The Augment3d programming environment is included in Eos software versions 3.0 and later. If your system does not meet the below minimum requirements, it is recommended to download an
earlier software version.
Performance Guide
ETCnomad Eos with Augment3d
is a real time 3D visual programming environment and as such requires similar
resources to a high end gaming device. The quality of the rendering therefore
is determined by the capabilites of the device and the content being rendered.
The following is some advice to navigate performance, this can change from time
to time and with different software versions.
Things that directly impact performance-
- CPU Speed, higher is better.
- RAM Speed, faster RAM is more important than
amount of RAM.
- GPU speed, a dedicated GPU is almost always likely
to provide higher performance.
- Resolution, 4K displays will have a higher
impact than a lower resolution display.
- Content you are trying to visualize
- Augment3d visualization settings
Minimum Requirements
PC
- Multi-core processor with clock frequency higher than 2.0 GHz
- OS Windows 7 64 Bit or later
- >1 GB free disk space
- Screen resolution of at least 1280 x 1024
- >2 GB RAM
- RJ45 Ethernet network adapter (required to communicate with a lighting network)
This chart provides a list of
expected abilities of a computer to run ETCnomad with Augment3d. Please note
that running Augment3d requires additional resources over just ETCnomad Eos. Low
would be considered a standard computer, Ultra a state of the art
computer targeted at graphics performance.
Quality Level |
CPU |
RAM |
Graphics Card |
Low |
Dual Core CPU 2.0 GHz or
PassMark CPU rating 2000+ |
2 GB |
PassMark G3D rating 500+ |
Medium |
Dual Core CPU 2.5 GHz or
PassMark CPU rating 3500+ |
4 GB |
PassMark G3D rating 1000+ |
High |
Dual Core CPU 2.5 GHz or
PassMark CPU rating 7000+ |
4 GB |
Dedicated Video Card
PassMark G3D rating 2000+ |
Ultra |
Dual Core CPU 3.0 GHz or
PassMark CPU rating 8000+ |
8 GB |
Dedicated Video Card
PassMark G3D rating 4000+ |
PassMark CPU ratings can be found at
cpubenchmark.net.
PassMark G3D ratings can be found at
videocardbenchmark.net.
Mac
- Multi-core processor with clock frequency higher than 2.0 GHz
- OS X Mojave (v10.14.3) or later
- >1 GB free disk space
- Screen resolution of at least 1280 x 1024
- >2 GB of RAM
- RJ45 Ethernet network adapter (required to communicate with a lighting network)
Additional MAC hardware guidelines are coming soon!
Content Considerations-
Several factors contribute to the overall performance of the
software. Each factor is essentially a
multiplier, so they all contribute to the overall performance.
- Total number of lights represented in Augment3d
- Beam angle (aka Zoom) of the active lights (more
light volume takes more resources to compute)
- Augment3d settings (Quality, Lighting Mode,
Refresh Rate)
- Augment3d window/tab resolution (including
Resolution Scale on Mac)
- Complexity of the 3D model (Overall triangle
count, Total item in Hierarchy)
Tips for improving performance-
- Quality setting
- Low will perform the best, but does not simulate
lighting. This can be useful during live
programming, but not for previsualization.
- Medium will perform the best if you need to
simulate lighting.
- High and Ultra may be selected to improve the
visual appearance of the model and lighting but are more resource intensive. (Ex: gobo resolution is higher and less
jagged, more realistic light beams, better shading in shadow areas)
- Lighting setting
- Approximated and Pass-through are the fastest,
but the light will pass through objects slightly or completely, and there are no
shadows
- Realistic is physically accurate lighting with
shadows, but is much more resource intensive
- Refresh Rate setting
The default is 30 FPS (Frames Per Second), which
strikes a balance between smooth rendering/interactivity and resource intensive
computations. Augment3d has real time performance indicators to guide you
during run time; - Lowering the Refresh Rate will improve
performance and reduce system resource usage, at the cost of choppier
rendering/interactivity
- Raising the Refresh Rate can make
rendering/interactivity smoother, but only if the system can keep up with the
increased resource usage. 60 FPS is a
common target for high end video games to achieve.
- Augment3d window/tab resolution
- The larger the Augment3d window/tab, the more
resource intensive it is to render.
- Using a split tab, or smaller tether window will
increase performance.
- On Mac, you can also lower the Resolution Scale
setting to 75% or 50%. This effectively
lowers the total resolution of Augment3d without shrinking the window/tab,
which improves performance but the rendering will appear slightly less crisp.
- Model complexity
The less complex your model, the better it will
perform. For example, 3 walls and a
floor will perform better than a detailed proscenium model. Augment3d provides
you a guide on how many total models and triangles. We recommend keeping an eye
on this as you build your scene.-
When importing 3D models, always mark the
Combine Meshes option, unless you need to edit individual components of the imported
model, once in Augment3d. If possible,
do that work in an external 3D modeling application, before importing it
into Augment3d, so that you can always mark the Combine Meshes option. This will reduce the total items in the hierarchy,
which is one of the performance multipliers from above.
- If possible, import low triangle/polygon count
models. Importing complex models derived
from CAD/architectural software may have high triangle counts. Some CAD/architectural models may contain a
very high level of detail, even down to individual threads of screws, for
example. There are freely available 3D
modeling applications, like Blender, which have methods to automatically reduce
triangle/polygon count.
- Be on the lookout for extra scenery in your
imported models that is unnecessary to your work in Augment3d. For example, a model of a closed cabinet that
has hidden 3D objects inside of it. Even
though these objects are not visible in Augment3d, they still add significantly,
to the computations.
- Additional settings to consider
- You may disable light beams in
Eos>Patch>Augment3d>Hide Beam.
This will reduce the total number of lights in Augment3d, one of the
multipliers from above. That means the
fixture will not emit light in Augment3d, but the lens/face of the fixture will
still illuminate as expected. This may
be appropriate for pixel walls or audience blinders.
Other items-
ETCnomad Eos with Augment3d is a free download. If you
already have some hardware you are interested in using with ETCnomad Eos
with Augment3d, we recommend you download the software and some of the demo
show files. These files provide a general representation of different scenes
including our Mind the Gap, Concert, Proscenium and a Fashion Show files. These
files may be found under “Other Downloads” here.
If you are looking at purchasing new, to get the most
performance and flexibility you should target no less than Ultra setting of
today. The more you expect to include in your scene and performance needs, the
higher your individual requirements on your device are.