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LightWave
uses command line parameters which in Windows are specified
in a DOS window or a shortcut icon. For LightWave PPC, NewTek
has added a simple mechanism for specifying command line parameters
on
the
Macintosh
as well. Plain text files called cmdLine files are used to store
any command line parameters that you wish to pass to a LightWave
PPC application when it is launched. The PPC versions of LightWave,
Modeler, Hub and LWSN can all use their own cmdLine files. ScreamerNet
UB is now a Unix executable that runs in the Mac OS X Terminal
and as such can use its own real command line parameters. We’ve
also created an Aqua GUI front end for ScreamerNet UB named
DreamLight
SNUB-Launcher that you may use to interactively build
command lines in a Mac friendly error-free manner.
LightWave PPC uses cmdLine files which are plain text files
that are named exactly the same as their associated application
(which
must
be one word),
followed by a single space and the word "cmdLine".
They do not (and can not) have a file extension added (not even ".txt"),
or LightWave PPC will not recognize them. Only LightWave PPC
uses cmdLine files, LightWave UB does not use cmdLine files.
The LightWave PPC cmdLine file name format is as follows:
SingleWordAppName SPACE cmdLine NO EXTENSION
The default names of major applications and cmdLine files
(not all Programs files are shown) in the LightWave 3D
9.3:Programs folder
are as seen in the example below left:
 
When setting up multiple instances of LWSN PPC to use in batch
or network rendering, you’d make multiple copies of the
LWSN application and its associated cmdLine file and rename
each pair
to match, typically using an incrementing number as in the
above right example.
Note: The icons for the cmdLine files may change to text
document icons once you edit them. The icons for different versions
of LightWave may also be different.
These cmdLine files must be located in the same directory as
the applications that they are associated with. Typically: YourHD:Applications:NewTek:LightWave
3D 9.3:Programs where YourHD is
replaced with the name of your hard drive that holds your applications.
LightWave UB doesn’t need cmdLine text files since the command
line parameters may be entered directly within the Mac OS X terminal
when launching ScreamerNet UB.
DLI_SNUB-Launcher
is DreamLight Interactive’s ScreamerNet Universal Binary
Launcher, an XCode Aqua GUI front end that interactively builds
the necessary command lines
to
launch LightWave 3D’s ScreamerNet UB standalone, batch and network rendering
command line component. DLI_SNUB-Launcher’s interactive interface makes
configuring and launching LightWave 3D’s ScreamerNet UB much more user
friendly and far less error prone than doing so manually. Download
the FREE LITE
VERSION today!

The command line syntax is as follows, all on one line with
a space separating each parameter. Do not separate
a parameter from its value with a space. All parameter letters
must be in
lowercase. Enclose all paths with double quotes, especially if
the path contains spaces. This syntax is used in a cmdLine text
file for the PPC versions of LightWave or directly in the Mac
OS X
terminal command line for ScreamerNet UB.
[-0] [-c<config directory>] [-p<plugin config
dir>]
The following general command line parameters may be used in
most of the cmdLine files:
-0 : (dash zero) Disables the Hub
This parameter may be included in the PPC LightWave and/or Modeler
cmdLine files if you wish to disable the hub. If you are experiencing
problems with LightWave and/or Modeler, try disabling the hub,
which is often a source of problems on the Mac. Otherwise, launching
either LightWave or Modeler will also launch the Hub. The easiest
way to disable the UB hub is to simply rename the UB Hub application
to something like Disabled-Hub in which case it won’t automatically
launch.
When specifying command line path parameters, the following
rules of thumb will help avoid problems:
- Type the parameter letter, such as
-c or -p,
in lowercase.
- Do not put a space between the parameter letter and the associated
path.
- Enclose all paths in double quotes if the path
contains any spaces or you must escape any special characters.
I find it easiest to just be consistent and simply enclose
all paths in double quotes. Be sure to only enclose the path,
not the leading parameter.
- Avoid using spaces in file or folder names inside the content
directory, use underscore.
- Prefix all PPC content directory relative paths with a leading
colon. Such relative paths are relative to the Content Directory.
For
example: ":Scenes:MyScene.lws"
- For paths on volumes other than the system volume, start
PPC paths with the name of the volume such as
"VolumeName:",
start UB paths with "/Volumes/VolumeName/"
- ScreamerNet UB does not currently (LW9.3) seem to work properly
with content relative paths, so use full paths for ScreamerNet
UB for now.
