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[Released] Distingo - Terrain in Detail

Discussion in 'Assets and Asset Store' started by NemoKrad, Feb 1, 2016.

  1. NemoKrad

    NemoKrad

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    Ah thanks for posting, was going to get some more pics up today but have not had time :) Cool to see it running on an older card too :D
     
  2. Mark_T

    Mark_T

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    Hi,
    Does your shader supports global diffuse and normal maps with fading based on distance?
    Is it working on the default Unity terrain only? Is it possible to use it on terrain meshes(geometry) too?
    Thanks.
     
  3. NemoKrad

    NemoKrad

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    Hi Mark_T,

    The diffuse and normal map textures are per texture not global but can have their tiling controlled over distance.

    I could include a global diffuse and normal map in a later version if it's a popular addition.

    I have only tested it on Unity Terriain objects, but if needed, and again if it's a popular request I could add a version that you can pass your own splat map to, to be used on a mesh in a later version.
     
  4. 99thmonkey

    99thmonkey

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    @NemoKrad so when do I get to try it? Looks nice. Hope it works with mobile and so on...
     
  5. NemoKrad

    NemoKrad

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    @99thmonkey , it's in submission now, so if it passes it should be available in a week or so. I have not tested on mobile, but it's doing more that the regular Unity shader, but can tell you it will need SM4 :(
     
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  6. Mark_T

    Mark_T

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    For me, having a global diffuse and normal helps with the general look, not only to deal with the tiling issues.
    Without splat maps, I don`t think I have the control I need, so I`ll wait for the mesh version.:)
    Thanks though for the fast answer.
    Good luck with your product!
     
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  7. NemoKrad

    NemoKrad

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    @Mark_T,

    This does give you the ability to remove tiling without the need of a global diffuse texture you can alter the uv multiplier for when the terrain is near and far and it will lerp between the two over distance removing the tiling from your render.
     
  8. Mark_T

    Mark_T

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    I do understand the way you approached the tiling issue for the detail textures.
    Maybe you can include a second shader for geometry terrains/meshes with a global diffuse/normal map capable to fade based on distance to camera and splatmaps. I`m sure you customer base will increase. The way it is now it`s rather meant for non-artists.
     
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  9. jc_lvngstn

    jc_lvngstn

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    Really excited about this, can't wait to play around with it.
    I do think a global normal map could be a very nice addition, I seem to recall having that with RTP added some nice visual touches.
     
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  10. GCatz

    GCatz

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    beautiful!
    too bad all this great assets (this one) and Gaia are working only with the unity's old terrain system
    and not with custom meshes or 3rd party terrains

    its such a performance hog...
     
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2016
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  11. NemoKrad

    NemoKrad

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    Well, as I say, it's something I can add to the next update :) Its pending at the moment so cant add I now.
     
  12. NemoKrad

    NemoKrad

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    As we have discussed here, its something I can add in the future :)
     
  13. _invalidusername

    _invalidusername

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    Any ETA on the release? My wallet is ready

    As a sidenote, I feel like you could charge way more than $10 for this. Based on what I've seen, I would happily pay double that
     
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  14. BornGodsGame

    BornGodsGame

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    This will be the easiest $10 I think I have ever spent in the asset store. really looks awesome.
     
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  15. AdamGoodrich

    AdamGoodrich

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    You can use GAIA to export your terrain as a mesh, and the new 1.5 release also exports splatmaps, so with the right shader it works just fine. I did a post on it in my forum.
     
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  16. NemoKrad

    NemoKrad

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    Its in the submission process, so soon I hope, if all goes well :)
     
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  17. magique

    magique

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    This looks promising and I'll probably give it a try when it comes out. Will there be any chance of adding a dynamic snow buildup capability to this in the future?
     
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  18. PhoenixRising1

    PhoenixRising1

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    Sorry for off-topic, but what 3rd party terrain tools do you recommend?
     
  19. magique

    magique

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    +1 for this question. Is there a 3rd party terrain system that performs better than Unity terrain? I would love to know about it if there is one.
     
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  20. NemoKrad

    NemoKrad

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    hmmmm, I could write one.... lol
     
  21. magique

    magique

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    I wonder why no one has done it yet. I see lots of voxel engines as alternatives, but not straight-up height map engines like Unity. And with all the complaining I hear about performance you would think someone would have done it already. Sure there are lots of terrain shaders as well, like this one, but nothing to boost performance from the raw engine side of things. Using a mesh for terrain is an alternative, but problematic and more complex in so many ways.

    Anyway, if you were to write one that performed better than Unity terrain, I'd buy it in an instant.
     
  22. AdamGoodrich

    AdamGoodrich

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    Not a trivial problem to solve or I imagine Unity would have sorted it by now.
     
