One of the issues that has frustrated me a little when using our MegaShapes system is the issue of gimbal lock when dealing with twisting looping lofts such as you would get when trying to build a roller coaster object, well I sat down the other day to figure out the maths to fix the issue and finally figured it out, so the next update to MegaShapes will see the new improved transport frame method included which will make life much more pleasant for any users who have been wanting to make looping tracks etc. Below is an image that shows the old transport frame method on the left with the nasty twists in the loop and on the right the same loft with the new method, much nicer.
We have just submitted MegaWires to the Unity Assetstore so we have added the docs for the system to the website. You can find out all about the system at the MegaWires Section of the website. You can read about the various components that are included with the system and what all the various params do. Also included with the system is 42 different pole types to get you started on adding dynamic wires to your scene all with predefined wire connection points. An image of all the different pole prefabs included in the package can be seen below and we hope to add more poles and pylons over time.
MegaWires is a new editor extension for the Unity Game Engine we will be releasing very soon, it allows for easy setting up of dynamic physics controlled wires in your scenes to add a little extra detail and movement to your games.
The system uses a custom physics system to simulate the high tension wires you get between telegraph poles and electrical pylons. The system includes 42 different poles to get you started but you can add your own poles and pylons very easily. You have complete control over the complexity of the physics used to simulate the system as well as over the meshes it produces. You can have Wind effects added to cause your wires to sway about and there are helper scripts to allow objects to be hung or attached to the the wires in the scene.
The system is optimized for game use with built in options to disable the whole system or parts, as well as a LOD system to turn the physics off on spans based on distance but with automatic waking up of the physics if a pole would say fall over in your scene.
More videos will be added showing the features of the physics and wind systems, the meshing options and the other helper scripts included with the MegaWires package.
Introduction to MegaWires
MegaWires Physics and Meshing basic options
We have just uploaded a bug fix for the 3ds max Terrain plugin. A recent set of Windows updates had caused issues with the licensing system we are using for the plugin causing it to hang on startup. This has been fixed now so if you were having that problem with the plugin or in the past had to load the plugin via the Plugin Manager then this update will fix those issues for you. To get the latest version just visit the store page and enter your email address you used for the purchase and a new download link to the latest version will be sent out to you.
We have released updates to both MegaFiers and MegaShapes. A new feature in the MegaShapes package (also included in the MegaFiers version) is a helper script to make it easier for multiple objects to follow a spline path in a connected way for example a train. The system allows you define the spacing between objects and also allows wheels to be steered separately from the main object if you want.
MegaFiers also sees a couple of bug fixes as well as some additions to the common params for each Modifier, you can now add a label to each modifier so in the event you have a lot of modifiers attached to an object you can track down the one you want by looking at the ‘Label’ string. Also a LOD value was added thanks to Sergio Barrera which allows for modifiers to be disabled or or enabled via a lod system, a LOD manager helper script is also included.
Train Follow Video
Changes in MegaFiers
Added a Label field to each modifier so making it easier to find the exact modifier you need in a complex stack.
Added code provided by Sergio Barrera have a LOD value for each Modifier so they can be turned on and off via a lod manager.
Included the Mod Lod manager helper script for managing modifier lods.
Bug fix, when using meshes that change vertex counts the internal data structures were not being updated correctly, again thanks to Sergio Barrera this has been fixed.
Train follow has debug lines for easier editing.
Added helper script MegaTrainFollow that allows for multiple objects to follow eg like a train with carriages
Changed in MegaShaps
Train follow has debug lines for easier editing.
Fixed bug in Clone Spline Simple where axis value was being used correctly to calculate repeat count.
Fixed bug in Clone Spline Simple where loft was not being positioned correctly over spline if spline not at 0,0,0
Fixed bug in Clone Spline where loft was not being positioned correctly over spline if spline not at 0,0,0
Added helper script MegaTrainFollow that allows for multiple objects to follow eg like a train with carriages
New versions of MegaFiers and MegaShapes are in the Asset store and the webstore, this sees the new conform system being added to the general meshing options in MegaShapes, so now you can have the mesh generated from the spline in any of the available modes i.e. Fill, Box, Tube, Ribbon conform to any target mesh or terrain, so you can easily use the ribbon mode for example to lay a road over a terrain.
Changes in MegaFiers 2.52
Conform added to fill spline meshing option.
