[QUOTE=frostic;602017]
any eta when you can release the project? even without the videos i’m stuck at a stand still waiting haha <3
[/QUOTE]
I’ve just finished the new documentation levels (and fixed some bugs by the way).
I will send the project to Epic tomorrow, even if I won’t be able to finish the new video till then, I can always upload it later. I’m from the future (Poland, time zone +6 hours ;D), so they should have it from the beginning of the day and hopefully it will go live tomorrow.
Now I’m making a new video.
I’ve sent the 4.13 update to Epic today, so now everything depends on how fast they’ll process it.
I’ll post update notes and new video soon, I’m working on it now.
[QUOTE=Slavq;602398]
I’ve sent the 4.13 update to Epic today, so now everything depends on how fast they’ll process it.
I’ll post update notes and new video soon, I’m working on it now.
[/QUOTE]
You sir are amazing! i cant wait! I retract this statement about the chat due to slander and lies I have been accused of. thanks
Important reminder for pre-4.13 users:
If you’ve used the tool for 4.10/4.11, your saved/locked trees/plants might not be compatible with 4.13 version. This is because the tool was almost completely re-written for 4.13, to fix all the bugs that destroyed it in 4.12.
Sorry about the issue, but I can’t do anything about it - re-writing and improving this tool was the only chance to bring it back to life.
Please backup your project before moving the system to 4.13 and please be aware that this is almost like a new tool now, since everything is improved in 4.13, and many blueprints needed a big overhaul or even re-creation from scratch.
PS. I’m finishing the new video, it should appear today.
4.13 update is not available yet, I’ve sent the update to Epic yesterday morning, but no response yet - so maybe they’ll process it after the weekend. However, I have a new video ready (+ update notes):
A new video with new & updated features is available:
4.13 Update notes:
Tree chopping! All generated trees can be chopped down at desired trunk location. Additional effects:
* Chopped trees will fall down with physics simulation
* Leaf shake effect will play upon ground impact
* Fruits can fall down after ground impact
* Any attached lianas will follow chopped tree parts, retaining their physics simulation
* Chopped tree parts are spawned as a special blueprint that can be picked up by clicking on it - an example is available in the Documentation_Chopping level
* You can specify chopped trunk texture for every bark material (9 default textures included)
Improved tree generation logic: Much faster, optimized & flexible
Tidy up of internal blueprint logic & project folder structure
New parameters for tweaking tree & plant generation rules
Possibility to generate sub-trunks with individual parameters (new ‘Sub-Trunks’ parameter section) (You can also use it as a branches for sub-branches)
Possibility to assign ‘ground’ texture - it will blend between bark & ground texture on stump bottom, resulting in smoother tree <-> ground transition.
Possibility to assign custom curves for tree wind/impulse animation (this way you can change the look of trunk/branch animation and customize it to your liking)
Hand-crafted FORMS: Now you can create custom ‘FORMS’ that can be used in tree generation for both trunks & branches. Advantages:
* OPTIMIZATION: Uses merged static mesh instead of many spline mesh sections, which is a few times better for performance (drawcalls)
* It retains all the dynamic features, because BranchForm class saves any necessary info, like original spline point locations
* Hand-crafted shapes: When creating a FORM you add spline points by hand, which allows for 100% control over every spline point & tangents
* You can specify what branch forms a tree should use for generation by adding them into a list, individually for every tree preset!
Stump -> terrain aligning now works also with unlocked trees
Improved default look & fixed texture tiling in default bark material
New thumbnails for default tree presets
Wind & impulse animation now matches direction also on branches!
New leaf shake effect for force reaction
New leaf wind parameters: Current wind strength affects leaves with desired ‘leaf sensitivity’
Enhanced leaf wind animation
Improved shockwave speed effect
Improved default leaf material look
Improved branch distribution & spline generation logic (better visual results)
Better fruit generation logic with new parameters like fruit size variation (Also, fruits are now spawned as more optimized instanced static meshes while retaining all the dynamic behaviors!)
Possibility to set animation FPS (Frames Per Second) value for every tree
Automatic animation FPS optimization: The closer to camera, the more animation FPS. (Distance variable is exposed to allow you to tweak the strength of this optimization effect)
New, advanced automatic GodRay (Lightshaft) effect with easily tweakable material
Set your own godray color or let it update with current DirectionalLight color!
Possibility to update godray direction & color at runtime, based on current DirectionalLight
Added new ‘Sub-Trunks’, ‘Animation’, ‘Fruits’ & ‘Godrays’ parameter sections for better organization
Improved automatic billboard system: Much faster (optimization) and better looking (e.g. smoother transitions with dithering)
New: Animated billboards! Even distant billboard trees will perform basic wind animation, with customizable ‘Billboard Wind Strength’ parameter.
Improved plant animation (also moved to GPU), default look + possibility to color any plant element
More plant generation parameters, ability to ‘LOCK’ a plant & improved default look
Hand edit for plants: You can edit & fine-tune your generated plants by hand, using in-editor spline points!
New & improved documentation levels
Bug fixes and more…
**- OLD USERS (Pre 4.13) - PLEASE READ! **
If you’ve used the tool for 4.10/4.11, your saved/locked trees/plants might not be compatible with 4.13 version. This is because the tool was almost completely re-written for 4.13, to fix all the bugs that destroyed it in 4.12. Sorry about the issue, but I can’t do anything about it - re-writing and improving this tool was the only chance to bring it back to life.
Please backup your project before moving the system into 4.13 and please be aware that this is almost like a new tool now, since everything is improved in 4.13, and many blueprints needed a big overhaul or even re-creation from scratch.
