RPManager
Forum:
www.rpmanager.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl
Hopefully a site that eventually will have some
useful information...
WHAT'S NEW
Friday 15th May 2009:
RPManager update - 4.205 Updated Deadline3.1 support files, Vray post-preview speed optimisation, minor tweaks.
Sunday 14th April 2009:
RPManager update - 4.201 Fix for 2010 BB submission - if you don't use the Backburner 'submit to 32/64 bit' you can ignore this update.
Sunday 13th April 2009:
RPManager update - 4.2 3dsmax 2010 version. Some other tweaks and bug fixes.
Sunday 29th March 2009:
RPManager update - 4.182 Vray 1.5 SP3 update, also multiple vray vfb previews no longer create duplicate vray vfb windows.
Monday 20th January 2009:
RPManager update - 4.177 Custom warnings, bug fixes. This has some important bug fixes for property capturing and if you are not in the middle of a project is a recommended update (see the update notes on the download page)
Monday 27th October 2008:
RPManager update - 4.171 Deadline3 support, via the custom submit system - it calls external scripts (ie user editable), in this case the Frantic submission UI.
Also, FolderGit updated to 1.15 - support for Fusion5's non-custom browse dialogs (ie if you turn off the default custom ones). FG was ignoring the standard dialogs for Fusion.
Thursday 9th October 2008:
FolderGit new directory navigation shortcut utility for windows (not a 3dsmax plugin, but aids 3dsmax workflows as much as fusion or any other app). Supports x64 as well as 32 bit windows.
Free for RPM licensees, personal and non-commercial use.
Check it out, there is a quicktime there of basic usage.
It's been in use for a while in production, but given adding features along the way there may be bugs in this version, feel free to let me know if you come across any.
Saturday 28th June 2008:
RPManager update - 4.157 2009 SP1 support update - command line submit to Backburner was broken by the service pack.
FinalRender Render Element UI's are exposed in the RPM Render Element Rollout, and various bug fixes. Worked around a 64 bit max bug with Custom Attributes used by the Qube submission system.
Saturday 2nd June 2008:
RPManager update - 4.153 A few bug fixes for the Viewport Preview tool, and a new feature:
Viewport preview utility now has a resolution override as an option to the percent of frame: apart from the ease of absolute control this means you can output a different aspect without having to change your base settings. ie if your setup is 2048x1556, but your dailies need to be a vertically cropped 864x480 you can have the viewport preview tool output this without having to mess with the final output size (since it is different aspect percent is not enough).
Saturday 24th May 2008:
RPManager update - 4.151 Small but important update in the Qube submission. Read the notes on the download page for more info.
Wednesday 21st May 2008:
RPManager update - 4.15 . Resizable columns in the main pass list; updated viewport preview tool allowing simple playback and output to avi (among other updates); scripted (wildcard) visibility sets; pass renaming tool, pass range managing tool; bug fix for command line BB submission from 2009; easily update pass settings with current scene settings.
I've also introduced some screen captures with audio. I've been told I'm often unintelligible so make of them what you can. I intend to redo the existing tutorials as well as finish of the rest of them using this format so I imagine they will get better. For now:
Viewport Preview Tool - part 1, basic operation. 7 minutes
1280x1024, 17.5meg Quicktime.
13.1 meg .rar here
Viewport Preview Tool - part 2 , playlist manager. 2m45s
1280x1024, 5.5meg Quicktime.
3.8 meg .rar here
Resizable Pass Columns 39s
1280x1024, 990k Quicktime.
Pass Renaming Utility 1m23s
1280x1024, 1.5meg Quicktime.
Time Range Manager 3m
1280x1024, 2.7meg Quicktime.
Pass Property Updater 1m57s
1280x1024, 3meg Quicktime.
Scripted (wildcard) Visibility Sets 2m08s
1280x1024, 4.8meg Quicktime
3.2 meg .rar here
Wednesday 25th April 2008:
Updates for 2009 (32 and 64 bit) for RPManager and many other plugins.
Another RPManager update - 4.12 . Vray SP2 support now includes new Render Element properties, and viewport preview tool has some fixes/features.
Wednesday 23rd April 2008:
Updates for 2009 (32 and 64 bit) for RPManager and many other plugins.
RPManager for 2009 available for both 32 and 64 bit. Includes vray SP2 update.
This also has a new viewport preview tool that needs more testing, but makes RPM even more useful as a previs tool.
Tension
Transmographier
Betterwind
BlurVColor - this has a new feature in 2009 to convert a stack vselection to vertex colours. There is a quicktime demo of this on the page.
ColorPolyByVerts - this is now free
SplineMesher
SSPropagate
ChannelOps
MultiIDMap2
MapToVColor
RPMFrameInfo
ExtendedMultiPassMotionBlur
Translucency (this one hasn't been updated for a while)
Sunday 13th April 2008:
RPM USB dongle purchase options updated with postage choices, and allowing multiple dongles to be purchased with just one mailing charge for a single location, info here.
Monday 7th April 2008:
RPM usb dongles available - floating or node locked to the dongle, info here.
5 new free plugins:
MapToVColor (modifier) Here.
BlurVColor (modifier) Here.
SplineMesher (modifier) Here.
ChannelOps (texture map) Here.
SSPropagate (modifier) Here.
Tension (modifier) updated: new tension algorithm, bug fix in blur, removed licensing (not free but no limitations/codes/license files). Here.
