3ds Max Plug-in Guide & Deadline 5.2.49424 documentation
3ds Max Plug-in Guide
Job Submission
You can submit jobs from within 3ds Max and installing the integrated
Submit Max To Deadline (SMTD) script, or you can submit them from the
Monitor. The instructions for installing the integrated SMTD script can
be found further down this page.
To submit from within 3ds Max, select the Deadline menu item that you
created during the integrated submission script setup.
Submission Options
The general Deadline options are explained in the
documentation, and the Draft/Shotgun options are explained in the
documentation. The 3ds Max specific options are as
Scene File Submission Options
S***E and Submit Current Scene File with the Job to the REPOSITORY:
The current scene will be saved to a temporary file which will be
sent with the job and will be stored in the Job’s folder in the
Repository.
S***E and Submit Current Scene File to GLOBAL NETWORK PATH: The
current scene will be saved to a temporary file which will be copied
to a Globally-Defined Alternative Network Location (e.g. dedicated
file server). It is specified in
[Repository]\submission\3dsmax\SubmitMaxToDeadline_Defaults.ini
under [GlobalSettings] as the SubmitSceneGlobalBasePath key. It will
be referenced by the Job via its path only. This will reduce the load
on the Repository server.
S***E and Submit Current Scene File to USER-DEFINED NETWORK PATH: The
current scene will be saved to a temporary file which will be copied
to a User-Defined Alternative Network Location (e.g. dedicated file
server) stored as a local setting. It will be referenced by the Job
via its path only. This will reduce the load on the Repository
DO NOT S***E And Use Current Scene’s ORIGINAL NETWORK PATH: The
current scene will NOT be saved, but the original file it was opened
from will be referenced by the job. Assuming the file resides on a
dedicated file server, this will speed up submission and rendering
significantly, but current changes to the scene objects will be
Sanity Check
Run Sanity Check Automatically Before Submission: This options forces
Submit To Deadline to perform a Sanity Check before submitting the
scene to Deadline. The Sanity Check is implemented as a separate set
of scripted functions which can be enhanced by 3rd parties to meet
specific studio needs. For more information, please refer to the
Run Now: This button performs a Sanity Check without submitting a job
to Deadline. Any potential problems will be reported and can be fixed
before actually submitting the job.
Job Options
Out-Of-Order Rendering Every Nth Frame: Deadline will render every
Nth frame based on the order selected in the drop down box. This
option can be very useful when rendering long test animations - you
can render a rough animation containing evey Nth frame early enough
to detect any major issues before all frames have been rendered, or
in cases where the major action happens in the end of the sequence,
reverse the rendering order.
Render Preview Job First: When the checkbox is checked, two jobs will
be submitted. The first job will have [PREVIEW FRAMES] added to its
name, have a priority of 100, and will render only N frames based on
the spinner’s value. The step will be calculated internally. If the
spinner is set to 2, the first and the last frame will be rendered.
With a value of 3, the first, middle and last frames will be rendered
and so on. The second job will have [REST OF FRAMES] added to its
name, and will be DEPENDENT on the first job and will start rendering
once the preview frames job has finished. It will have the priority
specified in the dialog, and render all frames not included in the
preview job.
Enforce Sequential Rendering: Recommended for particle rendering.
Submit Visible Objects Only: This option should be used at your own
risk, as it is heavily dependent on the content of your scene. In
most cases, it can be used to submit only a subset of the current
scene to Deadline, skipping all hidden objects that would not render
anyway. This feature will be automatically disabled if the current
scene contains any Scene XRefs. The feature will create an incorrect
file if any of the scene objects depend INDIRECTLY on hidden objects.
Force 3ds Max Build: This drop-down list allows you to specify which
build of 3ds Max (32 bit vs. 64 bit) to use when rendering the job.
The list will be greyed out when running in 3ds Max 8 or earlier.
Make Force 3ds Max Build Sticky: When the checkbox is unchecked, the
“Force 3ds Max Build” drop-down list selection will NOT persist
between sessions and will behave as documented above in the “Default”
section. When the checkbox is checked, the “Force 3ds Max Build”
drop-down list selection will persist between sessions. For example,
if you are submitting from a 64 bit build of 3ds Max 9 or higher to
an older network consisting of only 32 bit builds, you can set the
drop-down list to “32bit” once and lock that setting by checking
“Make Force 3ds Max Build Sticky”.
Job Dependencies
When the checkbox is checked and one or more jobs have been selected
from the multi-list box, the job will be set to Pending state and will
start rendering when all jobs it depends on have finished rendering. Use
the Get Jobs List button to populate the Job List and the Filter options
with job data from the Repository.
Job Scheduling
Enable job scheduling. See the Scheduling section of the
documentation for more information on the available
3ds Max Rendering
Use Alternate Plugin.ini file: By default, 3ds Max will launch using
the default plugin.ini file in the local installation. You can use
this option to select an alternative plugin.ini file to use instead.
Alternative plugin.ini files can be added to
[Repository]\plugins\3dsmax, and then they will appear in the drop
down box in the submitter (see the Custom Plugin.ini File Creation
section for more information). If you have the [Default] option
selected, it’s the equivalent to having this feature disabled.
Fail On Black Frames: This option can be used to fail the render if a
certain portion of the output image or its render elemeents is black.
The Black Pixel&% defines the minimum percentage of the image’s
pixels that must be black in order for the image to be considered
black. If each of RGB are all less than or equal to the Threshold,
and the alpha is not between the Threshold and (1.0 - threshold),
then the pixel is considered black. If the Threshold is greater than
or equal to 0.5, then the alpha value has no effect.
Override Bitmap Pager Setting While Rendering: You can specify if you
want the 3dsmax Bitmap Pager setting to be enabled or disabled.
Submit External Files With Scene: Whether the external files
(bitmaps, xrefs etc.) will be submitted with the scene or not.
Merge Object XRefs: If object XRefs will be merged during submission.
Merge Scene XRefs: If scene XRefs will be merged during submission.
Force 3dsmax Workstation Mode (Uses up a 3dsmax License): Used mainly
for testing and debugging purposes and should be left unchecked. When
this option is unchecked, 3ds max will be started in Slave mode
without the User Interface, which does not require a 3ds Max license.
When checked, 3ds max will be launched in full Interactive mode and
will require a license. Note that Workstation mode is set
automatically when submitting MAXScripts to Deadline.
Enabled Silent Mode: This option is only available when Force
Workstation Mode is checked. It can help suppress some popups that
3ds Max displays (although some popups like to ignore this setting).
Ignore Missing External File Errors: Missing external files could
mean that the 3ds Max scene will render incorrectly (with textures
missing etc). In some cases though, missing external files could be
ignored- for example if the job is meant for test rendering only. If
you want the job to fail if a missing external resource is detected,
uncheck this checkbox.
