Glossary

welcome to the ir engine glossary this document provides clear definitions of terms and concepts used across the ir engine use this glossary as a reference to fully leverage the capabilities of the engine in your projects a c asset a digital resource used within the ir engine, such as models, textures, sounds, animations, and scripts assets are the building blocks for creating virtual environments and interactive elements in the ir engine ℹ️ refer to asset types guide docid\ xhmicxpenmlzisw3hkhai for more information camera masks tools that allow developers to control which parts of a scene are visible to the camera by selectively rendering or hiding elements based on the camera's perspective in the ir engine cinematic content visual content designed to tell a story using high quality scenes, lighting, and advanced composing techniques to create a polished and immersive experience within the ir engine d f dashboard formerly known as "console"–the dashboard is a web based interface used to manage your projects, users, settings, and deployments within the ir engine it's your point of access to studio and provides tools for configuring, monitoring, and administering virtual environments and administrative tools depth of field an effect used in the ir engine that enhances visual realism by simulating the way cameras focus on objects at different distances objects in focus appear sharp, while those in the background or foreground are blurred, creating a sense of depth in the scene e commerce a feature in the ir engine that enables the creation and management of virtual marketplaces e commerce functionalities allow users to buy, sell, and trade digital goods and services within virtual environments, enhancing the commercial capabilities of virtual worlds ecs component (or component) a piece of data linked to an entity, such as position, physics, or visual appearance, within the ir engine's ecs architecture components store the state and data of entities, enabling systems to process them independently an entity can be comprised of several components ecs entity (or entity) a unique identifier representing an object or element within the engine entities act as containers for components, and their components determine their behavior entities can represent characters, items, or any interactive element in the virtual world ecs system (or system) logic functions within the ir engine that operate on entities and their components, driving the behavior of the virtual world systems process the data in components to perform actions such as movement, rendering, and interaction editor also known as " ir spaces editor " it is the engine’s 3d editor use the editor to create, edit, and publish scenes on the web it provides tools for asset management, scene composition, and real time preview and modification ℹ️ refer to the ir spaces editor docid 7p7wtyqmfhoe3ogjrqft8 for more context entity component system (ecs) the ir engine employs this core architectural pattern to separate data from logic, enhancing flexibility and performance data is stored in components, while systems handle the logic, making it easier to manage complex behaviors and optimize performance ℹ️ refer to the ecs pattern docid 8qk3y ima2wses 92z65q for more information skybox a 360 degree texture representing a scene's surroundings skyboxes provide a way to simulate the effects of being in a certain environment within a scene environment map (env map) use a texture map, color, skybox, or light probe to simulate the effect the surrounding environment might have on the surface of objects frustum culling a performance optimization technique that involves rendering only the objects within the camera's field of view objects outside this view are ignored, saving computational resources in the engine and improving rendering efficiency g l glb (graphics library binary) the binary version of gltf, offering more compact file sizes and faster loading times glb files are optimized for performance and ease of use in 3d applications and the ir engine gltf (graphics library transmission format) a standard file format for 3d models and scenes that includes textures, geometry, animations, and more, making it versatile for use within the ir engine gltf files facilitate the efficient transmission and loading of 3d assets gpu path tracers a rendering technique that uses the gpu to simulate the paths of light rays as they travel through a scene the engine uses this method to produce highly realistic images with advanced lighting, shadows, and reflections by accurately modeling how light interacts with objects grabbables grabbables are interactive objects that users can pick up, manipulate, or use within a virtual environment created with the ir engine they enhance user interaction and immersion in virtual worlds ℹ️ refer to grabbable component docid 09q9v8luzpvy6 hsz2hx for more information hierarchy the organizational structure of entities and components within a scene in the ir engine hierarchies define parent child relationships, where parent entities can have multiple child entities, helping manage complex scenes and interactions ℹ️ refer to hierarchy tab docid\ espwkneone9zjojvdahlq for more information kits curated collections of assets within the ir engine that feature a unified aesthetic for rapid scene creation kits provide pre configured elements that help developers quickly build cohesive and visually appealing environments lightmap lightmaps are pre calculated textures that store lighting information for a scene, optimizing real time rendering in the ir engine they help achieve high quality lighting effects without the computational cost of dynamic lighting lod level of detail a method used by the ir engine to manage the complexity of 3d models based on their distance from the camera objects far from the camera are rendered with less detail to improve performance, while closer objects remain highly detailed m p materials properties applied to 3d models in the ir engine that define their appearance, including color, roughness, reflectivity(metalness), and transparency materials use shaders to simulate how surfaces interact with light, contributing to the realism of the scene mocap (motion capture) the process of recording movement data from real world performers to animate characters in the ir engine mocap data captures the nuances of human motion, bringing lifelike animations to digital characters mount points predefined attachment points on objects that allow other entities, such as avatars, to seamlessly attach in the ir engine to the predefined object object (e g , sitting in a chair) mount points facilitate interactions and animations involving multiple objects ℹ️ see mount point component docid\ w13rewkaqf6klulacntxk for more information motion blur an effect that simulates the blurring of moving objects, adding a sense of speed and motion the ir engine uses motion blur to make animations appear smoother and more dynamic no code an approach to content creation within the ir engine that minimizes the need for programming it relies on templates, visual tools, and ai assistance, making our engine more accessible to non technical users while accelerating the development process performance capture the process of