Important Lightflow Announcement!

General Forums Blender and CG Discussions
1

I think that all of us who use lightflow needed to know this, and it’s something that’s not immediately obvious but is staggeringly important.

I used to render GI scenes in lightflow that would easily take 4-5 hours on an athlon 1100 to render.

Just yesterday I rendered a 1280x1024 image, with a full lighdome, with virtually no grain and high detail. It took 1.5 hours. How? what is the secret?

Linux.

Lightflow compiled natively under linux is 2 to 3 times faster than under windows. I cannot emphasize the incredible difference any more. it’s awesome. So just install a little linux magic and watch it fly.

Unfortunately MatSpiderLF doesn’t run under wine. I’ll try again soon with CodeWeavers stuff and maybe reWind will help. otherwise, just design your materials under windows.

2

WoW :o

I never doubted that Linux is faster…

Stefano

3

I wished I could understand Lightflow…but, it is to damn hard to do the right settings :frowning: sigh

but I know how fast Linux is, I had a scene that took 2½ min. to render in Win98, and 1½ in Linux…heh…same scene !

4

What??? This could have saved me more than 120 hours! :o

5

is blender faster in linux ?

6

Then I think you will like the tuts eeshlo is including with the new LFExport script. He has really outdone himself this time.

7

I have heard that Linux is faster for raw computation (i.e. rendering) probably due to a lower overhead. However, it is slower with the modeling process due to OpenGL code that could use some work.

The only thing that is preventing me from installing Linux is that I like all of my Windows programs. There are more of them.

8

Where are eeshlo’s tuts and when will they get done? I’m so excited!

9

better than just tutorials… eeshlo’s effectively made the script usable. just yesterday I exported a model and it took 5 whole hours just to export…

Not a single mesh corruption. I was ecstatic. usually my meshes are mangulated beyond repair.

10

MrMunkily: I was amost expecting you to announce a new Lightflow version! I got both a bit worried and excited at the same time for a moment…

Anyway, I didn’t know this was unknown, I thought I mentioned this several times (as well as Montz himself more than a year ago).

And about the new script, really, don’t get too excited, it still has the same problems as any other script. Of course it is even worse with all the complex installation problems… And not all options are available to Linux users either…
I really really advise people to try out other scripts before you try the Lightflow script, especially when you never used any python script at all before…

11

And how do you know that? I don’t remember you being a tester? Did somebody else send you the script?

Edit:
just noticed: 5 hours? that would be the old script then…

12

In the download section is written:

"* Note that the Windows version is almost 2 times slower than the Linux one. This difference is due both to the degree of optimization of the relative compilers (respectively Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 and GNU C/C++) and to the greater global efficiency of the Linux Operating System. "

I think the first can be solved compiling with GNU C/C++ for win32, the later…

13

eeshlo! I’d like to test the new script very uch if can export fater than the old one. I’m tired of waiting 5 hours to export some not-particularly-detailed objects :smiley:

14

Ther’s a new LFexport script out ? last is 10april?
if no can we know the new features in the next script?
a cartoon material will be really cool.
need a beta tester on linux :slight_smile:

thk’s

15

MrMunkily: you did see the PM I sent you? I would have mailed you, but I can’t find your mail address, send me a PM or mail with more info, if you’re still interested of course…