FAQ

Using Google Earth 7.3.1.4507 with Terrain Plugin

If you would like to use Google Earth 7.3 with the Terrain Plugin you will need to stop it from Auto Updating itself once you have installed it. To do this you will need to do the following steps: Completely delete the folder in C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Google\Update Completely delete the folder in C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update Then turning off the two Google Updates services via msconfig Note, the paths above maybe different on your machine depending on where you installed Google Earth. Those actions should stop GE from auto updating and will allow you to use 7.3 with the Terrain Plugin, you will still need to register the Com Server once you installed GE to allow the plugin to talk to GE, you can see how do do that in Texture Grab question on this page. If you need to find a download for GE 7.3.1 you can get the 32bit version here https://dl.google.com/dl/earth/client/advanced/current/googleearthprowin-7.3.1.exe or the 64bit version here https://dl.google.com/dl/earth/client/advanced/current/googleearthprowin-7.3.1-x64.exe

Texture Grab not working.

To get Texture Grabbing to work you must be using version 7.1. Google turned off the Com Server system in version 7.3 onwards stopping external programs from controlling it. It works fine with 7.1 and you have to use 7.1 as Google also added forced updates in versions after 7.1 so it would automatically update without asking you to the latest version. You can use this link https://dl.google.com/earth/client/GE7/release_7_1_8/googleearth-win-pro-7.1.8.3036.exe to get version 7.1.8 which works fine. You will still need to do the RegServer trick after installing GE. To re register the GE COM server open a cmd window (make sure you open it with Admin Rights) and go to the folder where the GoogleEarth.exe is. Then type 'googleearth /RegServer' then close the cmd window. The texture grabbing system should now be able to find GE correctly and grab your image.

The Terrain I want to model is outside the USGS data set, what can I do.

There is a 'User' folder of the Cache folder used by the plugin. You can download DEM data files and place them in that folder, the plugin will check this folder first for the data it needs. You can use this to add higher res DEM data if you have it as well, for example the USGS data only covers areas outside the US with 90m data but you can easily find 30m data on the web and download the files you need to the user folder. One place to get data is http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/Coverage%20map%20viewfinderpanoramas_org3.htm

I get a Mapping failure when importing a .mor file

Even with the exporters you could well be presented with an error box when you load a mor file saying the mapping has failed. This means that the system could not find corresponding vertices for the base morph vertices in the Unity mesh data. This can happen for various reasons. Pivots Try not apply any rotations, translation or scaling to the pivots of any base object or targets. Working Pivots Try and make sure you don't alter the working pivots of any base mesh or targets as this will add a rotation and a translation to the morph data which will result in a mapping failure. Exporting from FBX pose You need to make sure that when you export the mor data that the mesh you are exporting from matches the FBX version of your mesh. For example if you are morphing an animated human character when you export to FBX the T pose mode is used but in your scene the character could be in an idle pose so the mesh data no longer matches the fbx data. Mesh Smooth applied after Morphing The system will not work if you have any system in place that alters the mesh after the morphing/blendshapes are calculated ie mesh smooth. As this will change the mesh that Unity sees compared to the internal morphing data that is exported. You can also check the difference between the Unity mesh and the morph data being imported if you open the Advanced section in the inspector and click Show Mapping and set the end vert slider as required, you may also need to adjust the size value. That will show the Unity mesh vertex positions as well as the imported mapping positions, ideally they should over lap, if they don't it will indicate what the issue could be. You can also try checking the Mapping Adjust option before importing the mor file as this will try and remove any local space scaling or translation that might be present in the data. Lastly you can setup a very simple morph and export to get the mapping correct, once mapping is correct you can then import any mor file for the object even with scaling, rotation, offset and not matching the Unity mesh and the system will ask if you wish to use the current mapping, just click yes and the new mor file will import with no problems.

Texture grabbing with GE 7 and GE Pro

To get Texture Grabbing to work you must be using version 7.1. Google turned off the Com Server system in version 7.3 onwards stopping external programs from controlling it. It works fine with 7.1 and you have to use 7.1 as Google also added forced updates in versions after 7.1 so it would automatically update without asking you to the latest version. You can use this link https://dl.google.com/earth/client/GE7/release_7_1_8/googleearth-win-pro-7.1.8.3036.exe to get version 7.1.8 which works fine. You will still need to do the RegServer trick after installing GE. To re register the GE COM server open a cmd window (make sure you open it with Admin Rights) and go to the folder where the GoogleEarth.exe is. Then type 'googleearth /RegServer' then close the cmd window. The texture grabbing system should now be able to find GE correctly and grab your image.

