X14 Ray Trace quit on MacBook Pro


vivianyang2020
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5 hours ago, vivianyang2020 said:

 

Is there anybody know the ray trace? My CA quit when I run the ray trace on my new MacBook Pro. I have no problem on 3D rendering, just can not run the ray trace. This is so frustrated!

Is there any way can fix it?

 

MacBook Pro whit M1 pro, 32/512.

So a couple of questions and a screen grab of the issue would help.  Just to confirm you are using the cpu ray trace tool correct?  Are you getting an image?  Do you see any information on the bottom status bar?

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1 hour ago, rgardner said:

So a couple of questions and a screen grab of the issue would help.  Just to confirm you are using the cpu ray trace tool correct?  Are you getting an image?  Do you see any information on the bottom status bar?

Thanks for your reply.

Unfortunately, there are no informations, and I didn't get image. I don't even have time to take a screenshot, the app just quit unexpectedly.

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9 hours ago, vivianyang2020 said:

Thanks for your reply.

Unfortunately, there are no informations, and I didn't get image. I don't even have time to take a screenshot, the app just quit unexpectedly.

And I am assuming after you restart your computer it happens every time?  To confirm you are using a CPU ray trace rendering correct?

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  • 5 months later...

I am having this exact same issue! @vivianyang2020did you ever figure out what was going on? @rgardner I restarted my computer and tried again and still the same thing. I click on the ray trace button to open the CPU Ray Trace Current View, click Ray Trace, and the program immediately quits. 

 

I am using a:

 

MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021)

Chip Apple M1 Max

Memory 32 GB

 

I am on CAx14

Screen grab.png

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2 hours ago, Ikra2020 said:

I am having this exact same issue! @vivianyang2020did you ever figure out what was going on? @rgardner I restarted my computer and tried again and still the same thing. I click on the ray trace button to open the CPU Ray Trace Current View, click Ray Trace, and the program immediately quits. 

 

I am using a:

 

MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021)

Chip Apple M1 Max

Memory 32 GB

 

I am on CAx14

Screen grab.png

Does it do it with another file?

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Have had crashes as well. Turning off the lights has helped alleviate the problem.  

 

I don't make many interior views so this has been reasonably acceptable.  But for those who do interiors, this crashing issue will hopefully be looked into. 

 

If you note on the Forum, you'll see many people with Apple products (M1 chip) discussing TwinMotion in recent months. It's a viable alternative for rendering.

 

The problem is however... RayTrace type of renders are unsupported in TM. But there is excellent refraction quality on glass and metallic surfaces, and the results can often be quite good.  

 

Sorry that this is not a help. If anything it merely confirms that you are not alone in your findings. CA techies review the forums and may be keenly aware. Keep the faith that a new release is coming, and perhaps in due time this crashing issue is going to be addressed. 

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@VHamptonappreciate your response--it certainly helps to know I am not alone! 

 

It is very strange though because I did a ray trace about week ago with no issues so I don't understand why this is happening all of a sudden :(

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You're quite welcome.

 

In having explored every possibility on one project, I discovered that the culprits were a couple of garage sconces.  After they got deleted from the plan file... Presto. Ray Tracing was possible again.

 

Could it be that one or more items were introduced to you project in recent days? It seems that lighting is the Achilles heel to the M1 chip - not just w/ Chief Architect, but other software makers as well.

 

I've been doing extensive research, and despite the hype of Apple's chip (which is an extremely fast and hearty work horse) it does have a couple of quirks to be worked out. Not any fault of the software developers. 

 

Intel chips have always been the industry standard. The M1 is new, and cut from a different cloth so to speak. 

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Hi There,

Didn't think the Macbook pro could do a raytrace. Have just ordered a new Macbook pro 16" with M2 chip and wasn't expecting it to raytrace.  Other Macbook pro users out there.. am I correct? or can you raytrace..

 

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While I don't have a MacBook, M1 chips can RayTrace as do the newer M2 chips. Obviously there are still issues here and there. 