Quicknav updated to .NET controls from activeX. Here.
Thursday 17th January 2008:
4.026 and 3.603 released.
Support for Brazil2 release, some minor changes in the release version broke RPM integration.
Get the updates here.
Wednesday 19th December 2007:
Significant updates of RPManager: 4.023 and 3.602 released.
Biggest change is probably USB dongle support. Node and floating licenses. There is no way to order the dongles themselves yet, but there will be when I get a new page up on this site. These builds have the support implemented, there is a new plugin and a .dll for the root of the 3dsmax directory.
More information on the USB dongles will be posted when the order page is available.
Other changes include updated for 3dsmax 2008, updated for vray 1.5 release and 1.5 SP1 release, and updated 64/32 bit support for backburner submissions (as well as a hefty speed increase with the RPM backburner network tab when large numbers of slaves are available).
Get the updates here, the notes on the page list the changes.
Thursday 4th October 2007:
Betterwind recompiled for R9, both 32 and 64 bit. Get them here
Thursday 30th August 2007:
ExtendedMultipassMotionblur recompiled for R9, both 32 and 64 bit. Get them here
Wednesday 8th August 2007:
ColorPolysByVerts updated for max 9, both 32 and 64 bit. Get it here
If anyone needs the ones I haven't yet updated email me.
Monday 1st August 2007
SIGGRAPH 2007 SPECIAL: any number of full licenses @ US$200 from
1st August to 31st August 2007.
Simply use the standard special offer paypal cart on the page linked below to purchase multiple licenses.
Purchase
here
Wednesday 4th June 2007
3.9095 released, for R8, R9 and R9_64, and 3.594 released for R678, R9_32
Wednesday 11th April 2007
3.9085 released, for R8, R9 and R9_64
Important bug fix for object property restoration where mousing down in the pass list, then releasing with the mouse outside the pass list would not correctly restore a pass. .NET version only, this fix does not affect 3.5x.
List sorting for layers, layer sets and visibility sets in the Visibility columns RC menu.
Support for Frantic Films 'Amaretto' Gelato renderer connection - for 3.9085 (R9 .NET version) only.
Deadline auto quicktime generation overhauled, it was out of date with the latest deadline. Should work now:)
Many other updates - check the history at the bottom of the download page.
Sunday 1st April 2007
FrameInfo fix, R678, R9_32 and R9_64, script keys were not being evaluated at the current frames time for sequences.
Saturday 3rd March 2007
3.9072 released, for R9 and R9_64, the fix I put in to allow redefining a set based on what is visible messed up restoring the currently selected pass by clicking in the list - new solution in place.
Thursday 1st March 2007
3.9071 released, for R9 and R9_64, small UI bug fix when clearing a visibility set assignment, and vis set restoration will no longer stop you redefining the current set by what is currently visible.
Wednesday 28th February 2007
3.907 and 3.5918 released, for R9 and R9_64
Xref support fixes. Some .NET fixes in the 3.9x version.
Thursday 22nd February 2007
3.9063 had a corrupt file in it, installer has been replaced so please re-download, for R9 and R9_64
Saturday 17th February 2007
Updated versions of RPM, for R9 and R9_64, 3.9063
Auto build paths was not working, and horizontally scrolling a listview (ie the output path inspector/editor) was not detecting the scrolling for RC menu cell detection.
Also support for changes in Final Render SP3.
Updated version of RPMFrameInfo again to 1.12, for R678, R9 and R9_64: the #frame value was not rendering the correct frame number on network renders.
Friday 16th February 2007
Updated version of RPMFrameInfo, for R678, R9 and R9_64
Just a bug fix for the stamping transparency value - was not storing/restoring, and could restore 0.0 in certain circumstances.
Thursday 25th January 2007
Updated versions of RPM, for R8, R9 and R9_64
3.59153 for Pre max9, and optionally max9 under windowsXP 32
3.9059 for windowsXP x64, or optionally max9 in windowsXP 32
Thursday 11th January 2007
Evaluation license of RPManager has been changed to be unlimited in duration, rather than the 30 day license it was before (same license is supplied, it doesn't time-out). So - if you like you can use the 2 pass version of RPManager as much as you like, 2 passes is a little like having the old draft/production modes back so is not entirely without use. I'll eventually roll the personal/evaluation license together as they are effectively the same thing now, for the moment I've just adjusted the license agreements in the personal/evaluation license installers.
Monday 20th November 2006
Some max 9 updates - only change is 64 bit versions in the installers of:
Tension Modifer
Transmographier
Wednesday 26th October 2006
Frameinfo updated - this one has both the 32 and 64 bit in the installer.
FrameInfo
Tuesday 24th October 2006
Some max 9 updates - only 32 bit versions at the moment, 64 bit versions to come:
Tension Modifer
Transmographier
Friday 20th October 2006
New
RPManager 3.5904 posted - First 3dmax9 compatibility release (32 bit only - 64 bit to come). This has a BIG BAD BUG fix in it for RPM object property use - see the history at the bottom of the download page.
Note you will need to request a new license for RPM for max9 (excluding the limited personal an eval licenses, they should be fine)
Thursday 24th August 2006
Update tension modifier to 0.14 - minor tweaks.
Get
it Here
Tuesday 16th August 2006
New
RPManager 3.50832 posted
Monday 31st July 2006
SIGGRAPH 2006 SPECIAL:
any number of full licenses @ US$200 from
31st July to 31st August 2006.
