Customizing the Reflect Viewer with Unity Pro

Hi,

to those who want to customize the Reflect Viewer, here's some information to get you up to speed.

I've created a "non officially supported" Unity Project Template that you can use.
Here's a video that shows how to use the template to customize the viewer.

A link to the template is provided in the video description.

Now this template is based on Reflect 1.1 for now.
Which means that using it, you will miss the latest features from 1.2 (Cloud support, Teleport and SunStudy).

In the meantime, you can also start from scratch, following those steps :

• Create a new Unity Project (from the standard 3D template)
• Add the latest Reflect Package from the Package Manager (1.2.0-preview.6)
• Add the VR package (https://github.com/Unity-Technologies/com.unity.reflect.vr) as it's been separated from the main package.
• Add the AR package (https://github.com/Unity-Technologies/com.unity.reflect.ar)
• For both packages, download and extract the content of the tgz file, then put it in your local packages folder, or anywhere on your drive and them through the Package Manager using "Add from disk".
• Locate the Reflect prefab (in Packages/Unity Reflect/Runtime/)
• Duplicate the prefab in the Assets folder (so that you can edit it)
• Instantiate the prefab copy in the scene, and delete the original camera and directional light (1.2 instantiates a light with SunStudy)
• if you want to modify one of the nested prefabs beyond simple overrides, you will need to also copy them in the Assets folder for editing
• make sure the project uses Linear Color Space in Project Settings / Player / Other Settings
• API compatibility level should also be set to .Net 4.x
• also, upon import, there should be a prompt, twice, to "patch" the Input system, simply accept it
• if you want to customize the VR mode, there's an option in Project Settings/EditorXR/Context Manager, to show the gameObjects that are created at runtime and otherwise hidden from hierarchy view

I'll post an update here when I'm done updating the template to 1.2.

Hope this helps!

 

This is version 1.2.0 of the template, working with Reflect package 1.2.0-preview.26.

To install it, download and unzip the zip file.
Place the tgz file in the following location :
C:\Program Files\Unity\Hub\Editor\2019.4.4f1\Editor\Data\Resources\PackageManager\ProjectTemplates

Note that it does not include the Reflect AR nor Reflect VR packages, that you need to download from the following repositories, extract and add to your local packages folder.

Reflect VR package : https://github.com/Unity-Technologies/com.unity.reflect.vr
AR package : https://github.com/Unity-Technologies/com.unity.reflect.ar

This version of the template includes a different example script from the first, showing how to access metadata and interact with the view filter.
It also adds Input Fields to the SunStudy Lat/Long Sliders.

Please post your feedback here.

Also, check out our tutorials on customizing the Viewer here :
https://learn.unity.com/course/basic-reflect-customization

 

@DavidMenard ?

 

Hey MattJezyk!
We don't support the Hololens yet. The problem is that we use gRPC in Reflect for Syncing data, and it doesn't officially support Windows ARM64 devices like the Hololens 2. We willg et there in time thuogh.
The other problem is model size - As yuo can imagine, most models will be too big to run at a smooth 60FPS on what is essentially a phone strapped to your forehead We're working on several improvements that will really help performances, but while we're waiting, we prefer to stay on the safe side and not officially support devices like the Hololens.
David

 

That's a smart workaround, with the websocket! Our plan at the moment is actually just try and add the platform support to gRPC,since it's open-sourced. There was a PR for it but it was rejected, so we'll have to look deeper into it.

We're working on a bunch of new data pipeline stuff in Reflect to handle streaming data directly ni the viewer, which will help a lot. Then of course we'll have to look into decimation an a whole bunch of other things. In the end we're confident we will get there, I just don't know when yet!

 

Can you share those models with us ?

 

Hi Matt,

yes, importing the model in the Editor is the easiest way to do all that.
Although for Material Remapping, there's also a solution to add custom remaps to a custom Viewer in the Reflect Extensions package.
For the Revit Camera, there's also something in that package. You need to import the samples.
That said, note that it's only compatible with Reflect 1.1 for now.

Hope that helps.

 

Hey rsodre!
- Is this custom viewer compatible with macOS? yes it is!
- Is this custom viewer compatible with HDRP and URP? The viewer is currently built on the built-in pipeline, but you can switch it to URP & HDRP in the editor. We're currently working on a URP version of the viewer that we'll release in a few weeks.
- When you hit Play and select the project, is it actually loaded into Unity? I think that's what's inside Sync Root, correct?
Yes, it's actually loaded as GameObjects in Unity. You can download the project as assets in the editor, or keep working with the Runtime workflow, where the user publishes projects and the viewer loads them, without having to go through the editor. In that case, you will be customizing the viewer.
- Can I make a multi-camera setup to browse the project? On my player I will need to render two cameras and stitch into one big panoramic image, something I already do without Reflect.
Yes, no problem. Pretty much anything you can do outside Reflect can be adapted to work with Reflect. The Reflect project uses a good-old-fashion regular Unity Camera. Simply replace it with your rig!
- My client's projects are all in 3DS Max, and I can't find anywhere if Reflect can read Max files. Can it?
We don't have a 3dsMax plugin at the moment. We do ahve a publisher API available if it's something you'd be interested in building for your client. DM me if you'd like o know more!

 

Yup, you can, without using the Reflect template! You will also need a Reflect+Pro license to build. The reason is that Reflect has a variation of a prefab, called a SyncPrefab, that keeps the link with the source, so you can update it. Meaning if your Revit project changes, you can sync those changes with the prefab.
It also prevents one person being the "import monkey" for the rest of the company XD

 

Thanks for letting us know you views on this. We're currently tracking usage and user feedback and I'll make sure we take this into consideration for our future plans.

 

From version 2.0, there is no more Reflect Prefab. To customize the Viewer, you want to fork the public repo.
https://github.com/Unity-Technologies/com.unity.reflect.viewer

Hope this helps.

 

Here is a video on on how to create your own customer viewer in Reflect: https://resources.unity.com/vidyard-all-players-4/how-to-create-a-custom-viewer-in-unity-reflect

 

Hey Davkar,
Reflect doesn't support re-uploading to the cloud - This is because there're so many thing you can do in the Editor that you'd have to support all of it and all the exceptions, including scripts and components.
You can produce a Reflect executable with a project built-in though, it will show up in the list of projects as built-in.