This refactors how volume grids are stored with the following new goals in mind:
* Get a **stand-alone volume grid** data structure that can be used by geometry nodes.
Previously, the `VolumeGrid` data structure was tightly coupled with the `Volume` data block.
* Support **implicit sharing of grids and trees**. Previously, it was possible to share data
when multiple `Volume` data blocks loaded grids from the same `.vdb` files but this was
not flexible enough.
* Get a safe API for **lazy-loading and unloading** of grids without requiring explicit calls
to some "load" function all the time.
* Get a safe API for **caching grids from files** that is not coupled to the `Volume` data block.
* Get a **tiered API** for different levels of `openvdb` involvement:
* No `OpenVDB`: Since `WITH_OPENVDB` is optional, it's helpful to have parts of the API that
still work in this case. This makes it possible to write high level code for volumes that does
not require `#ifdef WITH_OPENVDB` checks everywhere. This is in `BKE_volume_grid_fwd.hh`.
* Shallow `OpenVDB`: Code using this API requires `WITH_OPENVDB` checks. However, care
is taken to not include the expensive parts of `OpenVDB` and to use forward declarations as
much as possible. This is in `BKE_volume_grid.hh` and uses `openvdb_fwd.hh`.
* "Full" `OpenVDB`: This API requires more heavy `OpenVDB` includes. Fortunately, it turned
out to be not necessary for the common API. So this is only used for task specific APIs.
At the core of the new API is the `VolumeGridData` type. It's a wrapper around an
`openvdb::Grid` and adds some features on top like implicit sharing, lazy-loading and unloading.
Then there are `GVolumeGrid` and `VolumeGrid` which are containers for a volume grid.
Semantically, each `VolumeGrid` has its own independent grid, but this is cheap due to implicit
sharing. At highest level we currently have the `Volume` data-block which contains a list of
`VolumeGrid`.
```mermaid
flowchart LR
Volume --> VolumeGrid --> VolumeGridData --> openvdb::Grid
```
The loading of `.vdb` files is abstracted away behind the volume file cache API. This API makes
it easy to load and reuse entire files and individual grids from disk. It also supports caching
simplify levels for grids on disk.
An important new concept are the "tree access tokens". Whenever some code wants to work
with an openvdb tree, it has to retrieve an access token from the corresponding `VolumeGridData`.
This access token has to be kept alive for as long as the code works with the grid data. The same
token is valid for read and write access. The purpose of these access tokens is to make it possible
to detect when some code is currently working with the openvdb tree. This allows freeing it if it's
possible to reload it later on (e.g. from disk). It's possible to free a tree that is referenced by
multiple owners, but only no one is actively working with. In some sense, this is similar to the
existing `ImageUser` concept.
The most important new files to read are `BKE_volume_grid.hh` and `BKE_volume_grid_file_cache.hh`.
Most other changes are updates to existing code to use the new API.
Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/116315
Make the naming consistent with the recent change from "loop" to
"corner". Avoid the need for a special type for these triangles by
conveying the semantics in the naming instead.
- `looptris` -> `corner_tris`
- `lt` -> `tri` (or `corner_tri` when there is less context)
- `looptri_index` -> `tri_index` (or `corner_tri_index`)
- `lt->tri[0]` -> `tri[0]`
- `Span<MLoopTri>` -> `Span<int3>`
- `looptri_faces` -> `tri_faces` (or `corner_tri_faces`)
If we followed the naming pattern of "corner_verts" and "edge_verts"
exactly, we'd probably use "tri_corners" instead. But that sounds much
worse and less intuitive to me.
I've found that by using standard vector types for this sort of data,
the commonalities with other areas become much clearer, and code ends
up being naturally more data oriented. Besides that, the consistency
is nice, and we get to mostly remove use of `DNA_meshdata_types.h`.
Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/116238
The term `looptri` was used ambiguously for both single & arrays.
The term `tri` was also used, causing `tri->tri`.
Use terms:
- `looptris` for an array or when dealing with multiple items.
- `looptri` is used when dealing with a single item.
- `lt` for a single MLoopTri variables & arguments.
This was already a convention but not followed closely.
