Best Maya realtime shader?

melviso · Mar 2012

I have recently developed interest in real time shaders for Maya viewport.Realizing how they contribute towards reducing rendering time drastically(been using mental ray to render).I am into short animation films but I wouldn't mind using a realtime shader this time around after seeing the new trailer by quantic dream called Kara.
[ame="

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji1bViBqXGM&feature=player_embedded"]KARA - YouTube[/ame]

I think the most popular shader most people use here is the xoliul shader which I must admit has great features but sadly it works only for 3dsmax.I just found some other shaders(cgfx) that can work nicely with the Maya viewport.

-TGA Physically Based Lighting CGFX Shader for Maya Viewport

-IcUberShader 3.0 cgfx(is there a new version?I read from leo's blog he was working on a new IcShader)

There may be other ones that I may not be aware of.So I would really appreciate a recommendation based on the one u have tested or used.Does anyone know the shader that was used by Naughty Dog for their cutscenes?
I also read frome some of the posts here that Maya cgfx shaders do not support moving shadows but I saw this,I noticed the shadow of the deus ex guy moving or are they using a different type of realtime shader?
[ame="

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5UoDGS4o7s"]Maya 2012 New Features - Animation Part 1 - Human IK - YouTube[/ame]

Thanks.

Pola · Mar 2012

I'm pretty sure the deus ex clip is using viewpoint 2.0.

passerby · Mar 2012

xoliul 1.5 still works for maya, you just need to enable teh HLSL plugin for maya first.

also the kodde cgfx shader for maya is also very good.

LRoy · Mar 2012

I've been using this shader lately. Great results.

http://blog.leocov.com/

Ace-Angel · Mar 2012

RT shaders aren't THAT great in Software related viewports, unless you're focusing on single pieces, not entire scenes to render like say someone would do in UDK, CE3, etc...

Also, remember that shaders during runtime don't get optimized under the hood most of the time in DCCP application, I tried that a year ago or so rendering an entire scene in RT shaders, the results where a disaster, my viewport would lag at 2FPS, and constantly crash, not to mention, any changes to size/position, etc to a mesh would send the normals bending in all kinds of directions.

I had to write a script would would keep on hitting Reset XForm everytime I started to render something.

The thing, DCCP applications are limited by what the developers allow, and they can fall behind by quite some mileage, especially since it's not their prime importance for RT shaders. I honestly suggest taking to to a game engine and learning how to export you animations instead.

Again, everything I said is extreme cases, such as an entire environment with characters in them being animated. Don't ever do that and hope for much performance gain, infact, it can be slower then Mental Ray sometimes.

chronic · Mar 2012

Maya has some problems if you try to use CGFX shaders for an animated short or something similar. Although its technically possible, the interactivity of the program, and the hypershade in particular completely tank, to the point where it might take 30 - 40 minutes just to open the scene and activate 'textured' mode for the viewport. if you are using under 10 cgfx shaders it might be workable, if not, then its hell.

you should also remember that there is a limit to the number of lights you can use, hard coded into the shaders, and the light colors are also shader attributes. You'll need to develop a system or workflow to change them all simultaneously or link them to a global attribute.

Shadows have to be rendered through mental ray as a separate pass.

There are some benefits of course, if you can manage these limitations. The interactivity and realtime tweaking are great to have, plus 2 second render times from the hardware renderer are great.

melviso · Mar 2012

@Chronic & Ace angel

So u guys are saying if I wanted to create an animation with realtime stuff like Kara.It would be better with a game engine like UDK or Cry Engine?Just youtubed Cry engine and UDK and I am shocked by the awesomefulness of these programs.

The animation I am working on involves a destroyed area with an abandoned church and two girls fighting themselves.The environment is gonna get affected by their actions,spells e.t.c.

Seeing that these engines can be used to create effects like smoke e.t.c.Its like After Effects but in a 3D sense.

I checked the website of both UDK and Cry engine and I am reading it is free?Which do u feel is better?I understand a lot of people use UDK.This would be great,import my animations into UDK or Cryengine,add effects and render away.

I am a little confused about the specs for these programs:

For UDK:
PC Specs

Minimum:

Windows XP SP3 or Windows Vista
2.0+ GHz processor
2 GB system RAM
SM3-compatible video card
3 GB Free hard drive space

Recommended for Content Development:

Windows 7 64-bit
2.0+ GHz multi-core processor
8 GB System RAM
NVIDIA 8000 series or higher graphics card
Plenty of HDD space

Minimum for DX11 Development:

Windows Vista
2.0+ GHz processor
2 GB system RAM
DX11 Graphics Card:
Nvidia: 400 series or above
ATI: 5000 series or above
3 GB Free hard drive space

What does content development mean(sorry new to all this stuff)?

Presently,I have a CPU with 4GB RAM,Windows Vista,Nividia 9500GT of 1GB ram,105GB RAM of free space.Am I gonna have problems if I wanna create content development.

I couldn't find the CPU specs for Cry Engine on their website.

Pls,I would really like others to give their inputs on what their experiences with UDK or cryengine has been.

I must say I have learnt a lot since I joined this forum.Thanks for the replies.

Best Maya realtime shader?

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