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3ds Max - Network Rendering Guide


Submitting 3ds Max render jobs to Deadline

The Submit 3ds Max To Deadline script provides advanced functionality to submit 3ds Max scenes to Deadline including a tabbed dialog design and support for job dependencies, limit groups, custom shading modes for preview generation, split image (tiles) rendering, submit visible objects only feature and more. To submit a job to Deadline, select the Deadline menu item that you created in the script setup. You can also submit 3ds Max jobs from the Submit menu in the Monitor.

Job Description

  • Job Name: The Job Name will be automatically set to the name of the current Max scene. You can enter any descriptive job name you want to be able to locate your job on the queue.
  • Job Name Options [>>]: Click this button to expand a context menu. By default, it will contain only one entry:
    • Set Job Name To 3ds Max Scene Name - when selected, the Job Name will be set to the same name as the currently loaded 3ds Max scene.
    • Custom Project/Sequence/Shot Names - SMTD allows the addition of custom Project, Sequence and Shot name hierarchies to this menu. These can be defined in the Repository using a set of INI files. This is an advanced feature for TDs in larger facilities and is documented separately.
  • Comment: The Comment is optional and provides space for notes or additional information regarding the job. By default, the comment will denote the version number of 3dsmax. If changed manually, the comment will no longer be updated automatically during the current session.
  • Name: The name of the user submitting the job. Defaults to the default user name logged in the machine 3ds Max is running on. You can enter an alternative name to submit a job as another user, or enter your own user name if submitting from somebody else's machine.
  • Department: The user's department in the facility. For example, "Modeling", "Lighting and Rendering" etc. This value will be stored locally in the SMTD INI file and will persist until changed manually.

Pool And Priority

  • Pool: Select the pool you wish to submit the job to. For more information, please refer to the Pools section of the manual. 
 NOTE: If no valid pool is selected in this list (the selection is empty), 
 the SUBMIT button will be disabled because a job submission without a pool will always fail.
  • Group: Select the group you wish to submit the job to. For more information, please refer to the Groups section of the manual. 
 NOTE: If no valid group is selected in this list (the selection is empty), 
 the SUBMIT button will be disabled because a job submission without a group will always fail.
  • Priority: The Priority slider and spinner control the job's priority (0 being the lowest and 100 being the highest).

Sanity Check

  • Run Sanity Check Automatically Before Submission: This options forces Submit To Deadline to perform a Sanity Check before submitting the scene to Deadline. The Sanity Check is implemented as a separate set of scripted functions which can be enhanced by 3rd parties to meet specific studio needs. For more information, please refer to the 3dsmax Sanity Checker section of the manual.
  • Run Now: This button performs a Sanity Check without submitting a job to Deadline. Any potential problems will be reported and can be fixed before actually submitting the job.

Main Controls

  • Online Help...: Pressing this button will open this web page in the default Web Browser.
  • Render Dialog...: Pressing this button will toggle the 3dsmax Render Dialog.
  • Monitor...: Pressing this button will launch the Deadline Monitor.
  • SUBMIT: Pressing this button will submit the currently loaded scene to Deadline.
  • Log Window: The list box at the bottom of the dialog displays information about your actions and their results. In addition, this AND MORE information is logged to a file with the machine name and today's date stamp in the c:\deadline\logs\ folder, e.g. "SubmitMaxToDeadline - [MyMachine] - 4-24-2006-0000.log". The last 4 digits are for consistency with other log files and will always be set to 0000. All your actions during all sessions on a given calendar day will be logged to the same file.
    • Clear Log Window - clears the content of the Log Window. Does not affect the content of the LOG file.
    • Open Log In Notepad - opens the Log file for the current day in Notepad.
    • Open Log In Default Editor - opens the Log file for the current day in the editor set as default for .LOG files. For example, you could assign SciTE, UltraEdit or WordPad to be the default editor for files with the .LOG extension. After that, pressing this button will open that editor.

General Job Options

Job Options

  • Render Task Chunk Size (Frames Per Task): Set the number of frames you want to render per task.
  • Limit Machines Rendering Concurrently: When the checkbox is unchecked, there is no limit imposed on the number of machines that can render concurrently at any given time. When the checkbox is checked, only the specified number of machines can render tasks from the current job at the same point in time. For more information please refer to the Limit Groups section of the manual.
  • Out-Of-Order Rendering Every Nth Frame: Deadline will render every Nth frame based on the order selected in the drop down box. This option can be very useful when rendering long test animations - you can render a rough animation containing evey Nth frame early enough to detect any major issues before all frames have been rendered, or in cases where the major action happens in the end of the sequence, reverse the rendering order.
  • Render Preview Job First: When the checkbox is checked, two jobs will be submitted. The first job will have [PREVIEW FRAMES] added to its name, have a priority of 100, and will render only N frames based on the spinner's value. The step will be calculated internally. If the spinner is set to 2, the first and the last frame will be rendered. With a value of 3, the first, middle and last frames will be rendered and so on. The second job will have [REST OF FRAMES] added to its name, and will be DEPENDENT on the first job and will start rendering once the preview frames job has finished. It will have the priority specified in the dialog, and render all frames not included in the preview job.
  • Task Timeout: When checked, a task will time out after the time value specified to the right.
  • Enable Auto Task Timeout: When checked, the Auto Task Timeout feature will be enabled.
  • Enforce Sequential Rendering: Recommended for particle rendering.
  • Submit Visible Objects Only: This option should be used at your own risk, as it is heavily dependent on the content of your scene. In most cases, it can be used to submit only a subset of the current scene to Deadline, skipping all hidden objects that would not render anyway. This feature will be automatically disabled if the current scene contains any Scene XRefs. The feature will create an incorrect file if any of the scene objects depend INDIRECTLY on hidden objects.
  • Submit Job As Suspended: If checked, the job is submitted in the suspended state instead of the queued state.
  • Delete Job When Complete: If checked, the job is deleted from the repository after it successfully completes.
  • Force 3ds Max Build: This drop-down list allows you to specify which build of 3ds Max (32 bit vs. 64 bit) to use when rendering the job. The list will be greyed out when running in 3ds Max 8 or earlier.
  • Make Force 3ds Max Build Sticky: When the checkbox is unchecked, the "Force 3ds Max Build" drop-down list selection will NOT persist between sessions and will behave as documented above in the "Default" section. When the checkbox is checked, the "Force 3ds Max Build" drop-down list selection will persist between sessions. For example, if you are submitting from a 64 bit build of 3ds Max 9 or higher to an older network consisting of only 32 bit builds, you can set the drop-down list to "32bit" once and lock that setting by checking "Make Force 3ds Max Build Sticky".

