Vortex Studio 2023.8 Change Log
- Marc Lievin
- 1 What's new?
- 2 System Requirements
- 2.1 License Requirements
- 2.2 VortexSetup and previous versions of Vortex Studio
- 2.3 Supported Platform
- 2.4 Hardware Requirements
- 2.5 Software Capabilities
- 2.5.1 Mongo DB
- 2.5.2 Qt
- 2.5.3 Python
- 2.5.4 Unreal Engine Integration
- 2.5.5 Unity Integration
- 2.5.6 Supported Compiler
- 2.5.7 Simulink/MATLAB
- 2.5.8 Supported 3D model File Types
- 2.5.9 Vortex Human
- 2.5.10 Vortex Vegetation
- 2.6 Licensing
- 2.6.1 Compatibility Notice
- 3 End-of-life Notice
- 4 Minor Improvements in Vortex Studio 2023.8
- 5 Fixed Issues in Vortex Studio 2023.8
- 6 Known Issues in Vortex Studio 2023.8
What's new?
Improved Unity Integration
We are excited to announce the release of our latest integration for Vortex Studio and Unity, which brings together the best features of our previous integrations and introduces new powerful capabilities. This new integration provides a seamless experience for developers seeking to enhance their simulations and take advantage of the Unity environment.
Our new integration provides a full Unity workflow, allowing you to create and manage your simulations entirely within Unity. The new integration also brings expanded support for distributed simulation. With features like cable systems, earthworks, and two-way communication between Vortex and Unity via VHL interfaces, you can now create complex and synchronized simulations across multiple machines.
Integrating Vortex Studio with Unity
New Unity Terrain Streaming
Part of our new integration is the support of Unity terrains with Vortex Studio. The only step required to integrate your custom Unity terrain is to add a Vortex Terrain component to the Unity terrain GameObject. If required, Vortex contact materials can be mapped to the Terrain layers, allowing for easy customization of the dynamic properties.
Unity VortexTerrain support is still early in development and some limitations exists. More details can be found in here: Integrating Unity terrains with Vortex
Vortex Editor Improvements
Graphics gallery nodes or collision geometries may be individually rendered as wireframes by selecting the objects (or a parent object that contains them as children), right-clicking and selecting Toggle Wireframe.
In Vortex Editor, blending transparent objects is now done on a per pixel basis.
This feature allows a more realistic rendering for overlapping transparent surfaces.
Next release will provide configuration in Options.
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 requires a license.
Whenever a Vortex Studio Activate feature is used in a simulation, a Vortex Studio license is required.
VortexSetup and previous versions of Vortex Studio
VortexSetup is no longer capable of fetching the installation packages remotely.
They packages must be downloaded from the website before being installed by the VortexSetup application, Web Asset Store - CM Labs
This issue will be corrected in a later release.
Supported Platform
Windows
Vortex Studio 2023.8 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
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 2023.8 supports integration with Unreal Engine version 4.27.
Unity Integration
Vortex Studio 2023.8 supports integration with Unity Unity 2021.3.22f1 LTS.
Supported Compiler
Vortex Studio 2023.8 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 2023.8.
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 2023.8
In addition to features documented in the “What's New”, minor improvements have been made during the development of Vortex Studio 2023.8:
ID | Summary |
|---|---|
VP-46418 | Unreal plugin updated to support 4.27. |
VP-46480 | Vortex Simulator: New Equipment options page |
Fixed Issues in Vortex Studio 2023.8
Various bugs and workflow issues have been fixed during the development of Vortex Studio 2023.8:
ID | Summary |
|---|---|
VP-46356 | Prevent SimulatorDescription from automatically adding the "instructor" line with every Vortex Launcher instance |
VP-46448 | Unity Integration: Vortex Player simulation pause button does nothing |
VP-46452 | Vortex Launcher: Gets stuck on splashscreen for a long time |
VP-46453 | Vortex Launcher: Splashscreen disappears if you click on it |
VP-46495 | Vortex Launcher: Cannot stop a scenario |
VP-46504 | Vortex Launcher: Unity application doesn’t always launch |
VP-46528 | Unity Integration: VortexMechanism and VortexAssembly have opposite offsets when moving the assembly instead of the mechanism game object |
VP-46594 | Vortex Editor: Closing a file can crash the application |
Known Issues in Vortex Studio 2023.8
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. |