Different Node Types

Video captions: This tutorial will give you insight to the different node types in Autodesk VRED Professional, with examples closely illustrating some of the functionality. We have the possibility, in the Scenegraph window, within the Scenegraph to create different node types.

Please open the Scenegraph with the Quick Access bar and call up the scenegraph menu by clicking in the editor with the right mouse button. In the sub-item, Create, we find a selection of different nodes which are of meaning to a structured workflow.

The group node combines multiple objects to a group, and therefore, allows the selection and transformation of all objects subordinate to this group. When transformations are performed, the group, itself, changes to a specialized form of group node, namely into a transform node.

In the following, we will group the tires and wheels of our example scene to better be able to structure our data. Furthermore, we will create a material group and get to know its functions.

Now, create two groups and rename them to Tire and Rim. Subordinate the just created groups to the Wheels group. To do so, select the Rim and Tire group, and pull then, via drag and drop, onto the Wheels group.

Now, please activate the bounding box in the toolbar. Select all four tires in our scene with the help of Shift and Ctrl and the left mouse button to then drag and drop them onto your Tire group.

Now, hold down Ctrl and select in your scenegraph all rim objects by clicking on each one. Subordinate the selected rims, via drag and drop onto the group node called, Rim.

As the next step, with a right-click in the scenegraph, we will create a material group and subordinate the Tire group to it. A material group transfers the materials assigned to it to all subordinated objects, where in the original material of the geometry is just suspended, and not deleted.

To illustrate this more concisely, we open up the Material Editor with the Quick Access bar. Create a new plastic material, with the Create menu, by selecting Plastic, under the sub-item Create Material. We leave the material in its raw state and assign it to our material group. That is achieved by selecting the material with the left mouse button held down and dragging onto the created material group.

As you can see, the tire material changes to the plastic material we assign. However, once we remove our tire group from the material group, the original to the geometry assigned material is used.

Please select the Tire group and more it next to the material group that is now no longer subordinated to it. And thus, the material change becomes visible.

In the following, we want to look at what functions Autodesk VRED supplies to create different variants of geometry. For this, we can utilize the so-called switch node, which controls the visibilities of geometry. This node sets the objects subordinated to it to visible, while more objects are rendered invisible.

We will create a switch node for the front left wheel to explain this function with an example. First, we need a different geometry, in this case, a wheel variation that was already imported.

Open the scenegraph menu with the right mouse button in our screnegraph and create, via the sub-item, Create, a switch node. Rename the node to Rim_Switch_FL, then subordinate the original wheel and newly imported wheel to it. This can be undertaken by selection and the consequent moving, by holding the left mouse button.

As you've noticed, both geometries are hidden because we have to communicate with Autodesk VRED which of the both variations should be displayed. We need to make use of the Variants editor, which can be reached in the main menu, under Scene > Variants.

To get our created Rim_Switch_FL node to be displayed, drag and drop your switch node into the Variants editor. Another way to achieve this would be by accessing the variants menu by right-click in the Variants editor.

After selecting, Clear, create Create All. Our created switch node properties become visible, and in the bottom right area of the editor, we can switch between both the variations by double-clicking on them. The currently selected becomes visible, while the unselected will be invisible.