Play Better with Other Renderers

[Tom Klaber]

Once again - I would love if VW would do whatever it had to do to play nice with outside renderers.

The more compatible the software - the better. Again - how can C4D have a Maxwell plug-in and VW doesn't?

[PVA - Admin]

I suspect 2 main reasons:

1) We do not use the C4D engine as a plug in, we integrate it fully and engineering manually hooks in all the components for each release. It is not drag/drop.

2) MOST LIKELY (I do not know this for a fact, I've just seen evidence) our agreement with Maxon to license the C4D rendering engine may preclude us from allowing alternative third party renderers. I will see if this is something I can verify.

Regardless of the first two, adding this thread to the existing request.

[rDesign]

I wish that the C4D engine was integrated even more fully, as it seems that we only have access to a very limited portion of C4D's shader functionality.

See how ArchiCAD 100% integrated the C4D engine when they switched over to it, even so far as allowing ArchiCAD to directly read C4D material files.

ArchiCAD18 New Features: Surface Materials Overview

CineRender Surface Channels: ArchiCAD 18 Help Center

Surface Settings (CineRender): ArchiCAD 18 Help Center

[PVA - Admin]

Same here, there are some delicious features that I desperately want access to. I harangue the rendering team pretty constantly about this via feature requests as well as in person.

[zoomer]

I am pretty happy with a little more limited feature set of C4D Render and

Material Settings or Features in VW. For me, for Architects and most users

in general.

(Beside I think an Architectural Shift Camera is mandatory)

But I would very much prefer the Layer based Material Property Window

of C4D, although same feature set, against the current UI.

Beside I don't think that 4 channels only, on the other hand hiding other features

in transparency channel, makes it easier to understand or use.

Today is all about PBR (physically based rendering) with physically accurate

Materials/Shaders. And setting these is quite tedious in current UI if not limited.

I need the Glass option in Reflectivity for all Materials to get Access to

Specular Reflexion together with Fresnel settings.

(And as it looks RW Fresnel is no real Fresnel Curve, just linear)

Also, reducing the typical Diffuse Amount to max. 80% by needing to set a

20% gray filter color, when having applied an image texture, is not very convenient.

Or simply not available at all when you want to just use Class Fill Colors by setting by

Object Attributes.

Concerning the Exchange to get access to other Render Systems,

I have so many loss problems getting my geometry out of VW.

The only reliable geometry are generic solids.

Even to C4D, I mentioned Materials often enough.

But for one Heliodon in VW I will get about 12-16 kind of Lights and

Background items (C4D or FBX) that I just have to deactivate them and start

Physical Daylight in C4D from scratch. Camera settings don't come through

completely either.

Edited April 14, 2016 by zoomer

[Tom Klaber]

Jim,

Thanks for the explanation. I guess things are always more complicated than they appear or should be. Nemetschek has assembled quite a portfolio of brands and software. It would be nice (and powerful) if these programs were a bit more compatible and cooperative.