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Interface
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UnigineEditor
Interface Overview
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IG Plugin
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Tutorials

Migrating to UNIGINE from Unity

This section gives a brief overview of UNIGINE from a Unity user's perspective and provides basic information to help you transfer your Unity experience to UNIGINE.

Notice
Please consider hardware requirements first.

Quick Glossary#

This chapter matches common Unity software terms on the left and their UNIGINE equivalents (or rough equivalent) on the right. UNIGINE keywords are linked directly to related articles to provide you with more in-depth information.

CategoryUnity softwareUNIGINE
Project and SDK managementHubSDK Browser
Editor UIHierarchy PanelWorld Nodes Hierarchy window
InspectorParameters window
Project BrowserAsset Browser window
Scene ViewEditor Viewport
SceneSceneWorld
Gameplay TypesComponentComponent System
GameObjectNode
PrefabNodeReference
MeshesMesh RendererStatic Mesh, Dynamic Mesh
Skinned Mesh RendererSkinned Mesh
BlendshapesMorph Targets
EffectsParticle SystemParticle System
HaloVolumetric Objects
Lens FlaresLens Flares
Billboard RendererBillboards
Projector / Decal Projector (HDRP)Decals
ExteriorsTerrainTerrain systems
Trees / GrassMesh Clutter, Grass, Vegetation Add-On
Wind ZonesAnimation Field
Game UIUIGUI
LightingLight SourcesLight Sources
EnvironmentEnvironment
LightmappingVoxel GI
Reflection ProbesEnvironment Probes
RenderingShaderBase Material
MaterialUser Material
Custom Shaders: HLSLHLSL / GLSL / UUSL
Custom Shaders: Shader GraphMaterial Graphs
Compute ShadersUUSL Compute Shaders
Rendering PathsRendering Sequence
Multi-Display RenderingMulti-Monitor Rendering plugins, Syncker Plugin for Multi-Node Rendering
ProgrammingC#C++ / C#
Scriptable Render Pipeline (URP / HDRP)Rendering Sequence is fully accessible from API / Scriptable Materials
PhysicsRaycastIntersections
Rigid BodyRigid Body
ColliderShape
JointJoint
ClothCloth Body
AnimationTimelineTracker
Navigation and PathfindingNavMesh, NavMeshAgent, Off-Mesh Link, NavMesh ObstacleNavigation Areas, Obstacles

Project and SDK Management#

As a Unity software user, you are accustomed to use Unity Hub — the application that streamlines the way you find, download and manage your projects and installations.

UNIGINE SDK Browser is the first step to start working with UNIGINE Engine. This application enables you to manage your projects and installed SDKs, as well as gives you access to the samples and the knowledge base.

Unity Hub and UNIGINE SDK Browser Comparison (click to enlarge)

Unity Hub and UNIGINE SDK Browser Comparison

UNIGINE provides several programming workflows, to easily adapt your experience of scripting in Unity software, it is recommended to use C# Component System. Creating a project using this workflow in SDK Browser is done as follows:

  1. Click Create New in My Projects section
  2. Among other options, choose C# (.NET) project type in the API + IDE field.
  3. If you want to make the project compatible with one of supported VR headsets, proceed to the Plugins section, check the required plugins in the Stereo 3D section and click Ok (more about VR-compatibility).
  4. Click Create New Project.
  5. Upon completion, click Open Editor to run UnigineEditor.
Notice
C# API section available in the Samples showcases traditional programming workflow in C#. For samples that use C# Component System, take a look at the Demos -> C# Component Samples.

Editor Interface#

Below you can see interfaces of Unity Editor and UnigineEditor. Interface elements in the images are color-coded to indicate common functionality. Each element has a label to show UNIGINE's equivalent. The layout of UnigineEditor is fully customizable by resizing, dragging and dropping the tabbed windows. UnigineEditor adopts a dark color scheme.

Unity and UNIGINE Editor UI Comparison (click to enlarge)

Unity Editor and UnigineEditor UI Comparison

To learn more about the UnigineEditor interface, read this article.

Scene View#

You may find the Scene View and the Editor Viewport controls looking very much alike.

Unity Scene View
UNIGINE Editor Viewport

You can use:

  • Camera panel to switch between cameras and configure the current one.
  • Rendering Debug to display the contents of rendering buffers the same way as using the Draw Mode in Unity Editor.
  • Navigation panel to quickly set up and switch between camera speed presets and change the camera position.

Navigation inside the Editor Viewport is pretty much the same as in Unity Scene View. However, get familiar with Scene Navigation so as not to miss details.

