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Octave3D-Level Design - Snapping, Prop placement, Multi-Prefab painting

Discussion in 'Assets and Asset Store' started by XGT08, Aug 10, 2016.

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Do you prefer written documentation or video tutorials? (regarding the Octave3D remake)

Poll closed Jun 10, 2023.
  1. Written documentation

    68.8%
  2. Video tutorials

    31.3%
  1. XGT08

    XGT08

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    Wonderful! I'm glad to hear it worked! And thank you so much for the wonderful review! It means a lot to me!
     
  2. hoodoo

    hoodoo

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    @XGT08 - I have some feedback on the prefab manager. I've created lots of categories by dropping prefab folders with many sub-folders onto the prefab manager. So now I have a large number of categories and in many cases there are name collisions, since the sub-folders often have the same structure with the same names. For example, in the Cave Adventure Kit by 3DForge, under the Rock folder, there are three sub-folders called Frozen, Moss, and Shadow. Each of these three sub-folders has the same set of sub-folders inside called Entrance, Pedestals, Rockbridges, Stalactites & stalagmites, and Walls.

    So now if I want Rock Walls, I have to go through Walls0, Walls1 and Walls2. I don't have any context to tell where these came from, except looking at the thumbnails of the prefabs after selecting each category.

    Here are my suggestions:

    1. The Category list is not alphabetically sorted. Keeping it sorted would help when looking through a large number of categories.

    2. Is there some way to retain the original context information for the nested categories? Like if you drag the Rock folder in, and then want to go to the Wall category for Moss, provide some way to see that it is from the Moss folder originally. Maybe just a tooltip when hovering over it? You could also just build the category name based on the path when it's imported, as long as the names didn't get too long. It could start with the leaf name and add parent folder names on the right possibly and just truncate after a certain number of characters. For example, the Moss Walls category would be called "Walls-Moss-Rock" if the Rock folder was dropped onto the prefab manager. If it was a long name and was truncated it might look like "Walls-Some Long Parent Folde...".

    3. When the category list goes off the bottom of the screen, it's kind of a pain to scroll it. Not sure if there's any way to improve this with a better control, or if you're limited by what Unity provides in the editor.
     
  3. XGT08

    XGT08

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    Hi there @hoodoo,

    Thanks a lot for the suggestions! Indeed, I realize that working with large amount of categories can become a bit problematic, so let's talk about the points you mentioned:
    1. Wonderful idea! :) Consider it done.
    2. I will have to get back to you on this. If it can be done, the way I see it is that there should be an option somewhere which allows you to specify the way in which the category names are displayed (e.g. full path or simply the category name). Trimming the names based on a certain limit (or user specified) is a very nice idea. So I will get back to you on this one because it's not as straightforward and I would like to think about this a bit before I can give a verdict :)
    3. That is true indeed, The problem is that I do not know how to make a custom popup that is more easily scroll-able. I could replace that selection popup with something else. Maybe a custom list of categories all shown at the same time inside a scroll view (like the actual prefabs). I am a bit hesitant to make this change because many people might have gotten used to the current design. But I promise I will think about this.
    Thanks for reporting these to me! I will keep you posted ;)
     
  4. hoodoo

    hoodoo

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    Much appreciated Andrew! Suggestion #3 is not a big deal if it's a pain to implement, as I'm sure you have many important tasks on your list :)
     
  5. XGT08

    XGT08

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    Hi @hoodoo ,

    I managed to implement points number 1 and 2. Unfortunately point number 3 is not something that I would venture into :), but if you really need it, I might be able to come up with a custom solution (i.e. not part of an official update). I sent you a PM which also contains the link to the updated package.

    All the best,
    Andrew
     
    hoodoo and AGregori like this.
  6. hoodoo

    hoodoo

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    Much appreciated Andrew! I will soon get back to this as I've been focusing on terrains lately, plus limited on available time to work in Unity.
     
