This Section details SAM's integration of the MicroVerse asset, which is a non destructive, real time environment creation system created by developer Jason Booth (Disclaimer: as an affiliate, if you click the above link and purchase any product on the Unity Asset Store, I may receive a small commission).
Before proceeding, it’s important to note that in many ways, SAM and MicroVerse have been developed for two completely different workflows.
Whereas SAM has been built around utilizing small individual Asset Chunks (which in many cases are small scenes) and then combining them to form something larger, MicroVerse has been built from the ground up (as far as I can tell) to work with a single scene workflow.
This is not a knock on MicroVerse. Its hierarchy dependent workflow is very intuitive and user friendly, and for many types of games is the perfect tool. But it does present issues when working in a multi-scene setup.
In order to reduce potential conflicts and to simplify things considerably, at this time the SAM/MicroVerse workflow revolves around the idea that it is better to keep the full MicroVerse hierarchy intact (versus breaking it up into Asset Chunks). We look forward to hearing your feedback regarding this philosophy, and reserve the right to “switch things up” if a better workflow presents itself.
At the present time, no additional package is required if you are not using the MicroVerse Roads module, as MicroVerse should work out of the box with SAM. Please note, however, that our integration has only been tested with MicroVerse version 1.7.0. It's possible more recent versions contain changes that break the integration, in which case please use the feedback button to let us know about any issues you come across!
Additionally, if you are using the MicroVerse Roads module, in addition to installing SAM and MicroVerse, you will need to download and import the MicroVerse Roads Integration Package.
This is a small package that includes some custom SAM components that will enable the MicroVerse Roads integration.
In order to avoid flooding this page with too much text, we have provided the instructions for using MicroVerse in the form of (currently two) PDFs. Please note, we have only tested using the base module and the Roads module with SAM. Other modules may require additional work to integrate, or may work out of the box. This is just the first attempt at integration. Please be assured that we will continue working with MicroVerse to improve our integration and add additional support.
First things first, you should read the MicroVerse General Setup PDF, which details how to setup MicroVerse and SAM to work together. You should follow this guide in full before moving on to other MicroVerse Modules!
In general, we have setup the instructions for new users of SAM, so in many ways these instructions can be used in place of the Getting Started Tutorial instructions. However, we reserve the right to have made mistakes, so if you come across something that is not quite clear, please don't hesitate to let us know!
If you are interested in using the MicroVerse Roads Module, please follow the MicroVerse Roads Setup PDF. This guide details two potential techniques for using Roads with SAM. Enjoy!
There are currently two issues (that we know of) in relation to the MicroVerse integration:
1) There is a slight issue with MicroVerse and SAM that results in the scene containing the hierarchy to always show as needing to be saved.
At this time we don’t know how to avoid that, so we recommend changing the Unsaved Asset Handling Method (found in the Global Settings tab of the Main Controls area) to Auto Save, which will ensure whatever changes MicroVerse is making are saved automatically whenever you unload the hierarchy.
2) Changing the World’s Origin Position or the World Designer Tool’s Origin Cell after assignment is currently problematic when using Noise with a Space type set to World.
This is because World space noise is dependent on the location of the stamps within the scene, and the location of the stamps will change if the hierarchy is moved around the scene (which happens when changing the Origin Cell or Origin Position).
At this time, you will need to use the Local Space to avoid this, or else make sure not to change the Origin Position or World Designer Tool Origin Cell after assignment. I have put in a request to Jason to add a new Noise Space option that overcomes these limits. You can try requesting similar support from him, which may speed up a change that will address this issue.
Note that there are no issues at runtime, unless you are using a component that uses Noise set to World Space, as most of the terrain edits should be locked in within the editor.