GAIA - AAA terrain generator, procedural texturing, planting and scene creation

Probably to provide an option to the default character spawner Gaia has for you to test your scenes which is just the vanilla first person controller in Unity's standard assets.

 

That's probably something with rtp. Gaia doesn't touch the shader, so the result you get is a standard unity terrain with the standard shader from unity.

 

Yup.. I've seen same thing with RTP back when I played around with it. To be honest, it has been so long ago I can't remember what the fix was. I think it is a common issue due to not setting something up right or order of doing things or something. Best thing to do would be to ask about in Tom's RTP thread or look through his faqs/docs.

 

Yep. Even though it's an extraordinarily powerful tool, it's quite tricky to set up correctly.

 

Hey everyone - I am very pleased to announce that Gaia V1.5 is now available for download

As with all new releases, please backup your work, then delete the old copy before trying it. It is an absolutely massive release, and may not play so well with the first release.

Here are the release notes:

Significant New Features:

• Turboscalpeurs HQ grasses
• GameTextures.com textures
• 3D Forge Village Exteriors props
• Screen shotter with customisable water mark
• Point of Interest (POI) spawner system
• Customisable spawner extension system
• Non destructive composable resources system - create terrain from multiple resources
• New noise masking at stamp, spawner and rule level
• Gaia eXtensions and extension exporter
• Gaia sessions and session manager
• Gaia directed random terrain creator
• Player camera FX configuration
• Simple scene lighting configuration
• Normal map texture exporter
• Splatmap texture map exporter
• Waterflow mask exporter
• Terrain height adjuster
• 150 stamps!

Enhancements:

• Sea level now taken from terrain defaults file and managed at session level
• Clustered detail spawner automatic configuration for flowers and grass
• Multi terrain check - stops attempts to use Gaia when multi terrains are enabled
• Max instances on spawner changed to long, added override to ignore, set ignore on for textures and grass by default
• WebGL build bug - added manual versions of the missing routines - will no longer generate errors
• All new objects centered on actual terrain Player, WindZone, Visualiser, Stamps, Spawners, Scanner
• Automatically select terrain layer in stampers, spawners and visualiser
• Visualiser now shows relative to 'sea level' settings
• Increased terrain texture masks from 4 to 8 layers - stamper, spawner
• Button enabling / disabling if no resources file set
• Spawner range exclusion check more accurate
• Using non zero centered terrains now alerts and offers to move terrain - stamper, spawner, visualiser
• All spawns now check their resources against the terrain and alerts to add them
• Duplicate resource file names updated to allow dropdowns to work eg SameRes, SameRes 1 etc
• Water added to session manager, visualiser, spawners
• Many tweaks to all settings to provide better default experience
• Defaults now remembered between sessions and new gaia settings object added
• Player and water prefabs can be overidden in default settings
• Fixed water 4 spawn so that there are no nasty lines
• Clear trees - now calls reset on all tree spawners
• New collider and collider based collision management system
• Spawned game objects now aggregated by type - allowing for easier management
• Add player - reposition on terrain if called again and allow to substitute another one
• Add water - reposition on terrain if called again and allow to substitute another one
• Global tooltips - can disable them in gaia settings

Bug Fixes:

• Spawner range exclusion check now correctly enforces spawner volumes
• Resources mesh grass not correctly handled
• WebGL no longer reports issues with ReadAllBytes and WriteAllBytes

I will start making video tutorials available for the new system from tomorrow.

Enjoy!!

 

CONGRATS @AdamGoodrich !!!
Thanks for all the long hours and hard work.
Your dedication is one of the reasons this has been such a success

Cheers
Cobus

 

Awesome! Now i can stop asking every day Thanks for the hard work Adam

 

Grats Adam! Now take a couple of weeks and let your body catch up on rest. The amount of time and work Adam has put into this release is unreal! We are talking beyond full work days, 7 days a week most weeks.

We squashed a bunch of f bugs and did a lot of tweaking at the end. Hopefully there wont be any bugs, but any of us who have dealt with software development know that they are inevitable. If you run across one, please provide as much info as possible including Unity version, OS you are running, and what build platform your project is set for as well as any information you may have on recreating the problem. If you guys can throw that out, I can try to do as much as I can to help replicate the problem and figure out solutions when and were I'm able. Hopefully if there are things I can help with, Adam can take it easy and focus on more documentation and video stuff while he takes a break from development mode...

 

...and that's why I love Gaia. Not only does Adam reach out to other devs to assist with integration of their packages, but there's a support network underlying Gaia beyond just one person. Thanks

 

Lol.. I can probably count the number of days I've worked on my game since I started helping with with Gaia last July (or was it June?) on my fingers and toes.. lol I used to dread working on terrain until I joined the Gaia beta team. Even back then it was amazing what you could do with it. And that was several rewrites/months before it was initially released! Adam has done an awesome job of surrounding himself with good people. I'm amazed at the other software asset developers and and art publishers that are in the group. Happy to help however I can! And a lot of our team mates pop in here and if they can't answer something they'll post in our beta chat in case someone else can answer if Adam isn't around or in bed. (Him being in Australia is rough on us east time zone US folks heheh)..

