CoronaPattern playground!

[TomG]

Probably because the Pattern geometry only exists at render time (which is how it has such great memory savings etc. afaik), meaning there is nothing in the scene for the Decal to project onto as it doesn't exist until render is pressed. Whether that can be cunningly solved by amazing coding, I don't know, but it sounds like it would fall into the "very hard" category - devs can say otherwise of course!

[Rhodesy]

Probably because the Pattern geometry only exists at render time (which is how it has such great memory savings etc. afaik), meaning there is nothing in the scene for the Decal to project onto as it doesn't exist until render is pressed. Whether that can be cunningly solved by amazing coding, I don't know, but it sounds like it would fall into the "very hard" category - devs can say otherwise of course!

Yes I thought as much. They are wizards though! The other requests re additional node geo and rotations/scale are more important / hopefully easier.

[maru]

Multiple feature requests are now logged for our wizards to review. No guarantees or promises yet!

- rotate the whole pattern without having to adjust base object UVWs
- randomize pattern tiles rotation
- other randomizations like in UVW Randomizer (scale, offset)
- smooth normals along slices ("weld seams")
- ability for the pattern segments to overlap with each other instead of being sliced

[Rhodesy]

Thanks Maru. Is it possible to add a request for multiple node geometries? For example the ability to have a few different grass patches rather than only the one?

[maru]

Thanks Maru. Is it possible to add a request for multiple node geometries? For example the ability to have a few different grass patches rather than only the one?

Yep, we will log other ideas from this thread too. :)

[mike288]

Thanks Maru. Is it possible to add a request for multiple node geometries? For example the ability to have a few different grass patches rather than only the one?

Maybe in that case you rather want scatter?

[Rhodesy]

Thanks Maru. Is it possible to add a request for multiple node geometries? For example the ability to have a few different grass patches rather than only the one?

Maybe in that case you rather want scatter?

Thanks Mike. I was wondering if corona pattern is more efficient in terms of generation speed and RAM, so it has potential to cover some of the heavy lifting from the likes of scatter. Do they work on different tech when it comes to efficiency and speed? TBH we are quite entrenched in forestpack but scatter is becoming tempting. IS scatter more efficient and faster than forestpack in corona?

[mike288]

Thanks Maru. Is it possible to add a request for multiple node geometries? For example the ability to have a few different grass patches rather than only the one?

Maybe in that case you rather want scatter?

Thanks Mike. I was wondering if corona pattern is more efficient in terms of generation speed and RAM, so it has potential to cover some of the heavy lifting from the likes of scatter. Do they work on different tech when it comes to efficiency and speed? TBH we are quite entrenched in forestpack but scatter is becoming tempting. IS scatter more efficient and faster than forestpack in corona?

Hehe, you have a lot of questions to reply to. :-)

The technology behind scatter and pattern is completely different - implying some use cases are better fit for patterns, some for scatters. We will be addressing this by creating some help article on that topic. Stay tuned! In general, creating patterns means 'repeating' while scattering mostly means 'randomness'. If you need to use multiple grass geometries, you are probably doing it because you want to break the pattern = make it more random. That is why I suggested scatter. But it depends on each case. The help article should shed more light into it.

Yes, pattern is lighter w.r.t. RAM.

As for the comparison to FP (or actually anything), the best approach is to try. User use cases differ really greatly. It is impossible to say that A is always better than B for everybody every time. Moreover it changes over time. Try it and you will see if there are some benefits for you or not. :-)

[Rhodesy]

Thanks Mike,
Good to know. I see what you say about randomness and repeating and two different tools. Hopefully a few more options can be eeked out of pattern before it reaches its limits. Thanks for all the hard work you guys put in to this.

I will definitely explore more of scatters possibilities to see how it compares to FP.

[romullus]

Probably not the most artistic image, but fun little experiment researching possible use cases for the pattern tool. It's necessary to apply some tricks to prevent fence segments from bending along the path curve, but otherwise i think it's pretty usable technique.

[Ondra]

The entire point of pattern is that it bends along the way - if you dont want that, you should use 1D scatter with regular pattern here ;)

[Rhodesy]

Looking good Romulus. Yes the tilt is a factor to consider without adjusting the UVs.

Here's another from me, again not the most creative of compositions! Travertine stack blocked wall and Jakob ivy system. Both pattern objects. UV can be easily offset to get them to line up but not bothered here.
What I like about pattern over the likes of railclone for these types of cladding uses is that they just work whatever surface or orientation you throw them on without errors. Really easy to cut clean holes in them and not worry its going to break.

[maru]

Yes, as far as I can tell from testing if you have corona pattern on a surface - like a planked floor, you can't put a decal on the generated planks. If you switch off the pattern mod the decal will project fine on the base object but when the pattern is on the decal wont project on the pattern geometry. Does that make sense? I suppose it might be the sequencing so that the pattern should generate first and then the decal projected on after but I'm not even sure if its possible?

This seems to work fine as long as you disable the "use pattern material" option in CPattern modifier. Obviously that is a limitation, but maybe you can use it as a workaround to some degree (i.e. apply the pattern material to the base object).
I have logged it nonetheless because it would be a nice-to-have.

[romullus]

The entire point of pattern is that it bends along the way - if you dont want that, you should use 1D scatter with regular pattern here ;)

You're right of course, but in this particular case with extreme surface angulation, the scatter would make messy gaps between fence segments. Even if that would be physically more correct, it would not look as good as pattern's outcome :] I think both methods have the right to exist.

[Rhodesy]

Yes, as far as I can tell from testing if you have corona pattern on a surface - like a planked floor, you can't put a decal on the generated planks. If you switch off the pattern mod the decal will project fine on the base object but when the pattern is on the decal wont project on the pattern geometry. Does that make sense? I suppose it might be the sequencing so that the pattern should generate first and then the decal projected on after but I'm not even sure if its possible?

This seems to work fine as long as you disable the "use pattern material" option in CPattern modifier. Obviously that is a limitation, but maybe you can use it as a workaround to some degree (i.e. apply the pattern material to the base object).
I have logged it nonetheless because it would be a nice-to-have.

Thanks Maru. Much appreciated.