I want to buy this for our 2 person company, but steam is no good. You cannot buy things as a company from steam, it's not supported, which is very confusing since they have all that software on there now.
Applinking would be phenomenal. The main thing keeping me from using the program more is having to manually import/export assets. If it worked similar to roadkill's maya plugin, it would completely change my game art game.
sorry that you did not hear from me lately. Currently i try to rewrite the tool in c++ with native support of SIMD and other nice features i can do now with c++ ( AMP++ with GPU and CPU ). This is a heavy task but will increase the performance drasticly.
Since i still got problems with testing the gumroad license servers i have to do a little hack. will publish it on gumroad with nothing but and a damn high price so noone will buy it *g*. This will enable the test buy so i can check the license system on my side. If its working i can give it a go.
@ZacD you mesh is perfect for testing this overlap edge case. a very weird problem with thin L shaped shells. Think i can fix this in my new c++ framework.
There is some sort of autoload already implemented. Check the path where IPackThat is located. The is s subfolder called StartUp. If you place a mesh inside this subdir, it will be autoloaded when IPackThat is started. If there are more than one mesh, only the first one will be used. You also can start IPackThat with a meshfile so it will load that. IPackThat.exe c:\sometestroot\sometestmesh.fbx
I realy try to solve the gumroad thing as fast as possible. If you are a company and want more >= 5 seats you can mail to license@ipackthat.com. We offer a special version directly from us without steam.
One small feature request. Can we have a mode where the packing tries to fit everything in a rectangular bounding box? Not necessarily a square?
I often need to create UVs that will be then used by Unity's lightmapper, which then does an atlas of all the UVs based on their bounding boxes (so even UVs that fit a rectangular area densely work nicely).
I have buy IPackThat, is a very cool tool. But i have many big vehicle files with over 1000 unique uvs. The import time(50min) is very long(generating shapeclusters for uv) is it normal? @Edit ok the base uv layout for import need a big padding
Just change the Scene Options > Aspect Ratio (that's where it is in the demo at least)?
You're right, but that only lets me choose 1:1 and 1:2 (if I'm not doing something wrong). How about more options? (or how about a "do what you think best" mode)
This tool is really awesome from what I can see in the demo. Any estimation when it will be available for purchasing again on Steam?
About groups, if I add all islands to several groups I get results with quite a lot of waste space. The groups seam to be mostly packed square and later that square packages are packed again. Leaving some islands without groups fills it up quite well, but you probably want to have all you islands in a group. How about an option that makes the groups less tight/square? For me a group doesn't have to be square as long as the islands are in the same spot.
Any estimation when it will be available for purchasing again on Steam?
What do you mean? It's already on Steam.
The problem (at least for me), is that Steam doesn't really provide proper VAT invoices and we can't really buy things from there "as a company" (which means, I can't buy iPackThat and file it as an expense, and also I can't be exempt from VAT, when we should be, since we're both in the EU)
Any estimation when it will be available for purchasing again on Steam?
What do you mean? It's already on Steam.
The problem (at least for me), is that Steam doesn't really provide proper VAT invoices and we can't really buy things from there "as a company" (which means, I can't buy iPackThat and file it as an expense, and also I can't be exempt from VAT, when we should be, since we're both in the EU)
It's temporary not available since they have to change the activation procedure, according to a comment on Steam.
Any estimation when it will be available for purchasing again on Steam?
What do you mean? It's already on Steam.
