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| Q: What is rtre? |
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| A: rtre is the product name for a suite of plug-ins and stand-alone tools that enhance Autodesk VIZ 4 and 2005 and 3ds max 4 thru 7 to provide superior quality real time 3D rendering and with interactive user control. |
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| Q: What is rtre real time 3D rendering? |
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| A: rtre real time 3D rendering is a very powerful and sophisticated process that enables superior quality images to be generated by your computer in a few milliseconds rather than minutes or hours. rtre real time rendering is therefore measured in frames per second (i.e. rtre can generate 30 frames per second). |
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| Q: Why would I use rtre? |
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| A: Suffice to say in this FAQ, that you will create better designs, much more quickly, with less effort and be able to commercially exploit them far earlier. |
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| Q: How do I use rtre? |
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| A: rtre is a collection of plug-ins and stand-alone tools for use with Autodesk VIZ 4 and 3ds max. Simply install rtre and you’re ready to go. |
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| Q: What rendering styles does rtre offer? |
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A: Currently rtre offers a comprehensive selection of photo-realistic and customizable non-photo-realistic rendering styles, all generated in real time (milliseconds per frame).
These include fully textured rendering; shaded; wireframe; transparent; hidden line; silhouette; cartoon style; hard and soft line sketch style; pencil fill and numerous combination derivatives of these styles. Any rendering style can be applied to any individual object offering unlimited combinations and effects. |
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| Q: What system do I need to run rtre? |
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| A: rtre renders 3D images in real time. For this reason, performance may be affected on highly complex 3D scenes with system configurations that do not meet the recommended system specification. |
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| Q: What 3D graphics card compatibility does rtre offer? |
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| A: rtre principally supports the full NVIDIA graphics cards range but prefers the NVIDIA Quadro range, as well as 3Dlabs Wildcat range. Other OpenGL and DirectX compatible graphics cards are also supported by rtre. |
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| Q: How can I use rtre if I don’t have Autodesk VIZ or 3ds max? |
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| A: Published rtre real time 3D scenes are available to any user with a Windows compatible system and modern 3D compatible graphics |
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| Q: How difficult is rtre to use? |
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| A: rtre is very easy to use and will display instant results, even for novice or new users. Along with the download mentioned above, we have also provided a tutorial to help you get started. |
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| Q: Does rtre integrate with my current software? |
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| A: rtre integrates entirely with Autodesk VIZ 4 and 3ds max. Running under Windows, no other software is required. |
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| Q: What kind of businesses use rtre? |
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| A: rtre is in use by major architectural practices, interior designers, visualisers, civil engineers, airport planners and designers, facility management, film studios, expo designers & builders, individuals, and 3D production studios. |
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| Q: What restrictions are there on distributing my rtre 3D scenes? |
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| A: Subject to other third party licensing restrictions on any content you may use, rtre scenes may be distributed in the normal manner. rtre published scenes may be freely distributed by the creator of the scene so long as they hold a valid license for an authorized version of rtre publisher software. |
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| Q: How do I adjust the scale of my model for rtre? |
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| A: Check Scale and Units. You may find your model isn't built according to real world units, if so use the Rescale World Units tool in the utilities panel of 3ds max / Autodesk VIZ 4 to rescale your model. |
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| Q: Why can't I see my model in the rtre viewport? |
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| A: If you have a problem finding your model in the rtre space move your model to the 3ds max/VIZ 4 Centre of Origin, your model may be literally miles away, making it difficult to find in rtre space. When you activate the rtre view you are placed at the Centre of Origin. |
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| Q: How should I go about changing the illumination of my scene? |
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| A: If your model was built for a max/VIZ4 render, render a still, or a number of stills from different parts of the environment. These images will be useful as a reference when adjusting your lighting for viewing in rtre. Whether your scene is an interior or exterior, a good place to start in preparing your file for rtre is lighting. To speed up the process, hide all but the main elements. e.g. if an interior - hide all but the floors, walls and ceilings and view your scene in rtre Shaded mode while making lighting adjustments (effects of lights within your scene are more apparent when viewing without textures). When you have achieved a good lighting solution for the interior, unhide the other objects, and apply rtre lighting. If necessary, the lighting may then be further refined. |