Job Dependencies

  • Submit Job As Dependent: When the checkbox is checked and one or more jobs have been selected from the multi-list box, the job will be set to Pending state and will start rendering when all jobs it depends on have finished rendering.
  • Get Job List: This button populates the Job List and the Filter options with job data from the Repository.
  • Clear Dependencies: This button removes all Jobs from the Dependency List and unchecks the Submit Job As Dependent option.
  • Dependency List: This list box will show the name and ID of all jobs the new job will depend on.
  • Filter Text Field and [X] Button: This text field can be used to filter the Jobs on the Job List using a sub-string search. The [X] button can be used to quickly reset the filter.
  • STATUS Filter: This drop-down list lets you filter the Jobs List using the Job Status. The first option is "ANY STATUS", the second option is "NON-COMPLETED". The rest of the list will contain all states collected from the jobs in the repository. This means that if there is not a single Failed job in the Repository, the option "Failed" will not be on the list. To see only Suspended jobs, select the "Suspended" option (if available). To see any jobs that are not completed, select the special "NON-COMPLETED" option.
  • USER Filter and [Me] Button:' This drop-down list lets you filter the Jobs List using the Job User. The first option is "ANY USER", the rest of the list will contain all user names collected from the jobs in the repository. This means that the names of users that do not have jobs in the Repository will not be displayed. To set the filter to your own name, press the [Me] button. If the user name used on your system matches a name on the list, the list will be set to it. This will let you see only your own jobs.
  • DEPARTMENT Filter: This drop-down list lets you filter the Jobs List using the Department string. The first option is "ANY DEPARTMENT", the rest of the list will contain all department strings collected from the jobs in the repository.
  • CATEGORY Filter: This drop-down list lets you filter the Jobs List using the Category string. The first option is "ANY CATEGORY", the rest of the list will contain all category strings collected from the jobs in the repository.
  • Jobs List: By default, this list box will be empty. It can be populated by pressing the [Get Jobs List] button and will show the name and ID of all jobs in the Repository.


Job Scheduling

  • Disabled: Disable job scheduling.
  • One Time Only: Schedule the job to run once.
  • Every N Day(s): Schedule the job to run every N day(s).
  • Start Date: The date to run the job, in the format month/day/year.
  • Start Time: The time to run the job (24 hour clock).

