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April 15, 2024​

  • Revamps treatment of MultiMaterials:

    • MultiMaterials are, once again, detached and treated individually within 3dsMax;
    • MultiMaterials are now only treated as "containers/compounds of other materials";
    • At the end of the inner-DCC operations, after baking/rendering, they are reattached;
    • The submaterials are translated individually outside of 3dsMax, maintaining their individual properties;
    • This method provides better visual quality, and in some cases improved performance.

  • MultiMaterials and Shell Materials are now classified as Supported Materials for input scenes.

  • The padding for complex materials atlas baking has been reduced:

    • The padding is now proportionally dependent on the resolution in use for baking, for example:
      • 256 - 2px;
      • 512 - 4px;
      • 1024 - 8px;
      • 2048 - 16px;
      • 4096 - 32px.
    • In short, 1px of padding is added for each 2px of baking;
    • This change allows for considerable improvement in baking performance.

  • Improves VRayDisplacementModifier conversion into Bump maps:

    • Reduced the number of VRayBumpMtl materials created to one material per modifier/material pair.
    • Modifiers that can't be baked to geometry (e.g. 2D displacement and SubDivision Displacement) are now always converted to Bump.

  • Adjusted material conversion for Hair & Fur geometry.

  • Adjusted error checking when adding modifiers to geometry nodes.

  • Adjusted Falloff conversion:

    • The replacement of Falloff by black color/texture is now only performed on Falloff texmaps connected to the reflection slots of VRayMtls;
    • All other Falloffs are converted to an 80/20 mix between Front & Side texmap/color.

  • Revamped vertex color cleaning operations:

    • A more efficient vertex color cleaning method has been implemented, improving performance;
    • Additionally, vertex colors are now only cleaned for geometry nodes that have vertex colors applied, improving performance even further.

  • Revamped two sided geometry operation, for volumetric materials:

    • The Shell Modifier is no longer used;
    • This operation is now only performed if an object is not watertight, improving performance.

  • When converting VRayBlendMaterials, certain non-bakeable parameters are now exported based on the Base material:

    • Thin-Walled flag;
    • Volume Depth;
    • Fog Color;
    • Emission Multiplier.

  • Fog color/attenuation color is now taken into account for reimported VRay materials into Shell shaders.

  • Fixes issues with multipliers during material simplification inside the DCC.

  • Fixes issues with VRayDisplacementModifier baking into geometry, when using multimaterials and multi-uv channels.

  • Fixes issues with Cloth modifier conversion.

  • Gradient and Gradient Ramp nodes are now classified as Functional Texmaps.

  • Scenes with repeated names are checked before batch processing starts, rather than during.

    • As a result, statistics for "skipped" scenes are no longer reported at the end of the batch.

  • The performance and memory usage of certain Image operations have been improved.

  • Fixes issue with complex materials multiplier mixing for 1-channel images.

  • Fixes issue with log file being overwritten by a blank file.

  • Known Issues:

    • Certain refractive complex materials have artifacts around their UV edges. A fix is being investigated.

For more information, see the reference documentation for RapidPipeline DCC Importer.

March 28, 2024​

  • Major internal refactoring and optimization of Translation procedures:
    • The translation procedures are now unified across the different material complexities.
  • The reimport of glTF Files into the output Max file has been revamped:
    • An additional, simplified, VRay shader is now created in addition to the glTF Material;
    • This is due to 3dsMax limitations and issues with rendering glTF Materials on VRay;
    • Both the VRay and the glTF material shaders are plugged into a Shell Material, for easier export and rendering;
    • The Shell Material is compatible with the Autodesk glTF Exporter.
  • Introduces a threshold for Opacity and Transmission:
    • Materials that are very close to being Opaque (or non-Transmissive) will be considered so, preventing rendering issues;
    • This threshold is fixed in 5% and currently can't be adjusted.
  • Introduces Texture to Color simplification:
    • Textures that are identified to be a single color will be converted into color values.
  • Revamped Treatment of VRayDisplacementModifier when --bakeDisplacement is off:
    • Only one VRayBumpMtl is now created for each modifier instance, per base material.
    • VRayDisplacementModifiers of types 2D and SubDivision, which are unable to be baked, will now always be converted into VRayBumpMtl materials.
  • Fixed issues with multipliers on simple materials.
  • Fixed an issue with Bump to Normal map conversion on simple materials.
  • Fixed an issue where simple and complex materials were overly transparent.
  • The gamma correction treatment has been revamped:
    • As a result, several gamma correction issues have been solved, especially on simple materials.
  • New metadata files for the scene and/or batch of scenes are now saved in the output folder.
  • Optional MaterialX creation has been disabled due to the Translation changes:
    • As a result, the experimental flag --createMtlx has been removed.
  • Implemented a new Python glTF loader library:
    • As a result, the pygltflib dependency has been removed.