Conform added to box spline meshing option.
Conform added to tube spline meshing option.
Conform added to ribbon spline meshing option.
Changes in MegaShapes 1.60
Conform added to fill spline meshing option.
Conform added to box spline meshing option.
Conform added to tube spline meshing option.
Conform added to ribbon spline meshing option.
Added beta of new Conform feature which allow lofts to conform to a mesh or terrain.
Fixed bug when creating lofts from script where an invalid index exception was being generated, thanks to FredPointZero
Added Align Cross slider to Simple Loft layer to define how much the cross section aligns to the path spline, similar to the teeter value in the complex loft.
Just to a quick message to say that after the major storm that hit the south of England at the weekend we have finally after 3 days in darkness got power back here, so if you emailed us over that time we will be getting back to you as soon as we can.
Just done another update to MegaFiers that is in the Asset Store and on our webstore now, this sees a bug fix for the system that shows the vertex mapping debug info for when a morph fails to map correctly, this helps you see what is causing the error. And we have added a beta of a new modifier, the conform system we added to MegaShapes is now in MegaFiers as a modifier, so you can easily conform one mesh onto another so for example you could have a flat road mesh and want to lay that over a terrain or a ground mesh, the conform modifier will do that for you. Below you can see a video showing the modifier as well as one showing the conform system working in the full version of MegaShapes. You can more info on the Conform modifier on its Help Page
Conform Video
Just submitted an update for MegaShapes which sees a tiny bug fix for those who were getting an exception when creating Lofts from scratch via scripting, and we have also added a beta of a new feature. We were asked if lofts work with Terrains and we thought that it would be nice if they did so we have added a ‘Conform’ feature to the Simple Loft layer (other layers will also get have it in the next update). With this feature you can select per layer an object for the loft to conform to, it could be a terrain or a mesh object, the system will then make the loft fit the target object, so you can now create simple flat road loft and then have that go over a terrain object. You can adjust how much the loft will conform to the target as well as set an offset so it can float above the target. The loft will update in real time if you change the terrain or mesh or move the spline etc and any other loft layer that uses the conforming one will automatically update as well, so fence layers or objects placed on a loft will all stay positioned.
MegaShapes Conform
We have had a busy week with updates to MegaFiers, MegaShapes and MegaGrab being released.
MegaFiers Update
The updates to MegaFiers sees a couple of bug fixes along with the removal of warning messages that have appeared when the system is imported into Unity 4.1 onwards. The Maya blendshape exporter is seeing a few improvements, we still have one more thing we need to add but waiting to hear from Autodesk.
Changes in v2.50
MegaGrab disabled for platforms that do not support it.
Fixed all warnings when importing into Unity 4.1 onwards
Fixed a bug in the dynamic ripple causing an error when changing physics rows and col values.
Small change to dynamic ripple to work with Unity 4.2 better, box collider not being detected sometimes.
Maya exporter update to handle multiple targets (targets must be present in Maya)
Maya exporter update current blendshape weights now exported instead of being set to 0
MegaShapes Update
The MegaShapes also sees some small bug fixes and a major issue has been fixed with Unity 4.1 onwards where layers could not be selected correctly in the inspector.
Changes in v1.57
MegaGrab removed if platform is not webplayer or standalone.
Fixed warnings that have appeared in Unity 4.x
Fixed a bug that give exceptions if you used scatter layers with a complex loft.
Made changes for Unity 4.1 onwards that stopped you being able to select layers correctly in the inspector.
MegaGrab Update
We have just added the ability to grab sequences of images all using the upscaling and AA values if you want so you can render out a sequence of very high quality high res anti aliased images which you can then join together using your favorite software to build an HD or even 4k video of your game. The help page on the website has also been updated to show the changes and the new inspector for MegaGrab.
We have just released v2.48 of MegaFiers to the Asset Store and on our web store. This brings some small changes to the Displace modifiers to allow you to offset the whole mesh. Also for Point Cache users we have added an option to allow you to get the mapping information from the last frame of the cache file, this was requested by a couple of users who had animations that would build up to the final mesh as opposed to the normal use of Point Cache for things like cloth.
