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GAIA - AAA terrain generator, procedural texturing, planting and scene creation

Discussion in 'Assets and Asset Store' started by AdamGoodrich, May 21, 2015.

  1. StonedLover

    StonedLover

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    Is it also possible to create out of the generated Terrain a mesh ?
     
  2. AdamGoodrich

    AdamGoodrich

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    Yes. Under utilities there is a mesh export, and many other types of export as well.

    You will also want to export the splat maps so that you can then shade it / texture it properly.
     
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  3. Mogpolgludh

    Mogpolgludh

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    My terrain is 2048x2048 and I need smaller terrain. I have searched endlessly and can not find any posts on this. I can't be the only one who wants a different size terrain? How can I set Gaia to make 512x512, and 1024x1024 and other sizes terrains?
     
  4. BackwoodsGaming

    BackwoodsGaming

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    It is in the Gaia documentation and in Adam's video tutorials. To change your default settings, you would update them in the GaiaDefaults scriptable object in the Gaia / Data folder (or by clicking the object in the Defaults field of Gaia Manager). The recommendation is to duplicate the file and edit the new copy. That way if you update Gaia down the road, your changes wont get overwritten. Then make sure you that you change the defaults object in Gaia Manager to the new GaiaDefaults file you just created and edited. All of your base terrain settings for your terrain objects may be set there. These will only effect new terrains created through the Gaia Manager AFTER you have made the changes.

    Hope that helps! :)
     
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  5. TeagansDad

    TeagansDad

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    @Mogpolgludh - you can change that in the GaiaDefaults file.

    Best thing is to duplicate that file, rename it, and drag the renamed file to the Defaults field on the Gaia window. So you can have a different GaiaDefaults file for each terrain size.

    EDIT:. Ninja'd
     
  6. Mogpolgludh

    Mogpolgludh

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    THANKS For such fast reply's :) I Have another question, can I use several Gaia terrains in same scene? My research shows maybe not. But maybe the Gaia manager can be removed, making them unity terrains, then can I use several in same scene? How can I use several terrains? I want to use different sizes too, if possible.
     
  7. TeagansDad

    TeagansDad

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    I believe you can do this, you just need to disable all terrains except the one you're currently working on.
     
  8. BackwoodsGaming

    BackwoodsGaming

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    Like @TeagansDad said, while you are actually working on them with Gaia, disable all terrains except the one you are actively working on.

    Once you are done and the terrains are to your liking, you can use a tool like World Streamer, Sectr Stream (or the Sectr Complete suite), or another streaming system to hook all the terrains together. At the point before you start using the other tools, you could strip Gaia from the scene to be safe (but I'm not sure it is required). I think the only problem you would have with Gaia after that is if you actually tried to run a Gaia spawner with all your terrains enabled.
     
  9. TeagansDad

    TeagansDad

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    To listen to the False Prophet. To acknowledge his wisdom.



    ;)
     
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  10. BackwoodsGaming

    BackwoodsGaming

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  11. magique

    magique

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    I'm baffled about something. I haven't updated Gaia in many months or even worked with it for that long. Today I needed to use it for a new scene in my project and I assumed I needed to go get the latest version, but when I look at the About menu in my project it says version 1.5.3, which is the current version on the asset store as of September 12th. There is absolutely no way I updated on September 12th. Is Gaia auto updating itself now?
     
  12. BackwoodsGaming

    BackwoodsGaming

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    The asset store changes that date when there are metadata updates too.. :( It isn't just for package updates..
     
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  13. magique

    magique

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    OK, thanks. But still that means there hasn't been an update to Gaia in a very long time.
     
  14. BackwoodsGaming

    BackwoodsGaming

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    If a few months is "a very long time", then that is true. Personally as big of a project Gaia is, I don't consider February/March of this year as that long when I look at how long between updates other products are.

    Adam has been very busy with a lot of non-Unity work. He has been able to dabble with Unity which is how Pegasus and his other asset which has yet to be released were born. They are much smaller assets and didn't require the attention the Gaia update is going to require. Adam will have to verify where the Gaia update falls into the picture. I think it may be coming up though. Just not sure of the time frame. :)
     
  15. magique

    magique

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    Wasn't really intending to criticize, but just a bit surprised since it was updated so often when last I was using it. And I remember lots of features were in the works so I was just a bit surprised that I didn't see anything new.
     
  16. BackwoodsGaming

    BackwoodsGaming

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    Sorry. I didn't take it as criticism. Here lately I seem to be bad at articulating myself in text and my "tone" is coming off wrong. Totally sorry. :)

    I think the majority of those updates were bug fixes and some things that were in the process of being developed but were put on hold from the original release so he could get Gaia out to folks initially. I think Adam may have been burnt out a bit by the time he finished 1.53. The amount of hours he put into development was crazy. I think he may have had to step back and regroup a little before tackling the update. :)

    I do know there have been some things he has figured out while doing Pegasus and the other new tool that he has talked about that should help with some of the performance and stuff in Gaia. Different approaches to the way things were done. So in a way, even working on those assets he was still working on Gaia in the grand scheme of things. :)
     
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  17. Olander

    Olander

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    I 100% agree with you on Most (~97%) Asset Store items. There are just a few though that even though they had not been updated....they simply work and are coded in such a way to not break in Unity Update Cycles. I pride myself on being able to do this....I was heavily bitten by the Unity 5.4 changes in particle code....other than that...I rarely have to fix things. Gaia, TerrainComposer 1, DOTween, Erosion Brush....and a few select others simply need not updating. Says something about the quality of the code.

