[Published] Spline plus- Spline mesh deform

i understand what are you trying to achieve, i'll tell you how i did it for Node Speed and Node Scale
and hope it helps you with your problem
Node Scale and Node Speed are handled the same way, so we will take Node Speed as example
what i'm doing is storing Node speed value in the node class


instead of calculating the interpolated value of speed every frame , i'm calculating it during initial spline draw, or when spline shape is modified, then i'm caching the interpolated speed value in an array which has the length of branch vertices, in another word each vertex of the branch will have the equivalent speed value.
this is done in the SplineCreationClass.cs CubicBezier( ) method

i'm not using real time interpolation because it is slow, the part where you determin the two nodes where the follower is located between is kind of a complex calculation, specially if the branch has more than two nodes,


when the initial spline drawing calculation is made, branches gets transformed into arrays of vertices, tangents, normals ,speed, scale and other arrays, nodes are not somehow part of the branch anymore when path following, all the arrays are the same length, they works together, no need for any precalculations

you can use all this to add something similar that will help you get your problem resolved, it is not going to be simple but it is doable

 

@villaman i'll see what i can do to improve UVs scaling, in the meantime have you tried material settings ,it can help with scaling alot

 

Hi @doukisan , why you would need spline with mesh capping feature for that , as far as i know unity sprite system offers that for free, all you have to do is provide an atlas with transparency

 

I'm aware of the Unity Sprite Shape tool, if that's what you mean, and that's kind of what I'm looked for, except I want to do it in 3D... I was looking for a solution that make it possible to do it with 3D models

 

Hi,
i'll be updating Spline Plus and Spline Mesh deform this week, here is the most important head lines in the new update
- New smart efficient nodes adding logic
- Nodes adding not working properly on branches with free nodes is now fixed
- All source code is now under the namespace "ElseForty" to avoid Ambiguity "using ElseForty;"
- All Scene view menu items actions can now be found in the inspector as many users have resquested that

- Scene view popups now allow node selection change when open
- Follower settings window throwing null ref exception when changing selection in scene hierarchy bug fixed

 

Hi @doukisan
if that is what you want then here is a video of the spline mesh deform extrude with cap only to have a better look on what you will get,
if you have other questions let me know,

 

im looking at buying this asset. im making a 2.5d side scroller with branching paths. what i would like to do is be able to follow a path only a certain points on the map. lets say im in an open area of the map where i can freely roam around, but then i want to go up a mountain path around the mountain. the mountain path is the spline that i would follow. at a certain point along the path i need to be able to jump across a gap, so i would be leaving the initial spline, jumping over a gap, and landing on another spline. can spline+ do this? i need to be able quickly leave and follow splines.

 

Hi @jcochran
you can do that but you need to do some extra coding to be able to have the effect you want ,
you can see something similar to what are you trying to achieve in the demo video bellow starting at 1:10
the character can move freely using keyboard but once it gets close to the empty game object IN "in yellow" it gets instantly snapped to the spline and become a spline follower

 

is that code freely available?

 

the scene in the demo video is already included in the package with the code but you still need to make your own version, if you are good with programming i'd say go for it

 

Hi, I tried to build the City_Road demo scene to iOS and got the following build error:
Assets\ElseForty\SplinePlus\Plugins\SPFile.cs(237,9): error CS0104: 'Object' is an ambiguous reference between 'UnityEngine.Object' and 'object'
Any help fixing this would be appreciated. I am using Unity 2021.1.14f1 URP

 

Hi @mgrugl
try changing the line 237 in SPFile.cs from

Code (CSharp):

1.       Object.Destroy(externelSPData.SplinePlus.gameObject);

to this

Code (CSharp):

1.       UnityEngine.Object.Destroy(externelSPData.SplinePlus.gameObject);

let me know if it works for you
best regards,

 

Thank you very much for your swift reply! This fixed the build error. Could this adjustment be part of a future update of Spline Plus?

 

Sure this fixe will be included in the next update

 

In uity2021.2, after importing spline plus into a plain project, when I right-click on the scene view with the game object with spline plus attached selected, the context menu does not appear and I am in the move perspective mode. I cannot create a spline.
Is this a known issue?