Another change to the Point Cache modifiers is the addition of a Point Cache Ref modifier, this works the same as the normal point cache but instead of loading point cache files to it you instead point it at a source object already in the scene and that objects data will be used but allow you to animate each object independently. This is useful say if you have a load of flags, trees or objects that build up using Cache files such as buildings in a RTS game, you now longer need to have the memory overhead of each object having its own cache file so making it much more friendly for games. The Point Cache animator has also been updated to work with either the normal point cache or the reference version.
The morph system has also seen a ref version of the modifier added so again you can have one source morphing object in the scene and then have lots of copies all of which can morph on their own without the memory overhead. This is in Beta still so if you have any problems let me know.
Finally the OSX Maya 2014 64 bit Blendshape exporter has been made available.
Changes in v2.48
Mac Maya 2014 64 bit exporter available
Displace modifier now has a vertical offset value.
Displace Limits modifier now has a vertical offset value.
Option added to point cache modifier to map from the last frame of the data.
Added new modifier Point Cache Ref, this works the same as a point cache modifier but allows you to use another object in the scene as the data source so you don’t need to duplicate the point cache data.
Point Cache Animator updated to work with Point Cache Ref as well.
Added new beta modifier Morph Ref, this works the same as a Morph modifier but allows you to use another object as the data source so you don’t need to duplicate the morph vertex data.
The support ticket system for the website is currently not working due to it the plugin updating itself to the latest version. We are trying to contact the authors of the system to find out what has gone worng.
Just a quick note to say thanks to Jared Judd we now have a blendshape exporter available for Maya 2014 64 for Mac. If you need a copy of that just email us with your invoice details and we will get it sent out to you.
We have just released v2.47 of MegaFiers on the Asset Store and our webstore. The main change is MegaFiers is now compatible with Windows App and Windows Phone, we have also added the start of morph animation (and soon point cache) blending so you can have nice smooth transitions between your morph anim clips, if you use PlayClip methods but with a second param which is the transition time, this is in alpha so if you do have a play and see any issues please do let us know and if you have any suggestions again please do tell us. Other changes are an extra param to the Sinus Curve modifiers to allow you to change the wave length, the morph inspector has been made more compact for easier use when you have a lot of morph channels, Warp objects can now be created from the GameObject menu, a bug in the wrap system which could stop the system working when a mesh was wrapped onto a non skinned target, and finally the demo scene has been tidied up a little to remove the errors that Unity 4.x users would get when the scene was converted.
Changes v2.47
Added wave length value to Sinus Curve and Sinus Curve warp modifier
Warp objects can be created from the Game Object Create other menu now.
Compact mode in Morph inspector even more compact
Fixed a bug in mega wrap that might stop it wrapping onto non skinned meshes.
Now compatible with Windows App and Phone
Alpha of Animation blending in Morph Animator, use PlayClip(clip, blendtime) or PlayClip(clipname, blendtime)
Fixed some issues in the demo scene.
We have just released v1.54 of MegaShapes this sees changes to the code to allow it to compile and run for Windows Phone and Windows App platforms.
We have published on the Google Play store a quick Benchmark demo for the MegaFiers mesh modifier system. You can use this to look at some of the deformations available in the system as well as to see the performance on various devices.
The demo scene contains 100,000 vertices in the 7 heads so it is very much a stress test of the system on mobile devices so you can get an idea of the performance of the system on your device, but as I say bare in mind each head is 15,000 vertices.
You can turn the animation on each head on and off by tapping the head, or you can turn off a head completely by tapping and holding. The frame rate for the scene is shown in the top left corner along with the timing of the frame. You also have options to enable the multitasking in MegaFiers to increase performance and also toggle shadows on and off. Note: Shadows can be very slow on lower end devices.
This is version 1 of the Benchmark, we will be adding more modifiers and different scenes to try in future updates, please do report any bugs and let us know any FPS you would like to share.
You can get the Demo on the Google Play Store
We have just released a new version of MegaFiers on the Asset Store and on our website. This brings a couple of bug fixes such as labels for splines and warps appearing on screen when they are behind the camera and a few small fixes to the Book script to keep pages flat and add mouse and key control. This release also sees 7 new Warp modifiers added for you to play with, they work just like their normal modifier versions but operate in space so any objects bound to the warp will deform as they get closer to the warp. We also added a very early test of a new modifier that will allow impact and crater like deformations but this is a very early version added as a request from a user so they can test it.