The problem (at least for me), is that Steam doesn't really provide proper VAT invoices and we can't really buy things from there "as a company" (which means, I can't buy iPackThat and file it as an expense, and also I can't be exempt from VAT, when we should be, since we're both in the EU)
It's temporary not available since they have to change the activation procedure, according to a comment on Steam.
as you noticed the tool is currently unavailable inside the steam store. i had to change the activation procedure. i already fixed that and uploaded a test version to valve so they can check and test. It should be available again today or by tomorrow. there will be a patch that will change the activation handling to direct steam client api calls. that means, you need to have a installed steam client. at first start or after a patch it will reactivate and restart ipackthat from within the steam client to verify itself. if the steam client is not running it will start automatic. Sorry but this was a must have from valve.
but some good news as well about gumroad. should be available tomorrow checked and tested all the activation things and they are working.
these are the current fixed when the patch for ipackthat comes online
fixed
a crash when pressing
the goto previous layout when no file was loaded
fixed
various crashes
fixed
the annoying overlap bug
some
performance improvements
fixed
background rendering of comparison images
fixed
batch packing via command line XML file
fixed
auto load mesh via command line
fixed
bug with mouse selection
fixed
a binding error with nullable ui elements
Steam
Version
changed
activation procedure to Steam Client API.
Steam
client must be installed now
starting
IPackThat from outside steam will automatically restart IPackThat
from the Steam Client and start the Steam Client if necessary
There you can buy with amount as well. After buying the tool, you can download 2 files. IPackThat_Installer.exe for installing it with menu entry and software dependencies or IPackThat.zip for plain files that you can uncompress to a root of your choice without installing anything
Only problem I have so far is that when I put stuff in the StartUpDefault folder, iPackThat won't run properly (the process starts but no window opens). I'm pretty sure it's not the file, since if I take it out of the folder, open iPackThat and then open the file from the iPackThat window, it opens the file properly.
Good timing on the gumroad release as I'm just about to purchase this tool. I've played around with the demo and have a few questions about the workflow.
Am I correct in assuming that texel density (relative shell scale) should be set before sending the mesh to ipackthat? Or can ipackthat scale shells based on surface area?
Do any of the split options (mesh/material) in the import dialog actually create clusters or do those need to be setup manually?
Any other workflow tips or best practices would be appreciated. Sorry if I missed it in the thread or if there's some sort of online documentation I overlooked.
Any chance that the lock shells to pack around feature will be added to the program?
It's really one of the last big things that will really make this a no-brainer for most studios. A lot of times I have to pack around existing UV shells that are already textured and I cannot currently do that with ipackthat.
I got a small question about the Margin size. When decreasing the texture resolution, shouldn't the margin size increase and get higher, instead of decreasing as well? The shells need a wider gap between each other to prevent bleeding on lower resolutions, don't they?
EDIT: Excuse me, I found out what is going on there
When I try to launch the newest version in Steam, the program fails to load and Steam crashes. I tried launching from the exe as well but that also fails to open any window.
For now I've opted into the "previous version" beta to get the old version and that one still works.
@eedobaba7726 i will upload a special debug branch with a logging feature. maybe we can narrow it down. not sure if i will be able to upload this year.
So with the new steam activation in the latest version, I can't call IPackThat via subprocess in Python with an .fbx filepath as the argument to have IPackThat load the specified FBX file...
I can call IPackThat.exe alone (with no argument) and it loads and works, but calling it with the file breaks.
So with the new steam activation in the latest version, I can't call IPackThat via subprocess in Python with an .fbx filepath as the argument to have IPackThat load the specified FBX file...
I can call IPackThat.exe alone (with no argument) and it loads and works, but calling it with the file breaks.
Is this a known issue?
Is that a stopgap fix I could make then? Change the script so it doesn't pass in the filename? It's a hassle but if that at least allows me to pack, save over it, and have it auto-load back into MODO that's something I can live with.
Also, on the Windows 8 machine that iPackThat works, any file I save is tripled. I thought iPackThat was doing some sort of internal tripling for the packing and the saved object would not be tripled. Am I wrong or is it a bug?
Also, some Feature Requests When you have some time to work on this.
1) Option for to start scaling up UV shells automatically, to fill empty space. Start with the smallest shells and scale them up slightly.
2) Option to lock the organisation of UV shells. Sometimes when I pack circles inside of circles, because their Margin size is too close together , IPackThat will unpack them and pack it in its own way - but I don't want it to do that.
