusion 3D
games. So if you are really cheap or using linux exclusively, you may found it
useful.
It is still alpha quality so do not expect it replacing Poser any time soon.
I would glad about feedback how to make POV-Ray export better, as I have only
very little knowledge abut it's file format.

[Warp] Re: export to CAD system [5549 days 7 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 07:04:40 GMT

Dhardin <dha### [at] gatechedu> wrote:
> Is there any way to export a 3D geometry created in POVRAY to a CAD system such
> as SolidWorks or Pro/Engineer?

  No. POV-Ray files are not pure data files (like with most other renderers).
They are programs, and converting a program into an equivalent data file of
another renderer is a very hard problem.

  Another problem is that most other renderers use triangle meshes and NURBS.
In POV-Ray a triangle mesh is just one primitive among many.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

[Dhardin] export to CAD system [5549 days 22 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 16:10:00 GMT

Is there any way to export a 3D geometry created in POVRAY to a CAD system such
as SolidWorks or Pro/Engineer? I have created the POVRAY objects by merging a
series of simple geometric shapes to create a set of complex 3D "particles". I
then size and distribute these particles in space.

Thanks for the help.

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Blender 2.5x exporter for POV-Ray 3.7 [5575 days 5 hours and 8 minutes ago]

Sun, 23 Jan 2011 09:08:08 GMT

"nemesis" <nam### [at] gmailcom> schreef in bericht 
news:4d386eb0$1@news.povray.org...
> There are so many povray tools out there that don't have their own 
> newsgroups.  OTOH, an integrated blender one could turn out to be far more 
> popular than even poseray...

Poseray will still have its own niche...  :-)

Thomas

[Conz] Re: Blender 2.5x exporter for POV-Ray 3.7 [5577 days 20 hours and 1 minute ago]

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 18:15:00 GMT

Hi nemesis

nemesis <nam### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> I think asking for help from the povray crowd here would be easier if
> providing ready-made scenes for them to test povray rendering from
> inside Blender -- people here are not that keen on blender's interface
> and indeed are more used to textually typing CSG scenes than handling
> polygon models in a visual manner.
>

Yep, I know. I'm on board of the development for the exporter only some days,
now.
But my first mission was to clean up the formatting of the pov-file. I have
implemented an option to choose the indentation in the pov-file (Tabs or Spaces
and the amount of spaces), also an otion to write automatic comments inside the
pov-file.
One of my future targets is to optionaly export only pov-files without
rendering, export in seperated pov or inc files, possibility to use inc files
inside Blender, and so on.

So I think I know the target-group, thats why I'm asking here. At the blender
side not that many people are firm with the POV-Ray-code.
Thats why I try to bring up the communities a little bit closer together.

I could place some ready made scenes on the Blender-wiki-page, to show the
single POV-Ray features, maybe wit hcorresponding pov-file. Will think about
that.

> Which is why I'm linking this awesome collection of scenes from Jeremy
> Birn's Lighting Challenge page:
>
> http://www.3drender.com/challenges/index.htm
>
> some of them come ready in Blender format, but all come with OBJ format
> for those wanting to import from Blender (and work out some settings).
>

Will take a look at and test them.

> ...
> oh, heck.  I'll do that when I have some time...
>

:)

> > 3. Would it be possible to create an own area for blender, under Newsgroups ->
> > POV-Ray Tools -> Blender ?
>
> There are so many povray tools out there that don't have their own
> newsgroups.  OTOH, an integrated blender one could turn out to be far
> more popular than even poseray...
>

I think it would be nice. No costs nor hassle on your side and both (Blender and
POV-Ray) could benefit from.

Greetings,
Conz

[nemesis] Re: Blender 2.5x exporter for POV-Ray 3.7 [5577 days 20 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:19:44 GMT

Conz escreveu:
> Hi,
> 
> I'm one of the developers for the Blender 2.5x to POV-Ray 3.7 exporter.
> 
> 
> 1. One of our targets is to have a nice working POV-Ray exporter for the final
> POV-Ray 3.7 - for that we could need your help as testers.
> 
> The newest exporter requires Blender 2.56 r34318 or later!
> That is much newer than the last official Blender 2.56a version from
> http://www.blender.org.
> To get the newest Blender you can get one at http://www.graphicall.org/builds/
> or build your own out of the sources from http://www.blender.org
> Builds from today will have the latest exporter.
> 
> The newes exporter can also downloaded here (req. Blender 2.56 r34318 or later):
> https://svn.blender.org/svnroot/bf-extensions/trunk/py/scripts/addons/render_povray/
> 
> The scripts are palced in (BlenderDir)/2.56/scripts/addons/render_povray/
> 
> Please report any bugs here or as a comment in the bug tracker from Blender:
> https://projects.blender.org/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=23145
> 
> 
> 2. How to use the exporter and the current features can be found here:
>
http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.5/Py/Scripts/Render/POV-Ray#POV-Ray_3.7
> (Wiki is also "Work in progress")
> Do you have any hints for the wiki or feature requests for the exporter? Please
> answer here or in the comments of the bug tacker.
> Are the links to the POV-Ray Wiki the best ones? I would prefer a little bit
> shorter discription for "command line switches" than the one I'm linking to.

yea, I've looked at this exporter a few iterations ago.  I think it's 
promising, specially for being integrated so tightly with Blender.

I think asking for help from the povray crowd here would be easier if 
providing ready-made scenes for them to test povray rendering from 
inside Blender -- people here are not that keen on blender's interface 
and indeed are more used to textually typing CSG scenes than handling 
polygon models in a visual manner.

Which is why I'm linking this awesome collection of scenes from Jeremy 
Birn's Lighting Challenge page:

http://www.3drender.com/challenges/index.htm

some of them come ready in Blender format, but all come with OBJ format 
for those wanting to import from Blender (and work out some settings).

In any case, those wanting to test and help now don't even to mess with 
the models or even materials:  simply open one of these scenes, put in 
some light source, activate the povray exporter and then go on to the 
Render tab, world settings etc.

oh, heck.  I'll do that when I have some time...

> 3. Would it be possible to create an own area for blender, under Newsgroups ->
> POV-Ray Tools -> Blender ?

There are so many povray tools out there that don't have their own 
newsgroups.  OTOH, an integrated blender one could turn out to be far 
more popular than even poseray...

> 4. Is there a way to get the rendered image from POV-Ray back to Blender without
> using an image on HD?

hope someone more knowledgeable replies to this.

-- 
a game sig: http://tinyurl.com/d3rxz9

[Conz] Blender 2.5x exporter for POV-Ray 3.7 [5577 days 21 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:35:00 GMT

Hi,

I'm one of the developers for the Blender 2.5x to POV-Ray 3.7 exporter.


1. One of our targets is to have a nice working POV-Ray exporter for the final
POV-Ray 3.7 - for that we could need your help as testers.

The newest exporter requires Blender 2.56 r34318 or later!
That is much newer than the last official Blender 2.56a version from
http://www.blender.org.
To get the newest Blender you can get one at http://www.graphicall.org/builds/
or build your own out of the sources from http://www.blender.org
Builds from today will have the latest exporter.

The newes exporter can also downloaded here (req. Blender 2.56 r34318 or later):
https://svn.blender.org/svnroot/bf-extensions/trunk/py/scripts/addons/render_povray/

The scripts are palced in (BlenderDir)/2.56/scripts/addons/render_povray/

Please report any bugs here or as a comment in the bug tracker from Blender:
https://projects.blender.org/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=23145


2. How to use the exporter and the current features can be found here:
http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.5/Py/Scripts/Render/POV-Ray#POV-Ray_3.7
(Wiki is also "Work in progress")
Do you have any hints for the wiki or feature requests for the exporter? Please
answer here or in the comments of the bug tacker.
Are the links to the POV-Ray Wiki the best ones? I would prefer a little bit
shorter discription for "command line switches" than the one I'm linking to.


