Twinmotion 2022.2 Release Notes

Twinmotion 2022.2.2 is now available.

If you're an existing user, you can download and install the latest release from the Epic Games launcher on your computer.

If you're a new user, you can get started here.

Feel free to start a New Discussion in the Twinmotion support community to share your thoughts on this release; if you need to report a bug, click here.

What’s New

Sketchfab Library Integration in Twinmotion

Similar to the Quixel Megascans library integration, the Sketchfab library is now available in Twinmotion. Log in with your Epic Account to download assets. The Sketchfab library included in Twinmotion contains around 700,000 objects. Once downloaded, the objects can be dragged and dropped into a Twinmotion scene.

Twinmotion filters the assets in the Sketchfab library according to the four Creative Commons license types they are covered by: CC BY, CC BY-SA, CC BY-ND, and CC0. Except for the CC0 asset category, you must give credit to the creator. For more information on CC licenses, refer to the Creative Commons website.

Limitations:

• If you already have a Sketchfab account, you will not have access to any Sketchfab 3D models that were acquired by you or your organization. You will only have access to the Sketchfab Library.

• All Sketchfab objects are collapsed and the geometry of objects cannot be edited.

• Animated objects and skeletal animation are not supported.

• Certain materials with complex shaders, such as Frosted Glass or Sheen, will be converted to default Twinmotion generic materials.

• Objects, materials, and generic materials are not instantiated when they are dragged from the Library to the scene in the Viewport.

• Sketchfab models are made by a large community of users. Materials, model definition, scale, and orientation may be inconsistent once dragged in Twinmotion.

• Sketchfab Point Cloud-based models are not supported in Twinmotion. If such models are drag’n dropped in Twinmotion, it will create an empty folder in the hierarchy.

For more information, refer to Sketchfab Assets in the Library.

Tiled Rendering for High-Resolution Export

Using a tiled rendering technique, images and videos can now be rendered at higher resolutions (up to 64K) without being limited by GPU memory. You can activate the feature in the format settings of images and videos.

Limitations:

• The quality of the following visual settings can be affected when using the High-Resolution export option: Screen Space Reflections (SSR), Screen Space Ambient Occlusion (SSAO), Global Illumination (GI), Lens Flare, Depth of Field (DoF), and Bloom. Of these, only Lens Flare, Depth of Field, Bloom apply when using the Path Tracer.

• Activating the Tiled Rendering export option circumvents GPU memory limitations, but the trade-off is an increase in the render time due to the assembling of tiles to compose the final image. However, there will still be high requirements for system RAM.

For more information, refer to Export Settings for Images and Panoramas and Export Settings for Videos.

HDRI Backdrop

The lighting Dock has evolved. It now contains an Environment group with three items: the Dynamic Sky, the Sky Light HDRI (previously Skydome), and the new Backdrop HDRI.

If Backdrop HDRI is selected, a new representation of the environment is activated, based on a hemispherical object in the scene. The ‘more…’ button on the Backdrop control enables you to set precise parameter options such as the size and projection offset. Similar to the workflow for the Skydome, it is possible to add multiple Backdrops in the scene for different media, enabling several different aspects to be shown for a single scene.

Side effect and limitations:

• Backdrops generate more ‘fireflies’ artifacts when Path Tracer rendering is used. Be sure to lower the fireflies setting accordingly in the render settings.

• The Tilt parameter will never be considered in reflections (a tilted panorama will still appear unchanged in the reflections).

• A ghost effect (like a double overlapping environment) is visible in reflections with Path Tracer rendering. To reduce it, minimize the scene's ambient value.

• Due to actual texture size limitations, the resolution of Backdrops is limited to 1K for Twinmotion Cloud Presentations.

For more information, refer to Twinmotion Assets in the Library, and Lighting Settings in Visual Settings for Media.

Physics-Based Asset Placement Tool (Early Access)

It is now possible to place objects using rigid body physics simulation in real-time inside the Viewport. The new Move with collision and Gravity tools are accessible directly in the toolbar.

The Move with collision tool can be used to manipulate individual or multiple objects in conjunction with the Translate, Rotate,and Scale tools to prevent objects in your scene to intersect with each other. When the Move with collision tool is activated, the Scale tool behavior will be slightly different. Instead of scaling selected objects, it will separate or group them on the gizmo position according to the X/Y/Z axis.

With the Gravity tool enabled, all selected objects in your scene will drop as if affected by gravity. You can create realistic-looking placement because objects will come to rest in natural locations.

