An Asset Creation Pipeline Management Tool

Overlord uses Daz Studio, NVIDIA Iray, and Electron to generate 2D renders of 3D models for use in video games. Overlord provides both a GUI and command line interface for batch processing and automation.

Installation

Prerequisites

• DAZ Studio 4.24+: Download and install from Daz3d.com
• Iray Server: Download and install from IrayPlugins.com
• Node.js 18+: Required for running from source or building locally. Download and install from Node.js.org.

Option 1: Install from Release (Recommended)

1. Browse to the latest release
2. Download and run the OverlordInstaller executable

Option 2: Run from Source

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Vineyard-Technologies/Overlord.git
   cd Overlord

2. Install Node.js dependencies:

   npm install

3. Run the application:

   npm start

Usage

Getting Started

1. Launch Overlord
2. Configure your Source Sets - folders containing your DAZ assets (.duf files)
3. Set your Output Directory - where rendered images will be saved
4. Adjust rendering parameters as needed
5. Click Start Render to begin

Command Line Interface

Overlord supports extensive command line arguments for automation, testing, and batch processing.

Basic Usage

npm start -- [options]

Or with the built executable:

overlord.exe [options]

Command Line Options

Automation Flags

• --startRender - Automatically start render when application launches
• --headless - Run in headless mode without UI (automatically starts render)

Input File Arguments

• --subject PATH - Path to the subject .duf file
• --animations PATH [PATH ...] - One or more animation .duf files
• --prop-animations PATH [PATH ...] - One or more prop animation .duf files
• --gear PATH [PATH ...] - One or more gear .duf files
• --gear-animations PATH [PATH ...] - One or more gear animation .duf files
• --output-dir PATH - Output directory for rendered images

Render Settings

• --instances N - Number of render instances to run (default: 1)
• --frame-rate N - Frame rate for animations (default: 30)
• --no-render-shadows - Disable shadow rendering

Getting Help

• npm start -- --help - See all available command line options (development)
• overlord.exe --help - See all available command line options (executable)

Usage Examples

GUI Mode with Auto-Start

# Launch GUI and automatically start render with saved settings
npm start -- --startRender

# Or with executable
overlord.exe --startRender

# Launch GUI with specific settings and auto-start
overlord.exe --subject "C:/Assets/character.duf" --animations "C:/Assets/attack.duf" --output-dir "C:/Output" --instances 2 --startRender

Headless Mode

# Basic headless render
overlord.exe --headless --subject "C:/Assets/character.duf" --animations "C:/Assets/attack.duf" --output-dir "C:/Output"

# Advanced headless render with multiple files and settings
overlord.exe --headless \
  --subject "C:/Assets/goblin.duf" \
  --animations "C:/Assets/attack.duf" "C:/Assets/idle.duf" \
  --gear "C:/Assets/sword.duf" "C:/Assets/shield.duf" \
  --output-dir "C:/Renders" \
  --instances 2 \
  --frame-rate 24

Required Arguments for Headless Mode

When using --headless, these arguments are required:

• --subject - Must specify a subject file
• --animations - Must specify at least one animation
• --output-dir - Must specify output directory

Integration Examples

GUI Features

Source Sets

Source Sets are folders containing your DAZ asset files. Overlord recognizes these file types:

• *_subject.duf - This is a Scene Subset of either a figure or an object
• *_animation.duf - These are Pose Presets for the subject
• *_gear.duf - These are Wearables Presets for the subject
• *_propAnimation.duf - These are Pose Presets for objects included with the subject file
• *_gearAnimation.duf - These are Pose Presets for the gear files

Utility Scripts

Construct Zipper

The constructZipper.js script organizes rendered output files into organized zip archives by character, action, and rotation.

Usage:

npm run zip

This will scan the ~/Downloads/output folder and create organized zip archives in ~/Downloads/output/ConstructZips/.

File Organization:

• Input format: prefix-action_rotation-sequence.extension (e.g., woman_shadow-powerUp_-67.5-014.webp)
• Output structure: ConstructZips/prefix/action/action_rotation.zip
• Files with the same prefix, action, and rotation are grouped into a single zip file

Building

To build a distributable Windows executable:

npm run build

This will create installers and portable executables in the dist folder using electron-builder.

License

This project is licensed under the AGPL 3.0 License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Support

For issues and support, please visit the Issues page.