NOTE: When typing paths in the Mac OS X Terminal you can
usually start a path with a
tilde '~'
character preceding a forward slash, as ~/ to
represent "/Users/username/" where username is
the current user. However ScreamerNet UB itself doesn’t
currently understand this convention, so the tilde won’t
work if it’s embedded in a parameter that’s passed
to LightWave, for instance enclosed in double quotes, or following
a parameter switch such as -c or -d,
etc. It will work in a few instances if used BEFORE
the first double quote for the rest of the path, in a parameter
that doesn’t start with any switch, such as when passing
a job, ack, or scene file path,
such as: ~/"Documents/LWContent/MyScene.lws"
which
is expanded to: "/Users/username/Documents/LWContent/MyScene.lws"
by
the terminal BEFORE being passed to ScreamerNet. So unless
you really know what you’re doing I’d recommend just avoiding
the ~/ shortcut altogether.
-c : Optional: Path to the directory that contains
the config file.
The LightWave PPC default config path is as
follows:
-c"YourHD:Users:username:Library:Preferences"
The LightWave UB default config path is as
follows:
-c"/Users/username/Library/Preferences/LightWave3D"
If not specified, the config directory defaults to the current
user’s Preferences directory for PPC or the LightWave3D
folder in the current user’s Preferences dilectory for UB, which
is normally as specified above, where YourHD should
be replaced with the name of your hard drive that holds your
home
directory
and username should
be replaced with your user name. Therefore, if you leave your
config files in their default locations, you do not need to specify
this option in your command line parameters and each individual
user could have their own configs.
This parameter may be used in LightWave, Modeler, Hub and/or
LWSN cmdLine files or the ScreamerNet UB command line to specify
a different directory for the config files.
-p : Optional: Path to the directory that contains
the plugin database file, typically the same as the config path.
The LightWave PPC default plugin path is as
follows:
-p"YourHD:Users:username:Library:Preferences"
The LightWave UB default plugin path is as
follows:
-p"/Users/username/Library/Preferences/LightWave3D"
If not specified, the config directory will be used. This parameter
may be used in LightWave, Modeler, Hub and/or LWSN cmdLine
files or the ScreamerNet UB command line to specify a different
directory for the plugin database file.
There are a few common command line parameters that are used
to tell LWSN PPC or ScreamerNet UB what to do. The following
general command line parameters may be used when running LWSN
PPC or ScreamerNet UB in any mode. Additional
mode specific
command line parameters are discussed later.
The general
common
command line
syntax is as follows, all on one line.
-<mode#> [-c<config directory>] [-d<content
directory>]
[-l<log file>] [-q]
-<mode#> : The mode number parameter specifies
which rendering mode to use.
-2 : Signifies batch or network
rendering mode which may render multiple scenes on multiple nodes.
-3 :
Signifies standalone rendering mode which renders a single scene
on a single node.
-c : Optional: Path to the directory that contains
the config file.
The LWSN PPC default config path is as
follows:
-c"YourHD:Users:username:Library:Preferences"
The ScreamerNet UB default config path is as
follows:
-c"/Users/username/Library/Preferences/LightWave3D"
This parameter is explained in more detail above under Command
Line Path Parameters.
-d : Optional: Path to the directory that contains
your content.
An LWSN PPC sample content path could be as
follows:
-d"YourHD:Users:username:Documents:LWContent"
A ScreamerNet UB sample content path could
be as follows:
-d"/Users/username/Documents/LWContent"
Where YourHD should be replaced with the name of
your hard drive that holds your home directory and username should
be replaced with your user name. This example would be to use
a directory named LWContent in your Documents directory as
your content directory. If this option is not specified, the
content
directory defaults to the content directory specified in the
config file through LightWave. Therefore, if you set your content
directory properly in LightWave itself, and you have LWSN PPC
or ScreamerNet UB on the same machine using the same config
file as LightWave (which
it does by default), you do not need to specify this option
in the LWSN PPC command line file or the ScreamerNet UB terminal
command line, unless you wish to use a content directory that
is different
than
the
one currently
set in LightWave.
You would also need to specify this path if you were running
LWSN PPC or ScreamerNet UB on a different machine than you
are running LightWave.
Please review Config Files:
Content Directory, for important information about using
LightWave’s content directory properly.
-l : Optional: Path to a text file to write the
terminal output into.
An LWSN PPC sample log file path could be
as follows:
-l"YourHD:Users:username:Documents:LWContent:ScreamerNetLog.txt"
A ScreamerNet UB sample log file path could
be as follows:
-l"/Users/username/Documents/LWContent/ScreamerNetLog.txt"
Where YourHD should be replaced with the name of
your hard drive that holds your home directory and username should
be replaced with your user name. This example would use
a log file named ScreamerNetLog.txt in a LWContent directory
in your Documents directory. If this
option
is not specified then the text messages generated as output
would appear in the LWSN PPC window or the Mac OS X terminal
running
ScreamerNet
UB.
-q : Optional: Suppresses terminal output during
frame rendering, still reports as each frame finishes.