Rendering Tab

3ds Max Rendering

  • Use Custom Plugin.ini file: When this checkbox is unchecked, all slaves will launch 3ds max using the default plugin.ini file found in their 3ds max root folders. When this checkbox is checked, the following controls become available:
  • The plugin.ini List: The plugin.ini list will show a list of alternative plug-in configuration files located in the Deadline repository. By default, there will be no alternative plugin.ini files defined in the repository. The list will show only one entry called [Default], which will cause all slaves to render using their own local plugin.ini configuration and is equivalent to having the Use Custom Plugin.ini file unchecked.
    To define an alternative plugin.ini, copy a local configuration file from one of the slaves to the appropriate plugins/3dsmax# directory in the repository. Edit the name of the file by adding a description of it. For example, plugin_brazil.ini, plugin_vray.ini, plugin_fr.ini, plugin_mentalray.ini, etc. Open the file and edit its content to include the plug-ins you want and exclude the ones you don't want to use in the specific case.
    Next time you launch Submit To Deadline, the list will show all alternative files whose names start with "plugin" and end with ".ini". The list will be alphabetically sorted, with [Default] always on top. You can then select an alternative plugin.ini file manually from the list.
    Note: Since the alternative plug-in configuration file is located in the Deadline Repository and will be used by all slave machines, the plug-in paths specified inside the alternative plugin.ini will be used as LOCAL paths by each slave. There are two possible installation configurations that would work with alternative plug-ins (you could mix the two methods, but it's not recommended):
    • Centralized Plug-ins Repository: in this case, all 3dsmax plug-ins used in the network are located at a centralized location, with all Slaves mapping a drive letter to the central plug-in location and loading the SAME copy of the plug-in. In this case, the alternative plugin.ini should also specify the common drive letter of the plug-in repository.
    • Local Plug-in: to avoid slow 3dsmax booting in networks with heavy traffic, some studios (incl. Frantic Films) deploy local versions of the plug-ins. Every slave's 3dsmax installation contains a full set of all necessary plug-ins (which can be automatically synchronized to a central repository to keep all machines up-to-date, for example of startup).In this case, the alternative plugin.ini files should use the LOCAL drive letter of the 3dsmax installation, and all Slaves' 3dsmax copies MUST be installed on the same partition, or at least have the plug-ins directory on the same drive, for example, "C:".
  • Auto-Detect Plugin.ini For Current Renderer: When checked, the following operations will be performed;
    • When you check the checkbox, the current renderer assigned to the scene will be queried.
    • Then, the first 3 characters of the renderer's name will be compared to a list of known renderers.
    • If the renderer is not on the list, the alternative list will be reset to [Default].
    • If the renderer is the Default Scanline Renderer of 3dsmax, the alternative list will be reset to [Default].
    • If the renderer is a known renderer, the plugin*.ini file that matches its name will be selected. Supported renderers for auto-suggesting an alternative configuration are:
      • Brazil plugin*.ini should contain "brazil" in its name (i.e.: plugin_brazil.ini, plugin-brazil.ini, pluginbrazil_1_2.ini etc).
      • Entropy plugin*.ini should contain "entropy" in its name (i.e.: plugin_entropy.ini, plugin-entropy.ini, pluginentropy.ini, etc).
      • finalRender plugin*.ini should contain "fr" or "final" in its name (i.e.: plugin_fr.ini, plugin-finalrender.ini, plugin_finalRender_Stage1.ini etc).
      • MaxMan plugin*.ini should contain "maxman" in its name (i.e.: plugin_maxman.ini, plugin-maxman.ini, pluginmaxman001.ini etc).
      • mentalRay plugin*.ini should contain "mr" or "mental" in its name (i.e.: plugin_mr.ini, plugin-mentalray.ini, plugin_mental33.ini etc).
      • VRay plugin*.ini should contain "vray" in its name (i.e.: plugin_vray.ini, plugin-vray.ini, pluginvray109.ini etc).
    • In 3dsmax 5 and higher, opening a MAX file while the Auto-Detect option is checked will trigger a callback which will perform the above check automatically and switch the plugin.ini to match the renderer used by the scene.
    • In 3dsmax 6 and higher, changing the renderer via the "Current Renderers" rollout of the Render dialog will also trigger the auto-suggesting mechanism.
    • You can override the automatic settings anytime by disabling the Auto-Detect option and selecting from the list manually.
  • Edit Plugin.ini File: Pressing the Edit Plugin.ini File button will open the currently selected alternative configuration file in a MAXScript Editor window for quick browsing and editing, except when [Default] is selected.
  • Browse Directory: Pressing the Browse Directory button will open a Windows Explorer taking you directly to the plug-ins directory containing the alternative plugin.ini files. Note that if you create a new plugin.ini file, you will have to restart the Submit To Deadline script to update the list.
  • Fail On Black Frames: This option can be used to fail the render if a certain portion of the output image is black. If checked, these two options become available:
    • Black Pixel %: The minimum percentage of the image's pixels that must be black in order for the image to be considered black.
    • Threshold: A floating point number between 0.0 and 1.0. If each of RGB are all less than or equal to the threshold, and the alpha is not between the threshold and (1.0 - threshold), then the pixel is considered black. If the threshold is greater than or equal to 0.5, then the alpha value has no effect.
  • Override Bitmap Pager Setting While Rendering: If checked, you can specify if you want the 3dsmax Bitmap Pager setting to be enabled or disabled.
  • Submit External Files With Scene: This checkbox controls whether the external files (bitmaps, xrefs etc.) will be submitted with the scene or not.
  • Show The Virtual Frame Buffer While Rendering: If checked, the max frame buffer will be displayed on the slave during rendering.
  • Merge Object/Scene XRefs: If checked, object and/or scene XRefs will be merged during submission.
  • Force 3dsmax Workstation Mode (Uses up a 3dsmax License): It is mainly for testing and debugging purposes and should be left unchecked. When when this option is unchecked, 3ds max will be started in Slave mode, except when rendering with Mental Ray.
    When checked, 3ds max will be launched in full Interactive mode and will require a license. Note taht 3dsmax ships with free network rendering support, which means the software is run in Slave mode without the User Interface being enabled. In this mode, the software does not require a license, which means that you can run 3dsmax in Slave mode on every machine you have with a single 3ds max license (as long as you have enough Deadline licenses).
    Note: Interactive mode is set automatically when rendering using mental ray or when submitting MAXScripts to Deadline (MAXScripts submission via the Submit To Deadline dialog is current disabled though).
  • Enabled Silent Mode: This option is only available when Force Workstation Mode is checked.
  • Remove Padding #'s From Output File: If checked, the output filename will be (for example) "output.tga" instead of "output0000.tga". This feature should only be used when rendering single frames. If you render a range of frames with this option checked, each frame will overwrite the previous existing frame.
  • Force Strict Output Naming: If checked, the output image filename is automatically modified to include the scene's name. For example, if the scene name was myScene.max and the output image path was \\myServer\images\output.tga, the output image path would be changed to \\myServer\images\myScene\myScene.tga. If the new output image path doesn't exist, it is created by the 3dmsax plugin before rendering begins.
  • Update Render Elements' Paths: Each Render Element has its own output path which is independent from the render output path. When this option is unchecked, changing the output path will NOT update the Render Elements' paths and the Elements could be written to the wrong path, possibly overwriting existing passes from a previous render. When checked, the paths will be updated to point at sub-folders of the current Render Output path with names based on the name and class of the Render Element. The actual file name will be left unchanged.
  • Permanent RE Path Changes: When this checkbox is checked and the above option is also enabled, changes to the Render Elements paths will be permanent (in other words after the submission, all paths will point at the new locations created for the job). When unchecked, the changes will be performed temporarily during the submission, but the old path names will be restored right after the submission.
  • Ignore Missing External File Errors: Missing external files could mean that the 3ds Max scene will render incorrectly (with textures missing etc). In some cases though, missing external files could be ignorred - for example if the job is meant for test rendering only. If you want the job to fail if a missing external resource is detected, unchecked this checkbox!
  • Ignore Missing UVW Errors: Missing UVWs could mean that some 3ds Max object would render incorrectly (with wrong texture mapping etc). In some cases though, missing UVWs could be ignorred - for example if the job is meant for test renderi
  • Force Restart of Renderer Between Frames: This option can be used to force Deadline to restart the renderer after each frame to avoid some potential problems in very rare cases. Normally, you should leave this option unchecked.
  • Ignore Missing DLL Errors: Missing DLLs could mean that the 3ds Max scene cannot be loaded correctly. In some cases though, missing DLLs could be ignorred. If you want the job to fail if a missing DLL message is detected at startup, keep this checkbox unchecked!
  • Apply Custom Material To Scene: If checked, all geometry objects in the scene will be assigned one of the user-defined materials availabe in the drop down box.


