=Bob= <bob### [at] threestrandscom> wrote:

> Wow Geoff, that's beautiful!

Thanks.

> What makes it take so long to render on so
> many computers? The blocks being isosurfaces?

Well, partly that, lots of media, high AA settings, several area lights and
realizing afterwards that I was running the debug build and not the
optimized one. ;)  The current run is 1/3 done after < 1 hour.  Of course,
the media is in the lower half.

> You could just put something in front of those
> blocks that line up just behind the glows, perhaps
> a pipe or ladder. You could also remove the focus
> from that area by moving the main glow futher
> out and maybe even increase the arc.

It ended up to be another case of max_gradient that, for whatever reason,
didn't show up under Windows.  I've adjusted the max_grad for that section
of walling, but not elsewhere.

> I love the moss! Is it textural or procedural? Is it
> applied per block or on the whole structure? It
> looks a little strange on the right side where it
> abruptly stops below a pipe or ladder or something.

Er, it's a procedural texture.  Each block with moss is independently
textured, though the blocks above the path level are a single texture.  Each
block is textured based upon it's placement and a few random numbers.  The
moss under the pipes is especially complex, and I'm still tweaking it to get
it right.

> I think the vapor looks great now, strong in the center
> and gets wispy towards the edges. Is it just one
> mass of media or several or what?

Primarily one.  There is a thick, gradient media lower down, to hide the
ground, but it's only really thickening the media lower down.  There's also
a few bubbles (spheres) of thick media to hide stuff that I didn't want to
show. ;)

> What is the little red light on the far left turret?

If you look closely (really closely), it's a control panel of some sort,
with a few lights, mostly red.  Just another bit of abandonned tech.

> I think the background sky doesn't live up to the rest
> of the picture.

It has lost a bit without radiosity.  The colors have faded and I need to
tweak it.

> Still, a totally awesome render!

Thanks.  Appreciate the comments and the favorable review.

Geoff

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