MegaFiers Blog

MegaFiers promo video

Just done a little promo video for MegaFiers that shows a few selected features of the system.

Tracked Vehicle System Added and Updates.

Due to numerous support requests about using the Path De-formers in MegaFiers for doing tank tracks etc, I thought it would be worthwhile adding a dedicated Tracked Vehicle system to MegaShapes, this system will position objects along a spline that defines the shape of the track making it very very fast as opposed to using the complex Path Deform modifier. The system also has a helper system to link automatically wheels to the track movement. The spline can be changed at any time so with some scripting you can do a simple raycast system to adjust the spline shape to the ground or use wheel colliders that position spline points etc. This is the first draft of this system and it will be available in the next update of MegaShapes.

Tracked Vehicle System

We have also updated both MegaFiers and MegaShapes to incude the system above as well as some improvements to the Dynamic Hose system that was added not long ago.

Changes to MegaShapes in v1.38

    Updated BezFloatKeyControl to match the new MegaFiers version.
    Added Do Late Update option to Hose system
    Added option to disable hose updates if not visible
    Added Tank Tracks System
    Added Tank Wheels helper system
    Hoses named correctly when created.
    Fixed hose not initializing correctly on creation.
    The hose system now works correctly with prefabs.
    Hose Freecreate mode disables automatically if end objects defined.

Changes to MegaFiers in v2.29

    Added a error dialog when malformed PC2 files are loaded.
    Added Do Late Update option to Hose system
    Added option to disable hose updates if not visible
    Added Tank Tracks System
    Added Tank Wheels helper system

Mega Terrain for Unity First look

This is the first look at our Terrain system running inside Unity. The system allows for easy generation of real world terrains from DEM data. The data is automatically streamed so all the user needs to do is input the coordinates of the place they would like to model and the terrain is generated. You can then scroll around and zoom in and out, or change the gradient coloring and when you are happy the system can be asked to turn the area into a Unity Terrain tile or multiple connected tiles.

This is an early test of the system, we have plenty more features to add as well as the texture grabbing option. The system is already available as a plugin for 3DS Max and comes with scripts to import the data into Unity but this extension to Unity will make life even easier for anyone needing to build real world terrains for simulations or games.

Some more updates

Another update has been released for MegaShapes and MegaFiers, this brings some small bug fixes mainly to the Hose system, but there are a couple of other fixes. Full details are below.

Changes to Megafiers in Version 2.28

    Option to toggle spline display for Hose system.
    Hoses named correctly when created.
    Fixed hose not initializing correctly on creation.
    The hose system now works correctly with prefabs.
    Hose Freecreate mode disables automatically if end objects defined.
    Small fix to Morph Animator inspector.
    Small fix to Point Cache Animator inspector.
    Volume Select now has a target value so you can link the volume location to a gameobject.

Changes to MegaShapes in Version 1.36

    Hoses named correctly when created.
    Fixed hose not initializing correctly on creation.
    The hose system now works correctly with prefabs.
    Hose Freecreate mode disables automatically if end objects defined.

Hose help page and video guide added.

We have added the help page for the Hose system included in MegaFiers and MegaShapes as well as a video guide to the features of the system which can also be found below. The help page is Here

Video Guide to the Hose System

Another Update to MegaFiers

We have just released another update to MegaFiers, we noticed that the Maya blendshape animation playback was not always 100% correct so after some investigating it turns out Maya uses Hermite splines for its animation controllers as opposed to the Bezier type used by Max and Blender so we have added a Hermite Animation controller to the morphing system and updated the Maya exporter and import code so now all should be perfect in the world of Maya based animated blendshapes. You will need to update your Maya exporter as well.

Also in this update we have added some extra code to the Point Cache modifier importer to try and automatically fit more data, we had some reports of data not mapping and it seemed that some modifiers in Max were altering the object offset in the modifier stack so breaking the point cache mapping system, so an extra option has been added to the Point Cache inspector above the Load buttons called ‘Mapping Adjust’ If your point cache file gives a mapping failure error then try importing again with that option checked.

Changes in v2.26
    Imported Maya blendshape animations now 100% correct due to new Hermite animation controllers.
    Maya exporter updated.
    Point Cache modifier has improved mapping detection options.

MegaFiers and MegaShapes are updated.

