***************************************************************** * GFA RAYTRACE USER NEWS ISSUE #2 FEBRUARY 1992 * ***************************************************************** Welcome to another issue of Raytrace User News! I am happy to announce that the efforts of the past few months have been rewarded because a converter to Spectrum 512 format has finally been written. We are no longer trapped in GFA's proprietary format, and can now print, edit, and distribute our renderings in formats other ST owners, even other computer owners can view with ease. A CONVERTER EXISTS! The credit for this goes to Lonny Pursell of Pandora, Ohio who more than a year ago began puzzling on Raytrace's file format. He chanced to run across my plea for a converter recently, and with a little time away from the project, resumed work on reverse engineering Raytrace's method of creating 512 color pics. The result is SUL2SPU.PRG, a Shareware program that will convert uncompressed Raytrace pics to uncompressed Spectrum 512 format. (its available on GEnie and Compuserve in the ST libraries.) With additional cooperation from the US, UK, and German branches of GFA, the code to Raytrace was made availiable as well, and the prospect of a converter than can handle compressed format, or a version of Raytrace that could save directly to Spectrum 512 format is now a possibility. With my inspiration and Lonny's perspiration, we'll see what comes out of it. GFA's willingness to release Raytrace's code to me (glad they did!) but is a bad omen - an indication that the program is on its last leg. Unless Raytrace is updated to run on TOS 2.X and Mega STE's its future is imperiled as a product standing still, while technology marches on. > GFA needs to hear from you to convince them of this final > update to see that this fine little piece of rendering software > is kept up to at least run on the 3 million 68000 based ST's > that have been sold over the past 6 years. Please, take the > time to let them know one more update is needed! (just had to get that plug in between the poop on the converter...) Lonny's Shareware converter is partially disabled. You can view resultant Spectrum files with any viewer or slideshow, but if you attempt to edit them in Spectrum itself, the red color Spectrum uses for its menu (color register 15) will appear in your picture. This is Lonny's gentle way of 'convincing' you to send in your shareware fee, and you'll recieve the registered version where you can edit to your pics to your hearts content. Subtle coercion? Perhaps. But Lonny's efforts deserve to be rewarded. You can receive the full version by sending your $5 Shareware fee to: Lonny Pursell P.O. Box 145 Pandora, Ohio USA 45877 YOU NEED SPECTRUM 512 Spectrum 512 is now an essential companion to GFA Raytrace. One of the first things you should try once you have the registered converter is to use the Antialias functions to smooth out the rough edges in your raytraced pics, especially the edges of squares in checkerboard grounds. Just using the default setting can instantly enhance any picture, but experimenting with it will produce better results. I always switch to MAGnify mode when using the antialias feature, since you can see the current settings diplayed in the upper left corner. Pressing the B or A key moves between Blur and Antialias. The spacebar toggles local and drag-box mode. (remember when drag- ging the box across the screen to avoid starting at the far left edge, Spectrum will leave a vertical line of pixels as it mistakenly antialiases the edge of the left color palette!!! Move your pointer right a few pixels, then drag your box down and to the right.) The number keys 1-9 set the 'breadth' of the effect. I recommend keeping the number small - Antialias is much more subtle in its settings than Blur, where a setting greater than 2 will obliterate detail rather than enhancing your pic. But Blur at 1 usually works great, and is usually the first thing I try. I'd also recommend reading up on the Spectrum manual to help you get the hang of picking exactly which of the 512 colors you need to touch-up pics that may have small areas where 'color problems' cropped up in the rendering phase, or to manually antialias areas inside objects which Spectrum tends to miss. Trio Engineering, authors of Spectrum 512 also wrote an excellent converter, SPC2GIF that I highly recommend. Both small and fast, its a great way to share your creations with virtually any other computer owner through GIF format. SPU2PI1 included with Spectrum also does a fairly good job of converting to 16 color Degas if the original Raytrace pic doesn't have too many colors. Two PD utilities - VIEWGIF (now commercially STIPPLE) and DMJGIF 3.0 have a feature that displays the number of unique colors in a GIF file. I was suprised to find that most Raytrace pics have only 30 to 70 colors (more if antialiased in Spectrum.) Pics with even higher numbers are those like Raytrace's opening screen where colored lamps are used to light the letters in a rainbow effect. If you don't have Spectrum 512, E.Arthur Brown and Company have swung a deal with Antic and are now liquidating Spectrum for an incredible $14.95 - a great price. Call EABCo's toll free order line 1-800-322-4405 to take advantage of this deal. TEXTURE MAPPING, REVISITED In the last issue, I gave some hints and tips on using texture maps. The more I use them, the more indespensable they are to producing exceptional tracings that have more realism. The relatively limited resolution and number of colors of the aging ST means it needs all the help it can get. If you're like me, THE main reason you like raytracing is because you can't paint for sh*t in 16 let alone 512 colors, so you let the computer do the dirty work for you. So let texture maps turn a simple box into an oak chest or a marble slab. Not all of Raytrace's objects allow mapping, (gawd I wish I could map onto a sphere!) but put those that do to thier best advantage. With what limited artistic skills I do have, as well as by