  7. XGT08

    XGT08

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    Hi Hoodoo,

    No problem :)
     
  8. LootlabGames

    LootlabGames

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    I recently purchased your product.
    I am having a problem.

    I end up losing the ability to pan, rotate within the scene view(unity default functionality).
    When I first start the panning/rotation works fine, but after a while it just no longer works.
     
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2017
  9. XGT08

    XGT08

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    Hi there,

    Thanks for contacting me.

    Regarding the first problem, do you mean that it just doesn't allow you to manipulate the camera anymore? This issue has been reported to me in the past but it is supposed to be fixed. Just to make sure we're talking about the same thing here, when it happens again, can you please try entering play mode and then exit play mode back to Editor? If this makes things work again, it means it is the same issue that is supposed to be fixed :) Also, I will need more info from you. Is there anything special that you do before this happens? Place objects maybe? And please give me the Unity version that you are using.

    Regarding the bookshelves. I did it that way because I wanted them to be aligned along the wall plane and the way I chose to do that back then was to place them on the cell edge near the wall. This was the preference of my own OCD.
    If you want to avoid doing that, there are 3 solutions which come to mind right now:
    • switch to Decor Paint mode and place the bookshleves near the wall. Because snapping is no longer used, their positions will not be aligned with each other, but after you placed them you can switch to selection mode, select the bookshelves and click on one of the align buttons shown in the image below. The button that you click has to be the same as the facing axis of the wall. If the wall faces the X axis, press the Align X button. This alignment step is needed only in case you really need all the positions of the shelves to be aligned.
    AlignButtons.png
    • this solution also works with Decor Paint mode active. Instead of hovering the floor, instead hover the walls with the mouse cursor. That will place the bookshelves on the wall (right on top of it). Then move the mouse up/down along the wall to ensure the bookshelf sits on the floor.
    • start off in the same way that I did inside the video, switch to selection mode and then move them back a bit using the move gizmo.
    Hope this helps!

    PS: I will look into the first issue you mentioned, but as I said, I need a bit more info from your side. Thanks!

    Best Regards,
    Andrew
     
  10. XGT08

    XGT08

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    Hi @katasteel
    I haven't received any info from you :)

    I can not reproduce the issue that you mentioned. As I said, something similar to what you are describing has happened in the past to other customers, but it has been fixed. I need some more info from you in order for me to be able to help you out.

    Thanks!
    Andrew
     
  11. LootlabGames

    LootlabGames

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    Sorry for the delayed response.
    It happened again just now.
    Entering then exiting play mode indeed fixed the problem.

    P.S. I am using the newest released version of Unity.
     
  12. XGT08

    XGT08

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    Ok. Thanks for the reply. Do you remember what you did? Were you placing objects when it happened?

    EDIT: I am asking because I really don't know how to reproduce it.
     
  13. LootlabGames

    LootlabGames

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    It happens a lot really. Every 10 to 20 minutes or so.
    Not sure if I am doing the same thing all the time.
    Things to note are:

    -I use "EditorAutoSave".
    -I click outside of the unity window while using it(web browser, other instance of unity, visual studio).
    -Can't think of anything else.
     
  14. LootlabGames

    LootlabGames

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    I just disabled "EditorAutoSave" and it still is happening.
    So I guess it's not that.

    Things to note are that I have 2 video cards powering 2 monitors.
    Left one has unity and your program running.
    I very often use my right monitor for visual studio, another instance of Unity, web browser.
     
  15. XGT08

    XGT08

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    Hi there,

    Thanks a lot for the info. I do not have access to 2 monitors. I am only using my laptop screen :), but I am pretty confident that it shouldn't be an issue.I honestly can not reproduce the issue. Previously when it was happening to other people it was because the left mouse button was released over the Inspector GUI or Editor window. It also happened when more than one mouse button was pressed (or something like that). But these have been fixed. None of these seem to produce any problem.