We have just released updates to both MegaFiers and MegaShapes, we have added the dynamic Hose system to the basic version of MegaShapes so you will find it in MegaFiers as well (a late Christmas present). Also in MegaFiers we have a couple of menu items and methods to help with using deformed objects in your scene, there is a ‘Mega Create Instance’ now which will copy the selected object into the scene but without all the MegaFier components and if you change the original object the instance object will also change, and to go with that we added ‘Mega Deep Copy’ which will allow copying of deformed objects in the scene and allow the copy to be deformed independently, we had this before but it didn’t work for Skinned deformed objects but now it does. We also fixed a bug in the Point Cache Animator system which stopped it working correctly and more importantly we found a bug in the Maya blendshape animation system which meant the playback could look wrong. If you are a Maya user then please do request the latest exporter and make sure to get the latest MegaFiers updates if you noticed errors in the animation playback.

The complete list of changes for each system are below:

Changes for version 2.25 of MegaFiers

    Removed error when platform set to Flash.
    Mega Deep Copy added to GameObject menu which will allow copying of objects and skinned objects in the scene, MegaCopyObject.DeepCopy(obj) can be used from script.
    Fixed bug in Point Cache Animator that stopped it working.
    Added Mega Create Instance to GameObject menu to make proper instance copies of Modified objects in the scene. MegaCopyObject.InstanceObject(obj) can be used from script.
    Added Mega Hose system to MegaShapes, easily connect two objects with a flexible hose.
    Added Mega Hose Attach to MegaShapes, attach objects to the hose.
    Fixed a bug in the morph animation playback when used with mor files exported from Maya.
    Maya morph exporter updated to fix animation issue.

Changes for version 1.34 of MegaShapes

    Replaced use of GameObject.active with GameObject.SetActiveRecursively() to be compatible with Unity 4.0.1
    Added Mega Hose system to MegaShapes, easily connect two objects with a flexible hose.
    Added Mega Hose Attach to MegaShapes, attach objects to the hose.
    NormMap renamed to avoid naming clash.
    MOrbit.cs script renamed to avoid errors if installed with MegaFiers

New feature coming very soon.

A little teaser picture of a new feature we have just added to MegaShapes, there is also a video of the little demo running below, I will be posting a video showing the features in detail soon.

Hose Demo Video

This video shows a quick demo scene to show of the new Hose feature we have added to MegaShapes, this allows you to link two objects with a flexible hose that will naturally bend and flow between the two connections. You have complete control over the mesh generation and can choose round, square or D Shaped hoses, and you can adjust the fillet radius for sharp corners. You can also define a region for corrugations and set the number of cycles and radius change. You can also set a bulge curve so you can simulate fluid flowing along the hose or inflating the hose.

The rail that the objects are moving along was also created using MegaShapes with the spline to mesh option, and a little extra script was written to generate the posts the splines rest on.

Professor MacSpeedee’s Test Chamber Demo

Here is the webplayer demo of the Professor MacSpeedee’s MegaFier Test Chamber in which he conducts research into procedural animation and deforming poor defenceless meshes in unimaginable ways. The demo also shows a Camera Cut Scene system for controlling the demo mode and the Camera system for implementing various camera types with shake and cross fading etc, if there is any interest the camera system could become a new asset. All the switches, dials, sliders, and Nixie tubes are controlled via custom scripts so they can be wired to controls, values etc.

Click Image to launch Demo

F1 to F3 changes camera modes, with mouse and WASDEC keys changing the position and direction, mouse wheel will zoom, and cursor keys will change the camera targets. Space will toggle the Cut Scene demo mode and keys 1 to 4 will toggle various image effects.

MegaWrap system quick video and v2.24 released

The Mega Wrap system allows you to drive the deformation of one mesh from another meshes deformation. So for example if you have a character with clothes or facial hair it can be made to automatically morph along with the base character so you can swap in different meshes without having to setup the deformations or have morphing data for it.

We have also just released version 2.24 of MegaFiers, this brings the MegaWrap system as well as bug fixes to OBJ importing for morphing data that was broken by excessive error checking, and the Mega Copy Object will now work correctly with skinned meshes. Version 2.24 is available now on the web store page or the asset store.

v2.24
    NormMap renamed to MegaNormMap to avoid naming clashes.
    Fixed Load Mapping bug when working with OBJ files and morphs.
    Mega Wrap improved you can now set the max number of mapping points to use and the best ones will be used.
    Fixed bug in Mega Copy Object when used with skinned meshes.