With that said, I have been working on some Gaia add-on stuff of my own the past couple of weeks. Not quite ready to unveil at this point, but it should be within the next week (two tops). Need to finish my testing and once I'm happy with way things are looking run by Adam and the beta group before submitting to asset store. But keep your eyes open!

 

Downloading now. You mentioned TurboScalpeurs HQ grasses. It is just a sample amount isn't it and not the full pack??

 

@docsavage Just a sample if memory serves (been a while since I looked just what's inside @turboscalpeur 's packs)

 

Thought so. Thanks smada Luap.

 

Gaia V1.5 issue.

No lighting or camera effects (or indeed anything) under the GX/Installed menu. Do I have to enable something else for these options to appear? Unity version 5.3.1p2 Windows platform.

 

Hearty Congratulations to Adam! Quite the accomplishment.

And, interested in seeing what @Shawn67 has created.

 

As I understand it, you need to import the relevant packges before they'll appear. Look at 'Compatible' for the ones that will appear in there.

eg - I've just imported Distingo and Tenkoku and get the following:

 

Give it time to make sure all of the scripts have loaded. If memory serves me correctly, I think those are dependent on the Effects package being installed from Unity's Standard Assets. Whenever I create a project I'm going to use Gaia in, I always build it with Character, Environment, and Effects packages from Standard Assets.

In developing my own Gaia Extension, I know it can take several seconds watching that screen after changing code or opening up the project for the extensions to appear. What it is actually doing there is looking for any namespaces that match the extension namespace Adam set up. Then it goes through those scripts and based on the structure, actually builds that page. Depending on what you have installed, that could be several scripts being processed to create that page.

Let us know if you are still having issues or if you have the packages installed and are still having it. I'm running on 5.3.1f1 with no issues.

 

@MarcusWatson Hi Marcus, and thank you for your reply. I was more concerned that the Gaia specific ones are not showing up here (those from Procedural Worlds) Working through the Quick Start Guide from 1.5 I am unable to set any of the Camera and Light Options.

 

Yup. As @smada luap stated, it is just a handful. The purpose of the samples is two-fold. First, it gives everyone some assets to start building and populating some awesome terrains and second, each of the publishers/places who have provided samples of their offering gets the benefit of promotion with Gaia in exchange for them helping to promote Gaia. So basically a win-win for everyone. I highly recommend @turboscalpeur's grasses. I've been using them happily since the early days of Gaia's beta and LOVE them!

 

I plan on picking up the grasses packs as well when finished making the current game which doesn't need them. Top quality. Looking forward to sitting down and mastering how to use gaia when it(my game) is finished.

 

I just looked at the code for that extension. It is checking for GAIA_PRESENT which is obviously there and it is also checking for GAIA_IMAGEFX_PRESENT, which I'm not finding where it is defined quickly. But the camera effects which are being loaded with that script come from the Unity Effects package from Standard Assets. If they are not already installed, you can install them by clicking Assets -> Import Package -> Effects from the Unity menus.

 

@Shawn67 Many thanks for your help Shawn, on a new project it was the effects package I was missing!

 

By the way.. For any of you who have been on the fence or have been waiting for Gaia to go on sale... In addition to the 1.5 update being released today, Gaia is also part of the Madness Sale that started today! Pick up a copy while it is on sale!

 

/me shakes the fence lol

 

Wonderful news !!!

Not only did Gaia get updated with it's first major feature updates, but it is also part of the MADNESS SALE !!!

To give all existing and new Gaia owner the chance the get these great 5 STAR rated assets, I have placed both on a -33% discount for the duration of the current MADNESS SALE.

Village Exteriors Kit & Village Interiors Kit




Cheers
Cobus

 

To access Gaia Image and Camera effects you need to have the Standard Effects package installed and to have opened and closed the Gaia Manager twice.

It's done this way to limit an expensive load and test to get some defines set up in your environment.

 

I'm having an issue with setting the lighting with the included lighting effects.



But I have a Directional Light in my scene



Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

Just add a directional light / rename the directional light to your scene and make sure it's called Directional Light.

I noticed this was a weird quirk with later versions of unity 5.3. Will find a way to resolve this in a patch update.

 

Renaming it to Directional Light fixed it thanks for the quick reply Adam

Lighting works perfectly now !!!

 

Screenie ? F12 with the new screenshotter and then look in your screenshots directory

 

You have some great assets and the sale is a great opportunity to pick them up. I have to express a small concern I have when I look at the advertisement for the assets though. I hesitate to bring it up, but I think it needs to be addressed. You have a logo that says "Gaia Compatible" on the asset store. Is there something special that you did to make it more Gaia friendly or work in some sort of integrated way with Gaia? Unless I'm missing something, any asset is Gaia compatible out-of-the-box. Am I missing something? The problem I see is that people might see this logo and think there is something extra done for it to work with Gaia and then focus their funds on only those things that say "Gaia Compatible" when other assets would work as well. So, unless there is really something unique about these assets that makes them integrate with Gaia better then I think the logo should be removed. It has a red flag of false advertising to me, which is not a good thing. I hope you understand my concern.