Now this version is out we can focus some attention on the Prefab system, this has been a bit of a nightmare to get working as each new version of Unity has broken the serialization methods we use to create the prefabs, but we are going to start again from scratch so the next update should see a greatly improved and properly working Prefab and object copy system implemented.
Changes in v2.46
You can disable the Unity undo feature per modifier this may increase the inspector speed on slower machines not using Unity 4.3
Text Labels no longer display if they are behind the camera.
Added new Globe Warp modifier, which is the Globe modifier but as a space warp.
Added new Waving warp modifier.
Added new Sinus Curve warp modifier.
Added new Hump Warp modifier.
Added new Cylindrify Warp modifier.
Added new Spherify Warp modifier.
Added new Bubble Warp modifier.
Added Deformable modifier for doing collision and crater type effects (alpha version only for testing)
Book script improved, pages should lay flat when pages controlled by keys.
We have just released version 2.45 of MegaFiers on the Asset Store and on our web store, this is a small release while we work on some new features and bigger improvements to the systems. This update fixes an issue in the Point Cache importer that could give Mapping failures on some meshes and while we were at it we add the mapping tolerance value to the inspector so if you were using very large meshes (size wise not vertex count wise) then you could increase the tolerance value if the cache file does not map. Also we added the ability to view the mapping data so if a mapping does fail you can view the imported data compared to the mesh data to see what it is that has caused the problem so making it easier to fix. From experience it is almost always due to the first frame of the cache file not matching the imported mesh.
Also we got a couple of requests to add speed values to the Animator components so you can control the animation speed/direction of the Morph or Point cache clips, each clip can have its own speed value.
Changes in v2.45
Added ability to view mapping data for point cache modifier to help fix mapping issues.
Fixed a bug in the point cache importer which was causing mapping failures on some meshes.
Add tolerance value to Point Cache modifier so if you get mapping failures try increasing this.
Speed option add to Point Cache Animator Clips
Speed option add to Morph Animator Clips
This video shows blendshapes/morphs created in ZBrush being used in Unity via the MegaFiers mesh deformation system. The video shows the blendshapes being exported to Maya via the built in Maya Blend Shape export plugin. You can also use the FBX files exported from ZBrush to load the same data into Max or Maya. Our custom blendshape exporter is then used to export the blendshape data to a .mor file which can then be loaded into Unity. The exporter will also export any animation you may add to the blendshapes in Max or Maya.
In this example the teeth and gums are separate models and we added a simple script to the lower jaw that looks at some of the morph channels and automatically changes the rotation of the jaw to match the movement of the bottom lip. We hope to upload a webplayer demo of the deforming heads soon.
ZBrush Blendshapes Video
This video shows the workflow of getting Daz3D characters and their clothing into Unity complete with morphs and with clothing that will deform along with the base mesh as it does in Daz.In this example we use FBX files and the megafiers exporter for Maya but Maya could be replaced with Max or Blender. The character in this demo has also been loaded into Mixamo to add an animation to it.
Daz Workflow Video
We have released version 1.51 of MegaShapes, this sees some small bug fixes and some improvements to the Walk Loft system.
Changes in v1.51
Added MoveKnot() method to megashapes API.
Added animate option to walk loft to aid moving objects.
Added option to control how upright objects remain when using walk loft system.
MegaShapeFollow distance values now repeat if they go out of range.
Fixed Lathe to work correctly with closed splines.
This is a quick little demo we made to show the MegaShapes loft system being used as a run time track editor. The track the cows are running on is made from a Loft with a base layer, a grass layers and two fence layers. In edit mode you can drag the spheres that represent the knots of the spline around to change the layout of the track and as you do so all the procedurally added trees and cows will automatically reposition themselves to match the new track layout.
The demo also shows the new coloring options we added which can be used to control things like texture blends along the length of the loft.
The boats in the scene use the MegaShapes Shape Follow components with a few little extra simple scripts to generate the bobbing behavior and to move boats between splines if they need to overtake a slower boat.
MegaMoo Demo
Click the image below to run the demo.
This is a quick little demo we made to show the MegaShapes loft system being used as a run time track editor. The track the cows are running on is made from a Loft with a base layer, a grass layers and two fence layers. In edit mode you can drag the spheres that represent the knots of the spline around to change the layout of the track and as you do so all the procedurally added trees and cows will automatically reposition themselves to match the new track layout.
The demo also shows the new coloring options we added which can be used to control things like texture blends along the length of the loft.