    In reference to Gaia specifically....Gaia just works. I had been using v1.1 forever until Adam enlightened me on the splat export. LOL!! To be honest....I think Gaia is where it really needs to be. This GeNa thing will really help with natural placement.

    We do have our 'Wish List' for Adam to value add to what is already a marvelous tool.

    My 2 coppers. :):p
    Cheers
    O
     
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  18. jplebre

    jplebre

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    Silly question, anyone has tips on how to add roads to a gaia generated terrain? :)
     
  19. hakankaraduman

    hakankaraduman

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    easyroad v3 beta is very good for adding roads to unity terrain
     
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  20. Olander

    Olander

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  21. Acissathar

    Acissathar

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    Hey @AdamGoodrich ,

    I've been having a lot of fun playing around with the random generator in the session manager, and I had a quick question about it. If I were to buy @Shawn67 's stamp packs, would I be able to just drop them into the existing Stamp folders and have them be incorporated in the generator, or do I need to go into the Session Manager script and add them in?
     
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  22. BackwoodsGaming

    BackwoodsGaming

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    Click on the GX button in Gaia Manager. I have GX scripts in the packs that move (enable) the stamps to the proper folders within the Gaia stamps folder structure. You can then pick and choose and disable individual stamps if you don't want them included. The GX allows you to enable/disable the entire pack or enable/disable individual stamps. It also has session files so you can playback the sessions I created when developing and testing the stamps. The stamps should work with the randomizer if you have them enabled and you have selection criteria set for the folder they default to.

    Feel free to contact me if you have any issues with them. :)
     
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  23. AdamGoodrich

    AdamGoodrich

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    Yeah... Gaia hasn't gone away... and you can probably see by my activity here, neither have I. There are some big things in the works and some massive massive plans to take it to the next level in what will be an industry first. Exactly how that will pan out is still to be determined as there are some other non Gaia milestones that need to be achieved first.

    On a personal note, I am quite proud of the fact that Gaia "just works", and has kept on just working across Unity versions despite being engineered for version 5.1 of Unity. The only issue I get is when the Gaia menu wont show - and this has always been because some other asset is broken.

    As soon as my next asset GeNa is out, i will be focusing once again on Gaia. Multi-tile is high on the list, but I have a bunch of other ideas as well :)
     
  24. HeadClot88

    HeadClot88

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    What is GeNa?

    Can you give us a brief synopsis.

    If it is a city generator that integrates into Open street map data. You have a sale.
     
  25. AdamGoodrich

    AdamGoodrich

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    GeNa is a light weight but very powerful semi procedural content generation system. Can be used on meshes or on single and multi-tile terrains. Can be used at design time or run time. Introduces a bunch of new stuff that Gaia can not do - and some stuff that does not exist in any of the other terrain tools.

    And most importantly based on my beta group feedback - its just fun to use :)

    Will share more when I am ready to release.
     
  26. recon0303

    recon0303

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    Ya Shawn is a cool person, and yes text can come off , wrong sometimes, I'm guilty of this as well. I see many assets that look like they are getting updates but really they aren't . I normally just check my asset store mail that shows when each asset gets the true update. That is the best way to tell in my opinion.

    @ Forgot the name but it was about large worlds with GAIA, I been developing large worlds for decades, but the last year I been using World Streamer with GAIA and other terrain tools, and it works just fine. You do have to do some set up, like slice/split terrains etc. If your going to use multi tile which GAIA does not have, but its not that big of a deal since the same developer who makes World Streamer now includes this with his tool free. Which is nice.

    But back to large worlds with GAIA, you shouldn't have any issues, I do suggest to use a tool like World Streamer. Great tool I use it for mobile large worlds as well.
     
  27. recon0303

    recon0303

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    Multi tile oh.. and new stuff, that sounds exciting, I like hearing about terrain tools and new stuff, for some reason, my terrain tools are my favorite to use.. for all game engines and tools.

    . Glad to hear.:) We made our own ,that works with everything but still glad to hear this. it will help alot of people that is for sure.
     
  28. recon0303

    recon0303

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    not a silly question at all.. But I suggest 3d roads, which works with any tool or Unity terrain like GAIA.. It also deforms the terrain as well which is a bonus. I been using it for years.
     
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  29. Assembler-Maze

    Assembler-Maze

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    Hey!

    Based on the current lack of very cool grass systems and due to the fact that I've talked about it but done nothing I've made a post about a new grass system based exclusively on SpeedTree and the new Unity 5.5 optimizations that are offered to us:

    "Free Critias SpeedTree Grass System"
     
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  30. AdamGoodrich

    AdamGoodrich

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    Looks pretty cool - let me know how you go with this :)
     
  31. lasttry

    lasttry

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    Hey!

    simple question...how do I change the length and width of terrain?
    (2048*2048 is default)
     
  32. AdamGoodrich

    AdamGoodrich

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    Gaia defaults file.
     
