since you declared IPackThat as officially out of early access,
is there any new news about a free steam version?
If you decided against gumroad, have you already looked into the humble widget? https://www.humblebundle.com/developer/widget
they say this
"We handle international taxes and rules so you can easily sell your game worldwide."
which hopefully covers your concerns about the vat issue you where saying a couple pages back.
Is it correct that IPackThat uses only about 20-30% of a 8 core CPU? I put it on 16 threads and 8 threads and it seemed to make little difference in CPU utilization.
Is this normal? Or should the CPU's be used more? All cores operate on about 20-30%. So IPackThat is using multithreading, but only for a relatively small percentage for each core.
Is it correct that IPackThat uses only about 20-30% of a 8 core CPU? I put it on 16 threads and 8 threads and it seemed to make little difference in CPU utilization.
Is this normal? Or should the CPU's be used more? All cores operate on about 20-30%. So IPackThat is using multithreading, but only for a relatively small percentage for each core.
this is normal, i split into different tasks depending on complexity and amount. you can't split up anything in as many tasks as possible. this will slow down the process drasticlly. to start and set up a task takes time.
on some operations i split up the contour operations in different tasks, but only in chunks of around 1k vertices. so if a countour got 4k verts i will only generate 4 different tasks. If i would split up everything in as much tasks as possible the performance will degrade. the operations to setup the tasks will be more time consuming than the operation itself.
plenty of my math operations try to generate tasks depending of execution time and amount of repeats. to utilize 16 core the uv layout hase to be very large and each contour per uv chunk must contain an odd amount of vertices.
this behavior is normal. i do plenty of very small math operations. those ones i can split up in different tasks depending on amount.
I think that I encountered a bug. I was packing mesh with grouped UV's. First packing (pic #1) was ok, but i left Ipackthat for several more. After second pack program done something strange (pic #2).
Just tried the demo, great little app! Will definitely be picking it up once its on Gumroad.
Found two glitches though thought I'd mention:
-The obj importer seems to skip importing some UV islands sometimes, not sure why, but thankfully the same mesh as an fbx comes in fine.
-Pressing 'Cancel' when using Load or Reload results in a blank scene instead of simply canceling the operation and returning to the existing loaded UV set.
You also don't seem to be able to apply properties to multiple UV islands at the same time via the rmb menu, if their existing properties conflict. This does work in the "Cluster Settings" menu however.
Has anyone has issue with parts of UVs randomly overlaying parts of other UVs after a minute or so of packing?
I get this one now and then too - no idea what's causing it; seems to happen with both FBX and OBJs.
It's never really a huge issue for me though as I don't really use the packer for more than 10 minutes (I use the packer to get a good 'starting pack' then tweak it by hand)
1. I hit pack, it gets to 18% wasted space. For the next 10 minutes it just sits around and isn't able to figure anything out. The packing begins to slow to a crawl.
2. I stop pack and pack again, it gets to 16% wasted space. Once again, for the next 10 minutes it doesn't change much. Once again, the packing begins to slow to a crawl.
I feel like there should be an option to reset the pack if it gets stuck at a certain percentage for a set amount of time (determined by the user). Lets say I set it so that if it is stuck at 18% for 10 minutes, it tries a completely different pack from the start. If that doesn't work after 10 minutes, it tries something else.
I'm doing that process by hand and am getting better results than just letting it go.
I get this one now and then too - no idea what's causing it; seems to happen with both FBX and OBJs.
It's never really a huge issue for me though as I don't really use the packer for more than 10 minutes (I use the packer to get a good 'starting pack' then tweak it by hand)
That issue seems to be fixed by triangulating the mesh before bring it into iPackThat. Let me know if that works for you.
beefaroni- I wasn't referring to your post, but I have noticed a similar thing with iPackThat seeming to get stuck trying to find small refinements after a while, and restarting the pack can find more efficient packing.
beefaroni- I wasn't referring to your post, but I have noticed a similar thing with iPackThat seeming to get stuck trying to find small refinements after a while, and restarting the pack can find more efficient packing.
Oh no above that I mentioned I also have problems with the UVs overlapping from time to time!
plenty of work lately so sorry for the late response.
Gumroad
Discussed that with my CEO after he checked and read all the details. I got a go about it. Will start to add the tool there too now (have to check the server side stuff and other details)
Overlap Errors
ZacD got me an idea whats going on after he told me about the triangulation. seems like some espilons are going way of the grid. I will change some internal mechanics to solve this problem and doing my life easier with some gpu stuff as well.
