Landscape Builder - Procedural Terrains, Advanced Prefab System, spline tool, and more

Is this something I can DM to you using the template feature or do you need a screenshot of each layer?

 

Sure, you could save a Template and send us that.

 

I'm not in front of my workstation at the moment so I will send it later today.

In the meantime, I have another question: Now that I almost have a procedural setup I like, textures, trees, grass, and topography - groups will come shortly - what is the recommended way to 'seed' or randomize it to get a new world, so to speak? Basically, I like what these settings produce, how can I get another similar one?

Thanks.

 

If using Perlin layers you can change things like the Noise Tile Size or the Noise offset on the X and/or Z axis. In the Output and Per Octave Curve Modifiers there are Island Smooth noise options (and a whole lot more). There is a section in the manual that explains how these work.

You can mix and match completely different layer types. Like for example having a relatively flat beach perlin base layer (Desert Floor Base with a low heightscale of 0.1), and then overlay that one or more Image Modifier Layers which can be scaled, rotated, raised/lowered, or offset from the landscape. Here is a trivial example.



The beach layer uses the setup from the "Creating a simple island scene with Layers" in the manual (LB editor, Landscape tab, Help).

Here are some other links on islands.

Creating an island
Curve Modifiers and islands

 

Thanks for the information and the links. With this and some additional reading on stencils I think this has solved my landscape / ocean blending problem. Now on to groups! Everything has come together so quickly I'm excited to start mocking up some settlements on my lil' island.

 

I didn't make it very far before another question: I'd like to modify the overall size of the landscape.

I originally made an island: 4000 x 4000 with terrains at a size of 1000. With all my settings, textures, prefabs, etc on the island landscape, can I modify the landscape size in place and have LB maintain all of my settings? I thought I was doing this operation and I ended up creating a 2nd landscape in the scene with blank settings (no textures, topography, etc).

Thanks.

 

Near the end of the manual (there is a link in the table of contents) is a section called "Useful Posts". Here is an extract that can help you with resizing etc.

Templates - Backup or Copy a Landscape, changing size etc.

How to transfer Texturing, Grass, Trees Settings to another Landscape
Saving time with Templates
Saving and Loading Templates
How can I change how many terrains I have in my landscape?

 

LB and U2019.3.b1

We've been working hard to get LB ready for the release of Unity 2019.3. Unity have made a number of changes to the Unity Editor behaviour. Many of these issues have been resolved and are already part of the latest LB 2.2.0 Beta (see here).

However, there is a bug with U2019.3 beta that we're still working on and it affects the Group Designer. When zooming and moving around the Group Designer prefabs will disappear from view. If you refresh the Group Designer they re-appear but it is annoying. We are currently working on a fix and will post an update in the LB Beta Program Forum when it is fixed. In the meantime, for active games you are working on, we suggest keeping on one of the supported and released versions of Unity. LB currently supports U2017.2 to U2019.2.x.

EDIT: This should be resolved in LB 2.2.0 Beta 7+.

 

LB 2.2.0 has been submitted to Unity for review. If you can't wait, and you're a member of Beta Program, you can grab a copy any time.

[NEW] Support for Shortcut keys in 2019.x
[NEW] Spawn (Sub)Groups along Object Paths within Uniform or Clearing Groups
[NEW] Groups - create new Groups by importing existing prefabs in a scene
[NEW] Topography – 3 new Hills, 1 Mountains, and 3 Valley Image Modifiers
[NEW] Groups – prefab randomise X,Z additional rotation
[NEW] Object Path core and surround textures can optionally use noise on GPU
[FIXED] Group Designer - Object Path members may not appear if landscape not at origin
[FIXED] Group Designer - The object of type 'Transform' has been destroyed in 2019.3+
[FIXED] Group Designer - Show Object Path context menu does nothing when all members are hidden
[FIXED] LB Editor SceneGUI - there was an error with the GroupDesigner
[FIXED] Groups - Manual Clearing Positions are not removed from scene when Group is deleted
[FIXED] Groups - Context Menu Member Move to Start/End does not refresh designer if required
[FIXED] Groups - Surface mesh and textures are incorrectly placed when landscape not at origin
[FIXED] Groups - Surface mesh may become orphaned in the scene
[FIXED] Groups - Surface Base mesh may not appear on all Clearing groups
[FIXED] Object Path - Surface mesh normals may be incorrect in Clearing Groups
[FIXED] Object Path - Vegetation Studio Pro vegetation masks are incorrect when landscape not at origin
[FIXED] Object Path - Incorrect terrain texture applied when one or more are disabled on Texturing tab
[FIXED] Unity terrain trees are not saved in Vegetation Studio Pro before an editor restart
[FIXED] LBLandscapeTerrain.PopulateWithTrees - could not find LBTerrainData
[FIXED] Templates - duplicate primary water may be imported when using Template Editor
[IMPROVED] Groups - added RandomUnique option to spawn prefabs along an Object Path
[IMPROVED] Groups - improved warnings when changing Group Types
[IMPROVED] Groups - add a new Stencil directly from the Filters tab
[IMPROVED] Groups - tinted and/or rotated textures work with zones or along Object Paths
[IMPROVED] Groups - refresh Group Designer when closing Object Path Designer with AutoRefresh on
[IMPROVED] Object Path Series - new option to Randomise per Group instance
[IMPROVED] Object Paths - can copy path points between all similar Group types
[IMPROVED] Object Paths - surface meshes have the option to switch UV directions
[IMPROVED] Object Paths - set all path point heights to selected, min, max or average via context menu
[IMPROVED] Topography Layers - show warning on Image Modifier picker when gizmos are disabled in 2019+

