System 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).

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.

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 major graphics cards using Vulkan technology as listed above.

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.

MongoDB is the database system used by the Legacy Vortex Console. The technology is end-of-life and new versions of Mongo will not be supported by Vortex Studio.

The version supported is Mongo DB 4.2.

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.

The Vortex Human library is deprecated. It will be removed in a future version. It is no longer possible to create humans.

Visualization of humans can be done in a simulator using Unity or Unreal.

The Vortex Vegetation library has been removed from Vortex studio. It is not supported anymore.

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.

It's important to backup your assets before migrating to the latest version, as overwritten files will not be recoverable in their original state. Assets encompass a wide range of files created using the Vortex Editor, Vortex Director, or programmatically with the Vortex SDK, such as code, extensions, legacy parts, assemblies, mechanisms, galleries, scenes, setup files, simulator files and other proprietary Vortex file types.

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.

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.

The Legacy Vortex Console is no longer being developed and its technology is considered deprecated. To make Vortex-based Simulator, the Vortex Launcher is the new interface to use.