NOW AVAILABLE ON THE UE4 MARKETPLACE
ALSO AVAILABLE ON GUMROAD
GET A FREE DEMO HERE
BOUGHT IT ON THE MARKETPLACE? GET STARTED HERE
BOUGHT IT ON GUMROAD BUT WANT TO MIGRATE IT TO YOUR PROJECT? GET STARTED HERE
Hotfix 1.0.1 is LIVE on the UE4 Marketplace as well as Gumroad
BUGFIXES:
Tutorials:
Getting started with the Marketplace Build
Getting started with the Gumroad Build/FULL system overview (long version)
Cloud construction tutorial
Weather Configuration & Season Control Tutorial
More coming soon!
ALSO AVAILABLE ON GUMROAD
GET A FREE DEMO HERE
BOUGHT IT ON THE MARKETPLACE? GET STARTED HERE
BOUGHT IT ON GUMROAD BUT WANT TO MIGRATE IT TO YOUR PROJECT? GET STARTED HERE
Hotfix 1.0.1 is LIVE on the UE4 Marketplace as well as Gumroad
BUGFIXES:
Code:
Loading weather pattern presets clears values from sound variables in BP_Orbit, causing a crash at runtime - SOLVED Weather particles are not visible in the launch build/when dragged into the level in the editor viewport - SOLVED Post-Process Volume edits are undone and set back to defaults upon BP_Orbit construction/runtime launch - SOLVED
Tutorials:
Getting started with the Marketplace Build
Getting started with the Gumroad Build/FULL system overview (long version)
Cloud construction tutorial
Weather Configuration & Season Control Tutorial
More coming soon!
FAQ:
EDIT: SOLVED IN HOTFIX 1.0.1 Q - "I get a big long list of errors when I drag the Orbit blueprint into my level, why is that?"
A - You may need to assign the proper actors to the blueprint under the "Actors" section, near the top. The actors you'll need are -
Even if you aren't using, say, the height fog or the skylight, Orbit still needs to reference them at runtime. You can simply deactivate them in the blueprint if you don't want to use them.
EDIT: SOLVED IN HOTFIX 1.0.1 Q - "When I try to make it rain/it starts raining, Unreal Engine crashes, why is that?"
A - You may need to assign a sound asset to the Rain Sound variable under the weather section. It should be assigned by default, but I've seen issues where it hasn't been in the past. The same goes for if you experience a crash when trying to deal with lightning, you may need to assign sound assets to the Thunder Sound [DISTANCE] variables under the lightning section. These sounds are provided in the pack by default.
EDIT: SOLVED IN HOTFIX 1.0.1 Q - "I can't see the rain or snow effects when they should be firing why is that?"
A - I've discovered that the particle systems in the marketplace release build have a node they're not supposed to for some reason. If you open the PS_RainDrop and PS_Snow assets and delete the Collision (Scene Depth) nodes, save the particles, they should work as intended.
A - You may need to assign the proper actors to the blueprint under the "Actors" section, near the top. The actors you'll need are -
- Sun Actor - A directional light actor in your level, not the same as the moon actor.
- Moon Actor - A directional light actor in your level, not the same as the sun actor.
- Skylight Actor - A skylgiht actor in your level
- Height Fog Actor - An exponential height fog actor in your level
- Post Process Actor - A post process volume actor in your level
Even if you aren't using, say, the height fog or the skylight, Orbit still needs to reference them at runtime. You can simply deactivate them in the blueprint if you don't want to use them.
EDIT: SOLVED IN HOTFIX 1.0.1 Q - "When I try to make it rain/it starts raining, Unreal Engine crashes, why is that?"
A - You may need to assign a sound asset to the Rain Sound variable under the weather section. It should be assigned by default, but I've seen issues where it hasn't been in the past. The same goes for if you experience a crash when trying to deal with lightning, you may need to assign sound assets to the Thunder Sound [DISTANCE] variables under the lightning section. These sounds are provided in the pack by default.
EDIT: SOLVED IN HOTFIX 1.0.1 Q - "I can't see the rain or snow effects when they should be firing why is that?"
A - I've discovered that the particle systems in the marketplace release build have a node they're not supposed to for some reason. If you open the PS_RainDrop and PS_Snow assets and delete the Collision (Scene Depth) nodes, save the particles, they should work as intended.
Introduction
What is Orbit?
Orbit is an entirely blueprint-driven environment editing suite that allows control over time of day, weather, and the passing of seasons. Through a carefully organized central blueprint controller containing over 150 exposed, editable parameters, developers can easily set a multitude of options to create their exact outdoor lighting vision, or allow the scripts to set parameters automatically at runtime to simulate the passage of time on multiple scales. Whether you're looking to quickly create a dramatic skyline to accentuate your scene, or you want to build an environment that is constantly changing to keep your players on their toes, this system is flexible and performative to meet your every need.
