Overcaster

Overcaster Tube

Overcaster tube is the Overcaster version of linear light.  

On the right: Blue diffuse, red specular, green shadows.

If the current camera doesn't have motion blur set up, the script will set up a requester where you can set up motion blur and anti-aliasing (Overcaster needs motion blur to work).

If there are no objects in the current scene, the script will add a null. This is because if the first object in the scene has sliders applied, the scripts will fail to apply the sliders plugin to the current mixer object.

The settings are quite self-explanatory. The Script will attempt to suggest you an unique name for the morph mixer control object, but you can name it manually if you wish. In this document, it will be referred to as the Tube_mixer object.

There are four resolutions to choose from.

1. EZ
Choosing EZ will set up a single distant light with spinning light trick - or actually, "linearly moving light trick". All light properties are set up like with any regular light. Only slider control is shadow softness.

2. Normal
This is the same as in previous version of OC Tube. The script will set up one set of lights. There are separate lights for diffuse and specular shading, as well as shadows. The shadow quality is the same as with the EZ version.

3. Double
This option will create two sets of spinning lights.

4. Quad
This option will create four sets of spinning lights.

Choosing the correct resolution depends on your scene. Doubling the amount of lights roughly equals doubling the amount of AA passes when quality is concerned. The softer the shadows, the more quality is needed.

In some scenes, more lights but less AA will render faster, in others the opposite.

Shadow type and resolution, as well as intensity falloff can now be set. If the script is run again while Tube mixer is selected, these settings can be modified

The Tube can be controlled with sliders. Another option is an endomorph mixer, found in the Tube_mixer object's properties/deformation tab.

The sliders let you control the diffuse and specular properties of the Tube separately. The color setting is self-explanatory. Specular offset will tint the specular highlights. You can also control the color, density and softness of the shadow. The cone controls are the same as in LW - one percent represents one degree..

Only the diffuse part  is previewed in OpenGL.

Move and rotate the Tube_mixer object to aim the light as you would any regular linear light. Do NOT move or rotate the light itself.

If you wish to look through the light while rotating, use Tube_OpenGL light - other lights in the rig may behave erraticly.

Scaling the Tube mixe in Z axis adjusts the light's range - the object acts as a proxy preview in OGL.  The light will shine from the tube shaped box towards the tip of the mixer. Scaling in Y axis makes the tube longer. Scaling in X axis has no effect.

 
PlugPak 1.0 notes

Only endomorph mixer slider controls are available, not the LightWave sliders. There's only one resolution available.  The shadow type setting is not available.