Hello......I am hoping somebody can help me with radiosity settings.  I
import my scenes into PovRay from Chief Architect, and almost all of the
settings I need automatically come with my import, but the scenes are set
to no radiosity.  I need to up the quality of light in my renderings, but
have no idea how to set radiosity to what would be a medium-high level.
Can somebody please give me very specific instructions on how to do this (I
have tried reading the documentation with PovRay and I don't understand at
all how to do this!)

Thanks in advance,
Cheri

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Cherry363 wrote:

>Hello......I am hoping somebody can help me with radiosity settings.  I
>import my scenes into PovRay from Chief Architect, and almost all of the
>settings I need automatically come with my import, but the scenes are set
>to no radiosity.  I need to up the quality of light in my renderings, but
>have no idea how to set radiosity to what would be a medium-high level.
>Can somebody please give me very specific instructions on how to do this (I
>have tried reading the documentation with PovRay and I don't understand at
>all how to do this!)
>
>Thanks in advance,
>Cheri
>
>
>  
>
A good starting point would be to #include "rad_def.inc" and then follow 
the instructions in that file to try out some of the different types of 
settings.

Hope this helps,
--Sherry Shaw

-- 
#macro T(E,N)sphere{x,.4rotate z*E*60translate y*N pigment{wrinkles scale
.3}finish{ambient 1}}#end#local I=0;#while(I<5)T(I,1)T(1-I,-1)#local I=I+
1;#end camera{location-5*z}plane{z,37 pigment{granite color_map{[.7rgb 0]
[1rgb 1]}}finish{ambient 2}}//                                   TenMoons

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"Cherry363" <che### [at] gmailcom> wrote in message 
news:web.44e480a7f1ba7a5c744ea2480@news.povray.org...
> Hello......I am hoping somebody can help me with radiosity settings.  I
> import my scenes into PovRay from Chief Architect, and almost all of the
> settings I need automatically come with my import, but the scenes are set
> to no radiosity.  I need to up the quality of light in my renderings, but
> have no idea how to set radiosity to what would be a medium-high level.
> Can somebody please give me very specific instructions on how to do this 
> (I
> have tried reading the documentation with PovRay and I don't understand at
> all how to do this!)
>

In addition to Sherry's advice, if you need further help, you could also 
post a sample scene to the povray.binaries.images group.  Good radiosity 
settings are generally very dependent upon the other lighting and objects in 
an image.  In other words, what works well in one situation will not work 
well in another.

Another short answer is simply to keep increasing "count" and keep lowering 
"error_bound" until you see something that looks good.  That barely 
scratches the surface, if you want good quality that renders in a reasonable 
time, but it's a good start.

e.g.

global_settings {
  assumed_gamma 1.0
  radiosity {
    count 200
    error_bound 1
  }
}

Decreasing "error_bound" (imho) will create deeper shadows, whereas 
increasing "count" will make smoother shadows (meaning fewer blotchy 
spots/artifacts).

Post a reply to this message

"Jeremy M. Praay" <jer### [at] questsoftwarecmo> wrote:
> "Cherry363" <che### [at] gmailcom> wrote in message
> news:web.44e480a7f1ba7a5c744ea2480@news.povray.org...
> > Hello......I am hoping somebody can help me with radiosity settings.  I
> > import my scenes into PovRay from Chief Architect, and almost all of the
> > settings I need automatically come with my import, but the scenes are set
> > to no radiosity.  I need to up the quality of light in my renderings, but
> > have no idea how to set radiosity to what would be a medium-high level.
> > Can somebody please give me very specific instructions on how to do this
> > (I
> > have tried reading the documentation with PovRay and I don't understand at
> > all how to do this!)
> >
>
> In addition to Sherry's advice, if you need further help, you could also
> post a sample scene to the povray.binaries.images group.  Good radiosity
> settings are generally very dependent upon the other lighting and objects in
> an image.  In other words, what works well in one situation will not work
> well in another.
>
> Another short answer is simply to keep increasing "count" and keep lowering
> "error_bound" until you see something that looks good.  That barely
> scratches the surface, if you want good quality that renders in a reasonable
> time, but it's a good start.
>
> e.g.
>
> global_settings {
>   assumed_gamma 1.0
>   radiosity {
>     count 200
>     error_bound 1
>   }
> }
>
> Decreasing "error_bound" (imho) will create deeper shadows, whereas
> increasing "count" will make smoother shadows (meaning fewer blotchy
> spots/artifacts).



