UltraScenery - new territory [Commercial]

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  • barbult said:

    smileyAn unexpected and wonderful thing happened to me this week. A forum friend had an RTX 2060 that he didn't need, and he GAVE it to me! He insisted that I not pay him for it. It arrived today and I installed it tonight. It is a two generation graphics card upgrade for me and is making UltraScenery (and other) renders much faster. smiley Thank you, forum angel.

    You have given so much help & advice to forum members it's nice to hear you have benefitted from a pretty big gift. They say 'What goes around, comes around' and you've been doing nothing but nice things for people.

    Regards,

    Richard.

     

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 23,049

    It's always nice hear that my postings are helpful. Thanks for the kind words, everyone.

  • Honestly, you deserve it. I would not be a good deal as proficient as I am without your detailed and thoughtful guidance in the forums. If karma exists beyond metaphor, you may be set to compensate a couple of murders already.

    Sidenote about moving the Daz library and then I will drop it: this is a tutorial on using symlinks to get unity's download folder where you want it instead of its default location, which you can easily apply to Daz's folders. The advantage of the symlink is that, while your files are physically in your drive of choice, your operating system (and Daz) will behave as if they are in their default location, so you won't need to create a new library, adjust your categories, etc. It's quite a clean solution if you don't want to fuss about with DIM's and Daz's behavior and just want to move your files.

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 23,049
    Uthgard said:

    Honestly, you deserve it. I would not be a good deal as proficient as I am without your detailed and thoughtful guidance in the forums. If karma exists beyond metaphor, you may be set to compensate a couple of murders already.

    Sidenote about moving the Daz library and then I will drop it: this is a tutorial on using symlinks to get unity's download folder where you want it instead of its default location, which you can easily apply to Daz's folders. The advantage of the symlink is that, while your files are physically in your drive of choice, your operating system (and Daz) will behave as if they are in their default location, so you won't need to create a new library, adjust your categories, etc. It's quite a clean solution if you don't want to fuss about with DIM's and Daz's behavior and just want to move your files.

    That is interesting about the symbolic links. Have you verified the DIM uses them correctly? If it is at an OS level, I suppose DIM should not even really be aware of it.
  • I haven't tried it yet with DIM (need to clear some space in my other drive) but I don't see why it would work with Unity and not Daz. As you say, it acts at the OS level. I guess you could always test it with a single subfolder and see how it works.

  • AtiAti Posts: 9,078

    Be very careful with symlinks on Windows. While Daz Studio (or any other program) will have no issues with it (I speak from experience), Windows itself might. I use symlinks and as a result, I cannot upgrade from win 8.1 to windows 10. Of all the things, the windows upgrader can't handle these links.

  • SBibbSBibb Posts: 596

    @barbult Thanks for posting the issue with DazConnect installs and Tangy Apple Orchard.

    I'd forgetten there were a couple products I installed that way... and that seems to have been one of them. While I'm not one hundred percent sure of that (since I never found the actual uninstall button), after a bit of fiddling, it finally showed the right imagery in the installed products area and I reinstalled it through DIM. And now I have apple trees with UltraSceneCreator.

    Thank you! :-D

  • ArtiniArtini Posts: 8,524
    edited January 2021

    Uthgard said:

    Honestly, you deserve it. I would not be a good deal as proficient as I am without your detailed and thoughtful guidance in the forums. If karma exists beyond metaphor, you may be set to compensate a couple of murders already.

    Sidenote about moving the Daz library and then I will drop it: this is a tutorial on using symlinks to get unity's download folder where you want it instead of its default location, which you can easily apply to Daz's folders. The advantage of the symlink is that, while your files are physically in your drive of choice, your operating system (and Daz) will behave as if they are in their default location, so you won't need to create a new library, adjust your categories, etc. It's quite a clean solution if you don't want to fuss about with DIM's and Daz's behavior and just want to move your files.

     Thanks for the link, but there is another solution to it, that does not require to install shell extension on Windows 10.

    https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/16226/complete-guide-to-symbolic-links-symlinks-on-windows-or-linux/

     

    Post edited by Artini on
  • barbultbarbult Posts: 23,049

    SBibb said:

    @barbult Thanks for posting the issue with DazConnect installs and Tangy Apple Orchard.

    I'd forgetten there were a couple products I installed that way... and that seems to have been one of them. While I'm not one hundred percent sure of that (since I never found the actual uninstall button), after a bit of fiddling, it finally showed the right imagery in the installed products area and I reinstalled it through DIM. And now I have apple trees with UltraSceneCreator.

    Thank you! :-D

    It's great to know that more and more people are overcoming these Daz Connect issues. I don't know why Tangy Apple Orchard is so problematic with Daz Connect, but at least we know how to get around the problem now. 