Also, a set of global switchers is available in the top toolbar:

You can use as many Editor Viewports as you need.

Game View and Play Mode#

You are accustomed that Unity Editor has the Play mode inside the Game View which is rendered from the camera(s) in your scene, being representative of your final build.

In UNIGINE, the Play button is used to run an instance of the application in a separate window. You can switch between Play presets to change essential parameters of the play mode, such as VR Mode to enable compatibility with one of supported VR headsets, as an example.

By default, the mouse cursor is grabbed when clicked in the Play mode. There are two ways to setup default Input Bindings (key states and the mouse behaviour):

Notice
The Engine Viewport, the Game View's counterpart in UNIGINE used for debugging and profiling, is considered excessive for projects using C# .NET programming workflow (however, it is still available for other workflows).

Console#

As well as Unity software, UNIGINE has the Console used for standard input, output and error logging. A set of console commands is provided.

It is available both in UnigineEditor and a running application. To open the Console window in the Editor, go to Windows -> Console menu:

A built-in console is called by pressing the F1 key:

You can use it to print user messages from code.

Packing a Final Build for Publishing#

You got used to building your projects via Unity Editor. In UNIGINE, packing a final build is also done via UnigineEditor.

Projects and Files#

Directories and Files#

A project in UNIGINE, just like a Unity project, is stored in its own folder, project settings are stored in the *.project file. There are various subfolders inside the project's folder, where your content and source files as well as various configuration files and binaries are stored. The most important are the data and source sub-folders.

In UNIGINE, each project has a data folder. Similar to a Unity project's Assets folder, this is where your project's assets are stored. To import assets into your project, simply drop files into your project's data directory and they will be automatically imported and appear in the Asset Browser. The assets in the editor will update automatically as you make changes to the files using an external program.

Relationship between the contents of the data folder in your project's root on your computer, and the Project folder in the Asset Browser window

Supported File Types#

Unity software supports a wide range of file formats, while UNIGINE supports the most commonly used and some specific ones:

Asset Types Supported Formats
Geometry .fbx, .obj, .3ds, .dae, .glb/.gltf, .stp/.step, .igs/.iges, .brep, .stl
Textures .png, .jpeg, .tif, .tga, .rgba, .psd, .hdr, .dds, and more
Sound and Video .wav, .mp3, .oga/.ogg, .ogv
Fonts .ttf

Bringing Your Assets from Unity Software#

Notice
If you import a group of assets containing .meta description files (for example, from a Unity project), there might be warnings in the Console due to unsupported file format. Upon import completion, all contents in .meta files in the UNIGINE project folder will be replaced with UNIGINE native asset metadata. Source files will not be affected.

Meshes

You can import an asset you used in Unity software to UNIGINE if you have it as an FBX model. When importing the FBX model to UNIGINE, check the required import options depending on the model.

UNIGINE uses the same units (meters) as Unity software, so you don't need to rescale meshes.

Materials

Similar to Unity software, UNIGINE works with PBR materials and supports both Metalness and Specular workflows (similar to Unity materials based on the Standard and Standard (Specular Setup) shaders), a rich out-of-the-box library of materials enables to create almost any material. Similar to Shader Graph in Unity software you can use UNIGINE's Material Graph Editor to create your own materials visually simply by adding and connecting nodes and building a graph! Materials created for your model in Unity software can be re-created in UNIGINE using Material Graphs or a sort of PBR uber-material called mesh_base material.

When importing your models, UnigineEditor will try to automatically recreate materials for them along with the textures they use. This works good in majority of cases, however, sophisticated materials may have to be re-assembled using the Material Graphs, but that won't take much time!

Textures

Textures can be imported as a part of a model or separately and then applied to a mesh. To import textures, you might have to do some adjustments in advance. For example, the Shading texture in UNIGINE stores the metalness, roughness, specular, and microfiber maps in its corresponding channels, so you need to modify the texture using third-party software, such as GIMP or Photoshop, and then import it to UNIGINE.

To import the Normal texture, you should invert the G channel. This can be done while importing the texture (or even later) by using the Invert G Channel setting.

Animations

You can import a bone-animated model you used in Unity software to UNIGINE if you have it as an FBX model. While importing the FBX model, enable the Import Animations option and fine-tune the import using additional options.

For more details, see import recommendations.

Scene#

The concept of the Scene in both engines is the same. However, Unity software and UNIGINE use different coordinate systems.

Unity softwareUNIGINE

Unity Coordinate System (left-handed)

Unity software uses a left-handed coordinate system where the vertical direction is usually represented by the +Y axis.

One unit is one meter.