 

Again, many software developers are making their very best efforts to accommodate the hardware changes. Having said that, I was a Windows user for many many years, and the very best computers (for rendering) are typically Windows systems with the magic Nvidia card. Gaming computers in particular.

 

CA has always been extremely loyal to its user base and it wasn't until something like 8 year ago that one could even use CA on an Apple product. They will come through. The folks in the tech department are continuously making improvements on the software. X-15 may possibly result in some welcome upgrades.  

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@VHamptonthank you for the insight--I think you might be right--it must be some component I've added to the plan that is messing it up! I just started a new plan and drew a basic box with four walls, a door, and 2 windows and PRESTO, raytrace began! Now to figure out what is causing the issue in my other two plans.... (I have downloaded a few models from the SketchUp 3D warehouse so I'm guessing it might be one of those?)

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You're very welcome... and yes, always be careful with the 3D warehouse. They have incredibly helpful things on the site, but any objects over the 2-3MB range should be used sparingly. 

 

Example... they have some awesome cars and trees on the site, but objects w/ over 12megs of data means that they've got many many surface layers. That can bog a plan down quickly. Stick with low-poly objects whenever possible, and the plan file will remain fast and smooth - as it should.  By way of example, pretty much all of the Chief Architect 3D library inventory is on the lower end of the surface count spectrum. 

 

Regarding a way to track down where things went side-ways, try opening the manage archives folder.

 

Top left under Find. Choose one of your past files (Manage Auto Archives) going back to the approximate date of when the program started acting up, and then give the RayTrace process a go. You may be able to sleuth your way through the steps in what may have been introduced or changed before things went haywire. In the camera view delete or turn off various objects to see which ones may or may not cause the crash. Since the file is archived, there's never that uneasy concern as if you were taking apart the original. 

 

Good luck with that! ...It's great to know that you can RayTrace again. 

 

...as any FYI, when you have a moment place your system specs. and current version of CA in the signature if you have time.  In the eventuality that users may have to pay a visit in the future, having info. on system spec.s can help folks who may be trying to help. Not that it's needed here, but the forum police hand out warnings on occasion. Lol All the best.  

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In X14, if you are crashing using the CPU Ray Trace on an M1 machine, you can right click on Chief Architect Premier X14 in Finder under Applications and select Get Info. A window will pop and there should be a checkbox that says "Open using Rosetta". Check that checkbox and that should allow you to use CPU Ray Trace.

 

 

279825989_Screenshot2023-01-25at2_29_48PM.thumb.png.20093597e3a71a9cbbef36fc7db0ecad.png

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Glad to be of help Kyra... and thank you Steven.

 

Rosetta options sometimes pop up immediately when using a certain software. Many may not be aware that this box needed to be checked with Chief Architect.

 

In case folks from the future may want to learn more, this link from Apple is somewhat enlightening: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211861

 

All the best - Val

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On 1/25/2023 at 12:01 PM, Arcadian said:

Hi There,

Didn't think the Macbook pro could do a raytrace. Have just ordered a new Macbook pro 16" with M2 chip and wasn't expecting it to raytrace.  Other Macbook pro users out there.. am I correct? or can you raytrace..

 

Although our MacBooks can ray trace it is CPU ray tracing. Real time ray racing will not work on a Mac. 

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  • 2 months later...
On 1/25/2023 at 5:33 PM, StevenK said:

In X14, if you are crashing using the CPU Ray Trace on an M1 machine, you can right click on Chief Architect Premier X14 in Finder under Applications and select Get Info. A window will pop and there should be a checkbox that says "Open using Rosetta". Check that checkbox and that should allow you to use CPU Ray Trace.

 

 

279825989_Screenshot2023-01-25at2_29_48PM.thumb.png.20093597e3a71a9cbbef36fc7db0ecad.png

 

This helped after I did a reboot! 

Thanks so much! 

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