FAQ

30% FASTER
If your render finishes within 5 min per slice on the farm you can change the custom slices to speed up the render farm without extra costs. By default every nodes gets a single frame, when you up the slice number, nodes get multiple frames before sending them to you again. This saving startup time and possible calculations from the project.

To do this: go to the advanced tab in the plugin and change the slice number. A good average number is 20 min per slice. So if your frame is taking 5 min, the slice number is 4 (20/5).

Here you can find a video about it:
Custom Slice Number


CHANGE PRIORITY AFTER SUBMISSION
You can change your priority while rendering or waiting in the queue. This can be helpful when you already submitted your job and you notice the long waiting line or you want to make sure your project keeps rendering.

To do this: Open the cloud manager and right click on your job. Click change render queue. This wil open a list where you can change the priority.

Here you can find a video about it:

Follow the steps below:
1. Do you have Blender installed on the default location?
PC: C:/Users/%username%/AppData/Roaming/Blender Foundation/Blender/%version%
MAC: /Users/%username%/Library/Application Support/Blender/%version%

If not, the cloud manager is not able to find your install and you need to manually add the Application Path. See the steps below:

- Open the cloud manager
- Click help on top of the page and select -> Preferences
- Open the Plugin Manager
- Right click on the empty field and select "Add"
- Select the application profile and the Root Application path
- Click Apply.

Use image sequences formats (jpeg, png, etc.), instead of movie formats (avi, mp4, etc.) or else it will not work on the farm.

In our new update Tile Rendering is as easy as it can be.

In you have a big still image click the "Tile Render" checkbox inside the Drop & Render Blender add-on. Now projects will be rendered on multiple machines.

To find your invoice, login to your account and click on your account name. There you see the tab with transactions. Click on the transaction to download the PDF file.

Remove your VAT number from your account and try again.
You can adjust your profile settings by clicking on your account name on the DropIt page.

If this is not working, please contact us via the live chat on the website.

Follow these steps:

1. You need to be in the country of your VAT registration. If your are currently not in the country of your VAT, please remove the number in your user profile. You can go there by clicking your Studio Name inside the drop it page (you need to pay the tax amount of your current location).

2. Your company name must match your VAT number. We do a check on the official EU taxation page. Check here if your settings are correct http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/.

3. You can always leave the VAT number open and get your taxes back in your own country.

We need to be very strict on this, we need to be able to prove your company for our administration.

We support all versions! How is that possible?

We use environment variables to re-create your version of Blender. So it doesn't matter if you are on the latest release or a release that is a year old. We've got you covered! Pretty cool right?

The plugin will auto detect your version.

We support all versions! How is that possible?

We use environment variables to re-create your version of Blender. So it doesn't matter if you are on the latest release or a release that is a year old. We've got you covered! Pretty cool right?

The plugin will auto detect your version.

The price calculator is an estimate, this is due to the many variables that come with rendering.

The most common problem is the startup and pre-calculation time. Since by default every node gets a single frame, each time a frame starts it needs to start Cinema 4D and load the project. With heavy geometry or objects this can take 1 or 2 min. After that, there are maybe startup calculations like simulations, GI, ect.

When you have render times under 10 min per frame you lose time and thus credits with each frame.

We made a fix for this called: Custom slice number. Where you feed multiple frames into one server.



If your are still having doubts about the costs please send us this information:
- Your workstation specs (Processor, GPU and memory installed).
- Your project specs (Amount of frames, time to complete a single frame).
- The name of your project that you've submitted to the farm.
- Optional: copy the log file from your project folder inside an email for us to see all the details.

We actually support all versions, all the latest releases but also older releases. This is applicable for every plugin we support.

Our Blender add-on is so smart that it will detect all your plugins and also the versions of your plugin. After that we create a Blender instance of your setup.

This way we eliminate version issues causing a way higher succes rate on your jobs.

You can expect that we always have the latest releases of all plugins. We update everything daily.

A pool is a selection of nodes that we have available. This option can be useful for test frames or single frames. Don't use this for all your renders because the real speed of a render farm comes with amount of nodes you get.

Here some examples:

ENTER: CPU
You will get the strongest nodes available. All these nodes have Cinebench scores over 3000. Good for single frames or quick test renders.

ENTER GPU
In this pool there are only GPU machines with 4 cards or more active. Being 4 times 2080 ti or 3090 cards.

ENTER MEMORY
Enter this if you need nodes with more than 64 gb of memory.

Our plugin is so intelligent that it will detect all your plugins and also what version you are using. By default all these things happen automatically.

For example, when you are using Redshift our plugin will check your version and use this on the farm. So it doesn't matter if you are on a very old release or the latest. We've got you covered. The same thing happens to FlipFluids, Octane or any Luxcore ect.

The custom plugin field is something that is used when we give you support. Maybe a version is not working correctly on your job. And with this we can give you access to other versions.

The replace button can overwrite the auto search, meaning that you have to enter everything manually. Again is something that is used while giving support.

