since start of this year america wants also some sort of tax id from european companies ( was solved with one phone call and 2 days until the database of the IRS was updated)
second one was a wrong bankaccount that was bound to the wrong company ( another 2 days down the dumps)
finaly all stuff is finished and with luck we get the steam app ID next week. i will hceck and test for another 2 days if everything is working with the steam client i wrote ( could only do dry tests so far)
i realy realy hope that we can publish the tool next week.
the beta testers also found more bugs that are fixed so far ( wrong placed clusters, crashes, uv channel bugs etc)
we also have a working japanese translation now.
i will upload a new final demo version at monday. this will be the last one before release. then you can see and check the current changelog ^^
demo and release build uploaded to steam, now waiting for someone from steam to review it and approve
will publish the demo via steam to see if all is working
ok steam has approved the 2 apps (IPackThat and IPackThatDemo)
i will do i slight change. first the tool will go to early access the next 1 or 2 weeks to be sure that no major bugs got slipped in. i did and have beta testers but more people find more bugs ^^
the early access version will be the current release with save and so on.
i try to release it later today or tomorrow
ok steam has approved the 2 apps (IPackThat and IPackThatDemo)
i will do i slight change. first the tool will go to early access the next 1 or 2 weeks to be sure that no major bugs got slipped in. i did and have beta testers but more people find more bugs ^^
the early access version will be the current release with save and so on.
i try to release it later today or tomorrow
Nice to see it's almost ready to use.
Does the latest version have a feature which will automatically create UV Groups out of individual elements within an object?
[PB]Snoelk, I don't know if I missed this in the thread somewhere, but is this software only going to be released through steam? I think you mentioned releasing through gumroad at some point, correct?
I have no idea how much time/work went into this, but the price seems a touch high. I think a $50 price point would be easier for people on the fence.
Regardless, I'll pass the news to my co-workers.
The price depends on how you look at it.
On a larger team that is on multiyear projects, this tool will save hundreds of hours of dev time. Which means it pays for it self after just 1 or 2 uses. So the cost-benefit is HUGE at this price point.
On the other hand, if you are just using this as a hobby thing, then yea the price will be tough to swallow for some.
On a larger team that is on multiyear projects, this tool will save hundreds of hours of dev time. Which means it pays for it self after just 1 or 2 uses. So the cost-benefit is HUGE at this price point.
On the other hand, if you are just using this as a hobby thing, then yea the price will be tough to swallow for some.
Gotta agree with this. Even working freelance, this is going to save me so much time in the future that I'd consider it a sound investment at $150-$200. The fact that it's a tax write off and a fantastic tool just makes it an all-around great purchase.
I can certainly see the price being a sticking point for hobbyists and people just starting out, but this seems more like something geared towards people who have large volumes of work to do anyway.
For a hobbyist the price is a bit disappointing, I figured I could splurge maybe $40 if I every get tried of packing, but $65 is more than DDO, more than I spent on Substance Designer ($34 on sale), I'll have to think about it more, Substance designer wants $75 to upgrade to v5
The price is definitely fine for professionals, just not students or hobbyists.
I have no idea how much time/work went into this, but the price seems a touch high. I think a $50 price point would be easier for people on the fence.
Regardless, I'll pass the news to my co-workers.
I was actually shocked at how cheap it is. Compare this to the cost of headus or other "standalone" tools for a particular part of a pipeline (topogun for example at $100 ) i would say 60 bucks for something that looks as efficient and time saving as this is a small price to pay!
Just grabbed the demo cant wait to try this bad boy out! looks amazing
I was in direct contact with steam about this. I use the Steam Web API to verify that you own this tool. This is only done for activate the tool the first time or when updates are applied. That way its possible to copy the tool on a computer without steam client and use it.
After activation the tool will never ask again, unless a new patch was downloaded.
Additional the tool wont remeber any credentials. They are not saved anywhere.
I use the same mechanic as if you are open steam via your browser (explorer, chrom whatever)
The release on gumroad will follow as soon as possible. right now they are still problems with the european vat rules. I realy dont want to publish on gumroad only outside europe
Maybe it would be better to do something like what Allegorithmic Substance does with linking Steam accounts, it opens a Steam webpage that asks you to sign in.
I was in direct contact with steam about this. I use the Steam Web API to verify that you own this tool. This is only done for activate the tool the first time or when updates are applied. That way its possible to copy the tool on a computer without steam client and use it.
After activation the tool will never ask again, unless a new patch was downloaded.
Additional the tool wont remeber any credentials. They are not saved anywhere.
