Settings

 

For now, there is a text description below of each parameter available in jrOcclusion. Soon there will be a visual comparison varying each parameter individually, so you can see its effect. Check back at the end of the week!

 

Required Render Global Settings

Required Object Settings

 

jrOcclusion Settings Description

 

! NOTE !

 

Occasionally when the jrOccNode is first created, there is an invalid value in the Bias. To be on the safe side, always enter "0.0" for the Bias and press "Enter" before rendering for the first time.

 

 

Required Render Global Settings

 

To use jrOcclusion you MUST have enabled Raytracing in the Maya Render Globals. See the image below.

 

 

 

 

Required Object Settings

 

All objects which have the jrOccNode Material assigned to them MUST be "Visible in Reflections" in order for jrOcclusion to work. To set an object's "Visible in Reflections" checkbox, select the object, and open the Attribute Editor. Under the Shape tab for the object, twirl down the "Render Stats" list. Make sure the checkbox shown below is clicked.

 

 

 

 

jrOcclusion Settings

 

 

 

Above: the appearance of jrOcclusion in the Attribute Editor

 

 

Ray Sample Number -

Changes the number of rays which are shot for occlusion testing. Higher ray count generally means higher quality up to a certain point. Increasing the Ray Sample Number increases render time.

 

Max Distance-

This setting changes the maximum distance that an occluding ray travels. Generally, the distance within which an object occludes itself is fairly small. This value will need to be adjusted relative to the scale of your scene.

 

Jitter -

Adjusts the amount of random offset of the ray directions. This breaks up the discrete pattern caused by the deterministic sampling method, but also introduces noise into the image. Jitter has no effect on render time.

 

Cone Angle -

This is the cosine of the max angle between the normal and the shot ray. For example, typical ambient occlusion renders shoot rays in a 180 degree hemisphere centered around the surface normal. Thus, the max angle between a shot ray and the surface normal is 90 degrees. The cosine of 90 degrees is 0. This is the default behavior. In actuality, shooting rays at a slightly more narrow cone often cleans up the image a little.

 

Density Value-

This attribute multiplies the final return color for a single pixel. Numbers less than one lighten the image, while numbers greater than one darken it.

 

Bias-

This control sets the minimum distance below which a ray is not considered in occlusion. This value should be set extremely low (ie .0000001). Primarily used for development purposes, it will be removed in the next release. Be aware that Maya only displays floats to 3 decimal places. Entering numbers smaller than that (ie .0000001) will work fine, but they will display as 0.000.