Plugin Announcement: SurfaceSPREAD

[c4d-Jack]

Hi,

today am proudly announce my new plugin SurfaceSPREAD, the second plugin of the SPREAD family.

http://www.c4d-jack.de/bann/surfacespread_banner_750x100.jpg (http://www.c4d-jack.de/html/downloads/surfacespread/en/)

What is SurfaceSPREAD?
It's a plugin specialized on the creation of landscape scenes in CINEMA 4D. The plugin has already been demonstrated on some images, including my works Lagoon (http://c4d-jack.cgsociety.org/gallery/787118/) and Autumn Road (http://c4d-jack.cgsociety.org/gallery/763919/) (3D World Magazine's Image of the Month, July 2009). Both made with Vray, by the way.

SurfaceSPREAD contains several componente which I will introduce now...
This is only a quick overview, it does not cover all features.


SurfaceSPREAD Object
This object distributes object clones on surfaces and was specifically designed for natural distribution. It goes into a whole different direction than all other cloner objects you know.

Using a special weighting system, the distribution of clones is influenced with an array of filters, which can all be combined with each other. There are geological filters that control the distribution according to the surface's topology like altitude and slope. Other filters manipulate the distribution by means of fractal functions, producing a natural looking variance of the clones' density; or they prevent clones from appearing too near to each other, effectively avoiding unwanted intersections of clones. Others use control objects to influence the distribution on a local basis, making it easy to create clearances in forests. Of course, there are also filters for standard functionalities like constraining clones to a polygon selection or controlling their density using vertex maps or materials.

In addition to this there are filters called Performance Filters, which reduce memory usage and render preparation times or a scene. For example you can eliminate clones that are located behind mountains, or outside the camera's view cone, or you can decrease the distributin density with increasing distance from the camera.

Of course, clones can be aligned using versatile funtions. Apart from static alignment and target alignment, you can also align the clones to polygon or phong normals while being able to mix that alignment seamlessly with any direction you want.

Last but not least there are several effects to change the way the created clones look like, e.g. random alignment or random scaling (optionally with hard random values or using a scalable noise field). Clones can even be scaled depending from the filter system.


SPREADscape Object
This object is an alternative landscape object which offers a lot more possibilities than the standard landscape object of CINEMA 4D.

A terrain is build from up to 7 layers. Each layer can consist of one of several fractal functions (create cool looking terrains with lightning-speed), a spline (allowing you to interactively sculpt river beds, road fundaments or mountain chains), or a material (making it possible to use almost any channel shader or bitmap textures, as well as combinations of both). All these layers can be combined with each other using different mix functions (e.g. Add, Multiply, Highest, Lowest).

A shaping curve makes it easy to apply a shaping to the generated landscape. The curve can be manually edited, but there are also several preset curves available (including glacialization, canonization, dunes, plateau, terraces, etc).

SPREADscape is very fast and generates impressive terrains with several layers and a million polygons in mostly less then 10 seconds.


SPREADrock Object
A simple parametric rock object, utilizing different fractal functions to generate a rock or stone. With animated parameters, it can also be used for other nice effects.


SurfaceSPREAD Shader
This channel shader applies a color to each clone, depending from data calculated by the SurfaceSPREAD Object, or using a random or noise function. The available colors are simply defined in a gradient. This way, even a single cloned tree can be used for a colorful autumn forest. Of course, the shader also works with Vray Proxy objects!


Distribution Override Tag
This tag can be attached to the objects that you want to clone and is able to override any distribution setting defined in the SurfaceSPREAD Object. This way you can apply different distribution to e.g. rocks and trees while still using only one SurfaceSPREAD Object. Not only a time-saver but also a good workflow improvement.


Wire Object
A simple but helpful object that creates a spline along any number of child objects. Can be utilized for easy-to-use spline sculpting in the SPREADscape Object. You can also use it in conjunction with the SurfaceSPREAD Object and have instant spaghetti, hair balls or cable tangle. Of course, you can also just use it in your everyday modelling and animation work, e.g. to create a spline that can be animated without the restrictions of PLA animation.


SurfaceSPREAD Library
Thanks to the partnership of www.c4d-jack.de (http://www.c4d-jack.de) and 3dplants.com (http://3dplants.com), all SurfaceSPREAD customers get access to the SurfaceSPREAD library. This is a library for the CINEMA 4D Content Browser and contains a multitude of flowers, bushes, cacti, palm trees and other plants. All UVW textured and ready to use. License includes private and commercial usage rights.


