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

I think I understand. The shape is the output of the freecurve. This means the shape is created by the freecurve, based on the curvepoints. So the curvepoints are found in the freecurve, not in the shape (so there is no point in exposing the shape to a runtime script).

So if I understand correctly, I should adress the model, get the freecurve from there (which is a AXPArametricObject), and then from that object get the curvepoints list (which is a AXPArameter).
If this is correct, I have 2 more questions:

• How do I cast a AXPArameter to a list?
• edit: I think I get it: the param name is the name set in the inspector...

PS: I don't have any experience with slack. I suppose it's just subscribe and then search for the correct chat?

 

You are correct.

On the AXParameter there is a field called "Paths", this is an List<List<IntPoint>> which holds CONVERTED values for the points of the freecurve. These values need to be divided by the IntPointPrecision value in order to get the ACTUAL float values of the points. I think you can find the IntPointPrecision value in AX.GeometryUtilities.IntPointPrecision or something like that .

 

While browsing through the FreeCurve code, I came across something else that works *almost*. So this is what I wrote:

Code (CSharp):

1. public class AXWallTest : MonoBehaviour {
2.     AXModel model;
3.     [SerializeField]
4.     List<Transform> transforms;
5.  
6.     // Use this for initialization
7.     void Start () {
8.         model = GetComponent<AXModel>();
9.  
10.         AXParametricObject nodePO = model.parametricObjects.FirstOrDefault(p => p.Name == "FreeCurve_0");
11.         nodePO.curve.Clear();
12.  
13.         foreach (var t in transforms) {
14.             Vector2 v = new Vector2(t.position.x, t.position.z);
15.             nodePO.curve.Add ( new CurvePoint(v) );
16.         }
17.     }
18. }

The shape in the AX editor updates perfectly to the transforms I put in the scene. HOWEVER: I still need to click the "rebuild" button to let it have any effect... Do I need to call some kind of "update" function on the model itself? I've tried the build, buildall and buildmodel functions, but they seem to have no effect...

 

I just started a new topic for this in the new Archimatix forums. Would be great if this discussion could happen there, since it would be easier for people to find later in a threaded forum.

http://community.archimatix.com/runtime-scripting/controlling-freecurve-through-code/#post-30

I will be over there to help out as well.

 

Great! I've put my post over there!

 

For anyone who was following @trialnterrorgames question, looks like rory has started the continuation here

But to quickly answer. You need to call model.autobuild();

 

@trialnterrorgames Ok, well it seems my comments are awaiting moderation on the forums currently. So to continue the answer.


You need to call model.autobuild() after you make any changes programtically to make the model update.
Also keep in mind that putting the values of a Vector2 directly in to a freecurve will most likely NOT yield the expected results.

You must multiple the values by IntPointPrecision, as Clipper does not deal in float, and deal specifically in integers to make the math quicker. Putting a float directly into an IntPoint drops any decimal values and essentialyl acts like Floor(value); also when the freecurve is drawn the values are divided by IntPointPrecision, which means it will shrink what you expect, usually by ALOT.

Edit - Just noticed you are putting the value in a curvePoint. I am unsure if that requires IntPointPrecision or not.

 

Hi all,

I've tried to make a little medieval building for the last few days and I'm still trying to get the hang of Archimatix. I have a lot of experience with CSG from back in the days of Worldcraft and Hammer and probably it shows in my thinking and all. Anyway, I have a question: How can I ensure that textures on the side of extrude meshes are displayed with the correct UV (or better, the same for all the connected meshes)? See this picture for reference:



As you can see, I made a base, used a ShapeOffsetter to create the walls, then pierced it with some rectangles in a ShapeMerger and put it all together layer by layer to form the first floor. If only the wall texture wasn't different all the time...
Now if I use UV shift, I can correct it on one window side, but on the adjacent one and the next one, it's already different. How can I make sure it's the same all the way round and regardless of the height? Is there some kind of translation/transformation that just moves the mesh and lets the texture "stay in place"?

Thanks in advance for any help!

PS: Is there a help forum for Archimatix or something like that? I thought about contacting on Twitter, but that seemed odd, and this post is probably also for something else.

