27. The “External render” option is intended to adjust the current project, export it to external render format and launch rendering process to get high-quality images. You can launch rendering mode by selecting "Mode ->" External render".
Tile3D software is using Pov-Ray (http://www.povray.org/) as an external render. Pov-Ray render can be downloaded and installed by any user from the specified website. Using this render to create images for personal and commercial purposes is free. Tile3D supports export to POV-RAY official version 3.62 (3.6.2.msvc9.win32) and to POV-RAY beta-version 3.7 (3.7.0.XXX.msvc9.win32). Both render versions are 32bit and are intended for use with Microsoft Windows OS. Unlike version 3.62, the beta-version 3.7 supports multiprocessing, that is, if you have a multi-core processor, the program will use all cores and that will lead to proportional increase in speed of rendering.
Pov-Ray render is using ray-tracing technology. It creates an image by modeling the path of light rays in the real world. In the real world light rays radiate from light source and illuminate objects. Light reflects from objects or passes through transparent objects. That reflected light gets to the camera. The ray-tracer is modeling the reverse flow of rays from the camera to objects. Every time when an object gets on the ray path, in this point the surface color is calculated. The ray is sent from this point to each light source, in order to determine the quantity of light coming from the source.
About rendering.
In order to get realistic images, computer builds projections, cuts invisible sides, calculates light sources by translating huge arrays of numerical data in a form accessible to perception by the human eye. This process is called rendering. Rendering is the most capacious computing process. One of the main aims of rendering is creating an image as close to reality as possible. To do that, computer should take into account all laws of the real world. Therefore, the number of calculations could be quite large. During rendering process your computer is taking into account all factors to get maximum-realistic images, therefore this process could take a long time. The speed of rendering could be affected not only by the processor capacity, but also by the number and complexity of factors, such as ray tracing, when computer is calculating light dispersion, reflection, refraction based on material properties of objects, surfaces and light sources. The speed of rendering is also strongly affected by the degree of anti-aliasing. Using project settings you can set the optimal ratio of the rendering time and image quality. Please, note that in this case the video card parameters do not affect rendering time.
For example, below you can see three images: first - the original image, second - rendering with adjusted materials, low-quality anti-aliasing and without light reflected form surfaces; the third image - high-quality anti-aliasing and calculation of reflected light (radiosity), it makes the image deeper and more realistic.
Description of the buttons from the upper settings panel:
button - open render settings window.
button – export project to Pov-Ray render format. This button is unavailable in demo-version. Exported project is saved in subdirectory \PovRay_Scene. Any changes in the project and project settings will be taken into account by render ONLY after the launch of project export.
button – launch render. In demo-version only render-check mode is available. It shows you already exported static projects: Demo1 – project of bathroom without calculation of reflected light and Demo2 – project of kitchen with day- and sunlight from the windows and reflected light. You can stop rendering at any time by pressing Alt+G keys (rendering main window should be active). In registered version the button is unavailable, if you haven’t exported the project to render format.
button - select Spherical Panorama mode. In registered version this button is unavailable, if you haven’t exported the project to render format.
27.2 Screen/File/Options Panel
27.9 Rendering project with a view outside the window
27.10 Spherical Panorama settings window
27.11 Spherical Panorama Viewer