Autodesk ME Image Sequence (IMSQ) Creation

  • Create Image Sequence (IMSQ) File: If checked, an Autodesk IMSQ file will be created from the output files at the output location.
  • Copy IMSQ File On Completion: If checked, the IMSQ file will be copied to the location specified in the text field.

Limit Groups Tab

Blacklist Slaves

  • Make Blacklist Settings Sticky: This checkbox controls whether all Blacklist settings will persist between session or will be reset to no blacklisting after each start of the submitter.
  • Save List As Selection Set: This button and the text field below it can be used to save "Slave Selection Set" files to disk for later use. When pressed, the names of the Slaves listed in the right list box will be saved to a file using the name entered in the text field. If the text field is empty, no file will be saved. If the file already exists, it will be overwritten and thus updated. NOTE that when selecting an existing file from the Selection Set drop-down list, its name will be entered in the text field automatally. This way, you can edit the content of the list (either add or remove slaves) and then press the button again to update the existing file with the new names.
  • Slave Selection Set Drop-down list: This drop-down list can be used to load an existing Slave Selection Set file from disk or to clear the blacklist by selecting [None]. Selecting a saved selection set file from the list will load the names saved in the file to the right list box (blacklist). If a name on the list is found on the network, it will be removed from the left list box. If a name on the list is NOT found on the network, it will still be shown in the right list box. In other words, the saved list will NOT be purged of non-existing slaves. All lists will be saved as *.Slaves text files in the C:\Deadline\Settings\SlaveSelectionSets folder.
  • Slaves List: The left list box will contain the names of all slaves registered in Deadline.
  • Black List: The right list box contains the names of the slaves to be blacklisted or whitelisted.
  • Select Slaves By Name text field: This text field can be used to select slaves by typing a couple of letters. By default, the string matches the beginning of the slave names. For example, entering "slave" will select all machines whose name matches the pattern "slave*". The search is CASE-INSENSITIVE, so typing in "slave" is equivalent to typing in "SlAvE" To search for a sub-string in the middle of the name, you can add a * wildcard character in the beginning of the search string, for example *rth will match the machine named "Earth". When no string is entered, nothing will be selected.
  • Slave Info: The checkbutton controls the display of an additional floater used to show information about selected slaves. The Slave Info floater contains a single large list box which will show all available information about any selected slaves in either the Slave List or the Blacklist. When first pressed, the list will be acquired from the Repository - this can take several seconds. After that, selecting one or more slaves in the lists will display the corresponding information blocks in the Slave Info window. The data is stored in the slavesInfo.ini file in the C:\Deadline\Settings\SlaveSelectionSets folder and will be updated only after a restart of the SMTD dialog.

  • Blacklist/Whitelist: The radio buttons control whether the slaves listed in the right list box will be blacklisted or whitelisted.

Limit Groups

  • Limit Groups: This ListView control provides a list of the available limit groups and checkboxes to add the job to them or not.
  • Automatically set "Brazil" Limit Group when rendering with Brazil r/s: When checked, the job will be automatically assigned to the "Brazil" Limit Group during submission if the current renderer is Brazil, even if the group is not checked manually. Since Brazil r/s requires licenses per render node, this feature makes the management of licenses via Limit Groups automatic.
  • Automatically set "3dsmaxNWorkstation" Limit Group for Workstation mode: When checked, the job will be automatically assigned to the "3dsmaxNWorkstation" Limit Group during submission (where N is the major 3ds Max Version, e.g. "3dsmax8Workstation") if the job requires Workstation mode. Since 3ds Max requeires a license to run in Interactive Workstation mode, you can limit the number of machines pulling 3ds Max licenses via this Limit Group.

