GPU-preview?

[izotripp]

Hi,

I'm working on a cloudscene, I've been using the gpu-preview (checking "enabled" under the preview-rollout).
Now it's not showing the preview anymore, no matter if I re-enable it, restart maya, or the machine.

Anyone know how to get it back?

[izotripp]

Ok, I got it working again. Maybe there was a difference between opening the file from maya and opening maya by doubleclicking on the file.

[ivaylo.ivanov]

You were probably in other project. By default, Phoenix saves the cache files in the project dir, but you can use also global cache directory.

[izotripp]

Yes, that's probably why.

A related question, I'm using distributed rendering for lookdev'ing my smoke. What's the best practice to have the other machines find the cache?
I had it working on friday, now for some reason it's not. The cache is in a folder on our server, and it's linked there via the maya project, I also tried setting the cache-directory in the about-dialog.

[ivaylo.ivanov]

The best solution currently is to use the custom path in the about dialog. You must set this first and then open and simulate the scene. If you already have the cache in another directory, you must move it manually. You must also write the path in a the way it is accessed via network. Not the local path. The current nightly builds of VRay can transfer assets between the machines and we will try to support this in Phoenix also.

[izotripp]

Nice, I have it running now on one other machine, the other ones not so much.
Are there any environment variables or other things in specific to check for?

[ivaylo.ivanov]

No, there isn't anything special. You can check the output from the render slaves to see from which location they are trying to load the cache. Also the sharing permissions can cause a problem.

[3dwolf]

(thread-hijack:
would be nice to be able to create a (new) gpu-preview after the simulation is complete (and you might have tweaked some rendersettings)
(3dmax)
)

[Ivaylo Katev]

it's quite sure that the gpu preview will have some production rendering features in the next release.
- alpha channel export
- ability to render after simulation
- mate objects

[3dwolf]

That will be nice