Messages

31

[ARCHICAD] Feature Requests / Re: Autosave during render at intervals and Save as CXR from ArchiCAD dialog

« on: 2019-01-06, 10:47:00 »

Thanks for your response, Jan.
And no worries about the time it took. I know you guys are quite busy hard at work with the plugin and we appreciate all the effort you're putting to it.

I'm quite happy to rely on the VFB entirely and completely for my final renders if the aforementioned issues are sorted out. But this does beg another question.
Since you can clone the rendered image from the VFB to an ArchiCAD image tab (the way you can do in 3ds Max) would the possibility exist to do it within the VFB interface (i.e. just the flat image and not all the rendered elements or layers)?

If not, it's not a big problem or major concern like the other issues I mentioned.
The Autosave in particular would be really fantastic because ArchiCAD as you know has a fantastic autosave capability that allows you to recover the file from your last command before any crash (which doesn't happen often) so it would fit in nicely with that from the rendering workflow.

Once again thanks for the response and all the efforts.

32

[ARCHICAD] Feature Requests / Re: Corona proxy

« on: 2018-12-31, 02:18:17 »

When it's ready, probably.

(sorry.
That's an old software developer's joke.
It's rare you'll ever find a developer give you any date on which to expect a build to be released.)

33

[ARCHICAD] Feature Requests / Re: CoronaLight

« on: 2018-12-30, 04:15:31 »

I don't think the light select and lightmixer features are working correctly in the current version yet.

You can still use Lightmix and add individual lights , but chances are you're going to experience issues like crashing and freezing and such until they sort all the issues out.

34

[ARCHICAD] Feature Requests / Re: Corona proxy

« on: 2018-12-30, 04:13:42 »

The Corona  proxy feature in the current build is not working correctly and the developers are aware of the issues.

They already fixed it for the build version so it should be working correctly in the next alpha build they release.

35

[ARCHICAD] Resolved Feature Requests / Re: Rendering progress - passes

« on: 2018-12-28, 23:59:20 »

I believe you can see them if you render through Corona's VFB and switch to the stats tab.

But yes, you're right.
It would be great to be able to see them when you render through ArchiCAD's interface as well with an expanded progress bar like in 3ds max (also showing pre-calculation and Energy calculation stages).

The VFB still has problems with image aspect ratio and image size, and keeping ArchiCAD's 2-point perspective so it's not the best to use for a final render.
But at the same time you can't save out passes or CXR format from ArchiCAD's interface either like you can with the VFB - and you also don't have access to the Lightmixer panel.

36

[ARCHICAD] Feature Requests / Autosave during render at intervals and Save as CXR from ArchiCAD dialog

« on: 2018-12-16, 22:05:56 »

Okay this is a two-part request, of issues that are partially related, and which admittedly might be fixed or somewhat sorted by the next Alpha build release.


The first is the ability to have the renderer autosave (either the cxr orimage file format) at pre-selected intervals or pass numbers (whichever option you choose to render by) for the renders that take really long time, and also to pre-empt any crashes or program freezes by ArchiCAD itself.
Since cxr files can be reloaded and the renders resumed, this would be an invaluable feature for those mornings you wake up and find that the computer crashed or froze when it had about 30 minutes let to go to complete the render and you've lost everything.
I believe Maxwell renderer had this feature and ability and it saved my bacon on more than a few occasions.

The second (which is the one I think might have been sorted), is the ability to save the final result as cxr from the ArchiCAD save as dialog when you render straight through the ArchiCAD render setting rather than Corona's VFB.
Currently the only way to render the image and keep the pre-selected image size and aspect ratio is through the ArchiCAD render dialog and not the VFB which either distorts the image for images that have ArchiCAD's 2-point perspective turned on or with which you have to stretch the window and "guess" the image size.

Naturally I would prefer to do the render straight from Corona's VFB since that gives me all the options and benefits of Corona with the interactive adjustmens of tone-mapping and whatnot and also saving out render elements as separate layers, Lightmix and most importantly saving as CXR which allows on to continue to edit the image in Corona's image editor.
But until the 2-point camera perspective issue and the image size issue is sorted, we have to render through ArchiCAD's dialog to keep the same image size, but that does't give you the option to save as CXR (Which I assume would them allow me to access the render element layers from Corona's image editor).

It's possible one or both of these issues have been sorted out already in which case disregard, but otherwise they would be greatly helpful - especially for a progressive renderer like Corona.

Oh, and one other thing:-

In 3ds Max it's possible to clone the VFB image into a 3ds Max image buffer and that's also useful in a lot of ways that people use the renders.
I'm not sure if this ability would be possible with Corona's VFB onto an ArchiCAD 'image tab' but that would also be useful particuarly if the VFB issues I mentioned above were fixed, but also in helping evaluate changes between different settings as we're working along.
This one might be more complicated  I admit, but if there's any possibility it would be greatly useful

37

[ARCHICAD] Feature Requests / Re: Initial thoughts, requests and general observations

« on: 2018-12-11, 21:17:08 »

That sounds fantastic.

