Dev:Source/Render/Render API

Render API feedback

dougal2 / LuxRender

• provide a way to load raw image data into a RenderResult, instead of loading from file
• provide a way to extend or replace the Texture types list with items relevant to LuxRender
• The built-in material preview scene is badly constructed for use with any renderer that doesn't support blender's Alpha material parameter. With LuxRender, this results in the camera being inside a closed box with all the light source outside, which leads to a black render.

Andrey M. Izrantsev (bdancer) / V-Ray

1. create/load custom render passes
2. gamma settings for image load
3. call bl_preview only 1 time on a param change (now its called 3 times) - solved: just need to check render size (32x32 is render call for icons)
4. call bl_preview on custom RNA prop change (now update is called only if internal data is changed like diffuse_color or samples)
5. ability to detect that renderer is used for preview and detect preview type (material,texture,lamp etc) - now its only possible to check scene name 'preview'.
6. option to prevent opening Blender Render Window - done: "Keep UI" option
7. create dummy node editor nodes with python
8. node->links access (without this we can't export material nodes; my patch for this is in the tracker for about 3 months :) [patch accepted]
9. may be integrate some geometry formats inside Blender (in my custom build I rewrite geometry export in C and its about 10 times faster then in python; can show some examples)
10. ability to extend/change Enum props like file types, texture type, material types etc.
11. not really render API, but events like pre-render/post-render will be very useful for the end-users
12. animation: easy ability to check if objects mesh is changed during animation (now i use very simple detector of armature modifier and some other little thins)
13. export is a very long process, I separate it in 2 stages: mesh export and render. Will be very good to have smth like object flag that its mesh was changed by the user (for example, user move vertex or change UV) so to reexport only changes geometry.
14. will be cool if array modifier will have an option to extract generated object's transform matrix (will save memory if renderer supports instances).
15. global settings
16. customized panel sorting
17. template_list with support of enable/disable element (like RenderLayers)
18. ability to hide props from "Custom Properties" panel