Physics tools are still at an early stage of development and have some limitations:

• Currently, the tools can only work with simple geometry meshes and the following objects won’t be affected by physics: Point Cloud files, Lights, Vehicles, Trees, Landscapes, Containers, Tools, Sounds, Doors, Particles, Decals, Animated Humans, and Animals.

• We generate a simple convex bounding box around the object affected by physics in order for gravity and collisions to work in real time; for this reason,sometimes the contact points of the objects are not perfect.

• When activating physics on an object, if it intersects with a high-poly mesh, you may experience momentary freezing due to the complexity of the calculation.

• When objects rest on a plane, moving them along the surface with the Move with collision tool can create a delay between your objects and the gizmo position due to some friction forces. Elevating your objects a few millimeters from the surface will resolve the problem.

For more information, refer to Physics-based Asset Placement Tools (Early Access) in The Toolbar.

Import Lights from Design Software (Datasmith)

Lights contained in Datasmith scenes (Direct Link or .udatasmith files) can now be imported in Twinmotion.

Process options have been added. You can import your project with either lights, meshes, or both at the same time.

Options for light settings have been added to apply specific parameters to imported lights: Use original, Set intensity to 300lm, Set all values to TM default.

For more information, refer to Import Options in Datasmith Direct Link Workflow and Datasmith File Import Workflow.

Support for More Complex Presentations in Twinmotion Cloud

With the recent rollout of support for next-generation cloud GPUs, we’ve quadrupled the RAM capacity on our cloud instances and increased the VRAM capacity by 1.5x. Combined with the texture compression improvements mentioned below, this means that significantly more complex presentations are now supported for upload and sharing on Twinmotion Cloud.

In the unlikely event that a project does still exceed these limits, we’ve also improved the pre-upload cloud compatibility check warning with more detailed information regarding both RAM and VRAM usage of your project.

Motion Sensor Support for Presentations

We’ve added support for looking around a Presentation in an AR-like mode on compatible mobile and tablet devices.

For more information, refer to Viewing Presentations.

VRAM Usage User Warning

Information about the use of GPU memory by the scene is now indicated by a non-blocking warning with several levels of notifications: 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%. These indications are displayed in the Statistics panel.

For more information, refer to GPU RAM Diagnostics.

Export Formats for Images and Panoramas

In addition to PNG, you can now export images and panoramas in JPEG or EXR formats.

Limitation:

• Color gradient is not taken into consideration in the EXR outputs.

For more information, refer to Export Settings for Images and Panoramas.

New Units

We've implemented two new units options in the preference panel settings. You can now display all the size information from your scene in centimeters or feet.

For more information, refer to Unit System under Settings in Twinmotion Preferences.

New Categories for Posed Humans

In anticipation of our goal to add many more assets during the next few months, Posed humans have been split into several categories.

Multiple File Import

Simultaneous import of multiple files is now available in Twinmotion. You can either import .udatasmith, non-.udatasmith, or all file types at once.

Supported files: .udatasmith, .gltf, .glb, .fbx, .skp, .obj, .c4d, .3ds, .dae, .dxf, .iv, .lw, .lwb, .lwm, .lwo, .lws, .lxo, .ply, .stl, .wrl, .wrl97, .vrml, .x.

glTF and glB Import in Twinmotion

Similar to the Datasmith import process, a new file format is available in the import list. glTF files (and the binary version glB) can be imported into Twinmotion.

Limitations:

• Animated objects and skeletal animation are not supported.

• Certain materials with complex shaders, such as Frosted Glass or Sheen, will be converted to default Twinmotion generic materials.

For more information on supported file formats, refer to Getting Your Content Into Twinmotion.

UV Precision Option Available for Datasmith Imports

It is now possible to increase UV precision for Datasmith file import. The feature is available as a checkbox in the Import panel, similar to the one for non-Datasmith imports. It will solve the issue of UVs on tiny geometries requiring more precision to be correctly interpreted instead of being destroyed.

For more information, refer to Import Options in Datasmith Direct Link Workflow and Datasmith File Import Workflow.

Motion Blur Toggle

We’ve added a Motion blur toggle for video output (by default Motion blur is on). This option is available in the video Export dock.

For more information, refer to Export Settings for Videos.

Near Clipping Plane

The Near clipping value can now be changed in camera settings in order to avoid clipping issues when working on small objects in the scene. It can be set individually for each image, panorama, and video. The slider ranges from 0.001 to 1 meter; you can manually enter values between 0.001 and 100 meters.

For more information, refer to Camera Settings in Visual Settings for Media.

Extended Field of View

The Field of view minimal angle value can be reduced more than before.

