So I’ve decided to check out the new mesh editing tools by downloading the geometry tools github branch and digging in. With the expectation for it to be a buggy mess I was very surprised to find it perfectly usable albeit with some minor annoyances. I figured I’d collect the feedback from my experience in this thread in hopes that Epic can use it to improve the mesh editing tools and to make lives for people like me around the world A LOT easier.
I am absolutely LOVING the subdivision tools and the fact that is is completely none-destructive and customisation per edge. Whoever designed that deserves a pay rise!
I do predict that in the future game engines like Unreal Engine will include everything you need to create a game, that includes animation tools, mesh editing, procedural texturing etc. I predicted this way back in 2007 when Unity first made an appearance and I still believe that’s the way things are going which is great.
How I Would Use This
These modelling tools in their current state have the ability to build anything from a simple chair to a super detailed neo classical sky scraper and to do it cleanly. With some polish this would mean much less 3dsmax time and much more Unreal Engine time which is always a good thing. In it’s current state I would use it to model buildings, design props to be later exported out for a final pass and UVing in 3dsmax before re-importing back into UE4 and checking that the scales are all correct in VR.
Essentials/Must Haves 1. ‘Bridge’ Tool
Any essential modelling tool both for hard surface and for organic modelling should have a bridge tool, this allows you to select two opposing faces or edges and ‘connecting’ or bridging them. This is useful for filling in holes or quickly making pillars between floor and ceiling. please PLEASE add this one in if it’s not too much work
2. Unified Keyboard Shortcuts
In the editor one uses the ‘alt’ key to drag and clone an object, in most modelling or level editors one would normally hold shift to drag edges or extrude polygons, or in some cases automatically toggle to the applicable mode. This is another big must have for fast and comfortable modelling. Many of the other modes should have keyboard shortcuts that are the same as in the rest of the editor
3. That Awful ‘new’ Soft Grid Needs To Be Replaced Or Fixed
That new grid that first made an appearance in the VR editor, but has now shown up in this mesh editor needs to get gone and replaced with the older and far superior grid. It is useless as things don’t snap accurately to it (it’s sort of like a soft snap) and all it does is annoy the cr*p out of anyone unfortunate enough to use it. PLEASE PLEASE put in a proper grid as almost all of the professional modelling editors have awful grids. This new ‘soft’ grid should either be optional or removed entirely.
4. Seperate Mesh & Mode Operations
A minor UI annoyance is that some operations such as “Quadrangulate Mesh” apply to the entire mesh whereas things like “Flip Polygon” apply to only what you have selected and serve very different functions. These really need to be separated out somehow.
Thanks a lot for your feedback! Happy to hear that you’ve enjoyed using the new tools.
At the moment, everything is obviously super WIP, and the UI is a placeholder and will be replaced by something far less clunky by the time it gets its first official release. Something like the Bridge tool is on our priority list, as well as a few other ‘must have’ features found in other content creation packages. Over time, we intend to continue to add new, useful tools. We’ll also find a way to distinguish whole mesh operations (like Quadrangulate) from others which work on selected elements.
Regarding key bindings, the aim is to ensure that everything (including modifier key actions) are user bindable, which (a) aids discoverability, and (b) allows users maximum freedom in configuring the editor to their preferences. We’ll be working on a way to do this without needing to hardcode anything, while also supporting VR editing and its (different) action bindings.
Don’t worry, the grid isn’t here to stay - again, it was a placeholder material - and we realise it can be quite visually intrusive. We’ll probably add an Editor Preference to disable it for the time being.
I also have looked into this and a few questions come to my mind:
1: After creation of some additional polygons by extruding polygons, the UVs for that mesh stayed pretty much unchanged.
So, how is unwrapping/texturing done? How can material slots be assigned to new geometry?
2: Pneumatic sound when the tool is activated. I find that highly annoying and distracting.
Can that be deactivated?
3: The lines are a bit too colorful and rainbowy for my taste. Makes it hard to figure out whats going on in complex geometry.
But overall, a definite improvement over the traditional BSP actors
Haven’t got the chance to test the new tool, but judege from the video it looks pretty cool! Great job!
I’m curious about the future plan regarding UV editing too. As I’m writing a mesh editor myself and couldn’t decided how many UV editing functionalities should be included. It’ll be great that there’ll be a built-in UV unwrapper/editor.
Currently UVs are duplicated into the extruded points, which is not likely to be the eventual behavior. We need to find a model for UV assignment we’re happy with, and this will be hugely improved as work continues. We certainly intend to provide UV unwrapping, but closed meshes don’t present an obvious single solution to this, so we may need to provide a more traditional style UV editor. Watch this space for updates on that. The build on Github doesn’t currently have any particular facilities for UV editing, although it will preserve the UVs of the original static mesh, and will interpolate them when insetting, splitting edges, etc.