 

Hi C1B0
Did you add spline plus through the menu tools=>Spline plus ? it should be done this way

 

I added it using that procedure.
I've attached a video that reproduces the process for you to watch.
Sorry for the Japanese environment.

 

Thanx for the video, I’ll test it on a unity 2021.2 today and get back to you

 

@C1B0 i've tested it, it works for me, i'm on a mac machine by the way,
anyway when adding the first node ever the right click menu is disabled by default because the user is forced to nodes adding mode, just click in your scene view to add the first node, when it is added you can freely open up the right click menu after,
let me know if this works for you,

 

I tried that process but could not add the first node.
I also tried the same thing with unity 2019/2020 and it seems to have the same problem with those versions.
I'm using windows 11 environment, maybe there is a problem with the environment this editor runs in?

 

i

I don't really know about this, i haven't tested the package on Unity with windows 11 environment yet, this could potentionlly be the problem,
do you have the ability to test the package on windows 10, just to be sure it is a windows 11 problem,
at the moment, i'm travelling, unfortunately i don't have access to a windows machine.

 

Hello elseforty, i just bought your asset spline mesh deform and it does not works for me. The editor window can't show the spline plus component and there are some nullreference in the console window. it appens with every demo scene i tried.see the screenshot. I tried the asset with Unity 2020 and 2019. i'm on windows 7. Thanks for your help.

 

Hi @laurentfernandez
i downloaded and tested the package from the asset store on a unity 2019 window 10 and mac big sur, it is working as expected, it seams like you have banner image that hasn't loaded,i can tell this from the error you are getting (line 81) SplinePlusEditor.cs
can you check in your project folder if you already have these images as in the screenshot bellow, if not please reimport the package
also do you have the ability to test the package on a windows 10 machin, there could be some incompatibility issues with windows 7 and the recent versions of unity since it is no longer supported


let me know if this works for you
Best regards

 

Thanks for your quick answer, i have the pictures in the right folder. I tried to reimport it but it's the same. I don't have other pc with windows 10 to try it.

 

i had this message when opening the project

 

it seems that SplinePlusEditor.FindAssetPath( does not find the files on my pc
if i replace this :
if (Banner == null) Banner = new GUIContent((Texture2D)EditorGUIUtility.Load(SplinePlusEditor.FindAssetPath("Banner.png") ));
with the full path:
if (Banner == null) Banner = new GUIContent((Texture2D)EditorGUIUtility.Load("Assets/ElseForty/Other/Media/Banner.png" ));
it works

 

@laurentfernandez yeah, seams like "System.IO.Directory.GetFiles()" found in "SplinePlusEditor.FindAssetPath("")" is not working, i guess it is not supported in windows 7, the only solution i can see is hardcore the url of the assets just like what you did above, in total you will have arround 17 assets url to hardcode
look for the asset in your project window ,right click , copy path will help you get this done quickly

 

Hi @elseforty

can your tool be use to create a road network and also fast build the heightmap to match the road as Easy Roads 3D does ?

 

@Vagabond_ Hi, unfortunatly spline mesh deform does not offer that feature. what it can help with is desin the spline system for complex roads since it supports branching,

 

Hi there,

Please may I ask, how can I add an event in code (not via the inspector) to detect when a follower is on a branch, and, how can I then tell that follower which branch to take (based on my own logic, not keyboard or random) ?

Thanks so much for your help and best wishes from Australia

John

 

Hi @jh092
I'm afraid there is no API for this use case, you will need to find your way by checking the source code, to stear you toward the right direction, events are tied to follower object,you can access the events list by doing this

MyFollower.Events

it is a list of SplinePlusEvent object and this is its representation

Code (CSharp):

1.     public class SplinePlusEvent
2.     {
3.         public string EventName = "Your event name here";
4.         public UnityEvent CustomEvent = new UnityEvent();
5.         public List<EventBranch> EventBranches = new List<EventBranch>();
6.         public bool Show_Event = true;
7.         public Event_Type Event_Type = Event_Type.Branch;
8.         public KeyCode KeyCode = KeyCode.Space;
9.     }

i think this can help you to add events in code,
i hope i have helped a little bit
let me know in case you have other questions

Best regards,

 

concerning the second question i think you are looking for this method if i'm not mistaken

        SplinePlusAPI.Follower_Set_Branch(Follower follower, int branchKey)

 

Hey,

Just about to get the new bundle, do we we need Spline + to be able to use Spline Mesh Deformer?

