What's wrong with opacity maps

[andy51]

Just upgraded to V-Ray 6 and just for a quick test I loaded the European Hornbeam from the Cosmos browser add a camera and Vray sun sky.
but opacity was not rendering. On checking the Slate material editor, the was an opacity map. but it appeared to be connected to the diffuse roughness
slot and when I tried to disconnect it and connect it to the opacity slot it refuse, I tried deleting the map, it would not delete. In the compact browser it
was connected to the opacity slot as expected, but again I could not delete from the opacity map slot.

I even updated V-Ray to the new hot fix 2 version, tried again, same problem.

Also whats with he .tx format. I tried to switch it to a standard bitmap, rather than VRayBitmap, but of course the Standard bitmap won't
accept the .tx format

All those years using V-Ray Next with almost no problems. Then I finally upgrade to Chaos V-Ray Premium - Annual and it can\t render
opacity maps correctly and in the Compact Mat editor, the map is correctly placed in the Opacity slot but cannot be moved or deleted and in
the Slate Editor, it's connected to the Diffuse Roughness slot and cannot be disconnected, connected to the correct slot or even deleted.

Funny how I can disconnect, reconnect or even delete all other maps in the slate mat editor. and even weirder. I created another VRayBitmap
in the Slate Mat Editor, added the strange .tx opacity map and I can connect it to the opacity slot, but then I get it connected to both the Diffuse Roughness
and Opacity and still cannot remove that connection....

There is definitely something wrong but for the life of me I have no clue what

NOTE Yes I am still using Max 2018 and no I am not upgrading.. I like Max 2018 and As long as V-Ray 6 remains compatible, I'll keep using it

[fixeighted]

With .tx files, you can 'open as' in PS, choosing tiff, so then you can edit them, save them and rename to .tx, or just leave them as tiff.
.tx are better for memory use so that's why they're used. There's a converter with Vray to convert scene textures to .tx if they prove useful.

The other thing is weird but devs'll have a solution I'm sure

Out of interest, with the new material you created, can you connect that to the diff roughness, thus breaking the previous connection?
That might reset it, though it's not a fix for sure...

[andy51]

Out of interest, with the new material you created, can you connect that to the diff roughness, thus breaking the previous connection?
That might reset it, though it's not a fix for sure...

Take a look at what happens when I create a new material for the Leaf and try to connect a bitmap to the opacity slot

[fixeighted]

That is really odd.
The reason I suggested it is that I did have a problem deleting or unwiring a map a few days ago.
At that time I created a new one and did what I suggested above and it did work, allowing me to delete the old one.
Fingers crossed it's simple enough to fix

[andy51]

Yeah it is very odd. Not only that, but what is this all about. When connecting the Diffuse and Bum, all is perfectly normal, but when I try to connect the bitmap, this big list appears and I've never seen that before.
Maybe it's a part of the problem. I certainly don't think it's Max, as I never had this problem with V-Rray Next

Maybe it's the Cosmos Browser, perhaps a problem with the models or the way they are imported, I don't have a clue

Anyway, I really hope they look into this and get it sorted asap

[hermit.crab]

Odd issue. Doesn't happen on my end (tested with 3ds Max 2018, latest V-Ray 6). That dialogue usually appears when you connect one node to another (without specifying a particular slot). I'm not sure what's causing it, maybe for starters you could test resetting to the 3ds max defaults.

[andy51]

Odd issue. Doesn't happen on my end (tested with 3ds Max 2018, latest V-Ray 6). That dialogue usually appears when you connect one node to another (without specifying a particular slot). I'm not sure what's causing it, maybe for starters you could test resetting to the 3ds max defaults.

Why oh why did I not think of that.. Yes resetting the Max Defaults seems to have solved the problem.

However I hated doing it, as it means loads of work to get Max back the way I like it, but hey, rather that than put up with this crazy behaviour.

Anyway, while I wish it had been something else causing the problem, it appears the problem is now solved

Cheers

[fixeighted]

When in doubt, hit it with a hammer

[andy51]

When in doubt, hit it with a hammer

As Adam Savage put it "Every Tools a Hammer"

I used to work in a factory back in the day 1978 -1996. We often had to hit stuff with hammers.. Destroyed many a hard drive, computer monitor and countless computer boards, all in the name of secrecy of course.

It was while working there, that I really got into computers. from the old ZX81, which I gave to my old neighbour (and yes it was still working last I checked when the pandemic hit), C64, Atari St, Atari STfm, Atari Falcon, even an Amiga 500, then on to the Pentium PC's. Oh the days of 8mb of ram and a copy of cyber sculpt, long gone but never forgotten.

[fixeighted]

8mb ram...luxury!

I used to do my own antialiasing in DeluxePaint...aah....memories...
And now people complain that there are no animated people in Cosmos....how things have changed

[andy51]

8mb ram...luxury!

I used to do my own antialiasing in DeluxePaint...aah....memories...
And now people complain that there are no animated people in Cosmos....how things have changed

Oh Deluxe Paint, for it's day it was an incredible piece of software.. Yeah, it's really sad that so many people these days, can't be asked to do any work at all and want/expect the software to do it all for them.. Too much one click and not enough creativity. Talking of animated people though, I saw a walking people preset in the Cosmos Browser earlier.

[fixeighted]

Aha! You were caught out by that tease of a name too I see
It's just people in walking poses, so not animated I'm afraid.

[andy51]

Really, never bothered to check them out so wouldn't know and besides people is something I've never needed or been asked to add to any project.