Author Topic: Adaptive enviro sampler playground!  (Read 22838 times)

2020-02-21, 10:15:06

maru

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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.
Method 2 (using a single Corona version):
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


« Last Edit: 2020-03-18, 15:32:31 by maru »
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2020-02-21, 10:18:08
Reply #1

maru

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2020-02-21, 10:28:38
Reply #2

88qba88

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https://corona-renderer.com/comparer/rgJJnr

No portals.

Same scene, 10 minute render.
Previous daily vs newest daily build.

2020-02-21, 10:59:17
Reply #3

maru

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https://corona-renderer.com/comparer/rgJJnr

No portals.

Same scene, 10 minute render.
Previous daily vs newest daily build.

Are you sure that this is correctly tested? Did you just switch from V5 to the daily build? Honestly I would not expect such huge improvement, but if it really helped so much - great! :)
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2020-02-21, 11:19:15
Reply #4

romullus

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Honestly I would not expect such huge improvement, but if it really helped so much - great! :)

The improvement is real. Here's my test from older topic. V6 without portals renders as clean as V5 with portals. Great job guys!


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2020-02-21, 11:28:34
Reply #5

maru

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Awesome! Here it is in the comparer tool:
https://corona-renderer.com/comparer/8BgP8C
Marcin Miodek | chaos-corona.com
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2020-02-21, 11:33:33
Reply #6

88qba88

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https://corona-renderer.com/comparer/rgJJnr

No portals.

Same scene, 10 minute render.
Previous daily vs newest daily build.

Are you sure that this is correctly tested? Did you just switch from V5 to the daily build? Honestly I would not expect such huge improvement, but if it really helped so much - great! :)

I'm sure, same scene, test done this morning. Results are spectacular, I agree!
I made this scene this morning in previous daily build (2020-02-17) and rendered - 10 minutes. Then I installed newest daily (2020-03-20) and rerendered the scene. I made no changes at all. It was same scene and settings, the time was limited to 10 minutes in both tests.

PS. Car is corona proxy. For the floor and walls I used materials from new Corona Material Library.

2020-02-21, 11:40:49
Reply #7

maru

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I'm sure, same scene, test done this morning. Results are spectacular, I agree!

Thanks for clarifying. That's amazing!
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2020-02-21, 12:09:13
Reply #8

smadiswelem

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in old scenes when we using a new sampler should we remove the portals?

2020-02-21, 13:29:36
Reply #9

maru

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in old scenes when we using a new sampler should we remove the portals?
You don't have to worry about them. With the new sampler, you don't have to use portals. There may be still some edge cases where a scene with portals will render slightly better than without them (with the new sampler), but the difference won't be as dramatic as with the old sampler.
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2020-02-21, 13:45:42
Reply #10

pokoy

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That definitely looks impressive, great job!

2020-02-21, 14:12:31
Reply #11

romullus

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I rendered the above scene in V6 with portals and results where even cleaner, but as maru said, the difference isn't dramatic - not worth a hassle with portals in new scenes.
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2020-02-21, 16:08:44
Reply #12

maru

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I rendered the above scene in V6 with portals and results where even cleaner, but as maru said, the difference isn't dramatic - not worth a hassle with portals in new scenes.
Exactly. The idea is that you will get much cleaner results without the need to cap every hole in the scene.
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2020-02-21, 16:42:28
Reply #13

ArchSpideR

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to use the new method of calculating light without portals, you need to switch to " Normaldep Compensated"?

2020-02-21, 17:02:10
Reply #14

romullus

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No, enviroment sampler should be set to adaptive sampler. It should be set like this by default, even when you open older scenes. Normaldep compensated is an older sampler.
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2020-02-21, 17:04:16
Reply #15

ArchSpideR

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2020-02-21, 18:44:23
Reply #16

Fluss

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Those results are really promising! V6 will be huge, keep up the good work guys

2020-02-22, 06:07:46
Reply #17

Njen

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Holy crap, this new adaptive sample is blowing the previous one out of the water. I have only done one test on a small image for now, but the results are night and day. In the example 10 minute render below, v5 got to 8.46% noise level. the v6 daily got down to 0.43% noise level! FYI, the black areas are a hold out I setup to speed up rendering.

