Page 1042 - Chief Architect Reference Manual

Chief Architect X10 Reference Manual

OpenGL and Hardware

Chief Architect features an easy to use To take full advantage of thes rendering
rendering engine that makes use of OpenGL capabilities of Chief Architect, a graphics
rendering technology, which has good card or chipset that supports OpenGL 3.3 on
hardware support on most video cards. Windows or 4.1 on Mac is required.

Types of 3D Views

There are three categories of 3D views in
Chief Architect: camera views, overviews
and cross section/elevation views. Each of
these view types can be generated using a
variety of Rendering Techniques. See
“Rendering Techniques” on page 1106.
Every 3D view is also either orthographic or
perspective in nature. Cross section/elevation Perspective Overview Orthographic Overview
views are always orthographic while camera Perspective views display 3D objects much
views are always perspective. You can the way that they appear to the eye in real
choose to generate overviews as either life, so they are ideal for presentation views.
orthographic or perspective.
By default, perspective views are created
using the Standard Rendering Technique.
Perspective and
Orthographic Views Orthographic views, on the other hand, are
useful for technical drawings. By default,
Perspective views have a focal, or vanishing, orthographic views are created using the
point. Surface edges and lines that would be Vector View technique.
parallel in real life appear to converge
towards that focal point, and objects closer to Rendered and Vector Views
the camera appear larger while objects
farther from the camera appear smaller. 3D views can be generated using a variety of
different Rendering Techniques. See
Orthographic views do not have a focal or “Rendering Techniques” on page 1106.
vanishing point. Parallel surface edges and
pattern lines appear parallel in these views Most rendered views represent materials
and objects appear to be the same size using textures. Surface edge lines are
regardless of their distance from the camera. generally not drawn and lighting is often
modeled, creating results that range from a
photorealistic appearance to artistic painting
styles. Standard rendered views can also be

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