Vortex Studio 2023.10 Change Log
- Marc Lievin
- 1 What's new?
- 1.1 Content Packaging and Deployment
- 1.1.1 What’s changing
- 1.1.2 Why it matters
- 1.1.3 Additional details
- 1.2 Vortex Setup - Offline Installation Support
- 1.2.1 What’s changing
- 1.2.2 Why it matters
- 1.2.3 Additional details
- 1.3 Vortex Demo Scene - Unity integration
- 1.3.1 What’s changing
- 1.3.2 Why it matters
- 1.3.3 Additional details
- 1.1 Content Packaging and Deployment
- 2 System Requirements
- 2.1 License Requirements
- 2.2 Supported Platform
- 2.3 Hardware Requirements
- 2.4 Software Capabilities
- 2.4.1 Mongo DB
- 2.4.2 Qt
- 2.4.3 Python
- 2.4.4 Unreal Engine Integration
- 2.4.5 Unity Integration
- 2.4.6 Supported Compiler
- 2.4.7 Simulink/MATLAB
- 2.4.8 Supported 3D model File Types
- 2.4.9 Vortex Human
- 2.4.10 Vortex Vegetation
- 2.5 Licensing
- 2.5.1 Compatibility Notice
- 3 End-of-life Notice
- 4 Minor Improvements in Vortex Studio 2023.10
- 5 Fixed Issues in Vortex Studio 2023.10
- 6 Known Issues in Vortex Studio 2023.10
What's new?
Content Packaging and Deployment
What’s changing
CM-Labs is providing its users the recipes to package and deploy content created with Vortex Editor using VortexSetup.
Why it matters
Deploying content to a simulator, meant to be used by the Vortex Launcher should be easy. This way of packaging is standard to Vortex Studio and should be used by everyone making a Vortex-based simulator.
Additional details
Vortex Setup - Offline Installation Support
What’s changing
Vortex Setup was recently updated to connect to the new asset store. Vortex Setup is the central tool for the installation and deployment of Vortex Studio. Most Vortex packages have dependencies on one another and figuring them out can be complicated. Furthermore, CM-Labs has developed a package format ( .vxpackage) that Vortex Setup can understand but would be harder to process manually.
The content packages described above should be installed with Vortex Setup. In some cases, a simulator will not have Internet access or users want to deploy an internal package that is not part of the assets store, such as a proprietary content package. Vortex Setup is updated to support an “Offline mode”. Users can download Vortex Studio products and their components in a folder that can be re-used later on at a remote location. This mode should also be used to install content packages as explained above.
Why it matters
When deploying a simulator, it is not guaranteed that there will be internet access. With this offline mode, users can prepare an installation workspace for a remote installation. This allows users to use Vortex Setup to resolve the proper package to download and once everything is downloaded, the same tool is used to deploy Vortex Studio packages without internet.
Additional details
Vortex Demo Scene - Unity integration
What’s changing
Support on Vortex Launcher
After installing the Demo Scene package, you can now start the Vortex Launcher to see the working demo for Unity Integration.
Unity Integration Demo: Shows two demos using com.cmlabs.vortex.integration.unity which offer the full Unity workflow to integrate with Vortex and the combined features of our two previous integrations.
A Mobile Crane in an urban environment
Sports car on a Unity terrain
How previous integrations are still showcased in the other demo scenes
Unity Asset Bundle Integration Demo: Shows an Excavator that uses com.cmlabs.vortex.integration which relies on the use of Asset Bundle to use Unity as a renderer
Unity Standalone Demo: Shows a sports car driving on a Unity Terrain using com.cmlabs.vortex.integration.standalone
Terrain Streaming (Tech Preview)
Our new terrain streaming integration now transfers to Vortex game objects with colliders but no rigid bodies.
This is currently supported for objects with:
Box colliders
Sphere colliders
Other collider types are coming in upcoming releases.
We also now support doing mapping between the Unity physics material and the Vortex materials.
