ARCHIMATIX PRO Node-based Parametric Modeling for Unity [Unity Awards Finalist]

I can say with certainty that the release date gets closer everyday! The major development is done, but there is a lot of polishing still. So, soon !

 

Working on a parametric column model to ship with the first release:

 

Its amazing how when you have a single parametric model working, as with this column, you can have a lot of fun building environments with it. In this sense, Archimatix is shaping up to be not just a modeler, but a fluid and interactive environmental design tool.

Comparing the next two images, you can see that just increasing the floor height in the FloorRepeater, automatically resizes both the stair and the column heights.





And then the last human makes his entrance... (with the help of some image effects filters!)

 

Still playing...


Ok, ok... back to work, me!

 

Question @roryo - Can you add an option for us to 3D print our designs?

Been reading up on Parametric design and it is used allot in CAD. I would love to 3D print stuff made with this plugin

 

I would hazard a guess that you should use other tools to make that happen. e.g. export model from unity as .obj then use suitable apps to prepare the models for 3d printing.

 

Stop playing around roryo and get this thing released! Aha. If you want anyone to 'test' sign me up

 

I want Archimatix so much.

 

I have not done any 3D printing, but I think @elbows is right. The meshes need to be prepared for 3D printing and these tools can use a number of file formats. So its not the parametrics, per se, that make printable models, but parametrics can make some pretty nice forms that look really great as physical models.

 

I recently brought in an architect for the game we're developing. She does a lot of futuristic interior and exterior design work.

She typically uses Rhino and Grasshopper but I showed her this thread yesterday and she's very interested in trying this out.

 

Ok, @CognitiveCode, that makes you the current head of the Archimatix marketing department! Thanks for showing it off and for the feedback. I am at Unite Boston right now and meeting with some architecture folks in a little bit. I will show them you post!

 

Still processing all the great feedback on Archimatix at Unite Boston. I did not give a talk, but I must have demoed it 30 times. People seemed very enthusiastic and had some great suggestions/questions. Exciting!

 

That might seem weird, but apart from Archimatix being a cool product, you're doing a great job overall.
Your good at communicating, show your progress in different ways (descriptions, screens, even videos) and have a friendly attitude towards everyone who takes the time to comment.
This makes it really fun watching how you develop this plugin, and I'm always happy when I get an alert concerning this thread. (Your behaviour also makes one feel save--there are a lot of assets that look good, but the developer looks unreliable or has a hard time communicating, which can be daunting and influences the decision whether to buy this asset or not.)

Long story short, I just wanted to thank your for your hard work, and wish you good luck developing Archimatix!
- KW

 

@KWaldt, can't you think of anything positive to say? Hee hee. Thanks for such a nice comment!

One thing that came out of my conversations at the conference, particularly with Unity's @Lucas Meijer, who has patiently and generously spent lots of time looking at Archimatix with me, is that, while I am very focused on the usability and power of the node graph editor, many people will perhaps not have time or inclination to learn the editor and instead be more attracted to the pre-rigged parametric models in the 3D library. Playing with the library items should have almost no learning curve at all. After people have a good experience with using the library items then maybe, at some point, some will venture into the editor to start rigging up their own models. In other words, the library becomes a gateway to the system and for some, that may be where they feel it is most useful. Of course, others will dive right into the deep end with tutorial videos in hand (and I think I know who some of you are!).

I must say, if anyone is ever on the fence about going to a Unite conference, I have always gotten a boost from them (this was my 4th). By way of another shout out, @sfbaystudios (who has posted on this thread) saw me demoing to another Unity engineer and introduced himself. He spent a lot of time with me checking the system out, discussing pros, cons and future possibilities, and generally provided amazing feedback. Unity has a great community of people, both in the company and around it, who are earnestly interested in helping each other out and cheering each other on.

 

Very promising asset and I'm looking forward to use it in future projects

Aside from that and looking at the 3d modeling software market, it could be very interesting if you could later develop a standalone application (no need for Unity thus), rendering and UV mapping features could be optional, just the modeling tool with exports would be fine.

