Cheetah3D 7.3 Beta 2

[Martin]

Cheetah3D 7.3 Beta 2

Hi,
Cheetah3D 7.3 Beta 2 mainly focuses on the gltf/glb export. The PBR shader support is finished and I've already started work on animation. Object animations are already working but skinning is still missing. But it will follow soon. So the final v7.3 will have a almost feature complete gltf/glb workflow.

New features in Cheetah3D 7.3 Beta 2:

-improved GLTF/GLB export
  -added export of cameras
  -added export of AO texture
  -added export of metalness texture
  -added export of roughness texture
  -added export of emissive texture
  -added AO/roughness/metalness texture merging to embedded texure export
  -added export of animations
    -F-curves
    -takes
  -gltf/glb uses embedded textures as default
-added "Ambient occlusion" channel to PBR shader
-fixed bug in "Add node" menu
-fixed material delete bug
-fixed bug in glass shader (invisible area lights)
-fixed bug in .jas importer (problem with v6.x skylights)
-fixed bug in .jas importer (converting v6.x point lights with radius to sphereical areas lights could fail)
-fixed bug in shadow mat (blocked glossy reflections)
-fixed bug when copy&pasting objects (take manager didn't' update)
-removed all OpenCL code

New features in Cheetah3D 7.3:

-added PBR shader (Falcon recommended)
   -based on Disneys Principled shader
   -added support for GGX BRDF
-added glTF exporter
   -supports glTF and glb (binary glTF) output
   -supports static meshes
      -vertex
      -normal
      -two uv sets
      -vertex color
   -supports embedded textures
   -animation support yet missing
-added support for refractive caustics to Falcon renderer
-added "R", "G", "B" and "A" output channels to Image node
-added support for DirectX style normal maps
-changed specular color of default material to black
-improved node editor (copies all possible parameter values to new shader)
-fixed bug in node editor (fixed node position when changing shader node)
-fixed redraw bug in node editor
-fixed .h export problem
-fixed bug in material preview of state node
-fixed crashing bug in material import (failed to properly connect nodes)
-fixed bug in photon mapping
-fixed object selection bug
-fixed bug in node editor (displayed broken connections)

Attention:
PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS IS BETA SOFTWARE SO DON'T USE IT ON IMPORTANT DATA.

Download link of Cheetah3D 7.3b2:
http://www.cheetah3d.com/download/Beta/Cheetah3D7.3b2.dmg

I hope you like the new features in Cheetah3D 7.3.:smile:

Kind regards
Martin

 

[uncle808us]

Old system2009 and 2011 OSX El Capitan Ver 10.11.6

Old system2009 and 2011 OSX El Capitan Ver 10.11.6

Used to be I'd get excited about C3D updates now I wait in fear and sadness as I watch it fade into the future probably leaving me behind. I just can't afford to keep up anymore now that I have retired. So I suppose I'll end up with outdated everything. Well it's been nice to know you Cheetah how soon can I expect the end Doctor?:frown:

 

[frank beckmann]

I´m in the same boat, Bob - hardware-wise - so no Mojave from what I read - HighSierra works nonetheless. Let´s see what the future has for us.

Cheers
Frank

 

[Martin]

Used to be I'd get excited about C3D updates now I wait in fear and sadness as I watch it fade into the future probably leaving me behind. I just can't afford to keep up anymore now that I have retired. So I suppose I'll end up with outdated everything. Well it's been nice to know you Cheetah how soon can I expect the end Doctor?:frown:

Don't worry. It's in my very own interest to support as many Macs as possible. The more Macs Cheetah3D supports the bigger the potential customer base is.

It would be great if Apple would give us a hint how long they want to continue OpenGL support. But for small devs like me it's pretty impossible to get access to such information.

Bye
Martin

 

[misoversaturated]

Thanks Martin for the new update!

Finally area lights get correct reflections! :smile:
As I don't own any software that imports glTF files I can't test that.

In C3D v 7.2 there was a bug when using small values of reflection blur, that got fixed in v7.3beta.

But there is still a similar problem when using the glass shader.
When trans blur is changed from 0.0 to 0.1 or 0.01, part of the reflections disappear. And with very small values it gets even weirder

Just a ball with glass material, default HDRI and default Falcon settings:



When changing to Cheetah renderer, the reflections remain and get blurred correctly, so its a Falcon thing.

 

[Martin]

Hi,
I've fixed the bug with the transBlur=0.0001. Looks like things got numerically unstable at such low values. It will work properly in Beta 3.

The lack of inner fresnel reflections for glossy glass is a missing feature I'm aware of. It will be added later.

There exists a good web-glTF viewer at:

https://gltf-viewer.donmccurdy.com/


Bye
Martin

 

[misoversaturated]

Whoa that was done quickly!

Hi,
I've fixed the bug with the transBlur=0.0001. Looks like things got numerically unstable at such low values. It will work properly in Beta 3.

I never use such small values, just wanted to test if it would look like value of zero if small enough and when it didn't I reported.

Edit: Come to think about it: If I wanted to do frosted glass with a texture pattern it might get relevant.