Purchase
here
Tuesday 6th July 2006
Transmographier
1.01 updated to allow using the reference nodes vertex selection
to mask the result.
Tuesday 4th July 2006
New
RPManager 3.508 posted
Wed 15th June 2006
New
RPManager 3.505 posted (Render element restoration fix for Mental
Ray)
Wed 14th June 2006
RPMMaterial
Mental Ray Compatibility Installer posted, for 3dsmax7 and 3dsmax8.
Run this on both your workstations and (renderboxes) to install
the .mi file. If you use the 'Remove RPMMaterial at render time'
option in the RPM object property global settings this shouldn't
be needed.
Wed 31st May 2006
New
RPManager 3.504 posted (5.03 which was up for about 5 minutes
had problems)
Monday 29th May 2006
New
RPManager 3.502 posted
Friday 5th May 2006
New
RPManager 3.5
It's not a beta any more
Saturday 29th April 2006
Shadow
pass plugin updated again - MR shader was artifacting on multiple-cpu/core
machines. Installer should now be named ShadowPassSetup_1.02.exe.
Note this was just a MR shader update, the 3dsmax material is unchanged.
Quick
Tutorial 11 - Save/Load render elements is up.
RPManager
Project List
I've started a list of projects that RPManager was used for, along
with a link to the studio/artists website. Feel free to email me
so I can add to the list.
Friday 28th April 2006
Shadow
pass plugin updated - MR shader required .NET 2.0 framework,
recompiled to not require it. Redownload (might need to force a
refresh on the page), installer should now be named ShadowPassSetup_1.01.exe.
Wednesday 26th April 2006
New
Free Plugin - ShadowPass - material for shadow catching, somewhat
more versatile than the Matte/Shadows shadow catching ability (support
for coloured lights in your scene).
New
RPManager Beta, 3.478
And just a heads up, the beta will cease to
be the beta and become the Release Version on the 1st May 2006.
Monday 24th April 2006
New
Free Plugin - RPM Frame Info - render effect to stamp useful
information on your frames.
New
RPManager Beta, 3.47789 - UPDATED to 3.47789
Monday 25th March 2006
New
RPManagerLite, 3.2254 - mental ray with >7.0 3dsmax version
compatibility fix, just a UI bug.
Monday 9th March 2006
New
RPManager (Release), 3.2274 -fixed a problem with the xref rollout
not opening. The new beta UI stuff is in there, but it is greyed
out as it is not applicable to the non-beta version.
Monday 27th February 2006
New
RPManager Beta, 3.47783 - UPDATED to 3.47784
Tuesday 23rd December 2005
New
RPManager Beta, 3.47703
Friday 10th December 2006
Tension modifier node locked licensing changed
so for the $20 you get up to 4 licenses. RPM licensees still get
a site license.
Wednesday 17th December 2005
Updated PasteVertexBuffer for 3dsmaxR8 - the
script component needed a tweak for some R8 changes.
Tuesday 15th November 2005
New
RPManager Beta, 3.47672
Saturday 24th September 2005
RPManager
Beta page is up.
This has a rewritten object property capture
system with a new material plugin, and is up to 100x faster than
the old system. NOTE: Not backwardly compatible with the old system
- it will convert an older scene to the new system, but you cannot
go backwards without removing all object property capture data.
Friday 23rd September 2005
New version: 3.2236
is available for download for the Full version.
New version: 3.223
is available for download for the Lite version.
Download
latest production versions here.
ALERT: a potiontial
problem with the viz extension for 3dsmax 7.5 has been discovered
- not necessarily RPManager related since it is reproducable in
a scene with no RPManager data in it: if you are crashing on autosave,
especially after opening a new scene, consider uninstalling the
viz component of 3dsmax 7.5. I'm looking
into this further, but it looks specific to just the 7.5 viz extension
so far.
Notes for 3.223x from 3.2195:
FEATURES
Support for 1.0.1 of splutterfish's OpenEXR bitmapIO
plugin.
Support for the new Scene States in 3dsmax 7.5 (viz
extension) - this is via the Visibility Sets RC menu, you can have
a Visibility set, Layer, Layer Set and now Scene State assigned.
Use the 'Auto Capture Scene State...' option in this RC menu to
have the scene states auto synched with your edits.
Added auto path output for mental ray .mi export.
(full version)
Holding Alt while clicking the 'Duplicate Pass' button
will duplicate visibility sets too, auto renaming them.
Added a 'Duplicate Visibility Set' option to the vis
sets RC menu.
The 'Rename Set Based On Pass Name' now checks to
see if a set of that name already exists.
Added 'Enable Split' to the commandline rendering
options.
Object Properties Inspector now optionally shows capture
set override materials. (full version)
TWEAKS
The preview button group no longer flashes when you
click on a pass in the main list.
Force update of lights when object properties restored
- it was restoring the values for rendering but the viewport display
was not updating. (full version)
Light Projector Map added as a capturable light property.
(full version)
Added a 'Layer Vis Controlled By Head Only' to the
RPM preferencs. When you are using layers or layer sets to control
visibility this toggles between the existing behavior where the
individual objects are still hidden/unhidden, to just controlling
the layer hidden/unhidden state. The not hiding/unhiding nulls/cameras/lights
doesn't work with this mode.
Holding Alt when selecting passes suppresses camera
viewport restore.
Auto build paths now significantly faster for many
passes being submitted.