Quicktime Generation Tab

  • Generate Quicktime .MOV File: This Checkbox controls whether a Quicktime movie will be created from the single frames rendered by a 3ds Max job.
  • Use Quicktime 7 or higher / Use Fusion Quicktime Generation: This drop-down list provides two possible Quicktime generators supported by Deadline:
    • Apple Quicktime 7.04 or higher (both standard and Pro version) can be used to generate a .MOV file out of a sequence of single frames (if supported by Quicktime).
    • Eyeon Digital Fusion 4.x or Eyeon Fusion 5.x can be used to create .MOV files from a file sequence of any format supported by Fusion.
  • Pool: This drop-down list will display all Deadline pools a second time since the Quicktime generation might require a separate pool of machines that have either Quicktime or Fusion installed. It can be used to specify to pool to generate the MOV file once the 3ds Max job has finished (possibly using a different pool of machines).
  • Render Only On Machines In Pool: As with the same-named option in the Pool And Priority group of controls, this checkbox controls whether machines not in the specified pool will be allowed to pick up the Quicktime job when no other jobs are available.
  • Quicktime Filename Mode and Custom Filename: This drop-down list provides 3 different naming conventions for the resulting Quicktime movie file. The text field next to it shows the current Quicktime filename (without the extension) and lets the user edit it manually if desired.
  • Create QT Settings XML: This button will launch the Quicktime generator in a special mode allowing an XML settings file to be created for use with future Quicktime generator jobs. The XML file will contain data about the codec to be used, the quality settings, color depth, streaming methods and so on. AT LEAST ONE such file should be generated if the Quicktime 7 option is to be used. Once the file is set up, a Save Dialog will be shown, allowing you to save the settings file to a \settings\qt folder in your local Deadline installation. The content of this folder will be listed in the drop-down list next to the button.
  • Available XML Settings Files: This drop-down list will show all valid XML files saved to the \settings\qt folder. A valid XML settings file has to be provided for the Quicktime 7 generator option to function.
  • Fusion Version: Select the version of Fusion to use.
  • Quicktime CODEC: This drop-down list provides all Quicktime Codecs supported by the currently selected Fusion version.
  • Encoding Quality % and presets: This spinner defines the quality vs. size percentage. When set to 100%, the resulting movie will have the highest quality possible with the current Codec but the size will be bigger. When set to lower values, the resulting move will have lower quality but its size will be smaller, too. Use the preset buttons to quickly set the Quality to 25, 50, 75 and 100% with just one click. Use the spinner for any values in between.
  • Output Gamma and presets: This spinner defines the gamma to be applied to the resulting movie. Use the preset buttons to quickly set the Gamma to 1.0, 1.2, 1.8 and 2.0 with just one click. Use the spinner for any values in between.
  • Exposure Compensation and presets: This spinner defines the exposure compensation to be applied to the resulting movie. Use the preset buttons to quickly set the Exposure Compensation to -0.5, -0.1, 0.0 and 0.1 with just one click. Use the spinner for any values in between.
  • Proxy Reduction and presets: This spinner defines the proxy reduction to be used inside of Fusion. Use the preset buttons to quickly set the Proxy Reduction to 1, 2, 3 and 4 with just one click. Use the spinner for any other values. When the Proxy Reduction is set to 2, the resulting Quicktime movie will be twice as small.
  • Use Template: This checkbox controls whether a template Fusion Flow / Comp will be used to generate the final Quicktime movie. Templates can be used to place the output into a user-defined layout together with company info, frame counter, notes and date display on every frame.
  • Add... Template: This button can be used to add a template Fusion Flow / Comp to the list of templates stored in the Repository.
  • Fusion Quicktime Template and Path: This drop-down list will show all templates picked either using the "Add..." button or via the "Submit Fusion Quicktime Generation To Deadline" script.

Options Tab

  • Submit Scene File With Job: If checked, the scene file will be submitted with the Deadline job. If unchecked, the Slaves will load the scene file directly from its current location (so it needs to be saved to a network path).
  • Job Submission Timeout in seconds: This value spinner defines how many seconds to wait for the external Submitter application to return from the Job submission before stopping the attempt with a timeout message.
  • Quicktime Submission Timeout in seconds: This value spinner defines how many seconds to wait for the external Submitter application to return from the Quicktime submission before stopping the attempt with a timeout message.
  • Data Collection Timeout in seconds: This value spinner defines how many seconds to wait for the external Submitter application to return from data collecting before stopping the attempt with a timeout message. Data collecting includes collecting Pools, Categories, Limit Groups, Slave Lists, Slave Info, Jobs etc.
  • Export Renderer-Specific Advanced Settings: If this option is enabled for a specific renderer, you will be able to modify a variety of settings for that renderer after submission from the Deadline Monitor. To modify these settings from the Monitor, right-click on the job and selecting Modify Properties, then select the 3dsmax tab.
  • Override Renderer's Low Priority Thread Option (Brazil r/s, V-Ray): When checked, the Low Priority Thread option of the renderers supporting this feature will be forced to false during the submission. Both Brazil r/s and V-Ray provide the feature to launch the renderer in a low priority thread mode. This is useful when working with multiple applications on a workstation and the rendering should continue in the background without eating all CPU resources. When submitting a job to Deadline though, this should be generally disabled since we want all slaves to work at 100% CPU load.
  • Clear Material Editor In The Submitted File: Clears the material editor in the submitted file during submission.
  • Warn about Missing External Files on Submission: When checked, a warning will be issued if the scene being submitted contains any missing external files (bitmaps etc.). Depending on the state of the Ignore Missing External File Errors checkbox in the Render tab, such files might not cause the job too fail but could cause the result to look wrong. When unchecked, scenes with missing external files will be submitted without any warnings.