3. Would it be possible to create an own area for blender, under Newsgroups ->
POV-Ray Tools -> Blender ?


4. Is there a way to get the rendered image from POV-Ray back to Blender without
using an image on HD?


Greetings and happy Blending,
Conz (at) vrchannel.de

[Harry Callagan] How more than one texture can be applied with in... [5600 days 19 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 18:35:01 GMT

Hello,(I'm french, sorry for my english)
I have recently found lionsnake for creating meshs object. After some tries, I
succeed in creating three group of mesh objects. 2 objects of these 3 are
colored in Brown (in Lionsbake) and the other in gray. I exported the file in an
...inc file. http://harry.fourmi.pagesperso-orange.fr/fichiers/POV-Ray/Ex002.inc
for the inc and the .lsm there :
http://harry.fourmi.pagesperso-orange.fr/fichiers/POV-Ray/Ex002.lsm

The main pov file:
(http://harry.fourmi.pagesperso-orange.fr/fichiers/POV-Ray/TestMesh.pov)

The problem is that when I attempt to assign two textures (the same than those
in Lionsnake, ie brown and gray), POV Ray render a scene with only a brown color
for the whole mesh elements. I search on internet, but didn't find anything. How
to apply different textures for the mesh ? As you can see, I used an array
"#declare ArrayTexture=array[33]{M1," etc... What's wrong in my code ? Thank
you.

[John VanSickle] Re: LionSnake and Hamapatch both LOST in demise ... [5624 days 11 hours and 18 minutes ago]

Sun, 5 Dec 2010 02:58:06 GMT

On 11/1/2009 7:09 PM, ytiuqibu wrote:
> Sorry for the brief yelp! but I am a new Povray user and was interested in
> checking out the LionSnake Modeler only to find that it too like Hamapatch (the
> subject of another post) has disappeared following Yahoos closure of all
> Geocities sites without providing forward links.
>
> Please does anyone know where if at all theses particular sites have been
> relocated.
>
> If there is a Povray moderator to this newsgroup please note the demise of
> Geocities effectively makes all links to LionSnake on the Povray site dead
> links.

Sorry I took a whole year getting around to answering this, but I 
usually don't read this particular group.

I have set up a new page for LionSnake.  It can be found at:

http://evilsnack.byethost22.com/lionsnake.htm

New versions are announced on povray.news-announcements when they become 
available for download, with a URL for the host page.

Regards,
John

[Nekar Xenos] Sandbox2pov? [5651 days 3 hours and 18 minutes ago]

Mon, 8 Nov 2010 10:57:40 GMT

How about a plugin or a program to export from Sandbox2 (Crysis) to  
Pov-Ray? I would love to get all those different plants into Pov-Ray.

-Nekar Xenos-

[Stephen] Re: Import .obj [5713 days 17 hours and 29 minutes ago]

Mon, 6 Sep 2010 20:47:23 GMT

On 06/09/2010 3:30 AM, MadKairon wrote:
> Poseray seems to work :) thanks!
>
>
Good :-D

-- 

Best Regards,
	Stephen

[MadKairon] Re: Import .obj [5714 days 11 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Mon, 6 Sep 2010 02:35:01 GMT

Poseray seems to work :) thanks!

[Stephen] Re: Import .obj [5714 days 23 hours and 54 minutes ago]

Sun, 5 Sep 2010 14:22:16 GMT

On 05/09/2010 3:13 PM, Jaime Vives Piqueres wrote:
> El 05/09/10 15:15, MadKairon escribió:
>> Hi all, I'm needing to import .obj files into povray. I've tried Cross
>> Road
>> converter but it just crashes. There's all2pov but I don't know how to
>> handle
>> source codes. I'm running Windows Vista. If you know of any other
>> utility that
>> can do the job please let me know. Thanks!
>>
>
> IMHO, Poseray is the best with difference... at least for POV-Ray.
>

True

-- 

Best Regards,
	Stephen

[Jaime Vives Piqueres] Re: Import .obj [5715 days and 2 minutes ago]

Sun, 5 Sep 2010 14:13:49 GMT

El 05/09/10 15:15, MadKairon escribió:
> Hi all, I'm needing to import .obj files into povray. I've tried Cross Road
> converter but it just crashes. There's all2pov but I don't know how to handle
> source codes. I'm running Windows Vista. If you know of any other utility that
> can do the job please let me know. Thanks!
>

   IMHO, Poseray is the best with difference... at least for POV-Ray.

-- 
Jaime Vives Piqueres

http://www.ignorancia.org

[MadKairon] Import .obj [5715 days and 56 minutes ago]

Sun, 5 Sep 2010 13:20:01 GMT

Hi all, I'm needing to import .obj files into povray. I've tried Cross Road
converter but it just crashes. There's all2pov but I don't know how to handle
source codes. I'm running Windows Vista. If you know of any other utility that
can do the job please let me know. Thanks!

[Warp] Re: Ivy generator [5746 days 3 hours and 54 minutes ago]

Thu, 5 Aug 2010 10:21:36 GMT

Tim Cook <z99### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> http://graphics.uni-konstanz.de/~luft/ivy_generator/

  The background color of the page has not been set, destroying the design
if the default background color of the browser happens to be something else
than white.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

[Tim Cook] Re: Ivy generator [5746 days 5 hours and 9 minutes ago]

Thu, 5 Aug 2010 09:07:29 GMT

On 2010-08-05 03:16, Thomas de Groot wrote:
> Sorry Tim! I just had to make fun. This is indeed a neat application.
> Several here have used it, Robert McGregor for instance and myself. Good to
> put a reminder though, for those who missed it, are new to POV-Ray, or who
> just forgot about it.

Heh.  I recall a semi-recent thread on one of the boards here about 
making ivy (I think I saved the include, too), but couldn't find it, and 
had seen this site linked elsewhere so figured 'eh, why not?'

--
Tim Cook
http://empyrean.freesitespace.net

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Ivy generator [5746 days 6 hours and 59 minutes ago]

Thu, 5 Aug 2010 07:16:45 GMT

"Tim Cook" <z99### [at] gmailcom> schreef in bericht 
news:4c5a10d7$1@news.povray.org...
> http://graphics.uni-konstanz.de/~luft/ivy_generator/


Been there, done that.... :-)

Sorry Tim! I just had to make fun. This is indeed a neat application. 
Several here have used it, Robert McGregor for instance and myself. Good to 
put a reminder though, for those who missed it, are new to POV-Ray, or who 
just forgot about it.

Thomas

[Tim Cook] Ivy generator [5746 days 13 hours ago]

Thu, 5 Aug 2010 01:16:07 GMT

http://graphics.uni-konstanz.de/~luft/ivy_generator/

--
Tim Cook
http://empyrean.freesitespace.net

[Luis] Re: Hamapatch at risk of being lost due to Geoci... [5790 days 9 hours and 52 minutes ago]

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 04:23:47 GMT

gregjohn wrote:
> http://www.geocities.com/hamapatch/program/index.html#dl
> 
> 
> Does it exist anywhere else?
> 
> 

I've made a mirror of this page

http://www.lightning-generator.org/mirror/hamapatch.php


--
Luis
http://www.lightning-generator.org

[www dex-tex info] Re: ArahWeave running under Windows XP [5815 days 8 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Fri, 28 May 2010 05:30:09 GMT

I created an preinstaled enviorement for Windows user - for VMware Player, that
contains an Linux Mint operating system with Arahweave 5.3 instaled by default.
You can find it here
http://www.adrive.com/public/60953ab40a35452d348438139d8146e2ef6a0601e15992e59e8c9c907ebf86ca.html
  - the password is an space character

More info (for romanian speakers) at http://www.dex-tex.info/arahweave

[Thomas de Groot] Re: Where is lawnmaker? [5819 days 6 hours and 33 minutes ago]

Mon, 24 May 2010 07:43:00 GMT

"LearnedGuy" <joh### [at] firststarpresscom> schreef in bericht 
news:web.4bf698e5e52b82a6feb226a60@news.povray.org...
>I need a large patch of grass. Is there existing code that will do this? I 
>have
> not been successful changing the SDL parameters of grass.inc. Could 
> someone host
> their lawnmaker code somewhere?
>

I am afraid you should be more specific. Which or whose grass.inc? There a 
several over the past 10 years. There is also a macro by Uwe Gleiss called 
lawnmaker, but that does not contain a grass.inc.

Thomas

[LearnedGuy] Where is lawnmaker? [5821 days 23 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Fri, 21 May 2010 14:35:00 GMT

I need a large patch of grass. Is there existing code that will do this? I have
not been successful changing the SDL parameters of grass.inc. Could someone host
their lawnmaker code somewhere?

