LumenRT versus ?????

JudgeDrey · 21 May 2012, 05:25

EDIT below
EDIT#2 below

*OP
I saw an ad for LumenRT yesterday that intrigued me. So I wanted to try it. Wen to their site, signed up for the trial. They said they'd email me a DL link. Never did. It's been over 24hrs, I check my spam filter, clicked on their email trouble link there. Nothing has worked. I even tried DLing it off of C net.com , and there it says I have a firewall setting stopping the download, which I don't !? Frustration!

Is there ANYWHERE else I could DL this software, the trial I mean?

Please?

Or can someone suggest a software that is similar?

Thanks alot!

Oh, and I'm sorry if this is posted in the wrong forum, I'm still not sure where this should fall. Let me know if so, thanks!*

%(#0000FF)[EDIT
It looks like I'm at a dead end as far as LumenRT goes. So I figured I'd change my OP to ask about what OTHER software programs would be worth trying that is comparable to what LumenRT does? I have no experience with this type of software, so I'm not very fussy about the output, just as long as it doesn't have too steep of a learning curve I guess.]

%(#800000)[EDIT#2
Sorry for all the edits,
Just wanted to add that I was finally able to DL and install LumenRT. I'm foolin around with it now and it seems very simple to use. Especially for a beginner like myself. As for the quality, to me it's very very good because I have nothing really to compare it too. It's pretty cool that you're able to navigate your model in real-time after the render, but it's very hard on resources and you need a minimum of 512MB of video memory for smooth navigation.

If navigation is unimportant to you, and you just want to be able to render a scene, or scenes, then guddyup! This program is awesome! You can always lower the quality to navigate, set up your next scene, then set the quality high again for your next scene. As long as you don't try to navigate on high quality, you're golden.(I'm just noticing that the first model I'm trying to render with LumenRT has taken 25 minutes so, but it's my fault for adding about a dozen trees(with hundreds of leaves)! Oops. I'm assuming that's what's making it take sooo long to process)]

Thanks once again guys for comments and-or advice-crits!

Sincerely, Drey

pilou · 21 May 2012, 08:25

LightUp ?

JudgeDrey · 21 May 2012, 08:47

@unknownuser said:

LightUp ?

Thanks for the reply Pilou. I thought LightUp was only for Lighting though. It's not? Is it for all material rendering also, like LumenRT?

Rich O Brien · 21 May 2012, 09:02

LightUp is a render app that allows you to navigate around like LumenRT.

Worth reading through its user manual as it does contain great info.

JudgeDrey · 21 May 2012, 09:17

@rich o brien said:

LightUp is a render app that allows you to navigate around like LumenRT.

Worth reading through its user manual as it does contain great info.

Good to know! Thanks very much! I'll check it out.

Also, Is there any freeware out there that is worthwhile? (While were on the subject )
(I have searched the forum, and the net for info/suggestions on Rendering software/freeware. I just haven't found anything that really stuck out as being a clear cut favorite for the majority of SketchUp modellers. Except for VRAY, which has it's own SubForum here, so I'm assuming it's popular, but is it the same kind of software, somewhat easy to learn, and worth checking out?

Thank again!

Rich O Brien · 21 May 2012, 09:31

Most render apps come with a limited res/watermark version. Or 30 day trial.

There lots of topics in which is the best here. I'd recommend one but it's pointless. You'll find one that suits you.

JudgeDrey · 21 May 2012, 10:49

@unknownuser said:

Striclly speaking the best free rendering will be Blender with its incredible render Cycles

And the more fun Lumion free version

Thanks ALOT for the suggestions. I'll check em out!

pilou · 21 May 2012, 10:52

Strictlly speaking the best free rendering will be Blender with its incredible render Cycles

And the more fun Lumion free version

JudgeDrey · 23 May 2012, 06:15

Just thought I'd mention that, after some long hours of research , and mostly a recommendation from a trusted source , I decided to go with KerkyThea and Twilight.

As a complete noob to all this stuff, I figured I shouldn't spend much time learning something that was only gonna be good for 15 or 30 days, so I went with freeware, and these seemed to be 2 of the best out there, especially considering the online support they have with the forums...etc. You just can't beat free software.

So I thank you ALL for your posts, and if anyone would like to recommend some good beginner tutorials for KyrkyThea and/or Twilight, I'll be very grateful ! I'm sure I can find many many tutorials online, it's just hard to narrow it down and choose just one sometimes.
I must have about 5 different SketchUp tutorial series saved on my computer since I started using SU. It gets a little frustrating going from one series to another, and not sticking to just one. Oh well, at least there's lots to choose from, and not the other way around aye? I shouldn't complain.

Thanks again everyone!
Sincerely, Drey

Gaieus · 23 May 2012, 06:22

Well, LumenRT, when already rendered is supposed to be a "real time" application while Kerky and Twilight are PR raytracers so you cannot really compare them but they are definitely a good choice.

As for tutorials: don't forget the very obvious and look at the user manuals provided by the developers for Kerky (although this may look like a bit outdated, most of what's written in it is still valid):
http://www.kerkythea.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=42&func=select&id=6
and Twilight:
http://www.twilightrender.com/downloads/user-manual

JudgeDrey · 23 May 2012, 08:07

@gaieus said:

Well, LumenRT, when already rendered is supposed to be a "real time" application while Kerky and Twilight are PR raytracers so you cannot really compare them but they are definitely a good choice.

Right. Shouldn't have compared them.

@gaieus said:

As for tutorials: don't forget the very obvious and look at the user manuals provided by the developers for Kerky (although this may look like a bit outdated, most of what's written in it is still valid):
http://www.kerkythea.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=42&func=select&id=6
and Twilight:
http://www.twilightrender.com/downloads/user-manual

Thanks once again!

notareal · 23 May 2012, 17:59

Worth to read http://www.sketchupartists.org/tutorials/sketchup-and-kerkythea/sketchup-and-kerkythea-fast-start-4architects/
and naturally classic KT tutorials master list http://www.kerkythea.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=5720 (probably you find most answers to your question in the topic)

JudgeDrey · 24 May 2012, 01:39

@notareal said:

Worth to read http://www.sketchupartists.org/tutorials/sketchup-and-kerkythea/sketchup-and-kerkythea-fast-start-4architects/
and naturally classic KT tutorials master list http://www.kerkythea.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=5720 (probably you find most answers to your question in the topic)

Thanks very much notareal! Every little bit helps.