 

I have not had a chance to play with the new version yet (life events took my time and focus) but I am hoping to get to this next week. Does this handle sub-groups within sub-groups (basically nested sub-groups?) That would be very powerful.

Also, I really hope you consider auto-path generation.

 

Our first iteration of subgroups allows you to create groups along a path - which includes:

• full use of the group designer
• sparse placement of subgroups along a path
• subgroups along a path in a Uniform Group (think whole landscape)
• subgroups along a path inside a Clearing Group (manual or procedural)
• path surfaces within a subgroup (meshes, ground texturing, topography modification)
• one or more different prefabs along a path within a subgroup (Default or Width-based Series)
• the ability to spawn a series of different subgroups along the same path

We are considering the following in phase 2 of subgroups

• using Place in Centre with Offset for subgroups in a Clearing Group (like you can with prefabs)
• random subgroup placement within a Clearing Group (like you can with prefabs)

We are currently not thinking of doing nested subgroups because:

• the UI would be very confusing / complex
• we would probably need to remove a lot of existing subgroup features like topography modification, texturing, meshes etc
• paths would be a big problem with nested subgroups
• we think phase 2 of subgroups will solve most use-case scenarios

 

You could write your own add-on to LB . Group Object Paths are fully scriptable. There is an example in Samples\RuntimeScripts\RuntimeSample07.cs. This includes terrain flattening, ground texturing, mesh creation, prefab/subgroup object placement etc.

 

I too would love autopath.
(I use to have an asset that did that, but it is long since depreciated. )

Or at least an easy way to create paths.

I have not been able to get paths done with ease. I may be missing something, but is there a way to point and click for path creating?

 

All good points. Thanks for the feedback.

This is an option I may take.

 

To add an object path:

1. Create a new group (start with a Uniform Group to get the feel for it)
2. On the first member (one is automatically created), click "O" to turn on Object Paths
3. Edit Object Path
4. In scene view click with "+" to add points or right-click for context menu

 

Currently we have 3 tutorials on Object Paths (Basics, Bridge with use Width, and SubGroups with Object Paths).

Here is a link to the tutorials

 

Is there a way to change the Celestial layer? Or even turn it off since I am not using it because it is a daytime scene.
I would rather just move it, though.
I have ai asset that is using the same layer. When I manually change it and lock it, it only holds until I restart Unity, the LBCelestial comes right back and my AI doesn't work. I've searched the manual but have not found anything.

I appreciate it!

 

I've issued a patch 2.2.1 Beta 2b which should help. As it is a beta it is not fully regression tested but it should work. Open Scripts\Behaviours\LBCelestials.cs and follow the instructions.
Like with all betas, make sure you have the latest release version first (2.2.0) and have a backup of your project.

 

Question on Stencils with Vegetation Studio standard.
I've set up a lake and I am trying to set up masks using the Stencil so I can remove vegetation in parts of the lake.

But I can't figure out how to set up the stencil to work with VS masks.

When I try to save to map, I'm getting two errors. Is this part of the problem?
I'm using version 2.2.0. And Unity 2018.4.8f1.