Backburner can sometimes fail to return existing pass
names, so if a pass fails to submit a second attempt is made with
a unique string attached to the pass name to avoid failures due
to BB reporting.
If a Multipass camera effect has animated total passes
RPM no longer tries to restore this value - so if you are animating
your steps in response to motion in the scene this will not be overridden.
Note that no restoration of this value, animated or not, takes place
at this stage.
BUGFIXES
Per Capset override material handling improved markedly.
Converted brazil version passes could error on delete/duplicate.
Saving/loading RPM data was hosed (still).
Redefining a capture set as all visible objects no
longer ignores frozen objects.
Particle flow objects should work again when added
to a capture set.
Friday 22nd July 2005
The special offer for Brazil users has been
extended to everyone: purchase your first RPManager license for
$100 off the regular price. Existing license owners who haven't
taken advantage of this already are eligible to purchase a single
extra license for the same discount.
Purchase
here
Thursday 10th February 2005:
RPManager is pleased to offer a special upgrade
price for RPMBrazil users for their first license purchase - check
out:
http://forums.splutterfish.com/blog/archives/000598.html
Sunday 23rd January 2005: New version,
and compatibility fix for XPSP2 with activex controls
Version 3.2195 of both RPManager and RPManagerLite
Available from the download pages.
FEATURES
New Object Properties inspector/editor.
Spreadsheet-style - this is a Work In Progress, unfinished but functional
enough to be very useful. (Full only)
TWEAKS
Output format was not being set when using the non-auto-generated
Auto Paths option: not sure why I set it up this way, but I've now
changed it so the format parameters set when auto building the path
is used.
BUG FIXES
With Auto Gen Path on submit on RPM was not restoring
the specified output format settings correctly.
Inspect output paths/formats was not reporting the
output settings correctly when using Auto Path Generation on submit.
Inspect output paths/formats was not editing the output
paths correctly when using Auto Path Generation on submit.
Output format was not being set correcly when using
Auto Path Generation on submit to set the output properties.
Captured Light Multiplier value was not displaying
as updating per pass even though it was - fixed. The light intensity
as seen in the viewport does not change however, but is fine at
render time. (Full only)
Material Per Capture Set capturing was hosed - setting
one passes override material would set the other capture sets material
as well. (Full only)
If after using a 3rd party rendering manager you switched
back to Backburner without changing to the network rollout and setting
up the info submission would fail. (Full only)
A layer checking startup function could error in some
situations.
--
For anyone wanting to use 3dsmax5.1 with windows
XP SP2 and any activeX controls (RPManager, the Select By Name Dialog,
etc.) you can try this updated plugin:
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=5064272&linkID=2377704
It is released on that page for VIZ, but works
for 3dsmaxR5 as well. Thanks to Richard Annema for the link.
Friday 15th January 2005:
Some new plugins available - commercial plugins
and free plugins, above the scripts section on the Other
Gear page. Note the Free Tools page has been renamed to Other
Gear as it now holds a mix of free tools and commercial plugins.
ColorPolysByVerts
Transmographier
PasteVertexBuffer
Translucency (same as my old script but a modifier so faster)
Extended MultiPass Motion Blur
The commercial plugins are automatically
site licensed for those who have purchased either rpmanager or rpmanagerlite
licenses. They are also free for personal use. For commercial use
there is a small per site license fee.
Friday 26th November 2004:
RPManager 3.2192 Full Available. No new features,
but a rather nasty bug with RPM and 3dsmax7 fixed.
Bug fixes:
Having object properties in the scene and adding
or duplicating a pass would destablise 3dsmax7 (not a problem for
R6 or R5), this build fixes that.
Disable VFB in the backburner overrides was
not forcing the submission into command line mode.
Remove objects from visiblity set by name (in
the visibility sets manager) was broken.
Save RPManager data was broken.
Monday 25th October 2004:
RPManager 3.215 Full and Lite now available from the
download pages. This version is compatible with 3dsmaxR7 (as was
3.13 but it says so in the installer too now:)
This is a fairly major update for the full version
with reworkings of object properties for speed improvements, support
for particle flow properties, among others - so I would not recommend
upgrading in the middle of production if the current version is
working for you.
Features
Auto path generation on submit now can have the path
and the output type disconnected separately - use the 'Local' checkboxes,
one for path and one for output type, to toggle whether this setting
is global or local to the pass.
When previewing, hold the Control key when clicking
the preview button to skip restoring the camera view (so preview
whatever viewport is active.)
When previewing, hold the Shift key when clicking
the preview button to skip restoring the Visibility sets. Can be
combined with the control override.
Added an option to only restore/capture object properties
on visible objects in the scene. If you are using inherit visibility
this may be a problem, but otherwise this can speed up interactivity
considerably. Also this can trigger the instanced material warning
more often.
Added a 'Disable Refs System During Capture/Restore'
checkbox to the object properties global settings. This defaults
to off (for the moment), but can speed up certain operations many
times, ie adding an object to a set that has a slow-to-update stack
can go from upwards of 10 seconds to less than 1. Turn this on to
try out the new feature; BUT if you find that you can no longer
move any objects in your scene immediately save incremental, restart
3dsmax, reopen the scene and turn off this feature, and please send
me an email describing what you were doing so I can fix it, as this
on by default is desirable.
