Page 1 of 1

Rendering Animated VDBs in UE4

PostPosted: Tue Dec 01, 2020 12:49 am
by Jack9333
Hi all,
I've been having a blast testing out the ue4 plugin as well as utilizing ORBX files for scene export/import.
I ran into a few problems I'm hoping you could help me out with.

-I can't seem to figure out how to animate my imported VDB via the UE4 sequencer. Is this possible, and if so how?

-Additionally, it appears that the parameters on the vdb are animated, and any modifications I make to them are overridden due to this animation.
Is there any way I can modify the keys through the nodes in the standalone?

https://i.imgur.com/qhDgNu1.png

All the best,
Ryan

Re: Rendering Animated VDBs in UE4

PostPosted: Fri Dec 04, 2020 1:05 pm
by EvolverInteractive
No you don't bring the VDB into unreal that way. I would recommend just bring it into the OctaneGUI and importing it there.

Re: Rendering Animated VDBs in UE4

PostPosted: Fri Dec 04, 2020 4:03 pm
by ChrisHekman
The UE4 sequencer should animate vdbs that are contained in ORBX proxies by changing the animation time in octane.

Atm there is no way to animate settings inside orbx proxies with blueprints or the sequencer. Blueprint/settings animation support is on the feature list.

Re: Rendering Animated VDBs in UE4

PostPosted: Fri Dec 04, 2020 4:09 pm
by EvolverInteractive
Proxy works too, check your scale it can get crazy, I wish there was an empty actor I could place in unreal and plug it into a volumetric light.

Re: Rendering Animated VDBs in UE4

PostPosted: Sat Dec 05, 2020 11:33 am
by Jack9333
ChrisHekman wrote:The UE4 sequencer should animate vdbs that are contained in ORBX proxies by changing the animation time in octane.

Atm there is no way to animate settings inside orbx proxies with blueprints or the sequencer. Blueprint/settings animation support is on the feature list.


Thanks for the info both of you!

I made some progress and am at the point where I can animate my vdb via the OctaneGUI, however I can't seem to get the sequencer to have any effect on the time in octane.
In other words, scrubbing in OctaneGUI updates animated orbxs. Scrubbing the UE sequencer doesn't update the render.
Any ideas on how to get the two synced up?

Re: Rendering Animated VDBs in UE4

PostPosted: Sat Dec 05, 2020 5:53 pm
by EvolverInteractive
Here is a quick Youtube video I made for you, Importing a VDB and animation. Sorry I can't get the frames to line up. I know what you mean.

https://youtu.be/btunEvwU9o0

Re: Rendering Animated VDBs in UE4

PostPosted: Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:03 am
by Jack9333
EvolverInteractive wrote:Here is a quick Youtube video I made for you, Importing a VDB and animation. Sorry I can't get the frames to line up. I know what you mean.

https://youtu.be/btunEvwU9o0


Hey thanks a bunch for taking the time to create a vid outlining your workflow!

So from what I understand, there is no way to currently preview animated VDBs in octane using only the ue4 sequencer. To preview a certain frame you'd have to scrub in your sequencer and then scrub in the OctaneGUI as well.
You then export an ORBX via sequencer to view the animated VDB.

I'll give this a shot and see where it gets me and will follow up later with any questions / insight.

Thank you!