EasyRoads3D v2 is out – Road, rivers, procedural geometry for Unity

Ok, I got it to work. I don't think this asset will work for my current project. My level of detail is too small and scale too big. Nice asset though.

 

Hi jalapen0,

Just in case, is this with regard to the river width? What I wrote before is a limitation of the grid nature of the Unity terrain object. When it comes to terrain deformation according a specific shape you are limited to the available terrain points in that area. Increasing the heightmap resolution will allow more detail/smaller river widths. The alternative is to use a mesh overlay for the river bed.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hello. I just purchased this asset based on the videos you have. I haven't even attempted to use it yet.

My question is, have you heard of Map-ity and would you consider working with that developer so that your asset can make roads based on the data from Map-ity?

 

Hi Tinjaw,

Yes, we have been in touch with the developer of Map-ity.

Have you seen v3 (http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/easyroads3d-v3-the-upcoming-new-road-system.229327/ )? It is available in betas for those who own an EasyRoads3D Pro license. I am mentioning this because v3 includes options to auto generate roads from OSM and KML data. V3 also includes an API, this can be used to generate roads from your own code and can also be used by the devloper of Map-ity to have it support EasyRoads3D.

Please send me a PM or an email with your info if you would like to try the v3 betas.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

On creating a river object the MATERIAL and SCRIPT slots show none available?

 

Hi nagbharat92,

The river object in v2 mainly is a geometry creation tool for the river surface and it will create the river bed shape in the terrain object. It is a bonus tool based on the road tool, it does not come with custom river materials and scripts. But you can use the Unity water materials on the created object or water materials from the asset store. In previous versions of Unity indeed the Unity water materials and scripts were visible in the dropdowns after importing these packages in your project. This does not work well in Unity 5. But, as mentioned, you can assign the materials and scripts directly to the generated object.

V3, available in betas (http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/easyroads3d-v3-the-upcoming-new-road-system.229327/ ), does not come with a separate river object but it can be simulated using side objects. The beta package includes an example. You can create a river side object and assign any water prefab to it. The materials and scripts will be added automatically to the generated river in the scene.

Please contact me (PM or through out website http://www.unityterraintools.com) for v3 beta access.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

I am looking into purchasing this. But based on what i seen here is that there some tweaking. I installed the free version to try it and if I go to create and add a road in my unity freezes up. After an hour I will crash unity and reload it and in the hierarchy is a missing prefab object. Do i need to make a prefab road myself? I read the manual and thats were I came up with that process. I have miles of roads and rivers to apply. Please let me know. Thank You

 

Hi JBurdick,

I am unaware of issues like you mentioned with the free version. What exactly do you mean with "a missing prefab object" in the hierarchy?

The manual includes a Quick Getting started section at the top. Did you follow that? Because it never mentions to make a prefab road, how exactly are you creating your road object?

To create a new road object:

Top Menu > GameObject > Create Other > EasyRoads3D > New EasyRoads3D Object

Also, most people made the switch to the v3 beta, it is an entirely new road system with many new features, ( http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/easyroads3d-v3-the-upcoming-new-road-system.229327/ ).

Thanks,
Raoul

 

I rolled back to 4.6 and it works fine. just workign some other issues out will be purchasing soon. Thank You

 

Hi JBurdick,

Just in case, the current version should work just fine with Unity 5. Just make sure the Unity 5 package is imported, also for projects upgraded from Unity 4 to Unity 5.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi,
Working with version 2 Pro. The road in front of me disappears once I get moving. The road in the far distance is still there but as I get closer it disappears. Is there a setting that I am overlooking?

 

Hi Locky,

I am not sure,it is not something that has been brough up recently.

Is this happening in scene view or in game view?

To get a better idea of what this looks like, could you post screenshots?

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Only in game view.
It seems to happen as I am approaching a curve.
I took screenshots. Is there no way to simply attach them to a post?

 

Hi Locky,

Some screenshots with the road visible and the road no longer visible would definitely be useful.

You can attach images directly to your post by clicking "Upload a File" in the right bottom next to "Post Reply".

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Thanks for helping out a newbie!

I am attaching the screenshots. This first one is how it starts out, but only a couple second later as I approach a curve it looks like the second shot.