Scripts Tab

  • Submit Script Job: This checkbox lets you turn the submission into a MAXScript job. When checked, the scene will NOT be rendered, instead the specified MAXScript code will be executed for the specified frames. See the additional information regarding MAXScript Jobs here. Options that collide with the submission of a MAXScript Job like "Tile Rendering" and "Render Preview Job First" will be disabled or ignorred.
  • Single Task: This checkbox lets you run the MAXScript Job on one slave only. When checked, the job will be submitted with a single task specified for frame 1. This is useful when the script itself will perform some operations on ALL frames in the scene, or when per-frame operations are not needed at all. When unchecked, the frame range specified in the Render Scene Dialog of 3ds Max will be used to create the corresponding number of Tasks. In this case, all related controls in the Job tab will also be taken into account.
  • Workstation Mode: This checkbox is a duplicate of the one in the Job Options tab. Checking either one will affect the other. MAXScript Jobs that require file I/O (loading and saving of 3ds Max files) or commands that require the 3ds Max UI to be present like manipulating the modifier stack HAVE TO be run in Workstation mode (using up a 3ds Max license on the Slave). Check the Workstation Mode to allow such scripts to execute successfully. MAXScript Jobs that do not require file I/O or 3ds Max UI functionality can be run in Slave mode on any number of machines without using up 3ds Max licenses.
  • New Script From Template: This button creates a new MAXScript without any execution code, but with all the necessary template code to run a MAXScript Job on Deadline. The MAXScript Job Template file is located in the Repository under \submission\3dsmax\MAXScriptJobTemplate.ms When the button is pressed, a copy of the template file with a name pattern "MAXScriptJob_TheSceneName_XXXX.ms" will be created in the \3dsmaxN\scripts\SubmitMaxToDeadline folder where XXXX is a random ID and 3dsmaxN is the name of the 3ds Max root folder. The script file will open in 3ds Max for editing. You can add the code to be executed in the marked area and save to disk. The file name of the new template will be set as the current MAXScript Job file automatically. If a file name is already selected in the UI, you will be prompted about replacing it first.
  • Pick Script: This button lets you select an existing script from disk to use for the MAXScript Job. It is advisable to use scripts created from the Template file using the "New Script From Template" button.
  • Edit MAXScript File: This button lets you open the current script file (if any) for editing.
  • Run Pre-Load Script: This checkbox lets you run a MAXScript specified in the text field below it BEFORE the 3ds Max scene is loaded for rendering by the Slave.
  • Run Post-Load Script: This checkbox lets you run a MAXScript specified in the text field below it AFTER the 3ds Max scene is loaded for rendering by the Slave.
  • Run Pre-Frame Script: This checkbox lets you run a MAXScript specified in the text field below it BEFORE the Slave renders a frame.
  • Run Post-Frame Script: This checkbox lets you run a MAXScript specified in the text field below it AFTER the Slave renders a frame.
  • Post-Submission Function Call: This field can be used by TDs to enter an arbitrary user-defined MAXScript Expression (NOT a path to a script!) which will be executed after the submission has finished. This can be used to trigger the execution of user-defined functions or to press a button in a 3rd party script. In the screenshot, the expression presses a button in a globally defined rollout which is part of an in-house scene management script. If you want to execute a multi-line script after each submission, you could enter fileIn \"c:\temp\somescript.ms\" in this field and the content of the specified file will be evaluated. The content of this field is sticky and saved in the local INI file - it will persist between sessions until replaced or removed manually.

Tiles Tab

  • Enable Tiles Rendering: This checkbox enables the tile rendering option.
  • Tiles In X / Tiles In Y: These values specify the number of tiles horizontally and vertically. The total number of tiles (and jobs) to be rendered is calculated as X*Y and is displayed in the UI.
  • Show Tiles In Viewport: Enables the tile display gizmo.
  • Split Machine Limit Between Tile Jobs: When checked, the limit specified in the Job tab will be divided equally between the Tile Jobs. If not limit is specified in the Job tab, each Job will render with a limit of ONE! If unchecked and a Machine Limit is specified in the Job tab, each Tile job will get that limit. If unchecked and no Machine Limit is enforced in the Job tab, all Tile Jobs will be rendered without any limits.
  • Tile Pixel Padding This value defines the number of pixels to overlap between tiles. By default it is set to 0, but when rendering Global Illumination, it might be necessary to render tiles with significant overlapping to avoid artifacts.
  • Re-Render User-Defined Tiles: When checked, only user-defined tiles will be submitted for re-rendering. Use the [Specify Tiles To Re-render...] check-button to open a dialog and select the tiles to be rendered.
  • Specify Tiles To Re-render: When checked, a dialog to select the tiles to be rerendered will open. To close the dialog, either uncheck the button or press the [X] button on the dialog's title bar.
  • Enable Region Rendering: When checked, only the specified region will be rendered and depending on the region type selected, it can be cropped or blown up as well. If the Enable Distributed Tiles Rendering checkbox is checked, it will be unchecked. This option REPLACES the "Crop" option in the Render mode drop-down list in the 3ds Max UI. In other words, the 3ds Max option does not have to be selected for Region Rendering to be performed on Deadline. The region can be specified either using the CornerX, CornerY, Width and Height spinners, or by getting the current region from the active viewport. To do so, set the Render mode drop-down list to either Region or Crop, press the Render icon and drag the region marker to specify the desired size. Then press ESC to cancel and press the Get Region From Active View to capture the new values.

Misc Tab

Batch Submission

  • Use Data from 3ds Max Batch Render: This checkbox enables the Batch Submission using the 3ds Max Batch Render dialog settings. If checked, a single MASTER job will be sent to Deadline which in turn will "spawn" all necessary BATCH jobs.
  • Open Dialog: This button opens the 3ds Max Batch Render dialog in Version 8 and higher.
  • Update Info: This button reads the 3ds Max Batch Render dialog settings and displays the number of enabled vs. defined Views.

Render To Texture

  • Submit as Render to Texture Job: This checkbox enables texture baking through Deadline. Use the Add, Remove, and Clear All buttons to add and remove objects from the list of objects to bake.

