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----- SCN -----
The SCN ray-tracing format
Version 1.5
Anto'nio Costa, 1993
[email protected]
Table of Contents
Table of Contents 2
1. Introduction 3
2. Overview and Motivations 3
3. Syntax 3
3.1. Viewing 4
3.2. Ambient and Background 4
3.3. Lights 5
3.4. Surfaces 5
3.5. Objects 6
3.6. Transformations 10
3.7. Textures 10
4. Annex 11
1. Introduction
The SCN (SCeNe format) was invented to replace a very simple format called
SFF for the RTRACE ray-tracer. It is used to describe environments (geometry,
topology, attributes, etc.) that are processed by programs called ray-tracers,
although it can be used by other programs.
2. Overview and Motivations
The RTRACE ray-tracer uses a very simplistic format (its only advantage is
the simplicity!). It reads only numbers (and strings for file names), but
its syntax is very rigid. To avoid this, I decided to create a much more
elaborated, easy to write and flexible scene description format, which I
called SCN. To avoid modifying the RTRACE input code, a translator from
SCN to SFF was implemented as a separate program (SCN2SFF), meant to be
used as a preprocessor for RTRACE (in UNIX and DOS, these two programs
can be used in a pipe like scn2sff | rtrace).
3. Syntax
The SCN format does not have sections like SFF, it supports comments and
even other preprocessor constructs (for example, cpp and m4 for UNIX and
DOS). Another important difference is that it has default values for some
scene parameters, which means that they do not have to be specified at all.
The basic components of SCN are:
comment - they start anywhere on the line with some special character
like ; # or % and terminate in the end of line.
integer - any valid integer number, an integer expression inside
parenthesis or the result of the int() function.
Examples:
0
1
-2
(1 + 2); 3
int(10 / 3); 3
real - any valid integer or real number, a real expression inside parenthesis
or the result of any real-valued function like sin(), cos(), etc.
Examples:
0.0
1.5
(1 + 2.1); 3.1
log(2); 0.6931
color - a triplet of RGB reals between 0 and 1. In certain cases, the
RGB reals may be bigger than 1 or negative (color_extended). It is also
possible to use names that represent the RGB values or the mono keyword
followed by just one real.
Examples:
0 0 0; black
1 1 1; white
1 0 0; red
white
red
mono 0.5; medium gray
point - a triplet of reals representing X Y and Z values or the result of
any point-valued function like normvector(), addvector(), etc.
Examples:
0 0 0; world origin
10 5 1
1 (2 + 1) (10 * sin(0.1)); 1 3 0.0175
normvector(1.1 2.5 -2.3); 0.3081 0.7001 -0.6441
addvector(1 2 3, 4 5 6); 5 7 9
vector - similar to a point, but cannot be equal to 0 0 0.
filename - a set of characters (letters, digits and others) with no blanks
between. It is recommended to use only file names like those of UNIX and DOS.
expression - anything inside parenthesis. An expression can be integer or
real. The expression operators are + - * / ^ and | .
Examples:
(1 + 2); 3
(1 - 2); -1
(1 * 2); 2
(1 / 2); 0.5
(1 ^ 2); 1.0
(5 | 3); 2
function - there are many functions available. The integer/real-valued with
integer/real arguments are int(), sin(), cos(), tan(), asin(), acos(), atan(),
sqrt(), rtod (), dtor (), exp(), log(), abs(), max() and min(). The
dotvector() function has two vector arguments and returns a real
number. There are also functions with point/vector arguments that return
point/vector quantities like normvector(), addvector(), diffvector(),
scalevector() and crossvector().
Examples:
tan(dtor(45)); 1.0
rtod(atan(1)); 45 degrees
log(exp(2)); 2
abs(-1.5); 1.5
max(0, 1); 1
dotvector(1 0 0, 0 1 0); 0.0
scalevector(1 0 0, 2); 2 0 0
crossvector(1 0 0, 0 1 0); 0 0 1
3.1. Viewing
To specify viewing parameters one can use the following instructions:
eye point - where the camera is (default is 5 0 0); from can also be used.
look point - where the target of the camera is (default 0 0 0); at can
also be used.
up vector - the camera vertical direction (default 0 1 0).
fov real [real] - the horizontal/vertical fields of view (default 22.5
degrees); angle can also be used. If there is just one value, then both
fields of view are equal.
