Details on Vectorworks Graphics Module (VGM) in new Vectorworks 2014

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More Details

We will cover more details about the performance in this change later. For now you may want to understand more about what VGM is. Vectorworks Graphics Module is specifically an OpenGL rendering engine providing high-quality interactive renders with shadows, edges, anti-aliasing and more. It consist, importantly of four (4) main components or sub-modules which can be extended, modified or even replaced if necessary without destroying the entire VGM system.

• VGM Engine — This is the system and primary sub-module that transfers data from Vectorworks to the VGM and is responsible for syncing object and material data and for issuing calls to render. A big change with this engine is that while currently the syncing process involves transferring all tessellation data, material data, and state data (necessary to render a job) at once, as the VGM is expanded it should be possible to move to an “on-demand” data transfer model, which would allow the system to call back to the core or return data to Vectorworks.
• VGM Scene Graph — The sub-module organizes all the data transferred to the VGM engine described above. The Scene Graph keeps track of the layers, viewports, symbols, et cetera, such that the VGM can keep track of document state and minimize the amount of data transfer required.  There is also an internal representation that takes place which allows a decoupling of the core from the VGM and thereby allows Nemetschek Vectorworks more flexibility in optimizing and processing the data further. Finally, the Scene Graph is responsible for flattening the data into a quick representation that is quick to process and render.
• VGM Geometry Engine — This is not something that replaces Parasolid but rather works in tandem with that technology. After completion of the Scene Graphs processing of the data, it gets transferred to this geometry engine which calculates things like object bounds and sorts data into rendering acceleration structures. These rendering acceleration structures are modular and can be extended to support 2D as well as 3D operations. This is also the part of the system responsible for preprocessing items such as the shadows and lighting as well as section geometry and the Clip Cube.
• VGM Render Engine — Once data is sorted into “accelerated structures” by the geometry engine the render engine processes things into a series of render queues that store the data necessary to render the scene. This data is consumed by the render engine and is rendered to the OpenGL buffers.

So that is the Vectorworks Graphics Module (VGM) which powers the new OpenGL render pipeline. Some additional notes include that the VGM is solely focused on 3D solid and line renderings but can be extended to support 2D or even swapped out for entirely new systems such as PDF or SVG renders. In other words, Nemetschek Vectorworks’ new OpenGL focused VGM is flexible enough to substitute out entire submodules to create further value in the area of 3D and rendering.

Brass Tacks

Okay, so what does this all mean for actual purposes within the application? Well, it will be existing users who will experience this new OpenGL pipeline immediately if they work in 3D. Here is a list of the big changes in working in 3D OpenGL mode that cover the details of why it will work so much faster.

• Immediate performance improvement in flyover mode or navigation in OpenGL rendered views
• There is no waiting for geometry changes when creating new objects in OpenGL rendered views
• Occlusion prevents the cursor from snapping to elements behind elements, while the new X-Ray Select feature allows you to still select elements hidden by other elements
• Edits, moves, adjustments to objects do not require waiting for geometry to be re-rendered
• You can now edit symbols in 3d mode without leaving OpenGL rendered mode, all other elements will gray out or be hidden (depends on setting option) — all of this without recalculation of geometry by the OpenGL render pipeline
• Because of occlusion it is far easier to select walls because you do not accidentally select geometry behind those wall elements–thus speeding up wall translations and adjustments
• OpenGL performance with shadows (even high quality) is dramatically faster
• You can now move lighting directions and see results instantly without geometry recalculation of the whole scene
• changes to layers and classes gets instant OpenGL rendered results–no more recalculation of the OpenGL scene, including graying of layers and classes
• Draw edges in OpenGL now look better and look, actually, identical to SketchUp. Additionally, edges do not scale with scene complexity or numbers of objects–edges are a constant computation cost to the GPU
• The occlusion feature also works in Fast Renderworks and if you change an object in that scene the OpenGL mode kicks in. This also includes navigation (fly over for example) so you can work in Fast Renderworks mode with only a small delay compared to OpenGL

A big feature adjustment that affects performance is the support for OpenGL occlusion. When using the Clip Cube in version 2013 even though you can drill into just a tiny segment of a whole building, because occlusion is not happening the invisible objects data is still being sent to the graphics card so there is no speed-up due to a lighter render calculation. Now with occlusion support the Clip Cube saves you time by speeding up the scene because only what remains in the Clip Cube is sent to the graphics card.

02 – VGM in 2014’s provides OpenGL occlusion which great aids the selection process for BIM workflows while speeding up the Clip Cube feature proportionally to what is now omitted in the data sent to the GPU.

In short, the OpenGL occlusion support is what truly makes the Clip Cube a more powerful tool. See our other report on Vectorworks 2014, soon to be announced.