88 replies to this topic

[olazaboll]

I've decided to start this thread for us who feel we are on thin ice when it comes to Unity ... I already asked some questions in another thread and got a very good answer from Kablammo11 ... wich I think will be a good start to this thread 

 

see bleow :

 

I'm not a nice person, dummy!    

Still, if I can be of help.. I would recommend this:

 

- Go to Google, type "heightmap", switch to Google Images and select any square heightmap that tickles your fancy

(best would be 1025x1025 and something with not too much steep slopes. Make sure it is in RAW format. If not, swing by Photoshop to make it greyscale, 16bit, photoshop raw)

 

- Now open Unity and create a new project. At creation, select all the asset packages containing the word "terrain" plus skyboxes.

 

- Now back to the internet (sorry, has to be - keep Unity open). Go to the Unity asset store: 

https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/#/content/6

Grab this very useful little package that contains more trees, bushes and textures. You will need those. Click "Open in Unity" to import it straight into your new Unity project.

 

- In Unity, create a new terrain (top menu) and make it, say 1500 x 1500 meters (surface for a very large golf course). Doesn't matter, can be smaller or larger. It's just a test run, dummy! You can input the size in the "terrain resolution" feature.

 

- You have your flat, grey terrain now… well done! Go to terrain top menu: Import height map. Select your height map file and click okay. A couple seconds and then some magic happens: Your flat terrain just got very bumpy.

(If the terrain is too steep for you tastes, or too flat, re-import the heightmap and play with the height value until you get a result that you find interesting)

 

So now you are set to go ahead and do several things you will need to do with the CourseForge. By all means, go and watch the Mike Jones Tetralogy of Building a Hole and the 3 Course Forge videos again for pointers about how to proceed. Here's your to do list:

 

• Add a skybox

• Add a directiional light to see something on your terrain.

• Learn how to move about to see your terrain from all angles.

  Practice moving about and getting comfy with the key commands.

• Extensively practice the terrain tools to shape your terrain, to dig and excavate, to smooth and    

  ripple etc…

  For this to be of best use, dream up a golf hole on your terrain and try to alter the terrain to make

  it real.

• Learn how to select and apply textures to the terrain. Try to "color" your grey terrain in matching textures (You can make soft transitions by reducing the opacity

• Learn how to create and place a simple water plane. It will look totally repulsing, btw

• Learn how to paint grass onto your terrain (Warning: Unity default grass looks eewwww… ugly!)

• Learn how to plant bushes (detail meshes)

• Learn how to plant trees

• Learn how to import a mesh object (like a clubhouse) into Unity and how to place it on your terrain

 

All these things are completely basic and very easy to do … once you know how. I could tell you, but I'd rather show you some tough love so that you learn something by trying to sort them out. Only a matter of finding which buttosn in which menus to press...

You will need to know how to do these things before the CourseForge is made available in late 2019 (kidding). And even once you will have the Forge, you will still have to know how to do all this anyway.

 

Any hiccups and snags? Try the old fashioned way of reading up on stuff in the internet, studying manuals and finding them out for yourself, sheesh! Also, click away within Unity, see what happens and indulge in some extensive trial-and-error.

Otherwise, if you want to know something specific, ask me. I'm here all week!

 

[olazaboll]

Ok .... I come so far that I have my flat grey terrain .... were do I find the terrain top menu  ? , fromwere I shall import the height map ?

Thank You

Ola

[Kablammo11]

Ola, amigo.

You will find the terrain top menu in the menu bar at the very, very top of your screen, when and if you have opened Unity. (There is nothing above it and everything else is underneath it)

Try the little sequence of letters, way up there, that spells "Terrain". Improvise from there.

It's the same place, I believe, where you must have chosen "create Terrain" a bit earlier to get your flat grey terrain from. I'm very sorry if my description confused you. 

[olazaboll]

I feel this should be easy , and it problably is , but sorry I feel stuck ,,,,,

 

This is the menus I see at the very top : File , Edit , GameObject, Component, Window, Help

I looked at the subfolders ,,,, but I see no terrain top menu 

 

Am I to far up ?

