It is probably just me, but I cannot seem to get a PRT loader to accept all my partitions at one time. I generated 40 partitions, for 70 frames, each with about 600K particles. I did it via Deadline (using the 2 free node approach). It appears to have worked fine and I have a whack of .prt files saved.
When I try and load them I select 1 .prt and it asks if I want to load the full sequence of 40. If I hit yes the PRT Loader: Select Partitions to Load dialog opens but most of the paritions show (not found) at the end and it will only let me load perhaps 12 .prt files. Which ones I can load depends on which one I first select. If I do it again and select the first of the remaining partitions (in this case 13 of 40) it then picks up the rest and adds them.
Not a huge deal, but I can also add the same partitions more than once. That combined with the fact that it’s hard to see the names in the prt list on the PRT loader means it’s kinda easy to duplicate partitions in there.
Anyway, thought I’d point it out in case it is a bug, and would it be possible to implement a warning when loading the same .prt file more than once in a single PRT loader, or is that just not really an issue?
Can you copy and paste here one name of each partition you saved? (I expect to see a list of 40).
I haven’t experienced this problem before and it is possible that it is a bug or a user error, but I have to see the file names to be sure.
Here is a hint: The partition file name is defined both by the base filename you entered in the Save Path dialog AND the Total Count value written in the file name. Let’s say you are saving “particles_.prt” as partitions.
If you set the Total Count to 40 and save a range from 1 to 20, you will get files like “particles__part01of40_0000.prt” etc.
If you then decide to save partitions 21 to 40 but for some reason the base file name was changed to, say, “particle_.prt”, or the Total Count was changed to anything else but 40 (say, 41), this will create a DIFFERENT partitions set, e.g. “particle__part21of40_0000.prt”, or “particles__part21of41_0000.prt”. Trying to load the partitions from 1 to 20 and 21 to 40/41 will require two attempts because the two groups of partitions don’t belong together. The Load Partitions dialog looks at the base file name AND the Total Count recorded after the “of” to figure out the search pattern for other files, and if it does not find any, writes Not Found next to it. Thus a search pattern based on “particles__part01of40_0000.prt” will find neither “particle__part21of40_0000.prt” (because the S is missing in the base file name), nor “particles__part21of41_0000.prt” (because “of41” is not the same partitions set as “of40”).
If your naming shows one of these two problems, what you described would be the expected behavior.
If all 40 partitions are consistently named with just the “partXX” changing and you are still seeing a strange behavior, then it is a bug.
Sorry for the delay - I keep forgetting that this forum does not automatically subscribe me to my threads so I missed your reply. EDIT found the preference to address that issue
Here is the list copied via the utility in the PRT loader. There are far more in the directory (70X40) but the naming is consistent, just the frame number changes (i.e partNof40_NNN).
–PRT LOADER FILE LIST: [PRT Loader001]
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part01of40_000.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part02of40_000.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part03of40_000.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part04of40_000.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part05of40_000.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part06of40_000.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part07of40_000.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part08of40_000.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part09of40_000.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part10of40_000.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part11of40_000.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part12of40_000.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part13of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part14of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part15of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part16of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part17of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part18of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part19of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part20of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part21of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part22of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part23of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part24of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part25of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part26of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part27of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part28of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part29of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part30of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part31of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part32of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part33of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part34of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part35of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part36of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part37of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part38of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part39of40_0005.prt
\Chronos\s\Job Working Files\Maclaren_Xbox_Alan_Wake\3D\sceneassets\particles\Skull_Bulb_01\Skull_Bulb_01__part40of40_0005.prt
Yeah, but the first 12 are using NNN and the rest are using NNNN, which makes them DIFFERENT sets. When I resolve a path based on 3 digits, I look for a file with 3 digits and not 4. I would call this a bug, or a feature, depending on how you look at it. I will see if it is easy to “fix”, but a file that ends with _00000 (the default of RealFlow for example) is not the same as a file that ends with 4 or 3 digits since Krakatoa resolves the number based on the template provided.
So if the template file you picked says _000.prt and you go to frame 123, Krakatoa will try to load a file called _123.prt. If the template file says _0000.prt, Krakatoa will try to load _0123.prt. So clearly a file with 3 trailing digits and a file with 4 are considered DIFFERENT files and cannot be intermixed. Thus, if you specified 000 yourself in one session and then none or 4 in another, you will get incompatible sequences. The fact that you can have a partition called “particles__part01of40_000.prt” and “particles__part01of40_0000.prt” in the same folder without Windows assuming them as the same file shows that they should be seen as different files by Krakatoa, too…
Hmm - not sure exactly why they show different except that I loaded the first 12 by picking the first partition that showed in the dialog, and then I picked the next one the second time I loaded the particles when the first round failed to get them all. The sequence of files in Windows is all identical - no variations there.
The file names are all generated by KT though - at least that part. Maybe the issue is my naming convention. My file was called “Skull_Bulb_01_005.max”. When generating partitions, to name the particles I chose the “m” button in the KT dialog to name the sequence from the max file name. The rest is the automated result. The generated files all seem to have common name format though - no changing digits there. However, the filenames came out a bit different: the filenames created in the directory are as follows:
“Skull_Bulb_01__part01of40_000.prt”
Here is a screen cap of the KT dialog to show it is setup:
Ok, that explains it.
If a file name in the Save Dialog ends with digits, the digits before a non-digit character will be assumed as the frame count pattern, so the output will have only 3 digits in your case.
You somehow managed to save the other partitions with 4 digits and this produced an incompatible sequence naming.
Normally, in production we try to end any file names with _ to avoid such problems, including file name output of Max itself.
I will add a fix to the M button to check if the Max file name ends with digits and append an underscore if it does to avoid this mess. So I will consider this part a bug, but the fact that the PRT Loader does not like loading 3 digit and 4 digit sequences in a single go is not a bug but As Designed.
I changed the M button to always add an underscore after the Max file name, so “test_v005.max” will now produce “test_v005_.prt” in the Save Particles dialog and will thus save as “test_v005_0000.prt” etc.
This will be available in the 1.6.0 release (and its beta versions).
Just thought I’d share the net result of the testing.
The job did go elswehere but I adapted it a bit and finished it off for the portfolio (the concept was for a video game). The group shot is the ‘final’. Technically it could have been a touch smoother, but I actually liked the feel of the grain so just kept it as is. I think it was about 24M particles and rendered each frame at 6K. Some Photoshop post on it.
Thanks again for the help - I’ll be picking up a license next week
This was actually an element of an ad for a video game, it was a component of one of the layouts. It would make a pretty good anti-smoking ad, or a skateboarder t-shirt