I use the same mechanic as if you are open steam via your browser (explorer, chrom whatever)
The release on gumroad will follow as soon as possible. right now they are still problems with the european vat rules. I realy dont want to publish on gumroad only outside europe
Usually stuff that uses the Steam Web API has the big green "Sign in through Steam" button, so I didn't quite understand that it uses the Steam API. It would probably be comforting for users to see that this application is completely safe through a recognizeable green button (or a short line of text where you explain that it uses the Steam API) like that.
Anyways thanks for a nice application! I was interested in programming something like this myself, so it saves a lot of work if there's already a good solution out there. :poly121:
ok, will update the login info to clarify this thing
the green button uses another api (open auth). I didnt want to add an api which is calling another api again. so i decided to use the direct steam api. that way its steam guard proteced as well. when i got the time i will look into it again to see if i can enable login via open auth as well.
Yep, again, I just want to re-iterate, I had no problem with the $65 price point considering the time it will save at work.
Edit: Anyways, sorry for bringing up the price in the first place. But seriously this tool is something that I've wanted for awhile after using 3d-coats packing and it's awesome that someone decided to make it a reality. Congrats on the release and I hope it does well!
(i purchased), i actually think the price point was pretty low, it's £49.99 here in the UK, i was expecting and would have gladly paid between £100-150.
Am I doing something wrong? I'm trying to get a good pack result for this object but I can't seem to get anything better than I could achieve myself in a lower period of time.
Basically this object has three big parts. The Panel, the gooey bit, and the borders which hold the gooey bits. I've grouped the three parts i IPackThat but it's not packing them very efficiently? It also appears to have scaled them incorrectly
Is there official documentation I can read anywhere in case I'm using it wrong, too?
its a pretty logical pack for what you supplied,it tries to square out all the groups and then just packs those squares as good as possible. because of all your long pieces there isnt much you can do with it
My mistake was grouping everything. I should only group things that are small/distinctive instead of huge pieces of the mesh :P
I.E. Group the parts that are a pain in the ass to pack - in this case it's the borders. The panel and the gooey parts are distinctive/easily recognisable so don't bother grouping those
1) If you zoom in/out whilst the algorithm is running, your UVs will distort on the screen. They aren't actually broken - they just look broken. This could scare people away if they think it's broken straight away
2) If you import an object with overlapping UVs, they will stay overlapped when you start packing
Number two at least is a feature, not a bug. That exists so that if you're trying to use your UV space efficiently by stacking similar/identical bits of lowpoly model on top of each other, the program doesn't unstack them and pack them individually.
Number two at least is a feature, not a bug. That exists so that if you're trying to use your UV space efficiently by stacking similar/identical bits of lowpoly model on top of each other, the program doesn't unstack them and pack them individually.
Fair enough. Perhaps have this as an option on import?
I've noticed that it's actually been overlapping my UVs here and there when they're not similar sometimes.
As shown:
This is what I gave it to work with:
EDIT: This seems to occur only if you Start Packing, then stop it after a few times, then Start Packing again.
Fair enough. Perhaps have this as an option on import?
I've noticed that it's actually been overlapping my UVs here and there when they're not similar sometimes.
As shown:
This is what I gave it to work with:
EDIT: This seems to occur only if you Start Packing, then stop it after a few times, then Start Packing again.
Hey Dan update this thread when you get new results! I am very interested in this product and if it works for anybody its gotta work for me right? Cheers
Hmm how do I make the aspect ratio 2 by 1... because right now it locks the first value to 1 and you can make the texture 1 by 2 wide but not smaller. Am I missing something here?
I would definitively see this in my workflow, but I have some questions :
- Is it possible to work with the application via a batch/command line tool ?
- If not, could it be done ?
I like to automate a lot my workflow and being able to import and export via a command line would save a lot of time instead of having to manipulate an external application from my 3D software manually (in this case, it's Maya).
Hmm how do I make the aspect ratio 2 by 1... because right now it locks the first value to 1 and you can make the texture 1 by 2 wide but not smaller. Am I missing something here?
currently i only support the aspect ratios 1:1 and 1:2. i will add more options later.
1) If you zoom in/out whilst the algorithm is running, your UVs will distort on the screen. They aren't actually broken - they just look broken. This could scare people away if they think it's broken straight away
thats only a rendering issue. you are watching the packing when zooming ^^. in the first version i disabled zooming and only allowed panning. but some people wanted to zoom i try to fix that so you dont see element currently handled.
2) If you import an object with overlapping UVs, they will stay overlapped when you start packing
thats a feature. if you dont want overlapps inside the same mesh, seperate them in your 3d app. i try to add the option to ignore overlapps as import feature. this means that there will be always an import dialog opening when you load a mesh.