Ignore Missing UVW Errors: Missing UVWs could mean that some 3ds Max
object would render incorrectly (with wrong texture mapping etc). In
some cases though, missing UVWs could be ignored (for example if the
job is meant for test rendering).
Ignore Missing XREF Errors: Missing XFEFs could mean that the 3ds Max
scene cannot be loaded correctly. In some cases though, missing XFEFs
could be ignored. If you want the job to fail if a missing XFEF
message is detected at startup, keep this checkbox unchecked.
Ignore Missing DLL Errors: Missing DLLs could mean that the 3ds Max
scene cannot be loaded or rendered correctly. In some cases though,
missing DLLs could be ignored. If you want the job to fail if a
missing DLL message is detected at startup, keep this checkbox
unchecked.
Do Not Save Render Element Files: Enable this option to have Deadline
skip the saving of Render Element image files during rendering (the
elements themselves are still rendered).
Show Virtual Frame Buffer: If checked, the 3ds Max frame buffer will
be displayed on the slave during rendering.
Disable Progress Update Timeout: Enable this option to disable
progress update checking. This is useful for renders like Fume FX
sims that don’t constantly supply progress to 3dsmax.
Disable Multipass Effects: Enable this option to skip over multipass
effects if they are enabled for the camera to be rendered.
Restart Renderer Between Frames: This option can be used to force
Deadline to restart the renderer after each frame to avoid some
potential problems with specific renderers. Enabling this option has
little to no impact on the actual render times.
Job Is Interruptible: If enabled, this job will be canceled if a job
with higher priority is submitted to the queue.
Apply Custom Material To Scene: If checked, all geometry objects in
the scene will be assigned one of the user-defined materials
available in the drop down box.
3ds Max Pathing Options
Remove Filename Padding: If checked, the output filename will be (for
example) “output.tga” instead of “output0000.tga”. This feature
should only be used when rendering single frames. If you render a
range of frames with this option checked, each frame will overwrite
the previous existing frame.
Force Strict Output Naming: If checked, the output image filename is
automatically modified to include the scene’s name. For example, if
the scene name was myScene.max and the output image path was
\\myServer\images\output.tga, the output image path would be
changed to \\myServer\images\myScene\myScene.tga. If the new
output image path doesn’t exist, it is created by the 3dsmax plugin
before rendering begins.
Update Render Elements’ Paths: Each Render Element has its own output
path which is independent from the render output path. When this
option is unchecked, changing the output path will NOT update the
Render Elements’ paths and the Elements could be written to the wrong
path, possibly overwriting existing passes from a previous render.
When checked, the paths will be updated to point at sub-folders of
the current Render Output path with names based on the name and class
of the Render Element. The actual file name will be left unchanged.
Also Update RE’s Filenames: If enabled, the Render Elements’ file
names will also be updated along with their paths.
Permanent RE Path Changes: When this checkbox is checked and the
above option is also enabled, changes to the Render Elements paths
will be permanent (in other words after the submission, all paths
will point at the new locations created for the job). When unchecked,
the changes will be performed temporarily during the submission, but
the old path names will be restored right after the submission.
Use Alternate Path: Allows you to specify an alternate path file in
the MXP format that the slaves can use to find bitmaps that are not
found on the primary map paths.
Render Output Autodesk ME Image Sequence (IMSQ) Creation
Save File: Specify the render output. Note that this updates the 3ds
Max Render Output dialog, and is meant as a convenience to update the
output file.
Create Image Sequence (IMSQ) File: If checked, an Autodesk IMSQ file
will be created from the output files at the output location.
Copy IMSQ File On Completion: If checked, the IMSQ file will be
copied to the location specified in the text field.
User Options
Enable Local Rendering: If checked, Deadline will render the frames
locally before copying them over to the final network location.
One Cpu Per Task: Forces each task of the job to only use a single
CPU. This can be useful when doing single threaded renders and the
Concurrent Tasks setting is greater than 1.
Automatically Update Job Name When Scene File Name Changes: If
checked, the Job Name setting in the submission dialog will
automatically match the file name of the scene loaded. So if you load
a new scene, the Job Name will change accordingly.
Override Renderer’s Low Priority Thread Option (Brazil r/s, V-Ray):
When checked, the Low Priority Thread option of the renderers
supporting this feature will be forced to false during the
submission. Both Brazil r/s and V-Ray provide the feature to launch
the renderer in a low priority thread mode. This is useful when
working with multiple applications on a workstation and the rendering
should continue in the background without eating all CPU resources.
When submitting a job to Deadline though, this should be generally
disabled since we want all slaves to work at 100% CPU load.
Clear Material Editor In The Submitted File: Clears the material
editor in the submitted file during submission.
Warn about Missing External Files on Submission: When checked, a
warning will be issued if the scene being submitted contains any
missing external files (bitmaps etc.). Depending on the state of
the’Ignore Missing External File Errors checkbox under the Render
tab, such files might not cause the job to fail but could cause the
result to look wrong. When unchecked, scenes with missing external
files will be submitted without any warnings.
Export Renderer-Specific Advanced Settings
If this option is enabled for a specific renderer, you will be able to
modify a variety of settings for that renderer after submission from the
Deadline Monitor. To modify these settings from the Monitor, right-click
on the job and select Modify Properties, then select the 3dsmax tab.
Submission Timeouts
Job Submission Timeout in seconds: This value spinner defines how
many seconds to wait for the external Submitter application to return
from the Job submission before stopping the attempt with a timeout
Quicktime Submission Timeout in seconds: This value spinner defines
how many seconds to wait for the external Submitter application to
return from the Quicktime submission before stopping the attempt with
a timeout message.
Data Collection Timeout in seconds: This value spinner defines how
many seconds to wait for the external Submitter application to return
from data collecting before stopping the attempt with a timeout
message. Data collecting includes collecting Pools, Categories, Limit
Groups, Slave Lists, Slave Info, Jobs etc.
State Sets
Select the State Sets you want to submit to Deadline. This option is
only available in 3ds Max 2012 (Subscription Advantage Pack 1) and
Run Python Scripts
Run Pre-Job Script: Specify the path to a Python script to execute
when the job initially starts rendering.
Run Post-Job Script: Specify the path to a Python script to execute
when the job finishes rendering.
Run Pre-Task Script: Specify the path to a Python script to execute
before each task starts rendering.
Run Post-Task Script: Specify the path to a Python script to execute
after each task finishes rendering.
Run Maxscript Scripts
Submit Script Job: This checkbox lets you turn the submission into a
MAXScript job. When checked, the scene will NOT be rendered, instead
the specified MAXScript code will be executed for the specified
frames. Options that collide with the submission of a MAXScript Job
like “Tile Rendering” and “Render Preview Job First” will be disabled
or ignored.