Terrain for 3DS Max 2013 released along with Unity scripts.

We have just made available the beta of 3ds Max 2013 versions of the Terrain Plugin, you will find both 32 and 64 bit versions available in the demo and full version download packages, if you have already purchased the Terrain plugin you just need to submit your email address on the store page to get access to the new version. Also included in the full version of the plugin is the beta of the Unity scripts to allow easy importing of terrains generated by the plugin and its texture as well as allowing importing of Terragen files into Unity.

MegaFiers used for the Amazing Body XQ

MegaFiers has been used to make Body XQ an amazing interactive educational program that teaches you about the human body and is available to try on the WebSite or you can download it to your iPhone or Android device and try it there. MegaFiers was used to do all the animation and morphing of the heart and its components and really shows what Unity and MegaFiers can do on all platforms with creative minds. Controls for the webplayer version are left mouse button to rotate, Space and mouse button to pan and Z and mouse button to zoom in, if you zoom in close the scene will change to show the inside workings and keep zooming to see more details.

MegaFiers used in Frocket and Folk Tale

MegaFiers has been used in a couple of games that have just been made available, first is Folk Tale a lovely fun looking game from GamesFoundry that has just been given the Green Light on Steam and is available for beta testing now at The Game Foundry Website, MegaFiers was used to do the facial animations and expressions of the characters. The second game is for iPhone and iPad and is called Frockets by which is side view Sonic style game based around a frog, the game is available in the App Store now, MegaFiers was used to animate the foliage found through out the game as well as animate the water.

Folk Tale

Frocket

MegaFiers and MegaShapes get small updates.

We have just updated both MegaFiers and MegaGrabs. MegaFiers sees some optimizations to the stretch, taper and squeeze modifiers. Also hopefully in the next update the demo scene will see a makeover so keep an eye open for that. MegaShapes gets some optimizations to the Verlet Integrator for the rope system and we have added MegaGrab to the system as well.

Changes in v1.32 of MegaShapes
    Optimized the Verlet integrator.
    Added MegaGrab to the package.
Changes in v2.23 of MegaFiers
    Optimized stretch modifier.
    Optimized taper modifier.
    Optimized squeeze modifier.

MegaShapes v1.31 released

We have just released an update for MegaShapes, this sees some bug fixes and some improvements to the rope system bringing it a little closer to Beta. We have added a Verlet integrator for the rope as well as the start of self collision and another meshing option where you can deform a custom mesh to the rope spline, this would allow you to have a complex mesh with multiple materials and may say eyelets at each end for example. A new test scene is also included in the package which will show of the rope systems and we will add more examples to this scene as features are added. A video of the test scene is below, nothing special yet but shows the self collision.

Changes in v1.31
    Fixed bug in Helix shape with one of the knot handles being wrong.
    Fixed exceptions in the alpha rope code
    Added custom inspectors for the rope system.
    Added a Verlet solver to the rope system.
    Added first test of self collide to rope system.
    Added start of a new scene for rope testing.
    Added a new rope meshing option, deform mesh to rope spline.

Rope Test Scene

Small MegaFiers Update

Very small update to MegaFiers submitted, fixes a bug in the helix shape helper that caused some handles to be incorrect, and improved the Make Prefab option a little, you will see errors in the editor when you make a prefab and on exiting play mode these can be ignored as it is a quirk of Unity to report mesh leaks with dynamic meshes in the editor. Full version History can be found Here.

And on another topic added some more customer feedback to the Comments page, thank you to anyone who has posted a review on the Asset Store it is nice to see it being useful, looking forward to seeing some more projects released using the system.

v2.22
    Fixed bug in Helix shape with one of the knot handles being wrong.
    Improvements to the Create Prefab system.

MegaShapes Rope system improvements.

I have been doing some work on the rope system to slowly edge it towards beta. I have re written the core physics system and adding different integrators such as Verlet and VertetTC , I have also added self collision which was lacking from the previous version, a new system for calculating the transport frame to stop ugly twists in the mesh and adding new meshing options such as being able to use a custom mesh as the model to be deformed to the rope path, so you can build a rope mesh with eyelets or other additions, or model up a hose system for a robot and use that for rope, still lots to do but getting there. Quick grabs of rope test below. There will be an update hopefully early next week with the improved rope system in.

