[FREE] UAlive - Bolt Inheritance - Live to Compiled C# Generation

As of 1.0 no. I do not have a parsing library yet, and it's the most difficult thing in my mind to achieve correctly. If I did it would be a long way away and a 2.0 type of upgrade.

Right now we get to 1.0, add some cool things maybe, and evaluate Unitys choice and impact on this asset. From that point it could be a long road redesigning our own graph system for 2021-2022 to replace Bolts, or it could be as easy as pie. Eventually though, yes, it's something I am generally interested in achieving. Will evaluate again down the line.

 

I was not totally sure on that point. I was not sure if reflection would be able to do that.

Like say RPG all in one.. ( long dead ) but if Bolt could swap out the hard coded controller
for another in the store. I am guessing not.

Hate to take you from your work. Be well. Thanks for all the help.

Edit :: OH OH V2 if you get there could be on the store maybe.

 

Version 1 will be on the store. I'll submit it anyhow.

 

Cool, am glad you will put on the store too.

 

I just got a mail Humble Bundle is having another Unity assert sale.. if you were planing to buy Peek or other stuff look here first https://www.humblebundle.com/software/unity-games-and-game-dev-assets-software?hmb_source=navbar&hmb_medium=product_tile&hmb_campaign=tile_index_2

P.S sorry for the off topic thread, figure people won't mind saving some $

 

Yeah, you can get around the warnings. I was getting assembly errors from UAlive because Bolt wouldn't install correctly. Reason is because I'd already installed UAlive in my project before Bolt, and UAlive was looking for Ludiq namespaces and such and giving me build errors (naturally, as it should.) Bolt won't install if there are build errors in your project, so I just had to open up a new project and import/install them in reverse order.

No biggie.

P.S. - that youtube clip of it generating real-time C# code in the preview window is niiiice. Can't wait to see that fully implemented.

 

Whoa! This sounds awesome!
I’m really impressed and happy that I would be able to use this and bolt to create classes (independent script variables).

I gave up on unity and have been learning UE4 but this may have just pulled me back in =)

Thank you for doing this for the community!

 

This is awesome! I was waiting for a Peek sale, this makes it even better! I would've never notice this if you didn't post so thanks a LOT!

Thanks,
jrDev

 

There were a crazy amount of assets in that bundle, Mark_01, thanks!

 

Your welcome I am glad Peek is in there..... and I have a few in there already, but 80 % I don't.. I think it is a super deal for sure. Some joy in these day's

 

Hi,
How far along is UAlive from being production ready? Just curious about the timeline or does this depend on unity’s path forward?

Glad to see you giving bolt it’s heartbeat back :grin:

 

I believe Jason said back around end of August he was a few months from a stable release. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

It's also dependent on Bolt hanging around, so if Unity's plans change with that a lot of the Bolt objects being referenced within UAlive would need to be swapped out for something else.

You can always lock your project down to a specific version to keep that from happening.. which is what I plan to do.

 

I am doing the same locking to Unity2019 X for a while... ( make sure to keep all versions of bolt )

Not gona buy anything that is for only for 2020 and above ( for the time being )
2020 been SH** year ... hopefully 2021 will be better for Unity too ..

I found maybe some hope if Unity is true here >> https://forum.unity.com/threads/the-road-to-2021-q-a.950158/page-2#post-6213812 It is from Aug 17th in The road to 2021 -Q&A forum

If you don't want go there ... here is the main thread talking mentioning Bolt..

KaffeSumpen said: ↑
It's seems you are adding more support for the GameObject approach with the integration of BOLT. Will the gameobject approach have a future in Unity or will only DOTS be in Unity's future?

" Mike Acton here. You can be confident that you can continue to use monobehaviour and we will continue to support that. There are no plans to completely remove the monobehaviour workflow. That said, if we were to ever consider such a thing in the future, it would be with the understanding that its replacement would need to be something you could love even more. "

So I am guessing 2 years for sure. So IF* all looks good at the end of 2021, then I might buy more assets,
same with 2022. But I have spent 1000's in the last 4-5 years here, so I have tons of assets to play with.

