Autodesk Stingray

[chuck]

Any thought on this technology vs Lumion etc? I work at a firm that uses sketchup for the majority of the SD level visualizations, with Vray for Sketchup and Lumion. I've spent a fair amount of time trying to get SU models into UE4 without much luck. The UV mapping is a real issue for quality images/animations.

 

Edited August 7, 2015 by chuck

[philippelamoureux]

I'm pretty sure it's going to work like Unreal engine but ''integrated'' with Maya in some kind of way, like not having to export/import. If they use photon mapping for their G.I then you'll still need correct uv maps and unwrap on each objects. Now that the workflow is getting easier everyday with unreal, I don't really see too many advantages. I guess materials and lighting will translate from Maya to Stingray, stuff like that. The demo scenes in the trailer aren't very appealing to me right now tho! We'll have to see.

[jamesgallagher]

Has anyone heard/done anything with Stingray? I haven't heard any hype about it at all.

[philippelamoureux]

I guess some people are trying it as we speak. It was released 2 weeks ago only iirc!

[scotttaylor1]

It looks okay but the results from other engines look more promising now, but we have to see what people come up with. I'm guessing the workflow should be easier to get the models from Revit->Stingray should be simple so it would be an obvious choice for people already using the Autodesk suite to get started in realtime archvis.

[jamesgallagher]

I thought the workflow from Revit was the same and that it still needed UVW mapping... I'm not sure though. I believe you can have a live link from 3ds Max which would be pretty handy in some cases.

 

I still haven't seen anything being shown off on Stingray, let alone anything that could compete with UE4 or Unity.

[brunolandry]

Hi guys, if you have any question regarding Stingray, let me know. I'll be glad to answer them if possible !

[scotttaylor1]

How are you finding it? Have you used other game engines or just have experience with the autodesk suite? are you an Autodesk rep? Just asking because of your photo

[brunolandry]

Hi Scott,

No I'm not a rep, I work with the dev team. I was a 3dmax and Vray user in the design viz industry for almost 15 years, but prior to this new job at Autodesk I had absolutely no experience with game engine. If some of you tried Stingray I would be curious to have your comments and feedback to see how we can improve the software for the design viz market. But again, I'm not here to sell anything, I just want to make a better product !

[philippelamoureux]

I'd like to know if there are some cool features that are really a game changer for real-time viz. I use Unreal engine and it's free so it's hard to beat.

 

 

Is there something Maya can do to speed up the process of baking lightmaps in Stingray? (think something like what Otoy is doing with their octane render plugin for ue4. Something to replace the baked lighting of Unreal).

 

 

Lightmaps are what makes realtime viz a bit more complicated than offline viz. You need to take a bunch of stuff into consideration when you create a scene.

 

 

Is stingray VR-ready? plug and play as in Unreal?

 

 

thanks

[Guest dialog]

I have a few ideas:

 

First, the ability to render out image sequences is a must for arch viz. The same controls found in 3ds max for that needs to be in stingray. Keep in mind, the majority of people using 3ds max for arch viz have zero knowledge of any type of coding and are VISUAL people. Must be easy to use and FAST.

 

Integrating direct support for VRay materials.

 

The ability to EASILY keyframe or have 3ds max scenes linked in easily that will ready keyframing.

 

Quick and easy way to package projects for use on ipads, phones and any other way clients in arch viz may need to easily view projects.

 

More TUTORIALS... not nearly enough out there and the documentation is very limited. Hard to compete with UNREAL when they have hours and hours of stuff easily accessible.

[philippelamoureux]

I think support for vray materials could be very interesting for people. Some find it difficult to adjust to the slate material editor of Unreal because it's more math-based.

 

Maybe some built-in powerful tools to uv unwrap objects easily and fast!

[jimbuchanan2]

The live link feature looks sweet and will save a lot of time. Ease of use is very important.

 

Quick conversion of materials used within 3d Studio Max to Stingray format. That means easily converting the following materials to the Stingray format: Standard, Arch and Design, Vray and Corona. This one feature would provide a greater incentive to choose Stingray over Unreal for me, particularly as

Unreal is so visually appealing.

 

Stingray could also have a one button change of workspace for those already using Max or Maya (material creation, layout, docking etc).

Wouldn't that be user friendly;)

 

Also final render output to be as close to vray or corona or better! (using them as plugins within Stingray would be great too)

 

But it needs to be done quickly as main players are being established now and the VR world is fast approaching.

Edited January 19, 2016 by jimbuchanan2

[brunolandry]

I'd like to know if there are some cool features that are really a game changer for real-time viz. I use Unreal engine and it's free so it's hard to beat.

 

 

Is there something Maya can do to speed up the process of baking lightmaps in Stingray? (think something like what Otoy is doing with their octane render plugin for ue4. Something to replace the baked lighting of Unreal).

 

 

Lightmaps are what makes realtime viz a bit more complicated than offline viz. You need to take a bunch of stuff into consideration when you create a scene.

 

 

Is stingray VR-ready? plug and play as in Unreal?

 

 

thanks

 

 

Hi Philippe,

Unfortunately, I'm not too familiar with Maya or Octane, but I would say that the "live link" between Max and Stingray (or Maya and Stingray) is a very nice feature. I can ask about the Maya / baking to the Maya team. I've more experience with a 3dsmax / V-ray pipeline.