Examples:
eye5 1 1
look0 1 0
;default up is 0 1 0
fovrtod(atan(320.0 / 200.0 * tan(dtor(15)))) 15; 23.21 15
3.2.Ambient and Background
To specify the ambient and background colors, there are the following
instructions:
background color - the background color; default light_blue_sky (approx.
0.1 0.5 0.7).
ambient color - the ambient color (diffuse global lighting); default
0.1 0.1 0.1 (dark gray).
Examples:
background white
ambient mono 0.2
3.3. Lights
To specify lights attributes, there are several instructions:
light point point [color_extended] - this is a point light that irradiates
in any direction. If any of the color components is negative, then there is
no distance fall-off. Default color is white.
light directional vector [color] - this is a light like the Sun that
irradiates along a direction, with no distance fall-off.
light spot point vector color_extended [angle [factor]] - this light
illuminates inside a cone defined by the angle (default 45 degrees) with
a transition that can be sharp (factor near 1) or
smooth (factor >> 1). The default value for factor is 1.
light extended point color_extended radius samples - a spherical light sampled
samples2 rays.
Examples:
light point 2 6 1 yellow
light directional -1 -1 -1; white
light spot 0 5 0 0 -1 0 red 30 2; smooth 30 degrees spot
light extended -3 5 3 green 0.5 8; 0.5 radius light sphere
3.4. Surfaces
A surface is a non-geometric attribute that each object must have so that
it can be rendered. When a surface is defined in a certain scope, it is
considered the current surface and many objects may share it without having
to name it explicitly. There is even a default surface (surface white mono 0.9
mono 0.1 3 0). To specify surfaces, there are the following commands:
surface color [diffusion specularity phong metalness [transparency]] - phong
and metalness are reals, the others are colors. Defaults 0.9 0.9 0.9,
0.1 0.1 0.1, 3, 0 and 0.1 0.1 0.1; if only transparency is omitted, then its
default is 0 0 0.
surface strauss color smoothness metalness [transparency] - all are colors;
default transparency is 0 0 0. This is an alternative to the previous
command that uses a more intuitive way of specifying attributes.
surface matte color - 100% diffuse surface.
surface plastic color smoothness phong - plastic surface (high diffusion,
small specularity and phong factor).
surface metal color smoothness phong - metallic surface (small diffusion,
high specularity and phong factor, maximum metalness).
surface dielectric color transparency refraction - non-opaque surface (no
diffusion, small specularity, large phong factor and no metalness). Needs
a refraction index.
surface glass color transparency - transparent surface with refraction index
near 1.52 and similar to dielectric.
refraction real - this specifies the current refraction index.
Examples:
surface blue mono 0.7 mono 0.3 15 0.7; matte
surface strauss brown mono 0.9 mono 0.1; matte
surface matte red; 100% matte
surface plastic beige mono 0.8 0.5; plastic
surface metal white mono 0.9 0.9; metallic
surface dielectric white mono 0.8 1.2; translucent
surface glass white mono 0.95; white glass
3.5. Objects
The supported objects in SCN can be of two types. The objects of the first
type define a closed volume, while the others do not and must be handled with
care inside CSG operations (see the list primitive below).
Any object may inherit global attributes like surface, textures and
transformations or else define its private attributes using the data keyword
before its geometric information. It is also possible to group several
objects and make them share some attributes using the group ... ungroup
keywords.
Example:
transform none
surface matte white ; current surface
box ... ; white
group
surface matte red ; current surface inside block
transform rotate y 45 ... ; current transform inside block
sphere ... ; rotated, red
cone surface matte green data ... ; rotated, green
cube bump data ... ; rotated, red, bump texture
cylinder ... ; rotated, red
ungroup
prism ... ; white
The closed objects are:
sphere [... data] center radius - a sphere.
box [... data]center sizes - an axis aligned box.
cube [... data]center size - an axis aligned cube.
cone [... data]apex base base_radius - a cone.
cylinder [... data]apex base radius - a cylinder.
cone truncated [... data]apex apex_radius base base_radius - truncated cone.
wedge [... data]point point point depth - a wedge is defined by a triangular
face and an extrusion vector whose length is depth; the face is defined
counterclockwise and the vector points in the Right Hand Rule direction
(this convention is general in SCN).
tetra [... data]point point point point - a general tetrahedron (composed
of four triangles).
prism [... data]depth vertices point ... point - a prism defined by a
polygonal face and an extrusion vector similar to wedge.
pyramid [... data]depth vertices point ... point - a pyramid.
torus [... data]out_radius in_radius start_angle end_angle [out_samples
in_samples] - a torus is centered in 0 0 0 and lies in the XY plane (0
degrees is in the X axis direction and increases counterclockwise). Actually,
a torus is composed by a collection of Phong triangles whose density is
defined by out_samples in_samples (default 16 8).
text3d file [... data]filename - text primitives stored in a file (high
quality 3D letters, symbols, etc).
