GettingStarted.md

Getting Started with FoliageTool

This document assumes:

• You have a basic understanding of Unity's interface.
• You've already installed FoliageTool into your Unity project.
• The assets for your foliage are imported and ready to be used in Unity.

Before You Begin

What types of foliage are supported?

FoliageTool is designed to be used with details such as grass, flowers, rocks, and other small details.

However, you can use any prefab that is supported by Unity's terrain details system, with the following limitations:

• The prefab must use a MeshRenderer component
• The prefab must use a shader that supports GPU Instancing

Note: Unity uses a different rendering mechanism for trees, so they are not supported as a valid detail prefab.

That said, support for procedurally spawning trees is on the roadmap for a future version, but in the meantime, you are encouraged to paint trees using Unity's Terrain Inspector.

First Setup

1. Create your first Foliage Asset

FoliageTool allows you to store foliage configurations as a FoliageAsset.

1. Create a new asset by going to Assets > Create > FoliageTool > Foliage
2. Set the Prefab field to your foliage's prefab.
3. All of the other fields are optional, but provide more customization.

Note: FoliageAsset is a wrapper for Unity's Terrain DetailPrototype, which holds all the necessary properties for the terrain to automatically spawn your foliage

2. Create your first Biome Asset

1. Create a new biome by going to Assets > Create > FoliageTool > Biome
2. Add new foliage to the biome by clicking +
3. Click on the new element that was created. You will see all the rules for this given foliage asset.
4. Drag the foliage asset you created earlier into the Asset field.
5. Configure any relevant properties for your foliage.

Note: BiomeAsset is a procedural rule-set for all the foliage in a biome.

3. Add FoliageTool to your Terrain

1. Add the FoliageTerrain component to your Terrain's GameObject.
2. Assign the biome you created to the Biome field.
3. Click Refresh and wait for FoliageTool to evaluate your terrain.
4. After it's done, you should see your foliage on the terrain.

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Getting Started with Biome Brushes

1. Creating a Biome Brush

1. Create a biome brush object: GameObject > Foliage > Biome Brush > Circle
2. You should see a circle brush created in front of your camera.

   

3. In the Inspector, you should see the Biome Brush component.

   

2. Assign a biome!

1. Using another foliage asset, create another biome.
2. Assign the newly-created biome by dragging it into the Biome field of the Biome Brush.