Proxy node

[gah5118]

It would be great to see a universal proxy node that can be used for any other node for the use of grouping.

example would be, lets say you have 8 shader groups but you want to use the same material for 3 of those groups. You can hook the proxy to them to easily access all at once and change material quickly. This can also be used for many other things of course.

idea came about because I'm experimenting with some parts and changing out the materials back and forth. I dont want to put them on the same shader group in the case that i would want to use a different material for that part.

[t_3]

... why not use a macro? IMO it does exactly that...

edit: if you want to keep different nodes for the parts that may share the same material but maybe also won't (because you want to decide that later), you need to simply create a new material node (or macro) and connect it to one or more nodes of the mesh object. the only thing to take care of is, that you lose the original material settings of a mesh node at the moment you connect another material node to it because even if you disconnect it later, the original settings are gone.

i don't think "proxy" is the right word for whatever you want to achieve, because it is well known for vray - and does completly other things there...

[matej]

I really don't understand this feature request. What is a "shader group" and what is a "material" in the case you are explaining?

[gah5118]

when exporting from Maya, the shader groups are represented, not the materials. At least in name. ignore this. I will try to give better clarity. lets say you have a model that has 15 parts that you want to assign materials to. however, there are 2 sets of 5 that you want to be the same material. you can pull the nodes from those into the proxy node to group them. from there you can assign your material to the proxy which sends it down to the 5 its connected to. but lets say you want to change the material. normally you would have to reconnect the 5 to the new material (5 click and drags). with a proxy node, you just need to do 1 click and drag. for now i have been using material mix node, and this works well. especially when i want to compare two materials. however what if you want to do something else like assign the same value to multiple nodes. again a proxy can be set to all of these nodes and connect a value to the proxy that would assign it to all.

I am sure there are many other ways to use this type of node and can speed up node assignment and experimentation.

proxy is the correct word for this since this node will act between any other in its place.
prox·y
   [prok-see] Show IPA
noun, plural prox·ies.
1.
the agency, function, or power of a person authorized to act as the deputy or substitute for another.
2.
the person so authorized; substitute; agent.
3.
a written authorization empowering another person to vote or act for the signer, as at a meeting of stockholders.
4.
an ally or confederate who can be relied upon to speak or act in one's behalf.

[steveps3]

If you have 5 parts that you want to have the same material then simply give them all the same material. Sounds simply enough to me.

[t_3]

... a substitute the like. i still will not call it a proxy - just because of vray and the special (and different!) meaning it has there

but as i wrote: use a macro material node! then create your material(s) inside the macro node and that's it. you can place unlimited materials, other macros, etc.pp. inside the macro and connect one after the other to the output and switch how much you like and how often you like (not just 2 like with a mix material). as there are also input pins available to the macro, you can additinally place misc. controlling parameters at the "root level" of your scene.

it's all there, just with another name - and a little different handling from what you know from maya. as with every renderer/3d package octane has it's own workflow approach, but if you get used to it you'll find it pretty flexible and intuitive (for most parts).

maybe have a look at that: http://www.refractivesoftware.com/forum ... =21&t=7566
macros are covered in the last tutorial vid...

[gabrielefx]

another case is:

I have 100 objects that have 100 different materials

Total 100 material slots

Now in Octane I want to assign only 2 materials. I have to do 100 connections...50+50
That's why I can't select single name objects inside my obj and assign one material or select multiple inputs with click+shift and then link the material to the selected connections.

[matej]

You would have to connect those two materials to your 100 slots at-least once in any case. You create a material macro, connect it to 50 slots and when you want to change your material, you change the settings in the macro.

Or you create multiple macros inside your material macro (which output is connected to the 50 slots) and then switch materials inside that macro. That's it - "proxy node".

[t_3]

another case is:

I have 100 objects that have 100 different materials

Total 100 material slots

Now in Octane I want to assign only 2 materials. I have to do 100 connections...50+50
That's why I can't select single name objects inside my obj and assign one material or select multiple inputs with click+shift and then link the material to the selected connections.

...and this is only related to the userinterface and the way it works. of course there is always room for improvement, but you won't find a single way how to do things, that will satisfy everyone. of course the octane ui is not the ideal enviroment to handle big scenes with a lot of different objects and/or materials, but for such projects you'll need a very different approach from what there currently is. and currently it is imo very straight forward; means easy & intuitive - what is good for everyone who starts with octane.

but as refractive/3d party developers are working on plugins to integrate octanerender into the hosts directly (via their new sdk programme), this will also result in a material workflow that will be adopted to the host ones. ideally, future octanerender plugins for those hosts will blend into the material workflow like e.g. vray for max (or even better ;)...

[gah5118]

defidently cant wait for direct integration.... but in argument to using material macro, i do a lot of sharing parts of materials between others. when a macro is used (at least to my knowledge) you have to go inside of the macro which isolates it from using elements from other parts without having to save out and reimport. this would take a lot of time and is aggravating.

it would be nice to see a new "in-between" aka proxy node. again this isnt just for the materials them selves, it could be used for variables or anything to quickly link inputs/outputs. free ice cream for everyone! as far as no one way to approach the interface, true... this just adds to the flexibility and possibilities.