V3.3 Overview

 

 

Road Type Upgrade

Road types can be managed from the project folder through the new prefab system. The type of road can be set (0.17 in the video). This is used among others on the new Flex Connector to prioritize specific connection layouts. This can also be used for AI purposes.

Four new tabs have been added to the top: Road Shape, Lane Info, Material, Sidewalks.

v3.3 supports custom built-in road shapes on the new Flex Connector (0.25 in video). The shape can be set in the first "Road Shape" tab. Roads with thickness are now also supported for built-in road types. The number of shape nodes can be set, the position of each node can be set both in the Inspector and on the prefab stage. Important here are the Left and Right Edge Offset checkboxes (0.36 in video). These define positions on the road texture where the UVs for the left / right side of the texture should remain at a fixed position from the edge. In the current crossing options this is defined by "Inner Segment Distance" in the Corner / Sidewalk Settings. The generated UV coordinates will result in correct texturing of the road edges on crossing corners. So when using this, first get the total node count required for the road objects and make sure to add two extra nodes to the total road type node count.

In the Lane Info tab (0.52 in video) the number of lanes can be set, based on the number the lane position will be set automatically including whether they are left or right lanes. The positions can be changed manually. Lane info will be used for generating the road material (customizable in the new Road TYpe Material Creator) and for AI lane data.

UV data and material info can be set in the Materials tab. The reason for this new materials tab is the advanced material options in v3.3 supporting customizable lanes. The new Road Type Material Creator can generate the material matching the road type profile.

The Sidewalks tab can be used to set the default sidewalk state for this road type.

Further below in the road type settings the speed limit can be set per road type (1.10 in video), available at runtime through the scripting API.

Starting at 1.20, the above new options are shown for versions older then Unity 2018.3. The Road Shape Editor button (1.31 in video) will open the new toolbar tab similar to the one explained above. Also newis the Visualize Road Type button (1.36 in video). It will show the road type in Scene View.

Road Type Material Creator

The new Road Type Material Creator is available in the Material tab of the v3.3 "Road Type Profile Editor" in "General Settings > Road Types". When this option is activated the material controls will be visible.

The dynamically generated materials require v3.3 EasyRoads3D shaders. The shaders that support customizable lanes will be visible and selectable in the Shaders dropdown. The beta package includes the new "ER Road Multi Lane" shader.

New materials will be created automatically when for example duplicating a road type and renaming it. It is also possible to create a new material so the material of the original road type does not change.

The starting point of the material is the base texture which will tile according the size setting. The available base textures are located in /Assets/EasyRoads3D/Textures/Roads/BaseMaps/. This includes matching normal maps, PBR related maps and optional noise map masks to control noise on the road shoulders.

By default the base map will tile over the full road width. Optionally road edge detail can be added separately to the base maps. When activating "Road Edge Mapping" additional controls will be available to set the UV coordinates for the respective edge detail on the base map and the edge size. Generally this will be proportional to the main base map UV coordinates and size, "Match Base Map" will calculate that size based on the set UV coordinates.

The left and right shoulder sizes can be set. Important here is the status of "Synch Road Width" in the "Road Shape" tab. When "Synch Road Width" is active the road width will auto update to shoulder size changes, lane size changes and lane count changes. Otherwise the lane size will auto adjust to the road width and the current shoulder sizes.

It is possible to set the line marking texture and for each line marking type the color, size and pattern is customizable.

The new shaders include additional controls to blend the line markings with the road, these controls are also available in the Road Type Material Creator Inspector.

Additional controls are available to customize tyre wear and noise. A single noise map can be used or lane specific noise maps can be assigned to add variation in the case of a multi lane road type. The blend strength and level is customizable.

The new shaders and Road Type Material Creator options will be further expanded with, for example: PBR control for line markings, , shoulder specific noise map options, dust level control, etc.

The beta package includes two new road types, the "Primary Road 1 x 1" and "Primary Road 2 x 2" road types with materials created using this new new Road Type Material Creator.

Feedback and road material requests are very welcome and appreciated.

Note:

Most of the Material Creator Inspector controls are delayed float fields. So press the enter key after making changes to update the material.

Current Limitations:

- One way road types are not yet fully supported, lane markings will not be visible

- For lane markings, the "Double" and "Mixed" styles are not supported yet, these styles are supported for the center line markings

- Matching materials for connectors will follow, for now the material can be duplicated and the "Lines"

- URP and HDRP versions will follow

Lane Direction Markings

By setting the lane info, the system can auto generate lane direction marking decals on road objects for each lane in v3.3.

Matching decals can be created in the Road Object Decal section in General Settings > Road Types. The new decal option Lane Direction Marking is used for this.