Single Task: This checkbox lets you run the MAXScript Job on one
slave only. When checked, the job will be submitted with a single
task specified for frame 1. This is useful when the script itself
will perform some operations on ALL frames in the scene, or when
per-frame operations are not needed at all. When unchecked, the frame
range specified in the Render Scene Dialog of 3ds Max will be used to
create the corresponding number of Tasks. In this case, all related
controls in the Job tab will also be taken into account.
Workstation Mode: This checkbox is a duplicate of the one under the
Render tab (checking one will affect the other). MAXScript Jobs that
require file I/O (loading and saving of 3ds Max files) or commands
that require the 3ds Max UI to be present, such as manipulating the
modifier stack, H***E TO be run in Workstation mode (using up a 3ds
Max license on the Slave). MAXScript Jobs that do not require file
I/O or 3ds Max UI functionality can be run in Slave mode on any
number of machines without using up 3ds Max licenses.
New Script From Template: This button creates a new MAXScript without
any execution code, but with all the necessary template code to run a
MAXScript Job on Deadline.
Pick Script: This button lets you select an existing script from disk
to use for the MAXScript Job. It is advisable to use scripts created
from the Template file using the “New Script From Template” button.
Edit MAXScript File: This button lets you open the current script
file (if any) for editing.
Run Pre-Load Script: This checkbox lets you run a MAXScript specified
in the text field below it BEFORE the 3ds Max scene is loaded for
rendering by the Slave.
Run Post-Load Script: This checkbox lets you run a MAXScript
specified in the text field below it AFTER the 3ds Max scene is
loaded for rendering by the Slave.
Run Pre-Frame Script: This checkbox lets you run a MAXScript
specified in the text field below it BEFORE the Slave renders a
Run Post-Frame Script: This checkbox lets you run a MAXScript
specified in the text field below it AFTER the Slave renders a frame.
Post-Submission Function Call: This field can be used by TDs to enter
an arbitrary user-defined MAXScript Expression (NOT a path to a
script!) which will be executed after the submission has finished.
This can be used to trigger the execution of user-defined functions
or to press a button in a 3rd party script. In the screenshot, the
expression presses a button in a globally defined rollout which is
part of an in-house scene management script. If you want to execute a
multi-line script after each submission, you could enter fileIn
\”c:\temp\somescript.ms\” in this field and the content of the
specified file will be evaluated. The content of this field is sticky
and saved in the local INI file - it will persist between sessions
until replaced or removed manually.
The MAXScript Job Template file is located in the Repository under
\submission\3dsmax\MAXScriptJobTemplate.ms. When the button is
pressed, a copy of the template file with a name pattern
“MAXScriptJob_TheSceneName_XXXX.ms” will be created in the
\3dsmax#\scripts\SubmitMaxToDeadline folder where XXXX is a random ID
and 3dsmax# is the name of the 3ds Max root folder. The script file will
open in 3ds Max for editing. You can add the code to be executed in the
marked area and save to disk. The file name of the new template will be
set as the current MAXScript Job file automatically. If a file name is
already selected in the UI, you will be prompted about replacing it
Deadline exposes an interface to MAXScript, which allows you to gather
information about the job being rendered. See the
documentation for the available functions and properties.
Tile Rendering
Enable Tiles Rendering: This checkbox enables the tile rendering
Tiles In X / Tiles In Y: These values specify the number of tiles
horizontally and vertically. The total number of tiles (and jobs) to
be rendered is calculated as X*Y and is displayed in the UI.
Show Tiles In Viewport: Enables the tile display gizmo.
Tile Pixel Padding: This value defines the number of pixels to
overlap between tiles. By default it is set to 0, but when rendering
Global Illumination, it might be necessary to render tiles with
significant overlapping to avoid artifacts.
Re-Render User-Defined Tiles: When checked, only user-defined tiles
will be submitted for re-rendering. Use the [Specify Tiles To
Re-render...] check-button to open a dialog and select the tiles to
be rendered.
Specify Tiles To Re-render: When checked, a dialog to select the
tiles to be re-rendered will open. To close the dialog, either
uncheck the button or press the [X] button on the dialog’s title bar.
Enable Blowup Mode: If enabled, tile rendering will work by
zooming in on the region and rendering it at a smaller resolution.
Then that region is blown up to bring it to the correct
resolution. This has been known to help save memory when rendering
large high resolution images.
Submit All Tiles As A Single Job: By default, a separate job is
submitted for each tile (this allows for tile rendering of a sequence
of frames). For easier management of single frame tile rendering, you
can choose to submit all the tiles as a single job.
Submit Dependent Assembly Job: When rendering a single tile job, you
can also submit a dependent assembly job to assemble the image when
the main tile job completes.
Cleanup Tiles After Assembly: If rendering an assembly job, this will
delete the original tiles after the main image has been assembled.
Split Machine Limit Between Tile Jobs: For Multiple Tile Job
rendering only. When checked, the limit specified in the Job tab will
be divided equally between the Tile Jobs. If no limit is specified in
the Job tab, each Job will render with a limit of ONE! If unchecked
and a Machine Limit is specified in the Job tab, each Tile job will
get that limit. If unchecked and no Machine Limit is enforced in the
Job tab, all Tile Jobs will be rendered without any limits.
Region Rendering
When enabled, only the specified region will be rendered and depending
on the region type selected, it can be cropped or blown up as well. If
the Enable Distributed Tiles Rendering checkbox is checked, it will be
unchecked. This option REPLACES the “Crop” option in the Render mode
drop-down list in the 3ds Max UI. In other words, the 3ds Max option
does not have to be selected for Region Rendering to be performed on
Deadline. The region can be specified either using the CornerX, CornerY,
Width and Height spinners, or by getting the current region from the
active viewport. To do so, set the Render mode drop-down list to either
Region or Crop, press the Render icon and drag the region marker to
specify the desired size. Then press ESC to cancel and press the Get
Region From Active View to capture the new values.
Quicktime Generation From Rendered Frame Sequence
Create a Quicktime movie from the frames rendered by a 3ds Max job. You
can create a Quicktime using an Apple Quicktime installation or by using
Fusion. See the
documentation for more information
on the available options.
Render To Texture
This option enables texture baking through Deadline. Use the Add,
Remove, and Clear All buttons to add and remove objects from the list of
objects to bake.
Batch Submission
Use Data from 3ds Max Batch Render: This checkbox enables Batch
Submission using the 3ds Max Batch Render dialog settings. If
checked, a single MASTER job will be sent to Deadline which in turn
will “spawn” all necessary BATCH jobs.
Open Dialog: This button opens the 3ds Max Batch Render dialog in
Version 8 and higher.
