[RELEASED] UniStorm 5.2 - AAA Volumetric Clouds, URP Support, Weather, Sky, Atmospheric Fog, & More!

Hey there!

We've done tests with a Galaxy S4 and received near an average of 60 FPS. Frame rate also depends on the settings used. UniStorm allows users to adjust certain settings to help with frame rate for older phones.

 

Hey!

UniStorm's wind is used to control Unity's terrain grass. It doesn't fluctuate. There is no dynamic wind variable. However, one could certainly be added using Unity's Mathf.PingPong with an external script: http://docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReference/Mathf.PingPong.html

 

Hey!

I'm not sure why you aren't seeing any clouds. I will do an import test with Unity 5.4 to see what's going on.

 

Hi all,
Sorry if this has already been asked, but I wasn't able to find it in the forum.

I'm having trouble getting dense dynamic clouds. When I set it to 'mostly cloudy' I just get sparse cloud coverage (see image). Also, a separate issue: the gradient is chunky and doesn't look great (see image).

I'm using the latest version of Unistorm in Unity 5.3.4.

Any suggestions for increasing density and improving quality?

 

We are improving clouds with UniStorm 2.2. The new cloud shader will allow you to adjust the density and thickness of the clouds so they aren't as sparse looking, as you can see below.



As for the gradient sky, can you explain? The screenshot above uses the same gradient sky shader that you are using and doesn't look chunky. Enabling HDR on your camera should improve the smoothness of the gradient sky, if you haven't already done so.

Also, are you using the Mobile or Standalone build?

 

Whoops, I had unchecked HDR on the camera...now the gradient is smooth again.

As for "cloud density", I mean the total number of clouds in the sky, not the density of each cloud. When set to "mostly cloudy" the sky should be more cloud than blue sky (like with the non-dynamic clouds). Currently, and in your v2.2 screen shot, there aren't very many clouds in the sky.

Thanks!

 

You're welcome, great to hear that worked!

As for the screenshot above, that is only the partly cloud weather type. With UniStorm 2.2, the mostly cloudy weather type will be more dramatic and have more clouds than blue sky.

 

OK...I'm looking forward to the new version!

 

Sorry if this is a second time but searching brought nothing up.
I'm just wondering if there is a way for Unistorm to cause rain drips on the main camera. The system is absolutely beautiful and this is the only thing (outside of sleet and hail) that it needs.
Also, a less important question. Is there anyway to increase the amount of rain beyond 50,000 as I don't feel the rain is thick enough for the effect I want.

Thank you in advance!

 

Great. I look forward to seeing some clouds.

I updated to 5.4b18 today. I noticed it had some shader fixes for OpenGL, but it didn't fix the clouds.

 

Hello @BHS,

any update on the Axis of the sun/moon? So they don't always spawn from the middle of the whole thing? Is this being implemented in 2.2?

Also,

I'm trying to change the Weather Type by using playmaker. What is the variable for this? There is a variable called "weatherString", could this be the one? If yes, what would be the strings for the weather types.

Basically I want to make a video where I change the Weather Type every couple of seconds & I advance the time really fast.

Thank You <3

 

help?

The ability for me to change the weather from Stormy to Sunny is pretty vital and I don't know how to trigger this. What's the variable?

Thanks <3

 

We will try to find a solution sometime today. However, Unity 5.4 is still in beta and sometimes assets experience odd issues.

Hey there!

Sorry for the delay, it has been a very busy week.

The sun axis update won't be in the 2.2, but most likely in the 2.2.1 update.

As for the variable that changes the weather, it is the weatherForecaster variable.

This variable is an int and changes the weather based off of the weather number lost. This can be found on the UniStorm Wiki here: http://unistorm-weather-system.wikia.com/wiki/Code_References#Weather

 

Thank You very much.

Btw. The scene looks pretty bad if I set up the Rendering Path to be "Deferred" & weather to "Thunder Storm". Basically I have no fog. If I set it to "Forward" it looks ok. This is during Play mode.


Left: Forward Right: Deferred.

I also tried to do an EXE build with the scene set up as Forward, however the build looks just like it was on the right (defered).

Any ideas why?

EDIT: I think it's the SUIMONO Water that is doing nasty stuff

 

You're welcome!

I believe Unity's Fog doesn't work in Deferred rendering and you will need to use the Global Fog Image Effect in order to get proper fog.

UniStorm allows tons of customization so tweak the settings to suit your scene's needs.

As for building, for some reason by default, fog is disabled when building. To fix this, go to Edit > Project Settings > Graphics Settings > Fog Modes and set it from Automatic to Manual.