I am pretty sure this is the case, but would just like clarification.
Much thanks

 

Hi,
You don't need Spline Plus, it is already included in spline mesh deform,
Best regards

 

Wow, that is awesome news!
Thank you!

 

Hey,

I am having trouble loading .sp files at run time. Seems to work up until the mesh deformer tries to load in meshes. Is there a best practice for loading the splines and applying the mesh deform at runtime?

I am calling:

Code (CSharp):

1. SPFile.ReadSplinePlusFile(pathTo.SPfile, alreadyCreatedSPData);

This is the error in the console:
KeyNotFoundException: The given key '0' was not present in the dictionary.
System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary`2[TKey,TValue].get_Item (TKey key) (at <612a2c65aaf843d698f8d38b2ad7654a>:0)
ElseForty.DeformedMesh.DrawMesh_Branches () (at Assets/ElseForty/SplineMeshDeform/Plugins/DeformedMesh.cs:244)

I have managed to get a spline to partially load by pre-creating the deform mesh components and a short branch using the Api commands. The branch spline is then overwritten by the load function but I don't think this will scale well and it looks like it doesn't link the final node when drawing the mesh.

Sorry if this has been answered already.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Hallo elseforty,
I have problems with "Spline Mesh Deform v.4.03" (win 7 - Unity 2021.3.11)
1. Navigation in Scene - View is not not working as expected.No RightMouse moves possible.
No more object selection is possible.
( "the plugin is "breaking" my editor view. After doing some Spline Plus related things, I just have the hand cursor and can't click anything, also not right-click anything ".)
2.Is it possible to deactivate the Popup Menue when doing Right Mouse Click
3.The spline Gizmo is vanishing from Scene-view when entering Play-Mode.
4.The Manual says : "Click on the node in your scene view to select a node."
but in my case it is "Double-Click" (essential and important to know)?
5.Is it possible to Generally adjust the Settings or do I always again have to do that for every new SplinePlusGameObj?

I can`t continue exploring this interesting Asset and... any help would be greatly appreciated!
Greetings

 

Similar issues to @Geelfan - the scene view navigation works initially after opening Unity but stops once I start playing with the Spline+ in the scene

And in the Keyboard_Navigation scene I get this error:

Code (CSharp):

1. NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
2. ElseForty.SPData.OnBeforeSerialize () (at Assets/ElseForty/SplinePlus/Plugins/SPData.cs:53)

In Unity 2021.3.12 URP and Spline Mesh Deform 4.03

 

@elseforty

Is this asset still being supported? I see the last update is from over a year ago. I can't really use the asset atm because of the issues listed above, mainly loosing control of navigation in the scene view.

Reading the comments above, have you confirmed that this works on Windows 11?

 

@nathanjams @Geelfan Sorry for the late relpy , i was away for few days,
@Geelfan i would love to help resolve these issues , can you record me a video so i can have a better look , i can't seem to replicate this on my windows 10 or mac os environement, i think this is OS related issue since you're using windows 7
@nathanjams i have recieved simlar complains about incompatibilty issues with windows 11 and spline mesh deform, i have only tested the package on windows 10 and mac os environments , i'll try to have access to a windows 11machine to have a look at this issue by monday

 

Hi michael,
i haven't had the chance to test that feature on runtime, so i can't really tell what is going on, i think the compiler is complaining about a missing branch with key 0,
can you share with a simplied version of the project so i can have a better judgment,

Sorry for the late relpy again

 

There is no rush as long as you are going to address it. Much appreciated.

