Nuke Stage workflows for Unreal users

Launching Nuke Stage

To launch Nuke Stage, open the NukeStage Launcher GUI. The Launcher is where you define which processes run and where they run from.

• Nuke Stage Editor: this is the equivalent of the Unreal Engine Editor, where you can create and edit your scenes. However, it is also where you set up your hardware and networking that you would do in nDisplay if you were using Unreal Engine.

• Relay: The relay handles the networking process.

• RenderNodes: The Nuke Stage equivalent to Unreal’s secondary cluster nodes.

You will need to put the IP addresses and port of any RenderNodes if they are on different machines than your control machine (instead of in nDisplay). You don’t need to specify primary or secondary nodes.

The Executable path in Nuke Stage Launcher is the equivalent to the EngineDir in Unreal - it will be filled automatically with your location of the NukeStage process, so you do not need to input the path manually.

Click Launch All to launch the render processes on each of the RenderNdoes, the Relay, and to open up the Nuke Stage Editor.

Setting up a new project in Nuke Stage

In Nuke Stage, all project configuration is done within Nuke Stage Editor. This is different to Unreal Engine, where displays and mapping are set up from a separate instance of nDisplay.

Note:  When you open Nuke Stage Editor, it is similar to opening up the empty nDisplay template in Unreal. There aren’t any presets in the Editor, however, you can save stage configurations that enable you to open up specific setups, saving you time and enabling config sharing amongst teams (similar to saved nDisplay configs). See more at Saving Stage Configuration.

Below is an image of the set up workflow in Nuke Stage:

Network Setup

The first thing to set up in Nuke Stage is the networking.

In the Properties panel you connect to Relay. Once you have done this, you can add your RenderNodes to the Editor (in the Setup workspace). Information on this can be found at Network Setup.

Because in Nuke Stage you can launch the RenderNode and Relay processes in the Launcher alongside the Nuke Stage Editor, you don’t need to set them up or define their host addresses from within the Editor. This is different from Unreal’s workflow of setting up the nDisplayScreen before setting up the node cluster.

The project configuration in Nuke Stage can then be completed by following the tabs of the Project Graph.

Hardware Setup

In Project Graph > Hardware, you can define your Outputs and Displays. This is the equivalent to Unreal’s nDisplay Config.

Outputs

First you define your Outputs - an Output window in Nuke Stage is like a Window in Unreal. It’s at this stage you define the size of your output display for each RenderNode using the Viewport properties. For reasons around sync, this output size should be the complete size of your display, even if you’re only using a subsection of that display on the wall. If you are using a subsection this can be defined in the output mapping in a later step.

More information at Creating Outputs.

Displays

The next set up step in Nuke Stage is to define your displays. A Display in Nuke Stage is the equivalent to an nDisplayScreen asset in Unreal. Displays represent the physical LED walls in your setup. In Nuke Stage Editor you can create flat displays (Planar), or Cylindrical displays if you have a curved LED stage.

The dimensions and physical location of these displays can be edited (full controls at Displays Controls). If you have a custom stage set up, you can import a custom mesh by selecting the Type property as Custom and inputting the file path.

Output Mapping

In the properties of each Display, go to Output mapping and define the Output and RenderNode that is connected to the Display. You also define the resolution of the RenderNode output.

If you have multiple RenderNodes, you can define their specific output region in the Output mapping parameters found in Displays properties. This is similar to nDisplay, as you can define the RenderNode to each output and mapping so you can control the output of your wall.

Camera Setup

To set up your camera in Nuke Stage, go to Project Graph > Cameras and add a new camera. Define whether it will be an inner (modeled on a real world camera) or outer (360 render for usage in the absence of any real world camera) camera.

Nuke Stage Cameras are similar to using ICVFX camera in nDisplay and a corresponding Cine Camera Actor in Unreal.

It is also within the Camera properties panel that you set up the camera tracking system if you are using one. This is similar to using the Live Link plugins in Unreal.

Loading a 3D scene

Once you have set up your networking and hardware, you can load content into your project and start building up your scene.

Nuke Stage uses HdStorm as its 3D renderer.

Go to Project Graph > USD Stage > Path to load up the USD Scene.

Note:  When using multiple machines in a set up, ensure that your content is loaded on the exact same file path on each machine to prevent any sync issues.

You can’t build complex geometry in Nuke Stage, but you can move and transform geometry using Transform Manipulators and the Properties panel. You can also build effects onto your scene using the node graph. See more at Node Graph.

In Unreal you need to run nDisplay from your Unreal Editor, so the project is pre-defined when you start your nDisplay instance. In Nuke Stage there are Project Tabs, and you can switch between them whilst staying connected to the relay and RenderNodes. It is the active project that will appear on your wall.

Transferring projects from Unreal to Nuke Stage

Nuke Stage uses USD as its 3D format. You can therefore export a project in USD format from Unreal Engine and then load it into Nuke Stage.

Animating a scene in Nuke Stage for Unreal users

Nuke Stage has a Sequencer workspace that has a Sequencer panel. Here you can drag any animatable property into the sequencer to begin animating your scene. This is the equivalent to Unreal Engine’s sequencer.

Nuke Stage Sequencer features:

• Key frames

• Cues

• Clips

• Curve editor

• Interpolation

To see all controls of Nuke Stage’s sequencer, go to Sequencer Panel.

Creating a Track

To create a track in Nuke Stage, you can drag a property from an object within Nuke Stage Editor (for this example, a Node) directly into the Sequencer panel. Alternatively you can press the keyframe icon () on any property in the properties panel.

You can easily view your tracks from the Tree View of the Sequencer panel, which displays all the tracks you have created - similar to the Track manager. Note that you can have multiple sequences and the tree view only displays the tracks for that particular sequencer.

This comparison document is provided by Foundry for information purposes only. Unreal Engine is a trademark of Epic Games, Inc.