Votes
56
Product:
iClone 6
Version:
6.42
Status:
Active
Issue 329
Add a functioning mirror
With all the great improvements in iClone 6, one feature is still glaringly missing: a working mirror surface. This is probably one of the oldest requests and dates back from iClone 5, which had an experimental mirror that was never fully developed.

The most flexible solution would probably be a reflective material that could be added to any surface, but a simple flat mirror object for starters would already make me happy.
OS: Windows 10
  •  9
  •  8444
Submitted byanimagic
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COMMENTS (9)
Tarampa Studios
I'm only un-voting because I need to vote on another issue. 

The new work-around method of using cameras to record a video from the mirror's point of view is time consuming, annoying and turns editing a scene into a mammoth task.
animagic
This issue has been "ported" to iClone 7 as #3371: https://www.reallusion.com/FeedBackTracker/Issue/Add-a-functioning-mirror_1 .
animagic
It would be nice if this moved from "Active" to "Assigned"!
Bellatrix
This request gets the highest vote count for good reasons...
A typical year 1989 modern office/ living room/ bathroom have at least 2 to 3 MIRROR-REFLECTIVE OBJECTS
Nevermind futuristic home or spaceship interior...
It is a basic essential in story telling and cinematics.

Since it's been 2 weeks old and there's still no technical specifics on actual implementation...
I shall propose the following:

--------------------

Typically there're 2 ways reflections are done in realtime render engines.

1. Probe/ Projection Reflection (by 360 panoramic probe)
2. Planar Reflection (assign a flat surface of a mesh as a MIRROR Plane)

Users are currently unhappy with iC6 Projection Reflection probe implementation
as the title said: the current mirror reflection feature is NOT functional (not useful)
 
- because it fails to take into account MOVING CAMERA, and works only from a fixed still shot position.
- because it fails to render basic shadow, transparency, falloffs, and many other frequent occuring scene objects
- because the image is not usable as a flat bathroom mirror

To make Probe Reflection useful in most novice projects, the above issues need to be rectified:

1. Provide option to render probe by camera path AT FINAL RENDER (dialog to warn novice moving camera with reflective object is EXPENSIVE)
2. Basic shadow, transparency, threshold or not, must be rendered in reflection. Otherwise pointless exercise. 
3. EXPOSE Reflection Probe Object to users (See Lumion 2013). This will allow users to manually adjust distance for simple shots.

Even if Probe Reflection is improved to become functional, it is still not addressing a primary desire of iClone users:
A MIRROR object, or MIRROR material.

I propose a new feature called MIRROR PLANE.
A scene is limited to say, 4, or 8, or 12 mirror planes. 
Please see Lumion6.0 for implementation. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm0n0gRB_oM

In iClone, the Mirror Plane is ideally a drag drop iMaterial (could also be a drag drop iProp dummy)
Drag and dropped onto a single planar surface of any iProp
It will render and update camera position POV in realtime
It will reflect shadow, transparency, speedtrees, and hopefully VFX
And like Probe Reflection, it has OPTION to render Preview quality initially but render high at Final Render
For high end system, users could choose to render reflection at Final Render quality

I understand the render cost of raytraced reflection
I also trust that users can be educated to accept some time/ resource expenses

Expected compromises:
I will settle for pixelated Preview render of reflection high fidelity final render of reflections
I will settle for prohibition to change camera FoV, DoF, even post effects after "baking to Final Render quality"
I will settle for reflection of reflection not rendering 

Reflection of Reflective object/mat issue can be rectified with a new (global) Material Setting> SOFTNESS slider
(as in IBL "Softness" a.k.a. gaussian blur)

--------
Thank you for listening.
pmaina
Bleetz, maybe the batteries got finished? :-D
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