What you should know about Google’s Poly and the Unity EditorXR.

With the introduction of Poly (well-suited to view 3D configurators) for Unity Editor XR and Google`s new Poly Toolkit for Unity, you can now import Poly models directly into your Virtual Reality (VR) project. Get ready to explore thousands of 3D assets on Google`s Poly that will stimulate your imagination and help you creat great experiences.

On Google`s Poly platform, artists and developers can download 3D objects created with Tilt Brush and Blocks and use them for free in their own applications on any platform. For your Unity project, thousands of tilt brush sketches, block objects and 3D assets are available and you can mix and match different models or even customize and re-integrate them into Tilt Brush.

Google`s Poly API.

Recently, Google released the Poly API, which gives developers direct access to the growing collection of 3D poly assets directly in Unity, allowing them to dynamically search, download and import poly objects, whether desktop, mobile, VR/AR or traditional 3D applications.

Poly Toolkit for Unity plugin.

Google has also provided the Poly Toolkit, a Unity Editor plugin available from the Asset Store. This plugin allows Unity developers to import and use any poly model directly into Unity. Once you have installed the Poly Toolkit plugin, all you need to do is download the package, click on the model you want to import and it will appear in your scene.

Poly for Unity EditorXR-Plugin.

As part of the Poly support from Unity Labs, the team has extended direct access to EditorXR with the Poly for Unity EditorXR plugin, created specifically for their AR and VR development. With the latest development of EditorXR and the Poly Toolkit you can easily discover and download thousands of free 3D objects and scenes and it is fully integrated into Tilt Brush and Blocks, which means you can quickly and easily take anything you want with you and add it to your scene.

This is one of the first examples of cross-compatibility among the major software solutions for VR. Unity is excited about this breakthrough because it benefits the creative people in the VR community who want to explore new possibilities.

First steps.

Here are some useful resources to help you get started. Note that you need a Vive or an Oculus Rift to use Unity EditorXR.

• Unity EditorXR package: Download Unity EditorXR (make sure Unity 2017.2p1 or higher is installed).
• Getting Started with Unity EditorXR: Read the official Unity EditorXR documentation.
• Unity EditorXR Guide: Learn more here, including detailed installation applications.
• Unity EditorXR Forum: View these resources to get the latest information and ask the community for their communities.
• GitHub Releases Notes: Don`t forget to check GitHub for the latest Unity EditorXR information, including UX and usability improvements.

More information about Google`s Poly and its Poly Toolkit for Unity can be found in the additional resources:

• Google`s Poly Toolkit for Unity: Download this toolkit directly from the Asset Store and use thousands of Poly 3D assets in your Unity projects.
• More about Google`s Poly: Learn more about Poly for artists and developers and how to get the most out of the Poly API.

Access Poly 3D assets with Unity EditorXR.

Once you`ve installed the necessary resources, select the Poly workspace from the main menu. You`ll see a grid of presented assets shared by Blocks and Tilt-Brush users, Just as in the Project Workspace, you can scroll and scale the grid, and you can click and hold the mouse to apply all the models that have been loaded into their previews. Larger models take time to download and import, so we display them with cubes and thumbnails. Once you click on a cube to start downloading the model, the label turns blue and displays “Importing”.

Just click on a few more cubes, scroll through the list and grab other models while you wait. When the import is complete, the cube will return to its original size and the model will preview when you move the beam over the cube. At this point, grab the model and place it in the scene.

In addition to simply scrolling and grabbing models, you can sort and filter the list using the user interface on the front of the workspace. You can sort by the latest or most popular products and filter by format, complexity and category. The Poly Toolkit processes web requests and model imports and intellgently stores downloaded models and resources up to a maximum file size that you can configure in the editor`s main menu under Poly > Settings.

Limitations and User Feedback.

Because this workflow is new and experimental, we have made some important decisions that are VR-specific:

• Importing assets and instantly creating prefabs causes frame drops, which is not acceptable for VR, so assets are only added to the scene. If you want to convert them to prefabs, we recommend that you do this through the 2D editor.
• The import process may occasionally cause one or two frames to fail after the import process is complete. We are working with Google on a solution, but in the meantime we recommend that you import smaller assets directly into VR and large assets individually.

Users will continue to receive regular updates and add-ons in the future. If you have any suggestions or problems, pleas contact the GitHub community.

Create and share your work.

Thousands of beautiful creations are waiting to be discovered, remixed and integrated into their projects. Make sure you share their screenshots on social media with #poly and remember to add @Unity3d if you do.

Note that all content in the Poly-API is available under a Creative Commons license and can be used freely in any case.