Supported 3D Formats:

Polygon Streaming supports the following formats:

• .GLB

• .glTF (zipped)

• .OBJ (zipped)

It’s highly recommended to use a single .GLB file to convert your 3D models. This will ensure that the file contains all the necessary data, and its following the correct standards used during conversion. 3D models must be a triangulated mesh with PBR materials following metallic-roughness standards.

• In case you use a .glTF model, all the necessary files need to be zipped into a single .zip file. It should at least contain a .gltf file, a .bin file and all the texture images in the formats .jpg or .png.

• In case you use a .OBJ model, all the necessary files need to be zipped into a single .zip file. It should contain a .obj file, a .mtl file, and all the texture images in the formats .jpg or .png, making sure they are properly set and connected. You can also upload a single .obj file in case there are no textures or .mtl file needed.

Supported Image Formats

• JPG

• PNG

• BMP

• KTX

Supported PBR Standard Texture Maps:

• Diffuse/Albedo

• Metallic/Roughness

• Transparency/Opacity

• Normals

• Ambient Occlusion

• Emissive

Supported glTF Extensions:

• KHR_draco_mesh_compression

• KHR_materials_unlit

• KHR_texture_basisu

• KHR_materials_specular

• KHR_materials_pbrSpecularGlossiness

• KHR_texture_transform

• KHR_materials_ior

• KHR_materials_transmission

• KHR_materials_volume

• KHR_materials_clearcoat

In this guide you will find information on how to prepare your 3D models to achieve the best outcomes when converting to Polygon Streaming solutions and streaming your models within the supported platforms and devices.

PBR Standard for Material and Textures

Physically based rendering (PBR) has recently become the standard in many 3D applications, such as Unity, Unreal, 3D Studio Max and 3D Web platforms. Polygon Streaming is also fully based on this standard, for a more performant and realistic material and textures representations.

This approach differs from older approaches in that instead of using approximations for the way in which light interacts with a surface, a physically correct model is used. The idea is that, instead of tweaking materials to look good under specific lighting, a material can be created that will react correctly under all lighting scenarios.

In case your models are created using legacy standards such as Lambert, Blinn-Phong or Specular-Roughness, they should be converted to a PBR Physically Based Rendering standard before conversion, in order to achieve a correct representation of the materials and textures from the original model.

Models using legacy or custom standards can be converted, however, it’s not possible to guarantee a correct representation of the materials and textures. Using custom standard or custom shader elements may also give failed conversion, since the system won’t be able to proper translate custom elements.

Anchor Point Origin, General Transform and Scale

Polygon Streaming maintains the origin point, position, and scale of all 3D objects. When converting entire environments with multiple objects, each object will automatically be positioned at its origin point. You need to make sure you have your objects placed at the correct origin point. If a model is far from the 0,0,0 origin point it will be incorrect for visualization needs, and the wrong origin point will still be translated after conversion. The same goes for the general scale of the model, the scale set for the model will be translated after conversion. Polygon Streaming follows meter units by default, the same as Blender, Unity or Unreal Engine. If the model scale is following another unit system or is set very small on the original model, The model will appear very small after conversion.

Maintain Face Orientation / Flipped Normals

Make sure to have your model’s faces facing the correct orientation. In case a face is being oriented in the wrong direction (also known as flipped normals), it will appear transparent depending on the user view-point direction. Face orientation is a design choice and therefore subjective, not possible for an automated system to know which face should be oriented at which direction. The system will follow the original model’s orientation and direction. In case it’s facing the wrong direction on the original model, it will also face wrong after conversion.

Avoid Z-Fighting

Z-Fighting is a common issue in real-time rendering, it happens when two meshes are overlapping each other, and the GPU is unable to understand which one to render first. It’s very common to happen when displaying NURBS based models, like CAD or BIM models, in a real-time rendering scenario. In order to have a proper real-time display of your streaming model, make sure to avoid z-fighting by avoiding creating overlapping meshes.

Remove Hidden Data

Sometimes a 3D model may have data that is being hidden or enclosed by another object, which will never be seen by the final user. Although there is no issue in converting the model with hidden data, and the hidden data won’t be render, since our player plugins make use of Occlusion Culling. It’s a good practice to remove any data that will be hidden, in order to make the overall model smaller, more concise, faster to convert, and overall lighter to stream.

Maintain a Proper Mesh Topology

It’s a good practice to maintain a proper mesh topology. There is no issue in converting a model with a bad mesh topology. However, any 3D visualization issues that comes from a bad mesh topology, will be translated for the streaming model as well. Therefore, in order to obtain the best looking model, with faster and lighter stream. A concise, sensible and well done mesh topology will always give much better results than a bad mesh topology, that may contain weird looking patches, holes, weird looking triangles and faces. The best the 3D model is modeled and maintain a sensible mesh topology, the best it will be streamed.

