"ProBuilder"- Fast, Simple 3D Modeling in Unity- Beta Test to Win a Free Copy! :)

Note: ProBuilder 2.0 Released! This post is now obsolete!
Probuilder 2.0 is a complete from-scratch rebuild of ProBuilder, and is vastly more intuitive, powerful, and optimized. Check it out on the forums HERE, and the official page at "www.probuilder3d.com"

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Update: ProBuilder is now live on the Asset Store! Beta is closed, but there is lots of good information here and on the Probuilder Facebook page at "facebook.com/probuilder3d". Thanks for looking!
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I am very excited to announce that my "ProBuilder" tool for Unity is ready for real testing! This tool allows extremely fast, simple, and FUN geometry creation, editing AND texture/UV control right in Unity.

I work professionally as a 3D artist (www.studio2a.net, www.ofgabriel.com), and let me tell ya- this tool is still the best way to quickly create environment meshes in Unity, and so much more!

Now that the tool is almost fully complete (features are all in, just chasing bugs!) I need to get serious feedback and (hopefully!) build some "hype" before release to the Asset Store...so, a public Beta for everyone to try!

I'd love to see what everyone's creativity can do with this tool- so post your creations here, and the best one will win a free copy of ProBuilder! Bonus points if you even post a video

ProBuilder Feature List
-Create "Builder Boxes"
-Move vertices and faces using standard Unity controls
-Automatic collision meshes
-Automatically calculate mass for Rigid Body physics
-Built-In Lightmap UVs
-Rotate, Scale, Or Move Texture on object without changing material
-Apply materials per-face!
-Quickly apply materials to multiple faces, or right-click on a face to instantly paint it
-Simple Optimization options

Sped-Up Example Scene:"Medieval House", Part 1: Modeling

Sped-Up Example Scene:"Medieval House", Part 2: Texturing

Example Scene: Sci-Fi "Hanger" (more coming soon!)





Features/Short Tutorial Video

Quick Install/FAQ Video

Interested in checking out the beta? Reply to this forum with the awesome project you would use ProBuilder for, and I'll send you personal beta copy ASAP If you have comments/suggestions/issues, post 'em here as well.

Thanks much to all those who helped me build this, and to everyone who can help test it out! Also, if you have time, I'd really appreciate a quick Facebook "like"
https://www.facebook.com/probuilder3d

Happy (Pro)Building!

 

Looks interesting! I'm definitely interested in testing it out, might make some of the iteration on a ball-physics game I'm working on quicker to be able to quickly construct and tweak semi-curves/angles/etc. with this (and I can see possible use for some background props/etc. that would be quick-and-dirty). I'll report any bugs/etc. I run into to you, of course. Also tossing on a facebook like.

 

Sweet! I'd love to check this out! I'm currently working on a submarine exploration game. Current WIP Here. I'd love to have a go at using this to model some underwater *stuff*. Maybe coral, shipwrecks... tube worms, giant squid, etc. You know, the usual underwater fare.

I also have a robot combat game (currently on hold while I finish the submarine game for a contest). Once I get back to that, I'll be modeling robots, weapons and equipment, as well as different arenas and settings to fight in.

 

Hey MadRobot- RedShift is lots of fun! I've wanted to make something like myself, neat to see you already did PM sent!

 

That sounds like a neat idea- in fact, I'm going to make a demo-scene just for that sort of thing, now that you mention it. I'll try to post the video ASAP. PM sent!

 

Already an update to the Beta- give it a try!

 

Sounds cool man, I always wondered why unity didnt have something similar built in for mock ups at the least, full blown modelling inside would be cool!

Can I get in on this beta? Ill use it to model some stuff on a android game I am finishing up right now! I doubt I could out-model 95% of all real modellers, but I could atleast give you some feedback!

 

Thanks MD_Reptile- I've always felt the same. I'm actually just an artist with basic code knowledge (well, before this, lol), but I knew I had to have this tool! Nobody was making it, so I decided the only way to get it was to do the work myself I think once I get a few more vids out, people will start to see just how amazingly useful the tool is!

Of course you can get in on the Beta, it's totally open, I'm just curious to see what folks will be creating with it Sending a PM ASAP!

And as for out-modeling anyone- that's the beauty of of ProBuilder, it's so simple to use and (honestly!) fun, you won't have any trouble making awesome levels in no time. Feedback is great too!

