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ProBuilder vs Blender

Discussion in 'Editor & General Support' started by ChilliCollective1, Mar 24, 2017.

  1. ChilliCollective1

    ChilliCollective1

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2017
    Posts:
    3
    Hi Guys,

    I'm about to start a new project, which will be mobile VR, with a (relatively) realistic looks & feel. I am choosing between Blender and ProBuilder to create the scene. I'm wondering whether there's any huge differences between the two that'd make the choice easier over which way to go?

    Any thoughts guys?

    FYI - I have 'a bit' of experience with Blender, and maybe a day or two's with ProBuilder.

    Thanks!
     
  2. SarfaraazAlladin

    SarfaraazAlladin

    Joined:
    Dec 20, 2013
    Posts:
    280
    ProBuilder is intended for prototyping spaces and getting your initial layouts done. Blender is a very robust modeling program suited for any type of 3d modeling you want to do.

    I mean, I'm sure you could model everything with ProBuilder, but it wouldn't be as straightforward in many ways because of a lack of tools for complex object modifications, not to mention UV editing.

    Since you already have Pro Builder, go ahead and use it to block everything out :) it's also fine to use for simple floors, walls, etc. But you'll want to use blender for anything complex or organic.
     
  3. yahodahan

    yahodahan

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2009
    Posts:
    1,380
    SarfaraazAlladin has it right! :) The best option is to use both tools for their intended purposes: ProBuilder for quick-n-dirty geo and design, then export as OBJ and use fine-tune in Blender/Maya/etc :)

    On the other hand, with the (sort of) new UV Editor and more complex editing options, you could certainly get very far with just ProBuilder. This depends especially on your art style- for instance, STRAFE built their entire game with ProBuilder, while Tinertia just used it for blocked-out level design, then converted that to collision geo (clever!).

    Hope that helps! :)
     
  4. TheEagleEye

    TheEagleEye

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2019
    Posts:
    1
    ProBuilder is easier to use but objects are like squared, Blender is difficult for beginners but really good for any object to create.
     
  5. ron-bohn

    ron-bohn

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2015
    Posts:
    267
    Actually, you can do UV editing in Probuilder. I use it for atlasing. For real-time 3D modeling, doing sculpting is easier in blender, but most everything else is easier and more straight forward in probuilder.

    You can bevel in probuilder. In fact for most environment modeling, if you stretch the limits of probuilder, then you will also have a massive amount of vertices in your scene and your memory requirements will be higher just with meshes, LOD's, and such.
     
  6. LSpring

    LSpring

    Joined:
    Nov 12, 2014
    Posts:
    68
    I’m doing some hard surface modeling for a sci fi game. ProBuilder is doing the trick because I’m sticking with simple clean designs and using Surforge for adding details and material realism. Powerful combo, once one gets the workflows down.
     
    ron-bohn likes this.
  7. Alex16212

    Alex16212

    Joined:
    Dec 20, 2018
    Posts:
    32
    The question is, how to use ProBuilder's tools such an Material Editor with models imported from Blender? For example UV mapping. Is it possible?

    As far as I understood, if you've started to model with Blender, you have to finish the whole model (including UV mapping) in Blender and then export it to Unity. If you've started with ProBuilder and its tools, then continue with it. If you then switch to Blender, you have to continue with Blender until the end.

    In other words, there is no easy way to convert meshes to ProBuilder format, to use its tools such Material or UV Editor?
     
  8. Psychiatrist

    Psychiatrist

    Joined:
    Nov 7, 2020
    Posts:
    2
    There is an option called Probuilderize which turns a mesh into a pro builder object. Would that do the trick for you?
     
    Kurt-Dekker likes this.
  9. Kurt-Dekker

    Kurt-Dekker

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2013
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    38,517
    This is what you need, but it's not a free-back-and-forth-all-day-long process.

    You want to be very intentional and parsimonious about how many times you go back and forth because there's a LOT of room for error.

    When you drop a Blender file in, Unity has Blender run a Python export script, then imports the resulting temporary FBX file, which you don't ever see in the filesystem.

    When you drop that (or any model file) into your scene, it makes a GameObject, gives it a MeshFilter and MeshRenderer. The MeshFilter is pointing at the Blender/FBX file.

    If you "Probuilderize" that object, it breaks all the links to the original Blender/FBX file mesh and creates a Probuilder mesh in scene and connects everything back up in that one object, giving it everything it needs to be edited in Probuilder.

    You now MUST save that scene or prefab because that's where your modified mesh is now.

    Once you do that there is NO connection back to the Blender file. You could even delete the Blender file at that point. This obviously applies to any other model that your mesh originally came from: it is out of the picture now because the data is in Probuilder format in your scene / prefab.

    If you wanted to bring changes after that point back to Blender, you need to export it with something like ExportOBJ and then import that into Blender.
     
  10. kdgalla

    kdgalla

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    Mar 15, 2013
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    After trying both, I prefer to do everything in Blender, even though it's not integrated into Unity. I just find the tools in Blender are much easier to use.

    The obvious advantage to an integrated solution is that you really need to play-test your environment constantly as you build it to make sure it feels right with your player controls. Whenever you save it in Blender it will instantly update in Unity, though. Doing back-and-forth iterations are so quick and easy that it really does not matter that it's a separate application.
     
    Kurt-Dekker likes this.
  11. ron-bohn

    ron-bohn

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    Oct 5, 2015
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    Can't you just use the "FBX Exporter" to replace your original fbx file?
     
  12. Kurt-Dekker

    Kurt-Dekker

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    Agreed... one thing I forgot to add though @kdgalla: if you use Blender this way (and I do! It's so slick!), then you will never be able to use cloud build, as Unity does not license Blender to their cloud machines.

    There was a period in 2017 where I started to ramp up and was seriously considering cloud build, as I had a pro license of my own at the time, but since I work directly with .blend files in Unity, the cloud build was unavailable to me.

    Actually one of the other silly things was at the time, you need a pro-pro-pro license (I forget the type or name) in order to use git as the source control source, otherwise you were stuck in Mercurial/SVN. For that petty business decision alone, the Unity cloud build service was dead to me. That ranks right up there with blocking dark theme from non-pro users. /rant off
     
  13. kdgalla

    kdgalla

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    I don't know what the advantage to cloud building is, but I guess you could always develop your maps in a separate project and build them into asset bundles to use with your cloud project. I've heard that some people do this anyway in order to keep their main, working projects smaller and more organized.
     
  14. Kurt-Dekker

    Kurt-Dekker

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    Properly configured, cloud building can be a dream... now I don't know what features Unity's cloud has (or had?) but our company has built an amazing in-house solution that builds Android and iOS, pushes the binaries up to various app distribution companies, and archives all the artifacts for final upload to Apple or Google.

    And it does that every time I push a commit. The value of CI/CD in a busy team environment cannot be overstated.

    Our company's build team ROCKS.
     
    ron-bohn likes this.