TITLE: Mach 1.020
NAME: Guillermo Sanz Romero
EMAIL: famrom@ran.es
WEBPAGE: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/4774/index.html
TOPIC: Great Engineering Achievements
COPYRIGHT: I SUBMIT TO THE STANDARD RAYTRACING COMPETITION COPYRIGHT.
JPGFILE: gr_mach1.jpg
ZIPFILE: gr_mach1.zip
RENDERER USED: 
    POVRay 3.02.msdos.wat-cwa and POVRay 3.02.win32.proton

TOOLS USED: 
    DOS Edit, Terrain Maker, PP5 & PP7

RENDER TIME: 
    Original over 53h, final less than 45m

HARDWARE USED: 
    PC iP55-166MHz(MMX)


IMAGE DESCRIPTION: 


Serious info:
Date:   15th October 1997
Place:  Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA
Car:    ThrustSSC
Driver: Andy Green
Speed:  763.035mph, Mach 1.020

Non-serious info:
"Some have seen the plate of that car? It have exceeded the speed limit."
While searching data about the car, I found a funny image from previous
records, spdlimit.jpg at Roadster site, so I mix it with my first ideas to
add a special touch (maybe I should try to do an animation...).


DESCRIPTION OF HOW THIS IMAGE WAS CREATED: 


I started modelling the car with sPatch. I changed the textures and re-used
some layers (sPatch uses layers to separate objects) to create the decals.
These decals where made with PP5 based on images from Internet, and applied
to the copies, that are place a little bit moved from their original position.
Using this technique I can place decals easily, and what is more important:
the images appear only in the correct side of the objects.

The next step was creating ground, sky and mountains. They are rather simple.
Some planes (ground and sky), disc (ground, cracked zone), a sky_sphere (to
have a background for the plane) and some heightfields for the mountains.
I also added the "Speed Limit 750" signal, made with boxes and cylinders.

At this point the image looked OK, the car texture and logos were good, the
ground's cracks maybe too thick, and the global image composition was like
some car advertisments. ; 

Then the "pain" began: I tried to use halos to build the dust, and after some
small test that looked OK, I started the final render (over 53h) under NT, so
I can use the computer if needed (daily email and some browsing). When it
finished, I opened the image and... argghhh!!! 53h wasted. The halo sucks. It
is not realistic. I send a jpeg with the old result, if you want to watch it.

After thinking that POVRay halos are too much "experimental", and with some
hours to save the submission... I tried the old "orthographic camera" trick.
I used the original image to create a mask image. Then I used that mask to
do a real (OK, not 100% real, but at least it is more real than the original)
dust cloud.

I re-rendered the original image, but without halo and then used this new pic
as base for the composition. With the mask and a texture loop, the final image
was done in a few hours (1 hour to draw the mask and do some texture tests,
about 40 min for new base image, less than 2 min composition render).

Lesson: do not waste time with halos, better use the "object simulates clouds"
(like lensflares includes) or "compose image using the renderer" (legal, and
what is more, the POVRay textures can be even better than creanting them with
an image editor like PP or Photoshop).