The VUE thread

solo · 9 Oct 2009, 07:00

Great post m48, I never thought about trying .kmz, and now with the new improved Collada exporters I guess the SU to Vue export will have another option.

Just one question, how does the material/mesh coversion look in the navigation pane?, is it organised, do components and groups keep their structure?

pilou · 9 Oct 2009, 07:48

It's the same for put a SU textured model in Blender (trick known for a time)

m48 · 10 Oct 2009, 19:53

Hi...yeah it look pretty good for my, perfect copy of the SU model.
all you have to do., is unzip all the files in the same folder. and when you open the .dae file whit VUE, automatically organised all.
Maintain a perfect structure and textures.

m48 · 12 Oct 2009, 02:25

Hi!!
i been asking my self, if there is some kind of component spray, or tree-vegetation spray for VUE 7, because it
is a little annoying putting it one at a time.

solo · 12 Oct 2009, 08:16

There are several ways, most common being the 'paint ecosystem' option, then there is object duplicating and randomising, another way is the add object/vegetation to texture option.

What version do you have?

m48 · 12 Oct 2009, 16:21

@solo said:

There are several ways, most common being the 'paint ecosystem' option, then there is object duplicating and randomising, another way is the add object/vegetation to texture option.

What version do you have?

i have the, vue 7 xstream 64bits, i´m very newb whit vue, only a couple weeks whit it.-
only doit this..so far, all the model whit sketchup, only the texture of the mountain whit VUE.
i need a most realistic nature.
tks.
and sorry my English.

Ecuadorian · 16 Oct 2009, 01:05

Sorry for hacking the thread. I'm considering buying the RenderUp module for Vue 7 Pioneer so I could render some hi-res HDR backgrounds for use in other render programs.

However, I just received an e-mail from e-on saying that version 8 of Vue-everything is coming in November, and...

@unknownuser said:

If you already own a module for Vue 7, you will be able to upgrade to the corresponding module for Vue 8 with a 50% discount on the full price.

So I guess this month is a bad time to enter the Vue world and I better wait until November before buying any modules, what do you think?

BTW, this single thread here seems to have more action than the whole "Vue - General" section of the Cornucopia forum

marked001 · 20 Oct 2009, 03:58

here is one of my first scenes i'm working on in vue.. working on some test images for an upcoming game project.... all of the 'built' pieces are from sketchup (boats downloaded)...

solo · 20 Oct 2009, 14:06

Nice scene Jason, only issue is the gritty render, what settings are you using?

Miguel, for architectural renders Vue 8 has nothing new to offer, I have not upgraded (there is an early upgrade available) I'm getting a little despondent with E-on, looks like they are more concerned with the Poser integration and fantasy hobbyist users than seriously looking at what they can do for the commercial user (remind you of anyone?)The render engine is slow and adding all the new features that I care less about just slows it down further.

marked001 · 20 Oct 2009, 15:27

I was surprised with the noise, too.... that was on 'Final' i think..i tried one on Superior this morning and still had some noise.... any idea what causes this? atmosphere?

Is there any way to get the group/component names from sketchup to come in with the 3ds?

solo · 20 Oct 2009, 15:35

Can you send me the scene? I would like to see your settings and setup, I can then return it with a render setup which you can save in your personal folder.

marked001 · 21 Oct 2009, 11:08

thanks for the help, pete... much appreciated.

back to some 3ds import questions... is there a way to embed the geometry and materials into the file? i just had some issues where i re exported a piece of the model, and it replaced some materials...and then ended up messing up most of the materials in my model

CaptainsLS · 26 Oct 2009, 20:54

@solo said:

No need for a script, The image used for a SU face-me is normally .png, so in Vue create a new alpha plane, navigate to image, select fit and check 'billboard'...viola it's done and now you can even adjust the texture without it losing it's transparency.

Solo, would you mind elaborating a bit on this? I do not understand this process. Are you suggesting creating and sizing alpha planes in Vue and applying the png, thus eliminating the entire process of using face-me components in sketchup?

The sketchup components are exported into Vue no problem, but once there, they lose the ability to face the camera. Thanks in advance for any suggestions on how to fix this.

solo · 26 Oct 2009, 21:22

CaptainLS, in Vue select an alpha plane and then navigate to your .png, and apply it, then select 'Billboard' and it becomes a face-me component.

You do not need a seperate alpha image as Vue will create it for you.

If you unselect 'vertical' then it becomes face me from any angle including above.

CaptainsLS · 26 Oct 2009, 21:29

Perhaps my problem lies in my exporting? Are you importing the sketchup file directly into Vue? I export an .obj from Sketchup and import that into Vue. The components become a mesh and are not alpha planes. Thanks for helping me with this.

solo · 26 Oct 2009, 21:33

Create it the way you would in SU, first create a plane, then apply the texture and make it a billboard.

Importing a mesh will not become a face-me, it needs to be created in Vue.

EarthMover · 26 Oct 2009, 23:47

Captain,

What I found to be an easier solution than remaking all of your faceme plants into Vue alpha planes, since they import already as transparent alpha planes and the only problem is that they don't face the camera, is to just put all the faceme components onto their own layer in VUE. Once you set your camera's vantage point, select the plant layer, which will select all the objects (plants) simultaneously, and use the rotate tool and choose Local or the "L" option. Rotate all the plants on their own axis to face the camera. Granted this only works for still renders, but it's quicker than remaking 50 or more plants in a scene. I do the same thing when I import into Max and find it pretty quick to setup between scenes..

solo · 26 Oct 2009, 23:55

Adam, I was going to ask you a while back when you did a Vue render and had 2d plants in it, why 2d?

I mean Vue can handle billions of poly's and it has a great plant editor as well as vast plant libraries and resources available, why would you need to use 2d plants?
My only thought would be because you needed a certain species that you could not make or find.

EarthMover · 27 Oct 2009, 00:22

Actually Pete, I've been waiting for you to make more plants in my zone! But yes, that's the main reason. It's hard to satisfy an actual planting design with the 3D vegetation that is available. We just finished a residential landscape installation in which I had 40 different plant species designed into the job. I might have been able to satisfy a handful of them with 3D. I think the 3D vegetation is more seamless and accurate in a render, especially with shadows and lighting. Most of my clients have never even seen a 3D design in their life and wouldn't be able to tell the difference if I pointed it out. I have over 6,000 2D plants in my collection. Couple that with the RP Tools component search and place tool and I can quickly find and drop in every plant in a design in about 10 minutes.

sliner · 31 Oct 2009, 10:25

You can select once all plant-components in the scene, made in SketchUp, then in the material editor (Basic mode) check and mark "Use color map" them by double-clicking in one window (invert mask, if necessary), then on the context menu RMB or in Edit menu select "Replace by (keep proportions)" with Alpha Plane, then in the menu "Orientation" enter 90 degrees (Pitch). Then the only piece mark that it is Billboard, Adjust plane proportions and Keep vertical should marked too, it is possible in a single window, not closing after each point.

It turns very quickly, I also use a lot of plants in my work