Save/Load custom output setup for user defined paths
enabled once again (main and render element) in the > menus of
the Output Setup dialog
Particle Flow Node properties supported by the object
properties system - for example you can control a material operator
nodes material, an events renderable/castshadows/etc. property,
and PFSources enabled states per pass. Add Pflow nodes to a set
using the new Pflow specific buttons in the Object Properties rollout
- note that you select PFlow nodes in the standard PFlow ParticleView,
these are what is added/removed from sets.
New Visibility Per Pass Feature - Layer Sets. You
can create sets of layers, and all the layers in a set contribute
to object visibility for a pass. Create Layer Sets from the VisibilitySets
menu, and assign from the Visibility Columns RC menu (the 'Assign
a Layer Set...' submenu.). Assigned ayersets are prefixed with "LS:"
in the visibility set column.
Added an 'Ignore group headers when adding to capture
sets' as the group header dummies are not always desired and will
slow things down.
Added warnings about the state of the render-time
restore object properties, visibility sets active and run before/after
scripts to the Render Alerts.
The Visibility Sets Active (Viewport) setting in the
global viewport preferences is now disconnected from the 'Restore
render Params (Always for Render) checkbox so you can have just
visibility sets (and camera assigned) restored when selecting passes,
without render parameters (faster, if visibility assignment is all
you want to check)
Bug fixes:
Object Inspector edit params no longer fails on objects
with underscores in their names.
Save/load renderer presets works again, not merge
from scene though.
Environment Background Maps mapping modes should no
longer revert to Screen on pass restore/add/put.
Editing renderer parameters with restore params off
no longer errors if current renderer not the same as the passes.
Submission warnings for pass suspended was not checking
the global submission status.
Leftover RPM preview override objects are now automatically
deleted from scene when submitting to cater for errors on preview
leaving junk behind.
Another fix for link UI time to pass range overwriting
the range of the pass when holding/saving, and also with multiple
passes selected and submitting/auto generating paths. Turned of
all link UI timerange edit synching if more than one pass is selected
and render range type is 3.
Backburner: New scenes now use the same network manager
that was used on the last job with RPM.
Object property inspector now lists passes in the
same order as the main pass list, and what is listed is correct:
reordering passes was messing it up.
Submit xref scenes merged before submit now works
again.
Save/Load data was being killed by objects in visibility
sets with % or " in the names.
Submitting with restore params off for viewports could
leave the scene with sceneredraw disabled.
Removing an object with a different capture set selected
than the one the selected objects were members of would remove the
capture data but not remove the object from its set (doh)
Previewing, rendering or submitting a pass was incorrectly
disconnecting materials in the Medit from objects with captured
properties. Now the workflow with the auto capture properties on
pass change/preview/render/submit enabled while modifying materials
in the medit and previewing as you go actually works as intended.
Closing 3dsmax while RPM was docked could give a virtual
function call error (didn't do any harm).
Selecting multiple passes with Vray motion blur geometry
samples different for two or more passes would error if viewing
the Renderers rollout.
Cancelling removing object properties would error.
Removing object properties from a capture set could
hose existing captured properties in certain no-so-uncommon situations.
The open quemonitor button in the backburner network
rollout should now work again - same for the one in the submission
complete dialog.
Digital fusion load selected passes was failing often
to add the image padding.
Submitting via commandline with no servers selected
will no longer error when it tries to report the problem.
Cancelling a preview of multiple passes could end
up with the preview progress dialog still visible after the preview
was complete.
Added code to detect and cleanup redundant captured
object data.
Restoring visibility sets was always generating undo
entries, rather than respecting the setting controlling this in
the global preferences.
The alerts for output size has been updated to cater
for the new(ish) global output size controls.
Error when removing light properties and shadowgenerator
was a member.
Auto capture on pass change was capturing when 'restore
object properties (viewports)' was off - too easy to lose your captured
data accidentally, so disabled when this is off. To replace one
passes capture state, turn off restore properties (either one) go
to the pass and use the capture object properties buttons.
A captured property was being deleted under certain
circumstances, requiring a re-capture to get it working again; fixed.
Using the 'select' button when the camera list is
showing indeterminate no longer errors.
Fix for using Deadline with RPManager and 3dsmax5.
Tweaks:
Clicking a checkbox no longer triggers a pass change nor changes
what passes are selected in the pass list.
You can set the default for the Shot Prefix field:
editing the RenderPassManager.ini file, add to the [Defaults] section:
PrefixDefault=<text here>. Do not use quotes, ie PrefixDefault=#scenename_
, or PrefixDefault=RPMShot
When the render submission feedback dialog fills up,
it auto scrolls to accommodate new feedback entries.
Object properties material restoration can be many
times faster with scenes with many objects being restored - a test
scene of 3000 captured boxes went from 450 seconds to restore down
to 19 seconds.
The Auto Capture Properties UI control has been changed
to a checkbutton and moved below the capture set list - I realised
many were not aware the auto capture option existed. Now it is hard
to miss.
Also moved the 'Restore Properties Active' global
setting from a checkbox to a large blue checkbutton - to enable
easier disabling of the restore system while materials etc. are
being tweaked, to be enabled once that is done (along with a capture).
Added an 'are you sure' to removing all objects from
captured data sets.
Added 'hold escape to cancel' to the preview/local
render progress dialog.
When deleting a pass, the pass that is left selected
is restored to remove the possibility that auto capturing of properties
messes up the props for that pass when you then restore a pass.
Added some UI workflow options to the object properties
inspector - Right click to toggle on/off, shift click to restore,
alt click to select the object.
