vray default render presets issue

[yolov]

Yep, those are my settings.
I just set the values (image sampler, min subdivs 2, max subdivs 12, and so on) and then Presets > Export Render Settings.
I guess you do it in the same way?

[doppelgaengerdigital]

exactly, I do it the same way.

[yolov]

Can you try if exporting presets for another renderer works?

[SonyBoy]

This is a related issue I ran into recently -- presets saved as .json files cannot be loaded when Maya's legacy render layers are set as the preferred layer system.

A lot of places still use the legacy layers for their simplicity. So this seems like quite a large oversight.

[doppelgaengerdigital]

Sorry for the delay. I tried with Arnold and the presets loads on startup, as expected. I can loas presets from the menu in Arnold, but not with vray.

[yolov]

Hey, we tried a few different things here, but with no luck.
The only other suggestion I can make is - try and delete your prefs folder and see if that helps. Something is preventing Maya from writing out a correct file (the problem is the export, not the import).
1. To do that, on Windows, go to C:\Users\username\Documents\maya\2020\.
2. Make sure you make a backup copy of the prefs folder!
3. Delete the prefs folder in C:\Users\username\Documents\maya\2020\.
4. Start Maya, when prompted, click 'create default preferences'.
5. Try exporting a new preset and see if it imports correctly.

After that you can move your backup prefs back, so you don't lose preferences.

This will at least confirm it a prefs issue is preventing the proper export. If we can confirm this - we could start digging at the prefs to see where the problem is and suggest a solution.

[doppelgaengerdigital]

I deleted my prefs and exporting seems to have worked. But only once.
When I export with new Maya prefs it's fine. As soon as I edit my preferences to my likings and save them, exporting fails again.
Auto loading my settings on startup is not working at all.

[yolov]

Alright, that's some progress.
Can you tell me what you changed?
Can you zip your preferences in a state that's not working and send them over?

[doppelgaengerdigital]

I didn't change much.
I zipped the prefs for you.

Tested with yesterdays build for Maya 2022 and there it seems to work. Both import and export.

Thank you for investigating!

[yolov]

Does this mean that 2022 has no issue - both for importing presets manually and for adding a startup preset?
At the same time - for 2020 - does importing manually work now?
And again for 2020 - when the startup preset fail, do you get a # Warning: The default node 'vraySettings' does not exist # in the script editor ?

Thanks in advance.

[doppelgaengerdigital]

Maya 2022:
export render settings works
import manually works
Setting preferred settings fails

with 576 lines of error code: # Warning: The default node 'vraySettings' does not exist #

Maya 2020.4:
Export render settings fails
importing presets from 2022 works, but with warnings (I guess this is because of difference from v5.0.xx to 5.1.xx)

# Warning: The default node 'vraySettings' does not have attribute 'causticsSearchDistancePixels' #
# Warning: The default node 'vraySettings' does not have attribute 'dmcMinSubdivsGpuBucket' #
# Warning: The default node 'vraySettings' does not have attribute 'causticsSearchDistanceUnits' #
# Warning: The default node 'vraySettings' does not have attribute 'gpuLightCache' #
# Warning: The default node 'vraySettings' does not have attribute 'dmcMaxSubdivsGpuBucket' #
# Warning: The default node 'vraySettings' does not have attribute 'rtUpdate_caustics' #
# Warning: The default node 'vraySettings' does not have attribute 'globopt_tex_useMayaAlphaDetection' #

manually loading preset files fails
Setting preferred settings fails


I attached the script editor code right after startup from 2020.4 and 2022.
Preferred Render setting is set, but not loaded.

[yolov]

Alright, thanks.
So it seems that something in the prefs breaks manual import, I just couldn't find where on my end.

The preferred preset seems to be a separate issue and I've logged it for the developers.

[yolov]

Hey everyone,

We were able to find the problem and we have a fix for both issues (export of JSON preset is broken + setting a preferred default preset doesn't work).
The fix is already in the latest stable 5.1.2 builds (version 5.10.20) which are available to all existing users and it will also be included in our next official update.

Thanks to everyone who joined the discussion and helped us track this annoying bug down! We really appreciate it!

[doppelgaengerdigital]

Yeah! Great to hear!
Thank you!