Sorry to be such a bother, but I tried to enter the settings you suggested
and I keep getting errors....this is how I entered it:

global_settings {radiosity {count 200, error_bound 1}{ max_trace_level 100
ambient_light rgb<0.830000, 0.830000, 0.830000> assumed_gamma 1.0}
// sunlight
light_source { < 4226.182699, 14281.480312, 9063.078165 >, rgb <1.000000,
1.000000, 1.000000>
  parallel point_at < -0.422618, -1.428148, -0.906308 > fade_power 0}

}

The radiosity line keeps getting errored....what am I doing wrong?

Post a reply to this message

"Cherry363" <che### [at] gmailcom> wrote in message 
news:web.44e53bf7630de5424433558a0@news.povray.org...
> Sorry to be such a bother, but I tried to enter the settings you suggested
> and I keep getting errors....this is how I entered it:
>
> global_settings {radiosity {count 200, error_bound 1}{ max_trace_level 100
> ambient_light rgb<0.830000, 0.830000, 0.830000> assumed_gamma 1.0}
> // sunlight
> light_source { < 4226.182699, 14281.480312, 9063.078165 >, rgb <1.000000,
> 1.000000, 1.000000>
>  parallel point_at < -0.422618, -1.428148, -0.906308 > fade_power 0}
>
> }
>
> The radiosity line keeps getting errored....what am I doing wrong?
>

To have a good radiosity scene, I normally turn off ambient_light.  In this 
case, I think that is what's getting in the way.

change it to say:
"ambient_light off" for a full radiosity scene

It's possible that this could cause you other problems (if everything goes 
black), but if it's a radiosity scene, even with relatively "weak" 
radiosity, you should be fine.

I hope that helps.  If not, we'll figure it out.

-- 
Jeremy M. Praay
www.beantoad.com

Post a reply to this message

"Jeremy M. Praay" <jer### [at] questsoftwarecom> wrote:
> "Cherry363" <che### [at] gmailcom> wrote in message
> news:web.44e53bf7630de5424433558a0@news.povray.org...
> > Sorry to be such a bother, but I tried to enter the settings you suggested
> > and I keep getting errors....this is how I entered it:
> >
> > global_settings {radiosity {count 200, error_bound 1}{ max_trace_level 100
> > ambient_light rgb<0.830000, 0.830000, 0.830000> assumed_gamma 1.0}
> > // sunlight
> > light_source { < 4226.182699, 14281.480312, 9063.078165 >, rgb <1.000000,
> > 1.000000, 1.000000>
> >  parallel point_at < -0.422618, -1.428148, -0.906308 > fade_power 0}
> >
> > }
> >
> > The radiosity line keeps getting errored....what am I doing wrong?
> >
>
> To have a good radiosity scene, I normally turn off ambient_light.  In this
> case, I think that is what's getting in the way.
>
> change it to say:
> "ambient_light off" for a full radiosity scene
>
> It's possible that this could cause you other problems (if everything goes
> black), but if it's a radiosity scene, even with relatively "weak"
> radiosity, you should be fine.
>
> I hope that helps.  If not, we'll figure it out.
>
> --
> Jeremy M. Praay
> www.beantoad.com




Hi everyone!