 

Hi Nathan,
i got the chance today to check spline mesh deform on a windows 11 machine and it seams like everything is working as normal, no exceptions, the unity version i used is 2021.3.2f1 LTS and windows 11,
can you share with me your environment details and the errors your getting
thanx

 

Hello,

Thanks for looking into this so quickly!

In the Keyboard-Navigation scene there is a path error when you press play:

Code (CSharp):

1. NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
2. ElseForty.SPData.OnBeforeSerialize () (at Assets/ElseForty/SplinePlus/Plugins/SPData.cs:53)

And how do you released the mouse so you can use the Unity navigation tools? I couldn't see anything about that in the docs.

I'm using Unity 2021.3.12 and the latest Win 11

 

Hi Nathan,
to get back to the selection mode just press escape in your keyboard,
concerning the exception, it is not fatal, it happens only once when you press play, sometimes it does not appear at all, i think Unity serializer is causing this,
to get rid of it completely just replace the OnBeforeSerialize() in the SPData.cs with code bellow

Code (CSharp):

1.  
2. public void OnBeforeSerialize()
3.         {
4.             if(Keys == null) Keys = new List<int>();
5.             if(Values == null) Values = new List<Branch>();
6.             Keys.Clear();
7.             Values.Clear();
8.             if (DictBranches != null)
9.             {
10.                 foreach (var branch in DictBranches)
11.                 {
12.                     Keys.Add(branch.Key);
13.                     Values.Add(branch.Value);
14.                 }
15.             }
16.         }

let me know if this works for you
thanx

 

Hi,

Ok, yes, the SPData is now fixed but the Esc key on my keyboard is not returning mouse control. Doesn't matter what scene i try, as soon as I click on the Spline component I can not get back my mouse control to default Unity Navigation.

Not sure if it makes a difference but I am on an MSI Laptop. The Esc key works in all other scenarios with other assets and computer functions.

Thanks for looking into this. Let me know if there is anything else I can provide

 

Hi elseforty,
as "nathanjams" wrote...I also still have the Problem : "the Esc key on my keyboard is not returning mouse control",
to have normal Navigation Control and using the "Right Mouse-Navigation Options" in the Editor-View.
The "Hand-Tool" is not being released.
The "Eye-Tool" doesn`t work anymore.
And I cannot select any Game-Object as long the "SplinePlusObj" is selected in the Hierarchy.
(tested in BuiltIn and URP 2021.3.11 in an empty Scene)
I don`t assume it`s an OS related issue in windows 7, because all my other hundreds of Assets don`behave that way.

Therefor again my Questions (a Yes or No would be ok for me):
1.Is it possible to deactivate the Popup Menue (for Node and Branch - Possibilities) when doing Right Mouse Click ?
2.Is it possible to Generally adjust the "Settings"-Parameter or do I have to do that for every new SplinePlusGameObj?

Thank you very much for your help and answers.
Geelfan

 

@nathanjams @Geelfan
can you please confirm to me that when you're on the branch adding mode the spline plus inspector looks like this


if you click esc it changes to this

i hope you understand it is hard to debug if i can't replicate the issue on my end but we will certainly find a solution for this issue, no worries

@Geelfan
concerning your questions
1- it is possible to do that, but you need to change the code, it is simple, look for this c# file named SceneViewDisplay.cs , then comment line 14 "SceneViewUI(sPData, selectedNode);"
and that's it, this will disable the mouse right click menu if it is causing you troubles
2- unfortunatly the settings are spline gameobject tied, not a global scope thing that gets applied to all spline plus game objects in your project,

 

Hey

Maybe its just me. sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't .

Once I've played with it more I'll post back when I can describe it better.

Thanks for your time

 

Hmm

Yeah, it keeps locking on me. The Esc key doesn't do anything.

if i first open the project and then click in the scene I can navigate fine. Click on the Spline object I get the Spline editor tools. Click on a branch (child) and I can navigate freely again. However, if I click back on the Spline object the navigation tools gets stuck on the Spline tool. I can not get back to Unity's tools. Esc doesn't work, clicking on another object doesn't work.



Pressing the Esc button does not make a difference at all.

Thanks again