#Reflection Mapping
6 messages in this thread
Hi Mr. Minton,
Struggling with reflection mapping here. Am I missing something or is the
following accurate:
Instance objects in the Keyframer will not calculate or display a flat mirror
reflection map applied to the original object. That is, an object created in
the 3d editor with flat mirror reflection faces shows no reflection in the Key
Framer when the object is cloned with the shift key. I show a house with
windows in the 3d editor. The same house is multiplied several times with the
shift key in the key framer. However, the windows of the copied houses no
longer reflect in the key framer. Is there anyway around this limitation for
animation purposes?
Do cubic and automatic reflection maps behave the same? How could a .CUB
reflection map created in the 3d editor reflect instance objects in the
keyframer? It seems the only possibility is automatic reflection mapping in
the keyframer.
Thanks, Peter Landeck
I just ran a test here. I created a "floor", a cube, and a sphere in front of
the cube. The front of the cube was mapped with an automatic flat reflection
map. I went into keyframer and made an instance of both the cube and the
sphere. Both cube fronts showed the reflection of the spheres. I even tried
rotating the instanced cube, thinking maybe a mapping problem was occurring
with the instance. Again, the reflection came out ok. The best I can suggest
is copy the problem file over to another name, and start chopping out portions
of the model and see if the problem goes away. If you are using any IPAS
routines, turn off or delete them too. If you get down to a simple scene and
still have the problem, you best bet is to upload the simple scene to the libs
and leave another message.
I just ran another test <g>. You were asking about cub maps and being able to
reflect the instances. I verified that the automatic flat reflection does
reflect the instanced objects. Remember that a reflection map on an object
will not show portions of the object itself. If you attach the sphere to the
cube, the sphere will no longer show up in the reflection.
With regards to CUB files, you are right that they won't help with the
instanced copies. No way to reflect something that's not there! Your best (or
only) option is to use automatic reflection maps. Just be sure to only
calculate the reflection on the first frame (if nothing that would be reflected
is moving). That will speed up the animation render. A CUB file wouldn't work
well in this case anyhow, since it's a flat planar surface which is doing the
reflecting.
Good luck!
LAM
Well, the problem with reflection mapping seems to be coming from Acad DXF
object merges. Yes if I create a solid inside 3ds there apprears to be no
problem with the reflection map. However, If I use a solid modeling command in
Acad to form a solid mesh and then DXFout and then merge this file to 3DS, the
reflection mapping becomes very unreliable. Sometimes it works, most times it
does not.
If I use a 3dface in Acad for the same procedure, its even worse.
Since this is my customary way of modeling, I would appreciate a way around the
problem if one occurs to you.
-Peter Landeck
Having never imported a file into 3ds from ACAD, I probably won't be of much
help <g>. It seems to me though that for auto flat reflect not to work that
the faces of the windows are not co-planer. I'm not sure why it would work on
the original and not the instanced copies though. You may want to hide
everything except for the windows and see if they are co-planer. Is each
window a separate object? In case of desparation, I would rebuild the windows
in 3ds. Probably the fastest work around in the long run.
LAM
Hi Larry,
Well is there a way to rotate the construction planes to facilitate creation of
the reflection faces? I seem to remember something in the tutorials or
somewhare how this could be done.
Thanks, Peter Landeck
Nope, no can do. Best bet is to create a rectangle in shaper of approximately
the right size and assign that as a shape. In 3d editor hide everything but
the windows. In the user view, do a display/user view/align and select one of
the faces of the windows. Do a create/object/get shape to bring in the
rectangle from the shaper. Move the vertices to match with those of the
window. Use the cursor keys to rotate the view by 90 degrees, and move the new
window down (or up) to match with the position of the original window.
Not the quickest way of doing things, but it's the best I can think of.
LAM