Thanks for all the help so far.  I'm trying to implement your ideas, but I
keep getting errors on the radiosity line.  The problem is this.....I do
not understand how to change the global settings line.  I don't know how to
enter things in the right order, or place.  What would really help me, is
for somebody to copy and paste EXACTLY what the global settings block
should look like, from top to bottom, with everything shown.  Because I
have no idea whatsoever what any of these settings mean, or where to put
them.  It is very frustrating, because Chief Architect uses the PovRay
program, but my CA is malfunctioning and the internal PovRay won't work.
In Chief, all you have to do is select the level of radiosity (none, low,
med, or high), select the level of anti-aliasing, and click start.
Super-easy.  No need to enter settings, no need to know the PovRay
language.....it's all just done automatically!  I just really need to "see"
what the block should look like with high radiosity settings.

Thanks in advance!

Post a reply to this message

Cherry363 wrote:

>
>Sorry to be such a bother, but I tried to enter the settings you suggested
>and I keep getting errors....this is how I entered it:
>
>global_settings {radiosity {count 200, error_bound 1}{ max_trace_level 100
>ambient_light rgb<0.830000, 0.830000, 0.830000> assumed_gamma 1.0}
>// sunlight
>light_source { < 4226.182699, 14281.480312, 9063.078165 >, rgb <1.000000,
>1.000000, 1.000000>
>  parallel point_at < -0.422618, -1.428148, -0.906308 > fade_power 0}
>
>}
>
>The radiosity line keeps getting errored....what am I doing wrong?
>
>
>  
>

It looks to me like you've just got some misplaced brackets.  Try this:

global_settings {
  radiosity {
    count 200
    error_bound 1
  }
  max_trace_level 100
  ambient_light rgb < 0.830000, 0.830000, 0.830000 >
  assumed_gamma 1.0
}

light_source {
  < 4226.182699, 14281.480312, 9063.078165 >
  rgb < 1.000000,1.000000, 1.000000 >
  parallel
  point_at < -0.422618, -1.428148, -0.906308 >
  fade_power 0
}

--Sherry Shaw

-- 
#macro T(E,N)sphere{x,.4rotate z*E*60translate y*N pigment{wrinkles scale
.3}finish{ambient 1}}#end#local I=0;#while(I<5)T(I,1)T(1-I,-1)#local I=I+
1;#end camera{location-5*z}plane{z,37 pigment{granite color_map{[.7rgb 0]
[1rgb 1]}}finish{ambient 2}}//                                   TenMoons

Post a reply to this message

Cherry363 nous apporta ses lumieres en ce 18/08/2006 00:03:
> "Jeremy M. Praay" <jer### [at] questsoftwarecmo> wrote:
> 
> 
> Sorry to be such a bother, but I tried to enter the settings you suggested
> and I keep getting errors....this is how I entered it:
> 
> global_settings {radiosity {count 200, error_bound 1}{ max_trace_level 100
The opening brace "{" before max_trace_level must go. This cause an error as 
your braces are unmatched.
> ambient_light rgb<0.830000, 0.830000, 0.830000> assumed_gamma 1.0}
> // sunlight
> light_source { < 4226.182699, 14281.480312, 9063.078165 >, rgb <1.000000,
> 1.000000, 1.000000>
>   parallel point_at < -0.422618, -1.428148, -0.906308 > fade_power 0}
> 
> }
> 
> The radiosity line keeps getting errored....what am I doing wrong?
Always COUNT your braces. Make sure that they are matched in a way that makes sence.
Your bracing is as follow: {{}{}light_source{}} whitch places your light INSIDE 
the global_settings block, whitch is not allowed, causing your error.
> 
> 
In radiosity scenes I usualy add this line:
default{finish{ambient 0 diffuse 1}}
This prevent objects from emiting light by themself.
Remember that any object with a finish different from zero will actualy emit 
light in a radiosity scene. It can cast darkness if the ambient is set to a 
negative value.
The ambient_light in global_settings is multiplied to the ambient value that you 
set in the finish of your objects. You don't need to alter ambient_light in the 
global_settings unless you want to globaly alter the colour of the ambient part 
of your finish. Setting it to zero, as some often propose, will dissable any 
ambient object you may want to use to illuminate your scene.