Enough talking. Take a look at the website, it's worth the click!

If you want to have another short overview of the most important components, and watch some videos, just click the "tour" link on top of the page. If you want to know everything in detail, you can already get the User's Manual (60 pages, PDF) from the download section.

>> SurfaceSPREAD Website >> (http://www.c4d-jack.de/html/downloads/surfacespread/en/)

SurfaceSPREAD is going to be released very soon!
The price per license will be 79,90 EUR ($113,41 at the time writing), and there will of course be a demo version to play with.
Using the plugin in NETrender Server or Client is free of charge.
Target systems are Windows (32 Bit and 64 Bit) as well as Intel Macs (32 Bit and 64-Bit); CINEMA 4D R10.1, R10.5 and R11.

Cheers,
Jack

[t43]

wow looks like a very useful and well done plugin. count me in for buying it once there is a final release... 8)
for some time i wondered and waited for some plugin or functions that prevents clones from overlapping each other. i guess thats not part of the video tour, could you tell more about that very neat function inside your plugin? thx

[c4d-Jack]

Of course, you just active the "Minimum Distance" filter in the SurfaceSPREAD Object, and set a minimum distance clones should have to each other, and that's it :)

Greetings,
Jack

[t43]

nice and neat :P
thx

[kizo]

Hi Jack
it looks very interesting and useful.....Im going for it certainly.

the performance filter - cam. cone is excellent ! as the rest also .... my compliments

for the kind of scenes we do mostly this seems a great addition to the existing tools

kizo

[c4d-Jack]

Step One
The release of the commercial build is near!

First, why don't you all start the fun by downloading the demo version, which I have just put online? ;-)


Please note: The demo version only runs in the CINEMA 4D Demo.
Within the CINEMA 4D Demo, the SurfaceSPREAD Demo will run without restrictions.
You can download it here:
Request CINEMA 4D Demo (http://www.maxon.net/downloads/downloads/demo-version.html)


To get the SurfaceSPREAD Demo, just go here:
Request SurfaceSPREAD Demo (http://www.c4d-jack.de/html/downloads/surfacespread/en/demo.php)


To install it, just unzip the SurfaceSPREAD folder into the CINEMA 4D plugins folder.


Greetings & have fun,
Jack

[c4d-Jack]

Release!

http://www.c4d-jack.de/bann/surfacespread_banner_750x100.jpg (http://www.c4d-jack.de/html/downloads/surfacespread/en/)

It's done! Demo is available, as well as example scenes and documentation.

Licenses for SurfaceSPREAD (http://www.c4d-jack.de/html/downloads/surfacespread/en/) are now available for purchase!
Purchase SurfaceSPREAD license (http://www.c4d-jack.de/html/downloads/surfacespread/en/buy.php)

Best regards,
Jack

[Tong]

don`t get it

needs to buy 2 license for 32 and 64 bit ?

[c4d-Jack]

No, the license works for all.

This is just for my database, so I'm able to provide help more quickly an precisely if any questions come up.

Maybe I didn't make that clear enough, so I've just added that information to the purchase page ;-)

Greetings,
Jack

[Rich_Art]

Cool Jack,

I've announced it on our site as well.

Peace,
Rich_Art. :wink:

[c4d-Jack]

\o/ \o/ \o/

Yoohoo!!

[c4d-Jack]

As it seems there were problems with Mac+R11+64Bit, so I just uploaded an update to 1.00.12!

Mac users, please download the plugin again!

Important note: The new version only contains one binary (surfacespread.dylib). When installing the plugin, please ensure that the old binaries (surfacespread10.dylib and surfacespread11.dylib) are deleted! An of course don't accidently delete your license file ;-)

Cheers,
Jack

[stefan]

congrats jack, i will look at it in detail when i am back from holiday:-)
cheers
stefan

[c4d-Jack]

You're welcome to look at it as closely as you like :)
And have a nice holiday!

Cheers,
Jack

[Shordy]

great plug-in.

looks a bit like vray scatter :)

Is it able to beat mograph?