I would definitively see this in my workflow, but I have some questions :
- Is it possible to work with the application via a batch/command line tool ?
- If not, could it be done ?
already available via xml file. i did not got the time to write a manual about it and explain the xml file notation. i will do this later today or by tomorrow.
@Dan Powell
i noticed a small bug when aborting a running packing. if its not finished it will sometimes not reset or switch to the currently best found solution. this will be fixed in the next patch. during packing every better solution found will bes saved to disk (unless you disabled the auto save checkbox in the packing options)
dont try to group everything. plenty of groups means less efficiant packing. if you got large stuff that should stay together group them. the small parts without any group will be used to fill the holes.
a documentation or manual can be viewd and loaded inside the steam page. there should be a link called view manual. i will also make a direct link shortly.
I haven't done any research so you may tell me they are completely different, but if it can match UV Layout i'd be interesting in diving further into it.
already available via xml file. i did not got the time to write a manual about it and explain the xml file notation. i will do this later today or by tomorrow.
Awesome !
An example xml file would be a enough in my case, but a manual will also be welcome.
I have an obj file that crash the application (demo verison on steam) every time I try to load it. Is there a specific e-mail that I could use to send it to you if you want to debug it ?
I haven't done any research so you may tell me they are completely different, but if it can match UV Layout i'd be interesting in diving further into it.
I haven't done any research so you may tell me they are completely different, but if it can match UV Layout i'd be interesting in diving further into it.
the tool just do packing uv's. it will not help you unwrap a mesh.right now the packer beats every 3d app we testes so far (modo, max, maya, headus uv layout. the image below is a comparison between the uv packing in headus and IPackThat
EDIT: This only happens with an FBX version of the object. I've tried a couple of quickfix solutions such as relaxing the UVs again (just to check), resetting the Normals, resetting the XForm.
EDIT: This only happens with an FBX version of the object. I've tried a couple of quickfix solutions such as relaxing the UVs again (just to check), resetting the Normals, resetting the XForm.
Hey did you try with .obj and ase and such file types too? I personally would just use .obj if that was the case with FBX myself. I am really eager to buy this but as a meager hobbyist I am careful with my money to make sure I don't get scammed like past experiences with auto UV programs.
ok thats very very weird. i try to reproduce this bug. not happend with any mesh so far. the uv layout looks inside the tool same way as in the 3d app ?
Replies
got 2 short stepbacks.
since start of this year america wants also some sort of tax id from european companies ( was solved with one phone call and 2 days until the database of the IRS was updated)
second one was a wrong bankaccount that was bound to the wrong company ( another 2 days down the dumps)
finaly all stuff is finished and with luck we get the steam app ID next week. i will hceck and test for another 2 days if everything is working with the steam client i wrote ( could only do dry tests so far)
i realy realy hope that we can publish the tool next week.
the beta testers also found more bugs that are fixed so far ( wrong placed clusters, crashes, uv channel bugs etc)
we also have a working japanese translation now.
i will upload a new final demo version at monday. this will be the last one before release. then you can see and check the current changelog ^^
cheers
whee now i have to setup plenty of stuff *g*
I've been sharing it with co-workers as well. They're equally excited
will try to do the new demo today.
fighting with steam admin page right now ^^
already checked and tested the steam protection via web request. and it worked directly
keep up the good work
will publish the demo via steam to see if all is working
i will do i slight change. first the tool will go to early access the next 1 or 2 weeks to be sure that no major bugs got slipped in. i did and have beta testers but more people find more bugs ^^
the early access version will be the current release with save and so on.
i try to release it later today or tomorrow
Nice to see it's almost ready to use.
Does the latest version have a feature which will automatically create UV Groups out of individual elements within an object?
Cheers!
Congrats on the release!
you where the first buyer
if you would not live in england i would send you some flowers *g*
Also, yay! First customer!
I have no idea how much time/work went into this, but the price seems a touch high. I think a $50 price point would be easier for people on the fence.
Regardless, I'll pass the news to my co-workers.
The price depends on how you look at it.
On a larger team that is on multiyear projects, this tool will save hundreds of hours of dev time. Which means it pays for it self after just 1 or 2 uses. So the cost-benefit is HUGE at this price point.
On the other hand, if you are just using this as a hobby thing, then yea the price will be tough to swallow for some.
Gotta agree with this. Even working freelance, this is going to save me so much time in the future that I'd consider it a sound investment at $150-$200. The fact that it's a tax write off and a fantastic tool just makes it an all-around great purchase.
I can certainly see the price being a sticking point for hobbyists and people just starting out, but this seems more like something geared towards people who have large volumes of work to do anyway.
The price is definitely fine for professionals, just not students or hobbyists.
