Texture reference object breaking displacement normals with deforming meshes & VRayTriplanar (5.20.00)

[rhys_dippie]

With a mesh using a displacement map textured with a VRayTriplanar, adding a texture reference object to allow the texture to stick to the deforming mesh "breaks" the normals of the object and it does not render correctly when using displacement. It appears that once creating the texture reference object, the object reverts back to using its pre-displaced normals rather than the displaced ones.

I noticed in the release notes of 5.20.00 that work was done on the "fixing" the Triplanar with texture reference objects... well, this might have broken in the process.

We will have to revert back to an earlier build of VRay until this is fixed.

[rhys_dippie]

Just to be clear, it doesn't really have anything to do with deforming meshes as such -- just adding a texture reference object with a VRayTriplanar is the problem.

[hermit.crab]

It seems to work fine on my end. We're talking about the "Reference transform" space mode and you've plugged the reference object's matrix into the slot, correct? Are you rendering with CPU or GPU? Could you attach the scene and texture here so we can take a look?

[SonyBoy]

I really don't want to ask what that object is

This is a long shot, but do you have a lot of history on this object? I've seen problems with TRO's on objects that have a lot of upstream history on them in the past. If so try cleaning up history as much as you can before creating the TRO.

[rhys_dippie]

It seems to work fine on my end. We're talking about the "Reference transform" space mode and you've plugged the reference object's matrix into the slot, correct? Are you rendering with CPU or GPU? Could you attach the scene and texture here so we can take a look?

Thanks for your reply.

No, I am not talking about the "Reference transform" space mode as that doesn't allow for deforming geometry.

I am referring to the maya native "Create Texture Reference Object" found in the 'Texturing' menu (see attached image). This is what is used to create a reference shape for texture projections (such as the VRayTriplanar) to stick to deforming meshes, and has worked fine up until 5.20.00. We are rendering with CPU.

It is simple to reproduce:
- Create object
- Assign object to a VRayDisplacement set
- In the VRayDisplacement set, plug a VRayTriplanar into the displacement material slot
- assign an image to the VRayTriplanar
- render
- render appears correct.

Now:
- select object
- Create Texture Reference Object
- render
- you will see that the normals now are being set to the pre-displaced normals

You can add a normals render element for more clarity if you wish.

I have attached the sample scene here. Render that scene (which has the texture reference object already created), and then delete the texture reference object and render again. You will then see how the render is supposed to look.


As I mentioned earlier, this line is in the changelog for 5.20.00:
(*) VRayTriplanarTex: Fixed VRayTriplanarTex texture not following surface deformation even with a reference mesh specified;
For what it's worth, we were not experiencing any issues with the VRayTriplanarTex not following surface deformation in version 5.10.22 so don't quite know what this is referring to, but either way, unfortunately in the process this has been broken.



Thanks for the suggestion SonyBoy, but no, history is not an issue here: it is simply a skinned cylinder with no history.

[hermit.crab]

I understand now. This might be a limitation by design, but we need to check. I've notified the developers to confirm. I'll write back with additional information.

[geoff_3d]

Hello,

Is there an update about this? I see that 5.20.01 is out, but see nothing in the release notes about it.

[geoff_3d]

Is it possible to confirm that it is indeed an accepted bug? Would like to know if we are going to be able to update at some stage...

[geoff_3d]

An update would be very much appreciated.

[hermit.crab]

An update would be very much appreciated.

Excuse the late reply. Just so you know, the issue has been logged (internal bug-tracker id: VMAYA-11086) for developer analysis.

[dougWilkinson]

hi hermit.crab
we're running into this issue as well.
would it be possible to get an update? or alternatively, is it better to email support and give them this bug number so that I can follow along that way?
thankyou!

[geoff_3d]

This bug is STILL present in 5.20.02 (the latest build available).

This thread was started mid December, 2021.

When can we expect it to be resolved?

We can't move beyond 5.10.22 until this is fixed.

[hermit.crab]

We cannot pinpoint a specific time. However, I've notified the project manager about the need to prioritize this issue's fix.

[flat]

It's June 2024 and the problem is still not resolved,

Pref Coord Space is available in ARNOLD's Triplaner.
Please implement it in V-Ray as well. (also in 3ds Max version)

[hermit.crab]

It's June 2024 and the problem is still not resolved,

The particular issue with Texture references is already fixed (tested latest official V-Ray for Maya release).

Pref Coord Space is available in ARNOLD's Triplaner.
Please implement it in V-Ray as well. (also in 3ds Max version)

Could you clarify?