UltraScenery - new territory [Commercial]
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Description of Volume 3:
UltraScenery - Features Volume 3 gives you 15 fabulous features for UltraScenery.
This set expands your UltraScenery library with features containing wetlands, waterways, streams, dirt roads, boardwalks, and decks.
Add UltraScenery - Features Volume 3 to your UltraScenery library and create even more stunning landscapes today!
Description of Volume 2:
UltraScenery - Landscape Features Volume 2 gives you Fifteen fabulous new features for UltraScenery.
This set expands your UltraScenery library with features containing dirt roads, footbridges, wetlands, rivers, weathered boardwalks, and nature walking tracks.
Get UltraScenery - Landscape Features Volume 2 and build the next part of your UltraScenery today!
The words are in a different order, but they list the same features for the most part. Also, the images in the product look extremely similar to my eyes.
Really? The promos show quite different features to my eyes: First is Vol 3 , Second is Vol 2
Not those, promos. The ones with the actual scenary.
Maybe I don't understand what the product does. I was under the impression that it adds new props, etc.
That's like saying you can't see any difference between Mabel and Kalei because they're both G8F characters. They have the same features after all.
It does add some new props (more boardwalks, a big deck over the water with tires around the edge as bumpers for docking boats, a sign with multiple material options (No Swimming, Danger, etc.), steps up to the boardwalk). But the main ":feature" of the product is the introduction of more terrain "features", the options you have to select from on the UltraScenery Features tab. This product adds a lot more water areas and a lot more boardwalk configurations. It is a great complement to the Swamp, but also useful for the other ecologies, as shown in some of the product promos.
Speaking of the new sign prop in the new features 3 pack...
Don't miss the extra materials for the sign that come with the features 3 pack. Daz didn't create metadata for them, or for the materials that came with the Swamp, so they are easy to overlook. When you build an UltraScene with a feature that includes the sign, the text defaults to No Swimming. You can later apply any of the sign materials to change that text. The sign is also a new individual prop included in the set, so you can add that sign prop any place you want it (even in other scenes that have nothing to do with UltraScenery, since it is just a normal prop).
In this scene, I applied the Danger sign material (usc Sign 02). This scene is Watrerway 9 and Swamp 10.
And this is basically the primary point in most UltraScenery addons - different landscape shapes.
Thank you for actually answering my question. I don't think the product is very well explained, even for someone who owns Ultra Scenery. The choice of the word "features" I think is an odd one.They're more like "environments" or "terrains."
No, it's not odd. "Landscape features" is THE common term for referring to elements of a landscape.
I tried exploring the new features and found that something went to a dead stop with Waterways 3 and Willow 9 and Brackish Pond. I ended up killing everything, including DS and closing the computer. Had to run to my neighborhood Target. When I got back, fixed dinner and while it cooked tried again, but with Waterways 8 Pines 3 and Base Water. I trimmed out some stuff within the program's masking and then closing eyes in DS. This is the result. Highly recommend extending the borders in future projects.
Mary
When talking about software, "features" usually refers to what the software does, not to what it contains. That's why it's confusing to me, and why I provided my feedback.
The items in the addon are described as Features, because that is the name of the tab in UltraScenery where you select the one you want to use. The features in the add on product will be added to the existing list of choices on the Features tab in UltraScenery.
The Scene tab lets you select the altitude of the terrain and the shape of the land (flat, hilly, etc.).
The Features tab lets you select what kind of terrain features (land, water, paths, boardwalks, docks, decks, etc.) you want to put on the land you configured in the Scene tab.
The Ecology tab lets you select which kind of plants you want growing on your terrain. This can also include non-plant things such as rocks and pebbles.
The Water tab lets you select the kind of water to use (clear stream, deep lake, brackish pond, etc.), if you selected a Feature that includes water.
Finally, the Build tab lets you optionally add masks to any ecology layer to prevent the plants/rocks, etc. from being placed in masked areas. You can use that to keep a space clear to add a building later. The Build tab is where you tell the UltraScenery script to go ahead and build the scene.
If you bought it, but it wasn't what you were expecting, remember that you can return it for a refund. Don't be stuck with something you can't use.
I can see where the terminology could be confusing. I use UltraScenery almost daily, so the terminology is deeply ingrained in my brain now. I hope it makes some more sense to you now, in light of the extra discussions here in the forum. It never hurts to ask a question!
