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- | ======Exporting to Game Formats====== | + | ======Games export options====== |
- | In game versions of the SpeedTree Modeler, you can export to a selection of game editor formats. | + | You can export to a selection of game editor formats. |
- | {{ : | + | To export a model for games, select **File** > **Export to mesh** then choose the Games export type. |
- | =====Formats===== | + | For command line export options, refer to [[export_from_the_command_line|Export from the command line]]. |
- | Currently, the exporters for [[impue4|Unreal Engine 4]], [[impunity|Unity]], | + | =====Export type===== |
- | =====Game Presets===== | + | ^**Type**^**Description**^ |
- | You can choose | + | |**Games**|Export |
+ | |**VFX**|Export a model with options optimized for VFX. Refer to [[expstaticmesh|VFX export options]].| | ||
- | ^ Preset | + | =====Preset===== |
- | | Standard | Optimizes | + | You can choose a game preset to simplify |
- | | UE4 | Optimizes the export for Unreal Engine 4. | | + | |
- | | UE4 (one draw call) | Optimizes the export for Unreal Engine 4 and limits it to one draw call. | | + | |
- | | Unity | Optimizes | + | |
- | | Unity (one draw call) | Optimizes | + | |
- | =====LOD===== | + | ^**Preset**^**Description** ^ |
+ | | **Unity** | Optimizes the export for Unity. | | ||
+ | | **Unity (one draw call)** | Optimizes the export for Unity and limits it to one draw call. | | ||
+ | | **UnrealEngine (ST)** | Optimizes the export for Unreal Engine and exports the .st file type. | | ||
+ | | **UnrealEngine (ST9)** | Optimizes the export for Unreal Engine and limits it to one draw call. Exports the .st9 file type. | | ||
+ | | **SpeedTree SDK** | Optimizes the export for the SpeedTree SDK or static mesh formats. | | ||
+ | |**Generic FBX**| Export a generic FBX for use in any game engine or DCC application.| | ||
- | These options | + | ====Preset |
- | Geometry LODs are what you are editing when you make a tree. You can adjust | + | ^**Control**^**Description**^ |
+ | |**Save new preset**|Save the current export settings as a new preset.| | ||
+ | |**Edit preset name**|Edit | ||
+ | |**Delete preset**|Delete | ||
+ | |**Load options**|Load previously saved export options from an .ini file.| | ||
+ | |**Save options**|Save the current export options to an .ini file.| | ||
- | If you enable billboards to be exported, one new LOD is added at the end of the LOD transition. This LOD is a very simple mesh made of pictures of the tree rendered from different views. These billboard pictures are all placed into a billboard | + | =====Show |
- | {{ : | + | At export time, if you are not happy with the automatically-generated atlas layout, you can edit it by clicking the button in the top right of the export dialog. If multiple atlases are being exported, you can choose which one is being displayed. |
+ | {{edit_atlas.png? | ||
- | =====Include===== | + | The tools for editing are translate, rotate, scale uniformly, and scale non-uniformly. Once a tool is selected, simply click on a texture in the atlas and drag the mouse to perform the action. |
- | This section of the dialog features options for extra things that may be included during export. | + | > |
- | ==Variations== | + | =====Options===== |
- | [[toolmaterialsassetsbar|Variations]] may be set up in the material. This option enables the processing of variations on export. Instead of requiring the final game engine to have shader code that does the variation, the exporter will simply make new materials and textures with the variation information baked in. | + | |
- | > | + | ====File type==== |
- | ==Vertex blends== | + | You can choose a file type compatible with [[impue4|Unreal Engine 4]], [[impunity|Unity]], and [[imply|Lumberyard]], |
- | Vertex blending is used on small pieces of geometry that need to blend, such as the intersection of a branch to its parent or stitches | + | |
+ | > | ||
- | ==Leaf references== | + | =====Combine===== |
- | Leaf References are null objects in the correct position and orientation for each leaf. These can be used to populate the leaves with higher quality meshes at runtime, or perhaps for use with mesh instancing. | + | |
- | ==Bones/ | + | These options are only available when more than one SpeedTree file is open in the Modeler. |
- | Some formats, such as FBX, allow you to include bone weighting for further deformation. | + | |
+ | ^**Property**^**Description**^^ | ||
+ | |**Combine all open trees**|Export all open files in the Modeler and combine them into the same atlas. || | ||
+ | |**Atlas name**|Assign a root name to the exported atlases.|| | ||
+ | |**Tree filenames**|Set a naming convention for the exported model files.|| | ||
