AvoyeDesign

....

Its... my RAM drive.

I shut it off, chief assigned the undo folders back to default, I get textures again.

Go figure.

Well, now I know if I need to RT I just close my RAM drive.

I just assigned the material "fir framing" from the core catalogue and it is fine.  However, I did Monteray Taupe from the James Hardie catalogue and it is purple.

I'm just doing some more digging.  I update my template one a year and save the old as a backup.  I go back to 2016 and the texture is referencing an X4 path.  I upgraded form X4 to X8, but X9 came out right after so I never used X8.  It just seems that things are not migrating properly.

A couple of observations:  When I actually browse to where the files are supposed to be, they are all in .zip folders that I cannot view from the brows option in the Define Material DBX.

Some materials are searching for a texture file that isn't even close to the name of the texture.  Where it should be something like "select-cedarmill-montery-taupe.jpg" it is something like "white.jpg"  Really odd.

I don't doubt that finding the right texture will fix the problem for one specific case.  Finding one texture isn't the problem, it's that my entire texture library reference seems to be a big bloody mess.  It's how do I fix that mess that concerns me most.

OK, I went for a common texture that even the OOB templates use, the Fir Framing.  In X10, this is the path that chief is looking for the file:

C:\Users\Rod Kervin\Documents\Chief Architect Premier X9 Data\Templates\TemplateTextures.zip#

That is not right, it shouldn't be looking in X9 Data, that should have migrated over with the X10 install.  

I entered that path into windows file explorer and it didn't exist.  So ...

2 minutes ago, Chopsaw said:

I think you did say that it was really bad in you template file and just the background in the Profile plan.  So not sure how it all works exactly but I think that is the direction to look.

Here's the thing: My template file is set up using a lot of manufacturer's textures like Hardie siding.  I've checked the directory for the referenced files at C:/ProgramData/Chief Architect Premier X10/Referenced Files, and all the zip files containing the data are there.  I also checked the same directory for X9 and it is set up the same, so the reason chief isn't reading them is beyond me.  But reassigning them all would be a nightmare because it isn't just one.  You can se on my OP it is all but one or two.

Thanks Chopsaw, I'll look into it.  But that is discouraging as it is amlost every texture on some raytraces.

Also, I did a quick raytrace in X4 and X8, and no issues.  This is definitely an X10 issue for me.

The only other thing I can think about is that when I installed the NVMe drive, I imaged my SATA SSD over to it.  But I also seem to think I might have seen some purple before I did this upgrade and never gave it much thought.  It was probably in the DBX of a library item, and I had switched to raytrace view, figured the library had lost the texture, and moved on with what I was doing.  Like I said before, I hardly do raytraces.

Also of note is that when Cinebench does its CPU rendering the image comes out fine, which has me more convinced its a chief thing not hardware/bios configuration thing.

It doesn't make sense though that chief can't find image files, because the textures show fine on standard renderings.  They just go purple on a raytrace.

3 minutes ago, Kbird1 said:

 

see the last part of his comment.......

Great, someone else with the same problem, but I see no solution.  I'm not using a network, everything is on one PC.

Just now, Kbird1 said:

 

 

Pity that wasn't it though , you are sure it isn't the backdrop right? since it's only effecting the BD now? very strange one .......Only RT right? not PBR or anything else?

 

 

As stated earlier in this thread, when raytracing a model in Chief's OOB template file, it is only the background that is purple.  When raytracing a model from my own template file, most textures are purple.

I've checked and my MOBO is compatible with Kaby Lake with a bios update, but requires a skylake cpu to perform the bios update.  I did update the bios shortly after building the system, and when I built it kaby lake was already out, so that bios likely works with kaby lake.  Now I just have the most recent bios.

The bios update happened in BIOS, it was just the window's app that set it up; i.e. caused the computer to restart into bios and do the update.  I've done it before, never a hitch.

5 minutes ago, Kbird1 said:

 

then the name would be...

