Forest pack + Xref + scattered lights BUG

[leo.surrealismo]

Create a Xref scene that contains a forest pack scattering geometry and lights; use a dummy to alter its position and rotation; merge that Xref scene... all the lights changes their position... is it a bug?

[Paul Roberts]

Thanks for reporting this - to be sure I'm checking for the same issue, would you be able to upload a simplified scene that reproduces this issue.

Many thanks,
Paul

[leo.surrealismo]

hi, this is the file.
https://we.tl/t-2kn7KVVCEx
Merge the xref scene and you will see.
Another wrong behaviour I found is that if you send to render thru backburner, the render wont even start.
thanks for taking time to examinate my file and hopefully you will find a solution.


best regards,

[Paul Roberts]

Thanks for the file.

Well, there are several restrictions to any object referenced within XRef Scene(s) and as far as I know, there's currently no way how to bypass this limitation, therefore the recommendable workflow would be to use XRef Object(s) to import the sources of Custom Object(s) and leave FP objects in the "master scene" if possible.

That said, the issue with the merge is caused by the hierarchy. Once Merged, the source lights are parented to the Dummy001 object and FP then uses the pivot position from the dummy. This is a known issue that we're working to fix. In the meantime, you can move the light out of the hierarchy so that it has no parents. That should fix it.

Cheers,
Paul

[leo.surrealismo]

thank you paul,  and what about rendering thru backburner? on my side, it renders fine with vray but it wont start with corona.

[Paul Roberts]

That's a strange one - could you try it by instantiating the FP object first using Forest Tools. This'll help to identify if it's a Forest Pack issue or something else. Are there any messages in the log?

Cheers,
Paul

[leo.surrealismo]

i did that already and it worked. 
That was the only way to finally render the images to send to my client.

[Michal Karmazín]

Hi Leonardo,

That's interesting. Might be, that the problem comes from the C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Autodesk\3dsmax\2022 - 64bit folder. When Max runs in the interactive mode, it creates a file Plugin.UserSettings.ini, which contains the path to the Max "plugins" folder (where Forest Pack & RailClone plug-ins are installed). In this way (the Max 2022 path may be different in your case):

[Directories]
Additional MAX plug-ins=C:\3dsmax2022_64\3ds Max 2022\PlugIns\
[Help]

It seems when Max is launched in some other way, this file is not created, and plugins stored in the path are not loaded.

How to fix it:

• Delete the folder C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Autodesk\3dsmax\2022 - 64bit from render node, where %USERNAME% is the Windows user which runs the job.
• Launch at least one render.
• When 3ds Max is launched, it should create the folder mentioned above. If it doesn't exist, please double-check that the %USERNAME% name is correct.
• Once you check that folder exists, copy the file Plugin.UserSettings.ini from one of your workstations.

I hope that helps. Also, you might try the old license checking mode - you need to edit the ForestPackPro.ini file on each workstation (at C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Autodesk\3dsmax\2022 - 64bit\ENU\en-US\plugcfg). Change altNetRenderCheck=1 to detect Network rendering using GetQuietMode(). When this is activated, it should work using the old system, even in Force Workstation mode.

Thanks in advance for any further comments on this issue you can share about it with us / our user community (in case some user(s) will run into similar troubles).

Best regards,

[leo.surrealismo]

Hi Michal!
I followed your instructions but it is not working either.

[Michal Karmazín]

Hi,

In such a case, if possible, please feel free to send us your scene (ideally simplified and containing just this problematic object(s)) to helpdesk@itoosoft.com to check it here. In case of a big file size, please use a web sharing service like WeTransfer. Or do you face this problem even with the previously uploaded scene? Ideally, if you'll be able to reproduce it on a minimal scene, which you can send us, it would be great.

Best regards,

[leo.surrealismo]

I am having this problem even with the simplified version I sent you.

[Michal Karmazín]

Hi,

I see now - that's related to the Corona/V-Ray compatibility - replacing the VRayLight with a CoronaLight object fixes it

Best regards,

[leo.surrealismo]

silly me!  sorry for that!
but it is weird that locally it renders fine with vray lights... seems like an incompatibility with backburner.