Interactive Ray Tracing

You can use interactive ray tracing (Stellar Physically Correct engine) in local or distributed mode. Interactive ray tracing computes high quality and physically realistic images with advanced global illumination effects (such as accurate refractions and reflections, shadows, and caustics), and supports multiview display, materials, and ambiences.

Before you begin:
  • Ray tracing has an impact on performance and some settings can be modified through the Visual Quality panel.
  • There are some limitations when using the Stellar Physically Correct engine.
See Also
In Other Guides
Ray Tracing Cluster Monitoring
  1. From the View section of the action bar, click the appropriate ray tracing command.

    CommandDescription
    Stellar

    Starts interactive ray tracing in local mode using compute resources from the local machine.

    The command name reflects the hardware you choose in the Local Configuration section in the Preferences.

    Distributed Stellar

    Starts interactive ray tracing in distributed mode.

    A connection to the cluster specified in the Distributed Configuration section in the Preferences is established, and rendering starts.

    You also need to install and start the cluster to be able to connect from the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. For more information, see Ray Tracing Cluster Monitoring.

    Warning: This command is usable only if you have the DIR license.

    If an error occurs while connecting to the cluster, it is logged in the Stellar Rendering Log widget detailed in the next step.

    Important: By default, ray tracing is activated in static mode only (when you do not interact with the scene). In dynamic mode, the rasterizer (Stellar Realtime Native engine) is used instead to enable good performance when manipulating and editing the scene.

    In static mode, the scene is progressively computed which means that the ray tracing result is progressively converged and the visualization is periodically updated.

  2. Click Stellar Rendering Log (or press ALT+Shift+L) to display rendering information.

    You can also access the log by clicking Shortcuts Overview from the Live Rendering section of the action bar.

    By default, rendering information, progress information, and the rendering log are displayed. Clear or click the appropriate option at the top of the log panel anytime during the rendering phase to hide or show the associated information.

    InformationDescription
    Rendering InfoDisplays the renderer configuration, resolution, and target quality.
    Progress InfoDisplays a progress bar as well as the elapsed and estimated time for rendering the model.
    Rendering LogBy default, Verbose and Clean log on new session are activated but you can clear one or both options whenever required.
    • Verbose displays additional information in the log panel and in the log files.

      Log files are available in C:\Users\user\AppData\DassaultSystemes\CATTemp\Stellar\Cache.

    • Clean log on new session empties the log when you start a new session.

    The list below the two options lets you filter log messages based on severity: Progress (1), Info (2), Warning (3), or Error (4).

    Choosing level n displays log messages from levels n to 4.

  3. To use a preset or to define advanced settings, do one of the following:
    • From the Live Rendering section of the action bar, click Options , and then use the Stellar area.
    • Access the Visual Quality panelVisual Quality panel. Ray Tracing (active) is displayed in blue to indicate that you are in interactive ray tracing mode.This panel also lets you define the visual quality for the General and Virtual Reality modes.
    • Access the Visual Quality Management - Ray Tracing preferences.

    Important:
    • The settings available in the Stellar options, in the Preferences, or in the Visual Quality panel are identical. The manual override defined in the Preferences applies to all tabs and widgets. The settings defined in the Stellar options, or in the Visual Quality panel apply to the current widget, and to the widgets you might open afterward.
    • Prefer the use of the Stellar options or the Visual Quality panel, unless you want to override a specific setting for all widgets.If a manual override is activated in the Preferences, the defined values supersede those defined elsewhere.

  4. To specify your own values for each setting, use the sliders, the lists, or the boxes as required.

    When in the Stellar options or in the Visual Quality panel, you can also manage your own presets as explained below.

  5. To save your customized settings in a dedicated user preset, click Save Preset .
    Important:
    • This command is available only if you choose Custom in the Static list.
    • You can save up to 10 user presets.

    The Save Preset dialog box indicates that the Static settings are associated with the new user preset and lets you enter a name for this preset.

    After clicking OK, the new preset is added at the end of the Static list and is automatically activated instead of Custom.

    User presets are stored across sessions, which means that you recover them next time you open the Visual Quality panel.

  6. To remove a user preset, make sure it is active, click , and then click OK to confirm.

    Note: You can only remove user presets created through the Visual Quality panel or the Stellar settings, not those created through Manage User Presets in the preferences.

  7. To exit ray tracing view mode, click Stellar or Distributed Stellar from the View section of the action bar.