The lack of inner fresnel reflections for glossy glass is a missing feature I'm aware of. It will be added later.

Good to know!

There exists a good web-glTF viewer at:
https://gltf-viewer.donmccurdy.com/

Very impressive, I did a quick animation of a spinning cube with PBR material, exported and now can see it working properly in a web browser!

Great work so far!

 

[Helmut]

* Help
* For obscure reasons C3D, since the last update, does not show an icon in the dock. Rather unimportant, but every update (until the very last) went perfectly smooth, is I doubt I stuffed something up.
* Somewhat parallel, I updated the Mac OSX, so there may be some incompatibility.
* Does anybody else have the identical minor problem with the same set up?

 

[frank beckmann]

Oh well - you´re using macOS betas? I´m pretty sure Martin check these as well - but what should I say other than it´s a beta. I presume you turned off the iMac completely and not just made a restart?

Cheers
Frank

 

[Helmut]

* Well it is sort of ß^2 (Mac OSX ßeta plus C3D ßeta).
* Thank you for the hint, but a restart did not fix the missing icon.
* As mentioned, it is fairly unimportant, anyway.

* Fortunately enough, I did find some soothing medicine from my favourite brewery in the fridge :tongue: :smile:

 

[frank beckmann]

* Fortunately enough, I did find some soothing medicine from my favourite brewery in the fridge :tongue: :smile:

This works here every time.

(We need a native beer mug smiley here)
I wasn´t talking about a restart but shut down completely - wait a second or two - then start the Mac again. This is what helps more or less when something unexpected happened - no guarantee though.

Cheers
Frank

 

[Martin]

* Help
* For obscure reasons C3D, since the last update, does not show an icon in the dock. Rather unimportant, but every update (until the very last) went perfectly smooth, is I doubt I stuffed something up.
* Somewhat parallel, I updated the Mac OSX, so there may be some incompatibility.
* Does anybody else have the identical minor problem with the same set up?

It works fine for me. Have you tried removing the Cheetah3D icon from the dock and adding it again.

Does Cheetah3D has an icon when viewed in Finder?

Bye
Martin

 

[Helmut]

* Yep, it does have a perfectly normal icon in the finder and in the application folder.
* Neither opening a .jas directly by double-click, nor opening C3D via the app folder (after dumping the dock icon) results in a "proper" C3D icon in the dock.
* As mentioned, it is not really a great deal, I was just curious.
* Servus an das "Ende" :tongue: der Donau.

 

[Jeanny]

Helmut

I just couldn't resist posting this - I'm feeling silly today and I mean this just in fun:

Did you try opening the file before you visited your medicine Cabinet?
:lol: :lol: :lol: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

My Best
Jeanny

 

[uncle808us]

Helmut

I just couldn't resist posting this - I'm feeling silly today and I mean this just in fun:

Did you try opening the file before you visited your medicine Cabinet?
:lol: :lol: :lol: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

My Best
Jeanny

Good one!

 

[catrancher]

* Yep, it does have a perfectly normal icon in the finder and in the application folder.
* Neither opening a .jas directly by double-click, nor opening C3D via the app folder (after dumping the dock icon) results in a "proper" C3D icon in the dock.
* As mentioned, it is not really a great deal, I was just curious.
* Servus an das "Ende" :tongue: der Donau.

Hi! First post on this forum so if I'm a little presumptuous, I apologize.

In any case, other people have reported dock icon issues also in High Sierra. What's worked for some of them is booting into safe mode and then rebooting normally. Booting into safe mode clears many of the Mac OS caches. I believe this includes the icon cache. See this Apple support article.

Hope this helps!

Tom

 

[Helmut]

Hi Tom,

Great stuff.
A shifty reboot did solve the problem :tongue:
Thank you for the help.

 

[Helmut]

Hi Jeanny
* Having discovered that an Apple (or even two) on my desk does NOT keep the doctor away, I had to stock my medicine cabinet with suitable pharmaceuticals to maintain basic living functions.

* Only recently I made a pilgrimage to a local Trappist monastery where they produce excellent Belgian style medicine (including a triple bock). Unlike most brews, Trappist bottled beer includes living yeast cells (which turn sugar into alcohol), so the brew improves whilst hibernating in the cellar.
* Good to know that somebody is doing useful work whilst I am snoozing.

* As you may have gathered, I am a dedicated anti-yeast. We anti-yeasts turn quantities of alcohol into carbohydrates (plus lipids, proteins and a bit of pee). Without me (and Frank B. and a few more) who fight and destroy alcohol wherever we see it, humankind would be doomed :smile:

 

[Jeanny]

Triple Bock! Ooo-ooo-o!
I bet that medicine tastes even better and goes down even easier
than Cherry Cough Medicine!
The world is so lucky to have warriors like yourself Frank B
and a few more including my husband fighting to save our lives.
:tongue: :lol: :razz:

 

[misoversaturated]

Another spam post promoting the awesome caustic engine reintroduced in v7.3 (+ soft shadow skylight):