3dsmax8 radiosty vs formZ radiosty

[maxkid]

Hi guys,

 

I am a max8 user ,

I was rendering a hi -res still ( residential tower ) for a client which earlier version was done in formz .FormZ rendering was very sharp and perfect in terms of lighting solution.

 

Formz comes with Lightscape radiosty rendering engine ,So no doubt the rendering was sharp and awesome ,I was comparing that to mine 3dsmax scanline render with radiosty and mine was sort of close but preety dull ,

 

I wonder what is the solution to this problem.I have ben using max since couple of years ,I am not aware how formZ is to work with and i don't plan to change to formz just because of it's rendering capability!!!

 

Is there any plugin by which I could reproduce the same effect within max ,is there a way I can export data to lightworks radiostity engine or any link between 3dsmax8 and formZ for rendering.

 

If you guys know anything or any solution , tips etc that would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

maxkid

[AJLynn]

Well, FormZ has its own rendering engine. Lightscape was separate, was bought by Autodesk and sort of merged into Max but not in its entirety. If you still have it you can use Max to generate a Lightscape compatible file, but these days you have more technologically advanced options. Max comes with mental ray, and there's Vray which is pretty kickass, and even Vray Free (go to Chaosgroup and look in the Support area, register an account for free) is in many ways better than FormZ.

[AJLynn]

Oh, also - if you already know Max radiosity, and don't want to learn something else, do three things. Increase the Radiosity solution quality, use Adaptive Subdivision in the Radiosity settings, increase the resolution of your render in the Common panel and turn on Global Antialiasing.

[maxkid]

Hey guys,

 

Well mental ray ,vray i know at a basic level ,so did not go ahead with that ,as far radiosity solution goes ,when i turn on adaptive subdivision my machine runs out of ram and calculation is not performed ....my file is not all that big just one tower ,no other props etc yet it dies ( 1 gig ram ) ,one other thing using max's architectural materials sometimes gives pretty weird results ,sometimes very good too , all trial and error ,but how much do you guys use architectural materials with radiosity ,does it help for realism or render times etc.any other external radiosity plugin for max.....

 

cheers,

 

maxkid

[AJLynn]

You need to take a good look at your settings - e.g., if you've got a 50-story tower and your mesh size is 3 inches you will run out of RAM. There are good reasons why the newer lighting engines don't use radiosity or even photon mapping - RAM footprint and computation overhead are geometry dependent. In a newer GI algorithm computation is per pixel, not per face. Also, if you're doing exteriors you'll probably be better off with Light Tracer than Radiosity. This stuff gets tricky fast, I suggest spending some time getting it figured out, and if you have newer software such as mental ray or Vray, use it.

[Frosty]

FormZ does NOT come with or have available "Lightscape". FormZ has an additional rendering engine built by LightWorks - big difference.

[erickdt]

I used FormZ for several years for both modelling and rendering. When I moved to my new office/job I was forced to start using MAX (VIZ actually) and I first I absolutely hated it. I felt like the scanline renders that came out of MAX didn't hold a candle to what I was able to produce with FormZ and when it came to modelling MAX wasn't even on the same planet much less in the same league as FormZ.

 

Then I discovered VRay and ever since there's been no looking back. I still do all of my modelling with FormZ even if I'm just modelling something to put it into AutoCAD. As far as I'm concerned it's the fastest and most accurate modeller out there (and that includes being faster and more accurate than AutoCAD IMO). When it comes to rendering though VRay and MAX can't be beat. I love the user interface when it comes to texturing and setting up your camera views but the most important advantage of MAX over any other renderer is TIME. MAX and VRay together are by far the most time efficient/quickest renderer I have ever used and also has the best final product.

 

Hopefully this helps and isn't just adding to you confusion.