using VIDI-ST to grab some video images, I have created a good starter set of texture maps in NEO format & uploaded in an archive on GEnie called RAYTEX.LZH (if you don't have access to GEnie, I'll be glad to mail them to you if you send some of your tracings on a disk.) Included in the collection are sample textures of wood, marble, stone, and brick surfaces for you to experiment with. A good set of textures like this are so fundamental to raytracing, I'm a bit disappointed some weren't included on the GFA Raytrace disks. I'll keep working at creating more - my main interest is getting a good variety of woodgrains. I've been able to hand paint some woods with reasonable effect (stone I have not been good at) but digitizing seems the way to go. With a photorealistic image to start with, the quailty gets passed on to the rendered image. Please, if you have any sucess converting or digitizing images suitible for texture maps, send them on to me and I'll make sure other Raytrace user's can get access to them. LOST IN SPACE, 3-D Several people have commented that they found the learning curve rather steep, and let Ryatrace languish on the shelf. Though I can't give them motivation, I do agree Raytrace requires alot of trial and error. Raytrace is a very simplistic, crude raytracer in many aspects. And yet its feature set and possibilities outstrip the time and abilities many have to fully master it. Set a simple goal for each raytrace session. Rather than aimless experimentation try the following: - Create a dozen spheres onscreen and try any combination of attributes, %, etc. Trace with 1 white lamp front and center. - *Force yourself* to make a dozen of each of the object types. Tweleve in succession will help lock in concepts forever. - Load a pic as a ground and try various ground sizes, lights, observer and view directions on it between quick traces. - Put a single white sphere on a checked black and white ground. Add any color of light, quick trace, add another, etc. to really get the hang of the effect of multiple light sources. Raytrace is quirky how it calculates the 'strength' of lamps based on distance. - Map the same pic onto every object type possible & observe. - Think of scenes that are easy to build - a snowman for example 3 white spheres and you're halfway there. Make a shift in how you perceive your world - that everything in life is a composite of cones, rectangles, spheres, and cylinders. ANOTHER VIEWPOINT A classic rule in outdoor photograpy: Keep the sun at your back. But dont make this the default of most scenes, with camera view centered, light centered and above. Deviating from that formula will add more depth and interest. Note: the Grand Canyon is at its best at sunrise and sunset, not high noon. Don't always view a raytrace world like a coal miner with a light in your hardhat. The objects themselves then hide most of the shadows they create. To get the most perspective in your tracings - put your main light to one side of center, offset your observer in the opposite direction: L L L= lamp + x= center x x + += observer ------------- ------------------ BORING!!! MUCH MORE INTERESTING The shadows of your objects will be more noticeable this way. Lower your lamp to exaggerate shadows even more. A slight shift to the side with your horizontal view angle also puts more perspective and interest into a checkered ground, so it doesn't run in a straight line toward you. The closer your observer is to ground level, the more perspective you will see in its pattern (at the loss of some detail.) My most visually intriguing renderings have been those where I went to extremes - from a mouse's view of a room to that of looking down from a hot air balloon directly overhead. Sometimes losing sight of your objects messing with view angles is a great way to come up with an interesting camera view once you get them in sight again... GOD SAVE THE QUEEN! I did get a little publicity in the Febrary 92 issue of ST FORMAT UK. I had mailed them a little press release a few months back and finally got a little space allocated on page 141. After my little blurb, the editors responded with: "It seems strange that GFA appear to have lost interest in such a worthy program as GFA Raytrace, especially since it is the only commercial raytracer you can find for the ST. Its not perfect by any means, but it's very faults provide the best reasons why it should be updated now and again. A user group can only help there, consider the group." Well, you can bet a photocopy of that is gonna make it under the noses of GFA's branches by next week, and it would be nice if that sentiment is echoed from divergent sources. I'm rather amazed at the awareness level regarding Raytrace I've been able to muster myself in the past few months, by making the most of the online networks and by writing to magazines. I've made a difference - you can too, even by just uploading sample raytrace pics to a local bbs - maybe we can bring more users into the fold. TAKE IT TO THE TOP Once again, here's where to call or write for upgrades to V2.1, to request further updates to Raytrace (we desperately need an update so that Raytrace will run on the new TOS 2.06/7!) or to get more info on GFA's other great products: GFA SYSTEMTECHNIK GMBH GFA DATA MEDIA UK GFA SOFTWARE TECH. Heerdter Standburg #30 Box 121 27 Congress Street D4000 Dusseldorf 11 Wokingham Berkshire Salem, Republic of RG11 1FA MA 01970-5523 GERMANY ENGLAND USA Dirk Van Assche Les Player John Barger To call GFA: America 1 (508) 744-0201 Fax: 1 (508) 744-8041 Direct Dial Germany (using ATT long distance): 011 49 211 55040 Direct Dial England (using ATT long distance): 011 44 734 794941 HOW TO REACH ME I'm always interested in seeing other users creations - send a disk of pics, texture maps, or wireframes, and I'll send you the best of what I have in return. Write to: GFA RAYTRACE USERS USA c/o Nick S. Smith 4406 5th Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55409-2124 I can be reached on GEnie 24 hours/day by sending mail to S.SMITH65