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Official LookDev Studio

Discussion in 'Graphics Experimental Previews' started by UnityJuju, Jul 29, 2021.

  1. BOXOPHOBIC

    BOXOPHOBIC

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2015
    Posts:
    506
    Hey, my point really is that the whole LookDev tool is basically just a scene with a turn table option and some reflection probes switching, so it could be just that, a scene (or more) used where ever you like, with any pipeline you like.

    I don't really see the point of the duplicated windows, we already have them in unity: Hierarchy is there, Inspector is there, Object Preview is the scene view, Asset Tab is the project view, what's missing is the turntable and quick control which could be added to any scene with some scripting for instance...
    upload_2021-10-1_14-24-12.png

    About quickly importing assets, keep in mind that the LookDev still sits in your project, so if your project is 50 GB, you will still wait a long time to open it. And the tool is still using a simple scene that will open in the same amount of time as standalone or in LookDev.

    So my point is that we have duplicated windows and hdrp support only when the functionality could be added for any scene and any pipeline. And they could just add the texture assigner tool on a model import...
     
    Ruchir and Lurking-Ninja like this.
  2. EmmaUnity

    EmmaUnity

    Unity Technologies

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2020
    Posts:
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    Hello, and thank you for your feedback!

    This is still only a prototype, so we’re still working on improvements. We’ll try to address some of your questions and points one by one below.

    1 +4: In terms of integrating various functionality back into default Unity, it’s not impossible - but the path there is longer and more uncertain, considering the fact that we’re only in the prototyping stage.

    2: One of the targets was to make the path from the DCC tool into Unity easier for artists who are not necessarily familiar with Unity today. That included attempting to make a more artist-friendly view with the most relevant elements displayed and as much screen-space as possible for viewing the asset.

    3: The camera controls should be the same as the default Unity - at first glance, this does read like a bug, but if you have additional information, we are happy to investigate.

    5: It’s not possible to choose a different folder today, but it is something we’re aware of and want to work towards. As you are most likely aware, only content inside the “LookDev” folder will work in the LookDev Studio mode today.

    6: We are aware of these UX issues and want to improve them in the future.

    7: There are still a lot of things we’d love to do with this project. We absolutely want it to be pipeline agnostic, and a URP version is high priority. We won’t be able to make the project a one-size-fits-all right now, but the feedback is duly noted.

    We’re working on improvements that may address some of your points, so we hope you will follow the development and let us know what you think!
     
  3. Ruchir

    Ruchir

    Joined:
    May 26, 2015
    Posts:
    934
    Couldn't this be implemented using "workspaces" in unity, and just add a big enough enough reminder for user that there is such a mode available, and honestly it would be really good to have this integrated with prefab view instead of creating what seems like a complete new version of unity for asset importing. (like for new alpha when we import project type assets we get an option to create temporary project to import the asset into for validation and such, you could create a temp workspace and provide these option inside a new prefab view scene(which can easily be pipeline agnostic, just make a generic API and provide sample Asset editing scene per pipeline to go with it) I think)

    I hope what I said made some sense :p
     
  4. EmmaUnity

    EmmaUnity

    Unity Technologies

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    Yes, that makes sense! We agree that a final version of LookDev would need to be integrated into normal Unity, one way or the other. The way the project is built and shared right now is quite separated on purpose. That separation has allowed us to prototype, try things, and move faster than we would otherwise be able to.
    We are exploring ways to integrate LookDev Studio with other projects in a more intuitive way in the future, because in the end we want to make it as easy as possible for artists. Workspaces could be one way.

    It's great to hear everyone's feedback to help determine which path to take in the future! In the end, our goal is for the tool to be useful and make things easier for artists.
     
