Search Unity

  1. Megacity Metro Demo now available. Download now.
    Dismiss Notice
  2. Unity support for visionOS is now available. Learn more in our blog post.
    Dismiss Notice

[RELEASED] Etherea1 - Full Planets for Unity3D

Discussion in 'Assets and Asset Store' started by imerso, Apr 6, 2012.

  1. ZJP

    ZJP

    Joined:
    Jan 22, 2010
    Posts:
    2,649
    No. With Unity 4 all lands are flat.
    With Unity 3 or 4, the exported/compiled demo scene (web or standalone) is slower than the "official-site-WebDemo" (15-18fps. With your web demo, i've got a minimum of 35 fps.) : is the correct version?
    Full screen freeze my machine. My other Unity projects works fine.

    AND, Why this tool need an access to the ip 225.0.0.222:54997 ?
     
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2012
  2. newticus

    newticus

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2012
    Posts:
    16
    You probably want to recheck your project, and make sure your parameters for the Etherea planet are all correct, because I do not have this issue in either Unity 3.5 (on my windows desktop) or Unity 4 (OSX 10.7). Edit: I don't have pro edition, so I'm running with the Indie quad tree, not the pro.

    Though the problems I do have are these:
    The WYSIWYG option doesn't work, and planets render flat (as LOD0 too) in the editor but playing the game it works just fine.
    Also I can't seem to get the collision / physics to work.
     
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2012
  3. imerso

    imerso

    Joined:
    May 6, 2011
    Posts:
    278

    I am constantly changing parameters as I go updating the sample projects. Some times they are adjusted for better performance, some times not. Have you accepted my invitation to the mailing list? Did you receive my "Performance Tips" post to the list today?


    This is not Etherea1, this is the Unity Profiler.
     
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2012
  4. newticus

    newticus

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2012
    Posts:
    16
    It isn't really clear in the project, how Physics is handled. In the readme its stated that Physics isn't enabled for the sample? How would one go about adding collision / physics in the sample, since it isn't documented in the Guide text file?
     
  5. imerso

    imerso

    Joined:
    May 6, 2011
    Posts:
    278
    Just "Enable Physics" in the planet properties. Your camera needs to have a Rigidbody for it to collide against the planet. Also, only the patches near the camera will have physics enabled.

    The builtin physics is going to be replaced in the next update.

    Are collisions working in the included sample scene?

    Thanks,

    imerso
     
  6. newticus

    newticus

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2012
    Posts:
    16
    I have enable physics set to true, the camera has a rigid body and a sphere collider. I understand that physics will only work on patches closest to the camera.

    Thats great news, this is a wonderful tool. Even without physics working for me, I can use this for my project. All I have to do is place a large sphere trigger / collider around each planet to prevent players from flying too close (I could play a crashing animation or something similar). This will allow them to fly close enough to really illustrate the size of the space around them, and the size of the planet, but at the same time they can't fly close enough to notice there are no trees / rocks or clutter on the surface of the planet.

    Unfortunately, they are not working in either included examples.

    I am not sure if this issue is because I'm running on OSX 10.7, or that I'm using Unity Indie, or that I am using Unity 4.
     
  7. imerso

    imerso

    Joined:
    May 6, 2011
    Posts:
    278
    I will be making sure it works under Unity3D 4 as well.

    Thanks,

    imerso
     
  8. ZJP

    ZJP

    Joined:
    Jan 22, 2010
    Posts:
    2,649
    Ok. Speed increased. 100 fps. ;)
    Is there a way to disable the water ? I've need a entire sand planet, like Mars.
     
  9. imerso

    imerso

    Joined:
    May 6, 2011
    Posts:
    278
    Just set water level = -2.
     
  10. ZJP

    ZJP

    Joined:
    Jan 22, 2010
    Posts:
    2,649
    I already found the solution in RandomPlanets.cs, line 86.
    Thanks anyway.

    JP
     
  11. virror

    virror

    Joined:
    Feb 3, 2012
    Posts:
    2,963
    Been following this for a while now and i have some questions.
    Is this solution suitable for a game that wont have any space flying and only will take place on the ground, like a rpg or similar?
    All videos so far had pretty bland texturing, how advanced are the texturing capabilities if i want to make a earth type planet that i can walk on?
    How hard would it be to implement some kind of simple digging system into this? Is it just a matter of moving the closest vertice down a bit?
    I'm also curious what you have planed in the future for this great looking product?
     
  12. newticus

    newticus

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2012
    Posts:
    16
    As the product stands, it's limited in texturing. There is the option for snow (which renders on the planet's poles based on temperature, or the whole planet if you use -2 as the temp), water (renders based on water height), 4 diffuse textures (which will each render based on parameters you set like height / slope), and a base texture which is the default rendered texture.

    I'm sure you can grab the terrain mesh once you've loaded the highest detail LOD mesh and modify from there, but you'd need to store your modifications and reapply them when the quad tree splits/rejoins based on your distance from that section of the mesh. Also there aren't any terrain details in the current version (like trees / free standing rocks / foliage) so that'd also be up to you to implement.
     
