Auto Fence Builder [Released]

Another question. So I am looking for a tool to build a mesh that follows the contour of a terrain. Basically would like to click and have it then generate a mesh that I can export to a 3d program. The idea of my project is to have a off road track or road where I need to have more advanced texturing than what the standard unity terrain provides. I would uv map that mesh in say blender and then overlay that mesh on the terrain. Is there a way to do that with AFWB? Thanks again.

 

Interesting. AFWB only cares about the terrain height along the forward direction of the fence, i.e. It doesn’t care about any variation side-to-side. In the case of a road with width, would you need to care about that, e.g. Camber?

If It’s enough to use a road or track that remains flat across its width, it could be possible to make a mod that does what you need. Could you contact the support address and we can discuss it, as it’s probably a bit off topic.

Cheers

Joe

 

Is there an update coming? I'm using 2019.3 and there are a number of 'obsolete' warnings?

 

Yes, it will be submitted next week. Updates include a choice of section joint styles, improved realtime demo, some new motorsport-style fencing, and a basic path mode.
In the meantime, none of those new warnings will affect functionality, but I appreciate it’s nice not to have them.

Joe

 

Thanks Joe. I was trying this in latest 2018 LTS and I'm also getting obsolete warnings - same deal?

 

That’s odd, thanks, I hadn’t checked the LTS, my understanding was they didn’t change any APIs. But yes, same deal.
I’ll post again next week when it’’s submitted, but if you want a script update now to remove the warnings, you can drop a line to support.

Joe

 

There are some minor issues in the latest Unity 2019.3 with menu and button names being truncated. This will be fixed in an update soon.

Thanks

Joe

 

We're ready to submit an update for any cosmetic issues and warnings found with the new Unity 2019.3 update.

I've fixed a couple of labels that were getting their text truncated, along with the previously mentioned benign, but annoying warnings.

If anyone has spotted anything else, please post here and I'll include it in tomorrow's bugfix submission, or a further feature update the following week (I've separated it in to two updates as one of the new features needs re-doing for 2019.3)

Thanks

Joe

 

Ran into some problems recently when building multiple fences per scene and going back and editing them. I will suddenly start getting the errors below and the fence seems like it loses all of the control points and drops portions of the fence.

 

Ok, I’ll look in to it, can you tell me AFWB, OS, and Unity versions?

thanks

Joe

 

Hi martman100, did you ever see this issue again? If so, could you let us have the version details (or at the least the Unity version for now).
It would also be useful to know if this happened with preset fences, a user preset, or with user prefabs.

Does the issue resolve if you move (or insert) one of the control points. Or change and revert the preset? Or click off Auto Fence Builder in the hierarchy, and back to it again?

Thanks

Joe

 

Hi ! Can AutoFence work in realtime ( in-game ) ?

I know the starting point and the one where the fence ends, can I generate it in runtime?
can you reply in my mail (please)?
visualjump3d@virgilio.it

ThankYou !

 

Hi,

I replied by email as requested. But for others reading...
It is possible if you are comfortable with a little coding to supply the position node points as a list of Vector3s
It's not currently supported to change the visual design during runtime. e.g transforming a brick wall in to a wooden fence, this is only supported in the editor.

Thanks

Joe

 

Is there a way to export the generated meshes as an FBX so I could make any changes I need in my 3d program?

 

You can use Unity’s FBX Exporter
https://docs.unity3d.com/Packages/com.unity.formats.fbx@2.0/manual/exporting.html

https://learn.unity.com/tutorial/working-with-the-fbx-exporter-setup-and-roundtrip-2019

once the fence is finalized. I’m not at my machine atm, but I think you can find it through the package manager.

Joe

 

can the fence brake apart with collision ?

 

Hi, once the fence is designed/built and then “Finished”, it exists as a parented set of ordinary Unity Game Game Objects, so whatever you could do any other GameObject or mesh is possible. On the other hand, there is no destruction feature directly in the tool. Hope this helps.

Cheers

Joe

 

ok, thanks
btw small bug, the delete preset from favorites not working

 

thanks very much for the info, fixed in next update.

 

Hi. Mega Shapes seems promising and I think it can do most that Fence Builder can do and even more. Could you elaborate whether there is actually some features in Fence Builder that do not exist in Mega Shapes? Thank you! ( https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/modeling/mega-shapes-3640 )

 

Hi, thanks for the question.

There are 2 main advantages of having a specialised tool for fences & walls.