I think you can use Unity assets in Ue4 like most anything except coded assets. I am not 100 % sure on that tho.

 

Sorry for the late reply, I should turn on email notifications.

UAlive is planned to be production ready by the beginning of next year. We hope sooner, but once we enter beta around December, you should be able to start testing using a production ready project. We'll want people using this to have real world usage and tests at this point for anything critical we have missed, and polishing anything else that was not an immediate fix from a prior version.

 

A little update. Here is a new example of some units now being generated, including styling for C# syntax. All of this is under the current commit.

Coming along swimmingly!

 

Awesome stuff. Can't wait to see this once it's done. Love seeing the code populating over there.

 

Thank you. This 2.0 update is going to be a pretty big step forward. I'm excited. I just figured out how to make categories and populate them with the asset members. Pretty cool. Still needs things like return type icons and removing buttons on units, ect.

 

And it is now committed. All members in your Class Asset can now be found and populated dynamically based on the current data in that asset. Still some of it left to do, like put it under a type folder with its own icons and stuff, but this feels pretty nice so far, and all cleaned up! This week I will be focusing mostly on clearing out all bugs we have in Issues on GitHub at this time. Then I will return to C# Generation for more Units.

 

Last but not least for the week, Icons! No more nice visuals workflow stuff now until I catch up on all the bugs.

 

Dumb question, does the new update forum for Bolt, https://forum.unity.com/threads/visual-scripting-roadmap-update-september-2020.978732/ " High performance interpreter:

• We are preparing an interpreted runtime that would significantly improve graph execution performance, cut down on memory allocation, stabilize platform support, and enable DLC graphs.

Does that mean Bolt will always have reflection / 3rd party support then ?

And I assume that UAlive will continue , based on what they are now saying/ promising ?
Sorry to ask here, but I'd feel to dumb asking there

 

Seems like it to me. Then they will interpret those nodes as a runtime modifiable equivalent in the background.

The news sounds extremely positive for UAlive. We'll probably have to rework unit editor stuff, and see if other macro types we created are also part of the auto conversion, but I'm very happy about what this could mean, and for future updates being closer to compatible then not.

 

Am glad to know this is better for UAlive

So when they mention third party support, that means reflection will stay in Bolt ?
Thanks for your help and making UAlive !!!

 

Wow, there are some exciting goals on your Roadmap. Why in the world isn't unity doing what you guys are doing with all their money and resources is beyond me. I'm wondering if it's possible to transform Bolt into a vertical graph. I just can't stand the way Bolt logic flows, It's really hard for me to know whats going on at a quick glance. The more abstract the logic gets the more hard it is to read in Bolt 1. With Bolt 2 I could tell what's happening right away since the flow and subjects were separated by direction. None the less, good luck with your project!

 

Thank you! I wish I could, but the very few hacky ways wouldn't let me do things like change units width myself on in built units to compensate for port count and labels widths.

Only two ways, make a new graph type entirely. Not a chance until Bolt is solid as Unity Visual Scripting.

Or make our own graphs framework. I have stuff worked on for some other secret project that originated from xNode in case things went a drastically different direction then I anticipated, but neither of those seem smart for vertical.

But my vote goes with vertical too. Hope they'll change it up.

 

This does look pretty cool -- but can it do structs and editor-window code?

This would be great if it can generate EditorWindow scripts and output ECS / Jobs components and whatnot.
Also, can you rename your custom class? (I see it says "Custom Class 385320" there).

 

At this moment, no, but only because I'm saving out for when classes are done. A lot of the same stuff is used, inheritance aside, and some quirks like for not using public default constructors and such.

The plan is everything is introduced in the C# language by version 1.0 final with the exception of a few advanced features to come later, such as operator overrides, custom indexers, ect.

