Software

[Michael Chudy]

Raggi,
What memory are you running on your computer? Such a simple render shouldn't take but a few moments. I use Flamingo, and I realize some here don't like it much, but it does a pretty good job with lighting at a good speed if you have 2G memory. (All of our renders at http://www.mooseislanddesign.com are either the basic Rhino render or Flamingo)
By the way, are you using Rhino 4 now or are you staying with v3? I'm debating about upgrading, and am not sure it is worthwhile. The 2D stuff still leaves a lot to be desired, and I don't see getting away from a 2D program for my final drawings (I use TurboCad).
Michael

[Steve Baer]

Hi Michael,
Maxwell and Flamingo are very different rendering applications. From the reports I have gotten from users, Maxwell always takes a significant amount of time to render, but the controls for setting up a quailty rendering are very simple and quick.

What "2D stuff" in Rhino 4 do you feel leaves a lot to be desired? I would like to know more about what users feel they need as far as 2D capabilities in Rhino for future additions.

Thanks,
-Steve

[ludesign]

Originally Posted by Raggi_Thor

Claes, I am learning a new way to render :-)
I am sure it can be done much faster, but
Maxwell is called a "light simulator", so it will always be slow compared to other methods. maybe it's not he best choice for boats, but light studies in buildings seem to be very close to reality.

What you probably mean is that you are using radiosity rendering, which can take forever to do. This method usually works best for internal renderings, as open shapes allows the calculations to spread over a very wide area, unless you restrict it. Radiosity typically generates more realistic renderings, though it can sometimes be hard to actually tell the difference.

In the example, one of these images was rendered using ray-tracing and one using radiosity. The TouchCAD model was imported into Cheetah3D, so both renderings where done in the same program. One took a minute to render and one took several hours. Can you tell which is which?

[Windvang]

Originally Posted by Michael Chudy

I'm debating about upgrading, and am not sure it is worthwhile.
Michael

I think Rhino 4 is a major upgrade from 3. The ability to have any of your viewports, rendered, shaded, ghosted or as a wireframe is worth the US 295,-alone in my opinion.

[Raggi_Thor]

Michael, as i Said to Claes, I am still learning this new renderer, BUT, yes it seems like both simple and complex models take a long time. On the other side, it always make a realistic picture. I think after a short while i will never have to render more than once. All other rendererers I have tried have involved some trial and error.

[Raggi_Thor]

Claes, I think Maxwell is even more realistic than radiosity, not in the result, but in the process. If you make a prisme of glass you will get a rainbow behind. Will that happen in other programs? The settings are also easier to understand, you have sensitivity as ISO, shuter speed and aperture (like a camera). After the long rendering time you can adjust brightness and contrast and probably other things like color temperature.

[Raggi_Thor]

I am now using Rhino 4.0.
It's better at trimming and merging surfaces also.
I don't use the 3D stuff much as I am an old acad user.
The graphics on screen has improved, I think, with heavier lines on the surface edges, for example.

[Raggi_Thor]

Originally Posted by ludesign

...Can you tell which is which?

The one to the right is radiosity?

[ludesign]

Originally Posted by Raggi_Thor

The one to the right is radiosity?

No. :-)

[Raggi_Thor]

I think that proves your point :-)
Longer is not always better...

[Michael Chudy]

Steve - I love Rhino, but these are my problems with v4:

1) Line width does not show up in page layout, only in the actual print. That makes it more difficult to keep track of visually.
2)The page layout scaling is somewhat clumsy. I'd just like to be able to pick an actual scale, say 3/4" = 1 ', like on the printing page.
3) You can't put something in page layout without having a relationship to the actual model. When you turn off a layer, the paper space object gets turned off also. If I want separate details of items in the same paper space that are in different layers it becomes a problem. Now, I can see the benefit of real time relationship between the model and the page layout, but how do I show separate details from separate layers on the same page layout without without the object from one layer showing up in the detail of the other layer?

The first two issues are no big deal, but the third is a problem for me. Am I missing a way around this? ( I hope I am)

Michael

[Steve Baer]

Hi Michael,

1. You can turn line width display in page layouts on/off with the "PrintDisplay" command.

2. A cleaner scaling interface is on my bug list for things to clean up in the future. The good thing about this is that you usually only need to do it once and then lock the scale on your detail.

3. I'm a bit confused about what you are looking for with this item. We do have the "HideInDetail" and "ShowInDetail" commands which turn off the display of objects in individual details. We also have the "HideLayersInDetails" command which does the same thing on a layer scope available at http://en.wiki.mcneel.com/default.as...LabsTools.html. This may not be what you're looking for but it seems worth it to describe this here. If you could provide me a little more detail about what you want I can determine if we offer it or if it should go on our wishlist.

Are there other 2D items that you feel leave a lot to be desired?

Thanks,
-Steve

[Raggi_Thor]

Dynamic sections :-)
A section command that updates automatically if you edit the surface,
like the one in Rhinomarine...

3D but OK? A Trim command that Retrims with the same cutting plane/object if the surface is edited...

[Michael Chudy]

Steve-
Thank you! The "print display" works fine. The "hide in detail" accomplishes what I was looking for. I'll check out the plug in for "hide layer". Those were my concerns - thanks again for the info.

In 3D, ditto what Raggi said about real time section updating. I'd love to see it for all the lines - that would be great.

Michael

[Steve Baer]

Originally Posted by Raggi_Thor

Dynamic sections :-)
A section command that updates automatically if you edit the surface,
like the one in Rhinomarine...

3D but OK? A Trim command that Retrims with the same cutting plane/object if the surface is edited...

Dynamic sections are already available through RhinoMarine, so this isn't too high on our priority list.

You might want to experiment with enabling history on the Project and Intersect commands. This might get you what you want in both of your situations you mention.

Thanks,
-Steve