Remote Submission Tab (For Frantic Films' Internal Use Only)

While this feature was designed for Frantic Films's internal use only, it is possible to make use of the feature in the public version of Deadline. To show the Remote tab on submission, do the following:

  • Create a file called RemoteSubmissionRepositories.ini on a network share that can be accessed by all machines you plan to remote submit from. This file is used by Deadline to show a meaningful name that represents the network path to the repository you wish to submit to. Each line in this file should contain the user friendly location name, followed by a comma, followed by the network path to the repository at that location. For example, the file contents could look like: 
Main Repository,\\main_repository_machine\DeadlineRepository
Secondary Repository,\\another_machine\DeadlineRepository
...
  • Open the file \\your\repository\submission\3dsmax\SubmitMaxToDeadline_Part1.ms in a text editor and find this line: 
local RunningAtFrantic = doesFileExist "Y:\\Winnipeg\\Deadline\\RemoteSubmissionRepositories.ini"

Simply replace the path in quotes with the path to the RemoteSubmissionRepositories.ini you created on the network, then save the file. You will also have to replace the path in the SubmitMaxToDeadline_Functions.ms file as well. Remember that if your path contains backslashes, you need to double up on them, for example: 

"Z:\Deadline\Setup\RemoteSubmissionRepositories.ini"

should look like 

"Z:\\Deadline\\Setup\\RemoteSubmissionRepositories.ini"
  • The next time you launch the 3ds Max submission dialog, the Remote tab should be visible.

Remote Submission

  • Repository: Select the repository you would like to submit the job to. Leaving this at the DISABLED setting disables remote submission.
  • Suspend Job After Transfer: The job will be transfered to the remote repository in the suspended state.
  • Jpeg Output Path: Check this box to specify an alternative output path where Jpegs of each output image are copied to after the frame is rendered. Note that the render doesn't fail if the saving the Jpeg failed.

Advanced Features For Technical Directors

Submitter's Sticky Settings and Factory Defaults

The latest version of the Submit Max To Deadline 2.7 script allows the user to control the stickiness of most User Interface controls and, in the case of non-sticky settings, the defaults to be used. In previous versions of SMTD, both the stickiness and the defaults were hard-coded.

Overview

Two INI files located in the Repository in the folder \submission\3dsmax control the stickiness and the defaults:

  • SubmitMaxToDeadline_StickySettings.ini - this file can be used to define which controls in the SMTD UI will be stored locally in an INI file ("sticky") and which will be reset to defaults after a restart of the Submitter.
  • SubmitMaxToDeadline_Defaults.ini - this file can be used to define the default settings of those controls set to non-sticky in the other file.

In addition, a local copy of the SubmitMaxToDeadline_StickySettings.ini file can be saved in the C:\Deadline\Settings folder. This file will OVERRIDE the stickiness settings in the Repository and can contain a sub-set of the definitions in the global file.

Details

When SMTD is initializing, it will perform the following operations:

  1. The SMTDSettings Struct will be initialized to the factory defaults of all settings.
  2. Each UI setting will be initially assumed to be sticky.
  3. The global Stickiness definition file is searched for a key matching the current UI setting's name.
    1. If the key is set to "false", the setting is not sticky.
    2. If the key is set to anything but "false", the setting is sticky.
    3. If the key does not exist, the stickiness still defaults to the initial value of true.
  4. A local Stickiness definition file is searched for a key matching the current UI setting's name.
    1. If the key is set to "false", the setting is not sticky and overrides whatever was found in the global file.
    2. If the key is set to anything but "false", the setting is sticky, overriding whatever was found in the global file.
    3. If the key does not exist in the local file, the last known value (initial or from the global file) remains in power.
  5. At this point, SMTD knows whether the setting is sticky or not. Now it gets the global default value:
    1. If a matching key exists in the file SubmitMaxToDeadline_Defaults.ini, the setting is initialized to its value.
    2. If no matching key exists in the global defaults file, the original factory default defined in the SMTDStruct definition will remain in power.
    3. If the setting is sticky, SMTD loads the last known value from the local INI file. If the value turns out to be invalid or not set, it uses the default instead.
    4. If the setting is not sticky, the default loaded from the global defaults file or, if no such default was loaded, the factory default, will be assigned to the setting.

When the User Interface is created, the stickiness info from the local and global files will determine whether a * star character will be added to the control's name, reflecting the current stickiness settings.

Using this new feature, a facility can customize the submitter globally to default to the preferred settings and keep certain settings sticky so their values can be determined by the artists. In addition, single users can override the company-wide stickiness settings using a local file if they feel their workflow require a different setup.

Custom Job Name Controls

This advanced feature allows the addition of custom project, sequence, shot and pass names to the [>>] list to the right of the Job Name field. Producers in larger facilities could provide full shot lists via a central set of files in the Repository to allow users to pick existing shot names and ensuring consistent naming conventions independent from the 3ds Max scene naming.

To create a new set of files, go to the ..\submission\3dsmax\ folder in your Deadline Repository and create the following files:

Projects.ini - This file describes the projects currently available for Custom Job Naming. Each Project is defined as a Category inside this file, with two keys - Name and ShortName.

For example: 

 [SomeProject]
 Name=Some Project in 3D
 ShortName=SP
 [AnotherProject]
 Name=Another Project
 ShortName=AP

SomeProject.ini - This is a file whose name should match exactly the Category name inside the file Projects.ini and contains the actual sequence, shot and pass description of the particular project. One file is expected for each project definition inside the Projects.ini file.

