OTOY Forums

Hi,

can you tell us when the material saving function will work. Also, will it be possible to import materials from other plugins, such as some of the great SSS materials that where created for the poser plugin

3dmania wrote:Hi,

can you tell us when the material saving function will work. Also, will it be possible to import materials from other plugins, such as some of the great SSS materials that where created for the poser plugin

first point: i wish i could - but whatever eta i'd tell you now would be pure guessing. i don't think we talk about months but rather weeks; i just 'am sure it is not a few days only - sorry!

btw, just in case you don't know this workaround: you might save things into an otherwise empty scene and merge it back; means if you are done, delete all contents, all materials, render settings, environments you don't want to keep and save it. you can then merge that scene into other scenes you are creating; and may extend it whenever needed. if you save it using the content manager, you can even apply it by dropping it into another scene currently worked on.

second point: material (or other nodes) exchange depends on otoy; they are currently working on it (and don't give an eta too ) - means when done, you will be able to exchange stuff with any other plugin and the standalone also using .ocm files.

for the daz plugin there will be a browser for these files; allowing to group mats (by maintaining a folder structure on disk), of course with sorting, filters and search functions, plus using preview thumbnails (like with the live db) so it should be very comfortable to save/load .ocm files. since this is all disk based, it will work with .ocm files from whatever source. it will also allow to create the mentioned preview thumbnails for all .ocm files in a folder structure.

note: since .ocm import/export is finally in the works (and saving mats still not ready in my plugin), i'm currently thinking about putting that together; means to save user presets not into the plugins own databases, but just as .ocm files. this might be a much superior solution as it would of course allow to use saved preset mats (render settings, environments, maybe even cameras) with other plugins or the standalone right away, without the need to explicitly export them. since the daz plugin needs additional metadata specific to it (like nodegraph visibility and position, and other things for future features), it will need to keep them in addition, but that should be no problem in general and should not interfere with other plugins...

t_3 wrote:...
note: since .ocm import/export is finally in the works (and saving mats still not ready in my plugin), i'm currently thinking about putting that together; means to save user presets not into the plugins own databases, but just as .ocm files. this might be a much superior solution as it would of course allow to use saved preset mats (render settings, environments, maybe even cameras) with other plugins or the standalone right away, without the need to explicitly export them. since the daz plugin needs additional metadata specific to it (like nodegraph visibility and position, and other things for future features), it will need to keep them in addition, but that should be no problem in general and should not interfere with other plugins...

I think this would be a great, functional workaround solution. Just have a more or less universal /ocm format for materials etc...that is readable by all plugins & standalone. Any app-specific info could ride along as sectioned metadata that is only used by the app that needs it & ignored by the rest. Simple is beautiful (now where have I heard that before? )

the reload from disk function seems to only work the first time I try it. After that I can see the render restart if i update the texture externally, but the render doesn't update the texture. If I click reload from disk a second time, it acts as if it will update (refreshes render view) but it's still the wrong texture.

larsmidnatt wrote:the reload from disk function seems to only work the first time I try it. After that I can see the render restart if i update the texture externally, but the render doesn't update the texture. If I click reload from disk a second time, it acts as if it will update (refreshes render view) but it's still the wrong texture.

Confirmed...Just tried it myself, Seems to reload the unaltered image from the deep dark recess of its `memory`



T_3,

Linked to the `Sphere` / mat issue?

@larsmidnatt & orion_uk: please check this here out to resolve this issue - last point:
http://render.otoy.com/forum/viewtopic. ... 57#p140257

Worked a charm, Thanks t_3 ...And thanks larsmidnatt

thanks all for the help.

Another thing I am noticing is that the render viewport isn't updating the materials even when you are adjusting them in the OR tab. For example change a bump setting, or just change the diffuse from black to white and you won't see the change reflected. I have to restart to get it to show the changes. This has been happening on different files, and typically only takes me editing materials a few times before the issue shows up.

larsmidnatt wrote:thanks all for the help.

Another thing I am noticing is that the render viewport isn't updating the materials even when you are adjusting them in the OR tab. For example change a bump setting, or just change the diffuse from black to white and you won't see the change reflected. I have to restart to get it to show the changes. This has been happening on different files, and typically only takes me editing materials a few times before the issue shows up.

Hi larsmidnatt

Issues like this (& some mat issues regarding the live db) came up while I was running some Beta tests with t_3 during a closed session. T_3 is aware of them and they are being worked on

it's really strange because I have to restart DS every 3 minutes or so because the materials go wonky. You select a surface in DS and the OR tab doesn't know where it is (and so it doesn't highlight it in the plugin). You can select a surface on the right side of the OR materials tab and it won't highlight the octane material on the left. I didn't have issues like this with this type of regularity in the past. It did happen before, but typically after an hour or so.