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This page provides information about the Live Link tools in Rhino and Grasshopper.



Overview


The Start a Vantage live session tool helps you send your Rhino scene to Chaos Vantage with a click of a button. Any changes you make in the scene are sent instantly to Vantage without the need to reexport the scene.

The V-Ray Live Link component offersan analogous tool to the Start a Vantage live session and is available in V-Ray for Grasshopper. While this component is running, it interactively shares the input V-Ray scene on the specified port with Chaos Vantage.

The Configures and starts a Vantage live session tool sets specific settings for performance.



Installation


The installation of the tools comes with the installation of V-Ray 5 for Rhino, update 2 and later.

For detailed instructions on installing and setting up Live Link from Rhino and Grasshopper to Chaos Vantage, see the Live Link from Rhino tutorial.



UI Path


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To access the Start a Vantage live session tool, in Rhino go to:

||V-Ray menu|| > Rendering > Chaos Vantage

||VRay Live Linking toolbar|| > Start a Vantage live session

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To access the V-Ray Live Link tool, in Grasshopper go to:

||V-Ray tab|| > Render (dropdown menu) > V-Ray Live Link



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To access the Configures and starts a Vantage live sessiontool, in Rhino go to:

||VRay Live Linking toolbar|| > Configures ands starts a Vantage live session

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Usage in Rhino


To start the tool in Rhino, just click the Start a Vantage live session button. This initializes a Live Link session between Rhino and Chaos Vantage.

The tool automatically:

  • Starts Chaos Vantage if it is not already running;
  • Sends the scene to Chaos Vantage on 20701 port;
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Always make sure you are using the same port in both Rhino and Chaos Vantage!


To stop the tool, click again the Start a Vantage live session button.

Learn more on the Live Link from Rhino page.



Usage in Grasshopper


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To start the tool in Grasshopper, add a V-Ray Live Link component and plug the Scene output from a V-Ray Render component to the Scene input of the V-Ray Live Link component.

Right-click on the On input > Set boolean > True to initiate a Live Link connection between Grasshopper and Chaos Vantage.

The tool automatically:

  • Starts Chaos Vantage if it is not already running;
  • Sends the scene to Chaos Vantage on 20701 port;
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Always make sure you are using the same port in both Grasshopper and Chaos Vantage!


To stop the tool, right-click on the On input > Set boolean > False.

Learn more on the Live Link from Rhino and the V-Ray Live Link page.


Access the V-Ray Live Link component's input parameters to specify port, IP address, and scene.

On (Boolean) – Specifies whether the scene changes are sent to the V-Ray server or not.

Address (Text) – Specifies an IPv4 address where a V-Ray server instance is or will be running.

Port (Integer) – Specifies a TCP port on which the V-Ray server instance is or will be connected on.

Scene (Generic Data) – The scene the V-Ray server will be rendering.

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Live Link Supported Features


The following changes made in the V-Ray compatible DCC are propagated through Live Link:

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  • Editing, creating and deleting of:
    • Camera
    • Geometries
    • Lights
    • Materials
    • Textures
    • Environment



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Known Limitations

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The following actions can be done inside Chaos Vantage during Live Link:

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  • create cameras;
  • create camera animation in the animation editor;
  • edit environment and fog;
  • add color correction effects;
  • Render:
    • snapshots;
    • HQ still image;
    • HQ sequence;
  • save .vantage file with the changes from above.
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The following actions cannot be done inside Chaos Vantage during Live Link:

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  • transform objects;
  • hide/unhide objects;
  • reassign materials;
  • edit lights;
  • import external(including cosmos assets) files;
  • animation playback.
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The following requires a restart of the Live Link session in order to be updated properly.

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  • Updating of:
    • animated V-Ray Proxy files (.vrmesh)
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When the Live Link session is closed, the scene is still loaded inside Vantage but it is considered dirty and the aforementioned limitations are still in effect. A .vrscene file from the host application needs to be exported and loaded inside Chaos Vantage to enable full manipulation, editing and playback.

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If a .vantage file is saved in an active Live Link session, it can be loaded in a next session or applied to a loaded .vrscene.

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