Links

Cinema 4D on Render Network (Beta) Guide

An in-depth look into the C4D x Render Network integration
The Cinema 4D integration for the Render Network is currently in a BETA Phase, and we recommend all users test a small sample of any scene on the Network BEFORE submitting an entire project or scene using the integration.
This will prevent wasted funds on avoidable errors.
The BETA is recommended for testing purposes, NOT for large-scale production work.
The Render Network has launched the first Beta version of its native C4D integration. The following guide will continue to be updated as the Beta continues, with feature additions, improvements and changes reflected throughout.
Current Engines Supported in Beta:
  • C4D 2023.2.1
  • Octane 2022.1.1-R6
If you are in need of support, please contact the Render Network Support Team at https://help.otoy.com/hc/en-us/requests/new and select "Render Network C4D Beta" in the ticket category.
Below you can find tables containing information about current supported Octane features, unsupported Octane features, and the status surrounding those features:
Octane Feature Name
Supported: Y or N?
Additional Info
Baking Camera
Y
Cryptomattes
Y
Custom OCIO Configurations
N
See Photo Below for current allowed configurations**
C4D Light Linking
Y
Deep Images
N
In development
Denoiser
Y
External OSL Files
N
In development
Hair Rendering
Y
Octane Scatter
Y
Octane Scatter (via .csv import)
Y
Only Octane C4D 2022.1.1.R6 and higher
OSL Shaders
Y
Pyro
Y
Pyro (Motion Blur)
N
Not available on launch, coming soon
Vectron
Y
Only for files created in Octane C4D 2022.1.1.R6 and higher
Volumes
Y
**Currently allowed color space options
Below you can find tables containing information about current supported C4D features, unsupported C4D features, and the status surrounding those features:
C4D Feature Name
Supported: Y or N?
Additional Info
Additional File Formats (non PNG & EXR)
N
In development
Ambient Occlusion
Y
Alembics
Y
Audio Files
Y
Capsules
N
In development (excluding Python reliant capsules)
C4D Render Effects (Denoise, Sharpen, Tone Mapping, etc.)
Y
C4D Noises
Y
C4D Procedural Shaders (effects and surfaces)
Y
Cloners + Effectors
Y
Deformers
Y
Fields
Y
Generators
Y
Hair Object
Y
Hair Shader
Y
IES Lights
Y
Magic Bullet Looks
N
External Plugin not currently supported
Metaball
Y
Mograph Color Shader
Y
Mograph Beat Shader
Y*
Standard/Physical supported, not Octane
Mograph Multi Shader
Y*
Standard/Physical supported, not Octane
Mograph Camera Shader
Y*
Standard/Physical supported, not Octane
Mograph Cache (Internal)
Y
Mograph Cache (External)
N
In development
Motion Blur: Geometry
Y
Motion Blur: Volumetrics
Y
Motion Blur: Sub-frame Motion Blur
Y*
Standard/Physical supported, not Octane
Motion Blur: CameraMoblur (on/off)
Y
Motion Blur: Lights
Y
Motion Blur: Instances
Y
Motion Blur: Pyro-generated volumetrics
Y*
Standard/Physical supported, not Octane
Multipasses
Y
Octane Object Tag Hair Shading
Y
Octane Light IDs
Y*
Octane supported
ORBX Files
Y
Parenting/Constraints
Y
Python/Python Tag
N
External Plugin not currently supported
Pyro (motion blur via velocity channel)
Y*
Standard/Physical supported, not Octane
Rende Region
Y
Simple XRefs
Y*
Standard/Physical supported, not Octane
Sketch & Toon
Y
Stage Object
Y
Substance Assets
Y
Takes
N
In development
Thinking Particles
N
Workaround in progress
Vertexmaps
Y
Viewport Rendering
N
Error under investigation
Volume Loader Object
N
Error under investigation
Volume Builder Cache
N
In development
Volume Mesher
Y
Watermark Effect
Y
Machine Info not supported
Additionally, during Alpha and closed Beta testing, certain features were discovered to need preparation in order to function currently. Those can be found in the table below alongside instructions for those features.
Feature Name
Prep Instructions
Assets from the C4D asset browser
Needs to be saved into the project folder
C4D Particle Emitter
Needs to be cached
Dynamics: Cloner
Needs to be cached
Dynamics: Cloth
Needs to be cached
Dynamics: Rope
Needs to be cached
Dynamics: Soft Body
Needs to be cached
Dynamics: Rigid Body
Needs to be cached
Dynamics: Hair
Needs to be cached
IR/LM Global Illumination
Needs to be cached
Motion Blur: Hair
Needs to be cached
ORBXLoader
Relative path in PAI needed
Octane VDB Volume Object
Relative path in PAI needed
Physical/Standard Caustics effect
"Save Solution" needs to be turned off
XRefs
Relative path in PAI needed