    Ruchir likes this.
  5. UnityJuju

    UnityJuju

    Unity Technologies

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2021
    Posts:
    221
    Hi folks!
    We've just updated this thread with more information to reflect the new LookDev 0.2.0 release!! :D
    We're looking forward to your feedback
     
    HIBIKI_entertainment and Ruchir like this.
  6. od3098

    od3098

    Joined:
    Apr 29, 2015
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    56
    The Idea is awesome. It would be great to be able to easily use this tool in existing projects with our own render pipelines or configs. We are using HDRP for rendering purpose in one of our projects and having this kinds of presets/libraries and previews would be awesome!
     
  7. altepTest

    altepTest

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2012
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    1,105
    Well, I've downloaded the URP version. The human character is not included. Now that was a disappointing moment :( I was hoping to check how the skin and hair shader is done for URP but no luck today.

    I wish unity CEO should had invested a couple of millions in creating hair, skin and eyes shaders for URP instead of wasting billions in purchasing the outdated and useless WETA tools that no cares about.

    I've opened the project using unity hub and it complained I had no license. If anyone gets this just ignore it and try clicking on the project name in unity hub again. It opened fine the second time.

    I've dragged a few items in the scene but it complains about

    [Worker2] Attempting to get Camera relative temporary RenderTexture (width || height <= 0) via a CommandBuffer  in a Sriptable Render Pipeline.


    and

    [Worker5] Trying to get RenderBuffer with invalid antiAliasing (must be at least 1)


    everything looks like is working so I don't know what is that about.

    I'm a bit confused about this tool or project.

    Can I add it to one of my project and make it work there, like using the package manager? Now it appears to be a separate project. If I add some assets and add materials and textures, do I need to copy those assets out to my game project? It will work or it will break something?

    I get the idea of this project but I think you have missed the point of these improvements

    My take is to strip this prototype in different pieces then:

    add the import panel look and tab search functionality to unity assets panel and improve that one. I never seem to find what I need there.

    Then the lights and cameras and the rest, add it to the panel that is at the bottom of the Inspector panel. The one that shows up when you select something in the project assets folder. just make that panel with more buttons and functionally.

    Then for the import inspector panel, make one separate panel that lets you import and prepare models and textures, most important those dreadful unity mask maps. I know those maps are for performance but give me a tool to strip and pack existing textures and create unity standard masks. generating those mask textures outside unity is a pain when you want to see how the texture will look in unity.

    exactly the point of this tool.

    Create that texture packer. It should be node based. So you add your texture, then drag it to the correct inputs then have a button to export the mask map inside a folder in the project.

    And create a skin, eye and hair shader.
     
  8. sacb0y

    sacb0y

    Joined:
    May 9, 2016
    Posts:
    867
    Nice, i'll be sure to try it in URP soon!
     
  9. EmmaUnity

    EmmaUnity

    Unity Technologies

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    @od3098 We're happy to hear that you like it so far!
    We have been looking into something like this - although nothing is released or confirmed yet. Do you have any thoughts about how you would like it to fit into your existing workflow that you want to share with us?
     
  10. EmmaUnity

    EmmaUnity

    Unity Technologies

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    @dorusoftware Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us!

    The Worker errors are a bug in URP. They are harmless and will be fixed in a later Editor release. They don't do anything bad, but I agree they don't look nice.

    Right now the LookDev Studio is still only a prototype, so we don't recommend using it directly in your production or projects at the moment. We share it as a full project so it's as easy as possible to download, but we will be figuring out a better distribution model for the future - also so users don't have to download many sample Assets if they just want the core functionality.

    The Fia character was built specifically for HDRP, so we included a different character with a toon shader which was built for URP (the PigChef).
    When you say that you want a skin, eye and hair shader for URP, do you mean for a realistic character (like Fia in the HDRP LookDev version) rather than something toony, but prepared and optimized for URP?
     
  11. EmmaUnity

    EmmaUnity

    Unity Technologies

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    We'd love to hear your feedback once you've tried it out! Any and all feedback is much appreciated.
     
