New version UVMapper Pro is out - version 3.1
Community Forums/Developer Stations/New version UVMapper Pro is out - version 3.1
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| Looks like a good uv mapping tool that doesn't cost a lot of money. Check it out here. |
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| Cool changes! Last time I saw the tool it didn't have 3D preview, limiting its usefulness for texture mapping. Although that older version is free (and still available on the download page.) That the tool supports Mac OS is nice too. |
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| Thank's for the news. This one I had missed. yet though, I think for game development is better Ultimate Unwrap. Even thinking so, this tool is quite nice and good. But it does nothing bout x animation conversion, b3d format, many other game and mesh formats not present in Uv mapper and yes in uu, etc. yet though, as I don't like to be such biased, I'll try now to make a very quick comparison just reading the extended feature list, yet though I'd have to test the demo, which I doubt (60$ is 20 more than UU, and the fact I already have uu ;) ) Ater doing it, UU still wins clearly, not by K.O. ;) but for me is better in functionality (and also luckily cheaper) .But as I think is a nice tool, and it's probably teh way to go for mac users , and also, is surely much more headed to Poser(where I think it allways had its field) and hi res users...I'll do the comparison. Pasting... (I'll put my comments(it's all just my personal opinion) following after a " *** " ) Features Completely updated, comprehensive help. -Supports multiple viewports with 16 different layouts. *** UU has fewer, though I just use 3 (2 split(vertical), single viewport, or new whole screen window) -Perspective view as well as 7 orthographic views. *** perhaps more than UU, dunno. Anyway, I have more than what I neeed there in uu. -Automatically displays inverted facets on the texture map. ***Nice thing, not present in UU, not that i'm aware. -Fully interactive, realtime texture mapping for all mapping modes. ***Seing the screenie, perhaps gives better control than in UU, where it's one of the things is not totally in my likings... -Realtime, textured OpenGL 2D and 3D preview modes. *** present in UU. Works quite nicely, so, 1-1 here. -Supports materials, transparency, smooth/faceted, wire frame, etc. *** same here. - Smooth models using three methods of subdivision surfaces. Control cage display available when using subdivision surfaces. *** UU loose here a bit. Only one method, and no cage dispaly. yet though imo this is due to uv mapper pro is headed towards more hi res people than game people. Different target users. I don't care bout meshsmooth when working for real time games. -New polar mapping mode - you can now map an entire head seamlessly. *** Could be very nice thing. I'd have to test it , though.Even so, UU has 3 automatic mapping modes, ruling lines, stream, spiral. So me of them are good for certain volumes, I use them sometimes as a base. -All selection tools work in both 2D and 3D preview windows. ***Basicly as UU -Toolbar for easy access to commonly used tools. ***yep -Completely rewritten undo/redo stack, limited only by available memory. ***UU wins. U canset in preferences if u want number of undos limit or max memory (and YOU set which u want the maximum to be, nice to tweak performance) .Besides, it has a very nice command history, very verbous that allows u to go nicely back. The undo is very good in how it perfoms, also. Besides, it has an old remaing thing he did not removed, "snapshot".Saves an scene as is, so u can restore the snapshot later on.Quite useful. Kindda hold/fetch in Max. Also, the undo in menu is very verbous too, like Max one. I rather prefer to see "undo add material" , than just "UNdo" Just is rather more useful.Dunno how it works in Uvmapper, can't compare. -Import and export partial model uvs files. ***not sure bout this. Uvmapper classic allways had save and open UVs files, I suppose for sharing uvs, which is quite useful. U can do in UU copy pasting UVs"copy uv map", swapping uv channels sets (u can copy dumb from one channel to the other) .besides, u can export pretty well *.buv files, and load again in a model. I suppose it must have same 3d coords, as if meshes aren't identical, at least in UU, I'd expect problems...Max6 has an user made script downloadable that can handle a bit of variation for this...Very useful in a game production environment.I said, "not sure" as dunno to what refers bout "partial".maybe very useful, if two models are different but sharea an dientical part: for