 

Hi Locky,

Is your terrain flat at height 0 (the terrains game object Y position)?

The EasyRoads3D shaders use an Offset to deal with z-fighting between the road and the terrain object and also, at far views, the terrains LOD system kicking in. That is probably why all looks good further away.

It seems the real issue is the fact that you use terrain tilting on the road which results in the road being below the terrain on the left side. The Unity terrain object does not accept negative height values so it is impossible to flatten the terrain downwards on the left side below its game object Y position. To test if this is indeed the problem you can simply move the two markers surrounding the bend a little bit upwards so the left side of the road is also above the terrains game object Y position. Or first flatten the terrain at height is 10 or so. You can do that with the terrain Paint Height tool (second tooltab from the left in the Inspector).

Does this indeed fix the issue?

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Removing the Tilt does indeed cause the problem to go away, so tilting is causing the issue. However, I used the Paint Height Tool to raise the entire terrain substantially and it did not fix the problem. I played around with moving the markers up and down; both on the curve and on the two adjacent markers. I was able to reduce it but not eliminate it. The best I was able to achieve was that the road in front of the car remained in tact, but the road behind was being destroyed directly behind the car.

This is just a test. I want to be sure that this will work before I take the time to design my entire final terrain. Is there a preventative method that I can use from the start to preclude this from happening in the first place?

 

Hi Locky,

Just to avoid misunderstandings, it is not particularly the road tilting that is causing this. What is causing this is the fact that the road is at the same height as the terrain objects Y position. Applying the tilting in this case results in the left side of the road being below the game objects Y position.

Can you show screenshots of the current situation? Especially in the situation where the two adjacent markers are well above the terrain.

Road tilting by itself does work, it has been part of v2 for the past 6 years. In v3 (http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/easyroads3d-v3-the-upcoming-new-road-system.229327/) these critical areas below the terrain objects Y position are highlighted with red handles so you can quickly see which areas of the road network may need extra attention. V3 is available in betas, please send me a PM or contact me through our website (see the link below in my signature) for access.

Your initial problem should be resolved by making sure there is always enough space to cut downwards in the terrain. Regarding terrain deformation in general, there are a couple of things to take into account. Since the Unity terrain object is grid based no detail points can be added. The smaller the heightmap scale (terrain size vs heightmap resolution) the more flexible you are with road shapes, sharp bends and road height differences in these bends. It is always useful to experiment with this. V3 also includes additional tools to generate terrain mesh overlays in areas requiring more detail.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi, i us Unity Version 5.1.3f1
and the actual easy roads 3d 2.57
I have this problem when i try to add road markers: see attachment.

any body have an idea? Layer 30 and 31 are present

It happens when i press the shift key

 

Hi Andreas12345,

Could you provide more info?

Is this the free version or the full version?

It looks like errors are repeatedly thrown to the console, when does that happen? Are these errors indeed thrown repeatedly or after each attempt to add a marker? And what is the actual error message?

There are no known issues related to pressing the Shift key. I assume it is a package import problem or something else is interefering. Just as a test, could you import the package in a new fresh project with no other assets imported, does that work well?

Or did you pehaps import the full version in a project with the free version already imported? In that case, please remove both the "EasyRoads3D" and "EasyRoads3D Free" folders from the assets folder and reimport the full version.

If you have the Pro version, you may want to have a look at the v3 betas, most users already made the switch, http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/easyroads3d-v3-the-upcoming-new-road-system.229327/
, please send a PM or contact us though our website for access.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

pm send,
it repeats when i hold down the shift key from the beginning on.
it also happens with a fresh project only with easy roads 3d in it.