When loading a Vortex Scene containing a Material Table, we now create a Vortex Material Table GameObject found under the Vortex Scene GameObject. A Unity component can be found in the new GameObject that allows a user to map Unity PhysicsMaterials to Vortex Materials. The Unity PhysicsMaterials found in the Unity Project will automatically be discovered by the Vortex Material Table component. Unity colliders in the scene can be assigned with a PhysicsMaterials, which will later be mapped to a Vortex Material.
Why it matters
These new features allow users to use even more of the power of the Unity engine while leveraging the strength of Vortex Studio, getting the best of both worlds. The new demo scenes gives you the opportunity to see the feature in action and build upon it.
Additional details
Unity Integration: Integrating Vortex Studio with full Unity workflow - com.cm-labs.vortex.integration.unity
Terrain Streaming Integrating Unity terrains with Vortex
Legacy Integration:
System Requirements
License Requirements
Starting with Vortex Studio 2023.7, no license is needed to run a simulation of content created with Vortex Studio Editor (or purchased from CM Labs).
Since “running a simulation” is unlocked on any single computer, applications such as Python, Unity, or Unreal can be used to run a simulation containing Vortex Studio content, no matter the operating system, as long as the system is supported by Vortex Studio.
Vortex Studio Create applications, including Vortex Studio Editor and Vortex Studio Debugger, still require a license.
Whenever a Vortex Studio Activate feature is used in a simulation, a Vortex Studio license is required.
Supported Platform
Windows
Vortex Studio 2023.10 runs on the following platforms:
Microsoft Windows 10 (x64), version 22H2.
Microsoft Windows 11 (x64), version 22H2.
Linux
Not all features are available on the Linux operating system. See Features and Capabilities Overview for more details.
2022.8 is the last version supporting CentOS7 or equivalent.
An update to the latest Ubuntu LTS and equivalent operating systems is in progress.
Currently, Vortex Studio on Linux can only open content created on Vortex Studio (Windows) 2023.3 or earlier until this issue is fixed in a later release.
Using an earlier version of Vortex Studio on Windows to create content still works on Linux.
Hardware Requirements
Recommended Configuration for Vortex Create Applications
CPU Intel i7-9700 or better
RAM 32GB
GPU
Intel, NVIDIA, or AMD
at least 4 GB VRAM, Vulkan 1.3
Any computer running Vortex Studio Create or Activate must support AVX2 instructions set.
Software Capabilities
Mongo DB
Mongo DB is the database engine used in Vortex Activate.
The version supported is Mongo DB 4.2.
Qt
Vortex Studio uses a custom version of Qt 5.15.2.
Python
Unreal Engine Integration
Vortex Studio 2023.10 supports integration with Unreal Engine version 4.27.
Unity Integration
Vortex Studio 2023.10 supports integration with Unity Unity 2021.3.22f1 LTS.
Supported Compiler
Vortex Studio 2023.10 supports Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 (VC14) compiler and above.
GCC 7.3 is the supported compiler on Linux.
Simulink/MATLAB
Real-time UDP protocol of Simulink/MATLAB is supported.
Vortex S-Function block in Simulink is supported.
Supported 3D model File Types
The following 3D model file types can be imported into Vortex Studio Editor.
.cive, .dae, .fbx, .flt, .ive, .obj
.osg2, .osga, .osgb, .osgs, .osgt, .osgx, .shp
Vortex Human
In the editor, humans can be represented as a capsule and moved around with a script or an animation path extension.
Visualization of humans can be done in a simulator using Unity or Unreal.
Vortex Vegetation
In the editor, plants and trees can be represented as collision geometries.
Visualization of Vegetation can be done in a simulator using Unity or Unreal.
Licensing
Vortex uses RLM by Reprise Software™ for licensing.
See Licensing for more information.
Compatibility Notice
Between the Windows version and the Linux version
Between any Vortex version
Record-and-Playback as well as Keyframe files created with previous versions may not work with Vortex Studio 2023.10.
End-of-life Notice
Python 3.8 needs to be used.
Feature Snap to Surface in the Vortex Editor was removed.