+ | | ::: | **Sequential** | All model files have the same root name as the current file and are numbered in sequence. For example, OakTree_1 and OakTree_2.| | ||
+ | | ::: |**Tree name**| All model files have the same name as their original .spm file. | | ||
- | =====Atlas===== | + | =====Grouping===== |
- | Atlassing is the most important aspect | + | These options set which type of geometry from the tree to include: |
- | |None|This option does not make an atlas. Each material will export its textures separately| | + | Geometry LODs are what you are editing when you make a tree. You can adjust |
- | |Non-Wrapping|This option looks at the geometry using each material. If the UVs on the geometry fit within 0-1, then its material will be put into the atlas. Geometry that uses wrapping UVs or otherwise has UVs outside of 0-1, such as branches, will be exported as separate textures| | + | |
- | |Everything|This option puts every material in the entire tree into the atlas. Any geometry that has UVs outside 0-1 will be unwrapped before going into the atlas. Without being cognizant | + | |
- | + | ||
- | ==Allow separate atlases== | + | |
- | If you have set materials | + | If you enable billboards |
- | ==Allow V wrapping== | + | {{billboard_maps.png? |
- | When geometry has UVs outside 0-1, they need to be unwrapped in order to be placed in the atlas. If they aren' | + | =====Include===== |
- | This is where the V-Wrapping option can help. When enabled, anything | + | This section of the dialog features options for extra things |
- | See the picture below for an example of a one-draw-call tree where everything has been placed into the atlas, utilizing V-Wrapping so as not to lose texture resolution on the branches. | + | ====Lightmap UVs==== |
- | {{ :tree_atlas.png? | + | Compute and include unique UVs for lightmapping. |
- | ==Separate Materials== | + | Available for all options but OBJ. |
- | When placing materials into an atlas, these materials get merged together. While they use the same textures, sometimes you may want to split the materials based on a number of factors. For example, a common situation | + | ====Vertex blends==== |
+ | Vertex blending is used on small pieces of geometry that need to blend, such as | ||
- | ==Ignore smooth LOD== | + | Available for all options but OBJ. |
- | When exporting to formats that split the geometry up for different vertex shaders (such as .ST for UnrealEngine4), | + | ====Vertex color==== |
+ | Override the model’s vertex colors, including the alpha (transparency) value. | ||
- | =====Geometry===== | + | Available for all options but OBJ. |
- | These options modify the output geometry, such as flipping and rotating it for a particular coordinate system. In most of the game-specific exporters, these are either disabled or pre-filled with the most common values | + | ====Bones/ |
+ | Some formats, such as FBX, allow you to include bone weighting | ||
- | In FBX and USD, there is a new option to pack the vertex color how you wish it. Each channel of the final color can be set to a variety of options, to facilitate a mesh version of the tree going into your particular engine. Common setups include (R, | + | Available for FBX and XML. |
- | {{ : | + | =====Transform===== |
- | In formats that support it, such as STSDK, this is also where you would supply | + | These options modify the output size and geometry of your model. You can keep the current scene unit, convert to a different unit, change |
=====Textures===== | =====Textures===== | ||
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These options deal with the creation and writing of all the textures needed for the tree during export. | These options deal with the creation and writing of all the textures needed for the tree during export. | ||
+ | ====Packing==== | ||
- | ==Format== | + | Game exporting uses the concept of texture packing, where the material maps used in the Modeler are merged, compressed, or otherwise prepared for use in the final game engine. Every engine requires a different texture setup, and we include a number of them with the Modeler. You are able to switch between them easily, even to [[texturepacking|custom ones you write yourself]]. |
- | This option sets the format of the exported textures. For some game engine, this format is locked to the commonly-used format (usually PNG or TGA). | + | ====Format==== |
- | ==Size== | + | This option sets the format of the exported textures. For some game engines, this format defaults to the commonly-used format (usually PNG or TGA). |
+ | |||
+ | ====Size==== | ||
With the size options, you can set the size of the atlas, the size of the billboard atlas, and the max size of any other texture written. | With the size options, you can set the size of the atlas, the size of the billboard atlas, and the max size of any other texture written. | ||