For example: 

 [SP_SS_010]
 Beauty=true
 Diffuse=true
 Normals=true
 ZDepth=true
 Utility=true
 [SP_SS_150]
 Beauty=true
 Diffuse=true
 Utility=true
 [SP_SO_020]
 Beauty=true
 [SP_SO_030]
 Beauty=true

The Submitter will parse this file and try to collect the Sequences by matching the prefix of the shot names, for example in the above file, it will collect two sequences - SP_SS and SP_SO - and build a list of shots within each sequence, then also build a list of passes within each shot.

Then, when the [>>] button is pressed, the context menu will contain the name of each project and will provide a cascade of sub-menus for its sequences, shots and passes.

If you selected the entry SomeProject>SP_SS>SP_SS_150>Diffuse, the resulting Job Name will be "SP_SS_150_Diffuse":

You can enter as many projects into your Projects.ini file as you want and provide one INI file for each project describing all its shots and passes. If an INI file is missing, no data will be displayed for that project.

Auto-Suggest Category and Priority Mechanism

This feature has been implemented at Frantic Films to help Producers suggest categories and priorities based on Shots and Sequence signatures which are part of the 3ds Max Scene Name.

This feature DOES NOT ENFORCE the Category and Priority for the job, it only suggests a value based on project guidelines - the Category and Priority can be changed manually after the suggestion.

To use this feature, you have to edit the file called "SubmitMaxToDeadline_CategoryPatterns.ms" located in the Repository in the \submission\3dsmax folder. As a shortcut, you can press the button Edit Patterns... in the Options tab of the Submitter - the file will open in the built-in MAXScript Editor.

The file defines a global array variable called SMTD_CategoryPatterns which will be used by the Submitter to perform pattern matching on the Job Name and try to find a corresponding Category and optionally a priority value in the array.

The array can contain one or more sub-arrays, each one representing a separate pattern definition.

Every pattern sub-array consists of four array elements:

  1. The first element is an array containing zero, one or more string patterns using * wildcards. These strings will be used to pattern match the Job Name. If it matches, it will be considered for adding to the Category and for changing the Priority. If the subarray is empty, all jobs will be considered matching the pattern.
  2. The second element is also an array containing similar pattern strings. These strings will be used to EXCLUDE jobs matching these patterns from being considered for this Category and Priority. If the subarray is empty, no exclusion matching will be performed.
  3. The third element contains the EXACT name (Case Sensitive!) of the category to be set if the Job Name matches the patterns. If the category specified here does not match any of the categories defined via the Deadline Monitor, no action will be performed.
  4. The fourth element specifies the Priority to give the job if it matches the patterns. If the value is -1, the existing priority will NOT be changed.

The pattern array can contain any number of pattern definitions. The higher a definition is on the list, the higher its priority - if a Job Name matches multiple pattern definitions, only the first one will be used.

The pattern matching will be performed only if the checkbox Auto-Suggest Job Category and Priority in the Options Tab is checked. It will be performed when the dialog first opens or when the the Job Name is changed.

An example:

  • Let's assume that a VFX facility is working on a project called "SomeProject" with multiple sequences labelled "AB", "CD" and "EF".
  • The network manager has created categories called "SomeProject", "AB_Sequence", "CD_Sequence", "EF_Sequence" and "High_Priority" via the Monitor.
  • The Producers have instructed the Artists to name their 3ds Max files "SP_AB_XXX_YYY_" where SP stands for "SomeProject", "AB" is the label of the sequence followed by the scene and shot numbers.
  • Now we want to set up the Submitter to suggest the right Categories for all Max files sent to Deadline based on these naming conventions.
  • We want jobs from the CD sequence to be set to Priority of 60 unless they are from the scene with number "007".
  • We want jobs from the AB sequence to be set to Priority of 50
  • We don't want to enforce any priotity to jobs for sequence EF.
  • Also we want shots from the "AB" sequence with scene number "123" and "EF" sequence with scene shot number "038" to be sent at highest priority and added to the special "High Priority" category for easier filtering in the Monitor.
  • Finally we want to make sure that any SP project files that do not contain a sequence label are added to the general "SomeProject" category with lower priority.

To implement these rules, we could create the following definitions in the "SubmitMaxToDeadline_CategoryPatterns.ms" - press the Edit Patterns... button in the Options tab to open the file: 

   SMTD_CategoryPatterns = #(
   #(#("*AB_123*","*EF_*_038*"),#(),"High_Priority",100),
   #(#("*AB_*"),#(),"AB_Sequence",50),
   #(#("*CD_*"),#("*CD_007_*"),"CD_Sequence",60),
   #(#("*EF_*"),#(),"EF_Sequence",-1),
   #(#("SP_*"),#(),"SomeProject",30),
   )
  1. The first pattern specifies that files from the "AB" sequence, scene "123" and "EF" sequence, shot "038" (regardless of scene number) will be suggested as Category "High_Priority" and set Priority to 100.
  2. The second pattern specifies all AB jobs to have priority of 50 and be added to Category "AB_Sequence".

Since the special case of AB_123 has been handled in the previous pattern, this will not apply to it.

  1. The third pattern sets jobs that contain "CD_" in their name but NOT the signature "CD_007_" to the "CD_Sequence" Category and sets the Priority to 60.
  2. The fourth pattern sets jobs that contain "EF_" in their name to the "EF_Sequence" Category but does not change the priority (-1).
  3. The fifth pattern specifies that any jobs that have not matched the above rules but still start with the "SP_" signature should be added to the "SomeProject" Category and set to low priority of 30.

Note that since we used "*" instead of "SP_" in the beginning of the first 4 patterns, even if the job is not named correctly with the project prefix "SP_", the pattern will correctly match the job name.