I was actually shocked at how cheap it is. Compare this to the cost of headus or other "standalone" tools for a particular part of a pipeline (topogun for example at $100 ) i would say 60 bucks for something that looks as efficient and time saving as this is a small price to pay!
Just grabbed the demo cant wait to try this bad boy out! looks amazing
What's this about? I'm not about to disclose my credentials and I'm pretty sure this is against the ToS somehow.
After activation the tool will never ask again, unless a new patch was downloaded.
Additional the tool wont remeber any credentials. They are not saved anywhere.
I use the same mechanic as if you are open steam via your browser (explorer, chrom whatever)
The release on gumroad will follow as soon as possible. right now they are still problems with the european vat rules. I realy dont want to publish on gumroad only outside europe
Usually stuff that uses the Steam Web API has the big green "Sign in through Steam" button, so I didn't quite understand that it uses the Steam API. It would probably be comforting for users to see that this application is completely safe through a recognizeable green button (or a short line of text where you explain that it uses the Steam API) like that.
Anyways thanks for a nice application! I was interested in programming something like this myself, so it saves a lot of work if there's already a good solution out there. :poly121:
Edit:
the green button uses another api (open auth). I didnt want to add an api which is calling another api again. so i decided to use the direct steam api. that way its steam guard proteced as well. when i got the time i will look into it again to see if i can enable login via open auth as well.
Edit: Anyways, sorry for bringing up the price in the first place. But seriously this tool is something that I've wanted for awhile after using 3d-coats packing and it's awesome that someone decided to make it a reality. Congrats on the release and I hope it does well!
(i purchased), i actually think the price point was pretty low, it's £49.99 here in the UK, i was expecting and would have gladly paid between £100-150.
Am I doing something wrong? I'm trying to get a good pack result for this object but I can't seem to get anything better than I could achieve myself in a lower period of time.
Basically this object has three big parts. The Panel, the gooey bit, and the borders which hold the gooey bits. I've grouped the three parts i IPackThat but it's not packing them very efficiently? It also appears to have scaled them incorrectly
Is there official documentation I can read anywhere in case I'm using it wrong, too?
Thanks!
My mistake was grouping everything. I should only group things that are small/distinctive instead of huge pieces of the mesh :P
I.E. Group the parts that are a pain in the ass to pack - in this case it's the borders. The panel and the gooey parts are distinctive/easily recognisable so don't bother grouping those
1) If you zoom in/out whilst the algorithm is running, your UVs will distort on the screen. They aren't actually broken - they just look broken. This could scare people away if they think it's broken straight away
2) If you import an object with overlapping UVs, they will stay overlapped when you start packing
Fair enough. Perhaps have this as an option on import?
I've noticed that it's actually been overlapping my UVs here and there when they're not similar sometimes.
As shown:
This is what I gave it to work with:
EDIT: This seems to occur only if you Start Packing, then stop it after a few times, then Start Packing again.
Hey Dan update this thread when you get new results! I am very interested in this product and if it works for anybody its gotta work for me right? Cheers
- Is it possible to work with the application via a batch/command line tool ?
- If not, could it be done ?
I like to automate a lot my workflow and being able to import and export via a command line would save a lot of time instead of having to manipulate an external application from my 3D software manually (in this case, it's Maya).
@Dan Powell
i noticed a small bug when aborting a running packing. if its not finished it will sometimes not reset or switch to the currently best found solution. this will be fixed in the next patch. during packing every better solution found will bes saved to disk (unless you disabled the auto save checkbox in the packing options)
dont try to group everything. plenty of groups means less efficiant packing. if you got large stuff that should stay together group them. the small parts without any group will be used to fill the holes.
a documentation or manual can be viewd and loaded inside the steam page. there should be a link called view manual. i will also make a direct link shortly.
I haven't done any research so you may tell me they are completely different, but if it can match UV Layout i'd be interesting in diving further into it.
An example xml file would be a enough in my case, but a manual will also be welcome.
I have an obj file that crash the application (demo verison on steam) every time I try to load it. Is there a specific e-mail that I could use to send it to you if you want to debug it ?
There's a demo, have a look.
My Mesh (exported as .FBX)
Starting UVs:
Finishing UVs:
My Mesh after using IPackThat:
Why is this happening?
EDIT: This only happens with an FBX version of the object. I've tried a couple of quickfix solutions such as relaxing the UVs again (just to check), resetting the Normals, resetting the XForm.
Hey did you try with .obj and ase and such file types too? I personally would just use .obj if that was the case with FBX myself. I am really eager to buy this but as a meager hobbyist I am careful with my money to make sure I don't get scammed like past experiences with auto UV programs.