Computational Tools
#tools
Intent
- Assist specific tasks in game development
- Make it easier for artists, designers and engineers to create
Tool Collection
World Machine
Keywords:
#terraingeneration #art #landscape
Description:
World Machine is a terrain generation software used for big AAA titles, VFX and independent artists. Users can create realistic landscapes, terrains and heightmaps. The result can be exported to Game Engines like Unity or Unreal Engine. The software can be bought and installed on a local machine.
Features:
- Terrain can be created in a graph view, connecting components that modify the terrain. The graphs view can be organized and sorted to make it less messy.
- The progress can be previewed simultaneously to the developing process.
- Users can compare the current product with earlier versions and jump back to them.
- Layouts allow the user to specify which terrain appears where to sketch out whole continents. Roads can be placed into the terrain as well.
- Nature can be modeled with erosion models, snow and sea generation, and a realistic water system.
- Materials can be textured.
- Exports can be done for the whole terrain, tiled terrains or in industry file formats.
Payment:
The following options are available: Indie (119$ ), Professional (299$ ), Studio Site License (for all users in a single location, 1999$ )
Roles:
Link: World Machine Link
Adobe Substance 3D Designer
Keywords:
#materials
Description:
Adobe Substance 3D Designer is a node-based tool/application to create 2D materials, textures and filters. It is very popular among designers who strive to create complex and dynamic materials. The results can be exported to Game Engines like Unity and Unreal Engine. The tool is part of the Adobe Creative Cloude abonnement and cannot be bought as a standalone, but together in bundles for Substance 3D Collection and Substance 3D Texturing.
Features:
- The node-based workflow allows for operations done in order one by one. This makes backrolling to a previous version possible as well.
- Lighting creation
- 360 degrees images
- Advanced color management with Pantone and OpenColorIO Support
- A Content Library lets users pick pre-specified nodes, filters, patterns and randomizable noises
- MDL Materials can be created with a dedicated shader graph.
- Integrates easy transfer to other Adobe Substance 3D colelction tools: Access Modeler, Access Sampler, Access Painter, Access Stager and Access Assets
Payment:
As part of the Adobe abo model the following options are available: Substance 3D Collection package (49.99$ /month, including all above Adobe integrations), Substance 3D Texturing package (19.99$ /month, only including Sampler, Designer and Painter)
Roles:
Link: 3D Designer Website
SpeedTree
Keywords:
#assets #vegetation #proceduralmodeling
Description:
SpeedTree is a group of tools and softwares for creating high-quality vegetation and foliage (leaf) assets. It is used for animations, architecture and complex real-time simulations. It has been licensed for many games developed for Windows, XBox and PlayStation and has been used for many movies. The group is divided into Suites and Components. For games the following products are important:
- SpeedTree for games: Compatible with Unity and certain versions of Unreal Engine. Includes the Modeler, Compiler and SDK components. Generated meshes are low poly to comply with game development requirements.
- Modeler Component: Modeling tool to design foliage (trees and leaves). Includes procedural tree generation and hand-draw tools for individual editing.
- Compiler Component: Connects the modeled trees with real-time rendering or video games. Generates textrue atlases to the models and compiles them.
- SDK Component: Multi-platform C++ SDK. Used to render the models. Can operate in a game engine and supports Unity, Unreal Engine and OGRE. Works with Windows, May OS X, XBox and PlayStation.
Features:
- Texture Map Generation
- FBX Scene Camera Support
- Global Lighting Controls
- Relative Branch Segment Counts
- Saturation Check
- Angle Slider
- Vertex Color Options
Payment:
The following license options are available: Learning Edition (free-to-use, only Modeler included), Indie (when revenue/funding < 100k$ , 19$ /month), Pro (when revenue/funding < 1M$ , 299$ or more), Enterprise (Custom Price)
Roles:
Link: SpeedTree Website
CityEngine
Keywords:
#architecture #proceduralmodeling
Description:
CityEngine is a tool for creating procedual 3D cities and interactive urban environments. The tool can generate large 3D models used in academic research and professions that deal with built environments. The results can be exported to Game Engines like Unity or Unreal Engine.
Features:
- Procedural Modeling Core control mass, geometry assets, proportions and textures of buildings and streets.
- Environment can be built according to reallife examples imported from map data. If an OpenStreetMap exists for this place, the tool can generate a 3D model with the provided data.
- GIS/CAD Data Support
- Street Network Layouts to create a plan for the city
- Scene Export and 3D Format Support so that models can be exported directly to Unreal Engine. When exporting to Unity3D, one must go through Autodesk Maya (Digital Art Tools) to build capable models first.
- Integrates Google Drive, Trello, Dropbox etc.
Payment:
The exact pricing is not listed, but one rather has to contact the company “esri” directly. There are three options available:
- ArcGIS CityEngine for ArcGIS Online Term License
- ArcGIS CityEngine Single Use, Term License
- ArcGIS CityEngine Single Use, Perpetual License
Roles:
Link: CityEngine Website
Disclaimer
Students and teachers might profit from discounts or free usage of the tools.
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