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PostMagic
MacGruber updated PostMagic with a new update entry:

Version 4

I don't really maintain this plugin anymore. However, a generous 3-digit Patreon donation by @sunstroker had me spend a couple of hours on an improvement for the UserLUT module. There is now a dropdown menu (and the usual slider) allowing you to more quickly try other LUTs in the same folder of the one you opened. There are also Next/Previous buttons, which are also exposed as VaM trigger actions. That means you could for example you could hook it up...

Read the rest of this update entry...
 
is there a way to setup trigger for the plugin to only load when it is desktop mode?
You could try to use two EventSceneLoad bricks (from LogicBricks). One to turn on when in Desktop mode, one to turn off when in VR. That way you don't need to pay attention whether you save the scene in VR or Desktop, it just works when you load again on the other side.
 
You could try to use two EventSceneLoad bricks (from LogicBricks). One to turn on when in Desktop mode, one to turn off when in VR. That way you don't need to pay attention whether you save the scene in VR or Desktop, it just works when you load again on the other side.
I am kinda new to VAM, but this logic brick trick would need to be editted in for every scene I wish to load right? not a one and done deal?
 
After opening the plugin, it always blocks the UI and cannot open the game menu in VR. After removing the plugin, it returns to normal :)
 
Seems like bloom + depth of field both work fine in the normal view, but when I take a screenshot the bloom is entirely gone. Is that a known issue, or am I doing something wrong?
 
Seems like bloom + depth of field both work fine in the normal view, but when I take a screenshot the bloom is entirely gone. Is that a known issue, or am I doing something wrong?
I assume you are using Supershot for your screenshots? By default settings that internally renders at 4x resolution and then downscales to 1920x1080. That's how it achieves the better image quality. Supershot works with PostMagic, but some of the effects, like Bloom and DoF work with pixel radius. If your resolution is multiplied by 4, that pixel radius also needs to be multiplied by 4 if you want the same result. (Of course the problem is that sometimes you can scale up the setting that high, but there is nothing I can do...)
 
By any chance, would it be possible that DOF ignores atoms in a scene?
Only for reference what I’m trying to say, @Stopper did something similar in their light plug-in with the latest update Link

That would safe lots of time when working with cam rides
 
By any chance, would it be possible that DOF ignores atoms in a scene?
Only for reference what I’m trying to say, @Stopper did something similar in their light plug-in with the latest update Link

That would safe lots of time when working with cam rides
PostMagic applies post-effects, hence the name. Those are effects applied after the scene is rendered, just using the image itself and G-Buffer information. It does not know what an atom is, it just sees pixels. Light/Shadow on the other hand is an effect applied on each individual object.

However, it sounds your are potentially looking for the auto-focus option? You can use an Empty atom (renamed to a particular name: "AutoFocusPoint") to tell PostMagic what 3D-position in the scene to focus on and it adjusts the FocusDistance setting every frame to the correct distance. Usually you would just parent that to a characters head, etc.
 
I assume you are using Supershot for your screenshots? By default settings that internally renders at 4x resolution and then downscales to 1920x1080. That's how it achieves the better image quality. Supershot works with PostMagic, but some of the effects, like Bloom and DoF work with pixel radius. If your resolution is multiplied by 4, that pixel radius also needs to be multiplied by 4 if you want the same result. (Of course the problem is that sometimes you can scale up the setting that high, but there is nothing I can do...)
I'm using supershot, but the bloom is nonexistent no matter the radius. It almost looks like the emissive texture on the lights just isn't loaded at all, which is odd. DOF works perfectly though. First picture is just a screencap, second is using the screenshot tool.
1693547894.png
 
Mate, the Lut dropdown is such an excellent addition. It makes the process of picking the right one 20 times faster. My deepest gratitude;)
 
Is possible to create custom filters? maybe apply "snapchat" style filters to the image?
Nope. PostMagic just makes hidden VaM features avaiable. Adding your own filters would require a completely different approach.

Of course you can make your own LUT filters, though. Load the Neutral LUT image into your favorite image software (Photoshop, GIMP, ...) and apply various color filters to it. Save the file as PNG and load it with PostMagic LUT. Does only work with filter effects that don't rely on neighboring pixels, though. So for example LUT filter can't do a Blur effect.

LUT stands for "lookup table". Basically it tells PostMagic that "this color" should actually be what's in the LUT texture at "that" particular location. Just plain conversion of RGB color into coordinates in the texture.
 
I found a bug:
TAA antialiasing set in session plugin (no other effects active except manager) make screenshots during scene saving black.

EDIT: now it's working correctly, maybe it's somehow connected with cpu beta patch... I've restored stable version 12.
 
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I think I've found a bug. I somehow ended up with multiple copies of PostMagic on different atoms in a lighting rig subscene. If I try to delete one of the atoms with PostMagic on it from the scene the UI disappears as though I had pressed 'U', but doesn't come back when pressing 'U'. When this happens I have to force close VAM as I lose access to the exit button...

The only way I was able to fix the scene was to manually edit the json and remove the extra instances of PostMagic.

I'm wondering if you're doing something on OnDestroy that's breaking the UI somehow?
 
I'm wondering if you're doing something on OnDestroy that's breaking the UI somehow?
PostMagic splits rendering of UI into its own pass, so UI is not affected by the effects. If multiple plugins (PostMagic or otherwise) all somehow mess with the render pipeline without knowing about each other, the result can only be a broken mess.
Solution is to not have multiple instances of PostMagic in the first place ;)
(and yes, editing the JSON is one way to get rid of it should it happen)
 
Is there a way to prevent multiple instances of the script from being loaded. Maybe have a singleton with a bool indicating if the script is loaded, then on init you check if that singleton already has that property set and if it does exit the init (with an error message).

Normally I wouldn't mind that much, but this literally forces me to force close VAM, which is pretty frustrating.

It's not always possible to know if I'm loading something that has PostMagic either. If I load a SubScene, it might have an instance of PostMagic in it without me knowing/remembering. If I do that to a scene that already has PostMagic...
 
A small feature suggestion: I wonder if you could consider adding a masking function, such as black rectangular bars at the top and bottom of the screen that can be adjusted in position. This way, creators can present a widescreen movie aspect ratio according to their needs. In fact, the existing Vignette effect mechanism already possesses the functionality for masking; when properties like intensity are maximized, it can achieve a masking effect, currently, it can only be circular or elliptical.

By controlling properties through timelines or animations, it would also be possible to achieve some of the transition effects commonly seen in movies.
 
Sadly that isn't a small request. PostMagic is little more than just the UI and making VaM split rendering of UI and everything else. The actual effects are already in VaM and can't be changed.
Thank you for your prompt reply, that's too sad. However, the mentioned feature could indeed make scene creation visually more interesting. I once tried to achieve a similar effect by adding a transparent mask image in front of the window, but it would become misaligned when the FOV changed.
 
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