Current version: 2.11.1

VIVERSE Polygon Streaming is an intelligent visualization core technology that overcomes modern day 3D visualization challenges, unleashing the potential of spatial content to be streamed from the cloud and sharing high-fidelity models and worlds seamlessly on any device.

Polygon Streaming aims to provide tools to creators, developers, designers, and Enterprises enabling them to build immersive, high-quality, 3D content that is widely compatible with the most popular game engines, allowing the content to be experienced across different platforms.

VIVERSE Polygon Streaming was created to focus on the next shift in computing and the future of the internet. It breaks down barriers and enables accessibility from any device - mobile, tablet, PC, and even XR headsets; giving people the chance to create, share experiences, and collaborate like never before.

Allow end-users to consume big 3D models rapidly by only downloading the geometry that has relevant visual impact for the user, at their specific position and bandwidth. With Polygon Streaming, you can stream large 3D models into your platform or projects without taking local storage space, leveraging the amount of polygons that is possible to be shown in a cross-platform and multi-device way.

Benefits

• Only transfer geometry that is needed in the user’s current position and field of view in the scene over time.

• Automatic LOD generation and texture compression. Texture compression method optimized for lightweight decompression.

• Minimal back-end server requirements only requiring http requests.

• Utilize end-user's GPU for full rendering. No Cloud-GPU necessary at any step.

PlayCanvas Engine Plugin

Polygon Streaming models can be added to PlayCanvas-based projects with the use of our PlayCanvas Plugin, being able to stream high polygon models from the cloud into your projects and build for the web.

Plugin Installation

The Polygon Streaming Plugin comes as a zipped file where you can find the PolygonStreaming.js main script. To start using inside PlayCanvas, just drag and drop this script inside your project.

Once the script is imported inside your project, you can already use by following the next guide.

The plugin also comes together with the VIVERSE SDK. In case you are using the SDK. After installing the VIVERSE SDK, a Polygon Streaming Component can be added inside PlayCanvas Engine via the VIVERSE Extension.

Plugin Download & Release Notes

Download the latest extension version

Change Log

When working with high-fidelity 3D content using Polygon Streaming, it's essential to differentiate between Preview Mode and Play Mode (also known as Runtime, Live Mode, or Launch Mode depending on the game engine). For simplicity, we will use "Play Mode" as a shared term throughout this article, although each engine may refer to it differently. Understanding these modes is crucial to ensure that developers are testing their models under realistic conditions. Below, we'll explore what to expect when using Polygon Streaming in PlayCanvas, Unity, and Unreal Engine, and provide clear instructions on how to test models effectively in each environment.

What Are Preview Mode and Play Mode?

• Preview Mode: This mode provides a quick visualization within the editor, allowing developers to see a basic representation of their models and adjust placements in the scene. It offers a rough approximation and may show visual artifacts. This mode does not fully utilize Polygon Streaming capabilities and should not be used for assessing the final quality or behavior of the models.

• Play Mode: Known by different names such as Runtime or Launch Mode in various engines, Play Mode simulates real-world conditions by running the application as it would be experienced by end-users. Polygon Streaming is fully active in Play Mode, ensuring high-quality rendering and optimal performance. Testing in Play Mode is essential for final model evaluation.

PlayCanvas

In PlayCanvas, models utilizing Polygon Streaming are treated differently between modes:

• Preview Mode: In PlayCanvas, Polygon Streaming models are not visible in Preview Mode. This mode only shows basic placeholders, making it unsuitable for evaluating the model’s quality or performance. Developers can use this mode for simple adjustments and placements, but it doesn't reflect the actual capabilities of Polygon Streaming.

• Play Mode: Known as "Launch Mode" in PlayCanvas, this mode is activated by clicking the "Launch" button. Play Mode is where Polygon Streaming becomes fully operational, streaming the model from the cloud and rendering it in high fidelity. Testing models in Play Mode is crucial for an accurate assessment of both performance and quality.

Unity

In Unity, the terminology and functionality align with industry standards, using Edit Mode and Play Mode:

• Edit Mode: Similar to Preview Mode, Edit Mode allows developers to place and adjust models within the Unity editor. While models can be viewed in this mode, the representation might include artifacts, and streaming optimizations are not fully applied. Edit Mode should not be relied upon for evaluating final model quality or performance.

