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Shader Forge - A visual, node-based shader editor

Discussion in 'Works In Progress - Archive' started by Acegikmo, Jul 20, 2013.

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  1. Acegikmo

    Acegikmo

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    Because most other editors have it that way! Primarily UDKs material editor, which many people are familiar with. I've considered adding a feature to reverse it, although that also affects the rest of the panels. With the preview on the left, the most high-level stuff is on the left, and the most low level stuff is on the right. That can of course be reversed too :)
    It's not a high priority thing, but it should be fairly trivial to implement.
     
  2. imaginaryhuman

    imaginaryhuman

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    Please do. Think usability here, not always convention, because sometimes convention is badly informed. ;)

    It makes sense, easily and normally, to read left to right, inputs are on the left and then you proceed to the right where there is final output. That makes the most obvious sense. Honestly, looking at the graph back to front makes me have to THINK more. Make me think less.
     
  3. nuverian

    nuverian

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    Although not a biggy, but I'll have to agree that left to right is better. I am using Softimage DCC, in which all node editor are left to right and I allways wondering why other applications have it in reverse (right to left). I'll never understand the reason :)

    But, I'll be more happy to have shader forge sooner than later as it is UI wise, and later in an update to get the left-to-right UI, which I personaly think is better.
     
  4. sinoth

    sinoth

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    Adding to the army of "left to right"ers. I have never used a tool that flows otherwise (does manga count? :p)
     
  5. HeadClot88

    HeadClot88

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    How much will this cost on release?
     
  6. DaDarkDragon

    DaDarkDragon

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    headClot88, I think he said between 50$ and 100$.

    1. I was looking through this thread and saw the line connection type gif. While interesting, the multiple lines for some of the connections seem to make it more cluttered and confusing for me. I can see why the outputs have 2 or 3 lines to them but it would be faster to read, I think, if there was just one. I think the UV output in rectilinear mode is what got me initially confused when I first saw it. Arrow heads similar to UDKs would also be a nice.

    2. Will the slider values or any other value be changeable in a normal script and not just shader code/editor? And can they be changed live in-game? I can think of some uses after seeing the lava thing next to the leaves in the first post.

    3. Personally I would prefer the right-to-left layout, or whichever UDK’s layout is.
     
  7. Acegikmo

    Acegikmo

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    1. There will be an option to either use:
    a: Per-Component lines (As in the current screenshots)
    b: Line thickness by component count
    c: Uniform, single lines (As in most shader editors)
    I may add options for arrow heads as well, it's not really needed, but it might be nice to have.

    2. Yes!

    3. That's the default, and if I add a reversed mode I'll make it optional :)
     
  8. stiltskin

    stiltskin

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    really awesome stuff!

    do you plan on giving us the option to put sub shaders in? for example, if I want to make a piece of code that I would always use - ex: distance test. Would I be able to put that in a custom node?
     
  9. jessee03

    jessee03

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    That is a really sexy shader editor! Is this asset available now? Or still being worked on?
     
  10. Acegikmo

    Acegikmo

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    Yes, that'll be possible with the nested nodes / node prefabs :)

    Thanks! It's still a work in progress
     
  11. Play_Edu

    Play_Edu

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    Can we know that what is your release date. Pla...s
     
  12. Naxum

    Naxum

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    Have you considered releasing Shader Forge soon, then adding non-required features through updates? (PS: I want this ASAP, looks amazing).

    Keep up the great work!!
     
  13. Thomas-Pasieka

    Thomas-Pasieka

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    I'd like to get my hands on this as well so I am eagerly awaiting the beta cycle. Any news on when this may be starting?
     
  14. Acegikmo

    Acegikmo

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    Thanks!
    First impression matters quite a lot, so I won't be releasing it before it's very ready to be released :) That said, some features might wait until after the release!

    Hard to say! I would guess in about a week? I just finished up a freelance job yesterday, so things should be accelerating now :)
     
  15. Acegikmo

    Acegikmo

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    Alpha testing is around the corner. I've been preparing a feedback/bug reporting place on the web, as well as getting all the file management stuff done. Here are the latest visual additions; Improved transmission and light wrapping - a fake but cheap SSS effect :)


     
  16. Swearsoft

    Swearsoft

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    Very nice work.
     
  17. KRGraphics

    KRGraphics

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    This is a beauty :)... I can't wait to get my hands on this :). Definitely gonna be useful for the nature and foliage stuff :).

    EDIT: The shadows don't look right :(
     
    Last edited: Aug 25, 2013
  18. Acegikmo

    Acegikmo

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    Thanks! The shadows don't look right because they aren't right :)
    It doesn't handle the cutout properly yet, which I'll look into
     
  19. Acegikmo

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    So, cutout shadows are now working :)
    I'll also have to look into getting the transmitted color to be carried onto the shadow receiver as well!

     
  20. KRGraphics

    KRGraphics

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    Sweeet... this is shaping up very well... I would easily pay $100 for this!!
     
  21. imaginaryhuman

    imaginaryhuman

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    I have money at the ready for this too, I'd probably be happy in the $70-100 price range.
     
  22. Acegikmo

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    The alpha has now been mailed out to all of you who signed up for it!

    Here are the included example shaders:

     
  23. fffMalzbier

    fffMalzbier

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    Looks like i missed the Sign up Link :(
     
  24. Acegikmo

    Acegikmo

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    You can still find it if you look around :)
     
  25. fffMalzbier

    fffMalzbier

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    Oh, its tricky hidden :) Im on my way.
     