[c4d-Jack]

That depends of what you want from the plugin.
I did not program a MoGraph clone, because that would be stupid business strategy ;-)

But if you want to create landscapes, I would say yes, it beats MoGraph.

Just download the demo and try it out yourself!

Greetings,
Jack

[rsquires]

I have a large landscape to produce, snow capped mountains with fir trees. I am assuming I can do this with Surface Spread. Due to the complexity of the scene I imagine I will switch Cinema to 64 bit and use Vray Proxies. Is this the right way to do it and if so can you give hints on workflow to a beginner.

all the best

richard

[c4d-Jack]

Hi,

of course, this is the very best way to do it :)

The workflow is pretty easy. Creating proxies in VrayForC4D 1.1 is a bit of work, but it gets a lot easier if you use the free Coffee Plugin "VrayProxy Creator" which I have posted some time ago here in this forum.

The workflow of creating a forest with SurfaceSPREAD and Vray Proxies is as easy as taking a child's candy :D You just create Vray Proxies of the trees and then use the proxy objects with SurfaceSPREAD to clone them on the landscape.

If you have more questions, I will be pleased to answer them ;-)

Greetings,
Jack

[c4d-Jack]

Update

The last build seemed to have problems with the SurfaceSPREAD Object's filter system.
These problems are now fixed, the filters now work as they're supposed to.

As a little bonus, I implemented a little new feature: In the SPREADscape Object, detail layers of type "Spline" now have a new curve attribute that controls the spline's radius in the course of the spline.
Now you can do something like this (http://dev.c4d-jack.de/public/surfacespread/spreadscape/spreadscape_spline_radiuscurve.jpg)

Documentation has also been updated.

Everybody, who downloaded the plugin after July 26th 2009, PLEASE DOWNLOAD AGAIN!
Download Demo (http://www.c4d-jack.de/html/downloads/surfacespread/en/demo.php)

Cheers,
Jack

P.S.: There's also a new demo scene on the download page ;-)

[stefan]

very cool jack, i need surface spread too :-)

cheers
stefan

[c4d-Jack]

I just uploaded more demo scenes on the website, demonstrating how a terrain material is built, using only procedural shaders.

Example:
http://www.c4d-jack.de/html/downloads/surfacespread/files/SurfaceSPREAD_Demoscene_Terrain-Shaders2-vray_image.jpg

Go here: Download page (http://www.c4d-jack.de/html/downloads/surfacespread/en/downloads.php)

There's also an example for VrayForC4D, just scroll down to the bottom.

Cheers,
Jack

[Ernest Burden]

using only procedural shaders.


I use as many procedural shades, often layered, in my work as possible. It's a great approach when you have so many good noise patterns as in C4D. I can't wait to get your plug!

[Rich_Art]

Nice shader Jack.

Peace,
Rich_Art. :wink:

[c4d-Jack]

The only thing that I don't like about it is the fact the the Falloff Shader recognizes Vray's Bump Mapping as slopes, and reacts to it. I wish I could tell the shader just to take real geometry into account. My Grass plains often get totally crumbly when I use the Falloff Shader to distribute the grass.

[c4d-Jack]

UPDATE
v1.00.16

This update of SurfaceSPREAD introduces a completely reworked SPREADrock Object, implementing some feature requests made by users.

It now lets you add a detail structure to the rock, allowing to add more realism to the geometry without necessarily changing the overall shape of the rock.

Also, it supports different base shapes. Until now, a sphere with hexagonal subdivision was the basis for every rock. You can now choose between Sphere, Cube and Pyramid. The pre-subdivision for Cube an Pyramid allow you to control how precise the original shape is preserved, while a smooth post-subdivision lets you add details without altering the base shape too much.

Another new feature is the support for custom polygon objects to be linked as base shape. This enables you to create your own basic rock geometry and then "rockify" it using SPREADrock.

Last but not least the GUI of the SPREADrock object has been reorganized and is now more clearly arranged.

