V-RAY 5 does not render RealFlow10 animations in Cinema 4D R20

[krzysztof_malec]

Hi,
I have Cinema 4D R20 Studio, RealFlow10, V-Ray 5 (version 6 is not compatible with R20). I am creating a liquid animation in RealFlow 10 along with a mesh (.bin files). Then in Cinema 4D, using the "RFConnect" plugin, I import a sequence of .bin files with the mesh of the animated liquid into Cinema 4D. There are no problems with rendering static shots from such an animation with V-Ray 5. It's OK here. However, there are problems with rendering animations. Once, literally ONCE I managed it - I don't know how, maybe because the camera was static. In another scene, the camera slowly follows the spline and has a fixed target. All models from such a 3D scene render except liquid! You can't see the liquid! Please help. I have current versions of RealFlow 10 and the RFConnect plugin for Cinema 4D.
Link to plugin documentation:
https://nextlimitsupport.atlassian.n...nect+Cinema+4D
I will add that I render using the GPU - RTX 3080 Ti. It doesn't matter though. On the CPU, there is no visible liquid in the rendered animation either.
Please help those people who managed to render an imported .bin mesh sequence from RealFlow10 in Cinema 4D and V-Ray 5. Maxon's native R20 renderer renders animation without any problems, but I didn't buy V-Ray to render on a slow renderer physical R20...

Best regards,
Krzysztof

[aleksandar.kasabov]

Hello krzysztof_malec,

Please note that currently, RealFlow is not supported by V-Ray for Cinema4D. We already have such a request in our system (request ID: VC4D-1131) and I will let you know if we have any updates.

This has previously been discussed here.

[krzysztof_malec]

Hi,
Thank you for the information. However, I want to clarify. Two separate products should be distinguished. The first one is RealFlow for Cinema 4D - you mention it. It's a plugin that works "inside" Cinema 4D, just like X-Particles. I have RealFlow 10 as a separate program that works OUTSIDE Cinema 4D. As a result of running RealFlow 10, I get directories with files - particles and mesh. Then, using a plugin, I import these resources into a scene in Cinema 4D. And in the scene they are visible as an animated model. V-Ray can render them. Works perfectly for static shots. The problem is with the animation. But also not always. Maybe it's a trivial problem? Maybe something related to the cache? I'm not a programmer and I don't want to be smart here. V-Ray 5 "almost" works. Each frame from such an animation renders beautifully as a static image. We have caustics, materials, GI, everything is fine. It just doesn't work if you need to render multiple frames at once. Any communication problem? Frame sequence reading?
I can be of assistance. I don't think it will be a license violation if I share the RFConnect plugin with Chaos for testing. I can set up a trivial scene in RF and give Chaos a Google drive with particle catalogs and mesh. Documentation on how to proceed further inside Cinema 4D with an import plug-in (RF Connect for Cinema 4d) is available on the NextLimit website, and there are also plenty of tutorials online.
Maybe it's really something trivial? How do static liquid images render without any problems?
If, for example, we are looking for tutorials on YT with Cinema 4D and RealFlow, Octane Render is almost always accompanied by this duo. It's your competition and it easily renders the effect of RealFlow's work both in the standalone version (RealFlow 10) and the version integrated inside Cinema 4D - RealFlow Cinema 4D 3. The Chaos product can't do that.
Let me mention again - each frame from such an animation can be rendered without any problems, but separately! V-Ray therefore sees the fluid mesh and can render it. The issue only affects the automatic rendering of animations.

[aleksandar.kasabov]

Hello krzysztof_malec,

Thank you for those details.

It would be very helpful if you can setup a test scene with all the necessary files and share it with us.

Also, have you tried if that works with V-Ray 6? Thank you.

[krzysztof_malec]

Hi,
I contacted support from Next Limit, the manufacturer of RealFlow. They don't mind if I provide Chaos with a plug-in that connects RealFlow 10 with Cinema 4D for testing. It doesn't violate the license rules, and I had to be sure of that. However, they have informed me that Chaos can use the TRIAL versions of Next Limit products to perform problem analysis:
https://realflow.com/try/
The RFConnect plug-in is not licensed in any way, so the limits for trial software do not apply here.
More information about RFConnect can be found here:
https://nextlimitsupport.atlassian.n...t+Plugin+Suite
In addition, Next Limit has expressed its willingness to work with Chaos to resolve the issues. It will be fruitful for the Cinema 4D community using both software: V-Ray + RealFlow. It's really a shame about this duo's potential.
Over the coming weekend I will prepare a simple scene using V-Ray 5, Cinema 4D R20 and RF 10. Unfortunately, I can't use V-Ray 6 due to the too old version of Cinema 4D - R20. And that's sad, unfortunately.
I'll set up a support ticket and share everything with Chaos.

Edit:
The resources I provide will allow you to recreate the scene in any supported version of Cinema 4D and V-Ray 5 and 6 for Cinema 4D. The RFConnect plugin works for Cinema 4D versions: R18 - 2023. Also if you have these versions of Cinema 4D, you are able to test RFConnect with V-Ray 5 and 6. I have a problem with V-Ray 5 and Cinema 4D R20 Studio in combination with RFConnect for Cinema 4D. Another user reported an issue with RealFlow running as a plugin inside Cinema 4D. Maybe both problems are the same and result from the same thing? I'm not a programmer, so I won't make judgments.
Best regards,
Krzysztof

[krzysztof_malec]

Hi,
As promised, I reported the problem to Chaos technical support (ID #10385 and shared files with Cinema 4D project + V-Ray 5 + RFConnect, fluid mesh from RealFlow 10 and RFConnect plugin in the installation version. Below I show how to import fluid mesh from RF10 to C4D. In the video you can see that static renders are not a problem with V-Ray 5. It renders very nicely in the Cinema 4D preview window and in VFB. The problem is with animation rendering. I wrote about it earlier, now I'm just supplementing the thread with a film illustration.
Please don't laugh - it's a very simple 3D scene, trivial design. There is still work to be done on the shape of the liquid. But that's not important. It is important to diagnose and fix the problem.

https://youtu.be/RoRBsWu7W8o

Best regards,
Krzysztof

[krzysztof_malec]

Hi Aleksandar,
I am asking so timidly... did you manage to diagnose the problem based on the received files? Are repairs being attempted? I want to render liquid animation in V-Ray 5 and I don't know how... Please help and any information. Thank you very much.

[aleksandar.kasabov]

Hello krzysztof_malec,

Please note that RealFlow10 animations now render fine with V-Ray 6. Unfortunately, we won't be able to bring the fix back in V-Ray 5 for Cinema4D.

I have sent you an email with further instructions for your specific case. Thanks.