For more information, refer to Camera Settings in Visual Settings for Media.

Focal Length Setting in the Media Tab

Focal length replaces the FOV setting in the Media tab under the camera settings. The conversion from the field of view degrees to the focal length millimeters is based on the dimensions of a full-frame sensor.

For more information, refer to Camera Settings in Visual Settings for Media.

New Navigation Speeds

We have introduced two new navigation speeds in the viewport. The Handle speed and the Inspect speed are slower than the Walk speed and will enable you to navigate more easily around small objects.

For more information, refer to Controlling Navigation Speed.

New Navigation Presets

The Twinmotion default navigation has been changed by adding an orbit action to the left mouse button. The navigation panel UI has consequently been updated to reflect this new Twinmotion default navigation.

We have also created new and more accurate shortcuts to match other 3D software’s navigation styles for orbiting, panning, and zooming. You can still access them in the navigation panel UI under the wheel.

For more information, refer to Navigation Panel.

New Shortcuts

You can now use the keyboard key Z (qwerty) or W (azerty) to toggle quickly between the Local and the World axis.

Pressing the keyboard key C while orbiting will center the rotation around the pivot of the selected object.

For more information about orbiting around an object's pivot point, refer to Navigation Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts.

Transform Panel Improvements

In the Transform panel, you can use the Tab key, Shift + Tab keys, and Up and Down keys to switch between the coordinates fields.

In the rotation fields, we are now rounding to the nearest hundredth. The conversion between quaternions and Euler angles has been improved, and entering coordinates manually will no longer randomly change values in other fields.

Clicking in a Transform panel field with the left mouse button will automatically select the whole text.

When the selection is the full text, you can copy and paste the exact values from one field to another without any rounding.

16K Resolution Panorama Output

Panoramas can now be exported in 16K resolution, and Panorama Sets can be exported to Twinmotion Cloud at 16K resolution.

For more information about supported resolutions for Panoramas and Panorama Sets, refer to Export Settings for Images and Panoramas and Export Settings for Panorama Sets.

Mesh Size

New information has been added to the Transform panel. You can now visualize the size of the selected object on the X/Y/Z axis.

Scene Graph Improvements

In the Scene graph, new functions are available on right-clicking on a selection:

Container creation:

• New container is now named Create sub container.

• Move to new container places the selected objects in a new container. This container is created where the last click is done in the Scene graph.

Instance selection:

• If you have instances in the scene, you can now select all the referring instances by right-clicking on one of them in the Scene graph and choosing Select all instances.

Handle Textures from Cache (Direct Link)

To avoid lost textures or textures being cleared from the cache, you can now specify a destination path for cached textures when using the Direct Link functionality.

Subfolders for each individual Direct Link item are automatically created and organized by design application. This functionality is activated by default on both macOS and Windows. It is available through the Direct Link preferences, where you can edit and deactivate the path.

Limitation:

• Created folders for cached textures will only be kept until they are manually removed on the drive.

For more information, refer to The DirectLinkTextures Folder in Datasmith DirectLink Workflow.

Identifying Light Types in the Scene Graph and Viewport

Light types are now represented by icons in the Scene graph, making it more convenient to manage the scene.

As well, when Visual Helpers are enabled (Preferences > Appearance), each type of light has its own unique icon in the Viewport.

Breadcrumbs in Libraries

A breadcrumb type navigation has been integrated in libraries: the full path of the directory is displayed allowing users to navigate more efficiently, with just one click to go up to previous levels.

For more information, refer to Overview of the Library.

Gizmo Colors

Standard RGB colors have been added to the Gizmo to make it easier to identify the X/Y/Z axes in the Viewport.

Texture Compression

A texture compression algorithm, internal to Twinmotion, is now applied on textures, reducing the memory requirements. Users can expect around 75% texture memory saving with almost no visual quality impact. This reduces file sizes and improves save/load performance, especially on scenes containing Cloud Assets.

Windows 11 Support

Functional validation as well as performance testing are completed. We are now officially supporting Windows 11.

macOS Monterey Support

Functional validation as well as performance testing are completed. We are now officially supporting Monterey.

Bugs Fixed in 2022.2

Cloud - Library - Megascan - Sketchfab

TM-8229 - Downloading an asset from a certain category could cause a crash.

TM-7489 - Quixel vegetation opacity were incorrect.

TM-6953 - There was a missing texture in the Sandstone Cliff and Rock Sandstone Quixel assets.

Content

TM-7053 - LOD settings for Colorado Spruce and Koyama Spruce trees have been fixed.

TM-6806 - Random crashes could occur when refreshing logo on construction machine.