ERROR: LBStencilLayer.CopyUShortToTexture - layer array is not defined for lake
UnityEngine.Debug:LogWarning(Object)
LandscapeBuilder.LBStencilLayer:CopyUShortToTexture(Texture2D, Boolean, Boolean) (at Assets/LandscapeBuilder/Scripts/Classes/LBStencilLayer.cs:892)
LandscapeBuilder.LBStencilInspector:SaveLayersToMaps() (at Assets/LandscapeBuilder/Scripts/Behaviours/LBStencil.cs:2402)
LandscapeBuilder.LBStencilInspector:OnInspectorGUI() (at Assets/LandscapeBuilder/Scripts/Behaviours/LBStencil.cs:1418)
UnityEngine.GUIUtilityrocessEvent(Int32, IntPtr)

and

ERROR: LBStencil.SaveLayersToMaps - could not copy the layer data to the map texture for layer lake
UnityEngine.Debug:LogWarning(Object)
LandscapeBuilder.LBStencilInspector:SaveLayersToMaps() (at Assets/LandscapeBuilder/Scripts/Behaviours/LBStencil.cs:2484)
LandscapeBuilder.LBStencilInspector:OnInspectorGUI() (at Assets/LandscapeBuilder/Scripts/Behaviours/LBStencil.cs:1418)
UnityEngine.GUIUtilityrocessEvent(Int32, IntPtr)

Can you provide any direction?

 

Also, when closing the Stencil, unchecking "show stencil" I am getting a couple of errors.
Not sure if this is a corrupted install or a bug, but thought it might help figure this out.

Please let me know how to proceed.

ERROR: ShowStencil - Something went wrong. Is Scene tab selected?
Object reference not set to an instance of an object
UnityEngine.Debug:LogWarning(Object)
LandscapeBuilder.LBStencilInspector:ShowStencil(Boolean) (at Assets/LandscapeBuilder/Scripts/Behaviours/LBStencil.cs:2133)
LandscapeBuilder.LBStencilInspector:OnInspectorGUI() (at Assets/LandscapeBuilder/Scripts/Behaviours/LBStencil.cs:1054)
UnityEngine.GUIUtilityrocessEvent(Int32, IntPtr)

and

NullReferenceException: SerializedObject of SerializedProperty has been Disposed.
UnityEditor.SerializedProperty.Verify (UnityEditor.SerializedProperty+VerifyFlags verifyFlags) (at C:/buildslave/unity/build/Editor/Mono/SerializedProperty.bindings.cs:325)
UnityEditor.SerializedProperty.get_boolValue () (at C:/buildslave/unity/build/Editor/Mono/SerializedProperty.bindings.cs:751)
LandscapeBuilder.LBStencilInspector.OnInspectorGUI () (at Assets/LandscapeBuilder/Scripts/Behaviours/LBStencil.cs:1058)
UnityEditor.InspectorWindow.DoOnInspectorGUI (System.Boolean rebuildOptimizedGUIBlock, UnityEditor.Editor editor, System.Boolean wasVisible, UnityEngine.Rect& contentRect) (at C:/buildslave/unity/build/Editor/Mono/Inspector/InspectorWindow.cs:1626)
UnityEngine.GUIUtilityrocessEvent(Int32, IntPtr)

 

I'm assuming a bug of some type, however we can't repro in house. Do you have some basic steps to repro the errors, both with this and the SaveMaps problem. I'm guessing they are related.

 

I'll try a delete and reinstall, just to be sure it's not a corrupt file from the download. I just upgraded before this started.
I just went through normal steps, but I'll run through it all again and see if I can repro for you.
Hopefully I can have that tomorrow.

 

Landscape Builder v2.2.1 has been submitted. It includes the following:

[NEW] Groups - Manual Clearings can have individual set (fixed) rotations
[NEW] Groups - Zones for Manual Clearings are visible in scene when editing positions.
[NEW] Groups - Grass can (also) be removed from a whole Group with Vegetation Studio Pro
[NEW] Groups - Vegetation Studio Pro biomes can be used with Filters, Zones, and Object Paths
[FIXED] Terrain material may not be applied when HDRP landscape is created in 2019.2+
[FIXED] Terrain Settings - May not be able to switch to Built-In Standard Material Type in 2019.2+
[FIXED] Grass - Stencil Filters with GPU Acceleration may not be applied correctly
[FIXED] Groups - by default members that follow path height should not also follow terrain
[FIXED] Small issues in Runtime samples
[IMPROVED] Terrain import process with better messaging.
[IMPROVED] Updated LB Editor visuals
[IMPROVED] Stencil painter supports HDRP 6.9.0
[IMPROVED] Terrain Settings - option to modify GroupingID and AutoConnect in 2018.3+
[IMPROVED] Import Groups - imported prefabs default to ignoring proximity of other prefabs
[IMPROVED] LBLighting - ability to change the celestial's unity layer through LBCelestrials
[IMPROVED] Groups - members that follow path height have an option to follow trend of the terrain
[IMPROVED] Rectangle AND Circle Grass Zone NOT filters create Vegetation Studio Pro mask areas.

