Topics

1

[C4D] General Discussion / Corona C4D and 3990x

« on: 2020-04-27, 16:53:57 »

Hello folks,

So I've been trying to hunt down users that use Cinema 4D and Corona and are sporting the AMD 3990x CPU. I'm having a hard time finding anyone with that config so I've decided to ask here as well, maybe we'll get lucky :)

The reason why I'm searching for 3990x users is because I am using 2S Xeon 2669v3 CPUs and I'm finding there are some Corona specific issues with either a 2S configuration (2 CPUs on one motherboard), 2x NUMA nodes or a high thread amount (64+). The 3990x is a CPU that I'm eyeing a bit and so I'm wondering if we can get any users to report how things are working for them.

I'm specifically referring to issues like bump maps acting weird on what seems to be 2S / Numa nodes, some threading issues and stuff like that.

So yeah, I'd kindly like to ask so you raise your hand if you are sporting the 3990x :) Would be much appreciated! :)

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[C4D] Bug Reporting / (Daily Build 2020-02-27 & v5) - Huge issue with final frame gamma

« on: 2020-03-30, 15:12:23 »

Hello yet again! :)

So we all know that there is a noticeable gamma difference between the PV and the VFB - this was reported before. The problem however is that the gamma difference can be incredibly different when dealing with contrasty scenes.

In my case, I was rendering out a product viz on a black background and the noticeable difference was HUGE enough so that I couldn't deliver the pre-final preview frames to the client because it just wasn't representative of the frames we did before. The gamma difference was simply too big.

That then begs the question as to how are we supposed to use Corona to render animations and moody / contrasty interiors? You can't use the render queue to save out files because that makes it go through the Picture Viewer which messes up the gamma. You also can't "save" files over night because the saving mechanisms again make it all go through the Picture Viewer which results in... The wrong gamma :)

So right now, if I want my VFB to match my output I literally need to have an alarm clock every 4 hours so that I can save the files and set everything to render from the next angle. If I don't do that, well, I might just send my clients weirder and darker images than what I've got set up in the VFB. And no, if you render in 8 or 16bit (non linear, obviously) there is very little you can do to correct the issue.

The above hopefully illustrates that this is a huge issue. It was reported at least a couple of times throughout the years and if we want to make Corona fully production ready I am definitely of the opinion that this must be fix.

Oh and just to make it clear, there are scenes that render out with a relatively small difference that even a trained eye can hardly spot. Typically, at least thats my impression, those scenes are well lit interiors and the like. As soon as you go for something more dramatic / dark the whole thing falls apart because the gamma just gets really messed up.

Check out the bellow attachments. Overlay them on top of each other and then turn one of the layers off - you'll see its a really big difference. (The product changes a bit because of the IR not properly handling the geometry compared to the final frame (a bug of its own but its workable). I haven't bothered creating another preview but rest assured, even if you delete the model and just leave the background the issue with the gamma is alive and well.)

Hope it helps :)

3

[C4D] Bug Reporting / (Daily Build 2020-02-27 & v5) - Projector Shader doesn't update in the IR

« on: 2020-03-27, 17:49:06 »

Hello...

So yep, the projector shader still isn't fixed. It just doesn't work with the IR - you either loose the texture or it doesn't do anything when you tweak it. Once you restart the IR then it respects the changes.

Connect this issue with the CBitmap and the Transform issue and we effectively can't scale bump maps in Corona :\

OS: Windows 10

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[C4D] Bug Reporting / (Daily Build 2020-02-27 & v5) - CBitmap doesn't work with the layer shader

« on: 2020-03-27, 17:47:07 »

Hello! :))

So this issue one that can totally stand on its own but unfortunately when you combine it with the bump issues it gets even more whacky.

So basically, CBitmap doesn't respect the layer shader transforms which kind of makes CBitmaps impossible to scale - especially so because the projector shader is broken too.

Steps to reproduce:
- Put a tex in a CBitmap
- Put those in a layer
- Try to scale it with the transform effect.

Aaaaand it doesn't work :)

OS: Windows 10

5

[C4D] Bug Reporting / (Daily Build 2020-02-27 & v5) - Up to 50% Ray Reduction when using bump maps

« on: 2020-03-27, 17:44:18 »

Hello yet again! :)

So another really big issue with the bump maps that kind of make Corona not production ready at all :\

Turns out that if you are using bump maps without nesting them in the Corona Bitmap first you get about a 50% speed penalty. As soon as you nest it in a CBitmap then the rays jump back up again.

