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...beginning to feel like I am becoming sold a bit more on Octane, Just need to scratch up the funds.
If it doesn't tax my system as much (runs cooler), that for me is a real bonus as I have an older system (first generation I7). I did notice that Lux also ran a bit cooler than either 3DL or Iray.
As I don't do close ups or portraits, increasing SubD to ridiculous levels is not something I would usually bother with. I'm more into creating those "epic" scenes that DustRider mentioned about. Would be interesting to see how my railway staton scene would look using real volumetrics for the misty drizzle and lights that use IES profiles. So how are the bump and displacement controls? In Iray you have to sometimes boost them to ridiculous levels to get the same texture effect the same surface would have in 3DL. It really seems hit or miss.
Would be nice if I can just upgrade the main memory and maybe get by with a 4 GB 970 or even 8 GB 1080 rather than sink several thousand into an Iray workstation with multiple liquid cooled Titan Xs. I don't need renders to complete in 90 seconds but by the same token, 48 hours (which is what it took Szark's system to render Jack's Library with the Iray shaders and emissives in CPU mode) is something I'd like to avoid as well.
Again as I also use Carrara I could get very nice realistic results with Howie's sets (which I have quite a few of) as well as terrains I create that would rival Vue (and I can actually pose characters in them).
@ Motion Blur
Not sure if that is Object Motion Blur or Vertex Motion Blur.
Object Motion Blur just looks at the "hip" of an object and then calculates motion blur based on that.
Vertex Motion Blur looks at every Vertex and evaluates its speed and direction and then caclulates motion blur based on that.
-> For Human Figures you will want vertex motion blur.
Example: With Object motion blur G3F waving its arm would not yield any result because the hip is static...
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Currently DAZ Studio does not support Vertex Motion Blur.
Submitted feature request Request #219826 about two weeks ago.
Status: Added to bug tracker as a request but this does not guarantee the request will be fulfilled.
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From that perspective OctaneRender and Iray have to deal with the same limitations of the DAZ Studio API.
The difference is that you can export from the DAZ Studio plugin to OctaneRender standalone, make some final adjustment, activate some additional features and do the final render in standalone.
Example:
In the case of motion blur you set two keyframes in the DAZ Studio timeline.
One at the beginning of the motion and one at the end.
You will not see any effect in the DAZ Studio viewport or the OcDS plugin viewport.
Import the scene in OctaneRender standalone and now you can observe the full effect of vertex motion blur.
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The export from the OctaneRender for DAZ Studio plugin to OR standalone is described here:
https://render.otoy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=52847
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@ Displacement
Displacement in OctaneRender has similar limitations like in Iray.
There is still no prodcedural displacement that is generated by using just noise and fractal nodes.
But you can use any kind of gray scale, BW map for displacement.
A standard workflow is to use a bump map and link it to the displacement slot.
Mixing Bump and Displacement maps can work.
Mixing Normal and Displacement may yield unwanted effects.
Mixing Bump and Normal ignores the effect of the bump map.
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Do you know of any good tutorials to get started with the plugin? I thought I'd check it out whilst I have the time.
Step 1)
You can download the demos here:
- OR Standalone demo
- DAZ Studio plugin demo
https://home.otoy.com/render/octane-render/demo/
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Step 2)
Having a look at the OR Standalone manual first is recommended to get an understanding how materials and nodes work:
https://docs.otoy.com/Standalone_2_0/?page_id=132
Step 3)
The DAZ Studio plugin manual covers most of the plugin interface options.
https://docs.otoy.com/DazStudio/
Step 4)
For relevant topics that are not covered yet in the official manuals there are sticky threads in the DAZ Studio plugin forum:
https://render.otoy.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=44&sid=ccd9ae9dc0aa46cf4b39749fb52c8dd6
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Step 5)
Explore OctaneRender features based on your personal interests and projects:
- Video tutorials that illustrate basic OctaneRender workflows in the standalone:
https://docs.otoy.com/#28Standalone%20Edition
Some topics that cover frequently asked questions FAQ:
- FAQ - Loading and converting DAZ Studio materials
https://render.otoy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=41543/
- Using the OcDS plugins built in HDR presets
https://render.otoy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=52836#p265783
- How do I create IES light?
https://render.otoy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=52741#p265153/
- Guide: Octane Render Image Browser (ORIB) - favorite HDR
https://render.otoy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=52846/
- Creating templates for frequently used material types like skin
https://render.otoy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=54497&sid=3063f2f83cf4e62912e53b702fc8074c
- Using Region Rendering to focus on noisy areas
https://render.otoy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=54401&sid=3063f2f83cf4e62912e53b702fc8074c
- Hide Shadows and Matte Materials
https://render.otoy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=51514&sid=3063f2f83cf4e62912e53b702fc8074c
- Exporting to OR standalone
https://render.otoy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=52847#p265805/
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That should keep you busy for a while. ^_-
Is it possible to use Octane with DAZ Studio without the expensive plugin? If so, what makes the plugin worth the extra $200?
For still images you can absolutely use OctaneRender standalone and create scenes by importing .obj and assigning materials.
For animations you are currently out of luck. Standalone can read imported .abc but you cannot create or edit keyframes.
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The most important functionality of OcDS is an auto conversion from 3Delight or Iray materials to a basic OctaneRender material setup. There are a lot of different settings to adjust how materials are loaded.
-> This alone will save you a lot of time especially if you are working with huge scenes.
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The OctaneRender for DAZ Studio plugin has some very unique features that other plugins do not have:
- You can animate every OctaneRender parameter like materials, lights, environment options in a plugin specific timeline
-> This is a very unique feature that only a few OctaneRender plugins offer especially because it provides functionality that is not at all available with the DAZ Studio default timeline.
You may be aware that you cannot animate native Iray parameters because animating them is not supported by the current DAZ Studio API. The former OcDS plugin developer t_3 invested a lot of extra time to work around that and include an independent animation system in the OcDS plugin for OctaneRender specific parameters.
- The OctaneRender image browser makes it possible to actually preview HDR images (this is not possible in windows explorer) and you can also add your frequently used texture folders to favorites.
- Templating lets you create and save presets for your favorite material types
Example: Applying a skin template to a surface zone will load all DAZ Studio maps but apply your custom material parameters
- VRAM management: The texture tab shows all loaded maps and let's you adjust the size of textures in the VRAM with the click of a button
- Bridges to image editor: There are bridges to your image editor like photoshop that automatically create a copy of the texture and send it over for quick edting.
- HDR and IES presets: The plugin includes some free HDR and IES presets that make it easy to create unique lights.
- Color libraries: Instead of just the normal RGB and CMYK color presets there are color libraries like RAL included and again the options to save presets
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To summarize:
The OctaneRender for DAZ Studio plugin includes a lot of additional features for specific workflows that you may only discover when you spend more time with it.
The basic idea of the first OcDS plugin developer t_3 was that working with OcDS should be fun and conveniant and therefore he added a lot of extra features.
The new plugin developer face_off now makes sure that all those features are actually working and replies to any issues very quickly.
To work efficiently with OctaneRender currrently you may need both the plugin and the standalone.
Each version covers some workflow steps that are not supported by the other.
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Thanks for all the explanations, linvanchene!
Yes, thanks indeed.
I find myself wishing I could have a GPU with more VRAM and Octane both. Then I return to earth with a bump.