    I tried switching focus to my web browser, visual studio. Nothing. :)

    Here's something that I remember happened to me in the past. When I used to switch to visual studio and change some script code and then switch to Unity Editor, after the script was finished compiling, the camera would enter a lock state and I had to click on a GUI item (usually the Hierarchy window) to make it work again. And this would happen without Octave3D in the project. The only thing that I can think of is that you are probably experiencing the same issue. So can you try performing the following steps to see if can be reproduced:
    1. switch to visual studio;
    2. change some script code;
    3. switch back to editor;
    4. wait until script is compiled;
    5. check if camera works. If not, it means this might be the issue and it is Unity related. Check if clicking on a GUI item (any should do but in my case I used the hierarchy window). That should fix it.
    If this is the problem, I'm afraid I can't do much about it since it's not Octave3D. But if this isn't the problem, then I would like to ask you to give me some general info:
    1. what are the main actions that you are performing. For example what placement mode do you use often (PointAndClick, DecorPaint, etc)?
    2. Do you enter Selection mode often?
    3. Frequently used shortcut keys?
    Stuff like that should help me even further.

    I am sorry this is taking so long, but I honestly do not know what is happening here :)

    Thanks,
    Andrew
     
  16. LootlabGames

    LootlabGames

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    Other problems I am having are with the prefab manager and saving configs.
    A couple times it has crashed during saving and Unity had to be restarted.
    Other problems with it include:

    I save prefab config.
    Create a new scene and load the prefab config.
    It loads what seems to be random prefabs that are not even in the same directory that I was working in.
     
  17. XGT08

    XGT08

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    Crashing is very bad :) I will look into it.

    Regarding the second issue, that should only happen if you update the version of Unity you are using. The tool uses the prefab ID's to identify the prefabs and if you update your version of Unity, the assets themselves will be updated. But it should not happen otherwise.The prefab ID's are used because otherwise I would have had to use the path to the prefab assets and I wanted to make it work even if the path changes. So did you change the Unity version you are using?
     
  18. XGT08

    XGT08

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    Also, If you delete the prefabs from the project and reimport them again, that will also cause the tool to fail importing them correctly.
     
  19. XGT08

    XGT08

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    @katasteel
    Are you by any chance using models from 3DForge? And if yes, which package are you using? I would like to use the same assets as you are for testing.
     
  20. XGT08

    XGT08

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    @katasteel
    Also, please make sure you are using the latest version of the tool (2.0.9.3).
     
  21. XGT08

    XGT08

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    @katasteel
    I have managed to reproduce the second issue you mentioned. It doesn't always happen which makes it tricky to reproduce, but sometimes, after switching to a new scene, loading the prefab config will actually load incorrect prefabs. Especially if you save the current scene before. It seems that Unity can change the prefab instance ID's when saving a scene which basicaly means that I have to save the prefabs in another way.

    The way I have to do this now is to save the prefab folder paths. In this case you have to be aware that if you move prefabs to another folder, when loading the config those prefabs will be ignored because the path written in the file is no longer valid.

    I will keep you posted on the progress. And thanks for taking the time to report these!
     
  22. XGT08

    XGT08

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    @katasteel
    Hi there,

    I have managed to fix the issue where the tool was loading incorrect prefabs when switching to a different scene. Note: This requires that after you saved a config, you should not change the location of the prefabs, like move them to a different folder or such. Otherwise, they won't be loaded.

    Regarding crashing, I have not managed to reproduce that. From my knowledge, one of the most frequent cases where a crash can occur is when Unity enters an infinite loop or an infinite recursive chain. I took a good look over the code and I can not spot such a situation.

    Please send me a PM so that I can send you the updated package.
     
  23. Elzean

    Elzean

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    I have multiple trouble with the tool for moment, here it is let me know if some can be fixe in some ways:

    1) I can't you "F" to focus on an object while the Octave inspector is active, is there another shortcut ?

