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Author Topic: Forest Pack Pro 7.0.2 beta  (Read 2886 times)

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Forest Pack Pro 7.0.2 beta
« on: December 17, 2020, 09:46:21 AM »
A new version of Forest Pack beta is now available for testing. Registered users of Forest Pack Pro can download the upgrade from the User Panel->Beta versions.
For any question about this release, please use the Forest Pack beta forum.

Note 1: Beta versions include new features and fixes, but a beta version is NOT the final version of the product and therefore we don't guarantee there won't be errors that may disrupt the computer's operation and/or result in data loss. Use it always at your own risk.

Note 2: Licenses need to be reactivated. This should be done automatically by installer. If not, please reactivate your license using the License Manager tool. Users with Network/Floating licenses will need to update their License Server to v1.5.0 or above, available now from your User Panel.


Forest Pack Pro 7.0.2b

- Fixed random error reading license configuration.


Forest Pack Pro 7.0.1b

- Fixed issues with Datasmith exporter.
- Fixed crash editing items on Custom Edit mode.
- Fixed crash using Forest Color/Forest with Arnold + Active Shade.
   * Currently Color/Edge is not supported with Active Shade in Arnold. This fix just avoids crashing.
- Fixed wrong scale instantiating with Forest Tools when Display mode is set to Proxy.
- Fixed issues with Distribution Path/Particle modes and grouped geometry.
- Fixed scale of Material->Color Correction->Saturation.
- License is released inmediately after closing Max, besides at File->Reset/New events.
- Library Browser->Edit Item->Material/Object selector doesn't work when filename uses macros.
- Added 'Macros' button to Library Browser->Edit Item.
- Fixed: Transform->Z Random is applied twice on Custom Edit mode.
- Fixed updating issues with V-Ray interactive render mode.
- Fixed: License configuration is not loaded from enviroment variables.
- Fixed crash creating Forest object when there is not a license.


Forest Pack Pro 7.0.0b

Scattering Lights

- The Items List now accepts non-geometric objects, including lights, splines and more. There are several things you need to know, depending on the render engine you use:

    * V-Ray & Arnold. It's not possible to animate or change the distribution. Items are scattered as in frame 0.
    * Corona Renderer & Octane. fully supported, no limitations.
    * Other engines may be supported in the future.
    * A 'Non Geometric Object' option has been added to the Geometry rollout. When enabled, the object is handled as a non-geometric object.
      Forest will try to instance it keeping the original format, instead getting a mesh. (For many objects this is not necessary and Forest will detect the correct format automatically).

Colour Correction

- New colour correction tools allow the user to adjust Hue Shift, Saturation and Brightness for all "Forest Color" textures used by the object.
    * The effects can be disabled for specific textures by turning off 'Apply Color Correction' in a Forest Color map.

Animation

- Animation modes are now supported in Corona.
- Scattering over animated UV Surfaces is improved to generate a more consistent result during the animation.

Export/Real time

- Added specific Unity option to Forest Tools->Forest Exporter.
    * Import is done using a new experimental script available. Please find it attached to this post.

Using References

- Reference mode has been improved with the following features:
    * Multiple Items per face.
    * The ability to randomise each items position on the marker.
    * The ability to filter markers by material ID.
    * The ability to select multiple references from a scene using Max’s pin stack option.

Usability

- Added General->Settings->Use Single Rollout.
    * When enabled, a single Forest rollout is open at time. Opening one rollout collapses the others.
    * For 3DS Max 2017 and earlier, this feature works only clicking the rollout title, not using the contextual rollouts menu.

- The Creation window has been simplified and improved:
    * Default with/height for billboards is removed.
    * Custom Edit mode is removed. To create a FP object in Custom Edit mode, create as icon and next open the "Tree Editor" rollout as usual.