Tuesday 14th August 2004:
3dsmax7 was recently announced by discreet at siggraph.
The 3dsmax7 version of RPManager/RPManagerLite will
be a free upgrade from the R5/R6 versions of RPManager/RPManagerLite.
Friday 30th July 2004:
RPManager/RPManagerLite 3.13
for 3dsmax R6sp1 and 3dsmax5.1
Features:
Single version for R5/R6, the 2.x versions have
been retired.
Rush and Smedge support for
R5 version of RPManager (Full version only)
Requires SFRender.exe from splutterfish is installed on each workstation/slave.
Final Render multipass renderer editing support
completed (All versions)
For final render Stage 1 SP2 only. Pre-SP2
not supported due to the extent of the changes. Note that as with
any renderer and RPM any parameters that do NOT appear in the RPM
FR rollout are *still editable/restorable on a pass-by-pass basis*:
edit the parameters required in the main 3dsmax render dialog, a
single restored pass at a time (this applies to all renderers with
RPM). Screenshot
of UI.
Exposure controls can now be
controlled per pass (Full version only)
New controls added to the 'Atmos' tab (now labelled 'Atmos+Exp')
Enhanced Brazil/Rio preview
override support to allows setting the sampling rate to specified
values rather than just the 'disable' AA which would set it to 0/0.
Visibility Set Membership Inspector/Editor
added (Vis Sets Menu) (All versions)
Inspect and edit object membership in a table interface. Screenshot
of UI.
Object Properties Inspector/Editor
added (Object Props menu). (Full version only)
This allows editing selected parameters from a treelist interface:
lights on/off, material display/edit, object cast/receive shadows,
among others. Screenshot
of UI.
Tweaks:
Optimised the speed and display of the 'Renderpassanager
render alerts' messages display.
Bug fixes:
- Rendering Locally from a passes RC menu
could error.
- Adding passes with Xref restore active could error if xref rollout
not active or had not been active at some stage in the current session.
- Smedge pools were a bit messed up.
- Incorrect callback assigned for 3dsmaxR5 relating to Xref tracking
- enabling xrefs no longer errors.
- Error when adding a pass with xrefs present in 3dsmax5 fixed.
- Hand entered callbacks were not being installed.
Wednesday 14th July 2004:
RPManager 3.122
for 3dsmax R6sp1 available.
RPManager 2.122 for 3dsmax R5.1
available.
Bug fix:
RPM was erroring when creating passes if the Advanced Lighting 'Radiosity'
with an exposure control was enabled (including, in 3dsmaxR6, if
the 'initial settings for tools options' was set to one of the DesignVIZ
options)
Tuesday 13th July 2004:
RPManager 3.121
for 3dsmax R6sp1 available.
Bug fix:
Mental Ray RPM Rollout would error on opening (doesn't affect Lite
version). This update should address this.
Monday 12th July 2004:
RPManager/RPManagerLite 3.12
for 3dsmax R6sp1 available.
RPManager/RPManagerLite 2.12
for 3dsmax R5.1 available.
Bug fix:
Cancelling an RPM preview using escape could leave the preview indicator
(red line top/bottom) object in scene.
Saturday 10th July 2004:
RPManager/RPManagerLite 3.11
for 3dsmax R6sp1 available.
RPManager/RPManagerLite 2.11
for 3dsmax R5.1 available.
After Effects
integration updated:
Full Versions
- Footage now loaded with 'guess' Alpha Mode applied.
- Single frame passes now loaded as still rather than sequences.
- Other footage in the output directories no longer interfere with
import
- Warning if first frame of any passes sequence, as defined by the
output range, does not exist (without the first frame existing the
sequence will not be loaded into AFX).
- Opacity values set up in QuickComp are now reproduced in the AE
composite.
RPManagerLite installer updated:
Uninstall now removes installed RPManager Menus
and Quadmenus (oops) on next startup of 3dsmax.
Bug fixes:
Full versions Quick Comp 'External' button menu items were mostly
broken.
Error checking added to paths picked when writing external compositing
files (for combustion/AE)
Tuesday 6th July 2004:
Website update - User
Testimonials - have a look at what
production users have to say about RPManager. Also a 'Links' page
added.
Significant updates for all versions of RPManager
RPManager/RPManagerLite 3.1
for 3dsmax R6sp1 released.
RPManager/RPManagerLite 2.1 for
3dsmax R5.1 released.
Note licensing
has changed in this version, RPManager no longer operates without
a valid license - Evaluation or Personal licenses (limited to 2
passes) can be downloaded freely from the download pages.
Support for 3rd party
network rendering managers
Submit your network renders to 3rd party network rendering managers
(requires that rendering manager is previously installed and
configured to work on your system)
Full R6+R5
Versions:
Deadline - Frantic
Films Software - UI
snapshot
Full R6 Version includes additional
support for:
Rush Render Queue - Greg
Ercolano - UI
snapshot
Smedge2 - Uberware
- UI
snapshot
(email
for information regarding Muster support)
Combustion3 Support
All Versions
- build combustion workspaces from the passes in RPManager.
Creates a workspace with each pass as a layer ready for manual setup,
or with the Quick Compositor (full version) where you can specify
blending and layer transfer modes(full version). Saves time loading
outputs manually into C3.
