Hi all, On Mon, Jul 18, 2011 at 6:57 PM, Marcus D. Hanwell <[email protected]> wrote: > On Thu, Jul 14, 2011 at 1:24 PM, Geoffrey Hutchison > <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> > A while ago I asked about the prospect for volume rendering (and >> > better-scalable rendering in Avogadro in general). I was told there was a >> > VTK integration in the works, but I haven't heard about it since then. >> > Also, VTK has pretty awful support for volume rendering -- it really >> > wasn't designed for that. >> >> Well, I think Marcus will have some thoughts on that. VTK now has >> GPU-rendered volume rendering. He's also been thinking for a while about >> better scaling rendering, which I think would be delivered in an Avogadro >> 2.0 effort once we get 1.1/1.2 out the door this summer and fall. > > Do you mean the old CPU based volume rendering code? Since VTK 5.6 (with > improvements in the upcoming 5.8) there is a fast volume rendering component > (originally developed for VTKEdge). I have a VTK plugin that uses the volume > rendering in VTK (up on Github), but it is fairly experimental proof of > concept stuff at this stage. We also have a Google Summer of Code student > (David Lonie) working on adding support for rendering chemical structure in > VTK.
I have been working on volume rendering in vtkChemistry for the last couple weeks, and I've put up a blog post with some screenshots here: http://davidlonie.blogspot.com/2011/07/vtkchemistry-now-with-electrons.html I too am interested in seeing an alternative method -- the ability to have multiple rendering backends may be desired for avogadro 2.0. I would like to see this written into an extension for avogadro 1.x. If we make these extensions available to users now we may end up getting some valuable feedback for when we start designing 2.0's rendering engine. Having the extensions will also help us identify any potential issues that may arise while integrating these specific backends. Dave >> > So far I've been using my own custom tool, an interactive direct volume >> > renderer that supports large-scale ball and stick vis. Some examples are >> > here: >> > http://www.mcs.anl.gov/~knoll/supersoot/supersoot_bas9.png >> > http://www.mcs.anl.gov/~knoll/supersoot/supersoot_bas7.png >> >> Well, I'd personally love to have non-VTK volumetric rendering. > > Why specifically non-VTK volume rendering Geoff? If it is the Mac issue I > believe that is close to being resolved. Is this rendering code available? I > had a look on your site and couldn't find anything. I am certainly > interested in what you have. >> >> > My motivation: my users (and myself) love the Avogadro interface and >> > would like to use it if possible. >> >> Great to hear! > > Seconded - I would like to ensure it remains useful and having input from > you and others helps a lot there. >> >> > What would be involved in modifying Avogadro to support an interactive >> > GPU raycasting rendering backend? I understand this may not replace >> > rasterization outright (for backwards compatibility and speed reasons), but >> > for a lot of visualization this would be a huge improvement. >> >> Well, there is already a GLSL extension when available, and much can be >> done with this -- personally, I've been concentrating on building/editing >> tools so a >> >> Beyond that, you'd probably need to start on a new Painter class. We've >> tried to isolate real rendering calls into this class, so the Pov-Ray or >> other export methods use custom Painters. > > That would be a logical way to go - add a new Painter class. I would love to > discuss this further, and am interested in what you have available. > Thanks, > Marcus > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Storage Efficiency Calculator > This modeling tool is based on patent-pending intellectual property that > has been used successfully in hundreds of IBM storage optimization engage- > ments, worldwide. Store less, Store more with what you own, Move data to > the right place. Try It Now! > http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfnl/114/51427378/ > _______________________________________________ > Avogadro-devel mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/avogadro-devel > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10 Tips for Better Web Security Learn 10 ways to better secure your business today. Topics covered include: Web security, SSL, hacker attacks & Denial of Service (DoS), private keys, security Microsoft Exchange, secure Instant Messaging, and much more. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfnl/114/51426210/ _______________________________________________ Avogadro-devel mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/avogadro-devel
