[Release Thread] VFX Toolbox Image Sequencer

Hi Everyone!

We are thrilled to announce a new tool for VFX Artists, called the Image Sequencer. This tool aims to be the base of process for image sequences and one of its first goals is to generate flipbook texture sheets the easy way.

Disclaimer :
The ImageSequencer is an experimental tool that will improve in the future, so It is not full-featured yet. We encourage you testing this and updating regularly to the latest version for latest bugfixes and features.

Also, please be aware of its experimental state : if you want to add this tool to your production pipeline, expect things will change over time, and potentially break compatibility, so we do not consider it production-ready yet. Please also make a backup of your project before installing the packages.

Requirements:

• Unity 5.5.0 and newer.
• An unity Project, preferably configured using the following:
  • Linear rendering project
  • DX11, or OpenGLCore* rendering backend
• A computer with fast GPU, and decent amount of VRAM**

* OpenGLCore on Windows has slightly worse performance than DX11
** Depending on the complexity of the data you will process, I recommend at least a GeForce GTX 760 or equivalent, Intel chipsets are not recommended)

Feedback:

Your feedback is very appreciated ! Along with each release, a thread will be created for discussion on this version. Feel free to comment. If you have other thoughts or questions, feel free to create a discussion thread.

Documentation :

You will find the current documentation here. It should match the latest version of the tool.

Download:

LATEST (f2) version is here: ImageSequencer Only or ImageSequencer with Assets

Important if upgrading from f1 : A change of namespaces in API from UnityEngine to UnityEditor happened, so we strongly advise removing the VFXToolbox folder before importing the unitypackage. (ignore the errors after deleting).

In this thread are posts with each release of the tool, the latest release will be in the last post.

 

Release f1 - 20161101

Release Notes:

• This is the initial release package, It has been tested on Unity 5.5.0b7 on Windows and Mac.
• Documentation is, as always, available here
• The Editor and Assets package contains source files, ImageSequence templates, and also assembled flipbooks that you can use as examples but also use them in your projects, they are released under the Creative Commons Zero license.

Download links:

• ImageSequencer Only (69KB)
• ImageSequencer and Assets (383MB)

Known Issues:

• Does not work currently on editor using DX9 / DX12 backends
• Performance issues on Windows OpenGLCore (prefer DX11 for now)

 

Release f2 - 20170116

Important :

A change of namespaces in API from UnityEngine to UnityEditor happened, so we strongly advise removing the VFXToolbox folder before importing the unitypackage. (ignore the errors after deleting).

New Features:

• Added Custom material processor : now you can create your own filters using shaders!
  • Added Example Shaders (use them as examples if you want to create your own)
    • Blur
    • Rotation
    • Height to Normals
    • Simple lighting from normals
• Ability to inherit processor settings (as read only) from other sequences.
• Added an icon for the Image Sequence asset.
• Now canvas has an Update button if asset is already exported.
• Added Ping Image Sequence and output texture in the options menu.
• Added Ping Current Image Sequence from button (above left pane)
• Added access to the documentation or the forums in the options menu
• Inspector help button now leads to the documentation.
• Crop Processor: Added Find Best Crop values button (will parse and find best crop values depending on the input images of the crop processor.)
• Export : can now export as sprites with slices.
• Export : can now export to Normal Maps (either from grayscale or actual normals)
• Export : can export alpha in a separate TGA grayscale file.

Fixes:

• Potential breaks when removing last frames of input sequence
• Terminology : Assemble Flipbook and Break Flipbook are now under the Texture Sheet category

Data:

• Added Disc 01 and Candle 01 smoke sequences.
• Image Sequence examples for new features.
• Example materials for Custom Materials

Other notes:

• Changes and Refactoring in API (factorized code for future developments)
• Tiny bits of optimization
• Due to incompatibilities, DirectX9 editors will not be supported
• The Image Sequencer did not have a license, it is now under MIT license (all the assets stay under CC0 though)

Download links:

• ImageSequencer Only (101KB)
• ImageSequencer and Assets (445MB)

Known Issues:

• Still have Performance issues on Windows OpenGLCore (prefer DX11 for now)