DCC Importer CLI

These settings refer to the command-line interface (CLI) version of RapidPipeline DCC Importer, which is used for batch processing on local hardware or a virtual machine or via AWS.

info

The RapidPipeline DCC Importer CLI requires an Enterprise or Custom Plan: https://rapidpipeline.com/en/pricing/.

-h, --help

Displays a help message and exits the program.

--additionalFormat

Adds more output formats. Possible formats: GLB, GLB-OPACITY, FBX, USDZ.

Values are case insensitive, meaning -f FBX and -f fbx have the same effect, for example.

Output always consists of a glTF (a JSON file with references) and a Max file. Additional file types can be created if needed to help with importing into digital content creation (DCC) tools.  

• GLB is the same as the glTF, except all references are packed into a single binary file. 
• FBX will be output with a Physical Material. 
• USDz will be saved with USDPreviewSurface material. 
• GLB-Opacity is a binary glTF using Alpha instead of Transmission. The argument GLBOpacity only takes effect if the translated glTF is transmissive. If the translated glTF file is not transmissive, no opacity GLB will be generated.

It is important to note that outputs from RapidPipeline DCC Importer can be very large, as these files are uncompressed to allow for manual editing and lossless importing into digital content creation (DCC) or compression tools. The files created by --additionalFormat are provided to help with importing into other tools. Files will need to be optimized for efficient end-user delivery and consumption; for that we recommend using a suitable tool like RapidPipeline DCC Importer.

Multiple file formats can be provided to -f / --additionalFormat at once.

• Example usage:

  • --additionalFormat usdz glb fbx
  • -f usdz glb fbx
  • If you want to generate additional glbs and FBXs, but no USDz files: -f glb fbx
  • If you only want to generate additional FBX files: `-f fbx

• **NOTE:**

  • glTF files in JSON text format are always generated, no matter the usage of this flag or not.
  • Providing the same format multiple times (e.g., -f fbx fbx or -f fbx -f fbx) has no additional effect.
  • Providing the flag multiple times (e.g., -f fbx -f glb) causes the last argument to prevail over all previous ones.

--bakeDisplacement

 VRayDisplacementMod can be converted into geometry. When disabled, displacement will be converted into normal maps. 

--benchmarkLevel {disabled,simplified,full}

A spreadsheet can be generated of the time spent on each stage of conversion. 'Simplified' produces minimal measurements. 'Full' provides full benchmarking data. 

-c, --cleanUp

Cleans up output folder after every scene, leaving only final converted models.

--convertHair

Hair and Fur (WSM) modifier can be converted into geometry. When disabled, Hair and Fur (WSM) will be ignored.

--createMtlx

(Experimental, WIP) Creates MaterialX files, if provided and the dependency is installed.

--executablePath EXECUTABLEPATH

Override the DCC executable path. Recommended when multiple versions of a DCC are installed.

If you have multiple 3ds Max versions installed in your system, the use of the flag --executablePath is strongly encouraged both for the installation script and RapidPipeline DCC Importer itself.

Note that, if multiple 3ds Max versions are identified and no executable path override was provided, RapidPipeline DCC Importer will attempt to select the newest version.

If RapidPipeline DCC Importer is attempted to be executed with a different 3ds Max version than the one it was installed for, either selected automatically or through the override, an exception will occur as there will be a mismatch in the virtual environment configuration.

If switching between different 3ds Max installations, you will need to rerun the RapidPipeline DCC Importer installation script before executing with a different 3ds Max version.

--forceMaterialBaking

Forces material baking.

--generateOpacity

Generates additional outputs, converted if translated glTF originally has transmission, to a USDZ and a GLB with opacity.

--ignoreXRef

XRef meshes can be ignored. These are meshes being referenced in from other 3ds Max scene files.

-i INPUTFOLDER, --inputFolder INPUTFOLDER

Root folder for input files.

• We recommend that the output folder and the input folder should be completely separate directories - as in, one should not contain the other and vice versa.
• If the input folder contains the output folder, any 3dsMax scene files contained in the output folder will be ignored during the input folder file gathering step of the process.

--iorToMetalness

Generates a metalness map based on input material IOR.

When using this flag, RapidPipeline DCC Importer will attempt to create base color and metalness textures from V-Ray IOR values, depending on how the material is set up in the V-Ray material.

