PFlow and VRayMultiSubTex

[Flopinio]

Hi all,
I am using a material with several VRayMultiSubTex to create variations on the look of particles by selecting "Random by ParticleID" in the drop down list box. In short: this doesn't work and all my particles get consistently the same map as if no MultiSubTex map was being used.
When applying the same material to normal meshes, not particles, the variation works as expected (using "Random by Node Handle" and "Random by name").

Any ideas on why this might stop working when using "Random by ParticleID"? Have any of you come across a similar issue before?

Thanks,
Jordi


PS:
To be more specific, I am applying to the particles a MultiSubObject material containing 2 VRayMaterials, each of them using several different VRayMultiSubTex. I do this through a Material Static operator in PFlow applied at the Source of the flow.

I am using Max 2016 and VRay 3.40.03

[Undersky]

Can you try it out with a Vray Instancer instead? And "Random by RenderID"?

[Flopinio]

Thanks for your reply Undersky.

It worked with Vray Instancer and "Random by particleID".

This solution is good when the particle mesh is consistent through all the PFlow events, but I won't be able to dynamically change the instanced shape of the particles by triggering this in an event. Workarounds can be found (particularly for stills) but this solution kind of kills the flexibility of PFlow (particularly on animation, which is my case).

Ideally the MultiSubTex should work inside PFlow as it does in mesh objects.

Also, as I was using a set of objects in a group as my particle mesh. As VRay Instancer only allows one object per particle, I had to create a VRayproxy holding all the animated meshes that created my particle. No problem here, just an extra step.

I would love to hear there is a solution that allows the use of "Random by particleID" MultiSubTex and change dynamically the particle Shape Instance inside PFlow. Can that be done?

[Flopinio]

Actually, I just realized how this could be solved using one VRayInstancer per each different mesh instance we need to use in our Pflow. Then we select in each VRayInstancer the PFlow Events on which that particular instance should be used as a particle. Not as straight forward as just using PFlow, but this is a solution to the problem of dynamic particle shapes.

Thanks for your help,
Jordi

[Flopinio]

Allthough...
That doesn't work at all.

Using only some Events (as opposed to ticking "All Particle Flow Events") inside VRayInstancer just don't render any particles at all.

Someone at work mentioned they noticed this feature not working in the past, so I went to try and it still doesn't work.

It would be good to know if an upgrade will sort this issue.

Has anyone tried this on VRay 3.6?

Thanks

[Flopinio]

Another annoyance of this method is that we cannot offset the animation of the instanced particle via VRayInstancer, making our distributed object look too "samey". That defeats the purpose of using the MultiSubText map.

[vlado]

I've made a note to look into the VRayMultiSubTex texture in conjunction with PFlow (it was never intended to be used in this way), but I don't know when it will make it into a build. The animation offset for the VRayInstancer is also on the "to do" list.

Best regards,
Vlado

[Flopinio]

Thanks Vlado,

Maybe it is also worth noting down the VRayInstancer is not working as expected (or at all) when using it with only some events in PFlow as oppose to the default "All Particle Flow Events" (which works well).

Thanks,
Jordi

[vlado]

Can you post a scene?

Best regards,
Vlado

[Flopinio]

I can't post the scene I am working on at the moment, but I will post a similar case when I get some time for it. Right now I'm pretty busy, but I will.

[vlado]

Ok, thanks.

Best regards,
Vlado

[bobweb]

I have just come across the same problem, so here is a very simple test scene. VrayInstancer stops working, even when all possible events are used in the event list. Tested in 3ds Max 2016 and Vray 3.60.01. Also maybe worth noting: there is no entry yet about single events in the documentation of VrayInstancer.

Thanks,
Bob
VrayInstancerEventTest.zip