Thanks,

LearnedGuy

[theajj] Re: ArahWeave running under Windows XP [5840 days 20 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Sun, 2 May 2010 17:30:01 GMT

Hi,

An update on this for mac users!

According to ArahWeave website, a version for mac will be released mid 2010.

If you can't wait, I managed to get it up and running on my mac via a VM running
in Parallels.
http://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/

I downloaded Ubuntu as my Linux operating system.
http://www.ubuntu.com/

Thanks,

Adrian

[nemesis] Re: An SDL program for building information mode... [5846 days 19 hours and 16 minutes ago]

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:00:00 GMT

kick-ass contribution. :)

[Kene] An SDL program for building information modeling... [5847 days 14 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 23:35:01 GMT

Hi everyone:

We wish to announce that kobldes is available at
http://sourceforge.net/projects/kobldes/. There are also some screen shots that
show the progress in capabilities during development.

This is a work-in-progress modeling system scripted in POV-Ray SDL to assist
architects and designers in modeling building information. It can also output
pure POV-Ray SDL code for additional tweaking.

It offers a different approach to traditional building design tools which I
think is more fun and more like the real situation i.e. it allows you to:
- Create building spaces
- Create building levels
- Configure sides of the spaces (walls)
- Use snap points to support the modeling process (this is not unique in CAD but
it is unique in POV-Ray)
- Then finally, allows you to export your building as SDL making it possible to
go beyond its capabilities

It is still early in its development so not all building processes are
supported, notably you cannot create windows and doors yet. It is undergoing
active development and is being used in current professional projects to analyze
space design. We hope to use it completely in the design and documentation of
buildings including the production of flat 2D drawings (plans, elevations,
sections, details, etc)

If you are a designer or you like to model buildings using POV-Ray, feel free to
use kobldes. Give us feedback on your experience, we will be happy to hear from
you. The web site for discussion on POV-Ray (http://www.illom.org) is not ready
yet but will be within the week. As for now you can provide feedbacks by mailing
to ken### [at] illomorg. Documentation is a little behind but is included
anyway. Hopefully it will be up to date within the week as well.

Thanks especially to the kind folks in the POV-Ray community that provided
encouragement to this on-going project. I hope sincerely that it adds to the
wonderful POV-Ray program which amazes every time especially when compared to
other similar available programs.

Sincerely,

Kene

[Kenneth] Re: SharpConstruct with Windows & gtk+--installa... [5867 days 20 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Mon, 5 Apr 2010 18:05:01 GMT

"DaremoK3" <nomail@nomail> wrote:

> If you are still following this message thread, and are still in need of the
> correct dependencies to make Sharp Construct work on MS Windows, I might be able
> to help you out.

> According to the directions you need to install "GTK" first, then "gtkmm", and
> then Sharp Construct.  Well, after 2 days of searching the net, and trying to
> get gtkmm to install (to no avail), I decided to try something on my own.  I
> uninstalled GTK from it's default location (C:\), and installed gtkmm first,
> then GTK, and then Sharp Construct, all to Program Files in C drive (in their
> own files/locations).  I now have a perfect working copy of Sharp Construct on
> my system.

> Anyways, I digest.  If you would like, I can email you the needed dependencies
> so you can have a working version as well.

Thank you, Ken! The dependencies you sent to me via e-mail worked like a charm,
and I now have SharpConstruct on my PC.

You mentioned that gtkmm should be installed first. What I found was that it
would not load as the first item--an error message came up saying, "GTK must be
installed first."  So I reversed the order of the two, and it still worked. I
think the real 'key' is putting everything into "Program Files in the C drive
(in their own files/locations)", as you mentioned, rather than just into C:\
(which is where the dependencies want to be installed by default.)

BTW, another very similar (and also free) app that everyone might want to try
out is Sculptris. It doesn't depend on GTK/gtkmm to work.

Thanks again!

Ken

[DaremoK3] Re: SharpConstruct with Windows & gtk+--installa... [5877 days 14 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 23:20:01 GMT

"ethin" <eth### [at] hotmailcom> wrote:

> I'm having problems trying to install Sharp Construct as well. After a very
> frustrating hour I manged to locate the right files to get it to install but it
> won't run, I get an error that it can't fined a required file need to start.
> Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Ethin,

If you downloaded dependencies from any site relating to the "Gimp" draw/paint
application, even if they matched in description, they will not work.  The
author did something proprietary to his copies, and stated on his original site
only his version dependencies will work.

I will send an email to you regarding this response (and to original poster),
and if you like I can send you the required dependencies.

Take care all...
Ken

[ethin] Re: SharpConstruct with Windows & gtk+--installa... [5885 days 18 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:10:00 GMT

"DaremoK3" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> "Kenneth" <kdw### [at] earthlinknet> wrote:
> > Several POV users have recommended the (free) SharpConstruct software--a
> > zBrush-like modeller--for easily creating organic mesh shapes. I'm trying to
> > install the Windows version on my Win XP SP3 machine, but running into problems.
> >
> > SharpConstruct seems to need *some* version of something called the gtk+ GUI
> > 'runtime environment' package in order to run (similar to Inkscape and the Gimp,
> > I see--neither of which I've used.) Being new to this, I've downloaded what I
> > take to be the latest Windows version of gtk+, from SourceForge.net. But now,
> > when installing SharpConstruct, I get the message, "installation aborted--all
> > gtk+ versions found are older than 2.8".
> >
> > Well, there *isn't* a '2.8' version of gtk+ AFAIK (unless one of its components
> > is so labelled)--the latest seems to be 2.16 or 2.18. So I don't understand the
> > message.
> >
> > Wikipedia says that there *is* a v2.8 (and later) of 'gtk+2'--is that different
> > from gtk+?
> >
> > Right now, I'm stuck...I don't know whether the problem is in SharpConstruct or
> > due to an incorrect version of gtk+.  Can anyone recommend the *specific* gtk+
> > or gtk+2 package that's needed, or tell me what I'm doing wrong?  Thanks!!
> >
> > Ken
>
>
> Hi Ken,
>
> If you are still following this message thread, and are still in need of the
> correct dependencies to make Sharp Construct work on MS Windows, I might be able
> to help you out.
>
> I stumbled upon this thread via Google whilst trying to find the dependencies
> myself for a reinstall of Sharp Construct on my system (Windows XP SP2).  I have
> all the original needed files, and it worked perfectly when I had installed
> years ago, but I could not get my "gtkmm-runtime-2.8.4-1" to reinstall, so I was
> searching for a replacement.
>
> According to the directions you need to install "GTK" first, then "gtkmm", and
> then Sharp Construct.  Well, after 2 days of searching the net, and trying to
> get gtkmm to install (to no avail), I decided to try something on my own.  I
> uninstalled GTK from it's default location (C:\), and installed gtkmm first,
> then GTK, and then Sharp Construct, all to Program Files in C drive (in their
> own files/locations).  I now have a perfect working copy of Sharp Construct on
> my system.
>
> It is a shame that this great application is no longer supported (to install).
> Yes, you can still download the application, but you can no longer find the
> necessary dependencies that are needed to make it work on Windows.  And, yes, I
> know it is implemented in Blender (why no longer supported), which I use (Sharp
> Construct) in there as well, but sometimes people just want to open a simple app
> to do a simple job without having to open a complete software suite (Blender).
>
> The author should have saved/secured all necessary files to be downloaded from
> the same place (sourceforge) for future users, and past users needing reinstall.
>  The net has truly become just like "Costco".  You better get it when you first
> see it, because tomorrow it might (will) be gone.
>
> Anyways, I digest.  If you would like, I can email you the needed dependencies
> so you can have a working version as well.
>
> Take care...
> Ken (my name as well)


I'm having problems trying to install Sharp Construct as well. After a very
frustrating hour I manged to locate the right files to get it to install but it
won't run, I get an error that it can't fined a required file need to start.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Alain] Re: 3D printing [5886 days 14 hours and 50 minutes ago]

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:26:02 GMT

Le 2010-03-17 01:05, Kenneth a écrit :
> Chris Cason<del### [at] deletethistoopovrayorg>  wrote:
>
>>
>> An example of somewhere this has been done is the candyfab project:
>>
>>    http://www.candyfab.org/
>>
>> see also 'Slicing STL files in POV-Ray'
>>
>>    http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/slicingstl
>>
>
> Good to see that they've posted the how-to info re: POV-Ray. (That was missing
> when I looked at the site last year.) From a quick view of those sites, it seems
> that you need to start with an STL file first, then convert it to POV-Ray using
> their 'stl2pov' utility. I.e., apparently you can't start with a POV-Ray scene
> that you've created. Am I wrong about that?
>
> BTW, their stl2pov utility is pre-compiled as a binary, but only for Windows;
> Mac users need to compile their own.
>
> Ken
>
>
>
>

The slt2pov convert a model into a POV object.

