Hope some one can confirm or deny what I seem to be concluding here.
My company has a couple of offices with a couple of versions of Viz; 2007 and 2008. Both have Vray 1.5 loaded.
I am setting up a standard set of materials, including grass. Now the 2008 version of Viz seems to accept any shape or object I try and throw at it. ie I can draw a line and turn it into a patch mesh, apply vray displacement and I get great results. I can also import Autocad Architecture Mass elements and apply the same displacement and again, it deals with them no problem.
However, If I use the same shapes and processes with the 2007 version of Viz, I get all sorts of issues, mainly with linked objects from Autocad. I have to create a line around the shape, extrude it, and then convert it into a patch, then a nurbs patch, to get the same results. I know that the displacement modifier works on the amount of faces or divisons in the solid, but in 2008, it seems much more flexible, working on almost any shape with any divisions.
I am sure it is probably the versions of Viz that is the issue here, I am really looking for someone to say, yes, its because of xy or z..
Just a bit of a clue from anyone really. Many thanks.
The ideal base for a displaced surface is a regular mesh made up of even-ish quadrangles or triangles.
I don’t use viz, but it may well be that they made the patching more efficient and producing better, more regularly shaped, meshes (as that is what you’re rendering, ultimately, be the Viewport object a nurbs, or a patch).
If that’s the case, if you used 3d displacement, it would be reason enough to account for the difference in results.
Mind you, it’s entirely a speculative post
Thats sort of what I am alluding to here: that indeed 2008, probably the same goes for similar version of Max.. is actually more efficient with certain surfaces.
I can put a fairly complex shape from Autocad into Viz 2008, and it handles it no problems. 2007 thou needs that shape split up.. more faces to work on. It does seem that 2008 has made this task easier to deal with.
Before applying displacement for grass or whatever, I usually apply a subdivide modifier and enter 1m or something, so the whole object is then filled with evenly placed triangles.