Options are "Straight", this is for the road object itself. At intersections the options are "Straight","Left", "Right", "Straight Left", "Straight Right", "Left Right" and "All Directions". The decal Material can be assigned, the Decal Length (size) of each instance, the Distance between Markings and the Height Offset of the decal relative to the road height. In the UV Editor window the respective decalk arrow can be selected.

Based on the turn directions of the available lane connectors, the corresponding direction marking decals will be selected.

Flex Connector

In V3.3 new built-in connections types are introduced starting with the Flex Connector. Currently this is a new connector option for the current X and T Connectors after instantiating them in the scene (2.07 in video). At the moment it is important to first pull out new roads or attach existing roads. After that the Connector can be turned in a Flex Connector (2.21 in video). All connectors will support flexible angles, roads can be detached and attached. Different road type can be selected. As visible in the video at 2.47 this requires road type selection for both the connector segment as the road. The reason for this is that you may want a different surface in between the main road and the connected road. The main road triangulation can be changed (3.07 in video) to match the connected roads, outerline options are currentluy possible through decals (3.22 in video). These decals can be set in the decalk section of the specific road type. Examples will follow in next updates. as can be seen at 4:34 in the video, the number of connections is not limited to 3 or 4, more connections can be added.

Main Connection Decals

Main Connection Decals are road type transition decals that will be generated on Flex Connectors on the main road at the edge where other road objects connect. They can be used to blend the two road materials and visually improve the transition between the two road types. Decal presets can be created per road type in Road Types > Road Type Decals.

These decal options will be available on Flex Connectors when another road type is attached. Multiple decals can be created per road type to match the different road types or to add variation.

The v3.3 beta scene includes two decal presets that can be reviewed.

To create a new decal preset press the "Add New Decal Object" button near the bottom in the Road Types Decals section. Select the "Main Connection Line Marking" decal type from the dropdown, give the new decal a descriptive name and assign the decal material.

Open the UV Editor. The road texture will be visible with an highlighted area. Move / resize this highlighted rectangle to cover the bounds for the new decal on the material / Texture. To make it easier to get accurate results, either enter the values manually by calculating them in your paint program, or temporarily add a thin coloured line at the decal boundaries so the rectangle bounds are clearly highlighted in the texture.

Optionally it is possible to add multiple break points, this will optimize the created decal by clamping the UV coordinates to the nearest break point. The final length of the decal will be calculated accordingly. When adding two or more break points there will be an additional option to set Start / End sections, the first and last break point. This can be used to blend the decal in at the start and out at the end, the middle section will be repeated. The decal examples in the v3.3 beta demo scene use this option. Close the UV Editor window.

The next decal settings in the Inspector are "Decal Width" and "Decal Length". These values can be entered manually, however it is easier and more accurate to press the "Match Main Road Material Tiling" button. Based on the bounds of the highlighted rectangle in the UV Editor and the UV Tiling for the road material the matching decal Width and Length will be calculated.

The decal can be moved sideways "X Offset", by default the center of the decal matches the road edge position. "Height Offset" places the decal higher above the road surface and "Start Offset" resp "End Offset" values can be set to control where the decal should start and end relative to the connected road. By default Start and End sections will be created exactly according the Start and End offset values. When "Interpolate Starte / End sections" is active, these sections will snap to the mid sections. This can be used for road textures with a clear pattern, like paved road textures.

The best way to fine tune these settings is by selecting or creating a Flex Connector where the involved road types are used. First press "Update Scene Instances" near the bottom in the Road Types section.

This decal type is generated relative to the right side of the road. So look in the Inspector at the main road Connection where the secondary road is connected to the right edge of this road object.

For this specific connection the "Main Road Connection Transition" option will be available in the Inspector, all available decal presets will be listed. After selecting the new decal preset that you created, open the foldout. The same decal controls will be visible. The decal will instantly update in the scene after making changes so this is a quick and easy way to fine tune each decal preset. Note that these settings are the main decal preset settings, these settings are not instance specific decal settings for this Flex Connector.

Custom Road shapes for the main connection road type are supported. When moving the X Offset, the decal shape will adjust accordingly.

Sidewalks & Crosswalks

V3.3 will have new sidewalks options. A new Sidewalks section is added to the General Settings tab. New sidewalk presets can be created here. Two provisional sidewalk presets are provided in the beta package. Currently only the standard shape is supported with optionally the "Outer Curb".

Sidewalk presets can be selected on road objects, road types and on Flex Connectors per connection. So contrary to v3.12 and v3.2, sidewalks can be activated directly on roads. The default sidewalks state can also be set for each road type.