 

2ndly: When I should choose the packages I only found The Skybox and ONE containing the word Terrain 

... could that be the problem that I dont find the terrain top menu.

 

Sorry for beeing "so into detail" ...... My native language is Swedish ... but I feel very confindent with my english both in speak and writing ... but when it comes to techincal terms/talk .... I don´t always keep up with the lingo ... it would probably be the same if you  explained in Swedish 

[Kablammo11]

Yes, Ola, this should be easy - and I see your problem, but can't see a solution. 

Here is how it looks like on my PC (click to enlarge)

 

As you can see, Terrain should be there and you can't miss it. I'm using  Unity 4.03. something-something and working on a Mac. And I am stumped by your problem. 

I hate to do that, because I hate it when others do it to me, but maybe some online help on Unity support might help you out… Or try to post a screen shot of your entire Unity screen, maybe I can learn something more from that… Or try to watch the Mike Jones Video of setting up a project, part 1, where he shows the entire process of creating terrains and importing height maps. Surely that will show you how to proceed.

 

It's probably something small and stupid, most likely the first of many more such small and stupid things that will hit you out of nowhere and knock the wind out of your guts. Hang in there, stay calm, click a few buttons just for the heck of it, It'll come to you.  And your english, for a Swedish person with a spanish handle, is very good. Still, I couldn't possibly know that for sure, since english isn't my native language either.

 

Your 2ndly: Check the same Mike Jones video as above to find which assets to import. Also, you need to go to the Unity Asset Store online and download the 2nd terrain package.

[olazaboll]

As you can see I miss the Terrain  .... I have no Idea why

 

I also inserted the display of my Unity version .... that is a copy-pasted into my jpg ..... it isnt actually on the screen

 

(im trying to get a way to import my picture into the post , so I will be back with a edit )

 

[/URL] Uploaded with ImageShack.us">http:// Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[Kablammo11]

Go to "More Reply Options" when you write a reply to a post. You will get to attach a file to your post from there in 3 steps: 1. Choose File; 2. Attach File 3:Add File to Post.

You have a limit of 500K, so make sure your file is not too big.

 

Or: Upload your image somewhere else on the internet (Facebook, Twitter, Photobucket) and then copy the link into your post.

[olazaboll]

Ok ... I´ll try that next time ,,,, I found a walkarround ,,,,, see above

 

Thanks

Ola

[olazaboll]

He He ....

 

I googled arround a bit and finally found this thread:

 

http://answers.unity...te-terrain.html

 

I created like that and a terrain "button" ended up in the Hirarcy section .... It still didn't show up in main bar though, and I still didn't found a way to import height mapp

 

... Instead  ..... I played arround a bit with the flat terrain I hade created.... found a couple of brushes ... and suddently i manage to do  this

 

Then I found a button called Spotlight ... and screwed the whole thing up ..... but you can always start all over again

 

 

 

 

Attached Files

•  Unity2.JPG   73.14KB   3 downloads

[Kablammo11]

Ah, they moved the Terrain menu and settings into a new spot in 4.2… bless them!

And I'm still in 4.0.3...

 

So I can't tell you how to import a height map. But try this: According to the link you posted, you need to select your terrain (to tell Unity you mean to do something with it) and then click on the button to the very right of row of buttons where you have your terrain brushes on. It looks like a cog wheel and should open the settings for you below. The import feature should be there. Sometimes you need to scroll this window down to get to see all the options.

 

I'm very glad you went out and sought an answer yourself… and most likely even found it and exposed me as a questionable source of information in the process. All is well in the universe. bra jobbat!

[Keith]

He He ....

 

I googled arround a bit and finally found this thread:

 

http://answers.unity...te-terrain.html

 

I created like that and a terrain "button" ended up in the Hirarcy section .... It still didn't show up in main bar though, and I still didn't found a way to import height mapp

 

... Instead  ..... I played arround a bit with the flat terrain I hade created.... found a couple of brushes ... and suddently i manage to do  this

 

Then I found a button called Spotlight ... and screwed the whole thing up ..... but you can always start all over again

I dl'ed a Unity update a couple of weeks ago and ran into the same problem you did.  Where did my Terrain menu go?  It was driving me bonkers.  Took the same step you did to solve the problem.  I prefer the Terrain menu up top where it is always readily accessible, but after a little getting familiar with it's not that big of a deal. 