 

@Kasko, thanks for the suggestion. I have been getting comments from people that Archimatix would be a useful addition to other game engines such as Unreal or even as a plugin to modeling applications such as SketchUp and 3D Studio Max. A standalone would be a bit further out there on the horizon since it is a more challenging level of software development. I am glad that you are seeing that horizon and interested in the potential of Archimatix and the paths it might take someday.

 

I am loving these 5 minute models in Archimatix:






Its destined to ship with the first release of the 3D Library:

 

I would pay 5 Dollas for your 5 minutes Assets...xD

Is it possible to change the UV Map Rotation X,Y
Sometimes it looks wired... Look at your DoorFrames...!
The transition are not equal...!
In PorBuilder 2 you have the ability to edit the UV Map
by the created Mesh-planes... Simpel& Complex...
very helpful& easy... ^^
You know what I mean...?!?

P.S. Sometime you see that in Video-Games... xD
But it not always so obvious... ^^

 

So are we

 

Yes @IndieAner3d, you can rotate the textures by 90 degrees and scale and translate the textures of the extrude surface vs. the sides separately. Maybe I should have spent just a little more than 5 minutes on this model!

 

Thanks, Adam, and looking forward to GAIA. It will be nice having some landscapes to set these buildings in!

 

I found a link, started on page one, and loved the little stories about the robot. So kept reading to the end.

Our world contains original cultures with original architect. This will make them fabulous and save me time modeling dozens of them to fill the cities. I can't wait to see your asset arrive.

 

Hallo @Teila! Thanks for reading the back story on the thread and I am glad you have enjoyed the first season of Robot Kyle. Which reminds me: I need to post some new episodes - its been too long!

I can't wait to see what types of architecture you are been working on. Sounds interesting!

 

Please do write more about Robot Kyle. I am curious about his world and why he is defending the last human. Your pictures go so well with the story as well, the strange, otherworldly yet oddly ancient architecture. Beautiful!

 

I'm not surprised that you're getting approached to get this along with other applications as you're potentially sitting on a "goldmine" And honestly, I would be willing to pay more (in the 250$ range for example) for a standalone and the extra-work from your part it implies as it's the kind of tool that could be useful even in 5-10 years. From a consumer POV it's better as it would somehow give a guarantee to not be "tied" to a particular application (for example, 3DS Max could give you an exclusivity deal then most of indies/freelancers won't be able to afford it as they would have to pay the 3DS subscrition first). But hey it's your business so do what you feel is right, wish you success

 

@Kasko, I think it will be important to have an .obj export built in so that it is easy to export Archimatix models out of Unity. Since all of Archimatix's features are available in the personal edition of Unity, there is only the cost of Archimatix. If you were to use Unity for nothing but Archimatix, then it would be as though you were using a standalone application for Archimatix. If .obj export is not in the initial release, then it will certainly be in the first free update.

 

Hello,
I want to start off by saying that I am very new to modeling/video game design. I have been looking for a building creator in Unity that allows for creating highly customizable buildings that also works well with Substance Designer. I was pointed to Archimatix on the Unity forums and was very interested indeed. From what I've seen on your site, this may be something I would want to invest in.

So I was wondering if there are any limitations to how large the models can be? Also, from what I've seen in your videos, I assume they easily do building interiors as well as exteriors? And finally, what is the diversity of the model assets (pillars, walls, stairs, etc.)? Can I build, say, a modern office complex as well as a medieval castle? I'm looking to build modern, realistic buildings for a first/third person perspective.

Thanks for your time. Please be as layman as possible in your reply, I'm still learning a great deal about all these design aspects.

 

Hi @Jarek Defiler, thanks for your questions!

There are no limitations to the size of models, save what Unity can render at whatever frame rate you are targeting. With the Repeaters, you can generate a lot of triangles quickly so its best to keep an eye on the triangle counts in the node graph palettes.

Archimatix does not differentiate between interiors and exteriors. Often the two are related by the structures you create. For example, a wall may have an exterior and an i interior face.

The diversity of assets will be there both in the library of pre-made models and in your growing abilities as an budding modeler. In the examples in the pages of this thread, I have tried to demonstrate a range of historical, sic-fi and contemporary modern examples.