Listing the "Blender Foundation" as copyright holder implied the Blender
Foundation holds copyright to files which may include work from many
developers.
While keeping copyright on headers makes sense for isolated libraries,
Blender's own code may be refactored or moved between files in a way
that makes the per file copyright holders less meaningful.
Copyright references to the "Blender Foundation" have been replaced with
"Blender Authors", with the exception of `./extern/` since these this
contains libraries which are more isolated, any changed to license
headers there can be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Some directories in `./intern/` have also been excluded:
- `./intern/cycles/` it's own `AUTHORS` file is planned.
- `./intern/opensubdiv/`.
An "AUTHORS" file has been added, using the chromium projects authors
file as a template.
Design task: #110784
Ref !110783.
Also see #103343.
There was one unusual complication due to `openvdb` here. The `BKE_volume.h`
header included `openvdb` but that would not link correctly in rna code. I'm not entirely
sure why any of the openvdb code is actually instantiated, may be an issue in the
`openvdb` headers. The solution is to create a new header that gives access to the
underlying `openvdb` data structure for a `Volume` geometry. This header can't be
included in rna for now, until the linking issues are resolved.
Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/109508
This brings back the `Fill Volume` and `Exterior Bandwidth` inputs in
the Mesh to Volume node and modifier. Those existed in Blender 3.5 but
were removed in 700d168a5c because the way they were
implemented did not use the openvdb api in the right way.
While it's rare that people turned off the `Fill Volume` option, the
exterior bandwidth was used more and can have significant impact on
the result. Furthermore, there is no clear replacement for the
functionality.
Therefore, we decided to roll back the changes in 3.6 to avoid breaking
compatibility. We intend to keep the changes in 4.0 for now, but need
to work on a more clear short term replacement for the removed
functionality.
Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/109297
This brings back the `Fill Volume` and `Exterior Bandwidth` inputs in
the Mesh to Volume node and modifier. Those existed in Blender 3.5 but
were removed in 700d168a5c because the way they were
implemented did not use the openvdb api in the right way.
While it's rare that people turned off the `Fill Volume` option, the
exterior bandwidth was used more and can have significant impact on
the result. Furthermore, there is no clear replacement for the
functionality.
Therefore, we decided to roll back the changes in 3.6 to avoid breaking
compatibility. We intend to keep the changes in 4.0 for now, but need
to work on a more clear short term replacement for the removed
functionality.
Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/109297
A lot of files were missing copyright field in the header and
the Blender Foundation contributed to them in a sense of bug
fixing and general maintenance.
This change makes it explicit that those files are at least
partially copyrighted by the Blender Foundation.
Note that this does not make it so the Blender Foundation is
the only holder of the copyright in those files, and developers
who do not have a signed contract with the foundation still
hold the copyright as well.
Another aspect of this change is using SPDX format for the
header. We already used it for the license specification,
and now we state it for the copyright as well, following the
FAQ:
https://reuse.software/faq/
Currently `Mesh to Volume` creates a volume using
`openvdb::tools::meshToVolume` which is then filled with the specified
density and the class set to Fog Volume. This is wrong because
`meshToVolume` creates a signed distance field by default that needs
to be converted to a Fog Volume with `openvdb::tools::sdfToFogVolume`
to get a proper Fog volume.
Here is the description of what that function does (from OpenVDB):
"The active and negative-valued interior half of the narrow band
becomes a linear ramp from 0 to 1; the inactive interior becomes
active with a constant value of 1; and the exterior, including the
background and the active exterior half of the narrow band, becomes
inactive with a constant value of 0. The interior, though active,
remains sparse."
This means with this commit old files will not look the same.
There is no way to version this as the options for external band width
and not filling the volume is removed (they don't make any sense for a
proper fog volume).
Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/107279
Implements #102359.
Split the `MLoop` struct into two separate integer arrays called
`corner_verts` and `corner_edges`, referring to the vertex each corner
is attached to and the next edge around the face at each corner. These
arrays can be sliced to give access to the edges or vertices in a face.
Then they are often referred to as "poly_verts" or "poly_edges".
The main benefits are halving the necessary memory bandwidth when only
one array is used and simplifications from using regular integer indices
instead of a special-purpose struct.
