World Building EasyRoads3D v3 - the upcoming new road system

Hi keithsoulasa,

That is not a v3.2 road material, and because this older EasyRoads3D - Standard shader is a custom shader, it will not auto upgrade through the Unity HDRP material upgrade option.

Please check the v3.2 scene, which road types are used.

Or, in order to use that specific material, please assign the new "ER Road" shader for which URP and HDRP versions exist.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

v3.2.0f4 is now available on the Asset Store

It includes improvements for both auto generated tunnels and bridges. Recently reported issues with this in the demo scene are fixed.

The updated also includes fixes for other recently reported issues. And a quick Refresh option has been added to the Scene View window for setting up Side Objects. This Refresh option will be available when the selected road in the scene has the selected side object in the Side Object Manager activated. This way changes in the Side Object Manager can be visualized as a quick reference.

Please reimport the demo package (which is also updated) if you have this package imported because it uses the v3.3 beta. Or download the v3.3 beta package from our website.

This beta package also has small v3.3 updates. Sidewalks on new Flex Connectors and roads extruded from existing roads will now inherit the sidewalk settings of that existing road.

As always, please backup your project before importing upgrades.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

I'm using Nature Manufacture HD Roads Asset(which is curiously disappeared from asset store) with ER3D.
My road has side object "Line Dotted Middle" which is procedural mesh object that deforms on road's shape.
But somehow this object isn't visible unless the camera gets really close to the object.
I took the video.

As you can see, dotted line on the road and crossing decals(this is also procedural mesh) becomes visible only when the camera gets close.

This problem is only happening on ER3 procedural mesh side object.
When I put dotted line and crossing decal on scene as normal game object, they look normally.
Is there anything I'm missing?

Unity 2020.2.6f
HDRP 10.3.1
ER3D Pro v3.3.b2

 

Hi NotoMuteki,

I am not sure when was that? I just checked and it is there https://assetstore.unity.com/packag.../roads/easyroads3d-pro-add-on-hd-roads-118774

Are all default material and shader settings used?

Because it looks like the road Terrain offset option on the shader might be involved here. What are the values and also for the dotted line material? These offset options are visible further below in the material settings.

This offset works in a way that it becomes stronger when the cam is further away which is especially useful to prevent that the terrain becomes visible through the road when the terrains LOD system kicks in.

So this behaviour could explain what is visible in your video. When the road uses an Offset that is stronger then the offset on the dotted line then the dotted line will disappear when the cam is further away.

And in general the Y position of these procedural side objects can be fine tuned if necessary in the Side Object Manager.

This is something you can check. I will look at these specific settings in the HD Roads package tomorrow.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Thank you!
As you said, Offset Factor option of Terrain Z Fighting Offset on the road material was set to -2,
which was causing procedural side objects invisible.
I fixed the value to 0 and now the lines and the crossings are all visible.

 

Glad to hear that indeed fixed it. A value of 0 means no offset at all which should be fine on fairly flat roads like in your video. The trick is to avoid that the offset on decals on top of the road is less strong then the offset in the road material. I will check the Materials in the respective HDRP package.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

In my project I generate a procedural terrain (with MapMagic) and then allow the player to create roads during gameplay. I can now connect 2 different road-types using code (a dirt road and an asphalt road), but cannot make them blend. How do I access the I-Connector properties via code, so I can adjust transition type, blend distances, etc.?

Also, the recent tutorial videos you posted on Youtube have been super helpful - I now have a much, much better understanding of the workflow and the power of using road-types, connectors, side objects, etc. For me, they've really unlocked my ability to make much better road networks, and I'm looking forward to the next one in the series - thank you!

 

Hi Rei,

The scripting API for runtime road network creation is expanded based on requests. These specific Inspector blend options for I Connectors have not been requested yet for the scripting API. I will add this for the next update.

Glad to hear these new videos are helpful. More is coming, the next videos will be more in-depth side object related.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Thank you, Raoul

 

Hello. I have a question about the EasyRoads3D pro license: do I need to buy a license for each developer in the team who has passive access to the project, or is it enough to just buy places for people working with the asset? Our team is not an official company. Thanks.

 

Hi,

This is Unity Asset Store EULA related.