Speed: After importing the tool, you choose a preset then just start shift-clicking on the ground to build, there’s no learning curve or setup involved. You don’t need a lengthy preparation, and when it comes to editing, the parameters are specifically tailored for tasks related to fence design, such as distance between posts, number of cross rails etc etc.

Assets: AFWB ships with hundreds of ready made fences and walls, meshes, textures etc. You can definitely make walls in the tool you mentioned, and similar tools (e.g. Curvy Splines), but you’ll either have to invest time modelling and texturing suitable source material, or buy from the Asset Store. Also keep in mind that if you wish to change the look/design of a wall using one of the general-purpose tools, it’s quite a big job, especially if the meshes are very different in scale. With AFWB you can change from a small picket fence to a huge castle wall with one click.

You make a good point though. Given enough time I guess it is possible to get a similar end result with a general purpose spline tool provided you don’t need to iterate and audition multiple styles.

Cheers

Joe

 

Custom Prefab Issue

A user found an issue with the latest AFWB/Unity combo which can cause users' custom objects to not correctly replace the built-in ones. There'll be an update posted soon, but in the meantime if it happens to you, you can contact us for a quick fix.

Thanks

Joe

 

I get a few auto fence builder warnings:

 

Thanks, this is fixed in the immanent update.

 

I am using 2019.4 LTS and cannot use the controls to place or edit fences. Every time I try to place, it selects the object under the mouse click instead of placing a post.

 

Can you check if you have Gizmos enabled, they are needed for placement.

Cheers

Joe

 

Hi, will AFWB work on my own lowpoly terrains that I've exported from Blender, or does it require that you use Unity terrains?

Many thanks.

 

Hi, it will work on any surface that has a collider, so as long you add one after importing from Blender it’ll work ok.

thanks

Joe

 

Thanks. It's working great. Amazing time-saver!

 

Thanks for the feedback!

 

Hello,

I am trying to create a fence profile that is just the posts. When I go to add my prefab, I immediately get a null ref for the object. Same thing if I just throw the model itself in there. Any idea why this would not work? I can edit the scriptable object directly, but it's much easier to do through the interface.
A screenshot of the error -
https://gyazo.com/5f68df6eb4e4b707306bfa8c42283b38

 

Hi, can you contact support and I’ll send you a fix for this.

thanks

Joe

 

Sure thing, thanks!

 

Is there API documentation somewhere?

 

I've used this successfully in the past but when opening a project with it I cannot shift-click to create a new fence. No matter what I do, I just end up selecting the object I click on. I've tried nuking the Auto Fence Builder gameobject, nuking existing fences, etc. Any ideas? Nothing interesting is showing up int he console. This is in Unity 2019.4.18f1. Same behavior happens in the Demo Scene as well. Thoughts?

 

OK I don't know what the exact cause was, but resetting my Unity layout fixed it. Something in the layout was configured in such a way that OnSceneGUI was not firing in AutoFenceEditor.cs. As soon as I reset the layout, it started hitting. /shrug

 

Hi, sorry for any apparent delay in replying, on European time here. I’m pretty sure the issue was caused by gizmos being disabled which would have got reset. Thanks for letting us know, and get in touch if you have any other questions.

Cheers

Joe

 

Hello.
I have two questions.

1. When I use a custom object, selecting "Keep original collider" also removes the collider..Is this the correct behavior?
2. Is it possible to keep the original prefab reference of the custom object when finishing the fence of the custom object?

Thanks.

 

Hi, I’ve replied to your email.

Thanks

Joe

 

Auto Fence & Wall Builder 3.4 released on Asset Store

This is mainly updates & bug-fixes to conform to changes made in Unity in the last year.

HDRP and URP is now supported.

 

Auto Fence & Wall Builder 3.4

How to use with HD Render Pipeline

In order to maintain maximum backward compatibilty, the main version uses the Standard materials/shaders, and the HDRP assets are included in an archive.
Please delete the following two folders:

Auto Fence Builder/AFWB_Materials
Auto Fence Builder/FencePrefabs_AFWB

Then import the 'AFWB HDRP Prefabs & Materials' unitypackage

 

Auto Fence & Wall Builder 3.4

How to use with Universal Render Pipeline

Unity menu: Window/Rendering/Render Pipeline Converter
Select 'Built-in to URP', enable 'Rendering Settings' and 'Material Upgrade' and press 'Convert Assets'

 

Auto Fence & Wall Builder 50% off in Unity New Year Sale

https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/level-design/auto-fence-wall-builder-23201

 

is it possible to make something like on this picture ? so that the power lines also end in curves at the right positions ?
https://i2.wp.com/neara.com/wp-cont...scaled-e1618820697776.jpg?fit=1923,1280&ssl=1

 

At the moment, sections that span between posts (cables in your case) can only be stacked vertically, as is normal for fences, not horizontally. Do you already have the models for the posts and cables that you would use as custom objects? If so, and you contact support I could send you a mod to do this.

