ABC format to vrmesh

[seandunderdale]

Hey guys,

Ive got a question about alembic files and vrmesh / proxies. If I have a high poly alembic from Houdini, I know I can just "import proxy" and select the abc file and all works ok. But is it useful at all to convert the abc file to vrmesh using the ply2vrmesh command line, and then bringing in the proxy as a vrmesh?

Cheers!

[yolov]

I doubt that this would work, since .vrmesh can't store curves/hair or particles (if that's what your file contains) and then the ability to read .abc with vray proxy comes handy. I don't think there would be any benefits even if it contains a meshed simulation, so reading the abc directly with a proxy node would be the ideal solution.

[vlado]

Actually, Alex, .vrmesh files can store hair and particles just fine (Asen spent a lot of time to make it happen). One can use the ply2vrmesh command-line tool to convert an Alembic file to a .vrmesh file.

There are some advantages to using .vrmesh files in this way:
*) Depending on the specific data, .vrmesh files may be smaller;
*) ply2vrmesh can subdivide heavy geometry/hair/particles into chunks so that V-Ray can load them bit by bit;
*) Rendering with .vrmesh files starts a lot faster, especially if there are lots of objects in the file. The Alembic library is very slow to deal with caches that have lots of objects in them.
*) .vrmesh files store the viewport preview in the file and it can be loaded very quickly when the scene is opened.

Best regards,
Vlado

[seandunderdale]

Thanks guys! Very helpful.