All that being said, modeling is its own art apart from, and yet integral with, game design. I can only say that modeling is a fun, creative activity and that you will get better at it over time as you continue to build with your imagination.

 

Today I am working on the startup window that will point the new user to a choice of three windows to get started: the 3D Library, the 2D Library and the Node Graph Editor.

 

Testing with some level design...

 

You're such a tease, roryo.
The tests look really cool, and it's great that you're working on a nice interface--can't wait to test it!

- KW

 

Debugging some odds and ends on the grid repeater. This test is just an arch and a column set into a GridRepeater. The cornice above is a PlanSweep. I need to get some robots roaming around here!

 

With Ambient Occlusion
the transition between the Meshes
looks sooo smooth... *_*

The texture is matching very good
with the defaultSkyMat. ^__^

How many texture you use
in the last scene... 3...
and one colored...?
What´s the texture size you use... 1024x1024...?

Meanwhile, Is the robot roaming there...xD

 

In that last scene, there are only 3 textures (four materials). The first texture, the Unity concrete from he original Mecanim demo scene, is used in two materials - one un-tinted and the other red-tinted. The second texture is in the street material and the third texture is the wooden ceiling inside the buildings.

The default material is the concrete (which the AssetStore folks said it is ok to ship with archimatix examples. I am glad, because that texture makes everything look pretty good. That and Unity5's built-in ambient occlusion!

BTW, all the images on this thread posted prior to the domed-building example a few posts back were done in Unity 4. Until a few days ago, I have been developing in Unity 4 to make sure that Archimatix supported it. But now I am totally hooked on Unity5 rendering goodness so will probably spend more time developing in it.

 

Once tried, you won't miss that anymore ...xD

 

Robot Kyle awaits at his desert cloister. Some more U5 bacon while I am fixing some bugs...

 

The only bug I can see is that it's not in the asset store yet. Looking great though!

 

Thanks for the bug report, @vrpostcard. The bug you have encountered has now been given a ticket and will be fixed in due course!

 

Well done roryo. Got big plans for this bad boy when I finally get my hands on it.

 

With no welcoming party at the gate to greet him, Kyle's robot senses were on high alert.

 

In case you were wondering what 600,000 triangles looks like in a single Archimatix object...


Poor Archimatix is being torture-tested this weekend!

 

Robot Kyle is inspecting a prototype house for the future robot city to be built here. Some musing and "scene-ing"
View attachment 157838

 

Testing Archimatix couldn't be more fun!

 

Do you reckon we are only a week or two away from you submitting it to the store? Cheers, I wouldn't ask but I'm still trying to plan my limited finances so that I can buy this as soon as its released.

 

We are in the "long-tail" of final development where most of the features are in and release seems ever closer, but there are always as many small items going on the to-do list as there are items coming off the list. Archimatix has a decent amount of code and its important that when it goes out the door, all this code is working and that the workflow is well-tuned. At this point I would say we are looking at early December.

 

Thanks for the info

 

Just when i thought modeling a level is a painful task, i saw this asset.. now it looks alof of fun to model things!

i hope you put some consideration for mobile platform, like an option for low poly meshes..or anything that enables us to target mobiles if we wish.. as this tool can generate many meshes so easily!

 

Hi @mangax, thanks for the comment!

You have a great deal of control of the triangle count since the the curves that generate the forms are also parametric. You can generate different LOD versions of the model and place them in the LOD system (in a future release, I would like to more closely integrate runtime LOD).

Here is a repost of an image further back on this thread that gives an example of adjusting the triangle counts for a model:

 

Amazing! Okay you are showing us the capability of this tool! which is already mind blowing!

i noticed you use some kind of simple bevel option to create simple bevels, but for smoothed bevels (multiple sections bevels) you merge two lines to generate that..(if am not wrong).. a one for shape + a shape for sections! which looks great!

so i have a Question!
is it possible to create something like this?? >> (check the attached image)


is it possible to have smooth bevels for (all shapes) connecting/merging each other?
same as attached image? notice how the small box on top bevels into mesh below it.
or is it possible to construct something like in the image manually?

 

KILLER.