WaveFilter Answers
1) The Special NewTek Edition of WaveFilter is the latest and greatest version
available. There is no reason to download anything but information from the WaveFilter
site. The plug-in files on the WaveFilter site will be removed as soon as I recover from
NAB and have a chance to edit the site.
2) Only Intel and Alpha versions of WaveFilter are available because I use Windows dialogs
for my interfaces. It is my understanding that NewTek will update WaveFilter to use Panels
for the interface and make any changes needed to port WaveFilter to all LightWave
supported platforms.
3) It is my understanding that NewTek will likely trash the HTML manuals I currently offer
and include some form of manuals as they do all products. I need to add, this is an
assumption on my part, but it just makes sense.
4) The blur in WaveFilter Image is awesome It was not designed to be the fastest, it was
designed to be the most beautiful blur you can find. It uses a proprietary form of blur
that is available nowhere else. It's soft, it supports sub-pixel blur radius (not a fast
square blur - Yuck) and includes a tiny bit of glow to create a fully animatible
blur that simply can not be duplicated. Anyone who says their blur matches mine needs to
use the difference filter in PhotoShop to see that the WaveFilter blur is 100% unique. Is
it the best, that depends on your need. What makes it great is that it is beautiful and
animatible.
5) I have no clue why someone might get black icons after viewing the HTML manual. It
exactly matches the web site. I just zipped up the manuals section of the website. I feel
fairly confident that there is no virus involved. I have never even heard of an HTML
virus. Sounds more like a resource challenge or an error with media player or something.
If anyone has more info on this I am interested.
6) I plan to visit the NewTek main offices in the near future to train the tech support
folks there to support WaveFilter. Until then, please don't bother them, they likely don't
know the answers yet. Please ask your questions here, on the LWML. I will monitor the list
and, with the help of the many WaveFilter users on the list, try and get you some answers.
7) There is a separate file with info about WaveFilter Volume at http://www.wavefilter.com/WFVolumeFAQ.html
8) There is a tutorial on using the WaveFilter Image Edge Blend filter at http://www.wavefilter.com/EdgeBlendTutorial.html
9) The WaveFilter Shader manual is pretty out of date and describes features that are no
longer part of WaveFilter Shader and some images don't exactly match the current
interface. But you will find it very helpful and generally accurate. If it talks about a
button you can't find.. well, it's cause it's not there. If it fails to mention a button
that you see clearly on the interface, well, then it must have been added after the
manuals were written.
10) WaveFilter Volume is not a replacement for Steamer or for Hypervoxels. It is a
uniquely different product that has some overlap with these two existing products, but in
most cases simply gives you new options and new possibilities. As someone pointed out to
me at NAB, Volume is like a Philips head screwdriver, and HV is a flat head screw driver.
They both do what they do well, and you need both. Don't think that any tool kit is
complete with just one or the other, you need both.
11) As time allows, I will generate, or update old sample files for each product. If you
have a cool example that you think might help others, by all means post it. If you find a
cool use for any WaveFilter product, then write a tutorial and post that. Let's work as a
community and help each other out here. I will do what I can with the limited time I have,
but don't be afraid to help out as you learn, by putting helpful information online or
posting helpful tips to the LWML.
12) WaveFilter Net+ is now discontinued. Depth of Field is not included in the Special
NewTek Edition. Only those people who have purchased WaveFilter in the past have that
feature. It is no longer offered. There is an advantage to being an original WaveFilter
customer. Only they get DOF and only they have had the opportunity to use WaveFilter
products for the last 4+ years.
13) The WaveFilter web site will be available for at least 6 more months. After that,
NewTek will be the main source for all your questions and information needs.
14) WaveFilter Volume and WaveFilter Shader support the Plugin2 SDK and any texture
created as a Plugin2 file will work in both products. Shader will use the Plugin2 texture
to paint the surface of polygons while Volume will trace the Hypertexture pattern of the
texture, revealing the 3D qualities of the texture.
15) The Plugin2 Creator is only available for Intel, but can create DEC Alpha version
Plugin2 files. Just select the Alpha option and then do a remote compile, then select the
Intel option and do another remote compile. This results in the creation of both formats
on the ftp.wavefilter.com site but installs the
Intel version locally. Make sure you compile an Intel compile last and the alpha version
will be written over locally. To auto-install the Plugin2 files on alpha, run the Plugin2
Creator on and Intel machine and point the Plugin2 Folder to the Alpha WaveFilter folder.
16) I am working closely with Marvin Landis so that he has everything he needs to port
many of his shaders as Plugin2 files, so expect to see some really amazing stuff out of
him in the near future. In case you all haven't noticed, Marvin is damn talented and were
are all lucky to have him cranking out great tools for us.
17) The setup program for Alpha is an Intel program so it requires FX!32 to install.
18) Anyone who renders without using the Edge Blend filter in WaveFilter Image just
isn't getting the best possible output. See http://www.wavefilter.com/EdgeBlendTutorial.html
for full details.
