Alan Lorence
1
COW Coin
Forum Replies Created
-
Ah, that link was to a page that no longer exists. I’ve fixed the link.
Alan.
wondertouch -
If there are any profiles for games (like Quake, or similar) then try one of those.
Alan.
wondertouch -
particleIllusion uses the video card to render if hardware acceleration is being used.
Alan.
wondertouch -
Your graphics card must not support it. Try getting the latest drivers.
Alan.
wondertouch -
A few years ago (back in 2001) I knew that the Quadro cards were slower than the GeForce cards with particleIllusion (I assume with games too), even though the Quadro was much more expensive, and more capable in many respects.
I thought that they “fixed” this, with the Quadro cards now having equal (or better) performance than the corresponding GeForce cards in games.
Do the Quadro drivers have a bunch of settings that allow you to tweak the performance? There may be some settings that result in better performance for gaming — anybody know about this? Do you play any games on this system?
Alan.
wondertouch -
You want a subtle explosion? 😉
Not sure what effects you’re looking for, but there are plenty of “subtle” effects. They’re not in a single library though — they’re spread out all over the place.
I can suggest using either the library manager to view all of your libraries, or ShowIEL.
Alan.
wondertouch -
So are you saying that the image you’re rendering on your machine (with hardware or software) is different from the images that are posted on the Pro Emitters web page? You need to make that determination yourself.
I think it’s not the CPU speed that is the issue — it’s the video hardware speed. I’m not sure why you’re not getting better results with the Quadro — it really should fly. Are other OpenGL apps open?
Anybody else using a Quadro FX 500 (or Quadro 500 FX or whatever it’s called) with particleIllusion?
Actually, I just read back over all of the posts in this thread, and you said a few things that indicate it may be a CPU issue. Here are a few things to try:
1) In the Preview Window, select 25% zoom and see if it goes faster. Select 400% and see if it goes slower. If changing the preview zoom changes the speed significantly, then it’s probably not a video card issue (when using software rendering, changing preview zoom size changes speed dramatically)
2) Check the properties for that emitter and make sure that “keep particles in order” is not checked. Or, if it is not checked, try checking it.
That’s all I can think of right now.
Alan.
wondertouch -
Try “run with software rendering” in the Start – Programs – particleIllusion 3 menu. This will be slow, but see if visually it is any different.
Have you looked at the still images of the ethereal emitter? It’s on the Pro Emitters page. There are SD and HD versions. Compare to what you’re getting — it should not be different.
Alan.
wondertouch -
Depends on what type of smoke you want to create. In my experience, you’ll need a variety of shapes depending on what type of smoke it is. If it’s wispy, then you’ll want some images with “tendrils” in it. Most smoke needs shapes that aren’t too “thick” (they’re mostly transparent) and they have some interesting details in them — which is why the “waterfall” emitter works.
I would suggest experimenting. It’s the best way to learn what works, and you may came up with something better than anybody else has seen.
Alan.
wondertouch -
I have a feeling your graphics card (or drivers) are the problem. On my 2.4 GHz laptop, Even at frame 300 I’m getting 10 fps. I suggest checking your graphics card manufacturer’s website for updated video drivers — they can make a BIG difference.
The “pixelation” is actually how that emitter is designed — the particle shape images have a sharp edge. If you want to get rid of that edge, you’ll need to export the shape image, modify it in a paint app (blur it probably), then import it back in and assign it to that particle type.
Alan.
wondertouch