World Building EasyRoads3D v3 - the upcoming new road system

Hello CrIxX91,

I am not sure what the first problem with the roundabout is?

The problems in the other two images are not clear either?

Regarding the terrain, EasyRoads3D has two states, Edit Mode and Build Mode. In Edit Mode the road network is build, roads and crossings are added. In Build Mode (the middle mountain tab in the Inspector > Build Terrains(s) button) the terrain is adjusted to the road network.

http://unityterraintools.com/EasyRoads3D/v3/html/quick_start.html

Or do you mean the blurry lines further away from the cam? That is not directly EasyRoads3D related, this can be controlled in the texture import settings > Aniso level.

Thanks,
Raoul

[Edit]

I now see the roundabout is added as a child of Temp Crossing Prefabs in the hierarchy. This means this source prefab was dragged in the scene from the project folder for editing. Is that what you wanted to do?

To add an instance of a source prefab in the scene as part of the road network, please select the prefab from the connections tab (3rd from the left in the Inspector) and Shift + click in the scene where you want to instantiate it. See quick start section in link above.

.

 

"The shape of a road is defined by node positions. The default road only has two nodes, one on the left and one on the right. This will be customizable in v3.x and the custom connection system already make more complex roads possible." ~ Tutorial

Has this feature been released as of version 3.1.1?

 

Hi Palanai,

That will be supported for built-in roads and crossings in v3.2. The system does already support customized shapes through the custom prefab editor window in General Settings > Crossing / Connection Prefabs, road shapes based on imported meshes.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Im super annoyed, the it says i can make crossing, bridges and side objects in v3 Free, but i can. Could it be explained how i can do this please.

On the Unity 3D website asset store, the video clearly show these things, but most things dont show up in the editor, or they are grayed out and unusable. I just need a free road creating system that actually works. Help me make this work please.

 

Thanks man I appreciate it.

Ya it compiles now. This just turned the whole road white though which is the color set for specular.
It seems specular is just acting as coloring and not effecting light.




I commented out
_Metallic ("Road Metallic/Smoothness", 2D) = "black"{}
and now I got the wetness back. Except now I'm missing coloring



I gave it a specular map again and now I have coloring back. Hurray
I don't have any real control over the coloring of the specular color though.
How can I make the coloring thing functional? Right now its a dead slider.

Code (csharp):

1.  _SpecColor ("Specular Color", Color) = (0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 1)

 

Hello unity_rIvlhNDZKrA5Ng,

Sorry to hear you are super annoyed that the free version doesn't give you all these options. The manual shows what is Pro only. Developing a tool like this takes a massive amount of time. Making all that available in the free version wouldn't make it possible to spend that much time on it and developing it further. At some point probably more will be possible with the free version but at the moment we have our hands full with new Pro features.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

So could you explain what i actually can do with the free version?

So far all iv been able to do is make a bunch of roads without any type of overhanging road and no crossings.

 

Hi Shadowing,

This is more shader related, EasyRoads3D currently doesn't have shaders supporting specular. If I have some time tomorrow I will see how to get that work.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

You can create roads with the free version and have the terrain adjust to the road shape.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

So basically just a bunch of single, non-crossing roads.

 

Hey Raoul don't worry about it. The color Im using for the specular map is perfect. I just had to adjust the Main texture color and all is good now. Really appreciate the help man.
You're the man!

 

Hi, again i'll try to explain that i need.

First in a new project i import the demo project asset.


next, i instantiate a new connection "roundabout 4 connection"



so, i need edit the roads to different values, and the script change the "roundabout" to child of "Temp crossing"


finally, the log show me the next message, and i can't continue to instantiate another object

 

Hello,

I still have the problems with Easyroads3D roads that terrain is in road etc tryed now weeks with different settings no fix

I import the roads with OSM in Easyraods3d

But the are at terrain and looks good only terraain deformation not work right . As wrot ebefore.


And also Easyroads3D roads not streamable with WorldStreamer ?



Regards

 

How big is your terraian? Just curious. I have a 16k map and I have that issue a lot too. Map size may have to do with this. Is there a resolution thing with terrain like there is with painting textures and details @raoul
I just recently learn that resolution only goes as high as 2k and now understand the effects that has on a map larger than 2k. tiles become larger.

I've spent 2 years working on the coding/mechanics of my game and I spent another 1 year before that learning and porting my first canvas game into Unity. So just in the past few months I actually just started messing with terrain and graphics stuff. Since I've already built a game and I'm a coder. I understood doing all the mechanics first is top priority so that's why I seem like such a newbie when it comes to terrain, shaders and other graphic stuff. When really I've been using Unity for a 3 years full time. Most people who start using Unity probably building their very first game and are messing around with everything Unity offers all at once.