Update Info: This button reads the 3ds Max Batch Render dialog
settings and displays the number of enabled vs. defined Views.
Remote Submission (For Internal Use Only)
Repository: Select the repository you would like to submit the job
to. Leaving this at the DISABLED setting disables remote submission.
Suspend Job After Transfer: The job will be transfered to the remote
repository in the suspended state.
Jpeg Output Path: Check this box to specify an alternative output
path where Jpegs of each output image are copied to after the frame
is rendered. Note that the render doesn’t fail if saving the Jpeg
While this feature was designed for internal use only, it is possible to
make use of the feature in the public version of Deadline. To show the
Remote tab on submission, do the following:
Create a file called RemoteSubmissionRepositories.ini on a network
share that can be accessed by all machines you plan to remote submit
from. This file is used by Deadline to show a meaningful name that
represents the network path to the repository you wish to submit to.
Each line in this file should contain the user friendly location
name, followed by a comma, followed by the network path to the
repository at that location. For example, the file contents could
look like:
Main Repository,\\main_repository_machine\DeadlineRepository
Secondary Repository,\\another_machine\DeadlineRepository
Open the file
[Repository]\submission\3dsmax\SubmitMaxToDeadline.ms in a text
editor and find this line:
local ShowRemoteTab = doesFileExist &V:\\deadline_synch\\RemoteSubmissionRepositories.ini&
Simply replace the path in quotes with the path to the
RemoteSubmissionRepositories.ini you created on the network, then
save the file. You will also have to replace the path in the
SubmitMaxToDeadline_Functions.ms file as well.
The next time you launch the 3ds Max submission dialog, the Remote
tab should be visible.
Sanity Check
The 3ds Command Sanity Check script defines a set of functions to be
called to ensure that the scene submission does not contain typical
errors like wrong render view and frame range settings, incorrect output
path, etc.
The Sanity Check is enabled by the Run Sanity Check Automatically Before
Submission checkbox in the User Options group of controls in the Submit
To Deadline (3dsmaxCmd) dialog. You can also run the Sanity Check
automatically by clicking the Run Now! button.
The dialog contains the following elements:
The upper area (Error Report) lists the problems found in the current
The lower area (Feedback Messages) lists the actions the Sanity Check
performs and gives feedback to the user. The latest message is always
Between the two areas, there is a summary text line listing the total
number of errors and a color indicator of the current Sanity Check
state. When red, the Sanity Check will not allow a job submission to
be performed.
The Error Report
The left column of the Error Report displays a checkbox and the type of
the error. The checkbox determines whether the error will be taken into
account by the final result of the check. Currently, there are 3 types
of errors:
FATAL: The error cannot be fixed automatically and requires manual
changes to the scene itself. A job submission with such an error
would be pointless. The state of the checkbox is ignored and
considered always checked.
Can Be Fixed: The error can be fixed automatically or manually. If
the checkbox is active, the error contributes to the final result. If
unchecked, the error is ignored and handled as a warning.
Warning: The problem might not require fixing, but could be of
importance to the user. It is not taken into account by the final
result (the state of the checkbox is ignored and considered always
unchecked).
Repairing Errors
In 3ds Max 8 and earlier, double-clicking an Error Message in the Error
Report window will cause an associated repair function to be executed
and/or a Report Message to be output in the Feedback Messages window. In
3ds Max 9 and higher, right-clicking an Error Message in the Error
Report window will cause an associated repair function to be executed
and/or a Report Message to be output in the Feedback Messages window.
This difference was caused by the switch to DotNet controls which handle
double-clicks as checked events, changing the checkbox state in front of
the error instead.
Updating the Error Report
You can rerun/update the Sanity Check in one of the following ways:
Clicking the dialog anywhere outside of the two message areas will
rerun the Sanity Check and update all messages.
Double-clicking any Message in the Feedback Messages window will
rerun the Sanity Check and update all messages.
Reparing an error by double-clicking will also automatically rerun
the Sanity Check
Pressing the Run Now! button in the Submit To Deadline dialog will
update the Sanity Check.
Plug-in Configuration
You can configure the 3dsmax plugin settings from the Deadline Monitor.
While in super user mode, select Tools -& Configure Plugins and select
the 3dsmax plugin from the list on the left. To get a description of
each setting, simply hover the mouse cursor over a setting and a tooltip
will be displayed.
Integrated Submission Script Setup
The following procedure describes how to install the integrated Autodesk
3ds Max submission script. The integrated submission script allows for
submitting 3ds Max render jobs to Deadline directly from within the 3ds
Max editing GUI. The integrated render job submission script and the
following installation procedure has been tested with 3ds Max versions
9, , and 2010 (including Design editions).
Installation of the Submission Script
Copy [Repository]/ClientSetup/3dsmax/Deadline-SubmitMaxToDeadline.mcr
to [3ds Max Install Directory]/UI/MacroScripts
Add Max2Deadline Command to 3dsmax Menu
Select MAXScript -& Run Script, then find the directory [3ds Max
Install Directory]/UI/MacroScripts, select the file
Deadline-SubmitMaxToDeadline.mcr, and click Open.
Then select Customize -& Customize User Interface, select the Menus
tab, and make sure that the Main Menu Bar is selected in the combo
box at the top-right of the dialog.
In the Menus list box at the bottom-left, right-click and select New
Menu..., and create a menu called Deadline.
Drag-and-drop the Deadline menu from the Menus list box to the
desired location in the list box on the right
In the Group combo box in the top-left, select Main UI, and in the
Category combo box below, select Deadline
Drag-and-drop the Submit To Deadline item that appears in the Action
list box to the Deadline menu on the right.
Close the dialog, and the new menu should appear in the main tool
Advanced Features For Technical Directors
Deadline MAXScript Interface
When running a MAXScript job through Deadline, there is an interface
that Deadline exposes called DeadlineUtil which you can use to get
information about the job being rendered. The API for the interface
between MAXScript and Deadline is as follows:
Description
string GetAuxFilename( int index )
Gets the file with the given index that was submitted with the job.
string GetJobInfoEntry( string key )
Gets a value from the plugin info file that was submitted with the job,
and returns an empty string if the key doesn’t exist.
string GetOutputFilename( int index )
Gets the output file name for the job at the given index.
string GetSubmitInfoEntry( string key )
Gets a value from the job info file that was submitted with the job, and
returns an empty string if the key doesn’t exist.
int GetSubmitInfoEntryElementCount( string key )
If the job info entry is an array, this gets the number of elements in
that array.
string GetSubmitInfoEntryElement( int index, string key )
If the job info entry is an array, this gets the element at the given
void FailRender( string message )
Fails the render with the given error message.
void LogMessage( string message )
Logs the message to the slave log.
void SetProgress( float percent )
Sets the progress of the render in the slave UI.
void SetTitle( string title )
Sets the render status message in the slave UI.
