this post was submitted on 13 Jan 2024
8 points (100.0% liked)

NotAwfulTech

499 readers
1 users here now

a community for posting cool tech news you don’t want to sneer at

non-awfulness of tech is not required or else we wouldn’t have any posts

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
self@awful.systems
8
Looking for: random raytracing program (awful.systems)
submitted 2 years ago by gerikson@awful.systems to c/notawfultech@awful.systems
8 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Years ago (we're talking decades) I ran into a small program that randomly generated raytraced images (think transparent orbs, lens flares, reflection etc), suitable for saving as wallpapers. It was a C/C++ program that ran on Linux. I've long since lost the name and the source code, and I wonder if there's anything like that out there now?

top 8 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] e0qdk@kbin.social 6 points 2 years ago (2 children)

POV-Ray, perhaps? You give it a scene description text file and it will render a raytraced image of the scene for you. You'd need to find or write an appropriate scene description though for what you want to randomize.

[–] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I've wasted so much time writing scenes for that thing and rendering them on my mighty 486...

[–] e0qdk@kbin.social 3 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Still got any fun renders from back then?

[–] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

Nope, it's all gone to the great bit bucket in the sky...

[–] gerikson@awful.systems 3 points 2 years ago

No, I wish I did, but they disappeared many computers ago.

[–] gerikson@awful.systems 4 points 2 years ago

Thanks for the suggestion, but that's not the one.

[–] pja@awful.systems 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

https://www.rayrender.net/ ?

[–] gerikson@awful.systems 3 points 2 years ago

Looks interesting, but that's also not what I'm looking for. Thanks though!