Scene Manager 2.5 [Beta]

Hi Everyone!

We have been working on this for a long time now, and I’m excited to share this new beta version with everyone. Below, you can find a brief changelog of the most important things that we did. As mentioned, we completely changed the underlying architecture of the Scene Manager, introduced some slight changes to the UI and added some new features as well.

The reason for the beta is to hunt down any remaining bugs that might exist.

If you have any questions, issues or ideas feel free to post it here or send us an email to support@pulze.io

New / Updated features:

  • Added new Assets module that will allow you to easily track and collect your assets
  • New Plugins module to overview which plugins/versions are used in the scene
  • The new version allows you to create up to 5 states and use a selection of modules at no cost.
  • The core of the Scene Manager has been completely replaced. By eliminating some bottlenecks, command execution and the overall experience are now much faster.
  • Added a new “Login with Browser” method for a more convenient sign in experience.
  • We’ve also given the user interface a slight facelift. You’ll notice changes to the top part where we’ve placed most commands like Render, Bake, Preview, leaving the setup list with only the relevant commands.
  • Added a new notification option that opens a message box during file load if the scene contains Scene Manager settings.
  • New logo for the 3ds Max toolbar
  • More accessible preview setup option. While active, you can make changes in the user interface without affecting your 3ds Max scene.
  • Updated camera sync mode (previously record setup). When enabled, Scene Manager will listen for viewport changes and activate the setup based on the active camera.
  • Added a confirmation dialog before deleting a setup.
  • The “create output directory tree” will now work if multiple setups are selected.
  • Pressing cancel during batch rendering now cancels the entire process.

Fixes:

  • Fixed several issues with groups. Scene Manager will now only pick the topmost object (if the group is closed). Also all children will inherit the properties.
  • Fixed an issue with linked helpers appearing in the objects module.
  • Fixed missing .vrimg output and the Post-production import/export option when V-Ray GPU is used.
  • Fixed an issue with the Lights module where instanced V-Ray Lights were not behaving correctly during batch rendering.
  • Nth, range, and single frame values are now updated separately.
  • Removed Corona out of core and other non-relevant settings from the Render Settings - Override module.
1 Like

Thanks for the effort in getting this done. Much appreciated! I will however wait for the stable release.

Yeah… so I updated to this beta and now my scene set-ups are now missing from my files… not a good start.

I don’t think this is directly related to the upgrade, but it happened as I did a drag+drop open of an old scene into a scene open with Pulze SM opened (and no scenes set-up). So now I’ve lost those scenes.

An import/export option would be SO so handy.

Hopefully reverting back to the stable release fixes this for me.

Hey @AnotherAngle3D

Thanks for the feedback, will try to reproduce your issue. What happens if you restart the Scene Manager and open the scene with file > open?

Nothing helped. It was gone. I had to revert back to an older file.

Another issue; the new license login. Already buggy. Worked fine yesterday after logging in, but now I can’t get it to authorize.

I actually wrote the following yesterday, but decided to give you guys the benefit of the doubt and deleted it. But here I am, my suspicions confirmed:

I just want to flag one potential issue:

“Added a new “Login with Browser” method for a more convenient sign in experience.”

I’ve noticed that the Pulze website NEVER leaves me logged in. I hope this is either fixed or unrelated to the new browser login as it’d be a major pain to deal with logging into Pulze website every time I want to open SM.

Yep… cannot log in… Very annoying?!

I click on the new red license button and it takes me to pulze site, where I log in, but I still cant get SM to be authorized…

Update: Logging out then back in did the trick. Works now.

I should 100% expect to stay logged in even after a PC restart. Please ensure this works.

Thanks for the info, we are already looking into it. Will need to collect a couple of other similar issues but it should be good for the final version.

What I already did for the next update is that when you press ok, it will actually log you out. Will keep you posted.

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Another bug:

My currently selected scene often (randomly?) disables the camera node. It both disables the camera node, when I enable it again, no camera is selected.

Am I hitting a keyboard shortcut I’m unaware of?

Or is this just a random legit bug?

Happened in 2 separate scenes now, multiple times.

Could it be related to this: SceneManager 2.5.1 - Whiping Cameralist after BatchRender?

Did you used the batch render feature?

Version 2.5.2

Thanks for everyone who tried out the previous versions and for all the reports we have received. Here is another beta release with 2 new modules that hopefully will make your life easier.

You can download the new version from here: https://public.pulze.io/pulze-downloads/pulze_scnmgr_max/scene-manager-2.5.2.zip

New features:

  • Added a new Assets module that will allow you to easily track and collect your assets
  • New Plugins module to overview which plugins/versions are used in the scene

Fixes:

  • Fixed issue with deactivated camera during batch rendering
  • Fixed a couple of UI glitches for users with trial licenses

The login issue I reported seems to be fixed :slight_smile:

1 Like

Thanks for the update Peter, I will testdrive and post some feedback. I have a question about the changelog:

“The new version allows you to create up to 5 states and use a selection of modules at no cost.”

What do you mean with that?

Yeah we are still trying to figure out how to phrase it… 5 states and a selection of modules means that you can’t have more then 5 setups in your list:

and beside the Camera, Resolution, Sun, Dome, Environment and a couple of other utility modules the rest is disabled.

This will be available without a license, you just need a Pulze account.

Ah ok, nothing of interest for a paying user then. Thanks.

Version 2.5.3

Again we would like to thank everyone who took the time to try out the beta and shared any kind of issue or bug. We are getting closer to the final release.

Todays build fixes some of the reported problems from the past few days. You can download it from here: https://public.pulze.io/pulze-downloads/pulze_scnmgr_max/scene-manager-2.5.3.zip

Changelog:

  • Fixed issue with post-production module not working with V-Ray GPU
  • Fixed issue with asset module not working properly with some scenes
  • Fixed a bug that prevented the creation of new hdri or sky maps from Scene Manager
  • Fixed issue with Object module not picking the correct object when it is linked