Minor Improvements in Vortex Studio 2023.10
In addition to features documented in the “What's New”, minor improvements have been made during the development of Vortex Studio 2023.10:
ID | Summary |
|---|---|
VP-46691 | Convert Vortex Studio Licensing Tool Packages to .vxpackage format |
VP-46874 | Unity Usage - Remove unnecessary log messages when there is no Vortex Scene |
VP-46875 | Unity Usage - In the absence of a Vortex Scene, use Graphics Gallery prefab from asset bundle |
VP-46876 | Unity Usage - In the absence of a Vortex Scene, use Spline from asset bundle |
VP-46913 | Unity Usage - VHL observers are created properly and automatically when custom scripts are loaded first |
VP-46954 | VortexSetup should present the Vortex Studio product releases sorted from recent to older |
VP-46994 | Vortex Setup - Add Offline mode (Install from local driver) |
Fixed Issues in Vortex Studio 2023.10
Various bugs and workflow issues have been fixed during the development of Vortex Studio 2023.10:
ID | Summary |
|---|---|
VP-44537 | Unity Excavator Demo Scene: Dust particles do not show properly |
VP-45039 | Vortex Editor: Unused question mark visible in Save Changes dialogue box |
VP-45322 | Vortex Editor - Qt Display returns no warning when the referenced Window is not available |
VP-46549 | Vortex Launcher - Demo Scenes - Unity Integration Demo has HMI and Simulation load on same display |
VP-46814 | Vortex Editor - Demo Scene - Offshore scene crashes when grid is enabled |
VP-46815 | Vortex Editor - Demo Scene - The Debug display partitioner flickers with the Excavator |
VP-46868 | Vortex Editor - When clicking on a masked portion of a mesh with a masked material, the object can be selected |
VP-46916 | The HighlightCompositionRenderer can produce Vulkan Validation Errors |
VP-46920 | Unity Excavator Demo Scene: There are errors when digging soil |
VP-46955 | Vortex Editor - The rotation manipulator can crash the application |
VP-46966 | Vortex Editor - Demo Scene Link does not work |
VP-46967 | Vortex Player shows a warning at start |
VP-46975 | Vortex Launcher - Demo Scenes - Unity Standalone Demo - HMI and Simulation can load on same display |
VP-47064 | Unity - Terrain Streaming: Box collider as a child of another GameObject is not handled correctly |
VP-47074 | Unity - Associating gallery can results in weird rotation |
VP-47082 | Vortex Setup - Only one warning is being shown when there are multiple failing mandatory tags |
VP-47089 | Unity - Terrain Streaming: Box collider doesn't take into consideration the centre position |
Known Issues in Vortex Studio 2023.10
ID | Summary | Workaround |
VP-41437 | When a sound is created such that the listener and the emitter are exactly at the same location, or the listener is moving together with the emitter such that it is precisely above it, the sound that the operator hears becomes garbled. | This happens for monaural sound track when the listener and the emitter are moving in tandem while being either too close or aligned vertically. The workaround is keep the sound emitter and the listener separate and make sure they can't be move in a way where they could align with each other. |
VP-43810 | Memory blocks dumped, when terminating the application. | None. This memory leak is not growing, it's memory that should be returned before the end of the process. Requires a 3rd party update. |
VP-44315 | Memory leak related to VxContactMaterial when there is a contact upon termination of a VxCore application. | Removing all parts and collision geometries before destroying the VxUniverse ensures that any ongoing contact is invalidated before destroying the VxUniverse. Optionally, using the higher level VxSim API and loading content created in the Vortex Studio Editor seems to work around this issue as the content is automatically unloaded before the application is destroyed. |
VP-47110 | Vortex Editor can take upwards of 20 seconds to open | No workaround. This can happen on some systems when fetching the machine information. |
VP-47182 | Broken references in demo Unity project UnityIntegrationDemoUnityProject | When opening UnityIntegrationDemoUnityProject in Unity, the two Unity scenes do not point correctly to the associated Vortex Scene document. The workaround is to remove the current Vortex Scene game object, and use the Vortex menu Associate Vortex Scene. TerrainDemo must be associated with MobileCraneScene must be associated with
|
VP-46991 | When running the TerrainDemo demo scene, collisions between the Vortex SportsCar and box/sphere colliders causes the vehicle to receive random forces. | No workaround. |