New UV packing tool

[WarrenSchultz]

Hey folks, I hope this isn't too far off-topic. Been playing with a new UV packer tool called iPackThat, and chatted with the dev about it during its development. I wrote up a review, and got 3 Steam keys to give away in a contest.

Short version: it has a progressive packing algorithm that beats the heck out of what Max, etc, do by default, and probably gets better results than a hand-pack that took you hours to do.

http://warrenschultz.com/ipackthat-review-contest/

Edited April 23, 2015 by WarrenSchultz

[CaptainKipard]

What is UV packing?

[WarrenSchultz]

When you're creating a texture map for a model, you are able to put more detail on each individual poly the bigger it is, right?

So the idea of UV packing is to reduce the unused space on a texture map as much as possible, to give each polygon cluster as much real estate on the map as possible.

Does that make sense, or is it clear as mud?

For example, using this software, my UV map on a test model went from 59% wasted space to 21%.

[CaptainKipard]

What program did you use for the original? I like how some UVs are placed inside others, and that sloping UVs are placed efficiently but the comparison you presented VASTLY understates what's available with other tools. I don't appreciate that.

Also too bad the tool itself is so expensive.

Can you specify and keep individual island orientations?

Edited April 23, 2015 by Cpt. Kipard

[WarrenSchultz]

3DS max. As i comment in the review, that's just a basic pack. There are other options, but I'm not a pro modeler. I do, however, have a lot of friends who are pros who have already integrated this tool into their workflow. As 3D tools go, that's pretty cheap. Check out the free demo, there's a ton of options for people who are experts.

I'm not the one who made the software, but I think it's a huge help, so I wanted to let others know about it. As with all things, YMMV

Edit: Sorry, yes, check out the screen grab in the article on the cluster options tab. You can specify for each island whether or not to allow rotation, scaling, etc.

Edited April 23, 2015 by WarrenSchultz

[nli2work]

it's definitely looks better than built-in UV packing in max... but Steam makes me pull my pistol out and shoot puppies and kittens.

[Beale]

When you're creating a texture map for a model, you are able to put more detail on each individual poly the bigger it is, right?

So the idea of UV packing is to reduce the unused space on a texture map as much as possible, to give each polygon cluster as much real estate on the map as possible.

Does that make sense, or is it clear as mud?

For example, using this software, my UV map on a test model went from 59% wasted space to 21%.

https://app.box.com/representation/file_version_27817879056/image_2048/1.png?shared_name=ldcx6ojcmaeqcyisv7lrvvdjezk875cv

The end result still looks a bit wasteful, lots of repeating elements that could be combined into one (At the expense of losing unique faces).

Unwrapping by hand may not be pretty, but I'll stand by it giving better results in the end!

[WarrenSchultz]

Depends on the model of course, but also if you're doing high to low poly projection, then you've got another set of problems to deal with if you overlap. If I'm doing a simple model without a normal projection, I absolutely agree

[sumghai]

Even with complex models, I personally swear by manual unwrapping, as it gives me better control over which areas have unique faces and which areas are shared.

[Xyphos]

I guess that would come in handy for asymmetrical models, but I prefer the manual unwrap approach which gives me better control and only takes a few minutes, not hours.

perhaps you could add an optional feature to your project that can detect symmetrically equal parts and automatically move their UV mappings to coexist in a single island, which could free up more space for other parts, but a manual override (or pinning) would be also needed to prevent certain parts from moving.

I see in your result image, that there are plenty of symmetrical parts that could coexist in the same island and while the wasted space is reduced, the texture quality is also reduced by packing them in so small.

also, Blender support would be greatly appreciated. 3DS Max isn't something I'm keen on.

Edited April 24, 2015 by Xyphos

[WarrenSchultz]

Not my software

It supports OBJ format.