If the user wishes to distribute a modified version of the software, documentation or other parts of the package (here after referred to as a custom version) they must follow the provisions given below. This includes any translation of the documentation into other languages or other file formats. These license provisions have been established to promote the growth of POV-Ray and prevent difficulties for users and developers alike. Please follow them carefully for the benefit of all concerned when creating a custom version.

No portion of the POV-Ray source code may be incorporated into another program unless it is clearly a custom version of POV-Ray that includes all of the basic functions of POV-Ray.

All executables, documentation, modified files and descriptions of the same must clearly identify themselves as a modified and unofficial version of POV-Ray. Any attempt to obscure the fact that the user is running POV-Ray or to obscure that this is an unofficial version expressly prohibited.

You must provide all POV-Ray support for all users who use your custom version. You must provide information so that user may contact you for support for your custom version. The POV-Ray Team is not obligated to provide you or your users any technical support.

Include contact information in the DISTRIBUTION_MESSAGE macros in the source file optout.h and insure that the program prominently displays this information. Display all copyright notices and credit screens for the official version.

Custom versions may only be distributed as freeware. You must make all of your modifications to POV-Ray freely and publicly available with full source code to the modified portions of POV-Ray and must freely distribute full source to any new parts of the custom version. The goal is that users must be able to re-compile the program themselves and to be able to further improve the program with their own modifications.

You must provide documentation for any and all modifications that you have made to the program that you are distributing. Include clear and obvious information on how to obtain the official POV-Ray.

The user is encouraged to send enhancements and bug fixes to the POV-Ray Team, but the team is in no way required to utilize these enhancements or fixes. By sending material to the team, the contributor asserts that he owns the materials or has the right to distribute these materials. He authorizes the team to use the materials any way they like. The contributor still retains rights to the donated material, but by donating, grants unrestricted, irrevocable usage and distribution rights to the POV-Ray Team. The team doesn't have to use the material, but if we do, you do not acquire any rights related to POV-Ray. The team will give you credit as the creator of new code if applicable.

Include a copy of the povlegal.doc document.

The POV-Ray Team will decide if such distribution will be allowed on a case-by-case basis and may impose certain restrictions as it sees fit. The minimum terms are given below. Other conditions may be imposed.

However, none of the above paragraph constitutes permission for you to distribute this software outside of the terms of this agreement. In particular, the conditions and debt mentioned above (whether paid or unpaid) do not allow you to avoid statutory damages or other legal penalties and does not constitute any agreement that would allow you to avoid such other legal remedies as are available to the copyright holder.

Put simply, POV-Ray is only free if you comply with our distribution conditions; it is not free otherwise. The copyright holder of this software chooses to give it away free under these and only these conditions.

For the purpose of copyright regulations, the retail value of this software is US$20.00 per copy.

"POV-Ray", "Persistence of Vision", "POV-Ray Team" and "POV-Help" are trademarks of the POV-Ray Team.

While we do not claim any restrictions on the letters "POV" alone, we humbly request that you not use POV in the name of your product. Such use tends to imply it is a product of the POV-Ray Team. Existing programs which used "POV" prior to the publication of this document need not feel guilty for doing so provided that you make it clear that the program is not the work of the team nor endorsed by us.

Such violators who are prohibited from distribution will be identified in this document.

In this regard, "PC Format", a magazine published by Future Publishing, Ltd. in the United Kingdom, distributed incomplete versions of POV-Ray 1.0 in violation the license which was effect at the time. They later attempted to distribute POV-Ray 2.2 without prior permission of the POV-Ray Team in violation the license which was in effect at the time. There is evidence that other Future Publishing companies have also violated our terms. Therefore "PC Format", and any other magazine, book or CD-ROM publication owned by Future Publishing is expressly prohibited from any distribution of POV-Ray software until further notice.

License enquiries should be made via email and limited technical support is available via email to:

   Chris Young
   POV-Ray Team Coordinator
   CIS: 76702,1655
   Internet 76702.1655@compuserve.com

The following postal address is only for official license business and only if email is impossible.

We do not provide technical support via regular mail, only email. We don't care if you don't have a modem or online access. We will not mail you disks with updated versions. Do not send money.

   Chris Young
   3119 Cossell Drive
   Indianapolis, IN 46224 U.S.A.

The POV-Team's goal is to create freely distributable, high quality rendering and animation software written in C that can be easily ported to many different computers.

If you have any questions about POV-Ray, please contact

  Chris Young
  POV-Team Coordinator
  CIS: 76702,1655
  Internet: 76702.1655@compuserve.com

We love to hear about how you're using and enjoying the program. We also will do our best try to solve any problems you have with POV-Ray and incorporate good suggestions into the program.

If you have a question regarding commercial use of, distribution of, or anything particularly sticky, please contact Chris Young, the development team coordinator. Otherwise, spread the mail around. We all love to hear from you!

The best method of contact is e-mail through CompuServe for most of us. America On-Line and Internet can now send mail to CompuServe, also, just use the Internet address and the mail will be sent through to CompuServe where we read our mail daily.

Please do not send large files to us through the e-mail without asking first. We pay for each minute on CompuServe and large files can get expensive. Send a query before you send the file, thanks!

  Dieter Bayer
  Taeublingstr. 26
  91058 Erlangen
  Germany                                    (until 31. July 1997)

  Chris Cason                                (Windows version)
  PO Box 407
  Williamstown
  Victoria 3016
  Australia                                  (until 31. December 1998)

  Joel NewKirk
  255-9 Echelon Rd
  Voorhees, NJ, USA, 08043                   (until ---)

  Eduard Schwan                              (Macintosh version)
  1112 Oceanic Drive
  Encinitas, California, USA, 92024-4007     (until 30. June 1998)

Charles Fusner
(Blob, lathe and prism tutorial)

Hundreds of special-purpose utilities have been written for POV-Ray: data conversion programs, object generators, shell-style launchers and more. It would not be possible to list them all here, but again, the online systems listed will carry most of them. Most, following the POV-Ray spirit, are freeware or inexpensive shareware.

Some extremely elaborate scenes have been designed by drafting on graph paper. Raytracer Mike Miller recommends graph paper with a grid divided in tenths, allowing natural decimal conversions.

Start out with a boilerplate scene file, such as a copy of basicvue.pov, and edit that. In general, place your objects near and around the origin with the camera in the negative z-direction, looking at the origin. Naturally, you will break from this rule many times, but when starting out, keep things simple.

For basic, boring, but dependable lighting, place a light source at or near the position of the camera. Objects will look flat, but at least you will see them. From there, you can move it slowly into a better position.