 

There is a new forum for Archimatix here: http://community.archimatix.com

I'm sorry I do not know the answer to your question though…. (

You might want to ask @RuinsOfFeyrin because he has just created some new nodes for UV control, but I have not tried them yet and not sure of their function.)

 

Hi @Sunsparkle - You are doing a great job using the layer cake method of building up a wall. However, as you have noticed, this method is better for walls with a texture that is more forgiving of seams, such as AX_Stucco and certainly with courses of bricks, since brick walls are built up in just such layers.

For a fieldstone pattern like this, its best to create separate walls from shape mergers and put them together. There are a number of ways to resolve corners: you can use corner massings that are their own boxes. If you look at examples of real medieval architecture, they often do this because structurally it makes sense.

You can also just overlap the walls at the corners. By making separate walls, you get the advantage of building like a medieval builder. For example, often corners of masonry were buttressed. By simply overlapping the walls, you get the buttressing for free! While it may simpler to just use 3D CSG (if AX had it), AX's mode of modeling invites you to think like an architect!





Instead of an object for each wall, you can wrap one long, subdivided wall with openings around a plan using PlanDeformer, as in the post-apocalyptic example above. In wither case, the textures will be seamless.

Eventually we will have a node called WinWall which will be a sort of 2.5 D boolean, where you will have volumes you can use as cutting brushes in walls.

 

Just for fun, I fed the last example into a TaperDeformer and that into a NoiseDeformer:

 

Thanks a lot for the quick and insightful answer! Doing each wall by its own seems a good idea, especially with massings or buttressing as tricks for the corners. I will try tonight and join the community forum, great to have that. I'll head over there in case anything else comes up. The TaperDeformer + NoiseDeformer looks rad =)

EDIT: It looks so much better now, thanks again for your help!

 

Hey guys! We've opened the ARCHIMATIX COMMUNITY FORUMS! Join us!

Post a WIP or start a conversation..., find video tutorials..., catch up on the latest news from AX & plugin developers..., and post your feature requests!



http://community.archimatix.com

 

Hey everybody,

just started playing around with AX and wanted to add some holes along a grid to the supplied bevel box as an exercise. Somehow, somewhere, I must have made a mistake as the back and inside of the box now looks like they were caught up in some serious swirlings. I attached the scene for reference. Could you drop me a hint on how I can fix this?

Regards,
Patrick

 

Just playing around with AX a little

 

Hi @Lohrion - sorry for the delayed reply. I checked out your scene - thanks for posting it.

The swirling in the holes are due to the large taper, which is created for the entire plan shape, including the holes.

In this gif, I used a single hole to illustrate how the bevel and taper of an Extrude uses the plan shape.



The small hole you were placing in the face of the BevelBox were each generating huge tapered sides.

On solution is toter the top and bottom caps of the BevelBox off and then feed the plan of the BevelBox into a separate shape merger which becomes the plan for a second extrude that has Sides turned off.



If the Heights and Taper parameters of the two Extrudes are related, then the two Extrudes will behave as one, where the outsides are tapered and the hole is not.

 

Do we need more tutorials for AX?

I've been debating whether to put time into making freebies or tutorials for the AX community forums…. What do you prefer?

 

I would prefer tutorials, if I get to be picky with your generosity. "Teach a [person] to fish and all."

For me personally, the best kind of tutorials would be ones that are on a webpage or a PDF with labeled screenshots. I have a hard time retaining knowledge from the video-based tutorials for anything too complex. Being able to scroll up and down a document, zoom in on screenshots of node graphs, etc would be hugely beneficial for me (and hopefully many others).

Please and thank you oh so much, btw.

 

More tutorials? Yes, please! I agree with @chiapet1021 - I prefer web page step by steps over youtube videos.... but I'll also say that I'd appreciate anything you care to put together and share.

 

Awesome Guys, will do! Thanks for the reminder that not all tutorials need to be on youtube!

 

@wetcircuit - you have inspired me to make a quick tutorial based on an email that just came in with a FAQ! And @chiapet1021 and @trilobyteme, thanks for the feedback on the page-based tutorials. This one is about how to make hard edges.



Now I need to get back to documenting nodes!

