OCS and POE Tweet

[pfrancke]

I'm only at the beginning stages of learning this, so please forgive my ignorance. I've done a fast read of the plugin manual.

If I'm in the plugin, I can select a material and export it to a file. And I can import same. Such an item is a .poe file (something that I saw for the first time today). In Octane StandAlone, I can save nodes (and effectively materials) by creating .ocs files.

How can I import into the plugin a node or collection of nodes that were used in the standalone (ocs files)? Or to ask the question in a more brutal way... is there any way that I access the materials that I have already built and collected without re-downloading them from octane live in the plugin?

It's been a long day for me, I ended up buying Poser Pro 2012 and spent most of the day getting the library to work. Then finally I get to play with the plugin and I start to realize that I don't know how to access stand-alone materials (OCS files).

Also, a funny thing happens when I hit return on LiveOctane trying to download a material. Sometimes it sets the Poser Animation on and then I have to stop that before the Octane Window works for me again..

Grumpy, but trying... Piet

[face_off]

Hi Piet

My understanding is the an OCS is an entire Octane scene - and loading such a scene into Poser would not be a valid operation.

How can I import into the plugin a node or collection of nodes that were used in the standalone (ocs files)?

You cannot - the plugin does not read ocs files. Also - I do not understand how you could match the materials in the ocs file with the materials in the Poser scene - since they will most likely have different names.

is there any way that I access the materials that I have already built and collected without re-downloading them from octane live in the plugin?

What sort of materials are you referring to? For skin materials - the recommendation is to use the default skin material node system generated when the plugin converts a scene, or make up your own (http://poserphysics.blogspot.com/2012/11/octanerender-sss-skin-shader.html), then save the material collection and reload it when you next need a skin shader. For skin materials - you can also copy one skin material and paste it to all other skin materials with a single mouse click.

For non-skin materials, again, the starting point is the automatic material conversion - and you can replace an entire material from the LiveDB.

The power of the copy/paste and import/export is that you can do all of these functions and still keep the original texturemaps. This sort of workflow would not possible if you imported a material from an ocs.

So in summary, whilst there might be initially a small investment creating some materials that you have previously saved in OCS, the faster workflow of copy, paste, import, export, etc should payback this investment many times over.

If there are a large number of people requesting this import functionality, I will look at it. But so far I think yours is only the second request for it.

How many materials are you wanting to import from ocs?

Also, a funny thing happens when I hit return on LiveOctane trying to download a material. Sometimes it sets the Poser Animation on and then I have to stop that before the Octane Window works for me again..

I have noticed this too - and it happens with PoserPhysics and a bunch of other python scripts too. The Poser GUI is somehow picking up an "enter" from the dialog.

Paul

[pfrancke]

EGADS -- I am more tired than I thought. I meant OCM, not OCS. Within Octane I can select one or more of a group of nodes and save them as an OCM (a Macro I think). Then I can bring that group in anytime I want and connect them where ever I wish. For instance in the past I have downloaded a collection of LiveDB glass material nodes, and I grouped them and saved them as an OCM on my hard drive. Then reloading them on a different scene is simple, because I can just load and connect them as I wish.

I hear what you are saying though... I can build a collection as needed by using OctaneLive and doing the export/import. I need to jump more fully into the waters and forget about the comfort (small though it is) that I have developed with the Octane interface.

But for the user a little familiar with Octane StandAlone, being able to read OCM files that could contain a material composed of multiple other materials is a cool thing. You could use StandAlone to develop materials, Import them as needed into plugin material slot as needed (the name shouldn't matter, since you are overlaying it over an existing node - else how could you share materials between different models where they likely have different names).

While the plugin and stand-alone share the strength of an Octane render, The plugin is nice because you can easily position lights and objects (Pose if you will) -- and your scattering/instancing technology, But a remaining stand-alone function that is superior is the ability to easily create and test materials. That is why it would be nice to import (or input) an OCM file. Stand-alone after all was how all those nice LiveDB materials were developed!!!!

By the way, I've got a dollar that says the LiveDB materials are simply OCM files that exist on an Otoy server vs my hard drive. So really what I'm asking for is the ability to import a material from my drive the same as you can from LiveDB... I don't think the LiveDB materials are in the POE format (unless POE and OCM are identical except by name - I'll have to rename an OCM to POE and see what happens).

[face_off]

By the way, I've got a dollar that says the LiveDB materials are simply OCM files that exist on an Otoy server vs my hard drive. So really what I'm asking for is the ability to import a material from my drive the same as you can from LiveDB... I don't think the LiveDB materials are in the POE format (unless POE and OCM are identical except by name -

Ahhh, if it were that simple OCM is xml. Whereas LiveDB presents the plugin with actual Octane nodes - so the plugin simply plugs those nodes into the existing material plug for the geometry. From the plugin's point of view, an OCM file, and a LiveDB download are quite different.

I will submit a feature request to Otoy to enable the loading of OCM files into Octane, and presenting the actual nodes to the plugin. That would facilitate your requirement.

I'll have to rename an OCM to POE and see what happens).

They are different formats, so the result will not be good

Paul

[mlru]

I will submit a feature request to Otoy to enable the loading of OCM files into Octane, and presenting the actual nodes to the plugin. That would facilitate your requirement.
Paul

I think, it would be really cool if the plug-in could read - and write - OCMs.
Would make working with both, the stand-alone and the plug-in, so much smoother.

I'm not always working with Poser - but i usually always render in Octane.
So - having exchangeable materials would be a huge step in compatibility.
Uwe