Maya Render Frame window in Max (R_Buffer)

[hotknife]

Got a few issues here with it.
Doesn't seem to store the last image.
Scrolling the bottom slider opens another windows with a image in but none of the previous renders.
Also it would be nice to maintain all the options that come with the default Vfb - especially the mental ray properties such as reusing geometry switches.

[bkravi]

Are you using 3dsmax 2010?

[fajar]

Hey bkravi , it's will be nice if it can running in Max 9 too, how about that!?

[ILS]

seems to work except for the extra window that pops up when using the slider.
I'm using max 2009 sp1 x64

[hotknife]

sorry for the delay yes I am using 2010. 32bit

[bkravi]

Hi everyone, I created this Maya like VFB because it gives us the ability to store and compare the rendered images within max, whenever we do lighting we frequently fire test renders to see how lighting is coming along, and for that we either clone or save image for later comparison.


ILS - this is the limitation of the max frame buffer we cannot replace image in it, thats why the second image pop's up for comparison.

hotknife - storing images is right now the problem if you are using it with max2010 , I will soon find out the solution. I will also find out what new options we can add for mr. thanks for suggetions.

fajar - Sorry, VFB modification methods are only available in max 2009 or later, I don't know if it can be done with SDK, but I guess very hard to do it for max 9.


give me your feedback so we can make it more useful.

Thanks

[MarcoBrunetta]

I had experimented with something like that some time ago:
http://www.scriptspot.com/3ds-max/rendersorter

[fajar]

hai bkravi how can I give you feed back when I can tried it! I mean I only use 3dsMax 9 right now!

[Opeth]

Man, this is terrific. Great job.
Do you have an estimate as to when a 2010 version will be available?

Also, I wanted to suggest a spinner instead of a slider. With a spinner you can numerate your stored renders, jump between specific versions easily, and since it's numerical, you can also have the number of stored renders displayed. Seems like the slider is there because that's the way it is in Maya, and I've been wondering why they haven't changed it there, too.

Anyway, again, this is a great tool. I've been hoping to find something like this for a while, so thanks for sharing.

[ILS]

that's too bad about the extra window - is there any way to have the slider (or the spinner as per earlier suggestion which I second) to be attached to the new window that pops up. when I move the slider the first window goes over top of the second comparing window and I don't have enough screen space to have both open without one overlapping the other.
other than that the script is great, thanks for writing it.

[Opeth]

and I don't have enough screen space to have both open without one overlapping the other.

Man, second monitor is standard almost everywhere - and it didn't happen by accident. I warmly recommend considering getting another monitor - even a cheap one just to hold your option menus.

[bkravi]

Hi everyone,

MarcoBrunetta - Your tool is nice, it has diffrent concept than mine, I had only tried to copy Maya's look as much as possible.

fajar - I think we can add comparison functionality to max 9 also but without Maya like buttons... I will try and will post.

Opeth - Thanks, I am working on 2010 version and yes I will add spinner control as well, thanks for your suggetion.

ILS - Yes I know there is problem with window that appears, but as per my knowledge I think we cannot control that poping window in max. But if you have 19" or bigger monitor then I think it should be OK.

Thanks Everyone.
bkravi

[MarcoBrunetta]

Hi everyone,
MarcoBrunetta - Your tool is nice, it has diffrent concept than mine, I had only tried to copy Maya's look as much as possible.


Yes, I started with something closer to what you have, but when I found out I couldn't update the rendered image directly on the VFB, I decided to go with a slightly different approach.

[DustinBrown]

Any updates on this script? You should put it on ScriptSpot.

[bkravi]

Hi DustinBrown,

soon I will find time to fix the 2010 issue and will repost it to here and also to the scriptSpot.com,

in meantime please let me know any suggetions that you have to improve it further.

Thanks
ravi

[bkravi]

New Version is ready to download from here : http://www.divinedigital.org/maxscript.html (http://www.divinedigital.org/maxscript.html)
or from scriptspot.

added support for 2010 and improved UI.

[Opeth]

Hurray!
Thanks, this is terrific.

[bkravi]

Thanks Opeth, let me know if everything is working ok.
Is there anything i can add to this?