The commit also starts a renaming from "loop" to "corner" in mesh code.
Like the other mesh struct of array refactors, forward compatibility is
kept by writing files with the older format. This will be done until 4.0
to ease the transition process.
Looking at a small portion of the patch should give a good impression
for the rest of the changes. I tried to make the changes as small as
possible so it's easy to tell the correctness from the diff. Though I
found Blender developers have been very inventive over the last decade
when finding different ways to loop over the corners in a face.
For performance, nearly every piece of code that deals with `Mesh` is
slightly impacted. Any algorithm that is memory bottle-necked should
see an improvement. For example, here is a comparison of interpolating
a vertex float attribute to face corners (Ryzen 3700x):
**Before** (Average: 3.7 ms, Min: 3.4 ms)
```
threading::parallel_for(loops.index_range(), 4096, [&](IndexRange range) {
for (const int64_t i : range) {
dst[i] = src[loops[i].v];
}
});
```
**After** (Average: 2.9 ms, Min: 2.6 ms)
```
array_utils::gather(src, corner_verts, dst);
```
That's an improvement of 28% to the average timings, and it's also a
simplification, since an index-based routine can be used instead.
For more examples using the new arrays, see the design task.
Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/104424
Geometry Nodes: SDF Volume nodes milestone 1
Adds initial support for SDF volume creation and manipulation.
`SDF volume` is Blender's name of an OpenVDB grid of type Level Set.
See the discussion about naming in #91668.
The new nodes are:
- Mesh to SDF Volume: Converts a mesh to an SDF Volume
- Points to SDF Volume: Converts points to an SDF Volume
- Mean Filter SDF Volume: Applies a Mean Filter to an SDF
- Offset SDF Volume: Applies an offset to an SDF
- SDF Volume Sphere: Creates an SDF Volume in the shape of a sphere
For now an experimental option `New Volume Nodes` needs to be
enabled in Blender preferences for the nodes to be visible.
See the current work plan for Volume Nodes in #103248.
Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/105090
Refactoring mesh code, it has become clear that local cleanups and
simplifications are limited by the need to keep a C public API for
mesh functions. This change makes code more obvious and makes further
refactoring much easier.
- Add a new `BKE_mesh.hh` header for a C++ only mesh API
- Introduce a new `blender::bke::mesh` namespace, documented here:
https://wiki.blender.org/wiki/Source/Objects/Mesh#Namespaces
- Move some functions to the new namespace, cleaning up their arguments
- Move code to `Array` and `float3` where necessary to use the new API
- Define existing inline mesh data access functions to the new header
- Keep some C API functions where necessary because of RNA
- Move all C++ files to use the new header, which includes the old one
In the future it may make sense to split up `BKE_mesh.hh` more, but for
now keeping the same name as the existing header keeps things simple.
Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/105416
Straightforward port. I took the oportunity to remove some C vector
functions (ex: copy_v2_v2).
This makes some changes to DRWView to accomodate the alignement
requirements of the float4x4 type.
Straightforward port. I took the oportunity to remove some C vector
functions (ex: `copy_v2_v2`).
This makes some changes to DRWView to accomodate the alignement
requirements of the float4x4 type.
Blender crashes when Simplify is enabled and set to 0.
This is because mesh_to_volume_grid returns nullptr at voxel size 0.
A simple null-check fixes this problem.
Differential Revision: https://developer.blender.org/D17122
**Changes**
As described in T93602, this patch removes all use of the `MVert`
struct, replacing it with a generic named attribute with the name
`"position"`, consistent with other geometry types.
Variable names have been changed from `verts` to `positions`, to align
with the attribute name and the more generic design (positions are not
vertices, they are just an attribute stored on the point domain).
This change is made possible by previous commits that moved all other
data out of `MVert` to runtime data or other generic attributes. What
remains is mostly a simple type change. Though, the type still shows up
859 times, so the patch is quite large.
One compromise is that now `CD_MASK_BAREMESH` now contains
`CD_PROP_FLOAT3`. With the general move towards generic attributes
over custom data types, we are removing use of these type masks anyway.