For Beta Program members it is available immediately.

 

Supported Unity Versions

The next release of Landscape Builder will support Unity 2017.4.6f1 to 2019.3.x.

NOTE: Unity no longer supports versions older than 2017.4 LTS.

We will also endeavour to fix any issues that people see in 2020.x alpha/beta. Currently we have no outstanding issues with U2020.1.0a8 and LB 2.2.1.

If you have an active project on 2017.2 or 2017.3 please let us know.

 

Just wanted to let you know that I have not been able to get back to check on the issues due to others things coming up.
I will let you know if I run into it again, but I will do the checks and try to debug if I have any more issues. Sorry for the late response, I've been really tied up for the past few weeks.

I'm looking forward to the new updates of LB!

 

Landscape Builder 2.2.2 has been released



[NEW] Imported Terrains - Support for GPU acceleration of imported Textures
[NEW] Terrain Settings - Support for Universal Render Pipeline (URP) in 2019.3+
[FIXED] Export to Project sets the incorrect terrain data folder in the landscape
[FIXED] Terrain Settings - Per Pixel Normals does not persist after enabling
[FIXED] Groups - Imported Group has wrong position if Landscape is not at 0,0,0.
[FIXED] RuntimeSample03 - restored missing Stencil Layer Image (CottageHeightmap1)
[IMPROVED] Detect when terraindata object has been deleted
[IMPROVED] Terrain Settings - Support for 4K alpha/splatmaps in 2019.3+
[IMPROVED] Terrain Settings - Option to move terrain data from scene to project
[IMPROVED] LB Manager is now in Technical Preview (was Experimental)
[IMPROVED] RuntimeSample03-07 compatibility with U2019.2+

 

Hi !

I wanna know if by "run-time" you mean each time i will press "play" i will got an news and different result than before, and if it allow "infinite" map based on procedural rule ?

 

Here are some links to posts on runtime scripting with LB.

Runtime Post 1
Runtime Post 2
Runtime Post 3

The procedural rules are driven by your code you create with the help of our in-editor scripting buttons (they help you write the code but you can modify it how you wish).

Although you "could" create an infinite amount of new landscapes at runtime the real question is should you? How will your characters or gameplay elements work if you have no idea what the output of the landscape looks like?

Most customers that use runtime generation build sample landscapes (with many variations that they can vary in code) in the editor. Then create runtime scripts based on those. That way they can control what the general look of the landscapes are at runtime.

 

Hello, I updated to the most recent version of Landscape Builder and am following the Workflow Basics tutorial. After generating the Landscape, I go to the Topography tab, set the Base Layer to Perlin Base, set the Preset to Plains Base, then press Generate Heightmap. I am receiving the following error:

Kernel 'TopoPerlin' not found
UnityEngine.ComputeShader:FindKernel()
LandscapeBuilder.LBLandscapeTerrain:HeightmapFromLayers(LBLandscape, TerrainData, Vector3, Vector2, Vector3, List`1) (at Assets/LandscapeBuilder/Scripts/Classes/LBLandscapeTerrain.cs:1713)
LandscapeBuilder.LandscapeBuilderWindow:GenerateTopography() (at Assets/LandscapeBuilder/Editor/LandscapeBuilderWindow.cs:16457)
LandscapeBuilder.LandscapeBuilderWindow:OnGUI() (at Assets/LandscapeBuilder/Editor/LandscapeBuilderWindow.cs:6680)
UnityEngine.GUIUtilityrocessEvent(Int32, IntPtr)

I checked to make sure everything was imported correctly to my project and it seems to be ok. It was working before the update, so it's odd that this error is appearing now.

 

Thanks for reporting this. Can you give us a bit more info?
Are you on Windows or Mac?
Which version of Unity? e.g. 2018.1.0f2
On the Landscape tab which version are you on now? (we assume 2.2.2)
Do you know which version you had before the upgrade?
Did you upgrade from the Asset Store?