• Play Mode: Activated by pressing the "Play" button in the Unity interface, this mode initiates the full capabilities of Polygon Streaming. The models are streamed in real-time from the cloud, showcasing their high-quality rendering and optimized performance. Play Mode is essential for realistic testing and accurate visualization.

Unreal

Unreal Engine follows a similar structure, with Editor Mode and Play Mode being key concepts:

• Editor Mode: Referred to as Preview Mode in other contexts, this mode in Unreal Engine allows for basic visualization and placement of models. However, it does not utilize the full power of Polygon Streaming, and visual artifacts may be present. Editor Mode is useful for setup but not for final evaluation.

• Play Mode: By clicking the "Play" button in Unreal Engine, developers activate Play Mode, where the game is simulated under real-world conditions. Polygon Streaming is fully engaged, streaming high-quality models from the cloud and ensuring that the performance and appearance meet expectations. Play Mode is crucial for validating the final output.

Understanding Model Preview in the Polygon Streaming Console

Apart from the in-editor modes like Preview and Play Modes, it's also important to understand how the "Model Preview" feature works within the console. When you upload a model to the Polygon Streaming platform, you can access a "Model Preview" option. This preview opens in a new browser window and provides a basic visualization of your model, giving you a quick way to see the model's appearance and structure.

However, like Preview Mode in development environments, the "Model Preview" is not indicative of the final streamed quality. It serves more as a preliminary check for the model's appearance rather than a comprehensive evaluation of its streaming performance or interactive capabilities. Developers should always perform thorough testing using Play Mode in their chosen game engine to fully understand how their models will behave in a real-world application.

Plugin Usage with the VIVERSE Extension

Plugin Usage Standalone

Playcanvas Direct HTML Plugin

In this section, we're going to go through how to implement PlayCanvas Plugin directly in HTML.

// add Polygon Streaming SDK to your HTML with the correct version number

<script src="https://stream-stage.viverse.com/assets/streamablemodel/{LATEST_STABLE_VERSION}/PolygonStreaming.js"></script>

// add a camera entity for Polygon Streaming SDK to use

const camera = new pc.Entity("camera");

camera.addComponent("camera", {

farClip: 1000,

nearClip: 0.1

});

app.root.addChild(camera);

// add a Polygon Streaming controller

const streamController = new pc.Entity();

streamController.addComponent("script");

streamController.script.create("streamController", {

attributes: {

camera: camera,

cameraType: "nonPlayer",

occlusionCulling: true,

occlusionGeometry: "boundingBox",

occlusionQueryFrequency: 8,

triangleBudget: 3000000

mobileTriangleBudget: 1000000,

minimumDistance: 0.01,

distanceFactor: 1.1,

distanceType: "boundingBoxCenter",

maximumQuality: 15000,

closeUpDistance: 3,

closeUpDistanceFactor: 5

}

});

// add a Polygon Streaming model

let streamableModel = new pc.Entity();

streamableModel.addComponent("script");

streamableModel.script.create("streamableModel", {

attributes: {

path: "model.xrg",

qualityPriority: 1,

useAlpha: true,

useMetalRoughness: true,

castShadows: true,

castLightmapShadows: true,

receiveShadows: true,

 doubleSidedMaterials: true,

initialTrianglePercent: 0.1

}

});

// add model to controller

streamController.addChild(streamableModel);

app.root.addChild(streamController);

Streaming Model Component

The Streamable Model Component or Polygon Streaming (VIVERSE SDK) component represents the model to be streamed inside your project. It will ask for a Polygon Streaming URL, which is the address of your newly converted model. Once you paste the address in that field, it's ready to be streamed inside your scene

The Quality Priority represents the priority of streaming data between multiple components. This means that some models can have higher priority of streaming than others, it can use only integer numbers and it works in the following logic:

Use Alpha should be checked if your model has transparency or uses alpha in their materials or textures.

Use MetalRoughness should be checked to use the model's MetalRoughness values, in case it's unchecked the model will be unlit. For both options, the default is always On.

Cast Shadows, Cast Lightmap Shadows and Receive Shadows should be checked in order for the model to cast and receive shadows.

Double Sided Materials should be checked in case the model was designed to use double sided materials.

Initial Triangle Percentage is the percentage of the amount of triangles to be first shown in the scene. This means that if you wish to show the model only when it's updated to highest level you can set it to 1.

Environment Asset allows to set a custom environment map to use for the streamed model. If no environment asset is set, it will use the environment of the scene itself.

Supported Parameters

Stream Controller Component

The Stream Controller or Polygon Streaming Settings (VIVERSE SDK) manages the streaming of models and streaming parameters inside your project. It can be found under Viverse Scene Settings.

