OR...

What I've been up to these last few months. Just need to finish the docs.

Looking forward to it! I just grabbed your Terrapak and am very impressed with it already.

Chipp, this looks awesome for creating complex tubular shapes. Looks like you can model a train station in minutes! Can't wait!

Yeah - wireframes rendered is coming a lot closer. Awesome Chipp. Really looking forward to that!

Wow. Do I see starship drydocks, or what? This looks like an excellent adjunct to Vuetools, chipp! Gimmee!

Looks to me like another fine script Chipp. I hope it' gonna be for Mac too please ? If so, reserve one for me already

Hooo boy this looks good.  Maybe I can stop beating my head against Hex so much :)

magnumopus: Thanks-- I hope this will be as fun and easy to use as TerraPak.

Bruno: You're correct, modelling a trainstation is on my list of to do's before launching. Also, hangers, space stations, large architectural interiors are other uses as well.

Wabe: GridModeler actually comes with a pretty good wireframe mat, which when used with the Grid Calculator creates pretty convincing wireframes. I'll post an image soon.

Dale: Coming soon enough. Need to finish the beta testing and the docs...add a few renders and we should be good to go!

sirenia: Not a script, but an application. And because it's an application, it works with Esprit, too. And of course it works on a Mac!

FrankT: Exactly my sentiments as well. I like the idea of being able to create within Vue without sidetracking out to another application. Plus, IMO, adding judicious extreme detail helps create interesting eye candy for the viewer.

Stay tuned for some more images...

Great work Chipp - looks like another must have item!

Peggy

Great stuff from you Chipp. Keep on Vueing.

This looks real nifty. Next modeler you should work on a usefull pipe/tube modeler.

Wabe,
Here's a wireframe created from a GridModeler texture:

Super cool! Now in green please! :D

This really looks like an interesting tool.
Does it work with imported objects or terrains (I may be asking a bit too much here).

I'd love to be able to render nice antialiased wireframes like I did with 3DSMax.

offrench,

Yes, the maps and settings do work with imported objecs, but the grid calculator only works with cubes. Vue has a funny UNITS system, and every object has it's own special scalefactor, which can change from one to another-- so I've chose cubes to work with.

GridModeler does come with other textures and a nice manual which explains everything, so you can figure out how to apply grid textures to just about any object.

The application of a trans mapped grid doesn't correspond with individual polys, so a render like the one you show isn't possible. Even if Vue wanted to render out the wireframe, it wouldn't look so good as all models are triangulated when imported.

best,
Chipp

Thanks for those hints Chipp!

I'll have a look at GridModeler anyway if I need to build this kind of structure.

Here's a quasi-finished hanger scene...with some of the sample objects thrown in, along with a few closeups. If anyone wants, I can post a video showing how GridModeler works to create this type of scene.

We want this video, Chipp, by all means! Just one thing I'd like to know, since it uses Vue primitives, can GridModeller add some bevelling to the cubes edges?

GridModeler can export a smoothing bump map, but it can't create bevels or radiuses on cubes. Though, VueTools can bevel and radius cubes and cylinders, but not for every instance of a transparency map. For that, your best bet is a bump map.

Here's a video link which will get you started in understanding how GridModeler works. This is just for Standard Mapped wireframe objects. There's also a lot which can be done using the GridModeler HyperTexture primitives, which are not included in the video, but are evident in the images above. Also, there's many things which can be done with Parametric mapping as well. Those videos hopefully to come soon.

Be sure to click the FULLSCREEN option for this video.
chippstips.blip.tv/file/475564/

Great video Chipp, this looks amazingly easy to use. And seems ready too.....

Yeah, well the program IS finished...I just need to finish the docs...which are well on their way. I also have a bunch of maps and template objects which come with it.

Actually, the docs represent over a month of study on the subject of mapping all sorts of stuff. I just need to rewrite them in a more user-friendly way.

We'll patiently wait then!

What a superb tool Chipp! Great work indeed!

WOW, i just saw the blip.tv video of it and I am really impressed. 

Chipp, just thought about this, have you tried using your soft bump map for displacement? Wouldn't that make for a nice bevel?

Looks like GridModeler may save me a lot of time modelling the rigging for some of the lighting tutorials I had planned :-)

Looks awesome Chipp. I can't wait to buy it.

~jr

Bruno,

Displacement doesn't seem to work too well on grid models-- though I really haven't tested it thoroughly....perhaps a beta tester will.

-Chipp

It works fine with displacement on primitives. One must maintain the common displacement considerations however.....raise the quality up a bit and any imported objects have to have enough polygons to take it. Decrease the bump amount accordingly. Both Gridmodeler exports, plain and bump, will work.

This is great news, Monsoon, I was almost sure it would work, since the bumpmap had smooth edges. And it looks very good. Not sure if Vue 32bit will handle such displacement on very large structures, though.

Hey Mark, cool. Thanks.
Here are a couple more uses for GridModeling, different from ones shown before.

You go dude!!!!

Chipp - 

This looks sooo awesome - but what I know about modeling wouldn't fill a postage stamp.
Please keep that in mind when I ask my question... ;)

I use a lot of  basic structures in my images - cabins, barns, houses, etc.  I'd really like to create my own.  I can make  VERY simple boolean structures with cubes and planes right in Vue, but  I'd like to learn/do more. 