- | ==Packing== | + | ====Include variations==== |
+ | [[toolmaterialsassetsbar|Variations]] may be set up in the material. This option enables the processing of variations on export. Instead of requiring the final game engine to have shader code that does the variation, the exporter will simply make new materials and textures with the variation information baked in. | ||
- | Game exporting uses the concept of texture | + | > |
+ | =====Atlas===== | ||
- | =====Atlas Editing===== | + | Atlassing is the most important aspect of preparing a tree for real-time rendering. Putting multiple materials into the atlas allows the geometry that uses them to be merged, resulting in fewer draw calls. With aggressive merging, you can make an entire tree that renders in one draw call. |
- | At export time, if you are not happy with the automatically-generated atlas layout, you can edit it by clicking | + | ^**Control**^**Description**^ |
+ | |**None**|This option does not make an atlas. Each material will export its textures separately| | ||
+ | |**Non-Wrapping**|This option looks at the geometry using each material. If the UVs on the geometry fit within 0-1, then its material will be put into the atlas. Geometry that uses wrapping UVs or otherwise has UVs outside of 0-1, such as branches, will be exported as separate textures| | ||
+ | |**Everything**|This option puts every material | ||
+ | |||
+ | ====Allow separate atlases==== | ||
- | {{ : | + | If you have set materials to go into different atlases on the [[toolmaterialsassetsbar|material asset bar]], this option can let you enable or disable that functionality. |
- | The tools for editing are translate, rotate, scale uniformly, and scale non-uniformly. Once a tool is selected, simply click on a texture in the atlas and drag the mouse to perform the action. | + | ====Allow V wrapping==== |
- | > | + | When geometry has UVs outside 0-1, they need to be unwrapped in order to be placed in the atlas. If they aren' |
+ | This is where the V-Wrapping option can help. When enabled, anything that wraps in the V direction will get placed in the atlas such that its top and bottom edge touch the top and bottom of the atlas. Thus, V-wrapping UVs will work just fine and you keep much more of the texture resolution. You still need to be cognizant of U-wrapping, but since branches wrap a lot in V and not so much in U, this is a great feature when putting branches into an atlas. | ||
- | =====Exporting From the Command Line===== | + | See the picture below for an example of a one-draw-call tree where everything has been placed into the atlas, utilizing V-Wrapping so as not to lose texture resolution on the branches. |
- | Full SpeedTree Games also has the option | + | {{tree_atlas.png? |
+ | |||
+ | ====Separate materials==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | When placing materials into an atlas, these materials get merged together. While they use the same textures, sometimes you may want to split the materials based on a number of factors. For example, a common situation is that leaves need to be two-sided but branches should cull backfaces. Enabling " | ||
+ | |||
+ | ====Ignore smooth LOD==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | When exporting to formats that split the geometry up for different vertex shaders (such as .ST for UnrealEngine4), | ||
- | | -h|Show help/ | + | =====Billboard===== |
- | | -export_game < | + | |
- | | -export_options < | + | |
- | | <any other file> | + | |
- | The export options .ini file you can pass on the command line is the same one you can save using the button | + | Determine how to treat billboards |
- | >**Note**: On Windows, if you run the .exe directly, the command line will return immediately and may not receive output from the process until it finishes | + | ^**Control**^**Description**^^ |
+ | |**Faces**|Set how many faces to render on a billboard.|| | ||
+ | |**Top down**|Include top-down faces in the billboard.|| | ||
+ | |:::|**Top down height %**|Set where to put the top-down geometry in the billboard mesh (from bottom to top).| | ||
- | | cmd|start /WAIT <exe> < | + | =====Format-specific===== |
- | | PowerShell|Start-Process -Wait -FilePath <exe> -ArgumentList '< | + | |
+ | When exporting an animation, different cache formats have options that will appear in this section. | ||
+ | These options are available for USD and SpeedTree SDK exports. | ||
+ | =====Extra===== | ||
+ | ^**Control**^**Description**^ | ||
+ | |**Show summary**|Shows a summary of the export settings when the export completes.| | ||
+ | |**Skip texture save**|Doesn' |