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The Maxwell Log saves helpful information about how your project was converted into Maxwell scene. Inspect it for warnings and errors. With the Log as a guide, you can troubleshoot most issues yourself. See formZ | Plugin Log
Forum Help
To access the Maxwell for formZ community forum:
- Select the Extensions > Maxwell Render > Forum from within formZ.
- Copy the system info provided and click OK. The forum web page should pop up in a moment.
- On the forum web page, click on 'Start a New Thread' if you need to post an inquiry. Paste the system info provided into your post.
Proceed to the Maxwell for formZ Forum...
Troubleshooting: Problems and Solutions
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- In File > Project Preferences, 'Project Files' Tab, disable 'Keep Textures.' Note that it may be necessary to manually reload the affected texture(s) after this step.
Problem: When Network Rendering, scenes are sometimes overwritten
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- Use Automatic file paths, and enable the Timestamp option. See formZ | Render Options | File
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Problem: Rendered scene is extremely dark (or black)
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- Do not use very white or fully saturated materials in your scene. For example, a completely white (255, 255, 255) material will take a very long time to clear and will also make the contrast in the image disappear. Also avoid completely saturated colors such as pure red (255, 0, 0). Pure white or pure saturated materials do not exist in real life so it is better to decrease the saturation a bit. For a white wall, around RGB 220, 220, 220, which is the albedo of white paper, is sufficient. See the page Realistic material reflectance for more info.
- Avoid more than one Layer set to additive mode, especially if the Layer weight is set to 100%. This means the material can eventually reflect back too much light and introduce noise in the render. If you want to create a plastic material, instead of having two BSDFs (one diffuse bottom layer and one specular top layer set to additive mode), it is recommended instead to use a single BSDF set to diffuse, and add a Coating component to it. Set the thickness of the coating high (eg. 5000nm) to avoid any coloration effects in the coating.
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Problem: Export process is slow
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- Adjust the Display Resolution Facet Density option. Increasing the facet density will usually resolve this issue, but will also result in longer export times. Use the minimum value that produces acceptable results, especially on complex objects.
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Problem: Error 'There is no MAXWELL3_ROOT environment variable on this machine'
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If this does not solve the issue. A System Environment Variable is a value that is available to every application on your computer. As such, the MAXWELL3_ROOT variable points to Maxwell's home directory, and provides the ability for any application that wishes to locate Maxwell to be able to do so. So, it is very important that it is correctly set when you install Maxwell. Usually this is no problem, but there are always cases where installation is not completely successful, and it is possible that you may need to manually create the variable. Note that you should proceed with caution when accessing Environment Variables. If you alter Environment Variables without having very specific reasons, you may encounter problems with the applications that rely on them. To view and edit your System's Environment Variables, go to: Start > right-click My Computer > Properties > Advanced > Environment variables. If Maxwell Render is installed correctly, there should be a MAXWELL3_ROOT variable present.