MegaFiers v2.21 Released

We have just submitted a new version of MegaFiers to the Asset store and to our webstore. This sees a few bug fixes and an improvement to the book builder script which will turn of MegaFiers on pages that do not need updating this will boost performance nicely especially on mobile devices. We have also add an option to the GameObject menu to easily create prefabs from MegaShape meshes and objects, and finally there is now an option in the Mgea Modify Object inspector to disable the deformation update on objects that are not seen, so the system will automatically disable any updates when the object becomes invisible to the camera and will re enable it when it again becomes visible, by default this is on for each object and you can disable it for whatever reason you need to do so. This release also sees the alpha release of Mega Wrap which is a system where you can drive a deformation on one mesh from another, so for example if you have your character with a lot of morphs and you also have clothes or facial hair etc then it you apply the Mega Wrap component to that object and then select the deforming object as the target the system will automatically deform your object along with the target so your clothes and facial hair will stay positioned and deform nicely. Expect a video on this system very soon.

Changes for v2.21
    Alpha of Mega Wrap system released
    Small update to the book script will now disable MegaFiers on pages that dont need updating making it much faster for mobile devices.
    Option added to stop deformation updates when object not visible.
    Added a Create MegaShape Prefab option to the GameObject menu so you can easily create prefabs out of lofts or shape meshes.
    Removed some debug logging messages when loading SVG and SXL files.
    Center Offset right click option works correctly now
    Center GizmoPos right click option works correctly now

MegaShapes v1.30 released.

A new version of MegaShapes is in the Asset Store now, this sees some minor bug fixes as well as a Create Prefab system added to the Game Object menu to allow you to easily create prefabs from your loft objects, you can either leave all the components in place so allowing editing of the params when used in the game later or delete all the MegaShape components leaving just the mesh and then create the prefab so leaving you with a nice simple mesh object to use. This update also sees the addition of the freshly rewritten rope and chain system, this code is still in alpha and lacks all the features we have planned and has not been thoroughly tested yet but it is there for anyone who is keen to take a look and try it out, the next update will see docs for this and videos on its use, and just to remind anyone who is thinking of maybe buying the system that the price will be returning to its full price when the rope and chain system comes out of beta so a little time yet to get in and beat the price rise.

v1.30
    Added a Create MegaShape Prefab option to the GameObject menu so you can easily create prefabs out of lofts or shape meshes.
    Removed some debug logging messages when loading SVG and SXL files.
    Rope and chain code added in an alpha state ie not fully tested or with all features present

Rope & Chain System Videos

Some videos showing the rope and chain system in action. You can also try web player demos of the Rope and the Chain Press O for options, mouse and buttons to move around, rope and chain are off to the left in the demos.

Using the Terrain Plugin with Unity

I have been doing some custom scripts for Unity to make using the data generated by the plugin very easy. It allows easy importing of the elevation data and will apply the texture if you want it to, you can scroll around the data, zoom in and the texture will move correctly etc, you can also change the terrain detail level. If anyone has any suggestions or features please do let me know. A video of the new system is below.

New versions of MegaFiers and MegaShapes

We have done a couple of updates today, this adds in support for the SXL file format for splines and to go along with that thanks to Daniel Brosnan we have available an exporter for Maya that will export bezier curves to the SXL format for use by MegaShapes the exporter is written in Python so will work for PC and Mac for versions of Maya 2011 and above. Also the for the Path deform modifiers you can now select a sub curve to deform along if the shape has more than one spline. If you need the exporter just send us an email with your purchase details for the either MegaFiers or MegaShapes and we will get the exporter sent of to you as soon as possible.

Changes for v2.18 of MegaFiers
    Added curve selection option to Path Deform Modifier
    Added curve selection option to World Path Deform Modifier
    Added new spline import file format.
    Support added for SXL file import, sxl is a xml based spline format allowing users to easily write their own spline exporters.
    Bezier curve Exporter for Maya available
Changes for v1.28 of MegaShapes
    Support added for SXL file import, sxl is a xml based spline format allowing users to easily write their own spline exporters.
    Bezier curve Exporter for Maya available

Another Unity Terrain test

As a little break from support requests I played some more with the Unity Terrain system and our Terrain plugin. The grabs below are all from one terrain exported from the system to Unity.



