Crocotile 3D - a new 3d modeling tool that acts like a 2d tilemap editor!

[AlexHW]

Just thought I would chime in and mention that I have released a new 3d tool Crocotile 3D
I designed it to work like a 2d tilemap editor. So you can easily create 3d scenes using tiles from tilesets (there's a video on the website showing how it works).
It would be great if people can try it out and give me their feedback. You can download it for free to test it out.
Also would be great to see what others create with it!
Here are a couple examples I created! It definitely makes 3d more enjoyable for me.

[Cheetah]

I'm very impressed by this. Can your files be easily ported into Blender and other such programs? Any chance of an OSX release?

[||||]

That looks really great for 3d stuff!

[Mr. Fahrenheit]

Damn, that stuff is beautiful! 

[AlexHW]

I'm very impressed by this. Can your files be easily ported into Blender and other such programs? Any chance of an OSX release?

It can export to .obj format which most programs support. I will be looking at implementing other export options in the future.
As for an OSX release, I plan to setup a virtual machine to test that. If I can get it working, then yes.

Thanks for the comments. If there is anything anyone doesn't like about the program or anything you think could be improved, that would be useful to know. I've become comfortable using it so it's difficult for me to look at it with fresh eyes.

[Ai]

Looks interesting. I'll see if I can get it running in a Windows VM, later.
Do you plan on supporting multiple keymaps? Because some of these keys are not very usable on Colemak layout: WASD, QE. I guess AZERTY users would also have problems with those combinations of keys.

[Probo]

looks great, would love to see a panning shot of that island with the tree.

[AlexHW]

Looks interesting. I'll see if I can get it running in a Windows VM, later.
Do you plan on supporting multiple keymaps? Because some of these keys are not very usable on Colemak layout: WASD, QE. I guess AZERTY users would also have problems with those combinations of keys.

hmm.. I hadn't thought about that. Perhaps I should allow the user the ability to configure which keys do what, if they need to. Would that be good?

[Ai]

hmm.. I hadn't thought about that. Perhaps I should allow the user the ability to configure which keys do what, if they need to. Would that be good?

That might be necessary, I guess, given that new layouts are still being created. (My suggestion of just a choice between preset keymaps was intended as a solution that would be able to address a majority of layouts in use while keeping things simple; but I admit I have not done any research to find out how many keymaps that might require.)

[hawken]

I would pay for an OSX version of this or a plugin for Cinema4D that does the same.

[Indigo]

This really is impressive, Alex.  I hope this gets traction for you.  What was it made in?

[AlexHW]

Thanks I hope so too. The interest in the program has been more than I had expected.
It is made with javascript and three.js

[rikfuzz]

Great work, Alex - was sold when I watched the video!  Bought and downloading now.

[API-Beast]

Reminds me a lot to how terrain was handled in Knights and Merchants.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/a/img24/7548/ai9g.jpg

Would love to see this in a game.

[AlexHW]

Mac version is available now!
version 1.0.6 adds a few things. Mouse buttons can be changed, added a show ruler option, plus other changes/fixes. See the changelog for details.

[Ryumaru]

This is really awesome. I haven't always been a fan of low poly/ low res stuff, but this is starting to sway me.

What about the option to import backgrounds/ change the backdrop color? It would be cool to have pixeled skyboxes or just stationary images in there as you work to get a better sense of how the map would feel in game.

What other features do you plan on adding? It looks solid already, but I'd be excited to see it's progress.

 

[AlexHW]

@Ryumaru , I never was able to really immerse myself in 3d modeling in the past- I think it was due to the workflow that standard modeling apps have. But I had this idea, and it makes it more enjoyable for me. Someone described the Crocotile 3d process as backwards; Creating the texture and then building the model from that- basically doing it backwards from the standard method of creating the model and then texturing it. I think that is why a pixel-artist can find it fun, because at the very beginning you are applying the texture.

I have thought about including the option to change the background- skyboxes also have been suggested by someone else. I plan to implement those features.

There have been suggestions to improve the tileset/texture window- such as adding the ability to zoom it, better panning controls, and possibly allowing it to separate into its own window. So I'll be looking into those things.