The ‘Assign Material’ action will assign the material currently selected in the Content Browser to the currently selected polygon(s); drag and drop of materials is not yet implemented in Desktop mode (although it works in VR).
Not currently - they were added in for extra feedback in the GDC presentation but will be refined in due course.
Don’t worry, we’ll be replacing this material and improving the overlay grid eventually!
So after watching the video I have to say that I can see the near future of doing all work including modeling in UE4. I am very happy for that not too distant future!
Rich TW: But keep UV editing simple too like BSP-s or something similar to that if possible. Is this Geo feature meant to be exist together with BSP or replace BSP i wonder?
Yes, we’re still not entirely decided on how to best support UV editing. The aim with all of the mesh tools is to provide an intuitive and straightforward experience for non-modellers, whilst also providing powerful and more advanced facilities where necessary. There’ll almost certainly be more than one way of editing UVs - possibilities include UV unwrapping, to BSP style tweaking per-poly, to a full on UV editor per mesh.
The eventual plan is that Geo 2.0 will supersede BSP. We would like to provide a similar kind of CSG/boolean facility, though this is in the far distance for the moment.
This would be the best solution. If this could be combined with a “paint on the mesh down into a texture asset” it would be awesome.
Something similar to MARI
We have a page here with some simple instructions on how to get started.
The geometry code is in its own branch in the repository, so go to https://github.com/EpicGames/UnrealEngine and select Branch: dev-geometry. If you’re not familiar with git, don’t worry; you can download the entire tree as a .zip file (go to Clone or download -> Download ZIP), extract it and just build it directly from there in the usual way.
Well as first part this I think should be better in the Feedback forum ?
About the new tools I have to say this need a better 2D focus, and as in the old BSP thread was said need the 2D tools extrude and scale faces without select it and move the mesh in the same way without select it just click in any part of the in of the mesh, and to to scale click and drag in any part outside of the mesh, that is how the fast workflow should be, I like a fast BSP system rater than modeling tools into the engine.
As second part I don’t notice auto UV or lightmap generation ?
This is the first time i’m hearing about this & it sounds very intresting and such a brilliant idea in the face of such expensive licenses from autodesk that prevent people even getting started as small solo indie devs.
Im experienced in various 3d modelling tools and would love to take a look .
are there any videos of this about?
UV Editing
Remember that UVing is one of the hardest things to get right when working with complex meshes and is the main reason modelling software costs so much, don’t expect to see it in UE4 for a few years. I’d love to see it though as it would completetly remove the need to use external modelling tools like 3dsMax and would be a huge breakthrough. I’d love to see some ‘basic’ UV editing from the get go though (on par with something like Hammer/Worldcraft).
Model Editor vs CSG/BSP
To me the new mesh editor feels like both a level editor and a mesh/model editor, I feel like I could build something as complex as a gun and use it for not just blocking out a level, but also modelling in the detail. The ability to ‘clean up’ a model by removing unseen faces, adjust smoothing groups by edge and welding vertices makes this a mesh editor and it’s ease of use also makes it a level editor, I really hope to see Epic focus a lot of resources on this as this’ll be a first and almost revolutionary.
Tools & Modes
I’m glad the grid is temporary/will be replaced as it doesn’t work visually or functionally at the moment, I’m also happy to see must need tools on high priority. Is there a place we can keep track of development of the model/mesh editor specifically?
UI
I’m glad the user interface is just a placeholder, I did guess as much. I can’t wait to see what you guys have planned for it. Customizable keyboard shortcuts is amazing.
I built the editor but I can’t seem to find the new tools. When I goto geometry editing its the same as current version. Is this an option I have to turn on? Or did I build the wrong version of UE4? I just cloned what was there in GitHub.
I see what I did wrong Trying it again with the right branch
When I download the branch do I copy it on top of the release unreal directory from GitHub ? I get 51 red errors if I just build it after following the directions which worked to build the release code.
hi my first time here proper- so excuse my unfamiliarity with unreal terms - could i ask
regards opensubdiv- will it work on an imported skinned character? -or only meshes generated within unreal - ?
regards uwv please implement triplaner mapping that can be baked into a mesh at a particular frame- triplanner maps are so useful for quick uwv and if you can bake them or lock them to object space one particular frame they are good for deforming meshes - it can be a huge time saver and would suit the work flow of placeholder/ previz that i would imagine unreal are going for before they entirely replace other dcc apps
Trying it again with the right branch