chrishuntsman

In the hardware section, I tried to start a new thread and it just wouldn't work, it was for a computer build I was considering. I ended up copying and pasting my comments into a word document so I wouldn't lose what I wrote and have to re-type it over and over again. It never worked out for me. The other time was in my own thread i started in the Mental Ray section. I could post a few times in there but after a bit, it stopped work (as in needed to be approved by a moderator). this is what I would get: I never resolved the issue, I contacted one moderator but was told to contact someone else, which I never did - just gave up.

I have had the same issue, about 4 or 5 times in that same section and also in my own post under Mental Ray. I have just given up trying to get the hardware one to work, its been over three weeks.

It could have something to do with the way you are cutting and pasting from your previous drawings. I know there are several ways to cut and paste into a new drawing. One way that I use is: SHIFT+CTRL+C. Use this command after you have selected what you want to move over. This will start the command 'copy with base point' (you have to specify the base-point, follow the command prompt). Then I tab over (Shift+TAB) to the other drawing and do a simple CTRL+V. If you want to paste as a new block just do SHIFT+CTRL+V ,that will put everything you paste as a new block - then you could explode it later. These aren't modified hotkeys, they are default in AutoCAD (I am pretty sure they are the same in AutoCAD Architecture too.) Other option (a workaround) would be to simply write your select to a block (default hotkey 'W') specify a location to save it and then import it into your new drawing through the insert block command (hotkey 'I')

@charris - I tried your tip on rendering out two-framed animations, it would work fine about 50% of the time. still unpredictable. @SgWRX - thanks for the tip on deleting that user folder. I only have one plugin, itoosoftware, which I have installed on all slave computers. as for the maxscripts, I have only loaded two, sweep profile and floor generator. I will try removing those scripts from my machine and see if that does anything. You are right about the incremental FG causing that blowout, or at least making it visible. doing a draft FG it wouldn't appear, but once i upped the settings it showed up. Anyway, I turned off the sky portion of the daylight system and then that went away. @Elevation - I am using 2015. I have BSP2 set (read in some forums to switch to BSP to resolve this issue though, which i tried with no success). Placeholders is checked. These are the settings I have had from the beginning of DBR. I don't have GI turned on, i should but don't. The car material is the A&D car paint material with multi/sub materials. when rendering, how much free hard drive space is recommended? maybe one of the slave computers is maxing out? thanks for your advice and help, i work in an office where no one has even heard of 3ds max so its nice to have someone to turn to.

@charris - I tried the two-framed animation idea, it worked about 50% of the time. It would still hang up at 100% and at cancel rendering. @SgWRX - thanks for the tip on deleting that user folder. I have installed the only plugin I have (itoosoftware) on all the slave computers, but I haven't stilled any maxscripts on those computers (I only have sweep profile and floor generator). The hot spot went away when i turned off the sky associated with the sun in the daylight system. I don't think it had anything to do with the car. But you are right on the incremental FG, it didn't show up until I upped the settings there. @Elevation - I am running 3ds max 2015 (up-to-date according to autodesk application manager). I don't have GI on, probably should but don't. I am using the MR arch & design car paint material, applied to all the cars with multi/sub maps. When rendering, is there a recommended amount of hard drive space you should have? I am wondering if one of the slave computers might be filling up too much of their hard drives. Switched over to Backburner today. Hopefully that doesn't present a whole new set of issues

Thanks for the suggestion. It will render to 100% and never proceed to clean up, but I am still able to save out the image. So all is not lost, but its still frustrating. I have even tried cycling through each render slave to see if one in particular was hanging it up. This didn't conclude anything since I kept getting different results. I guess I better settle for backburner. On the plus side it will let me use more then 4 render slaves. I will try rendering it as a 2 framed animation and see what happens.

well I turned off the sky portion of the daylight system and now the bright spot is gone. I also disabled DBR and then tried canceling the rendering, which didn't freeze the rendering. so it looks like DBR is causing my rendering progress to hang up at 100%, won't do the clean up. Anyone know how to resolve that so I can still use DBR?