The boats in the scene use the MegaShapes Shape Follow components with a few little extra simple scripts to generate the bobbing behavior and to move boats between splines if they need to overtake a slower boat.
We will upload a webplayer demo of this scene shortly
MegaMoo Video
Just finishing off a little demo that shows the loft system in MegaShapes being used to create a little track for some cows to run along. The track can be edited at runtime by dragging spheres which mark the spline control points, as you drag the track updates. The fence on the object is a loft layer so that also automatically updates. The jumps are positioned using the Walk Loft system so again will automatically position themselves correctly and orientate themselves to the track. The trees are scattered at runtime along the edges and again make use of the Walk Loft system, this time they have one dof removed so that they will always point upwards, the amount they point up can be controlled if needs be. The cows are also created at runtime and are again moved around the track using the walk loft. And finally there are some boats in the scene that are using the shape follow system. On the outside the boats use multiple splines in the follow and a little extra helper script keeps an eye on when a boat is getting close to one ahead and will change the weighting on the paths in the follow script so the boat moves to an overtaking path. The texture graduation on the sides is done using the newly added vertex color option which controls blending of up to 4 textures with the shaders included with the system.
I will be uploading a video of the demo and hopefully put a webplayer demo up soon as well.
A quick update to MegaShapes has been released this sees improvements to the Create MegaShape Prefab system where it will try and find the splines the loft uses in the scene when you add a prefab to a scene, previously the references to any shapes used were lost. Also fixed a bug in the layer selections which could happen if you added a selectable layer ie a simple or complex loft after a say a Clone layer.
Changes in v1.50
Update to the Mega Prefab system, will attempt to reconnect any shapes used by a loft to shapes in the scene.
Fixed a bug when selecting layers which could give a casting error depending on order layers are applied to a loft.
Just submitted version 1.48 of MegaShapes to the asset store and our webstore. This update brings the start of vertex color support to the lofts, so you can now either just color your lofts or use the color data in shaders to blend between effects or textures. A couple of basic shaders have been included and will do basic Diffuse or Specular lighting with up to 4 textures being blended between based on the vertex colors. To enable the color support (only on the Simple Loft at the moment) check the ‘Use Colors’ box on the Loft object component, then using the color curves in the Simple Loft you can define how the blending happens. We will bring color support to the complex loft soon and also have plans to add a color map option for more control over the blending in future updates.
Also done a couple of bug fixes and made the Create MegaPrefab work correctly now so prefabs made with MegaShape components attached will work fine now when added to a scene.
Changes in v1.48
Added MultiBlend Diffuse Shader for use with the new vertex coloring options.
Added MultiBlend Specular shader for use with the new vertex coloring options.
Added vertex color option to Simple Loft layer, this can be use with the new shaders to blend between textures along the loft.
Fixed zero vector3 issue in scatter simple layer.
Create MegaShape Prefab fixed to work properly.
Simple little Pottery Demo which uses the MegaShapes Lathe system to interactively model pots. Right Click and mouse to change camera or Space and drag. Left Mouse and drag the wheel to spin it then Left button over the pot to deform or Ctrl, Alt, Shift over the pot to deform the other way. The Cursor up and down will change the area of influence for your interaction. F1 Toggles help page.
Click Image to launch demo
We have released version 2.44 of MegaFiers, this sees some bug fixes as well as some exporter updates. We have also added the option to view the mapping data of morphs, this is handy if you get a mapping failure error as you can see in what way the mapping is wrong, when a mor file loads correctly you will see red vertex indicators inside all the green ones, if you get a mapping failure it will mean some or all the imported vertices could not find a match and you will be able to see this helping you figure out what the issue is. And finally we have added more options to the basic meshing options for the splines namely curves so you can easily define the scaling along the length of the spline of your tube, box or ribbon meshes.
Changes in v2.44
Scrubbing time value on Point Cache modifier will now update mesh if animate is turned off.
Added option to morph inspector to show mapping data so in case of failures it can help show what the issue is.
Tolerance value added to inspector, for some very large meshes with morphs you may need to increase this value.
Fixed error in the Blender exporter if your morph had no animations.
Fixed Max 2013 and 2014 morph exporters, were crashing on progressive morph targets.
Fixed missing names on progressive morph targets on Max 2013 and 14 exporters.