[Opeth]

So far everything's great. Got a lot of lighting and shading next week, I'll put it to extensive testing.
There are three features I've thought could be useful:
1) Being able to preserve the max2010 VFB menu in addition to the R_buffer menu.
2) Having a render comment option, so shader parameters, light setup and that kind of stuff can be written per render.
3) An autosave option that saves a costume number of previous renders automatically. So, for example, if working on a scene lighting I will often want to save significantly more renders than those I would want to discard (until I'm done, of course). In this case I'd rather have the system automatically save the last, say, 10 renders, so I can keep browsing back and forth without having to handle the R_buffer menu.

These are all nice to have, of course. The current version is already a great script and I've spread the link around :)

[bkravi]

Hi Opeth, I was out of town for a week, Thanks for your review and suggetions I will definetly add them in my next update.

[DustinBrown]

New version doesn't work in 2009 :(

I like all of Opeth's ideas, and I second them. I miss having the AA preset slider.

[bkravi]

Hi Dustin Brown,

The script is updated and will work with 3dsmax 2009 without any problem. download it again from same link.

AA preset slider? are you takling about the mental ray? please explain.

[DustinBrown]

Thanks for getting it working in 2009 again, I really appreciate it. Yes, I'm referring to the UI elements below the render frame window when you use mental ray. I use those all the time. I could adjust those properties in the Render Setup, but the easy access below the render frame window is something I've become accustomed to and I use them very frequently.

Thanks again for all your hard work. Your time and efforts are appreciated.

[naik]

hey guys,

i have tried to install that script.
But it doesnt work.

I get the error message
-- Type error : logical or requres BooleanClass, got:1200

Is it not compatible with Max 2010 Design 64Bit

any hints??

cheers

NAIK

[ShiroEd]

Ditto for me and Max 2010 64bit.

I get the error message
-- Type error : logical or requres BooleanClass, got:1200

[naik]

seems not to be compatible with Max (Design) 64 Bit 2010...

[bkravi]

I have not tested R_Buffer with 3ds max design 2010. I will need to install 3ds max design in order to test it.I will see why the error is appearing and will repost the R_Buffer here again.

But it should work with 3dsmax 2010 64bit, make sure you place R_Tools folder at the right place as explained above.

[ShiroEd]

Nope.

Copied R_Tools folder to:
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2010\Scripts so...
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2010\Scripts\R_Tools

Copied R_Buffer_VFB_12-03-2009.mse to:
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2010\Scripts\Startup

then restarted Max 2010 64bit and got:

-- Type error : logical or requires BooleanClass, got:12000

Would really like to give this script a try!

[naik]

Nope.

Copied R_Tools folder to:
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2010\Scripts so...
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2010\Scripts\R_Tools

Copied R_Buffer_VFB_12-03-2009.mse to:
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2010\Scripts\Startup

then restarted Max 2010 64bit and got:

-- Type error : logical or requires BooleanClass, got:12000

Would really like to give this script a try!


dito ;-)


cheers

NAIK

[bkravi]

ShiroEd, Naik and all -

I found the problem and have fixed it, now it should work properly without any error.
Download the updated file from here - http://www.divinedigital.org/downloads/R_Buffer.rar

Let me know if there are still any problems.

[Opeth]

Hey
I just realized that saving a frame via R_buffer in Max 2010 clears my undo cache. Is this a known issue?

[MarcoBrunetta]

Maybe there's a gc() in the code?

[bkravi]

I have not realized it before, yes MarcoBrunetta is correct there is gc() in code, I forget to pass light argument for GC, I will correct this and will repost it soon.

[bkravi]

Fixed the Problem of flushing/clearing of undo cache when using keep image button to store last rendered image.

you can download the updated version from here - http://www.divinedigital.org/downloads/R_Buffer.rar

[Opeth]

You're awesome, thanks :)

[ILS]

I am having problems with the latest update. I render an image and store it in the frame buffer and when I slide the slider to display it - it does display but when I slide the slider back the image just stays there it doesn't change back to the previous renders. The saved index updates and the render time updates but not the image. I am using max2009 x64 sp1.
I didn't have any problems with the initial version of this script.

Also when I save the snapshot it updates but not the rendered images.

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