Blender Extension

v0.9.0 released 11 April 2025

About

404—GEN consists of three main components:

  1. A text-to-3D generator that operates on decentralized AI and takes about one minute to generate a Gaussian Splat.

  2. Geometry and shader node trees that allow users to view/edit Gaussian Splats in Blender.

  3. A texture baking process to generate mesh from 3D Gaussian Splat.

Software requirements

Blender 4.2+ (download here)

Installation

1. Download the ZIP file of the most recent release and do not unzip.

Download on Gumroad

2. In Blender, Edit ➡️ Preferences ➡️ Add-ons ➡️ Install from Disk... ➡️ select the add-on ZIP file

Blender Preferences window

If you have a previous version of this add-on enabled, you will need to uninstall it and restart Blender before installing the new version. You may also need to restart Blender after installing the new version.

3. Check the box to enable the add-on, then open the dropdown, click Install Dependencies, and finally click Accept on the privacy notice.

Accept that you've read the notice

Windows users may have to open Blender as admin before installing Dependencies

4. Type "n" or manually expand the sidebar to reveal the 404 tab

Usage

Generate

Type your prompt and click Generate. Each generation should take one minute.

  • For best results, describe a single object or character for each generation, rather than an entire scene or room at once. Read more in Prompts

  • To view the material in object or edit mode, open the Shading Menu (shortcut z) and select Material Preview (shortcut 2).

Import

Use the Import button on the 404 tab to import any .PLY file to view or edit in Blender.

Settings and Mesh Generation

After the splat is generated or imported, the Splat Display Settings and Mesh Conversion dropdown menus will appear.

Generation tab with dropdowns revealed

Splat Display Settings

  • Opacity Threshold: Gaussian Splats are often generated with fully or partially transparent ellipsoids. Ellipsoids with an opacity below the set threshold will be hidden.

  • Display Percentage: Sets the percentage of the entire Gaussian Splat to display.

  • Min Detail Size: Determines the amount of detail to be included in the generated mesh. A lower value will generate a higher level of detail.

  • Simplify: Simplifies the generated mesh. A higher value will lead to a smoother, more decimated mesh.

  • Angle Limit: Adjusts the UV map's angle limit. The default is recommended unless the mesh generates with black/missing spots in the texture, in which case the limit should be lowered.

  • Texture Size: The size of the texture in pixels.

  • Generate Mesh: This will generate a mesh of the selected Gaussian Splat based on the above values. The mesh will overlap and have the same name as the Gaussian Splat, but they are two sepate objects in the collection.

Gaussian Splat on the left and its corresponding mesh on the right

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