Fixed missing first target percent value in progressive morphs when using Max 2013 and 14 exporters.
Maya exporter updated so only selected blendshape is exported instead of all blendshapes.
We have just submitted version 1.44 of MegaShapes to the Asset Store and our web store. In this update we have added a Planar UV mapping option to the simple loft layer, this is useful if you are creating more 2D or 2.5D environments and need more control over the uv mapping option. We have also add the beta of the Lathe modifier which you can use to spin your spline shapes into meshes, the system gives you a lot of control over the generated mesh and has numerous params and curves to define the resulting mesh that is produced, also at any time you can change the spline and the mesh will change. And finally we have added more options to the basic meshing options for the splines namely curves so you can easily define the scaling along the length of the spline of your tube, box or ribbon meshes.
v1.45
Fixed error if Mega Shape component added directly to a game object.
Planar UV Mapping option added to the Simple Loft Layer.
Beta of Lathe Spline system added.
Added scaling option to tube meshing params so you can easily make tubes that get fatter or thinner
Added scaling option to box meshing params so you can easily make box tubes that get fatter or thinner
Added scaling option to ribbon meshing params so you can easily make ribbons that get wider or thinner
Webplayer demo of the Daz Morph and Wrapping Demo. Click the Image below to launch the demo, Esc toggles the customizing GUI on and off. Right Mouse button and move to change the camera, you can also use the Space or any Shift, Alt, Ctrl or Apple key as an alternative to a right button. Mouse wheel to zoom in and out or Cursor Up and Down. More info on the demo can be found on the Blog Post The trees and flags are also using MegaFier modifiers for the trees it is the Waving modifier and the flags are using the Point Cache system.
Click Image to launch demo
This is a video of a little Avatar or character customization demo we have put together to show the new Daz3D direct morph import system and to show the wrapping system in proper use. The main character is a Daz3D character that has been decimated to a lower poly count to make it more suitable for games, and then exported to an FBX and imported into Unity. Then using our new Daz3D to MegaFiers to connection you can just point the system at any directory that holds .dsf morph files for the character and the system will read in all the available morphs, you can then choose which of those you want to apply to your character and hit load. The system will automatically match the morphs to the Unity character regardless how much you have reduced the poly count from the original.
The clothes in the demo have no morphs at all they make use of the Wrapping system in MegaFiers so you just need to select any item you wish to fit your character, add the wrapping component and apply it, once applied the clothes or other items will conform to whatever morph the main character is performing so you need not worry about creating loads of morphs for your clothes etc. The items to be wrapped do not even need to be rigged to the bones to work.
We will be doing a video showing how this demo was put together and the workflow for the new Daz3D connection. And the webplayer demo of this will be uploaded shortly.
The flags in the demo are animated using the MegaFiers point cache system and the trees blowing in the wind are done using the Waving modifier.
Music: ‘Soaring High’ copyright © 2013 Grant Stevens – Under license from Varazuvi™ www.varazuvi.com”
Daz3D Video
We have made some improvements and done some bug fixes to the various exporters for MegaFiers. The 2013 and 2014 Max exporters would crash when exporting progressive morphs as well as not correctly exporting target percents and names, so that has bee fixed. The Blender exporter had a small typo that caused a crash if your morph had no animations. And finally the Maya exporters were not correctly exporting the selected BlendShape instead they were exporting all blendshapes, this would be fine for most cases where you had one object in the scene, but if you had a complex morphing character then it would not work so well. Please note to select the BlendShape you can not just click it in the viewport you need to click the ‘Select’ button in the BlendShape attributes panel.
Changes in 2.44
Fixed error in the Blender exporter if your morph had no animations.
Fixed Max 2013 and 2014 morph exporters, were crashing on porgressive morph targets.
Fixed missing names on progressive morph targets on Max 2013 and 14 exporters.
Fixed missing first target percent value in progressive morphs when using Max 2013 and 14 exporters.
Maya exporter updated so only selected blendshape is exported instead of all blendshapes.
While playing with Blender I noticed that there was a typo in the Blender exporter, we have fixed it and updated the exporter so if you are a Blender user and have been getting error messages (no one has reported it so far) when exporting a mor file then please do request the latest exporter via email or support ticket.
Just putting the finishing touches to a new feature in MegaShapes. We have added a Lathe tool so you can spin your shapes around to form meshes. Working on a little Pottery simulator demo to show the system in use, a little sneak peek grab can be seen below.
