World Building EasyRoads3D v3 - the upcoming new road system

Hi Anders,

That is related to the Offset in the Standard shader version, it is what Unity provides.

This offset deals with z-fighting but it does have side effects like on very horizontal cam angles like in your screenshot. If you would move the cam a little bit up it will disappear. You can see that in the main image, the cam is also about horizontal yet the road is not visible through the little hill on the right.

This offset is the only difference with the default Unity Standard shader. If you need the Offset and this is a problem with your in game cam angles then you can try lowering the Offset values in the shader, look for the line "Offset X,X". But on reasonably flat terrains like yours, you do not really need it.

The newer shaders, also those in the new demo project, do not use this offset.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Allright, so if I update to latest version of v3 it will be solved?

 

What do you mean with "solved"?

https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/SL-CullAndDepth.html

Here you can find more info related to "Offset"

This is material / shader related. You can do two things if your in game cam angles are generally like in that specific image and that side effect is noticeable:

1. Change the shader assigned to the material to the default unity Standard shader
2. Open the shader (/Assets/EasyRoads3D/shaders/EasyRoads3D - Unity 5 Standard) and search for "Offset", change the values more towards 0.

Since this Offset is the only difference with the default standard shader, it is still the same in the latest versions. The newer shader examples in the demo project do not use this Offset at the moment so this side effect will not be visible at that particular cam angle. These shaders are more intended as examples of how to add more detail/variation to the roads as a way to deal with the repetitive nature of road textures in general. If you do not need that, you might just as well try the two options above.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hey congratulations on the V3 release, Much awaited full release.

 

Great stuff Raoul, congrats on V3!

I have a project with only some experimenting roads made in V3 beta, but V2 is also included in it. What would be the best update process to V3? Just straight-forward deleting up the old ones and installing V3 from Asset Store?

 

Thank you guys!

Indeed v3 has now fully replaced v2 on the asset store and is also available for download on our website..

Thank you all very much for your patience, support and all the feedback during the beta period.

Having spend time the last couple of months on actually releasing v3, it is full force forward now with new features and further improving the workflow

To take advantage of this in future updates please build your road networks using road types which can be defined in General Settings > Road Types.

And let us know if you have requests. This will be used as a reference for the further development.

Happy New Year!

Raoul

 

Hi mikko_to,

This depends on whether you want to keep the experimental roads?

If not, then you can simply delete the EasyRoads3D folders and import the new version.

If you do want to keep the roads and the materials then you can manually clean up the folder. This mainly involves removing the v2 .js and c# scripts and dll's in the folders:

/EasyRoads3D/scripts/
/EasyRoads3D/Editor/
/EasyRoads3D/lib/EasyRoads3D.dll
/EasyRoads3D/EasyRoads3DEditor.dll

Please do not remove the dll's with the names clearly pointing to v3:
/EasyRoads3D/Editor/EasyRoads3Dv3Editor.dll
/EasyRoads3D/lib/EasyRoads3Dv3.dll

If you do this clean up with an empty scene open you could also simply remove these folders and import the new version. That should work well.

Another way to do this is by creating a package including all dependencies of the scene with the experimental roads. Afterwards open a new scene, remove the EasyRoads3D folders, import this scene package and the new EasyRoads3D update. This results in a 100% clean v3 folder still including those assets used in the scene with the experimental roads.

But please backup your project first before doing any of the above

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hello

In my case I have the BETA version 8.7. I have tried to update twice, but I can not get it right. I have to restore the copy.

Is there a specific process?

Thanks a lot and congratulations for the update.

 

Hi Barritico,

Is the package located in the original folder? /Assets/EasyRoads3D/

In that case the update should overwrite the current version. You can see the currently installed version in the most right tab in the Inspector.

Or is this more related to the original beta package (which also included provisional demo scene assets) and cleaning up the EasyRoads3D folder?

In that case you can follow the same steps as in my previous post, the method where you first create a package of the scene with currently used EasyRoads3D assets including all dependencies, then remove the full EasyRoads3D folder, import the package you just created and also import the new v3 package.

