Grids Pro: A library for hex, tri, polar and rect grids [New Dcoumentation for Grids 2]

Thanks a lot. I will give it a try!

edit: It worked. Thanks!

 

GameLogic,

I think you guys dropped the ball with this 2.x release. I've been happily using 1.x since 2015, and recently considered upgrading to 2.x. From all of the hardships that I've been reading about the upgrade, I've so far avoided the upgrade. However, since 1.x is no longer available for download either from the Unity Asset store or from an external site, I decided to try upgrading to Grids Pro 2 for US$5, because I read somewhere that 1.x is available. I was happy to do that, until I found out that I needed to upgrade my Unity version to 5.6.x. This is a dealbreaker, as I need to stay on an earlier Unity 5.x release for the near future.

So, not only did I spend US$5 for an upgrade I will not use, Grids 2.x requires Unity 5.6, which means no legacy support, and as I'm reading through the thread, the API has been updated to something more difficult to use. All of these factors lead me to question the direction that the development of this asset is heading. Personally, I only use RectGrids and Pathfinding, but could potentially expand out to future grid types. But looking at the feature set of 2.x, it seems as if a lot more is abstracted and generalized, making the API (reportedly) a lot more arcane for most users.

This all said, I love Grids Pro 1.x, and will continue to use it. I can only hope that future releases will get even better, but now is not the time for me. If I am incorrect on any of my assumptions above, please correct me, and I will gladly reconsider, and it will hopefully appease some of the reservations that other users or potential users may have.

 

With Grids 2 is anyone having problems with putting Rect-grids (with square cells) in the XZ-plane? The individual cells will not lay flat on the XZ plane and always stand up in the XY plane. Even if you rotate the cell prefab to 90 in the X axis, when you build the grid something resets the x axis of the cells back to 0.

 

Add me to the list of people who think Grids Pro 2.x is difficult to use.

After a false start with this product 3.5 years ago, I spent a few hours last week reading through the documentation and trying to figure Grids 2.x out. After getting what seemed to me like approximately halfway through the documentation, judging by the table of contents on the left, I realized I still had no idea how to create a simple rectangular grid either via the editor or from code.

I skipped ahead to the part about making a grid via code, and after figuring out the parts of the example code that were incorrect or incomplete, I finally had a grid in memory. But then I realized I had no idea how to access individual cells of the grid.

So then I found some "old" tutorials on creating a grid using the Grid Builder in the editor and again, after figuring out the parts that were incorrect or incomplete I finally had a visual grid on screen. But I still had no idea how to access individual cells of the grid through code.

I realize they said they are working on overhauling the documentation, so hopefully it will improve. But that was two months ago and, in my opinion, the current state of the documentation is opaque and meandering.

It starts off with a short introduction, then goes straight into Key Concepts, which is probably a good thing. But immediately after Key Concepts it talks about how to reference your grid by using a GridBehaviour that is attached to the Grid Builder (but what if you made your grid procedurally in code?). This assumes I already have a grid when the documentation hasn't given me any information on how to make a grid. You press on, thinking they'll get to the good stuff soon. Then they're talking about shapes and space maps and designing your own cells and before you know it you've spent an hour or two trying to grok this information but the pieces aren't fitting together in your mind because they still haven't mentioned how to create a grid.

My guess is that most people who buy Grids Pro are going to want to use either a rectangular (square) grid or a hexagonal grid. If the documentation was very clear on how to create and interact with these two types of grid designs it would probably make life easier for and answer all the questions for 90% of their customers. But it seems they tried to abstract it out so that it is equally as hard to create a rect grid as it is a bipolar-pointyhex-non-euclidean-Cthulhu-horror grid, and their documentation seems focused on teaching how to handle these relatively esoteric types of grids from the get-go rather than establishing a firm foundation in the simpler things first.

That said, I don't think I'd mind the abstraction if the documentation better explained how it all came together and was clearer on the simplest and probably most widely desired use cases: square grids and hex grids.

Here's an example of a poor code sample:

Code (csharp):

1. var neighbors = RectPoint.GetOrthogonalNeighbors(point);

This is the very first example of code shown in the documentation. Maybe this is obvious to someone who developed Grids Pro, but what is the "point" variable and where did it and its value(s) come from? It's not defined anywhere on that page of documentation. Also, what type does RectPoint.GetOrthogonalNeighbors() return? I know this page isn't a full API reference, but if this code sample specified the actual type that the "neighbors" variable is, instead of using the "var" shortcut, then this sample would be that much clearer.

And again, that's not even going into the more important problem of the documentation: Why is the first code sample in the documentation telling me about getting neighbors to a point in a grid when it hasn't yet told me how to create a grid or access a point in that grid?

It seems as though the documentation was written from the perspective of someone who has become somewhat of an expert in the mathematics and theory behind grids (and an expert in Grids Pro the product itself) and is writing technical documentation for other experts in the field who have generally the same knowledge. But if I wanted to become an expert in grid theory and mathematics, I wouldn't have a need for Grids Pro. Instead, the documentation should be written to an audience who may be completely unfamiliar with the mathematical intricacies of grids in general and with Grids Pro specifically.

I'd think the documentation should be presented in a way that is natural to someone who is coming to this for the first time. It should start with basic fundamentals and build on that knowledge to more advanced concepts. Something akin to:

• Hey, you wanna create a (square) grid (of squares)? Cool. Here's how to make one visually using the editor and procedurally in code.
• Now that you have a grid, you probably want to do something in it, right? Here's how to access a cell/point.
• Now that you can get information about a cell, you're probably wondering how to get information about surrounding cells. Here's how to access neighbors with these built in functions.
• Need more than just the adjacent cells? Here's how to use lines.
• You know how you just did everything all that with squares? Well the same concepts can be similarly applied to rectangles/parallelograms with these simple changes.
• Now that you know all the important stuff about rectangular grids, let's explain some of the key concepts of hexagonal grids.
• Here's how to create a hexagonal grid (from Editor & code).
• Here's how to access a cell in a hex grid.
• Here's how to get a cell's neighbors in a hex grid.
• And more advanced stuff with lines, etc., in a hex grid.
• But wait, there's more! Grids can be in all sorts of different shapes. Here's how.
• But wait, there's more! There are other types of grids, such as polar grids. Here are the key concepts, differences from what you've learned already, and how to work with each of the other kinds of grids.
• But wait, there's more! You can make your own grids/shapes/cells/whatever, and here's how.

The code samples should always explain new variables and where they come from, so the reader has an idea of what possible values they might contain, and it would even be helpful if functions and types linked to their API reference documentation so they can simply click on GetOrthogonalNeighbors() and quickly and easily see how that function works, how to use it, and what it returns.

 

I think lately maybe these are better and probably easier to use:

Grid Framework:
https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/62498
Grids 2D
https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/59981

 

I am about ready to abandon Grids Pro for Knonnect Terrain Grid System because lately I can't get any support from Gamelogic either here or on their Gamelogic forum.

 

Also very disappointed user here. Asked Hermann for help and he said he would but after one year and several asking no reply anymore. I asked for help because something like this I wanted

Very good system with Tetris style. Grids Pro was very promising because supported much logic required for this already. But GP looks abandoned. If Herman reads please give a sign of live.

 

Also want to know how many copies were sold. Too little? Too many? So sad if developers stops developing. :-(

 

I think moving forward, we should give the asset the appropriate rating on the store to warn future users.

 

It is really weird as the developer used to give lots of timely support. https://gamelogic.quandora.com

Maybe something happened to him.

 

Hello,

It's been abandoned and removed from the Asset Store without any notice.

Thanks,
jrDev