html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" Originally posted on 16 January 2025, and updated with details of the new Houdini plugin. Zibra AI has released a new free edition of ZibraVDB, its volumetric compression technology for games and virtual production, for Unreal Engine and Houdini. The Unreal Engine plugin makes it possible to import, play back and render data in .zibravdb format inside the game engine, and comes with four free smoke and fire effects. The new Houdini plugin makes it possible to compress as well as play back data, with users able to compress up to five VDB sequences into the .zibravdb format. A new AI-based technology for compressing and playing back volumetric effects Launched commercially last year, ZibraVDB is a new AI-based technology for compressing volumetric data in OpenVDB format.It enables users to compress VDB files, like effects created in software like Houdini or EmberGen, then decompress and render them at runtime inside Unreal Engine. That enables users – both game developers and VFX and virtual production studios – to render much more complex effects than would previously have been possible in real time. According to Zibra AI, ZibraVDB can compress VDB files “up to 100x”, and render them “twice as fast” as Unreal’s native SVT system, introduced in Unreal Engine 5.3. New free Unreal Engine plugin comes with four free stock explosion and tornado effects The new free Unreal Engine plugin doesn’t include the compression system itself, but it does make it possible to test the quality of the results it generates.To do that, you can download four free smoke and fire effects – three explosions and a fire tornado – compressed into .zibravdb format, and use it to import them into UE5 for rendering. There are no license restrictions on the assets, so once you’ve tested them, you can also use them as stock assets for future projects. Now also available for Houdini Updated 17 April: To coincide with the official rollout of Houdini support in ZibraVDB, the plugin is also now available for Houdini. As well as decompressing .zibravdb files, Houdini users can compress five VDB sequences into the format for free. Price and system requirements The free edition of ZibraVDB for Unreal Engine is compatible with Unreal Engine 5.3+. It is available via Epic Games’ Fab online marketplace under Fab’s Standard license, which permits use in commercial projects. The free edition of ZibraVDB for Houdini is compatible with Houdini 20.5.550+ running on Windows 10+ only. It is available through SideFX Labs, the official set of experimental add-on tools for Houdini. You can find instructions for installing it here. The full commercial version of ZibraVDB is rental-only, with individual subscriptions now priced at $10/month or $150/year, and studio subscriptions priced on enquiry. Download the free edition of ZibraVDB for Unreal Engine Read the instructions for installing the free edition of ZibraVDB for Houdini Download four free stock smoke and fire effects for use with the free edition (Requires registering your contact details on the Zibra AI website)Read more about ZibraVDB on Zibra AI’s website Have your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we don’t post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.