Properties
Description
int CurrentFrame
Gets the current frame.
int CurrentTask
Gets the current task ID.
string JobsDataFolder
Gets the local folder on the slave where the Deadline job files are
copied to.
string PluginsFolder
Gets the local folder on the slave where the Deadline plugin files are
copied to.
string SceneFileName
Gets the file name of the loaded 3ds Max scene.
string SceneFilePath
Gets the file path of the loaded 3ds Max scene.
Submitter’s Sticky Settings and Factory Defaults
The latest version of the Submit Max To Deadline script allows the user
to control the stickiness of most User Interface controls and, in the
case of non-sticky settings, the defaults to be used. In previous
versions of SMTD, both the stickiness and the defaults were hard-coded.
Two INI files located in the Repository in the folder
\submission\3dsmax control the stickiness and the defaults:
SubmitMaxToDeadline_StickySettings.ini - this file can be used to
define which controls in the SMTD UI will be stored locally in an INI
file (“sticky”) and which will be reset to defaults after a restart
of the Submitter.
SubmitMaxToDeadline_Defaults.ini - this file can be used to define
the default settings of those controls set to non-sticky in the other
In addition, a local copy of the
SubmitMaxToDeadline_StickySettings.ini file can be saved in a
user’s application data folder. This file will OVERRIDE the stickiness
settings in the Repository and can contain a sub-set of the definitions
in the global file.
When SMTD is initializing, it will perform the following operations:
The SMTDSettings Struct will be initialized to the factory defaults
of all settings.
Each UI setting will be initially assumed to be sticky.
The global Stickiness definition file is searched for a key matching
the current UI setting’s name.
If the key is set to “false”, the setting is not sticky.
If the key is set to anything but “false”, the setting is sticky.
If the key does not exist, the stickiness still defaults to the
initial value of true.
A local Stickiness definition file is searched for a key matching the
current UI setting’s name.
If the key is set to “false”, the setting is not sticky and
overrides whatever was found in the global file.
If the key is set to anything but “false”, the setting is sticky,
overriding whatever was found in the global file.
If the key does not exist in the local file, the last known value
(initial or from the global file) remains in power.
At this point, SMTD knows whether the setting is sticky or not. Now
it gets the global default value:
If a matching key exists in the file
SubmitMaxToDeadline_Defaults.ini, the setting is initialized to
its value.
If no matching key exists in the global defaults file, the
original factory default defined in the SMTDStruct definition will
remain in power.
If the setting is sticky, SMTD loads the last known value from the
local INI file. If the value turns out to be invalid or not set,
it uses the default instead.
If the setting is not sticky, the default loaded from the global
defaults file or, if no such default was loaded, the factory
default, will be assigned to the setting.
When the User Interface is created, the stickiness info from the local
and global files will determine whether a * star character will be
added to the control’s name, reflecting the current stickiness settings.
Using this new feature, a facility can customize the submitter globally
to default to the preferred settings and keep certain settings sticky so
their values can be determined by the artists. In addition, single users
can override the company-wide stickiness settings using a local file if
they feel their workflow require a different setup.
Custom Job Name Controls
There are two ways to customize the job name. You can use keys in the
job name that are replaced with actual values (like $scene), or you
can have the job name be generated from a list of shows, shots, etc. You
will then be able to use the [&&] button to the right of the Job Name
field to select these custom job names.
Generate Job Name From Keys
There is a file in the ..\submission\3dsmax\ folder in your Deadline
Repository called SubmitMaxToDeadline_NameFormats.ini. In addition, a
local copy of the SubmitMaxToDeadline_NameFormats.ini file can be saved
in a user’s application data folder. This file will OVERRIDE the name
formats in the Repository and can contain a sub-set of the definitions
in the global file. This file will contain some key-value pairs such as:
$scene=(getfilenamefile(maxfilename))
$date=((filterstring (localtime) & &)[1])
$username=(sysInfo.username)
$camera=(local theCam = viewport.getCamera() if (isValidNode theCam) then theCam.name else &&)
$outputfilename=(if (rendOutputFilename != &&) then (filenameFromPath rendOutputFilename) else &&)
$outputfile=(if (rendOutputFilename != &&) then (getFilenameFile rendOutputFilename) else &&)
$outputtype=(if (rendOutputFilename != &&) then (getFilenameType rendOutputFilename) else &&)
$maxversion=(((maxVersion())[1]/1000) as string)
The key to the left of = is the string that will be replaced in the job
name. The value to the right of the = is the maxscript code that is
executed to return the replacement string (note that the value returned
must be returned as a string). So if you use $scene in your job name,
it will be swapped out for the scene file name. You can append
additional key-value pairs or modify the existing ones as you see fit.
By default, the [&&] button will already have $scene or $outputfilename
as selectable options. You can then create an optional JobNames.ini file
in the 3dsmax submission folder, with each line representing an option.
For example:
$outputfilename
$scene_$camera_$username
$maxversion_$date
These options will then be available for selection in the submission
dialog. This allows for all sorts of customization with regards to the
Generate Job Name For Shows
This advanced feature allows the addition of custom project, sequence,
shot and pass names to the [&&] list to the right of the Job Name field.
Producers in larger facilities could provide full shot lists via a
central set of files in the Repository to allow users to pick existing
shot names and ensuring consistent naming conventions independent from
the 3ds Max scene naming.
To create a new set of files, go to the ..\submission\3dsmax\ folder
in your Deadline Repository and create the following files:
Projects.ini - This file describes the projects currently available for
Custom Job Naming. Each Project is defined as a Category inside this
file, with two keys: Name and ShortName.
For example:
[SomeProject]
Name=Some Project in 3D
ShortName=SP
[AnotherProject]
Name=Another Project
ShortName=AP
SomeProject.ini - This is a file whose name should match exactly the
Category name inside the file Projects.ini and contains the actual
sequence, shot and pass description of the particular project. One file
is expected for each project definition inside the Projects.ini file.
For example:
[SP_SS_010]
Beauty=true
Diffuse=true
Normals=true
ZDepth=true
Utility=true
[SP_SS_150]
Beauty=true
Diffuse=true
Utility=true
[SP_SO_020]
Beauty=true
[SP_SO_030]
Beauty=true
The Submitter will parse this file and try to collect the Sequences by
matching the prefix of the shot names, for example in the above file, it
will collect two sequences - SP_SS and SP_SO - and build a list of
shots within each sequence, then also build a list of passes within each
Then, when the [&&] button is pressed, the context menu will contain the
name of each project and will provide a cascade of sub-menus for its
sequences, shots and passes.