EULA FAQ https://assetstore.unity.com/browse/eula-faq and a link to the EULA itself https://unity3d.com/legal/as_terms . Just like Unity itself expresses in the specific link that they are not a law firm, the same applies to us . But I belief that you are good to go if "passive access" means that perhaps the end result is used by the specific developer but the tool itself to create the road network and perhaps other scene contents is not used by this developer.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hey we are facing the following warning, would love to know y we are getting this:


We are currently using URP v 10.5.0

 

Hi pixel_maniacs,

Which packages do you have imported?

For both the Pro and the free demo package the respective URP and HDRP material packages are located in: /Assets/EasyRoads3D/SRP Support Packages/

These packages should be present as can be seen in the package contents section on the specific Asset Store product pages. And these packages should auto import.

This warning does currently appear for the free version. URP and HDRP packages with two basic shaders / materials have been added. This package is pending approval by the Asset Store team. Meanwhile for example the URP Lit shader could be used.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hey Raoul!

So sorry to post here again but for some reason after I opened my project today it won't let me place markers on the terrain that I have?

I can create the Road Network and even "create" the road type that I have selected but once I have to Shift Click to create the Markers, it doesn't create it but selects the terrain and the road type disappears. I have tried it in a different scene or even a different project, it just bugged out.

I am using Unity 2021.1.12f1 with the Build In Pipeline

Edit: So I tried it in the URP Pipeline and there it works without any issues, only the Build In Pipeline is making a fuss - Need the Build In Pipeline for certain features

 

Hey Zurkio,

Is this related to the Gizmos tab at the top right of the Scene View window being disabled? This started to happen somewhere in Unity 2019.x. The gizmos tab must be active both for Shift + Click to work and also to show the marker handles. This tab is active by default.

It is mentioned at the top on the Troubleshooting page in the manual. Let me know if this does not solve the problem.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Thank you very much for your reply!

 

Hey Raoul,

I checked the Gizmos Tab and it was on - I reset the Windows a couple of times and after a while it worked again.

It has been resolved, thanks!

Best,
Zurkio

 

Yes, when this was initially reported we found that resetting the editor layout fixed it. Then a user mentioned that in his case it was Gizmos tab active state related (which is reset to active after an editor layout reset). And that is indeed always the case when this issue is now reported. We discussed it with the Unity devs.

When this happens again after editor layout changes and if you find out what causes it on your end please let me know, that would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi,

I'm currently working with the api to procedurally generate roads.
Is there a way to generate side objects that are childs of the road transform?

I have tried to set `SideObject.isUsedAsChild = true`, but the only difference I could see is that new GameObjects called "Section 0" are created.

This is how I create my road:

Code (CSharp):

1.  ERRoad raceTrack = roadNetwork.CreateRoad("RaceTrack", raceTrackRoadType, hullPoints);
2.  
3. // The race track is a loop
4. raceTrack.ClosedTrack(true);
5.  
6. // Enable checkpoints on the whole track
7. raceTrack.SideObjectSetActive(checkpointSideObject, true);

All checkpoints are root objects, but there is an empty transform as child of the road called "Checkpoints".

 

Hi dschu,

isUsedAsChild is used internally for linked side objects, it is not related to parenting.

Regarding your question, what exactly do you need?

Inside the Unity editor all side objects that are activated on a specific road will be parented to this road object in the hierarchy.

This could indeed very well not be the case when generating the road network at runtime through code. I belief it caused some issues and since this is runtime and less relevant the side object is generated outside the road hierarchy.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Integration or Suron death road?

 

Hi Johny,

I am not sure what you are looking for, could you give more details?

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hello again,

I see 3 objects, two arrows that indicate that you want to move the outer objects to align with the middle object.

Is this about road transitions? In that case, please have a look at the I Connector option, it is available further below in the Inspector after selecting a road. It can be used to connect two different road types preserving the shape. And there are additional blend options.

From the v3.1 demo scene in the free demo package:



Otherwise, please explain with a little bit more info

Thanks,
Raoul

 

These are not three objects
I'm trying to add a new road object

 

So far it was not clear what the actual question was.

Now I see a road with as flipped texture. Is that the problem?