Instead, I'd like it to leave those circles inside eachother, but still try and pack the overall shape with other Shells. At the moment, I could lock them, but that completely locks them in place - I don't want to lock them in place, just their layout respective of one-another.
It could be an option like "Pack this Group as One large Shell" - so it wont rearrange the formation of the shells within the group, but it will still try and pack that group with everything else.
The above does not happen if I have no groups with my UV shells.
I am using an FBX object that has been triangulated completely.
Edit: The problem also occurs with OBJ files. Object is completely triangulated. There are groups for UVs that I want to keep close together. Some UVs are Mirrored and Overlapped - but not offset for baking, yet.
I have been experimenting with the Steam demo of iPackThat and decided to purchase via Gumroad. I uninstalled the Steam demo and then ran the installer I downloaded from gumroad. The program activated and starts normally. I load my mesh and it crashes as soon as I click 'start packing'. I am running windows 7 64 bit and have tried both OBJ and FBX formats.
Please let me know if I'm doing something wrong in the install process or help troubleshoot this issue.
Edit: It appears to be something with that particular mesh. I just loaded up a different one and it seems to be working. Any known issues to look out for on the import mesh to avoid crashes?
Edit 2: Looks like it was just a corrupt piece of geometry. I went through and exported each piece of the asset individually until I found the offending part. Everything seems to be working as expected now.
Edit 3: I'm also getting similar results as Dan Powell and can't get a solution that uses more than 50% when using clusters for separate elements of my asset.
So with the new steam activation in the latest version, I can't call IPackThat via subprocess in Python with an .fbx filepath as the argument to have IPackThat load the specified FBX file...
I can call IPackThat.exe alone (with no argument) and it loads and works, but calling it with the file breaks.
Also, on the Windows 8 machine that iPackThat works, any file I save is tripled. I thought iPackThat was doing some sort of internal tripling for the packing and the saved object would not be tripled. Am I wrong or is it a bug?
what fbx version you are using. i have the bad feeling the problem lies in different fbx versions. IPackThat is compiled against fbx sdk 2015.1. Maybe the fbx sdk itself is doing this. I just Load, update the UV verts and save again.
Also, some Feature Requests When you have some time to work on this.
1) Option for to start scaling up UV shells automatically, to fill empty space. Start with the smallest shells and scale them up slightly.
2) Option to lock the organisation of UV shells. Sometimes when I pack circles inside of circles, because their Margin size is too close together , IPackThat will unpack them and pack it in its own way - but I don't want it to do that.
Instead, I'd like it to leave those circles inside eachother, but still try and pack the overall shape with other Shells. At the moment, I could lock them, but that completely locks them in place - I don't want to lock them in place, just their layout respective of one-another.
It could be an option like "Pack this Group as One large Shell" - so it wont rearrange the formation of the shells within the group, but it will still try and pack that group with everything else.
Cheers.
this looks weirdo. could you send me the mesh so i can check against?
I have been experimenting with the Steam demo of iPackThat and decided to purchase via Gumroad. I uninstalled the Steam demo and then ran the installer I downloaded from gumroad. The program activated and starts normally. I load my mesh and it crashes as soon as I click 'start packing'. I am running windows 7 64 bit and have tried both OBJ and FBX formats.
Please let me know if I'm doing something wrong in the install process or help troubleshoot this issue.
Edit: It appears to be something with that particular mesh. I just loaded up a different one and it seems to be working. Any known issues to look out for on the import mesh to avoid crashes?
Edit 2: Looks like it was just a corrupt piece of geometry. I went through and exported each piece of the asset individually until I found the offending part. Everything seems to be working as expected now.
Edit 3: I'm also getting similar results as Dan Powell and can't get a solution that uses more than 50% when using clusters for separate elements of my asset.
could you send me the broken mesh so i can debug and adress the crash correctly?
working on some other bugs as well and will upload a new patch the next days
So with the new steam activation in the latest version, I can't call IPackThat via subprocess in Python with an .fbx filepath as the argument to have IPackThat load the specified FBX file...
