Reflection Override Issues: Weird Artifacts and Such

[upshot]

Hey all, I'm having some problems with vray reflections. My scene has an image as MAX's environment map and then a VRaySky for the GI environment override. The issue I am having is with the Reflection in some windows. When the Reflection/refraction environment override, when I use the VRaySky for reflections, it works fine. However, if I change the Reflection/refraction environment override to anything besides VRaySky (this includes bitmaps, VRayMaps, VRayHDRI) the reflections behave strangely. Geometry behind the glass that's normally occluded by reflections is rendered in front of the reflection. In addition, there's a black outline in reflections wherever geometry meets the environment map.

Here's an image of what's happening.



Has anyone else had this issue or been successful using any map besides VRaySky as the reflection override?

[dlparisi]

Looks like you need to raise the output level of the reflection map to match the VraySky. Either raise the output amount in the bitmap or raise the multiplier in the vrayhdri map.

[upshot]

Looks like you need to raise the output level of the reflection map to match the VraySky.

True, which I've done in other tests (just not the one shown here). The issue isn't the darkness, but rather the phenomenon of the interior geometry occluding the reflected environment rather than the other way around.

[dlparisi]

Yeah but as the reflections get brighter they will start to occlude the geometry behind them. I'm also guessing that your interior columns and your window frames have some reflection to them and that's why they're rendering out darker than before.

[upshot]

Right, I've tried renders where the reflected environment is way brighter than the VRaySky reflection and the geometry still "pops out." Also, there is zero reflection on the interior column materials, etc.

[dlparisi]

I'm at a loss then... Can you post another image with the brighter refelctions?