- The Geometry List can be populated from scene selection (first select objects in the scene, next create Forest object). If there are items selected both in a library and the scene, the library has priority.
  Two new ways to add items to the geometry list based on a scene selection:

    a) When creating a new Forest Object:
      - Select items from the scene.
      - Go to the Create panel and click to create a Forest Object.
      - Ensure 'Populate From Selection' is checked.
      - Create a Forest Object as normal.

    b) Using Pin Stack:
      - Click the "Pin Stack" icon below the Modifier panel.
      - Select objects from the scene.
      -Click the Geometry->Add button.
      -Reselect the Forest object.
      -Turn off Pin Stack.

- Default mode for Geometry List changed to "Custom Object". Also, the Pick button is enabled automatically when a new item is added.
- Camera rollout is reorganized and simplified.
    * The 'Camera' parameter is removed. Now Camera data is fetched automatically from the active view/render, in a much more reliable way.
    * To improve viewport performance, Camera features are disabled on viewport by default. You must turn on the "Enable on Viewport" checkbox.
    * Fixed issues with Batch render when rendering from different cameras.
    * "Use Environment Range" option is removed for LOD/Falloff.

Library Browser

The library Browser has been rewritten from the ground up to make it easier to develop new features in the future. This initial release adds the following improvements:

- New process to import objects/presets to the Library:
    * Library Items are created from scene selection.
    * Material Library and Max scene is generated automatically.
    * Assets can be collected to a maps folder.
- Added toolbar option to open Library Browser.
- Improved search that filters matching items across all libraries.

Forest Color

- Forest Color works on items instantiated by Forest Tools., to use it:
    * Forest Color->Override must be on.
    * Tint/Map works by Item only. Element mode is not supported.
    * V-Ray GPU is not supported.
    * Forest Color can even be used on non-Forest objects, with the same restrictions as items instantiated by Forest Tools.

Other Improvements

- Supports GBUFFER - object  ID in V-Ray
- Added support for 'Instance ID' when using VRayUVWRandomizer and VRayMultiSubTex with Forest Pack
- Improved randomness for other Distribution modes than "Image". Previous versions would create visible patterns.
    * To keep the distribution of existing scenes, this is applied only to new FP objects.
    * If you want to "upgrade" your FP object so it works as created with FP7, select it and run from Maxscript: $.trees.resetCreatedVersion()
- V-Ray now uses the materials assigned to each Custom Object, instead of the Automaterial.
- When there’s no surface applied, items are now aligned with the height of their spline.area. In previous versions the topmost spline area would be used.
- Added optimization for Interactive Rendering (Corona and V-Ray), when using Viewport->Mesh mode.
- Now proxies and non-geometric objects are rendered using the V-Ray instancing engine (similar to VRayInstancer), instead of iToo functions.
    * For other animation modes than 'Disabled' and 'Follow Animation', the old method is still used due to limitations of the VRayInstancer mode.

Other Fixes and changes

- The minimum V-Ray version supported is 3.6.
- Nested Forest objects in Corona no longer require 'Meshes' mode.
- Macros can now be used on all attributes of Library Items (such as object names).
- Motion blur now works again with distributions driven by particle systems.
- Fixed inconsistent distribution using exclusion of other Forest objects due to multithreading.
- Switching between Paint Areas no longer disables the paint button if it was enabled.
- Distribution Maps path is always added to External Files->User Paths, even if the user selects 'No' to the Paths configuration dialog.
- Adjusted default Distribution Units to 1x1 meter.
- Links to the documentation are now included for license error dialogs.
- Data dependent on UV coordinates is now preserved when switching to Custom Edit mode.
- V-Ray motion blur is now applied to non-animated Forest objects when Custom Object is used in other animated FP Objects.
- Added workaround to avoid Mental Ray missing DLL errors loading Library items, or loading scenes which uses Forest presets. (only for Max 2017 and above).
- "lookat" parameter is renamed to "lookattarget" to avoid conflicts in Maxscript with the "lookat" controller.
- Fixed crash using Animation modes with interactive render modes.
- Added optimisation for Interactive Rendering (Corona and V-Ray), when using Viewport->Mesh mode.

Carlos Quintero
iToo Software