I can call IPackThat.exe alone (with no argument) and it loads and works, but calling it with the file breaks.
what fbx version you are using. i have the bad feeling the problem lies in different fbx versions. IPackThat is compiled against fbx sdk 2015.1. Maybe the fbx sdk itself is doing this. I just Load, update the UV verts and save again.
I believe it was FBX 2013. When I get the chance I'll try different FBX versions and report what happened here. I would do that right now but iPackThat is not working on Bootcamp with Windows 10 installed, which is what I'm using currently
could you send me the broken mesh so i can debug and adress the crash correctly?
I fixed the corrupted geometry that was causing the crash, but can send a version with the corrupted geo if you want. I'm also getting similar results as Dan Powell with grouped clusters. What email should I send the file to?
could you send me the broken mesh so i can debug and adress the crash correctly?
I fixed the corrupted geometry that was causing the crash, but can send a version with the corrupted geo if you want. I'm also getting similar results as Dan Powell with grouped clusters. What email should I send the file to?
Replies
(or maybe I'm missing something)
sorry that you did not hear from me lately.
Currently i try to rewrite the tool in c++ with native support of SIMD and other nice features i can do now with c++ ( AMP++ with GPU and CPU ).
This is a heavy task but will increase the performance drasticly.
Since i still got problems with testing the gumroad license servers i have to do a little hack. will publish it on gumroad with nothing but and a damn high price so noone will buy it *g*. This will enable the test buy so i can check the license system on my side.
If its working i can give it a go.
@ZacD you mesh is perfect for testing this overlap edge case. a very weird problem with thin L shaped shells. Think i can fix this in my new c++ framework.
There is some sort of autoload already implemented. Check the path where IPackThat is located. The is s subfolder called StartUp.
If you place a mesh inside this subdir, it will be autoloaded when IPackThat is started. If there are more than one mesh, only the first one will be used.
You also can start IPackThat with a meshfile so it will load that.
IPackThat.exe c:\sometestroot\sometestmesh.fbx
I realy try to solve the gumroad thing as fast as possible.
If you are a company and want more >= 5 seats you can mail to license@ipackthat.com. We offer a special version directly from us without steam.
I can't fully test it since I don't own the app yet, but it should work.
Thanks PolyHertz!
I often need to create UVs that will be then used by Unity's lightmapper, which then does an atlas of all the UVs based on their bounding boxes (so even UVs that fit a rectangular area densely work nicely).
Also, still waiting on the Gumroad release
@Edit
ok the base uv layout for import need a big padding
Any estimation when it will be available for purchasing again on Steam?
About groups, if I add all islands to several groups I get results with quite a lot of waste space.
The groups seam to be mostly packed square and later that square packages are packed again.
Leaving some islands without groups fills it up quite well, but you probably want to have all you islands in a group.
How about an option that makes the groups less tight/square?
For me a group doesn't have to be square as long as the islands are in the same spot.
The problem (at least for me), is that Steam doesn't really provide proper VAT invoices and we can't really buy things from there "as a company" (which means, I can't buy iPackThat and file it as an expense, and also I can't be exempt from VAT, when we should be, since we're both in the EU)
as you noticed the tool is currently unavailable inside the steam store.
i had to change the activation procedure. i already fixed that and uploaded a test version to valve so they can check and test.
It should be available again today or by tomorrow.
there will be a patch that will change the activation handling to direct steam client api calls.
that means, you need to have a installed steam client.
at first start or after a patch it will reactivate and restart ipackthat from within the steam client to verify itself.
if the steam client is not running it will start automatic.