Examples of these objects:
The opened objects are:
cone open [... data]apex base base_radius
cylinder open [... data]apex base radius
cone truncated open [... data]apex apex_radius base base_radius
prism open [... data]depth vertices point ... point
pyramid open [... data]depth vertices point ... point
pyramid truncated open [... data]depth apex_scale vertices point ... point -
this is an opened pyramid with the apex face scaled by apex_scale in relation
to its base face (0 is an opened pyramid and 1 is a opened prism).
disc [... data]center normal radius - a circle.
ring [... data]center normal out_radius in_radius - a circle with a hole.
patch [... data]point ... point (12) - a bicubic patch is defined by its
corners and eight exterior points arranged like with 4 5 8 9 being the
patch corners. The patch normal points toward the reader.
patch file [... data][point [point]] filename - a group of patches stored in
a file; first point defines a translation and second a scaling.
polygon [... data]vertices point ... point - polygon without holes.
polygon file [... data][point [point]] filename - a group of polygons stored
in a file.
triangle [... data]point point point
quadrangle [... data]point point point point - four-sided polygon.
triangle normal [... data]point vector point vector point vector - a triangle
with normals in its vertices (also called Phong triangles).
triangle normal file [... data][point [point]] filename - a group of Phong
triangles stored in a file.
torus open [... data]out_radius in_radius start_angle end_angle
[out_samples in_samples] - an open torus.
Examples of opened objects:
Finally there are instructions that allow the creation of complex objects:
csg operation [... data]begin - begin of a CSG operation. The type of
operation may be union, intersection or subtraction. A CSG (Constructive
Solid Geometry) is a binary operation performed on two object operands
(which may also be CSG's).
csg next - this instruction separates the definition of the left (first)
operand of the CSG from the right (second) operand.
csg end - this instruction terminates the CSG.
Examples of CSG:
There is also one instruction that joins several simple objects into a
primitive object. This is mandatory for CSG or else errors will appear in
the picture:
list [... data]begin - start of a list of objects, at least two.
list end.
This instruction must be used in a CSG context when at least one of the
operands is composed of opened objects (please note that each CSG operand
must bound a finite volume).
Example:
list surface matte brown begin ; a new object similar to a pencil
cylinder open 0 -1 0 0 1 0 0.3
cone open 0 1.3 0 0 1 0 0.3
sphere 0 -1 0 0.3
list end
3.6. Transformations
A transformation is an operation that modifies the geometry of an object.
Normally, transformations are concatenated to previous transformations,
although it is possible to do it in other ways.
transform none - discards all previous transformations.
transform scale factor [factor factor] - scaling transformation.
transform translate point - translation.
transform rotate x angle - rotation about the X axis (angle in degrees).
transform rotate y angle.
transform rotate z angle.
transform rotate vector angle - rotation about an axis passing through origin.
transform general point point point [point] - any transformation matrix
(3x3 or 4x4).
3.7. Textures
A texture modifies in some extent the characteristics of a surface. It is
possible to apply transformations to textures and even keep them independent
from object transformations.
texture none - discards all previous texture transformations.
texture scale factor [factor factor].
texture translate point.
texture rotate x angle.
texture rotate y angle.
texture rotate z angle.
texture rotate vector angle.
texture general point point point [point].
texture local - generate all the necessary texture transformations to access
objects without considering their previously defined object transformations.
The keyword invariant is also accepted.
Example:
sphere
transform scale 0.2 1 2
transform rotate y ANGLE ; ANGLE is defined elsewhere
texture local
blotch 0.5 surface matte yellow
surface matte red
data 0 0 0 1
When generating animations, for example, it is important that textures stick
to objects independently of their position, scale, etc or else it will
produce a undesirable effect. If ANGLE varies from 5 to 30 degrees, the
texture still applies correctly to the object and does not float strangely.
