Nitrous, Vray and display problems

[alfienoakes]

I know this has been talked about all over the net, but I cant find any real resolution.

 

I have put up with this for months now and have decided that I can no longer ignore it. Attached is an image showing how my screen looks in Max Design 2012, with Vray 1.5 SP6. Unless I zoom right in to the image, its constantly blotchy and glitchy and some objects dont even show up until you select them.

 

I have an Nvidia card, a GeForce GTX 550 Ti with 1Gb of its own memory. My machine is an i7 with 16Gb RAM, so things should tick along nicely. However, no matter what I do, I cannot really get Max to work any better than the attached image. Its driving me nuts...

 

I have tried switching to the Direct3D driver and the OpenGL, and they perform even worse, slow and unresponsive.

 

Does anyone have any clues as to the best way to get this working properly..?

[DavidRees]

I use max/Vray2/Nvidia card, and have similar problems with Nitrous, so I use D3D, and it's not great, but I can work with it. Nitrous will improve, but it's still immature, and I guess that's why AD has left D3D and OGL. Basically, all the APIs suck now, whereas Max2009 was great in D3D, so I suspect AD is ignoring D3D to force a gradual move to Nitrous.

[migelle]

Tried max 2012... meh..

Went back to 2010 64bit using D3D, lumion and VrayRT, to the world where everything worx.

i3V2, 8GB RAM, GTX460GLH and no problems (xcept when Vray decides the entire scene should be pitch black cause of the default light multiplier but that's an easy fix)

[alfienoakes]

Switch back a couple of versions..? Did that make everything display as you would expect..?

 

Im a bit miffed by the new interface as well.. I know that sounds very "anti progress" but I use so many bits of software, I dont have time to re-teach myself how the new slate board works. (Im not anti progress, honest)

 

Maybe I need to switch back, as I used to use 2009, and had it all setup as I liked.. It now seems that each new session is a bit of a chore..!

 

I would prefer to stay with 2012 if I could, bu the display problem is so poor, Im not sure I can..

[migelle]

Ahh, i see.

Sometimes works when changing Nitrous rendering level (shading mode on/off) constantly so viewort would display correctly.

Perhaps you can try PowerPreview script, but if using 32bit, avoid at all costs, causes crashes.

Nitrous is bugged in a way that it doesn't agree with all hardware, mostly it's a driver issue. Latest isn't always the best (driver).

 

I hope this helps.

[Devin Johnston]

I haven't had that problem with Nitrous but when I'm in perspective mode I can only pan, rotate, and zoom a few times before it locks up on me. I've regretted upgrading since Max 2009, it seems like every year they add new features but forget to fix the one's that never worked right in the first place. Don't even get me started on Backburner, it hasn't been updated in at least 10 years which just shows me they aren't serious about creating a robust product that meets our needs.

[Ricardo Eloy]

If this is a Nitrous-related problem, then turning it off should do. But, another possibility is that the whole model is just too small (Max has problems with very small models). Have you checked the units?

[alfienoakes]

Have I checked the units..?

 

No I havent.. I will check it out and see what they are set at. I generally work from file linked AutoCAD files, so tend to use "mm".. The model isnt tiny, but its not large either, say 60 metres long, maybe 40 wide. What should the units be set to then with small models..?

[alfienoakes]

Ahh, i see.

Sometimes works when changing Nitrous rendering level (shading mode on/off) constantly so viewort would display correctly.

Perhaps you can try PowerPreview script, but if using 32bit, avoid at all costs, causes crashes.

Nitrous is bugged in a way that it doesn't agree with all hardware, mostly it's a driver issue. Latest isn't always the best (driver).

 

I hope this helps.

 

I have 64 bit Max. Is it worth trying the power preview script.? I dont wnt to make it worse.. ;-)

[migelle]

Ricardo is correct, i gave it some tests. Maximum scaling that worked was 1:2 and 2:1. That means, if you are using high values you may have viewport issues. F/E when making a wall that's 3X5m don't use meters or milimeters as units, use centimeters so you have 300X500 value, not 3X5 or 3000X5000 or w/e. Converting units from existing file won't work, better way is to make a new blank file and merge the old one. If using Vray ligts and Vraylightmtl be aware that light multiplier shouldn't go past 30 sometimes even 20 or you get "lightburn" effect. Next thing one should be aware is that there's a weird system Nitrous uses that's highly related to GPU and drivers, and in win7 you can add 3ds max to use Physx cause for another weird reason it's not listed. That helps. As far as the plugin goes, it was recommended to me by a friend that said, nothing impressive but viewport doesn't freeze anymore (he uses max 2012).

Now, you mentioned something serious, and that's importing from autocad. That's why you see broken faces. That's the most common problem when importing from autocad, but there are 2 methods you may use. Unify normals and use cap holes. for flat surfaces use smooth then convert to mesh/poly, w/e your poison is. That'll fix viewport problems. I ALWAYS have that same issue when importing from autocad, no matter the format, fbx, dxf, dwg, even the f.. 3ds. Renders fine (when textured), looks like crap in viewport.