Rich Pixel File Formats

3ds max supports two kinds of rich pixel renderings:

• RPF (rich pixel format) files have the fullest set of G-Buffer channels.
• RLA files use an earlier format that does not support all channels.

See Creating RPF and RLA Files.

In addition, RPF files save object and material names, so when you import an RPF file into a composite, layer names match object names in your 3ds max scene. See Selecting Objects in a Rich Pixel Rendering.

These are the channels supported by the 3ds max rich pixel formats:

Z Depth

Saves the 3D depth of objects in the scene.

Material Effects ID

Saves the material effects channel ID of materials assigned to objects in the scene. This is called the material ID in the sections that follow.

Object ID

Saves the ID value assigned to an object.

UV Coordinates

Saves the UV mapping coordinates used in the scene.

Normal

Saves the orientation of face normals in the scene.

Non-Clamped Color

Saves areas in the rendering where colors exceed the valid color range.

Coverage

Saves anti-aliasing data at the edges of objects in the scene.

Node Render ID

(RPF format only.) Saves the node ID used when each object is rendered. This is a value unique to each object.

In the combustion interface, this value is called the render node.

Color

(RPF format only.) Saves the color that the material shader returns. The color is always solid.

Transparency

(RPF format only.) Saves the transparency that the material shader returns.

Velocity

(RPF format only.) Saves a vector that indicates the velocity of objects.

Sub-Pixel Weight

(RPF format only.) Saves the weighting value used to adjust this pixel's color.