 

Also, if you re-open Unity after performing the update do you still get this error?

 

Sorry about that, forgot my info:
Win10 64
Unity 2018.2.21f1
Landscape Builder 2.2.2
d3d12

I can't remember what version of LB I previously had but it had been some time since my last update. My upgrade was from the Asset Store.

 

Do you still get the error after re-opening Unity?

 

Yes, that's actually the first thing I did after the error appeared.

 

From Windows Explorer, can you tell me the date/time stamps of the following 2 files?

Assets\LandscapeBuilder\Shaders\Resources\LBCSTopo.compute
Assets\LandscapeBuilder\Scripts\Classes\LBLandscapeTerrain.cs

Have you moved the LandscapeBuilder folder to a non-default location?

 

Timestamps:

Assets\LandscapeBuilder\Shaders\Resources\LBCSTopo.compute 10/25/2019 2:21PM
Assets\LandscapeBuilder\Scripts\Classes\LBLandscapeTerrain.cs 11/23/2019 5:03PM

I use Unity Collaborate and replicated my project (which includes LB) onto a new laptop. This was about 4 weeks ago.

 

Do you have Discord? Can you send me those two files privately?
Also, is the LandscapeBuilder folder immediately under Assets in the Project panel?

 

The LB folder is under Assets in the Project Panel (directly under it, not under another folder). I do have Discord, how would you like them sent?

 

On the Landscape Tab, click "Discord" to join our server. Then you can create a private message with sstrong and send them to me. Hopefully we can quickly work out what is going wrong. So far I can't repro the problem in my office.

 

GPU acceleration and DX12

On some graphics cards with DX12 we have seen some issues with compute shaders. You may receive any or none of the following:

Code (CSharp):

1. Kernel 'TopoPerlin' not found
2. UnityEngine.ComputeShader:FindKernel()
3.  
4. Kernel 'TexPerlin' not found
5. UnityEngine.ComputeShader:FindKernel()
6.  
7. Kernel 'GrassPerlin' not found
8. UnityEngine.ComputeShader:FindKernel()
9.  

If you see any of these errors:

1. Please report it to us specifying Windows/Mac, graphics card model
2. Switch to DX11 in Unity Player Settings and retry
3. Either stay on DX11 or disable GPU Acceleration

 

Landscape Builder and Sci-Fi Ship Controller are both in the Cyber Week Mega Sale.

 

@sstrong Are you going to have integration with CTS?

 

We don't own CTS (so cannot test) but it should work by selecting custom in Terrain Settings on the Landscape tab. Do you get errors? I believe some customers have used the previous version with LB.

 

I haven't tried yet. I just know there isn't a specific dropdown item for it. I just got CTS 2019 and was hoping it would work seamlessly with LB. I'll give it a try and let you know.

 

Just an update to my CTS inquiry. @sstrong got CTS integrated for me yesterday and it's now in the latest beta. Works great!

 

[NEW] Technical Preview support for CTS 2019 integration
[NEW] Import Group Object Path points from RAM splines
[NEW] Texturing - Blending Mode for height and inclination rules
[NEW] Topography - 5 new Hills Image Modifiers for creating islands

 

Let us know what projects you are working on with Landscape Builder.

Feel free to show off your work with screen shots or descriptions of your handwork in this forum.

We are always interested to hear about what you're doing so we can support you and provide relevant new and improved features.

 

I just updated to Vegetation Studio Pro and now I am getting an integration error.
I didn't have it with standard.

Have you seen this one?
Assets\LandscapeBuilder\Scripts\Behaviours\LBIntegration.cs(493,43): error CS0234: The type or namespace name 'VegetationPackage' does not exist in the namespace 'AwesomeTechnologies' (are you missing an assembly reference?)

I've rebooted and reinstalled LB but it is still there. I am also missing my LB window. I can't find it in the menus.
Any ideas on this one?

 

From our Useful Posts section in the manual, this is the mostly cause.

Vegetation Studio to VS Pro upgrade

https://forum.unity.com/threads/387912/page-12#post-3873394

When you uninstall VS it doesn't remove the old define. This is more a Unity issue rather than a VS issue. LB is the victim so to speak.

 

Excellent! I was figuring it was a Unity thing and you always have the answers!
I think you should get the award for the most organized asset developer.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, again!

I'm now using World Creator with LB and working in VSP. I really love how well LB works with everything! It can do it all or help blend everything together. You've really made something great!