Project Takes a Long Time to Prepare Render and or Appears To Flicker with Team Render

Team Render: cache GI/AO to speed up prep and avoid flicker

Problem: Uncached Global Illumination (GI) and Ambient Occlusion (AO) force a prepass on every node, slowing preparation. Random‑seeded effects (MoGraph, Dynamics, GI, AO) may also evaluate differently per machine, causing flicker or inconsistencies.

Fix: Generate GI/AO caches first, then render with Team Render using those caches. Nodes will load the same precomputed data, which speeds up prep and keeps frames consistent.

Steps

1. Save project with assets
   • Use File > Save Project with Assets to create a self‑contained project folder. This ensures caches and external files are included.
2. Create the GI cache
   • Open Global Illumination settings and locate the cache options.
   • Enable Auto Save and Full Animation Mode.
   • Enable Prepass Only.
   • Render locally (do not use Team Render) to generate the cache files.
   • After the prepass completes, disable Prepass Only and Auto Save. Enable Auto Load and Skip Prepass (if present).
3. Create the AO cache
   • Open Ambient Occlusion settings.
   • Enable Auto Save and Full Animation Mode.
   • AO has no Prepass Only option. Enable Material Override to speed the prepass with a default grey material.
   • Render locally to generate the AO cache.
   • Disable Material Override, enable Auto Load, and disable Auto Save.
4. Render with Team Render
   • Start the Team Render job. With caches set to Auto Load, nodes skip prepass and use the same data, improving consistency and speed.

Related

For caching MoGraph, Dynamics, Volumes, and Particles for Team Render, see Cache simulations for consistent Team Render results.