We have just submitted a small update to MegaFiers to the Asset Store and our webstore, this sees a couple of small improvements to the Waving modifier to make it easier to use. We have also done a little guide video showing how the waving modifier can be used to make animated flags. Finally we have recompiled the Maya blendshape exporter for the 2014 version of Maya so if you need that just send us an email.
Changes in v2.43
Added a waveaxis option to the Waving modifier to make it easier to setup the wave direction.
Beta version of Maya 2014 64 bit blendshape exporter available.
We have released version 2.42 of MegaFiers, this brings a new modifier ‘Waving’. This allows you to quickly and easily animate waving objects such as flags, plants, ribbons etc. The effect of the wave will get greater the further away from the modifier center it gets, you have control over the wavelength, amplitude and phase of the wave, as well as being able to easily animate the effect. We have also fixed various bugs in the Multi Volume Select modifier and added a guide video for it as well as its own help page.
Waving Modifier
Multi Volume Select Video
Changes v2.42
multi vol select missing position handle bug fixed
Selections now update automatically when you drag volumes around in multi volume select
Selection now update automatically when you drag volumes around in volume select
Adding a volume from multi volume select now updates selection automatically
Deleting a volume from multi vol select updates the selections
Changing order value in multi volume select works now
new waving modifier added
deleting all volumes from multi volume select now clears the selection
Enable value added to each volume in multi volume select
help page added for Multi Volume Select modifier
Help page added for Waving modifier
We have released another update for MegaFiers, this sees some additions to the spline system allowing some scaling curves to be used with the basic meshing options for splines. We have also fixed a parsing error in the MCC file importer for the point cache modifier and fixed a memory bug in the Max 2013 and 2014 versions of the Morph exporter. And finally we have added another vertex selection modifier this time a material based selection, this allows you to easily select the vertices to be deformed based on the material. The amount of deformation can be controlled as well as the amount to apply to the unselected vertices if needed. This selection modifier joins the other selection modifiers in the system which are vertex color, Volume and multi volume selection.
Material Select Video
Changes in v2.41
Added Material Selection modifier allowing deformation of sub material vertices only in a mesh.
Added scaling option to tube meshing params so you can easily make tubes that get fatter or thinner
Added scaling option to box meshing params so you can easily make box tubes that get fatter or thinner
Added scaling option to ribbon meshing params so you can easily make ribbons that get wider or thinner
Max 2013 and 2014 exporters have had a memory bug fix.
Bug in the MCC point cache file parser fixed.
Did a quick update to MegaShapes to make the chain meshing option work for the rope system, and added an example chain to the Rope Scene.
Changes v1.43
Chain building option now works in the rope and chain system (still in beta)
Chain example added to Rope Scene
MegaGrab updated to the latest version
A new version is available on the Asset Store and our web store, this mainly sees some bug fixes such as frame numbers not being entered correctly on the Morph and Point Cache Animator systems and the vert index slider on the wrap system trying to show one vertex too many. We have also added ‘Order’ values to the various vertex selection modifiers so if you need to change the order you can do so now, before only actual modifiers could have their order changed but now the vertex selection mods can as well. And finally we added in some missing values from the curve deform modifier that must have got lost in a code copy somewhere along the line.
The next update of the system will probably also see a small increase in price which will not effect existing customers but for anyone who is maybe sitting on the fence about a purchase just wanted to give advanced warning on that, the system has been out for nearly two years now and has grown from 16 modifiers to nearly 50 with numerous other systems, helpers and exporters.
Changes in v2.40
Order value added to volume select modifier
Order value added to multi volume select modifier
Order value added to vert col select modifier
Curve Deforms Max Deviation value now works
Added the Pos value back in to the Curve Deform modifier
Fixed Vert Index slider on Skin Wrap causing error when slid to right extent.
Fixed bug in Morph Animator editor script that stopped some frame numbers from being entered
Fixed bug in Point Cache Animator editor script that stopped some frame numbers from being entered
Had an email about using MegaFiers to control the bending of playing cards in a game so decide to show how not only how the bend modifier could be used but also how the Bend Space warp could also be used to do the job even more easily.
The video link has been fixed to show the correct video now, thanks to Daniel Klepel for pointing that out.
Bend Warp Video