  12. altepTest

    altepTest

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    Jul 5, 2012
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    yes, exactly. the HDRP setup includes an eye shader in the package examples, it has some issues but I've managed to make it work. For the skin shader the HDRP has the SSS and the diffusion profiles which let you create skin. then there is the hair shader, again for HDRP which is not usable, it looks bad. I've managed to implement the pixel depth to cover jagged polygon transitions but overall the HDRP hair shader is not ok as it doesn't calculate correctly the transparency of various hair cards.

    for the URP there is nothing I could find by default for any of these shaders. Realistic, semirealistic, if it looks like the character used in the youtube video for this asset is enough. That would be great to have.

    I mean, just open unreal and take a look at what they have for hair. Not only it looks great, it also have physics implemented.

    But I know is outside of this asset scope.
     
  13. hugokostic

    hugokostic

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2017
    Posts:
    81
    I managed to modify a little bit the HDRP LookDev Prototype, I have create a settings to modify camera's and volumes, in order to add some Custom Pass stuff combined to few compositor tricks, I've ended up with a cool view of what the asset should be in game condition, without even pressing Play :



    What I would like:
    - to have the possibility to directly open the material'ss textures tab of a material of a selected mesh/vfx (or one the the materials if there multiple material on the selected mesh/VFX) when I select a mesh/vfx in the editor Scene view (to fast assign/correct textures slot on object)
    - more mass import options, with preset and naming convention to get faster with this stuff.
    - UI for FBX assets importOptions tab directly in the import tab (especially for animation/rig), avatar options too
    - more Animation preview tool (a timeline, layered animation preview, etc).
    - Animation Rigging tools and components available in LookDev (setup characters)
    - Lighting should be more customizable (maybe add some light (point/spot/area prefab into the library of LookDev and let the user the possibility to add it freely to the scene)

    Showcase Fia with lookDev Studio is cool but I agree with some previous post, it need some additional stuff around characters to showcase Unity HDRP capabilities, i mean in term of resources&ease of importation and setup.

    As MetaHuman from Epic and CharacterCreator from Reallusion are great way to create fully featured avatar, it could be nice to have some automation of import available with this kind of stuff, and a way to fast-test it, obviously I am thinking about some Weta Digital stuff too, that could bring state of the art stuff into Unity HDRP this way (Reallusion already have a package that contain scripts to automate the setup of most of the SSS settings and maps for skin material for HDRP imported avatar).
    I have to add, I dont like the actual dithering on Fia hair shader.

    Overall i think this tool is a perfect fit for content reviewer (there are content review in every big studio), as it provide a simple way to import and validate asset into a Unity project with a fully setup environment for high quality preview. For me the best way this tool can take is to get the Import process far more simple and readable for specific case, not only for material and textures, it is dependant on the stuff you want to review (mesh, vfx, animation, shader library...)
     
    GeniusKoala likes this.
  14. EmmaUnity

    EmmaUnity

    Unity Technologies

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    Hello, and thanks for sharing your feedback with us!

    I was wondering if you have already tried some of the mass import and automation options that exist today. It's possible to drag and drop folders into LookDev Studio from your File Explorer, and if you click the project settings in the top right corner, there are options for collider generation and automatic Prefab generation with user selected naming conventions. It might be easy to miss the project settings, so I just wanted to check.
    Which other types of mass import options, presets and automation would you be interested in seeing in the future?

    The latest release added a lot of light customization features in the new light tab (the light bulb button). Here you can drag and drop lighting prefabs such as three point lighting or spot lights. You can also make your own lighting presets or prefabs to reuse in other scenes, so I think you will be able to do most lighting customization work today - although the fog and background colors are still not easily customizable today.

    Noted on the animation functionality and quick texture assignments, it's something we will be looking into in the future!
     

    Attached Files:

    hugokostic likes this.
  15. hugokostic

    hugokostic

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    Sep 23, 2017
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    81
    Will look forward to it, thx for the tip!
     
