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Ferr SuperCube

Discussion in 'Assets and Asset Store' started by koujaku, May 14, 2015.

  1. koujaku

    koujaku

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2013
    Posts:
    321
    Heyas! I'm the author of Ferr2D Terrain, and I just published Ferr SuperCube to the Asset Store! I've published 102 games (most of them were small), I'm a full time engineer on one of Zynga's cooler games, and I -love- to make tools for people!

    You can get it on the store here!

    I made SuperCube to solve the problems I've had with Unity's default cube! I often found myself prototyping, or even making entire levels from it. Full modeling and level design tools are sometimes just too much, but then, Unity's cube doesn't quite cut it either, especially when textures get involved!

    FerrLibBanner.png

    So I've added widgets for easy placement and sizing, a pile of tools for getting UVs right, options for hiding faces, and applying materials to faces separately!

    FerrSCBasic.gif

    I'm also a bit of an optimization nut, and lately, I've been pretty obsessed with vertex lighting for mobile. So I included face slicing, so you can add extra verts for vertex lighting to work with! It'll also work -extremely- well with vertex painting, I'm currently working on tools that will properly preserve your painting through mesh updates as well, so keep your eyes out for those!

    Check out vertex lighting in action here (webplayer)
    FerrSCVertexLighting.png


    So let me know what you think! If you've got any questions, feature requests, or need any help, please don't hesitate to contact me! If you can format for Twitter, that's where I respond fastest, but I'm also quite on top of email (support@simbryocorp.com) and the forums here =D

    Handy links:
    Asset store page
    Tutorial videos
    Product page / documentation
    Live demos

    And here's a timelapse of creating a small level with SuperCube:
     
  2. jocyf

    jocyf

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2007
    Posts:
    285
    Hi,

    It's possible to use meshes created with supercube in any other project WITHOUT importing supercube asset?
    I mean, can I create a .unitypackpage of that mesh and impot it in another clean project or can be that mesh be exported to fbx, obj ?
     
  3. koujaku

    koujaku

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2013
    Posts:
    321
    Yeah! Once you have your object set up, you can just delete the SuperCube script, and it'll be just fine. If you're putting it in a prefab, you'll want to delete the script after you've made the prefab, since the script will create a matching .asset file for for the mesh! =D
     
  4. mimminito

    mimminito

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2010
    Posts:
    780
    This looks fantastic! I commented on your YouTube video about snapping, thanks for clearing that up. I would love to have the ability to customise the snapping in a bit more detail much like you can with the basic Pro Grids features. Being able to turn it on and off, and easily adjust the snapping constraints would be a welcome addition! I think this is an instabuy for me, its a great plugin and less than half the price of ProBuilder!
     
  5. hopeful

    hopeful

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2013
    Posts:
    5,676
    Yes, but ProBuilder has a lot more that it can do, and more shapes than just cubes. Also the reduced-function version - Prototype - is free.

    On the other hand, one thing Ferr SuperCube has going for it is simplicity.
     
  6. Omaek

    Omaek

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2014
    Posts:
    7
    Is Ferr SuperCube a simplified version of Ferr 3D mentioned here?
     
  7. koujaku

    koujaku

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2013
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    321
    Not exactly! It could be used for similar things, but I'm still working on Ferr3D as a separate project! SuperCube is mostly a tool for simple environments: walls, floors, etc. My initial inspiration for SuperCube was to make something easier to use than ProBuilder for simple stuff, and something I could use for vertex painting! The face slicing feature allows you to add extra verts for painting, and I even preserve/re-calculate vertex color information after re-scaling and changing face slicing distance! Right now the color preservation is only for the plane, but the next update will include color preservation on the cube as well!
     
  8. Gruguir

    Gruguir

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2010
    Posts:
    340
    Congrats for your work on optimization ! I guess i found my map editor for my retro themed project.
    Only thing i'm missing right now is independant vertex manipulation, other shapes would be even better but hey, it's called superCube after all. I managed to lower drawcalls even more by using an atlas texture and local coordinate UV-mapped superCubes, and it is still much more convenient than my previous mesh-based workflow.
     
  9. iamsam

    iamsam

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2013
    Posts:
    233
    Hi, A very nice and simple tool to add quick geometry to the scene :). I am trying to use Unity's snapping to snap two SuperCubes (using V for vertex snapping) but it does not seem to work, is there another way to snap two SuperCubes?

    Any update on when to expect the release of Ferr3D?
     
  10. koujaku

    koujaku

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2013
    Posts:
    321
    I just added vertex snapping onto my todo list, I'll see if I can figure out why that's not working!

    Also, SuperCube uses world coordinates when snapping with the handles, so it should be pretty trivial to just drag the handles around to where you want them, get them to snap that way!

    Ferr3D is still a ways away, sadly! I've been working on a number of really tough problems, and integrating them with my other tools as I solve them! It'll get there at some point, but in the meantime, you'll likely see my existing tools improve as I work on it =D
     
  11. koujaku

    koujaku

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2013
    Posts:
    321
    Alright, so I fixed two things that have been brought to my attention, so I'll put 'em here until I can finish a full update!