Core Features
Time of Day
Easy to use parameters let you set the exact time of day, affecting sunlight intensity, ambient lighting levels, fog parameters, stars visibility, night lighting levels, the position of the moon (mesh based, on rotation cycles) and horizon/zenith colors, all of which can be automated when the system is allowed to control the time. Temperature is also calculated based on all factors of this system, and can be exposed as a float parameter for use in-game, such as in a survival game/simulator.
Weather
Clouds
A series of sliders and drop-down selection boxes makes it easy to control things like cloud density, height, and lighting levels. Clouds simulate a cast-shadow (optional) that scales with the cloud density to properly affect overall lighting in any cloud-coverage situation. Options for panning speed, differential edge shaping and even pre-set weather patterns are right at your finger-tips, all from the same central drop-in blueprint. In "clear" conditions, there are also options for sprawling, "skyplanes," that visualize high-altitude cirrus cloud wisps, with several texture-group options for different visuals, or the option for no wisps at all. All of these options can be set manually, or automatically based on interdependent probabilities that can be scaled to control variance, intensity, and mood.
Rain and Snow
To capture the full effect, weather particles are included, and can be manually activated or set to automatically activate, the probability of which can also be manually scaled. Wetness from rain or melting snow can be easily applied to any material using a custom material function, and rainfall/snowfall culling for interiors happens on the fly, with no need to set up culling volumes or triggers. Snow buildup can also be applied along the z-axis on gradual faces, which can also be applied through a custom material function with little setup in any material you want snow to build up on. Footprints can be placed and displace snow accordingly, with very little extra setup.
Lightning and Thunder
Lightning cues are randomly generated and placed within the confines of your worldspace, spawning visualized lightning strikes with smart collision detection, which accurately prevents the bolt from passing through any roof/overhang. Thunder audio cues are properly delayed and filtered to simulate the sound having to travel from the strike location to the players ears.
Volumetric Light/Fog
I'm also integrating my volumetric lighting system with some enhanced features directly into Orbit, to allow for selectable fog visuals and dust particles with simulated fog shadows for extra atmosphere in your scenes.
Wind
Wind controls can be individually set, manually or automatically, and include wind direction, strength and speed, and have several pattern types to choose from. Wind affecting foliage can be easily implemented with a material function, and applied to your planar based foliage or cloth actors, and a directional wind source actor is also set to properly mimic the direction, strength and speed of the global wind settings, affecting physical actors like armature-built-trees, physics based cloth, and more. Even the base particles will change their direction based on the global wind direction.
Seasons
The Seasons section of this system offers a wide variety of quick-and-easy options. Seasons can be completely deactivated, manually set, or set to pass automatically. Using sliders and drop-down-boxes, you can set the desired length (in days) of each season, how strongly each season affects the probabilities in the automatic weather patterns, and even have color palette shifts per-season, the intensity of which can be individually controlled. By default, Spring is set to increase the temperature scale set by winter, decrease the likelihood of snowfall, and increase the likelihood of rainfall. Summer is set to increase the temperature scale set by spring, and decrease the likelihood of rainfall.
Intended Platforms
Windows - Yes
XB1 - To be determined
PS4 - To be determined
OSX - To be determined
All others - Unlikely
Development
This system was built in 5 months, and is 100% completed. A Trello roadmap of future updates and planned post-release feature additions can be found here.
Media
Configurable Time of Day Settings
Dynamic volumetric stratus clouds
Snow system with particles and configurable global buildup.
Rain system with particles and configurable global wetness.
Distance field based "cover" system that masks snow/rain effects under covered areas automatically.
Procedurally shaped and placed lightning with simulated audio-distance effects.
Volumetric fog & dust particles
Three-zone sky with controllable colors, brightness, zone placement and zone falloff parameters.
8k (4x4k) static backdrop textures (3 templates)
Post-Release updates & feature additions planned! Vote for them here!
Price
Configurable Time of Day Settings
Dynamic volumetric stratus clouds
Snow system with particles and configurable global buildup.
Rain system with particles and configurable global wetness.
Distance field based "cover" system that masks snow/rain effects under covered areas automatically.
Procedurally shaped and placed lightning with simulated audio-distance effects.
Volumetric fog & dust particles
Three-zone sky with controllable colors, brightness, zone placement and zone falloff parameters.
8k (4x4k) static backdrop textures (3 templates)
Post-Release updates & feature additions planned! Vote for them here!
Price
$19.99
Release Date
October 26, 2016
Known Bugs:
Launch build - weather particles aren't visible (workaround in FAQ above) - SOLVED in hotifx 1.0.1
Launch build - loading weather patterns clears sound variables (audio files can be re-assigned as a workaround) - SOLVED in hotifx 1.0.1
Launch build - changes to post process volume settings don't seem to stick (player camera PP settings can be used as a workaround) - SOLVED in hotifx 1.0.1
Launch build - loading weather patterns clears sound variables (audio files can be re-assigned as a workaround) - SOLVED in hotifx 1.0.1
Launch build - changes to post process volume settings don't seem to stick (player camera PP settings can be used as a workaround) - SOLVED in hotifx 1.0.1
Attached Files
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