"Tyler Eaves" <tyl### [at] NOSPAMml1net> wrote in message
news:pan### [at] NOSPAMml1net...
> This is a list of things I'd like to see in a future version
> of POV-Ray. While none of these are massive changes, they are
> all capabilites that I would find useful. Some of these are much
> more 'pie in the sky' than others.
>
>
> 1. Overlay textures.
>     I'd like the ability of give an 'overlay texture' to a group
>     (e.g. union, object, etc) that would work as an additonal layered
>     texture above all the constituient objects textures. Useful for
>     adding things like dust, grease, moss, that kinda thing, without
>     having to go back an add to every object.
>

if you had a macro that took texture names as parameters, and the result was
a set of layered textures, could that work? i'm imagining a syntax something
like

#macro overlay_textures(texture_01, texture_02, texture_03, overlay_texture)

and results would be a set of #declare statements that were like:

#declare layered_texture_01 =
    texture {texture_01}
    texture {overlay_texture}
#declare layered_texture_02 = ... and so on.

might even pass in an array of texture names and an overlay texture. could
you even pass in an array of result names, so you have more control over
what the #declare declares? Though you would still have to modify the
texture statements in your objects to use these new texture names, which
brings you back to going after every object that will use the overlay, and
editing it's texture. but there's always search/replace features in text
editors to help you on that :)

or, i have a general question (and no copy of pov to run on my computer to
try it out, i may have to remedy that), if you previously declared a texture
like

#declare my_gray = texture { ... }
#declare overlay = texture { ... }

then later do something like
#declare my_gray =
    texture {my_gray}
    texture {overlay}

how will that behave? would it make any difference if you use.

#local my_gray =
    texture {my_gray}
    texture {overlay}

i imagine pov will barf someplace along the line, especially once you get to
an object that tries to use some my_gray texture. i'm just trying to think
of some way to use the scope of the declarations to get around having to
edit the texture name used in an object.

but alas, i'm off track now and have rambled far too long. have you thought
of any reasonable workarounds yourself? I'll humbly wait for some pov master
to point out my logic flaws, and hope that maybe something triggered someone
else to think of something better :)

have a nice one,
ross

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