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Quick Reference

Q: What's new in Mantis LOD Editor Professional Edition v8.0? new

Q: What's new in Mantis LOD Editor Standalone Edition v4.0? new

Q: What's new in Mantis LOD Editor Professional Edition v7.0.1? new

Q: What's new in Mantis LOD Editor Professional Edition v6.2.1? new

Q: What's new in Mantis LOD Editor Professional Edition v6.0? new

Q: How can Autodesk store customers upgrade to latest version? new

Q: What's new in Mantis LOD Editor Professional Edition v4.0? new

Q: What's new in Mantis LOD Editor 2019? new

Q: What's new in the professional edition 2.0.4? new

Q: What's new in enhanced command line tool? new

Q: Do you provide all source codes? new

Q: What's new in standalone edition v2.0? new

Q: What's new in the professional edition?

Q: How does the progressive mesh work?

Q: Which professional feature should I use?

Q: How to use the batch feature?

Q: How to keep blend shapes?

Q: Can I use Blender as FBX pipeline?

Q: Which Unity version does it support?

Q: How to simplify AutoCAD 3d models?

Q: I have not heard about FastSpring before, is my shopping safe there?

Q: How can I get a trial edition?

Q: My Mac prevent me from running the standalone edition, what should I do?

Q: What's the difference between the Mac App Store edition and other standalone editions?

Q: Which edition should I choose?

Q: Where can I buy your software?

Q: How can I optimize a huge 3d model?

Q: How can I specify file format when saving with standalone edition v1.1?

Q: How to simplify multiple parts of 3d model with different qualities in standalone edition v1.1?

Q: I want to save multiple LOD meshes into a single FBX file, is it possible?

Q: How to keep more details of some body parts of the charactor?

Q: How can you create these great products?

Q: How can I contact you?

 

Q: What's new in Mantis LOD Editor Professional Edition v8.0?new

This version supports Unity 2018.4.0f1 (LTS) or later versions.

 

If you are using Unity 2017, please install another copy of Unity 2018 or a later version, download the latest package, import the package, then copy the directory of 'MantisLODEditor' to the project in Unity 2017.

 

I recommend Unity 2019.4.0f1 (LTS) and later versions, because Unity 2019.4.0f1 (LTS) and later versions can optimize meshes on the fly, progressive mesh runs much faster than it runs on Unity 2018 or older Unity versions.

 

I added a new 'Optimize On The Fly' parameter in the runtime script, if editor XR (Mock HMD Loader) blinks, you can turn off this parameter to fix the issue.

 

I alse fixed a bug in the batch generator.

 

There is a completely new video tutorial for v8.0, you can learn everything in this detailed video tutorial, including how to make a detail map, how to apply the detail map, etc.

 

If you are making a progressive mesh, and the 'Read/Write Enabled' parameter in the import settings is disabled, it will remind you that you should enable the parameter when running on actual devices, more friendly than previous versions.

 

Q: What's new in Mantis LOD Editor Standalone Edition v4.0?new

The latest standalone edtion supports vertex color map (Red Channel) as detail map, control which areas should have more details accurately.

 

But the app does not contain a built-in vertex color painter, you need to paint vertex color within other 3d softwares, such as Blender, 3ds Max, Maya, etc.

 

Q: What's new in Mantis LOD Editor Professional Edition v7.0.1?new

This version only supports 2019.4.19f1c1 (LTS) and newer versions, for the progressive mesh runtime script runs much faster on Unity 2019 than it runs on Unity 2018.

 

If you are using Unity 2017 or Unity 2018, please install another copy of Unity 2019, download the latest package, import the package, then copy the directory of 'MantisLODEditor' to the project in Unity 2017 or Unity 2018.

 

This version supports shrinking blend shapes, the generated assets are much smaller than before.

 

This version supports detail map, you can paint vertex color with your favorite tools, then use the vertex color map as detail map to control which areas should have more details accurately.

 

If you like a free vertex color painter plug-in for Unity, you can download it from:

https://github.com/meshonline/SimpleVertexPainter

 

I also upgraded the standalone editor to v4.0, which supports detail map, but it does not contain a built-in vertex color painter, you need to paint vertex color within other 3d softwares, such as Blender, 3ds Max, Maya, etc.

