When I try to render an animation in google colab, the liquid doesn't move

[ksuke0322]

System Information

Blender Version: 3.3.0, master, 2022-09-06 15:39, 0759f671ce1f
Addon Version: A FLIP Fluid Simulation Tool for Blender (v1.5.0 Stable 07-SEP-2022)
OS: macOS-12.5-x86_64-i386-64bit
GPU: Intel(R) Iris(TM) Plus Graphics 645 Intel Inc. 4.1 INTEL-18.8.4
CPU: Unknown (fill in)
RAM: Unknown (fill in)

Describe the bug

Immediately upon purchase, a simple liquid simulation was created in flip fluids.
I then rendered it in my local environment and verified that the animation worked ! (Attached : renderLocal)

However, rendering in the local environment takes too much time, so I tried to speed up the rendering time with google colab.

However, when I tried to render the animation with google colab, I ran into a problem where the liquid stopped working. (Attached : renderColab)

Why does this problem occur?
I would like to know your solution.

To Reproduce

Please follow the instructions below to render on google colab.

colab file : https://colab.research.google.com/drive/1gp2PG6P9uZtk3e27lB_1ANGE5xWYLJ59?usp=sharing

zip file (.blend + cache directory) : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n52Vty8srzcSjJSydMfztx22ieaeVuxc/view?usp=sharing

How to use the colab file

1. Download the colab file and zip file and place them in your /My Drive of google drive
2. Create an /output directory under your /My Drive
3. Run the colab files in order from the top
4. Confirm that the /My Drive/output directory contains the rendering results.

Expected Behaviour

I expect the water to be animated when i render it.

Actual Behaviour

the water doesnt move, but it moves in the viewport and local rendering.

Screenshots

Download the video below to see what is happening

local render result : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nkcvzwe8eqKKOyjYxFecUt7tXkHex1TO/view?usp=sharing
colab render result : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hLWhexNN9EQ3Ni8bIq7MAhx01lRwz7EH/view?usp=sharing

[rlguy]

Hi ksuke0322,

Thanks for the report!

Does exporting the simulation to an Alembic file and disabling the FLIP Fluids addon on Google Colab result in an animated render? This test will help us narrow down the issue. More info on Alembic Export (File > Export > Alembic (.abc)).

I have not tested the FLIP Fluids addon within Google Colab, but I will be able to take a look at this issue on Tuesday. In the past we have had feedback from artists that our FLIP Fluids addon as well as some other addons and Blender features are not supported on Google Colab. I'll test this and see if the addon can be supported.

[ksuke0322]

Hi rlguy!

I just tried rendering with alembic using the following steps and it worked!

Thank you!

1. select a liquid mesh and export it to alembic (check "selected objects")
2. hide the contents of the FLIPFluids collection from the outline
3. import the alembic file exported earlier
4. apply material to the mesh
5. zip the .blend and .abc files and render with colab

[rlguy]

Thanks for the update! It's good to know that exporting to Alembic can be a workaround to this issue.

I was able to reproduce the static render issue when using Google Colab. We'll continue to look for the cause of the issue and hopefully we will be able to support simulation rendering and baking on Google Colab in the next FLIP Fluids addon version.

We'll update progress on this task within this thread.

[ksuke0322]

Thank you!
Looking forward to your updates!

[rlguy]

Hi, just an update on this topic. We have received feedback from another artist testing this issue that they were unable to get the FLIP Fluids addon to be supported on Google Colab. To render a simulation, the workaround of exporting to Alembic will be required.

Overall, we cannot encourage using Google Colab for 3D rendering as this is considered a misuse of the service and may result in having your account restricted or timed-out.

I have added a documentation topic on this limitation here: Limitations of the FLIP Fluids addon: Google Colab Support.