But as mentioned above, please always fully backup your project first when doing this sort of processes.

Thank you very much

Raoul

 

Hey,

I bought the Pro version and both that and the free version works fine when creating the roads on my terrain. But as soon as I downloaded and imported the Demo project files, which contains all the nice assets, Unity only renders black or grey surfaces instead of the road textures.

I tried to import them into a fresh project, removed and reimported them, but the result is the same. The roads wont render any texture. However I am getting these error messages, I am not sure if they are related to this issue:


UnityException: GetBool is not allowed to be called during serialization, call it from Awake or Start instead. Called from MonoBehaviour 'ERCrossingPrefabs' on game object 'Primary Road X Crossing'.
See "Script Serialization" page in the Unity Manual for further details.
SyntaxTree.VisualStudio.Unity.Bridge.Configuration.GlobalConfiguration.get_SendConsoleToVisualStudio ()
SyntaxTree.VisualStudio.Unity.Bridge.Configuration.ActiveConfiguration.get_SendConsoleToVisualStudio ()
SyntaxTree.VisualStudio.Unity.Bridge.VisualStudioIntegration.OnLog (System.String message, System.String stacktrace, LogType type)
UnityEngine.Application.CallLogCallback (System.String logString, System.String stackTrace, LogType type, Boolean invokedOnMainThread) (at C:/buildslave/unity/build/artifacts/generated/common/runtime/ApplicationBindings.gen.cs:564)
UnityEngine.Resources:Load(String)
EasyRoads3Dv3Editor.ODQOOOCOOC:GetMatchingPrefabs(ERModularRoad, String[], Int32)
EasyRoads3Dv3Editor.ODCQDQQQQO:OnInspectorGUI()


Broken text PPtr in file(Assets/EasyRoads3D/Resources/dynamic prefabs/Primary Road X Crossing.prefab). Local file identifier (173008) doesn't exist!
UnityEngine.Resources:Load(String)
EasyRoads3Dv3Editor.ODQOOOCOOC:GetMatchingPrefabs(ERModularRoad, String[], Int32)
EasyRoads3Dv3Editor.ODCQDQQQQO:OnInspectorGUI()

I am using the latest Unity version, 2017.3.0f3

Please let me know if its a bug, or is it just me not being able to solve something simple.

 

Hi,

We have been in touch with the Unity devs regarding the "Broken text PPtr in file..." error. It is related to prefab IDs that have become invalid. The latest EasyRoads3D Pro v3.0 release includes a fix for this that should deal with this. Can you import this 3.0 version in the demo project and select the main road network game object in the hierarchy. After doing this the warning should no longer appear.

I am not sure about the GetBool error, perhaps it is related and also fixed after doing the above?

Black surfaces usually are a result of using materials with normal maps while the mesh does not have tangent info. But that should all be fine unless this happened after switching back to edit mode and after switching of "Calculate Road Tangents". I don't think that is the case, is it?

Does this only happen on road objects? Do objects like guard rails, walls, fences look good?

Have you tried switching back to edit mode? Does that perhaps update the roads? Does the same happen when you create a new road in the demo project?

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Thanks.

I have various problems with the update.

In the new version "demo" there are in "SIDE OBJECTS" - "barriers" many more possibilities than those shown after updating version 3.

I attach images.

 

Hi Barritico,

The v3 screenshot shows that the v3.0 update was imported in a project with the previous beta already imported because those are beta package side objects. The v3 package is a clean package with no additional assets. This has been requested by several users. It will also prevent that possibly changed side objects get overwritten by package updates. This type of updates will always be done to the demo project so you can decide whether to use these updates or not.

The demo package screenshot shows all the side objects in the demo project.

What exactly is the problem? What is not working correctly?

Thanks,
Raoul

 

El problema está en que la V3 lo tengo en un proyecto y la DEMO en otro proyecto. No puedo utilizar los side-objects en el proyecto de la actualización, que es donde quiero trabajar con ellos.
¿Cómo puedo utilizar todos los side-objects nuevos si no me aparecen en el proyecto de trabajo? ¿Cómo debo actualizar para conseguirlo? O, quizás, ¿debo hacer una instalación limpia y completa de la nueva versión?