Camera Type allows you to choose between Player camera or Non-player camera. In case you use an avatar it should be set as a Player camera. In case you use just a viewer camera, without an avatar or character attached, it should be set to Non-player camera.

Next you can customize Occlusion Culling options, it's recommended to keep as default.

The Triangle Budget is a limit on the amount of triangles that will be drawn per frame. Increasing this will lead to better visual quality, but of course also higher processing and memory utilization. It's recommended to keep Triangle Budget to at least 30% of the full amount of polygons that you are going to stream. For example, if you are going to stream a 3D model of 10 million polygons, it's recommended to use a Triangle Budget of at least 3 million.

The Mobile Triangle Budget is the same as Triangle Budget, however it will be applied in case the system identifies the user is visiting the experience via a mobile device.

Minimum Distance and Maximum Quality should be kept as default.

The Distance Factor is a factor between the distance of the camera to the object being streamed. The default value of 1.1 has a neutral preference. A higher value, such as 3 or 5, will have a preference for nearby objects over objects further away. These parameters can be changed at runtime to find the sweet spot for your scene.

The Distance Type can be set to Bounding Box or Bounding Box Center. In case it's set to Bounding Box it will calculate the distance between the camera and object based on the edges of the bounding box of the object. In case it's set to Bounding Box Center, it will calculate the distance from the center of the object. It's recommended to use Bounding Box for single objects, and Bounding Box Center for full environments in which the user will be walking inside the object.

The Close Up Distance is a change in the distance factor between camera and streaming object when the camera gets too close. For example, when the camera is at 3 units or less of distance from the object, it will use the value at Close Up Distance Factor, when the camera is further than 3 units from the object, it will use the value at Distance Factor. That way the system forces a strong streaming of data when the camera is very close to an object.

Details of parameters are also set on the Supported Parameters section.

Supported Parameters

To start using the plugin, there are two Prefabs that can be found in the Plugin's folder which will be all you need to stream your models inside Unity Engine. The Stream Controller, and the Streaming Model.

You can drag and drop both prefabs inside your Unity Scene and be ready to start streaming your converted 3D model inside the engine.

The Stream Controller should only be added once, and it controls the streaming feeds inside your scene, you only need to set the Main Camera in the Camera field. The Streaming Model is a prefab to be used with all models that will be streaming from the cloud into your project, you only need to add the URL of your converted model into the URL field.

Once that's set, press play and your streaming models will already start streaming inside your project!

Unity Engine Plugin

Polygon Streaming models can be added to Unity Engine based projects with the use of our Unity Plugin, being able to stream multi-million polygon models streaming from the cloud into your projects and build for desktop, mobile and VR headsets.

Installation

Verify the Package was Installed

Unity Plugin Download and Release Notes

Change Log

To start using the plugin, there are two main classes (Actors) that can be found in the Plugin's folder, or in the Classes menu, which will be all you need to stream your models inside Unreal Engine. The Stream Controller, and the Streaming Model.

You can drag and drop both Actors inside your Unreal Scene, and be ready to start streaming your converted 3D model inside the engine.

The Stream Controller should only be added once, and it controls the streaming feeds inside your scene. The Streaming Model is an Actor to be used with all models that will be streaming from the cloud into your project, you only need to add the URL of your converted model into the URL field to start streaming. You can add as many Streaming Models as you want inside your scene.

Once that's set, press play and your streaming models will already start streaming inside your project!

Stream Controller

The Stream Controller manages the streaming of models and streaming parameters inside your project. There must be only one Stream Controller per scene, since it will control all Streaming Models as one.

The Stream Controller needs to have a reference to a Camera object which will based the distance between viewer and object. It also contains several parameters and features to assist with the best streaming quality and control.

The Triangle Budget is a limit on the amount of triangles that will be drawn per frame. Increasing this will lead to better visual quality, but of course also higher processing and memory utilization. It's recommended to keep Triangle Budget to at least 30% of the full amount of polygons that you are going to stream. For example, if you are going to stream a 3D model of 10 million polygons, it's recommended to use a Triangle Budget of at least 3 million.

In case you use too low Triangle Budget, for example 500 thousand to stream 10 million polygons, you may reach the budget before it's possible to showcase the higher quality of the model. Resulting in only showing a lower quality version of the model in order to stay within the budget.

The Distance Factor is a factor between the distance of the camera to the object being streamed. The default value of 1.1 has a neutral preference. A higher value, such as 3 or 5, will have a preference for nearby objects over objects further away. These parameters can be changed at runtime to find the sweet spot for your scene.

