Nodes sharing their settings

[Pensart]

Hi there,

If u have an object with 2 surfaces controlled by nodes. And both surfaces use a node that has to have the same inputs.
For axample a node with a value for controlling reflection. Would it be possible with or without a plugin to change one and
the node in the other surface updates to the same settings? Kinda like a node instance?

P.

 

[pinkmouse]

TrueArt may have something, but standard LW doesn't. I did a feature request for this a while back, (as well as asking Ben Vost, but we were in the pub so he's probably forgotten! ). I'd add another feature request via fogbugz, the more of us that ask, the more chance we have of getting it.

However, as a short term solution, you could use the position of a null object(s) as a reference for the constant(s) you need.

 

[Iaian7]

Sounds like you're looking for global variables, and a few years ago there was a node that implemented this...unfortunately, it never really worked for me, ended up causing far more grief than it was worth. I want to say either Denis or DB&W initially released it as part of a node pack, but I don't remember seeing anything about it in the past couple of years.

Generally what I end up doing is using Item Info nodes within my shader networks, and a single driving null in Layout. It's a huge pain to deal with in Modeller (since you...well...can't deal with it!), but it usually does the trick (I typically work with 0.0-1.0 values in this case, remapping the range as needed using math nodes within the shader). By setting up the null in Layout, it does give you very easy animation controls, but it's also very cumbersome to use when all you need is a synchronised value across multiple materials. Good luck!

Edit: Whoops, got sniped there. So yes. What PinkMouse said.

 

[Pensart]

@Pinkmouse, thanx for the info.
@Laian7, thanx for the great tip in using nulls to control their values.

 

[Sensei]

Hi there,

If u have an object with 2 surfaces controlled by nodes. And both surfaces use a node that has to have the same inputs.
For axample a node with a value for controlling reflection. Would it be possible with or without a plugin to change one and
the node in the other surface updates to the same settings? Kinda like a node instance?

You can achieve that with mine Global Materials http://globalmaterials.trueart.eu
or TrueGroup with storage file.

 

[Pensart]

Sorry for the late reply, and many thanks for the tip!