The problem is that I have the V3 in one project and the DEMO in another project. I can not use the side-objects in the update project, which is where I want to work with them.
How can I use all new side-objects if they do not appear in my work project? How should I update to get it? Or, perhaps, should I do a clean and complete installation of the new version?

Gracias.Thanks.


EDIT:

I close the topic. I have found a way.

Thank you and happy 2018

 

Just in case anyone else is struggling with using road types and side objects across projects:

Exporting and Importing road types and side objects

Happy New Year to you too!

Raoul

 

Thank you very much for the help Raoul, toggling the "calculate road tangents" option fixed the problem! I dont know about the other error messages, they remain, and I am using the latest version that is downloadable, so I guess the fix is yet to come to those.

However, the surface issue comes up again as soon as I start to play around with side object and other settings after creating the road itself, the surface disappears again and can only be fixed with deleting and recreating the road. Also, I tried to follow the tutorials, how to create side objects for the roads, but it doesnt seem to work for me, no objects are appearing unless i create them separately from the road as a different object.

Also, I have another thing that I cannot figure out myself from the manual or the tutorial is - how to make the road endings blend into the terrain. It may be my fault if I didnt see or find it anywhere, or it is not convenient enough, but please explain if you have the chance.

 

Does the most right tab in the Inspector indeed say that the current version is v3.0 not the previous beta?

Your first post included two messages. Do you mean both messages still appear?

I am really not sure about the GetBool message, it seems a Unity internal message. The tool itself doesn't use GetBool, the only thing I can think of is GetBool related to unity editor prefs, but I don't think that is used either.

I am still discussing the Broken text PPtr message. Our discussion with Unity support has been added to the specific already existing bug report to raise the priority. But the workaround fix in v3.0 should have solved that anyway.

First you mentioned that "Calculate Tangents" fixed this? How can this now not work anymore? Or is this related to Edit Mode. Can you check this same "Calculate Tangents" setting for Edit Mode in General Settings > Scene Settings? It is odd, these settings should be switched on by default.

Which side objects are you testing? Side objects can be of any type, you want some to follow the full track, others you may only want to use on some sections. In the case of the latter it is more efficient to not show these side objects by default and instead activate them for the specific markers. This behaviour can be set in the Side Object Manager for the specific side object "Default active state for each marker".

When you create a new object with no roads involved, only side objects like walls, it can be safely assumed that the object should follow this full spline shape. So in that case the "Default active state for each marker" setting is ignored. That is probably why this did actually work for you for those specific side objects you tested.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Im very sure it is v3, that is the version I downloaded and i see no beta version appearing in my asset store list, only the free version, but I removed all of it before I imported the Pro package.

It was my bad, it was not turned on in general options, maybe something I accidentally turned off. Also the surface disappearing happens if I turn on Active option in Marker Side Option settings after creating the road, but only if Tangent Calculation is not turned on by default in general settings. Maybe something useful to fix for later versions.

That was exactly what I was looking for, I found the option and now it works fine, thank you!

Only last thing is maybe what you skipped, please tell me how to set up the road ends blending, I tried to find a way but I could not figure it out. I will need a road that is running into a parking lot, so it would be nice to have it blend instead of a sharp edge.

Thank you for your patience and help!

 

Just to be sure, did you check the version in the most right tab? From your other questions it appears that you are also using the demo project package. The demo project is still using the last beta version (an update wil follow soon). If you import EasyRoads3D Pro and afterwards the demo project, the v3.0 scripts could very well be overwritten by the demo project scripts as it will be a Unity package update with different files.

Also, do you still get both messages or only one of them?

Sorry for asking this again and I assume it is the case, but it is kinda important to get as much feedback as possible and I cannot get this info from your reply.

Roads now disappearing because "Calculate Tangents" is off, how can this be replicated? If this is switched off in Scene Settings, the road will turn black after changes, but it will not disappear.

In any case, "Calculate Tangents" will probably be removed. The mesh having tangent info is kinda a standard nowadays, it will either be always on or it will probably be generated based on the used material and assigned texture types.