Axes and Directions:

  • X — right (+), left (-)
  • Y — up (+), down (-)
  • Z — forwards (+), backwards (-)

Positive rotation angle sets the rotation clockwise.

File format: *.scene

UNIGINE Coordinate System (right-handed)

UNIGINE uses a right-handed coordinate system where the vertical direction is usually represented by the +Z axis.

One unit is one meter.

Axes and Directions:

  • X — right (+), left (-)
  • Y — forwards (+), backwards (-)
  • Z — up (+), down (-)

Positive rotation angle sets the rotation counterclockwise.

File format: *.world

Scene Objects#

This section gives a brief description of basic scene objects in both engines as well as their basic similarities and differences.

Unity softwareUNIGINE

Hierarchy window


Basic scene object — GameObject.

GameObjects are containers for all other Components. Components add functionality to the GameObject.

Every GameObject has the Transform component by default.

GameObjects can be organized into a hierarchy (parent-child relation).

World Nodes Hierarchy window


Node is a basic type from which all types of scene objects are inherited. Some of them appear visually: Objects, Decals, and Effects — they all have surfaces to represent their geometry (mesh), while others (Light Sources, Players, etc.) are invisible.

Basic functionality of a node is determined by its type. Additional functionality can be added using properties and a component system.

Each node has a transformation matrix, which encodes its position, rotation, and scale in the world.

Nodes can be organized into a hierarchy (parent-child relation).

Notice
All scene objects added to the scene regardless of their type are called nodes.

Prefabs#

The workflow in Unity software is based on prefabs. It is usual for you to assemble a complex object from GameObjects with certain components and properties and create a prefab from such object. Prefabs can then be placed in your world via Editor, or instantiated at run time.

UNIGINE's workflow is based on Node References that are very similar to prefabs. In order to make a complex object to be instanced in your world, you just build the desired hierarchy from nodes, assign materials and properties to them, and save it as a Node Reference. Then you can use this node reference as many times as necessary and, just like with the prefabs, modify the node reference by changing any of its instances.

Notice
Node References support nesting as well, so you can build complex hierarchies easily.

To learn more about creating Node References and managing them, please follow the link below:

How to Collaborate?#

Unity Editor provides the Smart Merge tool and support for custom tools for resolving conflicts when merging results of teamwork. Scenes and other files should use the YAML format in order to be merged.

In UNIGINE, all native file formats are text-based by default, so you can use SVN Plugin that serves to simplify work with the version control system (SVN) as well as any VCS you got used to and merge worlds, nodes, and other assets.

You can extend the file system to keep the shared assets by using Mount Points. Also, a normal workflow is to split work of different team members using separate Node Layers, so there will be no need to match the conflicted files when merging the project modifications.

Check out the following articles for more details:

Cameras#

Cameras, the entities essential for rendering, are treated slightly differently in both engines.

In Unity software, Camera component is responsible for capturing a view and sending it to render. All enabled cameras present in the scene are rendered in the viewport (Game View) and may overlap each other. To switch between cameras, one usually needs to toggle off the current camera and enable the other one.

In UNIGINE, the Camera is a rendering-related object and implemented by the Player nodes in the world. There are several player types with different behaviour provided in order to simplify creation of the most commonly used cameras controlled via the input devices (keyboard, mouse, joystick):

  • Dummy is a simple camera wrapper. You can use it for static cameras or enhance with custom logic.
  • Spectator is a free flying camera.
  • Persecutor is a flying camera that has the target and orbits it at the specified distance. It is a ready-to-use simple solution for a third-person camera.
  • Actor is a player that is capable of providing physical interaction with scenery. It has a rigid physical body, which is approximated with a capsule shape. It is a ready-to-use simple solution for a first-person character similar to Unity Character Controller.

Only one player can be rendered into the viewport at a moment. To switch between cameras in the Editor Viewport of the UnigineEditor, use the Camera panel:

By checking the Main Player flag of a player you set the default player, which will be rendered when the scene is loaded in the Play mode.

Project Settings#

Overall project settings adjustment in Unity Editor is usually done via the Project Settings window (menu: Edit > Project Settings). The Audio, Graphics, Physics, Quality levels and other settings affect the whole project.

In UNIGINE, the Common Settings and Preferences are available via Windows -> Settings menu in the Runtime section. The World settings are set for each world separately.

Shader Compilation#

In Unity Editor, Asynchronous Shader compilation is toggled on and off in the Editor settings (menu: Edit > Project Settings > Editor > Shader Compilation).

In UNIGINE, a similar editor feature, Forced Shader Compilation, is available via both the toolbar and the Editor section of the Settings window.