 

This looks really cool. If you need a tester I will happily help out.

 

WOW. I have been searching for something like this since I first started Unity development. I thought I'd have to use DeleD or figure out some kind of Hammer -> Unity workflow, but this would definitely simplify level creation.
The only other feature I can think of that this needs is extrusion. It'd be extremely useful to extrude a box out from a selected face.

My current project, NecroPixels, would make heavy use of ProBuilder for stuff like levels, small props, etc.

 

liked ;-) currently busy on different projects (for refs i just posted some screens here)
would love to give this a try and just make some sweets for the eye.

 

Love your hangar level.

The question is, is your final creation saved as a mesh, or kept in its original, editable format? Also how do you texture it?

 

@Sir.TIddlesworth: Thanks! Testers are more than needed, they are very much wanted!

@PhobicGunner: So glad to see you responded, I'm a huge fan of your "Necropixels" game, and really hoped you would be interested- especially seeing how much of your game is built from cubes/planes, this tool ought to work great for you! Interesting that you mention Hammer- that's my inspiration for this tool I agree Extrusion would be great, although Hammer gets along fine without it, just a bit different workflow.

@jister: Neat work on the puppet sim! Quite some visuals indeed

PM sending to everyone in just a sec...

 

Thanks for the compliment, and good questions- there is no "final creation" it is always editable- you can edit, save, lightmap, edit more, texture, save, edit...etc- never do you lose functionality

As for texturing, it's extremely easy:
1) Select any material as your "Quick Paint"
2) Select all the faces you want to "Paint", and hit "Apply", or just right-click on each face you want to paint. Simplicity is what this tool is all about.

Thanks for the comments

 

Beta V3 is out! Various small but important fixes/additions.

Also, I added a quick "Install and Setup" video at the top, definitly good to watch if you are one of the awesome folks giving this a test drive. Find it at the top of this thread, or go directly to it here:

 

If by chance you are still looking for people to test ProBuilder, I would enjoy your consideration in being able to assist with the beta. Regardless, I am looking forward to seeing this product released, I am sure it will be a great success!

 

Just letting you know that the PM did not seem to make it through. Could you please resend it?

 

We would love to use this beta version of the tool. Check our project on my signuture.

PS: Liked your FB page

Regards,

I-TECH

 

same here, didn't get the PM ;-)
video looks sweet

 

Wish I could test this beta to help me develop new content for my little game Cave Run 3D . Seems like a really nice and fast way to prototype and even make new content quick and with little effort. Wish this feature would be implemented directly in Unity3D...

Anyway even if I don't make it to be a beta tester I'll be checking this for updates. Keep the good work

 

Ooooh this looks pretty awesome, My company is making a 3D racer game, So this might be useful to make some of the assets for that

Can I have a play with it?

thanks,

Scott,

 

Really excited to test this. I have the same problem, the PM didn't make it...

 

Oops, I must be going crazy, because it looks like that PM just didn't get sent...Sending NOW, sorry folks!

Beta is now at V3b, hopefully closing it down tonight- last chance to get a scene submitted and win that free full license!

 

Hello yahodahan I would like to test your tool out. I am blocking out some assets for a interior level of a building and I also purchase GameDraw which I would like to compare your tool to as well.

 

This looks stunning. I love to test it as well. Don't forget to PM me.

 

PM's don't seem to work, can you mail me a copy? jethrovolders@hotmail.com.
thanks ;-)

 

Okay, this time the forums might just be at fault- sending individually!

In ProBuilder news, working on a very cool "Medieval House" video-demo, should be done soon!

 

Check it out! Very cool new vid, sped-up creation of a "Medieval House" right in Unity, using nothing but ProBuilder + ProGrids!
Part 2, "Texturing", is being made right now

http://youtu.be/CFRyVjm9QPc

 

ah great thx Yahodahan! got the mail!! I'll be working with it all day tomorrow!!
psyched about this!!

great vid btw nice model! lets see it textured

any idea bout the price you gonna slap on this beauty? If not to expansive i can recommend it to my students that use unity!

 

...did someone say textured?
Youtube video uploading now (tick tock!), meanwhile, here's a sneak peak:

 

Price will be around $50-$100. I want to keep it affordable for everyone, but also fair to the many hours I've put it into it.

