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May be a dumb question...but, what's an "architectural shader"?

tring01tring01 Posts: 305
in Technical Help (nuts n bolts)

Starting to learn how to tweak shaders.  Lots and lots of terms to learn.  One I just can't find any decent definition of online is, "architectural shader".  I see things labeled as regular vs. architectural.  Sickleyield once warned me to avoice architectural shaders if I want to have faster renders...  I'm just in a bit of a fog about what the heck an architectural shader is exactly.  Any help?

Comments

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 102,770

    I think SickleYield may have been referring to the Architectural Smapler in Render Settings>Optimisation, which can slow a basic render down (it can also help with overall convergence time in suitable situations). An architectural shader is just a shader for building or decorative materials, as far as I know, not a particular type of coding.

  • SimonJMSimonJM Posts: 5,998

    I think I have also seen the term used withinReality (for different types of glass shaders), with arhitectural being a quikcer 'version' over the full-blown glass shader but perfectly adequates for windows in buildings in middel and far distance.

  • tring01tring01 Posts: 305

    That totally clears it up for me.  Thanks so much!!

  • JimbowJimbow Posts: 557

    There's an iray architectural shader in your runtime as part of the Nvidia MDL examples (search for 'architectural' and apply it to a surface to see the additional options). As for the architectural sampler, more on that subject at the Nvidia blog:

    The Architectural and Caustic samplers

    It can be worth playing with the samplers. They get written off too easily IMHO, and the caustic sampler brings a whole different look to translucent surfaces that look awesome, such as internally lit lamps.

  • SickleYieldSickleYield Posts: 7,644
    Richard Haseltine said:

    I think SickleYield may have been referring to the Architectural Smapler in Render Settings>Optimisation, which can slow a basic render down (it can also help with overall convergence time in suitable situations). An architectural shader is just a shader for building or decorative materials, as far as I know, not a particular type of coding.

    Yep! It's possible I misspoke and said shader when I meant sampler!

    I have never, not once, found the Architectural Sampler to be worth it, not even in a closed room render.

  • ToborTobor Posts: 2,300

    The Architectural Sampler is a hinting mechanism that introduces bias in the rendering algorithm. Its purpose is to "cheat" indirect lighting paths, such as a main light coming from a dining room, and the camera is in the living room.

    A great deal of Iray's users are in the architectual/interiors business, and I imagine it was a request of these large accounts that encouraged nVidia to add the feature. The Architectural Sampler usually does not result in faster renders, and in fact can have the opposite effect. But it can help in creating more realistic lighting effects in the specific use-cases it was develped for. I believe it was added before light portals, which can do much the same thing, and in a more controller manner.

    http://blog.irayrender.com/post/51722647664/the-architectural-and-caustic-samplers

    The Architectural shader, found in the NVIDIA Examples folder, is just a starting-point materials shader with neutral settings. For the sake of experimentation, you might try using it, rather than the Iray Uber shader, to create alternative looks for your scenes. 

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