Dev Report: Verto Studio 3D for VR Is Done, Now You Can Build 3D Models in HoloLens or VR

Verto Studio 3D is a 3D modeling package that has been in the works for a while now by Michael Farrell, the owner of Verto Studio LLC. Farrell has been working toward bridging the gap between XR 3D modeling and what we have become accustomed to with desktop 3D modeling packages like 3D Studio Max, Maya, and Blender.

With today's announcement, the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift versions have moved out of early access on Steam. Also, the HoloLens/UWP edition price has recently dropped from $99 to $49.

With the current crop of new augmented and mixed reality technologies, we are moving toward an immersive world, and with that, we will need tools that fit that space and workflow. Classic 3D modeling and CAD programs once had the rather tough task of figuring out how to convert what would be done in the real world into a 2D metaphor of creation on flat screens. But now, after 25 years, comes the time when we need to learn how to create virtual objects in 3D again.

Having access to these kinds of desktop-class editing features in VR is a game changer. Being able to combine a traditional 3D modeling experience and a modern VR content-creation tool under one roof was very challenging, but the end result is incredibly powerful. This product is going to turn heads in the industry. There's simply nothing else like it.

Verto Studio 3D breaks away from the flat screen paradigm by allowing the user to not only create in 3D space but to walk around their model and experience 3D creation from a whole new perspective. They can even work at world scale if that is their preference.

While this is not a review per se, I will say that I bought a copy of the HoloLens edition and enjoy working with it when the mood to model hits me. It seems far more quick and responsive than most of the HoloLens applications I have used, likely a result of being made in C++. I hope to find a solution that will allow me to use controllers like the ones for the HTC Vive on the HoloLens edition one day. I believe the modeling speed would jump dramatically.

One thing I look forward to seeing is this program in a collaborative mode. The ability to work with someone, be it on another HoloLens or VR system, at world scale will bring a new dimension to the working with others on these types of projects.

Verto Studio 3D contains all of the tools you would expect from a 3D modeling system currently for $29 on VR platforms or $49 on HoloLens. When compared to the pricing of the leading 3D modeling packages out there like 3ds Max and Maya along with their subscription of $1,470 a year, it seems an obvious choice. Of course, if you want to create in a true 3D workflow, there is no choice but to check out Verto Studio 3D.

According to the Windows Store description, these are the big features:

• Create 3D scenes from scratch without the need for external computers or software.
• Truly 3D holographic editing tools such as box select, 3-axis translation, rotation, etc.
• Import and place, move, scale and rotate existing Verto Studio 3D scenes and content in a mixed-reality environment.
• Real-world unit measurements in meters.
• Export Verto Studio scenes to cloud drive.
• Automatic shader conversion to stereo rendering, even for user-custom Verto Studio shaders.
• Dynamic polycount reduction capability for Hologram rendering optimization.
• Texture assigment (diffuse and bump maps)
• Environment mapping support via cube-maps.
• Texture coordinate editing
• UI-hiding "Presentation Mode" to allow display of holograms without any distractions.
• Many more features that are part of the Verto Studio 3D software suite.

Have you tried Verto Studio 3D? Tell us what you think about it?

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