Unreal Developers Kit (UDK) for Architectural Visualization

[Anonymous]

I've had a good look but could not find any mention of UDK for Architectural Visualization within the forums here.

VBE is a wonderful tool but wouldn't it be great if it could incorporate the environmental effects seen developed by users of UDK, such as;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV802r_Pr0k

or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEi7o2Z10aY&feature=related

Curious to know if others have also explored UDK.

[Anonymous]

Check these guys out - http://www.tripod3d.com/vie.html.

Unity3D looks interesting now too. OK, there is nothing new about Real Time Rendering, but now the quality is sufficient for real world stand alone presentations which I do often get asked for. What puts me off is the time investment involved in rebuilding your model in the UDK (or other gaming) environment, when the basics are already in Archicad. While Gaming engines like UDK, Crytek, and Unity can produce the goods, it looks like they need a fair bit of wrangling.

Twinmotion and Lumion3D take the Real Time Rendering a step further, focusing on the ArchiViz industry which surely has advantages. Unfortunately Lumion3D does not yet offer a stand alone export. From what I can tell VBE is not quite the same quality as Twinmotion or Lumion3D.

For me the quality is a real issue. The point of the exercise is communication of your vision. If the stand alone is too clunky or unrealistic this distracts the viewer from understanding the model.

I would like to see one of these technologies licensed right into Archicad - this would be a great way for Graphisoft to get ahead of the curve again. Eventually this will have to be built into packages like Archicad just to keep them competitive I'm sure - what isn't clear is how long that will take. I hope the advancement in technology has boosted the pressure a notch.

Then there is the whole iOS thing - UDK and Unity3D are already there too...

[stefan]

For Unity3D I suggest to couple it with Cinema4D (expensive, I know).

ArchiCAD > Exchange Plugin > Cinema4D
Cinema4D > FBX > Unity3D

What is nice is that you can update the ArchiCAD model.

Ensure you create a proper view, so you always export with the same Model View options and layer combination. Save the 3D models into the c4d format (using the free Exchange plugin) and merge this model into the C4D project, which updates the Cinema4D geometry, while leaving materials and rendering settings intact.

You can then reload the FBX model in Unity3D: actually, Unity sees a C4D file and opens Cinema4D in the background, exporting the scene to FBX.

Updates are almost automatic, as the placement, material assignment and other aspects are retained.

So once you are through the conversion process, it can be quite flexible and usable while maintaining the ArchiCAD Master Model.

And you can export your interactive model into a web-applet (for viewing inside most modern browsers) or as a standalone Windows or Mac app. And you can (with an additional license) export into iPhone or Android too. The basic version of Unity3D is free, the basic iPhone and Android editions are not.

[Anonymous]

Stefan & Geoff

Nice to see others utilising gaming engines. I've also dabbled with importing
and Stefan's suggestions to simplify the process are great.

Sure, VBE offers 'one click' access but I was dazzled with the environments that can be navigated in real time in the gaming engine options.

I'm curious to know whether either of you use VBE and if so, do you use it more or less that your alternative presentations applications?

[vfrontiers]

Tripod looks great...

[stefan]

I have used VBE to test, but while it is nicely integrated and the Global Illumination lighting is nice (and sorely lacking inside ArchiCAD itself), I prefer a "real" game engine, such as Unity3D as it gives you total control.

I'm now learning further (there are some nice Unity3D books from Packt Publishing) to get to the next level: more interaction and better looking graphics. To control all of this, you need access to the scripting and reap the benefits of an intermediate 3D animation tool, such as Cinema4D or 3ds max.

Oh, and as I'm not working in architectural practice but in academic research, my priorities and focus might be totally different from others.

In fact, when you are doing architectural design for a living and only need to do something interactive occasionally, Virtual Building Explorer is a nice solution, as it does not require learning a complete set of other programs.

[Anonymous]

Stefan

Agreed, Unity offers control and creation of environment that far surpasses VBE.

Also agree that VBE (for now) may be adequate for most and easy to use due to simplified controls and access from within ArchiCAD.

My interest lays primarily with improved interactivity, lighting and physics.

I'm also curious about the focus of your research (if you're able to divulge such) and the extent to which you study the actual design/input method (another gripe of mine).

The increasing number of hacks (i.e. Kinect, Nintendo Wii etc) which offer alternative methods of design input and manipulation, coupled with improvements in computer power & gaming engines will see the next wave of innovations in how we approach design (not just architectural).

[stefan]

ferokollar wrote:
Stefan
I'm also curious about the focus of your research (if you're able to divulge such) and the extent to which you study the actual design/input method (another gripe of mine).

The increasing number of hacks (i.e. Kinect, Nintendo Wii etc) which offer alternative methods of design input and manipulation, coupled with improvements in computer power & gaming engines will see the next wave of innovations in how we approach design (not just architectural).

Currently learning alongside using it... My main research topics are BIM, design visualization, design evaluation and early-design. I'm learning iOS programming right now and hope to be able to make interactive ArchiCAD models with Unity3D running on an iPhone/iPad.

[Anonymous]

"espace" wrote:
Check these guys out - http://www.tripod3d.com/vie.html.

Unity3D looks interesting now too. OK, there is nothing new about Real Time Rendering, but now the quality is sufficient for real world stand alone presentations which I do often get asked for. What puts me off is the time investment involved in rebuilding your model in the UDK (or other gaming) environment, when the basics are already in Archicad. While Gaming engines like UDK, Crytek, and Unity can produce the goods, it looks like they need a fair bit of wrangling.

Twinmotion and Lumion3D take the Real Time Rendering a step further, focusing on the ArchiViz industry which surely has advantages. Unfortunately Lumion3D does not yet offer a stand alone export. From what I can tell VBE is not quite the same quality as Twinmotion or Lumion3D.

For me the quality is a real issue. The point of the exercise is communication of your vision. If the stand alone is too clunky or unrealistic this distracts the viewer from understanding the model.

I would like to see one of these technologies licensed right into Archicad - this would be a great way for Graphisoft to get ahead of the curve again. Eventually this will have to be built into packages like Archicad just to keep them competitive I'm sure - what isn't clear is how long that will take. I hope the advancement in technology has boosted the pressure a notch.

Then there is the whole iOS thing - UDK and Unity3D are already there too...

Geoff

I checked out Tripod's site and it's impressive but the immersive quality can clearly be improved with animated people, for instance. This is now more readily achievable and accessible for us all for a not too obscene cost.

I'm with you in hoping that these features could be brought into ArchiCAD, which I expect will become more fully integrated (VBE) in subsequent upgrades anyway?