 

For now Stingray is VR-ready (with Occulus), and of course more device will be supported in the near future. There's a template for VR and a demo scene on the Creative Market (the subway scene). What devices you wish we would support next ?

 

thanks for your feedback !

[brunolandry]

I have a few ideas:

 

First, the ability to render out image sequences is a must for arch viz. The same controls found in 3ds max for that needs to be in stingray. Keep in mind, the majority of people using 3ds max for arch viz have zero knowledge of any type of coding and are VISUAL people. Must be easy to use and FAST.

 

Integrating direct support for VRay materials.

 

The ability to EASILY keyframe or have 3ds max scenes linked in easily that will ready keyframing.

 

Quick and easy way to package projects for use on ipads, phones and any other way clients in arch viz may need to easily view projects.

 

More TUTORIALS... not nearly enough out there and the documentation is very limited. Hard to compete with UNREAL when they have hours and hours of stuff easily accessible.

 

Hi Desmond,

Yes the ability to render out images sequences and/or video has been ask by many users and beta users, especially in the design viz market. We will certainly look closely at this feature.

Support for VRay materials is already possible (with Stingray v1.1, see the release notes)

 

You can import texture maps from V-Ray materials with the following file name properties:

texmap_diffuse

texmap_self_illumination

texmap_bump

texmap_opacity

 

For keyframing, I'm not sure to understand. You can animate an object in 3dsmax and export separate animation clip using the Game Exporter (available in 3dsmax 2016 EXT1). It's also possible to add keyframe to units in Stingray by using the Story Editor.

 

Yes iOS support is available, you can deploy a project to your mobile device, see

for a direct connect to test your project.

 

The learning material is big area of improvement and we are looking at this. Is there particular subject that you would like to be covered ? The Stingray forum is a good place to get more info.

 

thanks !

[brunolandry]

I think support for vray materials could be very interesting for people. Some find it difficult to adjust to the slate material editor of Unreal because it's more math-based.

 

Maybe some built-in powerful tools to uv unwrap objects easily and fast!

 

Hi again Philippe,

has I said in the previous post, V-ray material are now supported in Stingray v1.1

But if you have complex V-ray material, it's better to make sure you have a bitmap file in the diffuse map slot, if you have complex subtree with gradiant, blend, color correction, these won't be supported. You can also create Stingray material in 3dsmax (

), but personally, I prefer to do the material editing in Stingray. By the way the Dan Matlack video are a very good source of information.

[brunolandry]

The live link feature looks sweet and will save a lot of time. Ease of use is very important.

 

Quick conversion of materials used within 3d Studio Max to Stingray format. That means easily converting the following materials to the Stingray format: Standard, Arch and Design, Vray and Corona. This one feature would provide a greater incentive to choose Stingray over Unreal for me, particularly as

Unreal is so visually appealing.

 

Stingray could also have a one button change of workspace for those already using Max or Maya (material creation, layout, docking etc).

Wouldn't that be user friendly;)

 

Also final render output to be as close to vray or corona or better! (using them as plugins within Stingray would be great too)

 

But it needs to be done quickly as main players are being established now and the VR world is fast approaching.

 

Hi Jim,

Yes we are of course focusing on the ease of use between the software (Revit /3dsmax / Stingray), that's the "Live Design" approach.

I agree that the conversion of materials is a big deal for users and that's something we are closely looking at.

 

For some of you that may be interested, I would suggest that you apply to our Beta program, here you can get access to a tech preview for Revit and you'll get access to the last Beta version of Stingray + a direct contact with developers on the Beta forum... Also by signing up, you'll be under NDA so we can share more information of what's coming in next releases.

 

thanks for your feedback Jim !

[Guest dialog]

Oh good to hear these notes.

 

I think a full in depth video tutorial series on a beginner course on how to use the software, right through to a final deliverable at an advanced level. I find a lot of users in our office will struggle to pick up software unless it has quick and easy access to in depth tutorials. Being from Arch Viz, I would love to see a series on taking absolute massive projects in revit (think airports, hospitals, towers) cleaning them up and bringing them into stingray for arch viz purposes. Designers and clients want to have this access on their phones which would bring a whole new level of optimization to the models.

[brunolandry]

Oh good to hear these notes.

 

I think a full in depth video tutorial series on a beginner course on how to use the software, right through to a final deliverable at an advanced level. I find a lot of users in our office will struggle to pick up software unless it has quick and easy access to in depth tutorials. Being from Arch Viz, I would love to see a series on taking absolute massive projects in revit (think airports, hospitals, towers) cleaning them up and bringing them into stingray for arch viz purposes. Designers and clients want to have this access on their phones which would bring a whole new level of optimization to the models.

 

Hi, yes I completely agree with you, and that's something we are working on.

There's a complete project on the game side, having the equivalent on the design viz side would be the best.

If Revit 3d dataset is your main source of data, I would really suggest that you check this tech preview on labs : http://projectexpo.autodesk.com/

You'll also get access to Stingray Beta.

thanks !

[Shaun Hamm]

Really interested in this. Is there a component to create a realtime presentation file that can be distributed like unity creates?

[brunolandry]

Hi Shaun,

yes it's possible to deploy and package your project to Windows (.exe), Android, iOS, PS4 and Xbox.

Also Oculus is supported and HTC Vive in progress.

Let me know if you have any other questions !

[Shaun Hamm]

cool, thanks. Gonna play around with the trial. Currently use a sketchup to max/vray workflow so looking forward to seeing how seamless it is.