So, given that I also use a Mac and Safari (as I imagine several others here do as well), I went to my PC and used my even-older version of Safari and it worked well enough to download "webarchive" pages, which I use to "bookmark" items I am interested in without having to go into a store's website all the time. That's a quick way for me to make decisions. But as Nitab and midoyle have pointed out, Renderosity's code seems to be deficient. If I can download webarchive pages on a PC with an older version of Safari, then the problem is with the Mac coding for this re-design and not Safari. The page never concludes, just spins and spins. What this means is that there is no way to save the page. That is a big drawback for me (Item No. 1 above - spins without end). If Renderosity would prefer that Mac users go somewhere else, then so be it. But it is my feeling that your site should be compatible with all browsers, and particularly as many older browsers as possible. I mean, surely Renderosity does not believe that the consumer market should be forced to buy the latest and greatest operating systems just to purchase the wireframe for a building or a corset? You folks talk a lot about the community here, but we here in the community are trying to tell you that this re-design is the PITS and we don't want it. Once again, it is counter-intuitive, hard to navigate, functionality is hidden or hard to get to (or even just plain gone away), and slow! Please, folks, revert back to the previous design before you lose loyal customers. Of course, it's your website. You can do with it what you will.

Bagginsbill -

When I saw the checkbox Use Irradiance Cache and the slider for Precalculation Scale, I figured they must have been added in SR3, which I had been avoiding, since I usually wait till the dot 1 release of any update. But, what the heck, I thought. So imagine my surprise when everything works well - including the render timer! I'm so happy! I would much rather it was included in the user interface, but hey. Render Timer had always given me a result of 26 minutes and change, no matter how long the render, whether under a minute or several hours. Being a python script, I figured it was just another instance of something not playing nice with the Mac (I've gotten used to that over the years). I ran a separate digital timer and D3D's render timer is spot on. I love that tool!

And you are absolutely correct - the render times using the parameters you set out do cut down the time. Tremendously! I am positively floored. I'm going to run some more tests, and up the parameters to see what is best for this old machine.

You are the master. No doubt about it. I thank you here publicly, and silently every time I use your ideas. I am grateful.

Signing off now for another decade. ;-)

He seemed a very genuine person. My wife and I were very sad to hear of his passing. We didn't know him, of course, and only saw him in Green Mile and Armageddon, but he seemed to just radiate a real goodness. Hard to explain, I guess. Our prayers are with his family.

Quote - Hi John,

Here is a look at another of the cars coming your way in the very near future.

Hope you like it and glad you like my patio models.

The car is sitting on the patio with the walls and columns hidden, with a white applied to the stone floor.

Also has ted's free skydome with a snowy day image applied.

I really like the end result.

Click the image to enlarge.

Tom

DM, that is a beautiful Camaro. After I get the '51 panel truck next week, I'm going to await that baby - and raptopjohnny's! I've tried modeling cars - complete disaster! Too complicated for me. I've been working on a P51 Mustang for the past three years (in modo), but keep finding mistakes (and parts I've left out) and keep tweaking what I've done. I started it to learn more about modo - and because I wanted a good P51 for Poser that wouldn't cost me a wing and a leg! Once I'm done with it (in a year or two! Ha!), I'll more than likely put it up on Rendo in the free stuff area. Of course, best laid plans and all that.

Can't wait for you to release the Camaro - your dimensions look spot on, and I know that is difficult! My favorite car ever was the 1968 Plymouth Roadrunner with a 426 hemi - my sister's boyfriend bought one and let me drive it! It was a great shade of subdued blue. Wow! The CHP pulled me over and told me they had better not see me speeding around the neighborhood again. The closest I came to that much power again was when I got my first V-6 truck... and my first speeding ticket! As a result, I've had only one speeding ticket in all the years I've been driving. Talk about luck - I probably deserved several!Ha!

Well, gotta go put on the coffee. Talk about OT!

Regards, Rube

Quote - I did even better. This was 2 minutes 10 seconds rendered just now. I am not making that up.

(Note - this was an earlier version of the car patio. A rare collector's item. Only two copies exist. )

Very nice - that patio in the center is very much the 21-foot diameter plan my wife and I used 10 years ago in the backyard, except that we used a basket-weave pattern and not herringbone. I hate weeding that thing! Ha!

I'm keeping that render - it could be a collector's item on some future episode of the Virtual Antiques Roadshow. Plus, I like it! Very clever.

Seriously, though, now that you've told me how to properly use bounces in D3D's render tool, I think I may get a better handle on what's actually happening. I appreciate your direction.