The available textures are:
Name Parameters
checkers surface [transform]
blotch scale surface [filename] [transform]
bump scale [transform]
marble [filename] [transform]
fbm offset scale omega lambda threshold octaves
[transform]
fbmbump offset scale lambda octaves [transform]
wood color [transform]
round scale [transform]
bozo turbulence [filename] [transform]
ripples frequency phase scale [transform]
waves frequency phase scale [transform]
spotted [filename] [transform]
dents scale [transform]
agate [filename] [transform]
wrinkles scale [transform]
granite [filename] [transform]
gradient turbulence direction [filename] [transform]
imagemap turbulence mode axis filename [transform]
gloss scale [transform]
bump3 scale size [transform]
Examples:
sphere round 0.5 data 0 0 0 0.5
sphere bump 0.7 scale 20 data 0 1 0 0.5 ; scale of bump is smaller
sphere bump3 0.5 0.5 scale 1 4 1 data 0 -1 0 0.5 ; strange!
4. Annex
To simplify the creation of scenes, it is sometimes a good idea to use a
preprocessor to perform automatic text manipulation. Two good programs are
cpp and m4, which are available in UNIX and DOS. Example taken from a
scene representing a molecule:
#define dull mono 1 mono 0 0 0
#define shiny mono 0.8 mono 0.2 50 0.8
#define ATOM_O(x,y,z) \
sphere\
surface 1 0 0 dull\
data x y z 1.4
#define ATOM_C(x,y,z) \
sphere\
surface 0 0.97 0.3 dull\
data x y z 1.8
#define ATOM_N(x,y,z) \
sphere\
surface 0 0 1 dull\
data x y z 1.5
#define ATOM_P(x,y,z) \
sphere\
surface 0.19 0.41 1 dull\
data x y z 1.9
% Atoms
ATOM_O(35.815,45.746,7.218)
ATOM_C(35.906,47.181,7.388)
ATOM_P(35.309,46.286,11.717)
ATOM_N(31.936,45.793,7.469)
ATOM_C(34.643,47.649,8.077)
...
The main advantage of this technique is to simplify the creation of the
scene and to make the resulting file a lot smaller. To trace this
scene (suppose it is called demo.scn) the following commands can
be used:
scn2sff C demo.scn | rtrace ...
orcpp demo.scn | scn2sff - | rtrace ...
Other auxiliary programs that produce SCN files are:
* sol2scn - a translator from AUTOCAD (versions 11 and 12) solid modeler
(AME). Supports all AME primitives except chamfer and fillet.
* pdb2scn - a translator from PDB (Protein Data Bank) molecular files from
BNL to SCN.
Adapted from a program made by Doug Warner (Pittsburgh Supercomputing
Center and Carnegie Mellon University).
* 3ds2scn - a translator from 3D STUDIO ASCII files to SCN. This program is
an AWK script.
* chem2scn - a translator from CHEMICAL (DOS chemistry program) to SCN. It
is mainly an AWK script.
* irit2scn - a translator from IRIT data files to SCN. Adapted from a
program made by Gershon Elber.
* mol2scn - a translator from ALCHEMY (DOS chemistry program) MOL files
to SCN. It is also mainly an AWK script.
* tri2scn - a translator from Mike Carson's RIBBONS (molecular programs) TRI
files to SCN. It is an AWK script.
* iv2scn - a translator from Silicon Graphics INVENTOR IV files to SCN.
Some features not yet supported. It is mainly an AWK script.
There are other programs that translate directly to SFF instead of SCN.
The most important is:
* nff2sff - a translator from Eric Haines NFF (Neutral File Format) to
SFF. He also made a collection a test programs for renderers called SPD
(Standard Procedural Database) that output in NFF.
SCN2SFF has also been ported to Macintosh by Reid Judd (preprocessor options
not supported).
All these translators are available by anonymous ftp at asterix.inescn.pt
[192.35.246.17] in directory pub/RTrace and subdirectories (also at
wuarchive.wustl.edu and many other sites - find them with archie or xarchie).
It is also recommended the reading of SFF ray tracing format for knowing
how RTRACE handles the translated SFF scene. It contains also more
detailed explanation of the text3d primitive and textures.
exponentiation.
remainder.
Radians TO Degrees.
Degrees TO Radians.
For more details about textures please read the SCN2SFF manual (scn2sff.man
in UNIX).
AWK is a powerful pattern recognition language available for UNIX and DOS.
Also recommended is the reading of RTRACE manual (rtrace.man in UNIX).
----- end of SCN -----