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  23. magique

    magique

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    Well, GCat mentioned 3rd party terrains and seemed to imply they were better performing than Unity's system so ephermeral and myself are wondering what in the world he's talking about. If such a beast exists, we want to know about it. lol
     
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  24. jc_lvngstn

    jc_lvngstn

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    I think it boils down to, the Unity terrain is an-ok- system for a generic solution. My big beef with it is, they seem to be very, very slow in adding features. But that's a separate issue I guess.

    The "new terrain" thread they started had so, so many replies that were all over the map as far as features.
    People want:

    Infinite voxel planetary terrains that can load in chunks or handle any LOD, properly blending between the regions and all happens seamlessly smooth and fast, with shaders that support parallax, bumped global and detail, wet/dry, snow, global diffuse, triplanar uv mixing for any number of atlas textures in easy to setup and use interface.

    A lot of the times it just depends on the projects needs, nothing out there can fit them all :(
     
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  25. magique

    magique

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    I think you may have missed my earlier question so I'll ask again. Will there be any chance of adding a dynamic snow buildup capability to this in the future?
     
  26. NemoKrad

    NemoKrad

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    Sorry, I had read it, for got to reply :/

    Something like snow build up will add passes, it is something I have thought about. I have lots of things to think about for the next release and the first drop is not even out there yet lol
     
  27. NemoKrad

    NemoKrad

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    Distingo is still in the review process, but once it is live, the link to it in the Asset Store will be here. If you click this link now you will get a NOT FOUND/ 404 back from the store.

    Can't wait for you guys to start playing with it and to give me feed back on it.
     
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  28. BackwoodsGaming

    BackwoodsGaming

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    I still owe you screenies from the scene I was working on the other night.. I've kinda blown it away as far as everything except ground textures to test some stuff with new Gaia beta.. Here was how I left it before starting to work on setting up POIs for the new spawn system..

    This is from a stamp I made for Gaia of the Cades Cove area in the Tennessee Smokey Mountains. Again, it is still a work in progress and I still think I need to tweak Distingo a bit, but wanted to go ahead and share. I will post new screenies of the finished version once I get my homestead POI setup to test new Gaia POI system and get some of the new POIs that will ship with the next Gaia update from Adam.

    Grab 20160208205155 w1900h1200 x105y37z-283r48.jpg

    As of this screenshot this a Gaia stamped / texture spawned terrain, with Distingo controlling textures, Time of Day for sky, and MCS Female with Ranger outfit (not sure why top of her tunic looks black :( )..
     
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  29. GCatz

    GCatz

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    The third party I meant are the ones who convert terrains into meshes or create terrain mesh like Mudbox
    there are also voxel terrains in the asset store which are not performance wise.

    but my point is terrains are one of the most neglected features in Unity
    and it sucks to see such good assets improve it visually while its bad at its core
     
  30. magique

    magique

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    I've been experimenting with mesh terrains, but just using the obj exporter found on the following Wiki:

    http://wiki.unity3d.com/index.php?title=TerrainObjExporter

    Do you recommend any specific terrain to mesh converter tools? I'd be interested in taking a look.
     
  31. magique

    magique

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    Thanks. I think the response you're getting already, especially with feature requests, is a good sign that you are on the right track and have a potential winner on your hands. Like I said, I'll definitely pick it up to give it a try even if I don't end up using it in the end. I'm evaluating ats colormap Ultra and RTP right now, but only RTP has the snow feature and that's kind of essential for my upcoming project. I'm looking for the best balance of quality, features, and performance. Distingo looks to have the quality so I deem it worthy of a serious evaluation.
     
  32. NemoKrad

    NemoKrad

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    Thanks! Really hope it lives up to your expectations :)
     
  33. NemoKrad

    NemoKrad

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    Regarding shaders for a terrain mesh, as opposed to shaders for a regular Unity Terrain, I am guessing you would want to be able to use the current Distingo functionality, but be able to pass your own plat map too, as well as an option for a global diffuse/bump/occlusion, blend maps etc...
     
  34. jc_lvngstn

    jc_lvngstn

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    Just speaking for myself...I would. I worked on a project in the past that couldn't use Unity terrains, it had to be custom meshes stitched together.
     
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  35. NemoKrad

    NemoKrad

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    Well for Distingo, I would be looking at creating a shader for a terrain mesh, so I would not be looking at vertex stitching (I can do it, did a terrain engine in XNA a while back).

    I also did a basic geo clip map shader that was quite cool, also deformable terrain, not sure if they would port to Unity too well though.
     
  36. jc_lvngstn

    jc_lvngstn

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    Oh I wouldn't expect the shader to do anything but draw the textures, I wouldn't expect you or your shader to try to handle the stitching or anything. Just a splat mesh shader really. Basically the same as the terrain shader. I would think it is up to the user to supply the mesh, whether via code or by some object.
     
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  37. TheSeawolf

    TheSeawolf

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    Good luck NemoKrad, I think this should really hit the ground running due to the publicity. I have the page bookmarked and ready to go.
     
