Fractal artists: what do you want in a fractal program?

[dentaku2]

Hi,

I just started to code a fractal generator (endlos) and love to integrate more and more in this endless project. What do you (as an artists who just wants to use generators but not want to write them yourself) would like to see in a generator? Perhaps you have read somewhere of a new algorithm/technique/formular and can't find a generator already offering this? Please don't hesitate to post your wishes here at my feature request page. This is the place where I will look into to have some food for my generator and discuss features. Even if the current state of endlos is restricted, this doesn't mean it is stuck into it's bounds.

Dentaku 

[Nahee_Enterprises]

M. Hilpert (dentaku) wrote:
>
>    What do you (as an artists who just wants to use generators but
>    not want to write them yourself) would like to see in a generator?
>    Perhaps you have read somewhere of a new algorithm/technique/formular
>    and can't find a generator already offering this?

Your first question is a VERY BIG question.    

I do not believe it very probable that any single fractal application will likely incorporate all of the things I would enjoy having it do.  This is because there is so much which may be done in several different areas:  fractal types, artistic graphic abilities, 3-D objects, animation, flexible formula parser, multiple file formats, import and export capabilities, etc...

Just getting a fractal program to handle all the fractal types which FractInt has been able to do is a major task.
    http://www.Nahee.com/spanky/www/fractint/fractal_types.html

[dentaku2]

Oh, I'm just working on it ... I guess I have my generic custom fractal module finished within the next 2-3 weeks and I plan to integrate all those formulas as a start (or at least most of them ;-). But I won't implement a formula editor as it's too complicated (or restricted). Coding formulas in a programming language is much more flexible and the existing compilers are already very good.

Concerning 3D I just started reading about the basics of OpenGL and playing with very basic graphic problems. So far, I have no idea how to connect the 2D fractals with the 3D paradigm. Simple isometric angles are one thing, but real 3 dimensional fractals is ... ? .... have you any links to such material? It would already help very much having a starting code example how to transform a 2D fractal to a real 3D fractal. (OpenGL is so cool!!!)

[Sockratease]

Well, I can't answer your last post, but I can say that I have tried twice to get this to run on my computer with no success.

I'm a java fool I guess.

I think it's all set up right, but nothing happens.  I get a black "DOS" screen when I try to run the pogram.

Using Windows XP and Java Runtime 1.5 (or 1.05...  I forget!)

Would the 1.6 make a difference in whether it even starts?

This looks like a decent program.

I'd like to get it working!

As for features I like...

3D is nice.  So is Animation.

After I see and use the interface I can make more useful suggestions.

And I agree...

Open GL is COOL!

[Nahee_Enterprises]

M. Hilpert (dentaku) wrote:
>
>    ....I plan to integrate all those formulas as a start (or at least most of them ;-).

It will be a task to cover all of those various formulas:
     http://www.Nahee.com/spanky/www/fractint/fractal_types.html

>
>    But I won't implement a formula editor as it's too complicated (or restricted).
>    Coding formulas in a programming language is much more flexible and the
>    existing compilers are already very good.

The real fractal enthusiasts enjoy creating and exploring with their own formulas.  Having some form of interface to allow this is a key component these days for a successful fractal rendering application.  Whether a formula parser is used to handle the basics of formula creation, or allowing input of code fragments based upon one or more programming languages, or even the use of user written "plugin" modules that could do processing and pass back finished plotted points.

>
>    Concerning 3D....  So far, I have no idea how to connect the 2D fractals
>    with the 3D paradigm.   ....have you any links to such material?  It would
>    already help very much having a starting code example how to transform
>    a 2D fractal to a real 3D fractal.

There are tons of code available for doing this that may be downloaded and reviewed from the Internet.  A quick search using Google turned up several thousand web pages just now.  Just looking through the code which can be found on http://www.sourceforge.net/ for fractals and other similar 3D imaging would be a great start for you.

[Sockratease]

I got the New Version AND got it Working!

WEEE!!!

I'll post feedback after I play a bit...

[phiaera]

From highest priority to low

#1) Automatically generate a fractal equation of any digital image

#2) A fractal dimension button

#3) Add SATURATION. I am not fond of the idea of using colors to represent how fast a point is going to infinity. This should be saturation, and color should be the direction of the point which isn't possible unless it is 3D.

#4) Add a shading function. Once again, I am not fond of leaving the points that are part of the set black. It should have various levels of shades based on the various distances from the center of the graph.

[bib]

wow, 5 years later!

[DarkBeam]

Feedback; The program is fast enough, but it's missing just everything (visual color palette edit, custom color methods, more formulas + formula editing...) and the interface is absolutely improvable. Let's say, 5 years of work and it will be perfect.

[cKleinhuis]

the fractal dimension (approximated by various methods) button is something i really miss in ultrafractal, as far as i know uf5 has some orbit inspecting feature, but more analytical tools would be just great!

[cbuchner1]

Some things coming to my mind:

- Multi-Touch support in Windows 7 and 8.
  People like to fondle.

- Zooming with hierarchically cached tiles like the Fractile Plus app for iOS devices.
  Despite low power of the device it creates a zooming experience unlike any I've
   ever seen.

- GPU accelerated rendering.
  Throw horsepower at it, if you can.


Christian

[DarkBeam]

Some things coming to my mind:

- Multi-Touch support in Windows 7 and 8.
  People like to fondle.

- Zooming with hierarchically cached tiles like the Fractile Plus app for iOS devices.
  Despite low power of the device it creates a zooming experience unlike any I've
   ever seen.

- GPU accelerated rendering.
  Throw horsepower at it, if you can.


Christian

Not really easy for a "portable" app like that (in Java)

[cbuchner1]

java bindings for openCL: http://www.jocl.org/

a multi touch API for Java: http://www.mt4j.org/mediawiki/index.php/Main_Page

as for caching tiles, that's something you best develop yourself  For good performance I would also recommend to do tile rendering and zooming in OpenGL. Also check out their ModestMaps example, which does that kind of caching/zooming for geographic maps - maybe it can be adapted for fractals.

[David Makin]

Everything !

[gregsage]

To really take the artistry to a new level, the tools would have to start to match those in other modeling programs.

For instance, the tools in Cinema 4d that control:

Lighting:  different types and various characteristics of lights
Painting:  More options as to how to apply colors to the model
Rendering:  More control over the subtleties of ambient occlusion, etc
Camera:  focus objects, spline paths... for instance, the ability to choose an object center rather than camera center as a pivot point.
Animation:  Complete control over curves and keyframes similar to C4d's timeline editor

Native mac operation would be nice too

In lieu of some of the above, seamless integration into programs like C4d is a reasonable middle ground.