Polygons will be triangulated internaly and used instead of real n-gons. that wont change anything with the real datas behind. its just an internal representation of the same polygon.
i already got this feature inside my graphics d3d10 interface. have to do this on import instead of loading the data to the gpu. its also a lot easier to do checks with tri's ^^
this will be a drastic change to a lot of functions. will try to do this as fast as possible.
Steam
Got some nice email from someone of steam. some customers told them they can`t buy the commercial upgrade. well you can't due the fact all early access buyers got it for free *g*
after steam is not responding on my request it will now hopefully react via this connection ^^
Thanks for such an awesome product! It's been an incredible time saver.
Are there plans in the future for being able to lock selected or grouped UV islands and have the remaining unlocked UVs pack around these?
When having to rebake or change geo on a project after the texturing has started, it would be very helpful to keep certain UVs unchanged while having new UVs calculated.
Question ;
(Maybe it has already been asked (certainly actually, but sorry if so!))
I'm seriously thinking about buying IPackThat, but having a steam dependant software is really annoying in my opinion. So if I buy on steam now, will I have access to a non-steam version later ? Or do I have to wait for the Gumroad version to have a real standalone software ? (any idea on the gumroad release date ?)
I will add the project in the current state to gumroad. After that I will do the updates and fixes.
Gumroad will be available asap ( somewhat around next 2 weeks, earlier if don't stumble into problems ^^ )
Ok cool, I can't wait !
Just le me re-ask a question that will be soon expired (when gumroad version will be there) : If I buy now the steam version; will I have access to the non-steam version (when available in two weeks) with the same key, or is it better just to wait and pack by hand until then ?
Thank You !
IPackthat finaly left early access
Tom Giardino from valve helped me through it ^^
Currently setting up gumroad and nearly finished. Need to cross check the server validation to finish the task.
All buyers who bought IPackthat during early access also received the commercial upgrade already.
Short roadmap for upcoming updates
Triangulate incoming uv shells
just internal for better handling all the math
triangles are far cheaper to operate with than ngons in undetermant sice (the area from ngons for examples is heavy math compared to triangle area)
have to change every math inside the tool ( but helps a lot for upcoming stuff )
move scene stats to viewport as overlay
can be toggled together with cpu and fps meter
ability to crunch down the outer contours
different settings for lowpoly outlines (low medium high)
faster checks but not accurate ( depending on the quality level )
Oh man I just used the demo and it was WOWZA! Maybe I'm missing something but how do I keep uv clusters for each specific part of the model together? Like the barrel of the gun's uv's together so it's not all ever the place.
Oh man I just used the demo and it was WOWZA! Maybe I'm missing something but how do I keep uv clusters for each specific part of the model together? Like the barrel of the gun's uv's together so it's not all ever the place.
Top notch job!
Select those islands, right click them, and turn them into a group. Then they'll stick close to each other.
Island scaling coming any time soon? Have real problems with this sometimes. One large island limits the scale of all the islands, so you end up with a pack which only uses like 66%. Tried to scale the large island back in 3DS max but IPackThat seems to reset that...
It shouldn't reset anything. I bring in scaled islands all the time and it works OK ...
Yea, sometimes my islands will take up maybe 25% of the entire UV sheet cause they are scaled down a ton. It usually scales them all up equally to take up as much UV space as possible.
New customer here, love the tool
One thing though, I'm trying to load a mesh made of multiple objects and materials. Each material has its own uv space with no overlapping inside it.
I want to be able to have IPackThat pack these independently but if I choose split by material (only way it actually loads and not stall forever), it lays them all in the same uv space and then as soon as I drag a selection in the viewport it crashes every time.
I don;t have the issue with single mterial/uv meshes.
I've read a few pages in this thread (it's getting huge). For people late to the party, what exactly does it bring to the table that UV Layout doesn't do already...? It's not immediately obvious.
I've read a few pages in this thread (it's getting huge). For people late to the party, what exactly does it bring to the table that UV Layout doesn't do already...? It's not immediately obvious.
The packing algorithm provides the best in class packing. Getting a pack with only 10% waste is common for me, which is downright insane. It will also often find that level of packing within 5-15 minutes. Better packing, better texel density, better looking textures.
Been following the progress of this tool for a while, tried the demo and it worked great on a simple mesh, so I bought the program today. Went ahead to try it on a more complex one, but even running it for a few hours while I did something else I get;
Is this a bug? As you can see I'm using a lot of mirrored geometry, would this cause issues? I'm not using any groups. 16px is the correct padding for 2k maps right? what about margin padding? All this is making me realise I need to brush up on knowledge about UVs, I've been doing the same thing for too long
I'm not worried, just wondering if I'm missing an option somewhere. The program is blisteringly fast and works like magic, it's just a shame I can't get it to work right!