My Terrain License does not work anymore?

Terrain Plugin Licenses are tied to the hardware they were validated on, changing your OS or system will require the license to be transferred, Each purchase of the Plugin allows for 3 free transfers, after that a charge of $10 will apply for each further transfer. Transfers can be purchased Here.

My Download link does not work?

Download links for purchased products are valid for a period of 24 hours or two download attempts, after that the link will not work any more, to obtain a new link you just need to visit the store page and enter the email address used for the purchase to be sent a new download link.

Where do I put the 3DS Max plugin files?

Put the .dlo files in the 'plugins' folder of the 3ds max install directory.

How do I get updates for my product?

To get the latest version of any product you just need to visit the store page for that product and enter your email address in the box to be sent a new download link for the latest version of the product.

I have changed my hardware and my Terrain license no longer works?

The licenses for the Terrain Plugin are tied to the hardware they were first validated on, if you later change your hardware or install a new OS then the license system will give you an error saying the license is being used by another computer, we can transfer licenses a set number of times for you, so please submit a support ticket with your license key after making one attempt to validate the license on your new hardware.

Seams in Terrain Texture Grab

If you are seeing seams in your texture grab then it is because you have the elevation turned on in Google Earth, either disable the elevation data or set the scaling to 0.01 and do a new grab.

Terrain Plugin texture grab not working?

If you are not getting any results when doing a texture grab first make sure you have copied the TerrainLink.exe file into the same folder as the Terrain dlo file. Next the grab process can take quite a while to complete depending on resolution and your internet connection, and if you try and start a second grab before the first has completed then Google Earth will get confused as it will have two tasks asking it to move to different places and the grab process will stall. If that is happening start the Task Manager and terminate any TerrainLink processes that are running before starting a new grab. When a grab is working you will see Google Earth start to move over the area you are capturing, the grab process is complete when Google Earth stops moving and the internet busy icon shows no activity. Also make sure Google Earth is already running before starting a grab. It is also sometimes possible that the install of Google Earth does not correctly set the registry keys needed to start the Google Earth process from its GUID, this may require a reinstall of GE. If the grab process is completing but you only have a black, white or repeated tile texture then that is a driver issue on some 3d cards and the Aero desktop in Windows, if you disable the Aero desktop and then start a new grab it should work fine. Some users also report switching to or from D3D and OpenGL mode fixes that.

I get error code 126 when using a Max Plugin

This means you do not have the latest Visual Studio Runtime installed on your machine, you can get that latest version Here

Does MegaFiers add to the draw call count?

No, Megafiers has no effect on the draw calls for a mesh.

How do I get help or support?

If you have a problem with any of the systems and need help you need to submit a support ticket at the you will need to include your Asset Store invoice number in the support request to generate a ticket, any ticket without a valid invoice number will automatically be deleted.

I get an error message about sharedMesh leaking when I add a modifier

This message can safely be ignore, it is a false error that Unity gives to any system that alters a mesh in Edit Mode, so all systems that build or alter meshes while not in run mode will produce the error eg RageSpline, ezGUI etc. Rest assured there are no leaked meshes and nothing is actually wrong. The error does not happen during runtime.

My book pages are wrong sometimes?

Unity changed something internally in the 3.5 update that meant texture changes happen in a slightly different order. If you are using Unity 3.5 or greater and see pages flicker or wrong pages displayed when using the Book script you should turn on the 'Late Update' option on the Modify Object components of your pages, this will cause the mesh to be updated after the Unity Update phase and after the book texture swaps have happened internally.

How do I get the Exporter for my 3D Package

If you have purchased MegaFiers and need the exporter for Maya, Max or Blender please email your invoice number to megafiers@west-racing.com along with the version of the exporter you need ie Maya 2012 32bit, Max (please state 2010, 2011 or 2012 and whether 32 or 64 bit) or Blender.

If I stack up modifiers (use multiple modifiers on a single mesh) will that use up more draw calls?

No

How many draw calls does it use up if, for example I just wanted to do a simple squash and stretch animation on a low-poly character (with under 5k triangles)?

The system doesn't add any extra draw calls it just alters the vertex positions.

Do I need a 3d program like Max for MegaFiers?

No MegaFiers works totally indepedantly of any 3d package.

Does MegaFiers work with IOS and Android

Yes MegaFiers works on all platforms that Unity supports.