SuperGrid - Fast Level Prototyping

[KGPrime90]

Ok That's working.
The folder structure is starting to make sense now. Incidentally to use it in Uengine with say a FPS template. I had to do the same thing. I couldn't just "Add to project" because the materials wouldn't show up on the meshes i think due to the folder structure.

So in Uengine i made a fps template project called SGTest saved it to my Documents/Unreal Projects (SGTest.uproject), and then put all the folders from the "content" folder of Supergrid into the SGTest project folder in it's content folder, and also deleted the default "MyDefaultFirstPerson.uproject" file in the base folder and replaced it with my SGTest.uproject file. Now the materials are on the Supergrid Meshes and i am able to build and test in fps format within Unreal Ed. However now i am up and running in UT Ed. But just if others have the same issue.

Before i was putting in the entire Supergrid folder structure. I just couldn't tell if i was doing it some weird hacked way and if i was missing the process of adding mods like this to "projects". I thought it would be click and go and like show up in the editor interface menus. But chalk that up to newbness on how Epic has this set up.

Maybe add some documentation, and put a link on the MarketPlace to this thread or a FAQ ect..

One thing i learned with modding is that people will use your stuff in ways you may not have thoughgt of, and then when you thought you thought of it all, you still didn't lol. Someone will be asking you how to do some weird thing, lol.

Anyway this is such an awesome addition to UED. Back in Unreal 1 and UT99 i used to make a bunch of default brush shapes and keep them in a library for picking from so i didn't have to make like, doorways, and large rocks ect over and over. But sorting through a folder of brushes with no visual aid and naming conventions like UT_Brush_Rock_Slope_512x1024. Well you can imagine, so this is like a godsend.
It also injects some fun into an otherwise daunting learning curve and frustrating and time consuming tedious BSP work, which is still annoying and buggy, thought the tools are much better for it now.
When i first downloaded UED4, it felt like the fun was gone from working in it compared to the old days. This changes that It should be the Default way of building in UED. So Fantastic Work.
And Thank You A Million Times.

[KamiKaii]

Purchased SuperGrid earlier today and just wasted hours building random environments.. job well done zeOrb!

[Clavus]

I saw this video criticizing modern level design tools making rounds and I was instantly reminded of your tool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ubu76gEvM8

You make level design in Unreal a lot more tolerable for those designers that want to iterate quickly and efficiently. Hope Epic takes a good look at your work when they update the geometry editor in the future.

[BenjaminDSmithy]

I saw this video criticizing modern level design tools making rounds and I was instantly reminded of your tool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ubu76gEvM8

You make level design in Unreal a lot more tolerable for those designers that want to iterate quickly and efficiently. Hope Epic takes a good look at your work when they update the geometry editor in the future.

I would also like to bring up the topic of ProBuilder for UE4 and perhaps zeOrb could look at partnering up with Gabriel Williams on making that a reality?

[KITATUS]

I would also like to bring up the topic of ProBuilder for UE4 and perhaps zeOrb could look at partnering up with Gabriel Williams on making that a reality?

Man, That approach can't be good for performance.

Edit: Export to obj? That's quite awesome; If SuperGrid got that.... Maaaaaannnnn.....

[BenjaminDSmithy]

@KitatusStudios actually it has been stated that is not the case

Actually, this is not BSP at all, it creates regular 3D meshes, and so has zero difference in performance from an imported mesh. The isn't to replace external modeling programs (still need those, of course), but to provide a quick and simple in-editor modeling solution for prototyping or simple geometry. Makes a world of a difference for how quickly a game can be developed

SOURCE: https://forums.unrealengine.com/show...l=1#post114001

FULL DISCLOSURE: I've not personally used ProBuilder due to not having used Unity3D enough in the past to merit using it and I admit that I only recently actually stumbled upon ProBuilder to begin with but the benefits are clear from reading through their features list here: http://www.protoolsforunity3d.com/probuilder/ and quite frankly they make me drool due to most of my involve staying agile with workflows that involve rapid prototyping than iterating.

[Neilz0r]

I mentioned ProBuilder to Epic (indirectly) about a year ago. I'm not sure what they think about it. My thoughts are, if ProBuilder were to ever become a reality for UE4, it would almost certainly obsolete SuperGrid, as it should since it's a more comprehensive solution to the outdated prototype tools in UE4. SuperGrid is attempting to fill a void, as it's merely a collection of materials, static meshes, blueprints, etc. Also, if there are any performance concerns about probuilder, you could always export the geometry, convert to a static mesh (or a few)... and bam... performance concerns alleviated. I seriously doubt it will be an issue.

[KITATUS]

I mentioned ProBuilder to Epic (indirectly) about a year ago. I'm not sure what they think about it. My thoughts are, if ProBuilder were to ever become a reality for UE4, it would almost certainly obsolete SuperGrid, as it should since it's a more comprehensive solution to the outdated prototype tools in UE4. SuperGrid is attempting to fill a void, as it's merely a collection of materials, static meshes, blueprints, etc. Also, if there are any performance concerns about probuilder, you could always export the geometry, convert to a static mesh (or a few)... and bam... performance concerns alleviated. I seriously doubt it will be an issue.