  • FishtalesFishtales Posts: 6,038

    I used UltraScenery as the base and changed the colours.

    Irradiated Planet

    2021-01-20 14:39:55.777 Total Rendering Time: 6 minutes 38.23 seconds

    Click on image for full size.

  • AnEye4ArtAnEye4Art Posts: 702

    Now those are fire ants from another planet!!! Well done.

  • Ati said:

    Be very careful with symlinks on Windows. While Daz Studio (or any other program) will have no issues with it (I speak from experience), Windows itself might. I use symlinks and as a result, I cannot upgrade from win 8.1 to windows 10. Of all the things, the windows upgrader can't handle these links.

    Thanks for the warning. From what I have read, some people have gotten around the issue by creating dummy folders to trick Windows into installing in them before moving to (and recreating) the symlinked folder, but as you are far more tech-savvy than I am, I will guess you have already tried any such straightforward solutions.

     

    Artini said:

    Uthgard said:

    Honestly, you deserve it. I would not be a good deal as proficient as I am without your detailed and thoughtful guidance in the forums. If karma exists beyond metaphor, you may be set to compensate a couple of murders already.

    Sidenote about moving the Daz library and then I will drop it: this is a tutorial on using symlinks to get unity's download folder where you want it instead of its default location, which you can easily apply to Daz's folders. The advantage of the symlink is that, while your files are physically in your drive of choice, your operating system (and Daz) will behave as if they are in their default location, so you won't need to create a new library, adjust your categories, etc. It's quite a clean solution if you don't want to fuss about with DIM's and Daz's behavior and just want to move your files.

     Thanks for the link, but there is another solution to it, that does not require to install shell extension on Windows 10.

    https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/16226/complete-guide-to-symbolic-links-symlinks-on-windows-or-linux/

    Yes, that very same link is in the Reddit thread I posted, I just thought not having to use the command line would be less intimidating for people not familiar with the process.

  • davesodaveso Posts: 6,363

    need to thank Barbult for the help on getting my DAZ Studio directories straightened out and moving all my content to the D drive. and, getting TAO to work again. I'm a very happy camper right now. Also learned a lot. 
    THANK YOU - THANK YOU - THANK YOU

  • AnEye4ArtAnEye4Art Posts: 702

    Which is best for the instances, auto, memory, or speed? I don't remember which is best.

  • alexhcowleyalexhcowley Posts: 2,309

    AnEye4Art said:

    Which is best for the instances, auto, memory, or speed? I don't remember which is best.

    Memory.  Never, ever use speed with an Ultrascene.

    Cheers,

    Alex. 

  • AnEye4ArtAnEye4Art Posts: 702
    Thank you.
  • gitika1gitika1 Posts: 948

    barbult said:

    smileyAn unexpected and wonderful thing happened to me this week. A forum friend had an RTX 2060 that he didn't need, and he GAVE it to me! He insisted that I not pay him for it. It arrived today and I installed it tonight. It is a two generation graphics card upgrade for me and is making UltraScenery (and other) renders much faster. smiley Thank you, forum angel.

    What a blessing!  May I inquire, did you find/see a viable improvement in DS?  Just curious, I was underwhelmed when I put a 1080ti in my pc. (2 years ago).  ManFriday's Render Queue impacted my ability to produce renders, more than that purchse. 

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 23,049
    edited January 2021

    gitika1 said:

    barbult said:

    smileyAn unexpected and wonderful thing happened to me this week. A forum friend had an RTX 2060 that he didn't need, and he GAVE it to me! He insisted that I not pay him for it. It arrived today and I installed it tonight. It is a two generation graphics card upgrade for me and is making UltraScenery (and other) renders much faster. smiley Thank you, forum angel.

    What a blessing!  May I inquire, did you find/see a viable improvement in DS?  Just curious, I was underwhelmed when I put a 1080ti in my pc. (2 years ago).  ManFriday's Render Queue impacted my ability to produce renders, more than that purchse. 

    I only have one comparison timing, but it made tremendous difference. Both renders were the same scene rendered to completion at the same convergence percent. The difference is the graphics card installed at the time.

    980 Ti Time test Received update to 00885 iterations after 867.604s
    RTX 2060 Time test Received update to 00909 iterations after 303.949s

    Edited to add: The RTX 2060 runs cooler and much quieter, too.

    Post edited by barbult on
  • davesodaveso Posts: 6,363

    barbult said:

    gitika1 said:

    barbult said:

    smileyAn unexpected and wonderful thing happened to me this week. A forum friend had an RTX 2060 that he didn't need, and he GAVE it to me! He insisted that I not pay him for it. It arrived today and I installed it tonight. It is a two generation graphics card upgrade for me and is making UltraScenery (and other) renders much faster. smiley Thank you, forum angel.