In that case, please rotate your road texture 90 degrees in a paint program, that will fix it.

Please check the progress from your first post yesterday Integration or Suron death road?. All together the posts are still a bit confusing.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Congratulations on getting 3.2 out and moving 3.3 into beta! I've been away from Unity for a couple months so I'm just catching up on things.

Quick question on sidewalks in 3.3.b2. When I configure a road type, the offsets in the Road Shape Profile Editor do not seem to have any effect on the road, although they do change the Visualize Road Type display. I've updated scene instances and refreshed the road network, to no effect. Is that expected at this point?

The other possibility is there is something in my road network that is messing things up.

 

Hi Colin,

Hope you are well, and thank you!

In v3.3 it is indeed possible to position sidewalks relative to the road edges and this offset can be set per road type.

I just double checked if this feature is actually functional in the current beta and it appears to work well. That is for both roads and sidewalks activated on for example the v3.3 Flex Connector.

As soon as you create a new road based on a road type where sidewalks are by default active or when sidewalks are manually activated on a road based on a road type with a specific customized sidewalk offset, this offset should be respected.

So I am not sure why this would not work on your end. To see if this is road network related, have you tried this in a quick new scene? On Monday I will check if this can be recreated in the last project you sent which I belief has the previous v3.3 alpa imported.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Yup. It's something in my scene. I tried both with and without the already defined road types and side objects, and in both cases in a fresh scene, the offset works.

 

Hi Colin,

In general this should work well since it takes the offset directly from the assigned road type. But what you describe can be recreated in your scene and actually it also happens on older road types in the development project.

This situation can be fixed in the next update by pressing the "Refresh Scene Instances" in the road types section. I will prepare a v3.3 beta update for you so you can test.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Probably a dumb question, but I haven't used ER3 for a few months, and just downloaded the 3.3 beta and got back to work...but can't figure out how to delete/remove a marker. I select a marker on a road and press R, nothing happens (except the gizmo changes to rotate). Pressing I does insert a marker, but I am unable to remove a marker...am I missing something?

Also: I'd like to try the new sidewalk feature in the beta, but how do I remove the sidewalks I created with earlier versions? (And is there a 3.3 manual that would help me with this new stuff?)

thx!
Dave

 

Hi Dave,

Shift + R will remove the selected marker(s), http://www.easyroads3d.com/v3/html/shortcuts.html

There will be an auto upgrade option for v3.2 sidewalks. At the moment this is indeed a matter of deactivating the current sidewalks. This can be done by selecting the intersection and pressing the middle handle at each corner. That will deactivate the sidewalk on that intersection corner and on the connected roads.

What type of intersections do you use? The new sidewalk system in the v3.3 beta is in preview state, it currently only works on the v3.3 Flex Connector.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Argh, I *knew* I was missing something (right in front of my eyes, in fact). Thanks!

I just started with 3.3 so all my connections are from the 3.2 beta from February. So I guess I need to make new intersections before I can make new sidewalks? Will there be auto-upgrade for the intersections too? Maybe I should just wait.

thx!
Dave

 

Hi Raoul!

I'm using ER3D 3.2.0f3, but problem was in earlier versions too.

Problem#1
My flow is following:
1. create draft terrain
2. place road above and click "Build terrain"
3. check the road in game, update it and build again.

In this flow I used "Don't restore terrain" checkbox to avoid multiple update of terrain leading to noise on road edges (after the shoulders).
But after I click "Build terrain" I got jogs near the road edges (see screenshots) and the only working method for now is to use "Smooth height" manually.
Do you have any idea how to avoid such jogs? Probably they are depends on terrain "curvature"? But i got them almost always when road initially above the terrain.



Problem#2 found only for 3.2.0f3. I have scene with four non-connected roads. After I updated one of them and click "Build terrain" only for selected roads, colliders for others became wider (almost x3 times larger than road widths).
The only solution I found is to rebuild terrain for all roads.

Problem#3. If I want to switch side object colliders from mesh to box (i.e. for WallFence), i got colliders shifted from original mesh. Can't find any method to use box colliders.

Problem#4. When using scale for side objects, start/end objects are not scaled. I.e. "Fence Chain Link" have chain meshes and poles. Scale is working for chain, but not for poles. The only way i found is to scale pole prefabs and refresh side objects.

