Auto-Building Add-on - Tutorial

[@juliengauthier6379]

An update with a lot of small new features, better stability and functions will arrive soon, with support for 4.0. Please stay tune :)

[@moravianlion3108]

Excited to see you expanding on this!

[@Lololemono]

Cet addon a l'air super, j'en cherche un justement (et pour des maisons aussi) , et, semblerait-il fait par un français 👌

[@boundthugg.mp4]

Greatest of all time.

[@sameeruddin]

This tutorial literally sums it all, It is the best and most planned Building generator addon in blender . i have a few others , but playing with this even as a noob i know that the coding and planning behind this is pure genius . Thank you for all the work you put behind this addon !

[@juliengauthier6379]

Thank you so much Sameer, glad you find it's useful :)

[@kentjensen4504]

This is terrible. I just purchased the pro version. The simple text tutorial tells me to install the addon like any other add-on. It says "Select the autobuilding_1.0.0_Addon.zip file." BUT THERE IS NO ADDON.ZIP file! And why do you presume that people just know how to do everything you tell us to do in that text file? Why not make a youtube video showing us how to do everythign with the add.on, settings, asset browser, etc?

[@juliengauthier6379]

Apologies for that, Since I wrote the text file the name of the Zip changed from autobuilding_1.0.0_Addon.zip to autobuilding_1.1.4_Windows.zip (depending of your OS) . But I thought it would be okay since it's like the only Zip file you can get.. Please send me questions by email or on the discord forum I created. You will get better support than on youtube comment. :)

[@kentjensen4504]

@@juliengauthier6379 Thanks, I got it to work now. Your work looks amazing.

[@TheTommyMadDog]

Magnifique travail Julien ! Je vais m'empresser d'aller y jeter un oeil ! Bravo ! ;)

[@PostProdTime]

That's awesome keep up the good work Julien ! ❤

[@gui205]

This is the most advanced, complete, sophisticated tool, yet so easy to use. I spent hours having fun with it, the comparison with legos is perfect, it’s exactly the feeling I found, I sometimes have fun creating assets just to see the result I can get with auto-building! C'est le tool le plus abouti, complet, perfectionné et pourtant si simple à prendre en main. J'ai passé des heures à m'amuser avec, la comparaison avec les legos est parfaite, c'est exactement le sentiment que j'ai retrouvé, je m'amuse parfois à créer des assets juste pour voir le résultat que je peux avoir avec sur auto-building ! Merci

[@carlossuarez9272]

Please make a tutorial just explaining how to make the proper UV Mapping for the texture maps. We really appreciate it Thanks

[@juliengauthier6379]

I'm not sure what you are asking. Please contact me on Blender Market, I'll try to help you :) There is no really any secret about the way I handle UV here but maybe you are experiencing some bug I'm not aware of yet?

[@ThaimachineFilms]

can u add your own buildings? and it customized it with this generator? replacing your with my own

[@massimodefrancisco2349]

Hello there, does this plugin works on Blender 4.2? Thank you and great job!

[@creationwithbeast12]

Please, create a video from scratch on how to use this addon using your own assets it's hard to use it, I asked most of my friends they said we bought it but never used once tried but it's so confusing and not working at the same time, so there are many people like me.

[@juliengauthier6379]

Yes I'm planning to do that. But it would look almost exactly as this one except that I would show how to make the windows and doors instead of starting with them already in the scene. These are basic blender skills (modelling and texturing) that you can learn elsewhere too, I'm not sure how it can help. You can prepare your pieces with whatever technic you want (from model library like megascan if you want) or make them yourself. The only important part is to make sure they are in collections, with the correct orientations. Please reach out if you encounter specific problem or questions, there is a discord where people help each other too :)

[@creationwithbeast12]

@@juliengauthier6379 Sorry If I make things complicated to understand, my point is that after creating assets or kit it's hard to use everything that is in the collection. Please share the discord link I would love to join. 🤗

[@juliengauthier6379]

@@creationwithbeast12 Sure! You can get the link with the files of the add-on. If you explain what part is confusing I can try to keep that in mind for the next tutorial :)

[@creationwithbeast12]

@@juliengauthier6379 Cool, I will join from there. What we all are facing When I asked all my friends they facing the same issue after creating Windows, Gate, or Roof it's not working like it is flipped, it's hard to understand how boolean things work and other things so that's why I requested to create a tutorial from scratch after creating individual kit what to do next how booleans and everything works correctly.

[@LambvisionGaming]

Does this addon allow floors and stairs holes for stairs for buildings you want to walk in or is it just for outside look

[@RADXRADX-b5h]

你好！ 我记得在早期版本中，似乎在将编程模型转换为网格后，地图丢失了（或者无法导出，我忘记了）。 我想知道当前版本是否可以将FBX和地图完全导出到UE等其他软件？ 谢谢！

[@phawse]

This looks great, i bought your first version last year. Can you do a short tutorial how to merge and export so that i can use these in my game engine? i am having issues figuring out how to export a building into an fbx or gltf as a single item. I'll definitely buy this again if that can be done. But i cant use it if i cant export the buildings.

