PyAPI requirements for Blender Studio Asset Pipeline #112392

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Demeter Dzadik · 2023-09-14T19:07:56+02:00

Demeter Dzadik commented

2023-09-14 19:07:56 +02:00

In this task I'd like to keep track of some PyAPI functions that we would need for the production of the next open movie to hopefully go a lot smoother than previous ones.

What's the Blender Studio Asset Pipeline?

This is our add-on for allowing artists to collaborate on different aspects of an asset, by taking data from different files and combining them into one.
Each artist has their own .blend file with a copy of a given asset. The add-on keeps track of what data is owned by each file.
When running a Sync operation, data owned by other artists is pulled into the current file, and data owned by the current file is pushed to a shared file that should only be accessed by the add-on.
The granularity of data ownership is such that each vertex group, UVMap, shape key, etc. has a unique owner.

As you can imagine, this means we need a lot of data transfer functionality between objects; Objects whose topology is allowed to change. (In those cases, a perfect transfer is not expected, just a best effort.)

Existing API calls that need improvement

🟠 Copying UV Maps (object.join_uvs): This only works if the geometry is a perfect match. We have Python code for a best effort transfer of non-matching topology, which I think would be a good addition to Blender's core functionality. Would also be covered by Attribute Proximity Transfer mentioned below.
🟠 Managing Material Slots: API is confusing and doesn't work in some cases. #112391, #99996

Missing API calls

🟢 Flag for whether a linked ID is missing: We got it!
🟢 Override Resync without bpy.ops d6ae841806
🟠 Copying drivers and their contents from one object to another. (like via UI right click->Copy/Paste driver) #111276
🟠 Copying modifiers and their properties from one object to another.
🟠 Data Transfer without bpy.ops: bpy.ops.object.data_transfer is a useful and flexible operator, but we really need it to be available without bpy.ops. Using bpy.ops requires us to make sure the objects are visible, which is super difficult on a production asset due to the myriad ways that objects can be hidden in Blender.
🟠 Shape Keys Proximity Transfer: The same way we can transfer Vertex Groups, or any other geometry data, we need to be able to transfer Shape Keys, even without matching topology, and without bpy.ops.
🔴 Attribute Proximity Transfer (without bpy.ops): A function just like the mentioned Mesh Data Transfer, but for all types and domains of Attributes.

In this task I'd like to keep track of some PyAPI functions that we would need for the production of the next open movie to hopefully go a lot smoother than previous ones. ### What's the Blender Studio Asset Pipeline? This is our add-on for allowing artists to collaborate on different aspects of an asset, by taking data from different files and combining them into one. Each artist has their own .blend file with a copy of a given asset. The add-on keeps track of what data is owned by each file. When running a Sync operation, data owned by other artists is pulled into the current file, and data owned by the current file is pushed to a shared file that should only be accessed by the add-on. The granularity of data ownership is such that each vertex group, UVMap, shape key, etc. has a unique owner. As you can imagine, this means we need a lot of data transfer functionality between objects; Objects whose topology is allowed to change. (In those cases, a perfect transfer is not expected, just a best effort.) ### Existing API calls that need improvement - 🟠 Copying UV Maps (`object.join_uvs`): This only works if the geometry is a perfect match. We have Python code for a best effort transfer of non-matching topology, which I think would be a good addition to Blender's core functionality. Would also be covered by Attribute Proximity Transfer mentioned below. - 🟠 Managing Material Slots: API is confusing and doesn't work in some cases. https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/issues/112391, https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/issues/99996 ### Missing API calls - 🟢 Flag for whether a linked ID is missing: [We got it!](https://docs.blender.org/api/master/bpy.types.ID.html#bpy.types.ID.is_missing) - 🟢 Override Resync without bpy.ops https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/commit/d6ae84180642e9b07ecf2b131e9febea5b1cd2e4 - 🟠 Copying drivers and their contents from one object to another. (like via UI right click->Copy/Paste driver) https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/issues/111276 - 🟠 Copying modifiers and their properties from one object to another. - 🟠 Data Transfer **without bpy.ops**: `bpy.ops.object.data_transfer` is a useful and flexible operator, but we really need it to be available without bpy.ops. Using bpy.ops requires us to make sure the objects are visible, which is super difficult on a production asset due to the myriad ways that objects can be hidden in Blender. - 🟠 Shape Keys Proximity Transfer: The same way we can transfer Vertex Groups, or any other geometry data, we need to be able to transfer Shape Keys, even without matching topology, and without bpy.ops. - 🔴 Attribute Proximity Transfer (without bpy.ops): A function just like the mentioned Mesh Data Transfer, but for all types and domains of Attributes.

Demeter Dzadik added the

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Design

label 2023-09-14 19:07:56 +02:00

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PyAPI requirements for Blender Studio Asset Pipeline #112392

What's the Blender Studio Asset Pipeline?

Existing API calls that need improvement

Missing API calls