Unexpected property values usually come from value resolution, time remapping, or competing authored opinions. NVIDIA’s Learn OpenUSD value-resolution guidance explains that OpenUSD determines the final value of a property by looking through the ordered sources that contribute information, from strongest to weakest, and resolving the relevant authored data according to property type. ( docs.nvidia.com )
Option B is correct because layer offsets retime animated data across composition arcs such as references, payloads, and sublayers. If an offset or scale is wrong, a time-sampled property can evaluate at an unexpected source time, producing an apparently incorrect value. Option D is correct because multiple layers can author opinions on the same property, and the stronger opinion wins according to composition and value-resolution rules. NVIDIA’s strength-ordering guidance emphasizes that LIVERPS and layer-stack ordering determine which opinions are considered strongest. ( docs.nvidia.com )
Option A is not a primary cause by itself; connections may affect shader or node-network behavior, but “too many” connections does not inherently change USD property resolution. Option C is incorrect because .usda, .usdc, and .usd are storage encodings for layers, not different composition semantics. This aligns with Debugging and Troubleshooting → Value Resolution, Layer Offsets, Composition Strength, and Property Stacks .