For more information, see the reference documentation for RapidPipeline DCC Importer.

March 22, 2024​

  • The creation of additional output files (GLB, USDZ, FBX, GLBOpacity) is now handled through a new flag --additionalFormat or -f:
    • Multiple file formats can be provided to -f/--additionalFormat at once.
    • Example usage:
      • --additionalFormat usdz glb fbx
      • -f usdz glb fbx
      • If you want to generate additional glbs and FBXs, but no USDz files: -f glb fbx
      • If you only want to generate additional FBX files: -f fbx
    • NOTE:
      • glTF files are always generated, no matter the usage of this flag or not.
      • Providing the same format multiple times (e.g., -f fbx fbx or -f fbx -f fbx) has no additional effect.
      • Providing the flag multiple times (e.g., -f fbx -f glb) overwrites the file format.
  • Deactivated layers are now ignored during scene preprocessing, and its child geometry nodes removed.
  • Fixes known issue from Version 0.11.0, when using instances and references in the same node.
  • The flag --additionalOutputs has been removed.
  • The flag --generateOpacity has been removed.
  • Fixes issue when multiple exporter plugins with support for FBX or glTF are installed.
  • Fixes warning when clearing subobject selection on 3dsMax.
  • Fixes issue introduced with Version 0.11.0, with the return code being overridden.

For more information, see the reference documentation for RapidPipeline DCC Importer.

February 14, 2024​

  • Major baking workflow revamp on 3ds Max:
    • Baking is now performed in relation to the original meshes with minimal changes.
    • As a result, several texture/baking issues related to transforms have been solved.
  • Refactored/revamped RapidPBR internal Material system.
  • Initial support for several new types of materials:
    • VRaySkinMtl, VRayALSurfaceMtl
    • VRayHairMtl: no support for VRayHairMtl as a submaterial of any kind (e.g., of MultiMaterials, Blend/VRayBlendMtl, etc).
    • VRayStochasticFlakesMtl, VRayFlakesMtl, VRayFlakesMtl2: currently only supported as Coat materials of a VRayBlendMtl, no support for Clearcoat glTF extension yet.
    • VRayCarPaintMtl, VRayCarPaintMtl2: no support for Clearcoat glTF extension yet.
    • Shell Materials, replaced by their Rendering material.
    • VRaySwitchMtl, replaced by the Material set by their index parameter.
  • The treatment of the standard 3ds Max Blend Material has been updated:
    • Fixes issues with Refraction textures.
  • Direct support of MultiMaterials has been added (WIP):
    • MultiMaterials with only simple materials are now exported directly.
    • MultiMaterials with any simple or complex materials are baked down to a single atlas.
    • The new treatment is tied to the changes in the baking workflow, as the previous Detachment procedure is no longer supported.
    • This procedure will still undergo further changes and we expect it to improve overtime.
  • Geometry instances are now preserved in the output glTF file:
    • In addition, only one instance of each node is taken into account when unwrapping/baking.
    • This change results in severely improved quality and execution time when baking a high number of geometry instances in a single atlas.
  • Automatic Backdrop Detection/Removal (WIP):
    • A new procedure to detect backdrops automatically by their bounding boxes has been added.
    • Note that the Backdrop Removal feature:
      • Only supports scenes with one backdrop;
      • Ignores nodes with complex materials;
      • Is still in development, may still undergo further changes.
  • The VRayDisplacementModifier baking has been revamped:
    • Baking the modifier into Bump should now produce more accurate results.
    • When Baking the modifier into geometry, the result is now processed with RapidCompact for removal of excessive polygons.
    • Displacement baking now processes one geometry at a time, resulting in a faster, more stable and memory efficient process.
    • The edge length is now fixed at 4.0 (pixels or world units).
  • The treatment of Falloff nodes has been updated:
    • When the Front (1st slot) Color/Texmap is black, the Side (2nd slot) Color/Texmap is ignored.
    • Otherwise, defaults to the previously used 80%/20% mix.
  • Revamped Material Translation related to Metalness & IOR treatment.
  • The progress of the current rendering is now logged:
    • The progress reported includes an estimate of time needed to complete the current rendering, if the information is available (omitted otherwise).
    • Example: 50% [Rendering done in: 0:00:12 (est.)]
    • NOTE: The time remaining is an estimate based on the progress reported by the renderer, and is only for reference. Actual times may vary.
  • Adjusts thickness factor calculation for the glTF Volumetric Extension.
  • Improves support of VRayBitmap texmap nodes for simple materials.
  • Support for 3ds Max version 2022 has been deprecated.
    • Minimum supported 3ds Max version is now 2023.
  • Support for Python versions 3.7 and 3.8 has been deprecated.
    • Minimum supported Python version is now 3.9.
  • The recommended RapidCompact version is now v6.6.0 and up.
  • The installation procedure has been updated:
    • The installation will not proceed with unsupported Python or 3ds Max versions.
    • The 'ensurepip' step of the installation procedure no longer produces Python bytecode.
  • The 3ds Max system settings for RapidPBR are now isolated from the rest of the system.
  • Fixes issues related to Material IDs not being kept during the complex materials baking procedure.
  • Fixes issues related to UV preservation when using OpenSubDiv modifiers.
  • Fixes issues related to Particle objects removal.
  • Fixes issue related to Compact Material Editor cleanup.
  • Improved Baking Elements validation step.
  • TextPlus objects with no material are now ignored during scene preprocessing.
  • Fixes issues related to system Keyboard Interrupts and zombie subprocesses.
  • Known Issues:
    • Submaterials of complex MultiMaterials with non-bakeable parameters, such as Fog Color (usually translated into glTF's Attenuation Color), might have visual issues. A fix is under investigation.
    • Use of References and Instances together, in the same nodes, is currently not supported and might result in issues, depending on the Modifier configuration of the references.

