Introducing Create VR

Alias 2021.2 Update introduces Create VR, an immersive conceptual design tool that empowers artists and designers to start their creative process directly in 3D. Using simple curve and surface tools designers are able to explore form and shape while being fully immersed in virtual reality alongside their design. Sketches and models can then be easily exported to Alias or other content creation applications for final realization.

Create VR is available with in Alias Concept, Alias Surface, and Alias AutoStudio.

See About Create VR.

Reference Manager improvements

Several Reference Manager improvements provide workflow enhancements that makes collaboration on designs using reference data easier and more intuitive. These improvements include:

• Importing source geometry directly into your current scene in a single step. Geometry is now automatically translated as part of the importing process.
• A reworked Reference Manager window makes it easier to see which reference files have been imported into the viewport and which files have be translated from geometry to WREF files. You can also see the conversion status when you translate multiple geometry source files using the Batch Translate option.
• Automatic management of referenced files as Alias now checks to see whether or not references exist for source geometry before a file gets translated to a WREF file. This streamlines the workflow for working with referenced data and avoids unnecessary duplicates of referenced files.
• A new Set Reference Directory option lets you assign directories for commonly shared reference files as well as setting one as the default translation directory. This way, you can have a common location for all newly imported or translated references.
• New Locate Reference and Source File options in the Reference Manager let you easily find reference source files.
• Notifications in the Alias UI lets you know when your current scene contains reference files and if any of the reference files are out-of-date. You can then quickly update any reference files directly from the notification without opening the Reference Manager. Access to Reference Manager is also provided.

See:

• File > Reference Manager
• About working with reference data
• Work with reference data

New Subdivision modeling tools

We've added several new features and enhancements to improve subdivision modeling in Alias. New and updated subdivision tools include:

• An Extract tool that lets you duplicate or separate selected areas of your subdivision bodies. Faces extracted by the tool become new subdivision objects, which you can continue to modify and manipulate.

  

  See Subdivision > Extract and Extract subdivision faces using the Extract tool.

• A Bevel tool that inserts edges or edge loops that are offset from the selected edge in both directions.You can use this tool to sharpen edges or to create rounded corners by adding a crown to an edge.

  

  See Subdivision > Bevel and Bevel subdivision edges.

• An Align to Surface tool that lets you smooth and move CVs by aligning them to a NURBS surface. The workflow for the tool is similar to the Align to Curve tool. See Subdivision > Align to Surface and Align subdivision CVs to surfaces.

• Improvements to the Subdivision Extrude tool let you extrude multi-degree curves. Use the new Rebuild Curve Options to add faces along the extruded curve.

  

  See Subdivision > Extrude and Extrude a subdivision edge, face, or curve.

Other subdivision enhancements include:

• The Transform CV tool now supports subdivision components. You can now use the Transform CV tool to select and transform subdivision CVs, faces, edges, edge loops. Use this tool to quickly shape subdivision bodies. See Control Panel > Transform CV.

• Shader assignment is now preserved on areas of modified subdivision bodies where new topology is created by a subdivision tool. For example, when using the Extrude or Bridge tools, the subdivision body's material gets automatically assigned to any new faces rather that the default shader.

• You can now use the Symmetry Plane Align tool when modeling subdivision bodies across the symmetry plane. When using the tool with subdivision bodies, select the control cage to align the subdivision body. See Align curves, surfaces, or subdivision bodies across the symmetry plane.

• You can now pick-walk from one selected subdivision CV to the next using the CTRL + Arrow Keys.

• Dynamo now supports the exchange of subdivision bodies. Use the new Subdiv selection filter to begin sending subdivision bodies to Dynamo.

  

• We've created a custom shelf for the Subdivision modeling tools. The shelf brings all the subdivision-related tools together for easier access. Download it from the Alias Sample Files web page. To load it, choose Replace shelf set from the menu on the Shelves window title bar, and browse to the downloaded SUB.scm file. See Manage shelves for more information about custom shelves.