Crosswalks are supported in a way that the pavement at crosswalk positions can be customized. The standard version, the "Concrete" sidewalk example in the beta package, will auto generate the UV coordinates based on the currently set UV coordinates for the sidewalk inner pavement. The second option is to set crosswalk specific UV coordinates. Two types of triangulation are supported, the provided provisional "Tiled Pavement" uses the more complex version with the "Include Outer Strip" option. The Crosswalk UV Editor will show the crosswalk pavement wireframe as a reference to quickly set set the UV Coordinates for the inner pavement section. The crosswalk itself on the road is more road type related so this can be set in General Settings > Road Types > Road Type Profile Editor > Sidewalks

The new system is in preview state. More sidewalk shape options will be added and the workflow will be improved. For example activating sidewalks on a road will also auto activate sidewalks on possible crossing connections and vice versa. There will also be more triangulation options to support different types of sidewalks.

Traffic Signs and Traffic Signal Placement Options

Introduced in beta 10. MultipleTraffic Sign prefabs can be assigned for each road type. Each prefab can be associated with a specific Traffic sign type, for example traffic signals or stop signs. The presets assigned to road types will be auto generated on Flex Connector connections when that road type is involved. Traffic signs can be added, edited and removed per connection.

It is possible to set the position of the traffic sign relative to the left, right side of the road or the center of the road. Offset options are available both in sideways and forward direction. It is also possible to set the type of traffic sign post. This can be useful at runtime for traffic light control scripts. And it can be used for auto placement of posts based on general rules and traffic sign post rules set per road type. For example "One Way" and "One Way - No Entry" traffic signals will be auto generated on one-way road objects.

The full list of traffic sign presets for a specific road type can be copied to other road types that will use similar traffic signs. To do so, press the "Copy" button, select the other road type, open the Traffic Signs foldout and press the "Paste" button.

Optionally the default settings for each prefab can be set by assigning the script component ERTrafficPost component to each individual prefab in the project folder. That way the default values only have to be set once. As soon as a traffic sign preset is activated for a road type or on a Flex Connector connection, the default prefab values will be inherited for this instance from the ERTrafficPost component.

The beta package demo scene includes three prefab examples. More traffic sign presets and material options will follow.

Lane Info for Traffic AI

V3.3 includes options to create lane data for both roads and intersection accessible through the scripting API.

A new section AI Traffic is added to General Settings (6.21 in video). AI Traffic can be activated here, left-right-hand traffic can be set and you can specific how lane data should be generated on crossings.

Based on the new lane info options for road types, mentioned above, lane data will be generated automatically for roads. The display of the Lane data can be controlled in General Settings > Scene View > Display Lane Data (6.34 in video) or through Ctrl + L.

For intersections it is possible to auto generate lane connectors for all possible combinations (6.42 in video). Lanes can be selected, This shows a number of options. Relevant at this moment are Speed Limit and Delete Lane Connector. The other options will be activated later and more options will follow. Lanes can also be created manually (6.55 in video).

The Lane Data is avaialable through the scripting API. The simple road network in the scene "AI Traffic Scene" in the beta package is based on both the standard X crossing and the new Flex Connector and includes a basic AI script using the lane data. It is the same script as used in this video starting at 7.26.

Because Custom Connections based on your own meshes can be more complex, lane data for this type of connection objects can be set in the Unity Prefab editor by selecting the generated prefab in the project folder: /Assets/EasyRoads3D/Resources/custom prefabs/, and press "Open Prefab" in the Inspector. Select the "AI Lane Data" tab. Connection start and end points will be displayed based on the assigned road type. New lane connectors can be created by dragging from the start point (the small rectangle) to an end point of another connector. After creating a new lane connector, the number of Control Points can be adjusted and each control point can be selected and moved to define the desired curve for this lane connector.

 

The below video shows and example how a custom road shape can be created and how they are supported by the v3.3 Flex Connector.

 

 

Notes:

• /Assets/EasyRoads3D scenes/Beta Demo Scene, this scene includes example presets. After selecting the road network object, the side object presets will be added to the project file. After that the presets will also be available for road networks in other scenes.

Limitations:

• Custom road shapes with more then two nodes will only work on Flex Connectors, not on the standard X and T Crossings
• Multiple adjacent connections attached to a main road section is not yet supported
• AI Lane curves between roads with significant different widths needs more optimization
• Currently AI lane connectors are generated between all lanes. This will be optimized so optionally connectors will only be generated between matching lane indexes

 

Known Issues / To Do:

• Possible triangulation issues for secondary roads attached to main road sections depending on the curve angle and the width of the secondary road relatively to the main road. For now, increasing the rounding radius in the corners will fix this.

 

V3.3 Road Map:

• Flex Connector: More triangulation types including blending
• Flex Connector: Decal shapes adjusting to custom road shapes
• Flex Connector: LOD levels
• Flex Connector: Decal examples (at 3.25 in the first video) will be added in next updates
• Flex Connector: More control over lane curves on crossings
• Motorway exits
• Sidewalks: More triangulation options and general workflow improvements

 

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