Twinmotion User Library

[Pablo Tatts]

About6 months ago I inquired about Custom Asset library configuration and how it was not scalable. I was told that these issues would be fixed with the most recent update and when It was announced our firm was over the moon to be able to have a network folder structure easily shared across all of our 75+ Enscape users. The update came and it did not solve the issue. I also posted on these forums but did not hear back from support. I am going to break down the issue as detailed as possible in hopes I can get a response and an estimated time when an update will solve the issue.

Enscape only allows local Category creation. Enscape does not recognize network folder structures. Therefore every single Enscape user would need to create and move thousands of custom assets to dozens of categories locally for it to be organized and standardized across our firm. Only to have to do it again every time new assets are added or created.

Allow Enscape Custom Asset management tool to recognize folders created on a network to allow all Enscape users to simply link to, and recognize, the folders created by one person. Remove the option of creating categories locally. If not, have a warning that if categories are created, they are local and not shared with a network link.

Other software allows this feature and it makes scaling an absolute breeze. For example, Twinmotion also has a similar problem of linking to a network but at least you can copy and paste the folders and assets locally and have Twinmotion automatically pick up the folders named on the network.

The attached image shows how my network folder structure (albeit a little unorganized) is not registered in Enscape, and vice versa. And since this custom asset link was used primarily for our vegetation I don't feel comfortable just dumping individual furniture assets into it without proper network folder recognition. Every Enscape user would then have to create their own subcategories and that is not an appropriate thing to ask of them in 2022.

Some context: we currently have 1100 custom assets. I and another user sorted all the assets into categories. It took the both of us about an hour. After that , the categorization became visible for all users. No one has had to do extra work since then.

So everyone would need to import the custom assets and add them to their own categories. There is no way to do this on the network. In an ideal situation I could create the entire folder (categories) structure on a network drive.

Another major concern for us is when we copy and past these packs we get from Globe Plants, you cant edit the asset because it cant find the project file. The project files for each custom asset is buried in their folder structure so its a matter of completely dumping every single fil in one folder and that is not ideal either,

So just to reiterate. Category creation is local, and cannot be shared across a network. Assets have to be individually imported in order to be categorized and cannot read copy and pasted assets. Luckily, we can still use them but they all sit in the Uncategorized section.

I think the key here is "copy and pasted assets". Enscape keeps a ledger of the categories (with their names, icon, ...) in a central file in the asset library folder ("assetCategories.json"). There's also a file similar file in the asset projects folder (categories.json). If you copy the asset (or asset project) without the corresponding assetcategories.json file, Enscape will not recognize the category and therefor it will land under "uncategorized".

I think the key is that you copy/paste libraries as a whole, and not parts of them. If you do move parts of a library and they are using a new category (each category gets a unique number), than the category will not be recognized by the main library.

So I started over from scratch and I think its working well enough now! Thanks for your help. I do fear about individuals changing asset materials and saving them to affect other projects. Any tips on that?

3) what we do: you can only modify an asset if it was created by your project. The project name would then be in the asset description. All the other assets are not to be modified by anyone but the maintainer(s) of the library

This is because you need to load Lands Design before using it (if a plug-in is not loaded, you cannot use it); when you run a Lands Design command, the plug-in loads so you can use it. This is how plug-ins work in Rhino, but maybe you can set it up to load Lands Design automatically at startup: Force Rhino plugin loading at startup

I have been testing a strategy where I create new, single object plant blocks in rhino and save them to the block folder. I then replace concept block with my updated single object 3d block and place plants/trees etc. The natural variation option in the insert plant dialog yields a great organic mix of scales and heights. When I open the file in Twinmotion either through Datasmith or Direct Link. I am able to replace the variable objects with either Twinmotion plants or plants from my user library.

One challenge that I have not yet figured out is how the Crown diameter and Approximate Height settings impact the size of the plant once replaced in Twinmotion. So sometimes the plants are too large or too small once replaced in TM.

Hi @julian.riise @sdjames,

Please watch this new video. We believe that now Lands Design and its objects can be synced perfectly to Twinmotion.

How to render a Lands Design model with Twinmotion - YouTube

However, we do not replace plants with those of TwinMotion since the rent plant models of Lands Design are of high quality.

The current setup for Twinmotion for Revit's "Open in Twnimotion" functionality is not user controllable or definable. With the release of TM4Revit 2023.1 Revit 2023.1 expects for TM4Revit 2022.2.3 or Twinmotion 2023.1 to be installed. The problems is that install locations and order appear to define what version of Twinmotion gets launched, but there is no easy route to get there. There is no user option or configuration file that can be used to define the desired version to open. This makes it difficult to support or train users as we need to support multiple versions of Twinmotion for Revit so as to not cause the "Open in Twinmotion" functionality to error.

The current approach makes managing Twinmotion For Revit difficult as the current approach requires Twinmotion for Revit 2022.2.3 and 2023.1 to both be installed. When you have people working on projects in different versions of Revit it can become problematic on the Visualization side of things. There are ways to minimize the distribution for users, but again makes management very difficult when looking at larger organizations and the underlying changes made in Twinmotion 2023.1 that makes it incompatible with the previous versions. Currently, it also means any user library assets (which we are trying to consolidate in a single network location) must be duplicated in different locations because of the different version requirements.

I found that TM4Revit in Revit 2023.1 will load from "C:\Program Files\Epic Games\Twinmotion2023.1\" instead of TM4Revit. So to work around this and force it to use the new TM4Revit release with Revit 2023.1 I created a symbolic link from the new TM4Revit install to Twinmotion2023.1 folder. So a basic workaround is below.

In this video, learn how to use glow maps to create different colored light emitting materials inside of Twinmotion! These maps can be used to create different colored lights, and also to create animations of lights changing colors inside your renderings!

One of the great features inside of Twinmotion is the ability to add decals to your renderings. These decals can do anything from adding striping or graffiti to simulating wear on walls and roads, and can significantly affect the realism of your renderings!

In this video, learn how to create and save custom light fixture models to your model library inside of Twinmotion. This allows you to start creating your own custom collection of light fixture models and Twinmotion lights in your renderings!

In this video, learn to save 3d objects to custom libraries inside of Twinmotion for easy future access. This allows you to start building up a custom user library of 3d objects for your renderings inside of Twinmotion.

Hi there! My name is Justin Geis, and I'm dedicated to creating the best 3D rendering and visualization tutorials on the internet! If you're interested in 3D rendering, you're in the right place. You may also know me from my other website, The SketchUp Essentials. Make sure to check out my tutorials page to see more tutorials! Have a question? Send me a message on my contact me page!

Following the recent release of Twinmotion 2023.2 Preview 2, Epic Games has finally shipped Twinmotion 2023.2, a new and improved version of its real-time visualization software, usually used in architecture, consumer products, transportation, and fashion industries.

The highlight of the update is, without a doubt, the long-awaited introduction of Lumen, Unreal Engine 5's dynamic global illumination and reflections system. With this update, Twinmotion users can leverage Lumen's capabilities to make indirect lighting adapt to changes to direct lighting or geometry, allowing them to render high-quality stills and videos in a quick and easy way.

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