OctaneRender for Modo (OS X) 1.55 [OBSOLETE]

[face_off]

I have updated the installer at the top of this thread with:

1.50.0.48
- Compiled against Octane 1.50
- Added Octane Camera option to use the Modo focus distance to set the Octane focus distance, and the Modo Fstop to set the Octane aperture
- Removed non-material LiveDB items from the downloadable LiveDb Presets archive (LiveDbPresets.zip)
- Fixed issue where moving a LivDb Octane Override prior to the workspace having been created was displaying a warning message
- IMPORTANT: Fixed issue where adding an Octane Override for a material in a subgroup of a material group was converting the wrong Modo material tag
- Initiating the plugin no longer flags the current scene as "changed", so if you exit Modo without making other changes, you will no longer be asked if you want to save the scene
- Added "Exporting Octane Scene...Pls Wait" message when exporting to OCS or ORBX
- IMPORTANT: Substantial reworking of the geometry loading system, so a mesh will only be loaded once, and shared between all the replicators and instances which use it. This has resulted in a faster load time, and reduces polygon count, but live updating is not working correctly yet. This has also fixed many issues related to ticking Incl Child Items on replicators. It also means replicators with a Group prototype now work.
- Plugin will now not load into any Modo build prior to Modo701 SP4.
- Changed the world of the warning given when you close the scene that is currently being rendered.
- Updated "About" graphic
- The progress dialog is now closed after you download the LiveDb materials via the plugin
- The shortcut downdrop to select the render camera has moved from the Octane Camera panel to the Octane Kernel panel, since changing the camera in the Camera panel was not updating the camera properties
- Saving default settings for the Kernel and Camera can now be done via a new button on the Kernel and Camera panels. I will implement the loading of these defaults in the next release. Defaults are saved to MyDocuments\Octane Defaults

Next on the list is a few animation improvements, proxy mesh support, loading of defaults and material conversion tweaks.

Paul

[riggles]

Very happy to see Groups working for replicators. Very. Do you think that MODO's Variation Texture control will be supported, or is there an Octane equivalent? Not sure if particle support would be required first. I need some way of controlling variation among materials/replicators.

A couple test-builds ago, some render controls were moved out of the setup window into it's own window that follows the Preview window around. It's…well, kind of clunky at the moment. Doesn't refresh properly, jitters between the bottom left corner of the screen and the Preview location when it's being moved, and just kind of sticks out like a weird attachment. Would you consider keeping those controls in the setup window (perhaps where it was, or below the schematic view and above the render/GPU info form) until it can be kept in the same physical window as the Preview? I can add it to the setup myself, but as soon as I reopen the Preview window, it force-loads that control box anyway.

I like the idea of controlling play/pause/stop from the preview, but until it feels and looks right, I think I'd prefer it being where it was. I may be the minority, though. Besides, if I'm rendering, I'm typically working on materials—which requires me to have the setup window open as well. I don't often find myself with just the preview render open.

[riggles]

I also like the Save as Default feature addition. Is it possible to add a custom location to Octane's preference menu? That way we can decide where we want this folder to reside?

[riggles]

I'm getting some crashes in 1.50.0.48 when adjusting the MODO camera focus point. The preview is paused, but MODO still quits unexpectedly.

[face_off]

I'm getting some crashes in 1.50.0.48 when adjusting the MODO camera focus point. The preview is paused, but MODO still quits unexpectedly.

I have one scene that also crashes when you change the Modo FStop (in fact, it crashes even when the plugin is disabled). I thought it was an issue with just that scene - but clearly not - I will investigate this.

I also like the Save as Default feature addition. Is it possible to add a custom location to Octane's preference menu? That way we can decide where we want this folder to reside?

I can do this, but it's probably much lower in priority than many other fixes/enhancements, so won't be quick - sorry.

Paul

[riggles]

I'm getting pretty consistent crashes when changing using the color picker in the setup window. I don't' recall, do you say this was being fixed in 801?

[face_off]

I'm getting pretty consistent crashes when changing using the color picker in the setup window. I don't' recall, do you say this was being fixed in 801?

I'll check this out today.

Paul

[face_off]

I'm getting pretty consistent crashes when changing using the color picker in the setup window. I don't' recall, do you say this was being fixed in 801?

I've had a good look at this now. It's only happening on OSX (not Windows), so it's either something specific to the OSX version of Modo (the color panel in particular), or related to the Viewport implementation on OSX (since the rest of the plugin code is the same as the Windows version). When I trap the crash in XCode, it gives absolutely no indication where the crash occurred.

It also seems that the crash only happens if you are clicking the color swatch - dragging to color circle doesn't seems to cause it. And clicking rapidly causes the crash to occur more frequently than if clicking slowly. I suspect if you click once every few seconds, it wont crash at all.

I will need to put some more effect into this over the next few days. Sorry there is not an easy fix I can give you now.

Paul

[face_off]

I finally have a fix for the color picker crash. It will be included in the next release (hopefully later today).

Paul

[face_off]

I have refreshed the installer at the top of this thread with:

1.50.0.49
- Fixed crash when changing colors in the Modo color picker
- Fixed a number of bugs with "Save as Preset". THe Viewport must also be CLOSED in order to enable Save as Preset.
- Implemented "default" settings for kernel, camera and environment panel properties. Click the "Save Settings as Defaults" in these panels to set the default state that will next be used when adding new items of this type, or opening new scenes.
- Fixed crash that occurred using the Mesh Paint Instance tool with Instance ticked whilst the Viewport is open
- Fixed issue where creating a new scene whilst the Viewprt was open would cause the Viewport to refresh and clear all materials.
- Fixed error popping when the Viewport is open and you change a Modo image property which is not in a material group
- KNOWN ISSUE: If you close the LAST scene in Modo (ie. there is only one scene open, and you close it) with the OctaneRender Setup panel CLOSED, Modo my crash when you create a new scene and add an Octane Override. This is a known Modo bug, which TheFoundry have fixd in the next release of Modo.
- Rectified an issue where invalid LiveDb preview images which are not available (ie. are an 'X') where saving incorrectly with the Preset. You will need to re-download the Preset ZIP file for this to take effect.
- Added new Preferences option to turn OFF the automatic opening of the OctaneRender Setup panel when you CREATE a material
- Focus Pick now works if you slightly move the mouse (up to 5 pixels) whilst the mouse button is pressed. This is to assist tablet users with focus picking.
* I have had a report from a user than set the Octane Aperture to the Modo FStop was crashing Modo. Has anyone else had this? Would be interested if anyone gets it with this release.

Paul