VFB+ : A Feature-rich Extension to the 3dsmax Frame Buffer

Submitted by rotem on Fri, 2011-08-19 08:15
63 votes
Version: 
2.81
Date Updated: 
07/14/2017

VFB+ v2.81 is now completely free!

Click for Change Log

 Introducing VFB+ v2.81, the advanced virtual frame buffer for Autodesk 3dsmax.

VFB+ works with any renderer which uses the native 3dsmax frame buffer, such as Scanline, Mental Ray, Final Render, IRay, VRay, Corona (when not using the renderer's custom VFB).

The frame buffer has been designed and heavily tested to fit smoothly into any production pipeline, and to streamline the rendering workflow for anyone who renders in 3dsmax.

Version 2.8 is the most powerful and feature packed release yet!

A partial list of features:

  • 32-bit per channel color correction.
  • Various correction controls including exposure, gamma, multi-channel curves, vignette, chromatic aberration, bloom, glare, blur/sharpen, speckle reduction, noise reduction, etc.
  • Depth of Field based on Z-Depth.
  • VFB+ is active while rendering, including tweaking of color correction and stamping.
  • Captures Render Elements, G-Buffer channels, and RTT elements as well as the main pass.
  • Composition guides help you tweak your image.
  • Pixel Aspect Ratio correction display.
  • 4 different A|B comparison modes.
  • Display modes for all channels.
  • Support for 3D color LUTs.
  • Realtime RGB Histogram.
  • Rich WYSIWYG stamping system with virtually any imaginable variable including arbitrary MAXScript expressions.
  • Fully documented.
  • Customizable interoperability options.
  • MAXScript interface provides access to almost all features.

See the link for download and complete details.

Version Requirement: 
3dsmax 2009-2018
Video URL: 
Links
Homepage URL: 
http://www.monotoneminimal.com
Download URL: 
http://www.monotoneminimal.com/vfb

Comments

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robobear510's picture
Submitted by robobear510 on Fri, 2014-10-31 09:21.

can it work with Octane render?

- it doesn't really work with octane render.. there are things here that would be much appreciated in octane community I would guess - I like what it does, but I don't use vray or standard render at all

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kanenas's picture
Submitted by kanenas on Sat, 2014-02-22 17:47.

Thank you Rotem. MaxScript

Thank you Rotem.

MaxScript returns a single line:
"G:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2014\scripts\startup"
No subfolders in it.

I'll have a look later with Process Monitor and try to figure out what folders it's getting mixed up with.
I'll post back if I discover the reason.

Thanks for your time.

rotem's picture
Submitted by rotem on Sat, 2014-02-22 04:26.

Path too long

Hi Kanenas

According to the error code, VFB+ is trying to determine is a previous version of VFB+ is installed (v1.52 and lower, script based), in order to remove it before initializing v2.XX.

The exact method that is failing, is Directory.GetFiles ( http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143316(v=vs.110).aspx ). The error is an OS error, and has nothing to do with VFB+ or 3dsmax. As far as I can tell, it also has nothing to do with the PATH environment variable.
VFB+ is basically searching for the file VFBPlus.ms in the path returned by calling "getDir #startupScripts" from MAXScript, and all it's subdirectories.
You may have a very big hierarchy of subfolders inside that directory, resulting in a very long path.

In any case, VFB+ should handle this gracefully instead of raising an exception, and I will make sure it does so in future releases, but taking a look at that folder may fix problems you're having with other tools.

Regards,
Rotem

kanenas's picture
Submitted by kanenas on Fri, 2014-02-21 09:36.

Fails to initialize -- path too long

I just tried 2.41 with 3ds Max 2014 on Windows 7.
I get a 'failed to initialize' MaxScript error and a popup that refers to path length being too long.

Failed to initialize VFB+. Errocode: 3010
Error:
The specified path, file name, or both are too long. The fully qualified file name must be less than 260 characters, and the directory name must be less than 248 characters.

I doubt it came across such a long file name/path in the filesystem.
But I suspect the problem is that the system's PATH is near its limit.
Not much I can do about it (I keep juggling it to get various dev tools to load up, though they are the ones that should know better how to set themselves up).

Assuming the long PATH is the reason, why is it so?
Why does the plugin need to modify/add to the path since it's already in Max's default folder?

Sorry but I get apprehensive when I see this. I got many systems messed up because some program tried to add to a full path, failed, and cleaned the PATH in the process. VFB+ is more careful and doesn't do that but once burned...

Thanks.

rotem's picture
Submitted by rotem on Tue, 2014-02-11 12:58.

v2.41

I've updated the release to v2.41, fixing the bugs that Shawn reported. Thanks again!

rotem's picture
Submitted by rotem on Mon, 2014-02-10 09:55.

Hi Shawn You're absolutely

Hi Shawn

You're absolutely right on both accounts! Sorry, I'll put out a fix as soon as possible. Thanks!

rotem's picture
Submitted by rotem on Mon, 2014-02-10 01:10.

Hey Shawn Thanks for the

Hey Shawn

Thanks for the update, I'll check it thoroughly tonight and get back to you.

lightcube's picture
Submitted by lightcube on Sun, 2014-02-09 23:19.

Rotem, As always, I'm always

Rotem,

As always, I'm always a fan of this tool.

I did have some issues with the update. The feature that I wanted most (that is added) is not working properly for me. I'm not sure exactly if it is local to me or not.

The Send To function now seems to remember my choice, but is not actually working properly. Instead, the app says it cannot open the "folder" I've got selected as the output folder (it's like the app is trying to open the folder instead of the file).

And when I choose Photoshop instead, I get this error:

-- Error occurred in sendToPhotoshop(); filename: C:\Users\Shawn\AppData\Local\Autodesk\3dsMax\2014 - 64bit\ENU\temp\VFBPlus2.mse; position: 4705; line: 159
-- Defined in encrypted script
-- Error occurred during fileIn in #C:\Users\Shawn\AppData\Local\Autodesk\3dsMax\2014 - 64bit\ENU\temp\VFBPlus2.mse; line number: 159
-- Unable to convert: 19 to type: String

However, the file still opens in Photoshop.

I know that I'm probably in the minority, but I prefer Corel PHOTO-PAINT to photoshop... and now that Adobe has moved to rental I'm completely boycotting the company. And although minor, this is a feature I have wanted in your tool! :)

(I cannot say with certainty that this isn't an issue with PHOTO-PAINT, but I'm hoping you could look into it. I hadn't used the send-to since updating PHOTO-PAINT a couple weeks ago, so maybe it was broken with that update... )

_______________________

Shawn Olson

Developer of Wall Worm

rotem's picture
Submitted by rotem on Wed, 2013-09-11 13:53.

Bug fixed

The bug has been found. It would crash when you press 'Grab Viewport' with more than one object selected in the viewport.
It has been fixed and will be included in the next release of VFB+.

rotem's picture
Submitted by rotem on Sun, 2013-09-08 12:14.

Thanks for the report. I can

Thanks for the report. I can not seem to replicate this on my machine.

* Do you have any steps for reproduction?
* Does it happen with an empty scene or does some geometry need to be present?
* What is the render output size?
* Does it happen when no textures are in use?
* Are you using 32-bit or 64-bit 3dsmax?

Thanks!
Rotem

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