So I am relatively new to 3DS max and rendering in Mental Ray. Tonight I am getting an issue I don't really understand. I am getting this really bright spot (over exposed?) in my image, don't have any lights in that location. Maybe someone in this forum knows exactly what it is? Also, every time I cancel the test rendering 3DS max freezes. It also freezes at the end of the rendering when its complete. I am using DBR, which might be the issue, but I hope not. I understand backburner might resolve this issue but I would really prefer to use DBR if possible (I really like seeing the progress on my screen) I have tried googling and searching for an answer so sorry if this issue has already been addressed many times, I am sure I am not using the right keywords when searching for an answer. Try typing in 'rendering issue' and see how many results you get . I have also looked through the light lister to make sure there isn't a rouge light chilling out right there. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The best way is to import your .skp file into a conceptual mass (it will an import option only inside the conceptual mass family). Once you have the .skp file imported into the conceptual mass, you can then import or load that family into your project. It will be a mass inside the Revit project so you will need to create walls/roofs/curtain walls/and floors through the massing options.

This is my first real build (did one in architecture school back in 2009 on a tight budget). My budget is really around $2k, this is closer to $2,400 (doable but gotta convince the wife first). I could drop the video card to a Geforce GTX 970 and save almost $200. Please let me know if you see any issues with this proposed build, I was hoping to purchase everything over black Friday, but I have now realized I don't know as much as I should about custom builds. The main software I will be using is: 3DS Max, Revit, Sketchup, Photoshop and AutoCAD. Probably no gaming, but the wife will probably use some video editing software to make home movies and digital scrapbooking. Anyway, I appreciate any feedback you might have. PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant CPU: Intel Core i7-4930K 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor ($437.27 @ TigerDirect) CPU Cooler: Corsair H105 73.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg) Motherboard: Asus P9X79 LE ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($224.47 @ OutletPC) Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($302.56 @ Amazon) Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($66.99 @ Best Buy) Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ OutletPC) Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ OutletPC) Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($569.95 @ Amazon) Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg) Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg) Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.88 @ OutletPC) Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($86.42 @ OutletPC) Monitor: Asus VS239H-P 23.0" Monitor ($139.99 @ Amazon) Monitor: Asus VS239H-P 23.0" Monitor ($139.99 @ Amazon) Total: $2366.45 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-02 10:32 EST-0500

First off, I have appreciated reading through the many threads on this site related to computer builds and how they relate to a similar workflow I use. I was hoping to purchase the components for my first real computer build over Black Friday (did one previously in 2009 during architecture school, but it was on a very tight budget). Unfortunately for me, I have been indecisive on some of the components and Black Friday has come and gone. I am still learning and can use any feedback you can offer. My main uses will be: 3DS Max (rendering in MR, hoping to jump into Vray), Sketchup, Photoshop, Revit, and AutoCAD. My comfort zone for the budget is pretty much 2k, you will notice this is just over that at $2,300 (doable but gotta convince the wife). I could drop a HHD, Monitor, and change the video card to a Geforce 970 4GB (GPU saves over 200). Kind of used to dual monitors and would love to keep the second storage for back up. PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant CPU: Intel Core i7-4930K 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor ($459.99 @ Amazon) CPU Cooler: Corsair H105 73.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($84.99 @ Newegg) Motherboard: Asus P9X79 LE ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($213.98 @ SuperBiiz) Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($319.99 @ Amazon) Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.99 @ Amazon) Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ OutletPC) Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ OutletPC) Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($564.99 @ SuperBiiz) Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($68.99 @ NCIX US) Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg) Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg) Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($86.42 @ OutletPC) Monitor: Asus VS239H-P 23.0" Monitor ($129.99 @ Newegg) Monitor: Asus VS239H-P 23.0" Monitor ($129.99 @ Newegg) Total: $2336.26 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-29 22:41 EST-0500