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Not recognizing Multi-cores for render

Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 2:33 pm
by thewalkerd
Seems like I'm only being able to render using One core only.. not sure why Moho is not recognizing all of them and using 4 cores for the render..

Here's how it renders images (there's only one CPU render bar in the export window):

https://imgur.com/2Enf2bs

I'm using he latest Moho version. Using a i7 on Windows10 with a Gforce GTX 1080
I have "Enable Multi-threaded rendering" selected.

Maybe doing something with the Moho Exporter, or by the Command Line export function could do it? I don't know how though

Thanks for any help

Re: Not recognizing Multi-cores for render

Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 6:28 pm
by Greenlaw
Does it do this for any Moho project or just a particular one?

I know the current Moho has a cap on the number of cores it will use but it should be able to handle four. I think the limit is 5. A while back, there was talk about expanding the number or giving the user control over it. Not sure if that's still being considered. I think this was regarding rendering though, not workspace interactivity or real-time playback. For that, I think Moho relies more on the graphics card.

I'll try a few tests when I can manage the time.

I wonder if certain effects (like glows and blurs maybe?) need to run on a single processor. If you're using any, try disabling them one at a time.

Re: Not recognizing Multi-cores for render

Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 8:25 pm
by thewalkerd
Greenlaw wrote:Does it do this for any Moho project or just a particular one?

I know the current Moho has a cap on the number of cores it will use but it should be able to handle four.
It happens on all projects. Not sure why. I know that playback uses graphic card acceleration, but I'm talking about final render (it should use 4 cores, not only one). Apparently there's something wrong with Moho that it doesn't recognizes the Cores in my processor (I'm describing what is happening at work, but in my tests yesterday, it did the same at home).

I'm not using motion blur or glows. just pngs, bones, switch layers and smart bones.

Where is the option to enable Glows though? I could try checking if it's enabled by default or something (but I doubt it would be the case).


Ugh ..Not sure how I would make this thing work.. ...well, hope you guys can help me find a way. Thanks

Re: Not recognizing Multi-cores for render

Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 8:30 pm
by Greenlaw
I'll check it out on my end and let you know if it's happening here. Maybe this is a recent issue and I just hadn't noticed.

Re: Glows and such, I was really just thinking out loud, and it might not be relevant. Many years ago, when multi-threading was still fairly new, I remember this being an issue with some 3D and compositing programs I used. It's probably not an issue with Moho nowadays but I don't really know.

Re: Not recognizing Multi-cores for render

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 9:08 am
by hayasidist
I've had one instance of this with very high definition renders (8k - 4320p) - I'd written it off as a memory issue -- not enough available to the render engine / whatever because multicore works for everything else (I usually only use 1080p) -- and, since this was a one-off task, I'd just bitten the bullet and ignored the fact that renders took ages and never bothered to follow up.

I also had a lot of image layers - so, seeing this thread, I might try and isolate the cause … but my opening guess would be to do with memory.

Re: Not recognizing Multi-cores for render

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2018 5:37 pm
by thewalkerd
hayasidist wrote:I've had one instance of this with very high definition renders (8k - 4320p) - I'd written it off as a memory issue -- not enough available to the render engine / whatever because multicore works for everything else (I usually only use 1080p) -- and, since this was a one-off task, I'd just bitten the bullet and ignored the fact that renders took ages and never bothered to follow up.

I also had a lot of image layers - so, seeing this thread, I might try and isolate the cause … but my opening guess would be to do with memory.
hum... interesting.. the issue may be in one of those points you made..

I have plenty of ram 32 gb, and a i7 processor ...I'm rendering at higher resolutions than 1080p. It's on 4k, not 8k (3840x2160). ugh, I need to do it with this 4k res though.. not sure how to fix this when still rendering on higher res..

Re: Not recognizing Multi-cores for render

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2018 5:49 pm
by Greenlaw
In situations like this, I like to break a scene out into passes (i.e., Layer Comps) and assemble them in compositing. By limiting what the software is rendering in a given pass, you can ease up on memory and processor requirements. I always do this for CGI and VFX animations, and often do this for 2D animations too, whether I'm using Moho, TV Paint, or Harmony...especially when I need to render higher res.

Compositing programs generally have an easier time with assembling the passes because they're not also doing the animation calculations...that part has already been 'baked in' by the animation program.

Moho's Layer Comps Window is designed for this purpose. Moho Exporter works well with this too because it can split the Layer Comps into multiple render passes with a single click.

