VRay Shadow Map

[flat]

wishes for the implement of the VRayShadowMap.

It was used when the quality of shadowing was not requested in 3dsMax.
(Simple soft shadowing)

The shadow map uses also by Maya.

Thanx

[bigbossfr]

Hi,
Any new about this ?

I have a lot of questions.
I will have a new project, and it is an "interior scene". So, like you know, interior scene is very difficult with sampling (there is a lot of noise in shadow for example).

The plan is to separate statics objects with moving objects.
On static objects, i will bake an irradiance map with "use camera path".
My question is : if we have VRayShadowMap, i bake the VRayShadowMap on one frame, do the render will be more faster than a "normal render" (with no VRayShadowMap ) ?
Will i have less grain (on directs lights)?

Where is the shadow map saved ? (to render Fly-through on multiple computers)

If yes, it can speed up a lot of the render time on static scene...

Is it hard to implement this on Maya ? (if i can use this feature on this new project....)

Thank you.

[vlado]

My question is : if we have VRayShadowMap, i bake the VRayShadowMap on one frame, do the render will be more faster than a "normal render" (with no VRayShadowMap)?

It can be expected that it will be somewhat faster in exchange for increased RAM usage.

Will i have less grain (on directs lights)?

I'm not sure; depends on what caused the grain in the first place (the shadows, or the lighting itself).

Where is the shadow map saved ? (to render Fly-through on multiple computers)

In the current 3ds Max implementation, the map is stored in RAM and filled in as it is needed. It functions as sort of a shadow cache - there is no separate shadow map prepass. When rendering an animation, subsequent frames just use the same cache as previous frames provided that 3ds Max is not closed in between the frames.

Is it hard to implement this on Maya ? (if i can use this feature on this new project....)

It requires a certain amount of coding. It is on the "to do" list, but we have some other things to complete before we get to this.

Best regards,
Vlado

[bigbossfr]

In the current 3ds Max implementation, the map is stored in RAM and filled in as it is needed. It functions as sort of a shadow cache - there is no separate shadow map prepass. When rendering an animation, subsequent frames just use the same cache as previous frames provided that 3ds Max is not closed in between the frames.

Best regards,
Vlado

Is it not possible to add this cache on a file ?
Because on a render farm, we can not use this cache because we have multiple computers.

[vlado]

Is it not possible to add this cache on a file?

It is maybe possible, but we haven't implemented it this way for the moment.

Best regards,
Vlado

[dougWilkinson]

I have been wondering about vrayshadowmap and hair rendering. (or grass, fur, etc) in mRay i've used detail shadow maps to get really nice looking hair shadows that render super fast. can someone use this type of workflow with vrayshadow maps?

if that technique works, it might mean we get much faster hair/fur/grass rendering. (with the limitations that come with the shadow map, of course)

[vlado]

The VRayShadowMap was originaly developed specifically for hair, so it works well for that.

Best regards,
Vlado