See the following video to get an idea of what's possible with the new version of SPREADrock:
http://dev.c4d-jack.de/public/surfacespread/spreadrock/spreadrock-v2_h264.mov (4.6 MB, QuickTime H.264)

The new version and the updated documentation are now available for download on the website:
http://www.c4d-jack.de/html/downloads/surfacespread/en/downloads.php

Cheers,
Jack

[c4d-Jack]

New demo scene for the new SPREADrock and procedural material uploaded:

http://dev.c4d-jack.de/public/surfacespread/spreadrock/spreadrock-v2_canyon_test-2_small.jpg

Go here and download scene "Canyon":
SurfaceSPREAD Download Page (http://www.c4d-jack.de/html/downloads/surfacespread/en/downloads.php)

Cheers,
Jack

[c4d-Jack]

Holger Schömann has prepared an impressive demo scene and allowed me to upload it to the website.

It shows how a fantastic rock landscape can be created with a simple lowpoly model and the SPREADrock object (see image here (http://www.c4d-jack.de/html/downloads/surfacespread/files/SurfaceSPREAD_Demoscene_Spreadrock_Custompolyobj_i mage.jpg)).

The ZIP contains the scene including light and materials for VrayForC4D.

Click here and download the demo scene "Rockscape":
http://www.c4d-jack.de/html/downloads/surfacespread/en/downloads.php (http://www.c4d-jack.de/html/downloads/surfacespread/en/downloads.php)

Cheers,
Jack

[stefan]

holger also showed me juts a great grass landscape made with surface spread and vray. looks very nice his grass( juts a vie grass eleents made with hair ad then spread with jacks plugin>> gives an amazing result.

did he sent you already jack?
cheers
stefan

[c4d-Jack]

Yes, the image is already in the SurfaceSPREAD showcase ;-)

[segnoprogetto]

Thanks Jack magnific job! ! !
:wink:

[c4d-Jack]

Hello everyone,

Nigel Doyle (3Dkiwi) from C4Dcafé.com has just published a very nice review on my newest plugin SurfaceSPREAD (http://www.c4d-jack.de/html/downloads/surfacespread/en/) in C4D R11.5. It covers almost every aspect of the plugin and gives a great overview of its capabilities.

Read SurfaceSPREAD Review on C4Dcafé.com (http://www.c4dcafe.com/reviews/surfacespread/)

Thanks to Nigel for reviewing this!

Cheers,
Frank

[rhodesy]

Good review Frank. Ive just had a go with the demo myself and think its a pretty good plugin with lots of potential. I have been mainly experimenting with it trying to ditribute large amounts of small grass clumps in an effort to achieve a field of grass. For this I would like loads of clumps close to the camera and a steady falloff away from the camera, kind of like the distribution modifier but inverted. I have tried placing the dist modifiers away from the cameras but they seem to still create a bit of a line even with a soft gradient. Perhaps there could be some sort or grass distribution preset which distributes your grass efficiently in relation to the camera with a falloff.

Ive been testing it with the 11.5 demo with c4d render instances so not tried vray proxys but because there are many 1000s of clones it is taking a good 15mins to process before rendertime (which is comparatievly quick) - will this processing be any quicker with the vray proxy or exactly the same?

Cheers
Rob

[c4d-Jack]

For this I would like loads of clumps close to the camera and a steady falloff away from the camera, kind of like the distribution modifier but inverted. [...] Perhaps there could be some sort or grass distribution preset which distributes your grass efficiently in relation to the camera with a falloff.
You can do that quite easy using the performance filter "Distance from camera". Set the distance value to e.g. 1000m and the edge value to e.g. 500m and the grass will start thinning out with 500m distance from the camera. From 1000m distance on there will be no more clones.

Ive been testing it with the 11.5 demo with c4d render instances so not tried vray proxys but because there are many 1000s of clones it is taking a good 15mins to process before rendertime (which is comparatievly quick) - will this processing be any quicker with the vray proxy or exactly the same?
It may be a bit quicker (at least with VrayforC4D 1.1) since the Vray Proxy objects seem to contain less data than C4D Render Instances (so to create clones of Vray proxies, less data would have to be cloned). Anyway, since Vray exports source meshes to files before rendering, that advantage becomes ineffectual.

15 minutes of preparation time? How many clones did you have? My longest time was about 2 minutes (but I can't create that much clones, since I work in 32 Bit mode).

