OTOY Forums

Hello guys,
I am pleased to share my free FogTool max script that allows you to get back to making artistic decisions when it comes to implementing volumetric and atmospheric fog in Octane render for 3ds Max, without compromising on quality or realism. There are lots of really handy built-in features which hide a lot of underlying complexity, removing the need for setting up and managing complex node groups and mesh volumes whilst keeping everything in sync with your scene and view. It's free to download and use, and it's all controllable from an easy-to-use UI from within Max.










Feature Summary

01 - One-click volumeteric fog
Once installed, one-click is all you need to get atmospheric fog into any scene. No need to manage complex shader nodes, mesh volumes or mesh objects; the tool does all of that for you. All you need to do is concentrate on the look and feel.

02 - Full spatial controls
Quickly set the fog height, radius, start distance and z offset, giving you full spatial control over exactly where fog should start and end.

03 - Enhanced falloff control
Multiple falloff modes to give extra flexibility and freedom depending on your scene’s requirements. With support for height, distance or a combined falloff effect, with additional falloff depth control to provide total flexibility and produce more realistic-looking atmospheres.

04 - Noise texture support
Easily add noise breakup to your fog with the ability to add either Octane’s noise texture or C4D noise texture map directly from the interface. C4D noise textures also support the time parameter to easily animate noise patterns.

05 - Fog state synchronization
Each time you start the fog tool it will check for an existing volume in the scene that was created via the Fog Tool. If found, it seamlessly syncs the current volume’s state with the fog tool’s interface. Allowing you to pick up where you left off.

06- Camera tracking options
Have your fog volume track your vieweport camera position or your render camera in production renders. Or use the one-click centre to view quick action.

Download FogTool v1 - Max Script
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iTlTDFYuY3lrgOqNKrkjA3OLRZIv21g1/view?usp=sharing

V1.0 - Supports
3ds Max 2023 > 2026
Latest Octane Render Plugin version 26.03

Download Free Test Scene
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DMVCeR3KQLempqK7yfIAEf9T3WwFv2xd/view?usp=sharing

Install

• Download the fog tool zip and unpack

• Open 3ds Max and drag and drop the install.ms file into the 3ds Max viewport

• This will install the tool and you will get a confirmation message

• Then go to Customize in the main toolbar and click Customise User Interface

• Go to Toolbars > Category > Byrom

• You will see the FogTool as an option, drag this to an existing toolbar or create a new toolbar

• Save your changes

Set up and overview guide



Important Notes and Tips(If you don't watch the video)

• Note: When you launch the tooI in a new scene a Fog volume will be created and centred to your active viewport camera on the X and Y.
  • Tip: If you move your camera, get in the habit of using the quick action, 'Center to View', in order to keep the fog volume centred to your active viewport camera.
    • Bonus tip: Right click on the 'Center to View' quick action to get the option to 'Centre to selection'.

• Note: You can optionally sync the fog to your active viewport camera, but this can slow down Max's viewport, and if you use multiple viewports for scene management, then I recommend not using this. You can also have it track your render camera as well which is really useful on production renders.

• Note: Whenever you open the tool it will automatically try to sync the UI's controls with an existing fog volume if one exists.

• Note: The fog volume is cylindrical, meaning you get an accurate field of view of the fog from your camera/viewport and better matches how real fog behaves and looks. It also allows us to have independent control over both the radius and height of the fog.

• Note: Hovering on most controls in the UI will show a tooltip with information on what that control does.

• Note: You can only have one controllable Fog volume in your scene at any one time.

• Note: The Fog Volume always starts at 0 on the Z axis. If you need to move the Fog on the Z axis use the Z Offset Control.

• Tip: Voxel size, when you change this keep an eye on your total voxels or grid size. Using smaller numbers is more accurate but generally not necessary for standard fog however, large numbers can cause very slight misalignment with the grid/bounds, in practice it's generally not an non issue. Try to find a good balance for your scene.

• Tip: Leaving Volume Step % at it's default value is fine unless you need more detail if using a noise texture. It massively affects performance and lower values are not necessary unless you need that fine detail. Increasing is generally fine for extra performance. Volume Step % is linked to some known Octane limitations when multiple VDB's and volumes are in use, see bottom section

• Tip: Lowering Density to 0.1 or less when you are using a Falloff means you can use smaller numbers for the Falloff depth control which makes it more manageable (Density acts purely as a multiplier and has no effect on performance)

• Tip: When using a Falloff mode, increase the Falloff depth to make the Falloff effect more visible. You can really push this value. Lowering the density value as per above means you can use smaller more manageable numbers here otherwise you need to use really large numbers.

• Tip: You can reset the fog tool to the default settings at any time by pressing the refresh button. A confirmation action will be required so you don't accidentally undo your settings.

• Tip: Your current fog settings are persistent across file reloads and opening and closing of the UI - your settings will never be lost or changed unless you change them.

• Note: All controls in the UI are in meters, and this works with any system unit.

Known Engine Volumteric Limitations

• When using VDB's in conjuction with the Fog Tool please be aware that Octane does not handle overlapping volumes with different Volume Step % very well. In fact, they do not even need to overlap; a ray that marches through the fog to a vbd behind the fog can also produce issues even when not intersecting. This has been made more difficult with their move to relative Volume Step % over a fixed one. Because VDBs and Volumes can have different underlying grids and voxels sizes. So even when Step % matches across volumes/VDBs it does not mean they will behave well or work together because their underlying grid size is likely different, meaning relatively the ray will march through the second volume in the same way it marches through the first. So without them both having the same voxel size and step percentage you will likely run into issues and might need to trial and error or switch back to a compatibility mode.

• Opacity maps: Models that use textures with opacity maps can have visual issues when inside a volume. I have made a post about this previously with no response from devs, but seems to be an engine limitation and tied to Volume Step %. This has only been an issue for me once or twice, but nonetheless, it can be an issue. Usually on trees that use opacity maps for branches or leaves.

Please note: This is an independent Max Script tool that does not change any of the core OctaneRender functionality. I am not affiliated with OTOY in any way, the OctaneRender trademark remains the property of OTOY.

Thank you very much, this is very useful !

Thank you, this is very cool.

Thanks guys - I hope it is useful