 

You can learn more details via the video tutorial in the showcase page.

 

Q: What's new in Mantis LOD Editor Professional Edition v6.2.1?new

If you want to simplify meshes at runtime, you can achieve it in this version, for I have added the source code of the plugin, which can run on any platforms, such as iOS, Android, and Xbox etc.

 

To use the source code of the plugin, you just need to add one line:

 

using MantisLOD;

 

The APIs are as same as the native version, except that you need to add a prefix of ‘MantisLODSimpler.’ to the native APIs.

 

int MantisLODSimpler.create_progressive_mesh(Vector3[] vertex_array, int vertex_count, int[] triangle_array, int triangle_count, Vector3[] normal_array, int normal_count, Color[] color_array, int color_count, Vector2[] uv_array, int uv_count, int protect_boundary, int protect_detail, int protect_symmetry, int protect_normal, int protect_shape);

 

int MantisLODSimpler.get_triangle_list(int index, float goal, int[] triangles, ref int triangle_count);

 

int MantisLODSimpler.delete_progressive_mesh(int index);

 

I have illustrated the usage in the source code of ‘InnerMantisLODEditorProfessional.cs’, you can switch between the native plugin and the managed plugin by changing the value of a boolean variable.

 

The managed version of the plugin is slower than the native version, so in the editor, the native version is used by default.

 

You need to modify the script to let it run at realtime by yourself, it should not be difficult for a developer.

 

I have also fixed the rendering performance issue in this version.

 

Q: What's new in Mantis LOD Editor Professional Edition v6.0?new

The standard edition v6.0 and the professinal edition v6.0 are merged to one edition.

 

The dynamic mesh technology has been abandoned, for it can not benifit from GPU instancing, and it will occupy too many memories when huge amount of instances are in the scene, instead, we generate static LOD meshes on the fly, the performance is as the same as traditional LOD technology now.

 

The performance has been greatly improved in case of huge amount of instances!

 

Q: How can Autodesk store customers upgrade to latest version?new

The standalone edition is no longer available in Autodesk Store, customers who bought the product from Autodesk Store can contact me via email, I will generate a coupon code for you to get the product for FREE from Fastspring Digital Store.

 

Q: What's new in Mantis LOD Editor Professional Edition v4.0?new

 

Q: What's new in Mantis LOD Editor 2019?new

 

Q: What's new in the professional edition 2.0.4?new

 

Q: What's new in enhanced command line tool? new

You can simplify 3d models by maximum triangles count, percentage, or error threshold now.

For example:

./mle -t 1500 -i abc.fbx -o abc2.fbx

./mle -t 12.5% -i abc.fbx -o abc2.fbx

./mle -e 5% -i abc.fbx -o abc2.fbx

 

Q: Do you provide all source codes? new

The standard edition and the professional edition use native dynamic library to speed up calculations, there are only three API functions in the native dynamic library, since the API interfaces are fixed, you can treat them as system API functions.

 

But there is a c# version in the package, you can simplify 3d models at runtime on any plateforms, but the c# version is slower than the native dynamic library, which is written in c++.

 

All other parts are C# scripts, you can modify the source code to fit your needs, or fix future issues by yourself when Unity upgrades.

 

The standalone edition, the command line edition use Autodesk's FBX SDK to import and export files, all major game engines can import the exported files, so I don't provide source code in these editions.

 

Q: What's new in standalone edition v2.0? new

Standalone edition v2.0 can preserve all blend shapes now.

 

This is a very important feature when do morph animations, facial animations heavily depend on blend shapes.

 

Because standalone edition v2.0 uses Autodesk FBX SDK to import and export 3d models, it provides a universal mesh simplification solution for all major game engines.

 

We recommend that Unreal developers build their LOD pipeline with this elegant but powerful app.

 

Q: What's new in the professional edition?

We have brought the world's first commercial progressive mesh technology to Unity3d.