Good luck with Unity. Someone here posted these tutorials awhile back.  They are extremely helpful, and there are other good ones to be found on youtube.

http://vimeo.com/album/150503

[axe360]

Isn't this going to be an ongoing problem? Unity is always updating, since the first day it was in TWO..

Besides, Unity is NOT  owned by PP, so how can things like disappearing  terrain menu buttons or any other thing Unity decides to change, be handled?

 

I just don't see why PP can't come up with there own Course Designer, why does it have to depend on Unity?

 

Besides I'm still confused about Unity, one day it's the Game Engine and one day it's the main body of the Course designer... I'm being a little flippant but it really is confusing...

[olazaboll]

"bra jobbat!" !?

 

...... ohh boy .... dont tell me you are Swedish 

 

Well ,,, I know found out ( ..... once I found it ) that the "in-program-manual" is very detalied and informatiive ... so I will try there first ... I found the part with the hightmap importing:

 

"

Working with Heightmaps

If you like, you can import a greyscale Heightmap created in Photoshop, or from real-world geography data and apply it to your Terrain. To do this, click the Options button  from the Terrain Inspector, choose Import Raw..., then select the desired RAW file. You'll then see some import settings. These will be set for you, but you have the option of changing the size of your Terrain from this dialog if you like. When you're ready, click the Import button. Once the Heightmap has been applied to the Terrain, you can edit it normally with all the Tools described above. Note that the Unity Heightmap importer can only import grayscale raw files. Thus you can't create a raw heightmap using RGB channels, you must use grayscale.

Unity works with RAW files which make use of full 16-bit resolution. Any other heightmap editing application like Bryce, Terragen, or Photoshop can work with a Unity Heightmap at full resolution.

You also have the option of exporting your Heightmap to RAW format. Click the Options button  from the Terrain Inspector, choose Export - Raw... and you'll see a export settings dialog. Make any changes you like, and click Export to save your new Heightmap.

Unity also provides an easy way to flatten your terrain. Click the Paint Height button  from the Terrain Inspector and choose Flatten. This lets you flatten your terrain to a height you specify in the wizard."

 

....

 

... and before I go ... I attach the latest from my  "project" .... its a nice place to lay out a golf hole ... isnt it ?

Attached Files

•  Unity3.JPG   94.29KB   0 downloads

[Jimbo63]

Even most of the video tutorials available do not show them using the latest version of Unity. It took me a while to find the terrain button but I found it eventually, and using the terrain tools I have managed to create my own hilly island, which is textured and surrounded by water. The terrain button is in the hierarchy box, just click create and you will see it listed. I have to say that I have enjoyed playing about in Unity, but I watched a couple of the scripting tutorials and they had me totally baffled, so I am OK as long as nothing wants to move on my terrain . . . LOL

[Kablammo11]

.... ohh boy .... dont tell me you are Swedish 

 

No, I'm not - but a few of my group friends in TWO were.

 

Still, we all have learned quite a lot: There are different Unitiy versions, there is nevertheless some online support, the Devs are taking this week-end off, the best way to find a quick answer is to go looking for it yourself, we are all thouroughly confused, Axe feels slightly irritated and I'm not Swedish.. I'd call that a productive day. 

[Mike Jones]

Unity 4 has a different menu system regarding the terrain, you can access all the terrain settings and heightmap functions via the inspector which is more in keeping with the other aspects of unity.

[Dazmaniac]

Isn't this going to be an ongoing problem? Unity is always updating, since the first day it was in TWO..

Besides, Unity is NOT  owned by PP, so how can things like disappearing  terrain menu buttons or any other thing Unity decides to change, be handled?

 

I just don't see why PP can't come up with there own Course Designer, why does it have to depend on Unity?

 

Besides I'm still confused about Unity, one day it's the Game Engine and one day it's the main body of the Course designer... I'm being a little flippant but it really is confusing...

 

In actual fact, PP have.

