Population render quality settings test

[bigben]

I would have thought the opposite actually...   

I know some people drop the render detail down to shorten render times where rendering clouds is an issue.  Using the higher quality settings for populations means they can also keep their trees looking good without too much overhead. It would be a personal preference as to how much degradation they are prepared to put up with, but at least the option is there if you want it.

[JohnnyBoy]

Not sure if we are talking about the same thing, but can you see a significant (or any) difference between High and Highest settings, I sure can't.

[bigben]

It's a little hard to say as they're not the same area. Try rendering the same are with both, overlay the images in Photoshop and set the top one to difference.  The highest quality one looks a whisker denser but that may be an illusion... and of course, it would also "feel" better to someone choosing it   

The fact that you have a number of options to sort out your own preferences for the compromise between render time and quality is pretty neat.

[eollila]

Lots of useful info in here I've been looking for, for a long time. I love this website 

[JohnnyBoy]

Ok, just had to try it. Rendered with detail .8

Row 1 is rendered with High population quality.
Row 2 Column 1 has a second render at High to use as a control.
Row 2 Column 2 is rendered with the Highest population quality.
Row 3 is Row 2 set to difference over Row 1.

I'll have to try this with a lower detail setting to see if the difference is greater. I don't see too many instances where I would use the highest setting, but to each their own.

[JohnnyBoy]

Enlarged:

[bigben]

If you auto-adjust the levels of this you can see the noise from the difference.  It is subtle, and you'd expect it to be greater for lower render detail settings. Whether or not it's worth the extra time is up to the individual. For some effects, I'd be prepared to double render times for a subtle improvement but for others I wouldn't.

At least now I have a better understanding of what the settings actually do and how I can use them. With the time I'll save I can bump up AA to get better looking trees up close. 

[JohnnyBoy]

Just finishing up,

Render Detail .2