Rag-Erator problem
westernnomad
Posts: 90
http://www.daz3d.com/rag-erator-for-daz-studio
Using Rag-Erator for Daz Studio causes the tdlmake.exe to run ad-nauseum. I have even allowed it to run overnight as I slept, and when I came back to it and attempted to render (as tdlmake was still running) with only one ragerator shader applied, 3Delight reported over 32,000 textures to be optimized.
I'm using DS 4.6 - 32-bit. I wonder if Rag-Erator is using 64-bit code - or perhaps there's some other bug.
Uninstalling and reinstalling has not helped.
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Comments
Rag-Erator is a script, in effect, so it doesn't have a bitness or an OS requirement. Had you applied multiple different options? Have you tried applying a single effect to a simple plane and seeing if that runs?
I haven't tried it yet on a simple surface, so I'll have to get back to you on that question.
So far I have only attempted to use it with shaders, like Silk Essence and Hardcore Utility. It has me baffled because, as I understand it, it only applies transparency maps to the opacity setting. I have also tried base and high resolution, and every listed Rag-Erator style.
Okay, so you're applying Rag-erator to a surface that's already been modified by another shader such as Silk Essence or Hardcore Utility. Let me try it and get back to you. It should work, but you may have tiling and other issues.
I applied Rag-Erator to a simple, unmodified plane, and tdlmake.exe "flickered" on and off for 10 minutes before closing the session. It usually takes a more complex render about 5 minutes at most to complete the tdlmake processes.
Have you tried a regular render, in case it's TDL make that's at fault and the use of Rag-erator was coincidental? TDLMake can throw a wobbly sometimes - clearing the temp folder manually (with DS closed) may help
As far as I know, tdlmake doesn't give me the option. It runs at the loading of a scene. It runs when I add things to the scene - and it consumes up to 100% of my computer's active memory until it's done doing whatever it does. It doesn't seem to me to be *necessarily* related to rendering.
With Rag-Erator, tdlmake starts cranking away the moment I load it into the scene and doesn't stop - and it's severely handicapping my computer while it's working. The only way I can stop it is to delete the affected item.
Are you saying there's a way to stop tdlmake or use it only on demand?
I must've overlooked the last phrase of your instructions last time. I'll give it a try and get back to you with the results. Thanks.
I emptied the temp folder acting as the graveyard of failed renders (is that the one you meant, or the Windows system temp directory?) And it made no difference.
The DAZ Studio temp folder, listed in Edit>Preferences on the first tab. That may well be the one you emptied since the render is also stored there until it is saved..
To me TDLmake starting at LOAD of item and not at render time sounds more like a GPU issue (Graphic Card) than a program issue. I've not noticed TDLmake execute on my PC before Render time. Then again I've never checked and It could be running for shaders and I've just never noticed before.
That's an interesting theory, and might be likely. There is a message that frequently appears in my renders - something about the GPU not meeting the requirements of a particular pixel filter - resetting to box. I haven't really looked into it because it didn't seem like a big deal.
My GPU is NVidia GeForce GTX560. The drivers are up to date (EVGA PrecisionX managed). I'm not that savvy with GPU settings, what settings should I look for? Is it something that can be tweaked, or is it a hardware deficiency? If it matters, my computer is 32-bit, RAM is upgraded to the limit and uses WinXP.
TDLMAKE doesn't use GPU, it's all CPU & RAM, as it has to convert all of your textures into temporary TDL files otherwise 3Delight wont be able to render them.
When your loading Poser content TDLMAKE will have been run on the textures before you see them in the viewport, it's a similar story for some DS native content but not all of it, some of it only gets done at render time.
The product your having problems with was designed for the Layered Image Editor (LIE) in DS2 & 3, LIE in DS4 got nerfed and some of the old presets don't work right as a result. However I don't think the nerf is the cause of your problem, it's the other changes they made to LIE that may be responsible, with DS2 & 3 you created a DSI file and loaded that instead of a texture, it was passed to TDLMAKE and then onto 3Delight for rendering, in DS4 the second you load a DSI file it's converted into a temporary TIF file and in my experience TDLMAKE just doesn't like them, I get long winded error messages in my log about it not being able to read the TIF file, this could be what's at the center of your problem.
Clearly, the only solution here is for the developer(s) of Rag-Erator to upgrade from the L.I.E. technology.
Thanks to all of you for your thoughtfulness. And also thanks for inspiring a solution from another long-term problem I've been having - memory-related crashes during rendering. The culprit was the software I have been using, EVGA PrecisionX. The proper setting I asked about I discovered is "REMOVE". Since I shut it down, I have broken through the ceiling of my computers perceived limitations.
I hope you can catalog that solution for future reference, because there are probably others suffering from the same problem.
I don't believe that there is an issue. I cannot duplicate the problem at all. How big is your scene? How much RAM do you have? It could be that you've hit the capacity issue of either DS (especially since you imply you're using a 32-bit version) or your machine.
I opened a new scene and added a single simple plane, applied Rag-Erator to the plane, and tdlmake ran immediately, repetitively and without signs of ending.
I have a 32-bit computer (Dell XPS630i) with 3GB total RAM, with Windows XP. When tdlmake runs, it uses up to 100% of the CPU. My system allocates only 1GB to Daz before becoming unstable or crashing. Rag-Erator is the only application I know of that causes the perpetual running of tdlmake. Other applications that cause tdlmake to run, don't cause it to run perpetually.
I'm telling you that there is a problem. And I'm telling you to move on from it. I won't use Rag-Erator again until I get a new 64-bit computer because I concede that my aging computer is the most likely culprit in this issue. But why only Rag-Erator? (Rhetorical)
I can work around it if I want rag effects - like photoshopping my own transparency maps.
You can also just go into the FOLDER that holds the RAG files and Apply them by hand using LIE. And by the way they are LIE built shaders I do believe.
this has always happend with this set on my puter, i have learned to just hand apply them, instead, by going to the textures folder and then setting the tiling myself.
otherwise i open task manager and turn it off.
someday i may even resave them as new shaders, so they work with one click.