Anyways lol
Your issue may be related to Road Smoothnes @GamePyro
Remove the bumpiness, tilting distance and angle. See if that helps the issue.
I was thinking map size is effected by this if that resolution thing also effects terrain formation.

 

Yes, with the terrain deformed according the road shape. This specific feature was the main reason why we started looking into creating a road system in Unity in 2009. Try doing this yourself manually, it will take you hours of work to achieve similar results. Doing this with the free version will only take seconds.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi CrIxX91,

I see what you mean, thank you for reporting that!

This roundabout is actually not used in the demo project. This was a problem too in the main Pro package with this same asset in v3.0. This is fixed in the next demo project update.

Meanwhile, can you try importing this asset (Path: EasyRoads3D / Resources / dynamic prefabs / Roundabout 4 connections) from the main Pro package in your current project?

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hello GamePyro,

The Troubleshooting page in the manual covers all situations where this can happen, all based on the fact that there must be enough terrain points available to handle the shape of the road and other terrain limitations like not being able to add negative height values. If none of this applies to your situation,can you please email us your project or a simple test project so we can look at it.

It does work with WorldStreamer, but rather then looking at the center of bounding boxes, WorldStreamer looks at pivot point positions.

scripting API:

ERRoadNetwork.CenterPivotPoints()

This will do that, please use it at the end before building your final scenes.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Yes, this usually is unity heightmapscale related (terrain size vs resolution), the higher the heightmapscale the more limited you are with road shapes, especially in bends with height differences. When using the, nowadays, default Unity terrain settings 500xt500 and 513 heightmap resolution this should not really be a problem.

Road smoothness / bumpiness, tilting can be a problem when the road is at zero height, the terrains game object Y position. It is impossible to apply negative height values to the terrain object. There for it is recommended to always flatten the terrain at an higher level first if you build a terrain from scratch. That will give some margin downwards, also for rivers, sea, etc.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

i have a temporary solution, i edit the roundabout and when i finish, i drag to "Connection Objects" and its works.

 

Yes, you could do that, prefabs marked as "source prefabs" are moved to the temp folder after selecting them in the hierarchy. The "infinity bucle" as you described it is triggered when that Temp folder exists. So moving the prefab back to "Connection Objects" and removing the temp folder, will fix the problem as well.

Just be careful though, real source prefabs should never been used as instances in the scene. So this process should not be used for prefabs in the project folder. That is why recommended to update this specific prefab by importing the Pro package with the updated roundabout source prefab, no need to move prefabs anyway.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi,

I'm trying to use the KML import capability to create side objects. I have created a procedural side object containing a fence segment and then a road type Fence that I can use to create fences within the editor in the usual way. However I would like to create fences automatically by importing a KML file of the fence line.

I have created the KML but there seems to be no option to set the road type that will be created from the KML import. When I import the KML a road with a line down the middle is created along the KML line.

Is there any way of swapping this road for my fence (just changing the road type in the created object doesn't seem to work)?

Better still is there a way of setting the road type that will be created from the imported KML.

Thanks

 

Hi drchrisasmith,

It seems there is no standard for KML files to define road types, that is why there is no option to set road types in "General Settings > Import Road data" similar to what can be done for osm data files.

But indeed it will probably be useful to set at least a single road type for the KML import. That will be added.

Changing the road type after the import to a "road" type that is set up to generate side objects only, appears to work well with regard to generating these side objects. But the road object itself and possibly the white surfaces are not removed. I assume that is the problem? That will be fixed.

For now, what you can do is first deselect "Terrain Deformation", this will remove the white surfaces and deactivate terrain deformation for the object. Then change the road type to the one with the fence. The previous road mesh can be removed by removing the MeshRenderer, MeshFilter and MeshCollider components from the road object itself. If you have many fences, this could be done through a script.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Thanks yes will perpare and send you test project.

Also for WorldStreamerthe roads need be splitted or not ? Because tested with:
ERRoadNetwork.CenterPivotPoints()


But not work

Regards

 

Yes, roads crossing terrain tiles need to be split. The I Connector can be used for that. This button is visible near the bottom of the marker section for the selected road.

ERRoadNetwork.CenterPivotPoints() is not directly related to this. This simply sets the pivot point to the center of the bounding box instead of (0,0,0). That way roads in specific tiles will be found by World Streamer.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

In a project I'm working on right now we are trying to update the custom prefabs we made to use in easyroads to change the UV map of the connected road pieces. However we are unable to do so so far. Updating the prefab using the Custom Prefab Editor does not update any of the existing prefabs in the scene, and the "Update childs in Scene Instances" button in the Project Inspector is greyed out. New instances of the same junction do have the updated UV's on the road. No errors are given when I do either of these actions.