Cheers,
Jack

[Tong]

it is taking a good 15mins to process before rendertime (which is comparatievly quick)

hm
1 min to process (irradiance map and light cache) and 8.46 min to render

2500 proxy clones, system: Q6600

http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/2803/grassd.th.jpg (http://img97.imageshack.us/i/grassd.jpg/)

i guess it all depends of your render settings (quality/speed)

It may be a bit quicker (at least with VrayforC4D 1.1) since the Vray Proxy objects seem to contain less data than C4D Render Instances (so to create clones of Vray proxies, less data would have to be cloned). Anyway, since Vray exports source meshes to files before rendering, that advantage becomes ineffectual.

thats wrong Jack, why you need any preparations, if you can use vray proxy from vrmesh file, the preparation time 0 and begins light cache immediately, vrmesh from file is very powerful and economic way to work.

[c4d-Jack]

hm
1 min to process (irradiance map and light cache) and 8.46 min to render

2500 proxy clones, system: Q6600
2500 clones, hehe. That's not very much for a landscape scene. Also I think rhodesy referred to the preparation time (the time before rendering, when all generators in the scene create their geometry).

thats wrong Jack, why you need any preparations, if you can use vray proxy from vrmesh file, the preparation time 0 and begins light cache immediately.
Ah, right, I didn't think of that. OK, if you create the vrmesh files yourself, the render preparation time becomes much shorter.

[Tong]

here is images, render starts immediately, and cinema4d core themself don`t use extra memory at all even for light cache calculation (all trough vraybridge use it itself a little bit)

http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/1206/grass01g.th.jpg (http://img49.imageshack.us/i/grass01g.jpg/)
http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/72/grass02.th.jpg (http://img97.imageshack.us/i/grass02.jpg/)
http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/2783/grass03.th.jpg (http://img126.imageshack.us/i/grass03.jpg/)

[Tong]

2500 clones, hehe. That's not very much for a landscape scene. Also I think rhodesy referred to the preparation time (the time before rendering, when all generators in the scene create their geometry).

i was mention only vrmesh files themself, of course other geometry need preparation. :wink:

[c4d-Jack]

Got it ;-)

[rhodesy]

Hi Frank, I see what you mean about the edge filter - had me stumped for a bit but then realised that i just needed to move the linked camera back to get the dense bit from the middle and then place another camera in the original view position.

It seems if i subdivide and equal out the poly sizes I get better results so on that basis i might try cutting the near polys up to get them smaller and hence denser. I take it poly size is taken into acount with the distribution?

currently 100,000 small clump clones and 2:30mins rendering/processing time which is much better. Need to get it denser though....

Tong I cant see your images unfortunately, i think my work filter has blocked your image hoster.

Cheers

[rhodesy]

Sorry just read the extra posts that have been slotted in whilst ive been writing/testing.

Yes I was reffering to prep time not actual bucket rendering time as it were.

So reading between the lines does this mean vray proxys will process much quicker or not?

Cheers

[c4d-Jack]

I see what you mean about the edge filter - had me stumped for a bit but then realised that i just needed to move the linked camera back to get the dense bit from the middle and then place another camera in the original view position.
Yes, the performance filters are all camera-dependent.

It seems if i subdivide and equal out the poly sizes I get better results so on that basis i might try cutting the near polys up to get them smaller and hence denser. I take it poly size is taken into acount with the distribution?
I have to say unfortunately, yes. In the future I will try to prevent this optionally, since most users would like to have it independend from the polygon size.

currently 100,000 small clump clones and 2:30mins rendering/processing time which is much better. Need to get it denser though....
100.000 clones? Wow, that's a lot. Glad to see it still generates quite fast :)

[rhodesy]

yes independance of poly shape and size would be a big plus! Its not as sensitive to triangles as hair and displacement which is good though. Also its kind of a handy way of optimising the geometry by just cutting up the areas that need the density!

100,000 is a pretty good number, it looks to be filling it out nicely. That was my only concern - that it might not really be appropriate for grass but its getting there.

Think im getting a handle on it and likeing what I see. You may well be getting an order from me tomorrow! Then ill just need to work on my boss to see if we can get a copy for work!

Cheers


EDIT: Here is a very poorly rendered shot of my field (just looking at the distribution not the c4d rendering!) all processed and rendered with GI in 4:38. Looks pretty dense too!
http://img39.imagefra.me/img/img39/2/10/7/f_ja93p5m_c39e691.jpg (http://imagefra.me/)

[Tong]

rhodesy images reuploaded

[rhodesy]

thanks for that tong, looks ideal - ive just ordered it!