    2) When i select the tool it move my gameobject to the root, i have a hierachy that i need to follow i can't have this be moved around :/ Each rooms i make needs to have the environment on a separate object, i don't think making all of my stuff child of Octave is going to be great either especially with my next problem


    upload_2017-2-14_13-19-3.png
    3)From this picture, if i select the object with octave it activate all the objects gizmos inside it and make the editor very slow, if i lock the inspector and then select whatever is outside to not see all this stuff and be able to have the editor not that slow then Octave doesn't seems to work correctly or at least it doesn't show me much. You can see in this second picture i can hardly see what is selected.
    upload_2017-2-14_13-26-20.png



    Isn't there a way to make the parent/Octave object unrelated to the "Environment" gameobject i'm editing ?







    upload_2017-2-14_13-29-33.png
    4) In here i'm trying to use the placement tool, but i can't move the object that is suppose to be selected, can't even see that something is selected. I tried various ways but nothing made this worked so far.
    edit: Ok so this is only when i place something from the prefab window of Octave, is there a way to use that same tool for an existing object in the scene that i would like to place somewhere else ?



    5)The Alt+D doesn't seems to work for me, i have lots of trouble to switch between selecting stuff with Unity and selecting with Octave unless i keep locking / unlocking Octave inspector


    I'm using 5.4.4.p1, i can't upgrade for the moment.
    I don't have any errors showing up.


    I'm hoping those stuff can be fixe, right now i can't use the tool :/
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2017
  24. Elzean

    Elzean

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    I'm able to improve some performances issues by hiding collider and lights gizmos from the gizmo Unity menu, but it's not to hide those as they are often usefull.
     
  25. XGT08

    XGT08

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    @Elzean
    Hi there,

    The images that you showed me and the explanations you gave me do not help me that much. I will try to answer your questions/inquiries as best as I can.

    1.pressing F will not work since Octave uses its own object selection mechanism. I tried implementing this manually in the past, but it did not work as expected, so camera focus is not available for now; Unity does not provide a clean API to allow me to perform the focus with the scene view camera. I have had similar requests in the past, but unfortunately it just won't work. If you wish, you can go to page 4 of this thread, and towards the bottom you will see that there is a discussion about this with another customer in which I try to explain that it can not be implemented.

    2. I hope I understood correctly. So you don't want to have your objects be children of Octave3D. I'm afraid that is not possible. All objects are direct or indirect children of Octave. However, you can use object groups to organize your scene. So you can create an object group called Wall and when that object group is active, all objects will be attached as children of that group. You can then have another object group called Trees and all you tree objects will go there. Object groups can be associated with a prefab category so that when a prefab category is active, you can instruct the tool to place objects in the group associated with the category. I don't know if this solves your issue, but if you think it helps, I will provide an explanation with the step you need to perform to use object groups.

    3. so by default, when you click on an object, the entire hierarchy is selected. This was suggested to me by somebody else and I believe it is a good idea. However, you can change this if you wish. If you go to the object selection settings GUI, there is a field there called Selection update mode. By default it is set to entire hierarchy. But you can change it to Single Object and I believe that is what you need in this case:

    SelectionSettings.png

    4. I guess you are referring to being able to move objects around using move gizmos? If this is so, then yes, you can do that. All you have to do is switch to selection mode (hotkey S) select the object that you would like to move and then activate the move gizmo to move the object around. Note: For some reason, vertex snapping will not work as it does inside the Unity Editor. The tool does allow you to perform vertex snapping in a different manner when working in object placement mode. You can check out this video here for more details.

    5. This functionality is as simple as it can get :) I can't understand what problems you can experience with this. It works perfectly fine here. ALT + D deselects Octave and ALT + R selects it back. If you locked the Inspector, then if you deselect, the Inspector is still going to show up, but that is normal.