  16. od3098

    od3098

    Joined:
    Apr 29, 2015
    Posts:
    56
    I was thinking about developing a tool like the old versions of Marmoset Toolbag with Unity to be able to setup materials and lightings in order to build a material and model library for the project. Then for building a new scene we can only drag and drop from the library. something like Blender3 asset browser.
    I would rather:
    - Import the LookDev package into the current project.
    - LookDev suggests to use the highest possible quality as the project SRP or keep the current one.
    - Askes where do I keep my existing meshes, textures and materials (with an option to use its own default structure)
    - Drag and drop prefabs or meshes into the scene and modify textures and materials to keep them as final asset.
    - Check the final asset with different light setups and HDRIs.
     
    EmmaUnity likes this.
  17. Grimreaper358

    Grimreaper358

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    Apr 8, 2013
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    I thought this tool would only be for lookdev, to just preview assets, identify if anything is wrong, and make sure everything is good.

    From my understanding, the tool seems to be providing both lookdev for visuals, as well as other features that could be used to improve pipeline workflows for games/other projects. It’s handling import and import settings for assets.

    It also seems this tool will also evolve into a larger toolset than just importing an asset and doing lookdev.
    If that's the case, I have a few things that could be added to aid workflow and usability after using both versions so far.


    Feedback

    Currently, my main feedback would be to have Lookdev open in a separate window/tab instead of taking over the whole editor.



    LookDev UX
    • Option Lock Saved Cameras (This way we can’t accidentally override them.)
    • Camera Presets - Currently we can save position and rotation but not any other camera properties. It would be nice to have FOV/Focal Length included.
    • Material Names Displayed in the Texture Allocator (You only know which material you have selected if you look at the inspector. Having to do that makes we could just drag and drop textures there as we did before.
    • Improve the Speed that it takes to prepare assets on import. (Not sure if URP is faster as I haven't tried it with that yet)



    LookDev Aid
    • Material Balls (18% Grey, Black and Chrome, maybe White?)
    upload_2022-1-9_17-5-58.png




    Game Dev Aid
    • Add the mesh debug views from the mesh preview window (Same Debug views from the mesh preview)
    PreviewMesh_DebugViews.png

    I've only included a few of the Debug views from that window just to show what I'm talking about

    From Left to Right
    - Material IDs
    - UV Checker (Easily see Texel Density) It would be cool if we had a better view/tool for visualizing texel density.
    - UVs (Different Channels)
    - Vertex Colors
    - Mesh Normals
    - Etc (With the other view modes)

    • Project Structure - The same as asked or talked about before by a few others before. It’s useful to have the option to setup a custom project structure or use the default by LookDev Studio.

    • Streamline the whole process of custom presets for importing different asset types. Basic best practices for defaults and then allow us to have custom presets for specific use cases in each category. We could easily set an asset to a preset and all is good.
      • Skinned Mesh
      • Static Mesh
      • Textures
      • Etc
      I'm mentioning the asset import presets because LookDev Studio already takes over the import process so going out of it to change import settings for some assets isn't a good workflow.

      Currently, we have a nice import process for textures (minus setting resolution) and automatically creating/setup colliders which is really nice. Auto-creating and setting up colliders is a big plus for me.

    • Ability to setup ragdolls/hitboxes for characters.
    • Default Mesh for material preview (This is mainly for validating tileable textures/materials)
      Keeping the Unity Material Ball that's already there or providing a default, sphere, cube, to preview and validate materials in LookDev Studio will be nice. Similar to the material preview window in the inspector,

      Guessing the final version of this wouldn't just ship with a lot of extra models and textures bloating people's projects so that's why I'm mentioning this.
    MaterialPreview_Sphere.png



    General Thoughts

    Other than that I’d suggest a few more lighting presets mainly for characters. Presets Without an HDRI background with only the ability to choose a color and adjust lights. Lighting presets like Butterfly and Rembrandt, are two of the more widely used ones that can be added as defaults. We can make these presets ourselves but it would be better to have a few defaults. This way newer users to Unity and or even 3d can have a quick default high-quality lighting setup to preview characters with.


