2008

Max. Subdiv. Controls the extent to which mental ray can recursively
subdivide each original mesh triangle for displacement. Each subdivision
recursion potentially divides a single face into four smaller faces. Choose the
value from the drop-down list. Range=4 to 64K (65,536). Default=16K (16,384).
For example, using the default value means that mental ray can subdivide
each displaced mesh triangle into as many as 16,384 smaller triangles.
Rendering Algorithms Rollout (mental ray
Renderer)
Rendering menu > Render > Render Scene dialog > Renderer panel > Rendering
Algorithms rollout
Main toolbar > Render Scene > Render Scene dialog > Renderer panel >
Rendering Algorithms rollout
The controls in this rollout let you choose whether to render using ray-tracing,
scanline rendering, or both. You can also choose the method used to accelerate
ray-tracing.
The Trace Depth controls the number of times each ray can be reflected,
refracted, or both.
Procedures
To set trace depth for reflections and refractions:
1 Count the number of times you want an object to be reflected or refracted
in the scene.
2 On the mental ray: Rendering Algorithms rollout, set Max Reflections to
the number of reflections you want, and Max Refractions to the number
of refractions you want.
3 Set Max Depth to equal the value you chose for Max Reflections plus the
value you chose for Max Refractions.
The greater the number of reflections and refractions, the more slowly
your scene will render. On the other hand, too low a value for Max
Reflections or Max Refractions (or Max Depth, controlling both) can
make your rendering look unrealistic.
6118 | Chapter 18 Rendering