"Kenneth" <kdw### [at] earthlinknet> wrote:
> Wow!  Both examples are beautiful. What a great addition this would make to
> POV-Ray.

Yes, I'm a bit surprised, too, how much realistic feel it adds.


> Does your code *depend* on using radiosity (and/or photons), or is it
> separate from those?

As for photons, there's no need at all to use those - I just included them to
verify that the patch handles them properly.

Neither does the code strictly need radiosity: For the code, that's just another
way of illuminating the back side of a surface. However, it's really the
combination of the new code with radiosity that adds the most "Wow!" to the
image.

For instance, that blurry see-through effect seen in those curved plastic
thingumajigs (most prominently in the left one) is entirely radiosity-based.

Without radiosity, all you really get is those sharp shadows (well, smooth ones
when using area lights) cast from behind, as prominently demonstrated on the
curtains.

Without radiosity, everything in this shot would also be pitch-dark, except for
the patches on the curtains, floor and wall receiving direct sunlight.

(To avoid any misunderstanding: The code does not require a radiosity-only-lit
scene for best effect; in fact this scene uses a conventional area light as its
primary light source. But radiosity is needed for some of the secondary effects
you see.)


Still there may well be cases when the patch will do something good in
non-radiosity scenes.

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