Quick Cache 2

[iamVFX]

Download latest version: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10965660/ice_st ... kCache.rar

[iamVFX]

UPD: Added a "Play.pys" script that play cache sequence preview by number of version via flipbook

[rray]

Thanks, makes a lot of sense to put the caching procedure in a script.

[iamVFX]

http://download.autodesk.com/global/doc ... reViewport

// Specify the output file name
// The output file format is determined by the extension
oViewportCapture.NestedObjects.Item("File Name").Value = "C:\\test.pic";

Not always, for some reason. If you have problems with writing a sequences, just open Start Capture window in Camera View and write some images in random folder any number of frames

[iamVFX]

Update 2: see description below

Installation: copy “QuickCache” folder into “Application\Plugins” user folder, for example: "C:\Users\Constantine\Autodesk\Softimage_2012_SP1\Application\Plugins"
Restart Softimage.

Help are built-in in a property window. To add plugin property into a scene, go to Model -> Property -> QuickCache

[bottleofram]

That increased the ease of use ten fold. Thanks for the useful plugin, Constantine.

[iamVFX]

Version 2 is here, you can download it from the link above.

I rewrote plugin from scratch. The main feature of the new version is the ability to cache multiple particle clouds at once. Now it's more stable also, you can try to break it by selecting all objects around, push buttons in a chaotic manner and do crazy stuff with selections - it will work properly no matter what.

Changelist:
1) Caching is now works on ICE. Work in the production environment showed me that standard caching via Cache Manager is not working for complex simulated pointclouds.
2) Cache loads within the one object now. It's achieved by the disabling construction stack logic that allows you to save original simulation ice trees and get a cached version speed on a preview and render at the same time. It's means that your shader and settings of the point cloud will be applied to cache also.
3) Added "Folder" button that opens cache folders of the selected objects.
4) Video is now recording to png mov format. This is the smallest and best quality video format that is available.
5) You can disable video recording now if you want to.
6) Added samples checkbox for subframe sampling of the simulated point clouds.
7) Default settings of the ppg can be changed in a SIQC_Defaults.py file

There is one bug(?) that I noticed during the writing of plugin (end lines of the SIQC_Delete.py): when you enable back a construction stack of the first selected(created?) point cloud you enable it for all other point clouds also. It's captured here: http://youtu.be/B5J2HeJzxfU?hd=1

[iamVFX]

Quick overview:



UPD: Link above is updated. Added stop button for caching

[iamVFX]

I added new features. Link above is updated.

Now you can retime ICE cache easily. Just select point cloud and click on "Retime" button. Unfortunately Fcurves doesn't work with multiple selections, but time shift works fine.

Subframed cache reading fixed also. Subframe Sampling did not work without simulation stack for some reason, so I multiply current frame by substeps manually now. Checkbox for sampling removed from PPG - it will be always activated by default.

If some of the caches ends up on current frame and playback continues, the cache will stop on the last available frame and will not dissapear with log errors. If you want to hide point cloud when it does not reads cache, Retime Cache compound have "Not Started" and "Ended" output ports for custom ice logic events.

Video capturing is now disabled by default.

Built-in help updated.

Any feedback is welcome!

[druitre]

Man! Potentially huge, functionality that should be standard in SI I'd say. Thanks a lot, this may make my day on the project I'm working on at the moment.

[origin]

thanks procedural ;)

by the way, do any of you guys use SSD drive as cache repository?
SI caching is very slow, i'm on 4 hdd raid-0 now Im wondering if sata iii SSD would give me some boost...

[iamVFX]

Ok, final version of the plugin is here, link from the first post updated. For the last time (:

This is a small but very important update. Cache length and versions not count properly before (python doesn't sort lists by default...), so it's fixed now. DisplayInfo_Cached property are not needed anymore. It means that you should manually delete versions folders of caches to rewrite them. And code is cleaned up, it's very pretty now!

Man! Potentially huge, functionality that should be standard in SI I'd say. Thanks a lot, this may make my day on the project I'm working on at the moment.

Thanks! All my tools I made for myself, I don't know does it fit in the standard package functionality, but I know that it very useful tool to work with at least for me (: And I hope someone find it useful too!

by the way, do any of you guys use SSD drive as cache repository?
SI caching is very slow, i'm on 4 hdd raid-0 now Im wondering if sata iii SSD would give me some boost...

Should do, but I don't know for sure. For me caching was always not the fastest process in the world, but it shouldn't actually, if you know that at the end you will get result that you looking for. It's like lagoa, many people mentions that it slow compare to realflow for example, but it can be slow if it does what other programs can't. Elastic-plastic-dirt things for example (:

By the way, Origin, I want to see a cmivfx tutorial for SI SDK from you someday! I'd buy it for the high price!

[bottleofram]

Hi Constantine

This plugin only works with pointclouds, right? I think you should put that in your first post, just to be clear about what it does.

Also, i tried to install it on a workgroup and it didnt work from there for some reason.

Cheers

[iamVFX]

This plugin only works with pointclouds, right?

Not anymore! It was done for testing purposes. Now I include polygon meshes and curves support, this video shows that you can cache syflex or lagoa mesh/curve stuff easily and retime it!

Also, i tried to install it on a workgroup and it didnt work from there for some reason.

Because It should be in the "Plugins" folder of your user profile. Sorry, only this way it can work

[bottleofram]

Ah,cool. I think theres a problem, though. Cache on geo seems to disable construction stack before it caches it, so no deformer outside of modeling portion is taken into account.

[iamVFX]

Ah,cool. I think theres a problem, though. Cache on geo seems to disable construction stack before it caches it, so no deformer outside of modeling portion is taken into account.

Nope, diactivatestack function is executes after the caching operation. Fortunately cache button is not a command, so if you drop me a log lines from the script editor window I'll find what causes problem. By the way, on which version of SI you working on?

As for modeling stack do you used standard non-ice operator for object and trying to cache it? Currently plugin supports only ice trees, and modeling stack will be not deactivated if there a simulation stack exists