The Close Up Distance is a change in the distance factor between camera and streaming object when the camera gets too close. For example, when the camera is at 3 units or less of distance from the object, it will use the value at Close Up Distance Factor, when the camera is further than 3 units from the object, it will use the value at Distance Factor. That way the system forces a strong streaming of data when the camera is very close to an object.

The Distance Type can be set to Bounding Box or Bounding Box Center. In case it's set to Bounding Box it will calculate the distance between the camera and object based on the edges of the bounding box of the object. In case it's set to Bounding Box Center, it will calculate the distance from the center of the object. It's recommended to use Bounding Box for single objects, and Bounding Box Center for full environments in which the user will be walking inside the object.

The other parameters should be left in default or you can check an explanation on the Supported Parameters section.

Supported Parameters

Streaming Model Component

The Streaming Model prefab represents the model to be streamed inside your project. A Streaming Model component always needs a reference to the Stream Controller component to function and a Source URL which is the URL of your converted model. Once those two are correctly set, your model will start streaming inside your project as soon as you press Play.

The Stream Controller is a reference to the Stream Controller inside your scene and needs to be set, and the Source URL is the URL of your converted model that needs to be pasted in the field.

In case your project is using Light Probes, you can tick the Light Probe Usage box. In case you would like to use a custom material in your streaming model, you can tick the Custom Material box, which will open a new panel that will allow you to change the material.

You can also set different Quality Priority options by clicking at Streaming Runtime Options Settings. This means that some models can have higher priority of streaming than others, it can use only integer numbers and it works in the following logic:

You can also turn on or off the Streaming Model Preview script to check a preview of your streaming model in the scene without the need to play it.

Supported Parameters

Unreal Engine Plugin

Polygon Streaming models can be added to Unreal Engine based projects with the use of the Unreal Engine Plugin. This will allow the streaming of models with multiple millions of polygons to stream from the cloud into your Windows-based projects and applications.

Plugin Download and Release Notes

Change Log

Stream Controller

The Stream Controller manages the streaming of models and streaming parameters inside your project. There must be only one Stream Controller per scene, since it will control all Streaming Models as one.

The Triangle Budget is a limit on the amount of triangles that will be drawn per frame. Increasing this will lead to better visual quality, but of course also higher processing and memory utilization. It's recommended to keep Triangle Budget to at least 30% of the full amount of polygons that you are going to stream. For example, if you are going to stream a 3D model of 10 million polygons, it's recommended to use a Triangle Budget of at least 3 million.

In case you use too low Triangle Budget, for example 500 thousand to stream 10 million polygons, you may reach the budget before it's possible to showcase the higher quality of the model. Resulting in only showing a lower quality version of the model in order to stay within the budget.

The Distance Factor is a factor between the distance of the camera to the object being streamed. The default value of 1.1 has a neutral preference. A higher value, such as 3 or 5, will have a preference for nearby objects over objects further away. These parameters can be changed at runtime to find the sweet spot for your scene.

The Distance Type can be set to Bounding Box or Bounding Box Center. In case it's set to Bounding Box it will calculate the distance between the camera and object based on the edges of the bounding box of the object. In case it's set to Bounding Box Center, it will calculate the distance from the center of the object. It's recommended to use Bounding Box for single objects, and Bounding Box Center for full environments in which the user will be walking inside the object.

The Close Up Distance is a change in the distance factor between camera and streaming object when the camera gets too close. For example, when the camera is at 3 units or less of distance from the object, it will use the value at Close Up Distance Factor, when the camera is further than 3 units from the object, it will use the value at Distance Factor. That way the system forces a strong streaming of data when the camera is very close to an object.

The other parameters should be left in default or you can check an explanation on the Supported Parameters section.

Supported Parameters

Streaming Model Component

The Streaming Model Actor represents the model to be streamed inside your project. A Streaming Model component always needs a reference to the Stream Controller component to function and a Source URL which is the Asset ID URL of your converted model. Once those two are correctly set, your model will start streaming inside your project as soon as you press Play.

The URL field is the Asset ID address of your streaming model, once the Asset ID is pasted in this field, the model can be streamed inside your scene.

You can also set different Quality Priority options by clicking at Streaming Runtime Options Settings. This means that some models can have higher priority of streaming than others, it can use only integer numbers and it works in the following logic:

The Stream Controller is a reference to the Stream Controller inside your scene and it needs to be set, otherwise the model won’t appear or be streamed inside your scene.

Show Preview option will create a simple preview of the model in the editor scene, so you can position and scale your model correctly without the need to run the game.

In case you would like to use a custom material in your streaming model, you can tick the Custom Material box, which will open a new panel that will allow you to change the materials of the model.

Supported Parameters