VRay module format

[alainfx]

Hello,

Last time I checked, VRay was installed as a maya module, declared in a file called VRayForMaya.module
It works nicely for us, as I can set a MAYA_MODULE_PATH env var, to have a single shared directory on the network, containing all my modules, without having to install them on each and every computer that contains maya.

Is it planned to move VRay to the new Autodesk module format ?
It's the xml description format (PackageContents.xml).
The problem with that new scheme, is that it seems the module (for example MayaBonusTools) has to be located in the local disk, here : C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\

In case VRay is moving to that direction, do you know how to continue running V-Ray from arbitrary directory ?
http://help.chaosgroup.com/vray/help...l_from_dir.htm


Thanks.

[vlado]

We have not looked into the new XML format yet. It will be a pain for us to support both right now (we still need to support older Maya versions).

Best regards,
Vlado

[alainfx]

We have not looked into the new XML format yet. It will be a pain for us to support both right now (we still need to support older Maya versions).

That's good news, as I prefer the legacy method (VRayForMaya.module) for the reasons explained above.

Thanks.

[alainfx]

In case someone needs it, here is how you can load the new module format from the network, using MEL :

loadModule -load "//yourPath/yourModuleName/PackageContents.xml";

Cheers.

[vlado]

Thanks for the pointer

Best regards,
Vlado

[alainfx]

Well, it seems that same line (loadModule -load ...) written in a userSetup.mel file does not work when using render.exe

So it works with Maya GUI, but doesn't work when you render using the commandline on the farm.

[alainfx]

I contacted Autodesk, they admit there is a problem.
When you try to load this new kind of module (PackageContents.xml) from a network location using userSetup.mel , it doesn't work (at least on Maya2014 Extension, I don't know if it works on other versions).
This is Autodesk Support Case 08797950.

[vlado]

Thanks for the heads up As I said we're not in a hurry to move to the new modules anyways

Best regards,
Vlado

[FSGFX]

any news here... would be great to be able to install vray on a network this way!

[alainfx]

Here are the 2 bugs that kills the new xml module format (when installed on the network) :
Autodesk Support Case 08773427 "PackageContents.xml on network"
Autodesk Support Case 08797950 "userSetup.mel is used by maya, but not used by render.exe"

I was hoping that the latest Service Pack of Maya2015 would have fixed it, so today I asked Autodesk about it.
Here is Autodesk's answer :

Unfortunately these seem not to be fixed as far as I can see from out of the developers documentation.
The cases are still open on the developments side but still no information on when this will be fixed.