Terrain plugin and Unity

You may have noticed on the side bar that a section called ‘Terrain Plugin’ appeared recently, this is a non Unity plugin for 3ds max to generate terrains for virtually anywhere on the Earth and texture them. I did originally think about playing with terrains in Unity as well so after adding a custom export feature from the plugin to a custom Unity Terrain file format and doing some editor scripts to read the data we can now easily and quickly generate some nice looking real world terrains, the example below is of Pikes Peak and was built with just a few clicks in Max and then a few more in Unity. Click the image for a larger view. More info on the Plugin can be found at http://www.west-racing.com/mf/?page_id=2979

MegaFiers new Tutorial scene Video

Mad professor MacSpeedee has created a test chamber to conduct his research into procedural animation and deforming poor defenseless meshes in unimaginable ways.

This Video shows the new tutorial scene we have created for future video guides to the MegaFiers system, Tony has been busy creating a nice SteamPunk scene and it was fun coding up the switches and dials code which is based on the car wiring system we use in our driving sims. This demo also features an all new camera system with various modes such as free, orbit, path based cameras as well as a Cut Scene manager so recorded cameras can be played back and mixed in any order etc.

Professor MacSpeedees Test Lab

MegaFiers and MegaShapes update

I have just submitted to the Asset Store and to our web store some updates for MegaFiers and MegaShapes, this is a small update but brings improvements to the editing of Splines in the editor so no longer do scaled or rotated splines cause issues when dragging handles about, also SVG import will now use the Axis value to orientate the imported splines to that selected axis.

Changes for MegaShapes

v1.27
    Up value used correctly for complex loft layers.
    Editing of splines works correctly for scaled and rotated splines
    SVG import now uses Axis value on import for orientation.
    Deleting a layer will now rebuild mesh if realtime is off.
    Fixed strange results when typing in values for Offset values on Clone Layer.

Changes for MegaFiers

v2.17
    Editing of splines works correctly for scaled and rotated splines
    SVG import now uses Axis value on import for orientation.

New Demo Scene Teaser Pic

Been working on a new fun Tutorial scene for some new videos, again Tony has worked his magic in creating a fun little test area in a Steam-punk style and I have had just as much fun making it all work. There will be a video along showing of the new scene maybe tonight but certainly over the weekend sometime, until then a little teaser pic is below.

New Maya Blendshape exporter.

We have done some fixes to the Maya Blendshape exporter which makes it a lot less likely to give mapping failures especially for skinned characters. So if you are having problems with the Maya exporter please do get in touch with the version of Maya you are using and whether it is the 64 or 32 bit version as well as your invoice number from the Asset Store or transaction id from the web store and we will get the new exporter sent you as soon as possible.

MegaFiers and TTF Text

Just been having a play with the lovely TTF Text system from Computer Dreams and it works very nicely alongside MegaFiers, so if you are wanting a very flexible 2D or 3D font and text system and you you want that text to be deformed at any time, maybe bend it around a tyre or make it deform along a path or stretch and squash it, then check out TTF Text. You can change your text at any time, change the font, the extrusion amount, the bevel amount, slant, outline etc etc and then have it deform by a MegaFiers modifier.

Added a Demos Section

No updates this time though we are working on a very handy new addition to MegaFiers which will open up some interesting new options for the system especially for Avatar systems etc. But we have added a Demo section to the main menu bar on the left, we will be adding more of demos here as they become available, currently there are two to try in the there, the old Playroom demo and the MegaFlier demo but more will be added over the coming months. So if you haven’t already seen the demos either click the images below or the Demo link on the menu bar.

MegaFlier Demo

Press ‘H’ to get the help page up for the controls.


Playroom Demo

F1 to F4 changes camera modes, with mouse and WASDEC keys changing the position and direction, mouse wheel will zoom, F8 toggles dynamic curtains, and cursor keys will change the camera targets.