— I hope you’ll like it Now we’re waiting for Epic to process the update submission. Stay tuned!
I’m getting 15 FPS with shadows (without it rise to about 70), is there a way to get better performance or am I doing something wrong? I have 24 tree’s in my test project and with more tree’s the fps is getting lower and lower.
[QUOTE=Doktor.;604730]
I’m getting 15 FPS with shadows (without it’s rise to about 70), is there a way to get better performance or am I doing something wrong? I have 24 tree’s in my test project and with more tree’s the fps is getting lower and lower.
[/QUOTE]
What’s your specs? For comparison, on GTX 760 with Epic settings, full dynamic lighting and HD res I get from ~50 to ~80 FPS standing on the edge of 60k UU forest with ~600 trees and looking at horizon.
Also, are these trees close or far away? Do you use billboards (Billboard Manager placed in your scene)?
I have a AMD R9 280 should be enough power. I tested your forest demo level and there i’m getting 60+ FPS but i don’t get why i have pretty bad performance with a new level and just about 24 trees, i made a short video so you will get maybe an idea what’s going on. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT34ZMA6x6Y&feature=youtu.be
[QUOTE=Doktor.;605178]
I have a AMD R9 280 should be enough power. I tested your forest demo level and there i’m getting 60+ FPS but i don’t get why i have pretty bad performance with a new level and just about 24 trees, i made a short video so you will get maybe an idea what’s going on. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT34ZMA6x6Y&feature=youtu.be
[/QUOTE]
That’s strange… I’ve just tried to reproduce it on my end, but with no luck. I’ve placed 25 trees just like in your video, on third person template map in a new project and I have a solid 80+ FPS.
Does it happen also in a new, empty project, e.g. with default UE Third Person Template map? I’m trying to reproduce this on my end, to be able investigate it.
I’ve also noticed that some of your trees have very wide subtrunks/branches, maybe that’s something that we can investigate… Does the lag happen if you place some default trees instead of your customized ones?
PS. You can also run ‘stat unit’ command and see if the lag is caused by GPU or CPU - if ‘Game’ value is higher than ‘GPU’, you can check details by ‘stat game’ command. If GPU is higher, run ‘stat scenerendering’ to see what exactly is causing the lag.
Thank you for the screenshots. A new hotfix has appeared today, it contains some shadow optimization - please try updating the tool and see if this helps. Also, performance in Play In Editor window is always worse, so try to play in Standalone window and see if this helps (you can click the little arrow near the Play button and choose ‘Standalone Game’ - more info here.)
If none of these options will help, I’ll try to brainstorm it further. Maybe it’s something with AMD cards/GPU drivers, but I hope that this is not the case.
Hello, I was wondering what I should do if I’m not using a player camera manager. I just have my camera on my character.
Should I just fix this myself by editing the BillboardManager BP?
This is the error I get: “Error Blueprint Runtime Error: Accessed None trying to read property CallFunc_GetPlayerCameraManager_ReturnValue from function: ‘ExecuteUbergraph_BillboardManager’ from node: Branch in graph: EventGraph in object: BillboardManager with description: Accessed None trying to read property CallFunc_GetPlayerCameraManager_ReturnValue”
[QUOTE=Wrekk;606939]
Hello, I was wondering what I should do if I’m not using a player camera manager. I just have my camera on my character.
Should I just fix this myself by editing the BillboardManager BP?
This is the error I get for not using a player camera manager: “Error Blueprint Runtime Error: Accessed None trying to read property CallFunc_GetPlayerCameraManager_ReturnValue from function: ‘ExecuteUbergraph_BillboardManager’ from node: Branch in graph: EventGraph in object: BillboardManager with description: Accessed None trying to read property CallFunc_GetPlayerCameraManager_ReturnValue”
[/QUOTE]
Hey,
Sorry about the issue. Could you please tell me how I can reproduce this error on my end, to investigate & fix it? All my projects and Epic sample projects seem to have camera manager (no errors) - should I remove something in project settings?
First quick idea: In the error origin (BillboardManager -> Event Graph -> GetPlayerCameraManager), try to replace the GetPlayerCameraManager with GetPlayerController -> GetViewTarget
[QUOTE=Slavq;606942]
Hey,
Sorry about the issue. Could you please tell me how I can reproduce this error on my end, to investigate & fix it? All my projects and Epic sample projects seem to have camera manager (no errors) - should I remove something in project settings?
First quick idea: In the error origin (BillboardManager -> Event Graph -> GetPlayerCameraManager), try to replace the GetPlayerCameraManager with GetPlayerController -> GetViewTarget
[/QUOTE]
I just noticed that I had “Run Dedicated Server” on, and I turned it off and now there are no errors.
I haven’t tried the idea you suggested, but I don’t think that will fix it.
[QUOTE=Wrekk;606943]
I just noticed that I had “Run Dedicated Server” on, and I turned it off and now there are no errors. In any case I think this needs to be fixed though.
[/QUOTE]
Good to hear that - I’ve just fixed this, now when there’s no camera manager, it gets the default view target to initialize billboards. It should appear in a hotfix soon.
[QUOTE=Slavq;606946]
Good to hear that - I’ve just fixed this, now when there’s no camera manager, it gets the default view target to initialize billboards. It should appear in a hotfix soon.
[/QUOTE]
Great, thanks for being so quick.
EDIT: By the way, is there any way to make the forest generator generate in the editor? Like not in-game. Would be cool.
Now we’re waiting for Epic to process the update submission. Stay tuned!