Kernel: is often set to вЂњPATH TRACINGвЂќ.

More kernels can be added and will be, such as the вЂњAnime KernelвЂќ that OTOY is working on:

Instead of having one rendering kernel with X or Y algorithms, we get the choice to change the kernel (and so, the algorithm(s)), depending on the scene/project. Rendering Kernels in Octane are similar to what other renderers like Renderman, call вЂњ IntegratorsвЂќ. Is the fourth kernel that is a very handy вЂњutility kernelвЂќ containing various types of information about the scene. This is why, for most situations, the Path-Tracing Kernel is preferred. PMC also handles well volumetric scenes.Д«EWARE: PMC Kernel does not support some Octane features and is more limited in that regard. The PMC kernel is great in scenes with difficult lighting to ray-trace/calculate but also shines at rendering caustics relative to the PT kernel, yet, for caustics, it is recommended to wait for the new PPM solver coming to Octane 2021. In most cases, this kernel is 'overkill' and the PT Kernel will do just fine. Rendering with PMC creates physically accurate lighting and caustic effects and is generally produces the highest quality result but can also take the most time to render depending on the scene. PMC Kernel The PMC Kernel is a custom mutating kernel designed specifically for GPU rendering.In these situations the PMC render kernel is the better choice. The Path tracing kernel may have difficulty rendering scenes that use small light sources and will struggle to render caustic properly. The increase in quality does come with the cost of increased render times. Path-Tracing Kernel The Path Trace and PMC render kernels are the best choice for rendering 'physically based, photo realistic' images.The Direct Lighting kernel takes 'rendering-shortcuts' and will not yield photo-realistic results, however because of its speed it can be the ideal choice for rendering simpler scenes that can benefit from faster-rendering calculation. Direct Lighting Kernel The Direct Light Kernel is generally used for faster preview rendering.Optimizing the settings of each kernels is crucial to speed up rendering time or achieve a specific result.

Octane has currently three main different kernels (rendering algorithm вЂњmodesвЂќ) : Direct Lighting (DL), Path Tracing (PT) and Population Monte Carlo (PMC, similar to MLT). The (currently) three (four-ish) available Kernels Many Octane users have the default render settings set as commonly seen online, or a misused/misconception of some parameters. This aspect of Octane is important and highly overlooked by many. Octane is in a sweet spot between enough-controls exposed and ease-of-use. There are simpler as well as a lot more time-consuming render-settings in other renderers. Octane has fairly simple render-settings.

GPU rendering is generally speaking harder to predict than CPU rendering.

Online octane render farm