If you selected the entry SomeProject&SP_SS&SP_SS_150&Diffuse, the
resulting Job Name will be “SP_SS_150_Diffuse”:
You can enter as many projects into your Projects.ini file as you want
and provide one INI file for each project describing all its shots and
passes. If an INI file is missing, no data will be displayed for that
The key to the left of = is the string that will be replaced in the
comment. The value to the right of the = is the maxscript code that is
executed to return the replacement string (note that the value returned
must be returned as a string). So if you use $scene in your comment,
it will be swapped out for the scene file name. You can append
additional key-value pairs or modify the existing ones as you see fit.
By default, the [&&] button will already have $default. You can then
create an optional Comments.ini file in the 3dsmax submission folder,
with each line representing an option. For example:
$outputfilename
$scene_$camera_$username
$maxversion_$date
These options will then be available for selection in the submission
dialog. This allows for all sorts of customization with regards to the
comment field.
Auto-Suggest Category and Priority Mechanism
This feature has been implemented to help Producers suggest categories
and priorities based on Shots and Sequence signatures which are part of
the 3ds Max Scene Name.
This feature DOES NOT ENFORCE the Category and Priority for the job, it
only suggests a value based on project guidelines - the Category and
Priority can be changed manually after the suggestion.
To use this feature, you have to edit the file called
“SubmitMaxToDeadline_CategoryPatterns.ms” located in the Repository in
the \submission\3dsmax folder. As a shortcut, you can press the button
Edit Patterns... in the Options tab of the Submitter - the file will
open in the built-in MAXScript Editor.
The file defines a global array variable called SMTD_CategoryPatterns
which will be used by the Submitter to perform pattern matching on the
Job Name and try to find a corresponding Category and optionally a
priority value in the array.
The array can contain one or more sub-arrays, each one representing a
separate pattern definition.
Every pattern sub-array consists of four array elements:
The first element is an array containing zero, one or more string
patterns using * wildcards. These strings will be used to pattern
match the Job Name. If it matches, it will be considered for adding
to the Category and for changing the Priority. If the subarray is
empty, all jobs will be considered matching the pattern.
The second element is also an array containing similar pattern
strings. These strings will be used to EXCLUDE jobs matching these
patterns from being considered for this Category and Priority. If the
subarray is empty, no exclusion matching will be performed.
The third element contains the EXACT name (Case Sensitive!) of the
category to be set if the Job Name matches the patterns. If the
category specified here does not match any of the categories defined
via the Deadline Monitor, no action will be performed.
The fourth element specifies the Priority to give the job if it
matches the patterns. If the value is -1, the existing priority will
NOT be changed.
The pattern array can contain any number of pattern definitions. The
higher a definition is on the list, the higher its priority - if a Job
Name matches multiple pattern definitions, only the first one will be
The pattern matching will be performed only if the checkbox Auto-Suggest
Job Category and Priority in the Options Tab is checked. It will be
performed when the dialog first opens or when the the Job Name is
An example:
Let’s assume that a VFX facility is working on a project called
“SomeProject” with multiple sequences labelled “AB”, “CD” and “EF”.
The network manager has created categories called “SomeProject”,
“AB_Sequence”, “CD_Sequence”, “EF_Sequence” and “High_Priority”
via the Monitor.
The Producers have instructed the Artists to name their 3ds Max files
“SP_AB_XXX_YYY_” where SP stands for “SomeProject”, “AB” is the
label of the sequence followed by the scene and shot numbers.
Now we want to set up the Submitter to suggest the right Categories
for all Max files sent to Deadline based on these naming conventions.
We want jobs from the CD sequence to be set to Priority of 60 unless
they are from the scene with number .
We want jobs from the AB sequence to be set to Priority of 50
We don’t want to enforce any priority to jobs for sequence EF.
Also we want shots from the “AB” sequence with scene number  and
“EF” sequence with scene shot number  to be sent at highest
priority and added to the special “High Priority” category for easier
filtering in the Monitor.
Finally we want to make sure that any SP project files that do not
contain a sequence label are added to the general “SomeProject”
category with lower priority.
To implement these rules, we could create the following definitions in
the “SubmitMaxToDeadline_CategoryPatterns.ms” - press the Edit
Patterns... button in the Options tab to open the file:
SMTD_CategoryPatterns = #(
#(#(&*AB_123*&,&*EF_*_038*&),#(),&High_Priority&,100),
#(#(&*AB_*&),#(),&AB_Sequence&,50),
#(#(&*CD_*&),#(&*CD_007_*&),&CD_Sequence&,60),
#(#(&*EF_*&),#(),&EF_Sequence&,-1),
#(#(&SP_*&),#(),&SomeProject&,30),
The first pattern specifies that files from the “AB” sequence, scene
 and “EF” sequence, shot  (regardless of scene number) will
be suggested as Category “High_Priority” and set Priority to 100.
The second pattern specifies all AB jobs to have priority of 50 and
be added to Category “AB_Sequence”. Since the special case of
AB_123 has been handled in the previous pattern, this will not apply
The third pattern sets jobs that contain “CD_” in their name but NOT
the signature “CD_007_” to the “CD_Sequence” Category and sets the
Priority to 60.
The fourth pattern sets jobs that contain “EF_” in their name to the
“EF_Sequence” Category but does not change the priority (-1).
The fifth pattern specifies that any jobs that have not matched the
above rules but still start with the “SP_” signature should be added
to the “SomeProject” Category and set to low priority of 30.
Note that since we used “*” instead of “SP_” in the beginning of the
first 4 patterns, even if the job is not named correctly with the
project prefix “SP_”, the pattern will correctly match the job name.
Custom Plugin.ini File Creation
This section covers the Alternate Plugin.ini feature in the 3ds Max
Rendering rollout (under the Render tab).
Alternate Plugin.ini File
The plugin.ini list will show a list of alternative plug-in
configuration files located in the Deadline repository. By default,
there will be no alternative plugin.ini files defined in the repository.
The list will show only one entry called [Default], which will cause all
slaves to render using their own local plugin.ini configuration and is
equivalent to having the Use Custom Plugin.ini file unchecked.
To define an alternative plugin.ini, copy a local configuration file
from one of the slaves to [Repository]\plugins\3dsmax in the
repository. Edit the name of the file by adding a description of it. For
example, plugin_brazil.ini, plugin_vray.ini, plugin_fr.ini,
plugin_mentalray.ini, etc. Open the file and edit its content to
include the plug-ins you want and exclude the ones you don’t want to use
in the specific case. The next time you launch Submit To Deadline, the
list will show all alternative files whose names start with “plugin” and
end with ”.ini”. The list will be alphabetically sorted, with [Default]
always on top. You can then select an alternative plugin.ini file
manually from the list.
