Quote - Here is a render of a Wonderous Wares vase.  I set the gain at 2.  I also found out I had to use an HDRI in the place of the skydome that the vases came with. I used an IBL that came with Reality. 

Two things:  What if I didn't want a picture of a swimming pool or anything else like that in my scene? 

                     The vase is still black. 

Good thing it's not real or I might break it.  Not really, but I am frustrated.  Mostly at my ignorance.  Any suggestions?

That is definitely a black vase. With IBL's, you don't need to have an HDR image in the slot to use it. Just check the box and have either the rectangular or spherical map shape selected.

What I find works well is 1 mesh light + the IBL channel running. Good images and fast results. Sometimes I use an HDR with the IBL, sometimes not. Depends if I want reflections of the IBL image on shiny surfaces or not.

Anyway, back to your vase conundrum. For your glass settings, you have 255 (or thereabouts) in both the transmission and reflection colors, right? And if you have a mesh light in the scene, make sure it's not silohouetting your vase. Sorry if this sounds stupid and obvious, but I'm running the gamut for the 'just in case' incident.

There's definitely not an alpha map, otherwise you'd have the opposite problem (no visible vase) unless the alpha map is completely white. You can check that in Reality, too, in the middle tab named Alpha Channel by clicking on the gear on the far right and selecting 'view texture+UV'. Again, I can't imagine why there would be an alpha map needed for this particular prop, but best to check anyway.

And in the far right tab called Modifiers, check to see if there's one hiding in the bump or displacement channel. I wouldn't think there would be one, but best to look anyway.

By the way, Paolo mentioned that this vendor was a Reality user. I may have forgotten, but there isn't a preset in ACSEL, right?

Outside of the chance that the geometry of the prop is flawed, have you tried making something else from your runtime glass? Even a primitive cube scaled into a thick rectangle will work for demonstrative purposes. Make sure 'Architectural' or 'hyper realistic' is checked, and see what the thin film and IOR are set at. These values add a look, but too high or low won't hurt much if you're experimenting.

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