This build is considered a release candidate; It has all the features we plan to add for Stoke 1.0 so its now just a matter of making sure everything works properly in all situations. Please let us know when you encounter any rough edges.
Asynchronous saving now supports multiple threads, making the saving of PRT files several times faster depending on the Hard Disk Drive speed and number of CPUs/Cores. Simulation always uses all cores, and the saving will use by default half the cores for saving while simulation is running, and all cores minus one while flushing the cache (one core is left for OS and Max to work interactively). The maximum number of saving threads can be limited using a new parameter “Cache Threads” which defaults to 0 (determine max. threads count automatically based on CPU count).
The flushing of the memory to disk is now performed implicitly at the end of the simulation and runs in a background thread while the user can continue working. If you set the Log Level to Progress, you will see a print of each saved PRT file in the Listener, and the memory graph and display will update dynamically via a callback. This way, all PRTs will end up on disk sooner or later without the need to manually flush and wait.
During background saving, the >Use Disk Cache checkbutton will turn into a [STOP SAVING] button which can be used to cancel the background saving if the output is not desired anymore. You can even reset the Max scene and move on to do something else and the PRTs will still be saved in the background.
Base Save Path can now be defined using symbolic tokens prefixed with $. The default path is now $default which resolves to “C:\Users<UserName>\AppData\Local\Thinkbox\Stoke\Cache”. This makes Max scenes with Stoke objects more portable between machines. Other supported tokens are $temp (equivalent to GetDir #temp in MAXScript), $scene (equivalent to the Max file name without extension) and $user (the system user name). Absolute paths are still supported and the symbolic path can be expanded to explicit path if desired.
The Stoke Partitioning tool now supports Deadline Partitioning in addition to Local Partitioning. Network Partitioning will require a Stoke Network license though. If you want to test it, please contact sales@thinkboxsoftware.com to get some network licenses.
[size=150]Minor Changes[/size]
Logging from the scripted UI now respects the Log Level better. Setting the Log Level to None should print nothing.
Disk Caching is now enabled by default
Most prompts and menus related to Flushing the cache have been removed since it is done implicitly now.
Updated and generalized the color coding of Distribution and Velocity sources, including dedicated list colors for PFlow, Ember, FumeFX etc.
Added a Frame counter to the STOP button in addition to the % display.
The [+] button for creating a PRT Loader will be disabled if the >Use Disk Cache option is unchecked.
[size=150]Bug Fixes[/size]
Meshes with no elements could cause errors, for example empty frames of XMesh sequences. This has been fixed.
Empty frames with no particles in the Stoke sequence could cause incorrect channel map to be passed up, potentially causing errors in Magma and the Krakatoa renderer. This has been fixed.
Earlier versions of FumeFX are now correctly supported as Distribution Objects. In the previous Beta build, only 3.5.1 worked.
The Viewport Display lists for Color and Display were not being updated after a simulation added new channels to the sequence. Now they are updated automatically. For example, if you check “TextureCoord” channel to be acquired and resimulate, the channel will appear on both lists automatically after the simulation is done.
The RESUME button used to cause a MAXScript error if the Stoke object was deselected and selected again. This has been fixed.