Create and employ different node types in VRED

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Autodesk VRED Professional offers a variety of node types within the Scenegraph, each with unique functionality.

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With a scene open in VRED, from the Quick Access bar, click Graph to open the Scenegraph.

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Then, right-click and select Create to access the available nodes.

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You can use a group node to select and transform a group of objects all at once.

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When any object within a group is transformed, its node changes to a transform node.

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However, if a group node is selected and transformed, it automatically changes to a group transform node.

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In this example, tires and wheels will be grouped to structure the data more efficiently.

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Then, a material group will be created to illustrate its use.

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To start, create two group nodes.

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In the Scenegraph, right-click and select Create > Group,

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then rename the new group—in this case, to “Rim”.

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Create a second group named “Tire”.

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In the Search field, enter “Wheels” to locate this group.

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Drag and drop the two new groups into the Wheels group to subordinate them.

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Next, in the search field, enter “Tires”.

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Then, drag and drop the selected results into the Tire group.

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Repeat this process for Rims.

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Collapse some of the nodes to simplify your view in the Scenegraph.

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Next, create a material group node.

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With the Wheels group node selected, right-click and select Create > Material Group.

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Then, drag and drop the Tire group into the Material Group to subordinate the Tire group.

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A material group node transfers the materials assigned to it to all subordinated objects.

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The original material of the geometry is suspended but not deleted.

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To see how this works, create a material and assign it to the group node.

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From the Quick Access bar, click Materials.

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In the Material Editor, right-click a material in the preview and select Create Material > Plastic.

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Leave the material in its raw state.

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To assign this new material to the group node, first, in the Scenegraph, hide any unnecessary geometry by deselecting the appropriate nodes.

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Then, from the Material Editor, drag and drop the material into the Material Group.

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Observe the tire material changing to the newly assigned plastic material.

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To undo this change, simply remove the Tire group from the material group by dropping it into the Wheels group.

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Now that it is no longer subordinated, the original geometry-assigned material is used.

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Close the Material Editor, and in the Scenegraph, reveal the hidden geometry.

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Next, explore the use of the switch node to control geometry visibility by switching between variants.

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This node sets one subordinate object, or child, to be visible while rendering the others invisible.

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In this example, a wheel variation is already imported and a switch node will be created for the front left wheel.

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In the Scenegraph, select the Wheels group node, then right-click and select Create > Switch.

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Rename the node to “Rim_Switch_FL”.

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Next, to locate the FL Rims, select the Rim group node.

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Next to the search bar, select Search in Selection, type “FL” into the search field, and then press ENTER.

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Drag and drop the found FL Rims into the new switch node.

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Expand the Multispoke group,

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then drag and drop the FL Rims into the switch as well.

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Expand the switch to see that both rims are now subordinated to the switch.

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Now, use the Variants module to specify which variation to display.

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From the Menu Bar, click Scene and select Variants.

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The Variants dialog opens.

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From the Scenegraph, drag and drop the switch node into the Variants dialog.

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From the list of variants, select the switch node to display its properties.

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To switch between variations, double-click the desired variation from the State list.

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Notice that the currently selected variation is displayed in the Viewport

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and is also selected in the Scenegraph, while the other remains hidden and deselected.

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Now you can use group nodes, material group nodes, and switch nodes in the Scenegraph to help configure your VRED scene.