v7.x and 3dsMax 2015.... :(

[digitalx3d]

I was really looking forward to version 7, but after using it since it's release, along with 3dsMax 2015, I'm reverting back to version 6.  I'm constantly getting errors about running out of memory.  Every project has been littered with crashes, to the point that Forest is unusable.  Maybe it's more stable with newer versions of Max.  I'm just hoping I can revert and still open scenes that were made with version.  Guess we'll find out.

(I know a lot of people will wonder why on earth I haven't upgraded 3dsmax.  I have my reasons, and it's off topic, so.... )

[Rokas]

We would like You to elaborate more on what is wrong with ForestPack 7 and max 2015.
We can fix only if report the problem.

Thank You for Your collaboration.

Note. There will be incompatibility problems when opening ForestPack7 custom edit objects with ForestPack6.

[iToo]

I must add that Forest 7 doesn't include any change that require more memory, or may cause problems in Max 2015.
But unfortunately we cannot test it, because Autodesk doesn't provide Max 2015 licenses anymore, to third-party developers. We can compile the plugin, but not run it.

As Rokas said, we need more information about the problem. Does it happen in render, or using the plugin ? What render engine ?
A minidump may be very helpful as well.

[digitalx3d]

Hi guys,
Thanks for showing some concern here, I appreciate that.  I have attached a minidump file from today.  I could grab one from another scene as well if that would be helpful.  The crashes happen either while working in the viewport, or maybe at the start of a render when memory is being loaded up.  I have wondered if it's related to video memory, because during the crashes, the screen always freezes, turns black, and goes from 2 monitors down to only 1.  Sometimes apps are no longer accessible.  In any case, it becomes necessary to close everything down and reboot.  Sometimes 3dsmax crashes completely, but not always.  Sometimes I have an opportunity to save my file.

I have a Nvidia RTX2060, and 32 GB ram.  Vray version 3.60.05.

Let me know what other questions you have, and I'll do my best to volunteer info.  Thanks!

[Rokas]

Crash happens in GraphicsDriver.dll. So Your guess these are related seems correct.

Does it not ever happen when there is no ForestPack in the scene ?

[digitalx3d]

Correct, I'm not experiencing any crashing when Forest is not present in the scene.

So, this DLL file ships with 3dsMax (it appears).  This sounds like bad news.  Any suggestions?  Need more info?

[iToo]

According to the minidump, you're using Max 2015 SP3. Unfortunately we cannot debug it, because we have SP4.

Please, try upgrading to SP4 and send us a minidump. Hopefully that would solve the crash as well.

[digitalx3d]

OK, so I installed SP4, and tried to replicate the crash.  At first, I thought SP4 may have solved the problem, as I was able to push the scene much farther than previously.  I turned all Forest objects back to point clouds rather than proxy objects.  Moved a lot of plants around, panned in the viewport, zoomed in and out.... all that stuff.  Previously, max would crash after only a few operations or fast movements with the viewport.  So, I think we have some success.  After a few minutes, the scene crashed, and I have new dump files for your review.  Perhaps they will reveal something new?  Not sure if this is important, but Chrome is sometimes also open which consumes a lot resources.  This time it was open, and Windows did display an error/crash notice for Chrome.  But I've also experienced the crash many times with all other apps closed, and only running 3ds max.

Thanks for your continued assistance!

[Rokas]

Now crash happens in AutoCamMax.gup.
Weirdest thing is that You have no issues while ForestPack is not used. Can You try loading Your most complex scene You have.
If it does have ForestPack items- instantiate them using forest tools and make sure original FP items are deleted from scene.

Do usual stuff. All is fine ?

[digitalx3d]

OK, I've performed this test and done the usual things, and no crash.  Attached is a scene summary file.  It's a little hard to find, so here are the main scene stats-


Scene Totals:
  Objects: 7430
  Shapes: 2171
  Cameras: 0
  Lights: 1
  Helpers: 141
  Space Warps: 0
  Total: 9743

Mesh Totals:

  Verts: 1210460686
  Faces: 2030650798

The .max file is approximately 460 MB.  Thoughts from here???
Thanks!

[Rokas]

Thanks for all the effort. We can't take it further as we cant debug it in depth for max 2015. Initial pointers do not show FP7 failure.
We can only recommend using FP6 for some time to confirm FP6 is stable for You.

Let us know if You gather any additional information.

[digitalx3d]

Will do, thanks for your help so far.  Hopefully the SP4 update will at least improve things.