Some files are automatically generated by 3Delight for Maya. The destination directories for these files are defined in the Maya project. Like other Maya project settings, relative paths will be made relative to the project directory.
It is possible to prepend all of the 3Delight for Maya project directories that produce temporary files with a path assigned to the 3DFM OUTPUT PATH environment variable. Note that this variable needs to be defined before Maya is launched and does not apply to the templates project setting.
The available 3Delight for Maya project directories are:
3Delight Fluids
3Delight for Maya needs to generate data files for each fluid node visible in the scene. These files are saved under the folder specified in the 3Delight Fluids Files project setting. If the 3DFM FLUIDS PATH environment variable is defined, its value will be used (and thus will override the directory specified in the 3Delight Fluids project setting).
3Delight Fur Files
3Delight for Maya needs to generate a geometry file for each Fur Feedback node visible in the scene. These files are saved under the folder specified in the 3Delight Fur Files project setting. If the 3DFM FURFILES PATH environment variable is defined, its value will be used (and thus will override the directory specified in the 3Delight Fur Files project setting). This project setting is also used to store RIB file produced by the Shave and a Haircut plugin in some cases. Refer to Section 5.4.8 [Shave and a Haircut Tips], page 121.
RIB Fragments
This project setting specifies the folder where RIB fragments will be saved. If the 3DFM RIBFRAGMENTS PATH environment variable is defined, its value will be used (and thus will override the directory specified in the 3Delight RIB Fragments project setting). See Section 3.9.3.11 [Render Pass RIB Fragments], page 72 for details
about their purpose.
3Delight Shaders
When an object has no RenderMan shader attached to it, 3Delight for Maya will attempt to translate any Hypershade shading network attached to that shader to Ren- derMan shaders, which are then used in the rendering. This process generates shader source files, which are stored in a ‘src’ directory. These source files are then com- piled into a shader and the compiled shader files are stored under the ‘OBJ’ directory. Both the ‘src’ and ‘OBJ’ folders are created under the directory specified in the 3De- light Shaders project setting. If the 3DFM SHADERS PATH environment variable is defined, its value will be used (and thus will override the directory specified in the 3Delight Shaders project setting). Note that this project setting is relevant only for translated shaders from Hypershade networks. It has no effect on RenderMan shader nodes or on the shader paths displayed in the Shader Selector.
Shadow Maps
Shadow Maps will be automatically generated only in the following cases:
1. A light source has no light attribute node attached to it; its "Use Depth Map Shadows" attribute is turned on, and the render pass node used for rendering has its "Render Shadow Maps" attribute turned on.
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2. A light source has a light attribute node attached to it. This light attribute node has its "Generate Shadow Maps" attribute turned on, but nothing is specified in the "Shadow Map Name" attribute. The render pass node used for rendering has its "Render Shadow Maps" attribute turned on.
If one of these two situations is encountered, a shadow map file name will be generated based on the current values of the light source node’s attributes in the section "Disk Based Dmaps". The file will be created under the directory specified in the 3Delight Shadow Maps project setting. If the 3DFM SHADOWMAPS PATH environment variable is defined, its value will be used (and thus will override the directory specified in the 3Delight Shadow Maps project setting). Shadow map rendering parameters are obtained by the current settings in the attached light attribute node. If no light attribute node is attached to the light source, the shadow map rendering settings are derived from the light source node’s "Depth Map Shadow Attributes". Refer to Section 5.2.5 [Shadow Map Tips], page 108 for more details.
3Delight Templates
This project setting specifies the folder where render pass templates will be saved. 3De- light for Maya will also look up this directory and list the render pass templates it con- tains in the Add Render Pass menu. If the 3DFM TEMPLATES PATH environment variable is defined, its value will be used (and thus will override the directory speci- fied in the 3Delight Templates project setting). Note that template files are created on-demand only and are not affected by the 3DFM OUTPUT PATH environment variable. See Section 3.9.2 [Managing Render Passes], page 44.
3Delight Textures
Any node in an Hypershade network that uses a texture file name not ending with the ‘.tdl’ extension will undergo a texture conversion process in order to speed up texture lookup during rendering. This conversion produces a 3Delight texture file that is stored under the directory specified in the 3Delight Textures project setting. If the 3DFM TEXTURES PATH environment variable is defined, its value will be used (and thus will override the directory specified in the 3Delight Textures project setting). It is possible to prepare texture files in order to avoid this conversion as explained in Section 5.5.3 [Textures In The Hypershade], page 123.