Updated 25th October 2004
This problem does not appy to RenderPipe for Maya
version 1.7 and later.
If you connect a bitmap to the transparency of
a material, Maya defaults to connecting the File
node's outTransparency output to the material node's
Transparency input.
If the bitmap does not have an alpha channel, for
example it is a jpg, the result is solid opaque.
If the bitmap has no alpha channel you probably
want the RGB of the bitmap to be used as the transparency.
To do this there are two options:
1. Switch on the 'Alpha is Luminance' switch in
the File node's 'Color balance' rollout.
2. Connect the File node's outColor output to the
material node's Transparency input
The reason this can be confusing is that the Maya
software renderer does number 1 automatically if
the bitmap does not have an alpha channel, whereas
RenderPipe does not.
(New 3rd July 2003)
If you switch on 'Use Frame Extension' in the file
node, Maya allows files to be names and numbered
in three formats: name.N, name.N.ext and name.ext.N.
RenderPipe does not support the name.N.ext format
(e.g. bitmap.0001.jpg) but does support the other
two formats (e.g. bitmap.001 or bitmap.jpg.001).
Neither Maya nor RenderPipe support the format
nameN.ext (e.g. bitmap001.jpg).
(Updated 24th October 2003)
With effect from version 1.4 of RenderPipe for
Maya we recommend using Maya's module mechanism
to install RenderPipe for Maya.
If putting the module file in C:\AW\Modules\Maya\5.0
does not work, then try putting it in C:\Documents
and Settings\[User]\My Documents\maya\modules where
[User] is replaced by your user name. You may need
to create the modules folder.
If you follow the instructions but cannot get the
plug-in to load then there is an alternative method
of installation which always works. It is documented
in the release notes and on page 16-7 of the PURE
user manual and page 21-7 of the RenderDrive user
manual. In this alternative method the components
of RenderPipe for Maya are copied to the same directories
that Maya uses for its own components, so they are
guaranteed to be found. The plug-in file rpmaya.mll
(or rpmaya.so) and the shaders directory are copied
to Maya's plug-ins directory, the various .MEL scripts
are copied to Maya's scripts\AETemplates directory
and the various .XPM files are copied to Maya's
icons directory.
If you change the way that you have installed RenderPipe
for Maya, especially if the first attempt failed,
it is very important that you search for and remove
any shader fragments cached in your project directories
- see page 16-7 of the PURE user manual or page
21-7 of the RenderDrive user manual. Once you have
deleted the shaders, reboot the RenderDrive or use
the Clear cache button on PURE's Configure panel.
If RenderPipe is successfully installed and the
plugin loaded then in Maya 4 / 4.5 a 'RenderPipe
current frame' option will appear at the bottom
of the Render menu. In Maya 5 a RenderPipe option
will appear in the 'Render Using' lists. If this
option does not appear check that:
MentalRay is not loaded (Maya 4 / 4.5 only).
If MentalRay is loaded then unload it and set
it not to be auto-loaded. Re-run Maya.
RenderPipe is loaded (via the plug-in manager)
Check the Script Editor for warning messages
Re-run Maya
The usual reason for this is that there are invalid
shaders cached in the projects. To cure this remove
all shader fragments from your projects - see page
16-7 of the PURE user manual or page 21-7 of the
RenderDrive user manual.
Once you have done this, check that RenderPipe
for Maya's shader sub-directory is located in the
same directory as the plugin file rpmaya.mll (or
rpmaya.so on Irix).
Finally, re-render the scene. If you get a message
about missing shader fragments see question 24.
'RenderPipe for Maya warnings about missing shader
fragments' on page 11. Once you have deleted the
shaders, reboot the RenderDrive or use the Clear
cache button on PURE's Configure panel.
To understand this warning, it is worth understanding
how RenderPipe for Maya users shaders:
In Maya it is possible to use Hypershade to produce
complex shader networks.
RenderDrive and PURE have a RenderMan interface.
In RenderMan shaders are written using a shading
language and stored in .SL files.
RenderPipe for Maya's shaders directory contains
shader 'fragments', which implement the various
nodes in Maya.
At render time RenderPipe for Maya assembles
shader fragments to produce whole shaders. It
produces one shader per shading network and one
per light. For simple common shaders it can reuse
an existing shader. The shaders saved into the
current project. They are sent to PURE or RenderDrive,
compiled and kept so they can be reused.
When you render, if RenderPipe for Maya encounters
a node for which it does not have a shader fragment,
it will warn you and ask if you want to create an
empty fragment. The empty fragment will render that
node as black or as doing nothing. The fragment
is stored in the current project with the assembled
shaders.