Is GridModeler a product that would help me create these types of simple buildings?  What's the learning curve for someone (like myself) with little modeling experience?  

Thanks, 
John

Hi John,

I'll be sure and post some very easy tutorials on GridModeling structures. Using GridModeler, you can quickly create some buildings (I'll create and post some), but they will be better for non- extreme closeup images, unless you go through the trouble of advanced texture maps.

One of the nice thing about GridModeling, is you pretty much stay within Vue to create your models. So, you end up learning more about how to use Vue, instead of how to use another modeling program-- though I suppose you could consider the GridModeler application, which works with Vue, a modeler of sorts.

best,
Chipp

Argh!  So when?

Thank you Chipp - I can't wait to get this app!!

Quote - Argh!  So when?

Hi Steve,

I hoping to have this released by the end of this weekend.

Folks should check out Chipp's Vue Tools and AltTerrain Builder as well. In conjunction with GridModeler, Vue's in house modeling capabilities are in full bloom.....

Well, it didn't get finished by last weekend, but it is now. Just released for both Mac and PC, Vue 6 and above...Esprit and above.

Check it out:
http://www.altuit.com/webs/vuetoolbar/GridModelerCover/default.htm

Oh, and here's a quickie I put together last night....using Monsoon's most excellent SeaVue second edition :-)

-Chipp

I just purchased GridModeler and I've got to say, not only is it a fantastic tool, but I always learn more about using Vue from reading Chipp's documentation. I have never used Repeat Operation Subdivide before... what a neat little feature.

You did it again Chipp. Excellent and deep tool that will take some time to explore all the possibilities. Bravo!

~jr

Just purchased this. Looks really great, if the quality of the interface and documentation is anything to go by! Reckon $25 is great value.

I've been wanting to expand into more architectural renders and this looks ideal.

Cheers
Richard

Hi Chipp

Have tried downloading the AVI version of the training video from http://blip.tv/file/475564, but playing it comes give me an "unknown codec" error or equivalent in every program I've tried - what codec did you use?

Thanks
Richard

craftycurate,

I used the Techsmith codec for Camtasia. It's free from www.techsmith.com.

best,
Chipp

Great thanks.

One more thing - am beginning to get my head round the GridModeller and find it easy to use. However, I'm a bit confused about Vue Units and can't find much about them in the Vue documentation.

I have a scene with 2 cubes side by side. 

1. One is a Vue primitive, whose side length is 6m, or 30 Vue units
2. The other is imported from a sketchup file (which contains just a cube). Its side is also 6m, but this translates to 0.381 Vue units.

Can anyone explain this? More importantly, how can I easily use GridModeller with imported objects without having to adjust all the calculated values by (30/0.381) or whatever the ratio is?

I hope there is a way to reliably adjust for this, or perhaps there should be an option to use real object sizes instead, since the precision of the Gridmodeller is one of its selling points, and works really well for Vue primitives.

I use Sketchup a lot for assembling architectural models, so would be great to be able to integrate imported models with this tool.

Thanks
Richard

Also, the mouseover tooltip for the "calculate for plane" checkbox looks like it belongs to the "Antialias wireframe" button instead.

Thanks
Richard

Hi Richard,

Vue units are a difficult concept to grasp. For instance, drop a plane in a scene, then a cube and resize the plane so it matches the cubes footprint. If you look at each of them in Vue Units, they are different sizes!

I suppose it has to do with how the objects themselves are reconciled inside Vue's display list. But, the fact remains, they are the only standard unit which works between all version of Vue. Vue-Infinite is the only version which has metric and english standard dimensions. So, in order for GridModeler to work with Vue Esprit, native Vue Units must be used.

Thanks about the tooltip issue. I'll fix for the next update.

best,

Chipp

Regarding your SketchUp question:

There is no real way to figure out universally how to create GridMatch in an imported object. For instance, if you create a Cube in SketchUp 3 x 4 x 5 inches, and import it into Vue, it says the Vue Units for it are: 1,1,1. So, in this case, the Vue units are scale factors. Since we don't know the original dimensions, we can't calculate for exact grid match, not to mention the fact that we have no idea how the UV mapping is done for imported objects.

Your best bet is to import your object, using Simple SketchUp 3D objects where you know you need to create a grid model. Then select the individual 'parts' and right-click and select "Replace by (Fit Object)" and choose "cube." Now you will have a cube in the exact same proportions and location as your original object. And, you can use GridModeler to texture it.

Hope that helps.
-Chipp

Thanks for your messages.

The only problem is that I am creating simple geometric forms in Sketchup rather than simple primitives which I can easily create in Vue.

But I guess I'm trying to marry two approaches, where GridModeller is really about modelling inside Vue I guess?

I'll figure something out!

Thanks
Richard

Hey Chip, 

First off, What a great tool you have created here.  Congratulations.  Could you let us know what atmosphere you used in the tutorial?  I noted in the documentation you mentioned that you changed atmosphere so the spacefreame could be more easily viewed but you never said what change you made.  Was it just a color change to the sky color from the basic modelling atmosphere you created in your other tutorial and if so, what was the RGB values?