Overview
The Render Engine group contain controls for the core aspects of the rendering, such as the type of output produced by the renderer and the render engine used.
Render Mode
This option specify the kind of output to be produced when rendering this pass. The available options are:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Render | Render the images as specified in the Displays section. |
| Export RIB File Only | The renderer will save the scene in RIB format, suitable for later rendering. If the "animation" toggle is on and the file name remains the same for a series of frame, the data of the current frame will be concatenated to the existing file. See Section 5.5.4 [File Path Expressions], page 124 for details on how it is possible to construct relative paths and / or paths containing dynamically expanded tokens. |
| Export RIB Archive Only | The scene will be saved in a RIB archive that can be read later by a RIB Archive Node in this scene or another one. If the "animation" toggle is on and the file name remains the same for a series of frame, the data of the current frame will be concatenated to the existing file. Advanced options for RIB archives are available in the RIB Archives section. Refer to Section 3.9.3.10 [Render Pass RIB Archives], page 69 for more details on these options, or to the Section 5.3 [RIB Archives Guidelines], page 110 for examples on how to use this option. See also Section 5.5.4 [File Path Expressions], page 124 for details on how it is possible to construct relative paths and / or paths containing dynamically expanded tokens. |
| Export RIB File and Render | This mode will save the scene in RIB format and invoke ‘renderdl’ to render it as a background process once the RIB file is done. This means that once the RIB file is saved, Maya is responsive again and can be used while the render completes. The output of the renderer is saved into a log file named after the RIB file with a ‘.log’ extension. Note that in this mode the ‘maya render view’ display driver cannot be used. |
Render Engine
This attribute specify the type of algorithm used by the renderer. The available options are:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| REYES | The hidden hider will be used. This is the default. |
| Path Tracer | The raytrace hider will be used. |
Progressive Refinement
This option is only available when using the Path Tracer Render Engine. When this toggle is turned on, the rendering is quickly displayed as a complete but coarse image which is progressively refined. Effective only when one of the displays is using the ‘maya_render_view’ or ‘i-display’display driver.
Scanning
An image is rendered progressively in small groups of pixels called buckets. This option allows you to specify in what order the buckets are rendered. Rendering will be more memory-efficient if a bucket order that minimizes the number of objects being rendered simultaneously is chosen. The available options are:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Horizontal | The buckets are rendered row by row, from left to right and from top to bottom. This is the default. |
| Vertical | The buckets are rendered column by column, from top to bottom, and from left to right. |
| Zigzag | The buckets are rendered row by row, from left to right on even rows, and from right to left on odd rows. |
| Spiral | The buckets are rendered in a clockwise spiral starting at the centre of the image. |
| Circle | The buckets are rendered in concentric circles starting at the centre of the image. |
The default bucket order is ‘horizontal’.
Use one or more remote computers
This toggle is only available when the Render Mode is set to Export RIB file and Render. Turning this toggle on enables the Remote Computer List control and will attempt to render using multiple remote computers. This toggle is off by default.
Remote Computer List
Use this control to specify the list of computer names, separated by a space, that should be used for rendering. Host configuration may be required. This control is only available when Render Mode is set to Export RIB File and Render and when Use one or more remote computers is enabled.
Render Log
This attribute is only available when Render Mode is set to Export RIB File and Render. The file specified by this attribute will contain the various messages output by the rendering command executed in background. Clicking on the view button will open the log file using the application designated in the 3Delight Preferences Window; refer to Section 3.17 [The Preferences Window], page 93. Note that this attribute is not used by the plugin from the 3Delight for Maya package.
RIB Filename
Specifies the filename of the RIB file to save. If this attribute is empty when a render mode producing a RIB file is selected, a decent default name is automatically generated. Refer to Section 5.5.4 [File Path Expressions], page 124 for details about possible dynamically expanded tokens. This attribute is available only when Render Mode is set to Export RIB File, Export RIB Archive or Export RIB File and Render.
Use Binary RIB
When this options is on, the RIB file will be saved in binary format, producing a smaller file. Turn this option off to produce a text RIB file, which is bigger but easier to edit. By default, this option is on. This attribute is available only when Render Mode is set to Export RIB File, Export RIB Archive or Export RIB File and Render.
Use Compressed RIB
This option controls if the RIB file will be compressed, producing a smaller file. By default this option is off. This attribute is available only when Render Mode is set to Export RIB File, Export RIB Archive or Export RIB File and Render.