For more information, see the reference documentation for RapidPipeline DCC Importer.

January 15, 2024​

  • The system stability when loading files and resetting scenes has been improved:
    • Several issues related to legacy components in scenes from older 3ds Max versions have been addressed.
  • Adjusts Validation features messages:
    • Python packages are now only printed during validation mode (--verifyInstallation) or upon verification failures.
  • Unified RapidPBR logs:
    • All 3ds Max and VRay log messages of severity Warning or higher are now printed to the main RapidPBR log.
    • Selected messages of severity Info or Debug are also printed to the main log file.
    • As a result, separate log files for the DCC and Renderer are no longer saved.
  • Scene statistics are now printed at the end of every scene executed:
    • Shows the number of scenes completed, skipped or with errors, up to that point.
  • The sub-object selection is now cleared during scene preprocessing.
  • Revamps file copy operation.
  • Revamps log tailing operation.
  • Improves node triangulation error check.
  • Certain image-related operations have been revamped for memory efficiency.
  • Automatic 3ds Max and RapidCompact path detection now prioritizes the newest possible version.
  • VRay License checks are now only performed when starting 3ds Max for the first time, or upon rendering failures.
  • Scene-specific log files now only start after the scene-skip check.
  • When exporting FBX files, the FBX SDK version is forced as version FBX202000.
  • Fixes issues with subprocess execution.
  • Fixes issues with Asset Retargetting.
  • Fixes log tailing issues related to encoding.
  • Fixes issues with AABB size calculation.
  • Fixes issues with Real World Scale detection.
  • Fixes issues with Color and Texmap functions on 3ds Max.
  • Fixes issues with VRayDisplacementModifier baking:
    • UVs are now transferred from the original object.
    • Disabled modifiers are now ignored.
    • Baked node transforms are reset after baking.
  • Fixes issues with Hair & Fur modifier baking:
    • Disabled modifiers are now ignored.
    • Hair node transforms are reset after baking.
  • Fixes issues related to mesh conversion from Deformable gPoly and other legacy geometry classes.
  • Python dependency changes:
    • The blend_modes Python dependency has been removed.
    • The watchdog Python dependency has been removed.
    • The pandas Python dependency has been removed.
    • Package versions of several Python dependencies have been updated.

For more information, see the reference documentation for RapidPipeline DCC Importer.

November 23, 2023​

  • Revamps and homogenizes file operations:
    • A stricter logging, error check and treatment has been added.
  • Revamps VRay License Check:
    • New checks are now performed when errors happen during baking, as well as on scene load.
  • Adjusts error treatment when baking doesn't finish successfully.

For more information, see the reference documentation for RapidPipeline DCC Importer.