The prefabs are simple in setup; a bar that will me made invisible with 8 polygons that are used as a start-cap for the roads. The image attached shows the current road UV's and the resulting texture on the right, and the desired road UV with the resulting texture on the left.

 

Hi Martijn,

"Update childs in Scene Instances" is related to child objects part of a connection prefab. You can for example add props like traffic lights to the source prefab. "Update childs in Scene Instances" will add the traffic lights to all scene instances.

How did you update the prefab? Did you update the generated prefab or did you rebuild the full connection prefab by dropping the source prefab in the Custom Prefab editor window?

If the generated prefab is updated and there are mesh changes, a message asking if you want to update scene instances should appear after pressing the Apply button in the custom prefab editor window. Did you get that message?

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi Raoul,

I updated the generated prefab. I did get that message, asking me to update scene instances but no changes are made to the scene instances when the button is pressed.

Thanks,
Martijn.

 

Hi Martijn,

I just tested this on a new crossing mesh:

1) Created the new custom prefab and added two instances to the scene
2) Changed the uvmap outside Unity, the source prefab in Unity auto updates
3) Reopened the custom prefab editor window and dropped the generated prefab on the stage
4) Pressed "Update Connection Prefab" near the top and "Apply"
5) The dialog box asking to update scene instances appeared. After pressing Yes, the UVs on the scene instances were adjusted and look the same as on the source prefab

Do these steps indeed not work for you?

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi Raoul,

Thanks, I'll give that a try and look forward to the enhancements. One other thing I should mention is that the KML import doesn't seem to work if there is just one terrain tile. I'm working with 2x2 terrain tiles and define the Global Terrain Coordinates and it works fine and I think even with 2x1. However with a single terrain tile the placement seems to be incorrect (possible ignoring the Global Terrain Coordinates). I can work around this easily so not a real problem for me, but thought I would mention it.

Thanks!

 

I did that, and it did not work. I also tried, as a test, to add geometry to the Custom Prefab. While it asked me to update the scene instances in that case and alerted me that all roads would be disconnected, only the roads were disconnected if I updated them. The Custom prefabs were still not updated.

 

If the vertex count has not changed, only UVs, then updating scene instances is fairly simple through an editor script. I can send a script that if you want.

But I do wonder why this is not updating on your end. Do you get errors messages at any point? Can you email the initial prefab and the updated prefab, so we can test on our end. And ideally the scene with this problem?

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi drchrisasmith,

Our default test scene for both OSM and KML only has a single terrain. It works fine with and without entering global coordinates.

Does this happen with all KML files and also when not entering global coordinates?

Would it be possible to send a kml file and the global coordinates you are using?

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi Raoul,

The editor script would be most welcome.

I did not get any error messages, but I'll send you the prefabs later.

Thanks,
Martijn

 

Hi Martijn,

Please backup your project first, just in case...

and then drop the attached script in /Assets/EasyRoads3D/Editor/

It will create a new "EasyRoadse3D" menu item in the top menu with the option "Update UVs".

Add an instance of the current prefab with correct UVs in the scene and select it in the hierarchy. Then run "Update UVs".

This will update UVs on the main set, mesh.uv. The script can be adapted if your prefab has more uv sets.

As mentioned, this will only work if only the uvs have changed.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Thanks i try again;

but i mean when the road streamer is only 50 x 50 or so like for big objects roads need splitted at 50x50 because they are not visible or make range like terrain tile size ?


Is there a video or tutorial to see what im making wrong at what step ?


also how can i set therange of the road decals / the road damage etc overlays to get visible also far away because now only very very near are visible.

I done it also from manual etc of easyroads but not changes.


Regards

 

Hi @raoul

I've found what seems to be a conflict between Unity's hotkeys and EasyRoads' hotkeys:

As I fly around a fairly large terrain laying out my road network, I rely heavily on Unity's 3D Viewport Fly Mode, a sort of FPS free camera, with standard WASD controls and RMB to steer. Its default move speed is too slow for travel over the terrain, but pressing Shift while also pressing a WASD key speeds up the movement.

What's happening as I use EasyRoads is that I'll be doing this and press Shift-S to move backwards fast, unintentionally selecting all markers on my EasyRoads road, because Shift-S is also the hotkey for select all markers of the selected road.

Earlier I had a problem where per-marker settings had been changed for every marker, when I thought I was only changing things on a single marker - in retrospect it's obvious this is what caused that issue.

Even though I now realize what's going on, because I'm so deeply in the habit of flying around like this, I'm concerned I'm going to keep accidentally selecting all EasyRoads markers and mess things up again. Is there anyway to change the EasyRoads keymapping, so that a key combo besides Shift-S can be used to select all markers?

