Correct irradiance map setting for render farm output?

[SonyBoy]

Which irradiance map baking solution should I use for rendering just the GI on a render farm?

I'm assuming I need to choose a type that will output a separate file for each frame calculated since individual render nodes cannot be writing to the same single file simultaneously.

Is Single Frame the only approach that will work in this scenario?

[SonyBoy]

... and actually to partially answer my own question, it seems that "Animation (Prepass)" is the setting I want to OUTPUT the file sequence. However, I've never been able to figure out how to read this back in for image rendering, since "From File" or "Animation (Rendering)" -- the only two settings that enable the field to read a vrmap file in -- both seem to ignore the frame number on the vrmap file.

Why isn't there better documentation to explain how this works?

[Svetlozar Draganov]

Which irradiance map baking solution should I use for rendering just the GI on a render farm?

I'm assuming I need to choose a type that will output a separate file for each frame calculated since individual render nodes cannot be writing to the same single file simultaneously.

Is Single Frame the only approach that will work in this scenario?

The Irradiance Map mode depends from the animation type, there are different approaches for fly-through animations and animations with moving objects.
Baking to a single file is possible when rendering trough V-Ray DR, if each frame is rendered on a separate machine it is necessary to bake to a separate files.

... and actually to partially answer my own question, it seems that "Animation (Prepass)" is the setting I want to OUTPUT the file sequence. However, I've never been able to figure out how to read this back in for image rendering, since "From File" or "Animation (Rendering)" -- the only two settings that enable the field to read a vrmap file in -- both seem to ignore the frame number on the vrmap file.

Why isn't there better documentation to explain how this works?

Animation(Prepass) mode cache files could be only rendered with Animation(Rendering) mode, those two go hand in hand.
The Animation(Rendering) mode ignores the frame number of purpose because it loads it from the timeline, don't worry that the frame number is not shown at the cache file path it will be loaded correctly.

There are a lot of information and tutorials abut IM and rendering different type of animations with IM, please check the links bellow:

https://docs.chaosgroup.com/display/...e+Map+Settings
https://docs.chaosgroup.com/display/...ough+Animation
https://docs.chaosgroup.com/display/...ing+Objects+II

[SonyBoy]

Thanks. I would then like to suggest that this section of the Irradiance Mapping UI be updated to clearly indicate that the vrmap frame extension is being read correctly. This is very unintuitive compared to Vray's normal highly intuitive workflow.

Also, you do realize this is the Vray for Maya forum, right? And those are all links to docs in the 3DS Max forum, and are tutorials for that application. Whether or not the steps outlined can also apply to Maya, I would expect to find full documentation for Vray for Maya containing the same information.

[Svetlozar Draganov]

The links are from 3dsMax help-page that is correct, I posted those because they are fully applicable in V-Ray for Maya as well.
The documentation page evolves every day, the whole tutorials section will be re-written from scratch and unified for all 3D platforms.

Regarding the Irradiance Map > Animation Rendering mode where the frame extension is not present in the filename, what would be your suggestion for improving the documentation and why do you think it is currently unintuitive compare to the other intuitive workflow you are talking about?

[SonyBoy]

Vray for Maya has been around for several years now -- why is it taking so long to create documentation for this application specifically? This should have been finished by now, surely.

It's unintuitive that the frame extension is not present for several reasons:

1) You don't have proper documentation for this workflow (see above)

2) In most other places in Maya, where a frame extension is relevant either the frame extension shows in the load field and updates dynamically with the current time (such as with animated texture maps), there is a "Use frame extension" checkbox (also as with animated textures), or both, or there is something such as an XML file (such as with geometry caching) that is loaded instead of the sequence itself.

3) When loading the baked vrmap sequence, the field shows the specific numbered vrmap file as being the file being read, not the unextended/truncated file name, i.e. it shows my_GI.001.vrmap, instead of my_GI, my_GI# or my_GI.###.vrmap. This is confusing.

4) Currently the baking feature outputs a vrmap sequence with the WRONG NAMING CONVENTION. The prepass mode currently outputs files as my_GI###.vrmap. Note that there is no period between the file name and the frame extension. But the Animation (Rendering) mode requires the file format to be my_GI.###.vrmap. With a period. Only through trial and error did I discover this, and after renaming files by hand the first time (tedious), I found that it was necessary to input two periods manually in the file name field before baking in order to get the right file name output into the vrmap sequence.

All in all, this creates a perfect storm of inadequate information and broken features that make it extremely difficult to learn the correct procedure for baking out IM maps.

[Svetlozar Draganov]

Documentation of V-Ray for Maya is available since the initial release of V-Ray for Maya a few years ago, it is up-to-date documentation which is revisited with each release of the product.
The documentation between V-Ray for 3dsMax and Maya is pretty much the same, there are some very small discrepancies caused by the nature of the 3dsMax and Maya.

The tutorials section of both docs is not the same, that is correct and like I mentioned in the previous post we are currently working on that matter. All tutorials will be removed and replaced with new ones which will be available for each product. As a temporary solution until the new tutorials comes out you may use the tutorials from 3dsMax help since those are perfectly applicable in V-Ray for Maya.

The documentation after all is not the only place where you can get a help about the product. We do our best to improve it constantly but no matter how perfect and intuitive it is there will be always questions about something, that's why we have multiple support channels like Forums, Email, Phone.

All the things you've reported will be added into our system and it will be fixed for future versions of the product. Please feel free to contact us immediately if something in the docs is not intuitive and you have difficulties to understand how it works. You feedback is also very valuable so we will be happy if you could report all the things you consider as unintuitive and need better explanation.

[Svetlozar Draganov]

I think I need more cooperation regarding the name-convention you are talking about.

I've just performed the following two tests.

1.bake Animation(prepass) mode of IM with name "im..vrmap"
Here how this looks like in the UI:
And here how the exported filenames looks like:

2.Then I changed the filename to "im.vrmap":
UI: filenames:


Both filename types are loaded and rendered correctly and the result is identical.
Would you please give me more information what exactly happened into your environment when the filename type is "somefile.vrmap"?
Can you send me an example scene with the setup including the exported cache files and the log file from the rendering for investigation?

Looking forward to hearing from you.