  38. BackwoodsGaming

    BackwoodsGaming

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    After you get Distingo, be sure to save some money! He has a lot of other good ideas in the pipeline that will be hitting the asset store as well.. At least we hope they evolve into assets! RTP was another of those assets I really had a hard time wrapping my head around. Now with Gaia just using the plain out of the box texture spawners and textures and a few easy slider adjustments in Distingo, I can quickly get a decent looking terrain. I was never able to get a terrain that looks like the one in the screenie I posted with other tools.. And the terrain in that screenie still needs some tuning but it looks worlds better than anything I've ever been able to do in the last three years as far as terrains.. My mind is pretty much blown how easy world building and terrain shader adjustments are now!

    Thanks TONS Charles (and Adam for Gaia)!!! :)
     
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  39. TheSeawolf

    TheSeawolf

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    I couldn't agree more with your sentiments. RTP looks fantastic, and there are those people out there that find coding/design intuitive, but there are other less fortunates such as myself et al who learn by observing and following simple ui and procedures that don't requires an arcane enchanter :)

    That's great news about other assets...are there any cryptic clues about what to expect?
     
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  40. NemoKrad

    NemoKrad

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    More terrain related stuff, but at the moment they are in very early stages, and I am not yet 100% sure the things I want to do I can pull off, so at the moment I don't really have any thing to show or tell, but as soon as I do, Ill set up a thread for it/them :)
     
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  41. BackwoodsGaming

    BackwoodsGaming

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    heheh. I'll leave that up to @NemoKrad to reveal. He has done some stuff in another engine, I think UE4. But there are some issues with the way some of the math is done in Unity that is causing things to not work the same. So he is trying to figure that out on another asset now. Maybe once he cracks that he might be ready for some more announcements.. ;)
     
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  42. NemoKrad

    NemoKrad

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    My GPU programming background was with XNA and DX9, done a little with SlimXD to. I have UE4, but only ever fired it up once lol

    I have recently been playing with some of the DX10/11 features, so compute shaders, geometry, tessellation etc, and I am quite enjoying the results I am seeing with them in Unity. I have lots of ideas for them, just so little time...
     
  43. TheSeawolf

    TheSeawolf

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    Okay thanks boys, "terrain" is cryptic enough for my liking. By the way NemoKrad, if it helps I'm still really good at my 12 times table, as with most others I fall apart on the 13 times table :)

    I only did BASIC at school (still good at it now 25 years later), then I decided to play football instead.

    cheers guys.
     
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  44. NemoKrad

    NemoKrad

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    Sounds like you have a better grounding in maths than I do :p
     
  45. jonfinlay

    jonfinlay

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    What does the terrain look like up close? I noticed all the screenshots have been from a distance. For example if a FPS player looked down, how would the terrain look? Does the shader still take into consideration the tiling?
     
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  46. NemoKrad

    NemoKrad

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    It depends on how you set up the near and far tiling multipliers, and of course on your textures. Ill try and get a screen shot showing this later today.
     
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  47. jonfinlay

    jonfinlay

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    I started using all my textures from textures.com. I make sure they have been taken as far away as possible (like this one), as close up textures always show the grass etc too large when the player looks down, which is one reason I stopped using the ones from the store. Usually I do the tiling at around 2 or 3, and get around the tiling by some extent by adding patches (without blending) of a very similar texture. However it doesn't work 100% which is why a shader like this would be great.
     
  48. NemoKrad

    NemoKrad

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    OK, hope this shows what I mean.

    So this first picture has the rock texture near UV multiplier (NUVM) set to .1 and the far UV multiplier (FUVM) set to .35
    The UV values for each vert are multiplied and blended over the distance from the camera, you can see the texture close to the camera has a larger instance oft he texture as opposed to the far textures.



    This pic I have switched on the Render CutOff option that shows how the UV's are blended (this can be adjusted too, I have set mine to the Max value of 2 in this case)



    This next shot shows the NUVM and FUVM swapped over, so .35 and .1 respectively



    Ill now put them back as they were, but move the FUVM to 1 (which is how Unity would render the UV's all over)



    This pic, I put the FUVM back to .35 and set the NUVM to 1



    As you can see it gives you a fair bit of control over how the textures are rendered on your terrain, so depending on these setting you can control the tiling quite a bit.

    Hope this has helped explain how Distingo tried to manage tiling. I am sure you will have a much better eye than me and be able to set your texture up better than I have, I have just threw values at it to demonstrate what can be done.
     
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  49. jonfinlay

    jonfinlay

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    Excellent idea using this multiplier based on distance. Does it work based on the camera position or the player's position? For example, when you zoom out from the player, the tiling multiplier would increase, and vice versa?
     
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  50. NemoKrad

    NemoKrad

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    It's based on the camera position.
     
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