Posts by Pete Chamberlain

Here's the Release Notes for the latest Enscape v3.0 Preview - Version 4.

Please refer to this article for instructions on how to download the Preview version.

What’s included:

- New Features:

• View Management (Initial Implementation)
  We started overhauling the View Management by adding a separate mode to the application. You can select it from the left side of the Enscape toolbar or by pressing the [F]' key on your keyboard. By selecting a View item from the list on the left, that View will be re-exported to Enscape. This will change the camera's position and orientation to match the native View, as well as performing an update to the visible geometry and materials. In addition, if the View is linked to a Visual Settings Preset, the active preset is changed to adhere to the linked preset, applying its properties to the Enscape view port.
  
  NOTE: There are some limitations to the current iteration. The View items in the list are being updated according to changes made in the CAD but marking a view as a favorite or linking a view to a preset in the CAD's UI is currently not being automatically synced. This means you have to switch modes back and forth or close and reopen Enscape to update that information. This functionality (and much more) will be included in the next preview however.

  

  
  

  All other changes in this preview version consist of bug fixes and stability improvements.

  
  

Known Issues:

• Video Editor UI Under Construction
  
  Due to the UI overhaul the Enscape Video Editor UI continues to be currently unavailable. Video paths can still be loaded / saved via the legacy Enscape toolbar's Load / Save Video Path buttons. However, you won't be able to edit the video paths' keyframes in the current preview version.

- Bug Fixes:

A full list of Bug Fixes can be found contained in the attached document. Please refer to the bugs associated ID number when contacting Enscape Support in regards to any of the bugs listed there.

Here's the Release Notes for the latest Enscape v3.0 Preview - Version 3.

Please refer to this article for instructions on how to download the Preview version.


What’s included:


- New Features:

• Cancel Option for Export and Adjusted Progress Bars
  The different export operations (not including .exe standalone files) now explicitly include a 'Cancel' option in the progress bar dialog allowing the user to interrupt the export.
  
  
  Additionally, any Enscape operation that is blocking the CAD window is now explicitly stipulated via an indicator dialog.
  
  
  
• Safe Frame Toggle
  The Safe Frame checkbox has been removed from the Visual Settings dialog and can now be toggled explicitly on / off via a toggle button in the new UI toolbar that is embedded in the Enscape viewport. When activated the viewport is adjusted to show the actual Resolution / Aspect Ratio to be applied to the image / video you are about to export.
  
  
  
• Visual Settings Presets Overhaul
  The Presets handling for the Visual Settings has been overhauled to allow quicker and easier access to your visual presets. A small arrow symbol located to the left hand side of the Visual Settings dialog will allow you to expand the Presets area :
  
  Click the arrow again to collapse the Presets area.
  
  
  You can now switch Presets by selecting a list item on the left and then edit it on the right. Any changes made to a Preset are always and immediately saved to the currently open project. At present, your active visual settings are not available but we will recover them and store them into the "Custom Preset" item in the future. The "Custom Preset" item is created automatically for you and set as the active preset in this Enscape Preview version.
  
  You can create a new Preset via the special creation item at the top of the list.
  
  
  Or, via the 'Create Preset' button located at the bottom of the dialog
  
  
  Presets can also be renamed, duplicated, saved to disk, reset, and deleted via a context menu, opened by right clicking on a Presets item.
  
  
  You can also import any preset exported from this preview version or any older Enscape version by clicking on the 'Import' button at the top of the new Presets section.
  

- Improvements:

Rendering:

• Physics refactoring - reduced CPU load while in WalkMode

Changes Included from Enscape v2.9.1:

• SketchUp 2021 support
• Rhino 7 support
• Rhino: Visual Setting Presets not being available for linking - FIXED
• Revit: Displacement Mapping - Amount mapping adjusted

- Known Issues:

• Video Editor UI Under Construction
  
  Due to the UI overhaul the Enscape Video Editor UI is currently unavailable. Video paths can still be loaded / saved via the legacy Enscape toolbar's Load / Save Video Path buttons. However, you won't be able to edit the video paths' keyframes in the current preview version.

