Receiving Messages

Location:

• The Render Manager > mental ray (Global Renderer)

• The Render Manager > (expand a pass) > mental ray

• Set a current pass and choose Render > Render > Renderer Options from the Render toolbar.

• Tab: Logged Messages [Properties Reference]

• Options: Diagnostics

The mental ray rendering software can provide detailed messages as it reads and renders a scene. You can use these messages to help you fine–tune for quality and performance. For example, keeping track of triangle count, etc.

You can choose to output any combination of the following message types by checking the corresponding checkbox:

• Errors — outputs messages about missing .dll files, missing shaders, and other errors that may cause the render to abort.

• Warnings — outputs messages relating to problems that may cause the scene to render incorrectly.

• Information — outputs information computed for the scene, such as BSP tree statistics, tessellated triangle counts, number of rays fired, and so on.

• Progress — outputs the percentage of the scene that has been rendered, and other information about rendering progress, such as when the render begins and ends.

• Basic Debug — outputs information about what information is computed and sent as each tile is rendered.

• Detailed Debug — outputs detailed information about what information is computed and sent as each tile is rendered.

When rendering from the command line, use the -verbose argument.

Displaying Messages

Verbose messages are logged to the script editor, and/or the log file. To see the verbose output, simply open the script editor by choosing View Scripting Script Editor from the main menu.

Reading Messages

The following table will help you understand logged messages:

Message Code	Meaning
API	Construction elements in the scene database
DB	Storage management of elements in the scene database
DISP	Communication with real-time image views
ECHO	Print the scene database in .mi2 format to stdout
GAP	Geometry Approximation (tessellation into triangles)
GAPS	GAP scheduler that routes approximation requests
GEOM	Geometry modeling operations
GEOT	Geometry conversion for tessalation, a submodule of GAP
IMG	Image file access, disk read/write/map, and conversion
JOB	Job control
LIB	Library of mathematical (and other) functions
LINK	Dynamic linking of shaders and shader libraries
MAIN	Start-up and interpretation of the command line
MEM	Unstructured memory management
MI	MI scene file parser, converts text file into API calls
MSG	Low-level message passing and thread management
PAR	High-level parallel message routing
PHEN	Phenomenon (shader) management and evaluation
RC	Rendering component, front-end management module
RCB	RC submodule handling triangle boxes
RCC	RC submodule handling contours
RCGI	RC submodule handling caustics and global illumination
RCI	RC submodule handling scanline rendering and raytracing
RCS	RC scheduler that routes rendering requests
SCENE	Structured memory management
TASK	Parallel task management and loading
INVENTOR	Silicon Graphics Inventor real-time scene previewer (optional)

A	These letters correspond to the mental ray module that is supplying the verbose message. Modules are listed in the table above.
B	Two numbers separated by a period represent the number of the machine on the network (if distributed rendering) and the number of processors used during rendering.
C	This word defines the message level. Levels are: fatal; error; warn; info; progress (progr); debug; or verbose debug (vdebug).
D	These seven numbers correspond to the code number of the warning, error or fatal error.
E	The remainder of the verbose message is in English and specifies a warning or error.