V3.3.11

IMPROVEMENTS

Adding option to match height map resolution to mesh density, mapping 1 vertex location to 1 pixel. (In Geometry context options)

FIXES

Remove power-of-two constraint for texture size.

V3.3.10

FIXES

Incorrect GroupId and textures reference in new terrains created with Neighboring tool.

V3.3.9

FIXES

Scripting error on build (Live Preview & LOD Count initialization).
Set default resolution for RAW file importer to 1024.

V3.3.8

NEW CONTENTS

Sample water shader (BiRP & URP)

CHANGES

Project restructured.

V3.3.7

FIXES

Minor editor fix.

V3.3.6

FIXES

Minor UI fix.

V3.3.5

FIXES

Script: wrap some script files inside GRIFFIN keyword.
Fix compile errors on import.

V3.3.4

FIXES

Package initialize: some UPM packages not recognized as installed.
Editor: dark splat texture preview when using MicroSplat texture array.

IMPROVEMENTS

UI/UX update.
Remove some unnecessary files.

V3.3.3

IMPROVEMENTS

Move URP Support folder into main Polaris folder.
Setup package for URP by default.

FIXES

Billboard Tool: incorrect billboard mesh size (usually happens for "wide-trees".
Billboard Tool: dark color atlas, better alpha handling for low mips (dilate filter).
Billboard Tool: disable scene fog in atlas.
Billboard rendering: new tree billboard shader for URP, better mesh orientation, better image selection & lighting.
Tree renderer: display a warning when billboard material is missing.

V3.3.2

IMPROVEMENTS

Wizard window: Adding shortcut for material selector when creating new terrains; reducing Repaint calls.
Terrain: extracting polygonal height map & normal map is now faster.
Texture stamper: Reducing load time on selecting the stamer in the editor.

FIXES

Texture stamper: Texture only applied on the first terrain at world origin (with height rule enabled & multiple stamp layers).

V3.3.1

IMPROVEMENTS

Adding detail documentation to the code base.
Deprecated APIs removal.
Adding link to the new documentation site.
Minor UI and typos fixed.

V3.3.0

NEW FEATURES

Foliage & Object Stamper: support masking with splat control textures.

===

V3.2.5.1

FIXES

Minor script compilation fix.

V3.2.5

IMPROVEMENTS

Complete redesign of Wizard window.
Check for new update and inform user in Console window.
Minor code fixes and refactoring.

REMOVAL

Obsoleted APIs related to SplatPrototype have been removed.
Some extensions have been removed.

===

V3.2.4

IMPROVEMENTS

Adding contact links at many places in the editor

FIXES

MicroSplat integration shader naming bug.
Missing grass LOD1 material on installation.

===

V3.2.3

FIXES

Fix geometry LODs losing material.

V3.2.2

Adding support for Unity 6

FIXES

Fix texture stamper height blend issue when Merge UV option is enable on the terrain.

V3.2.1

FIXES

Minor scripting error fix around MicroSplat integration.

V3.2.0

NEW FEATURES

MicroSplat Integration: adding support for streams effect (wetness, puddles, streams, lava), except dynamic flow.
Paint Tool: adding 4 paint modes: Wetness, Puddles, Streams, Lava for MicroSplat shader.

V3.1.1

FIXES

Minor fix for Splats Model options on URP.

V3.1.0

IMPORTANT NOTES

In this version, the asset will be relocated under PinwheelStudio/Polaris/ folder.

NEW FEATURES

New Tree Renderer: The tree renderer was completely rewritten, supports cell based culling, additional LOD1, LODs fallback, LODs transition distance, zero GCAlloc, better billboard shader.
New Grass Renderer: Rewritten renderer supports an additional LOD1, automatic vertex reduction on LOD1, LODs transition distance, zero GCAlloc, simpler shader for LOD1.
See blog post for detail on the new renderers.
Group Tool: Allow overriding more properties of the new renderers.
Radial Selector & Brush Adjuster for Paint Tool: You can press V/C/D/S/A key while focusing on the Scene View to bring up the radial paint mode selector, as well as adjusting the brush size/rotation/density/opacity/scatter.
Raw Importer: 8/16/32 bits raw files (.raw, .r16, .r32) will be imported as R8, R16 and RFloat, so you can easily use them with the stamper/data importer.
Adding 24 brush masks replacing the old ones targeting specific painting purposes: make platforms, hexagon grids, smoothing, make mountains, detail noise, earth cracking, pixelated fx, etc. Those are R8 png files that will be imported at 8 bits depths.
Adding 20 stamp textures to be used with the geo stamper. Those are raw files that automatically imported with R16 texture format (16 bits depth)
Polaris API: A new set of utility static functions allowing you to do most performed tasks on the terrain such as runtime terrain creation & modification, get dominant texture index for footstep system, etc. The API will be updated overtime.
Wizard Window: adding Explore tab so you don’t miss important news/announcements without needing to update the asset.

IMPROVEMENTS

Greatly improve mesh generation process that takes way less time & lower GC Alloc. See blog post for detail.
Better seams/gaps matching.
Adjacent tiles edges matching now writes to the terrain data.
Mesh gen: The use of LOD Transition Curve becomes optional, allowing using simpler equations for that.
Better Tree Billboard shader for BiRP/URP
Billboard Creator: turn on Instancing for generated billboard material by default.
Scripting: Adding some callbacks when tree/grass prototypes changed.
Tree Prototype: automatic LOD0/LOD1 assignment using the prefab.
Billboard Creator: Quicker setup of Main Texture property when using popular third party assets.
Grass: Clump grass now has a few more quads.
Editor menus simplified.
Sample assets: Clean up unused files, reduce file size, strip them off from the build.
Texture Resolution: On terrain creation, unused terrain texture will be set to lowest resolution depending Texturing Mode (set Albedo/Metallic size to 32 if using Splats mode, etc.)
Wizard Tool: Now it can also upgrade tree billboard materials to URP.
Terrain Component: terrain Inspector now has some icons.
Adding new asset icons for Terrain Data, Terrain Generated Data, Splat/Tree/Grass/Object Prototype Group.
Spline Tool: spline modifiers now have their own Curviness/Width/FalloffWidth property, allowing more complex effect on spline path.
Spline Tool: generate better mesh that follow the tangent/normal vectors.
Spline Tool: better alpha blending on branches.
Foliage Painter: Snap instances to world objects if set on the terrain.

FIXES

Billboard Creator: Fix incorrect angles in billboard images/atlas

DEPRECATIONS

Terrain component: Pre/Post Process Height Map callbacks were deprecated.
Spline Creator: Smoothness/Width/FalloffWidth properties and related functions (create meshes, sweep tests, etc.) were deprecated. The properties moved to spline modifiers.
Rendering settings: Remove Enable Instancing option for tree rendering. Instancing is now mandatory.
Grass Renderer: Configure Grass Material callback was deprecated/removed.
Splats Mode: Splats4Normals4 and Splats8 are removed for mobile, they will be brought back when Unity fixes their Shader Graph compilation error.

Polaris Summit - Low Poly Terrain Editor