Sorry, I missed that. Can you for example check the dirt path towards the farm with all the palm trees in the center of the demo scene. It uses a material with the shader ER Road Transparency. Additionally the first and last marker use a Fade In resp. Fade Out distance value further below in the Marker settings in the Inspector.

Glad to hear you got side objects working now!

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Okay, it think this is the case then. I set up V3 Pro, then I imported the demo package, so it could be updating some files. I am sorry to be such noob but I did not find that tab, or im not sure what should be set in the inspector to be able to see that version tab. I will try to reimport V3 to see if it fixes the problem.

It is only the PPtr message now, I suppose the other one could have been caused by a different issue.

I found it and its working nicely, awesome! Now I have basically everything to work on my project going forward, thank you for all the help, this tool is great!

 

With the most right tab, I meant the tab with the Info icon next to the Side Object Manager tab. That is in the Inspector.

Yes, please try reimporting the main EasyRoads3D Pro package, if that was indeed overwritten by the demo package.

Glad to hear that! Let me know when you have further questions.

Raoul

 

Hey there, just wanted to say congrats on the V3 release, the beta was very enjoyable.. really appreciate the hard work you put in to bring this great tool to the community!

It looks great so far, I'm going to try to find some free time to dive into the new demo project this weekend. Thanks Raoul!

 

See attached...Empty project, fresh download of V3 from AS. Scene 1 throws errors and the menu is a mess.

 

Hi TurnTheGameOn,

Thank you very much! Hope you like the final release, and still a lot more to come

Raoul

 

Hi MrG,

The scene in the screenshot should not be there. It is an old v2 scene located in the root directory which was automatically uploaded as well. Please ignore this scene and check the scenes in /Assets/EasyRoads3D scenes/ or the new demo project . An update without this scene is pending approval.

EasyRoads3D doesn't work with the components menu in the screenshot, it is what Unity displays automatically.

To create a new road network:

Main Menu > GameObject > 3D Object> EasyRoads3D > New Road Network

From there on you can control everything from Scene View and the Inspector.

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

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Important!

The scene in the above screenshot posted by MrG It includes the asset "New Terrain" in the root directory!

Please be careful with the package import and make sure that you do not already have an asset with this name in the root directory. It will probably be overwritten! Please rename this asset first or, in the import window, toggle off the import of the "New Terrain" asset in the pakage.

As mentioned above, an update is pending approval by the asset store team.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi.

Suddenly (I ignore the reason and the moment) the axes of movement have disappeared and do not let me modify the points. The axes of rotation, yes.
Surely it's a problem of mine ... can you help me?
Thank you.

 

Hi Barritico,

The first screenshot shows the rotation gizmo for road tilting (the E key or the rotate tab in the transforms toolbar tab), the second shows the the freehand move handle (the M key). Please select the Move tab in the transforms toolbar or the press the W key.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Oooppppssss!!!

Sorry and thanks.

 

Hello again.

After several "build" without any problem (Platform PC), I got a new error. I find it strange because I have not added textures. This is the text:

Shader error in 'EasyRoads3D / Terrain / ER Terrain Mesh Tesselation': maximum ps_5_0 sampler register index (16) exceeded at line 147 (on d3d11)

Compiling Fragment program with POINT_COOKIE SHADOWS_CUBE
Platform defines: UNITY_ENABLE_REFLECTION_BUFFERS UNITY_USE_DITHER_MASK_FOR_ALPHABLENDED_SHADOWS UNITY_PBS_USE_BRDF1 UNITY_SPECCUBE_BOX_PROJECTION UNITY_SPECCUBE_BLENDING UNITY_ENABLE_DETAIL_NORMALMAP SHADER_API_DESKTOP UNITY_HARDWARE_TIER2 UNITY_LIGHT_PROBE_PROXY_VOLUME

Thanks.

 

Hello,

I am new to EasyRoads3D and am having some problems with getting it installed properly. I have seen the same errors reported by unity_Z2EvxablmT_wSw on 2017.1.1f1 as well as others.

