Realtime Raytrace challenge/query


Michael_Gia
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I want to understand the out of the box benefit of realtime raytrace in Chief.

I personally prefer standard render over pbr, even.  ( I realize that it's because I haven't spent the time on materials and lighting)

I'm trying to see if RTRT is worth it, out of the box or do I still need to spend as much time as I would with either PBR or Raytrace?

 

Below is the plan of the Bachelor View Owner's Suite Remodel.  I clicked on the "Kitchen 1" saved view.

I'm posting a standard and pbr image exported from that out of the box view. (I personally prefer the standard render)

 

Can someone do the same with RTRT?  Out of the box, please? 

As a Mac user I have RTRT envy, and I want to know if the hype is real.  Is it a magic bullet or a whole lot of fuss and bother for us, got-to-get-the-plans-out-to-the-city-for-permit and start building or my client is going to have a heart attack,...folks.

 

Chief website link of plan:

 

https://cloud.chiefarchitect.com/1/samples/projects/bachelor-view-bath/bachelor-view-bath.zip?_gl=1*19ws3v7*_ga*NDgxMzYwMTcxLjE2OTg3OTI5NjA.*_ga_06381P3JQ2*MTcxMDY5Mzk5MS4xOC4wLjE3MTA2OTM5OTEuMC4wLjA.&_ga=2.242238400.372420692.1710605000-481360171.1698792960

 

OR

 

Dropbox link:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/y87b1ovq9l8fiqxnjzueu/h?rlkey=fbum86p0jd5z7lf70d5vd41h4&dl=0

 

 

Standard render out of the box, "Kitchen 1" saved camera view

968077151_StandardKitchen1.thumb.jpg.fc6df876031f3845286c362ae1198ea1.jpg

 

 

PBR out of the box, "Kitchen 1" saved camera view

1657072_PBRKitchen1.thumb.jpg.daa7d802004e2ec40882139d2eb6da33.jpg

 

 

Camera settings, just to be sure.

446690774_Screenshot2024-03-17at11_30_27AM.thumb.png.5a566f420b385c6d576b6b97d755ef46.png

 

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Without any responses I’m going to assume some of you tried this and the results were not so great?
 

Meaning there’s still a lot of tinkering to do with rtrt and that It’s not magic?

 

or it’s Sunday and you all have a life?
 

Or this has been done before so many times and you’re all tired of these posts?
 

 

 

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I made a few adjustments to lighting and materials then ran the PBR for 250 samples. I also did a little post work in MS Photos. I would have done more with materials but you wanted 'out of the box' so I kept it simple.

 

2098325302_Kitchen-BachelorPBR01a.thumb.jpg.0d7d2dfac20902da49fd4ebb0a47bea5.jpg

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Michael, here’s a version of the Bachelor View kitchen with raytracing - no real changes out of the box on this sample plan.  If you are using a Mac on X15, RTRT is not supported.  Hopefully RTRT will be supported on Mac in the next version or two.

Bachelor-View-Kitchen.png

2024-03-17 20_04_56-Rendering Technique Options.png

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RTRT is more realistic and I like the lighting and shadows. 
 

However, as far as showing a client what their kitchen will look like, I kind of prefer the definition of the doors in the Standard render view. 
The outline of the doors and panels are more pronounced. Not realistic but easier to see. 

I was going to buy a pc just for rtrt but maybe I’ll wait until Apple catches up. 
 

Rendering is an art and I’m no artist. 


I was also trying out a whole bunch of Ai programs over the weekend, but other than using those in the earlier stages of conceptualizing I don’t see a use for them either at the moment. They’re all to destructive to the architecture and building materials. 
 

I really would love to see Chief incorporate some limited Ai in a future version, but only to enhance lighting, shadows, materials and accessories like furniture, vegetation, vehicles and people. 

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Quote

or it’s Sunday and you all have a life?

 

^^^ this, at least for some of us.

 

Quote

However, as far as showing a client what their kitchen will look like, I kind of prefer the definition of the doors in the Standard render view. 
The outline of the doors and panels are more pronounced. Not realistic but easier to see. 

 

 If you want to make your rendered views look better without trying to make them look "realistic", you can always just add line drawing on top of them.  

 

The pictures below show the difference between a standard render with line drawing compared to PBR with RTRT:

 

Illustrating the standard rendering technique available in design software when one virtually navigates their design in Chief Architect.   versus  Another rendering of a kitchen, this version includes realistic lighting, shadows, and reflections that are typical with ray tracing.

 

 

 

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6 hours ago, Michael_Gia said:

RTRT is more realistic and I like the lighting and shadows. 
 

However, as far as showing a client what their kitchen will look like, I kind of prefer the definition of the doors in the Standard render view. 
The outline of the doors and panels are more pronounced. Not realistic but easier to see. 

I was going to buy a pc just for rtrt but maybe I’ll wait until Apple catches up. 
 

Rendering is an art and I’m no artist. 


I was also trying out a whole bunch of Ai programs over the weekend, but other than using those in the earlier stages of conceptualizing I don’t see a use for them either at the moment. They’re all to destructive to the architecture and building materials. 
 