- Bug Fixes:

There are no notable bug fixes in this Preview version but, as always, a full list of Bug Fixes is contained in the attached document. Please refer to the bugs associated ID number when contacting Support in regards to any of the bugs listed there.

We've just released the new Enscape version 2.9.1!

There are several options to upgrade:

• Follow the link in your trial registration email
• Click the update link in the in-program notification
• Open the "About" window and click the Download Area link

For detailed questions and issues, feel free to write us at support@enscape3d.com or use this thread.

Changes in Version 2.9.1

New Features:

• SketchUp 2021 support
• Rhino 7 support

Improvements:

• Displacement mapping has been adjusted in the Revit implementation so that the value range is mapped to allow for fine tuning the displacement amount.

- If the Bump slot value is set to below 500 this results in only bump mapping and no displacement mapping being applied to the surface:

- If the Bump slot value is set to just above 500 at ie, 510, this results in slight displacement:

- The more you that Bump slot value is increased ie. around 750 (or greater) the heavier the resultant displacement mapping will be:

Known Issues:

• Some of the new SketchUp 2021 features are not yet supported (tag folders, live components).
• ArchiCAD 24 crashes during asset placement when hovering the mouse over any ArchiCAD user interface menu's that have an associated pop up or tool tip that would open.

Noteworthy Bug Fixes:

• Visual Settings Presets not being made available for linking with named Views - FIXED
• Custom Asset Editor:
  • Import issues preventing the import of .gltf's using an encoded URL path that has the textures missing - FIXED
  • Import issues for .gltf's containing meshes without primitives - FIXED
• Combined (RGBA) Normal/Displacement textures were not interpreted correctly - FIXED

Please find a list of the most common customer facing bug fixes attached as a .pdf below. We provide this list as a courtesy to our users and it is not a complete list of all bug fixes that were during the development cycle. Please refer to the Bug ID if you have further questions regarding any of these.

Here's the Release Notes for the latest Enscape v3.0 Preview - Version 2.

Please refer to this article for instructions on how to download the Preview version.

What’s included:

- New Features:

• Rendering Toolbar Changes
  
  The toolbar in the Enscape window has changed to allow for three new entries:

  

  1. Minimap toggle (can still be toggled 'M' key)
  2. Projection mode selection
  3. Spectator mode selection (walk / fly mode, can still be toggled via 'Space'key)
  
  

• Visual Settings (Editing UI) Overhaul

  
  

  The Visual Settings editing UI / dialog has been overhauled and restructured:

  
  

  

  
  Sliders now have integrated input fields and several settings have been moved to the correct domain (check out the 'Atmosphere' and 'Sky' tabs).

  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  Subsequent previews will also add improved preset handling and selection.

- Improvements

• Various performance and memory optimizations

- Known Issues

• BIM mode is unstable in ArchiCAD 24. You might encounter freezes when using BIM mode in some projects. We are investigating the issue.
• SketchUp crashes when cancelling Panorama rendering and immediately starting it again

- Notable Bugfixes:

• Combined Normal/Displacement maps not working as correctly - FIXED
• Rest Mode Outlines on rounded geometry were incorrectly being displayed - FIXED
• Vectorworks crashes when selecting Batch Rendering in Renderer - FIXED

A full list of Bug Fixes for this Preview is contained in the attached document. Please refer to the bugs associated ID number when contacting Support in regards to any of the bugs listed there.

Quote from aaronnordstrom

This peaked my interest. Can you delve deeper into what collaborative annotations are? Are we finally getting mark ups, etc?

aaronnordstrom That's a feature that's been available in Enscape for quiet some time.

Here's the Release Notes for the latest Enscape v3.0 Preview - Version 1.

Please refer to this article for instructions on how to download the Preview version.