    Tangents were flipped, bad math on my part =D Looked pretty much right, but it was a fair bit more obvious on parallax shaders!
    SuperCubeUtil.cs, line #73. Was:
    Code (csharp):
    1. Vector4 tan  = new Vector4(ttan.x, ttan.y, ttan.z, (Vector3.Dot(Vector3.Cross(aNormals[startID], ttan), tDir) < 0) ? -1 : 1);
    Should be:
    Code (csharp):
    1. Vector4 tan  = new Vector4(ttan.x, ttan.y, ttan.z, (Vector3.Dot(Vector3.Cross(aNormals[startID], ttan), tDir) < 0) ? 1 : -1);
    And vertex snapping was getting blocked by the handles.
    SuperCubeEditor.cs, line #356. Add this code:
    Code (csharp):
    1. if (Event.current.keyCode == KeyCode.V) return false;
    SuperPlaneEditor.cs, line #177
    Code (csharp):
    1. if (Event.current.keyCode == KeyCode.V) return;
    I'm finishing up some color preservation code, and then I'll be submitting these fixes shortly. If you guys spot anything else, lemme know~! =D
     
    Xoduz, iamsam and mimminito like this.
  12. iamsam

    iamsam

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2013
    Posts:
    233
    Wow! That was a blazing fast update, thank you very much :). Everything works like a charm now, thanks for the quick support, glad I purchased it.
     
    koujaku likes this.
  13. Xoduz

    Xoduz

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2013
    Posts:
    135
    @koujaku Thank you for this super awesome asset, it is making prototyping a breeze :)

    I have, however, encountered a small issue though. :eek:

    If I create a SuperCube, rotate it by the Z axis by 90 degrees, change the Wall UV Type to Local Coordinates, and then assign to it a material which has both an Albedo and a Normal Map, two faces of the SuperCube (The Y+ and Y- faces) turn all white!

    To reproduce:
    1. Create a new material using Standard shader
    2. Assign it an Albedo texture and a Normal Map
    3. Create a SuperCube
    4. Change Wall UV Type to Local Coordinates
    5. Rotate the SuperCube by 90 degrees around the Z axis
    6. Assign the new material to the SuperCube
    7. Observe the whiteness on two faces!
    There are some workarounds, like not rotating the cube until you've assigned the material, but if you start modifying the extents of the cube after you've done this, some sides will turn white all over again. The workaround for THAT is to rotate the cube back to original rotation, re-assign the material, and then rotate it back to it's final rotation and never touch the cube again ^^
     
  14. bryantdrewjones

    bryantdrewjones

    Joined:
    Aug 29, 2011
    Posts:
    147
    Hi @koujaku :)

    I just downloaded SuperCube off of the Asset Store, but I'm having some issues with the basic keyboard shortcuts :( If I push Shift to hide the default transform gizmo or Alt to show the visibility options, the scene flickers briefly and then returns to the normal state. If I mash either of those buttons 10-15 times, sometimes I can get the keyboard shortcuts to work, but the majority of the time I just see a little flicker.

    This is in 5.1.1f1 on OS X in a totally empty scene, except for my one SuperCube.

    Also, when I save the scene, I get this console warning about the scene leaking objects:

    Cleaning up leaked objects in scene since no game object, component or manager is referencing them
    Material Hidden/Ferr Gizmo Shader 2D has been leaked 1 times.
    Material Hidden/Ferr Gizmo Shader 3D has been leaked 1 times.

    That's not a very detailed bug description, I know :( Let me know if you'd like me to try anything to track down the problem :)
     
  15. clinton-reddie

    clinton-reddie

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2013
    Posts:
    18
    @koujaku - This asset has already proven quite useful, but I'm also experiencing bugs like @Xoduz and @bryantdrewjones in Unity 5.1.1 + Windows 8. The white faces happen a lot when I turn supercubes into prefabs.
     
  16. clinton-reddie

    clinton-reddie

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2013
    Posts:
    18
    @koujaku @Xoduz - The white faces return to normal sometimes when I force a new mesh.
     
  17. clinton-reddie

    clinton-reddie

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2013
    Posts:
    18
    Also goes away when I change the uvs from world to local space.
     
  18. koujaku

    koujaku

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2013
    Posts:
    321
    Ahh, sorry for the late reply! Forums have been eating my emails again >.<

    The leaked shaders shouldn't be a problem, it's something I'm working on getting rid of though. Thanks for the repro steps on the white faces! I'll definitely take a look at that as soon as I get back home.

    For the shortcut stuff, I haven't really tested on a Mac yet, so it's possibly related to that! I'll see if I can get my hands on one and do some testing there!

    Thanks for the feedback!
     
  19. Reverend-Speed

    Reverend-Speed

    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2011
    Posts:
    284
    Really enjoying SuperCube! It's a lovely, lightweight alternative to Probuilder and accompanying plugins. Uh, any chance I could make two feature requests, though? =)
    • It'd be lovely if I could align a texture edge to a specific edge of a cube face - instead of trying to find the edge with the offset command
    • Would be just fantastic if I could alter the snapping unit size via keyboard keys that double or half the current unit. Always found that a useful feature in Hammer.
    Sorry if this kinda input is unwelcome - just I love these kinds of tools and I start thinking about cool things that could be done with 'em...

    ...Then again, I really should just look at the goddamn code, shouldn't I? =) Will get on that...

    Again, thanks for SuperCube!

    --Rev
     
  20. CrazedDingo

    CrazedDingo

    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2015
    Posts:
    1
    Any idea when you will be applying the Vertex Snapping fix? I tried adding the line of code but it did not work for me.
     
  21. andyz

    andyz

    Joined:
    Jan 5, 2010
    Posts:
    2,251
    Is this working ok in 5.3.x?
    Can it automatically hide cube faces against other cubes or do you have to do all the face hiding manually?
    Can you combine meshes and save as a prefab mesh?
    Thanks