3D rendered walk throughs

xrok1

Well, if you use QWalkabout, why not provide a real walkthrough where your client can do it interactively?

exactly, you can make an executable and send to him, even with the trial.

Gaieus, Walkabout $99, Simmetry3D $300 annual subscription?

ashscott

Yeah those look cool, only issue is, in this instance, all details haven't been completely finalized so if we allow him to walkabout wherever he wants he might notice.

I wondered what Blender is like for producing these sorts of presentations and how well (if at all) it interacts with Sketchup.

Thanks for the comments folks I will certainly use walkabout and perhaps symmetry 3d on other jobs

Gaieus

That's not 300 US Dollars but British Pounds.

(But for a trial version? )

Anyway, you know when I'd purchase such a subscription. I have tried it, it has the potential but seeing that the last entry on their forums is from two years ago, I really doubt they are using that money wisely.

ashscott

@gaieus said:

That's not 300 US Dollars but British Pounds.

(But for a trial version? )

Anyway, you know when I'd purchase such a subscription. I have tried it, it has the potential but seeing that the last entry on their forums is from two years ago, I really doubt they are using that money wisely.

What are your thoughts on a sketchup/blender working partnership Gaieus?

Ecuadorian

Ok, so you don't need interactivity but just to create walk through videos, and do it fast. I recommend you try LightUp:
http://www.light-up.co.uk/

Search YouTube for: sketchup lightup
to see some examples of the output.

Gaieus

I haven't used Blender almost at all, not to speak about its capabilities. I know it can do animation (walking people and such) but knowing that it exists doesn't mean I also know how to use it.

For a walkthrough animation, indeed, LightUp would be ideal to render with and use a straight SU output.

ashscott

Thanks very much for your help everyone, I have plenty to work with now

xrok1

you could also try FRAPS (http://www.fraps.com/) $37 or free if you don't mind watermark, to capture a direct walkthrough from SU. see my try, (inspired by your question) here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEHjiBBT3pM

BTW, how do i embed my video??

[flash=560,304:mwhz8xdy]http://www.youtube.com/v/iEHjiBBT3pM&hl=en&fs=1&[/flash:mwhz8xdy]

Gaieus

There are quite a few free screen capturing apps, too.

@xrok1 said:

BTW, how do i embed my video??

Edit your post and see the bbcode. You need to use the snipplet from the embed code on youtube, not the web url.

xrok1

hey! did you do that? its magic

BTW, did anyone notice the difference between the FF and IE youtube video quality???? what's up with that, i hate IE as much as the next guy but it sure do a lot better just on youtube???

Ecuadorian

Try again. Most probably YouTube was still processing your video when you tried with Firefox.

xrok1

No, still looks like crap. have you tried them side by side? IE is waaaay clearer!

xrok1

besides, in my screen shot they're running simultaneously.

ashscott

Camstudio is pretty hard to beat for screen capture....primarily because its free

xrok1

did you just answer your own question?

kwistenbiebel

I believe in the near future we will be using game engines for real time walkthroughs.
Unfortunately no one really developed a fast workflow from Sketchup to game engine.
With the new Cry Engine 3 just being released, I really hope it will finally happen.

xrok1

i just tried Camstudio and there's no way to get the frame rate even near acceptably smooth at a descend resolution. at least on my machine. fraps on the other hand is smooth like butter even at full screen resolution. But hey, its your presentation.

xrok1

@kwistenbiebel said:

I believe in the near future we will be using game engines for real time walkthroughs.
Unfortunately no one really developed a fast workflow from Sketchup to game engine.
With the new Cry Engine 3 just being released, I really hope it will finally happen.

have you tried playup: http://www.playuptools.com/ seemed pretty good to me but i didn't spend that much time.

numbthumb

Although I am not sure if Esperient Creator could be considered a game engine, it supports native SU file import.
Interactive 3D content developed this way looks very good indeed.
But with a price of $500 or even $2400 for a high end package, it is probably out of the question.
Has anybody tried it yet?

Pixero

@numbthumb said:

Although I am not sure if Esperient Creator could be considered a game engine, it supports native SU file import.
Interactive 3D content developed this way looks very good indeed.
But with a price of $500 or even $2400 for a high end package, it is probably out of the question.
Has anybody tried it yet?

I have tried it and it was quite easy to use. It didnt have a way of having the camera fly through a scene ( you only had a fixed camera height) and after I asked for it at the forum and was told it would be done soon. I waited for some six months before giving up on it.
Scripting Esperient was far beyond my capacity.

DX Studio was better in that area but lacked much else. Like speed with scenes of more than one building.

Quality wise nothing beats Crysis but workflow isnt quick and since you can't use it commercially there isn't much you can do with it. Plus it hasent got a web exporter.