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| Q: Why are some textures missing from my rtre viewport? |
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| A: Examine your textures. rtre doesn't support the gif format so any gif materials in your scene will need converting to a compatible format, i.e. png, dds, jpg, bmp, tga, avi. At present material types supported by rtre are Phong and Blinn. |
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| Q: My rtre scene still has missing textures. What should I do? |
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| A: If you find some of your geometry is missing textures, check the ID numbers on both the Map Channel, (UVW), and in the Material Editor rtre utilizes Map Channel 1 to display textures. Map Channel 2 is only used when applied as a Mix Material, in which case material two in the mix utilizes Map Channel 2. If your textured model utilizes several ID numbers you can use UVW Unwrap in max/VIZ4, or Render to Texture (where available) to collapse the various textures down to one map. |
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| Q: Why are 'power of two' texture dimensions important in your rtre scene? |
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| A: If textures in your scene do not have power of two dimensions rtre will automatically convert them (internally) when the scene is loaded. The need, however, for automatic texture conversion not only increases the scene loading time but also affects the real-time performance of your rtre viewport. The rtre TextureManager can be used to view, and (if required) convert a texture to its nearest power of two (po2) dimensions. The 'TextureManager' utility can be found inside your rtre installation folder. TextureManger is not supplied with the Trial version of rtre. |
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| Q: rtre functionality seems slow. What can I do to improve it? |
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| A: Examine the geometry in your scene, and wherever possible reduce the mesh complexity to speed up all functions in rtre. Examine the textures and reduce the resolution where possible. Remember, rtre renders everything many times a second. |
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| Q: Textures in my rtre scene still don't look right! What else can I do? |
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| A: If the scene is lit with rtre lighting and there are textures in your scene that don't look right, go to the Materials Editor, view the relevant textures and check the color value in the Diffuse/Ambient slots, textures on objects lit with rtre lighting are influenced by this value so if you don't want this effect set the value in the Ambient and Diffuse slots to a neutral grey. |
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| Q: Transparent textures don't work as I expect them to, what can I do? |
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| A: If textures using alpha transparency have been setup for a max/VIZ4 render you will need to adjust them for use with rtre. rtre utilizes the alpha information in the alpha channel of a 32 bit targa file. The targa is then placed in both the diffuse slot and the opacity slot of the 'maps' dropdown in the Max/VIZ material editor. |
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| Q: Transparent objects are invisible sometimes - what can I do? |
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| A: You might try using our newest feature, called Transparency Type, which has been added to rtre materials. There are 3 settings, Near, Default and Far. When there are juxtaposed objects in rtre which have transparent materials assigned to them you may on occasion find the objects are drawn in the wrong order causing some faces of the objects to be momentarily invisible as you move around the scene. This may be more apparent when there is RPC content in the scene. If this issue occurs, replace the transparent material with rtre material (as detailed in the reference documentation and rtre help .chm), keeping the original material as a sub material. Next, depending on the objects position in relation to the other transparent objects select Near, Default, or far. |
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| Q: Why can't I see my non-transparent scene object when it is behind a large transparent object? |
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| A: In order to rectify this anomaly, large transparent objects should be remodeled using smaller discrete faces that approximate the overall dimensions of the original object. |
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| Q: My rtre lighting lacks definition. Can I improve it? |
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| A: In some cases you will have to increase mesh complexity to achieve detailed light and shadow effects. Use the Subdivide modifier in VIZ/max or the Tessellate modifier in Max 4 to increase the mesh density where necessary, Always apply the Tessellate Modifier below the rtre Lighting Modifier in the stack or rtre Lighting will be negated. |
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| Q: Are there any other useful 'lighting' tips I can apply? |
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| A: Another, more economical but very effective, method in achieving lighting detail is to make a max render of the light and shadow, on a floor for instance, then apply the resulting image as part of a Mix Map back onto the floor thus creating the look of light and shadow detail without increasing mesh density. (Note: when using Mix Map in rtre use 2 UVW maps on your object utilizing channels 1 and 2, then in the mix map material allocate the main texture to channel 1 and the shadow map to channel 2.) |
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| Q: Why does some of my geometry appear as 'black' inside the rtre viewport? |
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| A: If after lighting your scene and viewing in rtre you notice some of the geometry has turned black it is likely that Extrude, Face Extrude or Bevel has been used on a sub-object level, this is fixed by placing a smooth modifier in the modifier stack underneath rtre lighting then tick Automatic, once you have done this go to the rtre lighting panel and click update. Another possibility is that the Diffuse and Ambient values of the material being used is too dark, make these values a neutral grey, or lighter, and re-light with rtre Lighting. If you have imported a Lightscape mesh and it appears black in the rtre 3D View, confirm that the modifiers: LS Colors and LS Mesh have been applied to the model. |