@wetcircuit - can't wait to see your tutorials at the community! Especially on using Playmaker with AX.

 

That tutorial page is exactly the type of format that speaks to my noggin, @roryo. Thank you!

 

Also agree that web page tutorials like this are much better than YouTube videos. In addition to the above points, it is also very difficult to find something within a video after some time has passed since you watched it.

 

ok, rooftop tutorial is in the works…. Give me a few days to make all the graphics…

 

New Year's Resolution: to get all the manual page for the nodes published.

Almost finished with the new manual pages for PlanSweep!

 

Hi,

I try to make a bridge that have a free curve shape on the XZ plan and an other free curve for the XY plan.
Something like a roller coaster (loops not needed).

I tried with a free curve and a plan repeater + another free curve and a plan deformer for vertical deformation, but it didn't worked. I tried to change de rotation and/or the axis on the plan deformer but the path of the bridge remain in 2D.
I can have horizontal or vertical path deformation but not both.

Is there an other way to do that or it is currently impossible to make that kind of deformation in Archimatix ?

EDIT :

I managed to achieved something like I want with 2 plan deformer, one on the Z axis and the other on the Y axis. But it is not very convenient to tweek it for precise result. It would be so much more intuitive to achieve that kind of effect with a 3D curve and a single plan deformer or a plan repeater/plan sweep.

I will keep experimenting with Archimatix.

 

Hi @Hexaedre - sounds like you are doing some good experimentation with AX. 3D curves are coming in the early spring.

 

This is a philosophical question about different 3D construction methods, so I would be interested in people's thoughts.

I think there are 3 basic ways of constructing 3D shapes.

1. Completely by hand. This would be like using Adobe Illustrator, if there was a 3D version. Maybe Google Sketchup? You can build anything, but there is little support from the tool itself. By analogy with physical construction, these are the fundamental hand tools: saw, screwdriver, hammer, chisel.

3. Assembly by components. Blender. Unity editor to some degree. There are basic atomic structures (spheres, cubes, et al), considerable number of tools, and a large number of operations that are available for composing, modifying, or adapting the atomic structures. The tool provides a huge amount of low level support, but the author has to perform all the assembly, fitting, and modification of components. My analogy with physical construction is these are power tools: router, lathe, milling machine, table saw.

4. Model based construction. Archimatix. There are overarching "models" or archetypes for how objects are constructed. The creator is constructing through parameterization and high level operands. Relies on the existent of underlying construction archetypes. My analogy with physical construction is a robotic assembly line, where the robots are more intelligent than the actual robots we have.

Thoughts, comments, criticism?

 

What happened to 2?

I do sort of see where you are going with that, but I'm going to disagree with your categories…,… although I agree about Unity being a container for pre-assembled components (not so sure about Blender being there). I'd put DAZ and MCS in that category, as you're just buying ready-to-use parts with almost no support for creativity.

AX is a few things.

First, it's a Spline Modeler – models are created through Section and Plan
Second, it's Parametric – nodes and relations "flow" to create rules-based "smart" geometry
Third, it's Runtime – geometry can be changed at runtime by external (script) control

I'm going to go out on a limb and say any of these three things would have a learning curve, but the first stumbling block is the Spline Modeler. It seems really easy at first, but you get stuck in certain ruts of workflow. Spline models are unintuitive and "weird". You have to visualize a 2D Section being "wrapped" according to a flat Plan (yeah yeah, 3D Curves are coming in the Spring ). What I think most people do, me included, we tend to be heavy on creating the Plan shape, but we need to spend more time understanding the Section shape – that's where a lot of the interesting stuff happens.

And there are limits with Parametric. Big and complicated models become S_L_O_W. There is a lot of power there, and watching a building fill-in with details is like magic…. But this is a power that has to be used judiciously. Too many "smart" models clogs the brain , not to mention Unity is set up to be a whiz at prefabs and its own occluding system…. IMHO, AX has a sweetspot as a parametric stamper. The master AX model might be complicated and disjointed, but it can stamp out a village of prefabs that follows the parametric design rules you create. In your game you are on safe ground because Unity is using it's own tricks to speed things up. It's the best of both worlds: parametric design and prefabs…. Rory says this all the time, but we don't like to hear it.