[@juliengauthier6379]

For the exporting I don't have a specific tutorial but you can maybe find some info here: auto-building.readthedocs.io/en/latest/baking.html I'm not sure what are the specificity for your engine but in the latest version the UV can be auto generated. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions regarding your need :) We can try to figure something out

[@wwitness]

How many variations of sky scrapers can I make with this? also can I easily export buildings to UE5?

[@juliengauthier6379]

There is only 1 preset available for the sky scraper but the idea is that it would be a base to easily make variations by swapping material or input objects. To export to UE5 you will have to apply the modifier and use fbx. Plugin such as Embeded to bridge Blender and UE5 also works. Although the presets may not be Export ready and some of them use custom blender nodes that cannot be easily exported. You will have to bake the maps. Hope it helps!

[@kenchin415]

bro like can we do them on our own assets we make?

[@dawkinsm]

Hi Julien - this looks like an extremely powerful add-on. One question I have is does this allow you to create usable STL files that can be 3D printed? Thanks.

[@juliengauthier6379]

I'm not sure about the 3D printing requirements but I reckon somebody mentioned they will be using my add-on for that purpose. If you reach out in private via Blender Market I can send you a sample model if you want to have a look or do some test :)

[@spaehling]

Not sure if its a bug or expected behaviour. But if you add a custom mesh, the UV Map needs to be named correct to "UVMap". My custom meshes had their own UV Map names like "map1". That cause the auto generated UV's to stop working. I did multiple tests. As soon if there is one mesh, with a different UV-Map name, the auto uv's stop working. I guess there is not really a fix for that, expect of renaming the uvmap. Its quickly done, so no major issue. But something good to know.

[@user-dingydee]

Was blown away when I picked the full version up 2 days ago. This is already helping me with level design in ue5!

[@juliengauthier6379]

Glad to hear! Did you try the Altermesh plugin or did you bake the building before exporting to UE? I'm interested to know more about the process since people are asking me about that too.

[@Imad_Hamouda]

@@juliengauthier6379 Yes, I tried it. The project can be exported in fbx format, then returned to Blender and modified uv. When you export it the first time, an error occurs in uv.

[@user-dingydee]

@@juliengauthier6379 wow i was actually completely unaware of the Altermesh plugin. Will definitely have to check into that workflow as level design/world building works better with as few layers in between as possible (importing, exporting, and the like). Actually I have been baking the building and using them as static meshes for city-planning. The auto-building addon atm lets our team block out exterior levels quickly (non-destructively) and manually create interiors in Unreal (basic blocking out shapes/destructive workflow for gameplay).

[@user-dingydee]

@@juliengauthier6379 The more I look into altermesh the more i'm amazed! Have you had any luck porting your auto-building addon to UE5 via altermesh?

[@dogkun20]

Are you god? Ill buy this as soon i get paid xd

[@joepeezly]

What a tool... I'm going to jump in soon and I'm really excited. I'm going to try to make some slightly whimsical, cylindrical buildings for a unique feel. Wish me luck :P

[@kentjensen4504]

THERE IS NO ADD.ZIP FILE IN THE DOWNLOAD I PAID FOR!

[@juliengauthier6379]

Hello :) Instead of complaining in a youtube comment, please contact me with your question, it would be more efficient. I'll help you find the zip file and answer you questions as much as I can. There is a also a discord link with the files you get where you can ask questions. There is a detailed documentation with screenshots and gifs to help with the install of the add-on and asset browser. It's in the link of this video and in the product page: auto-building.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ The .zip file I'm talking about is the one called autobuilding_1.1.4_Windows.zip The name changed because the version changed so I apologies for the mismatch of the name in the text file. There is one available for each platform, Windows, Mac, Linux. Hopefully you can find the one you need. :)

[@rdvanuyank2880]

Worked! enjoy a new subscriber!

[@HugoCortell]

This is honestly amazing! I can't wait to use this. As a non-artist, I am glad that this tool is so clear to use, great job on the user experience. I'll definitely be making use of this for level design in Unreal. A question: Are there any plans to add very simple interiors? As in, just a boolean hole inside with some walls randomly scattered about.

[@TiffanyLouis-q3v]

hii! quick question, is it possible to add a third empty (C) in the wall setup? or add more setup like wall (i)?

[@SacWebDeveloper]

Awesome work! Is there a way to make door and windows fill the height of a floor (i.e. skyscrapers and homes designed with modern architectural design)? How about stone columns on building fronts as seen in neo-classical architecture?

[@P1nkN0ise]

What add-on are you using to have a pie menu that selects all the vertices of two separate windows at 8:35

[@juliengauthier6379]

It's a custom pie menu call Heavy Poly. But it only enters into edit mode when I do it. All the vertices are selected because they probably were already selected last time I was in edit mode with them.

[@P1nkN0ise]

@@juliengauthier6379 thx ill check it out

[@hoanglongnguyen4680]

The building has UV??