What’s included:

- New Features:

• New Rendering Toolbar and UI Relocation
  In this preview we implemented the first set of UI changes that will migrate several parts of the current Enscape UI from the CAD window to the Enscape window. In addition we've replaced and extended parts of the current Enscape UI.

1. Application Modes
   Switch between the default, Collaborative Annotations, and BIM Information modes.
2. Export option buttons
   Select from Single Image,Batch Rendering, Panorama, and Standalone Export
3. Collapse/expand the toolbar
4. Cross mode toggles and selections
   Select the Projection Mode (perspective, two-point, orthographic) and the Spectator Mode (walk/fly).
   Turn the HMD (VR) Mode on or off.
5. Open Visual Settings dialog
6. Help
   Show or hide the new help panel, it is currently empty but will be populated with the Enscape keymapping for movement and interaction within Enscape, as well as some Mode-sensitive instructions.

- Improvements

• Enscape License Center
  • User Management feature had a number of improvements implemented

- Known Issues

• Batch Render and Single Image Render differ - Batch Render can end up being blank.
• Uploading Panorama to Cloud fails
• Vectorworks 2021 crashes when clicking in project in VW right after opening the Asset Library

- Notable Bugfixes:

• Skybox rotation/brightness manipulation consumes huge amounts of memory - FIXED
• Web Standalone - certain assets would animate incorrectly - FIXED

A more extensive list of Bugfixes is contained in the attached .pdf document below.

We've just released the new Enscape version 2.9!

Have a look at the blog post showing off the new features and additions.

There are several options to upgrade:

• Follow the link in your trial registration email
• Click the update link in the in-program notification
• Open the "About" window and click the Download Area link

For detailed questions and issues, feel free to write us at support@enscape3d.com or use this thread.

Changes in Version 2.9

New Features:

• Custom Asset Library (More info)
• Vectorworks support (More info)
  • Create View and View Management available
  • Enscape Material Editor available
• ArchiCAD 24 support
• Support for Video Textures (More info in the CAD's related 'Materials for' article)
• Support for Displacement Maps (More info in the CAD's related 'Materials for' article)
• Enscape License Center
  • User Management (More Info)
• Rest Mode - to enable / disable continuous animation (More Info)
• Offline Asset Library (More info)

Improvements:

Rendering

• Improved quality of screen space results
  • Reduction of light leaking
• Hierarchical Screen Space Traversal
  • Improved reflections and sharpness in close reflections
• Prevent geometry leaking (common grass / carpet material issue)
• Improved Specular GI via improved Blue Noise sampling
• Improved Ray Traced Sun Shadows
• Animations decoupled from Time of Day change
  • New continuous animation playback mode while Enscape in focus (not if BIM / Collab is in focus)
• Improved RTX performance
  • All GI passes now running in Vulkan for RTX GPU's

Features

• Standalone Executable Files
  • These are now localized which means they assume the OS language. If the language is not known, the fallback language, English, is used.
• Enscape Asset Library
  • An additional 120 fitness themed assets

Changelog:

• Rhino - Materials per surface
  • BREPS and poly-surfaces now allow sub-object selection and material assignment

Known Issues:

• ArchiCAD 24 crashes when editing materials in Enscape Material Editor whilst an update is running
• SketchUp and Enscape will crash when un-checking Explicit Transformation after changing the Textures size in SketchUp
• Vectorworks and Enscape can crash when selecting the 'Existing Site Model Surface' option in Vectorworks
• OpenGL context lost issue persists
• Revit - Collaboration Annotation Issues are misplaced - mismatch between BIM Track and Revit
• SketchUp can crash after closing it where the Collaboration Annotations Settings window is open

Bug Fixes:

Please find a list of the most common customer facing bug fixes attached as a .pdf below. We provide this list as a courtesy to our users and is not a complete list of all bug fixes during the development cycle. Please refer to the Bug ID if you have further questions regarding any of these.

