Informatix Piranesi 4 review

Such advanced effects are undoubtedly impressive, but setting them up is complex. Not all features are so labour-intensive, though. The Montage tool can load any bitmap image complete with transparency and position a photorealistic cut-out that's automatically sized and masked according to its place in the scene. That, in addition to support for realistic shadows, means that adding people or vegetation to your scene couldn't be easier - especially as floating cut-outs are now automatically stored within the EPix file rather than separately.

One way around the inherently flat nature of bitmaps is to use dedicated RPC (real photorealistic content) that contains multiple-angled shots, but the problem is largely solved with the ability to load and place true 3D images in 3DS, DXF, SKP or MAN format. Select the placed object and you can quickly reposition, resize and rotate it within your scene - ideal for scattering realistic furniture and people around a simple architectural model to instantly bring it to life. You can even shear and clip the object and handle multiple objects simultaneously. The system certainly isn't perfect - some 3DS files are rejected, it's sensible to keep the polygon count reasonable, texture maps aren't supported and you can only paint cut-outs once they've been permanently burnt into the scene - but the potential it opens up is still enormous.

With its unique approach to bridging the worlds of 3D modelling and bitmap painting, Piranesi is still one of a kind, making for an immensely productive and creative product.

Author: Tom Arah