[rhodesy]

Having fun with using sufacespread with vray, think im going to find it very useful.

One thing, and im not sure if this is what tong was getting at but i notice that even when using vray proxies the RAM usage is pretty heigh. When its calculating the clones which i think is when it says 'preparing' at the bottom of the render window the RAM usage in this particular scene is say 500mb but as soon as the lightcache kicks in the RAM jumps to 2.5gb. Also really pushed it and got the RAM up to 5.8GB and crashed my machine! It makes sense that the LC has to have everything in the scene there to calculate but kind of defys the point of proxys if the RAM contribution is so high (only simple field scene so no other real geometry). Is this a problem with the way surfacespread is generating the clones or is it a problem with the vray proxy?

Cheers
Rob

[c4d-Jack]

Since SurfaceSPREAD just places copies of the Vray proxies (just as you could do by hand, if you were veeery patient :D ), I would say this is due to the huge amount of geometry the LightCache has to sample.

Cheers,
Jack

[Tong]

:roll: what if...what if you try to use brute force for second bounce?

[rhodesy]

Right, just tested it with BF and there is no difference, still the longish prep wait and then the RAM jump when rendering finally kicks in.

Frank is there any scope for a distribution speed optimisation or is it already fairly optimised in this area? I appreciate there are A LOT of objects being generated and SS does offer great control/options but just asking the question. Or if there is a certain option/modifier that is likely to slow the calc down? I wonder how vray scatter in MAX compares, i dont know anything about its prep time.

Regarding vray proxy RAM useage, it does seem a crazy situation and i cant see how vray can calculate the GI without having all the proxy geometry generated during the GI calc phase which is what it seems to do judging by the ram jump but therefore defeating the point of having a proxy. Obviously it does work as there are examples out there with 1000s of trees but certainly in this scene the proxys effect the RAM usage when I thought that proxys only used a couple of KB each of RAM, or perhaps that couple of KB adds up to a couple of GB when they're all done!

[Tong]

did you change dinamic memory limit?

read this quite useful for some understanding

http://translate.google.com/translate?prev=hp&hl=en&js=y&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.render.ru%2Fbooks%2Fshow_book.p hp%3Fbook_id%3D790&sl=ru&tl=en&history_state0=

[rhodesy]

Cheers Tong, again unfortunately my offices system seems to be blocking stuff so i cant access the link! However I have adjusted the DML up to 2GB and also down to 200mb and it's still the same. I have raised this before for high poly trees when the LC was struggling and it worked in that case, but its not that Vray is struggling, the actual rendering time is surprisingly fast but the RAM seems higher than what i was expecting bearing in mind there is nothing else in the scene yet. The proxy is just a single object too, not a collection in the SS parent, so should be efficient.

[Tong]

without visual hard to help :( especially i don`t now you proxy setup, material settings and all other vray settings.

can you send your scene to gantonr@gmail.com i will look in to this later today.

[rhodesy]

mailed, thanks... here is a shot with the latest test settings - which are quite high, processing time I think was roughly 7mins and 2mins render. Cheers

http://img40.imagefra.me/img/img40/2/10/12/f_10sq15lsfm_e4cb6b9.jpg (http://imagefra.me/)

[BerTiN03]

Veri Nice Rhodesy ! How did you proceed ?

How many proxies for that ?

[Hubub]

Is it possible to use surfaceSPPREAD on a vray displacement surface?

[c4d-Jack]

Of course. SurfaceSPREAD doesn't care if you apply displacement to the surface or not.

To adjust the clones' position to the displaced surface, put the displacement map in the color channel of a standard material and link that material in the "Offset by Material" effect in the SurfaceSPREAD object.

Cheers,
Jack

[Rich_Art]

Yeah... SurfaceSpread rules..... :mrgreen:

Peace,
Rich_Art. :wink:

[Xplicit]

looks like a very nice plugin.

i have 1 question. how good does it work on os x (10.6) since i can read here (on the forum) that the vray i having some problems with proxys on osx.
is there a big differenc in render time in scene rendred / created with surfacespread on windows and osx?

thanks for the answer

[c4d-Jack]

Well, by installing SurfaceSPREAD you won't fix any problems Vray has with OSX ;-)

