Getting Started

A guide to getting started with Flora.

Before you start painting and converting instances, ensure your materials and shaders are compatible with Flora. For more information, see Shaders And Materials.

Setting Up Flora

1. Import Flora Package: Begin by importing the Flora package from the Unity Asset Store into your Unity project.

2. Run the Install Wizard: After importing, the Flora install wizard will appear. This wizard provides an easy way to install or update Flora.

   • Install Flora: Click the button to install Flora. If Flora is already installed, this button will allow you to reinstall or update to the latest version.

   • Install Sample Scene: Once Flora is installed, a button will become active to install the included sample scene and assets.

You can access the install wizard at any time from the top menu bar by navigating to Flora -> Install Wizard.

Terrain Instances

Flora allows you to render Unity's terrain details and trees efficiently. Follow these steps to set up terrain rendering:

1. Add InstancedTerrainFoliage Component: Attach the InstancedTerrainFoliage component to your Terrain GameObject.

2. Configure Settings: Adjust the component settings to optimize performance and appearance according to your project's needs.

For more detailed information, see the InstancedTerrainFoliage documentation.

Converting GameObjects to Instances

If you have existing GameObjects that you want to render with Flora, you can easily convert them to instances using the scene hierarchy context menu:

1. Select GameObjects: In the scene hierarchy, select a group of prefab models or their parent GameObject.

2. Open Context Menu: Right-click on the selected GameObjects (such as LODGroup, MeshRenderer, or a parent GameObject with children of those types).

3. Convert to Instances: Choose Convert To Instances (Flora) from the context menu.

Select a group of prefab models or their parent to see this context menu.

After conversion, Flora will group all instances with the same prefab asset type into instanced containers based on their parent.

GameObjects converted to instances.

Managing Converted Instances

Converted instances will be organized under a new parent InstancedMeshContainer that contains your instances. By default, Flora preserves the original prefab instances as GameObjects while rendering them. These instances will have a new component, the InstancedObjectLink, which syncs transform changes between your scene prefab and the Flora instance in the container.

• Remove InstancedObjectLink: You can remove this component at any time to restore the original GameObject.

• Disable InstancedObjectLink: Disabling this component will re-enable Unity's default rendering components.

Painting Instances

Flora offers powerful instance painting tools to populate your scenes with detailed vegetation and objects:

1. Enable Instance Context: Locate the three yellow dots above the built-in transform toolbar. On Unity 2021.3, this icon may not be visible; instead, select the context from the drop-down menu in the same location.

2. Start Painting: Use the painting tools to place instances on any mesh surface. Instances are grouped by a global grid and added as children of the surface for easy management.

For detailed information on using the instance context and the available tools, see the Tools page.