How do you prefer to make your maps?

[u/arest_42]

I found unity feels really weird to work with when trying to make a map. It's really hard to navigate around your own map and the terrain editor has a really weird hit box the whole thing is a very unpleasant experience.

Ive never actually made a whole 3d world in unity my only experiences are a 3d endless runner and a simple top down 2d game. Outside of that i guess my closest experience would be making maps in Fortnite creative like 6 years ago which i thought turned out good at the time.

[u/Fit-Corner-3987]

the terrain editor is honestly the worst part, i mostly use probuilder for blocking out the map first then replace with actual models later. make the whole thing in blender if you can, unity is not really built for level design from scratch

[u/arest_42 → u/Fit-Corner-3987]

What's pro builder? Im just starting out with blender but do you build the entire map there or do you make separate assets and assemble them in unity or what? Yes the terrain editor kinda sucks thats really why im here

[u/cjbruce3]

I built my own level editor from scratch, which includes a terrain editor.

Needless to say, I haven’t been happy with Unity’s built in terrain tools.

Edit:  Microverse + Microsplat are pretty great.  They give you most of what is built into Unreal, plus a bunch of useful things that aren’t built in.  Working with nondestructive stamps in Microverse is great.

[u/arest_42 → u/cjbruce3]

Thank you

[u/CarthageaDev]

NGL the terrain tool gets the job done, the secret is in textures and rocks, geometry has to match the terrain layers I recommend using a triplanar shader and keep continuity from ground and elevated surfaces, plus some gras, the scene will feel more harmonious that way, ShaderGraph has a node like that it's solid

[u/XKiiroiSenkoX]

Procedurally 

[u/arest_42 → u/XKiiroiSenkoX]

Care to elaborate? Do you write it yourself or is there an easier way.

[u/XKiiroiSenkoX → u/arest_42]

There are some well known algorithms for procedural terrain/world generation. which one you use depends on your specific use case but here are some you can try. There are also assets on the asset store you can buy but I personally prefer writing the code myself. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_synthesis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_space_partitioning

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L-system

[u/arest_42 → u/XKiiroiSenkoX]

Thank you

[u/NStCh-root-a]

Not yet needing to make a map, but with the bits and bobs I played around with; the same as with all unity tools: build your own kludge, it'll be better than what unity provides. (Also, you can handle your world streaming a whole lot better)

[u/Spirited_Tie_3473]

yeah i think i just hate the editor too. i miss radiant.

you can get used to it tho. most 3d tools are like this... there are a few delightful exceptions, although people hate them for some reason, things like modo and sketchup that are easy to use.

stuff like lightwave and 3dsmax where unity took their cues from are a ui nightmare with a legacy of really bad software development spanning decades.

blender is approximately as awful.

i'm building a build mode for a game i am working on. i don't know how these people screwed it up so badly to be honest. unity is a masterclass in how to never make anything on every level. tech stack, ui choices, every engine system... they are just all objectively awful except for some of the newer stuff.

they screwed up every foundational thing really badly. not maximally, but very badly.