 

Hi,

Sorry for not reading the 116 pages to see if it was asked before.

When applying texture alongside the roads, It looks very pixelated and not smooth. Any way to fix this? In the attached screenshot you will find the dirt texture generated by ER (1), and some hand painted on another road to compare (2).

Here's the terrain settings just in case.


Thanks!!!

 

Hi GamePyro

It is a little bit unclear what you are asking. When using a plugin like WorldStreamer usually the scene is split in tiles matching terrain tiles. In order to match roads with these tiles they need to be cut at terrain edges. The I Connector can be used for that. Isn't that what you need?

Which decals are these? Is this related to the HD Roads package, decals placed as side objects? I just double checked they are visible further away from the cam.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi SpencerPDX,

Yes, that is known and will be changed in the next update. For now, if you do use WASD navigation with fast speed in Scene View, the only way to avoid this is to deselect roads first.

The next planned update was v3.2 beta, but I will see if this can be done in a 3.1.2 update if this is causing problems.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi Macrem,

That looks like the default settings matching the exact road shape. The pixelated look is caused by the terrain splatmap detail resolution. Increasing the "Smooth Level" in the additional terrain splatmap options should improve this.

And more terrain splatmap control will follow.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi Raoul,

Thank you for the editor script. It performed its function and we could now update the UV's. I'll post the files here shortly for you soon.

 

hi, i have a problem since added this asset, can your help me?

 

I'm looking for direction on UV mapping intersections for custom connections. I have a lot of complicated 'intersections' that may be only used once, but there would still be a huge benefit in using this asset in Unity over 3ds Max. Can anyone direct me to a guide or resource? Thank you.

 

Hi CrIxX91,

That error is pointing to a more advanced terrain related shader part of the additional demo package. This shader is used on the more detailed terrain mesh overlay on the upper side of the mountain road.

Depending on your project settings it can result in the error in your post. If you do not use this shader you can safely remove it. The package includes a lighter version of this shader.

/Assets/EasyRoads3D/shaders/misc/ER Terrain Mesh Tesselation

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi topofsteel,

It seems there are indeed quite some irregular shapes involved.Some of them can be done with the upcoming new connector in v3.2 which supports flexible angles and corner curvature. And road shapes by themselves can be changed per marker.But it does look you want to model these more irregular connections and road shapes in 3ds Max and import them into the system. This will give more control over UV mapping.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

I'm loving the asset so far, but it seems to interfere with my production project. Is it possible to create a road and then export it to a project that doesn't have EasyRoads3d loaded?

 

Hi Wandersoul,

Glad to hear you like the tool!

How does it interfere with your production project?

Unity stores dynamically created meshes, like in this case the road objects, by default in the scene file. EasyRoads3D includes options to store the mesh assets in the project folder. This option is available in built-mode. This way you can create prefabs of the road objects.

But the easiest way to do this is by duplicating the scene, in the duplicated scene remove all objects apart from the road network. You can finalize the road network first (in Buil Mode), this will remove all EasyRoads3D script components. Export this unity scene with only the road network to a unity package and import this package in your other project. Make sure the scene name and meta files are unique so it doesn't overwrite a scene in the other project. For extra safety you can backup the other project first.

Load the imported scene in the hierarchy together with the target scene and drag the road network object from the imported scene to the target scene. That is it, the imported scene can now be removed from the project.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Thanks Raoul, will give it a try.

Will changing detail resolution of my terrain help? I have no detail objects on the terrains so I don't mind "resetting" the terrain's details.

Also, I haven't found any way to do the same terrain texturing with connections, did I miss something?

 

Hi macrem,

Changing the detail resolution only will still result in that blocky pattern when using the default settings, no smoothness, but smaller.

The advantage of an higher detail resolution is that you can get a smooth blend over a shorter distance.

Splatmap blending is indeed roads only at the moment. I did spend some time on this yesterday and added imrovements, also to this, the blending is now interpolated forwards and backwards which will also have better results on crossings.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hello again,

currently I'm searching for a way, moving the RoadNetwork in runtime. For this i tried to uncheck the RoadNetwork static and move the GameObject by transform.position. This is working well until I update the RoadNetwork for a new Street or something. Restarting the game shows that the Network won't move sometimes.

It is clear that, this is not the best practice for moving the RoadNetwork. Im also aware, that finalizing the roadnetwork would solving the problem because the RoadNetwork would be no longer influenced by the ER Scripts.

The reason I'm asking this is to avoid problems with the floating point and the World Space Origin (0,0,0). Driving on a huge RoadNetwork like 5 km or higher results in heavy shaking scene cameras and the player is moving in areas like (5000, x, 3600). Any advices in this case?

Thanks in advance