Normally while LWSN is busy rendering it outputs quite a bit
of text information to the terminal interface. This can be useful
for monitoring progress and problems such as missing plug-ins,
etc. Once everything is up and running however, all this text
writing to the terminal may be unnecessary and may slightly slow
down the rendering. The -q parameter turns off all
the output during the rendering of an individual frame. You’ll
still get text output between frames, but not during frame rendering.
This may slightly speed up rendering but will also make LWSN
less responsive to user input, such as if you wish to save the
log or quit LWSN.
Here’s what the output for one frame looks like normally,
without the -q parameter:
LightWave PowerMac ScreamerNet Module (Build 690)
CPU number: 774
Current directory is now "HD:Samples:Content:".
Loading ":Scenes:Toys:ToysTest.lws".
Clearing scene
Loading settings
Loading "Objects/Toys/Ball.lwo"
Loading "Objects/Toys/Blocks.lwo"
Loading "Objects/Toys/Floor.lwo"
Validating scene
Scene loaded.
Allocating frame buffers.
Allocating segment buffers.
Updating geometry.
Moving Ball.
Moving Blocks.
Moving Floor.
Optimizing Ball.
Optimizing Blocks.
Optimizing Floor.
Computing shadow map for Light.
Transforming coordinates.
Removing hidden polygons.
Computing polygon distances.
Sorting polygons.
Rendering frame 1, segment 1/1, pass 1/5.
Rendering transparent polygons.
Integrating pixels.
Rendering frame 1, segment 1/1, pass 2/5.
Rendering transparent polygons.
Integrating pixels.
Rendering frame 1, segment 1/1, pass 3/5.
Rendering transparent polygons.
Integrating pixels.
Rendering frame 1, segment 1/1, pass 4/5.
Rendering transparent polygons.
Integrating pixels.
Rendering frame 1, segment 1/1, pass 5/5.
Rendering transparent polygons.
Integrating pixels.
Freeing segment buffers.
Allocating filter buffer.
Applying soft filter.
Freeing filter buffer.
Allocating segment buffers.
Writing RGB image to HD:Content:Images:TESTS:Toys0001.tga.
Frame completed.
Last Frame Rendered: 1.
Rendering Time: 0.0 seconds.
Freeing segment buffers.
Freeing frame buffers.
Here’s what the output looks like with the -q parameter
included:
LightWave PowerMac ScreamerNet Module (Build 690)
CPU number: 774
Current directory is now "HD:Samples:Content:".
Loading ":Scenes:Toys:ToysTest.lws".
Scene loaded.
Last Frame Rendered: 1.
The standalone mode (-3)
specific command line syntax is as follows, all on one line.
-3 [-c<config directory>] [-d<content directory>]
[-l<log file>] [-q] <scene file> <first frame> <last
frame> [<frame
step>]
The first five parameters are explained above
under General ScreamerNet Command Line Syntax.
<scene file>: Path to the scene file. May
be a full or a relative path, enclosed in quotes.
Full paths specify the entire path
to the scene file.
An LWSN PPC sample full scene path could be
as follows:
"YourHD:Users:username:Documents:LWContent:Scenes:MyScene.lws"
A ScreamerNet UB sample full scene path could
be as follows:
"/Users/username/Documents/LWContent/Scenes/MyScene.lws"
Relative paths are relative to the current Content directory
specified in the command line itself, or from within LightWave’s
config file. Relative paths must start with a leading file separator.
An LWSN PPC sample relative scene path could
be as follows:
":Scenes:MyScene.lws"
At this time LW 9.3 ScreamerNet UB does not
appear to work with content relative paths.
<first frame>: First frame to render, may
be higher than last frame if step is negative.
<last frame>: Last frame to render, may
be lower than first frame if step is negative.
[<frame step>]: Optional: defaults to 1,
may be positive or negative.
This specifies which frames to render between the first and
last frame. When set to 1, ScreamerNet would render every frame
from the first frame, up to the last frame. When set to 2, ScreamerNet
would
render every other frame from the first frame up to the last
frame. If set to -1, ScreamerNet would render every frame from
the first frame, down to the last frame and in this case the
first
frame
should be higher than the last frame to render in reverse order.
The batch & network mode (-2) specific cmdLine syntax
is as follows, all on one line.
-2 [-c<config directory>] [-d<content directory>]
[-l<log file>] [-q]
[-t<check interval>] <job
command file> <acknowledgment
file>
The first five parameters are explained above
under General ScreamerNet Command Line Syntax.
<job command file> : job# File & node
number for ScreamerNet to read commands from.
LWSN PPC job file sample paths could be
as follows:
"job1" or ":job1" Reads
the job1 file in the top level of the Content
directory.
