robcat2075

Here's a example case. The vase's Y translation is on a Rand() expression. RandomTest.prj Pick any specific time like 1:00 and scrub to it, out of it, back to it, before it, back to it.... the vase will always land in the same spot at 1:00 The Rand() function generates a random sequence but the sequence is repeatable no matter how many times the animation is played. That is as it should be and the example behaves that way.

Here's my mystery so far... If I set a Null's Y value to be equal to Sin(ChorTime()) it floats up and down in a sine wave manner as expected If i set another object's Y value to be equal to AtTime(1,the Null's Y value), the object takes the Null's Y value at 1 second and stays put there, as expected, even as the Null continues its sine wave motion. If I set the Null's Y value to be equal to Rand() it jumps up and down within a 0 to 1 range, as expected. If I scrub through 1 second the particular value it has at exactly 1 second is always the same, as expected. However... the object, which is set to use the Null's Y value at 1 second, doesn't stay put anymore. It is jumping up and down as if it were constantly tracking the Null's Y value instead of just taking the Y value at 1 second.

I'm trying to figure out a way to assign a value to a bone that it had at some specified time in the past. That ought to be possible without creating a circularity.

Anyone know where the full list of expression definitions is?

Here's AtTime.... I think these will indeed be helpful. I forgot we don't have actual variables. Lemme think about this a bit more but i have no doubt that what you want can be done.

Instead using the Rand every frame, set up counter that steps through x frames before the Rand is used again.

Welcome to the A:M forum, Arturo! I don't recall the specifics of them but I recall Holmes Bryant doing some face related tutorials... Weighting a Face Face Pose Basics Control Points Weights If you have questions, come back and ask!

Adam, if you have time someday it would be great to make a post that explains the Mac-specific stuff you've found out, for the benefit of other mac users. Here's what I get on PC... clip3512NetrenderNodes250.mov

Is it possible it really takes a 0 to 1 value?

Have you tried it with integers? You might try a progressive test where R G and B are all constants, Dose that survive? then try R getting a random number and see if that works. then add G getting random...

A slo-mo Thanks-giving! I bet your family enjoyed seeing themselves in animation form.

Use a 3 pass instead of a 2 pass and I think the fringes will be gone.

I've put in a bug report to Steffen. I'm going to temporarily table my tutorial effort until I see what he thinks about the multipass thing. Until then, I still suggest this workflow... SSAO Effect Only ON (while you are testing your SSAO settings) Samples 32 Higher if there is obvious stair-stepping the shadows. set Radius and Distance to a large number like 200 Gamma 1.0 (try 0.8 for darker effect) Density 50% Softeness 50% Luminance Influence 0 Blur the effect OFF (the Radius parameter below Blur is for Blur effects only) Do test renders with an odd number of multipasses. SSAO can't be tested in an onscreen render, you have to render to file. regular AO should be OFF, of course. Reduce Distance if the shadows extend too far behind objects or if there are dark halos. Reduce Radius if the shadow areas are too wide for your taste. Raise Radius if the shadows are dropping off too suddenly. Do more test renders.

Here's a comparison of a (mostly white) AO render and my best shot so far at recreating that with SSAO. They are similar but different.

Distance seems to control front-to-back influence. Larger numbers make it easier for an edge to shadow something behind it. Too large numbers create undesirable dark halos around the edges of objects, although with odd multipasses that problem is not so severe overall. A lot of stuff i thought i knew has changed since i found this even-odd multipass issue.

"Radius" roughly represents the screen distance that one surface can shadow another and/or the size of the shadow effect. If it is too small, the shadow is clipped before it fades out completely.

My scene is 200 cm from the ground to the top of the rabbit's ears Same here. I think "radius" represents pixels on the screen I'm thinking that ti depends a lot on the scene but here's what I used for that shot... (the gammas setting was set extra low to make the artifacts more visible for study) 1

Here's an example comparison of 9 passes and 16 passes. Flip between the first (9 passes) and last frame (16 passes). 9vs16passes.mov The anti-aliasing of internal details is better with 16 passes but everything else is better in the 9 pass version

Another tidbit. SSAO works better on a multi-pass render than a regular render BUT multi-pass set to an even number of passes tends to have more halo and weird artifact problems than with an odd number of passes. I don't know why since SSAO is only figured once at the end of a render no matter how many passes are used but it makes a visible difference in my test scene. I only noticed this after a couple weeks of testing with ... 4 passes.

I'm pretty sure the time runs from when you register so I suggest waiting until the clock runs out. We just have one-year terms now.

Looks like everytime their $299 deal gets maxed out they add another one so I guess I have time to decide still.

They have a Kickstarter is not a Store rule. I guess they are within that, but they are so far past their development money goal that everything now is just selling product.

that effect is almost like a lucite cube with something in it.

Here's are some basic settings i can suggest until i get my tut finished: SSAO Effect Only ON (while you are testing your SSAO settings) Samples 32 Higher if there is obvious stair-stepping the shadows. set Radius and Distance to a large number like 200 Gamma 1.0 Density 100% Softeness 50% Luminance Influence 0 Blur the effect OFF (the Radius parameter below Blur is for Blur effects only) gradually reduce Distance until the black halos are gone reduce Radius if the shadow areas are too wide SSAO can't be tested in an onscreen render, you have to render to file. regular AO should be OFF, of course.

I couldn't find a gallery of pictures of printouts. Is there one? The one pic in the Kickstarter page was suspiciously soft-focus. I'm also surprised this offering hasn't exceeded the Kickstarter guidelines on selling products.