 

What is progressive mesh technology? In short, you no longer have to make LOD manually, and your game will run more smoothly and has less pop up effect.

 

Provide batch generate utility, help you to generate progressive meshes for hundreds of 3d models in batch.

 

Provide command line utility, help you to simplify hundreds of 3d models in batch.

 

Q: How does the progressive mesh work?

Traditional LOD technology uses multiple 3d models to work, it switches 3d models when needs.

 

Progressive mesh technology only uses single 3d model to work, it builds continuous LOD on the fly, the process is extremely fast, just need a copy operation from the cache.

 

We use cache to get maximum performance, we pre-build and bake 8 levels(default number) of triangle indices as a pluggable asset, then dynamically change triangle indices at runtime.

 

To use the asset, you just need to attach the progressive mesh runtime script to your 3d model, drag the pluggable asset to the property, your 3d model will automatically become a progressive mesh.

 

Sometimes you need to setup the properties of 'Min LOD' and 'Max LOD' to clamp the range of the LODs. For example, if you find that the lowest LOD has too less details, you may set 'Max LOD' to 18 or smaller number to preserve more details.

 

You no longer have to make LOD manually like before, let the machine do the boring work for you, you will have more time to concentrate on your game logic.

 

The progressive mesh support all platforms, generate once, run anywhere.

 

EDIT: v6.0 has changed the working method, it automatically generate LODs on the fly, so the performance is as the same as the standard feature, it greatly improved the performance for huge amount of instances.

 

Q: Which professional feature should I use?

The professional edition has three features: The standard feature, the progressive mesh feature, and the batch feature.

 

The standard feature is the same as the feature in the standard edition, it automatically keep blend shapes, it uses Unity's default LOD system to work, since the meshes are shared, it does not waste memory.

 

The progressive mesh feature is the advanced feature, it automatically keep blend shapes, it automatically generate LODs on the fly, the performance is as the same as the standard feature, but it requires you to enable 'Read/Write Enabled' option in the import settings, which will keep a copy in the CPU space, requires more memory than the standard feature, if memory is not a problem, I recommend that most users use this feature.

 

If you have hundreds of 3d models, you can use the batch feature to make progressive meshes in batch.

 

Q: How to use the batch feature?

Step one: Simplify all the 3d models in batch.

For example, if you want to simplify all your 3d models to at most 8000 triangles per model.

OSX Flatform:

You can copy the command line utility(mle) to the directory of the 3d models, open a terminal window, change current path to the directory, then type this command:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ls *.fbx | xargs -t -I '{}' ./mle -b y -d y -s y -t 8000 -i '{}' -o max-8000-'{}'

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This command will simplify all the 3d models in batch, when finished, copy all the simplified 3d models to 'Assets/Resources'.

Windows Platform:

Though Windows has no 'ls' and 'xargs' commands, you can download a ported edition from Gnu On Windows, unzip the tarball, there is a subdirectory named 'bin', add the directory to the environment variables to let Windows know where to find the commands, copy the command line utility(mle.exe) to the directory of the 3d models, open a terminal window, change current path to the directory, then type this command:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ls *.fbx | xargs -t -I '{}' ./mle -b y -d y -s y -t 8000 -i '{}' -o max-8000-'{}'

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This command will simplify all the 3d models in batch, when finished, copy all the simplified 3d models to 'Assets/Resources'.

 

Step two: Generate progressive meshes in batch.

Go to the menu of 'Window/Mantis LOD Editor/Assets/Create/Mantis LOD Editor Batch' to launch the batch generate utility, then click 'Batch Generate' button.

 

Step three: Load and assemble at runtime.

For example, if the filename of a progressive mesh is 'Resources/Banana_Progressive_Mesh.asset', you can load and assemble by script like this:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

using MantisLODEditor;

......

ProgressiveMeshRuntime obj = (ProgressiveMeshRuntime)gameObject.AddComponent(typeof(ProgressiveMeshRuntime));

obj.progressiveMesh = Resources.Load<ProgressiveMesh>("Banana_Progressive_Mesh");

......

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Q: How to keep blend shapes?

