robkar97

Hmmm... I'm not sure, but I think the Snapshot tool is limited to a single, coherent polyline. I tried to get it to work across multiple splines (in a single object, or multiple individual ones) with no success... sorry! Robert

Ok, this would explain things! Thanks!

Hmmm... the Help files (Arch and design material chapter) claims that to obtain very fast rendering glossy reflections, "Glossy samples" can be left at 0 (true mirror) and yet the interpolation will create the impression of blurriness... or have I misunderstood something?

I have this strange problem I can't figure out how to solve, other than doing a Reset. Some way I have disabled the blurry reflections made through "Fast (Interpolate")... they just render out like a perfect mirror - even though the glossiness is 0.5. I've ticked the checkbox, set it to lookup 3-5 points and form 1 to 1/5 of the resolution. The Glossy samples are left at 0, since I want it to render quickly. If I disable Fast (Interpolate) and crank up the glossy samples, it renders nicely but takes a long time. After a File > Reset, it works the way I'm used to. What am I missing!? Robert

Very nice rendering! I prefer to do wireframe renderings using the default scanline renderer - it renders faster and looks nicer (unless you set the sampling in mr to min=16 max=64) Sometimes it is also nice to have the wireframe in a separate layer, so its transparency etc can be edited separately. Robert

Hi reckkremer! I downloaded and did a test render of your building max-file and it worked nicely with everything left at their defaults. The Lighing Analysis is rather nice... I'm just not sure how accurate is is. I guess you have to be careful how you set things up. The weater data files that can drive the simulation are pretty nice too. As for my renderings, I'm glad you liked them! The entire site is hopelessly outdated, but I'm working on my new portfolio as we speak. An yes, the wireframe overlay is a Photoshop thing: render the scene as a black/white wireframe, then use the "screen" or "multiply" blending mode, and use a (gradient) layermask to fade the wireframe in/out where appropriate... I hope you can get Backburner up and running. I find it very useful, even necessary, when doing hi-res renderings in mental ray (where the "black bucket problem" due do memory limitations can be an issue). Robert

When using mr Photographic Exposure Control, is there any good reason to use Aperture + Shutter Speed + ISO and not just a single EV input!? The manual states that shutter speed has no effect on motion blur, and ISO has no affect on image grain - so why bother fiddling with 3 values when you can do the same (?) with 1? Robert

I have no problems doing net rendering via Backburner 2008... it works straight out of the box, with all values left at their default. Textures works too... However, I am doing the rendering *locally* (from c: to c:), on the same machine... don't know if it works over the network since I don't have one :-). I still got 3ds max 2008 installed (got 2009 yesterday), but no version prior to that. I use 3ds max *design* 2009, but that shouldn't matter. By the way, I only uninstalled *Backburner* (using Vista's Control panel) and left everything else. I'm having other issues though :-/ Robert

I had to uninstall Backburner 2007.1 before being able to install Backburner 2008. Maybe a stupid question, but have you checked if Backburner 2008 was successfully installed? For me it just skipped it and I had to do it manually since it seems to think that if you got a previous version of Backburner installed, it's best to leave it alone. Robert

Hmmm... it seems the relationship between the Reveal checkbox (Soft Shadows) and the traditional "Area Lights/Shadows as Points" in the Render Setup works in *one* direction - the Render Setup will dictate the checkbox...

I'm having problems with the "[ ] Soft shadows" checkbox in the new Rendered Frame floating window in 3ds max Design 2009. Even if I uncheck it, it *automatically* jumps back to being checked the second I hit Render... It happens when rendering any scene, even after a reset... Is there something I'm doing wrong here!? Robert

Hmmm. This thing would happen if you change the Coordinate system to Local. Check the the dropdown menu in the top menu if it reads "Local" or "Screen" or something else that "World". Setting it to World should fix it. I know this might be somewhat obvious, so forgive me if it's something way more complicated :-) Robert

Have you tried enabling the photon radius setting for the sun? Focus the beam of photons on the window. However, that does not explain your problem. Have you set the geometry to receive/generate caustics where necessary? Robert

If your textures appear washed out and too light, check your gamma settings (Customize > Preferences > Gamma and lut) or specify a gamma for each bitmap when you import them. A gamma of 1.8-2.2 is usually about right. Robert

That's the problem... it doesn't work :-( I think it does when using "buffer" hairs, but not for "mr prim"... Only the growth object (a simple plane) stops casting shadows. Similarly, turning off Renderable for the growth object leaves the hair unaffected (it still renders)