MegaFiers v2.16 available

There is a new version of MegaFiers in the on-line store, version 2.16 brings a new meshing option to splines, Ribbon to add to the Fill, Tube and box modes, this will produce a flat ribbon along the spline with options to rotate and have multiple twisted ribbons like the other modes, useful for roads. A UV Offset options has also been added to the meshing options and pivot offset works for all modes now so you can easily position the mesh relative to the spline.

v2.16
    Added Ribbon option to mesh types when converting Spline to a mesh.
    Fixed MeshRenderer being added to object when it wasn’t required.
    Added Late Update option to shapes.
    Pivot offset value now works for tube, box and ribbon meshing options.
    Added UV offset param to tube, box and ribbon meshing options.
    When loading SPL or SVG files you now have the option to Replace existing splines or add to the splines making the shape.

MegaShapes v1.25 available.


Another small update to MegaShapes is in the store now. Version 1.25 brings a new meshing option, Ribbon to add to the Fill, Tube and box modes, this will produce a flat ribbon along the spline with options to rotate and have multiple twisted ribbons like the other modes, useful for roads. A UV Offset options has also been added to the meshing options and pivot offset works for all modes now so you can easily position the mesh relative to the spline.

v1.25
    Added Ribbon option to mesh types when converting Spline to a mesh.
    Fixed MeshRenderer being added to object when it wasn’t required.
    Added Late Update option to shapes.
    Pivot offset value now works for tube, box and ribbon meshing options.
    Added UV offset param to tube, box and ribbon meshing options.

MegaShapes v1.24 in the Asset Store

Version 1.24 of MegaShapes is in the Asset Store now or for direct purchase from the Store Since the last update posted here the we have greatly improved the SVG importer making it compatible with all the SVG files we have around, so you can now easily edit your splines in say Illustrator or Gimp and bring them into MegaShapes with a couple of clicks. We have also added distance modes to the walk loft and shape follow systems to make it easier to use for some users, the help pages have also been done for those systems so just right click on the inspector bar for the component in Unity and select Help to see the breakdown of the params etc. We have also added a simple example script to show how an object can be moved along a Shape Follow using keys and the new distance mode. There is also the new Outline and scaling system included in this update.

Changes since v1.21
    Walk Loft now has an alpha mode and a distance mode for positioning object.
    Shape Follow now has an alpha mode and a distance mode for positioning object.
    Added Late Update option to Walk Loft
    Added Late Update option to Shape Follow
    Added Help page for Shape Follow
    Added Help page for Walk Loft
    When loading SPL or SVG files you now have the option to Replace existing splines or add to the splines making the shape.
    Add example script MegaMovePlayer.cs to show how to control character moving on a spline.
    Added Elipse support to SVG importer.
    Fixed splines not showing up when selected in Unity 4.0
    Added a Reverse spline option to the Shapes inspector, will reverse the currently selected spline
    Added an Apply Scaling button to the inspector so if you scale the shape using the transform click this to correctly scale the splines
    Added an Outline spline system, you can now ask the system to make a new spline that outlines the current one with control over the outline distance.
    SVG importer rewritten and greatly improved.
    CursorPos on shapes now works correctly for the selected curve.

Version 2.15 of MegaFiers in the Asset Store


I have just submitted a new version to the Asset Store, seems I have not posted about the other releases since 2.10. The system now has a SVG importer for bringing in Splines from packages such as Illustrator for use by MegaShapes. The MorphOMatic morpher has had its channel limits fixed and the Path Deform modifiers have an extra Up param so if you get twisting of meshes on your paths you can alter the up value used in the transport frame to help fix that.

The spline system included with MegaShapes is seeing some new features, as well as the SVG importer you can now apply scaling to the spline in a correct way, so if you scale the spline object using Unitys scale transform you can click the Scale button on the Spline inspector to appy that scaling correctly to the spline and reset the local scale of the object. We have also added an Outline option to you can create a new spline to be the outline of an existing spline and change the distance of the outline easily, I will add a video of these new features soon. Splines can now also be reversed by clicking the reverse button.