It wouldn't invalidate SuperGrid for me; I guess it'd be down to personal preference. I admit that ProBuilder looks interesting, But isn't BSP 2.0 still on the roadmap for eventual release in Unreal Engine 4? Also, Seeing as ProBuilder development for UE4 is most likely dead (I can't find any recent posts about it) - It seems to me that SuperGrid is the best option at the moment, Especially at the current price for what you get.

I doubt we'll see a mesh editor in-engine that can UV / Export as SM .etc for a long, long, long time as it'd require a massive undertaking of work.

[Neilz0r]

It wouldn't invalidate SuperGrid for me; I guess it'd be down to personal preference. I admit that ProBuilder looks interesting, But isn't BSP 2.0 still on the roadmap for eventual release in Unreal Engine 4? Also, Seeing as ProBuilder development for UE4 is most likely dead (I can't find any recent posts about it) - It seems to me that SuperGrid is the best option at the moment, Especially at the current price for what you get.

I doubt we'll see a mesh editor in-engine that can UV / Export as SM .etc for a long, long, long time as it'd require a massive undertaking of work.

SuperGrid is useful for quickly prototyping a map, but with the downside of you almost certainly needing to delete all of the meshes due to unsightly seams created by lightmaps, and the obvious issue of materials not lining up perfectly - due to the fact that eventually you'll have to duplicate a cube for certain floors, ceilings, walls... etc.

If you use Probuilder, or BSP 2.0, which I'm assuming will behave similarly to Probuilder, then your prototype geometry would only need to be partially deleted. You could leave things like, floors and ceilings, since the geometry for that doesn't need to be overly complex.

Now, if you want to build a low poly HOLP style map, then probuilder would be the absolute best choice, since you're designing the geometry to intentionally be very clean, with perfectly lined up materials, etc.

In the mean time, you could just build your entire map in Maya/3dsmax/blender... which is tedious yet possible - I've been doing it with some success. Once I get the kinks ironed out, I'll probably post a tutorial or something demonstrating how I did it. The downside to this is, eventually some of that geometry will need to be deleted to make room for static meshes during finalization. That's going to be a pain in the butt.

[zeOrb]

I saw this video criticizing modern level design tools making rounds and I was instantly reminded of your tool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ubu76gEvM8

You make level design in Unreal a lot more tolerable for those designers that want to iterate quickly and efficiently. Hope Epic takes a good look at your work when they update the geometry editor in the future.

Hah, Joe video is everywhere, noice!
It's kinda funny that back in the day I was on other side of barricades and only after some intense level prototyping sessions I realized how wrong I was about this process and this is led to SuperGrid creation

I would also like to bring up the topic of ProBuilder for UE4 and perhaps zeOrb could look at partnering up with Gabriel Williams on making that a reality?

Actually we've bumped into each other on reddit and chatted about this possibility a little bit

Man, That approach can't be good for performance.

Edit: Export to obj? That's quite awesome; If SuperGrid got that.... Maaaaaannnnn.....

As far as I remember it should create just mesh so it's nice in that matter
Also, you could export SuperGrid as obj and remove unused mesh parts and etc, just don't break UV's

It wouldn't invalidate SuperGrid for me; I guess it'd be down to personal preference. I admit that ProBuilder looks interesting, But isn't BSP 2.0 still on the roadmap for eventual release in Unreal Engine 4? Also, Seeing as ProBuilder development for UE4 is most likely dead (I can't find any recent posts about it) - It seems to me that SuperGrid is the best option at the moment, Especially at the current price for what you get.

I doubt we'll see a mesh editor in-engine that can UV / Export as SM .etc for a long, long, long time as it'd require a massive undertaking of work.

It totally depends on how well developed BSP 2.0 will be. For example, I created SuperGrid after I found out how current BSP is limited and "slow", but BSP 2.0 could fix it and then probably I should switch to some other projects.
I think we don't see active ProBuilder development due to same possibility, because creating such complex tool for UE4 requires a lot of efforts and it will be quite sad if BSP 2.0 invalidates this.
Let's wait and see what Epic is making for us!

[Neilz0r]

After watching that video - Yep, ProBuilder is the ****.

But in the mean time, SuperGrid is a nice alternative.

[bfoster68]

Love SuperGrid zeOrb. Very easy way to prototype. made learning UE4 a bit easier....I say that like i'm done learning or even past kindergarten :-)

[Brandon Wamboldt]

FYI the material breaks if you scale an object over 235, not sure if its a UE4 problem or an issue with your material. Very annoying though.

[_cDub]

FYI the material breaks if you scale an object over 235, not sure if its a UE4 problem or an issue with your material. Very annoying though.

Did you try the high resolution one?

[Brandon Wamboldt]

Did you try the high resolution one?

Yes, it seems to happen on any object at the exact same scale (between 230-235).