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From: merritt@max.u.washington.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.sgi
Subject: Re: Ray-tracing
Message-ID: <14023.26a1d92d@max.u.washington.edu>
Date: 16 Jul 90 22:11:40 GMT
References: <9007092046.AA07962@frodo.Physics.McGill.CA> <9007110354.AA04884@adenosine.pharm.utah.edu>
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle WA
Lines: 25

In article <9007110354.AA04884@adenosine.pharm.utah.edu>, davis@ADENOSINE.PHARM.UTAH.EDU ("Darrell R. Davis") writes:
> I have been using a ray tracing program called RASTER3D on my 4D/20
> for molecular modeling.  The quality of the images are better than any
> of the commercial packages that I have seen for this purpose.
> Although this is a specialized application, there may be something
> useful for your purpose.  Here is some information that I pulled out of
> the README file that is part of the package and also a part of the man
	[users guide stuff deleted]

	I can second the recommendation of RASTER3D as a ray-tracing program 
for molecular models.  As distributed it supports spheres and triangles as
object types.  I have hacked it up a bit for use on a 4D/20 so that it also
supports object types for flat-ended cylinders, round-ended cylinders, and
Phong-shaded triangles (original distribution was flat-shading only). I have
also modified the code to produce output directly to a *.rgb format file (as
per 4Dgifts/iristools/imgtools) so that the resulting pictures can easily be
edited with the imgtools utilities.  If people are interested I can make my
version avaiable, along with various conversion routines to go from a
Brookhaven PDB coordinate file to input descriptions for ribbon drawings, ball
and stick models, etc.

					Ethan A Merritt
					University of Washington SM-20
					Seattle, WA 98195
					merritt@xray0.bchem.washington.edu