The last step is the runtime scripting. My current (untested) theory is that the parametric bloat could be moved to external scripts, so AX scene models would be just a lot of open variables and you'll script a master brain that programs and assembles AX nano-blocks…. something between minecraft and a stemcell.

Unity development is off the hook though…. Connect AX to machine learning? An advanced physics engine...? a 3D printer...?

 

Thanks for the thoughtful reply!

Yes, something went wrong with the numbering. There were only 3 basic methods. #2 was supposed to be analogous to the constructionist method in drawing. The underlying structure is composed from basis shapes: sphere, cube, cylinder, etc. Of course, a lot of work still has to be done to complete the form.

I like the idea of driving AX with external algorithms. That could produce some pretty wild shapes.

 

I don't have the time to try this in my current deadline-driven project, but I also have Dungeon Architect, and one of my goals is to combine the parametric modeling of AX with the parametric prefab placement of DA in a two-tool workflow that I think will maximize the strengths of both.

 

Rooftop Tutorial is coming along….



It's gotten a little… involved. I cover all traditional rooftop styles, and get them to fit to any floorplan. It's like… a 15-part tutorial but honestly they are easy to follow…. It is a lot of work though writing out all the bits.... Taking longer than I thought. (I am working on it though!)

 

A new manual page: ShapeOffsetter!

 

Excellent! I have played with that node a little, but your page has some great ideas on how to use it. The stone cross example is particularly interesting, and something like that might be useful in my current project.

May I offer one small suggestion? It took me several reads to understand the Offset parameter even in the new page. I finally realized what it does, from re-reading the Thickness parameter where you mention that the Offset can simulate a left/right differing Thickness. So the Offset is a left-right bias of the thickening of the shape. If I'm understanding it correctly, maybe say that specifically? The text that is there does a great job of explaining how the value behaves, but doesn't actually say what it's for.

Thanks for listening. I am deeply into a project using Archimatix right now, and have created some fairly elaborate structures. I should be able to share my work in about a week.

 

Good morning. I have a couple of support questions resulting from situations I encountered over the weekend. Nothing urgent here, as I've worked around the situations, but I'm seeking a better way than what I'm doing now.

• Does AX support cutting and pasting a group of nodes, connected to one another but nothing outside their group, from one graph to another? I tried to do this a couple of times, but found that only one of the nodes actually moved, and the rest just...vanished. I didn't lose any work because (1) I had carefully saved my scene first, since I wasn't sure if this was allowed, and (2) "undo" worked as it should. I was able to work around this problem by putting the nodes inside a Grouper and then cutting and pasting that.
• I have found that in some cases the UV scaling and offset on a Material node is simply ignored. This may be related to the fact that I'm using Substance textures, but I'm not certain yet (I need to do more testing). Am I doing something wrong, or is this possibly a bug?
• I've been having a lot of problems sharing a single output with multiple downstream nodes. Sometimes if I have node A feeding node B, and I then add node C also being fed by node A, the setting of the input in node C back-propagates to nodes A and B instead of the other way around. I'm sure this must be pilot error by me, because others no doubt do this all the time. What am I doing wrong? (Workaround: Preset the input on the new node to match; once they are all connected, propagation works correctly.)
• I can't pin this down or reliably replicate it, but occasionally a repeater node (linear or radial, at least -- my current project hasn't needed a grid repeat yet) will seem to get "stuck" on a specific output. Even disconnecting the input mesh doesn't change its output, and upstream changes are ignored. My workaround is to delete and re-add the replicating node. FWIW, I can leave alone the actual Repeater (the sub-node that tells how many and how far apart) and attach it to the new replicator, and all is well. Is there a way to force a refresh of the object?
• For some reason, when I change the upstream mesh feeding into a radial or linear repeater, AX often recalculates the radius or separation settings in the Repeater that governs the replication. This is annoying because I might be experimenting with different variants of the upstream mesh, but I already know where I want the copies to be placed. I've found it's particularly common if I have a Prefab Instance node upstream and change what prefab object is used.