    What a blessing!  May I inquire, did you find/see a viable improvement in DS?  Just curious, I was underwhelmed when I put a 1080ti in my pc. (2 years ago).  ManFriday's Render Queue impacted my ability to produce renders, more than that purchse. 

    I only have one comparison timing, but it made tremendous difference. Both renders were the same scene rendered to completion at the same convergence percent. The difference is the graphics card installed at the time.

    980 Ti Time test Received update to 00885 iterations after 867.604s
    RTX 2060 Time test Received update to 00909 iterations after 303.949s

    Edited to add: The RTX 2060 runs cooler and much quieter, too.

    speed is awesome. I have a 2070 Super. most renders not too bad.  

  • TirickTirick Posts: 225

    I apologize if this has been asked before, but is there a practical way to change the size of the terrain generated? I've experimented with tiling different UltraScenery objects using a tiled heightmap but that feels like a kludgy workaround. I'm looking to set up a reusable terrain piece but would need several long angle shots of the same section, so I'm hoping to find a way to generate that efficiently. 

    Thank you,

    Tirick

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 23,049

    Tirick said:

    I apologize if this has been asked before, but is there a practical way to change the size of the terrain generated? I've experimented with tiling different UltraScenery objects using a tiled heightmap but that feels like a kludgy workaround. I'm looking to set up a reusable terrain piece but would need several long angle shots of the same section, so I'm hoping to find a way to generate that efficiently. 

    Thank you,

    Tirick

    The size of the UltraScenery terrain cannot be changed. That capability has been requested several times by several people, and I think HowieFarkes is considering it for a possible future upgrade, but nothing has been promised. 

  • TirickTirick Posts: 225

    Thank you. I'll play with tiling a larger image.

  • Jason GalterioJason Galterio Posts: 2,562
    edited February 2021

    Haven't made anything worth posting in a while...  but US was one of the first things I opened when I got back in.

    US works pretty well with the MARSA elements to create a snowy landscape. There were a few little tricks that needed to be done though...  like altering the grass textures, removing some of the smaller vegetation, and, most importantly, making the leaves invisible. Even though the leaves were invisible in US, MARSA still applied snow to them.

    (Also wanted to see how Gallery image linking worked now.)

    Post edited by Jason Galterio on
  • TangoAlphaTangoAlpha Posts: 4,584

    Bit quiet around here. So here's a hint of things to come:

  • alexhcowleyalexhcowley Posts: 2,309

    TangoAlpha said:

    Bit quiet around here. So here's a hint of things to come:

     

    Perfectly timed!  I was thinking about you earlier on today and wondering what you have been up to lately.  My credit card hasn't quite recovered from Strangefate's latest releases but I'm hoping to have it back up and running for when this arrives.

    Cheers,

    Alex. 

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 23,049

    Jason Galterio said:

    Haven't made anything worth posting in a while...  but US was one of the first things I opened when I got back in.

    US works pretty well with the MARSA elements to create a snowy landscape. There were a few little tricks that needed to be done though...  like altering the grass textures, removing some of the smaller vegetation, and, most importantly, making the leaves invisible. Even though the leaves were invisible in US, MARSA still applied snow to them.

    (Also wanted to see how Gallery image linking worked now.)

    That's a nice scene. I meant to comment when it was first posted, but I got distracted - sorry for the delay.  I like the bluish tint that gives it a cold winter feel.

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 23,049

    TangoAlpha said:

    Bit quiet around here. So here's a hint of things to come:

    It feels like home (Florida)! It is a great addition to UltraScenery. 

  • Doc AcmeDoc Acme Posts: 1,153

    It has been pretty quiet.  I've been experimenting as well, not only with USC and UltraScatterPro, but FBX exporting in order to get pixel accurate compositing between a DS render and an entirely different app.  In my case, Lightwave.  Wish there was a means of exporting the Enviroment; Daz's is actually a lot more sophisticated.  But I can mimic pretty well for what I need.

     

    Barn Side 722AM+.jpg
    1920 x 1080 - 3M
  • ArtiniArtini Posts: 8,524

    TangoAlpha said:

    Bit quiet around here. So here's a hint of things to come:

    Will it be accelerator friendly?

     

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 23,049

    Doc Acme said:

    It has been pretty quiet.  I've been experimenting as well, not only with USC and UltraScatterPro, but FBX exporting in order to get pixel accurate compositing between a DS render and an entirely different app.  In my case, Lightwave.  Wish there was a means of exporting the Enviroment; Daz's is actually a lot more sophisticated.  But I can mimic pretty well for what I need.

     

    Nice. Did you do that in DS or Lightwave? Is that a skunk I see in the grass? 

This discussion has been closed.