It can't pack anymore because that shell is too large. Basically, the next step would be to scale everything up and try packing again. However, it can't scale up the shells because that shell already extends from one end of the uv sheet to the other.
I'm going deeply into your soft, and i'm wondering if i can create kind of sub-group through Mesh.
I mean i got a Riffle actually in process. Composed by around 10 separate Mesh, they all share the same Texel Density. I want to make some groups not relative to materials, but through mesh items, then add some Sub-group to them, in order to let me control the Packing process inside each of them.
Do i need to make this trick through a Material Setup that define as many material as there is mesh items ... (It will destroy my shading layout by the way).
Yesterday I was testing ipackthat again (downloaded a demo) and there was a problem. It just crashes when I import my model with "skip self-overlap detection" checkbox is off. When I import with checkbox on and start packing it crashes too.
My model has about ~1200 UV shells (70 000 tris) a bet its a main problem. When I load a smaller objects all seems too work fine. It can be fixed or it some sort of
limitation of software?
It can't pack anymore because that shell is too large. Basically, the next step would be to scale everything up and try packing again. However, it can't scale up the shells because that shell already extends from one end of the uv sheet to the other.
Thanks, that should have been obvious. Found a few places where I could throw a seam or two. 12% wastage in 2 minutes! That's the kind of performance I was looking for, excellent.
I second the question - "Any news on the gumroad release?" Stam really is only the last resort in my company and we don't need 5+ licenses. Any news highly appreciated.
Replies
since you declared IPackThat as officially out of early access,
is there any new news about a free steam version?
If you decided against gumroad, have you already looked into the humble widget?
https://www.humblebundle.com/developer/widget
they say this
"We handle international taxes and rules so you can easily sell your game worldwide."
which hopefully covers your concerns about the vat issue you where saying a couple pages back.
gumroad is not dropped
if everything is ok now i will start to add the tool to gumroad as well
Is this normal? Or should the CPU's be used more? All cores operate on about 20-30%. So IPackThat is using multithreading, but only for a relatively small percentage for each core.
Thats what i found out as well...
I think that I encountered a bug. I was packing mesh with grouped UV's. First packing (pic #1) was ok, but i left Ipackthat for several more. After second pack program done something strange (pic #2).
Pic 01
Pic 02
How is he going with Gumroad Snoelk ?
Found two glitches though thought I'd mention:
-The obj importer seems to skip importing some UV islands sometimes, not sure why, but thankfully the same mesh as an fbx comes in fine.
-Pressing 'Cancel' when using Load or Reload results in a blank scene instead of simply canceling the operation and returning to the existing loaded UV set.
You also don't seem to be able to apply properties to multiple UV islands at the same time via the rmb menu, if their existing properties conflict. This does work in the "Cluster Settings" menu however.
Yep. Still have that problem on random models with the latest update.
I get this one now and then too - no idea what's causing it; seems to happen with both FBX and OBJs.
It's never really a huge issue for me though as I don't really use the packer for more than 10 minutes (I use the packer to get a good 'starting pack' then tweak it by hand)
I'm currently packing a model.
1. I hit pack, it gets to 18% wasted space. For the next 10 minutes it just sits around and isn't able to figure anything out. The packing begins to slow to a crawl.
2. I stop pack and pack again, it gets to 16% wasted space. Once again, for the next 10 minutes it doesn't change much. Once again, the packing begins to slow to a crawl.
I feel like there should be an option to reset the pack if it gets stuck at a certain percentage for a set amount of time (determined by the user). Lets say I set it so that if it is stuck at 18% for 10 minutes, it tries a completely different pack from the start. If that doesn't work after 10 minutes, it tries something else.
I'm doing that process by hand and am getting better results than just letting it go.
That issue seems to be fixed by triangulating the mesh before bring it into iPackThat. Let me know if that works for you.
Oh no above that I mentioned I also have problems with the UVs overlapping from time to time!
plenty of work lately so sorry for the late response.
Gumroad
Discussed that with my CEO after he checked and read all the details. I got a go about it. Will start to add the tool there too now (have to check the server side stuff and other details)
Overlap Errors
ZacD got me an idea whats going on after he told me about the triangulation. seems like some espilons are going way of the grid. I will change some internal mechanics to solve this problem and doing my life easier with some gpu stuff as well.
Polygons will be triangulated internaly and used instead of real n-gons. that wont change anything with the real datas behind. its just an internal representation of the same polygon.
i already got this feature inside my graphics d3d10 interface. have to do this on import instead of loading the data to the gpu. its also a lot easier to do checks with tri's ^^
this will be a drastic change to a lot of functions. will try to do this as fast as possible.