Greetings,
Jack

[stefan]

vrayforc4d 1.2 has a new proxy system, that vlado reprogrammed, so it runs at good speed also under osx. (osx works different, thats why this was needed, it was A LOT of work!)

cheers
stefan

[c4d-Jack]

I can imagine :)

[choppir]

is this the same as:

http://www.dns-plugins.de/paintOnSurface.php

thanks choppir :)

[Tong]

no

the main difference that paintonsurface manually setup over surface and surfacespread spread over surface procedurally

[choppir]

thanks Tong,

I think i understand.

choppir

[Tong]

http://www.c4dcafe.com/reviews/surfacespread/

http://www.c4dlounge.eu/forum/showthread.php?t=903

[choppir]

wow, that is quite some difference!

cheers mate.

[c4d-Jack]

It sure is a big difference and therefore, SurfaceSPREAD and PaintOnSurface are a great team for creating landscape scenes. You don't want to miss either of them :)

Also don't forget that SurfaceSPREAD is not only the cloning & distribution of objects. It's also a rock generator, a terrain generator and a very helpful spline object.

Cheers,
Jack

[Nico]

Hi, i bought SurfaceSPREAD this morning and i was wondering how i can do to have a plenty grass with the grass in the library?
I explain a llittle bit, if i put 100000, i still have holes and i see the surface.

i am clear? is there a option that i missed?

Cheers,
Nicolas

[c4d-Jack]

Of course you need a very high amount of clones to get a dense grass.
I would advice you to use the performance filters "Camera Cone" and "Backface Culling" to create grass only in the visible areas of your scene, and also use the performance filter "Distance from Camera" to thin out the grass in greater distance.

Cheers,
Jack

[Nico]

Thanks C4d-Jack to have answered very fast...

I used already Camera Cone but maybe i did something wrong but i put on "Backface culling" and some trees in front of the camera disapeared... in the editor. Is it normal or not?

Thanks

[Tong]

use big planes with grasses

the main idea is less objects bigger sizer it better then big amount of small objects, since cinema4d transfer all coordinates for all clones to vray.

[c4d-Jack]

http://www.c4d-jack.de/bann/surfacespread_banner_750x100_anim.gif (http://www.c4d-jack.de/html/downloads/surfacespread/en/)

Hello,

I proudly present the next update for SurfaceSPREAD (http://www.c4d-jack.de/html/downloads/surfacespread/en/)!

There are some nice new features:

SurfaceSPREAD Data Node
This XPresso node grants access to data of the created clones! Position, rotation, scale, global matrix, surface normal and more... This way you can e.g. combine it with ThinkingParticles and create a SurfaceSPREAD Emitter:
http://dev.c4d-jack.de/public/surfacespread/surfacespread/node_datareader_setup.jpg
http://dev.c4d-jack.de/public/surfacespread/surfacespread/node_datareader.jpg

SPREADscape uses segmented splines
The spline sampler has been reworked and now works with segmented splines, too (e.g. Text splines). Now it's possible to import complete road networks or a river delta with just one SPREADscape Detail Layer! And there are other funky things that would not have been possible before:
http://dev.c4d-jack.de/public/surfacespread/spreadscape/spreadscape_textberge.jpg http://dev.c4d-jack.de/public/surfacespread/spreadscape/spreadscape_textberge2.jpg

Immproved Distribution Modifier
The Distribution Modifier can now also use splines (of course, also segmented splines). That makes it very easy to keep your roads tree-free or create a dirt track in a meadow!
Scenes like my "Autumn Road (http://c4d-jack.cgsociety.org/gallery/763919/)" Would now be possible with only one spline.
http://dev.c4d-jack.de/public/surfacespread/surfacespread/distribution_modifier_spline.jpg

More changes
The Slope Filter now works in full 180° range, so it's now possible to distinguish upper side and lower side of an object.
The Performance Filter "Distance from Camera" now offers separate Edge values for Min and Max Distance.
Distribution Modifiers are now less strong, but easier to control, and their falloff curve works more precisely.
The new option "Ignore Y" in the Distribution Modifier makes the precise placing of the modifier on the surface of hilly terrain needless.
SPREADscape now works even faster with terrains with very high resolution.
The Slope Filter got a bit faster, too

And several more minor tweaks and bugfixes...

The User's Manual has also been updated!