There are possible two reasons for RenderPipe
for Maya reporting a missing fragment:
That node is not implemented. See the table in
the release notes for the list of nodes that are
supported.
RenderPipe for Maya is not installed correctly.
The shader fragments should all be in a directory
called 'shaders'. That directory should be located
in the same place as the plug-in itself, rpmaya.mll
(or rpmaya.so on Irix). In this case see 'RenderPipe
for Maya installation problems' above. If
you have answered 'Yes' to the prompt to create
an empty fragment it is essential that you delete
the shaders cached in your projects.
New 8th September
2003
This message is specific to Maya 5.0 and RenderPipe
for Maya version 1.4. It does not affect RenderPipe
for Maya version 1.5. It occurs when using the pixel
filter menu in RenderPipe's render globals tab.
To avoid it:
-
Set "Render using" temporarily
to "Maya software"
-
Choose the Pixel filter you wish
to use in the Maya software render globals - open
the Anti Aliasing quality section to find the
pixel filter control. You will need to set the
render quality to High or Highest to enable the
controls.
-
Set "Render using" back
to "RenderPipe"
The display in the RenderPipe
render globals of the pixel filter being used is wrong
and should be ignored.
Alternatively, you can download
a new script file createRenderPipeGlobalsTab.mel,
replace the one in RenderPipe for Maya's rpmaya5/scripts
directory and then re-run Maya. Do not use this script
in Maya 4.5 or earlier.
New 21st October
2003
BodyStudio™ is a plugin from
Reiss Studio for importing Poser files into Maya.
This plugin is compatible with RenderPipe but when
importing Poser files you must follow Reiss Studios
advice to:
- Switch off the "Use Full
Texture history" option (which defaults to
off)
- Switch off the "Process
.bum files" option
This is because these options
result in nodes that are not compatible with RenderPipe
and other external renderers.
Updated 29th
March 2004
This does not affect you if you are
using RenderPipe for Maya version 1.5, it only affects
RenderPipe for Maya version 1.4.
In early October 2003 Alias released
an update for Maya 5.0, version 5.0.1.
If you
are using RenderPipe for Maya version 1., then you
will need you need an updated script file. To install
it: Download the new createRenderPipeCommonGlobalsTab.mel.
If you have installed RenderPipe in the recommended
way, simply put the file in C:\RPMaya_Windows_Module\maya5\scripts
replacing the file already there. Otherwise, find
the existing createRenderPipeCommonGlobalsTab.mel
and replace it. Do not update this file if you are
using RenderPipe for Maya version 1.5.
This new file also works with
Maya 5.0. If you do use Maya version 5.0.1 with RenderPipe
you will find that the render menu contains items
that are not supported by RenderPipe such as IPR.
The options that RenderPipe supports all work correctly
so this is just a cosmetic problem.
Additionally, the module search path
has been changed. Maya 5.0.1 no longer searches C:\AW\Modules\Maya\5.0
for module files. Instead, place the RenderPipe5.mod
file in C:\Documents and Settings\[User]\My Documents\maya\modules
where [User] is replaced by your user name. You may
need to create the modules folder.
Updated 14th June
2004
The Maya 6 version of RenderPipe for
Maya is now released and is available
to download.
Updated 24th September
2004
In Maya 6 the Render command (used from
a DOS shell) has been changed. The new command does
not properly support plugin renderers so cannot be
used with RenderPipe for Maya.
Instead you can use the old command,
which has been renamed mayaSWrender,
or use mayaBatch
-render.
Note that to use these commands you
must switch on 'Override Batch Renderer' in the RenderPipe
tab of render globals.
New 12th August 2004
It is possible to associate a RenderMan
transofrmation shader with a camera by using a dynamic
string attribute called 'customCameraShader'. This
allows you to produce effects like a fish eye lens,
or even a QuickTime VR spherical projection.
To associate a RenderMan shader called
fisheye.sl with a camera called persp:
1. Copy the shader to the current project's
shaders folder.
2. Type these two lines in the MEL command
line:
addAttr
-ln "customCameraShader" -dt "string"
perspShape;
setAttr
-type "string" perspShape.customCameraShader
"fisheye";
3. When you render, the fish eye shader
will be applied.
Notes:
Do not include the .sl in the "fisheye"
at the end of the setAttr line, as if you do it will
not work.
The field of view is automatically calculated
and passed through to the shader in degrees as the
fov parameter.
See the RenderPipe MAX section of the
release notes or these
questions and answers for details of the QuickTime
VR shader 'qtvr.sl'.
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