MapMagic 2 - infinite procedural land generator

Following up with a development build, I found out that the terrain are actually generated, but completely white and flat. Looking at the log it seems to be a problem between MM2 and Microsplat.
I can't seem to be able to send the Txt file here so I will send it to you via e-mail, hope it can give some clues .

 

I planned to devote this day fixing IL2CPP issues, but surprisingly everything seems to be working fine. No need to turn off native code since it will be done automatically. I could perform a build in Unity 2020.1.2 and play it, and could find no issues except maybe the generate speed. In practice IL2CPP is still significantly slower than pure C++ code, despite some tests on the Internet try to show the opposite. But unfortunately his is the thing I can't improve

Thanks for sharing log! However, I need to reproduce the issue to look into it. I can see something is null, but I've got to find what exactly. Could you please send me the the graph, MS preset files (material, shader, texture arrays, and .asset files) and their .meta files?

 

Hello, What is the correct workflow for exporting maps into another project? Do I simply export the terrain?

I like to keep my main project and content (creation) project separate and export at the end. Thanks!

 

When this happened to me I found that the build options architecture had to be set to x86_64.

 

Thank you I will give it a shot tomorrow morning!

 

I have another question in case you have an idea

In my villages I want to generate farms, do you know any way I could place the wheat using a squared shape?

 

Wait.. What? It worked for you, 100%? Hmm..

I just tried again after reading your post and it's not working (2019.4.14f lts). I have one very distant tile pinned so the shaders aren't stripped, etc.. Terrain generates, but stitching is bad and most importantly, no vegetation of any sort is generated on the terrain.

 

This may help.

 

Thank you, indeed I have started my villages using this video, my current challenge now is that I would like to generate wheat farm in a squared shape using MM2 and spawning the vegetation via the grass vegetation output (for optimisation).
The squared part is my current challenge. My understanding is that it currently can't be done but I ask in case Denis have a solution (or someone else )

 

The performance is much better with Copy VS on, it takes about 2 second to generate each tile instead of taking increasingly longer (up to 10 seconds) with each new tile when Copy VS is off.

The trees are disapearing when I enter playmode and the new tiles get generated. When I have VSP on my map magic, I can see the trees on the terrain in the editor. But when I click play, they disapear when the VSP gets generated for the other tiles.

To reproduce: add VSP to your terrain with "Copy VS" on. Enable "Infinite terrain". Click play. On start the center tile has the VSP trees, but after the new tiles appear, the VSP trees disapear from the center tile.

 

Hi

I'm experimenting with Map Magic 2 and NWH Vehicle physics 2 and now I'd need to set surface presets for ground detection. This is based on textures:

http://nwhvehiclephysics.com/doku.php//NWH/VehiclePhysics2/GroundDetection/SurfaceMap

"GroundDetection runs a check for each WheelComponent to determine which surface that WheelComponent is on. This is done by checking all the assigned SurfaceMaps in order and if any SurfaceMap has a matching terrain texture index in Terrain Texture Indices list"

I thought this would be easy to set up but I noticed that there are no texture indices to see when I select terrain created by Map Magic 2 and browse all settings and inspector values. Is there a way around this or am I looking in the wrong place? I mean can I find the needed values some other way?

 

So you want to stamp squares instead of circles? Use the Stamp node - it can create stamps of an given form. The first example is close enough to what you are trying to achieve:

But instead of Height output use Contrast node with high contrast (10 or more).

You've got to save terrains as .asset files, and then drag and drop them to scene in other project. Personally I use this simple script to save all kinds of assets: terrain datas, meshes, materials, textures - all those assets that were made procedurally and are not saved in any file yet. Select the terrain (not MM or it's tile, but the terrain itself), and press Edit - Save Asset - Terrain. Can save multiple selected terrains too.
NB: saved terrain chunks are still updated with MM, this way their .asset file changes on saving project.

