: MayaUSD Loading Performance Issue (ArnoldUSD vs MayaUSD Export)

Hi everyone, I’m encountering a performance issue when loading USD files using the MayaUSD plugin and would appreciate any insights or suggestions.

Scenario:

Same Maya scene file, geometry identical, all materials are aiStandardSurface.

USD file sources:

ArnoldUSD Export

MayaUSD (USD-Export)

File sizes are roughly the same.

Loading Test:

Using Stage From File to load USD:

ArnoldUSD-exported USD → Loads fast, viewport interaction smooth. CPU usage not maxed out, possibly using multiple threads.

MayaUSD-exported USD → Loads slowly, CPU shows one core fully utilized, others mostly idle.

Observations:

Both USD files have the same geometry and aiStandardSurface materials.

MayaUSD-exported USD seems to hit a single-threaded bottleneck, possibly when parsing shading networks or geometry.

Questions:

Why does MayaUSD-exported USD load much slower than ArnoldUSD-exported USD even with similar file sizes?

Is there a way to enable multi-threaded loading or otherwise optimize MayaUSD plugin performance?

Are there recommended export or loading workflows that balance material fidelity and loading speed?

Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated!

Start by reproducing the Stage From File load with matching ArnoldUSD and MayaUSD exports, then profile CPU usage and compare their geometry and shading-network structure. Done means identifying a specific loading bottleneck or confirming an actionable optimization or documented limitation; the issue names no source files or tests.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.