Tree optimization

[vlado]

So here are a few of my tests (done with V-Ray 3.0 though, and note that I do not have Autograss on that machine):

The original image, rendered in 1h 18m: https://ftp.chaosgroup.com/vlado/ima...e/original.png

The original image with "Affect shadows" enabled for the glass rendered in 1h 10m: https://ftp.chaosgroup.com/vlado/ima...riginal_as.png

The image with my settings (min shading rate 16, global subdivs multiplier 0 to remove any subdivs anywhere else, max ray intensity set to 20, and AA color threshold 0.007), rendered in 18m 30s: https://ftp.chaosgroup.com/vlado/ima...univ_16msr.png

As you can see this one has very similar quality and better AA overall. The shadow wall is perhaps a bit noisier and this can be fixed by decreasing the AA color threshold a bit.

The next image is with Embree enabled and rendered in 14m 8s: https://ftp.chaosgroup.com/vlado/ima...msr_embree.png

Here another test with the trees visible to GI, as they would be by default, rendered in 14m 57s: https://ftp.chaosgroup.com/vlado/ima...6msr_trees.png

So turning ON "Visible to GI" adds a bit of render time, but not that much, so I don't know if it's worth it to go and disable it in this case.

There's a trend with most of the scenes I've been getting lately; switch to BF+LC, ignore any subdivs anywhere the user might have set by putting 0.0 for global subdivs multiplier, and then playing with the min shading rate (8 or 16 seems to work fine for most cases) and the AA threshold to get what I need - in most cases turns out way faster than what the user had originally by playing with subdivs all over the place.

Best regards,
Vlado

[vlado]

But, having said that, they are red as heck on the sample rate map.

Does it matter if they render fast

Best regards,
Vlado

[glorybound]

fast and good!

Does it matter if they render fast

Best regards,
Vlado

[glorybound]

okay, I am impressed. Everything is rendering in real time (dragging my mouse across the vfb) and it is clean. Even the motion blur renders fast!

[dgsantana]

Just a note. The only way to really set the Global SubD multiplier to 0.0, his maxscript (renderers.current.dmc_subdivs_mult), correct? At least i got a 0.0000001 when using the UI.
Maybe you guys should set the min value of the spinner to 0.0?

Best regards,
Daniel

[kosso_olli]

There's a trend with most of the scenes I've been getting lately; switch to BF+LC, ignore any subdivs anywhere the user might have set by putting 0.0 for global subdivs multiplier, and then playing with the min shading rate (8 or 16 seems to work fine for most cases) and the AA threshold to get what I need - in most cases turns out way faster than what the user had originally by playing with subdivs all over the place.

Vlado,
does this mean the AA min is 1 and AA max is 100, as specified in the universal settings? All other settings for BF and LC are default? Sounds interesting.

[Pixelcon]

Very intriguing stuff...

Vlado,
does this mean the AA min is 1 and AA max is 100, as specified in the universal settings? All other settings for BF and LC are default? Sounds interesting. Got a car interior which is mostly black. Dark upholstery, black ceiling etc. Getting it clean is quite difficult, will give your settings a try tomorrow. Anyway, thanks for sharing your insights.

[vlado]

Just a note. The only way to really set the Global SubD multiplier to 0.0, his maxscript (renderers.current.dmc_subdivs_mult), correct? At least i got a 0.0000001 when using the UI. Maybe you guys should set the min value of the spinner to 0.0?

Yes, will do that. But 0.0000001 does practically the same thing for this scene.

Best regards,
Vlado

[vlado]

Vlado, does this mean the AA min is 1 and AA max is 100, as specified in the universal settings?

[EDIT][EDIT] (too many scene files ) Yes, they are 1/8 as they were originally in the scene. Will do a 1/100 to compare, but even with the universal settings, you can usually get away with lower values and still get a good image.

Best regards,
Vlado

[vlado]

Here is a render with 1/100; as you see it took a bit longer (20 min), but still not as long as the original settings.

https://ftp.chaosgroup.com/vlado/ima...bree_trees.png

Best regards,
Vlado

[glorybound]

max ray intensity is a VRAY 3.0 thing, correct?

[Dariusz Makowski (Dadal)]

Yes it is.

[Pixelcon]

I've tried running a scene thru this (difficult light, lots of materials that I really dont want to have to optimize, lots of very glossy reflections) and this "workflow" is powering through the render. I'm quite amazed so far. Vlado, do you have any tips for fine tuning. I'm aware this is a sort of universal method but I've been throwing seemingly random settings at it not really knowing whats going on under the hood. What's the relationship between the max aa subdivs and min shading rate for instance? Should we be unlinking the clr thresh and noise thresh for greater control? I guess the setting that seems to be most mysterious to me is the min shading rate...

Here is a render with 1/100; as you see it took a bit longer (20 min), but still not as long as the original settings.

https://ftp.chaosgroup.com/vlado/ima...bree_trees.png

Best regards,
Vlado

[glorybound]

I have been using the method, and like you said, it eats right through the scene. It is pretty remarkable that one or two spinners simplified the workflow.

[Pixelcon]

You're using vray 3, right?

I have been using the method, and like you said, it eats right through the scene. It is pretty remarkable that one or two spinners simplified the workflow.