TM-6766 - Decals were not displayed on Furniture/City/Advertising categories.

TM-6759 - Texture Opacity was broken.

TM-7756 - Pivot point problem on the Pure Hood asset has been fixed.

TM-7262 - Sanitary05, Sanitary06, and Sanitary07 had the wrong Rotation and Pivot location.

TM-6926 - Weather changes were not reflected on Fabric Materials.

TM-8312 - The default orientation when placing clocks in the Viewport for the first time was wrong.

TM-6516 - Some library assets did not display proper icons in the Scene graph.

TM-8779 - Shift+Click to select all items did not work with HDRI content.

TM-8758 - Performance issue navigating HDRI Folder in the library.

Core

TM-6401 - Selection Undo stack was sometimes erratic with Viewport selections.

TM-6954 - Demo scene was overwritten when closing the application window after editing the scene.

TM-6883 - Random crashes could occur when unboxing Gizmo selection.

TM-6898 - Applied skydome for media appeared as 'Empty' when re-opening files.

TM-6410 - It was not possible to undo transform edits while in the transform panel.

TM-7147 - Twinmotion crashed on startup on macOS if an external monitor was previously used then disconnected.

TM-5411 - Leaving Twinmotion on macOS idle on a scene containing video textures could cause a crash.

TM-8240 - Size of trees was not properly kept when hiding/unhiding vegetation from the Scene Graph after scene save and reload.

Interoperability

TM-8141 - Crash occurred when opening a client scene containing a specific FBX model.

TM-7847 - 3D Characters’ materials were not imported and assigned during TM to UE import.

TM-8230 - Random crashes could occur when starting an import.

TM-8386 - Emitters naming was inconsistent with "unnamed" sources.

TM-8401 - Reset properties on lights also reset transforms in Collapse By mode.

TM-6005 - Datasmith Direct Link import UV issues have been fixed.

TM-6679 - SketchUp file lost UVs on resync in Keep hierarchy mode.

TM-7759 - Datasmith importer ignored the visibility flag defined in Datasmith actors.

TM-8538 - Rotation was not updated on Datasmith re-import.

Localization

TM-4666 - Speed keys were not working with Windows Deutsch language package.

Rendering

TM-7002 - Image export using Path Tracer hung if parameters were high and Path Tracer was also enabled in the Viewport.

TM-6033 - Exporting Stereo 360 Panorama and Images had blurred vegetation or objects using 3D mode.

TM-6463 - Light disconnection between Viewport and Path Tracer at night time has been fixed.

TM-6330 - Random glitches could occur on video output on macOS systems.

TM-6342 - Changing HDRI quality through preferences did not switch the skydome quality.

TM-6595 - Arash could occur when exporting a 4K still image using Path Tracer.

TM-7184 - Overdraw has been disabled on Path Tracer export, preventing unexpected crashes.

TM-7173 - Light Haze was still visible after deleting the light in Path Tracer.

TM-7322 - White Flashes on Video texture could occur on macOS.

TM-7038 - Artifacts could occur on images rendered with Path Tracer when bump maps were used.

Save / Load

TM-6910 - Opening files through File > Open used more VRAM compared to opening files by double-clicking on the file icon.

TM-7060 - Out of Memory error could occur when opening a file.

TM-7145 - Using the same Skydome on different media images increased file size.

Tools

TM-4944 - Painted vegetation did not always get properly restored after geometry re-import.

TM-6239 - Object Replace did not work with Megascans and Cloud assets.

TM-6824 - Hidden Daisies didn't respect visibility state when using growth animation.

TM-7614 - IES Profiles were not imported correctly.

TM-5117 - Selecting objects always selected its container, not the object itself.

TM-7747 - Crash could occur when closing Twinmotion after using Scene State.

TM-7835 - Move to new container option did not focus the Scene graph on the created container.

TM-6920 - Images were not lining up when exported with 3D Mode.

TM-4837 - Doors coming from previous versions did not have the right handles applied.

Tools - Landscape

TM-6744 - Crash could occur when attempting to Shift-Copy/Instance an already instantiated tree.

Tools - Library

TM-6402 - Some Decal textures were exposing parameters that did not work under ‘more..’.

TM-6892 - Section cube did not work on Posed Humans.

TM-7544 - Crash could occur when right-clicking on a new folder in User Library.

Tools - Material

TM-6035 - Geometry with single plane elements - had missing texture and water could not be applied to those planes.

Tools - Viewport

TM-5424 - Gizmo was offset when duplicating an object by Shift + Dragging the snapping area.