I was using 2020, this might be the reason. That serializable reference error you mentioned is marked as Fixed for 2020, but not 2019.4
However it's rather strange to see drafts generated, but not the full terrain. Maybe they are still generating - in practice IL2CPP is faster than Mono, but still much slower than pure C++ code. It can take 5x more time for tiles to be generated.
BTW is there any error while generating?

Thanks for reporting this, will try to look into it before 2.1.0 release.

You've got to look for them in Paint Terrain (brush icon), Paint Texture from drop-down list. It's Unity stuff, not MM one. And don't expect them to have numbers painted, I guess it's just an example in documentation.

 

Thank you, this open a lot of new options

 

@Wright Thank you!

 

"You've got to look for them in Paint Terrain (brush icon), Paint Texture from drop-down list. It's Unity stuff, not MM one. And don't expect them to have numbers painted, I guess it's just an example in documentation."

@Wright Thanks!

 

hey, is there any news/updates about Terrain Descriptor Data from MicroSplat?
http://mm2.idea.informer.com/proj/?ia=134699

 

Bought MM2 and wanted to convert my custom generators from MM1 > MM2 and stumbled upon a problem right away.

This is my barebones custom generator:

Code (CSharp):

1. using System;
2. using Den.Tools;
3. using Den.Tools.GUI;
4. using Den.Tools.Matrices;
5. using MapMagic.Products;
6. using MapMagic.Nodes;
7.  
8. [Serializable]
9. [GeneratorMenu(
10.     menu = "Test",
11.     name = "GenTest",
12.     colorType = typeof(MatrixWorld) )]
13. public class GenTest : Generator, IInlet<MatrixWorld>, IOutlet<MatrixWorld>
14. {
15.     [Val("Strength")] public float strength = 0.2f;
16.  
17.     #if UNITY_EDITOR
18.     [UnityEditor.InitializeOnLoadMethod]
19.     static void EnlistInMenu () => MapMagic.Nodes.GUI.CreateRightClick.generatorTypes.Add(typeof(GenTest));
20.     #endif
21.  
22.     public override void Generate (TileData data, StopToken stop) {
23.         MatrixWorld src = data.products.ReadInlet(this);
24.         if (src == null) return;
25.         if (!enabled) { data.products[this]=src; return; }
26.  
27.             MatrixWorld dst = new MatrixWorld(src);
28.             Test(dst, data, stop);
29.  
30.             data.products[this] = dst;
31.     }
32.  
33.     void Test(MatrixWorld dst, TileData data, StopToken stop=null) {
34.         Coord min = dst.rect.Min;
35.         Coord max = dst.rect.Max;
36.  
37.         for (int x=min.x; x<max.x; x++) {
38.             if (stop!=null && stop.stop) return;
39.             for (int z=min.z; z<max.z; z++){
40.                 dst[z, x] -= strength;
41.             }
42.         }
43.     }
44. }

The thing is it works fine until you pin extra tiles. Then it will throw an error:
Thread failed: System.IndexOutOfRangeException: Index was outside the bounds of the array.

What is the problem here? And also, how can I apply extra margins?

 

Dear friends, we need help creating generators for the mapmagic
If anyone is ready to help, we are ready to repay
We need to create 4 procedurally generated presets from the Map Magic asset, 4 different biomes from the design document. Flora and fauna assets from us
The algorithm is as follows
-create 4 types of terrain for each biome
- set up split maps for each biome
- place flora generation via Vegetation Studio
- place game resources and animals through map magic
We're willing to pay $ 350 for each biome. If you can help please write to the mail emotiongenerator@gmail.com

 

I've got it in my to do list, planned for 2.1.0. Plan to release it this month. But I've got to finalize and test core features first - have not looked into it yet.

Code (CSharp):

1. dst[z, x] -= strength;

Shouldn't it be dst[x, z]?

I've asked the guys who work with MM and help me to test it from time to time. You can try announce it on Discord as well.