This list sounds like a lot of complaints, and I really, REALLY don't mean it that way. None of these are show-stoppers, just little quirks. I think Archimatix is an amazing tool, and I'm stunned at how complex a scene I've been able to build in just a few days, even as a relatively new user. On any of the above, if I'm committing an act of User Idiocy, please enlighten me.

I'd like to close with one feature request that I hope would be an easy one: Allow manual configuration of one-way propagation wires. You already have the option to enter an expression for each direction to have mutual calculations, and this defaults to simply copying the value. That's a great default because it has the expression in the field already. I would suggest that the user be able to disable propagation in either direction by making that field empty for the undesired direction. This simple change will allow an upstream node to truly be a control node that is unaffected by downstream changes. If the reverse-propagation is disabled, then I think the downstream node should not accept any override changes to its value for that field (perhaps with a message to console indicating WHY). (If you're concerned about this change breaking existing models, then instead of empty field indicating no propagation, you could allow the reserved word "NULL" or "NONE" to mean this.)

 

Hi @syscrusher - thanks for the feedback. Based on this, I made some changes to the ShapeOffsetter page that I hope helps to better explain the difference between offset and thickness.

 

Thanks for all this. I'll get back to you later today.

 

Hello,

First of all, great plugin, great job !

I'm having a hard time trying to find some informations about the scripting API of Archimatix.
I want to change variables of my model at runtime via a C# class, I can use a bunch of things from the AX namespace but I don't how to reference an AX model properly and access its parameters.

Any help ?

 

@OswaldP
There are a couple od ways to do it. One is to use the Runtime Controller Generator that comes with AX. You can generate a controller from the model inspector i think. I'm not sure there is any documentation on the runtime controller generator yet.

The other option is a more hands on approach. Over at my blog on the AXResources site I've started some write-ups on dealing with AX at runtime. They are not complete, but its a start.

 

That looks terrific! As it turns out, I was actually wrong even after I thought I had figured it out. The new text and GIFs are completely clear to me. Thank you!

 

It's nothing urgent; if I hear from you today, fantastic, but I'm not upset if you need time to think about the questions.

 

I thought of a more graceful way to handle the downstream nodes -- just make the field disable for user input on any node that is a one-way receiver from another node for that parameter. I should have thought of this originally.

 

Such a shame that this documentation is not available yet, the runtime usage of this plugin is one of the most interesting aspect of it in my opinion. Someone should really provide an example showing the very basic code structure for getting/setting a node parameter value at runtime via a script.

I checked your blog, and as you said it is quite incomplete. The first line of code generates an error because there is an implicit conversion from AXParametricObject to AXParameter, and I have no idea about how I can actually fill this list with my model parameters.

This is what I've tried so far based on your article, by referencing the AX Model script in the Model public variable, and it's printing Null (I did not manage to find all the methods you are showing like getParameter and autobuild, maybe my version of archimatix is a bit old too) :

Code (CSharp):

1.    
2. public AXModel Model;
3. private AXParameter _myParameter;
4.  
5. void Start () {
6.     _myParameter = Model.getParameterByGUID("BaseSection");
7.     print(_myParameter);
8. }

Same for the Runtime Controller Generator, I cannot seem to find it anywhere.

Is there any chance that you or someone that knows how to do it properly could write an example as I mentionned before ? Would be a HUGE help for anyone interested in the real-time features of Archimatix...

 

Apparently there is an example provided by the plugin's editor at http://www.archimatix.com/manual/runtime-archimatix. And my version is outdated. I am about to do an update and go through this example to see if it is rewarding !

 

I might suggest looking at this page first: http://www.archimatix.com/manual/runtime-archimatix-for-artists

 

Keeping the New Year's resolution going... here is a manual page for PairRepeater2D!

 

Here is an example of a parametric mask. The eyes are made by a Circle in a PairRepeater2D.

 

I checked your link + the spaceship shop example, this is crystal clear now, thank you !

Another thing, I can't find any useful informations about the Expressions input field for the nodes parameters.
No words about it in the documentation as far as I know ! What format should I use ? Thank you.

 

This tutorial might help with understanding parameter expressions: http://www.archimatix.com/tutorials/tutorial-ancientroof

 

Is there a way to expose bezier control in a freecurve point?