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| Q: Why doesn't my animation work in rtre? |
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| A: Regarding animation in rtre, the max/VIZ4 Out Of Range Types for Loop, Ping-Pong etc, are ignored and you will need to apply an rtre Animation Helper to the animated objects. |
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| Q: Which version of RPC plugin should I be using and where do I get it? |
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| A: The latest available from http://www.archvision.com. To use RPC within rtre, you must have the RPC v3.x+ plugins installed. Previous versions are not supported by rtre. |
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| Q: Does rtre support the RPC 3D+ Content (sometimes referred to as "SmartContent")? |
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| A: rtre 1.1 does NOT support RPC SmartContent, so cars with turning wheels, parking lot cars, and any intelligent objects will not function as expected. These all use a different technology to normal RPC content does. A future version of rtre will most likely support this content, but no release timeframe is available. |
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| Q: Can I switch between stereoscopic and normal rendering in my published file? |
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| A: No. rtre publishes an exe in one mode, either Stereoscopic or Normal - we suggest you identify which one is published by adding a word to the Published skin. Please also note that to view in stereo mode your graphics card must support stereo and the Quad Buffering must be enabled (naturally you will also require a pair of compatible glasses to view the stereo scene. If you Publish a stereo scene, then you will only see stereo if your graphics card supports it, otherwise the same published scene will run in normal mode. |
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| Q: When using the 'render to texture' feature in 3ds max the textures look fine. Why isn't the texture visible in rtre? |
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| A: When baking the texture onto a model, it is essential you use 'map channel 1'. In addition, rather than using the shell material directly - drag the shell material to another slot to create a new material. You should then re-apply the new material to your model and re-assign rtre lighting. |
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| Q: What is another example where specific map channels are required when using rtre? |
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| A: When using 'Mix' materials, you must use map channels 1 and 2. |
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| Q: What operating systems does rtre run on? |
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| A: rtre runs on all supported 3ds max and Autodesk VIZ 4 platforms. |
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| Q: How do I know whether I am using the latest graphics card drivers for my particular card? |
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| A: Please check your manufacturer's homepage for the latest drivers. Beta drivers MUST NOT be used as they are just that - not fully tested and certified for use. |
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| Q: Will it make much difference what graphics card drivers I am using? |
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| A: Certainly! rtre employs a variety of cutting-edge techniques to create the most life-like and immersive experience possible. Only by using the most recent drivers from your manufacturer can you be sure that you're getting the optimal results from your computer. Also, do not use beta drivers even though they are newer, they are untested and unsupported. |
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| Q: Would changing my graphics card to a new one help me use rtre? |
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| A: If your graphics card is more than twelve months old, you'll probably notice substantial speed increases, and, in many cases, superior graphical quality, by upgrading your graphics card. Also, certain cards such as recent GeForce or Quadro based cards will enable real time sketch style rendering using the advanced vertex shaders supported by these graphics cards. |
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| Q: I think I have DirectX installed but don't know how do I find out for sure? |
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| A: Click your Start button in Windows, then select "Run" and enter the command "dxdiag". This program, provided by Microsoft with DirectX, will provide you with the DirectX version you have installed currently. If you don't have any version of DirectX installed at all, Windows will report an error similar to "Windows cannot find the file 'dxdiag'". |
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| Q: Does it matter that I am using a previous version of DX rather than version 8? |
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| A: rtre will only run in DirectX mode on computers which have DirectX version 8.0 or higher installed. However, it defaults to OpenGL mode which should work with most graphics cards, whether you have DirectX installed or not. |
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| Q: How would I best change my computer system to improve rtre performance? |
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| A: The simplest way is to make sure no other processor hungry programs are running the background. You can also try installing the latest drivers for your computer graphics and sound cards, as well as installing the latest service pack for your operating system.
If you're willing to upgrade your hardware, we recommend you place a higher priority on upgrading your graphics card than anything else, followed by your system memory size, and finally the CPU.