**Benefits**
The most obvious benefit is reduced memory usage and the benefits
that brings in memory-bound situations. `float3` is only 3 bytes, in
comparison to `MVert` which was 4. When there are millions of vertices
this starts to matter more.
The other benefits come from using a more generic type. Instead of
writing algorithms specifically for `MVert`, code can just use arrays
of vectors. This will allow eliminating many temporary arrays or
wrappers used to extract positions.
Many possible improvements aren't implemented in this patch, though
I did switch simplify or remove the process of creating temporary
position arrays in a few places.
The design clarity that "positions are just another attribute" brings
allows removing explicit copying of vertices in some procedural
operations-- they are just processed like most other attributes.
**Performance**
This touches so many areas that it's hard to benchmark exhaustively,
but I observed some areas as examples.
* The mesh line node with 4 million count was 1.5x (8ms to 12ms) faster.
* The Spring splash screen went from ~4.3 to ~4.5 fps.
* The subdivision surface modifier/node was slightly faster
RNA access through Python may be slightly slower, since now we need
a name lookup instead of just a custom data type lookup for each index.
**Future Improvements**
* Remove uses of "vert_coords" functions:
* `BKE_mesh_vert_coords_alloc`
* `BKE_mesh_vert_coords_get`
* `BKE_mesh_vert_coords_apply{_with_mat4}`
* Remove more hidden copying of positions
* General simplification now possible in many areas
* Convert more code to C++ to use `float3` instead of `float[3]`
* Currently `reinterpret_cast` is used for those C-API functions
Differential Revision: https://developer.blender.org/D15982
This is the conventional way of dealing with unused arguments in C++,
since it works on all compilers.
Regex find and replace: `UNUSED\((\w+)\)` -> `/*$1*/`
Use `verts` instead of `vertices` and `polys` instead of `polygons`
in the API added in 05952aa94d. This aligns better with
existing naming where the shorter names are much more common.
For copy-on-write, we want to share attribute arrays between meshes
where possible. Mutable pointers like `Mesh.mvert` make that difficult
by making ownership vague. They also make code more complex by adding
redundancy.
The simplest solution is just removing them and retrieving layers from
`CustomData` as needed. Similar changes have already been applied to
curves and point clouds (e9f82d3dc7, 410a6efb74). Removing use of
the pointers generally makes code more obvious and more reusable.
Mesh data is now accessed with a C++ API (`Mesh::edges()` or
`Mesh::edges_for_write()`), and a C API (`BKE_mesh_edges(mesh)`).
The CoW changes this commit makes possible are described in T95845
and T95842, and started in D14139 and D14140. The change also simplifies
the ongoing mesh struct-of-array refactors from T95965.
**RNA/Python Access Performance**
Theoretically, accessing mesh elements with the RNA API may become
slower, since the layer needs to be found on every random access.
However, overhead is already high enough that this doesn't make a
noticible differenc, and performance is actually improved in some
cases. Random access can be up to 10% faster, but other situations
might be a bit slower. Generally using `foreach_get/set` are the best
way to improve performance. See the differential revision for more
discussion about Python performance.
Cycles has been updated to use raw pointers and the internal Blender
mesh types, mostly because there is no sense in having this overhead
when it's already compiled with Blender. In my tests this roughly
halves the Cycles mesh creation time (0.19s to 0.10s for a 1 million
face grid).
Differential Revision: https://developer.blender.org/D15488
In "size" voxel resolution mode, calculating the bounds of the mesh to
volume node's input mesh isn't necessary. For high poly this can take
a few milliseconds, so this commit skips the calculation unless we need
it for the "Amount" mode.
Differential Revision: https://developer.blender.org/D15324
This adds a Mesh To Volume Node T86838 based on the existing modifier.
The mesh to volume conversion is implemented in the geometry module,
and shared between the node and the modifier.
Currently the node outputs a grid with the name "density". This may
change in the future depending on the decisions made in T91668.
The original patch was by Kris (@Metricity), further implementation
by Geramy Loveless (@GeramyLoveless), then finished by Erik Abrahamsson
(@erik85).
Differential Revision: https://developer.blender.org/D10895