  13. imerso

    imerso

    Joined:
    May 6, 2011
    Posts:
    278
    I broke the Indie version on my last commit, it should be fixed now, please update your sources!

    Thanks,

    imerso
     
  14. virror

    virror

    Joined:
    Feb 3, 2012
    Posts:
    2,963
    Sounds like the texturing is good enough for what i need : )

    About the digging part, should be easy to implement i guess but maybe its hard to make it save in a good way?
    How is the performance impact depending on planet size when looking in fps view on the surface? No big impact on either memory and cpu because you only see the same limited part anyways?
    Seems like a very cool product : D
     
  15. newticus

    newticus

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2012
    Posts:
    16
    The latest update fixed my problems with collisions not working. Thanks for the great work imerso!
     
  16. pb

    pb

    Joined:
    Nov 18, 2012
    Posts:
    3
    Has anyone got it working in Unity 4 Pro? I was getting along great with the 4 Indie version but in 4 Pro (Windows) planets are all flat (even in the example scenes, after reloading and re-importing). Any thoughts? They're textured appropriately but the mesh is staying a sphere.
     
  17. imerso

    imerso

    Joined:
    May 6, 2011
    Posts:
    278
    I made an initial fix (emergency fix) which makes it work under Unity3D 4.0 now.

    There are some other warnings and (flash) errors that I'll be fixing later this week.
     
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2012
  18. pb

    pb

    Joined:
    Nov 18, 2012
    Posts:
    3
    Thanks for the quick reply. I've updated the PackNoise shader but still all flat here for now (pro only, indie is still fine, however I have other project dependencies for Pro).

    Let me know if this is probably my fault, else I'm looking forward to the update later in the week.

    Thanks again
     
  19. imerso

    imerso

    Joined:
    May 6, 2011
    Posts:
    278
    Working nicely here now, but I'll be looking into some other warns. It should be working for you already, though.
     
  20. newticus

    newticus

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2012
    Posts:
    16
    This extension is working GREAT, by the way. I've already made a small game where I can fly to the surface and back into outer space. Lots of fun, calculating drag based on atmospheric pressure (calculated by using gravitational pull), the ship gets damaged when there is too much drag * current relative velocity, things like that.

    Now I'd like to add something to detect when the ship collides with water, but I'm not sure what the best route would be for this. I'd assume that in OnCollisionEnter for the ship, i should grab the quad tree mesh that I just collided with and then test the texture at the collision point for water. Or do you have any thoughts on how I can differentiate land vs water during a collision?

    Edit: I guess what I need is, how do I easily grab the (current) terrain data at a certain point on the planet. I'd be using this when the highest LOD / highest detail quad tree is loaded.
     
    Last edited: Nov 22, 2012
  21. virror

    virror

    Joined:
    Feb 3, 2012
    Posts:
    2,963
    ?
     
  22. newticus

    newticus

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2012
    Posts:
    16
    I have another question, imerso. Did you ever get around to writing that obfuscater or do you know of one that is decent that can run on OSX? I have a small demo game using Etherea, that I up on a website, but I'm a bit afraid of posting the link until I know that the script assets are at least somewhat protected.

    (This is one thing that I just don't understand why Unity itself can't obfuscate while building releasable products.)
     
  23. imerso

    imerso

    Joined:
    May 6, 2011
    Posts:
    278
    Not really very hard, but this feature is not available in the current product.


    There is some performance and memory cost at ground level , but much, much less than when using brute-force.
     
  24. imerso

    imerso

    Joined:
    May 6, 2011
    Posts:
    278
    I did not have the time to proceed with the obfuscator yet, unfortunately. I am still under great pression on my daily work. Sorry.

    I do agree completely. Unity should provide an option to obfuscate builds.
     
  25. Hboybowen

    Hboybowen

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2009
    Posts:
    37
    posted this in wrong thread:

    Can the spherical terrain be defined by height maps?
     
  26. imerso

    imerso

    Joined:
    May 6, 2011
    Posts:
    278
    No, not manually provided height maps. You build terrain with parameters only.
     
  27. ZJP

    ZJP

    Joined:
    Jan 22, 2010
    Posts:
    2,649
    I wondering, is there a way to make (export) a mesh (obj) from the generated planet?
    You talked about a longitude/latitude system. Are you working on this?

    BTW, with "tweaking" parameters i got 150-200 fps. Nice. ;)
     
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2012
  28. dilbertian

    dilbertian

    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2010
    Posts:
    74
    @ZJP - I am interested in Lon/Lat system as well but without the ability to save and reload modifications to the planet's heightmap and/or possibly its textures, I'm not sure this will work as I need it. Having Lat/Lon is a good first step but unless you can flatten an area to place your structure/object - and then statically save your changes for reloading, it really doesn't do any good. I have gone round and round on how I can use Ethera1 to accomplish dynamic placement of structures/objects on the planet's surface, but have run out of ideas about how this would really be feasible at this time.