If the IOR is less than 4.0, and Diffuse and Refraction are both black, then Metalness will be calculated close to the maximum of the Reflection.

When the IOR is more than or equal to 4.0, and Diffuse and Refraction are both black, then Metalness will be calculated using a combination of the Schlick reflectance and the maximum of the Reflection.

This flag is useful if materials are created with high IOR values to emulate the metallic effect, as is often seen in legacy workflows. 

A material with an IOR texture will automatically trigger this workflow, since glTF does not support textures for IOR. In this case, the flag does not need to be set. 

When the flag is not set, and there are some materials with IOR textures and other materials without them, the materials without IOR textures will not trigger this workflow. 

When a material provides a metalness map and this flag is set, RapidPipeline DCC Importer will use the maximum value between the original metalness and the newly calculated one.

If assets follow the RapidPipeline DCC Importer 3ds Max Material Guidelines this flag is not needed. 

--logLevel {0,1,2,3,4}

Verbose level for logging messages from 0 (critical) to 4 (debug).

0 - CRITICAL: only fatal/program ending errors are shown

1 - ERRORS: only errors are shown

2 - WARNINGS: only errors and warnings are shown

3 - INFOS: errors, warnings and regular info messages are shown

4 - DEBUG: verbose mode, all information available is shown

--mergeByMaterial

Geometry nodes sharing the same material can be merged together. 

-o OUTPUTFOLDER, --outputFolder OUTPUTFOLDER

Root output folder for batch of converted files.

• We recommend that the output folder and the input folder should be completely separate directories - as in, one should not contain the other and vice versa.
• If the input folder contains the output folder, any 3dsMax scene files contained in the output folder will be ignored during the input folder file gathering step of the process.

--prepareForCloud

Prepare the outputs for cloud consumption.

--python PYTHON

Overrides the Python executable path. Recommended when multiple versions of Python are installed.

--renderPreview

Renders, through RapidPipeline 3D Processor, preview images of translated model.

--resolution RESOLUTION

Texture resolution can be overridden when baking materials. Possible values range from 256 up to 16384. If not set, RapidPipeline DCC Importer will choose the resolution depending on the content, attempting to preserve details using the smallest possible resolution. 

-s RPDPSETTINGSFILE, --rpdpSettingsFile RPDPSETTINGSFILE

.JSON settings file for RapidPipeline DCC Importer.

A valid JSON settings file of RapidPipeline DCC Importer is a JSON file that contains five arrays: fileNameToIgnore, filePrefixToIgnore, fileSuffixToIgnore, nodesToIgnore, and materialsToIgnore. For example:

{ "fileNameToIgnore":[ "autobackup" ], "filePrefixToIgnore":[ "recover" ], "fileSuffixToIgnore":[ "lod" ], "nodesToIgnore": [ "Shadow_Catcher" ], "materialsToIgnore": [ "Stage", ] }

In the example above:

• Scenes with filenames containing the string "autobackup" will be skipped;
• Scenes with filenames starting with the string "recover" will be skipped;
• Scenes with filenames ending with the string "lod" will be skipped;

For the whole batch of scenes being executed, all nodes named "Shadow_Catcher" and all materials named "Stage" will be ignored/deleted from the scene.

Scenes with certain naming patterns can be ignored:

• included in the middle of the name, "fileNameToIgnore"
• included in the start of the name, "filePrefixToIgnore"
• included in the end of the name, "fileSuffixToIgnore"

For example AutoBackup and Recovery scenes from 3dsMax, as well as duplicate scenes with different LODs, could be use cases for this feature.

Nodes with the exact names contained in "nodesToIgnore", and materials with the exact names contained in "materialsToIgnore", will be ignored by RapidPipeline DCC Importer. This is useful, for example, if you have a recurring pattern of studio elements, such as a background, which you don't want to be included in your output files.

--uvThreshold UVTHRESHOLD

Threshold in UV area percentage for overlap detection. Default: 5.0.

--verifyInstallation

Verify installation without processing any assets. Ends execution afterwards. 

When using the flag --verifyInstallation you may still provide the flags --logLevel, to define how much information you want to see, and --executablePath, to better define what 3ds Max executable you are using.