[JDHill]

..that's my cheap quick and incomplete explaination of the database manager...

...JD will do better...

Not much. Just fyi, you can edit things stored in the db manager by double-clicking on them; what will happen is:

- if the material editor is closed, it will be opened
- there will be no material shown in the editor
- the appropriate page (i.e. BSDF, etc.) will be shown with the selected component loaded

Once the material editor is in this 'no material' mode, then you can switch around between BSDFs, SSS, textures, etc. using single-clicks. Selecting any material at this point will put the editor back into the normal material-editing mode.

[jvanmetre]

I have very few wishes with the current Rhino + Maxwell plugin but one area where I find Rhino + MW plugin cumbersome is when I need to adjust the hdri for the scene environment...it's not that it can't be done as is using offset -- it's just really difficult (for me) to understand the hdri as it relates to the scene and the camera.

I find the setup hit or miss when I would probably like to tweak the scene more -- I feel like i'm missing good visual feedback during setup that I don't get until the rendering.

How about something like a scene globe (like the sunview) with the hdri mapped to the exterior that would allow for adjustment?

Anyway...the plugin seems to improve with each release so I look forward to the next update.

jvm

[JDHill]

Hi Jim,

It should be quite easy to adjust (spherical) image-based lighting with the plugin; when the viewport display is enabled, adjustments to the scale/offset parameters will be shown in real-time. Just curious, have you seen this:

http://think.maxwellrender.com/maxwell_ ... i-135.html

Or, do you just mean it would be easier to use if it worked like the sunview?

[jvanmetre]

JD-

Did not see the tutorial...thanks. Will go back and look at it again to see if I missed anything.

As a generalization I find an hdri of a whole environment a little easier (maybe I'm a little less picky) to adjust because there is generally more going on...I find it different when I'm using an hdri that may have a single light source...if that makes sense.

Much of the time I'm wondering what's on the other side of the hdri that I can't see in the viewport without going into the perspective viewport and turning the view around.

I trust in posting this that someone has already been working with a simple solution. And yes, I think it would be easier to visualize with a sunview type setup.

jvm

[JDHill]

I understand, but a sunview-type setup probably wouldn't help much, since you wouldn't have the model for reference. It's kind of the mirror-image of the problem you already have, if you know what I mean.

[jvanmetre]

Well...couldn't the sphere have front, back, left, right, top, bottom designations and the hdri have tranparency over the sphere?

Sphere is in a known/fixed position and hdri transparency moves?

Come on JD...you are the genie...we are simply the wishers!

jvm

[JDHill]

Yeah, but you see, if I don't try to tease some detail out of those wishes, then you'll just end up with...well, more stuff that's exactly like what you've got now. About this idea in particular, honestly, I don't think I'd hold my breath, because what you're suggesting is technically intensive, and with a functional form of the feature (hdr/mxi pre-visualization) already existing, there are other things that I'd designate as more important, with time being a limited resource...who knows though.

[kami]

While switching through all scene manager tabs, I had enough time for a few thoughts ...
Couldn't they be arranged a bit more efficiently? Some examples:
- Channels and Render Settings could be joined in one tab (or maybe even together with output)
- Date, Time and Location could be one tab
- mxi options seem more understandable under "output" instead of "settings"

What do you think? It would improve the workflow with the plugin and make it easier...
Or are there any reasons for their current distribution?

greets,
kami

[JDHill]

You are a mind-reader. I am currently re-organizing and re-writing the scene manager to where there will be:

- materials
- camera
- location/date/time
- output
- options

Everything in there is getting a custom UI to replace the grid UI that you currently see. It's actually no small job, but much of the work is done by now.

[kami]

sounds great
cheers, kami

[JDHill]

Just for fun, here's what it's looking like so far:



The different groups in each page are expandable/collapsible and they remember their state between sessions, so you don't have to look at parameters you never use. You can also ALT-drag on the main tabs to re-organize them how you like. The date/time picker in the Location & Time page allows you to customize the format for how the date is shown, and it will respect the various regional settings on your machine. You can change date/time by dragging the globe, or you can click over say, 'July' above and roll the mouse-wheel to change the month. Or, you can use a calendar that drops down when you click the down-arrow.

I'm sure some things will change before I'm done, but this should give you a basic idea of where things are headed.

Cheers...

[Fille]

Looks really great, JD!!! When...?

Philip

[JDHill]

Oh, some certain amount of time after all of it actually works. Really, I don't exactly know, I don't have this new stuff out to the testers yet.

btw, here's one just for you...

[Polyxo]

Looking good indeed!
Let me add just another little wish: I'd like to organize the materials inside a scene a bit more - the material list can look pretty busy with many materials in scene. While introducing a material-folder system would certainly not practical at all - would it make sense to you to allow ordering them as groups?

• a)Alphabetically
  b)By Assigned
  c)By Type (Diffuse, Metal, Emitter...)
  d)By Assembly

(addendum d): all materials which have been used to texture "my coffeemachine" - of course I have no idea how to accomplish that inside Rhino )

Holger

[JDHill]

Thanks Holger, I understand, but I'm not sure if those things are realistic options, technically speaking. The material list can already organize itself alphabetically, and the next version will give you a 'sort' command (alphabetical again) you can use on volumes in the database manager, but that is probably the extent of organization capability you're likely to see until some other very fundamental parts of the plugin can be overhauled.