CompuServe Thread

Hi to all, I`m very proud to announce the next generation of the one and only 3D Studio raytracer in the world: RayMan 1.5 comes soon!!!!!!!!!!! We all waited for the possibility to make a great animation with 3D Studio and raytrace the scene or only some objects or areas of the scene. Now it`s possible. You don`t have to use Lightwave, Real 3D or even POV to make realistic reflections and refractions. I don`t want to discuss that you can make reflections with 3DS and render refractions with the new Digimation IPAS: I think we all know that there are some advantages of a real raytracer. If you need 100% realism you need 100% RayMan. (Ooops, I might spent too much time with our salesmen. <g>). Here is the official press announcement. For more detailed information (and prices and adresses) please download RAYMAN15.TXT from the LIB. BTW: Thanks to all RayMan user. You`ll see that we keept your suggestions in mind… ————— RAYMAN 1.5 ANNOUNCEMENT ———————— RayMan 1.5 is an exciting new product for 3D Studio users, providing outstanding supplementation to the rendering possibilities of 3d Studio scenes. With RayMan 1.5 true raytracing of reflections or refractions on mirrored and glass surfaces is realised. Objects with metal attributes are rendered realistically and acurately with the presence of multiple reflections and refractions. RayMan 1.5 imports the information from 3D Studio scene files including all objects, lights, textures, mapping, camera and animation information. RayMan 1.5 can read the following files for texture mappings, backgrounds or masks: TGA, TIF, GIF, PCX, BMP, JPG, CEL, FLC, FLI, IFL. RayMan 1.5 also exports a wide variety of image file formats such as TGA, TIF, GIF, PCX, BMP, JPG. Starting with version 1.5 RayMan is able to compute animations. Within 3D-Studio a VUE file has to be created. RayMan 1.5 reads this VUE file automatically if present. Field rendering is also possible like rendering only every nth frame, line or pixel. RayMan 1.5 can compute the complete frame, only selected objects or marked areas. Because of the alpha-channel features of RayMan 1.5 you can combine a raytraced object with a existing images or animations. Further features influencing the quality of the outcome include threshold and super sampling and adaptive anti-aliasing, with additional parameters for depth of field and atmospheric effects, such as distance cue and fog. RayMan 1.5 is capable of generating blurred as well as sharp reflections, refractions and textures. The levels of blur and sharpness may be adjusted or taken from the shaders existing information. RayMan 1.5 allows for additional new attributes through a "Hall-Illumination" algorithm technique that generally give scenes a more realistic look. These new material attributes can easily be saved in seperate material databases by filling out existing templates. Adjustable refraction parameters include refraction index, absorption, specular, ambient, diffusion, reflectivity and transparency. RayMan 1.5 also has the abbility to create flat or area light sources which allow for softshadows with umbra and penumbra, in addition to shadows for omni lights. Light caustics are also possible. Stereoscopic images and animations can be rendered to separate files. This way FLICs for shutter glasses (as the 3D-MAX) and head mounted displays can be computed. It is not necessary to create two different cameras in 3D-Studio: With RayShell the best values for RayMan's stereo camera can be easily determined. Acceptable ray tracing times are achieved in spite of high image quality. RayMan 1.5 implements the newly developed Octree-Space subdivision algorithm that provides essential speed without compromising quality. To speed-up rendering of not-reflective or not-transparent materials, RayMan 1.5 uses an optimized Z-Buffer algorithm. RayMan 1.5 can be used as a stand-alone rendering engine or access the advantages of network. In networks all workstation can render one single frame or a sequence of frames. For more details download RAYMAN15.TXT from the LIB. Michael