How to Use the Cloud Forge - Unreal Engine 5.3 Tutorial

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

You can get access to all my Projects on Patreon for the price of a Coffee: 🔗 patreon.com/arghanionspuzzlebox

[@Julian-B]

Thank you for the tutorial! Are your volumetric clouds also casting shadows on the environment? I only saw a shadow cast on the clouds themselves.

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Only if you use path tracing for how. But epic asta releasing an update soon to add the shadow cast feature

[@biblescenes]

Hi, I have just purchased these and it all looks great except with my current scene I have hundreds of fog cards and Niagara emitters. When I add the cloud it doesn't hide these elements (looks like it is behind them, not in front), if I change the material translucency pass value on the fog cars etc. to "Before DOF" then it works but then it other things don't work properly (for me). Is there any setting on the clouds where I can get this to work?

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Hi Unfortunately as of 5.3 translucency is quite bugged for VDBs. I would wait for the final release of 5.4 and testing it again.

[@biblescenes]

Ok thanks. I wasn't able to use them for the particular project but I am sure they'll be useful down the line.

[@biblescenes]

One more question, they don't appear to work with a depth pass either, is that also a 5.3 thing or am I missing something?

[@chamshibang493]

Does it support volumetric lighting effects?

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Hi. Yes it does. Join discord if you need more info.

[@NikomaGrob]

Maybe a stupid question, but do I still need to use the VolumetricCloud object in UE5 if I implement these VDB clouds? I only started one week ago so I'm probably asking something stupid, but my default clouds are going through these clouds and it's costing me a bunch of FPS and I'm unsure if I'm wrong for removing the original Volumetric Cloud object.

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Vdb clouds can work without the volumetric cloud from Unreal engine. They are performance hungry, though.

[@NikomaGrob]

What is best practice? Do you have volumetric clouds from UE enabled while using these VDB clouds? Or do you choose either one of them because of performance? In this tutorial you had it disabled right? @@ArghanionsPuzzlebox

[@SerafinStudio]

I HAVE A PROBLEM IN THE RENDER, YOU SEE A SQUARE PLATE THAT SHOULD NOT OUT HOW CAN I SOLVE THIS?

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Hi. Please follow these steps: The pivot point being visible, I found that doing the following work on my end: • Open the Blueprint • Select the Root (BP_Cloud_Forge_Single_Cloud (Self) • Go to Editor Billboard Scale • Set it to 0 • See if that fixes it Please join Discord where I can assist directly and I'm sure we can work it out.

[@SerafinStudio]

ok muchas gracias lo intentare y te dire si me funciono gracias @@ArghanionsPuzzlebox

[@SerafinStudio]

DISCORD? I CAN'T RESOLVE IT, WHAT'S YOUR DISCORD@@ArghanionsPuzzlebox

[@SerafinStudio]

@@ArghanionsPuzzlebox I have not been able to solve the problem

[@SerafinStudio]

@@ArghanionsPuzzlebox what is the discord?

[@alexvaulin1140]

Didn't watch yet but super exited! Looks amazing!!!

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Thank you!

[@kylechan5751]

The tutorial is super awesome! I followed the steps you did in the toturial. but I have a problem that the cloud I placed into the scene is black. I can only see the shape of the cloud. Could u pls tell me how to fix that. Thank you so much!

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Hey man. Are you using a mac by any chance?

[@kylechan5751]

@@ArghanionsPuzzlebox Yessss, I'm using a M3 max MacBook Pro 😅Is it not available on Mac? Or is there any solution?

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Unfortunately it's bugged for mac users in 5.3 We need to wait for the release of 5.4 as they were saying that it will be fixed.

[@kylechan5751]

@@ArghanionsPuzzlebox Oh~Ok, just gota wait for the 5.4 ver. Thank you so much for you reply.

[@kylechan5751]

@@ArghanionsPuzzlebox Hi, I updated to 5.4 ver, but the cloud is still black.😥Is there any solution?

[@Jim5988]

this is super exciting! it doesn't have to move though in order for it to work does it? sorry if that question comes across weird, i'm a painter, completely new to UE5, i have tinkered quite a bit in blender in the past for exploring and iterating ideas, i know that ue is a game engine but you could surely explore ideas and render stills there as well i suppose? would this also work with the clouds in that way i'm curious. cheers!