 

Is it just me or does anyone else have a LONG load time when pressing play? tried disabling some stuff in the graph to figure out why it takes such a long time to load the game. But no luck so far...

 

Hello Denis,

I was wondering how to make the MinuteIsland more diverse with mountains/grasslands etc.

I have a 5x5 grid of 2048 Size tiles with the Simple Form set to Scale 5 and -4234 X/Y offset.




I want to be able to add lots of open fields and such for the player to roam in.

Thanks!

 

I'm not sure if this a feature request or I've overlooked something.

I would like to see the Rarefy node have per-axis distance so I can accomplish something like this:

EDIT: To be clear, that is large x-axis spacing and small z-axis spacing.

EDIT 2: Well, I achieved something similar using a mask but it's not a flexible solution. I think I might put this suggestion on Idea Informer.

 

Hey @Wright, are Scatter additive margins also fixed in 2.1.0 so that they work in all 4 directions? Thanks!

 

I have no need for the terrain collider so I deleted the component from the Main Terrain gameobject. Unfortunately, it is regenerated on other tiles when using Infinite mode. I tried checking "Copy Components to Terrains" but it had no effect.

 

It depends on how long the LONG takes. I've got about 6 seconds when starting the scene after Unity load, and 4 seconds on starting it again. My scene is pretty simple - just light, camera, <del>action</del> MapMagic/terrain. It seems that it doesn't matter whether it's a scene with MapMagic or the scene with the standard terrain.

So you want to have less mountains and more lowlands? You can adjust the noise output with levels (decrease gamma value) or curve for more control.

Yes, it's better to post this idea on ideainformer - it looks like very specific node that could be done as a custom one from scatter, but I'll add it to the standard set if it's really needed.

Yes.

I guess it's better to use un-collided layer instead, since the standard Unity terrain is not working properly with the collider component removed. It spams

MissingComponentException: There is no 'TerrainCollider' attached to the "Main Terrain" game object, but a script is trying to access it.

if it is selected in editor and any tab except settings is active. And obviously you can't edit it manually. Probably there might be some other issues, so I'd rather leave the collider just in case.
PS I'm talking about the standard terrain, even if MM is not scene.

 

I have added this to Idea Informer but I realized its more appropriately applied to the Scatter node.

"Per-axis density and uniformity on Scatter node: Splitting density and uniformity into X-axis and Y-axis allows for the creation of rows, like flower gardens or vineyards."

http://mm2.idea.informer.com/proj/MM2?ia=135196

EDIT:
If you like this idea, please vote for it on Idea Informer at the link above, otherwise it won't gain any traction.

 

I wish this kind of extensions would be on Github so that everyone could improve it

 

Thank you a lot for this amazing content! I can't wait the next update, it will determine the release date of my project. Do you know when the next update will be available?

 

Im talking about sometimes up to 30 MINUTES from pressing Play til I actually can play it... Not sure if its possible to set any of the outputs or so into a endless loop or something if setup in wrong order? that makes it loading and loading and loading...

 

Something definitely is wrong. MM should not allow creating endless loops, but there could be other ways to generate excessive data. Does this happens with your graph only or with all graphs (demo scenes)?

 

I actually used your demo ones and made biomes according to your tutorials. Then added my objects like trees, stones etc.. and it just got slower and slower.... and sometimes i ctrl deleted unity and it took 45 minuyes to start unity up

 

Hi, i want to use MapMagic 2 for multiplayer with Mirror. To spawn networked objects i would have to intercept object spawning and instead use mirrors spawn method. Can you give me a hint on where in the code i could do that?

I found the ObjectsPool.cs which seems like a good place to intercept the instantiate call but i cant import Mirror in this File ( using Mirror; throws an error).

I would be very grateful for any tips or hints regarding this

 

Since there are no docs yet, do you mind sharing the code you used for this?

 

Hi. I am developing open world game and i will use more than one terrain. Is it possible to work with nodes only for one terrain at the time (to make different biomes) and how can i stich them together after ? Thanks in advance!