  

Surface Offset and Curve Offset improvements

• A new Create Wall option lets you create closed geometry from an offset surface and the original surface. This option joins the free edges of offset surfaces to edges of the original surface. If Both Sides is on, creating two offset surfaces (top and bottom), the edges of these surfaces join to create the closed geometry, instead of the original surface. In the Object Lister, the wall geometry appears under the Offset Wall sub-group.

• We added a Both Sides option, which lets you create an offset surface or curve on both sides of the original surface and respective curve. Offset settings value apply to both offset surfaces or curves.

  

• Shrink to Trim now checks to determine if any trimmed surface can be converted into a natural surfaces, and then applies a Trim Convert operation.

View in VR (previously Alias VR) enhancements

• We renamed Alias VR to View in VR and moved access to the feature from the WindowDisplay menu to the new VR menu. To access it, select VR > View in VR.

  

• We added a new menu to the VR environment. The menu provides access to all the previous View in VR features, such as Display Modes, as well as to new features, including the Turntable Tool. To access the menu, press the Options button on either controller. Select menu items by pulling the controller trigger.

  

  See Work with View in VR.

  • A new Turntable Tool lets you view models as they rotate 360 degrees around a pivot point. You can rotate objects clockwise or counter-clockwise direction as well as choose the rotation speed of turntable.

    

• View and switch between variants using the new Variant menu in the VR environment. You can still switch between variants by using the VR controller. A Height options in the VR Variants lister lets you make adjustments to the Z value for instances when a camera variant is configured to show a model's interior. This means you no longer need to add '_ int' to the end of the variant name to force a camera variant's Z value.

• Variants in VIew in VR now support material, object and layer visibility switching in addition to previously support camera changes. This means that the camera, shading, geometry, and layer visibility masks you applied to variants in Alias are respected when viewing variants in View in VR.

  

• We've updated the fly-out tooltips on the VR controllers to include all the new and previous tools. These labels dynamically update as you switch between active tools.

  

• The View in VR options have been updated with new options including:

  • A new VRED Material Matching feature for View in VR ensures that material assignments in View in VR and VRED look the same. Use this option to specify material asset libraries that use a schema for matching VRED material assets to Alias shaders. 

    

  • Screen Space Ambient Occlusion settings are now exposed, letting you further improve the image quality of your models in View in VR.

    

See VR > View in Alias VR.

General improvements

• We added the Create History option to the control window of several surface and multi-surface editing tools. You can now toggle construction history on and off for these tools.

  

  For more information, see About construction history and Work with construction history.

• Label toggles now provide a right-mouse context menu in the viewport for Flow Control selection and Crown toggle in surfacing tools, as well as for spacing and numbering in array tools. The Left-mouse button still lets you cycle through the tool options.

• You can now specify a custom WIRE file as the default when you creates a new scene. This means that you can open a new file with all of you commonly used elements such as shaders and lighting without needing to import them each time you start a new scene.

  

• Alias-Dynamo has been updated to Dynamo version 2.2.0.4667. For information about new features, enhancements, and fixes, see the Dynamo Release Notes.

  

• A new Reference Path option in the Stage Editor lets you choose to show the path of file currently open on the stage instead of the stage name.

  

• You can now capture variants from orthographic views. Any variants that differ based on a camera pan or zoom are not supported.

• The Turntable now includes a Restore Position option for camera rotation. This lets you choose to stop an animation at its current position or at its start-frame position.

  

• A new Always Open Option Box option has been added to the Check Model tool. When on, the Check Model Options window opens when you activate the tool. This is useful if you access the Check Model tool using a hotkey, and want to configure the Check Model options before running the check. When this option is off, Alias runs the model check when the tool is activated.

  

  What's Where

The new tools listed in this section are new in this release of Alias.

• Subdivision > Bevel
• Subdivision > Extract
• Subdivision > Align to Surface

Return to Top