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Moving v-ray scenes between 3ds max and sketchup on different workstations

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  • Moving v-ray scenes between 3ds max and sketchup on different workstations

    Hi Peter.Chaushev Zahari.Ivanov svetlozar.draganov summerson1990

    I tagged you in this post because i realize you dealt with issues that may be beneficial to my case after sifting through the forums.

    Ok so here is the problem!

    SUMMARY

    3ds max exports vray scene without embedding the materials/maps into the vrscene file and the model shows up rendered as black when imported in to sketchup on a different workstation than the one the vrscene was created on , but renders fine with sketchup on the same workstation where the vrscene was created.
    NB:I am using the latest version of Vray next on 3ds max and sketchup


    DETAILED STEP BY STEP BREAKDOWN

    I have Vray textured geometry/models in 3ds max format that i wanted to move and use in Sketchup as vrscenes (after reading that vrscene files can be moved across host platforms seamlessly with everything embedded & render perfectly).
    I found that info here: https://www.chaosgroup.com/blog/how-...n-applications

    So on my workstation at the office i exported the models using the vrscene export function in 3ds max, the options selected in dialogue window indicated in the image below.


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    While on the workstation at the office, i imported the vrscenes into sketchup and they rendered and appeared perfectly. So i loaded the vrscenes onto my thumb drive and took them to finish the work on my workstation at home. I imported the vrscenes into skecthup and this is what i got below.


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    As you can see the vrscene vegetation all rendered black. I then looked at the log of the vray frame buffer and noticed that when the render was about to start (vray in sketchup was trying to load maps for the vrscene files from one of my 3ds max map folders on my office workstation) . Notice the image below


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    If i am correct. Vray should not be looking for external assets as the vrscene is meant to be self contained with all the respective assets embedded within it? So to make sure that vray was indeed linking the imported vrscene to external assets, i then created a folder on my home workstation to match exactly where my 3ds max maps are located on my work machine( and i placed the textures in the folder), and hit the render button again... and suprise! That did the trick and the result i got is below:


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    Notice the tree on the left now has the mapping applied properly and is no longer rendering black anymore.(i only copied in the relevant textures for that tree only onto my home PC to mimic location of maps on my office workstation). To test if my conclusion was correct, i created a new sketchup file and placed only the vrscenes i had prepared at he office and they still rendered black.( i did not copy the relevant textures into the replica assets folder as i did for the tree above and sure enough it rendered black). So i took the model along with me to the office where i had already copied the vegetation textures into my 3ds max maps folder(when i was creating the vrscenes in 3ds max). I opened the sketchup model with the vrscenes and sure enough all the trees and shrubs appeared and fully textured, meaning the vrscenes linked to external assets(maps) an were not entirely self contained

    My question is, why the maps were not embedded into the vrscene file because after moving the vrscenes onto a different machine at home, (which does not have the texture maps).... the renders engine rendered the vrscenes black because it could not successfully locate the maps associated with the vrscene file. is this a limitation of the vrscene file or i am getting something wrong...

    Hope my question is clear

    Attached Files

  • #2
    Hello,

    Originally posted by denmuk View Post
    If i am correct. Vray should not be looking for external assets as the vrscene is meant to be self contained with all the respective assets embedded within it?
    External asset files used in a .vrscene are not embedded within its file. Instead, each asset, such as texture image, .vrmesh, or .ies file is simply referenced via its file path.
    Use the "Strip paths" option from the vrscene export menu in V-Ray for 3ds max. This way each asset will be referenced via a relative instead of absolute file path. Next, keep the referenced asset files in the same directory as the .vrscene file itself. When you create a Proxy Scene in V-Ray for SketchUp using this file all of its assets will be successfully auto-resolved.
    Alternatively, you can simply transfer all related assets anywhere you wish and use the V-Ray File Path Editor in SketchUp to repath them manually. For more info about its functionality, please visit https://docs.chaosgroup.com/display/...le+Path+Editor

    Kind regards,
    Peter
    Peter Chaushev
    V-Ray for SketchUp | V-Ray for Rhino | Product Specialist
    www.chaos.com

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    • #3
      Hi Peter.Chaushev

      Much appreciated. Explanation is crystal clear. Will keep that workflow in mind. Hope this helps someone else who may had a similar challenge.

      Regards
      Dennis

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