I look forward to the next build's release.

38

[ARCHICAD] Feature Requests / Re: Initial thoughts, requests and general observations

« on: 2018-12-03, 22:27:51 »

Hi Jan.


You can get the ArchiCAD archive file (.pla - so it has all the libraries) and the Corona proxies (.cgeo) in the compressed file downloadable at the Google drive link below


https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sKcYzYMfxoQiARuXJuHnbZmOI_h4Nm8T/view?usp=sharing

It's set up to the view with the proxies and also zoomed to them in the floor plan so it should be easy to find them.


I just tested it again and the same thing happens:-
The proxies are rendered all in the same position and moving them or placing new ones at different locations makes no difference.

I don't know if it's my system or my installation but I can't seem to get them to work correctly.

I have previously been able to render the same view with the same proxies from 3ds Max with the correct output

39

[ARCHICAD] Resolved Bugs / Re: stop button

« on: 2018-11-23, 23:05:42 »

Yes it's a bug and I've encountered it as well.

I think it has to do with the engine hanging while it's unloading the model from memory (sort of, the reverse of "parsing the scene")
In my case it's been more frequent when my system in general is running low on memory or the ArchiCAD scene/project file is relatively large (RAM-size usage-wise)

40

[ARCHICAD] Feature Requests / Re: Camera Clipping Plane

« on: 2018-11-23, 18:43:51 »

If I understand him correctly (sorry for being the official/unofficial request interpreter for the forum, again), I think he means or meant a 'Slice' plane object like exists in 3ds Max - either as a modifier for 3ds Max proper, or as a separate render-time only object (like VRay has)

Corona in 3ds Max doesn't have this feature either, so it's doubtful it could be implemented here for ArchiCAD before it shows up in that program's plugin.

I believe (but may be wrong) that it's already been requested as a wishlist feature for the Corona 3ds Max plugin for future versions, so I'd pay attention to see if and when it shows up there in any upcoming version first, before showing up in the ArchiCAD plugin.
Just my opinion.

41

[ARCHICAD] Resolved Bugs / Re: Is .exr file supported?

« on: 2018-11-23, 08:01:04 »

EXR format works fine for me here.

If I had to guess, I would say it's because you have that file in a folder that's labelled with Chinese characters and that sometimes causes problems for certain programs.
Try moving the EXR file to a different folder labelled in English and see if it works.

42

[ARCHICAD] Feature Requests / Re: Light Intensity Value at Infobox

« on: 2018-11-21, 20:11:54 »

I think he means this (below) ArchiCAD's standard Infobox bar at the top with properties for any selected element.

ArchiCAD's Infobox already has an "intensity" control for any light object as you can see, but I don't believe it's related or connected to the one you have for the Corona light when you click on the actual light and open the properties dialog box, since your "Intensity" control is in real world values (Lumens, Candelas, watts, etc) while the ArchiCAD one on the infobox is just a gradation of percentage (out of 100%).

If I understand him correctly, he would like to be able to control the Corona light directly from ArchiCAD's infobox (without using the standard (%) intensity control, but instead using the Corona Intensity value control but not having to open the properties dialog.

Does that make sense?

43

[ARCHICAD] Feature Requests / Re: Initial thoughts, requests and general observations

« on: 2018-11-21, 19:50:48 »

Thanks for your update and feedback, Jan.
Looking forward to the updated release.

And following up on my list from before, some additional issues I've been able to pick up with some more testing - some of which you may already be aware of but just to let other also be aware of them as well.

Proxies.

I was finally able to get around to testing this, and while it's great to find out that I can (potentially) use Corona proxy files saved from 3ds Max (I have a large library of pre-saved trees and shrubs and heavy geometry objects that I frequently use), they are still for the most part right now functionally unusable since the plugin always places the proxy object in the exact same spot regardless of where you actually physically place it in your scene or even if you try to move it or resize it or anything.

Seems like a definite bug.

On the plus side, it seems like the proxies are brought in come with the materials and textures saved in 3ds max (as far as I can tell, which is admittedly a bit hard given the bug) - which, if accurate is something that would be a time-saver given how hard it would be to have to re-map them all over again.

I could be wrong though.

Lights.

This isn't an issue as much as it is a question.
If I correctly understood your initial follow-up post to my original comment, are you saying that the plugin can actually natively render the ArchiCAD lights (i.e the lights themselves and not just the lamp material as an emitter material)?

Once again, thank you so much for all the work you guys are putting into this and your general responsiveness.
Great plugin and great program overall!

44

[ARCHICAD] Feature Requests / Re: Material presets

« on: 2018-11-19, 18:56:39 »

If I may chime in, IMHO a Material Library such as the one you have in 3ds Max would be a great stand-in or placeholder for a full-blown material editor or wizard (which, I imagine would require quite a bit more coding), just as a start.

Something that allows people to select from the base materials you have in the library and then swap out texture maps, for example, in places that necessitate it.

If I remember correctly, the Maxwell folks went through quite a few iterations and versions of their plugin before they ended up with the material wizard, so it's not something that I would have expected right off the bat.