Thank you, barbult. You explained it well and now I understand. I haven't bought the product yet, but probably will now that I know what it does for Ultrascenery.
US is incredibly demanding of the computer, but the results in this & the previous thread speak for themselves.
This is what I wanted to set the stage when I started out figure rendering. At times the view can be a bit myopic, but with suitable HDRI's and tweaking of the landscape, invented worlds are possible. This feels like Bryce made practical with people. I do wish Flowscape could have been made to work with DS, then the pick of the best tools could have been taken coupled with DS rendering.
I picked up a copy of UltraScenery - Features Volume 3 and I am not impressed with it like I am the other products - and I have all of them. I was going to do a serious render to post here but noticed issues in the renders no matter what lighting or angle I used, so I did some sample test to post here instead. The attached pictures show some of the issues that I am experiencing with volume 3 and yes, I used DIM to install. This is just my take on what I see wrong with UltraScenery - Features Volume 3. Issues such as stretching especially in the reflections and wet maps / reflection maps appearing where none should be. Then there's the overall lack of quality in the product - as if it was rushed out the door. Finally, some of the features, like the one I rendered, are too big for the terrain. Maybe make an option for a larger terrain? Otherwise some of these features are only good for close ups and groud-level shots.
Check your Render Settings Environment and make sure you have your HDRI ground level set to Auto, not Manual. It looks like your HDRI is conflicting with the water surface or ground. Also, the product doesn't use wet maps. Another thought-is your HDRI set to something other than infinite sphere?
Hey all,
I'm curious if others have noticed this annoying habit of DS when using the Merge function to add a character or such? I use that quite a lot with USC projects. What I'm experiencing is that the Environmental settings get changed to that of the in-coming file.
Is there a way of keeping DS from doing that? I've taken to creating a Preset, but that's not a real solution IMO.
Save as a Scene Subset instead of a Scene, and uncheck the Tonemapper & Environment Options nodes. When you merge the Scene Subset, it'll preserve the Tonemapper & Environment nodes in the current scene.
Ah. Gratzi Doctor!
Has anybody tried the DD PBR Brick Shaders for Iray with USC? I can't really tell whether any of them would be suitable for brick or stone paths.
HDRI ground level set to Auto - Yes
HDRI set to something other than infinite sphere? - Yes
But why am I still seeing that wet look on the boardwalk?
As always, thanks for your help.
HDRI set to something OTHER than infinite sphere could be a problem causing what you perceive as stretching. I didn't mean to imply that you should use anything other than infinite sphere, I meant to be suggesting that as a potential source of the problem. Please try setting it to infinite sphere and see if that helps. What HDRI are you using?
The boardwalks in features set 3 are essentially the same as the boardwalks in other UltraScenery addons. I don't think the issue is specifically related to feature set 3. That wet look is probably a result of the angle of your light (backlighting?), the camera angle, and the specialized shader used in the boardwalks.
HDRI set to something other than infinite sphere? Well It was set to something else and I changed it to fix the stretching. Sorry about the mistake.
AnEye4Art Perhaps you could share which feature you used, so that someone else who purchased it could render the same boardwalk. It looks super glossy; slip on that boardwalk and you will be in the drink for sure.
I think the render was just after the water washed over the walkway. Left behind some water
I'm enjoying the new Features Vol 3 release - this one is using the wide river-mouth (River 8) with Pines 7 ecology and a few scene-filler characters.
I started work on a swamp ecology in one of the new waterways, but I ran out of time today - the swamp is so heavily-planted that I was finding it tricky to get a good camera angle - I'll try again tomorrow as it is getting to bedtime here (UK 23:40).
Very nice! I like River 8, too. It is nice to have a wide waterway. I want to see the sequel where the tall sailboat boat reaches that low bridge.
maybe that is why the guy is waving, to get their attention to warn them.
Remember if the swamp is denser than you want, use a layer mask to reduce the density. I have a 50% gray map image that I use to lower overall density of layers sometimes.
I've been meaning to experiment with this for awhile, but the Swamp seemed a good set to test with & see what I could do with a night scene. Background HDR isn't contributing, just the Lantern and a large out of frame illuminous sphere.
Unfortunately, this is as far as I can go for the moment as the laptop isn't up to handling "just one more wafer" when if comes to rendering. So, "Dinner with Dexter" is going to have to wait a bit until I can invite any honored guests.
That's interesting and more successful than many night scenes, I think.