On another note, I apologize (slight grin) for the Mork schtick I used earlier, Your Nodeness, but you are, after all, an immensity in the world of node. You are nothing short of impressive. But enough of this MIT bashing.

I hope you're not reading this until after the holidays and a good sail, about which time I should have the results of my time trials. I forgot to add that I include a reflective human-size sphere in the patio setting I've set up for light tests. I think it was your orb from a thread using the doge image. Anyway, it actually isn't that much of a hit on render time.

Smooth sailing,

Rube

Quote - Here are the settings.

Going to bed now. See ya.

You are a prince among men! There was absolutely no hurry at all, so I thank you very much, sir. I'm sorry you've had trouble with your Mac, I guess I've been lucky in that regard. I use my much older PCs for tools not available on the Mac, with Poser 8. Again, thank you. The stuff you and Dreamland are doing is great! Enjoy your time off, and be safe!

Stonemason! Mr. M., I have purchased many of your sets over the years; man, you are just incredible! With the instruction on lighting and shaders bagginsbill has been trying to teach us over the years, I think I may enjoy rendering with them again. I can't wait to try out ragtopjohnny's new car when it comes out. By the way, that third render is very nice, indeed!

Night all, see ya around the render farm!

*I have read the thread on IC, and it must be the reverse on a Mac, because 0 is fast and 99 or 100 is i-n-f-i-n-i-t-e-l-y SLOW! Unless SM fixed this behavior because you once remarked that it didn't operate as one expected (don't quote me on that quote). Of course, that may have been an old thread. Like this one... which may go unread!

I quote myself to correct myself, Mr. Bagginsbill - you indeed said it correctly: 0 is fast and higher is slower (and better) - too funny! I was writing it and still missed the obvious!

-Rube

Quote -

Tom (DreamlandModels) and I had a similar problem. Tom has a lot of "city" stuff and the cars look great in those situations. But whole city scenes are kind of heavy on resources when you want a 5-minute render time and you have to crank out 10 promo images. And - they do get a bit busy and distract you from the car.

So we came up with the "Car Patio". And - we started selling the Car Patio yesterday.

Combined with my free environment sphere, it makes for very fast and attractive car renders. Just interesting enough to put them in context, but not so interesting that the context is distracting.

Mr. B -

I come with great humbleness, O Supreme and Inestimable One, to ask thee a question - 5 minute renders? How is this possible, Your Shaderness? The best I seem able to come up with and still have somewhat meaningful results with a puddle material for the patio is 14 minutes at 1000x625 resolution, using the Envsphere with an 8k x 4k jpeg cheat for IBL (overcast, produced in Photoshop with light blue-gray fading into dark blue-gray gradient). SSS is off, displacement maps is off, RayTrace is 3, IC is 0*, IDLQ is 16, shading is 1.00, post filter is 1, GC enabled (and set to 1.0 in the shaders). And yes, I leave smoothing on. I am on a 6-year-old first-gen MacPro with two dual-core CPUs, or four cores for 4 threads. No other lights but IBL.

The reason I ask, Your Most Illustriousness, is because the 1000x625 render you did had me looking to see if you described it as a Luxrender or a 3dsMax render - I cannot believe you rendered that in Poser! That was - beautiful! Reflections in reflections? Four vehicles with glossy reflections? Puddles? 5-minute renders?? Oh my! I hope you weren't kidding. (And why the h#@! doesn't Poser have a render timer yet - that is my pet peeve!)

I model in modo and I think if that is what Poser can do now with a Reyes engine, I may move some models over and try them (retro '50s cafe table with chairs, buildings, swimming pools, etc., high poly)... if I can get the 5-minute renders. Unless, of course, you have a 16-core machine, in which case this would all be moot for me.

Would you be willing to share your render settings and the lighting you used, O Great and Infinite Numberness? If I can move my models into Poser for rendering (although modo is super fast), rather than trying one more time to move Poser models to modo (always a disaster for me, materials lost, etc. etc.), I will build a human model in modo and call him Mr. Reyes ;-)

I have PP2012 SR2.1, and units are in inches.

P.S. - I love that car patio! I think I'll do something similar for the top of my buildings, only square. I also love that car, whoever modeled that baby is very very good. Can't wait till I can afford it!

*I have read the thread on IC, and it must be the reverse on a Mac, because 0 is fast and 99 or 100 is i-n-f-i-n-i-t-e-l-y SLOW! Unless SM fixed this behavior because you once remarked that it didn't operate as one expected (don't quote me on that quote). Of course, that may have been an old thread. Like this one... which may go unread!

Regards,

Rube