If you skip the part about slt2pov, you can start directly with any POV 
object(s).


Alain

[Sabrina Kilian] Re: 3D printing [5886 days 23 hours and 8 minutes ago]

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:08:03 GMT

Kenneth wrote:
> Chris Cason <del### [at] deletethistoopovrayorg> wrote:
> 
>> An example of somewhere this has been done is the candyfab project:
>>
>>   http://www.candyfab.org/
>>
>> see also 'Slicing STL files in POV-Ray'
>>
>>   http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/slicingstl
>>
> 
> Good to see that they've posted the how-to info re: POV-Ray. (That was missing
> when I looked at the site last year.) From a quick view of those sites, it seems
> that you need to start with an STL file first, then convert it to POV-Ray using
> their 'stl2pov' utility. I.e., apparently you can't start with a POV-Ray scene
> that you've created. Am I wrong about that?
> 
> BTW, their stl2pov utility is pre-compiled as a binary, but only for Windows;
> Mac users need to compile their own.
> 
> Ken

The stl2pov just turns the stl file into an object{}. Read through the
other code on the slicing page, and it describes how to create an
animation that will give you a series of slices.

Just replace the parts stating
object {  m_Rhinoceros_Binary_STL___Jun_15_2005__   rotate 90*x }
with your own object, and you can create what you like.

A word of warning, the items you can create really depends on the
printer you have available. Something like Metatron is easier on a
printer where the printing media helps suspend the object until printing
is finished, like laser fusing or sintering. Machines that build the
object freestanding, material deposition, have difficulty with thin
objects and you sometimes have to add support pieces just to finish
printing.

[Kenneth] Re: 3D printing [5887 days 9 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 05:10:09 GMT

Chris Cason <del### [at] deletethistoopovrayorg> wrote:

>
> An example of somewhere this has been done is the candyfab project:
>
>   http://www.candyfab.org/
>
> see also 'Slicing STL files in POV-Ray'
>
>   http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/slicingstl
>

Good to see that they've posted the how-to info re: POV-Ray. (That was missing
when I looked at the site last year.) From a quick view of those sites, it seems
that you need to start with an STL file first, then convert it to POV-Ray using
their 'stl2pov' utility. I.e., apparently you can't start with a POV-Ray scene
that you've created. Am I wrong about that?

BTW, their stl2pov utility is pre-compiled as a binary, but only for Windows;
Mac users need to compile their own.

Ken

[Chris Cason] Re: 3D printing [5887 days 11 hours and 59 minutes ago]

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 02:17:16 GMT

On 17/03/2010 09:02, Sabrina Kilian wrote:
> gharryh wrote:
>> Is it possible to print PovRay in 3D.
>> Should i use a special converter?
>> 
>> Harry H. Arends
>> 
>> 
> 
> Directly, no. A raytracer alone will not let you print something.
> 
> What you can do is take the object you want to print, and create a
> series of thin orthographic pictures with the camera looking straight on
> from a fixed position. To get the slices that (most) 3D printers use,
> you would find the intersection between the object you want to print and
> a very thin cube perpendicular to the camera. Depending on the 3D
> printer, you will probably avoid using any colored textures, and want to
> use just a black and white image.
> 
> The difficult part is making sure that there is enough solid space
> inside the object to support it as it is printed. This depends on the
> printer you are using, and the technology it uses.
> 
> Now, if you have a 3D printer that understands some 3D file format and
> not just a series of images, that's a whole different beast. Some
> information about the printer would be useful in helping you with this.

An example of somewhere this has been done is the candyfab project:

  http://www.candyfab.org/

see also 'Slicing STL files in POV-Ray'

  http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/slicingstl

-- Chris

[Roman Reiner] Re: 3D printing [5887 days 16 hours and 1 minute ago]

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:15:01 GMT

Sabrina Kilian <ski### [at] vtedu> wrote:
> gharryh wrote:
> > Is it possible to print PovRay in 3D.
> > Should i use a special converter?
> >
> > Harry H. Arends
> >
> >
>
> Directly, no. A raytracer alone will not let you print something.
>
> What you can do is take the object you want to print, and create a
> series of thin orthographic pictures with the camera looking straight on
> from a fixed position. To get the slices that (most) 3D printers use,
> you would find the intersection between the object you want to print and
> a very thin cube perpendicular to the camera. Depending on the 3D
> printer, you will probably avoid using any colored textures, and want to
> use just a black and white image.
>
> The difficult part is making sure that there is enough solid space
> inside the object to support it as it is printed. This depends on the
> printer you are using, and the technology it uses.
>
> Now, if you have a 3D printer that understands some 3D file format and
> not just a series of images, that's a whole different beast. Some
> information about the printer would be useful in helping you with this.

There is an inside function which afaik works for all solid objects (non solid
objects could not be printed anyway). So you could just loop over discrete
points in your scene and check whether they are inside some geometry or not.

After all it comes down to which format you need your scene to be in in order to
be printed.

[Sabrina Kilian] Re: 3D printing [5887 days 16 hours and 13 minutes ago]

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:02:58 GMT

gharryh wrote:
> Is it possible to print PovRay in 3D.
> Should i use a special converter?
> 
> Harry H. Arends
> 
> 

Directly, no. A raytracer alone will not let you print something.

What you can do is take the object you want to print, and create a
series of thin orthographic pictures with the camera looking straight on
from a fixed position. To get the slices that (most) 3D printers use,
you would find the intersection between the object you want to print and
a very thin cube perpendicular to the camera. Depending on the 3D
printer, you will probably avoid using any colored textures, and want to
use just a black and white image.

The difficult part is making sure that there is enough solid space
inside the object to support it as it is printed. This depends on the
printer you are using, and the technology it uses.

Now, if you have a 3D printer that understands some 3D file format and
not just a series of images, that's a whole different beast. Some
information about the printer would be useful in helping you with this.

[gharryh] 3D printing [5887 days 21 hours and 36 minutes ago]

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:40:01 GMT

Is it possible to print PovRay in 3D.
Should i use a special converter?

Harry H. Arends

[slair] povviewer [5890 days 18 hours and 1 minute ago]

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 20:15:22 GMT

http://sourceforge.net/projects/povviewer/

This tool may be useful?

this is opengl scene previewer for povray, support many object types, 
interactive camera movement, stereo mode (parallel eyes view or cross 
eyed, if you change camera base offset).

[stbenge] Re: Sculptris [5892 days 18 hours and 26 minutes ago]

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:50:15 GMT

stbenge wrote:
> DrPetter had originally intended to keep the program as freeware. I 
> think he will continue to do so, with the option of donating to support 
> his cause.

 From DrPetter's forum 
(http://drpetter.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=sculptris&action=display&thread=93):

"I have no solid plans yet, but have been thinking about a kind of 
donation-based system. Basically I'd like people to be able to pay what 
makes sense for them - a hobby user who will only play around a little 
bit might not want to spend more than $10, while a professional artist 
could possibly invest $100 and maybe get some personal support for added 
value.

It's not in my interest to deny anyone access to the application, but I 
do need money to keep doing what I do, and something like this seems 
like it could work out reasonably well. I will also have some form of 
free version that anyone can download and try."

So it will probably cost you something when it's past the alpha stage. 
It will still be worth it, I think, for hobbyists like us who don't make 
money from our rendered images :)

Sam

[stbenge] Sculptris [5892 days 19 hours and 8 minutes ago]

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:08:02 GMT

Hello everybody,

Sculptris is a great new free sculpting tool currently in the alpha 
stage of development. In some ways it is already better than Blender's 
sculpting tools.

 From DrPetter's homepage:
"This is a work-in-progress sculpting tool that I've been developing 
since early December 2009. Its main feature is dynamic mesh tesselation 
that will provide additional detail where necessary, without the user 
needing to worry about it."