I created a couple of videos to show installing the Pro v3 package on a clean test project and then adding the Demo Project, and then after seeing that the version was Beta after installing the Demo Project, re-installing the Pro v3 package.

I am trying to follow the docs to create an intersection, but there seem to be some issues with the shaders on some of the prefabs and I can't seem to figure out the right way to create a T intersection. I also show the errors/warnings in the console.

Please let me know what the proper way to install the latest package with the correct dynamic/custom prefabs that come with the demo project and what I am doing wrong to create intersections.

Best regards,
Tony

 

Hi Barritico,

That shader is used on the terrain mesh overlay. Are you using it? And when exactly do you get the error?

In any case, I am not sure, it is saying that the maximum allowed number of textures on a shader is exceeded, but it uses 14 textures. Did anything change to your project settings? Which version of Unity is this?

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi Tony,

Video 1:

2.45 these errors are also mentioned further above on this page. They are related to a v2 terrain asset which should not be in the package. An update is pending approval b y the asset store team.

The broken text PPtr in file... message at 11.07 has also been discussed several times in this thread. This is a known Unity issue, the main EasyRoasds3D Pro v3.0 build includes a workaround fix.

But I think what the actual problem is all starts at 13.31 and forward, those pink materials all say "error/InternalErrorShader"

This is all related to older beta demo scene prefabs that are still in these folders. They are not used in the demo project and the specific older shasders were removed.

Just to be sure there is indeed not a shader issue, you could drop one of these objects in the scene and try all shaders in the /EasyRoads3D/ folder of the shader drop down one by one. Not all shaders will work well because some require aditional info like vertex colors, etc. but at least the object should not turn pink.

I will clean these folders up. In fact the previous demo project assets are also included in a separate unity package in the EasyRoads3D folder. This package includes the missing older shaders. So you could import that package and only select the shader folder to import. But I would not recommend this, instead simply assign the Unity Standard shader version if you want to use these assets.

I will clean those folders up for the next update.

Video 2:

2.22 The demo scene is saved in Build Mode, the middle mountain tab. In this mode the other tabs, like the Info tab, cannot be selected until you click the "Back to Edit Mode" button in the Inspector.

8.00 This is when you drop a connection prefab in the scene. There are two ways to attach roads
to connectio9n prefabs:

1. Do as you did, drop a connection prefab in the scene and position it. Then select the first or last marker of the road you want to connect and move this marker towards the green handle in the center of the connection you want the road to attach to. The marker will snap to the green handle when within snapping range and the road will be attached to the connection.

2. With the first or last marker selected scroll downwards in the Inspector. You will see a list of connections that can be attached to this road. The prepab will automatically align with the road.

This second option will move to the crossings prefab tab in the next build. When you have the first or last marker of a road selected, you will see this in the crossings tab and it will only list the prefabs that can connect. V3.x will have further workflow imrpovments simplyfying this process further.

I hope this covers everything that was not clear.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi,

We have bought Easy Road 3D Pro V3 asset but we couldn't find materials of road types in package, there is materials for only one road type, and there is no any custom prefabs.

 

Hi gevorg_r,

The EasyRoads3D Pro package includes the tool only with a minimum of additional assets for quick testing. That way the package is clean and you can easily customize it to your needs.

You can create your own road types, use your own materials and crossings and side object assets.

Additional there is a free demo project available:

https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/terrain/easyroads3d-demo-project-105045

This package includes a range of road types, additional assets and tutorial links to get familiar with the tool. Including using road types and side objects across projects through unity packages.

The idea is to import the demo package from the asset store in a new project and import those road types and side objects you want to use in your own project.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi again,

We have imported EasyRoads3D Demo Project but some prefabs couldn't find their material/Shaders

Thanks in advance

 

Hi gevorg_r,

This is covered in my post above your original post.

These are prefabs from the previous beta demo project using older shaders that are no longer part of the package. You can select for example the Standard Shader for these materials. Also, this older beta demo scene is included as a separate package in the EasyRoads3D root directory in case you want to check this demo scene.