I'm attaching a quick video illustrating an issue. Do note that the scene is really simple - Imagine getting a speed penalty like this on a scene that needs 4 hours to render :\

Anyway, using the CBitmap by itself isn't a problem but CBitmap doesn't work with the Layer shader and because the Projector shader is broken too (see my other bug reports) you basically _can't_ scale bump maps in Corona for Cinema 4D. I hate to be negative here but thats like... A super basic thing to do.

Tough stuff :(

OS: Windows 10

6

[C4D] Bug Reporting / (Daily Build 2020-02-27 & v5) - Bump Map textures unreliable at different res.

« on: 2020-03-27, 17:36:20 »

Hello! :)

So this is a big one and imho should be at the top of the priority list because it makes bump mapping unusable in production workflows. Imho it is a big oversight that this is in the stable release :\

Anyway, the bump map literally renders differently when rendered in 1k resolution compared to say 6k resolution. The way that the bump effect looks is quite noticeably different.

I'm attaching a quick comparison screenshot.

OS: Windows 10

7

[C4D] Bug Reporting / (Daily Build 2020-02-27) - Triplanar & Mix Strength

« on: 2020-03-27, 17:28:08 »

Hello :)

Turns out that if you put the Triplanar shader directly into any of the material slots and would like to adjust its mix strength the renderer ignores the changes and just fully displays the Triplanar shader.

So basically, you cannot use Mix Strength together with the Triplanar shader.

Haven't tested it in v5 but from what I recall the issue might be present there as well.

OS: Windows 10

8

[Max] General Discussion / Corona Diffuse Material Reflection

« on: 2020-02-09, 17:16:27 »

Hello peeps,

I've got a quick question, not sure if this was discussed before but I'm wondering whether Corona does any sort of rough (non glossy) reflections even when you only have a diffuse channel active.

I'm attaching two screen grabs of a color checker card (Thanks Dubcat :) ). These are by no means scientific and the tonemapping is different in the both of them but it does illustrate what I mean very well.

One color checker card is noticeably brighter, it has this nice rough reflection like property to it. Thats a render from Corona. The other renderer on the other hand, it doesn't have that effect.

So, I guess I'm just wondering, is there perhaps an extra reflection like property that the current Corona material is doing even if reflections are disabled? Maybe its a property of the diffuse model?

Curious to hear your thoughts!

9

[Max] Feature Requests / Animation & Scene Parsing

« on: 2020-02-05, 22:34:46 »

Hello peeps,

So I'm not really sure if this was discussed before or not but was there ever a request to have Corona more animation "friendly" by working on reducing the scene parsing times?

Right now each time a new frame loads you need to go through that same ol, same ol scene parsing calculation phase. While that is in a way to be expected there are other path tracers out there that load the scene just once and so each subsequent frame has like a 99% reduction in parsing times. The other render engine I used that did things this way was a GPU based renderer so I'm not sure if maybe thats a pro of the way they can quickly access things stored in VRAM whereas with CPU rendering that access might be a bit slower :)

With the other renderer scene parsing times were like 30 second for the scene to load but then each next frame only took like 2 seconds to load up and it was already rendering. Now imagine the animation you are working on is 1000 frames long and you can see that we are talking lots of hours of compute time spared :)

I know there are some scene parsing improvements already listed on Trello but I'm not sure if the same thing I'm talking about. Also, sorry if this has been suggested before :)

Any thoughts perhaps?

10

Gallery / Minimalism On a Plate

« on: 2019-10-16, 12:05:47 »

Hey everybody,

Its been a long time since I've shared anything in here so I guess its about time to do that :) Created with Cinema 4D R21 and Corona. Any and all constructive criticism is more than welcome!

Minimalism On A Plate
https://www.behance.net/gallery/86822765/Minimalism-On-a-Plate

Minimalism On A Plate is a personal project designed to both invoke emotion in the viewer and at the same time present the product in a vague, non aggressive way. Sometimes the most obvious is not so obvious. It’s primary purpose is to create delight, evoke inspiration and present.