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Yes it does! Primarily these are static, localized clouds. Perfect for building worlds where the clouds are statically placed and never change their shape if you don't want to.

[@mabaria1]

I have purchased and downloaded the complete Cloud Forge package from the Megascan site and are currently conducting R&D. Ihave encountered several issues: 1.The clouds do not cast shadows on the ground plane or any 3D geometry in Unreal Engine. 2.Path tracing does not resolve this issue. 3.The clouds lack depth perception, appearing bright and flat regardless of distance. 4.Shadows are not cast between clouds placed next to each other. 5.The clouds do not interact with the fog system. We look forward to your assistance in resolving these issues. Thanks

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Thank you for your purchase. Shadows are only supported in unreal engine 5.4 and above. Would you be able to join the discord server to discuss the other issues as I'm not aware of a lack of depth. The clouds should interact correctly in pathtracing.

[@mabaria1]

@@ArghanionsPuzzlebox Thanks for the quick respone will connect with you on Discord

[@mabaria1]

Hi can you share detail of discord server so we can discuss the issues

[@mabaria1]

Hi can you please share the email id so we can rise our query Thanks

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Hi - Here is the Discord Link: discord.gg/tyKJYwnutr Please make a forum topic on it.

[@mysticprophecyroblox]

Works awesomely. My low end computer can do one cloud and it's perfect for the project I'm doing : )

[@phalhappy8612]

Hi, can you talk about texture bombing set up for nanite mesh in conjection with substrate materials?

[@inspirationproductions4020]

Hello, I am having a bit of an issue at the moment with Cloud Forge as my settings look different from yours as well as that my cloud is appearing like a pixelated cube. How do I fix it?

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Hi. You joined discord and said that it's now fine?

[@antoniomessina7124]

Hello, I purchased and loaded the package on my unreal project but the folders are empty when I open them, how can I fix it?

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Hi. On what website did you purchase it? Has this project been migrated over or you just opened the Cloud Forge Project?

[@danielastrom8368]

Really great, got it today :) A question, can u spawn multiple clouds in sequencer or outside simulation or do i have to place single clouds for this? :) Thanks again!

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Thank you for the support! It you want multiple clouds to spawn randomly you can use the cloud Spawner blueprint or multiple ones at the same time. Other than that, you can manually place clouds via the blueprint.

[@CamilloRealTime]

is there a possibility to make this work in PC VR? My clouds are rendered on one eye only-

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Hi. Someone found a way to get it running on my discord server. But performance is limited.

[@CamilloRealTime]

@@ArghanionsPuzzlebox thank you for the fast reply :)

[@ffjohn962]

Is there any limit to the voxels of vdb? If I import vdb from outside into ue

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Not sure on the limit. At some point it will crash if the file size is too large. I imported file sizes of about 5 gb and it was fine

[@Evenskiped]

Ok this is very beautiful

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Thank you

[@rubberdog]

Great plugin but only get blue/green cloud color in 5.4, also cannot save project because there is an error (Graph is linked to external private objects SparesVolumeTextureFrame....)

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

There is an update pending now on the UE Marketplace that I am waiting for Epic to approve - this will fix the issue with the Save Capability. Not sure about the blue/green color. Are you sure this is not to do with the atmospheric color bleed? If you join Discord, I can have a look at it further.

[@rubberdog]

@@ArghanionsPuzzlebox Hey cheers for the update if I have anymore problems I'll jump on Discord

[@zhengqianzhuang]

Excuse my poor English，Please ask me, I use your cloud in a relatively large scene, open the Lumen light chase, when my camera is moving fast, the cloud light effect seems to be slower than the camera speed, it will suddenly black, and then gradually brighter, just like lod, need to load the light effect, is there any way to improve it

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Hi. This is during a sequence render or during gameplay/viewport?

[@zhengqianzhuang]

@@ArghanionsPuzzlebox Sequential rendering and running Windows both occur, as if the camera speed is fast enough to keep up with rendering calculations

[@zhengqianzhuang]

@@ArghanionsPuzzlebox My scene is huge, with a lot of clouds

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Would this happen if you use just one large cloud in a test level or is this only an issue with the large level? I think we need to try and find the root cause

[@KikinProductions]

I'm interested in buying the package but would it work on version 5.3.2?

