Settings folders next to .max project files

[LudvikKoutny]

Hi,

I am noticing that PhoenixFD makes nested folders with some kind of settings next to my max files. This makes my project folder structure very messy and unappealing. Is there any way to disable this? If not, it would be more appropriate to store the settings either within the file or in some more discrete location.

Thanks.

[joconnell]

You can set it manually - fume has a default folder on your c drive that it puts cache files into with completely random file names - phoenix can use a template file system to allow you to iterate really easily and have a file name that corresponds with the max file that made it. I'd love to have something similar in vray's frame buffer output actually!

[joconnell]

This part runs through the options, you can mix and match the tokens with absolute bits easily - https://docs.chaosgroup.com/display/...Output-General

So if you have a P: drive where you keep your caches and they all go into a folder called "phoenix_caches" you could do something like p:\phoenix_caches\$(scene)\$(nodename)

And you'd end up with all of your caches going into a specific folder but still tied back to the original max file name and the grid that made it.

[LudvikKoutny]

That is not it I am afraid.

I already do have sim set up to be in completely different folder. PhoenixFD still creates folder in my Max scenes folder, that are something like Maxfile.max_Phoenix2_frames, which has subfolder "settings" which has subfolder "rendering" which contains a lot of .rlog files.

[joconnell]

Apologies for jumping the gun and not reading your post clearly enough!

[Svetlin.Nikolov]

Hey,

These store your simulation and render settings and you can later load them as a simulation or render preset or send them over if you need help debugging an issue.

In case these bother you, I'll add an option to turn them off. They are not going together with the cache files because they are contextually linked to the max scene, rather than the produced caches.

Cheers!

[LudvikKoutny]

Hey,

These store your simulation and render settings and you can later load them as a simulation or render preset or send them over if you need help debugging an issue.

In case these bother you, I'll add an option to turn them off. They are not going together with the cache files because they are contextually linked to the max scene, rather than the produced caches.

Cheers!

That would be helpful, thanks a lot!

I am just curious - would it be possible to store them within .max file? I mean if they are separate, then users are able to send them for debugging, but if they were stored with .max file, the folder clutter would not be there, but benefit of being able to go back to previous iterations in form of presets would remain.

[Svetlin.Nikolov]

The idea is to eventually use those for transferring settings between max and maya and for sending them over for debugging when the max scene cannot be send for various reasons, so I'm afraid this will not work.

Cheers!

[LudvikKoutny]

Hi,

so today i tried to actually utilize this "feature" and see if I could go back to some previous version of the simulation, but I can not figure how it works. Files in those folders have .rlog extension where as Simulation Presets dialog only loads .tpr and .slog files...

In the entire PhoenixFD manual there is not a single mention of .rlog file format and how to use it.

[LudvikKoutny]

Nevermind, I found one more button - render presets. I actually thought these file save simulation settings, but they save just render settings part of the simulations. In that case, they are even less useful than I initially thought. All the less reason to have something so unuseful cluttering every single 3ds Max scene folder

[Svetlin.Nikolov]

Hey,

rlog stands for Rendering, while slog stands for Simulation, so each time you render, an rlog file would be created, and each time you simulate, an slog file will be created. You can load render presets and rlog files from the Rendering rollout, and you can respectively load slogs from the Simulation rollout. I think the reasons we mentioned above justify the existence of these files, although we should really make them optional instead of the way they are at the moment.

Cheers,

[LudvikKoutny]

Hi,

I think what causes most confusion is that rlogs are stored where scene files are where as slogs are stored where simulations cache files are. This fractured scenario really adds to the confusion. I honestly think this is overcomplicated in general. Why not just have only one format which stores both simulation settings and simulation render settings? I mean, render settings are often tweaked to match particular single simulation, so having them separate does not make that much sense.

But if both are supposed to remain, then I would suggest simply changing the default behavior so that rlog files are saved in the same place slog files are

[Svetlin.Nikolov]

I think Ivaylo can explain more about the design decisions behind these. I'll have a look and clean this up when possible.

[Ivaylo Katev]

my last memories are that both the folders are stored in the default cache folder, even if the path is changed, i did it in this way, because the logs are related to the scene, and the default cache path includes the scene name and is clear that its content is related to this scene. if the logs are affected by the input or output path, you can mix them with the logs of another scene, in case of shared cache files.
of course all these reasons are in advance, the real practice often shows cases that are not predicted.

[LudvikKoutny]

my last memories are that both the folders are stored in the default cache folder, even if the path is changed, i did it in this way, because the logs are related to the scene, and the default cache path includes the scene name and is clear that its content is related to this scene. if the logs are affected by the input or output path, you can mix them with the logs of another scene, in case of shared cache files.
of course all these reasons are in advance, the real practice often shows cases that are not predicted.

Oh yes, I understand now. Non the less, my 3ds Max project folder structure remains really messy.

How about simple one switch option to store scene specific logs in the simulation output path?

Here's what I mean:
Right now, when you set simulation output path, the .aur files are stored in there, and it also contains subfolder called "settings", which contains folders named "SimName####.aur_simulation". There are also folders right next to the 3ds Max files called "SceneName.max_Phoenix2_frames"

A simple switch, checkbox, called for example "save render options to output path" would cause "SceneName.max_Phoenix2_frames" directiories containing .rlog files to be saved in the settings subfolder of sim output path instead of next to the 3ds Max files inside of 3ds Max project folders. They would still be inside folders with names containing scene file name, so no mixing could occur.


I think it could end up being also more convenient, because you would have logs of render settings as well as simulation settings on the same place, where you can reach them easily. Many people including me use even separate hard drives for simulation cache file, so you have part of your simulation settings stored with 3ds Max project on one hard drive, and other part of simulation settings stored on other drive, with simulation cache folder. Not exactly intuitive imho