The set is comprised of a total of four images. On its own each image is different from the other, almost acting as a separate piece. When one combines the images one sees they all successfully form the complete collection. As such, they can either stand on their own or work together.

A lot of effort went into creating each and every image. A seasonal insipiration is present and there are multiple elements hinting at it. The color pallete of rustling warmer leaf tones, the more earthly and slightly weathered materials and last but not least the prop items themselves. This being a fictional project the plate itself is completely designed from scratch. The ceramic consitutition of the plate is painted black on the outside giving it a more commonness like appearance while the inside is decorated with golden nugget like stains which instill its contrasty uniquiness.

Thank you the peaking in! :)

11

[C4D] Bug Reporting / (Daily Build 2019-09-20) & Corona 4 - MB and Interactive Rendering

« on: 2019-09-27, 12:02:10 »

Hello peeps,

Something seems to be wrong with the Motion Blur and the Interactive Renderer.

If you turn on MB and then tweak the corona camera tag settings it stops working and you need to disable and then enable it again in the render settings to update - Otherwise it just doesn't do MB anymore. It literally ignores the fact that MB is turned on.

Seems like a crucial bug that is also present in Corona 4 Hotfix 1. Would be cool to consider another hotfix I guess?

edit:
Windows 10 (1903)
2x 2696v3
2x 2080ti (Latest Studio drivers)

12

[C4D] Bug Reporting / (Daily Build 2019-08-30) VFB keeps resetting after every change

« on: 2019-09-02, 10:04:05 »

Hello :)

So yeah, the IR keeps resetting itself when there is a change in the VFB - be it tonemapping, sharpening or whatever. The 3ds Max version only resets when there are relevant changes to the scene.

Makes for working on tougher interiors quite challenging as everything keeps resetting itself.

Bug hunting! :)

13

[C4D] Bug Reporting / (Corona Renderer 4 for Cinema 4D hf1) Material Override needs restarting of IR

« on: 2019-08-13, 15:28:20 »

Hey everybody,

So from what I can remember the 3ds Max version and its IR functionality respect the enabling / disabling of Material Overrides without needing to actually restart the IR render. C4D doesn't do that and demands a restart - even though the IR refreshes itself.

Not sure if its intended to be like that or not so I'm posting it under the bug reporting section.

Hope that makes sense :)

14

Hardware / GPUs on the Intel Rendering framework

« on: 2019-07-24, 09:53:44 »

I do not consider myself a fan of Intel (nor AMD for that point) but I've just came across this interesting tid bit https://youtu.be/NCh7-Ge7SLs?t=2740. Its Jim Jeffers on

I dislike to speculate but the presenter was fairly specific - Any renderer that works on the Intel Rendering Framework can be accelerated using Intel Xe GPUs. Corona is specifically being mentioned and what is also said is that the code base doesn't need "a lot" of changes.

Seems like an interesting notion. I could be getting it wrong but from what I heard is that any renderer (regardless of the CPU vendor) built on the Intel Rendering Framework (V-Ray, Corona...) will be able to leverage Xe GPUs to accelerate rendering. To quote Jim, "your CPU codebase will be your GPU codebase".

Obviously we don't know anything about Xe GPUs at this point but they are slated to be launched in ~2020 / 2021 afaik.

So yeah, any thoughts peeps? Intriguing stuff unless its going to be just another "CPU for rendering, GPU for denoising" type of an ordeal.

15

[C4D] Bug Reporting / (Daily Build 2019-05-27) Swapping bitmaps doesn't always update the IR

« on: 2019-05-30, 00:01:17 »

Hello team,

This latest release is all sorts of good for me, major props for a good release :) That being said, I'd like to log one regression.

- Create a material, put a bitmap into its diffuse slot
- Run IR
- Change the bitmap to another bitmap
- Try plugging alternating between a couple of bitmaps by replacing the existing ones (like you would when look deving)

At that point you'll probably notice IR stops updating the bitmap textures. The last one plugged in is still visible in the IR even though there is another bitmap plugged in.

You need to stop the IR in order to get the right bitmap to show up.

I have only tested with bitmaps. I'm guessing its probably the same story if you'd put in different shaders (noises etc...).

Hope it helps :)

edit: Windows 10 ;)