c2 rendering on Mac = fuct

#1

Wow. Ok, this post is coming from a Mac fan, so please, no flames…

I just got my copy of c2 about a week ago. Love it. New features are great. I had a big project just starting, and even though it’s a new software I implemented it right away, anxious to see how it held up. All is well, until i go to render.

Specs of project:

30 second spot, NTSC, 29.97, using TGA sequences for footage. Maybe 20 or so corrections and misc operators. 6 or 7 layers deep at the deepest part. Also had 1 large usage of one of the built in particle systems in c2.

Specs of machine: Mac Dual 533, 1.25 gb Ram, IDE RAID.

Rendertime: I shut it off after 15 hours, and it was estimating 50+ hours left.

Just to give it a try, i put the project on my P4 (1.3ghz, 512 RDRAM, IDE RAID).

It was done in 24 minutes.

The Mac was cookin until it hit the particle system. This means either an unbelivably poorly optimized renderer on the Mac version, or more likely, some horrific bug in the particle system renderer implementation. This is made even more interesting by the fact that in other tests in other apps, the mac always at least keeps up with the p4, and usually smokes it.

hmmm…I’m calling discreet tomorrow :frowning:

#2

wow… i was thinking of buying it for the MAC platform…

let me know how u make out and what discreet has to say…

#3

I called them… their tech support is supposed to get back to me…

#4

<homer voice> Dought! </homer voice>

Heres the kicker…software OpenGL rendering was enabled on the Mac, thus murdering render times when particles are on screen. Upon enabling OGL particle rendering, it sped up immensely. My mac has a Geforce2MX 64 mb…

It still was not near as fast as particles as my p4, with a Gloria 3 (quadro2pro chip). I am wondering if the Geforce4 Ti on Mac would rememdy this…hmm…

It seems as though the particles rely hugely on your card, even when run through the render queue.

#5

After I’ve set up particles in combustoin , I use commit to disc (with keep original connection using swithcer checked). This lets me work with a rendered file and no longer has to process the particles in OGL. If you need to make changes or want to versions stuff out render new ones to the same switcher. There you can toggle which version you want to use.

I would wait on the Geforce 4 til the card gets certified.

marshal

#6

There is another aspect to this if you plan to net render, bear in mind that because particles are rendered through Open GL, results may differ from machine to machine if they have either different OpenGL cards or OpenGL drivers. You are best to prerender them on one machine then render everything else as per usual…

#7

good point. I hadn’t even thought about the procedural nature of particles when compositing. This is a golden rule of 3d packages in regard to network rendering, but I didnt even think of that for c2. Starting a big render later tonight, thanks for the reminder.

#8

does this apply to software like shake as well???

#9

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