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Author Topic: Forest Pack Pro 3.2.9 beta  (Read 7118 times)

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Forest Pack Pro 3.2.9 beta
« on: October 20, 2009, 06:25:14 PM »
Note 1: Because the changes introduced in this release, the scenes created with previous versions may look different (specially distributions of items, randomness and collisions).

Note 2: Beta versions include new features and fixes, but a beta version is NOT the final version of the product and therefore we not guarantee an absence of errors that may disrupt the computer's operation and/or result in data loss. Use it always at your own risk.


Forest Pack Pro 3.2.9b

- Improved scattering speed for large number of small area splines
- Scenes saved with 3.2.9b can be loaded with Forest 3.2.4

Bugs Fixed:
   
- Fixed issues of Collision detection with Camera clipping
- Fixed crash when merging Forest objects from an external scene while a Forest object was being editing
- Fixed assertion error when rendering a cloned Forest object in Mental Ray
- Complex area splines were triggering a wrong "Maximum Density" error
- Item's scale and rotation would to change when being edited in Custom Edit mode
- Distribution bitmap is not affected anymore by gamma settings
- Consolidate Materials was creating null materials when using non-sequential IDs
- Fixed redrawing issues on viewport when using camera motion


Forest Pack Pro 3.2.8b

New features and improvements:

- New parameter in Geometry->Geometry List:
   Color ID. Used for the new Distribution->Diversity options and as item color in the viewport
- Distribution Map->Diversity. Defines the mode in which the items listed in Geometry rollout are scattered:
   a) Random (default mode)
   b) Cluster. Groups similar items together, creating clusterings. Some parameters are used:
      - Size: Cluster's size
      - Roughness: set the shape of the cluster (0% = smooth, 100% = rough)
      - Blurry Edge: modifies cluster edge from sharp (0%) to blurred (100%)
      - Noise: adds random items to the distribution (0% to 100%)
   c) Match color ID on Map. Allow to use colored Distribution maps, matching each pixel with the color ID defined in the Geometry List.
       As in previous versions, black pixels are taken as gaps (no tree), you can use the Threshold parameter to adjust the black level.
- Scale Falloff from area splines
- Scattering process now is fully multithread, using all CPU cores. Performance gain can reach 100% in complex scenes.
- Collision detection system has been rewritten completely. The new algorithm is much more accurate
- New collision parameters:
   - Height: defines the elevation of the virtual sphere used to detect collisions
   - Preview on Viewport: disabled by default to speed up viewport redrawing
- Distribution Map can get UVW coordinates from Surface
- Added parameters to set mapping channel for Distribution and Tint maps
- Geometry->Probability now uses decimal values
- New Display parameter to disable auto rebuilding of the Forest object (Update manually)
- Number of CPU Threads is set automatically from available processors (General->CPU Auto)

Other changes:

- Fixed randomly Self-illum problem when using billboards in Mental Ray. Trees were rendering more darker than expected.
- Undo Buffer is not cleared anymore after rendering
- Fixed popping trees issue when using spline density falloff
- Random Translation on Y axis was computed as a percentage of tree's height instead of width. Fixed.
- XRef objects from VRay or MR proxies were being taken as meshes, not as proxies. Fixed.
- Camera->Expand default value increased to 25%
- Random Translation default set to 20%
- Distribution->Draw Gizmo parameter removed (always enabled by default)

Diversity sample:




Forest Pack Pro 3.2.7b

Distribution Map

- Added support for all types of maps, not only bitmaps. These include animated and procedural textures.
- New parameters: pixels X/Y. Use them to adjust the density in the distribution pattern (maps only)

Tint Color
   
- Added support for animated maps
- New parameter for Tint Map: "Get UVW from Surface":
     when checked, UVW coordinates are taken from Surface. If not, from Distribution Map
- Fixed rendering artifacts when using Tint Map in VRay


Forest Pack Pro 3.2.6b

New Features

- Tint Color Maps. Includes two modes: random pixels or applied as texture over Surface.
     All parameters can be defined in Forest plugin (global) or in Forest Material (local by material)

Custom Edit->Creation Tools
      
- Fixed bug when randomizing samples from Geometry List
- It's not needed to reselect objects to create a new distribution
- Area mode now uses density values (items per area), instead absolute number of items
- Estimated number of items before creating

Other changes and fixes

- Fixed error message "parameter geomtex has invalid type 15" when loading presets
- Fixed crash when rendering invalid Forest objects (F icon) and using Forest Material (VRay only)
- Gamma is properly applied in Library Browser
- Tint Override in Forest material was using only of the two gradient colors (Mental Ray only). Fixed.
- Exclude spline was not working if it was not Z aligned with include spline
- "Surface->Follow Animation" parameter renamed to "Surface->Auto Update"
- "Surface->Follow Animation->Only on Rendering" parameter removed. Surface always is updated before rendering

Tint Color Map samples:

 

Forest Pack Pro 3.2.5b

- Items can be rotated along any axis, not only Z
- Added random rotation for X,Y axis. Negative ranges are supported
- Fixed distributions issues using more than 100 items in the Geometry List
- "Hide Custom Objects" parameter (Display rollout) was hiding objects randomly
- "Add Multiple" selector (Geometry rollout) now accepts XRef objects
- XRef Materials support
- New random scattering algorithm: creates more uniform distributions, and works with large Geometry Lists (>100 samples)
   NOTE: This may change the distribution of existing scenes. If you want to use old system, set oldRandomDist=1 in forespack.ini
- Added button (R) to randomize probabilities of Geometry List
      
Custom Edit
      
- Random translation can be used with Custom Edit mode
- Simplification Level (Display rollout) now works with Custom Edit mode
- Fixed issues with Align to Surface option
- New Creation Tools modes using reference objects:
   * Pivot - Replaces old "In Objects Positions" mode. Now can get rotation and scale values
   * All Faces - Creates an item at center of each face. Item is aligned to point at farthest vertex from center
   * Area - Distribute randomly n items on surface of the reference meshes
- All Creation Tools works in 3D. Scattering over complex surfaces is now possible.
   
Licensing
      
- Solved reactivation issues in multiprocessor systems


The software can be downloaded from the User Panel :

http://www.itoosoft.com/english/menu.php?id=userpanel

Carlos Quintero
iToo Software