Pressing the Edit Plugin.ini File button will open the currently
selected alternative configuration file in a MAXScript Editor window for
quick browsing and editing, except when [Default] is selected. Pressing
the Browse Directory button will open Windows Explorer, taking you
directly to the plug-ins directory containing the alternative plugin.ini
files. Note that if you create a new plugin.ini file, you will have to
restart the Submit To Deadline script to update the list.
Since the alternative plug-in configuration file is located in the
Deadline Repository and will be used by all slave machines, the plug-in
paths specified inside the alternative plugin.ini will be used as LOCAL
paths by each slave. There are two possible installation configurations
that would work with alternative plug-ins (you could mix the two
methods, but it’s not recommended):
Centralized Plug-ins Repository: In this case, all 3dsmax plug-ins
used in the network are located at a centralized location, with all
Slaves mapping a drive letter to the central plug-in location and
loading the SAME copy of the plug-in. In this case, the alternative
plugin.ini should also specify the common drive letter of the plug-in
repository.
Local Plug-in: To avoid slow 3dsmax booting in networks with heavy
traffic, some studios (including ones we used to work for) deploy
local versions of the plug-ins. Every slave’s 3dsmax installation
contains a full set of all necessary plug-ins (which could
potentially be automatically synchronized to a central repository to
keep all machines up-to-date). In this case, the alternative
plugin.ini files should use the LOCAL drive letter of the 3dsmax
installation, and all Slaves’ 3dsmax copies MUST be installed on the
same partition, or at least have the plug-ins directory on the same
drive, for example, “C:”.
Auto-Detect Plugin.ini For Current Renderer
When enabled, the following operations will be performed:
When you check the checkbox, the current renderer assigned to the
scene will be queried.
The first 3 characters of the renderer’s name will be compared to a
list of known renderers.
If the renderer is not on the list, the alternative list will be
reset to [Default].
If the renderer is the Default Scanline Renderer of 3dsmax, the
alternative list will be reset to [Default].
If the renderer is a known renderer, the plugin*.ini file that
matches its name will be selected.
Supported renderers for auto-suggesting an alternative configuration
Brazil plugin*.ini should contain “brazil” in its name (i.e.:
plugin_brazil.ini, plugin-brazil.ini, pluginbrazil_1_2.ini etc).
Entropy plugin*.ini should contain “entropy” in its name (i.e.:
plugin_entropy.ini, plugin-entropy.ini, pluginentropy.ini, etc).
finalRender plugin*.ini should contain “fr” or “final” in its name
(i.e.: plugin_fr.ini, plugin-finalrender.ini,
plugin_finalRender_Stage1.ini etc).
MaxMan plugin*.ini should contain “maxman” in its name (i.e.:
plugin_maxman.ini, plugin-maxman.ini, pluginmaxman001.ini etc).
mentalRay plugin*.ini should contain “mr” or “mental” in its name
(i.e.: plugin_mr.ini, plugin-mentalray.ini, plugin_mental33.ini
VRay plugin*.ini should contain “vray” in its name (i.e.:
plugin_vray.ini, plugin-vray.ini, pluginvray109.ini etc).
In 3dsmax 5 and higher, opening a MAX file while the Auto-Detect
option is checked will trigger a callback which will perform the
above check automatically and switch the plugin.ini to match the
renderer used by the scene.
In 3dsmax 6 and higher, changing the renderer via the “Current
Renderers” rollout of the Render dialog will also trigger the
auto-suggesting mechanism.
You can override the automatic settings anytime by disabling the
Auto-Detect option and selecting from the list manually.
Which versions of 3ds Max are supported?
3ds Max versions 9 and later are all supported by Deadline (including
Design editions). 3ds Max 7 and 8 users can still render with Deadline
Note: Due to a maxscript bug in the initial release of 3ds Max 2012,
the integrated submission scripts will not work. However, this bug has
been addressed in 3ds Max 2012 Hotfix 1. If you cannot apply this patch,
it means that you must submit your 3ds Max 2012 jobs from the Deadline
Which 3ds Max renderers does Deadline support?
Deadline should already be compatible with all 3ds Max renderers, but it
has been explicitly tested with Scanline, mentalRay, Brazil, VRay,
finalRender, and Maxwell. If you have successfully used a 3ds Max
renderer that is not on this list, please email .
Does the 3ds Max plugin support Tile Rendering?
Yes. See the Tile Rendering section of the submission dialog
documentation for more details.
Does the 3ds Max plugin support Batch Rendering?
Yes. See the Batch Rendering section of the submission dialog
documentation for more details.
When I submit a render with a locked viewport, Deadline sometimes
renders a different viewport.
Prior to the release of 3ds Max 2009, the locked viewport feature wasn’t
exposed to the 3ds Max SDK, so it was impossible for Deadline to know
whether a viewport is locked or not. Now that the feature has been
exposed, we are working to improve Deadline’s locked viewport support.
However, in the 3ds Max 2009 and 2010 SDK, there is a bug that prevents
us from supporting it completely (Autodesk is aware of this bug).
Until this bug is resolved, we can only continue to recommend that users
avoid relying on the locked viewport feature, and instead ensure that
the viewport they want to render is selected before submitting to
When I submit a render job that uses more than one default light, only
one default light gets rendered.
The workaround for this problem is to add the default lights to the
scene before submitting the job to Deadline. This can be done from
within 3ds Max by selecting Create Menu -& Lights -& Standard Lights -&
Add Default Lights to Scene.
Is it possible to submit MAXscripts to Deadline instead of just a
*.max scene?
Yes. Deadline supports MAXscript jobs from the Scripts tab in the
submission dialog.
Does Deadline’s custom interface for rendering with 3ds Max use
workstation licenses?
No. Deadline’s custom interface for rendering with 3ds max does not use
any workstation licenses when running on slaves unless you have the
Force Workstation Mode option checked in the submission dialog, a
workstation license will be used.
Slaves are rendering their first frame/tile correctly, but subsequent
frames and render elements have problems or are rendered black.
Try enabling the option to Restart Renderer Between Frames in the
submission dialog before submission, or in the job properties dialog
after submission. We have found that this works 99% of the time in these
When rendering with VRay/Brazil, it appears as if some maps are not
being displayed properly.
Try enabling the option to Restart Renderer Between Frames in the
submission dialog before submission, or in the job properties dialog
after submission. We have found that this works 99% of the time in these
Tile rendering with a Mental Ray camera shader known as “wraparound”
results in an incorrect final image. How can I fix this?
This is another situation where enabling the option to Restart Renderer
Between Frames in the submission dialog seems to fix the problem.
When tile rendering with VRay, I get bucket stamps on the final
Try rendering the irradiance map first in 1 pass at full resolution.
Then perform your tile render on a scene that reads the irradiance map
created at full resolution. If creating the map at full resolution is
impossible then you can make it in the tile, but you need to make sure
the tiles are overlapping each other and make sure to use the
irrandiance map method that appends to the map.