19) Please read the WaveFilter Volume FAQ at http://www.wavefilter.com/WFVolumeFAQ.html
as it explains how Volume works. Also the demo version of Volume on the What's New page of
my site includes sample scenes that can be very helpful.
20) Volume particles are null objects named "Particle" or
"WF_VolumeParticle". I use the "Particle" name when I generate them by
hand and the "WF_VolumeParticle" name when I use the SPIT utility to create them
from the points of an object.
21) The max resolution supported by Volume is 1152x864. As backsides of the Volume object
render, the surface position X,Y,Z and Distance from camera info are stored in a table
that is 1152x864 in size and thus the limit. You can render in higher resolutions, but the
effect will not work outside the area of the image that extends beyond the 1152x864 limit.
22) The "Trick" to Volume is that it uses the fact that LW renders back to
front. The first time a pixel is rendered using a surface with Volume on it, it stores the
"Back" info. Then when it renders the front side, it has 2 sets of data,
"Back" and "Front". The distance from camera for both is known and the
exact X,Y,Z location for each is known. This information is used differently in each mode
but generally allows the software to draw a line segment between the two points in 3D
space and calculate the volume. See the FAQ for more details on this.
23) WaveFilter Volume can give strange results when no AA is used, you see polygon edges.
There is a peculiarity in LW that causes a shader to not be called at every pixel along
polygon edges when no AA is used and Adaptive Sampling is turned on. The solution, when
doing test renders with no AA is to turn off adaptive sampling. This peculiarity
seems to also exist in all of the Enhanced AA modes. So if your using WaveFilter Volume or
any shader for that matter, do not use the Enhanced AA modes. Besides, using WaveFilter
Image Edge Blend Filter is better then using Enhanced AA anyway.
24) Particles in Volume are quite different then other particles in LW. Volume limits it's
effect to the area contained inside the bounding object surfaced with Volume. The
particles then further limit the effect to within the radius set on the interface from any
particle. So make a 5x5x5 box, set to Hypertexture mode and render and the box fills with
volume, depending on your settings. Add a particle inside the box and set the radius to 1
meter and the effect is then limited to the 5x5x5 box and then further limited to the area
within 1 meter of the particle.
25) Volume particle density is a function of particle density. As each step of the volume
is marched (read the FAQ if that sounded confusing) the area around the point being tested
in the march is scanned for particles. If within the radius set on the interface no
particles are found, no volume is added at that point in space. If however one particle is
found, the test gets kinda complex. It then defines the distorted radius for that point in
space and decides if the point really is inside the particles distorted radius.(see Center
Strength) If 2 or more particles are found, the density begins to grow in direct
relationship to the number of particles within the radius of the point being tested. Is
this slow? Hell it's doing a shit load of math at this point, you figure it out :) It's
optimized pretty well, but it just takes allot of machine cycles to do all those
calculations. but the results are way cool.
26) There are no Shader presets. You get to save your own. Then trade them with friends :)
27) .p2 files are Plugin2 files. These files are extra textures added to the texture type
dropdown just like the built in textures. You can create them with the Plugin2 Creator or
the Plugin2 SDK. Both Shader and Volume share the Plugin2 files. Shader renders them as
procedural textures, Volume renders them as hypertextures.
28) You can put Volume in a shader slot and then follow that with one or more Shader plugs
to alter the Volume output. Remember, Volume solves the inside of the container object,
but uses the surface to display the result, so if you apply a Shader after volume you can
cut away or alter the look of the volume once it is painted to the surface.
29) Click once on the preview window in Image to toggle zoom between Zoom-To-Fit and 1:1.
When you are in 1:1 mode, Shift-Click to go to 4:1 zoom. Use Ctrl-Click and drag to move
the preview around in 1:1 or 4:1 mode.
30) Animate any setting by opening the WaveFilter panel with the number you wish to
animate on it. Then click on that number. Then leave the panel open and use the LW menus
on the left, select object mode and then Add Null Object. Then click on the number in the
WF panel you wish to animate. Then click the Graph Editor button on the LW menus. WF panel
will automatically close and the Graph editor will pop up ready to edit the X axis value.
Setting the X axis value in meters is the same as setting the value in the WF interface.
If you want a setting of 10% in the WF interface, set the X axis value to 10 meters. If
you want 100%, use 100 meters. Then use the Graph Editor to create your keyframe settings
for the variable you selected. You will also notice the Null will be renamed to match the
setting you are controlling.
31) If someone needs a version of Volume compiled to handle higher or lower resolutions, please let me know. I just change the max resolution and recompile. The max resolution determines the memory footprint of the plugin. Each pixel requires 16 Bytes of storage, 4 bytes per entry for X, Y, Z and distance from camera. So at 1152x864 the memory footprint is 15.5Mb. If all you ever intend to render is AVI resolutions or Video resolutions, perhaps a recompile at 320x200 (1Mb) or 752x486 (5.7Mb) is in order. A film resolution version that supported 1828x1332 would require a memory footprint of 38Mb. A full aperture 4K frame at 4096x3112 would require 199Mb.