 

I don't really have to use Deferred at this time so I will just witch to Forward. I'm doing a build right now with the Fog Settings to Manual.



Seems ok.

 

We are evaluating this package for using in our projects, but we need a mandatory feature... it's working in VR with unity virtual reality supported option?

Thanks in advance!

 

Improved clouds sound interesting to me.
Any rough eta on when we'll be able to take them for a spin?

 

Just an info.. dynamic clouds cast shadows on terrain / objects ?

 

We plan on getting an Oculus Rift device within the next few months, but we haven't tested it ourselves. Until then, we can only say that some of our customers have gotten Oculus Rift to work with UniStorm.

We don't give out ETAs, but it shouldn't be too long. The plan is hopefully by the end of this month, but possibly sooner. We are working on tons of needed improvements so we have quite a bit of work that has/needs to be done. I can assure you that the wait will be worth it. The quality difference in lighting, clouds, and Editor functionality has increased quite a bit. We look forward to showing everyone once the update is released.

Clouds don't cast shadows. However, you can use a cookie texture for the sun's light source that will give you a similar effect.

 

Hey @BHS sorry to bug, I'm sure you're very busy, any news on timescale for 2.2 going live?
I'm desperate to get my hands on the sun Intensity curve changes & weather tween duration changes we spoke about beginning of April. I'm one of those who's using a very short day length, 5-10 realtime minutes, I've kind of fudged it into the current version but based on your earlier screenshots I'm very excited.

 

How can I build a game for Desktop and Mobile in the same project for CloudBuild if UniStorm and UniStorm-Mobile are two separate products (even if it's in one bundle now)?

 

Hey there!

Great to hear you are looking forward to UniStorm's new features.

We don't give out exact dates, but we are hoping sometime by the end of this month

Hey there!

I'm not familiar with Cloud Build so unfortunately I cannot provide an answer. If you could provide more information regarding your setup, I can try to offer some help, or even do some tests using Cloud Build and UniStorm.

 

Ok, I'll try to ask the question in another way:

How can I build a project in Unity which has Desktop AND Mobile as destination? So how to use UniStorm and UniStorm Mobile in the same project?

 

You can't @DevBoyLars out the box.
You could write a class to switch out prefabs of either the mobile or desktop weather system upon scene initialisation depending on the platform.

 

That's really bad.. why there's no combo-version, which does this automatically like other assets do?

 

Hey there!

The reason is because the two systems require different components, shaders, and scales.

 

Yes for sure, but why don't build one system which detects automatically on what platform it runs? This would makes it so much easier to build a game in Unity, which supports over 20 platforms at the same time

 

Ok, sad to hear, we need it now. I should check another solutions.

Thanks BTW.

 

Same here.. if there's no combo-version, which handles Desktop and Mobile at the same time, it's useless for us

 

You're welcome.

It does work, we have had numerous customers use it. It just requires Having image effects on both cameras verses just one.

If you needed help setting up UniStorm and Oculus Rift, we're here to help.

You can just have a script swap out prefabs. You can even have the two systems within the same scene, then depending on which version is needed, enable the game object for that version. Both should be entirely possible for your situation.

 

Ok, but this would mean double work, right? We work with PlayMaker, so this would mean we have to work out all stuff for both cases (Desktop and Mobil). Much better would be, if your system automatically switches intern between the weather-engines for Desktop and Mobile.

 

Having an issue with the horizon at night.. at 19hrs the sky gets darker .. darker.. then bam, at 20hrs the horizon lights up again like it's Daytime. Can't figure out what setting it is. Also which object is supposed to be assigned to the sun shafts? Sun_Moon or something more specific.. that might be my issue?

You can see day and night here. (Imgur)

 

Not necessarily, UniStorm Desktop and Mobile have identical variables so there wouldn't be too much work to make your scripts for each.

We will see what we can do with implementing the two systems into one in a future update.

Hey there!

This is because you haven't setup Unity's Sun source. Please follow the quick guide here to properly set it up. We would do it automatically, but Unity doesn't have API for it. It only takes about a 10 seconds: http://unistorm-weather-system.wiki...My_Sky_gets_bright_.28and_or_blue.29_at_night

The Sun Shafts don't have to be setup, it's is done automatically at runtime.

