Evaluate Proxymesh before modifiers

[Yves Adam]

would it be at all possible to evaluate a vray proxy before any modifiers that are on top of it ?

right now we can't do anything at all to a proxy, but it would be nice if we could add modifiers to
a proxy (think vrayDisplacement for instance) and then at rendertime, the proxy gets evaluated first and only then,
after that's done, the rest of the stack gets evaluated towards the final mesh.

say yes please ?

[vlado]

You are in luck - in V-Ray 3.20, the proxy has a new preview type, "Show whole mesh". With this option enabled, the full geometry is loaded for the 3ds Max viewports so any modifiers on top of the proxy will work with that mesh, which eventually gets rendered. You can also apply a VRayDisplacementMod to the proxy.

Note that if you do this, the proxy loses its memory-saving properties and becomes just a regular mesh in the scene.

Best regards,
Vlado

[vlado]

Here is an example of a VRayProxy with an Alembic file, with and without displacement, in V-Ray 3.20.

Best regards,
Vlado

[Dave_Wortley]

Vlado, (another option request), I'd like to have "Use Full Mesh at render time" to allow this sort of manipulation but will keep the load in the viewport lower?

Is that possible?

[vlado]

Is that possible?

Yes, it's possible; though it would probably be better to leave the display options alone, and instead add an option to control how the proxy is rendered (as on-demand geometry, or as full mesh). Or, even better, automatically switch to that mode if there are any geometry modifiers.

Best regards,
Vlado

[3LP]

I though the same thing reading the posts one after each other.
That would come in handy Vlado!

Stan

[Dave_Wortley]

Or, even better, automatically switch to that mode if there are any geometry modifiers.

That would be good, but could lead to some performance hits with people that don't know what they're doing with proxies. I guess the good thing is that people are treating VRayProxies as a reference system, not necessarily for just rendering performance. I think having it automatic is probably safer than it needing to have an option set.