You can actually make EditorWindows already. Just waiting to start in allowing more customization to the Declarations. Then you'll be able to decorate them with attributes. I'll have to modify the live script to allow the attribute, but I'll upload a video by morning showing an editor window live created. Editor Window live creation was actually the sole reason I began trying to figure out how to pull this off. Editor is my most important features, so you'll be sure I give it a lot of love.

Edit: yes you can rename it. Just didn't yet in that image.

 

I'm looking to try this out (alpha 1.1). What basic setup do I need to do?

 

Contrary to releases generally being more "stable" I'd click the Code green button and get the latest commit. It's leaps ahead, not always is the stable one, but is today and much better and more versatile. Closer to 2.0 alpha.

Edit: just import the folder into the root. Working on a video tonight, hopefully it'll help.

 

You are my hero.

I'm about to have to do some extensive EditorWindow stuff myself, so handling that via (even Bolt 1) Visual Scripting is a major improvement over doing this all directly through code. I need to be able to visually-organize this stuff (without having to write a mind-map alongside my scripts just to visualize my program structure). What I am working on right now is DOTS-centric, and therefore I need plenty of support for providing decent GUI interfaces for that already complex setup (which was why I asked about the structs, etc.)
The biggest heartache for me when Bolt 2 was abandoned was the fact that Class support was being tossed away with it. Since Unity essentially functions around Class structures, I originally bought Bolt 1 to use that functionality once Bolt 2 was released (solely to make better tools using standard C# -- but via some kind of a visual interface).
It's not that I can't code -- It's just that my thinking is too visual and it gets too pigeon-holed when I switch back-and-forth between text and designing visuals. It's hard to explain, but I start thinking in "text" rather than in imagery (which I need when designing, and can't afford to lose grasp of just because I need to toss in a little code here and there). On top of this, I need to be able to visualize my systems in order to write and organize them properly. I'm just not gifted enough to be able to see them in my head all at once while I am actually writing them -- and I hate to refer back to documentation / mind maps I made previously (in order to organize the systems correctly while implementing them). It just yanks me out of the 'flow' I'm in when I'm coding. Top-down, bite-sized, interfaces are essentially what I need to function at my best for writing complex tools though -- and you, sir, are being cool enough to provide the beginnings of that kind of interface by providing the Class structure mechanisms -- for free. So thank you for your hard work! -- I, like many others, am totally looking forward to seeing what comes out of your efforts here!

 

You sound just like me and my way of working. Actually your posts about Tags are something I've actually tried out and have recently revisited with something else, nothing particular with a code like structure, or dots or anything, but I can confirm your on the right track of what would make graphs much more designer friendly, and it's so much better project wide, probably not the exact same, but the premise really works well.

A dream of mine is creating something that makes you live more in the game, the design, and I don't think I could figure that all out with compiling so much and by pure text. This is why I started in the first place. Working on the window example. I'll upload a clip with a downloadable package soon. It's kinda really ridiculous lol but my intention was to show that you can go pretty far balancing super units with classes and do more then just simply showing data.

Thanks for the kind words though, I'm glad to be able to do this and help out. People deserve better and more freedom. Has to start somewhere.

 

I'm working on an example to go along with the trailer for Alpha 2 when its out, but I won't be able to have that specific thing done today or anything, but one part is I am trying to show off is time and animation in the editor. So its fairly easy to just copy your buttons around, change values in realtime, get a feel for what you want.

 

That's great to know!
Even if it's not my specific implementation, I'm glad to hear the Tags approach has been tested and (independently) verified by someone other than me! While I've been using this pattern for years (and know it works well), it's best when a someone can reproduce and verify such an approach! Thanks to you, it's no longer speculation -- it's Science.

