[tuhopuu-devel] Aqsis exporter problems.

[Jonathan Merritt]

Hi Everyone,

I've been hearing reports from various places about problems with the 
RenderMan exporter.  I'd like to outline which problems I can look at 
fixing, and which (due to various limitations) I can't look at 
personally just now...

1. Problems compiling: if you're using scons to compile under Linux and 
it doesn't work, I'd like to know about it.  All other build systems and 
platforms are much more difficult for me to deal with at the moment, but 
I'll help out where I can.

2. Crashes.  Lots of people have simply said: it crashed. :-)  This 
isn't much use to me, since I have a working version right here!  The 
information I need is:
    a) What platform and build system are you using?
    b) Are you using the latest CVS version of tuhopuu?  (If not, then 
go get it - I'm adding functionality on a daily basis at the moment... :-)
    c) Are you using the latest CVS version of Aqsis?  (If not, then go 
get it... :-)
    d) Does the crash come from the renderer or from the exporter?
    e) What is the nature of the crash?  Did it segfault (VERY bad, and 
a top priority for me!) or was there a failed assertion?  Failed 
assertions usually arise when I've made some assumption about how 
Blender is passing through data that doesn't always hold.  Note that you 
need to have a debug build for assertions to be compiled.
    f) Can you send me a simple test scene that exhibits the problem?  
The fewer objects in the scene and the fewer options turned on (like 
motion blur, shadows, etc.) the better.

Crashes can be difficult to diagnose without an example scene because 
there are parts of the exporter which behave differently depending upon 
the specific options used.  If the crash is not truly a crash but simply 
a lack of functionality (eg: particle systems don't render yet, etc.), 
then you'll just have to be patient until those parts of the exporter 
are fully functional (or join in the development! :-).

-- 
Jonathan Merritt.
PhD Student - Equine Biomechanics.
Equine Centre, The University of Melbourne,
Werribee, Victoria, Australia.