After Effects 6.x
Support
Full Versions Only
- automatically loads sequences and builds a composite in
AE 6.0/6.5, either as a script file that can be execute in AE at
a later date or controlling AE directly. Works with the Quick Compositor
where you can specify blending and layer transfer modes, or alternatively
it creates a composite with each pass as a layer ready for manual
setup. Saves time loading outputs manually into AE. Shortcoming
is that all footage needs alpha enabled at this stage due to AEscripting
limitations.
Final Render Stage-1
Support
R6 Versions Only
- Preview Overrides added for Final Render Stage-1 (cebas).
Overrides include AA, GI, DOF, SSS, MTD, Mapping, MotionBlur, and
Blurry Relections among others. Multiple pass renderer editing for
commonly changed FRS1 renderer parameters has just a few parameters
available in this build, more in the future.
Per Pass Render Elements (full
version) enabled for Final Render Stage-1.
Note RPM will still restore all FRS1 render parameters per pass,
you just need to modify each passes renderer settings individually
using the standard render dialog for parameters not appearing in
the RPM renderer setting controls.
Other New features:
R6 versions only:
Updated Mental Ray support - many
rendering parameters now available for editing for multiple passes.
(note other parameters can still be edited pass by pass and
are restored by RPM). UI
snapshot
Updated Backburner support - new submission
system allows overriding of per render frame timeouts (which defaults
to 50 minutes), as well as some other parameters not previously
accessible. UI
snapshot
All versions:
Global Output Size
- link your passes to a single output size, change one change
them all
Global Priority - with per pass priority
offset for relative priorities
Dockable -
left or right
Enhanced Preview Overrides
- Nth Frame override for use with submitting with preview
overrides enabled
Enhanced Vray Preview Overrides -
Global Reflect/Refract added to override options.
Updated installation system - now
a standalone .exe, requires that 3dsmax be closed for installation.
The installer is both an updater and a full installer - an option
is given during the installation process to choose which to install.
UI snapshot
Tweaks+Enhancements:
Rename Visiblility Sets to Pass Names
- in the Visibility Sets RC menu.
Hotkey modifiers
when creating visibility sets
- when picking the 'create visibility set' from the visibility columns
RC menu, holding SHIFT will auto create a set with the same name
as the pass based on selected objects, and holding ALT will auto
create it based on all visible objects
Define object properties lists
display updated - picked properties
now bold to cater for some XP themes (full versions)
Synchronising of RPManager data
with default render dialog optional
- you can now get rid of those annoying warnings, and only edits
of common parameters done within the RPM UI are saved. Enable in
the Preferences as it is off by default in this version
Optionally Automatically prefix all
submitted jobs with the max scene name for ease of tracking
- entering '#scenename' into the job prefix field will replace this
with the max scene name on network submission
Miscellaneous
bug fixes - read the update file
for specifics
Sunday 9th May:
FULL RPM: If you are
working with mental ray in R6 you may want to try 3.02 which has
initial support for mental ray multipass renderer settings editing
(pixel sampling only for the moment), and mental ray preview overrides.
A more complete MR compatible version will be out soon. It has a
bunch of bug fixes over 3.01 but needs more testing so 3.01 is still
linked on the download page.
Get it on the download
page.
Saturday 8th May:
Updated QuickNav with a bunch of new options.
Check
it out.
Friday 7th May:
Updates for R5 versions
of RPM. Version 2.01 released the other day for both Full and Lite
installers were incomplete versions and would likely error.
They have additional updates beyond what was included
with 2.01, see the readme files.
Also updaters available as an alternative to full
installers.
(R6 versions with new updates and new updater in a
few days.)
Get them on the download
page.
Wednesday 5th May:
New tool in the Free Tools section - QuickNav for
quickly getting to the files you want to work with.
Check
it out. Screenshots and downloads.
Monday 29th April:
New tool in the Free Tools section - SkinTools: Envelopes
2.0.
Check
it out.
Monday 29th April:
Updates for All versions
of RPM
Features:
List of network servers in the network rollout
now sorted by name.
-
Network server list additional check by options - check selected,
check unselected servers.
-
Manager groups are now retreived when using the 'Update Manager
Data' button (but they are empty in the R5 version).
Bugfixes:
Adding a pass when the network rollout was not
visible would clear the checked server list (only affected submission
if use all servers was off).
-
Local and global server groups no longer error on retrieve if many
servers are in the group; group storage reworked, any groups will
need to be rebuilt.
-
Locking the width and height of the output params and entering a
new value for either would not always update the other value correctly.
Monday 26st April:
Updates for All versions
of RPM
Features:
Auto build output paths is now a hybrid of the
older auto build system and the newer system: if 'enable auto build
paths on submit' is not enabled for any passes, picking the 'Auto
build all paths...' menu item or 'Auto' interface button will prompt
for a root directory and build the paths for those passes using
that root. Any passes with the auto path generation root set will
be built using those settings. If all passes have auto build enabled
no output path is requested.
This returns the old behavior which is quick and requires almost
no setup, with the new auto build path behavior intact, and in both
cases builds the output paths and output filename as defined in
the output preferences.
Cancelling the prompt to pick the root directory will cancel the
auto build operation.
--
New options for the output path construction: using certain keywords
in the 'Strings_..' fields returns certain data. The keywords are
'#username', '#machinename', and "#date" (+ options).
They must be used individually - ie you cannot use '#username #machinename'
in a single string.
#username inserts the current
username as logged in
#machinename inserts the name of
the computer
#date requires some extra data: which
parts of the date to include by index, and a divider to separate
them. ie entering #date321_ inserts
'2004_04_26' into the path when your regional settings are Australia.