New users (who make up the bulk of the budding industry these days) are rarely aware of the "gotcha" about project structure -- until it actually gets them. All they know is what they are told. So I share these ideas (e.g. Tags / DOTS-specific implementation of 'trait-based' logic flows) freely because I feel like you do about the Visual Scripting process: The workflow revolution has to start somewhere.
And since Unity is the fastest-growing development platform for games, it might as well start here.

I am looking forward to seeing your approach to balancing super-units and classes. You might be using them in a way I might not have thought about!

The super units featured in Bolt, imo, are a great way to make entire systems more modular / plug-and-play. By making a containerized 'data' node alongside that modularity (i.e. a class that acts something like a set of "Tags") that simply "plugs" into your systems/super-units to contextually "power" them with relevant data, clearly lets you chain (multiple) objects together (and get very different behavior based on the supplied data). This is cool when you're dealing with very-specific instances that you don't plan to EVER use anywhere else.
Programming this way is generally faster/easier for simple object relationships, as this is sort of a "straight-ahead" approach. While still not a full-on replacement for a centralized system-subscriber model as far as programmatic flexibility / structural affordance is concerned, these kinds of systems can actually become quite complex while remaining fairly simple to use, since you are creating entire objects, rather than separate, unrelated, bits of data, and working against those. To me, this is a moderate level of abstraction that works for most (specific) use-cases.
While not inherently flexible enough to be easily disassembled like a Tag-based model is, this is still a valid option since a class is something akin to a static query -- just one that's done for you when calling for the object data as an instance. Sadly, this "query" is not entirely modifiable -- which makes it less flexible beyond a certain point. You can't change a Human->Child instance into a Human->Adult instance and then later change him into a Bear->Adult after a spell is cast on him (because C# doesn't inherently work that way). There are small-scale workarounds for that kind of logic, but they can get cumbersome quickly.
So even in Monobehaviour workflows, a Tag-like (or trait-based) structure for (more complex) systems will eventually be required. I hope Unity is aware of this. A class system is still very usable for less "freeform" systems though, and sometimes happens to be the "better" option. However, having both options in Unity one day would be a great plus. So I'm hoping Unity is listening.

And just FYI -- This is AMAZING.

 

Have been using Bolt 1 and 2 for a while. I love the tool. And now I just discovered Ualive. It's Brilliant. I am trying to install it on 2019.4.741. I get these errors, Am I doing something wrong here as soon as I import?

//Got the same error on Unity 2020.2.0b4 as well.

 

You're definitely on an early early version, and that unit doesn't work and was removed. If you were previously using OnInputAction from back in Bolt Extensions, which was removed because it's actually severely broken, please remove the units from your graph. If you have them in there. If so you should first be on the old version and remove them. Sorry for the inconveniences. You should also be using the recent commit with the Code button. We aren't at the point of stable, so it's not actually going to be more stable then the actual commits. They are more snapshots of specific completed functionality.

 

I managed to get it working. For anyone else trying, remember to generate the live code when you change a class.

 

We're making a pretty big change to the underlying graph framework, by creating our own more robust reusable graph framework that is MIT. This will use UI Toolkit to deliver on better performance everywhere in our graphs, editors and inspectors, and allow full control. We've been burned trying to make this, due to erratic changes about 3 - 4 times now, and do not want to keep relying on someone else's tech being ready, or changed on us.

I've been contemplating if I actually needed to, and I think my answer was an abundant yes.

We will continue to develop the actual structure as is, in Bolt, but when our graphs are in at least features parity, we will begin making the changes. This would be closer to the 1.0 release.

We're going to have to delay until at least Q2 of 2021, but I think it will be worth it. We've already started the graphs.

For all the reasons why, please read our new post: https://lifeandstylemedia.com/blog/october-2020/ualive_changing_structure.php

 

Hi. I'm ideologically opposed to Patreon as an organization. Is there another way I can contribute to this project?

I started using Bolt with the anticipation of eventually Bolt 2 being a thing. And now it's not. This looks like a great functionality, and since you've said you won't make it paid I do want to contribute.

