Just an idea... for cutting (with explanatory images)

[MindsEye]

Hello,

This is pointed towards the amazing Jesse, thanks for the great software, If I may be so bold as to suggest something:

A lot of 3d Software incorporates a "cutting plane" that has a positive and a negative side, and is drag-able and rotatable, whatever is on the negative side of the plane is cut off. You can drag the plane around or use a rotation/transform widget to place it. This might be crazy hard to program, but would be incredibly handy for slicing off bits of the fractal. Since you already have the slicing code with the 3 transform values, the only thing missing is the on-screen plane and perhaps in "plane mode" could use the transform controls (slide walk roll) that are already in the navigator.

Let me know if I am out of bounds or talking crazy talk here... I am not a programmer, but I have a basic understanding of code design and what is possible in general, but with this type of software I am not embarrased to say i am not sure what is possible within the framework here, I only think it would be nice to have such a function.

Thanks for hearing me out : ) Edit: I have put a mock up image in the next post.

[MindsEye]

I whipped up a mock-up of what i mean...

http://tinypic.com/r/xpar6p/5

I just now saw that someone else asked about making slices, this could be done by dropping in another plane and rotating it 180 so the neg side (which would be red perhaps instead of the green i used for the mock-up) was opposite facing to the first... this would give you a slice as thin or as thick as you wanted. So perhaps an "Add a cutting plane" button that dropped another plane in each time which would allow some pretty good control over what chunk you want to keep.

Also, the program wouldnt have to calculate past the plane to the negative cause theres nothing there... this could allow you to make a trapping box, and greatly reduce calculation time.

Edit: To use the "Grab Handles" option one would have to hold down the key to lock the transform, like press X and drag any handle to move the plane up and down in the x direction etc.. and for rotation, just hold U V or W (corresponding to X Y Z respectivly) and drag to rotate in that direction. Or button switches instead of key map. Theres probably other ways as well, but this is what I came up with.

Hope you all dont think I am crazy : )

[MindsEye]

I been F5'ing this page for days and days, and would like a reprieve from that monotony, would it be possible that someone acknowledge this post has at least been seen and considered garbage or whatever just so I can stop watching for a reply... that would be very kind...

Thank you!

///MindsEye

[bib]

You don't need to refresh the page. By default the tickbox "Notify me of replies." in Additional options is checked, so you should receive an e-mail if someone responds.

In that case, someone can only by Jesse himself, as he is the sole and only author of the Mandelbulb3D program. I know he checks this board so if he has not answered, maybe he has other priorities.

Thanks for your patience

To be honest, I'm not sure I understood the request, even with the screen mockup. Do you want to be able to move the cut plane in real time in the 3D navigator, is that the request?

[marius]

You don't need to refresh the page. By default the tickbox "Notify me of replies." in Additional options is checked, so you should receive an e-mail if someone responds.

In that case, someone can only by Jesse himself, as he is the sole and only author of the Mandelbulb3D program. I know he checks this board so if he has not answered, maybe he has other priorities.

Thanks for your patience

To be honest, I'm not sure I understood the request, even with the screen mockup. Do you want to be able to move the cut plane in real time in the 3D navigator, is that the request?

Not sure i grok the request either but i want to point out the obvious: you can take a basic shape like a rectangular box and combine it with a fractal of choice to show things like difference, union, intersection etc. Much more flexible than just slicing.

[Jesse]

Sorry if i am not always answering, this can have many reasons like just overseeing it or having not enough time for discussing it out...

Marius solution is what i would also go for, would be easy if including it in the DEcombine mode with a dIFS shape.
I would have to make an additional combination option to invert the dIFS distance and combine that "maximum", then you should be able cut off the main fractal with this shape.

This is much easier because all functions like reflections would work like before on these cuts, no extra programming. 

[DarkBeam]

Wahaha, imagine to cut an abox with a klein bottle

[Jesse]

Klein bottle has no inside, so only some surface cutting with it 

Anyway, it is already possible to combine a dIFS heightmap "minimum" to generate various cutplanes, attached pic:

[MindsEye]

You don't need to refresh the page. By default the tickbox "Notify me of replies." in Additional options is checked, so you should receive an e-mail if someone responds.

In that case, someone can only by Jesse himself, as he is the sole and only author of the Mandelbulb3D program. I know he checks this board so if he has not answered, maybe he has other priorities.

Thanks for your patience

To be honest, I'm not sure I understood the request, even with the screen mockup. Do you want to be able to move the cut plane in real time in the 3D navigator, is that the request?

Not sure i grok the request either but i want to point out the obvious: you can take a basic shape like a rectangular box and combine it with a fractal of choice to show things like difference, union, intersection etc. Much more flexible than just slicing.

Firstly, thank you all for your answers, and I apologize if I seemed impatient. That wasn't my intent. To answer the first reply, yea the real time planar cutting is what I meant. Surely it would be easier to drag planes around than to go at it another way, but I also understand that its probably my lack of knowledge that is driving that.

I come from a 3d software background, and boolean operations would be awesome. I tried to find tutorials for adding shapes to combine with the fractals, and was not really able to find any. Perhaps it is something really obvious that I am overlooking. Boolean operations is exactly what i was after. I wanted to take a bulb, and hack off the top and bottom and just leave a thin slice that I could rotate as I wished. Perhaps someone could explain what you guys mean by the explanation given, as I am aparently too dimm to grasp it. Marius solution and jessies explanation made blood come out of my ears. I have never touched the interpolate or decombinate buttons because quite frankly they scare me a little : )

You would be perfectly within your rights to reply "then this software is not for you". Maybey I am not smart enough to go this next step. Though I taught myself 3dstudio max without manuals in the time when the internet was still young and there weren't millions of people making tutorials, I figgured If I could manage that I could learn this, but i am not so sure... So far all I do is really luck and fiddling with numbers, I cant really do anything with intent, and I definatly cant make a slice or add any geometry to the fractals. (Not for lack of trying). The only place i have seen any geometry like spheres and cynendars etc is the d.IFS tab, and when I add that mandlebulb freaks out and I get all kinds of errors saying you cants use an ifs parameter with this... So I guess I am missing something.

Anyway, thanks again, and I apologize if I came across the wrong way.

///MindsEye