Code (CSharp):

1. ArgumentOutOfRangeException: Argument is out of range.
2. Parameter name: index
3. System.Collections.Generic.List`1<EasyRoads3D.OCQODDOCQD>.get_Item (int) <0x000ab>
4. RoadObjectScript.OCQQDCOCCQ (UnityEngine.Vector3,bool) (at Assets/EasyRoads3D/scripts/RoadObjectScript.cs:483)
5. (wrapper dynamic-method) RoadObjectScript.RoadObjectScript$OCQQDCOCCQ$UnityEngine.Vector3$System.Boolean (object,object[]) <IL 0x00028, 0x00136>
6. Boo.Lang.Runtime.RuntimeServices.Invoke (object,string,object[]) <IL 0x0004c, 0x001e2>
7. UnityScript.Lang.UnityRuntimeServices.Invoke (object,string,object[],System.Type) <IL 0x00018, 0x00115>
8. RoadObjectEditorScript.OnScene () (at Assets/EasyRoads3D/Editor/RoadObjectEditorScript.js:1335)
9. RoadObjectEditorScript.OnSceneGUI () (at Assets/EasyRoads3D/Editor/RoadObjectEditorScript.js:89)
10. System.Reflection.MonoMethod.Invoke (object,System.Reflection.BindingFlags,System.Reflection.Binder,object[],System.Globalization.CultureInfo) (at /Users/builduser/buildslave/mono-runtime-and-classlibs/build/mcs/class/corlib/System.Reflection/MonoMethod.cs:222)
11. Rethrow as TargetInvocationException: Exception has been thrown by the target of an invocation.
12. System.Reflection.MonoMethod.Invoke (System.Object obj, BindingFlags invokeAttr, System.Reflection.Binder binder, System.Object[] parameters, System.Globalization.CultureInfo culture) (at /Users/builduser/buildslave/mono-runtime-and-classlibs/build/mcs/class/corlib/System.Reflection/MonoMethod.cs:232)
13. System.Reflection.MethodBase.Invoke (System.Object obj, System.Object[] parameters) (at /Users/builduser/buildslave/mono-runtime-and-classlibs/build/mcs/class/corlib/System.Reflection/MethodBase.cs:115)
14. UnityEditor.SceneView.CallOnSceneGUI () (at C:/buildslave/unity/build/Editor/Mono/SceneView/SceneView.cs:1987)
15. UnityEditor.SceneView.HandleSelectionAndOnSceneGUI () (at C:/buildslave/unity/build/Editor/Mono/SceneView/SceneView.cs:1352)
16. UnityEditor.SceneView.OnGUI () (at C:/buildslave/unity/build/Editor/Mono/SceneView/SceneView.cs:1188)
17. System.Reflection.MonoMethod.Invoke (System.Object obj, BindingFlags invokeAttr, System.Reflection.Binder binder, System.Object[] parameters, System.Globalization.CultureInfo culture) (at /Users/builduser/buildslave/mono-runtime-and-classlibs/build/mcs/class/corlib/System.Reflection/MonoMethod.cs:222)

 

That is a strange error message. I just doubled checked the asset store package in Unity 5.

I created a new project in Unity 5, imported the package from the asset store and did:

Main Menu > GameObject > Create Other > EasyRoads3D > New EasyRoads3D Object

The game object is created with no errors, Shift + click does work as expected, markers are created, no error messages.

This makes it hard to debug your situation. If you want you can send me this new project with only EasyRoads3D Pro imported so I can see how it behaves on my end.

I also received your PM, v3 beta download info send!

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Forget it, just installed your sended package.
This so great! 5 minutes road done, works fine with gaia!
GUYS use V3! Its a Hammer!

 

Thank you Andreas! Yes, that is why I suggested to try the v3 betas, especially when starting a new project. V3 is a totally new road system with many new features and it is included in your EasyRoads3D Pro copy. It won't be long before it is part of the asset store package.

That said, if there are critical issues with v2, they wil be resolved...

Raoul

 

Hi Raoul,

For my project I am using meshes, rather than terrains. Can I use EasyRoads3D Pro version 2 or 3 on meshes instead of terrains?

 

Hi dxb2010,

Both v2 and v3 can be used on terrain meshes. Both roads as individual side objects will snap to the terrain mesh. But you will loose the option to flatten the terrain according the road shape.

What most people do, including we ourselves, is first use the Unity terrain object to build the roads and flatten the terrain accordingly. Afterwards export the terrain to .obj and optimize it.

Please let me know if you have further questions regarding this.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

There is a way to increase the size of a roundabout or crossing? I just need them to be twice more larger than the default size.

 

Hi Sliceandkill,

You can customize the dynamic roundabouts and crossings. The idea is to create new dynamic crossings (width, textures, etc.) that match the crossings needed in your scenes. These new crossings will be available in the crossings tab (3rd from the left). It will speed up the creation of your road network significantly as you can reuse these crossings instantly. This process is demonstrated in the below movie.