 

Unity is not a golf course designer. Unity is a fully integrated development engine that provides rich out-of-the-box functionality to create games and other interactive 3D content. PP have designed/created the Course Forge asset tool to allow folks to work in Unity to create playable golf courses within the Unity 3D environment. You wouldn't be able to have playable courses in Unity without an additional asset tool such as Course Forge.

 

You would then require something like Unity Player to allow you to actually play the courses.

 

By using Unity, PP already have the 3D environment engine in place, so just needed the bolt on to allow the courses to be fine tuned and validated.

 

Why you are asking for PP to create their own version of Unity/Course Forge all in one I am not sure.

 

[axe360]

Ok, so your saying that when I "bolt" on the CF to Unity, CF will have it's own set of course design tools? So will I still have to learn all the functions of the Unity Engine or will I only have to know how to use the CF tools?

 

I dont mean to be hard headed but this does have me somewhat confused.. Appreciate any help..

[Dazmaniac]

Yes, the Course Forge will have all the design tools required. You can even adjust the elevations within Course Forge, but a lot of the prep work for the land plot can also be done in Unity before actually enabling Course Forge to begin work on the holes themselves.

 

An understanding of Unity will be beneficial especially if you are wanting to import terrains, heightmaps etc, but I wouldn't think you will need to know everything about Unity to be able to build courses.

 

I also expect if you really wanted to, you could just work on a flat piece of terrain and do everything from within Course Forge.

[Kablammo11]

Yes, the Course Forge will have all the design tools required. You can even adjust the elevations within Course Forge,I also expect if you really wanted to, you could just work on a flat piece of terrain and do everything from within Course Forge.

 

I'm not saying you're wrong about this, Daz, but I don't think you're right either. You would not be able to achieve a finished golf course design without Unity features - you may run the CourseForge alongside Unity all the time, but a lot of the functionality is strictly Unity. When you say you can adjust the elevation within the CourseForge, that is not wrong, but the Course Forge will have nothing to do with that.

I shall need visuals to illustrate my point, so click to enlarge this:

 

 Unityforge.jpg   122.89KB   19 downloads

 

1: Cloudy sky and panoramas. Skyboxes provided by Unity, though the Course Forge may come with an additional selection of skies and panoramas. Selecting and applying them is done with Unity.

Wind: Wind zones created in and performed by Unity. Wind strength and oscillation most likely determined by the PG game.

(future weather systems and atmospheric effects probably controlled by the PG game)

 

2: Greens, Fringe, Fairway, Tee Box, Rough etc. Exclusive domain of the Course Forge: Drawing the shape, selecting the texture etc. No Unity required, except to provide the terrain below.

 

3. Trees (and bushes and rocks). Selected and applied in Unity. The CourseForge (hopefully) will come with loads and loads of new tree and bush models, but the method of adding them to the design is 100% Unity. Same goes for long grass.

 

4. Sand Hazards, bunkers. Customized CF tool, no Unity involvment

 

5. Water. 100% Unity. Snag: The free version of Unity only allows for simple water, which is basically flat and blueish goop; no reflections, no highlights from the sun. Only the Pro version provides water that actually looks like water, as it does in our image.

Waterfalls? Particle effects provided by Unity.

 

6. Car paths. Unclear atm if the CF will come with its own car path tool (presumably it will), or if we will have to get one separately. There are several of them in the Unity asset store atm.

 

7. Bulkheads. Most likely a tool provided by the CourseForge. The same tool used for bulkheads might also allow us to plant fences.

 

8. Bridge, Constructions, Buildings etc. Big choice of ready-to-use models promised to us. These may come to us with the CourseForge package, yet selecting and placing them on the terrain is a Unity function. Constructing them with 3rd party software is also independent of the CourseForge.

 

Some of the confusion surrounding this issue can be described by seeing the Mike Jones video about constructing a golf hole. For instance, the terrain tools which he uses to raise or smooth the terrain: These are basic Unity tools that have nothing to do at all with the CourseForge. Planting the trees in that Video: Unity. Real-time shadows on the ground: Unity Pro. 

There should not be a Unity vs CF rivalry, though. To design a golf course, you will need both. Just one without the other, either way, would not be able to get the job done. I predict that in order to work with the CourseForge we will have to double-click the Unity 3D icon on our desktop, not the CourseForge icon.