What's new?

Improvements in Vortex Editor Renderer

We continue to bring more features and improvements to the new renderer of Vortex Editor - Vulkan Graphics Renderer in Vortex Editor

Tracks Animation

Massless Cables Improvements

The massless cables features are being improved before removing its tech preview status, see Massless Cable Technical Documentation .

The following use cases are supported :

extremal ring adjacent to any internal point
internal ring adjacent to any internal point
internal pulley adjacent to rings

We are working on improving the accuracy of the model when the rotation axis of the pulley is not perpendicular to the plane of reeving and therefore to the cable segment itself, e.g. in the case of a freely hanging block which can twist.

Removal of Python 2 Support

Vortex Studio 2023.5 is the last release to support Python 2 scripting.

Starting the next release, the remaining Python 2 extensions in your content will be automatically converted to the Python 3 Dynamics Script extension but the Python source files themselves (.py) won’t be and will require manual updates.

We highly recommend you complete your transition to the Python 3 scripting extension and API.

See the documentation for help on this.

System Requirements

VortexSetup and previous versions of Vortex Studio

When downloading an earlier version of the VortexSetup utility installer from the website, the tool is no longer capable of fetching the installation packages remotely.

The installation packages must be fetched from the Manual Process section. After copying them into the same folder as VortexSetup, VortexSetup will work normally.

The latest version of VortexSetup works properly.

Supported Platform

Vortex Studio 2023.5 runs on the following platforms:

Microsoft Windows 10 (x64), version 22H2.
Microsoft Windows 11 (x64), version 22H2.

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 systems is in progress.

Vortex Studio on Linux can only open content created on Vortex Studio (Windows) 2023.3 or earlier. This will be fixed in a later release. For the moment, use an earlier version of Vortex Studio on Windows to create content to work on Linux. The recommended version and the last supported version of Linux is 2022.8 and the same version on Windows needs to be used for the best results.

Hardware Requirements

Recommended Configuration for Vortex Editor

CPU Intel i7-9700 or better
RAM 32GB
GPU
- Intel, NVIDIA, or AMD
- 4 GB VRAM, Vulkan 1.3

Any computer running Vortex Studio Create or Activate must support AVX2 instructions set.

The Vortex OpenGL rendering module (named Cyclone) while still supported is now considered a legacy mode.

Vortex Studio Create now supports any graphics card using Vulkan technology.

For advanced simulation application rendering, we recommend using the Unity or Unreal graphics together with the Vortex integration plugin.

See Integrating Unity as Graphics Renderer in a Vortex distributed simulator and Integrating Vortex Studio with Unreal Engine.

Some monitors have factory refresh rates set to high frequencies, i.e. 144Hz. Vortex applications will process the graphical information at 60 Hz by default, which might lead to visual artifacts. Please set the monitor refresh rate so it matches the Vortex simulation rate.

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

Python 3.8 is supported. Vortex Studio contains an embedded version of python 3.8.6.

The corresponding Python or Anaconda distribution can also be used to include more modules in the scripts.

Python 2.7.13 might still be functional on Windows but its support has been removed in Vortex Studio.

See Converting Python 2 scripts to Python 3 Dynamics Script to upgrade your scripts

Unreal Engine Integration

Vortex Studio 2023.5 supports integration with Unreal Engine version 4.26.

Unity Integration

Vortex Studio 2023.5 supports integration with Unity 2021.3.16f1 LTS.

Supported Compiler

Vortex Studio 2023.5 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

The Vortex Human library is deprecated. It will be removed in a future version.

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

The Vortex Vegetation library is deprecated. It will be removed in a future version.

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.

Compatibility Notice

Backward compatibility

Files created with previous versions, up to 2 years, can be used in the newest release.

We recommend that you use the "Save All Child Documents" feature of the Vortex Editor to ensure that all components are properly saved.

We also recommend that you back up your assets before migrating to the latest version. When overwritten, they will not be recoverable in their original version. Assets include any files created with the Vortex Editor, Vortex Director or programmatically with the Vortex SDK, including: code, extensions, legacy parts, assemblies, mechanisms, galleries, scenes, setup files, simulator files and any other proprietary Vortex file.

Part documents no longer exists; Opening Assemblies in the editor will automatically merge it's part document into it. Opening a part file will create an empty assembly document with the part in it.

A VHL Interface extension in an Assembly document will automatically be converted in a Linking Interface.

Forward compatibility

Vortex is not forward compatible. The older releases of Vortex Studio cannot open files created in a newer release. Once a file is saved, it is associated to its version.

Between the Windows version and the Linux version

Vortex Studio on Linux can only open content created on Vortex Studio (Windows) 2023.3 or earlier. This will be fixed in a later release. For the moment, use an earlier version of Vortex Studio on Windows to create content to work on Linux. The recommended version and the last supported version of Linux is 2022.8 and the same version on Windows needs to be used for the best results.

Between any Vortex version

Record-and-Playback as well as Keyframe files created with previous versions may not work with Vortex Studio 2023.5.

End-of-life Notice

Python 3.8 needs to be used.

The CAD plugin feature is at the end of life and its support is discontinued.

The following CAD file types can be imported into Vortex Studio 2022.7 with the purchase license of the CAD Importer add-on.

.step, .3dxml, .stl, .catproduct, .stp, .catpart, .vrml, .cgr, .wrl, .jt, .sldasm, .sldprt, .x_t, .x_b

Feature Snap to Surface in the Vortex Editor was removed.

Minor Improvements in Vortex Studio 2023.5

In addition to features documented in the “What's New”, minor improvements have been made during the development of Vortex Studio 2023.5:

ID	Summary

ID	Summary
VP-45043	Support texture transforms on mapped textures in Vulkan Renderer
VP-45663	Track Animations Extension can be added to Assembly Document.
VP-45689	Application Joystick Extension can now be identified by name using the “Controller Name” field.
VP-45706	Vortex Setup: Uninstallation has its own workflow and is no longer mixed with the installation workflow
VP-45889	Massless Cable - Implement Ring-Ring-Pulley and Pulley-Ring-Ring Jacobians

Fixed Issues in Vortex Studio 2023.5

Various bugs and workflow issues have been fixed during the development of Vortex Studio 2023.5:

ID	Summary

ID	Summary
VP-44910	Vortex Editor: Shimmering on object junctions far from the camera
VP-45863	Vortex Editor: Using a setup file created from the “Slave with 2 windows.vxc” preset may crash with the Vulkan renderer
VP-45888	Vortex Editor: The graphics from the Tracks Animation extension are not showing when Vulkan is used
VP-46023	Vortex Editor: Crash when switching between two documents when the Vulkan renderer is used
VP-46043	Vortex Editor: Warehouse_ground in the Forklift.vxscene is blurry
VP-46220	VortexSetup: Cannot access download installers anymore

Known Issues in Vortex Studio 2023.5

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.

Vortex Studio 2023.5 Documentation

Vortex Studio 2023.5 Change Log