Maxwell Render | Official public forum

On the north icon, we can see the Sun locator.
This icon is INCOMPLETE to specify a sun location.
The problem is that we are looking at a 2D (Flat) viewport but it represents a 3d enviroment, and things can be understood in many ways.
To make it clearer, I can recall those spanish tile floors that looks as perspectivated cubes, you can undeestand them as volumes, and some other times they could look as concave shapes.
Well this same thing is happening with the sun icon.
The solution is simple: we should need the projection of the sun axis, against the ground plane, to undestand which is the real sun angle.
Without this graphic information this SUN icon has no sense.

Ernesto

Just as a sample here you have one sun icon position as shown in the Maxwell Studio Viewport, as well as two possible diferent interpretations among the infinite.

Note that I haven´t posted this message in the wish list, butt in the bug report list.
Having a none sense icon is clearly a bug, and it shouldn´t be a wish, but a must.
Imagine if Ford Motor Company says that the accelerator was not designed to accelerate, and if you want it to work, it would be an optional.
I wonder who in NL is taking the desition to ignore certain bugs....

Ernesto

Sorry Ernesto, the word "bug" is a very clear terminology. Anything else than a programming error cannot be a bug. Your suggestions is good or a must have, but it's not a bug anyway.

I agree with this wish.

butt in the bug report list

I think you are right, there may be butts in there.

Pleasse be openminded!

You can call the name you like:
If we talk clearly, this is a useless icon, since it cannot fullfill the function for which it was created: tell the user where the sun is positioned.

Of course I am sure that nobody would do such a thing on purpose, and I could imagine all kind of reasons, as you were in a rush, or you didn´t thought of it enough, or you haven´t imagined that it could be missunderstood, and so.

The only real thing is that it needs a change to be usefull, so unless you think it is ok to have a useless icon in the 3d viewport, this is an ERROR.
I really do not see the difeence between a human error and a software programing error, but both have the same effect in the user.

As far as I understand an ERROR is something you must fix, but a WISH is something you could if you want or have the time.

This is not a slight diference but an important one considering that people who have payed for your software deserves a complete tool that will be usefull.

If you agree that you will fix this for current buyers, it is ok for me that you could use ANY name you like.

I still think this should go to the BUG list for the reason explained in the begining of this note.

Sincerely I see these discussions as an attempt of NL to avoid their responsibilities (at least moral) to their customers. You can be legaly covered, but you have something to do, if you want customers to be happy with your software.

If I am wrong, you could do something to avoid missunderstandings: Create another cathegory in the forum, with the accepted WISHES which will be fixed before a new commercial version is released. In this way current customers will know they will have it fexed sometime. Otherwise we can understand that we will need to pay for an upgrade to get those things fixed!

Ernesto

Hi Ernesto,

the features works if you rotate the perspective, which is something you can do without risks due to the fact that changing from camera to perspective keeps the same point of view. So I won't say it's useless.
In fact, it happens the same thing with a simple cube in wireframe.

So, your suggestion, which is a good one, it's clearly an improvement. Not a bug.

We have to be very strict with terminology due to internal workflow, this doesn't mean that wishes are ignorated or that we're eluding our (at least moral) responsibilities.

On the other hand, we have been very clear about internal roadmaps and for obvious reasons we cannot publish an accepted wishes list.
I'm sure you understand.

Of course, we are working to improve the application so any suggestion is welcome and addressed.

beatriz wrote:Hi Ernesto,
the features works if you rotate the perspective, which is something you can do without risks due to the fact that changing from camera to perspective keeps the same point of view.

Hola Beatriz,

Your description is incomplete: It works only for certain FOV angles, but it is not for wideangle lens, where the North could be shifted +- 45 degrees, or more, depending on the FOV angle.
When you have choosen the right viewpoint at least in architectural Viz, you want to position the sunlight to get the best lighting for that viewpoint, so if you guide your guess by looking at the sun icon, and you are using a wideangle lens (as it is normal in architectural viz) you will be surprised by unexpected sun angles at the time of rendering.

Ernesto

I always use the top view for setting the direction, and I use the hour setting for sun height.
But your suggestion is good.