Also not to mention the speed ups in the geometry stage. This is insane, my renders are going to be so much damn faster. I am very impressed.

2020-02-22, 09:58:55
Reply #18

romullus

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Njen, your results are puzzling me - noise level reports insane improvement, but visually V6 looks even noisier than V5
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2020-02-22, 10:14:47
Reply #19

Njen

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Yeah, I'm now finding that my earlier excitement is probably overstated too much. I mean, I think it is an improvement, just not to the extent I was reacting to before.

In the images below, the first image is a previous frame I rendered on one of my Threadrippers. I then rendered the same frame on my workstation (my render boxes are tied up currently). I still see a fair amount of noise in the new adaptive sampler. Is noise being calculated differently now?

I should have put this info in the images:
01 - v5
02 and 03 - v6 daily
« Last Edit: 2020-02-22, 10:46:18 by Njen »

2020-02-22, 11:25:16
Reply #20

LorenzoS

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Hi all,
this is my first comparison in scene with hdr as exterior light and interior lights.
10 mitutes times calculation.

The new solver has less noise but seem to lose reflection in material and givre brownish color.
I prefer the old solver in that case.
 

2020-02-22, 13:40:07
Reply #21

maru

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Yeah, I'm now finding that my earlier excitement is probably overstated too much. I mean, I think it is an improvement, just not to the extent I was reacting to before.
It is possible that noise level is just calculated differently in v5 and v6.
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2020-02-22, 14:22:23
Reply #22

romullus

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@LorenzoS, does your old scene has portals? In previous versions Corona has a "bug" where sometime portals were significantly changing scene lighting. See my old topic on this: https://forum.corona-renderer.com/index.php?topic=26466.0 This was fixed in the latest build, so it could be this. AFAIK if you compare the same scene rendered in V5 without portals and in V6 without portals, they should be virtually identical, appart from the noise level. If that's not the case, i suggest to provide the scene to the support team for investigation.
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2020-02-22, 14:40:19
Reply #23

LorenzoS

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hi romulus,
no portals on my scene.
I did the test with Corona version: 6 (DailyBuild Feb 20 2020) for both images.
I did "new_solver.jpg" using "adaptive sampler" on system setting.
I did "old_solver.jpg" using "NormalDep Compensated" on system setting.

But i don't know if this is the correct approach.

2020-02-22, 15:41:19
Reply #24

romullus

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According to maru, your approach is correct. If the only thing that you've changed, was enviroment solver, then i don't think that such difference is considered normal. Let's wait and see if support team will want the scene for investigation.
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2020-02-22, 16:19:11
Reply #25

agentdark45

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While the devs are looking at the new environment sampler can they please take a look at getting environment overrides working properly? The current implementation is unusable with HDRI's which produce insane amounts of fireflies and involves tedious workarounds.
Vray who?

2020-02-24, 02:48:42
Reply #26

LuckyFox

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While I can not show my example, but I must say am impressed by the new sampler and how it cleans the interior faster. Well done!

2020-02-24, 11:15:36
Reply #27

rowmanns

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hi romulus,
no portals on my scene.
I did the test with Corona version: 6 (DailyBuild Feb 20 2020) for both images.
I did "new_solver.jpg" using "adaptive sampler" on system setting.
I did "old_solver.jpg" using "NormalDep Compensated" on system setting.

But i don't know if this is the correct approach.

Hi Lorenzo,

This is the correct approach. Please would you be able to share your scene with us? We can look into the issue with reflections.

Rowan
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2020-02-24, 11:30:28
Reply #28

LorenzoS

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Hi rowmanns,
ok i will share the scene, only for staff i recommend.
Quote
We can look into the issue with reflections.
looking better i think it's not only a iussue with reflection but a iussue with light calculation (see the upper left area on the wall, the shadow/light in the new solver image is lost).

Please can yuo give the link for upload?

thanks

2020-02-24, 11:41:26
Reply #29

rowmanns

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Hi rowmanns,
ok i will share the scene, only for staff i recommend.
Quote
We can look into the issue with reflections.
looking better i think it's not only a iussue with reflection but a iussue with light calculation (see the upper left area on the wall, the shadow/light in the new solver image is lost).

