BUG: Planettool 0.4.2

[Cmd. Cheyd]

Already submitted to Berlios.

OS: Windows 7 x64
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 @ Stock Freq
Memory: 6 GB Ram
Graphics: Nvidia 8800GTS w/ 320MB Ram

Description:
Using Planettool to convert an image from cubic projection to equirectangular projection when areas of the image are transparent, output is sent to the command prompt as a series of numbers / coordinates rather than being written to the file. Sample Files attached.

RePro:
Open command prompt.
Navigate to the directory for planettool.exe.
Enter command: "planenttool.exe -o l test.png -i c test_cubed.png -S 256"

Sample of Problematic File


Sample of incorrect output:

[Eric Walch]

Description:
Using Planettool to convert an image from cubic projection to equirectangular projection

I just downloaded the window version of planet tools. I noticed it does not contain any read me file (neither does the mac version) However, from using the mac version it clear that is does not accept cubic maps as input, only as output. It does however accept a T-shaped cubic map as input. (What your example above is clearly not.)

[Cmd. Cheyd]

However, from using the mac version it clear that is does not accept cubic maps as input, only as output. It does however accept a T-shaped cubic map as input. (What your example above is clearly not.)

Actually, the command-line version will accept cubemaps such as the one above as input provided there are no fully transparent areas. I tested prior to posting. I have not tested with an image that is partially transparent. The acceptance of Cube Maps is even commented on in the announcement thread:

• It’s rather slow.
• While it can read from cube maps, it fails at the edges of faces and produces artefacts. This does not affect writing cube maps.
• Writing cube maps with both the --fast and --jitter options results in strangely clipped output.

[Cmd. Cheyd]

(Cmd. Cheyd finishes last incantations needed to necro this post...)

Any luck on this ever getting looked at?

[Kaks]

Since it's Ahruman's baby, I'd hope he'd have a chance to look into the cube map artifacts/output problems at some point soon... I seem to vaguely remember he mentioned a workaround: convert it to another type of map in gimp/photoshop/whatever before using planettool...

But then again I'm a bit hazy about planettool itself: if you can do all these conversions with the gimp/photosop anyway, it might be just as time effective to create a macro / plugin...

[JensAyton]

I seem to have completely missed this during my autumn hiatus.

The command given above works properly with a Mac trunk build (apart from the known edge sampling errors). I don’t recall any relevant bug fixes, although there have been some. Could someone build a trunk Windows version for Cmd. Cheyd to test with?

But then again I'm a bit hazy about planettool itself: if you can do all these conversions with the gimp/photosop anyway, it might be just as time effective to create a macro / plugin... :?

Can you? I can’t.

[Kaks]

Can you? I can’t.

You got me there!

I definitely should have put ' Assuming you've got experience in making macros/plugins for photoshop ' - I haven't, but it should be fairly time effective for experienced photoshop users to record a fairly simple macro...

Once that is done ( maybe by Cmd. Cheyd himself ), said experienced photoshop user could save & upload the semi-finished macro... From that point on, it should be fairly plain sailing: JS can be used in PS macros, as it says here, so - provided we have a version of PS that's newer than PS 7 - we should collectively be able to improve on even a very basic macro with our existing scripting skills!

Anyway, that's a number of ifs & buts, still, it's an alternative to hoping for a tool update containing exactly what Cmd. Cheyd needs...

I don't think there's an equivalent easy macro creation option for the gimp, and my script-fu skills are 'slightly' non-existent, so on the face of it, a gimp solution would require a lot more time and effort...


However - & with any luck! - hinting at a world of easy PS macro creation might inspire the advanced PS users amongst us!

[another_commander]

Trunk build of planettool v0.4.4 (r4588) for Windows has been uploaded for testing on http://terrastorage.ath.cx/Marmagka/289 ... _r4588.zip

[JensAyton]

I definitely should have put ' Assuming you've got experience in making macros/plugins for photoshop ' - I haven't, but it should be fairly time effective for experienced photoshop users to record a fairly simple macro...

As far as I’m aware, Photoshop doesn’t have the ability to do this kind of coordinate transformation at all. You could probably fake it reasonably well using the Lens Distortion and Polar Coordinates filters, but it would be less accurate.

Nvidia has a plug-in to help working with cube maps, but all it seems to do is help arrange the six faces according to various conventions. The normal way to generate cube maps is to render them in 3D software with particular camera rigs or to photograph them (also with particular camera rigs…) and assemble the images, which is where Nvidia’s plug-in is useful. You could do Planettool’s primary job this way in Blender, by mapping a lat/long map onto a sphere and rendering a cube map from inside it.

[Cmd. Cheyd]

That build of Planettool does seem to process the file correctly now. Thanks guys...

And Kaks, if you'd like me to record a macro, I'm sure I can figure it out. I have Photoshop CS4 (v. 11).