What this means is that you won't have to select regions and subdivide 
to get more detail. You won't be stuck with too much detail either, 
since there is a painting tool for reducing the poly count in local regions.

There are several shaders you can choose from, so you won't have to 
sculpt under poor lighting conditions.

There are many tools to choose from. There are tools for 
adding/subtracting, inflating/deflating, pinching/unconstricting, 
smoothing, reducing detail, flattening/undulating (you can make 
brain-like surfaces this way), creasing, transforming and grabbing. You 
can mirror all brushes (useful for modeling heads), work in a wireframe 
view, and use masks. The new version even appears to support tablet 
sensitivity.

The obj export is sometimes a little buggy. In alpha 2, I was unable to 
export a model to a format usable in other apps... but it doesn't happen 
with all meshes.

DrPetter had originally intended to keep the program as freeware. I 
think he will continue to do so, with the option of donating to support 
his cause.

Here's the link:
http://www.drpetter.se/project_sculpt.html

Give it a try, and give him some encouraging words, why don't you?

Sam

[Thomas de Groot] Re: brick wall designer [5899 days 5 hours and 2 minutes ago]

Fri, 5 Mar 2010 09:14:00 GMT

"Tjeb" <se.### [at] wolmailnl> schreef in bericht 
news:web.4b90b07ca4d66a6f788ad3280@news.povray.org...
> After creating something you like, in the File menu click 'Save As Image'.
> Choose your destination directory and there you will find
> one .bmp file and one .png file. If you didn't change the file name, the
> resulting default names are: untitled.bmp and untitled-alpha.png.
>

Strange. No png file is created here, only the bmp (or jpg etc).

Thomas

[Tjeb] Re: brick wall designer [5899 days 6 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Fri, 5 Mar 2010 07:20:00 GMT

"Thomas de Groot" <tDOTdegroot@interDOTnlANOTHERDOTnet> wrote:
> "Tjeb" <se.### [at] wolmailnl> schreef in bericht
> news:web.4b8e5571ebeee221788ad3280@news.povray.org...
> But when you save the image, it saves a second image, by default
> > called: untitled_alpha.png; that's our bumpmap.
>
> Hm... I don't see this happen....
>
> Thomas

After creating something you like, in the File menu click 'Save As Image'.
Choose your destination directory and there you will find
one .bmp file and one .png file. If you didn't change the file name, the
resulting default names are: untitled.bmp and untitled-alpha.png.

To increase your choice don't forget to play with the Materials option in the
Products menu.

Tjeb

[Thomas de Groot] Re: brick wall designer [5899 days 22 hours and 18 minutes ago]

Thu, 4 Mar 2010 15:58:07 GMT

"Tjeb" <se.### [at] wolmailnl> schreef in bericht 
news:web.4b8e5571ebeee221788ad3280@news.povray.org...
But when you save the image, it saves a second image, by default
> called: untitled_alpha.png; that's our bumpmap.

Hm... I don't see this happen....

Thomas

[Thomas de Groot] Re: brick wall designer [5900 days 4 hours and 25 minutes ago]

Thu, 4 Mar 2010 09:50:43 GMT

Interesting. Thanks for the tip!!

Thomas

[Tjeb] brick wall designer [5901 days 1 hour and 46 minutes ago]

Wed, 3 Mar 2010 12:30:00 GMT

I came across a program lately, that might be of interest.
It is called 'ACME Brick Masonry Designer'. It has nothing to do with 3D;
It can be used to visualise a brick wall in a great number of varieties, even
combinations. But when you save the image, it saves a second image, by default
called: untitled_alpha.png; that's our bumpmap.
Nothing wrong with the great block-wall macros of chrisb, but sometimes we need
something different or quicker to put up.
The help-file is online (http://www.accurateimage.com/acme/help/ ) so check that
out first, if you wish, before you decide for the free download.

have fun,
Tjeb

[H Karsten] Re: Convert PRO/Engineer STP-Files to POV-Ray fo... [5916 days 9 hours and 16 minutes ago]

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 05:00:01 GMT

Use Rhino to import Step and export to PovRay.

It works well - but no UV-koord...

Holger

[DaremoK3] Re: SharpConstruct with Windows & gtk+--installa... [5923 days 18 hours and 1 minute ago]

Mon, 8 Feb 2010 20:15:00 GMT

"Kenneth" <kdw### [at] earthlinknet> wrote:
> Several POV users have recommended the (free) SharpConstruct software--a
> zBrush-like modeller--for easily creating organic mesh shapes. I'm trying to
> install the Windows version on my Win XP SP3 machine, but running into problems.
>
> SharpConstruct seems to need *some* version of something called the gtk+ GUI
> 'runtime environment' package in order to run (similar to Inkscape and the Gimp,
> I see--neither of which I've used.) Being new to this, I've downloaded what I
> take to be the latest Windows version of gtk+, from SourceForge.net. But now,
> when installing SharpConstruct, I get the message, "installation aborted--all
> gtk+ versions found are older than 2.8".
>
> Well, there *isn't* a '2.8' version of gtk+ AFAIK (unless one of its components
> is so labelled)--the latest seems to be 2.16 or 2.18. So I don't understand the
> message.
>
> Wikipedia says that there *is* a v2.8 (and later) of 'gtk+2'--is that different
> from gtk+?
>
> Right now, I'm stuck...I don't know whether the problem is in SharpConstruct or
> due to an incorrect version of gtk+.  Can anyone recommend the *specific* gtk+
> or gtk+2 package that's needed, or tell me what I'm doing wrong?  Thanks!!
>
> Ken

Hi Ken,

If you are still following this message thread, and are still in need of the
correct dependencies to make Sharp Construct work on MS Windows, I might be able
to help you out.

I stumbled upon this thread via Google whilst trying to find the dependencies
myself for a reinstall of Sharp Construct on my system (Windows XP SP2).  I have
all the original needed files, and it worked perfectly when I had installed
years ago, but I could not get my "gtkmm-runtime-2.8.4-1" to reinstall, so I was
searching for a replacement.

According to the directions you need to install "GTK" first, then "gtkmm", and
then Sharp Construct.  Well, after 2 days of searching the net, and trying to
get gtkmm to install (to no avail), I decided to try something on my own.  I
uninstalled GTK from it's default location (C:\), and installed gtkmm first,
then GTK, and then Sharp Construct, all to Program Files in C drive (in their
own files/locations).  I now have a perfect working copy of Sharp Construct on
my system.

It is a shame that this great application is no longer supported (to install).
Yes, you can still download the application, but you can no longer find the
necessary dependencies that are needed to make it work on Windows.  And, yes, I
know it is implemented in Blender (why no longer supported), which I use (Sharp
Construct) in there as well, but sometimes people just want to open a simple app
to do a simple job without having to open a complete software suite (Blender).

The author should have saved/secured all necessary files to be downloaded from
the same place (sourceforge) for future users, and past users needing reinstall.
 The net has truly become just like "Costco".  You better get it when you first
see it, because tomorrow it might (will) be gone.

Anyways, I digest.  If you would like, I can email you the needed dependencies
so you can have a working version as well.

Take care...
Ken (my name as well)

[Irgi] Convert PRO/Engineer STP-Files to POV-Ray format? [5930 days 21 hours and 46 minutes ago]

Mon, 1 Feb 2010 16:30:00 GMT

I got a .STP-File that starts with:
ISO-10303-21;
HEADER;
FILE_DESCRIPTION((''),'2;1');
FILE_NAME('700632','2009-06-16T',('mk'),(''),
'PRO/ENGINEER BY PARAMETRIC TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION, 2007160',
'PRO/ENGINEER BY PARAMETRIC TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION, 2007160','');
FILE_SCHEMA(('CONFIG_CONTROL_DESIGN'));
ENDSEC;
DATA;
#1=CARTESIAN_POINT('',(0.E0,0.E0,0.E0));
#2=DIRECTION('',(0.E0,0.E0,-1.E0));
#3=DIRECTION('',(1.E0,0.E0,0.E0));
#4=AXIS2_PLACEMENT_3D('',#1,#2,#3);
#6=CARTESIAN_POINT('',(0.E0,0.E0,0.E0));
#7=DIRECTION('',(0.E0,0.E0,-1.E0));
#8=DIRECTION('',(-1.E0,0.E0,0.E0));

Is there a tool to convert this file to a POV-Ray usable format?