":Commands:job1" Reads the job1 file
in a Commands directory in the Content directory.
"YourHD:Applications:NewTek:LightWave
3D 9.3:Programs:job1"
Reads the job1 file in the Programs directory in
the LightWave 3D 9.3 directory, where YourHD should
be replaced with the name of your hard drive where your applications
are stored.
A ScreamerNet UB job file sample path could
be as follows:
"/Users/username/Documents/LWContent/Commands/job1"
Reads
the job1 file in a Commands directory in
a LWContent directory in the user’s Documents folder, where username should
be replaced with your actual username.
At this time ScreamerNet UB doesn’t appear
to work with content folder relative paths, use full paths.
The number should immediately
follow the word "job" without
any spaces and there must be no file extension added to the
end of the path.
Make sure that both your job# and ack# both
use the same number. This number is what actually determines
the CPU number of the ScreamerNet node, not any number that you
may also be using in the LWSN PPC, ScreamerNet UB, or cmdLine
file
names. Though to keep things from getting confusing I suggest
using
the same
numbers
for the LWSN PPC, ScreamerNet UB, and cmdLine names as well as
for the job# and ack# in
the cmdLine file itself.
For example:
Application name: LWSN-1
cmdLine Name: LWSN-1 cmdLine
cmdLine Contents: -2 "job1" "ack1"
For additional information please review Config
Files: Command Directory.
<acknowledgement file> : ack# File & node
number for ScreamerNet to write replies to.
LWSN PPC ack file sample paths could be as
follows:
"ack1" or ":ack1" Writes
the ack1 file in the top level of the Content directory.
":Commands:ack1" Writes the ack1 file
in a Commands directory in the Content directory.
"YourHD:Applications:NewTek:LightWave
3D 9.3:Programs:ack1"
Writes the ack1 file in the Programs directory
in the LightWave 3D 9.3 directory, where YourHD should
be replaced with the name of your hard drive where your applications
are stored.
A ScreamerNet UB job file sample path could
be as follows:
"/Users/username/Documents/LWContent/Commands/ack1"
Reads the ack1 file in a Commands directory in
a LWContent directory in the user’s Documents folder, where username should
be replaced with your actual username.
At this time ScreamerNet UB doesn’t appear to work with
content folder relative paths, use full paths.
For additional
information please review Job
File Path & Config
Files: Command Directory above.
-t : Optional: Time check interval in seconds.
For instance as follows:
-t60
This would have ScreamerNet attempt to check the job file every
60 seconds during rendering for status or abort commands. Other
commands are ignored.
Normally, once ScreamerNet begins rendering a frame, it does
not check the job file for any further instructions until the
frame finishes rendering. During the initial setup and testing
of your render farm or when testing a new scene, it may be useful
to allow ScreamerNet to check the job file for abort commands.
Particularly if individual frames take a long time to render.
This way, if you notice a problem right off the bat (a missing
plug-in for instance), you can abort the rendering without having
to wait for all your nodes to finish rendering an entire frame
each or force quitting each node.
For instance, if your frames use ray tracing, area lights, radiosity,
caustics, high antialiasing levels, motion blur and/or depth
of field, they may take a long time to render. In this case you
could set -t to 60 seconds, then ScreamerNet would
try to check the job file every 60 seconds to see if the job
should be aborted or not. During certain processing, ScreamerNet
may take longer than 60 seconds before it can check, but it doesn’t
have to wait for an entire frame to render before being able
to stop. Once you are sure everything is running smoothly, it
is best to remove this option, so that no extra time is taken
checking the job file unnecessarily, especially if you are network
rendering many frames.
Unfortunately, the -t parameter for time check
interval still does not appear to work on ScreamerNet Mac (Tested
from LW7.5 through LW9.3.1). I was unable to get it to actually
allow an abort of a frame during rendering... Using the built-in
Network Rendering controller and clicking the Cancel
Render button to abort a scene rendering in progress
now issues an abort command into the job files, but ScreamerNet
fails to abort the render in progress until after the current
frame finishes renedring, in which case the -t parameter isn’t
needed anyway.
In addition to running LWSN PPC with a cmdLine file, you can
also run it using the default command line dialog interface.
If you
launch LWSN without a cmdLine file, it will open an input dialog
which
allows you to type in the command line arguments.

On Mac OS X you can’t paste any text into the
dialog the way you used to be able to on Mac OS 9, so
this method is rather obsolete. It’s sometimes useful for
quick tests though.
To use the command line dialog simply follow these steps.
- Move or rename the LWSN cmdLine file, so that LWSN won’t find
it.
- Launch LWSN which will open the command line dialog.
- Type in your command line parameters, just like in a cmdLine
file.
- Click on LWSN.out and select a save location when prompted
if you wish to save the log.
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