-- 
Alain
-------------------------------------------------
What happens if you get scared half to death twice?

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Cherry363 nous apporta ses lumieres en ce 18/08/2006 11:16:
> "Jeremy M. Praay" <jer### [at] questsoftwarecom> wrote:
>> "Cherry363" <che### [at] gmailcom> wrote in message
>> news:web.44e53bf7630de5424433558a0@news.povray.org...
>>> Sorry to be such a bother, but I tried to enter the settings you suggested
>>> and I keep getting errors....this is how I entered it:
>>>
>>> global_settings {radiosity {count 200, error_bound 1}{ max_trace_level 100
>>> ambient_light rgb<0.830000, 0.830000, 0.830000> assumed_gamma 1.0}
>>> // sunlight
>>> light_source { < 4226.182699, 14281.480312, 9063.078165 >, rgb <1.000000,
>>> 1.000000, 1.000000>
>>>  parallel point_at < -0.422618, -1.428148, -0.906308 > fade_power 0}
>>>
>>> }
>>>
>>> The radiosity line keeps getting errored....what am I doing wrong?
>>>
>> To have a good radiosity scene, I normally turn off ambient_light.  In this
>> case, I think that is what's getting in the way.
>>
>> change it to say:
>> "ambient_light off" for a full radiosity scene
>>
>> It's possible that this could cause you other problems (if everything goes
>> black), but if it's a radiosity scene, even with relatively "weak"
>> radiosity, you should be fine.
>>
>> I hope that helps.  If not, we'll figure it out.
>>
>> --
>> Jeremy M. Praay
>> www.beantoad.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hi everyone!
> 
> Thanks for all the help so far.  I'm trying to implement your ideas, but I
> keep getting errors on the radiosity line.  The problem is this.....I do
> not understand how to change the global settings line.  I don't know how to
> enter things in the right order, or place.  What would really help me, is
> for somebody to copy and paste EXACTLY what the global settings block
> should look like, from top to bottom, with everything shown.  Because I
> have no idea whatsoever what any of these settings mean, or where to put
> them.  It is very frustrating, because Chief Architect uses the PovRay
> program, but my CA is malfunctioning and the internal PovRay won't work.
> In Chief, all you have to do is select the level of radiosity (none, low,
> med, or high), select the level of anti-aliasing, and click start.
> Super-easy.  No need to enter settings, no need to know the PovRay
> language.....it's all just done automatically!  I just really need to "see"
> what the block should look like with high radiosity settings.
> 
> Thanks in advance!
> 
> 
> 
Strict minimum global_settings for a radiosity scene using all default parameters:
global_settings{radiosity{}}
With high settings:
global_settings{
	radiosity{pretrace_start 0.08 // tiles of 8% of the render size for the 
pretrace part
		pretrace_end 0.00125 // tiles of 0.125% the render size. 7 pretrace steps.
		count 1600 // Maximum value allowed. Affect rendering speed.
		error_bound 0.2 // Big effect on rendering speed.
		low_error_factor 0.1 // how much error_bound is reduced during the last 
pretrace step.
		nearest_count 20 //integer, 4 to 20
		media on // OPTIONAL! If you have emissive media that you want to shed light.
		normal on // OPTIONAL! To enable normal to be evaluated for the radiosity. 
Huge effect on the render speed.
		}
	}

It's advisable to place the radiosity block before or after everything else, on 
it's own line(s), as it can improve readability.

-- 
Alain
-------------------------------------------------
Q. What's the difference between Batman and Bill Gates?
A. When Batman fought the Penguin, he won.
                                            -- J. Levine

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"Cherry363" <che### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> global_settings {radiosity {count 200, error_bound 1}{ max_trace_level 100
> ambient_light rgb<0.830000, 0.830000, 0.830000> assumed_gamma 1.0}

The problem is the comma (,) between the count and error bound.

global_settings { radiosity { count 200 error_bound 1} // and so on }

should get rid of the error messages.

--
jussi

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