Notch Notch
Manual 1.0 Manual 0.9.23
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3D Scene

3D Scene

Updated: 28 Jan 2025

Add an imported 3D scene to the scene.

Method #

This node generates a self contained node tree from the meshes, lights, and cameras, within an external resource which has been imported from one of the valid scene file formats.

The supported formats are:

  • LightWave (.LWO)
  • Cinema4D (.C4D)
  • FBX (.FBX)
  • Alembic (.ABC)

When a valid scene resource is set, sub-nodes are created for each node imported from the original scene - such as objects, lights, cameras, bones or transform nodes - and linked together as they appear in the original scene’s hierarchy. This allows complex scenes with skins, skeletons and hierarchical animation to work properly. These sub-nodes may not be deleted, their linkages may not be changed and some of their parameters, such as transforms, can not be edited - they are representations of elements loaded from the imported scene file. However other nodes from outside of the imported scene may be connected to them.

In Notch, animation playback is framerate independent; there is no “frame rate”, and animations are interpolated accurately at any given time point. In some 3D packages, however, time is locked to a certain frame rate and there is no sub-frame interpolation of animations: the playback time is always quantised to a division based on the frame rate. This difference in behaviours can lead to errors in animation playback, when interpolations occur that were not intended - e.g. rotation going full circle when interpolating between values at two discrete frames. To resolve this issue the Lock to Frame Rate parameter may be used to force playback times to be quantised to divisions of a given frame rate as in the 3D package that authored the animation.

The outputs from this node are primarily transformation, but the internal nodes may be able to output their mesh data, lighting data, or camera data, if the object exists within the resource.

Parameters

These properties control the 3D transforms of the node. Transforms will generally be inherited by child nodes, although they can be ignored through the Inherit Transform Channels attributes.

ParameterDetails
Position XThe objects position along the local x-axis.
Position YThe objects position along the local y-axis.
Position ZThe objects position along the local z-axis.
Rotation HeadingThe objects rotation around the local y-axis.
Rotation PitchThe objects rotation around the local x-axis.
Rotation BankThe objects rotation around the local z-axis.
Scale XThe objects scale along the local x-axis.
Scale YThe objects scale along the local y-axis.
Scale ZThe objects scale along the local z-axis.

Control the inheritance of the transforms from the parent.

ParameterDetails
PositionToggle inheritance of the Position from the parent.
RotationToggle inheritance of the Rotation from the parent.
ScaleToggle inheritance of the Scale from the parent.
World Position OnlyInherit the world position from the parent only, rotation and scale will be ignored. Overrides above properties.
Inherit TimeToggle inheritance of time from the parent.

These properties control the pivot position the object, the point at which the transforms will be applied around.

ParameterDetails
Pivot ModeControl where the pivot point is generated for the object.
Pivot Point SelectionIn custom mode, filter the points shown on the bounding box for placing the pivot.
Pivot Position XIn custom mode, directly edit the x position of the pivot.
Pivot Position YIn custom mode, directly edit the y position of the pivot.
Pivot Position ZIn custom mode, directly edit the z position of the pivot.
Dynamic UpdateControl whether the changes to the pivot dynamically update the object.

These properties control the core behaviours of the node.

ParameterDetails
Isolate In ViewportWhen enabled, all other objects in the scene will be hidden and only this node will be rendered.
3D SceneSelect a 3D scene resource to use (FBX, Alembic, LightWave, Cinema 4D).
Loop StartThe start time of any scene animation.
Loop EndThe end time of any scene animation.
Playback SpeedThe relative speed at which the scene is played.
VisibleControl whether the node is visible or not to the scene.
Loop ModeChange the way in which the time loops when the end of the loop is reached.
  • Repeat : The time returns to that specified by the Loop Start parameter.
  • One Shot : The time continues indefinitely and does not loop.
Lock to Frame RateQuantise the playback time used in scene playback to exact divisions of the specified Locked Frame Rate.
Locked Frame RateThe frame rate at which the playback rate is quantised to.
Use CamerasUse the cameras imported within the scene node as camera nodes in the scene.
Use LightsUse the Lights imported within the scene node as light nodes in the scene.
Animation SetSelect an animation set from the imported scene.
Convert To Editable NodesConverts the entire scene to normal notch nodes, for easier editting and manipulating. Once converted to editable nodes, reloading the scene can cause problems to the node layout.

Inputs

NameDescriptionTypical Input
Transform ModifiersTBCTBC
Target NodeTBCTBC
Local Transform OverrideTBCTBC
Position XTBCTBC
Position YTBCTBC
Position ZTBCTBC
Rotation HeadingTBCTBC
Rotation PitchTBCTBC
Rotation BankTBCTBC
Scale XTBCTBC
Scale YTBCTBC
Scale ZTBCTBC
Get World Position XTBCTBC
Get World Position YTBCTBC
Get World Position ZTBCTBC
VisibleTBCTBC
LWS Time ControlllerTBCTBC