Cineversity

My biggest issue with learning Cinema 4D is I cannot seem to build complex scenes or not that complex scene without it freezing and crashing.

I know most people ask what I am running and I have a New Mac Pro and am running faster than people who have put far more complex scenes together.

I have 16 Core, 96GB ram, Two AMD Radeon Pro Vega II 32 GB each, and the After Burner Card, plus 2TB SSD HD.

So yesterday I build a scene with Octane as the render, I started to add a tree and then attempted to clone the on the plane. It instantly crashed. Before I used the cloner I brought it down to 2 copies so I cannot understand why it would be so resourced heavy.

What is the key to setting a scene in Cinema 4D

Hi bladel.timothy,

Certainly a nice machine, and you should use its power for what is really needed and visible.

Every single scene is different.

Typically things are sorted either via Layers, Takes, or Xref. A defined camera view is crucial to get an intelligent scene setup.

Call up a Cloner, set the Instance mode to Multi-Instances. Then the Viewport Mode to Point. This will allow a large number of clones.
https://help.maxon.net/r23/en-us/Default.htm#html/OMOGRAPH_CLONER-ID_OBJECTPROPERTIES.html#MGCLONER_VOLUMEINSTANCES_MODE

When you go to the Object Manager> Object> Object Information (Scene Information), you will see what the scene is based on. Any machine will find a limit at one point. The question is, do you need at a larger distance the full tree?
https://www.cineversity.com/vidplaytut/use_fbx_to_export_lods_from_cinema_4d_to_unreal

Besides that, perhaps even images (sprites) of trees can help at an even greater distance. After that, we typically use a matte painting or camera projection. What count is only what is visible in the final render; anything else is of no interest.

I do not have nor use Octane. I guess you like to use Octane Scatter, and if that isn’t working, you might check with the Octane Forum or even support.
http://www.aoktar.com/octane/OCTANE HELP MANUAL.html?DistributionSettings.html
As I’m not familiar with it, perhaps ask in the Octane forum if there is an option to limit the amount based on the camera’s frustum.

Enjoy your machine. It will certainly give you a lot of fun when you explore these steps you have asked for.

My best wishes

Thanks for the outstanding response. I did attempt to use scatter but I am very new to Octane and could not get it to show up in the scene. I was following a tutorial and wasn’t close to the full scene when it crashed. I am looking into what is running into the background. Now one thing you mentioned did make sense, when the author of the Tutt had us set the scene we ended up creating a high, very high poly count plain and then 3/4 of it was off-screen. If the camera movement we were planning would not cover much more than that and most of it coming from the top. Funny you mentioned camera projection I just filled a folder in my bookmarks with tons of info on this process because I had heard of it but did not know exactly what it was used for. So if I understand what your saying is my main concerns should be about what is closer to the camera and when I can lower the equality of distanced items until I may have to move them into the scene.

I do understand the instancing. And if I am honest the tree model I was using was probably also pretty high poly count. My worry was having a high enough end asset to get a spring look where the lights can be seen through the leaves.

This is very helpful thanks so much.

Thanks a lot for the kind feedback, bladel.timothy.

If I’m not mistaken, the Octane Mac version is relatively new. So, if you had a crash, it might help to send this in as a crash-report, so it can be improved.

Yes, I certainly believe that you are aware of instancing, but since I write in a forum, I address things always more globally. Which is not meant to express any evaluation of anyone’s knowledge.

I have a series on YouTube (link below) that covers a lot of Camera Mapping, etc.

I’m certain the Octane people will make it work for you. To test what I said, I went to my 2018 MacBookPro 13”, 8GB (so worse case to get anything done in terms of 40,000 trees, for example, but with an external graphic card RX5700, it took 5 seconds (Redshift 3D) to get a decent screen rendering in GI.

So, with your powerful setup, if no crash happens, that should fly nicely.

ENJOY.

Oh, I am so sorry, I absolutely felt zero offense. I would certainly rather someone assume I am unaware of something than aware. I am one that truly feels so grateful to all those who are willing to part knowledge with others no matter the setting. I cannot wait to look at your Youtube videos.

Basically, I have only really gotten into 3d for a little while, but have been using After Effects for a while. So far my 3D work has mostly been reading about the software packages and not doing. I decided to really focus on asset creation before using the software as I did not think I could afford to buy a lot of it. I also am fascinated by the process, maybe sometimes too much and it bogs me down. Anyway, So I did modeling (which I started in Maya) and have been learning the Substance software packages. I also have done a lot of studying about motion graphics as a whole. So practicing drawing so I could make style frames and such, etc. My end goal is Houdini for particle work and I know I have a ways to go. Although it appears maybe Maxon maybe building something similar into C4D so I am excited. I would probably rather use RedShift just because eventually Maxon One seems like a huge cost saver and I am more familiar with Red Giant from working in AE.

You hit the nail on the head though, Octane X has been super challenging to get going, and would not at all be shocked if that is a huge issue of what I am running into.

You’re very welcome, bladel.timothy. Thanks again for your kind replies!

There are so many nice options these days. Testing things is not just a simple sit down and play if one has targets like you. But I see that you move on very methodically, and that will pay off big times.

It will feel for a while like a massive amount of stuff to do, but you certainly remember when you opened After Effects the first time and compared to how you feel now. See that in your future for 3D as well: feeling comfortable with it. Keep going, and please ask.

My best wishes.

Dr. Sassi - 18 December 2020 06:53 PM

You’re very welcome, bladel.timothy. Thanks again for your kind replies!

There are so many nice options these days. Testing things is not just a simple sit down and play if one has targets like you. But I see that you move on very methodically, and that will pay off big times.

It will feel for a while like a massive amount of stuff to do, but you certainly remember when you opened After Effects the first time and compared to how you feel now. See that in your future for 3D as well: feeling comfortable with it. Keep going, and please ask.

My best wishes.

Absolutely, funny that is the very thing I have told myself from time to time. AE felt so daunting when I was used to PSD and AI. Thanks again for the encouragement and advice. It has already paid off.

Best wishes,
Tim

Hi Tim,

Thanks for being so open-minded.

I hope you have a blast exploring the options. I certainly have, and I can’t see an end of it. The real magic is in the personal combination that everyone creates. This uniqueness is wonderful.

Cheers