 

Another follow up on the problem on build mode. I did some tests based on the log and it seems that everything is "solved" if I deactivate "Set Component".
I have been looking in the doc and unfortunately this Microsplat's page is empty (https://gitlab.com/denispahunov/mapmagic/-/wikis/MatrixGenerators/MicroSplat). When you have a moment can you explain what is the impact of setting it on/off?

 

It assigns MicroSplat component for each of the terrains instead of just using the MS material. It is required for advanced MS features like triplanar and others, but increases the terrain apply time. It might be that IL2CPP has some specific in assigning components, so I don't recommend using it unless MS advanced features are vital for your project.

There is a special module to work with biomes: MapMagic Biomes and Functions. It can help to generate several graphs and blend them basing on their masks. Here is the way it works.

The thing is that ObjectsPool spawns only the starting objects, moving them then instead of spawning. Is there any way to post-process spawned objects instead of pre-process them? You can do this in event `Action<TerrainTile, TileData, StopToken> TerrainTile.OnTileApplied` - it's called if some specific tile has been generated and applied.

Just in case: as long as the graph is the same MM will spawn same objects on same positions on all the computers and platforms. I general there is no need to sync them unless you are doing it for anti-cheat reasons.

Are the demo scenes starting normally? Might it be something wrong with the objects (like startup script or baking of any sort)? You can try finding it out by generating terrain with MM, and then removing MM script completely.

 

Thank you for the explanation, I did some test and indeed I lose some feature (can't access the texture's color to change them during runtime and for the seasons for instance).
At least the game is working now, but is there a plan to support it in the future or a workaround?

 

Is Map Magic 2 compatible with Voxeland? Is Voxeland still being developed?

 

Is there any way to create NavMesh using MM2? I'd like to create localized navmeshes around NPCS however requesting navmesh from the terrain seems to recreate the whole thing every time instead of caching it making the game freeze.

 

Hello, Great product! This tool has taken development to an entirely new level.

Is there a way to set lock areas during runtime for gameplay ,

like for example -- the player have unlocked new site/area, or if player choose to build at a new location,

- I would like to randomly create lock areas that will become available along with player advancement/ progression,
- and have the option for player to lock in areas as well

something similar to what @jimmygladfelter created with zone manager.... also @jimmygladfelter I'm doing something similar with zones, I just place empty colliders throughout scene with triggers for player... I placed them along boarder and scale and move colliders as player reach higher levels, to seem as thou larger land area is being unlocked


Also how would lock areas work for multiplayer,.. are we able to have player 1 set a lock area for defending and player 2 try to take over that area, and if successful that area then becomes player 2 lock area which will remain in control of player 2 until another player comes along and successfully tack over or purchase ..


One more thing, Let's say player 1 and player 2 is in game, each have their designated MM land area. then they decide to team up,

- how would we be able to connect maps/
- along with being able to travel to another player map..

Like animal crossing functionality where players can visit other players.. @Wright or anyone that can help with this thanks!

 

A small follow up (again ) on the Microsplat + MM2 bug once you build with the "set component" active via MM2's graph.

I have installed Microsplat's script and commented the "require terrain component" from Microsplat so that it doesn't deactivate Microsplat on the parent MapMagic Object (since it doesn't have a terrain).
Then it is set to copy it component to the terrain it spawn which will add them the Microsplat's script with everything needed.
This is tested in a build and it really work, in hope it can help you Wright or someone else with the same problem.

Edit: no need to comment the Microsplat "require terrain component" something else deactivate it but just make sure it is activated when you build

 

I'd like to pin your comment, but there is no such feature in Unity forums I will copy it to MapMagic FAQ, it really might help other MicroSplat and IL2CPP users. Thanks for finding that out!