 

Wow, can't believe what a difference those lighting effects have made, like a different scene! Everything looks much smoother than it did before, especially the zebras. One thing I did note though, was the water level can no longer be changed in the stamper screen, it's set to 100m, although haven't checked the manual yet though so sure there's a reason for it. But first impressions are very good, great job!

 

@magique I can address that.

One of the big new features in Gaia is an extension system. The idea is to make it easy to integrate with other assets and then leverage them together.

A huge amount of time and effort went into making this happen and now that the release is out this will get a lot more focus from me.

Cobus has very generously contributed samples from his Village Exteriors Kits to Gaia, and when you see this in action with the new POI feature it's going to rock your socks

 

What you're saying is that Gaia has been made to easily integrate with other assets, but what "Gaia Compatible" means to me is that the 3rd party asset has been made especially easy to integrate with Gaia. I realize they've worked with you to help make things work smoother and even provided samples, but that doesn't mean their assets are designed in such a way as to make them "work" with Gaia. And to be honest, although I'm fairly certain they haven't done anything to make compatibility better with Gaia, I don't know for sure. A logo that says "Gaia Compatible" makes me think maybe there is something different. But if there isn't then it shouldn't be there.

EDIT: Otherwise, are other vendors going to have to get Gaia certification to slap a Gaia Compatible logo on their product so people consider their assets?

 

There will be (and already are) some assets that just nicked the logo and are using it without my permission, however it really is a thing and when you see it done well you will love it because of the time it will save and the convenience factor of using it.

This is a feature that will grow over time but even in its infancy it's pretty awesome.

In bed at moment but will post some examples of it when I get up.

I will also be pushing the people that have no right to the logo and ensuring they make good on the compatibility promise.

 

I'm not following. Has 3DForge provided an extension with their assets? If so, then they rightfully deserve a Gaia Compatible logo. If not, then my concern still stands. I'm curious, though. Who nicked the logo?

 

Hey there,

From the outset Adam wanted to give the best out the box experience to any user without having the need to purchase any assets. He has released it with v1.0.0 and now in this version 1.5.0 again by me and other 3rd party publishers contributing further to build on that level of polish they have come to know Gaia to have.

Many products on the Asset Store have logos and labels on to give guidance about compatibility, with not any of them claiming they only to be compatible.

I myself would prefer having a package give me more information rather then less.

I have specifically built POI's for one of the new features for Gaia that comes from assets from the package, so I would say some Gaia specifically aimed work has been put in an deserves the label to be placed on. Lots of time has gone into building them and help leverage this awesome new feature and show users what can be achieved.

Hope this explains it better.

Thanks for the comment

Cheers
Cobus

 

Thanks. That's the kind of information that needs to be on your asset page as well. And I agree that this makes it worthy of a Gaia Compatible logo. I'm sure you can understand my confusion and concern. I hope I didn't upset anybody by my queries.

 

So does that mean I have to remove the bumper sticker from my car? And do I have to stop wearing my Gaia Compatible ballcap?

 

Nice. Did you use screenshot component to take the image ?

 

Can you maintain an official list of approved ones so that us users can spot the unapproved ones without the bad vibes that might come with any sort of direct naming & shaming discussion? i.e. we try to keep it positive by naming the good guys and just not mentioning the ones that took liberties?

 

Quick tip. The World Streamer asset is on sale for only $20. I'm going to pick it up to see if it can solve my streaming needs for larger game worlds. I'm quickly learning that without some sort of streaming solution, my project is dead in the water. A tool like World Streamer or SECTR Stream are vital elements and a great complement to Gaia.

https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/36486

 

Yes, please. The logo needs to mean something.

 

The textures painted via perlin noise works flawlessly too, didn't even need to adjust the settings. Gives a very realistic effect. Big thanks for putting that in, it was my biggest request from the previous version and essential for those of us creating relatively flat terrains.

 

There is a compatible tab in the GX section of Gaia manager. It will be out of sync for a few weeks while various updates get pushed as they were dependent on me, but that will become the litmus test.

 

Hi,

I have been on the Asset Store now for 3,5 years, really working hard to build a one man business and working hard and building a happy customer base to the best of my ability.

To have achieved that there are two side, product and communication.
I learned a lot about communication in this 3,5 years, namely that you need to talk and clarify things, so I really appreciate the feedback, since I want to build and grow on the level of confidence that my brand have reached.

So I really appreciate the feedback and concern, glad you understand

I did the SALE also to give many the chance to get them cheaper and further the already great experience that Gaia brings to the table. With the included 80 Buildings and the 276 other FREE BLUEPRINTS, it further builds on the out the box experience for any Unity user.

Thanks again for the support of 3DForge assets

Cheers
Cobus

 

Using the new Screenshot tool

I haven't even messed with the Distingo settings either just added it and BAM! awesome terrain.

 

It means a fair bit to me

 

I didn't even know you had a blueprint system. Are these blueprints tied to the new POI extension?