Here's the Release Notes for the latest Enscape v2.9 Preview - Version 6.

Please refer to this article for instructions on how to download the Preview version.

NOTE: This preview version is a 'Final Release Candidate' so, any issue reporting is now critical.

What’s included:

No new features or feature improvements in this preview release, which contains various bug fixes and stability improvements only.

Known Issues:

- Watchdog timeouts (Error Code 10) in GPU driver

- ArchiCAD: "Override Wind Settings" checkbox in Material Editor is not saved to material Type 'Water' when switching back from another material Type.

- Minimap is missing

Bug Fixes:

A list of bug fixes are to be found in the attached .pdf document.

Please reference the bug ID number when contacting Customer Support in regards to any of the listed bug fixes.

andybot - that's just for Revit as there is no Enscape Material Editor for Revit. For CAD's that have the Material Editor, there will be a new option under the Height Type texture slot, named Displacement map accompanied by a slider to adjust the Amount.

Here's the Release Notes for the latest Enscape v2.9 Preview - Version 5.

Please refer to this article for instructions on how to download the Preview version.

What’s included

- New Features:

• Vectorworks
  Export progress bar, video texture support, and View creation have been added to Vectorworks version.
• User Account Licenses
  Login with your account, navigate to User Management option form the top right menu.

  
  

  

  
  The following page will allow you to add a users email address and send out an invitation to join using the Add New and Invite buttons, upon which an email containing a link is sent out to the user to allow them to complete registration. They will then appear in the list as shown here below, where the license can be administered to the user by pressing the key icon, which will show the available licenses you may want to administer to that user.

  
  

  

  
  Each user is listed under their associated email along with the number of allocated licenses, and the status of the user. You can delete users via the trash can icon. This is a command to delete the user, so the user will receive an initial email warning that the account will be deleted in 14 days. If the user doesn't cancel the deletion in the following 14 days, they will receive an email informing them their account has now been deleted.
  
  Once the user is added to the list and a license is assigned, they can then log in to the associated account via the Enscape General Settings -> Licensing option by clicking on User Account (Login), and the License details will appear in the License Details section and Enscape will be unlocked for that user.

  
  

  
  

  

- Improvements:

• Custom Asset Library Improvements and Known Limitations
  We have improved our import capabilities again, covering more of the .gtlf, .obj and .fbx standards. The following limitations still persist:
  • Model files that are placed under file paths with Unicode characters won't work due to an issue in our conversion library
  • PBR materials in fbx files are unsupported

NOTE: These two limitations will remain in effect for the final 2.9 release.

We also currently have an issue where certain materials result in the model not showing up at all in the Custom Asset Editor Preview viewport or in Enscape itself. This will be fixed for the final 2.9 release.

• Screen space reflection quality
  Screen space reflection are now more precise, capturing finer detail and appearing sharper.

- Known Issues:

• Certain textures applied as Type 'Bump maps' will result in the texture flickering in the Enscape viewport when changing its Amount value in the Material Editor.

- Notable Bugfixes:

• Pre-processing of displacement maps - FIXED
• Texture flickering when adjusting the Displacement map Amount slider - FIXED
• Broken image rendering when Restmode is disabled - FIXED

A more extensive list of bugfixes can be found attached below.

some1new - that is stated in the Release Notes:

Video textures can also be assigned in Revit via a workaround. Just add the following formatted text to the Revit Material Editor's Description field of the material that you want to use a video texture with: [video:<path>|<X>|<Y>|<rotation>]

Where:

• <video> = the absolute path to the video file
• <X> and <Y> = a multiplier outlining the texture scaling (X * width, Y * height)
• <rotation> = the desired texture rotation (0 - 360)

Example: [video:C:\test\vid_texture.mp4|0.5|1|90]

Here's the Release Notes for the latest Enscape v2.9 Preview - Version 4.

Please refer to this article for instructions on how to download the Preview version.