Sorry but this was a must have from valve.
but some good news as well about gumroad. should be available tomorrow
checked and tested all the activation things and they are working.
these are the current fixed when the patch for ipackthat comes online
fixed a crash when pressing the goto previous layout when no file was loaded
fixed various crashes
fixed the annoying overlap bug
some performance improvements
fixed background rendering of comparison images
fixed batch packing via command line XML file
fixed auto load mesh via command line
fixed bug with mouse selection
fixed a binding error with nullable ui elements
Steam Version
changed activation procedure to Steam Client API.
Steam client must be installed now
starting IPackThat from outside steam will automatically restart IPackThat from the Steam Client and start the Steam Client if necessary
cheers
now running with Steam Api and already activated inside Steam Store again.
and
IPackThat on Gumroad !!!!
There you can buy with amount as well.
After buying the tool, you can download 2 files.
IPackThat_Installer.exe for installing it with menu entry and software dependencies
or
IPackThat.zip for plain files that you can uncompress to a root of your choice without installing anything
cheers
Only problem I have so far is that when I put stuff in the StartUpDefault folder, iPackThat won't run properly (the process starts but no window opens). I'm pretty sure it's not the file, since if I take it out of the folder, open iPackThat and then open the file from the iPackThat window, it opens the file properly.
Am I correct in assuming that texel density (relative shell scale) should be set before sending the mesh to ipackthat? Or can ipackthat scale shells based on surface area?
Do any of the split options (mesh/material) in the import dialog actually create clusters or do those need to be setup manually?
Any other workflow tips or best practices would be appreciated. Sorry if I missed it in the thread or if there's some sort of online documentation I overlooked.
It's really one of the last big things that will really make this a no-brainer for most studios. A lot of times I have to pack around existing UV shells that are already textured and I cannot currently do that with ipackthat.
I got a small question about the Margin size.
When decreasing the texture resolution, shouldn't the margin size increase and get higher, instead of decreasing as well?
The shells need a wider gap between each other to prevent bleeding on lower resolutions, don't they?
EDIT: Excuse me, I found out what is going on there
Best Regards
For now I've opted into the "previous version" beta to get the old version and that one still works.
i will upload a special debug branch with a logging feature. maybe we can narrow it down. not sure if i will be able to upload this year.
I can call IPackThat.exe alone (with no argument) and it loads and works, but calling it with the file breaks.
Is this a known issue?
https://i.gyazo.com/42feadecd8b938ec3bb70e494959ce47.gif
It's very strange!
Also, some Feature Requests
When you have some time to work on this.
1) Option for to start scaling up UV shells automatically, to fill empty space. Start with the smallest shells and scale them up slightly.
2) Option to lock the organisation of UV shells. Sometimes when I pack circles inside of circles, because their Margin size is too close together , IPackThat will unpack them and pack it in its own way - but I don't want it to do that.
Instead, I'd like it to leave those circles inside eachother, but still try and pack the overall shape with other Shells. At the moment, I could lock them, but that completely locks them in place - I don't want to lock them in place, just their layout respective of one-another.
It could be an option like "Pack this Group as One large Shell" - so it wont rearrange the formation of the shells within the group, but it will still try and pack that group with everything else.
Cheers.
I am using an FBX object that has been triangulated completely.
Edit: The problem also occurs with OBJ files. Object is completely triangulated. There are groups for UVs that I want to keep close together. Some UVs are Mirrored and Overlapped - but not offset for baking, yet.
Edit: It appears to be something with that particular mesh. I just loaded up a different one and it seems to be working. Any known issues to look out for on the import mesh to avoid crashes?
Edit 2: Looks like it was just a corrupt piece of geometry. I went through and exported each piece of the asset individually until I found the offending part. Everything seems to be working as expected now.
Edit 3: I'm also getting similar results as Dan Powell and can't get a solution that uses more than 50% when using clusters for separate elements of my asset.
working on some other bugs as well and will upload a new patch the next days
Checking for an update freezes the software.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/lnzgeoummgu12z1/Concussion_Exploded.obj?dl=0