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| Q: Will I get the same performance from all current graphics cards? |
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| A: In most cases where they are of similar specification, yes. However, rtre has been specifically optimized for NVIDIA GeForce and Quadro cards and benefits from some of their advanced features. For example, using recent GeForce or Quadro based cards will enable real time sketch style rendering using the advanced vertex shaders supported by these graphics cards. |
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| Q: How do you get such impressive results in real time 3D rendering? |
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| A: That would be telling, but we have invested tens of man years in developing rtre using the latest technology and the best people. rtre contains tutorials, tips and tricks and sample files to ensure that you are also able to create spell-binding results. |
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| Q: What hardware/sound card do I need to produce 3D positional sound in rtre? |
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| A: Sounds can be positioned and setup in rtre without any soundcard at all, although of course the sound cannot be heard without sound hardware. We recommend that you use at least a card with stereo output so you can preview the sound while you are producing it. If at all possible, use a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz soundcard as this has the Sensaura 3DPA positional sound capability. |
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| Q: What hardware/sound card do I need to listen to the 3D positional sound in rtre? |
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| A: Any soundcard that produces a stereo output will enable you to listen to the sound in rtre, though not in 3D. rtre will utilize any soundcard hardware present in your computer. For best results, use a soundcard with 3DPA audio support, such as the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz card. |
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| Q: I do not know anything about 3D sound, can I still use sound in rtre? |
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| A: You do not need any specific knowledge of 3D sound to use sound in rtre. Sound objects can be positioned in 3D just as simply as any other object. At a minimum, just add a WAV file to each SoundEmitter placed in the scene and rtre will take care of the rest. |
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| Q: Why would I want to add sound? |
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| A: George Lucas said that "sound is fifty percent of the experience". Remember seeing those old silent movies or watching silent presentations. They are simply not as interesting or thrilling as those with sound or even simple background tracks. Using rtre, even with stunning graphical content, sound can greatly increase the overall immersive effect and using THUNDER-RT which comes inside rtre, makes it so easy that there is no reason not to. |
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| Q: What is Sensaura HRTF? |
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| A: HRTF (Head-Related Transfer Function) is a library of filters, created by taking special recordings of a sound from various 3D positions around a dummy human head. The information in these filters is used to playback any sound and make it seem like it is positioned in 3D around your own head. Sensaura have spent more than 10 years researching this award winning technology, coming up with a very realistic 3D effect which is now uniquely incorporated into THUNDER-RT in rtre. |
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Q: When I try to open the rtre Viewport inside of 3ds max, I get an error that says:
"GL_VERTEX_PROGRAM_ARB"
error line 770: Line 27 Column 28: Error: invalid texture coordinate number
Line 28, Column 28: Error: invalid texture coordinate number
Line 29, Column 28: Error: invalid texture coordinate number
Line 30, Column 28: Error: invalid texture coordinate number
What does this mean? |
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A: This error will appear in cases where something has broken the OpenGL vertex shading calls. Generally speaking, this is due to an incompatible display driver (most notably the MAXTreme drivers).
To stop rtre from using these calls (and eliminate the error), do the following:
Add the following to the User Environment Variable by:
1. Go to Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> System -> Advanced -> Environment Variables.
2. Within the Environment Variables dialog are two types (User and System). Under the User Variables, click New.
3. Make the variable name: RTRE_GL_AVOID_EXTS
4. Make the variable value: GL_ARB_vertex_program GL_NV_vertex_program
5. Hit Ok to save the new variable.
The next time you start 3ds max, the error should go away. |
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| Q: When I try to Publish a scene file, all of the textures disappear even though they look great in the Preview and in the rtre Viewport. What have I done wrong? |
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| A: There is a known issue with rtre 1.1 and the Publishing component that will omit the textures if the rtre Viewport isn't open within one of the 3ds max viewports.
So to work around this issue, simply make sure that the rtre Viewport is open inside of the software before you hit the Publish button. |
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| Q: Can you use Renderable Splines within the rtre Viewport? |
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| A: In order for Renderable Splines to show up within the rtre Viewport, you must add an Edit Mesh modifier on top of the spline. This "converts" the geometry into a mesh that rtre can apply its lighting to and display.
If you add an Edit Spline modifier before the Edit Mesh, you can even modify the spline while seeing the results update within the rtre Viewport. |
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| Q: How do I use MAXScript to remove all rtre 1.1 lighting modifiers from a scene so it can be network rendered? |
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| A: select all of the objects in your scene; type "deleteModifier $ 1" (excluding the quote marks into the MAXScript listener window; and it gets rid of all the rtre_Lighting modifiers in the scene |
