Smart Tracer
Updated: 25 Nov 2024
The hybrid real-time and offline renderer.
Smart Tracer
Method #
This node is our hybrid real-time renderer, utilising hybrid raytracing and deferred rendering to render a high quality image in real time.
Suitable for rendering 3D content offline with any hardware, and real-time with powerful enough hardware.
Parameters
These properties control the general rendering features applied to the scene.
Parameter Details Max Refine Steps The max number of refine steps per frame. Greater steps improve overall quality in the scene, but not suitable for realtime content.
DOF + Motion Blur Control the Depth Of Field and Motion Blur rendered from the camera. The properties for the can be controlled from the Camera node.
- PostFX : Uses a Post-FX based Motion Blur and Depth of Field techniques available on the standard and Hybrid renderers. Much faster, but not as accurate.
- Raytraced : Uses a Raytraced based Motion Blur and Depth of Field, similar to the path tracer but accelerated for greater speed. Slower, but much more accurate.
Antialiasing These options allow for different methods of reducing aliasing. For more, see our page on Anti-Aliasing. Only compatible with PostFX mode.
- Off : No anti-aliasing is applied.
- DLSS : Uses Nvidias DLSS to resolve aliasing. Often works faster than MSAA or EdgeAA, but can introduce artfacts.
- Temporal : Applies a subpixel jitter applied to the camera, and averages the result over time. Decent AA results for a relatively small cost, but can make scenes appear blurry or jittery in some cases.
- FSAA : Samples every pixel multiple times per rendered frame, greatly improving AA and also smoothing out some temporal artefacts. Not suitable for live output, but perfect for video and stills.
DLSS Resolution Change the resolution the scene is rendered at before being passed to DLSS for anti-aliasing. Only functions with DLSS selected for the antialiasing method.
- 100% : The project stays at the same resolution, so DLSS is prmarily used in reducing aliasing.
- 50% : The project is run at half resolution, then passed to DLSS for upscaling and antialiasing. This can dramatically improve performance, but can introduce artefacts.
Depth Of Field Control the depth of field rendered from the camera. Useful for drawing focus onto a specific area of the scene. The Blur Amount and Focus Distance can be controlled from the Camera node.
- Off : No depth of field will be applied.
- On : Offsets the starting position of every ray based on the cameras blurrines and focus parameters.
Motion Blur Control the motion blur rendered from the camera. Useful for adding smoother and more realistic motion to a scene. The Blur Amount can be controlled from the Camera node.
- Off : Control the motion blur rendered from the camera. Useful for adding smoother and more realistic motion to a scene. The Blur Amount can be controlled from the Camera node.
- On : Each ray is offset in time by a sub-frame amount, and motion vectors are generated for all the moving objects in the scene. The rays are traced and tested against these objects and their motion vectors to generate the motion blur. Gives fast and accurate results, but can generate strange smears if an object moves too erratically.
Max Output Luminance Sets a maximum output value when sampling light in the scene. Useful for reducing ‘firefly’ noise in the scene, as further light samples are likely to average out faster, but can reduce the overall lighting accuracy in the scene.
These properties control how lighting is calculated and affects the scene.
Parameter Details Pre-Refine First Frame When the scene is reset, the lighting is allowed to refine a few times before completing the first frame, to generate an accurate result on the first frame. When rendering a video, the scene will be pre-refined automatically on export, regardless of this properties settings. Useful when working on video content and the first frame needs to be match the export but can impact performance when frequently resetting the scene.
Diffuse Depth How many bounces of diffuse lighting are used. More bounces can increase the brightness in dark areas of the scene, but will have deminishing retuns at greater values.
Diffuse Bounce Multiplier Boost the brightness of diffuse bounces in the scene. Useful for artificially brightening unlit areas of a scene without adding extra diffuse bounces, but not accurate and if pushed too far can introduce artefacting and blow up the lighting model as surfaces reflect more light than they absorb.
Glossy Depth How many bounces of Specular lighting are used. More bounces may be necessary in scenes with lots of clean glass or mirrors, but in scenes with lots of rough surfaces lower values can be used to improve performance.
Refraction Depth How many refractive are used. Similar to glossy depth, more bounces may be necessary in scenes with lots of glass, but in scenes with no glass or lots of rough glass lower values can be used to improve performance.
Refractions Control how refractions are rendered in the scene.
- Off : No refractions are applied, so refractive surfaces won’t appear in the scene.
- Rough Raytraced : Fully raytraced method which generates accurate results, but can take longer to refine.
- Raytraced : A simple screen space method which gives accurate results quickly, but doesnt handle roughness.
Refraction Max Distance Sets a maximum amount a material can be refracted. Useful for limiting some of the artefacts from the simpler refraction modes.
Ambient Occlusion Simulates natural shadowing that occurs in corners and crevices of a scene, by darkening those areas. Useful for exaggerating detail in a scene.
- Raytraced : Raytraces AO with a few samples, then denoises for a smooth result. Gives great and accurate results, but slower than the other methods.
- Off : No Ambient Occlusion is generated.
AO Blend Mode Simulates natural shadowing that occurs in corners and crevices of a scene, by darkening those areas. Useful for exaggerating detail in a scene.
- Multiply : The Ambient Occlusions is multiplied against the scene after all the lighting passes have been generated.
- Replace : Replaces the current lighting with that of the Ambient Occlusion. Useful for getting a simple clay render of the scene.
- Add : Adds the Ambient Occlusion lighting on top of the lighting of the scene, brightening all areas except the areas the ambient occlusion is applied.
AO Blend Amount How much the chosen blend mode is applied into the scene. Doesn’t apply to replace blend mode.