Sorry for so much text, could you please describe if there are any solutions for problems? For me the most significant is #1 because of iteration delay.

BTW ER3D is awesome! Recently upgraded from v2 to v3 and it's became really faster with better usability!
Thank you!

 

Hi Dave,

v3.2 connections can be upgraded to the Flex Connector. After selecting the intersection you will see a "Flex Connector" checkbox. This will turn X or T connectors into a Flex Connector. Note that roads must be attached to all connections and that no sidewalks should be active. Otherwise this Flex Connector option will be disabled.

Turning existing connectors into a Flex Connector can also be scripted, IsFlexConnector() in the ERConnection class. I will make a note to already look into this auto upgrade option, or perhaps a temporary menu item. One thing to note is that currently only the standard sidewalk shape works. This is done for testing and first get everything work well on Flex Connectors. After that the other shape options will be implemented.

So whether this already is in a usable state for you also depends on the sidewalk shape you are after. This can be tested easily in "General Settings > Sidewalks". There is a "Visualize Sidewalk" option.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi @oleg_v,

I am not sure about the first image, whay exactly is visible here, is this only the jagged terrain edges near the road edge? Also, there is indeed an option to not restore the terrain when switching back to Edit Mode. But this should not affect the terrain when switching back and forth between Edit Mode and Build Mode afterwards. I just tested that, the terrain remains exactly how it was.

Does that indeed change on your end? Aren't these jagged edges not a result of the road being higher above the terrain and the terrain being heightmap based. Increasing the surrounding values in critical areas can deal with that, the terrain will be adjusted more gradually over a larger distance.

What do you mean with "only for selected roads, colliders for other roads became wider"? What exactly does this look like? The mesh collider attached to roads is the same as the mesh assigned to the Mesh Filter component. And I cannot see how this relates to switching to Build Mode and updating the terrain.

The "Wall Fence" example is based on the Procedural side object type. For Procedural side object types both a Mesh Collider and a Box Collider option is available near the bottom in the Side Object Mananger. The Box Collider option has additional scale options.

That is a good point. These start , connection, end objects are objects in the project folder additional to the procedurally created object. There should probably be an option to also scale these objects when a custom scale is used. But you can simply adjust the scaling of these objects directly in the project folder as well.

Side objects is a framework, you can create your own side objects in which case the scaling will probably already be correct. The side objects in the demo package merely act as a resource to get familiar with this system.

Glad you like the v3

Thanks,
Raoul

 

I'm trying to get terrain splatmap painting alongside the roads, but it's not working. Using the 3.3 beta, for each road on the Gear tab, I activated Terrain Splatmap Baking and selected a terrain layer, and on the Terrain Build Settings, I enabled the Update Terrain Splats toggle -- but the splats are not painted after building. Is there another step? The manual refers to the Add Shape to Terrain Building subpanel, but I can't find that anywhere, I only find the Terrain Build Settings for each road.

thx!
Dave

 

Hello Dave,

The gear tab, I assume this was done in "General Settings > Road Types"? Did you press the "Update Scene Instances" button near the bottom? That will update the actual road objects. So, are these terrain splatmap bake settings actually active for the respective roads?

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Ah, thanks! That was so far down below all the side objects, I never scrolled down that far.

Okay, another question then: After I modify the terrain and finalize the road, is there a way to reapply those roadside splats? (I will likely be regenerating all the splats with Gaia later and it would be nice to redo these after that....but if not, I'll just keep the road network editable until then, I guess?)

 

After pressing the Finalize button a message appears saying that all EasyRoads3D script components will be removed asking for confirmation that you want to do that. Removing these script components means that editing the road network afterwards is no longer possible. It is recommended to only finalize the road network at the very end just before the final project build. And even then it is recommended to duplicate the scene first so you can always make changes at a later stage if necessary.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

On the both screens there are sharp pitfalls, seems formed by single terrain vertices. Chain of such vertices forms sharp terrain edge after surrounding area.

Thank you! Seems increasing the surrounding will help me, because current value is "2" and it's a distance where jagged edges appeared on terrain.