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Yes, 100% It can only work with 5.3 and above so 5.3.2 is perfect.

[@KikinProductions]

@@ArghanionsPuzzlebox thank u so much!!!

[@lutyDec]

First of all, I really like this series. I want to make a fire cloud effect. Can you please provide a tutorial on making fire clouds?

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Thank you. I would suggest using a black body and temperature control. You can feed the vdb density into that to set it on fire.

[@whoisdkm]

It may be something going wrong on my end, but how do I exactly get the folder into my project? I'm getting a "... couldn't create path" error with the drag and drop of the folder into the project.

[@metatronorder3565]

brilliant tute/post for a brilliant product - Thank you Sir... :) Keep up the legendary work...

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Really appreciate the feedback!

[@christiandebney1989]

how do I stop them from disappearing! I just want one frame of all of them... not to have them cycle through their life. If that makes sense? they all seem to be constantly changing.

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Please watch this video to see how to p disable the noise that animates them. You have the option in the blueprint. The spinner indicates the selecting point for the vdb and is not visible in cinematic or games. But you can disable it in the Blueprint by deleting it.

[@christiandebney1989]

@@ArghanionsPuzzlebox thanks probably should have deleted my comment! figure it out. by setting the flow to 0 great plugin!

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Thank you!

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Please consider leaving a review and rating. Really helps the platform 😊

[@christiandebney1989]

@@ArghanionsPuzzlebox Will do for sure. and hopefully do a bit of showcase with them soon...

[@NikomaGrob]

How can I make them keep spawning? They stop spawning after the maximum is reached.

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

I'm looking into an option for you

[@Teteerck]

i have some cloud popin in and out how can i fix it :(?

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Did you message me on Instagram?

[@Teteerck]

Yes hehe

[@lhanima]

i can't initialize the cloud, someone help me

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Hi. Sorry, just saw this. Are you still having issues?

[@akiAlex]

With the Ultra Dynamic Sky your clouds is always transparent, at any density, you can see the contour of the meshes, unless you set fog to high values, maybe you know how to fix it?

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Unfortunately there ia no current fix for this as vdbs are visible always through any kind of cloud components. I do believe epic will fix this. In the meantime you just need to decrease the density value.

[@mae2309]

amazing!! question. what is the difference between all Cloud Forge v.1 v2 and v3 vs the Cloud Forge complete ? please tell me they aredifferent because i just bought them. hahaahahahahahahahahaah....

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Thank you for your support! The Cloud Forge complete will have all those 3 in it. Please message me in artstation so I can give you 100% on any product you want as a token of my gratitude!

[@Blender_Max]

can i stop the animation of cloud?

[@kudjo24]

As long as this works better than the new VDB importer lol, I can't get anything from C4D or even Embergen to look correct and playback properly

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Please be aware that using the Sparse Volume Texture (animated) in the single cloud blueprint will not allow playback to commence as this VDB is sampling it as a static volume. You can however modify that to work with it animated.

[@hendriks656]

How can you modify the static VDB volume to be animated? @@ArghanionsPuzzlebox

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Unfortunately you can't. You can only mask parts of it.

[@EMNM66]

Amazing

[@yantingye1677]

beautiful

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Thank you

[@yantingye1677]

If clouds can produce shadows, it would be even more perfect

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

Most likely 5.3.3 will support it or actually might be 5.4 This is confirmed by epic. You can get shadows with path tracing already.

[@yantingye1677]

thanks,I see, in fact, we can also use fake cloud shadow materials to replace the shadows of VDB clouds@@ArghanionsPuzzlebox

[@zephyr311]

[@salientfilm]

[@SerafinStudio]

I HAVE A PROBLEM IN THE RENDER, YOU SEE A SQUARE PLATE THAT SHOULD NOT OUT HOW CAN I SOLVE THIS?

[@SerafinStudio]

I have not been able to solve the problem

[@ArghanionsPuzzlebox]

This is the Discord Link: discord.gg/tyKJYwnutr