 

Unfortunately no, but thank you for the interest. We are on temporary hold for now anyways as we try to figure out what's the best avenue to move this forward. Therefore there won't be any updates immediately.

The logistics of the entire thing, due to being able to both code live and compile makes this very complex, and I've had my series of headaches getting Bolt to play nice without breaking certain things. I'm doing something that has no reference to being done in this way.

Therefore we're evaluating our own graph framework amongst other possible choices. Right now we're focused on getting a visual development search engine done over the next week or two where all ours and other curated submissions for visual development tools will live.

I know a lot of people are excited, and I do feel a bit guilty having to take this break, but I'm the only one doing the entire thing, without money to my name, and I don't think Patreon itself will totally change that for us, infact it may eventually seize to exist, in the form of supporting us with a real asset store submission for something else unrelated.

 

Does anyone know What happened to the Github Link? @JasonJonesLASM

 

We are currently in the process of reworking ourselves to have legitimate products we can thoroughly support. Having UAlive as such a large project, and free, it was getting extremely tough to keep putting time into it. We found it harder to grow into a place that was good for us.

We have taken the core of it and repurposed it to work with what we believe will be a better product for smaller companies to produce quicker results, and artists to feel more at home. We'll have something to announce next year about availability and features. Right now there is still a ton of work to put in.

We're sorry if that isn't what everyone wants, but I think where it's going will be better for everyone overall in the end. I want to improve everything and take my time, I can't do that publicly, it's requiring too much time, and makes it harder to experiment.

 

Thank you for your Reply and I wish you all the luck.

 

Is the project discontinued? UAlive Github page seems to be down.

 

I was going to announce something when we were ready with all of the materials, but since you asked nicely I wanted to take some time away to really figure out what I wanted this to be. Something I will use in every project, that can be reused in infinite modular ways, and be just as publicly helpful. A way I could also bring in some money, without taking away anything from the ability to make games as a designer.

UAlive is dead, yes. UAlive is being replaced with a repurposed centralized framework titled Continuum. It will be a free framework, intended to integrate AOT safety, C# generation, C# Previews, and easier tool creation across any codebase. It will be available in the asset store in the near future.

C# Coding via visualized assets like UAlive are also being repurposed as more Designer-centric version. We have a library for downloading new stuff from us on day one, but we'd like to also include these on the asset store. A second plugin is the world streaming, single scene Gameplay architecture that will work out of the box for Unity 2021.1+ with built in visual scripting. It also works seemless between designers and coders. So both should feel just as comfortable. You can think of it as the equivalent to Unreal Engines Gameplay Framework, with differences I hope make it even easier. All free to use. We may only monetize additions on top of these plugins, but I still see a viable future keeping everything more widely available.

Most everything we wanted to accomplish is there and working, but there are still some rough edges to work out. We will share a trailer and beta access for a new thread soon. It is important we have all of the materials for learning ready on day one.

 

So is Continuum a separate VS framework independent of Bolt?

Thanks,
jrDev

 

It's not really a visual scripting solution itself. It's a foundation for implementing C# Generation, the Preview, and other various things UAlive had, but as a generic opt in style framework. This way any other 3rd party can get the same benefits from one set of windows, events, ect, that work for everyone, without interfering with the product itself. Allowing any product to generate C# easier, be previewable using the same window setup, and utilize the editor routines, and tooling. I stripped down UAlive and turned it into a reusable solution that has multiple purposes.

I wanted something that had the ability to do what UAlive did without the preconceived notion that itself was a 1 to 1 C# coder. That I could get these benefits regardless of what solution you go with.

Now the visual scripting (Unitys) should have the generators on day one, but won't be attached to a particular asset.

Gameplay and Code will be two solutions that should be ready on day one, and are separate downloads for this framework. They both utilize the in built Visual Scripting, so it's 2021.1+ only. I decided against building my own Visual Scripting graph type solution. I prefer forward compatibility from here in out.