I also originally had the thought of allowing the tilesets to be editable(drawing on them), but I'm hesitant to add such features since it could just bloat the program with features it doesn't need, since everyone has their own drawing programs they use already. Maybe somewhere down the line I might try implementing a simple lightweight drawing editor to make tweaks to the tileset.

There are other things I plan to implement.
If anyone has suggestions for features, I'll consider them too.

[Cheetah]

Thanks for the Mac OSX version! I have been messing around with it for a bit, definitely takes some time to adjust to the controls. Here are some thoughts.

1) When zooming out on the OSX version the polys and even primary vertex disappear and there is just a black screen until you zoom in more. Appears to be a glitch.
2) Detachable Tile screen and having a zoom will be key.
3) Making buttons for more of the controls will be good, just too many keys right now.
4) Orthographic project. This needs to be an option for how you view stuff.

More thoughts about how I would use this personally. I think this tool would be amazing for making isometric maps in the style of Final Fantasy Tactics.



I think having the option to lock a base layer to build off of, and to have basic isometric views to easily rotate around with would make thinks much easier. There are also common isometric shapes that are a bit cumbersome to make with your current options (like a single unit pyramid). I get the idea of painting with tiles, instead of painting starting with shapes, but having a few basic shapes that you can quickly apply tiles onto might make things more efficient. I'm hoping to reproduce a FFT map in the next few days to test things out.

[AlexHW]

@Cheetah , you can set the camera frustum far plane higher in the settings (f1 key) to see more of the space when you zoom out.
Seems like improving the tileset window and adding buttons/ui seem to be popular requests- so I'll make that my focus.

Orthographic projection is something I haven't thought about, but now that you mention it- it sounds like it could be useful. I don't think it would be too difficult to implement.
As for shape presets.. I'm trying to imagine what benefit it would give. How many presets would there be? As an alternative, you can make your own shapes and simply copy paste them. Now that I think more about it- it might be better to just allow the user to create their own presets which get added to some preset list- kind of how some drawing software have custom brushes.
I'll have to think about how to implement it.

[Seiseki]

Just wanted to chime in and say that this looks amazing, huge fan of 3D pixel art..

[kullenberg]

That looks fantastic. It greatly reminds me of how you create sprite based objects in Build for Duke Nukem, except that you can turn them on an angle aswell.

[AlexHW]

Thanks Seiseki and kullenberg.
I remember my feeble attempts at making maps for quake2, SiN, half-life and others years ago- was fun to just be able to walk around in places I made.
I went to a game meeting today and showed crocotile3d. Social gatherings always leave me feeling empty.

I've been working on the tilemap window- putting it into its own window. Seems to make it feel more like an app.

[AlexHW]

v1.0.8 now puts the tileset area into its own window with zoom ability and scrollbars. Window positions/sizes get saved when app closes.
Also added a context menu to access editing commands (right click in edit mode). This will make it a bit less reliant on the keyboard.
Check changelog for other changes, fixes.

I will need to create a new video at some point.

[Cheetah]

Major Error on OSX. I downloaded and opened the newest version. I doesn't show up in my Dock in the bottom or my opened applications in the "Force Quite" menu. ESC and Command/Control +Q are not closing the program. In desperation to close the program I pushed the fullscreen modes on the program and tile selector, I also can not collapse those. How do I close out of your program without restarting my computer?

PS: Feature suggestion, being able to change the palette of the selected tiles so that if you have a repeating tile with different colors you can just change the palette and not have a whole other tile. Old school.

[AlexHW]

Thanks for the report Cheetah, I sent you a pm with some questions.
I'll deactivate the dl for 1.0.8 osx version until I've figured out the issue.

Edit: Okay so if I understand- it was the fullscreen mode that was giving you trouble. I had the fullscreen key disabled, and I didn't think anyone would be able to get into fullscreen mode, but perhaps that is not the case on a mac. So I have enabled fullscreen key(f11), and I also made the Esc key for quitting(it should still ask if you are sure you want to quit).
Hopefully this will solve the issue of becoming stuck in fullscreen mode.
v1.0.8b is available.
edit: also changed a window setting in osx version- so it should show up in dock now.

