Enscape Reflections Issue

    Hi all,


    We're currently working on a project with extensive glazing to multiple buildings (utilising curtain walls), with some being in linked files.

    It seems that the reflections fail in some instances as can be seen in the attached.


    We've tried the latest Enscape version (3.4 and even all the way back to 2.8) without success.


    It's a real problem as we are not able to produce usable renders without extensive photoshopping.


    Attached Issue 1 example - the reflection should be showing another curtain wall matching the wall shown - instead it is 'missing' and one can only see the slab behind.

    Attached Issue 2 example - may be difficult to interpret, but the timber wall (Curtain Wall) around the reflected build is not shown in the reflection, however the timber 'roof' (Structural Framing) is.....


    Have tried various tricks to get around this even testing with default generic glass materials straight out of Revit and no change.


    Is this some issue with curtain walls and reflections in Enscape??

    Accurate and complex reflections in real time are compute intensive and can only be managed by higher end RTX series consumer graphic cards. You can test this by getting closer to the point of reflection and then noticing as you move away what is reflected also dissipates. What kind of graphic car do you have? I would recommend the Nvidia 3080 RTX as a minimum.

    Office PCs have RTX 4000's unfortunately, but will try and test with a 3080 which I have from home first.


    ,,,however, I would have thought that if the GPU was to run out of VRAM, that shouldnt stop Enscape from functioning properly, but essentially just be much slower, especially if trying to export a render...? So Enscape is saying that unless you have a 3080 at minimum, the software is unable to produce fully developed renders?


    FYI - moving closer doesn't always resolve the issues unfortunately, even if simplifying the scene etc...

    Hello there and don't mind me chiming in on this.


    Everything that is only visible through a reflection (and not directly on screen) is handled with ray-tracing. For objects that are already on the screen, we have other techniques to include them in reflections. For every object that is processed with ray-tracing, we have a geometry budget that we try to fit it into; if the budget is filled, then the objects that will be seen in the reflections will not be everything that is expected. That's why its important to simplify your models in terms of vertices as much as possible.


    Since you show an outdoor scene, I assume that there is a lot of geometry in the surrounding area and in the buildings. A workaround for your case would be to remove any geometry that isn't in the viewport and shouldn't be visible in the reflections. Only keep the objects that you know will be visible.


    We are discussing ways of providing the option to users who have very large VRAM to increase that geometry budget. But there is no guarantee of when (or if) that will be implemented yet.

    Hi Ilias,


    Thanks for adding comment.


    Apologies for my lack of technical knowledge, but am I understanding correctly, that even if one was to increase RAM (PC)and VRAM(better spec GPU), this would not increase poly count visible in reflections? Appreciate our current GPU with 4GB of VRAM is not great...therefore I might test with my own 3080 with 10 or 12 GB VRAM (cant recall which it has)...


    ...and yes, some of our videos, have many km² modelled, albeit lower poly in background to help flythroughs with additional context.


    Your other comment re RTX - does this mean that reflections will only work with RTX enabled? What would happen if it was disabled? Obviously I could test myself, but since I have your ear... ;).

    Hello again,


    If you increase your VRAM, this will lower your chances of getting crashes when you use very big models. This means that going to a 10GB VRAM system will surely increase the chances for better reflections but going from a 10GB to 12GB or 24GB will not for now.


    When RTX (hardware ray tracing) is not enabled, we have another method for ray tracing but it is very limited and doesn't provide the same quality as GPUs with hardware ray tracing supported (both NVIDIA and AMD).


    What I want to stress again is to inspect your models and try to lower the vertex count as much as possible. Enscape is designed with real-time performance in mind, so we provide the best results if the assets are as lightweight as possible.

    Appreciate your feedback.


    As I'm sure you hear all the time, Enscape is a game changer, and is now fully integral to all our projects....and with that (for better or worse), come greater expectations from the software as we continually push its boundaries.


    At least now I am fairly sure that it's not an issue with our model nor a setting we are missing - it's a management issue of said models and settings to help mitigate this issues.


    Thanks again, Ilias.

    Quote from Ilias Kapouranis

    inspect your models and try to lower the vertex count as much as possible

    I'm curious, do you mean the overall vertex count of the model or do you mean the vertex count of the objects being reflected?.

    I usually experience the reflection problem in the likes of vanity mirrors in bedrooms where for example, the proxy/high poly bed is reflected (or not).

    Things like a bed are naturally high poly, as to make them look 'real' requires creases and folds. Reducing them to simpler forms would defeat their purpose.

    I crunch things down as much as possible in Transmutr but there is only so far you can go before they start to look like they'd be suitable for Minecraft.

    Example from a pano:

    View looking into a bedroom:


    Reflection of the same view from the mirror in Ensuite:

    All the furniture, the window frames, and the tree screening is gone

    Quote from Jeppo03

    ,,,however, I would have thought that if the GPU was to run out of VRAM, that shouldnt stop Enscape from functioning properly, but essentially just be much slower, especially if trying to export a render...? So Enscape is saying that unless you have a 3080 at minimum, the software is unable to produce fully developed renders?

    Once the VRAM is "full" it isn't a matter of slowing down - the GPU just can't process any more. Enscape is pretty good at adapting to make things fit within the available VRAM, but as you increase model size and render resolution, at a certain point it is entirely possible that it just won't work. You can use GPU-Z to monitor your VRAM usage. (Windows Task Manager shows this also, but it doesn't always seem correct.)

    Hey Paul - what happens if you hide everything in the project that's not inside the room / bathroom? Do reflections improve?

    Thank you Ilias - this is good to know and very helpful.

    Quote from Paul Russam

    I'm curious, do you mean the overall vertex count of the model or do you mean the vertex count of the objects being reflected?

    Both can work towards the same end goal. One could have a normal-poly count bed but if they have some very high poly wall decoration or chairs, it could mean that the bed is not included because the others got in our ray tracing structures first, leaving no room for it.

    In 3.4 we added a way to provide higher priority to objects that are visible (both on screen and in mirrors) to improve this situation (not available for video renderings yet). We also increased our geometry limit because we found ways to process the geometry faster.

    Thanks Ilias Kapouranis, I haven’t been able to to get 3.4 working for me yet (another thread here) but it will eventually and I look forward to seeing its reflection results.


    Phil Read ill give that a test. If it works then I’ll have to do a bit of work with tags and scenes but that’s no biggie.