CGTalk - Any radiosity pros out there?

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dandavis

01-23-2003, 06:27 PM

I've got a scene that I want to use the new radiosity feature of MAX 5. I've followed all the tutorials and have got it to work on the supplied files but have found the results rather sporatic with scene's that I've built myself. I'm pretty sure that I've followed all the instructions to a T but can't get the scene to render properly. I've used the photometric lights, checked all the boxes that I need to check, calculated the solution, etc. but alas, the render comes out totaly dark. I'm really scratching my head on this one and was wondering if anyone else has found it really tricky to use. Maybe someone out there can give me some tips. Does it require special materials????? I dunno, I'm at a loss. TIA! dano

Leo73

01-23-2003, 06:41 PM

Did you activate the exposure tool that your going to use. The GI in max needs to be used with the exposure tool under either effects tab or environment tab. i had the same problem with the renderings coming out black until i checked that feature. they each do different things so try using them all and then pick the one you like best. its also has the render preview right there so you can see it before you go to final render.

Hope this helps.

dandavis

01-23-2003, 07:04 PM

Thanks Leo, but, yes, I have chosen the Logarithmic Exposure Control and made it active. One of the reasons I thought that maybe you need special materials for Radiosity renders is that certain pieces of the render look ok, (ie. the metalic materials) and the others are just totally black. The little Render Preview window shows an image that looks to be lit ok but the actual render sucks. Thanks again but this doesn't seem to be the problem.

dandavis

01-23-2003, 07:09 PM

Here's a shot of the light setup if this helps anyone.

Gonzo The Great

01-24-2003, 11:59 AM

*cough* *cough* BRAZIL *cough*

Excuse me.

dandavis

01-24-2003, 01:24 PM

cough, cough, I'm poor! cough, cough. :-) Did some testing with the beta about a year ago, though. Really nice results!

Dougy

01-24-2003, 02:29 PM

I'm assumimg that you are using the Radiosity solution and if so you might want to check that the size of your scene/models is correct.If your trying to light a room 3 miles square with a 60 watt bulb it's going to be dark:p

The Radiosity system is based on real world measurements- just a thought

dandavis

01-24-2003, 03:01 PM

Thanks to everyone who helped me figure this out. I got the solution over at Renderosity and Dougy is exactly correct. The scale of the model was way, way out of proportion. Once I fixed that and re-calculated a solution. It worked great. Thanks for everyone's help. dano

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