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Does that mean we have to wait a year?
ROFL...I hope not!! Maybe May 1st....I'd love that. :D
Actually thinking about it its not quite a year - just 11 months.
Lol!
Nevermind, I am just a very confused person...
May 1rst it is. ;)
It's up!
http://www.daz3d.com/fm-night-builder
I'm pulling the trigger on this tomorrow (if I do it now, I'll stay up all night playing lol). SO happy to see that it's poser compatible as well. I've been looking for some good night skies for Terradome, and hopefully this will play nice with it.
Yes it`s up, and part of the current Grit & Grime sale, so if needed you can get any Easy Environments at 40% along with it.
FM Night Builder @ Daz Store
FM Night Builder all preview images
FM Night Builder Infos & Tips page
I hope you`ll have fun with the set, let me know if you need any additional infos, help or tips for working with it.
With the understanding that this is already in my cart and is traveling to my content folder no matter the answer, does this mean there will not be a night-time series for the Easy Environments, for the skyboxes?
Oooo ... your http://stellarium.org/img/screenshots/0.10-bortle.jpg image begs the question, is one of the star sets labeled? Are they accurate? Like with recognizable constellations?
Not to say there won`t ever be another night-time Easy Environment (like e.g. Road to Hell), but no, I don`t plan on a dedicated night-time series.
The Night Builder should allow you to turn pretty much any scene into a night scene, that`s the idea here. ;)
I just didn`t feel skyboxes would be the right way to go about it (that`s why I was initially rather reluctant about night-time requests) as they are too specific.
With the night-builder it`s up to you if you want one moon, two moons, no moon, clear sky, clouds, a hilly horizon or mountains, etc..
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That image didn`t come from me. ;) No, the stars are random.
There is a template sphere though, which is supposed to be used with your own textures, for those who like to add their own stuff.
So, if someone wants to add anything to the night sky, like star constelations, zodiac signs, your name, the Batman logo ... that`s the place to look at.
Being a sphere, unlike a skybox, how bad is the warping or distortion when going from a flat visual to a round one?
With the included textures you don`t have to worry, I made sure they work on spheres, so all camera angles work.
Doing your own textures in 2D, it`s the same like with all spherical projections, the top half will start distorting towards the top.
BUT ... in most cases you can evade the issue.
Say you want to add a moon of your own. Just paint it in the middle of a 2:1 texture, and then rotate the sphere you put it on to place it where you want it on the sky.
Images below are a smaller version of the included template (2D) and a night scene with the template visible, rendered in Daz Studio with a wide camera angle. I think it shows that under normal circumstances you don`t have to worry about distortions.
With the included textures you don`t have to worry, I made sure they work on spheres, so all camera angles work.
Doing your own textures in 2D, it`s the same like with all spherical projections, the top half will start distorting towards the top.
BUT ... in most cases you can evade the issue.
Say you want to add a moon of your own. Just paint it in the middle of a 2:1 texture, and then rotate the sphere you put it on to place it where you want it on the sky.
Images below are a smaller version of the included template (2D) and a night scene with the template visible, rendered in Daz Studio with a wide camera angle. I think it shows that under normal circumstances you don`t have to worry about distortions.
Awesomeness!
Now I'm sure you're already expecting this next question from me ... lol ... Are there more day/sunrise/sunset/terra builder sets planned, to compliment this set?
Lol, in a way I was waiting for that question to come up at some point. ;)
Answer is no, because it wouldn`t work the way I`d want it to.
It would work, but with lesser flexibility compared to the Night Builder, in which case I feel we are better off with sticking to the skyboxes.
However, I just saw early previews from another artist who mailed me about something you could call a daytime-builder.
Looked good, so you may be lucky ;)
Lol ... Well, IMHO, I'm still a bigger fan of the skyboxes. They make people ask me if I did my scenes in Vue, lol. The scenes just look "bigger'.
But these are still going to come in super-handy. :D
I borrowed the ring of fire from one of the sets for something ... just so happened I needed fire ;) I'll post the result as and when it's done.
Now I`ll have Johnny Cash in my head for the rest of the night. ;)
You sure got me curious about that render...
Not the prettiest render. I was just testing things. It plays nicely with the terradome skydome in Poser. The main sky color and lighting is from terradome, but the stars/aura/fire are from the night builder (used the neutral setup and went from there). The two systems have to be re-scaled around each other or else terradome's skydome hides all of the night builder layers, but otherwise it works great.
There's also a focus spot from render studio to bring Vikki out.
FM... I have most of your sets and I use them tons, but this set is just the tops! I love love love it! :)
Just a quick one after an 11 hour shift, but I had to have a quick play :)
And here we go ... http://fav.me/d7gsu2s
his is so much fun to use, endless possibilities.
ooooo...nice one scorpio
I'm impressed and glad you did a native DUF version of this set for DAZ Studio. I've decided I won't be purchasing anything else where I have to dig around in the Runtime folders for settings or files. Too much hassle. So thanks again!
ooooo...nice one scorpio
Thank you
Thanks for posting your renders everyone, please keep them coming, I love seeing what you guys do with the sets. I am pretty impressed so far. ;)
@ RAMWolff ...I have to admit going for DUF was not exactly a choice, it became neccessary for some technical reasons.
May I ask if you dislike the format I used for the Easy Environments? I don`t find it a hassle at all, it loads like any Studio native file with all the right settings.
Only difference is that that files are placed in the Poser Format section (which to me is irrelevant since I load them from the Smart Content Tab), and the benefit is compatibility with even old Studio versions.
I am always interested in feedback on the format topic though, obviously I`d like to provide my stuff in the format the majority of users prefer.
are there any smart content for this or is it just in the content folder? Also is there a manual for this? When I try to load from content folder I cannot see the ground unless I render. It is just not in the preview window.
Yes, there is smart content.
The night presets are filed under Environments/Skydome,
the rock & tree prop under Environments/Landscape,
the light preset under Lights (not assigned to any of the subcategories there, unfortunately).
The light presets should also come up when you select the loaded rock prop.
Not a tutorial per se, but the info page should hold some useful tips for working with the set:
Link: FM Night Builder Infopage
It also covers the issue of not seeing the ground in the preview window, unfortunately it`s something beyond my control.
>>>
Note: unfortunately neither Daz Studio nor Poser can give you a clean preview, due to transparency sorting issues. Usually it`s enough to get an impression of what you are doing though, and it renders fast, so you can do preview renders quickly.
Tip: If you want a clean look at a layer in the workspace just temporarily hide the other layers to avoid those sorting issues.
I created this for the PC Weekly contest.
This is a great set.
Very nice Kismet.
I was thinking about getting this, and the more I see the renders folks are doing with it, the more I want it. Just have to wait 'til payday.
The Edge of Infinity
This is sure a fun set
I don't always use Smart Content so it's nice to scroll to the Environments folder and find what I need rather than all the extra clicks to get to the Poser Runtime within the DAZ Studio folder. Just my way. I've been passing on quite a few items in the store, even some I needed because of this oversight (my opinion) If it's sold at DAZ it should have native DAZ duf files but again, my opinion...