  26. Acegikmo

    Acegikmo

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    Alpha 0.04 is now out!
    • Switched line drawing method - should be faster and might work properly on Mac now
    • Fog checkbox should now work properly
    • You can now cancel creation of new nodes
    • Added Dot Product node
    • Added Min node
    • Added Max node
     
  27. ChaosWWW

    ChaosWWW

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    Really looking forward to this! Can't wait for an official release. Basically I'm throwing money at the screen.
     
  28. Krileon

    Krileon

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    My thoughts exactly. I'm ready to make it rain. I hope Acegikmo likes face fulls of cash, because that's what's gonna happen. This looks so insanely awesome. I hate writing shaders.
     
  29. Acegikmo

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    Really glad you guys are at least as excited about this project as I am :)

    Here's a little preview of what's coming in Alpha 0.05

     
  30. save

    save

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    Really nice work Ace! Looks like it's becoming an extremely useful and intuitive tool. What I'd want to suggest is a good documentation, perhaps with images and description of what every element in a shader does. Preferably with some neat examples of common shaders setup in Shader Forge.
    Another thing that comes to mind is a mobile-friendly approach as well, with examples of how to construct minimalistic but good looking shaders (or dos and don'ts in the documentation). Keep up the good work!
     
  31. Acegikmo

    Acegikmo

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    Alpha 0.05 is now out!

    Those of you who have the alpha know where to get it :)

    Changelog:

    • You can now name properties (Textures, Cubemaps and Sliders)
    • Switched line drawing method again, now much faster to render and looks better (Thanks Texel for the tip!)
    • Increased detail level of the splines
    • Splines in progress of creation now use the correct spline type
    • Added a checkbox to enable/disable auto-compile
    • Slightly optimized double-sided shaders
    • New nodes are now highlighted
    • Added node: Clamp 0-1
    • Added node: Abs
    • Added node: Ceil
    • Added node: Round
    • Added node: Floor
    • Added node: Normalize
     
  32. nuverian

    nuverian

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    I've been searching for the alpha sign up 2 days now. Oh well..
     
  33. Acegikmo

    Acegikmo

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    I linked it about 8 posts above! You can still sign up :)
     
    Last edited: Sep 3, 2013
  34. nuverian

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    I've literaly read all the thread twice and skimmed it more than 3. I definetely must be blind or something. No I mean... I must be.

    --Edit--
    Nevermind. I guess my slight colorblindness played it's part
     
  35. Acegikmo

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    Alpha 0.06 is nearing! For this update, I've added 13 new nodes:

     
  36. anadin

    anadin

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    He he, you are going to have add sub categories to the node list now, Math, Trig, Vector etc. ;)
     
  37. KRGraphics

    KRGraphics

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    I am still looking forward to the SSS materials... perhaps they could be a separate graph like Epidermal, Subdermal, and Depth maps. And two layer gloss maps with IBL reflections...
     
  38. Thomas-Pasieka

    Thomas-Pasieka

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    Good going there Ace! When do you think all light types will useable? Loving the tool so far!
     
  39. Acegikmo

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    Not sure, but I can prioritize it more if you like :)

    Also, would like to hear opinions on this! Changed the look and name of Vector 1 and the size of Vector 2/3/4.

    What do you think?

     
  40. Thomas-Pasieka

    Thomas-Pasieka

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    It would be helpful if you could prioritize the various lights as it greatly influences the visual appearance of a shader/mesh/scene :)
     
  41. Naxum

    Naxum

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    I'm always a big fan of big text!
    I think it would look better if the text was centered :)

    PS I signed up for the Alpha, so excited! :D
     
  42. ZJP

    ZJP

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    +1. Or left justified.
     
  43. SHIBAPOWER

    SHIBAPOWER

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    Oh my god, awesome!!!
     
  44. Acegikmo

    Acegikmo

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    Glad you guys are excited :D

    Anyhow, color pickers are now implemented in alpha 0.06 :)
    0.06 should be ready within the hour!

     
  45. KRGraphics

    KRGraphics

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    You, sir, are a monster!! This is coming along so well... I will most likely download the next alphas once SSS is implemented since I do a lot of character oriented work. Such as the need for depth maps and IBL. Can this editor be use to script blended normals, such as facial wrinkles. $pfftch_laughing_rage_face_comic_meme_round_sticker-rdc8754c42e6a4ebb93106027235bd252_v9wth_8byvr.jp
     
  46. Acegikmo

    Acegikmo

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    Alpha 0.06 is now out for those who have signed up!

    Here's a neat little changelog:

     
  47. fffMalzbier

    fffMalzbier

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    @Neptune_Imaging :Just a reminder :

    Normal blending should work or is there something mystical that a Lerp cant do?
     
  48. Acegikmo

    Acegikmo

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    Normal blending works just fine :)
    Lerp should be accurate enough; if not, use a lerp and normalize its output.
     
  49. Matt3D

    Matt3D

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    Any plans for adding support for making Toon shaders? I'm specifically interested in adding outlines which can also be used for highlighting objects, which currently you can't do in strumpy (you can do Rim highlighting, but it's not the same thing).
     
  50. HeadClot88

    HeadClot88

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    Could this be used to make mobile shaders?
     
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