    I think having a dedicated window for asset setup/lookdev will be a better workflow than what we currently have to do. Dragging assets into a scene and doing things in/through the hierarchy. After setting everything up we then have to drag those assets to a folder or go through the menus to make prefabs. Once the file structure for LookDev Studio can be changed to anyone’s preferences this should suit a lot of people's/studios pipelines.


    This is the folder structure I use the most. Assets are contained in separate folders. For example, if it’s a model the folder structure would be like this and prefabs go in a more object-based directory.

    Models (Folder)
    Asset Name (Folder)
    Textures (Folder)
    Materials (Folder)
    Mesh (Asset)​

    Prefabs (Asset Library)
    Trees
    Prefabs​
    Buildings
    Prefabs​
    Etc.
    Also, I’m guessing over time this will replace the LookDev we currently have for HDRP? That’s basically a remake of the LookDev that was in early Unity 5.x versions till Unity 2018 for Built-in renderer. So only Builtin and URP didn't have a lookdev from that point till now. Well now URP does with this.
     
    BOXOPHOBIC and Ruchir like this.
  18. EmmaUnity

    EmmaUnity

    Unity Technologies

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    Thanks a lot for taking the time to write your feedback - we really appreciate all feedback we get. There's a lot of great stuff in here that we'll make sure to discuss and add to our backlog.

    Some things are a bit trickier to do and require some refactoring (e.g. how LookDev Studio is displayed inside Unity, or the Project structure) which means it probably won't be next on our list since we're still prototyping features and functionality. But we're aware that it's something we need to address in the future before the tool will seamlessly work in different workflows and pipelines.
    For now, it's possible to change the Asset Directory in the LookDev settings (the cogwheel at the top right) or create filters to view Assets from different directories and specific folders.

    There are still a lot of open questions, but all of your feedback helps us take steps in the right direction.
     
    Grimreaper358 likes this.
  19. WryMim

    WryMim

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    Mar 16, 2019
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    Very useful tool, hopefully Unity won't abandon it as always.

    For myself, I want the viewing functions in a individual window:
    - view the selected model file
    - view particle system (prefabs)

    ------

    Maybe you should not delay making all the functionality, but release the first version but with basic functionality? Model view window(including particle system), camera rotation, lighting
     
  20. Grimreaper358

    Grimreaper358

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    Any updates on the status of Look Dev Studio?
     
  21. EmmaUnity

    EmmaUnity

    Unity Technologies

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    Hello!
    Unfortunately we don't have any big news to share at the moment, but I can confirm that the project is still ongoing. Currently we are working on tightening and polishing up our feature set and getting to a good "end to end workflow".

    Apologies for the waiting time! We will be sure to update you with news in this forum.
     
  22. TheBeastmaster

    TheBeastmaster

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2018
    Posts:
    3
    Guys, my 'lookdev panel' has disappeared and I can't find a way to get it back. I'm capturing turntables today for a presentation. Why would this panel not be available in any of the menus??

    This happened as I could not find a way to open a scene in lookdev, so had to go into unity and do so, but create an empty scene in addition for it to load the new scene in lookdev. Though now when I switch to lookdev I can't switch back to Unity for some reason. This was also when my lookdev panel disappeared which could be a result of not opening the scene from lookdev studio. I'm not sure why you can save a custom scene but not open it??
     
    Last edited: May 25, 2022
  23. TheBeastmaster

    TheBeastmaster

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    Feb 7, 2018
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    Ok I noticed the lighting preset in the top right. changing that seems to bring the panel back.
     
  24. Grimreaper358

    Grimreaper358

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    Just pinging to see if there's any update on this.
     
  25. altepTest

    altepTest

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    I believe most, if not all of the developer working on this project had been fired. So this will remain as it is.
     
    ZiiVFX likes this.