Presets#

You use Presets in Unity Editor when you need to reuse property settings that have bearing to different tasks, be it component settings, import settings or especially Project Settings. You can save the settings preset for a certain section of the Project Settings as a .preset asset and reuse in development later.

Presets are an Editor-only feature in Unity software.

In UNIGINE, you can save and load presets for general physics, sound and render settings. The presets are stored as assets with the *.physics, *.sound and *.render extensions respectively. Use Load and Save .* asset buttons of the Settings window to work with presets of the corresponding settings section.

Saved assets appear in the Asset Browser. You can load the render settings by double-clicking the required .render asset.

Notice
By default, a UNIGINE project provides settings for low, medium, high, ultra and virtual reality quality presets stored in the data/template_render_settings folder.

Presets are not an Editor-only feature in UNIGINE. You can use Physics, Sound and Render classes to manage presets for corresponding settings, for example, to switch between quality levels at run time.

Graphics#

In Unity Editor, settings for graphics quality are mostly gathered in the following sections:

  • The Graphics section contains global settings for graphics. The Tier Settings provide platform-specific adjustments to rendering and shader compilation. One of the three Tier levels to be applied is defined automatically based on the platform used.
  • The Quality section handles levels of graphical quality defined for each platform.

In UNIGINE, the rendering settings of the world can be found in the Render section of the Settings window. You can also toggle on and off the most common render features by using the Rendering menu:

There is no platform-dependent quiality adjustments in UNIGINE, you should write your own logic to control the quality levels. You can use Render Presets for this purpose.

Let's consider the most commonly used rendering settings in Unity software and their corresponding analogs in UNIGINE:

Unity software UNIGINE
HDR Mode Render -> Buffers -> Color 16F
Rendering Path see below
Shaders Preloading shaders_preload console command
Pixel Light Count Forward Per-Object Limits
Texture Quality Render -> Textures -> Quality
Anisotropic Textures Render -> Textures -> Anisotropy
Anti Aliasing Render -> Antialiasing -> Supersampling
Soft Particles particles_base -> Soft Interaction
Realtime Reflection Probes Menu: Rendering -> Dynamic Reflections -> Enabled
Texture Streaming Render -> Streaming Settings
Shadows Render -> Shadows Settings
Shadow Cascades set per each World Light source
VSync Count Runtime -> Video settings

Rendering Paths#

Unity software provides two non-legacy lighting and shading workflows: Deferred and Forward Rendering Paths defining the shading fidelity, as well as the rendering consumption and required hardware. You can choose the rendering path that your Project uses in the Graphics window, and you can override that path for each Camera.

UNIGINE has the fixed Rendering Sequence represented by a combination of a full deferred renderer with forward rendering techniques:

  • All opaque (non-transparent) geometry is rendered in the deferred pass.
  • Transparent geometry is rendered in the forward pass.

You can reduce computational load by skipping certain rendering stages. Watch the dedicated video tutorial on using the Microprofile tool to optimize rendering:

Post-Processing#

In Unity software, availability of post-processing effects is determined by the render pipeline used. In UNIGINE, similar effects are not a part of Post-processing but are integrated into the Rendering Sequence. Thus, Unity High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP) is much closer to the rendering workflow in UNIGINE, than other render pipelines.

In Unity software the Volume framework is used to define the volumes where post-processing parameters and effects are locally (or globally) overridden. In UNIGINE you will have to write your own logic to smoothly interpolate between settings at different spaces (if such a requirement appears).

Notice
UNIGINE offers a number of materials to create image postprocessing effects out of the box. They can be applied both globally and per camera.

This section lists all common Unity post-processing techniques that can be achieved in UNIGINE as well regardless of render pipeline.

Post-Processing Effects#
Unity software UNIGINE
Anti-aliasing methods:
  • FXAA
  • TAA
  • SMAA
  • MSAA
Anti-aliasing methods:
Ambient Occlusion Screen-Space Ambient Occlusion
Auto Exposure Camera Effects:
White Balance
Tonemapping
Bloom
Chromatic Aberration
Grain
Vignette
Color Grading:
  • Tone
  • Lookup Texture
Deferred Fog Haze
Depth of Field Depth of Field
Motion Blur Motion Blur
Screen Space Reflection SSR
Contact Shadows Screen Space Shadows
Micro Shadows Cavity of SSAO

What's Next?#

Where to go from here?

Make sure you don't miss the subtopics of this guide:

Thank you for reading the guide! You can proceed to the following sections for further learning:

Last update: 2023-12-19
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