Thanks for your help,
Irgi

[Warp] Re: SharpConstruct with Windows & gtk+--installa... [5958 days 18 hours and 4 minutes ago]

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 20:12:15 GMT

Jaime Vives Piqueres <jai### [at] ignoranciaorg> wrote:
> > I'm guessing that the original Linux(?) version of the program must have
> > been more 'robust' than the later Windows port...that is, all the parts
> > were better integrated.

>    No, it's just that Linux usually has already installed most of what is
> needed for open source apps.

  Most distros have some kind of online repository system which automatically
resolves dependencies and installs any libraries which a program might need.

  In Windows programs usually come with all the libraries they need, and are
installed if not already installed in the system (or kept locally in the
program's own installation directory). However, many Windows ports of Unix
programs follow the "you should have this library already" philosophy, which
is why you often get such a hassle (which doesn't usually happen in linux,
at least if you are installing from a repository; it can still happen if
you are installing it manually, though).

-- 
                                                          - Warp

[Jaime Vives Piqueres] Re: SharpConstruct with Windows & gtk+--installa... [5959 days 20 hours and 22 minutes ago]

Sun, 3 Jan 2010 17:53:49 GMT

El 03/01/10 18:31, Kenneth escribió:
> Jaime Vives Piqueres<jai### [at] ignoranciaorg>  wrote:
>
>> I think the program is not recognizing that your GTK version is newer
>> than 2.8 (2.18 IS newer than 2.8). Considering SharpConstruct seems to
>> have stopped development on 2006, and that 2.8 was indeed released that
>> year, I think that's the case.
>>
>> One solution will be to install the obsolete 2.8 version from here:
>>
>> http://sourceforge.net/projects/gimp-win/files/Obsolete/
>>
>
> Thanks, Jaime. I gave that a good try. Unfortunately, *every* 2.8.xxx
> legacy version of GTK+ that I downloaded there produces either the same
> error message in SharpConstruct as before, or a new one:
>
> "SharpConstruct needs the GTK part from the 'glade for windows' project,
> but you seem to have the GTK part from the 'GIMP for Windows' project,
> which won't work. See http://sharp.3d.sourceforge.net.... (a URL link
> that no longer works.)"

   Oops... then, perhaps installing glade for windows will work:

   http://glade.gnome.org/

> I'm guessing that the original Linux(?) version of the program must have
> been more 'robust' than the later Windows port...that is, all the parts
> were better integrated.

   No, it's just that Linux usually has already installed most of what is
needed for open source apps.

> Given this impasse, I may *have* to download the latest version of
> Blender, if I want the features of SharpConstruct. I don't know,
> though--Blender has its own steep learning curve, from what I hear!

   Well, seems more a case of "you love the interface or you hate it", and in
fact is a great program, so I can recommend to at least try it...



-- 
Jaime Vives Piqueres

http://www.ignorancia.org

[Kenneth] Re: SharpConstruct with Windows & gtk+--installa... [5959 days 20 hours and 41 minutes ago]

Sun, 3 Jan 2010 17:35:00 GMT

Jaime Vives Piqueres <jai### [at] ignoranciaorg> wrote:

>    I think the program is not recognizing that your GTK version is newer than
> 2.8 (2.18 IS newer than 2.8). Considering SharpConstruct seems to have
> stopped development on 2006, and that 2.8 was indeed released that year, I
> think that's the case.
>
>    One solution will be to install the obsolete 2.8 version from here:
>
>    http://sourceforge.net/projects/gimp-win/files/Obsolete/
>

Thanks, Jaime. I gave that a good try. Unfortunately, *every* 2.8.xxx legacy
version of GTK+ that I downloaded there produces either the same error message
in SharpConstruct as before, or a new one:

"SharpConstruct needs the GTK part from the 'glade for windows' project, but you
seem to have the GTK part from the 'GIMP for Windows' project, which won't work.
See http://sharp.3d.sourceforge.net.... (a URL link that no longer works.)"

I went looking for such a thing, but haven't yet found it. The SharpConstruct
download page offers no information or clue to this either.

I'm guessing that the original Linux(?) version of the program must have been
more 'robust' than the later Windows port...that is, all the parts were better
integrated.

Given this impasse, I may *have* to download the latest version of Blender, if I
want the features of SharpConstruct. I don't know, though--Blender has its own
steep learning curve, from what I hear!

Ken

[Jaime Vives Piqueres] Re: SharpConstruct with Windows & gtk+--installa... [5960 days 18 hours and 27 minutes ago]

Sat, 2 Jan 2010 19:48:46 GMT

El 02/01/10 19:43, Kenneth escribió:

> Right now, I'm stuck...I don't know whether the problem is in
> SharpConstruct or due to an incorrect version of gtk+.  Can anyone
> recommend the *specific* gtk+ or gtk+2 package that's needed, or tell me
> what I'm doing wrong?  Thanks!!

   I think the program is not recognizing that your GTK version is newer than
2.8 (2.18 IS newer than 2.8). Considering SharpConstruct seems to have
stopped development on 2006, and that 2.8 was indeed released that year, I
think that's the case.

   One solution will be to install the obsolete 2.8 version from here:

   http://sourceforge.net/projects/gimp-win/files/Obsolete/

   But perhaps you can try the Sculptor on Blender, wich seems to be the same
as SharpConstruct and more, and it's developed by the same author:

   http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?t=83310

   Hope this helps...


-- 
Jaime Vives Piqueres

http://www.ignorancia.org

[Kenneth] SharpConstruct with Windows & gtk+--installation... [5960 days 19 hours and 31 minutes ago]

Sat, 2 Jan 2010 18:45:00 GMT

Several POV users have recommended the (free) SharpConstruct software--a
zBrush-like modeller--for easily creating organic mesh shapes. I'm trying to
install the Windows version on my Win XP SP3 machine, but running into problems.

SharpConstruct seems to need *some* version of something called the gtk+ GUI
'runtime environment' package in order to run (similar to Inkscape and the Gimp,
I see--neither of which I've used.) Being new to this, I've downloaded what I
take to be the latest Windows version of gtk+, from SourceForge.net. But now,
when installing SharpConstruct, I get the message, "installation aborted--all
gtk+ versions found are older than 2.8".

Well, there *isn't* a '2.8' version of gtk+ AFAIK (unless one of its components
is so labelled)--the latest seems to be 2.16 or 2.18. So I don't understand the
message.

Wikipedia says that there *is* a v2.8 (and later) of 'gtk+2'--is that different
from gtk+?

Right now, I'm stuck...I don't know whether the problem is in SharpConstruct or
due to an incorrect version of gtk+.  Can anyone recommend the *specific* gtk+
or gtk+2 package that's needed, or tell me what I'm doing wrong?  Thanks!!

Ken

[Robert McGregor] Re: New freeware modeling utility: MeshMixer [5988 days 11 hours and 1 minute ago]

Sun, 6 Dec 2009 03:15:00 GMT

Mike Williams <nos### [at] econymdemoncouk> wrote:
>
> Before installing MeshMixer, I recommend that you make a system restore
> point in case your system doesn't like its current MS Visual C++
> distributable being overwritten with the old 2005 version included in
> the installation.
>
> It didn't seem to break anything on my system, but MeshMixer itself
> consistently crashes after about 30 seconds of use.
>
> --
> Mike Williams
> Gentleman of Leisure

Well, that's bad news - I still haven't taken the time to install it, but thanks
for the warning. I hope to try it out tomorrow.

[Mike Williams] Re: New freeware modeling utility: MeshMixer [5989 days 7 hours and 52 minutes ago]

Sat, 5 Dec 2009 06:24:13 GMT

Wasn't it Robert McGregor who wrote:
>Hi all, I just saw a video on You-Tube demonstrating a new freeware 
>mesh utility
>that looks really innovative, easy, useful, and cool.
>
>I haven't downloaded it to try yet, but check out the video at
>http://www.meshmixer.com - looks like it would be great for working 
>with Wings3d
>and Silo models. Would be fun to try with poser too... not sure how it handles
>dense meshes but I'll find out soon enough :)

Before installing MeshMixer, I recommend that you make a system restore 
point in case your system doesn't like its current MS Visual C++ 
distributable being overwritten with the old 2005 version included in 
the installation.

