[2.0!] Unicorn VisTools Suite Release [ MAJOR UPDATE ]

You guys are right about the price! Was trying to price it competitively to other VisTool systems.

Will be temporarily taking the Plugin-Offsale while I work on this next update. When it re-releases, it’ll be cheaper!

Also working on a showcase place to show it’s strengths. :smile:

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Been working on this all day.

Here’s some results I got on Mobile (S22 Ultra)

The original place, w/o Unicorn VisTools:

My test place w/ Unicorn VisTools:

This is the “Realistic Forest Demo” by Alpha Strike Group.

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Ah, I see there is a noticeable performance improvement when using the plugin. However, I’m curious if similar enhancements can be achieved by enabling streaming and adjusting render settings such as optimized/low quality. Additionally, could you test the model with streaming mesh set for the streaming model option? This setting often pastes a 3D picture to replicate a model at a distance, which might yield comparable results.

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Both places already use StreamingEnabled and StreamingMesh!

I’m actually kinda shocked now after checking the setting and seeing it was turned on in both the original & my test place.

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After some more optimizations to the distance culling, I have now achieved 20ms CPU time.

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This plugin is so useful for detailed maps… and I want it, but for 59.99 I would rather just script it myself.

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Price is actually being reduced when the plugin is re-released!

Just a quick question regarding the models: When we need to create an additional part to serve as an “imposter model,” as shown in the video, wouldn’t this increase the part count? Nonetheless, great work on the plugin!

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It would slightly, depending on how you set up the imposters. Could be a single part, or a dozen.

However, parts themselves no longer drain performance like they used to.

Bigger problem is high triangle count, which this plugin helps to alleviate.

Plugin has been re-released at a cheaper price, and I’ve provided the demo place I’ve been testing it in!

Minor Update 4 / 19 / 2024


  • Players are now faded out. You can disable this by deleting the server script.
  • All parts & decals have their base transparencies saved. Meaning if you have a window at 0.5 transparency, the renderer will fade it to and from that transparency.

Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI1KdpCDct0

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Really curious but how does this compare to this other VisTools culling system by MrChickenRobot?

Your original post says future updates: Occlusion Culling. Is this not yet implemented yet? I dont think a culling system is worth considering unless it implements Occulision Culling as roblox handles everything else reasonably well.

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Looks like a solid start to a plugin so far! Glad to have more than the $500 option from MrChickenRocket

Gonna follow this thread to see where it goes…

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I absolutely agree. This is a great start. I look forward to seeing how this progresses.

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This plugin now has Occlusion Culling!

I forgot to update the original post as I’ve been busy with other dev-related projects. :sweat_smile:

EDIT: Updated the original post!

Notice: 9/9/2024

With the addition of Occlusion Culling being an official part of the Roblox renderer in the near future, the Occlusion Culling method present in Unicorn VisTools sweet will be retired.

New Update:

  • MAJOR Overhaul to the LOD system, boosting performance even further than it did before (up to 3x in testing!)

Here’s a video demo of the new renderer in action!

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New update:

  • Accessories now listen to user’s graphics settings. This can be integrated into games’ custom settings interface so players can turn this feature on or off.

Video demo:

New update:

  • Further optimizations to the LOD system
  • Made compatible with StreamingEnabled
  • “Imposter” tag for parts

Bug Fixes:

  • Imposters visible in studio would not disappear during run time

The Imposter tag basically acts as an ignore tag per-part inside of a model with a detail tag, regardless of the level.

I.e. - if you have a part with the Imposter tag set, and it’s parent model has the tag “SmallDetail” - everything else will disappear except for the part tagged with Imposter.

This works on top of making custom imposter models.

Unicorn VisTools is now completely compatible with StreamingEnabled! Setting a Model’s “StreamingMode” to Persistent allows your hand-made LOD models to shine through when using StreamingEnabled!

Utilizing the built-in LOD mesh generator for Models is significantly less optimized and looks uglier than using hand-made LOD models that dynamically come into view during gameplay. Utilizing hand-made LOD models also results in a sharp drop of both triangles and draw calls, which is especially important for both mobile & low end devices.

Demo with Wireframe:


vs

Demo without Wireframe:


vs

Draw Counts & Tri Count w/ Model Streaming Mode Set to Default:, utilizing auto-generated StreamingMesh models
image

Draw Counts & Tri Counts w/ Model Streaming Mode Set to Persistent, utilizing handmade LOD imposters:
image

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