Changes for Version 2.15

    Limits work correctly for MorphOMatic morphs now.
    Changing limits on MorphOMatic morph no longs alters target percents and messes up morphing.
    Added option to limit number of MorphOMatic channels displayed in inspector.
    Added Elipse support to SVG importer.
    Fixed splines not showing up when selected in Unity 4.0
    Added a Reverse spline option to the Shapes inspector, will reverse the currently selected spline
    Added an Apply Scaling button to the inspector so if you scale the shape using the transform click this to correctly scale the splines
    Added an Outline spline system, you can now ask the system to make a new spline that outlines the current one with control over the outline distance.
    Added an Up option to the path deform modifier.
    Added an Up option to the world path deform modifier.
    SVG importer rewritten and greatly improved.
    CursorPos on shapes now works correctly for the selected curve.
    Added Help option to FFD Animate component and added page to docs site.

3DS Max 2013 beta Exporters available

We have figured out a work around for the exporters for 3DS Max 2013 and have beta exporters available so if you need one just email us saying if you need the 32 or 64 bit version and don’t forget your invoice number 🙂

Unity 4 Compatible


Thanks to Unity adding us to the Beta testing of Unity 4.0 I can now say that MegaFiers and MegaShapes are fully compatible with Unity 4.0 and work just fine, and we are looking at the new features in Unity 4.0 to see if we can bring even better performance to the system.

New versions of MegaFiers and MegaShapes in the Asset Store

New version of MegaFiers and MegaShapes are in the AssetStore now, this improves the SVG importer greatly and fixes a few bugs, MegaFier users will now also benefit from the new meshing options for turning your splines into meshes via the tube and box extrude options. New features coming soon to the spline system will be hole support and for MegaShapes we are working on new loft layer options and new systems to allow easier creation of complex mesh levels along splines, videos coming soon. The changes to MegaFiers can be found on it’s Version History page and the same for MegaShapes it’s Version History page.

MegaShapes Tutorial 6: New Meshing Options

The meshing options in MegaShapes have been extended to include two new methods of tube and box. This allows you to turn splines into tubes or lines as well as extruded boxes very easily. Ends can be capped if the full length of the spline is not used and the extrudes can have multiple strands to build rope type meshes. These new meshing options can also be found in the version of MegaShapes that is included in the MegaFiers system.

Video

MegaShapes Tutorial 5: Shape Follow & SVG import

This tutorial shows the new SVG import feature so you can build your paths in packages such as Illustrator and import them into the system. The system also includes support for importing animated splines directly from 3DS Max through a custom exporter. The other feature shown in the video is the Shape Follow system, which allows you to easily move objects along a spline or along multiple splines using weights to define the end path. This makes it easy to have for example lots of camera paths in your game and smoothly move the camera from one to another.

Video

MegaFiers v2.11 in the AssetStore

Version 2.11 of MegaFiers is in the Asset store, this adds an option to limit the number of channels displayed in the morph inspector to avoid any slow down due to a complex inspector, and also added is the start of SVG import for easily bringing in your shapes and splines from packages such as Photoshop and Illustrator into MegaFiers.

v2.11
    Added ability to limit number of channels displayed at one time in the inspector so as not to slow down when morphs have lots of channels.
    Added start of SVG import support for shapes.

MegaShapes v1.21 in the Asset Store


Version 1.21 of MegaShapes has just been submitted to the Asset Store. This sees some bug fixes, as well as the inclusion of some more assets for the MegaMoo tutorial scenes such as jump models, trees, and some more textures for you to play with.

Some of the core systems have also been optimized so everything runs a little faster with more to come in that area. Also added a rotate value to the walk loft system so add more control over your objects, as well as an offset value to the Shape Follow system so if multiple splines are used you can control the start point of each one, there will be a video very soon showing that system and the other new additions to the system.

Finally I have started the SVG importer so you can now build your splines in Photoshop or Illustrator etc and export them to SVG for use by the system. The importer supports most of the features of the SVG file format and what it doesn’t will be added soon.

v1.21
    Fixed the flip not working on the Complex Loft layer.
    Added error checking code to Complex Loft so check for valid state before trying to draw. NB Complex loft needs at least 2 cross sections before mesh builds.
    Added start of SVG import support.
    Optimized some of the core maths for faster updating of loft meshes, more to come.
    Added a rotate value to the walk loft script.
    Fixed bug in Duplicate Layer code, now works for all layer types.
    Added an offset and modifier param to each target in Shape Follow.
    Jump and tree assets added for turoial scenes
    Fixed an exception error if Complex Layer missing a path.
    Complex Loft layer now handles non closed splines properly for our of range values ie alpha < 0 or > 1