Please can yuo give the link for upload?

thanks

Hi Lorenzo,

Thanks for agreeing to send the scene, we will keep it confidential. The link to upload it is here: https://corona-renderer.com/upload

Please let me know the name of the file.

Rowan
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2020-02-24, 11:58:04
Reply #30

LorenzoS

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Hi rowmanns,
i am uploading the file "test_r2020.zip" using your alternative  uploader dropbox, the file is 400MB.
in half an hour i think will finish.

2020-02-24, 12:49:18
Reply #31

rowmanns

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Thanks, I have the file. We will investigate.

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2020-02-24, 16:32:51
Reply #32

LorenzoS

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Quote
(Internal ID=468671689)

we can check the evolution with that ID or verify if will be solved?

2020-02-24, 17:09:53
Reply #33

maru

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Quote
(Internal ID=468671689)

we can check the evolution with that ID or verify if will be solved?

That's our internal tracker, accessible only to Corona staff. But we will notify you about any news. Promise!
Marcin Miodek | chaos-corona.com
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2020-02-24, 18:30:06
Reply #34

LorenzoS

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Quote
That's our internal tracker, accessible only to Corona staff. But we will notify you about any news. Promise!
Thank you maru.


Hi rowmanns,
i hope this can help the staff:
- if you use coronabitmap for the hdri the problem disappears, the new solver work as expected and better tha the old one
- using the stadard bitmap as hdri you had to set it as enviromet and mapped "spherical envioment", also in this case the problem disappears, the new solver work as expected and better tha the old one


2020-02-24, 20:44:10
Reply #35

romullus

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- using the stadard bitmap as hdri you had to set it as enviromet and mapped "spherical envioment", also in this case the problem disappears, the new solver work as expected and better tha the old one

Hm, but that's the only correct way to use HDRI map in enviroment. If you're using any other than spherical mapping, then you're getting incorrect results, no matter what solver or renderer is used.
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2020-02-24, 20:52:29
Reply #36

LorenzoS

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you are rigth romullus,
the misundestandig was that i am using the same condition and i expected same result, but evidently is not so linear.

2020-02-25, 09:17:58
Reply #37

maru

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In our internal tests I unplugged the environment map from render setup > scene and plugged it into the 3ds Max environment slot (8 key). As far as I remember, it was a Corona Bitmap, and it rendered identically with the new and old sampler in terms of lighting and brightness, and the new sampler gave better quality (less noise) as expected.
As Romullus explained, setting a bitmap to spherical mapping is the only way to make it work correctly as environment lighting.
The difference is that any Corona Bitmap will be automatically interpreted as spherical by default when it's used as environment, and a 3ds Max bitmap can use whatever setting you enable, even UVW mapping.
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2020-02-25, 09:55:33
Reply #38

LorenzoS

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Yes maru, I did other tests with the correct setting of the hdri and everything works correctly

2020-02-28, 15:19:13
Reply #39

enrico.lapponi

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First test, with daylight, using the new Adaptive Sampler! There are definitely major improvements! Both images are rendered with Corona 6, I just changed the Environment Sampler, render time 10 mins.
With the new sampler, the noise level reaches a lower amount with fewer samples and it seems to bring more light inside. There are some fireflies, mainly in the shadows areas (under the coffee table and the sofa), that are not visible with the old sampler (NormalDep Compensated).
3D Artist / R&D Manager @ State of Art in Venice, Italy

2020-03-02, 11:04:47
Reply #40

rowmanns

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First test, with daylight, using the new Adaptive Sampler! There are definitely major improvements! Both images are rendered with Corona 6, I just changed the Environment Sampler, render time 10 mins.
With the new sampler, the noise level reaches a lower amount with fewer samples and it seems to bring more light inside. There are some fireflies, mainly in the shadows areas (under the coffee table and the sofa), that are not visible with the old sampler (NormalDep Compensated).
Hi,

Thanks for testing out the new sampler, would you be able to send over your scene? We want to look into the cause of the fireflies.