#date21- inserts '04-26'.
Note that the specifics returned are dependent on your regional
settings, but based on US settings the indices would likely correspond
to:
1:month
2:day
3:year
4:hour
5:minutes
6:seconds
7:AM/PM
Bug Fixes:
Auto build all paths button in the output paths inspector was broken
for the Lite versions.
Get them on the download
page.
Tuesday 21st April:
Updates for Full versions
of RPM - 'Apply' button in object properties define properties dialog
was
broken and would error.
Get them on the download
page.
Tuesday 20th April:
Updates for Full versions
of RPM - error when deleting passes when object properties are captured
is fixed.
Get them on the download
page.
Friday 16th April:
Updates for all versions
of RPM - object property fix for light support for full versions,
and fix for visibility set restoration when Visibility Sets Active
in Global Render Params is off.
Get them on the download
page.
Friday 9th April:
Important update for lite versions:
Selecting multiple passes no longer errors.
Updates for all versions
of RPM - backwards compatibility fix with the new output setup.
Also for the R6 versions Layer visibility is now overwritten by
the RPM Visibility set restoration.
Get them on the download
page.
Sunday 4th April:
Updates for all versions
of RPM - the R5 and both Lite versions have been updated with the
new output setup and output size interface elements. Some minor
bug fixes for the R6 version.
Get them on the download
page.
Wednesday 31st March:
R6 Full version, significant changes:
Object properties have been rewritten for 3.0b1. Significantly
faster for large numbers of objects, faster for captured materials,
more stable, uses less memory. Any object property data from previous
versions will be ignored, and when installed and opened in the scene
the new version will offer to remove the old data if it detects
any - note it does not offer to convert it, so if you cannot easily
rebuild it hesitate to upgrade. This does not affect layers, visibilty
sets and other setup - just the object property capture sets.
Reworked the output size presets - now it uses two
dropdowns rather than one + buttons, and you can now save/remove/modify
the presets to customise to your needs.
Auto Output Path Generation has been reworked to offer
a UI to control the structure of the output path.
See an animated gif of the modified preset output
size controls here,
and the Auto Output Path Generator controls here.
Get 3.0b1 on the download
page.
R5 version with the same modifications will be a few
days.
Light versions of both with the new output size preset
setup and Auto Output Generation setup a few days after that.
Enabled the purchasing of the Full version of
RPManager.
Monday 10th February:
Updated Help file, updated R5.1 Lite and Full versions,
update R6sp1 Lite and Full versions.
Get them on the download
page.
Thursday 5th February:
Just a note since it has been very quiet here for
a while: the RPM full version for R6 has been delayed, but should
be up by the end of the 8th of Feb, along with an updated help file.
Note that the R5 version will not work with R6, and the R6 version
will require SP1 for the most stable operation.
Monday 2nd December:
Update for RPManagerLite for R6.
Update for RPManagerLite for R5.
Get it on the download
page.
Monday 1st December:
Initial release of RPManagerLite for R6.
Get it on the download
page.
Sunday 16th November:
RPMdlx.dlx for R6 - so the PSDunwrapper can be used
with release 6.
Get it on the free
tools page.
Tuesday 2nd September:
RPManagerLite released as version 2.0 Release Candidate 4
New RPManager beta build, 36/1.958. This is the last
beta version.
Work In Progress Help
File.
Get them on the download
page.
Tuesday 19th August:
RPManagerLite released as version 2.0 Release Candidate 3
RPManager beta 1.958
Get them on the download
page.
Monday 18th August:
Bug fix for the PSDpathUnwrapper script, was broken for unwrap by
matID/smoothing group. Get it on the free
tools page.
Thursday 14th August:
RPManagerLite released as version 2.0 Release Candidate 2 - bug
fix for output existing startup warning, could fail on initial startup
in scenes where output had been already defined. Get it on the download
page.
Sunday 11th August:
RPManager full version 1.957beta now available for download, this
is limited to 3 passes when not licensed. Get it on the download
page.
RPManagerLite released as version 2.0 Release Candidate
1. Get it on the download
page.
The FAQ has been updated with a tip on how to have
objects assigned to only one pass affect another pass, as well as
some information about the R6 upgrades.
Expect some screencaptures of the xref scene support
as well as the render element support in the next few days.
Sunday 20th July - xref scene 'deferred loading'
added to the RPManager feature list - this disables loading of xref
scenes in your working scene and moves the loading to the netrendering
server itself. Updated screenshot here.
Major overhaul of the xref scene updating system in response to
production requirements.
Wednesday 9th July 2003 - if you wish to be kept updated
with news of releases, new free tools etc. email updates@rpmanager.com
with 'subscribe' in the subject field. (You will not recieve advertising
and email addresses will be kept private.)
Wednesday 2nd July 2003 - Beta07 of the Lite version
uploaded - version 1.955.
Monday 24th June 2003 - Free Tools section up
with PSDPathUnwrapper as the first freebie.
Monday 24th June 2003 - Beta06 of the Lite version
uploaded. Release notes are also available.
Monday 16th June 2003 - Beta03 of the Lite version
uploaded (Misc bug fixes). Also, licences for the Lite version may
now be purchased.
Friday 30th May 2003 - the Lite version is available
for download, and there is a new tutorial in the tutorial section.
Thursday 1st May 2003 - initial website up with
nothing to download. |