Crossings instantiated in the scene can still be changed by selecting them in the hierarchy, "Select Connection in Hierarchy" button.

Please let me know if you need any additional help with this.

Also, this is the v3 beta thread http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/easyroads3d-v3-the-upcoming-new-road-system.229327/

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Also, to improve the workflow further, you can first create new road types (General Settings > Road Types). In the crossing connection settings you will see a dropdown with these road types. After selecting a road type from the dropdown, the width will automatically adjust to the width of that road type and the road type itself will be assigned to that connection.

When you pull out a new road from that connection it will automatically inherit all the settings for that road type, textures, automatically enabled side objects, terrain deformation settings etc...

Thanks,
Raoul

 

What's going on here? http://i.imgur.com/Ay22KFh.png

 

Hi Revox,

Can you give more info? Is this v2 or v3, the free version or the full version?

Are those holes in the terrain? Can you show other screenshots closer to the ground? Can you show the road in Edit Mode?

Thanks,
Raoul

 

It's free and could go back to edit mode because it's free. It isn't holes by what I can see going down them.
http://prntscr.com/9w6dax

edit: made new road to see the edit mode http://prntscr.com/9w6eya

 

That second screenshot looks really strange. Those white surfaces surrounding the road should snap to the terrain on the outer sides. Does your terrain have a collider component?

Regarding the wrong terrain deformation, your sceenshot looks different because there seems to be no collission detection at all but in previous versions something slightly similar happened when the terrains game object Y position is not at 0. I haven't heard about issues with that for a long time but could you check that just in case?

Thanks,
Raoul

 

http://prntscr.com/9wimzi
Has a collider. Terrain is 16x16 tiles generated by Terrain Composer.

 

Ah, that is what goes wrong. The free version supports only one terrain object and uses Unity's Terrain.activeTerrain. That is why the heights do not match. The manual gives info on what is supported in the free version.

You may want to try the free version in a scene with only one terrain object.

Also, most people use the v3 beta, http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/easyroads3d-v3-the-upcoming-new-road-system.229327, it will soon replace v on the asset store. It is a new road system with many new features.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Ok thank you for reply. Also saw it uses certain layers 30/31 i think can't remember right now. Anyway of changing these as it looks like UFPS or Car controller uses these layers or does that not matter?

 

Layers 30 and 31 are only used during design time so you can safely change them after toy created the roads.

In v3 you can assign any layer you want to roads (and road types, which makes this a lot easier). Layer 31 is still used but only with the road network in Edit Mode and should therefor not interfere with other scripts/tools in Build Mode.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Looks really cool. Can it handle road crossings like this?

 

Hi BFGames,

That is not possible in v2 discussed in this thread but please check the v3 thread:

http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/easyroads3d-v3-the-upcoming-new-road-system.229327/

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi guys,

were are experimenting with your tool for creating roads, railroads, and potentially rivers.

I found version 2 good for creating roads, but am stuggling to understand the railroad implementation. Am I right in saying that it doesn't provide the assets for railroads, just the framework for sourcing and implementing external assets?

I have tried using version 3 (beta) but get a CheckDisalowAllocation crash (see attachment).

Can you advise?

 

Hi lewisboadle,

The side objects system (railroads, etc.) in v2 was always intended as a framework that you can use with your own assets. We do have an example package available though which also includes side object examples for a rail road.

If you send me an email through our website (see signature) or a PM with your asset store invoice number I can send it to you.

But it is defintely recommended to get the issue with v3 sorted out. Side objects are part of the package including a rail road system.

The error message you posted, CheckdisalowAllocation, is new to me, I did a quick google search on it and found info. I am not entirely sure this is related to EasyRoads3D.

In order to hopefully being able to reproduce this error, which version of Unity are you using and which beta version? And when exactly do you get this error? Does this always happen, also in a new fresh project?

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi Raoul,

thanks for the quick feedback on this.

With regard to the error message, and subsequent crash, it doesn't occur with a fresh project. I'll try reinstalling v3 and see if that fixes it.