What’s included

- New Features:

• Displacement Maps
  Displacement maps are now fully supported by the Enscape Material Editor. To apply a displacement map to any material please select the material and set the "Type" within the "Height" section of the Materials Editor dialog to Displacement. Displacement maps are incompatible with transparent materials so the entire "Transparency" section becomes unavailable where a displacement map has been applied (including mask textures).
  
  
  
  
  
  NOTE: brightness of displacement maps cannot be further adjusted or inverted.
  
  Revit users - unfortunately, no Displacement mapping available in Revit.

• Self-Shadowing of Normal/Displacement Mapped Materials
  We've added normal based self-shadowing of material surfaces. This feature further improves the depth perception of materials, especially where displacement maps are applied. The feature is active only for sun light when Rendering Quality is set to "High". If Rendering Quality is set to "Ultra" then artificial lights will also cast normal based shadows.

• Video Textures
  Support for video textures is now available in the Enscape Material Editor whereby a video can be assigned to the Albedo texture slot. The following formats are currently supported: .mp4, .mpg, .m2v, .3gp, .avi, .mov, and .mk.
  
  
  
  When assigning a video to the Albedo texture slot, associated transparency-related material settings become unavailable, although applying a mask texture still remains possible. The adjustment or inversion of the brightness setting normally available for still images is unavailable for video textures.
  Video textures can also be assigned in Revit via a workaround. Just add the following formatted text to the Revit Material Editor's Description field of the material that you want to use a video texture with: [video:<path>|<X>|<Y>|<rotation>]
  
  Where:
  • <video> = the absolute path to the video file
  • <X> and <Y> = a multiplier outlining the texture scaling (X * width, Y * height)
  • <rotation> = the desired texture rotation (0 - 360)
  
  Example: [video:C:\test\vid_texture.mp4|0.5|1|90]
  
  Video placed into the Albedo slot will loop continuously in Enscape, so please take into account that certain features like Video Export or Batch Rendering of screenshots might not lead to the exact same final output when using this feature. To switch this playback looping on / off use the "Restmode" checkbox which you can find available in the "Performance" section of the "General Settings" dialog.
  
  IMPORTANT: Not all of the codecs are working correctly in this preview version and you may experience some stuttering during playback of certain video file formats. We're still working on improving that.

• Custom Asset Library Batch Import
  You can now create several assets at the same time via a batch import feature that has been added to the Asset Library.
  To do this click the batch import icon at the bottom of the "creation tile" or in the footer section of the library. You can then select several 3d model files which are then continuously imported. The name of the file will be used as the asset name and a thumbnail showing the asset from a front view will be automatically generated. You can then adjust the assets further as usual.
  
  
  
  NOTE: this feature is largely aimed at file formats that embed the entire geometry and material information in one single file, like the .fbx format. Importing several .gtlf or .obj might prove cumbersome due to material files that are usually placed next to the source file. We might make adjustments to this feature in future releases to make the batch import of these file formats more convenient.

• Offline Asset Library
  You can now download the Enscape assets for offline use. Check the "Offline Enscape Assets" checkbox in the "Enscape Assets" section of the asset library and select a target directory. You are then prompted to either download the current version of all available Enscape assets or use the contents of the specified directory (in case one of your colleagues already downloaded the library to a network share). You will not be able to access the newest additions to the asset library while working in 'Offline' mode. To revert to using the assets hosted by our servers, simply uncheck the 'Offline Enscape Assets' checkbox.
  
  
  
  

- Improvements:

• Custom Asset Library (IMPORTANT)
  We improved the handling of transformations and different geometry configurations vastly in this preview release.
  Most models should now be displayed and sized correctly and are usable as placeholder geometry within the CADs.
  Please note though that using high poly placeholders will lead to a bad CAD performance.
  
  IMPORTANT: The changes made to improve the geometry support might lead to sizing issues for assets created with previous previews when re-edited. Please make sure to check the size of your assets when changing them.
  