    Please let me know if any of this helps. So to sum up: Focus is not currently possible and all objects must be attached as children (direct or indirect) of Octave3D (object groups ca be used for organization). If this is not something you can live with, please send me the invoice number and I will provide a refund.
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2017
  26. Elzean

    Elzean

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    Thats kind of sad i can't count how many time i press that shortcut per day.




    upload_2017-2-14_19-5-17.png

    The problem with this is that we have an organized hierarchy and custom tools already and it's not fine to change those just for Octave to work. Main issue is that whatever object i choose to put Octave on is being placed at the root of the scene and moved to 0,0,0 world position. (here it would be the "Environment" Gameobject)
    Isnt there a way to at least prevent the movement to origin and the changes of the hierarchy ? This makes it really difficult to use at all right now :/
    I could deal with the fact that Octave need to exist within a parent object but i can't let it move stuff around like that.





    Hmm i tried but "single object" didnt seems to change the issue. When i select Octave (by hand or with shortcut) i see lots of gizmo from the childs and i can barely see the scene anymore. Here again a picture of what i'm seeing and thats with all collider hidden:

    upload_2017-2-14_19-55-50.png

    You can see how hard it is to see anything :/







    Those shortcuts weren't working for me, i changed them to shift+alt+r and shift+alt+d and its fine. There may be another asset using them but i couldn't find one (and absolutely nothing happen when i use them in the editor).
     
  27. XGT08

    XGT08

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    @Elzean
    Hi there,

    I have updated the package so that now it will let you change the parent of the Octave object. Just note that you can only have one Octave object in the scene. Please send me a PM and I will send you the updated package.

    Regarding the gizmos. That is default Unity behaviour. When a game object is selected, its children will have their gizmos rendered. I am not a fan of that myself. However, you can use the Gizmos tab to hide the gizmos and it will make things much more user friendly:
    GizmosHide.png

    From here you can hide collider gizmos, light gizmos, icons, etc.
     
  28. Elzean

    Elzean

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    Yes thats what im doing for the colliders, i will try to add your Octave component + hide most annoying gizmo when i get into "edit mode" for one of my area.
    Do you think add/removing Octave component on the fly to add it to the room i currently choose to edit could cause trouble ?



    About the focus i checked a bit i added this for example inside "Octave3DWorldBuilder":

    Code (CSharp):
    1. [MenuItem("Tools/Octave3D/Focus #&F")]
    2.         private static void FocusGameObject()
    3.         {
    4.             if (Octave3DWorldBuilder.Instance != null)
    5.             {
    6.                
    7.                 var currentActive = Selection.activeGameObject;
    8.                 Selection.activeGameObject = Octave3DWorldBuilder.Instance.ObjectSelection.GetLastSelectedGameObject();
    9.                 if(SceneView.lastActiveSceneView!=null)SceneView.lastActiveSceneView.FrameSelected();
    10.                 Selection.activeGameObject = currentActive;
    11.                    
    12.                 Octave3DWorldBuilder.Instance.SelectInSceneView();
    13.             }
    14.         }
    Seems to work and focus on the Octave current selection.

    I would prefer to use just the existing shortcut "F", i think you already capture most input from unity right ? Is there a way to just adjust the behavior of the F shortcut while Octave is active ?
     
  29. XGT08

    XGT08

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    Hey that's some really neat work! I had no idea about FrameSelected. I sent you a PM with some new responses and the updated package. I have managed to make the focus work with the F key. It's just that you will actually witness how the Octave object is deselected and then automatically selected right about when the focus is finished. It looks a bit weird, but it works.
     
  30. AGregori

    AGregori

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    Hi, so did you implement collider functionality after all?
    I'm yet to try newer versions of Octave, but something as simple as a basic box collider function is a MUST.
     
  31. XGT08

    XGT08

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    Hi @Gregorik

    What I can do is to implement a couple of buttons which allow you to attach different types of colliders to the selected game objects. However, I am a bit hesitant to do this since Unity already allows you to do that pretty easily. The way I imagined the tool would be used is you have a series of prefabs and you can use the tool to place them in the scene. But the way in which those prefabs are prepared (colliders, scripts etc) can be done outside of the tool's interface.

