Here is another really simple test - this one just has 1 single polygon in it so I don't think it can get any more simple than this.

I made a curved surface that looked like this:



But then meshed it with a really coarse angle setting to make just one polygon from it. But the vertex normals on the corners of that polygon will still be angled off to the sides (along the NURBS surface normals there) to give it the same kind of shading as the curved surface instead of it looking like a flat plane, here is what the mesh looks like when saving out from MoI:



Here is what it looks like when loaded into Cinema4D - note that even though it is a single flat polygon it has a kind of curved shading to it due to the vertex normals pointing off at angles:




The file is attached here as SingleCurvedPolygon.obj , can someone please load that into Octane and post what a rendering of it looks like? Does it look like a totally flat plane or does it have a gradient on it that looks similar to the original curved surface?

- Michael

Hi Michael

Unfortunately as flat as a pancake. I sure though it will be solved in time. I think this issue must be high up on the priority list for Octane now.

Jamie

Hi Jamie, thanks for testing that.

So yeah, there is absolutely no indication of the actual vertex normals being used there for the shading whatsoever.

It's pretty obvious that only the face normal is being used to shade it.

That would probably be a good example to send over, since it is so simple with just 1 polygon in it.


Did you use any particular import options into Octane for that render? There is something like a "Use smooth groups" option, was that option enabled or disabled?


- Michael

I have posted it on the octane thread and pointed them to this thread as well. I tried all the options for using vertex normals, smoothing groups but the result was the same. I opened it in rhino and the vertex normals are visible. It really does seem octane is not reading them at all.

Hopefully they can get it worked out because the render quality and speed are great.

jamie

Hi,

How is this flat polygon supposed to be shaded curved ???

all supplied vertex normals point in the same direction.

o object1
g object1
v 0.00000000 -0.00000003 3.13267816
v 0.00000000 0.00000008 -11.46117186
v 33.88950663 0.00000008 -11.46117186
v 33.88950663 -0.00000003 3.13267816
vt 0.00000000 1.00000000
vt 0.00000000 0.00000000
vt 1.00000000 0.00000000
vt 1.00000000 1.00000000
vn 0.00000000 -0.70710678 -0.70710679
vn 0.00000000 -0.70710679 0.70710678
vn 0.00000000 -0.70710679 0.70710678
vn 0.00000000 -0.70710678 -0.70710679
s 1
f 1/1/1 2/2/2 3/3/3 4/4/4

I dont know how it works but see attached image one is the single poly michael provided the other is a flat poly. You can see the reflections are totally different. Also the other pic is the opengl viewport in rhino and it is showing the normal direction.

regards

Jamie

Hi Radiance

I made a single flat poly in MoI. The vertex normals are totally different.

mtllib SingleflatPolygon.mtl
o object1
g object1
v 0.00000000 3.13267827 -0.00000008
v 0.00000000 -11.46117210 -0.00000008
v 33.88950729 -11.46117210 -0.00000008
v 33.88950729 3.13267827 -0.00000008
vt 1.00000000 1.00000000
vt 0.00000000 1.00000000
vt 0.00000000 0.00000000
vt 1.00000000 0.00000000
vn 0.00000000 0.00000000 1.00000000
vn 0.00000000 0.00000000 1.00000000
vn 0.00000000 0.00000000 1.00000000
vn 0.00000000 0.00000000 1.00000000
s 1
usemtl Default
f 1/1/1 2/2/2 3/3/3 4/4/4

Hi radiance,

>>all supplied vertex normals point in the same direction.<<

They do not.

Check the "-"(negative) in front (of only some)of the values.

Thea Render:

Hello,

I got the same result as ycarry in TheaRender. If Octane doesn't pan out I can always wait to get GPU capability in 1.3. That kind of stinks since the new GPU is on it's way and from the videos I think I'll like the OR GUI a little better then TR.

Okay, that's very sad. This dude cant tell the difference between Vectors? Is Octane using absolute values or something?

And further to the point..if you're the new kid on the block and you're in "Beta", dont upset your testers when they find a bug that saves you from your customers finding it in Production. Just fix the bug and thank your testers for finding it.

Nice, I've been banned from the customer Octane forum :P

[QUOTE]

I've decided to refund you're license after reading your posts on the moi3d forum.
i spent 2 days working on a smoothgroup implementation to get your welded superball model rendered,
and yet you post such disrespectfull things...

[QUOTE]

I spent 2 days of posting examples/test/rendering comparaison ... well lets turn the page.

That is surrealistic :)
Way to the perfection is some tortuous :)

Michael's single polygon rendered in KeyShot. Matte clay material. Brightness and gamma settings at default.


Ed

I'm speechless.

:^o
Paq, its a private pm? its... true?

je suis sans voix ! (j'allai dire sur le q)

Have a good MoI import is a must, IMO

Well, I tried my best... I can't really think any more simple example to make than the single polygon one.

Just for the record and as others noted above, the 4 vertex normals in the single polygon example are not all the same, there are different signs between the z values:

vn 0.00000000 -0.70710678 -0.70710679
vn 0.00000000 -0.70710679 0.70710678
vn 0.00000000 -0.70710679 0.70710678
vn 0.00000000 -0.70710678 -0.70710679


You're just going to keep on getting bug reports from users of many different CAD programs until this issue is resolved though. It would really save so much effort in the long run to have it fixed up sooner rather than later.

- Michael

I have seen alot of PAQ's work in many places. I think He is a monster renderer. This is the guy I would want on my side.

It must be alot of pressure. Maybe there is room to realize an "ooops" and an apology for PAQ. I was trying to find the disrespect, but found none.

In defense of Radiance, he is under tremendous pressure to give everyone their "pet" feature whether its MLT, animation support, multi-GPU, normal smoothing etc. He's working 16 hour days programming, trying to implement as many features as possible for the widest audience. He is stressed, there is no doubt. But he is also blazing a trail where few have gone (GPU based, extremely parallel programed ray tracers.) Octane Render offers many great, unique features and I am confident that Octane Render will still be a strong choice for MOI users in the future. It just may not be high on the priority list to resolve this smoothing issue, currently.

I'm sorry for the way that Paq was treated as he is indeed a great artist and I've always enjoyed his contributions to the community. I also thank all the users who posted examples and files for us to try to resolve any issues and for Michael's contributions.

Sincerely:

Phil Beauchamp

Octane a beta program. It's intro price is low to encourage people to begin working with it. At the same time, users are invited to share feedback. I think everyone who has participated in this thread has done so because they want to see this fantastic program reach it's full potential.

As an owner of MoI and Octane, I hope both programs will become fully compatible. Radiance has done a lot of development in a very short time with new features coming out weekly and even daily. It's obvious he works long hours. I think to prevent burn-out, a developer has to realize you can't get everyone's pet feature in at once. Prioritize, let people know your priorities, and enjoy building your creation.