recording an individual’s movements and facial expressions to create realistic animations for digital characters performance capture integrates both body and facial movements to achieve highly detailed and expressive animations physically based rendering (pbr) pbr is a method of rendering that makes materials appear realistic by accurately simulating how light interacts with them it ensures that materials in the ir engine appear accurately under different lighting conditions while enhancing visual fidelity physics engines software components integrated into the ir engine that simulate physical systems, including collision detection, gravity, and other forces physics engines create realistic interactions and movements in 3d environments, making virtual objects behave like they would in the real world prefabs pre built objects or scenes that can be easily reused within the ir engine, streamlining the creation process prefabs help content authors maintain consistency and efficiency when building complex virtual environments project a collection of assets, logic, and settings that make up an infinite reality glossary docid\ vqqdfxcozq7ba2stvv xq they can be created or managed from the dashboard , and they can be altered in the editor projects also serve as a way for ir developers to extend and add new features to the engine s v scene scenes are a hierarchical arrangement of entities and components representing a specific environment or level within the ir engine they define the layout, appearance, and interactions within a virtual space shaders shaders are programs that run on the graphics processing unit (gpu) to determine how materials and surfaces appear in the ir engine they also control the rendering of visual effects such as lighting, shadows, and textures shadow map shadow maps are pre calculated textures that store shadow information for a scene, enhancing rendering efficiency in the ir engine they enable realistic shadow casting without the computational expense of real time calculations snapping snapping is a feature that helps users align objects precisely within the ir engine, ensuring seamless connections between elements it aids in the accurate placement and adjustment of objects during scene creation spaces (ir spaces) formerly known as " locations ," are published scenes within the ir engine that host live, networked sessions where users interact in virtual worlds spaces serve as predefined environments where users can gather, collaborate, and explore they're accessible by url ℹ️ refer to publishing docid\ qsoqjm8obayxsdqnia 5m for more context spatial data data that includes position, rotation, and size information, defining an object's location and orientation in 3d space within the ir engine spatial data is crucial for accurately positioning and interacting with objects in a virtual environment spatial environment the virtual space within which objects (entities) exist and interact with each other objects in space have spatial data that might determine their location, orientation, or scale within the space ssgi screen space global illumination a technique the engine uses to simulate the way light bounces off surfaces within a scene, using the existing screen data to calculate indirect lighting in real time this results in more natural and dynamic lighting effects ssr screen space reflections a technique for creating realistic reflections on surfaces using the data already present in the current screen view it allows for dynamic reflections and enhances the visual quality of the ir engine without the need for additional complex calculations studio not to be confused with the glossary docid\ vqqdfxcozq7ba2stvv xq , studio refers to the premium space builder technology, and it comprises a collection of apps and services on the web that allow customers to create, edit, and deliver infinite reality experiences, including 3d websites accessible on the web at https //studio ir world/ https //studio ir world/ ℹ️ refer to what is ir studio docid r9a8hnhf0b1tcygliqvm for more information ui (user interface) visual elements and controls that allow users to interact with the ir engine the ui encompasses buttons, menus, panels, and other interactive components that facilitate a user’s navigation and control of the interface while providing the means to input data and make changes templates a pre made or procedurally generated project or set of assets created by infinite reality that act as a complete experience that can be used as a starting point for creating infinite reality experiences ℹ️ refer to asset types guide docid\ xhmicxpenmlzisw3hkhai for more information ux (user experience) the overall experience and satisfaction a user has when interacting with the ir engine ux design focuses on usability, accessibility, and overall engagement to ensure a positive, effective, and productive user interaction variants a mechanism that dynamically switches between different versions of an asset based on factors like device performance or user settings, balancing visual quality and performance in the ir engine ℹ️ refer to variant component docid\ mt 2hi59qgxrskfgd6o 4 for more information vertex animation texture (vat) a technique that stores vertex animation data in textures, allowing the gpu to efficiently animate complex models vat reduces cpu load and improves performance for detailed animations viewport the viewport is the area within the studio where users view and interact with the 3d scene they are building it provides a real time representation of the scene, allowing for adjustments and refinements during the world building process ℹ️ refer to viewport panel docid\ alffpqujsgvq859yqlpoh for more information vulkan a cross platform graphics industry standard developed by khronos group it is designed for high performance rendering that enables developers to target a wide range of devices with the same graphics api the ir engine supports vulkan for better optimization and rendering w z webgl webgl is a javascript api that allows 3d graphics to be rendered directly in web browsers without the need for additional plugins the ir engine uses webgl for interactive 3d content on websites, enabling broad accessibility and integration webgpu webgpu is a modern graphics api supported by the engine that provides high performance 3d graphics capabilities in web browsers it allows developers to create complex and visually rich web applications that can leverage the power of the gpu for advanced rendering webxr webxr is an api that enables virtual reality (vr) and augmented reality (ar) experiences in web browsers the ir engine uses webxr to make immersive 3d content easily accessible via a web browser wizard a guided, step by step tool within the ir engine that helps users quickly create customized scenes without technical expertise wizards simplify complex tasks, making it easier for users to achieve desired results efficiently ℹ️ refer to create and publish your space (wizard setup) docid\ gxwopqqelwmmxeikgfzro for more information world another term for a location or space within the ir engine worlds are virtual environments where users can explore, interact, and experience ⚠️ this term is ambiguous use glossary docid\ vqqdfxcozq7ba2stvv xq instead for more accuracy