If you need help setting up, feel free to watch our tutorial videos here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyiPBj7FznYmPW9NR6U0WKudaeFuAgKL

UniStorm also has something called Auto Player Setup that automatically sets up almost in-game player with UniStorm:

Also, be sure to check out our documentation as it contains tons of helpful information and tips: http://unistorm-weather-system.wikia.com/wiki/Documentation

 

Hello, I'm working on a multiplayer game and I'm curious about the weather synchronization for multiplayer games over a network.
There will be (or there are, I've not purchased the asset yet) API to allow multiple players to live in the same simulated environment ? There is a way to move server side the localization of a particular weather condition or (for example) the lightning's position and timing to avoid breaking the game immersion ? I'm posting this question on some threads because is a requirement to select the asset to purchase.

 

Hey there!

UniStorm doesn't have specific API for weather synchronization or network based games, but we do have an external script that handles sending most of the needed variables over the network. This is done by making a player a client and sending the UniStorm data to the other players. If the client player is disconnected, this status is passed on to another player. This is done using Photon.

The script below isn't perfect, but it syncs time and weather for all players connected to the current game. The only thing it doesn't do is control the particle effects for individual players. This would need to be handled from another script or modifying the script below.

If you are using UNET, refer to this post below for an example.
http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/un...storm-mobile-free.121021/page-75#post-2550751

Code (CSharp):

1. //Black Horizon Studios
2. //Photon Example
3. using UnityEngine;
4. public class UniStormNetworkSync : Photon.MonoBehaviour
5. {
6.     public GameObject UniStormObject;
7.     public UniStormWeatherSystem_C UniStormSystem;
8.     public PhotonView thisPhotonView;
9.     void Start ()
10.     {
11.         UniStormObject = GameObject.Find ("UniStormSystemEditor");
12.         UniStormSystem = UniStormObject.GetComponent<UniStormWeatherSystem_C>();
13.         thisPhotonView = GetComponent<PhotonView>();
14.     }
15.     void Update()
16.     {
17.         if (PhotonNetwork.isMasterClient)
18.         {
19.             this.thisPhotonView.RPC ("ChangeWeather", PhotonTargets.All, UniStormSystem.weatherForecaster, UniStormSystem.startTime, UniStormSystem.minuteCounter, UniStormSystem.dayCounter, UniStormSystem.monthCounter);
20.         }
21.     }
22.     [PunRPC]
23.     public void ChangeWeather(int weatherType, float mytime, int minute, int day, float month)
24.     {
25.         if (!PhotonNetwork.isMasterClient)
26.         {
27.             UniStormSystem.weatherForecaster = weatherType;
28.             UniStormSystem.startTime = mytime;
29.             UniStormSystem.minuteCounter = minute;
30.             UniStormSystem.dayCounter = day;
31.             UniStormSystem.monthCounter = month;
32.         }
33.     }
34.  
35.     public void OnPhotonPlayerConnected()
36.     {
37.         this.thisPhotonView.RPC("ChangeWeather", PhotonTargets.All, UniStormSystem.weatherForecaster,UniStormSystem.startTime, UniStormSystem.minuteCounter, UniStormSystem.dayCounter, UniStormSystem.monthCounter);
38.     }
39. }
40.  

 

Thanks for your explanations, but I'm thinking about an autoritative server and a big territory, so not only a time synchronization is needed but event position too, because a player could be inside the rain and another could be outside (in another location).
An example:
I'm thinking about a map where there is a storm in a certain location (that can be fixed or calculated by the server anyway). The players can be either:
a) inside that zone - they should get the effect of the storm
b) outside that zone - they should see the distant storm
and obviously they can move approaching that zone or running away from the storm.
Any chance to have some hints to implement such a system ?

 

A) UniStorm doesn't support weather fronts or location based weather. You could add an external script that acts as a moving weather zone that would change the weather for players triggered by the weather zone. We have an example of a weather zone system included, but it has never been tested over the network or with multiple players.

B) Storms fade in gradually from all around the player so there's no distant storm effect. This could possibly be handled using a weather zone (as mentioned above) and having it be visible to the players.

 

UniStorm 2.2 is still on track for a timely release.

Here's a couple of screenshots showing the much improved lighting for dusk and dawn. When using the Advanced Sun Intensity Settings, you can adjust the exact brightness for anytime of day. This allows sunlight at dusk and dawn to be bright and no longer faint.




In case you missed our last update post, here's what we've been working on for UniStorm 2.2.


Updated Weather Generating Algorithm
UniStorm's weather generating algorithm is a bit dated, so we have rewritten it. UniStorm 2.2 will feature a brand new weather generation system capable of simulating more realistic weather than previously. We plan on providing several presets for both options using the climate generation based on real-world data.

We plan on adding graph control for other UniStorm factors such as temperature, day and night length, and more. The graph will be optional and the default methods can be used.

Feedback or suggestions regarding this would be appreciated.

