BiFrost Mesh has no faces

[docaberle]

I'm trying Maya 2016 and before I did any service pack updates I made a simple bifrost scene and it worked great. Maya did freeze later as I was working in it and decided to get the service pack 5 update. Now I get the error:

// Error: line 1: (Mayatomr.Geometry) : bifrostLiquid1MeshShape: mesh has no faces, ignored // 

I start with a new scene. Add a sphere and with it selected I choose Bifrost-->Create-->Liquid. It emits just as expected and looks great as points on the screen.

I then choose Mental Ray for the render and get the error message above plus the render is black. Even if I enable bifrost meshing I get the error. Has anyone else ran into this problem or is there something I'm missing? Prior to the service pack update things seemed to work.

[docaberle]

Forgot to mention that when I did the updates I did the Extension 1 update before I did the service pack 5 update. I was confused by the titles of the updates. So I did the service pack update then redid the extension 1 update. That could be the problem possibly. Also tried to uninstall Maya to start over, but couldn't uninstall it. Did a repair instead.

[cornelh]

Hi docaberle

I'm not sure why you would have a problem trying to un-install the software, yet I do know that Bifrost has some dependancies to Mental Ray and it is advisible to also install the latest service pack for Mental Ray.  Links are bellow..  links to Service Packs Maya 2016  Also be aware that the SP5 has the updates, if you already had Ext. 1 SP4 then all you need to install in SP5, as the Ext. 1 SP5 version just enables functions to those users who never had the Extension installed.  As the Extension versions are exclusively for Subscription holders only, even though all options are installed with SP5, the Extension options only work for those who have installed the ext. updates.  Let me know if updating the Mental Ray helps, if not I can take this as a case and help you one on one. 

Also What OS are you using?  Also update your Graphics card drivers and re-start your system.

Best of luck

[docaberle]

Thanks for your help. I'm really excited about Bifrost and am looking at getting a BOXX computer which will smoke my current system. I was able to remove Maya and did a reinstall and am having the same problem. Getting this error: // Error: line 1: (Mayatomr.Geometry) : bifrostLiquid1MeshShape: mesh has no faces, ignored
and a black screen in Mental Ray.

What I did after wiping Maya off my system was install the basic Maya package and then SP5, then MR and activated the MR plugin. Updated the graphics drivers and then restarted system, but no different.I am new to Maya so keep that in mind. Here are the sertting for my graphics card and OS:
GeForce GTX 750
Intel Core i7-4790S CPU @ 3.20GHz
12GB Ram
Driver version 361.43
Microsoft Windows 8.1

Maybe it's my system, but I got it to work within 5 minutes of the first download on Saturday.
I would appreciate you opening a ticket and helping me with this. If it's a new system I need then I'll get one.

Also the scene I am testing is very basic. Add a sphere, BioFrost-->Create-->Liquid.

Then animate about ten frames so data gets kicked out by BioFrost. Set the scrubber to say frame ten on the timeline so I can see some points. Select MR as the renderer. Render. Black screen and the error above.

[docaberle]

Here's a test file I'm using. Could you see if it works for you? I tried to send you the .mb file but I had to zip it since it wouldn't allow me to upload that file extension.

[docaberle]

Any chance we can speed this up. There's a sale on Autodesk subscriptions that ends the 22nd and if this is going to work for me, I'd like to get in on that sale.

[cornelh · Accepted solution]

Hi docaberle

I just opened up your file, and got the same error right off the bat.  Yet that is to be expected, I hope you have taken a close look at the documentation, as your Maya is working just fine.  Bifrost has a few ways to make the rendering work.  just making a quick sim and pressing play will not actually allow Maya to see the rendering.  Here is some really quick documentation on how this works:

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2016/ENU/Maya/fil...

If you follow these steps you will be on your way to awesome bifrost renders..  Here is a screen grab of one of the settings you need check for the renders to show up.  if not Mental Ray has nothing to actually attach a shader to.. it needs a mesh for that.  I hope this helps.

I also attached a render of your scene, all I did was to click on the "Bifrost Meshing" and checked on the box for "Enable" below it you will have more control over the final look.  There are also some nice tutorials online for further Bifrost simulation, setup and rendering.  

Best of Luck

[docaberle]

That solved the error, but I'm still getting a completely black render. Please watch this quick screencast I made of what's showing up:

http://screencast.com/t/e8rpBP5QR

Now I'm thinking it's MR or maybe I have to add a light to the scene.

[docaberle]

Got it working. You were right. I didn't have the Mental Ray SP5 update installed. Just the MR 2016 baseline oringal. So MR wasn't working until I did the update. Thanks for all your help.