Drop & Render made a very unique system when it comes to working with third party plugins. On our farm we have all versions of the plugins we support.

Here's how it works!

When you click the 'check scene' button in our plugin, we will go over your scene and check all active third party plugins. After that we check what version you are using. All this happens in the background, meaning that you don't have to do anything.

For example:
You are working with Redshift as your render engine and X-Particles for your particles simulations. Our plugin will detect your versions and use this to create environment variables on our farm. When you submit the job it will load your plugin versions. This way we eliminate version differences, making sure your renders will come out like you created them.

We always have the latest releases ready, but you can always contact us to make sure.

Follow the troubleshoot steps below:

- Log in to the cloud manager.
- Make sure to install the cloud manager on the default location.
Mac: /Applications/DropandRender
PC: C://Program Files/SquidNetSoftware/DropandRender/
- Reset the advanced tab inside the C4D plugin.

Still not working, please send us the log file that is inside your project folder.

With the new OS for Mac you need to allow the cloud manager inside Security & Privacy.

To do this, open up System Preferences -> Security & Privacy and start the cloud manager. Hit cancel when you get a warning.

After that the cloud manager will show up in the Security & Privacy settings. Hit allow and you can now open the cloud manager.

Soon we will have a OS certificate that will eliminate this problem.

You can find an overview of all supported versions, add-ons and engines over here:
https://blender.dropandrender.com/blender-render-farm

Security is one of our top priorities. The process is fully automatic, encrypted (nobody can see your project), and files are automatically deleted after 21 days. With the cloud render you even have the option to render directly to your harddrive, so there won't be an output on our servers!

Everything is encrypted by OpenSSL AES-256 and 2048-bit RSA data encryption. Your projects are safe with us.

Yes! We have tile rendering for all supported applications. Please note that the cost calculator is not appropriate for tile rendering.

24/7 and 365 days a year!

No problem, our support team is here to help you to make sure that your render comes out great. When in need of support, please contact us via our website for live chat support.

We will e-mail you the invoice after you bought your render credits. The invoice can also be downloaded as a PDF from your user profile.

As long as you don't delete your Drop and Render account, your render credits will not expire!

When you create an account, the free render credits will be automatically added.

Contact us and we will check if we can add the plugin to our list.

To make your payment as easy as you want, you can choose out of many payment methods: American Express, Apple Pay, Bancontact(BE), Carte Bleue(FR), Dankort(DK), EPS Ãœberweisung(AT), iDeal(NL), Giropay(DE), Maestro, Mastercard, PayPal, SOFORT(EU), Visa.

Yes we do! We have 1.000.000 CUDA cores waiting for you!

The cost calculator can't be used to estimate the cost of still images (Tile Rendering). Please only use the calculator for animations and keep in mind that it is only an estimate.

Drop & Render consists of a small and dedicated team that caters to your every render-need. With our home base in The Netherlands, we provide our service to professionals and companies all over the world.

Our main goal is to create advanced, but user-friendly tools to speed up your workflow. Whether you are a busy independent contractor or a member of a big studio in need of many different features, we at Drop & Render help you to make those tight deadlines and save on time and money.

We are a team of hard working 3D software enthusiasts that operate seven days a week. We are always looking into new ways to improve our service and getting your images to you in just a blink of the eye (not literally, although that would be awesome)!

Visit this page for a comprehensive list of all software supported by Drop & Render. For Blender, we support nearly all major render engines and plugins.

‌Supported Blender

The best part? We always support your version. Our Blender plugin intelligently detects all your plugins and their versions. Then, we replicate a Blender environment matching your setup, virtually eliminating version-related issues and significantly increasing the success rate of your projects.

Rest assured, we consistently offer the latest versions of all plugins, with daily updates

For a quick estimate, utilize our price calculator available on our website.

Pricing

For a more detailed calculation, the most accurate method is to submit a few frames to the render farm and multiply this by the total number of frames you need to render.

Another option is our Deadline Control feature. This tool helps us better understand your deadline and maximum budget, allowing you to submit your job with confidence, knowing it aligns with your requirements.

Learn more about Deadline Control in this video:

For Existing Account Holders
If you already have an account, please navigate to your dashboard and click on the support page. Our dedicated team is available to assist you with any questions you might have.

For New or Non-Account Holders
Don't have an account yet? No problem! Feel free to use the chat system available on our website for immediate assistance.

Direct Contact for Additional Inquiries
Should you have questions that our support system cannot address, please reach out to us directly at info(at)dropandrender(dot)com.

Our Business Hours
Monday to Friday: 9 AM to 6 PM
Saturday and Sunday: 11 AM to 5 PM
Time Zone: CET (Central European Time)
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Our Headquarters
Prinsenstraat 12
3311 JS
Dordrecht / Rotterdam
The Netherlands

Official Details
VAT Number: NL863831965B01
Chamber of Commerce: 86013165