The standalone edition v2.0, the standard edition v4.0 and the professional edition v2.0 can automatically preserve blend shapes, if you are using old version, please upgrade to latest version.

 

Q: Which Unity version does it support?

The latest version supports Unity 2018.4.0f1 and newer versions.

 

Q: Can I use Blender as FBX pipeline?

Yes, you can.

I have another product - Better FBX Importer & Exporter Add-on For Blender, you can find it in the 'fbx' page, and buy it from Blender Market.

The product supports both Unity pipeline and Unreal 4 pipeline.

 

Q: How to simplify AutoCAD 3d models?

AutoCAD 3d models usually have many sharp creases, you can enable 'Protect Hard Edge' option to reserve them.

 

Q: I have not heard about FastSpring before, is my shopping safe there?

Based in Santa Barbara, California, FastSpring is an industry leader of e-commerce solutions, FastSpring Wins "Customer Service Department of the Year" Silver Stevie Award in 2014 International Business Awards.

 

Many famous companies sell software on the great e-commerce platform, it's no doubt shopping safe there.

 

Q: How can I get a trial edition?

We provide you a Standalone Trial Edition, you can evaluate the product with your own 3d models except that you can not save to disk.

 

Q: My Mac prevent me from running the standalone edition, what should I do?

From OSX 10.8, Apple introduced Gatekeeper to protect your system on your behalf, please right click on the standalone edition, click the 'Open' item on the popup menu, then click 'Open' button on the popup dialog.

 

Q: What's the difference between the Mac App Store edition and other standalone editions?

If you have a Mac, we recommend the Mac App Store edition, it uses Gatekeeper and sandbox to protect your system, and the system will notify you when there is a new version to upgrade.

 

Other standalone editions are multiple platform editions, they support both OSX and Windows, but you need to check the new version manually.

 

Q: Which edition should I choose?

We recommend that most users choose the professional edition, it works in real time, the result is perfect, and progressive mesh is the most advanced technology in 3D field today, you can use it on all platforms(iOS, Andriod, etc.) to boost the performance of your games and give your users better experience. The standalone edition and the command-line edition have been included in the professional edition since v2.0, simplify huge 3d models is not a problem, it ought to be one of your 'must have' tool box.

 

The standalone edition is a portable edition, if you are using other game engines, such as Unreal, this is your best choice. It can simplify huge 3d models while remaining all animation/rigs, it can import FBX, DAE, OBJ, DXF and 3DS files, and export FBX files.

 

Q: Where can I buy your software?

You can find the latest information on download page.

 

Q: How can I optimize a huge 3d model?

We are very pleased to announce that we released the standalone edition, which can simplify huge 3d models. You can download the trial edition from the download page, the standalone edition has been included in Mantis LOD Editor Standard edition and Mantis LOD Editor Professional edition, users can free upgrade to the latest version to simplify your huge 3d models!

 

Q: How can I specify file format when saving with standalone edition v1.1?

You may select specific format when saving your model, the extension will change automaticly, this is a new feature of edition v1.1.

 

Q: How to simplify multiple parts of 3d model with different qualities in standalone edition v1.1?

 

Just select the parts you want to simplify with certain quality, then drag the slide bar or type the quality number to simplify them, repeat untill you are satisfied with all parts, this is a new feature of v1.1.

 

If you select nothing, simplification will apply to all parts.

 

Q: I want to save multiple LOD meshes into a single FBX file, is it possible?

You can duplicate the mesh several times with your design tool(Blender, Cheetah3D, LightWave3D, 3DS MAX, Maya etc.), simplify the meshes with different qualities in standalone edition v1.1, then export the meshes into a single FBX file.

 

Q: How to keep more details of some body parts of the charactor?

 

The standalone edition 4.0 and professional edition 8.0 support detail map, you can control details of different areas accurately.

 

Q: How can you create these great products?

Mantis LOD Editor used to be our inner project, we use it to simplify 3d models for our own iPad game.

 

We think that all great products are whose developers use them in their own projects, not those just for sale.

 

You may read our story on the about page.

Q: How can I contact you?

You can send E-Mail to us or ask questions on Unity3d's forum.