    Cheers,
    Andrew
     
    AGregori likes this.
  32. henmachuca

    henmachuca

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    Hello there,

    I have just added Octave 3D to my scene and it throws me the following error:

    Code (CSharp):
    1. Assets/Octave3D World Builder/Scripts/Rendering/Objects/Object Selection/RectangleObjectSelectionRenderer.cs(13,119): error CS1061: Type `O3DWB.ObjectSelectionRenderSettings' does not contain a definition for `RectangleRenderModeSettings' and no extension method `RectangleRenderModeSettings' of type `O3DWB.ObjectSelectionRenderSettings' could be found. Are you missing an assembly reference?
    What is this?

    Thank you!
     
  33. XGT08

    XGT08

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    Hi there,

    Hmm.... It is very strange that you are receiving that error. Can I please have your invoice number?

    All the best,
    Andrew
     
  34. castor76

    castor76

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    Hi This is very interesting plugin.

    I would like to ask few questions.

    1. Can this tool work with objects that are not built with the octave3D? For example, if I already have a level made up , generated by some other tool from modular pieces, can they work with the octave3D? For things like snapping for instance. Reason why I am asking this is because I would like to generate the base level with some other tools and then use octave3d to place objects , props etc on top.

    2. Is there example video of tile connection for the tiles that are auto placed? All I can see is one screen shot of what seems like it is setting up for the auto tiling, but I could not find any video tutorial on its usage.

    3. For autotiled objects, if I add or remove them, will they be updated in runtime?

    4. Is there limit on width, length and number of layers it can work with? ( if such thing exists )

    5. Does Octave3D keeps reference to what is happening in the scene? Like a dataset for every grid point so it knows what objects it contains .. etc that I can tap into during runtime?

    Thanks!
     
  35. XGT08

    XGT08

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    Hi there!

    Thanks for taking an interest in Octave3D!

    Regarding your inquiries:
    1. Yes, with the requirement that the objects must be made children of the Octave3D object. So you must first create a game object, attach the Octave3D script to it, and then attach the game objects as children. You are then able to place props, decorations etc as you wish. I don't know exactly what you mean by snapping in this case, since snapping is mostly needed when you build an environment from scratch from modular pieces. After you finish building your game level, you are free to detach the objects.
    2. No, currently there is no video on tile connections. There used to be a demo of them in an older video but I don't have that anymore. If there is anything specific you would like to know about them, let me know and I'll answer. If needed, I will probably be able to put together a demo video. I have been meaning to do that for quite a while but need to find some nice tiles/blocks.
    3, 5 - Octave3D does not work at runtime. It is an editor extension which extends the functionality of the Unity Editor only.
    4. Octave uses the Unity layer system, so no custom layers are available or anything like that. So you are limited by the number of layers Unity supports.

    Hope this helps. Let me know if you need any more info :)

    Best Regards,
    Andrew
     
  36. RecursiveRuby

    RecursiveRuby

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    Hey so I'm using octave to design several scenes which I compose into one larger scene. However when I bring those scenes in it removes the Octave World Builder components in each scene until there is only one octave component globally. Which I'm afraid will cause issues (I haven't actually saved any scene when they are all together in fear they will remove the octave component). So my question is what is the best solution with working with several octave world builders in the one scene or spaced across several scenes. Since I can't seem to add more than one to any one scene.
     
  37. XGT08

    XGT08

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    Hi there,

    Thanks for contacting me!

    I have a bit of trouble understanding the workflow. Do you think you can give me some more details as to how you organize your scenes?

    One thing I can tell you is that indeed, only one Octave3D instance can exist per scene. But once I get a better idea of what you are trying to accomplish I may be able to find a workaround for this. :)

    Thanks,
    Andrew
     
  38. RecursiveRuby

    RecursiveRuby

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2013
    Posts:
    163
    Yea sorry its somewhat complicated to explain.