Joe

 

Cable Joint Mod

If anyone else want the cable-joint style mod as requested by LarsH673 above, it'll be in the next update in a couple of weeks, or if you want it now you can contact support twoclicktools@gmail.com

(The posts look slightly different to those as they were a user's asset)

Joe

 

I’m enjoy this from my first impressions, but I have quite a few project specific use cases that I’m struggling with.

1. Can I retain prefab references for rails or posts, such as particles ? I use a lot of components for gameplay on my fences.

2. Can I request a parent gameobject for the spline, even while building? I use code to assess child prefabs with specific components.

3. I use an addon called Peek which uses ctrl LMB and all RMB inputs. Are there other ways to edit?

4. Finally, I really don’t enjoy the process of minimal installation. The 2gb install is really annoying when I have to delete 90% of it. My project uses only custom fence models, so it’s a bother to install this, and I’m worried about updating. Can you streamline this by making one folder optional, or making the presets a package to unpack? Do you plan to improve this in future?

 

Hi, thanks for the questions. Just before going through the requests individually, it might be worth mentioning that AFWB isn't suitable as a general purpose spline tool, as this might be relevant to some points. During construction there isn't a 'spline' entity that gets hooked into, rather each key-point is calculated based on the previous point, elevation, slope, and direction to the next user's click-point. The end result is sort-of similar but restricts its use as an advanced spline tool.

1. Each sub-section of a fence/wall is built from the ground up to deform with the ground/terrain and has its own uniquely constructed mesh, therefore the references to your custom models are not needed or retained. It's targeted at walls/fences models, and not a suitable tool to lay out arbitrary components along a spline. Sorry to be black & white on this point, but also for any other users who might read this, it's such a fundamental part of the tool's design, it's not a feature we plan to add/change.

2. Yes, there's no explicit spline, but I could add a feature for you to request a list of key-points if you let us know what the most convenient method for your use-case would be.

3. Yes, if you'd like to suggest a key/mouse combo for Insert/Delete (the 2 ops that use ctrl) I'll add it for you.

4. Yes, we can include a separate package with a minimal install for you to extract, then put aside for each use. You would only have to do this once on first use any time there is an update. Have you already prepared one, or would you like me to send you an initial one now?

If 2,3,4 could help you, please contact support at twoclicktools@gmail.com with the extra details. But I understand if point 1 is a deal-breaker for your project, in which case a refund is no problem if you'd rather use a spline tool.

Thanks

Joe

 

Thanks for the detaied reply! I probably need to spend more time with AFWB to fully understand its strengths and quirks. I don't need a refund, I just need to get used to it. Every tool is different.

It would probably be best if you exposed the shortcuts to Unity's Shotcuts mapper, but I don't know what's involved in this. One of my clashes was using the right mouse button for example. I'll see how I get on over the next month or so.

I followed the instructions on creating a minimal install, but it made me rather dread any updates in the future!! I'm used to addons that have either an optional folder of content, or a unitypackage file that users must double click to extract. I appreciate the effort that has been put into the premade assets, but unfortunately we are trying to keep this project clean of unused meshes and textures.

Can you list the steps necessary for 'content free' users to upgrade AFWB without deleting their own presets?

 

(Other users can disregard this unless you require a zero-content version of AFWB)

I'll post again re. your other points, but for peace of mind in case you're experimenting with content-free upgrades:

• Export these 3 folders as a single package: FencePrefabs_AFWB, Presets_AFWB, and UserGeneratedRailMeshes. Include Dependencies (If you already have the content-free version + custom stuff, these will be quite small.)
• After upgrading, import the package from the previous step.
• In AFWB Inspector: Globals->Refresh/Unload->Refresh Prefabs & Presets

Thanks for the feedback on this. Having just tested by creating a minimal install, adding custom stuff, then upgrading, it works but is no fun! It will be improved before you need to upgrade to a new version. Working on it now.