To create good shadows in World Builder you have to keep a few things in mind, do not use one shadowmap for the whole scene this is very ineffective and will not create the proper shadowdetail.You can use different shadowmaps for different areas on your landscape, follow the steps below and see how this can be done.
The Max communicator of WorldBuilder is a great way to integrate the best of the 2 software packages in 1 render.The main advantage of this is that we can use the flexible material editor of Max in combination withthe landscape capabilities of WorldBuilder. There is of course the possibility of importing 3DS models in WorldBuilder, but that means we have to convert every single part of the imported Max materials to WorldBuilder materials and adjusting the phong photometry of every part separatly.This can be done with simple models, but for more complex models the Max communicator is the bestsolution.I made a greenhouse model in Max for this scene which we will use to make the following setting:- A camera will be inside the greenhouse and have a view of the plants inside and the landscape outside. - We will use small landscapes for the flowerbeds in the greenhouse.- We will create shadows and reflections of both WorldBuilder and Max objects in the scene.
In WorldBuilder you can create very nice Volumelightsbut you have to be patient and keep a few things in mindthe get the best results, i will explain how this canbe done efficiently in the following tutorial.This tutorial can be used for version 2, 3 and 3.5.Have a lot of fun with WorldBuilder.
WorldBuilder has a lot of possibilities with the use of materials, we will use a volcano scene to illustrate this and do the following with materials in this tutorial:-How to add a material-Using compound materials-How to add a texture and bumping-Using phong photometry-Using placing conditions-Using materials in an area-Using a fractilizer