    Okay so I have two scenes. Menu_SeaShore and Menu_DesertWarZone both scenes have an octave world builder component. I'll open up either scene and do some work on them separately. Which works as expected.
    1.png
    2.png
    You can see from the two above images that each scene has an octave component.

    Since these scenes are only partial constructs of a larger scene I need to add both scenes to that scene to make up the full level. That is I split up the environment into multiple scenes to make it easier to work with.

    3.png
    So you can now see, in the image above, the two environment scenes (DesertWarZone & SeaShore) as well as the master scene (MainMenuNew). Also you can see that when I select Octave contained within Menu_SeaShore that the component is still there.

    4.png

    However if you select the Octave component in the Menu_DesertWarZone scene you'll see it is removed.

    The work flow involves adding all the scenes I need, doing some work on the master scene and saving them. I use Advanced Mutli-Scene for ease of convenience when working with multiple scenes https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/47200

    However once I do some work here and save if I go back to Menu_DesertWarZone you'll see the Octave component has been removed there as seen in the image below. 5.png

    This makes it somewhat annoying splitting up the environment into multiple scenes to work on them individually. Since Octave is essentially reset every time.

    What I'm wondering is what is the best way to work on an environment that is split up into multiple scenes with each scene containing an instance of Octave and preserving that Instance once they are all brought back into a master scene and saved.

    Would appreciate any help :)
     
  39. XGT08

    XGT08

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2013
    Posts:
    1,893
    :) OK. So I understand what you are trying to do. The scene merging concept is totally new to me, but I guess it's something that Advanced Multi-Scene allows you to do. Do you think we could have a session on Skype in which you can share your screen so that I can actually witness the whole process? :)

    Please send me a PM or an e-mail and we'll talk details. Thanks!

    EDIT: Or a short video recording would be fine too :)

    Andrew
     
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2017
  40. RecursiveRuby

    RecursiveRuby

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2013
    Posts:
    163
    Hey yea no bother I could make a short video if its easier. I'll have to do it later though if thats okay. Just a bit busy at the moment.
     
  41. XGT08

    XGT08

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    Hey! Absolutely no problem for me. However you wish ;)
     
  42. UltraTM

    UltraTM

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2013
    Posts:
    221
    Hello,

    i want to ask if it is possible with the Align to stroke to be able when placing to not have a gap between the object?

    I have fence models modern style so it means they need to be placed face on face.
    Is it possible or not?
     
  43. XGT08

    XGT08

    Joined:
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    Posts:
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    Hi there,

    I'm afraid that the align to stroke functionality does not support that feature because it depends on the speed of the mouse movement. Also, it does not work at the mesh level. It uses the object's bounding volume to perform any necessary calculations and depending on the types of models, that can also cause certain gaps to appear.

    Do you think you can send me a screenshot of the fence models you are using. Maybe I can find a workaround for that?
    Also, I am going to have to ask for an invoice number.

    Cheers,
    Andrew
     
  44. zenGarden

    zenGarden

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    4,538
    Hi,

    Can you change the "Decor Paint" tool to work on any objects that have a collision and that is not terrain ? ( For mobile and some other usages, i use custom meshes instead of terrain )

    Also it would be good to be able to specify the random rotation on some axis, like Y axis for trees when we use the brush modes and "align to surface" unchecked.

    Last thing is the delete objects mode, it would be nice to have a new option to be able to delete objects with a brush to work faster when there is lot of objects ot remove.

    Thanks.
     
    Last edited: Apr 11, 2017
  45. XGT08

    XGT08

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2013
    Posts:
    1,893
    Hi @zenGarden ,

    Thanks for contacting me!

    Decor Paint mode works with both meshes and terrains and if you have a mesh as a terrain you can place objects on it with no problem.

    This option already exists. There is a check box for each brush item called Randomize rotation. It will randomize the rotation around the normal of the surface on which the object resides.

    That's available too :). You have 3 modes which can be used for erasing:
    • Hovered object - erases the objects hovered by the mouse cursor;
    • Object Mass 2D - a 2D brush which erases objects in screen space;
    • Object Mass 3D - this is what you are looking for, a brush which exists in 3D.
    Hope this helps!