[Ryumaru]

Hey Alex, I saw the v1.0.19 update video, awesome stuff. Love what you did with the background  Not only does it look better, but it makes you feel like you're already in a world, and all you need to do is create stuff to fill it up!

Does the registration purpose include future updates?

[AlexHW]

Thanks Ryumaru! Yes, your registration key/activation will work with any future updates.

There has been a lot of Japanese people downloading the program lately. They seem to have a big interest in it. I'm thinking I'll try to offer a language option in the future.

[AlexHW]

Linux version is now available!

[AlexHW]

Crocotile 3D v1.1.0 is now available!
This version adds new Paint tools. This helps with modeling objects and skinning them without leaving the program.
There is also new documentation included that outlines everything in the program.

I created this bunny all in Crocotile 3D:

[Theoden]

I created this bunny all in Crocotile 3D:

This looks amazing. I have been tracking Crocotile since its early releases and it's great to see how it gets better and better.

[Gil]

I'm waiting for this to mature a bit before tackling it. I think it's about time now

[AlexHW]

Thanks Theoden!
@Gil , I think it is at a pretty good state to begin creating some stuff with. The paint features really help a lot with planning the texture while you work if you don't have a finalized texture to use yet. If you decide to use it, feedback is much appreciated- I'm sure there are various things that could be improved still.
I'm working on adding some features to group tiles together to create objects/prefabs that you can drop into the scene, but I'm taking a short break at the moment. I'll probably have those features ready sometime in September.

[surt]

Is there on-model texture painting yet?

[AlexHW]

Is there on-model texture painting yet?

Not currently.. It's something I'm interested in adding though once I think of a good way to handle it.

[AlexHW]

Crocotile 3D v1.2.0 is now available!
This version introduces new features that allow grouping tiles together into objects/prefabs. These can then be placed as instances into the scene, allow changes to one to be made to all instances. More details can be found in the howto documentation. Also, some bugs have been fixed- check the changelog for more info.
Here's a video showing me creating stairs using some of the new features.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8Mxoofks_Y
and a gif of the result:


also, whoever it was that replied recently, I was going to say thanks, but it appears your message was removed?

[AlexHW]

v.1.2.1 is now available!
Biggest change is the new keybinding system that allows more flexibility with key configuration, and should make additional features easier to implement. Also fixed some bugs and added other stuff, see below. There was also a 1.2.0b update that fixed an issue with loading scenes if you missed that.

Added: New keybinding system. Read help file for more information and also be sure to report any bugs or issues if you find any.
Added: Ability to rotate selection clockwise/counter-clockwise when holding Shift key and pressing Q,E.
Added: Hold space in tileset tab now allows panning of the tileset if zoomed in.
Added. Option to move crosshair to an object's origin point found in an object's menu when right-clicking an instance.
Added: Rename object points except for the origin.
Added: Subdivide tiles into columns and rows.
Added: Pixel resolution and window size can be configured in the settings.
Fixed: Sometimes applying a UV to an existing tile or copying the UV from a tile would accidentally draw or erase tiles if the mouse was dragged in the process.
Fixed: Moving the origin point of a prefab object would cause issues when rotating tiles immediately afterwards.
Added: Experimental normal map and height map image generation of prefab objects, accessed by right-clicking objects in the Scene tab.

[surt]

You know that the itch.io page says that it's "free" and "name your own price" but the web page says you have to register for $10?

[AlexHW]

Yeah, I don't think I can change that since it's part of itch's system. I do mention on the itch page that you need to register at crocotile3d to activate save/exporting.. If people pay $10 on itch, I send a key to them manually- otherwise it's automatic through crocotile3d.com. Maybe I need to make that clearer..
It's free to download and test out before deciding if you want to register.

[TGHoly]

amazing program i love it It also easy to use just only need some practice.