  33. Mark_01

    Mark_01

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    @Mogpolgludh , 6 down from the top of this page , asked the same
    question .... and was answered by 2 different members right after he asked.

    Additionally, here is a link that you can use to search the Gaia forum on all different kinds of
    topics, since this has not been posted in at-lest 50 pages I think, ( not 100 % sure tho )
    if you like, look here to find a lot of answers. I am still appreciative of the first member that
    posted this for the Gaia community.
    https://forum.unity3d.com/search/1971443/?searchform=1&t=post&o=date&c[thread]=327342
     
    Last edited: Sep 28, 2016
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  34. AdamGoodrich

    AdamGoodrich

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    I think that may have come from the false prophet!! :)
     
  35. Mark_01

    Mark_01

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    LOL Adam :)
     
  36. TeagansDad

    TeagansDad

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    Yup, that's him right there in the red cape:



    I have to say his terrain building has improved significantly...
     
  37. tribemix

    tribemix

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    Hi all,

    I've done a good search and can't find anything. In virtual reality on the Oculus Rift, one of the procedural tree types has branches that move as your head moves around in VR. Very weird bug. Anyone know what this is and how to fix it?

    Thanks in advance,

    Alex.
     
  38. TeagansDad

    TeagansDad

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    Does anyone have any useful tips for building a smaller terrain (say 512x512 or 256x256)? I can make great looking 1k by 1k or 2k by 2k terrains, but I've been struggling to build a satisfactory terrain at a lower size. I can't put my finger on exactly why it's not coming out the way I'd like.
     
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  39. Catacomber

    Catacomber

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    Second this---on mobile all my terrains are mostly 512 x 512. Thanks for any tips.
     
  40. Olander

    Olander

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    For a landscape design in single scenes you must have built in padding around the edges or it simply will not look right. the 512x512 areas are super small and performance ready....great for mobile....but are seriously lacking spacing for any type of hills and mountain terrain. So...adding a little padding around the edges but then also making a Cylinder with a decent background texture on the inside to give a nice bit of depth to these are needed.

    Once you handle the 'Smoke and Mirrors' for these small environmental scenes they will look pretty much the same as the larger ones. ;)
    Hope that all came across fine? :p

    Cheers
    O
     
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  41. Deleted User

    Deleted User

    Guest

    When I create stamps I get error messages (usually at the end of creating the stamps). I am running Gaia using Unity 5.4.1f1. Here's a screenshot of the errors:

    Screen Shot 2016-09-30 at 18.21.37.png
     
  42. TeagansDad

    TeagansDad

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    Yeah, I was thinking that maybe it just doesn't work very well at that size. :)

    I was trying to keep the terrain size small because I just wanted to build a smaller area for use in a demo/prototype. I'm not going to be targeting mobile, so I'm not as concerned about performance as I intend to eventually use SECTR or World Streamer later on.

    The terrain features on the stamps generally look out of scale on such small terrains, and increasing the width of the stamp doesn't really help much, as those features then take up too much of the terrain tile.

    So it sounds like my best option is to just build a 2k by 2k terrain, focus on a section in the center, and then just use distance masking to prevent a lot of trees and grass being spawned in the "padding" area.
     
  43. AdamGoodrich

    AdamGoodrich

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    I was teaching Gaia to a class over the past week, and we had some pretty under powered machines, not actually that much more powerful in a lot of ways than your average mobile these days. In the next version of Gaia I will write a script to do this automatically, but in the mean time here are some useful tutorials :)

    How to optimise your environments. Took a scene from 2 fps to 70fps in a few minutes on a low end machine:
    http://www.procedural-worlds.com/gaia/tutorials/mobile-unity-scene-optimisation-with-gaia/

    And another tutorial on how to change your terrain size:
    http://www.procedural-worlds.com/gaia/tutorials/how-to-change-the-settings-for-terrains/
     
    Last edited: Oct 1, 2016
  44. googlebac

    googlebac

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    Hi I'm trying to find this workaround you speak of, has it been discussed here? google is turning up nothing.
     
  45. 99thmonkey

    99thmonkey

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    Thanks for the write up!
    Mobile Water Asset - Like which one? I don't see any that support mobile.
     
  46. AdamGoodrich

    AdamGoodrich

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    Yes, many times... disable all but 1 terrain, do your stuff, re-enable. Repeat for each terrain. Stamps can be problematic when they go over edges, but spawning works just fine. Terrain stitcher can help if you ahev any rough seams. https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/42671

    Are you creating stamps with the scanner ? Or applying stamps with the stamper ?
     
  47. Nateply

    Nateply

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  48. AdamGoodrich

    AdamGoodrich

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  49. AdamGoodrich

    AdamGoodrich

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    I installed 5.4.1p3 yesterday and confirmed that there are no issues with Gaia. Not sure what you are doing here.
     
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  50. KarloE

    KarloE

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    Are Gaia 1.0.0 resources files compatible with v1.5.3 ?