There are 2 new options to generate precipitation:

Precipitation Visual Bars and Sliders
This option allows users to pick the odds for each season based on a customizable percentage using sliders. The sliders determine the odds (in percent) for both precipitation and clear weather. The higher the Precipitation Odds, the more chance of precipitation weather types. The lower the Precipitation Odds, the lower chance of precipitation weather types and higher chance of non-precipitation weather types. The bars below visually represent the odds for each season. UniStorm will generate its weather based off the percentages below.



Precipitation by Animation Curve
This advanced option allows users far more control to pick the odds for each month based on a customizable percentage using an Animation Curve/Graph. Setting weather odds via the line graph gives you precise control over each month. The line graph consists of a Y value of 0.0 through 1.0. This Y value represents the percentage of precipitation in decimal form. If you have a Y value of 0.1, this would be the equivalent to 10%. The X value represents each month from 1-12. This advanced control allows weather odds to fade in between each month and allows you to make fronts or even follow real-world data from other graphs.



A graph of the chance for precipitation for the UniStorm whole year. (X-axis 1.00 (January) - 12.99 (December) Y-axis Precipitation Odds in Percent)



Temperature by Animation Curve
UniStorm 2.2 will have graph based temperatures as an Advanced Option. Fluctuating temperatures will be based off of a graph. This gives realistic results and even allows users to follow real-world graphs, if desired.

We will keep the old systems and improve them for those who want to keep things simple. All graph options are completely optional.


X-Axis (Hour) Y-Axis (Temperature Fluctuation)



Adjustable Weather Fading Control
With UniStorm 2.2, you will be able to individually control each category for both fading in and fading out various factors for precipitation, including clear weather types. This allows you to customize your storms and how they fade in and out without having to alter any code. The settings support both fading faster, slower, or almost instantly. This will also help users who use faster day lengths.




Improved Lighting using an Animation Curve
UniStorm 2.2's lighting has been redone. This is done by using an Animation Curve that allows users to set the sun intensity based on the time of day and their scenes. Sunsets and sunrise are now much brighter and more vibrant. UniStorm's lighting fully utilizes Unity's Global Illumination.

We will include a simplified version for user who don't want to use the Animation Curve. This will also allow users to control the Sun Intensity for each time of day. However, the simplified version isn't as flexible as the Animation Curve.




Ambient Lighting Control
With UniStorm 2.2, we have added the option to have Ambient Lighting handled automatically, like suggested, but we have also added the option to adjust it for each time of day. This gives user more control over the Ambient Intensity for each time of day to avoid certain times being too bright or too dark.

 

I don't see any clouds.
Clean import into a new project.
No clouds in the demo scenes or any scenes I create.
Unity 5.3.3
Windows 10 targeting pc mac Linux.

 

Hey there!

We have supplied a Unity 5.3.3 cloud shader that's specifically for that version of Unity. Using it should solve your missing cloud issue. Just change the cloud shaders to "Dynamic Light Clouds (Unity 5.3.3)". Please let us know if you need anymore help.

 

Hey everyone!

Just thought we would share some more screenshots of our lighting and overall quality improvement of UniStorm 2.2.

Below are some screenshots using UniStorm 2.2, Gaia, and SpeedTree's Desktop Trees Package

 

can't wait for the release

 

Nope. I updated to 5.3.5b and I still get no clouds.
Again a clean import into a new project, no clouds in demo scenes.

 

Strange, we will look into it right now and see what's going on. When we find a solution, we will be sure to post it here.

 

I was wondering if I could get a bit of help with setting this up for SteamVR. With VR for the player you have a CameraRig->Camera(head)->Camera(eyes) setup with the render camera being the eyes.

At the moment I'm doing(Unity version 5.3.4f1):

1. Create C# Unistorm Desktop
2. Drag Sun_Moon to scene light Sun box
   
3. Copy Sun Shafts script to Camera (eye)
   
4. Move Rain through Lightning Position from Player object to CameraRig object
   
5. Remove Player object
   
6. On UnistormSystemEdit, Object Options, put Camera (eyes) into Camera Object field
   
7. Camera (eyes) draw distance is set to 1k

Let me know if I'm barking up the wrong tree with how I'm doing the above. I don't think it's quite right since I'm not seeing clouds or rain.

Also I'm curious how best to optimize this for VR. I need a solid 90FPS in my scenes and with the above install I'm seeing heavy drags down into 45-70 when I move my head quite often. I'm wondering if I'm going to need to switch to the mobile version(assuming my setup method isn't the culprit) or maybe turn off certain features.