I'll play a bit more later with build/restore with larger surrounding.

Sorry, can't reproduce it w/o breaking current scene Probably will post later with example screenshot.

The problem is that BoxCollider of 1st mesh is shifted a bit before the 1st mesh. And the BoxCollider of last element is shifted too. So, all the chain is shifted a bit leading to inconsistency between fence mesh and it's colliders.

Yes, i can, but it can be more convenient to use single prefabs but with different scale for different SO types.

Thank you,
Oleg.

 

Hi oleg_v,

In thew image it seems the road shape is a bit higher above the terrain, a value of 2 will probably result in these jagged terrain edges. The surrounding values can be adjusted per marker if necessary. And more is coming here, optionally auto calculated surrounding values adjusting to these height differences.

That is the downside of using Box Colliders. It is almost impossible to have them exactly match the generated mesh section in non flat areas. Have you tried the scale option to eliminate possible gaps between these box colliders?

Yes, an option for that will be added, I mentioned the prefab scale option as a temporary workaround.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Thanks! Will try it.
Else one probably good option is to "Undo" last build. I.e. to try several surround settings.
Build / Goto edit mode / Build can produce artifacts.
From the other side, i'm not sure "Undo" can be implemented for any cases (i.e. terrains + foilage + details) basically because of unreliable Unity terrain management for duplicate/copy/restore. And because of large Undo buffer.
What do you think about "Build undo" option?

Hmm, got it! Yes, tried different scale settings, but shift was almost always the same.

Sounds cool! Thank you!

 

Hi Oleg,

By default the terrain changes are undone when switching back to Edit Mode. As you wrote in your first post you have activated the option to switch back to Edit Mode without restoring the terrain. That will add another button which will bring the road network back to Edit Mode without restoring the terrain. Pressing that specific button will be permanent. Undo can probably be implemented for that but only to some extent in the current session. But it seems to be a little bit double, first choosing to not restore the terrain, a process that is not recommended and by default not available and which has to be confirmed and then wanting to undo that?

I tried that the other day on the specific fence side object and was able to scale it so the box colliders do slightly overlap. But I don't what physics you use with regard to the collider behaviour.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Small issue with dual-sided side objects. The image should illustrate the problem. No matter what I select for Alignment (Mirror or Rotate 180 degrees), the objects are always rotated 90 degrees from what they should be. The yellow lines are parking curbs for angled parking and the road is 2 directions, so the left (lower) should be rotated 90 degrees anti-clockwise for forward angle parking.

I don't know why the 180 degree option isn't working since that should give me what I am looking for. The upper objects have a rotation of approx. -134 and the lower -44, which appear to add up to -180 if I accounted for the decimals.

I have defined the side object relative to the right side, with a positive X Position and Add Rotation Angle of 45. However, if I define it relative to the left side, using a negative offset, I get the exact same result. The offset is greater than the width of the road, i.e. the objects are outside the road edges.

I confirmed the behavior in ER3D 3.2 just to make sure it wasn't a beta issue.

 

Hi Colin,

In the image I am not sure what I should be looking at? Where this 90 degree rotation is clearly visible.

In the demo package for example the lamppost side object uses the "Dual Side" option, the objects are rotated 180 degrees. so the posts point towards the road on the other side of the road as well.

I have to look at this to see what is happening. I have been away for a long weekend, came back yesterday evening. I can see you also sent an email yesterday with a unity package attached. Is this situation visible in this package?

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi again and great to see the project going forward! I am also happy to see some other people using the scripting API in addition to just me .

I would have a couple of small scripting API related feature requests (which I may have mentioned earlier already but just making sure they are not forgot ):

1) In marker settings, just after "No terrain deformation" checkbox, there are sliders for "Start Level Distance" and "End Level Distance". There is Road.SetTerrainDeformation in scripting API but I guess there is no way to adjust the level values? Could that be added? With value 0 the result is quite ugly (at least without triplanar stuff).

2) In Marker side object settings, there are Start Offset and End Offset which can also be set via API with SetSideObjectOffset. In GUI, there is also "X Position" but API does not seem to have that. Would it be possible to add that, too (and why not rotation angle too if it can be done with the same effort).

Thanks,
Ande