    -Tim

     
  29. ZJP

    ZJP

    Joined:
    Jan 22, 2010
    Posts:
    2,649
    The probleme is most simple for me. I use one "desert planete" and i replaced the water with a sand texture. Nice result ;)
     
    Last edited: Dec 3, 2012
  30. rosevelt

    rosevelt

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2012
    Posts:
    47
    Hello,

    Purchased it from the author site a few hours ago, Strangely enough did not received any mail with the download/mercurial info...
    As a suggestion, If you sale via PayPal, you should implement a post purchase callback to your site and invoke an automatically send mail to this paypal email with all the info. This way we dont have to wait and its much more cool and healthy for everyone.
     
  31. Hboybowen

    Hboybowen

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2009
    Posts:
    37
    Ok last question from me: Does the terrain tools work with your asset? After I get a satisfied result using the parameters can I sculpt on it using the terrain tools?
     
  32. rosevelt

    rosevelt

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2012
    Posts:
    47
    I'm trying to make the demo scenes work with linear lighting but it seems not to be rendered well at all.
    Is this supported?
     
  33. imerso

    imerso

    Joined:
    May 6, 2011
    Posts:
    278
    Currently, the only light source for the planets comes from the Sun Transform.

    Cheers,

    imerso
     
  34. ZJP

    ZJP

    Joined:
    Jan 22, 2010
    Posts:
    2,649
    ?
     
  35. imerso

    imerso

    Joined:
    May 6, 2011
    Posts:
    278
    No, that is not the way it is designed to be used. There is no "mesh" actually, it's all generated/destroyed on demand. There is no manual edition at all.


    Yes, but not today. Eventually there will be something to help easier placement using latitude and longitude, but I can't promise a date.


    Cheers,

    imerso
     
  36. ZJP

    ZJP

    Joined:
    Jan 22, 2010
    Posts:
    2,649
    Last edited: Dec 3, 2012
  37. newticus

    newticus

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2012
    Posts:
    16
    So I am absolutely loving this package so far, my only gripe is that I don't know how to fix this nasty dark edge rendering on some of my planets. It only seems to happen on planets using water.




    Is this a bug in the package? Or is it something I can fix on my end with some setting tweaks?
     
    Last edited: Dec 29, 2012
  38. imerso

    imerso

    Joined:
    May 6, 2011
    Posts:
    278
    Looks like you have not imported the water normalmap as "normalmap". Please check that in the texture import settings.
     
  39. L-Tyrosine

    L-Tyrosine

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2011
    Posts:
    305
    Impressive.

    Is there quality control? Is it possible to run on mobile for instance?
     
  40. imerso

    imerso

    Joined:
    May 6, 2011
    Posts:
    278
    There is a number of quality control parameters, but it is not compatible with mobile yet.
     
  41. newticus

    newticus

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2012
    Posts:
    16
    Yup, that was it. Thanks, the planets look much cleaner. Woo!
     
  42. ronan-thibaudau

    ronan-thibaudau

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2012
    Posts:
    1,722
    For info i was trying your webplayer on page 1 and it was working smooth and all, then after about 2-3 minuts i received this error (never had a crash when using unity web player before)

    ---------------------------
    Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library
    ---------------------------
    Runtime Error!

    Program: C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE

    R6025

    - pure virtual function call


    ---------------------------
    OK
    ---------------------------
     
  43. nicolas-thiennet

    nicolas-thiennet

    Joined:
    Dec 31, 2012
    Posts:
    1
    IMERSO your site is down ?

    it is no longer possible to buy Etherea1 directly on the site?
     
  44. imerso

    imerso

    Joined:
    May 6, 2011
    Posts:
    278
    Technically it's not down. =)

    It is still available on the Asset Store.

    Cheers, I take the opportunity to wish everyone good luck and a happy new year!

    imerso
     
    Last edited: Dec 31, 2012
  45. newticus

    newticus

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2012
    Posts:
    16
    I have another similar issue to the water one, but this one is on planets without atmosphere.



    Any ideas?
     
  46. ZJP

    ZJP

    Joined:
    Jan 22, 2010
    Posts:
    2,649
    :(

    Hello?


    It there a way to disable the water refraction (Yes, it's a sand texture)?
     
    Last edited: Jan 30, 2013
  47. ZJP

    ZJP

    Joined:
    Jan 22, 2010
    Posts:
    2,649
    4 weeks since your last post!!!! :(
     
  48. imerso

    imerso

    Joined:
    May 6, 2011
    Posts:
    278
    The way you intend, no, not through parameters in the editor.

    Could you contact me directly by email, so I can better explain how you can accomplish this?

    Thank you.
     
  49. ZJP

    ZJP

    Joined:
    Jan 22, 2010
    Posts:
    2,649
    Thx.
     
  50. ZJP

    ZJP

    Joined:
    Jan 22, 2010
    Posts:
    2,649
    UP.

    I solved the pb with this line
    Code (csharp):
    1.  
    2. diffuse = diffuse * (smoothLight);
    3.  
    shaders : TexNormalSplat_outer.shader and TexNormalSplat_inner.shader

     
    Last edited: Feb 2, 2013