The best would be to just check out the demo of the new version!
All customers, please also download the new version!

http://www.c4d-jack.de/html/downloads/surfacespread/en/

+ + +

Oh yeah, before I forget...my website has also been updated and comes in German and English now. You will also find two new texture packs there ;-)

http://www.c4d-jack.de/site/en/

Cheers,
Jack

[c4d-Jack]

ATTENTION:
It seems there was a problem with the Mac builds for R11.5 (plugin didn't load in 32 Bit mode).
Mac/R11.5 users should download the plugin again,please!

SurfaceSPREAD Download (http://www.c4d-jack.de/html/downloads/surfacespread/en/demo.php)

Sorry for the inconvenience!

Best regards,
Jack

[c4d-Jack]

Arg, maybe I should start sleeping again. :banghead:
New manuals are now online.

Also, there are now two new demo scenes available:

Using Splines
Shows how to use a single spline to create a road (SweepNURBS), the road base (SPREADscape) and to keep the road tree-free (new Distribution Modifier introduced with the last update).

Vulcanos
Shows how to use the new XPresso node introduced with the last update, to create smoke coming from vulcanos that were cloned with SurfaceSPREAD.

http://www.c4d-jack.de/html/downloads/surfacespread/en/downloads.php

Greetings,
Jack

[3dkobi]

Hi Jack,
Looks like a very useful plugin....

Will it work with c4d 10.506 ? on your site you mention only 10.1, 11 and 11.5...I think the answer is 99.99% - yes, but I just want to be sure... :roll:

Peace,
Kobi

[c4d-Jack]

Yes, it works. 11.5 means: All versions of 11.5 :)
Of course, you should always use the latest 11.5 update.

Cheers,
Jack

[3dkobi]

Well, If I had the money to upgrade to 11.5 I would have done it already :)
10.5 is good enough for me...

Peace,
Kobi

[3dkobi]

Jack - After buying, installing, playing and working with this plugin, I just want to say - thank you...:)

It works great, and it helps saving a lot of time....

Just one question (for now):
I understand how to use the shader to change color of clones, but how can I use it in order to change clones that already have a certain texture and not just plain color ?

I want to clone some leaves on a floor, the leaves already have texture, spec and bump, so the question is how to use the spreadshader to change the exiting texture ?

Peace,
Kobi

[c4d-Jack]

To re-color an existing texture, I would put the texture into a layer shader. On top of the texture, put a SurfaceSPREAD shader and set its layer mode to "Hue".

Just as a start, of course there are more way to do it (e.g. with masking). Have a look at the "Book Shelf" tutorial in the manual PDF, the shader is used there, too.

Cheers,
Jack

[3dkobi]

Hi,
I need to make a pile of leaf for an architectural project i'm working on. I built the pile plane but the leaves are not placed right on the pile - it's always parallel to the ground and not "covering the pile from all sides...

Is there a way to make this pile with SurfaceSpread ?

Peace,
Kobi

[mohsin]

Hi, i'm comming here after watching the amazing road animation by the artist c4d-Jack.
http://www.c4d-jack.de/html/downloads/surfacespread/en/

I use C4D for several year and learn by myself (course training expensive)
Some of my work is visible on frenchcinema4D: i post some cars.
http://www.frenchcinema4d.fr/forum/index.php?topic=26216.0

Now, i'm going download the SurfaceSpread demo and manual and battle with myself but i really need somes starting help please... because i relly love to make a road like the one from c4d-Jack :)

Thank you for your very instructive site.

and sorry for my english :)

[Tong]

there is many demo scenes here
http://www.c4d-jack.de/html/downloads/surfacespread/en/downloads.php

[c4d-Jack]

I need to make a pile of leaf for an architectural project i'm working on. I built the pile plane but the leaves are not placed right on the pile - it's always parallel to the ground and not "covering the pile from all sides...

Is there a way to make this pile with SurfaceSpread ?
I would use the Random Rotation parameters to make it look more natural.
Anyway, a pile of leaves is very difficult to do, if you want to have a realistic result (e.g. no intersecting leaves). Maybe you should use the R11.5 MoGraph Dynamics to pile of some leaves using real physics?

Cheers,
Jack

[3dkobi]

Hi jack,
That post about the leaves is from 6 months ago and not relevant any more...I used your plugin and a bit of manual tweaking since I don't have Mograph...

Peace
Kobi