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[Max] Daily Builds / Adaptive enviro sampler playground!
« on: 2020-02-21, 10:15:06 »The newest daily build of Corona Renderer (20.02.2020) features a new adaptive environment sampler, which is enabled by default. It greatly improves image quality in areas where direct environment lighting is visible and should remove the need for portals in most scenes:
- The difference is mostly visible when using an HDRI for environment lighting.
- There is also a difference when using Corona Sun+Sky, mostly in cases where the sun is not the main source of scene illumination (if strong sunlight shines into the room through a window, the improvement probably won't be that visible).
- When using a solid color for the environment lighting, there will be no difference.
Generally, this does not improve rendering scenes with Sun+Sky or solid color environment, because those are already greatly optimized.
To compare the new and old enviro sampler:
Method 1 (using two Corona versions):
1. Render your original scene using Corona Renderer 5 - https://corona-renderer.com/download - this will give you an image with the old enviro sampler
2. Install the newest daily build - https://coronarenderer.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/5000570015
3. Render the same scene using this newest daily build - this will give you an image with the new enviro sampler
Do not change any render settings between the two renderings!
Update: the below Method 2 is not valid any more, because in the latest daily builds of Corona Renderer 6, portals are completely ignored by the Corona core.
1. Install the newest daily build - https://coronarenderer.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/5000570015
2. Open your original scene
3. Render - this will give you an image with the new enviro sampler
4. Go to the "Development / Experimental Stuff" rollout - https://coronarenderer.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/12000021288
5. Under "Lights" switch "Enviro sampler" from "Adaptive sampler" to "NormalDep Compensated"
6. Render your image - this will give you an image with the old enviro sampler
Do not change any other render settings between the two renderings!
Note 1: the tests can be repeated with and without portals used in your scene.
Note 2: it makes most sense to compare renderings using the time limit - e.g. rendering the same scene with 10 minutes time limit with the old and new sampler.
Note 3: to quickly switch between two versions of Corona, or even launch two 3ds Max instances running different Corona versions at the same time, you can use this simple trick: https://coronarenderer.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/12000066819