In short: you create the map first then do the final render in tiles.
Can I Perform Fume FX Simulations With Deadline?
Yes. To do so, follow these steps:
Your render nodes need to have Fume FX licensed properly, either with
a “full” or “simulation” licenses. This requirement is the same if
you were rendering with Backburner.
Before you launch the 3dsmax submission script, make sure that the
Fume FX NetRender toggle button is “ON” in the Fume FX options in
Before you submit the job, make sure the “Disable Progress Update
Timeout” option is enabled under the Render in the 3dsmax submission
Error Messages And Meanings
This is a collection of known 3ds Max error messages and their meanings,
as well as possible solutions. We want to keep this list as up to date
as possible, so if you run into an error message that isn’t listed here,
please email
and let us know.
Note that when an error occurs in a Max render, we parse the Max render
log (Max.log) for any messages that might explain the problem and
include them in the error message. Some examples are:
ERR: An unexpected exception has occurred in the network renderer and
it is terminating.
ERR: Missing dll: BrMaxPluginMgr.dlu
ERR: [V-Ray] UNHANDLED EXCEPTION: Preparing ray server Last marker is
at .\src\vrayrenderer.cpp
3dsmax startup: Error getting connection from 3dsmax: 3dsmax startup:
Deadline/3dsmax startup error: lightningMax*.dlx does not appear to
have loaded on 3dsmax startup, check that it is the right version and
installed to the right place.
You likely need to install the appropriate Visual C++ Redistributable
package, which can be done as part of the Deadline Client installation.
Could not delete old lightning.dlx... This file may be locked by a
copy of 3ds max
Usually this is because a 3dsmax.exe process didn’t quit or get killed
properly. Looking in task manager on the slaves reporting the message
for a 3dsmax.exe process and killing it is the solution.
3dsmax crashed in GetCoreInterFace()-&LoadFromFile()
There are a number of things that can be tried to diagnose the issue:
Try opening the file on a machine where it crashed. You may already
have done this.
Try rendering a frame of it on a machine where it crashed, using the
3dsmaxcmd.exe renderer. This will make it open the file in slave mode
and possibly give an idea of what’s failing.
Submit the job to run in workstation mode. In workstation mode
there’s often more diagnostic output. There’s a checkbox in the
submission script for this.
If you’re comfortable sending us the .max file which is crashing,
we’d be happy to diagnose the issue here.
Try stripping down the max file by deleting objects and seeing if it
still crashes then.
Trapped SEH Exception in CurRendererRenderFrame(): Access Violation
An Access Violation means that when rendering the frame, Max either ran
out of memory, or memory became corrupted. The stack trace in the error
message usually shows which plugin the error occurred in. If that
doesn’t help track down the issue, try stripping down the max file by
deleting objects and seeing if the error still ocurs.
3dsmax: Trapped SEH Exception in LoadFromFile(): Access Violation
An Access Violation means that when loading the scene, Max either ran
out of memory, or memory became corrupted. The stack trace in the error
message usually shows which plugin the error occurred in. If that
doesn’t help track down the issue, try stripping down the max file by
deleting objects and seeing if the error still ocurs.
RenderTask: 3dsmax exited unexpectedly (it may have crashed, or
someone may have terminated)
This generic error message means that max crashed and exited before the
actual error could be propagated up to Deadline. Often when you see this
error, it helps to look through the rest of the error reports for that
job to see if they contain any information that’s more specific.
RenderTask: 3dsmax may have crashed (recv: socket error trying to
receive data: WSAError code 10054)
This generic error message means that max crashed and exited before the
actual error could be propagated up to Deadline. Often when you see this
error, it helps to look through the rest of the error reports for that
job to see if they contain any information that’s more specific.
3dsmax startup: Error getting connection from 3dsmax: 3dsmax startup:
Deadline/3dsmax startup error: lightningMax*.dlx does not appear to
have loaded on 3dsmax startup, check that it is the right version and
installed to the right place.
This error is likely the side effect of another error, but the original
error wasn’t propagated to Deadline properly. Often when you see this
error, it helps to look through the rest of the error reports for that
job to see if they contain any information that’s more specific.
3dsmax startup: Max exited unexpectedly. Check that 1) max starts up
with no dialog messages and in the case of 3dsmax 6, 2) 3dsmaxcmd.exe
produces the message ‘Error opening scene file: “”’ when run with no
command line arguments
This message is often the result of an issue with the way Max starts up.
Try starting 3ds Max on the slave machine that produced the error to see
if it starts up properly. Also try running 3dsmaxcmd.exe from the
command line prompt to see if it produces the message ‘Error opening
scene file: “”’ when run with no command line arguments. If it doesn’t
produce this message, there may be a problem with the Max install or how
its configured. Sometimes reinstalling Max is the best solution.
The 3dsmax command line renderer, ...\3dsmaxcmd.exe, hung during the
verification of the 3ds max install
Try running 3dsmaxcmd.exe from the command line prompt to see if it pops
up an error dialog or crashes, which is often the cause of this error
message. If this is the case, there may be a problem with the Max
install or with how it is configured. Sometimes reinstalling Max is the
best solution.
3dsmax: Failed to load max file: ”...”
There could be many reasons my Max would fail to load the scene file.
Check for ERR or WRN messages included in the error message for
information that might explain the problem. Often, this error is the
result of a missing plugin or dll.
Exception: Failed to render the frame.
There could be many reasons my Max would fail to render the frame. Check
for ERR or WRN messages included in the error message for information
that might explain the problem.
An error occurred in StartJob(): 3dsmax: Trapped SEH Exception in
LoadFromFile(): Integer Divide By Zero
Process: C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2009\3dsmax.exe
Module: C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max
2009\stdplugs\AutoCamMax.gup
There are known issues with the new steering wheel plugin
(AutoCamMax.gup) in 3ds Max 2009. Upgrading to the latest 3ds Max 2009
service pack or disabling the plugin has been known to fix this problem.
This is from Autodesk:
The AutoCam feature (Autodesk(R) ViewCube(R) and SteeringWheels) can cause
noticeable performance degradation. If you are working with complex
scenes that cause your machine to run out of resources, it is strongly
recommended that you fully disable the AutoCam plug-in.
To disable the AutoCam plug-in
Close Autodesk 3ds Max 2009.
In Windows(R) Explorer, navigate to the Autodesk 3ds Max 2009 root
folder. The default location of this directory is C:\Program
Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2009.
Open the \stdplugs folder.
Locate the AutoCamMax.gup file.
Right-click the file. On the shortcut menu, click Rename.
Rename the file, AutoCamMax.gup.bak.
Restart Autodesk 3ds Max 2009.
Note: To enable this feature rename the file, AutoCamMax.gup.