[AlexHW]

Thanks TGHoly!

released another update!

v.1.2.3
Fixed: Program would become unresponsive and crash when quitting if new scene was created previously.
Fixed: Selecting vertices with the marquee would sometimes not work.
Fixed: Moving tiles that are a part of an object at the same time with tiles that are not a part of an object would move them in different directions.
Added: Crosshair arrows can now move Objects.
Added: Textures can now be double-sided by pressing number 9 on keyboard. This toggles double-sided mode on/off for the currently selected tileset. This is more of a temporary solution for those requesting the feature.

v.1.2.2
Fixed: Mouse wheel wasn't working for zooming.
Fixed: Resizing tileset would mess up UVs for objects.
Fixed: Object points would appear larger when using a lower resolution.
Added: Options to select/deselect all objects in the scene regardless of type. Accessed in the context-menu by right-clicking the 3d scene.

[IGameArt]

I really like the potential of this, and think after some time I'll probably get more accustomed to the bindings and control schemes, but at the moment it feels a bit clunky, and I keep placing tiles along the wrong axis.  I think improved or automatic placement of the 3d cursor would help with that. But so far the biggest issue i'm having is just getting the tiles to place along the correct axis. I seem to have to constantly rotate the view until the placement is right. Maybe if you could implement a few hotkeys to define what axis to place the tile along?

In any event, I'm really liking the app so far, and as soon as I can, I'll send you cash to unlock it

[AlexHW]

Thanks for the feedback IGameArt! I'll look into an alternative way to control which axis to place tiles on..

released new version:

v.1.2.4
Fixed: Adjusting UVs in Active Edit mode would adjust UVs of unselected faces if their verts were selected.
Added: Merge vertices option on export.
Added: Save/Save As in File menu (moved other buttons into menu as well); File path is now stored so it will save to current document when saving, or open save as dialog box if you choose the Save As menu item.
Added: Save As key binding; ctrl+shift+s
Added: When saving, it will show brief message when save is successful. That way if you press ctrl+s to save, you will know if it has saved.
Fixed: Saving/Loading/Exporting now remembers the current directory.
Fixed: Exporting scene to .obj would fail if consisted of only instances of objects.
Change: Exported scenes with many objects will include each object as a separate group in the .obj file. This is useful if you are importing the .obj into another program and need to keep everything separated.
Added: New export option for .MTL files. This will allow you to import .obj files into other programs and have all the textures applied correctly. This will export every texture too, and the .mtl file will reference these.

[AlexHW]

v.1.2.5
Fixed: Zooming in and out could cause the panning to move too slow or stop completely.
Added: Ctrl+A will now select all faces in the scene if no faces or verts are selected.
Added: Ctrl+shift+A,D to select/deselect all object instances in the scene.
Changed: Pressing delete key will now also delete any object instances that are selected.
Added: If a new version is available, it will notify you when you start the program.

[AlexHW]

Latest version adds some useful stuff, and also allows saving for scenes with up to 100 tiles- This will allow new users a chance to test the program more freely!

Also, there are new details on how to get a free key for crocotile3d by creating a tutorial: http://c3d.xyz/index.php?topic=79.0

v.1.2.6
Change: Unregistered users can now save if the scene has 100 tiles or less (including tiles in objects). This will allow users to test the program more freely before registering.
Added: Tile spacing texture option on export.
Added: Power of two texture option on export.
Added: Tile count info at bottom of scene window.
Added: Export multiple objects (objects listed in the scene tab). To export, go to File > Export Objects.
Fix: brush/eraser tool not drawing with single clicks is now fixed

http://www.Crocotile3d.com

[AlexHW]

v.1.2.7
Change: nwjs version has been updated to improve compatibility on newer operating systems. Please report if you experience issues running the program.
Fix: alt-tabbing would cause keys to stop triggering due to window losing focus while keys are down. This has been fixed.
Fix: notifications for new versions of the program weren't working correctly due to caching.
Fix: Toggling double-sided mode wouldn't work for tiles that were deconstructed from an object.
Fix: Clicking Crosshair Arrows without dragging them after dragging once would add the drag again to the undo stack causing undo to be inaccurate.
Fix: Tileset window not being displayed under other windows.
Change: Tileset window shouldn't display in taskbar unless minimized.
Added: Rotate clockwise and counter-clockwise now accessible via context menu (right-clicking 3d view while in Edit mode).
Added: A shortcut key for toggling crosshair arrows (the X key).

