Engine-eering a Procedural Pipeline with USD
Michael Rice, Joshua Jenny, Will Harrower · 2023
Typical cache-based non-procedural methods can have downsides within a production studio. Modifications to pre-cached data can introduce an expensive feedback loop between departments (e.g. Layout pushing work back to FX). Proceduralism solves this by allowing artists themselves to make their own modifications, without need for a new cache delivery from another department. Another benefit to procedural generation of data is reduced disk space usage particularly for heavy datasets like volumes. In this case, they no longer need to be cached to disk, but instead created from a procedural ‘recipe’ on-demand.