It didn't seem to break anything on my system, but MeshMixer itself 
consistently crashes after about 30 seconds of use.

-- 
Mike Williams
Gentleman of Leisure

[Stephen] Re: New freeware modeling utility: MeshMixer [5989 days 19 hours and 54 minutes ago]

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 18:21:30 GMT

Robert McGregor wrote:
> Hi all, I just saw a video on You-Tube demonstrating a new freeware mesh utility
> that looks really innovative, easy, useful, and cool.
> 
> I haven't downloaded it to try yet, but check out the video at
> http://www.meshmixer.com - looks like it would be great for working with Wings3d
> and Silo models. Would be fun to try with poser too... not sure how it handles
> dense meshes but I'll find out soon enough :)
> 

Hmm! It looks interesting thanks for bring it to our attention. Please 
report back if you download it.



-- 

Best Regards,
	Stephen

[Robert McGregor] New freeware modeling utility: MeshMixer [5989 days 21 hours and 31 minutes ago]

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 16:45:01 GMT

Hi all, I just saw a video on You-Tube demonstrating a new freeware mesh utility
that looks really innovative, easy, useful, and cool.

I haven't downloaded it to try yet, but check out the video at
http://www.meshmixer.com - looks like it would be great for working with Wings3d
and Silo models. Would be fun to try with poser too... not sure how it handles
dense meshes but I'll find out soon enough :)

Cheers,
Rob

[Thomas de Groot] Re: The new quickres.ini [6021 days 5 hours and 13 minutes ago]

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 09:02:49 GMT

Hey! That's neat! Thanks.

Thomas

[H Karsten] The new quickres.ini [6022 days 11 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 02:55:01 GMT

Use this if you are working with Film, Video & Photo formats.

It contains:

Photo 4x5/8x10
Photo 5x4/10x8
Photo 6x6
PAL Square
HDV
35mm 1.66:1 Cine
35mm 1.75:1 Cine
35mm 1.85:1 Cine
35mm Anamorph 2.35:1
35mm 1.37:1 Academic
35mm 1.316:1 Full Ap.
35mm (24mm x 36mm)slide/VistaVision
70mm Panavision
70mm IMAX Cine

All in min of 4 resolutions, with the AA settings null,0.3,0.2 and 0.1

Have fun,

Holger

quickres.ini:
#####################################################################


[----------------]
[ Photo 4x5/8x10 ]
[----------------]
[-01- 320X240 AA none]
Width=320
Height=240
Antialias=Off

[-01- 320X240 AA 0.3]
Width=320
Height=240
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.3

[-01- 320X240 AA 0.2]
Width=320
Height=240
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.2

[-01- 320X240 AA 0.1]
Width=320
Height=240
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.1

[-01- 512X384 AA none]
Width=512
Height=384
Antialias=Off

[-01- 512X384 AA 0.3]
Width=512
Height=384
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.3

[-01- 512X384 AA 0.2]
Width=512
Height=384
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.2

[-01- 512X384 AA 0.1]
Width=512
Height=384
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.1

[-01- 640X480 AA none]
Width=640
Height=480
Antialias=Off

[-01- 640X480 AA 0.3]
Width=640
Height=480
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.3

[-01- 640X480 AA 0.2]
Width=640
Height=480
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.2

[-01- 640X480 AA 0.1]
Width=640
Height=480
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.1

[-01- 800X600 AA none]
Width=800
Height=600
Antialias=Off

[-01- 800X600 AA 0.3]
Width=800
Height=600
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.3

[-01- 800X600 AA 0.2]
Width=800
Height=600
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.2

[-01- 800X600 AA 0.1]
Width=800
Height=600
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.1

[-01- 1024X768 AA none]
Width=1024
Height=768
Antialias=Off

[-01- 1024X768 AA 0.3]
Width=1024
Height=768
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.3

[-01- 1024X768 AA 0.2]
Width=1024
Height=768
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.2

[-01- 1024X768 AA 0.1]
Width=1024
Height=768
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.1

[-01- 1536X1152 AA none]
Width=1536
Height=1152
Antialias=Off

[-01- 1536X1152 AA 0.3]
Width=1536
Height=1152
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.3

[-01- 1536X1152 AA 0.2]
Width=1536
Height=1152
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.2

[-01- 1536X1152 AA 0.1]
Width=1536
Height=1152
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.1

[-01- 4096X3072 AA none]
Width=4096
Height=3072
Antialias=Off

[-01- 4096X3072 AA 0.3]
Width=4096
Height=3072
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.3

[-01- 4096X3072 AA 0.2]
Width=4096
Height=3072
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.2

[-01- 4096X3072 AA 0.1]
Width=4096
Height=3072
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.1

[----------------]
[ Photo 5x4/10x8 ]
[----------------]
[-02- 240X320 AA none]
Width=240
Height=320
Antialias=Off

[-02- 240X320 AA 0.3]
Width=240
Height=320
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.3

[-02- 240X320 AA 0.2]
Width=240
Height=320
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.2

[-02- 240X320 AA 0.1]
Width=240
Height=320
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.1

[-02- 384X512 AA none]
Width=384
Height=512
Antialias=Off

[-02- 384X512 AA 0.3]
Width=384
Height=512
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.3

[-02- 384X512 AA 0.2]
Width=384
Height=512
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.2

[-02- 384X512 AA 0.1]
Width=384
Height=512
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.1

[-02- 480X640 AA none]
Width=480
Height=640
Antialias=Off

[-02- 480X640 AA 0.3]
Width=480
Height=640
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.3

[-02- 480X640 AA 0.2]
Width=480
Height=640
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.2

[-02- 480X640 AA 0.1]
Width=480
Height=640
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.1

[-02- 600X800 AA none]
Width=600
Height=800
Antialias=Off

[-02- 600X800 AA 0.3]
Width=600
Height=800
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.3

[-02- 600X800 AA 0.2]
Width=600
Height=800
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.2

[-02- 600X800 AA 0.1]
Width=600
Height=800
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.1

[-02- 768X1024 AA none]
Width=768
Height=1024
Antialias=Off

[-02- 768X1024 AA 0.3]
Width=768
Height=1024
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.3

[-02- 768X1024 AA 0.2]
Width=768
Height=1024
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.2

[-02- 768X1024 AA 0.1]
Width=768
Height=1024
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.1

[-02- 1152X1536 AA none]
Width=1152
Height=1536
Antialias=Off

[-02- 1152X1536 AA 0.3]
Width=1152
Height=1536
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.3

[-02- 1152X1536 AA 0.2]
Width=1152
Height=1536
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.2

[-02- 1152X1536 AA 0.1]
Width=1152
Height=1536
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.1

[-02- 3072X4096 AA none]
Width=3072
Height=4096
Antialias=Off

[-02- 3072X4096 AA 0.3]
Width=3072
Height=4096
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.3

[-02- 3072X4096 AA 0.2]
Width=3072
Height=4096
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.2

[-02- 3072X4096 AA 0.1]
Width=3072
Height=4096
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.1

[----------------]
[ Photo 6x6 ]
[----------------]
[-03- 256X256 AA none]
Width=256
Height=256
Antialias=Off

[-03- 256X256 AA 0.3]
Width=256
Height=256
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.3

[-03- 256X256 AA 0.2]
Width=256
Height=256
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.2

[-03- 256X256 AA 0.1]
Width=256
Height=256
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.1

[-03- 320X320 AA none]
Width=320
Height=320
Antialias=Off

[-03- 320X320 AA 0.3]
Width=320
Height=320
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.3

[-03- 320X320 AA 0.2]
Width=320
Height=320
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.2

[-03- 320X320 AA 0.1]
Width=320
Height=320
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.1

[-03- 512X512 AA none]
Width=512
Height=512
Antialias=Off

[-03- 512X512 AA 0.3]
Width=512
Height=512
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.3

[-03- 512X512 AA 0.2]
Width=512
Height=512
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.2

[-03- 512X512 AA 0.1]
Width=512
Height=512
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.1

[-03- 640X640 AA none]
Width=640
Height=640
Antialias=Off

[-03- 640X640 AA 0.3]
Width=640
Height=640
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.3

[-03- 640X640 AA 0.2]
Width=640
Height=640
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.2

[-03- 640X640 AA 0.1]
Width=640
Height=640
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.1