 

 

 

The name isn't the problem, I can update bios from a Windows app without renaming the file.  There is actually a different bios for each MOBO, and the windows app was saying that the BIOS file I was trying to use didn't match the BIOS image on the system.  Going to the PRO GAMING/AURA page to download the correct file was the right move.

So my BIOS is updated successfully, and I still have purple raytrace.  So that wasn't it apparently...

OK, I figured out the problem with the BIOS update:  I was looking at the wrong MOBO on ASUS site.  Mine has the /AURA designation.

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/Z170-PRO-GAMING-AURA/HelpDesk_Download/

Gonna give this one a go, it should work fine.

I've pretty much given up on it for the time being.  I might call ASUS tech support and see if they can help...

I did a quick raytrace using Chief's OOB template file.  I actually get textures on the grass, siding and roofing, but the background is purple.

1 hour ago, Kbird1 said:

this one?  https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/Z170-PRO-GAMING/HelpDesk_BIOS/

 

I assume you unzipped it and renamed it correctly for your  MB? you can do that manually or use the Bios File Renamerl Utility

 

 

do you have USB BIOS Flashback ? usb port and button?

 

there is also an ME update by the looks

 

I checked in my MOBO manual, that section you clipped for naming the file is for BIOS recovery, where they system has to find a bios file on a thumb drive to replace a corrupt bios.  I still can't get m BIOS to recognize the update file.  

Where did you find that?  I had no idea you had to rename the file.  Really stupid tbh...  Yeah, I was using a fat32 flash drive.

I'm trying to update my bios... no luck.  I download the bios update file from ASUS and put it on a thumb drive, and the bios updater says its not a bios file.  I've tried a bunch of stuff with no luck.  I'll contact asus next week.  But from the sound of other comments, it doesn't seem to be a gpu issue.

Yeah, Chief preferences are showing the 1060 as the video card, not sure where else this might show differently.  I updated my driver and raytraced, still purple.  

OK, so it's been a while since I've played around with Chief's raytrace utility, probably a couple of years.  I don't really need it for the majority of the work I do.  Just last night I swapped my i5 6500 processor for an i7 7700k 4.2 ghz processor, and wanted to watch chief raytrace with blazing speed.  Well, it did, but it was all purple.  What gives?  I don't even know where to start on this problem...  I've tried many files and they all do this.

Has anyone seen this before?

Thanks.

Griffen Drive Proposed.plan

Probably best to contact Chief Customer Service and see what they would recommend.  As far as I recall, a dongle is registered to the actual license, so in theory if I sent you mine, you would have to run my license.  And doing so would likely violate the terms of service as my X10 license was upgraded from X1 (through various versions in between) and is the same license.

Think of floors as another dimension of layers.  What is drawn on floor 1 only shows on that floor unless you use reference sets as mentioned above.

I'm not sure that awards and accolades really matter much.  One of my designs won a local award once, and it was cool for a couple of days.  What matters more to me is when I walk inside the finished home and am overwhelmed be the emotion of being in that space.  And when the owners tell me this and write a positive review.

Hi Jim, I did a quick video to explain my solution and attached a sample plan.

Tower Railing.plan

That exterior ledge with the railing should be a balcony room.  You can assign roofing layers to the finish floor.  Then you can control the height of the roof and the railings as one.  Railings sometimes don't play nice with roof planes.

Copy and place/hold position each roof onto an empty file.  Then Import each back to the working file, and offset each by x-1000 inches from each other.  Place each roof on its own layer, and create a layer set for each roof example.  Create a master layer set just with the roofs, and shift them over 1000" to demonstrate each roof.

I think this all depends on the complexity of the plan though.  For simple plans you may get away with it, but for more complex you may need a different file.  I'd suggest if you needed a separate file for each roof design, only use that file for elevations and roof plans, and maybe cross sections.  Use the main plan file for all your floorplans/framing plans etc (aside from roof framing if you do that.)

If the changes to the roofs are significant enough that doing it all in one plan file is impractical, I'd suggest telling your client that multiple roof options come at an extra fee for each one.  If it means more work for you it means more money for him.