Thanks again

 

Hi lewisboadle,

Just in case, please remove the full EasyRoads3D folder first before doing the reimport. Interesting to here how it goes, as far as I know there are no conflicts with other assets etc. Perhaps the package didn't import well? Did you get any other error messages / warnings?

Here is the v3 thread: http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/easyroads3d-v3-the-upcoming-new-road-system.229327/

Thanks,
Raoul

 

I don't recall any errors messages. Will keep you posted!

 

Hello again,

because I use my own road shader for blending road segments together, I got some trouble with. The road through the bridge has been slitted in 3 segments. I marked the nodes before and after the bridge as a bridge and I enabled the LOD checkbox on these nodes.
The result looks not good, just the beginning on the first road segment can be blended, the another road segments does not act separately, on them the shader has no impact. Just the first part on the first road segment can be modified by the shader and if I change the blending on the other shader, just the first part of the first road segment changes. Wierd!
All separated road segments should have its own base mesh road, else there is no possibility to use own shader with end blending.
Raoul, I hope you understand what I mean. I would change it in you code, but unfortunately you protect your code. Hopefully you could give the possibility with a checkbox for a node inspector window like "fully/independently separate road".

Hint: The not connected road shows the missing, desired end blending. It has another scaling, it is just an example how the sand will be faded away.

 

Hi mkgame,

I am not entirely sure what the problem is? Is this a material issue? A material that does not get assigned correctly to one of the LOD segments? In v2, different shaders are used in Edit Mode and in Build Mode. Can you check which material / shader is assigned to that specific segment?

You can always manually drop the correct material on that segment once all work on the road is done.

Or is this related to something else?

Also, in v2 the same road material is used for each road object, /Assets/EasyRoads3D/Resources/roadMaterial. Once you are ready with a road and you want to use another material for the next road, simply duplicate that material and assign the duplicated material to the finalized road. This way you can continue with a new material on the new road.

In v3, you can create road types and reuse these road types in the scene. Each road type can have its own material. Most people already use the v3 betas: http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/easyroads3d-v3-the-upcoming-new-road-system.229327/. V3 is part of the Pro package.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

I finalized the road and then I dropped my shader on it. As I wrote, I splitted up the road in 3 meshes. The first one acts correct, the rest not. E.g. if I set the shader on the 2. mesh/road segment the end blending not happens. Just on the first mesh has the shader visible impact.
I don't know how you build up the road meshes, but somehow all the mech is based on the very first part of the first road. The road is not tiled. I would like that all the mesh/segment parts of the road have its own base mesh/texture on the beginning of the mesh, like the first one has it.

All the segments share the same texture?

My shader blends from the beginning from the mesh, this just works with the first segment, the another segments seems to be also based on the first segments first painted texture and not on its own first painted texture.

 

I dropped my shader on in Unity created planes. There you see how the roads would blend with each other. This is not the case with your road segments as described.

 

Ok, but is this purely a materials issue?

What I see is a road blended with the terrain, this is usually achieved by using a transparent type of material / shader and a road texture with alpha channel info. Is that how your material/shader works?

Or is this related to the feature Start / End blending/fading?.This only works at the start and end of a road, not for LOD segments in between. In order for the road to be rendered exactly the same, UVs on LOD segments continue where the previous LOD segment ends.

Or is it the blending with the terrain at the left and right sides of the road that does not work well at the start/end? In that case, how does this blending work in your shader? Does this work well with a standard transparency shader? And most important, how can I recreate this? Can you you provide an example for me to look at?

In case all this is still not relevant to your issue, can you show clear screenshots of the problem and also clearly include which materials are assigned to the segments (if that is relevant)?

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Exactly this isn't the case. The UV is for all segments , I belive, at the start of the first segment, however not at the start of the > 1 segments.

No, I didn't use that feature: "feature Start / End blending/fading"

I blend with a opacity clip, from V start. V start is full visible, then less and the dirt comes through. (or invers, for that I have a switch in my shader). But what you see on the first picture, the 3. segment under the bridge (which not blend well with the bridge) has the same shader like the one right side. Both were created with your asset, but left side is segment 3, which has no blending (thats the problem and pretty much weird), and right side segment 1, which has blending correctly (road was not splitted).

If I have time tomorrow, I send you a test shader or a minimal project.