Cheers,

Rowan
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2020-03-02, 12:21:45
Reply #41

enrico.lapponi

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Sure, no problem!
I'm uploading the scene through Dropbox, the name of the file is "corona_v06_20022020_adaptive_sampler.zip"
Cheers,

Enrico
3D Artist / R&D Manager @ State of Art in Venice, Italy

2020-03-17, 13:34:36
Reply #42

rowmanns

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Sure, no problem!
I'm uploading the scene through Dropbox, the name of the file is "corona_v06_20022020_adaptive_sampler.zip"
Cheers,

Enrico

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2020-03-18, 15:33:44
Reply #43

maru

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Update: method 2 is not valid any more. The only solution is to use 2 separate versions of Corona (5 and the newest 6 daily). I have also added a guide how to quickly swap between two versions in the original post (this: https://coronarenderer.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/12000066819)
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2020-04-17, 10:31:44
Reply #44

rowmanns

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First test, with daylight, using the new Adaptive Sampler! There are definitely major improvements! Both images are rendered with Corona 6, I just changed the Environment Sampler, render time 10 mins.
With the new sampler, the noise level reaches a lower amount with fewer samples and it seems to bring more light inside. There are some fireflies, mainly in the shadows areas (under the coffee table and the sofa), that are not visible with the old sampler (NormalDep Compensated).
Hi,

The fireflies were fixed in the latest DB (2020-04-16). Please let me know if you still experience the issue.

Rowan
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2020-05-26, 01:56:39
Reply #45

cecofuli

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Hello,

this is a very simple scene, but v5.0 with Portal is much, much better...
I also reset all parameters, but the result is the same. Noise is more evident and fireflies everywhere...
Corona Sky (Hosek) + Corona Sun
1 minute render time with an i7 970.



« Last Edit: 2020-05-26, 02:04:47 by cecofuli »

2020-05-26, 10:03:33
Reply #46

tallbox

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Hello,

this is a very simple scene, but v5.0 with Portal is much, much better...
I also reset all parameters, but the result is the same. Noise is more evident and fireflies everywhere...
Corona Sky (Hosek) + Corona Sun
1 minute render time with an i7 970.


We have the same observations with the latest delay build, on top of the random crashes and freezes.
Architectural Visualizations / Deep work practitioner
https://www.tallboxdesign.com

2020-05-26, 13:39:54
Reply #47

rowmanns

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Hi,

Thanks, we will look into this!

Rowan

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2020-06-08, 07:53:51
Reply #48

cecofuli

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2020-06-30, 04:04:42
Reply #49

cecofuli

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Hello,

here my new test with DB 18 June, with 5 minutes rendering time (i7 970 six cores)
I know that 4K Cache is under optimization =) but, why not to test it?
So, we can compared the improvements.

---------------------
(*) CoronaSun + CoronaSky (v5.0)
(*) CoronaMtl light gray
---------------------


(*) v5.0 + Portal has the best quality (less noise and no fireflies).

(*) v6.0 + UHD has some fireflies. NL is a bit higher.

(*) v6.0 + 4K has absurd Precomp time (x25 times = 2 seconds vs 50 seconds).
(*) v6.0 + 4K has very strange noise under the balcony.
(*) v6.0 + 4K has  some fireflies as with UHD Cache.
(*) v6.0 + 4K has the higher noise level.


2020-06-30, 10:09:00
Reply #50

romullus

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Why is the colours so much different in 4K version? Did you use new sky model? Can you repeat the test with same sky model, or HDRI? Maybe also include PT+PT version for comparison?
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2020-06-30, 15:22:04
Reply #51

maru

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Just a heads-up @cecofuli: in the upcoming daily build we will have new optimized 4K Cache (including some fixes based on your reports), so we will re-do the tests and see how it compares. As usual, you are welcome to conduct your own tests, and send us your scenes for investigation.
Thanks! :)
Marcin Miodek | chaos-corona.com
3D Support Team Lead - Corona | contact us

2020-06-30, 15:44:49
Reply #52

cecofuli

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Hello romullus,

--- CORONA SKY (v5.0) ---

I used the old v5.0 Sky & Sun, since I wanted to compare v5 and v6.
I did a lot of test this morning with v6.0 and:

(*) PT and UHD give me the same exact result (except for the noise, obviously).
(*) 4K is very different (as lighting) from PT and UHD Cache.
(*) 4K produces strange noise under the balcony.
(*) 4K is very slow!