As NGUI says, "if it saves you just a few hours, it's already paid for itself". And honestly, for anyone building a 3D level, this tool really ought to save many, hours of tedius work and headache.

 

Texturing video is done, check it out!
http://youtu.be/D4CsydxCOEk

 

This looks really cool. I would like to test it. I'm making a RPG and I'm at the point that I'm making a lot of models. This sure would be a nice tool to have for building. Please sign me up.

 

this looks cool and useful,
what about optimization, run time speed (slower/same of same polycount asset if built in third party tool), performance on iOS.
use for Prototyping only or fast enough for final use, assuming the end result fits witht the overall style/visual quality of a game/application

all the best

 

This is an excellent tool! It is very easy to use (most people should not need any documentation), it works beautifully, and there are no bugs from what I can see.
This is something I would definitely use.

 

If this tool doesn't kick off id be very dis-appointed Well done on getting this done gab! I really love what it can do.

 

Also good questions! And I'm going to update the top with one major thing- YES it is completely iOS/Android friendly

As for performance, in theory it ought to be about the same, or in some cases, much better. This is because you can make one material look like many, tile them for a super hi-rez look that a single model+texture could never achieve, and still only have 1 single drawcall. And the ability keep on editing it, right in Unity, is just icing on the cake!

ProBuilder's scripts/etc have absolutely zero effect in-game. Each face is just a plane and nothing more, so there is no overhead added.

Another advantage is occlusion- since each face is it's own mesh, if occlusion is running, a complex model will only be rendering the faces that are not occluded by other faces- neat!

In summery, I'm partially replicating what the Source Engine does with BSP- and that's one of the most efficient-yet-powerful engines around!

 

Thanks much, great to hear!

 

hmm I'm afraid that will be just a bit to expensive for the students. they'll grab back to 3ds max (free student license).
but for devs making money with their work it's practically free ;-)

 

I understand- I just finished up being a student myself. I really appreciate your offer to show this to your students, perhaps it will be worth it to some of them- it'd be great to know I had helped them out.

Just a side note, be careful with that 3DS Max "free" license- the terms actually read "ANYTHING made with this license can NOT be used commercially, and (this is the really nasty part) is property of Autodesk, Inc". I ran into that myself...only reason I know it.

 

Been playing around with this, looks really good, but just one problem. Every time I click "Edit" under "~Texturing~", I get one "Can't add MeshCollider to [...] because it already exists" errors for every plane in the box, and a NullReferenceException on line 449 of ProBuilderWindow.js. If I could get that part to work, I think I'd be completely happy! I especially love that I can push vertices around and not screw up the texture alignment.

EDIT: Really simple fix, just change the if statement to

Code (csharp):

1. if( quickPaintMaterials != null  quickPaintMaterials.length !=0 )

EDIT 2: Oops, I was wrong. After the change, the texture editor now shows up without throwing errors, but nothing works... (no debug statements to provide any hints, either)

Hm.... looking through the code, it seems at least part of the issue is that quickPaintMaterials is never initialized, if that helps.

 

I would love to beta test this! The project I would be using it for is Demonic Crusades, view-able in the link in my Signature

 

Thanks Phobic- I've been speaking with another (MD_Lizard) about this exact issue, only a few minutes ago- it's something I swear I fixed in V3, but I think my dropbox might have errored/something. I'll get it re-fixed asap!

 

Also, joelsantos has all-but-confirmed that Unity 3.5+ is needed. That seems logical and fine though.

 

@PhobicGunner- hmm, I can't seem to replicate your issue at all, or MD_Lizards. I'm going to re-export the most recent files and send them off ASAP! Hopefully folks can confirm which of us is crazy!

Thanks much!

 

Ah, yes- problem fixed, sending out BetaV4b, again many thanks for the help tracking these down!

 

PS PhobicGunner, you were right on the money- although I changed it slightly differently than that. Good find!

 

Yay, will download and check out the new stuff tomorrow

 

Hooray for Super-Batching!

 

WTF "...is property of Autodesk, Inc..." ??? damn thanks for the warning!
just wannted to try out ProBuilder but: Assets/6by7/ProBuilder/Scripts/builder_VertHandle.js(38,40): BCE0017: The best overload for the method 'UnityEngine.Gizmos.DrawIcon(UnityEngine.Vector3, String)' is not compatible with the argument list '(UnityEngine.Vector3, String, boolean)'.