I really would love to see Chief incorporate some limited Ai in a future version, but only to enhance lighting, shadows, materials and accessories like furniture, vegetation, vehicles and people. 

Michael:

If you want more definition of the edges, you can add a line overlay to accomplish this...

228074689_Kitchen-BachelorPBRline01a.thumb.jpg.1448bce770f5e2173dbeb957b1fa634f.jpg

Eric

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1 hour ago, ericepv said:

If you want more definition of the edges, you can add a line overlay to accomplish this..

I’m not looking for more definition, I was just pointing out one of the benefits of plain old standard render. 
 

I really wanted to see how rtrt looks with no effort or tinkering. 
 

The rtrt images you guys posted show that one doesn’t need to do much in order to get a more realistic scene compared to standard render. 
 

I’m still unconvinced I’d use rtrt on a day to day basis. 

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24 minutes ago, Michael_Gia said:

I’m not looking for more definition, I was just pointing out one of the benefits of plain old standard render. 
 

I really wanted to see how rtrt looks with no effort or tinkering. 
 

The rtrt images you guys posted show that one doesn’t need to do much in order to get a more realistic scene compared to standard render. 
 

I’m still unconvinced I’d use rtrt on a day to day basis. 

 

Even w/o any further edits, a PBR is still a more realistic image than standard view. Here's a PBR I ran (250 samples) using just your settings, no further adjustments...

 

889332200_Kitchen-BachelorPBR02noedits.thumb.jpg.967e4747a66108143d90c948265914e2.jpg

 

Even if you don't use PBR on a daily basis, it's definitely the way to go if you want to present your client with a top notch image. That being said, you still need to do some 'tinkering' to get the best result but the more you do, the easier and quicker it gets.

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31 minutes ago, ericepv said:

a PBR is still a more realistic image than standard view

On a Mac PBR does not have the raytracing option.

 

As a result PBR on Mac is not an option most of the time.  I find it looks worse than standard render. 

 

On a PC, I agree with you.  PBR with raytrace is more realistic out of the box, even.

This is what I was trying to figure out.  

I'm actually trying to determine if it is worth it to get a second machine (a PC) just for PBR with raytrace.

I probably won't use it often, but it is another tool in the toolbox.

 

Still on the fence, though.

 

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13 minutes ago, Michael_Gia said:

On a Mac PBR does not have the raytracing option.

 

As a result PBR on Mac is not an option most of the time.  I find it looks worse than standard render. 

 

On a PC, I agree with you.  PBR with raytrace is more realistic out of the box, even.

This is what I was trying to figure out.  

I'm actually trying to determine if it is worth it to get a second machine (a PC) just for PBR with raytrace.

I probably won't use it often, but it is another tool in the toolbox.

 

Still on the fence, though.

 

 

Rather than purchasing a separate system just to do rendering. perhaps you should consider switching to PC altogether when it comes time to upgrade your current system.

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I am by no means a rendering ace. I spent a little extra time on this one placing lights because it was really helping the clients see this piece of the puzzle. RTRT did far more for communicating the story than the Standard render could.

 

image.thumb.png.e0febf3c8ea6d603d06d9a4ee30cdbfd.png

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I find that RTRT gives the client the best feel of what their house is going to look and feel like. The only challenge can be just having the graphics card to keep up with it even at a low sample rate when presenting live to a customer. I don't put as much detail in my designs as many of the very talented people on here do, but I try to put just enough in to give them a picture of what their home is going to feel like. I personally like PC and the capabilities that come with it. However, I have been told that very soon MAC users will have most if not all the same features we have with PC when it comes to rendering. This is an example of what I do for basic renderings.

Fireplace.jpg

Great Room.jpg

Kitchen 2.jpg

Kitchen.jpg

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11 hours ago, aereed82 said:

very soon MAC users will have most if not all the same features we have with PC

Firstly, really nice work. 
 

Did you spend a lot of time with lighting and materials to get these shots?

 

Secondly, I’m not as hopeful as you are with Mac ever getting realtime RT, but I appreciate the encouragement. 

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2 hours ago, Michael_Gia said:

Did you spend a lot of time with lighting and materials to get these shots?

I know this question wasn't to me, but I'll chime in anyhow. Lighting helps, but it's not entirely necessary. If an interior scene is too dark, all you need to do is drop in some light sources and turn off their shadows (very quick and simple). As for materials, yes, they can make all the difference. Many of the objects from Chief's library will have an improved appearance with material editing or replacement. A couple of examples: stainless steel for appliances is often too flat, and lacks a realistic sheen while many models that have a fabric cover have poor fabrics that detract from a scene. These are quickly addressed in almost any plan. 

If you're producing renderings, it's a good idea to build your own library of lighting, materials, and models and so on. And always keep in mind that cameras can be copied from one plan to another. 

https://sites.google.com/view/robertdyckbuildingdesign/interior-renderings

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Thank you.  No,  not a ton of time.  As mentioned,  materials do make a big difference but you will also get to where you can set up default camera settings so you only have to make small changes from room to room.  Getting your library organized and using tags really speeds up the process for finding the right material.  The more you do it the faster you will get.  I've learned so much from other users who are amazing at renderings. Rene Rabbitt is one of the masters at this.  I've learned a ton from him off discord.

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