--- HDRI VERSION ---

I also tried CoronaSky + CoronaSun vs HDRI.
Here you see the HDRI version:

(*) PT and UHD give me the same exact result (except for the noise, obviously).
(*) 4K is very different (as lighting) from PT and UHD Cache.
(*) 4K doesn't produce any strange noise and the fireflies are much less (good).
(*) 4K is very slow!

So, I think that something is wrong in the 4K Cache + CoronaSky/Sun









2020-06-30, 15:46:52
Reply #53

cecofuli

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maru:

I think Rowan has the source file =)
« Last Edit: 2020-06-30, 16:26:07 by cecofuli »

2020-07-22, 12:19:53
Reply #54

cecofuli

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Ok, I installed the new DB (21 July) and nothing changed :/ ...

4K Cache is still super slow compared to UHD Cache in this simple scene. With my I7 970, 4K is x14/15 times slower.

To make 4K faster as UHD Cache, I need to change the 4K Quality to 0.1.




Also, I still see different lighting in the scene I posted here. Using 4K Cache, the interior is darker. With PT+PT or PT+UHD Cache I can get the same, identical result.

2020-07-22, 13:07:53
Reply #55

Ryuu

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Thanks for the testing. We're still tweaking and optimizing the 4K cache, it should be much better in next build.

2020-07-23, 07:04:27
Reply #56

cecofuli

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Hello, Ryuu,
yes, 4K needs optimization.
Could you try exactly with this scene (the corridor you see in my previous message)?
I installed the new DB (21 July) to my 1 year old laptop. It's an i7 8750H (six cores). It's 2.5X faster than one of my old desktop PC (i7 970- six cores too).
In fact, I have almost zero seconds "Precomp time" using UHD Cache and 6-7 seconds with 4K Cache, when I had 15 seconds with my i7 970 using 4K and only 1 second with UHD  (exactly 2.5X slower).
In IR, with laptop, I have 1 FPS with 4K and 10 (yes, 10!) FPS with UHD Cache.
So, I think something is wrong in the 4K Cache.

Obviously, with a 64 CPU core, 4K cache will be super fast, but that' not the point  ^__^


« Last Edit: 2020-07-23, 07:13:50 by cecofuli »

2020-07-23, 09:52:26
Reply #57

rowmanns

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Hi cecofuli,

Thanks for the scene, we are already aware of this issue and we are investigating a fix for it.

Cheers,

Rowan

Please read this before reporting bugs: How to report issues to us!
Send me your scene!

2020-07-23, 09:56:46
Reply #58

cecofuli

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Thank  you Rowan =)

Here another test I did.
The more RGB white color, the slower the 4K Cache Precomp time.


2020-07-30, 10:43:59
Reply #59

cecofuli

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2023-03-16, 16:14:21
Reply #60

brr

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Hello.

sorry for ressurecting this old thread. Actually, I looked for 4K cache playground thread but did not found it and choosed this one, because we have a lot UHD/4K cache comparisons here.

I need to post some interesting results.
Recently I made a project where I had to render 360 degree and classical images as a first step and then as next step make bake to texture for webGL and found that:

- 4K Cache looks better when doing classic and 360 degree renderings, BUT while texture baking it produces very often splotches and light leaks.
- UHD Cache looks worser than 4K Cache (some sort of splotchy effect on non well lit areas sometimes) for classic and 360 degree renderings, BUT it looks clean while texture baking !

The splotchy and light leaks results of 4k Cache is more even with lower output resolutions, where each light leak and splotch got blurred (Lower output resolutions is often the case if the project goes to webGL and must be optimized for lowend devices).

While doing renderings and bakes the project was already optimized for optimal texture baking and webGL: unseen polygons got deleted, but lightcage (completely black environment box was used).
Terminator fix is also active for this project, because some NURBS->MOI3D models were used, otherwise got shading artifacts on them.

Anyone have same experience ?

Please, look at my attachments

I can also prepare a stripped version of this scene if devs need it.

« Last Edit: 2023-03-16, 21:34:37 by brr »