If you will visit some terrain, then leave it, and then return MM will generate exactly the same terrain at this location as long as the graph (with it's seed values) will remain the same. So there might be no need in locking or pinning tile unless you are going to perform manual modifications of terrains or objects on them. Even then locking is not required, you can just pin the tile with `mapMagicObject.tiles.Pin(coordinate, asDraft:false)`. This will prevent the terrain from destroying, (but won't serialize or send changes via net - it's a bit oput of scope of MM).

And again, as long as the graphs (with their seed values) are the same MM will generate absolutely identical terrains on all machines on all platforms. Not sure how exactly it's done in Animal Crossing, but if some player will come to the neighbor location to another player they both will see the same terrain even if no sync was performed. (unless the terrains were changed manually, of course).

Unfortunately updating navmesh is a Unity calculation that I can't speed up. The only thing I can recommend is looking towards the real-time pathfinding. Usually open terrains are not a maze, so real-time algorithms might be enough.

I plan the total re-make of Voxeland, written in C++, with improved meshing algorithms and voxel data. I have no plans to add support for current version, however don't know new Voxeland ETA yet - or will it be made at all.

 

Understood, maybe this will help...... As seen in the images

1 is tile box border to limit player until level has increased, at that point expand outward 1 tile in each direction and so fourth.

2 Are the different locations to spawn factions.

3 is player base / starting point

4 is a site/location where a player is able to build, these(sites) are to be placed all over map where ever player can build

As seen I'm using box trigger for when player is in given area, then the build option become available, then player can instantiate building to that coordinate.

I'm trying to instantiate a base for each faction and player randomly if need be then have multiple site/locations around tile for factions to battle over

There will be game logic to allow npc's and player to terraform, even then what ever site/location that's occupied by player or other needs to remain until player lose it in battle or sell/trade

how can I reference lock parameters and add/remove locks and place object at that lock coordinate during runtime, flush with terrain.

Functionality that you would see in C&C build system.

For seeds I plan on having each player with there own seed unless to players team up then both seeds become one,

Each player is given 1 tile to start with 8 possible connections. 4 sides and 4 corners I understand the height map for edges may differ, is there a way to leave some sort of buffer just before you get to edge that can connect any tile map.

Looking for a way to connect two player tile at available spot

Thanks,

 

I'm using Whittaker to generate biomes and I would like to apply camera effects when you are in certain biomes.
Is there any way to tell which biome you are in?

 

That's indeed good and unexpected news. A remade Voxeland ^ ^ Thanks for your response : D

 

I'd like to introduce you new features MapMagic 2.1.0 will bring, and make a series of videos to show them. I'll start with the one that doesn't directly related with MM2 Core, but still noticeable - it's a new module called MapMagic Brush:

 

MapMagic clears all the procedural data in playmode, including the biome masks. However you can get most intense terrain texture at some position and use it as a key to get biome.

The main purpose of lock is to preserve some area from being changed on re-generating terrain. Re-generating happens when you change values while editing the graph. I'd like to highlight that lock doesn't store any terrain data - it just mask area where MapMagic doesn't apply it's effect on graph change. The graph is not supposed to be changed in runtime (except clear scene), so you have no changed tiles in playmode. Lock has no use in this case, that's why it's an editor-only feature.

If each of the players has the same graph they all will have the same terrain. If not - there is no way to blend them out of the box. Using biomes might help, but currently I can't think of an elegant way to use it.

 

Amazing new update, can't wait to test that out

 

Hi ..
I just purchased MM2 Object, and got strange behaviour that in many cases the map regeneration just completely death ...

I tried to change the tree prefab, changing parameters, even deleting a node... but nothing been generated and only the MM (without) object is working ...

I works with URP and multiple scene, my camera and lightings are on the other scene (just in case it has impact).

And sometime also the Scene editor just went black / dark UNTIL i closed the other scene, than the colorful landscape returned....

Any clue?

Thanks.

 

You may want to try discord..
https://discord.com/channels/440966939615952898/445594393848709122