example, all the same, but different heads, to make different characters. Here use to be a problem, at least was with the "copy UVs" menu command, no t sure with import/export *.buvs... vertices index order gotta be the same...Uv mapper adds a feature to reorder the vertex order. UU I think has an external freely downloadable tool for this in its site. It's anyway worse that have included in main program (is it all sounding unbiased? ... ;) ) -Rotate selection by any angle. *** do we have it in UU?...not sure now... -Assign numeric UV coordinate to selection for exact placement. ***neither sure about this one. I think yes. -Align selected texture coordinates horizontally/vertically. ***yep, present. And even more, u can paint a stroke with ur mouse or wacom, and uv coords will get the flow of that stroke, using the specific command. -Updated triangulation feature - use existing vertices or center of facets. ***It(uu) triangulates, but no options. Win here uvmapper. -New - spherify model tool. *** 3d mesh tool? is one of those I don't need ever. There are some like this in UU. -Information popup now includes model surface area and texture surface area. *** not present in UU, info is per mesh, and it'd be really useful, like in Wings3d, or with Polycounter embeded plugin in Max5, 6. -Select edge mode with automatic spreading of vertices. *** grow selection? present in wings(wins by total KO to any package, Wings3d, in selection power, even wins over latest Max) and also in UU.(select/(2d, or 3d, as u neeed)/grow. Also shrink, and similar (select all which is similar..sooo useful.)) -New - automatic relax vertices feature. *** surely wins Uv mapper. never was very happy on how it works in UU.IMO, I hope in uu untangle (reorganize to remove overlapping) and relax, are to areas to improve in UU, and so important to make stuff quicker...That and dispaly like in max what is connected to other in 3d(those lovely green colored edges in max ;) Can deal without it, but would speed things a lot. More now that I have my brain used to see 2d uvs in "3d" in my head...) -Many new selection tools: - Polygonal lasso selection tool. *** present since eons in UU.Indeed, I have problems to remember lith, though I used it so much, but i think it was already there, it had already an open gle 3d window (heck, a bit late to be included in Uv Mapper, but good to come ;) ) , and it had lasso selection for both 2d, 3d views. - Add to and remove from current selection. *** ein? ctrl, shift, since lith times... ;) - Select by geometry or UV set, shrink/grow selection, etc. *** also in UU since long ago. (NOT in Lith. UU is so much better than the older Lithunwrap) - Select degenerate, collinear, concave and n-sided facets. *** Collinear and concave, and n-sided (another detail of Wings3d/Mirai power, with much more options in those) aren't present in UU, and could be rather useful. -Primitives include plane, box, cylinder, sphere and torus. New primitives - icosahedron, dodecahedron, octahedron, tetrahedron. ***This allways did seem to me so unimportant...do stuff in ur modeller, much more freely ;) Anyway, a lot too in UU. -Zoom and Pan tools - from 1% to 1000% *** uh? well, yes...more than enough in both, then... -Ability to separate inside from outside of two sided models when mapping. ***Nice and interesting tool...If I have the time I may test this all just to have a better idea if I'm asked bout it. -Many tools included: - Vertices: weld, split, reorder, displace. *** This are 3d mesh features, not UV features. Weld, since eons in UU. Split, idem. Reorder, not in UU, and could be very useful, depending no how it's done in uv mapper. Displace, not that I know in UU. Hi res feature, yet though interesting...If it has same interactive checking, would be great to have two windows in mosaic, and be painting the greys rgb bitmap in one 2d painting window software, while checking how it is building the geometry displaced in the uv mapper window.... EDIT: Not tru, UU has also displace, as a 3d modifier, and allows to link an external bitmap that like textures, will allways be checked. So, 1-1. - Normals: smooth, fix seams. *** not all the good support I'd prefer in UU, so all improve here or in whatever the uv mapping tool, is welcome. - UVs: stitch, weld, relax, align. *** also in UU.Relax not very well in UU. - Facets: concave, degenerate, collinear, align, invert, triangulate, two sided. ***not sure if it's "select BY" , or direct actions. If it's select by, then it's not in UU. But I think is not that. If so, concave is not definitely in any case in UU. Select aligned either. invert yes, select degenerate yes, make two sided not. - Model: spherify, subdivide. *** well... A bit already said...both in uu -Easily create hard edges in Poser with the split vertices by angle feature. *** Also somehwat possible in UU. -Reorder vertices to share morph targets between models with common geometry. *** strong point, as already said, if it does it well. -Extremely fast smooth feature, by selection or entire model. *** same here in UU. -Stitch together separately mapped pieces of a model with UVs stitch feature. *** also in UU. -Triangulation of concave facets - fixed many boolean operations. *** not in UU. These features are the type to be welcomed... ***Complete material editor. - also in UU, though "complete" is a relative term.. ;) -Built in texture maps for checking alignment. *** long time there in UU, very similar to those there. U have checker and marker in UU. (u have cube map, relfection, lightmap, composite (multitexturing) maps in uu, also, all realtime opengl, trilinear or bilinear or none, mipmapping toggle, etc...opacityu bump and specular maps. I miss though a true double renderable 3d faces, as to make the typical grass or leaf previewing, of just one face, like inthose Halflife 1 mods, and any newer game ;) As for now, u just check well texturing and opacity from the standard side of the face.just for a matter of better previewing the engine result, nothing very important.) -Creates 24-bit, anti-aliased texture map templates. *** yep.With way many options and comfort in UU. -Converts any 2D paint program (Photoshop, etc.) into a pseudo 3D painter. *** yep . Not really. In both u paint in 2d and see the results when hit ctrl+s. No way as comfortable as 3d painting. I do 3d painting with dp3d, and still do that old way, that many skinner preview with 3d exploration, or othe 3d viewers, md3 viewers, etc. Tattoo incombination with Gimp, and that old but freelyt available 3d exploration 1.5, for example, does very well the deal, imho. Ultimate Unwrap also, of course. - Allows for immediate 3D preview of textures as they're being created. *** repeat of above, unless I'm wrong... -Display vertex and facet normals in the 3D preview window. *** Also in UU. -Imports 2D file formats - BMP, GIF, JPG, PNG, TGA, TIF. *** yep (I mean, also.) yet though UU has WAY more...I miss here dds and psd(also, UU can export UV maps as PSD, even making the wires be vectorial information, as PATHS, way better) like UU has.Anyway, often not needed. -Automatically label groups/materials/regions on texture map templates. *** not sure...But well, i do this just lasso selecting and assigning a group or a material... -...and more! *** I can't comment this feature ;) Well, there are LOADS done by UU not in Uv mapper. Yet though , Uv mapper have theat spreading of UVs that expands the border and non paralell in 3d coords, very, very well. That's one of the main advantages in uv mapping over UU. But other lacks are too big: No animation support, like in UU is even with bones and weights of x, b3d support. Actually u have even lightmaps (not generation, but I'd advise to generate in Giles and build in UU, which does actually support materials with two uv maps and export both with ase, b3d, and x, and surely mor eformats) , and many othe rtype of complex maps, like cubemap, environment, reflection, etc, which u can preview in opengl. :) The load of formats via plugin in UU, makes it in that practically unbeatable. The loads of uv mapping methods, and tools. The customizable shortcut key of practially any commando r function fo thepackage. And I'm leaving out so much stuff...but it'dbe endless.. By all means it has been my best purchase EVER, and I have purchased many softwares. In what it has offered me I can only compare it to Wings3d. |
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| It finally sounded biased. Actually, Uv mapper is such a great uv mapping tool. Very good indeed. Just I think UU is better . |
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| and UU is cheaper :P |
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| lol |
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| you gotta be kidding me... the old versions are only for mac? |
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| nope, mac and win, like the newers :) |
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| Bob3d, Thanks for the indepth review. You mentioned you use DeepPaint 3D. Have you used Deep UV? If so, how does it compare to UltimateUnwrap 3D? Or Blender's LSCM UV Mapping? (here's a video of Blender's LSCM UV Mapping)? (By the way, a new version of Blender has just been released - version 2.35). |
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