Twinmotion Cloud

TM-6873 - False compatibility check warning on macOS.

TM-8150 - Error occurred retrieving EULA status when trying to push scenes to cloud or download cloud library assets.

TM-5666 - Uploading some Presentation files with video textures on macOS could cause a crash.

UI

TM-6545 - Light tenths values were rounded down with many localized languages.

TM-6765 - Transform panel did not display the correct units.

VR

TM-4197 - Stuttering display issue with VR Tracking Lenovo Explorer MR headset has been fixed.

TM-5659 - Handedness of VR controls did not persist properly.

TM-6263 - VR Controller and Menu were blurred when modifying Depth of field.

Known Bugs Affecting 2022.2

Content

TM-8108 - Snow on painted grass even if Particles are "off".

TM-7298 - Water material is broken after two-sided application on the previous object's material.

Core

TM-7838 - Texture may be missing after reloading an imported Object if the maps folder is not in the same location as the imported Objects.

TM-8104 - Users seem to be able to Open 2022.2 Files in Previous Versions of TM while we don't support forward compatibility.

TM-8697 - Data may remain after deleting everything in a .TM file.

Cloud - Library - Megascan - Sketchfab

TM-7233 - Quixel Bracken Fern is missing an opacity map.

TM-7231 - 3D plant Myricaria 02 is missing textures.

TM-7550 - Quixel Granite Rock fails to parse.

TM-7765 - Quixel items with multiple meshes come in spread out.

TM-7313 - User ID is not propagated from the launcher to Twinmotion editor on macOS.

TM-8439 - Missing texture on Quixel Megascans assets after converting the file from 2022.1 to 2022.2.

TM-8440 - Disformed meshes on Quixel Megascan assets after converting the file from 2022.1 to 2022.2.

TM-8531 - Some Sketchfab assets do not initialize properly after first drag and drop, turning into simple rectangular cubes.

TM-8505 - Thumbnails of downloaded Cloud assets become all gray when clearing library search that returns no result.

Interoperability

TM-7593 - Rhino Material Gloss is not imported with accurate %.

TM-8290 - Materials may appear white after Direct Link or Auto Sync are re-enabled.

Workaround: Change Quality settings and the texture will regenerate properly or start editing any affected texture but that will only regenerate the one edited.

TM-8285 - Object transforms and scales are reset after re-import.

TM-8210 - Object UVs broken after re-import while cubic UVs option is on.

TM-8686 - Static mesh does not import from SketchUp Direct Link.

Import

TM-7051 - Reload of the point cloud or reopen of the TM project doesn't keep the PivotMode location.

TM-7056 - Point cloud objects are not well aligned when using Keep original pivot.

TM-7043 - The collision mesh is not following the object when using Keep original pivot on Point Clouds.

Render - Export

TM-7017 - Clay render does not render two-sided objects correctly.

TM-8544 - Safe frame will reset phasing status when exporting the presenter (local & cloud).

TM-8607 - Media speed randomly changes in viewport and exported mp4.

TM-8649 - Videos with video textures are not exporting correctly.

TM-8670 - No transparency on tree leaves when using the rendering styles.

Tools

TM-7668 - "G" shortcut is not properly mapped.

TM-7825 - Unusable gizmo of an object after reimport.

Workaround: Select another object to have the normal behavior.

TM-7870 - Object is not duplicated at given spacing by shift+translate at the center of the gizmo.

TM-7876 - Problem when dragging a material with a projection mode on FBX. All object projections are being modified even if not instantiated.

TM-7904 - Crash when undoing video segment deletion after scene conversion.

TM-8657 - Twinmotion may hang when Gravity is applied to a high number of objects or complex objects.

TM-8792 - Crash when closing application after undoing physics applied on multiple objects.

Tools - Library

TM-7074 - Animator pivot edit tool should not allow selecting other objects while it's active.

TM-7590 - Measure tool length is not editable with constraint set to off.

Workaround: Select another item in the scene graph or click another menu in dock, then go back to the measure tool.

TM-8702 - Favorites filter for Library not always loading properly between sessions.

Tools - Media

TM-7808 - Can't rename a media while the material picker tool is selected.

UI

TM-7809 - Breadcrumb of videos is missing the Setting part.

TM-7971 - Long names are not truncated in the Scene graph.

TM-8692 - HDRI Breadcrumb does not display properly when a HDRI is dropped into the scene.

VR

TM-6696 - Twinmotion closes when exit from VR mode (WinMR only).

TM-6738 - Twinmotion crashes when switching to VR mode with Oculus Quest2 on.