Re: Not recognizing Multi-cores for render

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2018 6:00 pm
by thewalkerd
Greenlaw wrote:In situations like this, I like to break a scene out into passes (i.e., Layer Comps) and assemble them in compositing. By limiting what the software is rendering in a given pass, you can ease up on memory and processor power requirement. I always do this for CGI and VFX animations, and often do this for 2D animations too, whether I'm using Moho, TV Paint, or Harmony...especially when I need to render higher res.

Compositing programs generally have an easier time with assembling the passes because they're not also doing the animation calculations...that part has already been 'baked in' by the animation program.

Moho's Layer Comps Window is designed for this, especially when used with Moho Exporter.
Yup, makes sense. I kinda did this already. I have some characters animated, and I only leave one per file, and only the char (nothing else on the file). That should reduce problems with render... ...but maybe I need to divide then even more, like rendering them limb by limb? ....that's kinda tiresome.. not even sure if it would be faster than rendering with only one core.

Re: Not recognizing Multi-cores for render

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2018 6:02 pm
by thewalkerd
UPDATE: DId a test, rendering on the same resolution as before, but rendering a very simple animation (that involves only 5 images), and it used all 4 cores!

Damn, thats actually bad ...means that it can't handle the other animations... maybe due to the ram memory (what's is so weird, since I have 32gb :S )

Re: Not recognizing Multi-cores for render

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2018 6:09 pm
by Greenlaw
thewalkerd wrote:...but maybe I need to divide then even more, like rendering them limb by limb? ....that's kinda tiresome.. not even sure if it would be faster than rendering with only one core.
Ugh, yeah, that would be a pain. I generally keep the character in a single Layer Comp pass, and only break out limbs when I need it for a specific compositing trick.

32MB does sound like it should be plenty...it's a lot more than I have at home. That said, the computer I use at work has 48GB and sometimes I max that out.

Re: Not recognizing Multi-cores for render

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2018 6:16 pm
by thewalkerd
Greenlaw wrote:
thewalkerd wrote:...but maybe I need to divide then even more, like rendering them limb by limb? ....that's kinda tiresome.. not even sure if it would be faster than rendering with only one core.
Ugh, yeah, that would be a pain. I generally keep the character in a single Layer Comp pass, and only break out limbs when I need it for a specific compositing trick.

32MB does sound like it should be plenty...it's a lot more than I have at home. That said, the computer I use at work has 48GB and sometimes I max that out.
I did a thing here and it seems to have fixed it so far! (at least with 2 complex animations I tested). I contacted the technician here at work, and he changed a windows configuration, so it always perceives all Processor Cores.. and seems like it helped... I think? hehe

It's working so far. Rendering in Moho with 4 cores

Re: Not recognizing Multi-cores for render

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2018 6:17 pm
by Greenlaw
If you use a lot of images, would it be possible to use a cropped or lower res version of the images? I sometimes need to do that with background paintings and character textures to reduce RAM/processor requirements.

Unfortunately, with Moho you can't easily replace an image if the resolution or dimensions is different from the original. I wish they would give us more options for how to import/replace images with regard to resolution and size. Moho always locks these properties to whatever the original image had. :(

Re: Not recognizing Multi-cores for render

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2018 6:18 pm
by Greenlaw
thewalkerd wrote:I did a thing here and it seems to have fixed it so far! (at least with 2 complex animations I tested). I contacted the technician here at work, and he changed a windows configuration, so it always perceives all Processor Cores.. and seems like it helped... I think? hehe

It's working so far. Rendering in Moho with 4 cores
That's cool! Can you share the steps for doing that? I don't need it right now but I might try if I run into trouble at home.

Oh, wait, is it using Task Manager to change Priority? I used to do that many years ago for 3D renders (like almost 20 years ago though.) :)

Re: Not recognizing Multi-cores for render

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2018 6:43 pm
by thewalkerd
Greenlaw wrote:That's cool! Can you share the steps for doing that? I don't need it right now but I might try if I run into trouble at home.
Sure :)

windows key + R> msconfig > Boot tab > Advanced options> Check Number of processors and change it to higher number> Make sure Maximum memory is not checked> Press ok and Apply


Thank you for all the help so far. The forum really helped me find a way ;)

Re: Not recognizing Multi-cores for render

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2018 7:31 pm
by Greenlaw
Thanks! I'm going to make a note of this and file under 'just in case'. :)