AO Distance Controls how wide the Ambient Occlusion radius is. Lower values tighten the ambient occlusion to smaller areas, larger value can end up darkening the whole object, and in some modes add visible noise.
AO Falloff Curve Controls how the weighting of ambient occlusion falls off over distance. Higher values will darken areas of ambient occlusion further, while lower values will lessen the ambient occlusion except in narrow crevices.
Lighting Far Plane Controls the distance away from the camera at which lighting will no longer be calculated. Lower values can increase performance in some scenes, but you’ll need to build the scene such that objects outside this range do not need lighting.
These properties control how light scattering is processed in the scene.
Parameter Details Scattering Enable raytraced scattering on lights in the scene. Only functions if lights have some scattering amount in use.
Scattering Intensity Multiplier on top of the global scattering density. Useful for adjusting the density globally without going to all the individual lights.
Smoke Density Applies a simple noise pattern over the scattering generated, giving an appearance of smokiness. Useful for generating a mysterious and foggy effect.
Smoke Scale Changes the scale of the smokiness parameters.
Smoke Speed How quickly the generated smoke is animated in the scene.
Inputs
These properties control the general rendering features applied to the scene.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Max Refine Steps | The max number of refine steps per frame. Greater steps improve overall quality in the scene, but not suitable for realtime content. |
| DOF + Motion Blur | Control the Depth Of Field and Motion Blur rendered from the camera. The properties for the can be controlled from the Camera node.
|
| Antialiasing | These options allow for different methods of reducing aliasing. For more, see our page on Anti-Aliasing. Only compatible with PostFX mode.
|
| DLSS Resolution | Change the resolution the scene is rendered at before being passed to DLSS for anti-aliasing. Only functions with DLSS selected for the antialiasing method.
|
| Depth Of Field | Control the depth of field rendered from the camera. Useful for drawing focus onto a specific area of the scene. The Blur Amount and Focus Distance can be controlled from the Camera node.
|
| Motion Blur | Control the motion blur rendered from the camera. Useful for adding smoother and more realistic motion to a scene. The Blur Amount can be controlled from the Camera node.
|
| Max Output Luminance | Sets a maximum output value when sampling light in the scene. Useful for reducing ‘firefly’ noise in the scene, as further light samples are likely to average out faster, but can reduce the overall lighting accuracy in the scene. |
These properties control how lighting is calculated and affects the scene.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Pre-Refine First Frame | When the scene is reset, the lighting is allowed to refine a few times before completing the first frame, to generate an accurate result on the first frame. When rendering a video, the scene will be pre-refined automatically on export, regardless of this properties settings. Useful when working on video content and the first frame needs to be match the export but can impact performance when frequently resetting the scene. |
| Diffuse Depth | How many bounces of diffuse lighting are used. More bounces can increase the brightness in dark areas of the scene, but will have deminishing retuns at greater values. |
| Diffuse Bounce Multiplier | Boost the brightness of diffuse bounces in the scene. Useful for artificially brightening unlit areas of a scene without adding extra diffuse bounces, but not accurate and if pushed too far can introduce artefacting and blow up the lighting model as surfaces reflect more light than they absorb. |
| Glossy Depth | How many bounces of Specular lighting are used. More bounces may be necessary in scenes with lots of clean glass or mirrors, but in scenes with lots of rough surfaces lower values can be used to improve performance. |
| Refraction Depth | How many refractive are used. Similar to glossy depth, more bounces may be necessary in scenes with lots of glass, but in scenes with no glass or lots of rough glass lower values can be used to improve performance. |
| Refractions | Control how refractions are rendered in the scene.
|
| Refraction Max Distance | Sets a maximum amount a material can be refracted. Useful for limiting some of the artefacts from the simpler refraction modes. |
| Ambient Occlusion | Simulates natural shadowing that occurs in corners and crevices of a scene, by darkening those areas. Useful for exaggerating detail in a scene.
|
| AO Blend Mode | Simulates natural shadowing that occurs in corners and crevices of a scene, by darkening those areas. Useful for exaggerating detail in a scene.
|
| AO Blend Amount | How much the chosen blend mode is applied into the scene. Doesn’t apply to replace blend mode. |
| AO Distance | Controls how wide the Ambient Occlusion radius is. Lower values tighten the ambient occlusion to smaller areas, larger value can end up darkening the whole object, and in some modes add visible noise. |
| AO Falloff Curve | Controls how the weighting of ambient occlusion falls off over distance. Higher values will darken areas of ambient occlusion further, while lower values will lessen the ambient occlusion except in narrow crevices. |
| Lighting Far Plane | Controls the distance away from the camera at which lighting will no longer be calculated. Lower values can increase performance in some scenes, but you’ll need to build the scene such that objects outside this range do not need lighting. |
These properties control how light scattering is processed in the scene.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Scattering | Enable raytraced scattering on lights in the scene. Only functions if lights have some scattering amount in use. |
| Scattering Intensity | Multiplier on top of the global scattering density. Useful for adjusting the density globally without going to all the individual lights. |
| Smoke Density | Applies a simple noise pattern over the scattering generated, giving an appearance of smokiness. Useful for generating a mysterious and foggy effect. |
| Smoke Scale | Changes the scale of the smokiness parameters. |
| Smoke Speed | How quickly the generated smoke is animated in the scene. |
| Name | Description | Typical Input |
|---|---|---|
| Max Output Luminance | TBC | TBC |
| Diffuse Bounce Multiplier | TBC | TBC |
| Probe Separation Distance | TBC | TBC |
| Motion Responsiveness | TBC | TBC |
| Refraction Max Distance | TBC | TBC |
| AO Distance | TBC | TBC |
| AO Blend Amount | TBC | TBC |
| AO Falloff Curve | TBC | TBC |