 

Nice!

So 2021 will be released next week (?), will this be ready? Also since I’ve started using UALive, are all my creations not usable in Continuum?

Thanks,
jrDev

 

Not useable no. Handled different. We aren't trying to shoehorn our way of doing graphs anymore. It was getting so crazy doing workaround after workaround, the code suffered. We have a more modular approach to this. Talk about that later. For now I'm wrapping up the core stuff for public testing. Finalizing the website. I'll slowly roll out the Code and Game stuff before I submit everything to the asset store. I'll have more information shortly. Still a lot to do in hopefully a short time span.

 

Is there a way I can assist in the development of this somehow? -- I am pretty sure we're on the same page.

Right now, it doesn't seem as if DOTS VS is on the table for Unity -- They really don't seem to have any idea as to what to do to hit all of their bullet points. I want to change that by providing a full-on solution to programming game and application logic in a sane-and-extremely-performant way.

I feel like combining forces on something that works overall might be a better option than trying to implement something all by myself (I simply lack the time to devote to it!) You seem to be someone who loves the utility side of things, whereas I am more of a fan of the design / efficiency / structural / creative side of tools. This, I feel, would be a great combination, but of course this is only based on my assumptions. It might be helpful to combine our knowledge / experience though, if only for the greater good.

Don't mind me -- Just thinking out loud here.

 

Right now I want to get this released and see how people perceive it with all the pieces in place to teach the framework, then we can see. I'm not against having an open discussion on the matter. I'm almost stuck in my own little bubble designing everything, so it definitely would help. Having this out there will only help us speed that up.

I'm actually only a "Utility" type person just because no one else is doing it. We don't yet have a solution to integrate C# across all of unity with consistency, and we have to keep creating all this stuff over and over to gain any direction of the editor processes in a simple manner. Doing so would vastly speed up production for everyone, including third party tools no longer needing to create this infrastructure, just opt in by including a separate download for the generation process.

Essentially it would be easier then ever to allow designer tools that can still output everything C# can do.

This is just the beginning, and a stepping stone to where I think Continuum could end up. We need a better runtime structure, and fully live Editable editor, including integrating Roslyn for those who like coding, are less visually oriented, and want to see the same speed boost to your workflow. At the same time, in no way should we determine how your game works. Not interfering.

I'm actually an artist first and foremost and only enjoy coding because it gets me somewhere. If it were up to me Id say hell with all that text coding, and is mostly my purpose here. I'm pretty close to 100%, that I was born Autistic, and was never diagnosed. I deal with a lot of problems working out the nature of all these connections and starve for something that actually works for me for the long haul. I'm easily confused over some things another coder finds simple, even 15 years later. As a project gets bigger, it usually tends to make me overwhelmed, and slow down on my creative output to the point where I can no longer understand what I'm doing and let it go. I need something I can EXPAND logically, and with extreme modularity, as time goes on, and not keep rebuilding things because they only work in some cases.

This is something I experimented with, and I do believe it's closer as far as structure, to a way that makes sense, to me anyways. Mapping the runtime and asset creation to the big bang, or the observer creating a world of consciousness. Your universe, your way reality is perceived, and the underlying meaning of these "ideas" your game or app uses. Not something I have the visual tools to accomplish at this time though. I did experiment with xnode graphs, but wasn't happy.



To me, the problems have 0 to do with Unity, but the industry of coding in general. Unity is just the most openly visual platform for me to accomplish this idea. I don't have any urges to learn C++ and do it on my own.

But feel free to PM me on here, Discord, or find me on Twitter if you like. JasonJonesLASM regardless of account.

Otherwise I'd love to hear from others as well on all of this. Fun to explore and find new ways.

 

Alright folks. UAlive is officially done. We made a post for Continuum. We're working on the Asset Store release. This is for our new Modular Development Framework with in built C# Generation Library and Assets. Please move all discussions their from now on.

Check Out Continuum