[-03- 800X800 AA none]
Width=800
Height=800
Antialias=Off

[-03- 800X800 AA 0.3]
Width=800
Height=800
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.3

[-03- 800X800 AA 0.2]
Width=800
Height=800
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.2

[-03- 800X800 AA 0.1]
Width=800
Height=800
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.1

[-03- 1024X1024 AA none]
Width=1024
Height=1024
Antialias=Off

[-03- 1024X1024 AA 0.3]
Width=1024
Height=1024
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.3

[-03- 1024X1024 AA 0.2]
Width=1024
Height=1024
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.2

[-03- 1024X1024 AA 0.1]
Width=1024
Height=1024
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.1

[-03- 1536X1536 AA none]
Width=1536
Height=1536
Antialias=Off

[-03- 1536X1536 AA 0.3]
Width=1536
Height=1536
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.3

[-03- 1536X1536 AA 0.2]
Width=1536
Height=1536
Antialias=On

[ remainder of message truncated in this digest view due to length ]

[nemesis] Re: LionSnake and Hamapatch both LOST in demise ... [6022 days 12 hours and 31 minutes ago]

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 01:45:01 GMT

"ytiuqibu" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> Sorry for the brief yelp! but I am a new Povray user and was interested in
> checking out the LionSnake Modeler only to find that it too like Hamapatch (the
> subject of another post) has disappeared following Yahoos closure of all
> Geocities sites without providing forward links.
>
> Please does anyone know where if at all theses particular sites have been
> relocated.
>
> If there is a Povray moderator to this newsgroup please note the demise of
> Geocities effectively makes all links to LionSnake on the Povray site dead
> links.

The author of Lionsnake is still pretty active.  He posts here in the newsgroups
from time to time.  Probably he's busy relocating the files somewhere else.

[ytiuqibu] LionSnake and Hamapatch both LOST in demise of G... [6022 days 14 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 00:10:01 GMT

Sorry for the brief yelp! but I am a new Povray user and was interested in
checking out the LionSnake Modeler only to find that it too like Hamapatch (the
subject of another post) has disappeared following Yahoos closure of all
Geocities sites without providing forward links.

Please does anyone know where if at all theses particular sites have been
relocated.

If there is a Povray moderator to this newsgroup please note the demise of
Geocities effectively makes all links to LionSnake on the Povray site dead
links.

Regards,

Paul

[ytiuqibu] Re: Hamapatch at risk of being lost due to Geoci... [6022 days 14 hours and 11 minutes ago]

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 00:05:00 GMT

"Thomas de Groot" <tDOTdegroot@interDOTnlANOTHERDOTnet> wrote:
> "Thomas de Groot" <tDOTdegroot@interDOTnlANOTHERDOTnet> schreef in bericht
> news:4a1bf83c$1@news.povray.org...
> > Except of course if Geocities is going to shut down completely?
>
> ...which seems to be the case indeed. I have checked other sites with
> Hamapatch (crosswinds) but that closed down too. So, the only site is the
> official Japanese one on Geocities. As no activity is reported there, I
> presume that Hamapatch is going to die eventually. To tell the truth, I have
> not used it at least since 2005 or 2006 when I switched to Silo.
>
> Thomas

As you feared the whole of geocities has disappeared and Yahoo in their wisdom
has not provided any forward links - the same applies for LionSnake Modeler that
is still "advertised" on the POVRAY pages

[Mr] Re: Blender raytracing speedup [6087 days 18 hours and 51 minutes ago]

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:25:00 GMT

clipka <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
> Mr schrieb:
> > Very interesting. Then is it planned (maybe for POV 4) or even possible to think
> > of a "dual" engine where the second "core" would turn on only for non mesh only
> > scenes?
>
> As there's so much that could be done in a totally different way (and
> not only geometry intersection finding, but also sophisiticated lighting
> models), a "dual engine" approach wouldn't seem to make much sense: They
> couldn't really share any significant amount of code.

Yes, the best thing is to use the two types of engines then, to later make
better choices on when to use Pov. So little time and so much to learn.

[clipka] Re: Blender raytracing speedup [6087 days 21 hours and 25 minutes ago]

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:50:40 GMT

Mr schrieb:
> Very interesting. Then is it planned (maybe for POV 4) or even possible to think
> of a "dual" engine where the second "core" would turn on only for non mesh only
> scenes?

As there's so much that could be done in a totally different way (and 
not only geometry intersection finding, but also sophisiticated lighting 
models), a "dual engine" approach wouldn't seem to make much sense: They 
couldn't really share any significant amount of code.

[Mr] Re: Blender raytracing speedup [6088 days 1 hour and 6 minutes ago]

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:10:00 GMT

clipka <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
> Mr schrieb:
> > The reason I ask is also because there seems to be a (not so) new trend of fast
> > renderers like Vray as proprietary and  Yafaray as open source Which get render
> > times so different from the ones I (think I) know better like mental ray.
> > I'm wondering where this time is going, what's the catch...?
>
> Not sure. I like to believe that a whole lot of it is due to the focus
> on mesh-only geometry, and optimizations that can be applied in such cases.

Very interesting. Then is it planned (maybe for POV 4) or even possible to think
of a "dual" engine where the second "core" would turn on only for non mesh only
scenes?

[clipka] Re: Blender raytracing speedup [6088 days 10 hours and 49 minutes ago]

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:27:18 GMT

Mr schrieb:
> The reason I ask is also because there seems to be a (not so) new trend of fast
> renderers like Vray as proprietary and  Yafaray as open source Which get render
> times so different from the ones I (think I) know better like mental ray.
> I'm wondering where this time is going, what's the catch...?

Not sure. I like to believe that a whole lot of it is due to the focus 
on mesh-only geometry, and optimizations that can be applied in such cases.

[Mr] Re: Blender raytracing speedup [6088 days 16 hours and 56 minutes ago]

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:20:00 GMT

clipka <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
> Mr schrieb:
> > Would such a boost be possible in Pov or is everything already as fast as it can
> > possibly be?
>
> Note that...
>
> - most of the scenes that mention a speedup are pathological cases
>
> - it appears to me that when they say "173% faster", 100% would equal no
> speedup (though I may be mistaken; but it is remarkable that all these
> values are >100%), making some of the numbers a bit less impressive than
> they appear at first.
>
> (Interestingly, they only mention the speedup, but not the absolute
> render time...?!)
>
>
> As for POV-Ray, I guess there's still room for improvement here and
> there, but it'll be hard to find anything that could be sped up by 3943%.
>
> Well, going for better handling of CSG differences (the pathological
> case with lots of tiny holes in a single big object) could be a case.
>
> Subsurface scattering still provides a lot of room for speedup, too, but
> I guess that doesn't count, as it's still under development anyway.

The reason I ask is also because there seems to be a (not so) new trend of fast
renderers like Vray as proprietary and  Yafaray as open source Which get render
times so different from the ones I (think I) know better like mental ray.
I'm wondering where this time is going, what's the catch...?

[clipka] Re: Blender raytracing speedup [6088 days 23 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:09:40 GMT

Mr schrieb:
> Would such a boost be possible in Pov or is everything already as fast as it can
> possibly be?

Note that...

- most of the scenes that mention a speedup are pathological cases

- it appears to me that when they say "173% faster", 100% would equal no 
speedup (though I may be mistaken; but it is remarkable that all these 
values are >100%), making some of the numbers a bit less impressive than 
they appear at first.

(Interestingly, they only mention the speedup, but not the absolute 
render time...?!)


As for POV-Ray, I guess there's still room for improvement here and 
there, but it'll be hard to find anything that could be sped up by 3943%.

Well, going for better handling of CSG differences (the pathological 
case with lots of tiny holes in a single big object) could be a case.

Subsurface scattering still provides a lot of room for speedup, too, but 
I guess that doesn't count, as it's still under development anyway.

[clipka] Re: Blender raytracing speedup [6088 days 23 hours and 21 minutes ago]

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:55:28 GMT

Mr schrieb:
> Edit, I hope I didn't break too many rules with this topic

Why? This is about POV-Ray related tools, and blender can obviously be 
regarded as such.

[Mr] Re: Blender raytracing speedup [6089 days 2 hours and 6 minutes ago]

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:10:00 GMT

Edit, I hope I didn't break too many rules with this topic