    Andrew
     
    zenGarden likes this.
  46. zenGarden

    zenGarden

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    It still does not work , the house model has collisions , but painting objects are placed above terrain and above house collision objects. Did i miss something ?



    It does not work, the rotation happens on all axis and i would like it on Y axis only.
     
  47. XGT08

    XGT08

    Joined:
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    Hi there @zenGarden

    Regarding the first problem. I don't know exactly what is happening there, but I thought the intent was to place objects on a terrain (either Unity terrain or mesh terrain) and that should work 100%. I just gave it a try using some cubes and if you start dragging the mouse while it hovers the terrain, the cubes will be placed on the terrain only and not on any other objects. The only way those barrels could have been placed on the house models is if you released the left mouse button, hovered the house models and then start dragging. The brush will place objects on whatever it is hovering.
    Also, colliders do not have any effect. The tool doesn't take colliders into account. If you are still experiencing issues with this, maybe we should do a skype session send me a PM if you wish.

    The second issue does indeed look a bit weird. I will have to look into it a bit more. Please give me some time to see what's happening there and I will get back to you.

    Thanks,
    Andrew
     
  48. XGT08

    XGT08

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    @zenGarden
    Second issue now fixed. It wasn't actually a bug. It was indeed behaving correctly but the behaviour was pretty much useless so I have added some more customization to it. Please see image below:
    RotRandomization.png

    So now you can choose the axis of rotation via the popup shown in the image. If you don't want any randomization, you can specify None. In your case, you need to specify Y. When Align to surface is checked, I recommend to that you leave this to Surface Normal.

    Send me a PM with the invoice number and I will send you the updated package right away.

    Best regards,
    Andrew
     
  49. zenGarden

    zenGarden

    Joined:
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    Good :)

    I have the mouse above the house model , if i press mouse button the brush does not appear (it must be displayed above terrain under the house), and there is no way to place brush models above the house they are still placed above terrain).
    If you don't use collision how do you know where to place models ? You read terrain data ?
    I think Collision with raycast is the only way to get it work on any terrain and models.


    It is possible to move grid origin anywhere : You have some existing scene with places at different heights and you want ot use the grid to place objects in these places. Actually it is made to use in horizontal and fixed origin mode only.

    Some important request is to be able to use Path and Block modes on any surface and models : Objects would still be placed along a path or within blocks , but they would snap to underlynig surface for height placement instead of using the grid (i think this is can be done and is related to use a new placement method using raycast and collision).


    There is no hurry , i prefer to wait and have the plugin as much polished and usable as possible.
     
    Last edited: Apr 11, 2017
  50. XGT08

    XGT08

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2013
    Posts:
    1,893
    @zenGarden
    The brush appears whenever you hover a mesh object or terrain. I still perform raycasts but I do not use Unity's collider model. I use a custom made raycasting system because I do not want to force users into attaching colliders to their objects. I learned this the hard way because in version 1 up until 1.1 this was indeed a requirement. All objects had to have colliders attached, but customers started to complain. So this requirement has been removed.

    The grid height can be adjusted in a number of ways. First, please take a look at this video.
    You can also adjust the grid height manually in the snap settings GUI:

    GridSnapping.png

    As you can see there is also a snap grid Y offset step value which controls how much the grid is moved up and down when using the 5 and 6 alphanumeric keys.

    Path and Block can already be used on any surface. For example, if you place a cube in the scene, you can then start a path or block along one of the cube's faces. The only limitation is that you can not use these modes with painting. So you can not start a path or block on a terrain for example. These are snap only placement modes.

    I am going to have to insist on the invoice for future support inquiries or future requests :). I appreciate bringing these things to my attention because they help me make my tool better, but at the same time I am consuming time offering support and I need to know that I am not doing it for free ;)

    Best Regards,
    Andrew