No high lights in main render

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MEM
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2023 9:08 pm

No high lights in main render

Post by MEM » Sat Mar 04, 2023 11:11 pm

Hi,

How-come I get a lot more details with high lights in the exploration render window than in the main render window ?

Some lighting details don't appear at all (high light - whites) in the main render window, but you can clearly see them in the exploration window, ironically even if it's a much lower rendering definition. I have tried it with low+ preset and with high+ and there is no difference at all (see attached images). I have tried with a physical sky and spherical sky - which both actually give me those white details in the miniatures of the exploration render window, but not in the main render window. I have not touched the post process settings, they are reset.

Here's the low+ image:
Image
and the high+ image:
Image

So what am I missing here ? Why aren't those nice white details not appearing in my main rendering ?

Thank you so much !
Attachments
Low+ res.jpeg
Low+ res.jpeg (1.17 MiB) Viewed 2173 times
High res.jpeg
High res.jpeg (1.16 MiB) Viewed 2173 times

Fletch
Posts: 12897
Joined: Fri Mar 20, 2009 2:41 pm
OS: PC 64bit
SketchUp: 2016-2023
Contact:

Re: No high lights in main render

Post by Fletch » Mon Mar 06, 2023 9:17 am

Each render setting preset has different optimizations (or lack thereof) resulting in different materials working differently with different settings. Typically with the lower settings one can get faster renderings by optimizing (lowering) the Fresnel reflection tracing (physically accurate reflections). This changes how reflections look. This is because the low render setting is (obviously named "low" for a reason) NOT meant to represent the final quality rendering it's meant to give you a quick feedback for basic lighting tweaks.

In the exploration window check which setting is being used. It is likely different from the setting used in the Render Window dialog.

For best and easiest and most consistent results use setting 11 in the Exploration window. Use 9 in the final rendering dialog. This gives best results for scenes with more than sun and sky lighting (interior architectural renderings) or HDRi spherical sky environment lighting. If you are rendering a scene with only sun and sky, render with Easy 08.

Be sure to use Fastforward denoise if it works with your hardware it reduces render times with Easy 09 drastically and makes it the fastest most reliable setting of them all. On a machine with 6-8 cores (8-12 threads - the more the better) Easy 09 with Fastforward denoise can't be beat for quality vs speed, in my opinion.
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Untitled-1.jpg
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MEM
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2023 9:08 pm

Re: No high lights in main render

Post by MEM » Wed Mar 08, 2023 6:53 pm

Thank you Fletch, once again, your advice is right on.

I took notes on paper. :D

I would LOVE to buy and use the "Fastforward Denoising" add-on, but my computer is borderline ok for it.

I did read the hardware requirements for it, you recommend 4 logical CPU cores and 8 GB of RAM as a minimum. I do have four cores, 3GHz Intel Core i5, with 8GB of RAM. And I have been looking into doubling that minimum to at least 16 GB of RAM, but unfortunately, I have a 21.5 inches iMac, and they (the certified/authorized apple stores)do not take that model appart anymore to change the RAM cards. So I'm kind of stuck. I'm a bit angry at the apple store that sold me that model in 2017. Had I known, I would've bought the 27 inches, which easily allows you to add RAM (change the card). Worse, my 21.5 inches is apparently not usable as a screen, if I wanted for example to buy a mac mini to have more power. I want to invest, but while making the most of what material I had already bought and have that actually is usable/functional. It's a lot of money to invest. I know you are here to give advice concerning this software, Twilight Render, not computers, but if there's any chance you could easily give me advice on this to, that would be unbelievably helpful.

Thank you.

Fletch
Posts: 12897
Joined: Fri Mar 20, 2009 2:41 pm
OS: PC 64bit
SketchUp: 2016-2023
Contact:

Re: No high lights in main render

Post by Fletch » Wed Mar 08, 2023 7:15 pm

Hi, Fastforward Denoise should work fine with your Intel processor CPU on your Mac. No need for an NVIDIA graphics card.
You can also limit the RAM used by the Denoiser, so it will likely work in most scenarios. When you limit the RAM it just takes longer to denoise the image (from 2 seconds to 2 minutes depending on the scenario, in my experience it's quite fast). If it does not work, let us know within 5 working days and we will refund your money. :hat:

Article: Fastforward Denoise
Twilight Render Website wrote:"The second variation runs on the CPU and is based on the Intel Open Image Denoise library.

Because it runs on the CPU, and must share CPU processing power with the renderer, this variation of denoising must be run "offline". This means you must manually capture the state of the render and initiate the denoising process manually. Because the CPU denoiser may take significant time to run (anywhere from 2 seconds to a couple of minutes), it is important that it doesn't delay the render process. At the same time, you may want to check on the progress of your image periodically to see how it looks with Denoising applied. This is where the capture process comes in.

Capture for offline post-processing

Beginning with Twilight Render Pro v2.14.11, you can capture the current state of the render into a new, separate post-processing window. Within that window, you can make adjustments to the post-process parameters of the image (exposure, tone-mapping, etc.) without affecting the active, on-going render.

Once you have captured an image by clicking the Capture button in the Render Editor, you can also initiate the offline Denoising process. Assuming you have a valid license for the FastForward Denoiser, you will see a button labeled Denoise Render. By clicking it, you enable Denoising; any post-processing change you apply will include both the change and denoising. Because this process may be time consuming, you should apply any other changes first, and the enable denoising. If you need to apply further changes, disable denoising and then apply the other changes.

From the Capture window, you can save the results of your post-processing changes, including the denoising."

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