  Furthermore, you can now choose which axis should determine the orientation of your asset (up axis). To rotate models exported with a different orientation than Enscape.

• Batch Rendering Performance
  We largely improved the performance of the batch rendering feature, overall decreasing the amount of time needed per batch rendering.

- Known Issues

• SketchUp becomes unusable when Restmode is set to 'Off' (unchecked)
• WebStandalone: Trunk of Tree Asset with unwanted animation
• No 'Confirmation Email' after submitting Feedback Form
• Displacement Map will break the Material in ArchICAD and Vectorworks
• Web Standalone Exports appear broken when using a 4k*8k Skybox
• Vectorworks will crash when switching to another project after linking a View to a Setting Preset

- Notable Bugfixes:

• Flickering of emissive geometry in some Sketchup and Rhino projects - FIXED
• A number of OUT OF MEMORY issues (Error codes 5 & 10) when rendering high resolution images, especially on older NVIDIA hardware have been fixed. This was caused by graphic card driver timeouts when performing path trace computations. - FIXED

A more extensive list of Bugfixes is contained in the attached .pdf document below.

DaveP - Please read the Release Notes again for 2.8.1 Hotfix. It says it will be fixed within the 2.9 development cycle. That means (hopefully) before 2.9 official release. The developers are still having issues reproducing this.

In regards to the bug #90046, I asked the developers to clarify this, and it is NOT the same issue as the one concerning BIM360.

I hope that makes the position clearer. But to reiterate, BIM360 issue is a current Known Issue that is currently being looked at by the developers and in the meantime, you should use the various workarounds suggested here in this thread,

Just as a note here, and a request. We do not appear to have any Revit 2021 users having this issue at present, but if someone is, then please let us know.

Also, if those of you who are having this issue can provide detailed minimum steps taken in order to experience this issue, such as:

• Open the project from BIM360
• Click on that button
• Then I click on that other button
• Then it freezes

That would be a great help and much appreciated.

Here are the Release Notes for Enscape 2.8.1 - Hotfix!

To upgrade:

• Open the Enscape "About" window and click the Download Area link

For detailed questions and issues, feel free to write us at support@enscape3d.com or use this thread.

Changes in Version 2.8.1

New Features:

Support for ArchiCAD24

Bugfixes:

The main bug that was fixed was the 'OUT OF MEMORY' errors that users were experiencing in version 2.8 for projects that had previously worked.

There were also some other bugs fixed and these are listed in the .pdf attached below.

As always, if you have further inquiries regarding any of these bugs, please refer to their ID when getting in contact with our Support Agents.

Known Issues

The following bugs are seen as 'Known Issues' and will be addressed during the 2.9 Preview cycle:

• BIM 360 Synchronization

  Revit versions other than Revit 2021 can freeze when synchronizing a BIM 360 project (see the workarounds listed here in the meantime)

• Material Editor in ArchiCAD24

  ArchiCAD24 could crash when editing a material in the Enscape Material Editor

If you experience any other issues with Enscape, please use the Enscape Feedback button to report the issue directly to us.

mark-g - if you have not done so already, can you please submit log files as Demian suggests above.

Referencing this forum thread in the Feedback Form would be helpful also,

Thanks.

Marshallae - I am sorry to have to say, this is not possible at present, as it will break the assets texture mapping.

We have a feature request for this though, so I have up-voted that on your behalf in the meantime.

cdorfi - your transparency slot should be using an alpha map, so an Image needs to be selected from the Transparency drop down, and then you will need an appropriate alpha channel map. Selecting 'Glass' will not give you the result you want.

If you continue to have issues with this, please get back to me.

arqcova - up-voted on your behalf.

fginzberg - Web Standalone files are only rendered out in the equivalent of 'Draft' mode in the full Enscape version. This is currently a limitation of the WebGL 2.0 technology that is being used.

There is a full list of the current limitations for the Web Standalone files listed in our Knowledge Base article here.