Back in 2010 I started the
Crepuscular Rays & Sun Shaft Rays Shader thread in the Wishful Features area, asking if this was planned for iClone 5:
bsperan (9/14/2010)
I see on the
HDR Video Effects page that iClone 4 features some pretty advanced HDR and shader effects, like bloom and glare. However, is there support for
Crepuscular Rays, also called "Sun Rays"?
An example of this type of shader in a game can be seen in this video of a user-created plugin for Morrowind:
Paumanok West did point out how (to a limited extent) this can be emulated with light cones.
However, strategically placing a number of light cones around a scene to get the same effect could become difficult and time consuming, depending on the complexity. And Dreamcube017 wrote that, "...while this is possible, it just seems like a work around simply because we can't do it."
Now I hear about beta testing for iClone 6, suggesting that we may see 6 before long. So I will ask again:
Is this feature planned for iClone 6? :unsure:
And if the answer is still no, have you discussed the possibility of adding it to iClone 7? :hehe:
Seriously, this is a powerful effect for adding realism to animation. And 3d animation and rendering software have begun to adapt this technique.
The Unreal engine has had this since 2010. Back in May of 2010 (several months prior to
my earlier post), DAZ 3D released Carrara 8.0, which included "God rays and barn door lighting & effects." And, of course, Bryce software has had God Rays for years. Also, for a couple years now, a 3rd party addon has been available called "Atmospheric Effects Cameras for DAZ Studio".