[@carlossuarez9272]

When I try to use the Smart UV Projection the texture get wrong. It's a shame but it's only useed for blender.

[@juliengauthier6379]

The UV are automatically generated in a recent update, using a triplanar mapping method.

[@krysidian]

It seems like I cannot change the thickness of a sloped roof, is there something I'm missing?

[@madrid3d]

wauuuuwww!!!👏👏👏

[@jack02krauser]

Hi, it is not creating creases for me. I have tinkered and followed the tutorial, but the objects do no t spawn at all

[@juliengauthier6379]

Hello, apologies for the issue. If you are using 3.6 please look at the FAQ on Blender Market, if you use 4.0 or above, please contact me, we can figure this out :) Maybe there is a bug I can fix for future version.

[@jack02krauser]

@@juliengauthier6379 hi, I am on 3.8, haven't updated in a while. Sure I would like to get in contact to solve it, since creases is one of the key features of this awesome pack.

[@juliengauthier6379]

@@jack02krauser If you meant 3.6, you can have a look at the FAQ there is a little something to change since Blender started working differently with the Crease attribute from 4.0 :) If it doesnt work please contact me on Discord or email, we can figure this out.

[@jack02krauser]

@@juliengauthier6379 Hello again, I did what the FAQ said, and worked. thanks!: Creases on not working with Blender 3.6 The attribute crease changed name between 3.6 and 4.0. You have to go in the Config menu and change the create attribute name from crease_edge to crease

[@sameeruddin]

can we add glass textures to the window and light the sturcture from inside, i am trying it out with the addon , i guess my booleans are not right maybe

[@juliengauthier6379]

Yes we can :) if the booleans are not working it's maybe due to duplicated ID_Boolean material. Please contact me on the discord channel or by email so we figure this out :)

[@sameeruddin]

@@juliengauthier6379 i will post on discord..Thank you julien !

[@ThaimachineFilms]

you have discord channel?

[@I.Am.Supervic]

The crease doesn't show anything for me, any solution? Also the setting is different from the one on the tutorial

[@juliengauthier6379]

This may be due to Blender 3.6, please see the FAQ regarding that. Or if it's something else, please message me in the discord channel or Blender Market, we will figure this out :)

[@rygib1096]

Hi just a quick question I noticed on gumroad this addon for full version is more expensive than on the actual blender addons website, just wondering if this is intentional? as one says 60 dollars and the other says 45? Just a bit confused and don't weant to get less as I would like the full full version. Can anyone advise?

[@nocturnalzephyr]

The one on Gumroad is in Canadian dollars and the one on Blender is in US Dollars. They're the same thing for the same value, just different currencies.

[@RADXRADX-b5h]

Hello! Hello! I remember in an earlier version, it seemed that after converting the programmatic model to a grid, the texture was lost (or could not be exported, I forgot). I wonder if the current version can fully export FBX and maps to other software such as UE? Thank you!

[@juliengauthier6379]

Indeed, in older version of Geometry node, UV were not preserved when Realizing the Instances, which was important to export. Now it works well so in 1.2 I added an option use an auto Unwrap function, or manual unwrapping if you need something specific for your walls :) Also, Embeded or Altermesh plugin for UE were both tested and working with my add-on if you don't want to have to export the buildings as fbx.

[@RADXRADX-b5h]

@@juliengauthier6379 Great, amazing, magical！

[@SalphythePhisher]

How do you change the texel density/scale of the auto Unwrapped UVS for this add-on?

[@mrxcs]

You could use another add-on like UVPackmaster.

[@revotiva]

can i do my own buildings and use this generator, or can use their buildings only?

[@juliengauthier6379]

The provided buildings are just example to show the possibilities. It was mainly main to help you make your own buildings :)

[@revotiva]

Oh wow, I will get it deffinly, thank you cool addon

[@lokyloky3420]

just wow ! O__O

[@fredlyn9898]

DDDUUUDDEEEE!!!!!

[@user-dingydee]

Hi again, hope you’re doing well. I was wondering if you’d have a video tutorial (whether it be marketplace specific or just on KZbin) about making your own assets and turning them into auto-building assets for your own use?

[@juliengauthier6379]

Hello :) I don't have a video specifically for that. The tutorial assume you already know how to model and do the materials. There are no special hidden technics. In this one I made a texture atlas and imported them as plane, then cut and extruded the part out of it.^^ So I made them ahead of time for this tutorial. But there is nothing really fancy. I'll suggest using simple low poly geometries if you are not sure at the beginning. You can always edit your windows and such. Since it's all procedural the building will be updated if you improve from low poly parts to more complex ones. Feel free to join the discord if you have specific questions too! :D

[@user-dingydee]

@@juliengauthier6379 Absolutely, will join that discord! Our small team is well versed in the PBR workflow and asset creation, but we haven't fully jumped into replacing/making assets with auto-building (so much time has been spent on game mechanics, ai path finding, and gameplay itself). Really appreciate your message again. Wishing you the best!

[@tuletarsden5789]

@@juliengauthier6379 which discord? :) I've been trying to find it for 15 minutes, without luck