Tutorial: Extra Outputs
September/20/2008 20:53 Archived in:Voyager Know
How
In Artmatic you can add extra outputs. Those outputs,
in Voyager, serve to control
wetness, ambience,
reflectivity and
normal (which lets you add bumps).
Let`s see how it works.
First download the files:
AM-Extra-Output
If it`s not done automatically, un-zip.
Launch AM and open the file "AM Extra Output" from the downloaded folder.
The tree is very simple. It has just 2 tiles as separate branches. The tile you see in the left branch uses a component that creates the texture and the surface. That`s why it has 4 outputs. It`s a 2->4 Ridged Noise component.
The right branch has a 1->1 tile with a Ax+B component. It is connected to the Global Input A2, which receives altitude information from Voyager.
We can say that the left branch provides output 1 to 4, while the 2nd branch provides the 5th output (or first extra or sub output).
This output will be fed back to Voyager to control what has been described further above.
Before we switch to Voyager, let`s have a closer look at what is actually output by the right branch.
In systems with several output tiles, it`s always the left tile which provides the main outputs. The sub outputs have no influence on what you see in the preview. To make it visible we need to move it to the left.
Click on the Ax+B tile, then press "m" on the keyboard.
This will place it left and makes it the master output.
The preview should show a gradient from white to grey in the upper part of the preview, while the lower part stays black.
On the picture below you see a horizontal line. It`s placed exactly in the middle and represents Voyager`s altitude 0.
Now the gradient here is a representation of the influence that the sub output will have in Voyager. With increasing brightness the influence increases.
What the sub-output does in VY (Voyager) is determined by Voyager itself. In the Preferences menu of VY you can make the corresponding settings. We will get there in a moment.
First we have to put back the sub output tile to its proper place again, which is on the rightside of the 2->4 Ridged Noise tile. To get this done click on the 2->4 tile,
then press "m" to move the 2->4 Ridged Noise tile to the left and make it the main output again.
You dont have to save the file because we have not actually changed it.
Now launch Voyager and open the Voyager file "Extra Output.am3d". It has already been set up to use the AM file we just discussed.
The preview should look like that:
You can see the surface and color that the main branch outputs ( In our case the 2->4 Ridged Noise component) provide. The 5th output has currently no influence.
Now, in order for the sub output(s) to actually have an influence we need to open the preferences panel. Press apple (command)/ "," or open it via menu.
At the bottom of the panel you can see some setting options for the Extra Outputs.
The AM file that we are using has 1 extra output. This is interpreted by Voyager as Extra Output 1.
As you can see, the Extra Output 1 is mapped to "nothing".
When you click on "nothing", a dropdown menu appears and you can select what the extra output controls.
Select "Wetness level".
Press enter to close the preferences panel.
On the preview you should now see the effect of the extra output 1 controlling wetness.
The wetness increases with increasing altitude, exactly as predicted in AM.
That`s all for now. I hope it was fun.
Let`s see how it works.
First download the files:
AM-Extra-Output
If it`s not done automatically, un-zip.
Launch AM and open the file "AM Extra Output" from the downloaded folder.
The tree is very simple. It has just 2 tiles as separate branches. The tile you see in the left branch uses a component that creates the texture and the surface. That`s why it has 4 outputs. It`s a 2->4 Ridged Noise component.
The right branch has a 1->1 tile with a Ax+B component. It is connected to the Global Input A2, which receives altitude information from Voyager.
We can say that the left branch provides output 1 to 4, while the 2nd branch provides the 5th output (or first extra or sub output).
This output will be fed back to Voyager to control what has been described further above.
Before we switch to Voyager, let`s have a closer look at what is actually output by the right branch.
In systems with several output tiles, it`s always the left tile which provides the main outputs. The sub outputs have no influence on what you see in the preview. To make it visible we need to move it to the left.
Click on the Ax+B tile, then press "m" on the keyboard.
This will place it left and makes it the master output.
The preview should show a gradient from white to grey in the upper part of the preview, while the lower part stays black.
On the picture below you see a horizontal line. It`s placed exactly in the middle and represents Voyager`s altitude 0.
Now the gradient here is a representation of the influence that the sub output will have in Voyager. With increasing brightness the influence increases.
What the sub-output does in VY (Voyager) is determined by Voyager itself. In the Preferences menu of VY you can make the corresponding settings. We will get there in a moment.
First we have to put back the sub output tile to its proper place again, which is on the rightside of the 2->4 Ridged Noise tile. To get this done click on the 2->4 tile,
then press "m" to move the 2->4 Ridged Noise tile to the left and make it the main output again.
You dont have to save the file because we have not actually changed it.
Now launch Voyager and open the Voyager file "Extra Output.am3d". It has already been set up to use the AM file we just discussed.
The preview should look like that:
You can see the surface and color that the main branch outputs ( In our case the 2->4 Ridged Noise component) provide. The 5th output has currently no influence.
Now, in order for the sub output(s) to actually have an influence we need to open the preferences panel. Press apple (command)/ "," or open it via menu.
At the bottom of the panel you can see some setting options for the Extra Outputs.
The AM file that we are using has 1 extra output. This is interpreted by Voyager as Extra Output 1.
As you can see, the Extra Output 1 is mapped to "nothing".
When you click on "nothing", a dropdown menu appears and you can select what the extra output controls.
Select "Wetness level".
Press enter to close the preferences panel.
On the preview you should now see the effect of the extra output 1 controlling wetness.
The wetness increases with increasing altitude, exactly as predicted in AM.
That`s all for now. I hope it was fun.