Edit: UFPS auto-setup works on desktop version just picking the eye camera. Unfortunately performance isn't there. On the mobile version I can manage good performance even with camera draw distance at 18.2k, but the auto-setup doesn't work at all(complains it's wrong version) and I'm missing something in manually setting it up as I don't get any weather effects.

 

Well after I played the demo scene this is what I've came up to.
1) I was seeing a sunny scene and no buttons were there, so I kept hitting every key of my keyboard and found out that the U key is apparently for the options of this scene. but the option menu was incomplete somehow, look at it:

​

Also the birds were still singing at night and the thunder storm sound was too repetitive (I guess only two sounds of lightening were playing) and I've waited for long time to see a lightening , but I couldn't find something like the image below.

​

AND 2) the amount of water drops were too few for a heavy rainy weather, is it possible to increase it?
3) Does this asset include most types of clouds so that we could make a more realistic scene?

4) Now, would you please make a 100% working demo with all the options of this asset, so I could be able to distinguish whether it suits my project or not?
5) Also, is it possible to evaluate time of day and moon phases and etc by longitude and latitude?
Thanks in advance.

 

Hey there!

You need to have your Far Clipping Plane distance at around 18k. This is why you can't see the distant objects.

The Auto Player Setup only supports Desktop for now. You will need to setup UniStorm mobile manually exactly as you did above except starting with the UniStorm Mobile prefab. Mobile disables certain features like Sun Shafts.

As I'm sure you know, VR demands a lot more than a standard screen does. What VR headset are you using and do your computer specs meet the minimum requirements for using a VR headset?

For optimizations:
* Lower the shadow distance (via the Quality Settings)
* Lower the shadow quality (via the Sun and Moon light objects or your overall settings)
* Disable Anti-Aliasing (via the Quality Settings)
* If you are using our supplied demo scene for, adjust the grass density and grass draw distance
* Lower the amount of particles used during precipitation weather types (via the UniStorm Editor under Precipitation Options)
* Set Cloud Thickness to Low (via the UniStorm Editor under Weather Options)
* Disable Lightning Shadows (via the UniStorm Editor under Lightning Options)
* Possibly using the 2 camera setup for only drawing UniStorm in the distance> However, I'm not sure how hard this would be while using VR. The standard 2 camera setup is covered here: (http://unistorm-weather-system.wikia.com/wiki/Tutorials#Using_UniStorm_with_a_2_camera_setup)

Hey there!

1) Everything is working on my end. I just tested the demo scene. I'm not sure what's happening with the demo you are using, but this is using the exact same demo using the same link.


2) Sound are completely customizable for each time of day. You can have whatever your preference is whether that's crickets, wind, bugs, birds, etc. This is handled using the UniStorm Sound Manager in the UniStorm Editor. Precipitation values are adjustable, we use a lower setting for the demo so it works on a wider range of computers.

3) UniStorm doesn't have specific cloud types, but it has Clear, Mostly Clear, Partly Cloudy, Mostly Cloudy, and Foggy for its non-precipitation cloud types.

4) The demo is working fine on my end. I would try using a different web browser or refreshing the web player. If it still doesn't work, let us know and I will provide a new demo for you.

5) UniStorm has 8 moon phases and the time of day, as well as the date, can all be tracked. However, we don't currently have support for longitude and latitude. It is something we would like to add within the next couple of version though.

 

I'm using a HTC Vive and my computer is a i5-6600, 16G ram with a 980ti card. It was built for VR.

For testing I've been generating scenes via Gaia, setting up everything but the sky and and then copying and installing different sky systems. So far I'm testing Dynamic Sky, Unistorm and TOD. Dynamic Sky is sort of a mess all over, with Unistorm I'll say everything appears to work as it should(which isn't always the case in VR) but I'm taking a hit with it where with TOD there's no impact. Though to be fair TOD isn't trying to do weather so it has the edge.

I think there are some other issues that compound the performance hit in Unistorm. Tree billboarding doesn't look right in VR so you have to put the billboard distance out quite far so you're already taxing your system. Particles and shadows also seem to be a big FPS hit in VR. So I think I may have to skip any weather, go with TOD for now and hope the tree billboard bug and shadow/particle performance gets fixed in 5.4.

 

What version of Unity are you using? I know there were several particle effect bugs with some of the Unity 5.2 versions. However, these weren't related to UniStorm in any way. We haven't seen any performance hits with particle effects with using the newest version of Unity, but they're most likely associated with VR.

If particles seem to be an issue, you can decrease them as low as you need using the UniStorm Editor under Precipitation Options. You can use only a few to show the weather effects, but not enough to affect performance.