Steam
Got some nice email from someone of steam. some customers told them they can`t buy the commercial upgrade. well you can't due the fact all early access buyers got it for free *g*
after steam is not responding on my request it will now hopefully react via this connection ^^
Are there plans in the future for being able to lock selected or grouped UV islands and have the remaining unlocked UVs pack around these?
When having to rebake or change geo on a project after the texturing has started, it would be very helpful to keep certain UVs unchanged while having new UVs calculated.
Thanks!
(Maybe it has already been asked (certainly actually, but sorry if so!))
I'm seriously thinking about buying IPackThat, but having a steam dependant software is really annoying in my opinion. So if I buy on steam now, will I have access to a non-steam version later ? Or do I have to wait for the Gumroad version to have a real standalone software ? (any idea on the gumroad release date ?)
Kind Regards,
Gumroad will be available asap ( somewhat around next 2 weeks, earlier if don't stumble into problems ^^ )
Just le me re-ask a question that will be soon expired (when gumroad version will be there) : If I buy now the steam version; will I have access to the non-steam version (when available in two weeks) with the same key, or is it better just to wait and pack by hand until then ?
Thank You !
IPackthat finaly left early access
Tom Giardino from valve helped me through it ^^
Currently setting up gumroad and nearly finished. Need to cross check the server validation to finish the task.
All buyers who bought IPackthat during early access also received the commercial upgrade already.
Short roadmap for upcoming updates
thats all
:nerd:
Top notch job!
Select those islands, right click them, and turn them into a group. Then they'll stick close to each other.
Yea, sometimes my islands will take up maybe 25% of the entire UV sheet cause they are scaled down a ton. It usually scales them all up equally to take up as much UV space as possible.
It should ALWAYS do that ... uniformly scale all the UV islands to fill the space. If it's doing anything else, it's a bug.
Too early, yes, it ALWAYS does that
edit: grammar is hard in the AM
Will it be cheaper on gumroad?
One thing though, I'm trying to load a mesh made of multiple objects and materials. Each material has its own uv space with no overlapping inside it.
I want to be able to have IPackThat pack these independently but if I choose split by material (only way it actually loads and not stall forever), it lays them all in the same uv space and then as soon as I drag a selection in the viewport it crashes every time.
I don;t have the issue with single mterial/uv meshes.
I have the probably most stupid question about it...
Does the name come from "Ich pack das!"?
It would be incredibly helpful in a professional environment where some UVs are already laid down and more need to be packed around it.
The packing algorithm provides the best in class packing. Getting a pack with only 10% waste is common for me, which is downright insane. It will also often find that level of packing within 5-15 minutes. Better packing, better texel density, better looking textures.
Is this a bug? As you can see I'm using a lot of mirrored geometry, would this cause issues? I'm not using any groups. 16px is the correct padding for 2k maps right? what about margin padding? All this is making me realise I need to brush up on knowledge about UVs, I've been doing the same thing for too long
A five minute pack gets me this result
I'm not worried, just wondering if I'm missing an option somewhere. The program is blisteringly fast and works like magic, it's just a shame I can't get it to work right!
It can't pack anymore because that shell is too large. Basically, the next step would be to scale everything up and try packing again. However, it can't scale up the shells because that shell already extends from one end of the uv sheet to the other.
I'm going deeply into your soft, and i'm wondering if i can create kind of sub-group through Mesh.
I mean i got a Riffle actually in process. Composed by around 10 separate Mesh, they all share the same Texel Density. I want to make some groups not relative to materials, but through mesh items, then add some Sub-group to them, in order to let me control the Packing process inside each of them.
Do i need to make this trick through a Material Setup that define as many material as there is mesh items ... (It will destroy my shading layout by the way).
Yesterday I was testing ipackthat again (downloaded a demo) and there was a problem. It just crashes when I import my model with "skip self-overlap detection" checkbox is off. When I import with checkbox on and start packing it crashes too.
My model has about ~1200 UV shells (70 000 tris) a bet its a main problem. When I load a smaller objects all seems too work fine. It can be fixed or it some sort of
limitation of software?
did you make sure all your uvs are within the uv box?
I had an issue with that and it was due to having some uvs outside the box. (I believe this was the solution.)
Thanks, that should have been obvious. Found a few places where I could throw a seam or two. 12% wastage in 2 minutes! That's the kind of performance I was looking for, excellent.
is something like that planed?
Stam really is only the last resort in my company and we don't need 5+ licenses. Any news highly appreciated.