[AlexHW]

v.1.2.7b
Fix: Exporting wasn't working. The updated version of nwjs that crocotile3d uses in v1.2.7 has a bug, but a workaround has been implemented now to solve the problems when exporting.

[AlexHW]

released a new version, also note that I have a patreon page now to help fund crocotile3d development.

v.1.2.8

• Added: New crocotile themed Viewcube for rotating/panning/zooming the scene. Click and drag the crocotile to rotate/pan/zoom. It can also be positioned by dragging the small white transparent circle. Also can hide/show it by right clicking the circle.
• Added: New tile swapping feature. You can swap tiles by selecting tiles in the tileset window and then right-click and dragging them to the desired location. UVs of tiles in the 3d scene will get updated to the new UV locations if their UVs were inside the tile area you are repositioning.
• Added: New UV Padding input boxes in the Tileset window. When you select from the tiles the corresponding UVs that get generated will be padded inwards by the amount set in the input boxes (x,y). This may be useful to prevent pixels bleeding across the edges of tiles.
• Added: Tileset window now has a dropdown list for tilesets. This will allow you to pick your tilesets without having to cycle through them.
• Added: Shortcut keys for cycling through Tilesets (ctrl+[ , ctrl+])
• Added: Middle mouse button for toggling Active Selection mode.
• Added: Mouselocking while rotating/panning/zooming.
• Fix: Copying a tile's UVs to the brush (alt+rightclick in 3d scene in draw mode) would trigger a keyup for the modifier keys. This would potentially cause it to erase tiles instead of copying UVs.
• Fix: Dragging onto tileset canvas would inadvertently select tiles.

[AlexHW]

v.1.2.9

• Added: new Object Mode Constraint option in the settings. When editing an instance of an object, this will prevent selecting/editing of tiles that are not part of the object.
• Changed: The Active selection key binding is now Shift+Enter. There is also a new key binding for the Object Edit mode (Enter). When you select an object instance, you can now simply press Enter to begin editing the object, or Enter to stop editing the object. You may also have to delete your keyconfig.ini file to prevent your old key bindings carrying over to the new version.
• Fixed: It would not select tiles, vertices, objects that were positioned behind invisible objects.
• Fixed: Deleting several hundred tiles at once would freeze the application for a while.
• Fixed: Due to a nw.js bug, the Debug.log file would grow in size everytime the application is closed- Implemented workaround that removes file when starting app.
• Changed: Importing prefab objects will now use the filename as their default name instead of a random number.
• Fixed: Exporting the scene wouldn't work when using only imported prefabs in the scene.
• Fixed: Importing a file that isn't an image for a tileset would break various tileset functionality. Files are now validated to check that they are images.
• Fixed: Clicking off the input boxes in the sub-divide dialog would prevent refocusing the input boxes.
• Fixed: Key bindings should now be disabled during some dialog boxes to prevent key issues.
• Added: Eye icons for objects and layers in the Scene window. These can be clicked to hide/show objects.
• Changed: Context menu will disable menu items for actions that are currently inaccessible. For instance, if no tiles are selected then the Faces menu item will be disabled.
• Fixed: Centering camera now includes selected objects/instances.
• Added: Objects now become highlighted in Scene tab when an Instance is being edited.

[Indigo]

*featured!*

[Mrmo Tarius]

I was following this project for quite a while, but now I'm actually going to try it out... from what I've seen it seems easy to use, and the given examples look absolutely fantastic

[tonydaderp]

Oh hell yea! Gonna recreate some mega man x scenes!

[Powwy]

Really cool artwork, the 1st one has a really unique depth to it.

[AlexHW]

Crocotile 3D has now reached version 1.3.5
Beginning today Crocotile 3D will be available on Steam!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1244040/Crocotile_3D/
There is also a Discord server: https://discord.gg/fmtJdUb

There have been various improvements and additions to the software. You can view the changelog for specific details.
Development continues, and more is planned. Have fun!

[stack096]

Is this comes in OSX version now?