• Tag Archives MB3D Release
  • MB3D1.99.32 release with new ZBuf16Bit-module

    Just released MB3D 1.99.32. This version comes with a new module called “ZBuf16Bit” which allows you to create high-quality depth-maps/z-buffers.

    Those maps can be used in MB3D itself, of course – but are also suited to create very interesting effects in other 3D-packages like Octane Render (e.g. as displacement maps).

    Some hints:

    • first render your fractal, then hit the “Refresh”-button in the ZBuf16Bit-window to display a preview of the
      depth-maps
    • press the “guess params”-button if you see nothing or the image is off
    • the preview is only 8Bit, while the heightmap internally is computed using 16Bit
    • adjust the depth-map using the “Z offset”, “Z scale” and “Invert ZBuffer” controls
    • antialiasing (by changing the view-resolution) of the 16Bit depth-maps is supported
    • technical note: because the Delphi-PNG’component is (very) buggy, it does not support 16bit images.
      So saving of depth-maps uses a workaround to get out a 16bit image:
      • Mandelbulb3D.exe does only write a PGM-file (which is a valid 16Bit gray image, but is only supported
        by a few programs)
      • a java-based PGM-to-PNG-converter is invoked under the hood.
        So, you will need a valid java installation to get out a 16Bit PNG-image.
        But, it is not mandatory, you can also convert the PGM-images manually, e.g. using an online-converter.
        (The converter is inside the file PNG16Util-1.0-SNAPSHOT.jar, and is not some dubious 3rd-party-library,
        but written by myself, so you can also see the sourcecode at GitHub.)

    See the file CHANGES.txt for a list of changes.

    Have fun!


  • MB3D1.99.12 release with update to BulbTracer2

    Just released MB3D 1.99.12 as major update.

    This version comes with a big update to the new mesh generator (BTracer2):
    – even more speed
    – true vertex colors (when using PLY as export format)
    – using less memory, allowing to generate meshes with higher resolution
    In short: make it even more fun!

    See the included image “BulbTracer2r12.jpg” for a visual overview of the changes.

    See the file CHANGES.txt for a list of changes.

    When you have questions, feel free to contact me at thargor6@googlemail.com

    Cheers!

    P.S.: Here is an example-image, created BTracer2 and Lightwave 2019: https://www.deviantart.com/thargor6/art/Lagoon-815688330


  • MB3D1.99.7 release with BulbTracer2

    Just released MB3D 1.99.7 as major update.

    It comes with BTracer2, an major update to the mesh-generator.
    In fact, the module was rewritten, in order to achieve the following goals:
    – get much better results
    – to be much faster
    – (optionally) generate color-information
    – make it simpler to use
    In short: make it fun!

    See the included image “BulbTracer2.jpg” for a visual overview of the changes and have fun!


    When you have questions, feel free to contact me at thargor6@googlemail.com

    Cheers!

    P.S.: Here is an example-image, created BTracer2 and Lightwave 2019: https://www.deviantart.com/thargor6/art/Lagoon-815688330