An update of the demo scene will follow soon including a new river example. These older prefabs will no longer be part of the new demo project itself. The older provional beta package will remain available.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Absolutely incredible.
No more words.

Congrats and thanks for your professional job.

 

hi,
I've created a rod network with one road, A closed circuit.
I want to update the roads shape into the terrains splatmap but the option to activate the feature is greyed out.


I have selected all markers in the road and also tried with individual markers selected.

I'm using Unity 2017.2.0f3 and the latest version of Easy Roads V3

Many thanks for any help.

 

Hello sheffieldlad,

I am not sure, I just tested the main package and this section is active. Just to verify, can you try this on a road in the main demo scene?

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hey raoul do you have any suggestions for reducing load time for scenes with EasyRoad 3? I have 5km road networkwith roughly 25, 4 way intersections and on an empty scene with just the road network it takes 8-12 seconds to load the scene.

 

I don't have the demo scene package, just the editor one. I'm on a metered internet connection.

I'll re create the road this evening and try it again.

 

Hi Monteworks,

EasyRoads3D uses ordinary Unity gameobjects meshrenderers and meshfilters with a mesh asset attached.

Certainly when you Finalize the road network and optionally store the mesh assets in the project folder the scene setup will be exactly the same as when the road network would have been modelled externally and imported.

Is this a 5x5km road network? How many roads, how long and how detailed? Are side objects involved? How long does the included simple demo scene to load for you when finalized? It should load almost instantly.

Please use a backup scene when testing this with the road network finalized. That way you still have the original scene with the full road network object.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi sheffieldlad,

The package itself includes a folder "EasyRoads3D scenes" with a simple demo scene for quick testing purposes.

Fixing the disabled terrain splatmap controls by itself is easy but it would be good to know what causes this. Perhaps you can show a screenshot with more of the Inspector visible. It may give further information about where the controls start to get displayed in disabled state. So far I have not been able to replicate it.

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Hi Raoul

We imported EasyRoads3D Demo Project and have such errors and warnings. Trees are disapearing after pressing "build terrain" button.

Thanks in advance

 

Hi gevorg_r,

These warnings are related to speedtree assets. We didn't make them, they are added to the package (with permission) only to be part of the terrain and to show how trees are removed when within range of roads. Looking at the message it is only a warning, are they initially visible?

What do you mean with trees are disappearing when pressing "Build Terrain"? Are trees randomly disappearing or are these trees within range of roads defined in General Settings > Terrain Management? This is explained here http://unityterraintools.com/EasyRoads3D/v3/html/general_settings.html#terrain

Thanks,
Raoul

 

I mean that trees from package disapear when i build terrain, it says that prefab is missing

 

Hi gevorg_r,

From your initial post it came across as if you were looking at the demo scene itself.

The new screenshot mentions "terrain 6x9" which appears to be a terrain created by you.

The demo project is included to get familiar with the tool, different situations and features are shown including tutorials. In this case

http://unityterraintools.com/tutorials/side_objects.php#vegetation

It is now clear that this is not so much about existing terrain trees diappearing but more about trees generated as side objects and then specifically the tree examples that come in the demo project.

These tree examples are intended to show how you can create tree lines with this tool and add them to the Unity terrain object. In Edit Mode the trees are generated as instances. In Build Mode they are added to the Unity terrain object provided that the used tree prefab is added as a tree prototype to the terrain object. This apparantly is not the case for "terrain 6x9", hence the warning and the tree disappearing.

Can you switch back to Edit Mode, add this tree object as a terrain tree prototype to the terrain objects in your scene and try again?

Thanks,
Raoul

 

Is the TerrainData in the ERTerrain component the same or different from the TerrainData in the Terrain component?

 

Hi Thomas,

Specific terrain data is stored in order to be able to restore the original terrain data. These classes cannot be compared with the unity TerrainData component but they do update data in these Unity TerrainData components.

Is there a specific reason why you are asking this? Anything you do with this is for your own risk. I know you generate your terrains from scratch at runtime so all will probabaly be fine, but this is a public forum, so I just mention this in general

Thanks,
Raoul