So I made some "greebles", chosen and pigmented at random, and placed with trace
() and VRand_On_Sphere()

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Preview of image 'greeble_placement.png'

"Bald Eagle" <cre### [at] netscapenet> wrote:
> So, following the logic from:

(I think this is the link you meant; it got garbled in translation)...
http://news.povray.org/povray.general/thread/%3Cweb.410eba6fcd20604ecbae57f30@news.povray.org%3E/?ttop=300207&toff=1950

>
> just include transforms.inc, THEN redefine the "offending" macro:
> [snip]
> and you should be good.

Wow. That is... magical to me (to you, it is probably business as usual, ha.)
You have solved a persistent problem that I've been trying to figure out for at
least 15 years...but without your truly excellent knowledge of vcross et al.
Maybe others here find it equally as fascinating. Thanks a bunch for dissecting
those macros, and for really pinning down the essential elements of WHY they
produce the results they do.

This topic (and your solution) deserves a post of its own.  Rather than comment
any further, I would like to take the pertinent comments and images here and and
re-post them under a new heading; give me a little time to do so. IMO, your
solution would be of great help to others who use trace.

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Here's an update on my spaceship model and what's probably close to final
texturing. I've played around with some outer space lighting (i.e., dark) in
various test scenes and what I have here works pretty well in the setups I've
tried so far.

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Preview of image 'spaceshipmultiviewtextured.jpg'

"Robert McGregor" <rob### [at] mcgregorfineartcom> wrote:
> Here's an update on my spaceship model and what's probably close to final
> texturing. I've played around with some outer space lighting (i.e., dark) in
> various test scenes and what I have here works pretty well in the setups I've
> tried so far.

Well - damn.  You prettied that sucker up very nicely  :)

Are the greebles a layered texture (looks kinda like cells as the base), or a
texture with a normal for the "outlines" of the rectangles...?

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"Bald Eagle" <cre### [at] netscapenet> wrote:
> Well - damn.  You prettied that sucker up very nicely  :)

Thank you :)

> Are the greebles a layered texture (looks kinda like cells as the base), or a
> texture with a normal for the "outlines" of the rectangles...?

It's a couple of macros that build layered textures using a grayscale image map
pigment function as an image pattern to give variable reflection based on map
color. This serves as the bump map and underlying pigment layer too, but with
other grungy stuff averaged on top, something like:

#macro T_Ship1(vecScale, useUV)
   function { fn_P_Hull(x,y,z).gray }
   texture_map {
      [0
         #if (useUV) uv_mapping #end
         pigment {
            average
            pigment_map {
                [2 rgb 1]
                [2 P_Metal01]
                [2 P_Metal02]
                [4 P_Hull]
            }
         }
         normal { N_Hull }
         finish { diffuse 0.65 }
         scale vecScale
      ]
      [1
         #if (useUV) uv_mapping #end
         pigment{
            average
            pigment_map{
                [2 rgb 1]
                [2 P_Metal01]
                [2 P_Metal02]
                [4 P_Hull]
            }
         }
         normal { N_Hull }
         finish {
            diffuse 0.85
            reflection { 0.1, 0.5 fresnel on }
            conserve_energy
         }
         scale vecScale
      ]
   }
#end

object { shipPart texture { T_Ship1(15, true) } interior { ior 2 } }


The main greebles image map is just a bunch of random rectangles of different
size, scales, and shades of gray from almost white through almost black.

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Here's a test of the engine "exhaust" media that I've been working on. I added
some clock-based turbulence and rotation so it will flicker somewhat from frame
to frame when animated, hopefully like flames. To smooth out the overall effect
for this image I averaged several frames into this composite.

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Download 'enginetest_1600x900px.jpg' (359 KB)

Preview of image 'enginetest_1600x900px.jpg'

"Robert McGregor" <rob### [at] mcgregorfineartcom> wrote:
> Here's a test of the engine "exhaust" media that I've been working on. I added
> some clock-based turbulence and rotation so it will flicker somewhat from frame
> to frame when animated, hopefully like flames. To smooth out the overall effect
> for this image I averaged several frames into this composite.

That's looking like a Firefly-class transport ship!    +1  :D

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Op 04/03/2021 om 17:53 schreef Robert McGregor:
> Here's an update on my spaceship model and what's probably close to final
> texturing. I've played around with some outer space lighting (i.e., dark) in
> various test scenes and what I have here works pretty well in the setups I've
> tried so far.
> 

VERY good, sir! I am awed by the way you just seem to shake this 
casually from your (admittedly ample) sleeve.

-- 
Thomas

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"Robert McGregor" <rob### [at] mcgregorfineartcom> wrote:
> Here's a test of the engine "exhaust" media that I've been working on. I added
> some clock-based turbulence and rotation so it will flicker somewhat from frame
> to frame when animated, hopefully like flames. To smooth out the overall effect
> for this image I averaged several frames into this composite.

yummy eye candy!

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"Bald Eagle" <cre### [at] netscapenet> wrote:
> That's looking like a Firefly-class transport ship!    +1  :D

Thanks! Now that you mention it, there is a *slight* resemblance to the
Serenity. But she's more curvaceous :)

Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> VERY good, sir! I am awed by the way you just seem to shake this
> casually from your (admittedly ample) sleeve.

"Mr" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> yummy eye candy!

Thanks Thomas and Maurice, this is a fun project, I'm glad you like it!


I don't think I've ever tried posting a video here before but I'm attaching a
short MP4 clip of the animated engine media, hopefully it works.

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