But having a Material library with base sample materials would be a great start to working with and/or creating high-quality Corona materials, so this is definitely a worthwhile idea.

I use the 3ds Max Corona material library all the time now, and just adjust where necessary and I would predict that many ArchiCAD users would end up doing the same with a similar library in ArchiCAD.

45

[ARCHICAD] Feature Requests / Initial thoughts, requests and general observations

« on: 2018-11-17, 07:45:16 »

Okay so I've done a few tests with the plugin so far and I have quite a number of thoughts, request and suggestions, so I decided to group them all in one thread instead of splitting into separate threads.
I hope this isn't a problem or an issue and if so, let me know and I'll split them up.
I placed them into sub-categories to help organize my thinking.

Cameras : -

- I don't know if this is a bug or just a feature to be added or resolved later on, but Corona doesn't seem to recognise ArchiCAD's "camera-straightening" (2 point perspective option) command to straighten views, and a fix for this would be great. (unless  I missed the setting somewhere in which case disregard this)
Alternatively, you could go the 3ds Max route and way of doing this by making camera-straightening a value or checkbox you select of click in the Corona render-settings panel under "Camera" (like the 3ds Max Camera modifier that allows you to do this)

- Somewhat related to that, the ability of the VFB or render window to stick to the image size settings in the ArchiCAD's render settings panel to keep the size consistent with the ArchiCAD 3d Window if we need to composite the Corona render with a Sketch render, for example.
At least, the ability to lock the image aspect ratio to be the same or linked to ArchiCAD's value and to stick that way.
I don't know if this is related to the camera specifically, but I just stuck it here.

- I don't know if this one would be possible in this version of the plugin but the ability to hide objects or make objects invisible to the camera in Corona through a value in the object setting or a render-panel setting, would also be immensely useful.
In 3ds Max it's in the object's properties where you make it invisible to GI, I believe. A similar-type capability in ArchiCAD would also be useful in some situations.


Lights:-

- IES files and values for Corona lights or at least the ability to control the light geometry values ( radius of light spread, etc)

- Portal light option particularly for the rectangular light option to use in Windows  or openings (if this speeds up renders instead of using environment lighting)

- Grouping Lights to allow control as a single element in the LightMix option so we don't end up with 100 lights to turn on or off.
How this would work is a bit hard to explain now since ArchiCAD does not have instancing of objects like 3DS Max (not that that helps there either), buteven if we set it that if we grouped a bunch of lights they show up as a single element in the LightMix set-out, that in itself would be a HUGE help in controlling the light(s).


Materials:-

- A copy/paste capability to copy material values from the material tabs (like reflection/refraction/bump etc from the glass material) to paste on other materials

- Possibility of an AO (Ambient Occlusion)  material to select or create in the material editor and use in the Render Elements set-out for post-processing.
It could also work in the same way as the Material over-ride setting to render as a separate image if the Render Elements option isn't viable.

I thought of Wire or Edge Texture material too, but this one isn't as important since it's possible to just composite with a sketch render from ArchiCAD's sketch-renderer.
However the ability to composite a Wire-render in Corona's image editor can't be discounted either.

- Material Wizard that allows one to build materials from scratch from a template of basic commonly used architectural materials (Metal/Wood/Concrete/Painted surface/Glass/Emitter/ <- could be more and each has a sub-category like for example, "Wood" would have "matte" or "Glossy", Floor tiles, etc just like the Corona Library in 3ds Max) and then adjust the individual values from there to fit the scene materials).

Alternatively instead of building from scratch select an ArchiCAD material - either from the ArchiCAD library or one you had built before - and have the option to replace the Corona values with a material from the Material wizard template but keeping the textures and maps. mapping values and sizes, etc. (so choose ArchiCAD floor material -> select "Wood" Template from the Material wizard with basic template of floor tiles, and it replaces the reflection values for glossy or mat floors, and the option to replace the diffuse texture and bump/displacement values or keep the basic maps you had).

This would allow a lot of customization and flexibility while leaning on pre-selected core values that keep the output result very professional looking, instead of the
stereotypical 'amateur renderer CGI repeated mapping' look.



General Settings :-

- I don't know why ArchiCAD itself doesn't have this capability in any of it's render engine options, but the ability to shoot off a batch render and set of views to render in sequence (while you go to sleep or go for lunch or coffee) would be great.
It could work through the ArchiCAD's View Map where you select views and save them with the render settings (including image size, environment settings and whatnot) and then you could just specify where to save the rendered views when each is done.
Super-useful.

- I haven't had the opportunity to test it with proxies, but I'd be curios to find out if it's possible to work with proxies and proxy files created in another program (3ds Max)

Otherwise this is a great job so far guys.
It performs as expected; is surprisingly stable (for an "alpha" version); very versatile with tons of room for potential and growth.
I haven't had any issues so far, with quite a few bunch of tests done, (fingers-crossed/ knock on wood) and  I can't commend you guys enough.

If I get any other ideas or thoughts or issues, I will post later.