Podium 1.4.1 customers - download your free upgrade to Podium 1.5 from the Registered User Page

What's New in Version 1.5

Faster Rendering, HDR Output, Viewport Resolution, Clipmaps, Bumpmaps, Spotlights, Solution for back side faces

1.5 is faster.The combination of a faster rendering engine and the Presets will provide faster rendering times in 1.5. The difference in speed will vary depending on the size of the model, resolution and quality/ smooth settings. However, in one of our own tests we saw what took 21 minutes to render 1.4.1 took about 3 minutes in 1.5. Do not expect as dramatic improvements if you are using a lot of LEM lights. However, we think the average speed increase of 15 to 20% from Version 1.4.1 will be achieved on most renderings.

HDR Output Along with JPG and PNG, Podium now supports HDR as an image format that you can save to. HDR is a 32 bit image format that stores much more information than a PNG or JPG file. Because it stores much more color and brightness information, you should get more postprocessing options than you do now with JPG or PNG. You will need an image editor that reads HDR. The most famous image editor, Photoshop, handles HDR in versions CS2 and above. But there are some less expensive image editors that support the HDR format. Fireworks CS3 imports HDR format. Irfanview (www.irfanview.com) is a free image editor that handles HDR. Another freeware program is Picturenaut (www.hdrlabs.com/picturenaut/).

Presets A brand new feature in 1.5 is Presets. Presets are available from the main SU Podium dialog box. Presets will load optional setting templates and use these "templates" to give different rendering effects. There are many setting variables that are not exposed in Podium's UI. Some variables are Ambient Lighting, Irradiance Gradients, Trace Refractions, etc. Exposing all these variables would clutter the user interface and defeat Podium's goal of making rendering simple and easy. In 1.5, we have created several optional settings that take advantage of several of the hidden variables in Podium. We made these available through Podium's main UI. These various Preset settings will provide things like - Interior settings and Exterior settings, etc. Use the default setting if you do not care to experiment with the Presets. The default setting has been tweaked to get a combination of good performance and quality.

Here is a brief description of some of the Presets:

Default The standard render preset. This should produce good, reliable results for all types of scene. It account for all situations. Render time is good.

Exterior settings.Render parameters have been optimised for exterior scenes. This preset should produce faster results for comparable quality to the standard preset. Some scenes may not benefit from these settings.

Noisy.Uses a method of progressive refinement to an image. Particularly useful for exterior views, render quality can be extremely high when allowed to render for a long period of time. The higher the resolution, the longer the time required. The image can be saved at any stage during the process. For lower resolutions, good results can be obtained in as little as 40 minutes, but for larger and more complex images, several hours processing will be required.

old141.This preset renders the image to the same standard, and speed as version 1.4.1 for those die-hard 1.4.1 lovers

Clipmaps: Clipmaps are used in image editing software programs like Photoshop and now can be used in SketchUp for your Podium 1.5 rendering.Clipmaps are a way to make the background of a particular jpg image transparent to the scene.A good example is the grass example that is contained in the clipmap.zip file. You can import a grass image and paint it to a SketchUp face.With a clipmap, only the grass blades will be rendered and the background of the grass texture becomes transparent.

Another example is a fence.When used with clipmaps, you can render fence textures so that only the fence posts are rendered and not the background.

To use clipmaps, you need to import and paint a SketchUp face with both a texture image and a clipmap image.The clipmap image must have a name that ends in _clipmap.jpg such as grass_clipmap.jpg or fence_clipmap.jpg. Further, both the texture and clipmap files must be in the same directory.

The clipmap image should be a black and white inverse of the texture image where the background is black.You can use Photoshop or Fireworks or other image editing software to create a B&W inverse of the original texture image. Make sure the background of the clipmap image is black.

For more information on how to create clipmaps and to download the sample texture and clipmap images click on this link.Creating Clipmaps, Bumpmaps and FAQ.

Bumpmaps: Podium 1.5 can also utilize bumpmaps. A bumpmap gives an effective bumpiness effect to textures in the rendering. An example of this is a leather texture when rendered looks bumpy.

Like clipmaps, there are several items to do before you can render bumpmaps.Please click here to read about how to create bump maps. Creating Clipmaps, Bumpmaps and FAQ.

Viewport Resolution support. Podium 1.5 will render an image the size and resolution of your SketchUp viewport. Great for wide screen monitors.

Processing Geometry % indicator: No more wondering how far along the geometry processing is. Very noticeable on large models where lots of geometry must be processed

Output Path Browse Function: There is now an option to use a Browse button to select the location of where you want your rendered images files to be saved.

Normal VS Reversed Faces:

Podium 1.5 will now render both normal side and back side (reversed) faces. Podium is now one of the few rendering programs that does this and should simplify the rendering setup even more. However, although back side faces with textures, reflections and opacity will render, LEMs applied to reverse side faces will not render.

Omnis: Random omnis no longer “turn off” (disappear) when rendering.

Reflections on many faces: Setting a reflection on many faces (1000+ faces) no longer crashes Podium. After the user slide the slider to a value, the slider becomes inactive until podium has finished working. Careful! Any clicks of the mouse outside the Podium UI will result in a crash, clicks can be made after about 2 seconds - 5 seconds of Podium working the reflections.

North Angle Correction: Podium now correctly reads the North Angle from SU for the sun and shadow orientation.

Spot Lights: Spot lights is a hidden feature from version 1.4.1 but it deserves an explanation with Podium 1.5. Click here to read a brief description of how to create spotlights.