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Author Topic: Forest Pack Pro 6.0.5 beta  (Read 5076 times)

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Forest Pack Pro 6.0.5 beta
« on: April 16, 2018, 04:36:32 PM »
Forest Pack 6 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: 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.

Forest Pack Pro 6.0.5
  • Added support for Arnold 5.1 and MaxToA 2.0, both in Max 2018 and Max 2019.
       * Forest doesn't longer work with Arnold 5.0. The upgrade to 5.1 is a requirement. It can be downloadeded from here: https://www.solidangle.com/arnold/download/#3dsmax
       * Forest Color and Forest Edge are supported turning on "Legacy 3ds Max Map support" in Render Settings->System.

Forest Pack Pro 6.0.4
  • Added support for V-Ray Next beta 3.
        * Problems with Max 2013/2014 and V-Ray Next are solved as well.
  • Fixed crashing bug in V-Ray RT when Geometry items have not valid object assigned.
  • This feature is removed: "Faster load of V-Ray and Corona proxies". It was causing several issues in Corona Renderer.
  • Fixed missing User Paths in Library Browser->Options.

Forest Pack Pro 6.0.3
  • Added support for 3DS Max 2019.
  • Added Arnold support.
        * Forest Color and Edge mode are not currently supported. Both require an update to Arnold, which is expected within the next few months.
        * The builtin library doesn't include Arnold materials yet. We'll upgrade it on next updates.
  • Fixed: Distribution by Path generates same distribution for each sub-spline.
  • Fixed: Display->Viewport Mode overrides Render Mode on V-Ray IPR.

Forest Pack Pro 6.0.2
  • Added support for V-Ray Next beta 2.
       * Note: actually there is a problem with Max 2013 and 2014 causing a crash on render. We're investigating this issue. Other Max versions work fine.
  • Added "Select all Forest dependences" to the quad menu.
       * It selects the Forest object together all their dependences (geometries, areas, surfaces, etc).
  • Fixed crash rendering nested FP object without any material assigned.
  • Fixed potential crash with animation maps returning negative values.
  • Fixed freezing issue with nested objects and V-Ray IPR.
  • Fixed bug in Effects expressions with functions returning vectors.
  • Fixed freezing issue with V-Ray RT on IPR mode.
  • Fixed: excluding areas from FP objects are not updated correctly in some renderers.
  • Fixed: some parameters are not updated in the interface when are animated using Autokey.
  • Fixed rare crash when Forest object is created.

Forest Pack Pro 6.0.1
  • Fixed freezing bug when a nested FP object is used in more than one Forest.
  • Fixed: "Geometry->Consolidate Materials" is always on, regardless of the checkbox.
  • Fixed problems with Layered Lawns library.
  • Fixed: surfaces are cleared when importing a preset from library.
  • The "XRef Unit's mistmach" popup (shown when loading from library) can be disabled setting disableXRefPopups=1 in forestpack.ini, or from "General->Configuration->Disable Popups".
       * "General->Configuration->Disable Popups" will disable ALL Forest popus, not only this one.
       * Before turning off the popup, double check that "Rescale the XRef Objects" is on, as default option. If not, libraries will be not loaded correctly.
  • Initial computing of Point-cloud now is multi-thread. That should improve a bit the load of heavy models.

Forest Pack Pro 6.0.0

New Features and changes
  • Added support for V-Ray Next beta 1.
  • New memory management system. Scattering performance is increased up to 150% with large distributions.
  • Improved stability with V-Ray IPR.
  • Faster load of V-Ray and Corona proxies.
    • Viewport now uses a quick draft of the proxy, instead the full mesh as before.
    • Note: To use Point-cloud with Corona proxies, it's necessary to set the Proxy Viewport method to "Full Mesh".

  • Updated UI
    • Added General->Settings icon. This button lets you to configure global settings for all FP objects, including:
      • Visible Rollups. Lets to hide Forest rollups from the Modify panel.
      • Disable Popups (moved from the General rollup).
    • Group Boxes are collapsible. State is global and saved between Max sessions.
    • Resizeable lists (such as Geometry List). State is local to each Forest object and saved with the scene.
    • Added new Icon mode to Creation panel.that lets you to create an empty Forest object, and edit it later from the Modify panel.
    • Added item tooltip to the listboxes. Put cursor over an row to see the full item name.

  • Added new Distribution modes (available from the Distribution rollup)
    • Image, the default mode in previous versions.
    • Using Reference objects, by Pivot point or Mesh faces.
    • Along a path.
    • From a Particle Flow.
      NB Reference and Path modes replaces Tree Editor->Creation Tools, which have been removed.


  • Effects
    • Added attributes for Particle Flow distribution: particleAge, particleSpeed.
    • Added a generic property to the items in Tree Editor: User ID.
      • This value can be edited by the user and read in Forest Effects, for any use.
      • Also it's used for some special purposes. For example, in Distribution->Path mode it stores the item counter along the path.
    • Added new transform attributes:
      • "fpItem.xrotaxis", "fpItem.yrotaxis", "fpItem.zrotaxis": rotation of Forest Item expressed as a system of 3 vectors.
    • New Parameter types: Texture maps and Curves.
    • Multiple effects per Forest object.
    • Added new Effect attributes for new paths mode:
      • distPathPos: Normalized position of item on path (Distribution by Path only).
      • distPathTangent: Tangent vector of path on item position (Distribution by Path only).
    • When fpItem.geomID is greater than maximum ID, result is the remainder, not the maximum value as before.
    • 30 Effects added to the library.

  • iToo Software Update Manager
    • New manager for downloading, installing and managing Forest Pack content including libraries, presets and effects.
    • Separates the library content from the application.
    • Download new libraries, presets and effects at any time.


  • Libraries and Presets
    • Surface parameters are now imported from Library presets.
    • New starter library - 23 new trees in 11 species.

    • New grass presets designed to work in layers. 26 variations.

    • New vertical walls presets

    • 13 new distribution maps.

  • Raised Distribution->Max.Density default value (from 20 to 40 mill.)
  • Improved viewport performance with Camera features.(When camera changes, Forest is updated only is some Camera feature is used).
  • Added Maxscript function: getSelected(). Returns indexes of items selected on Custom Edit mode (array of integers).
  • Material->Forest Shader parameters are removed from the interface. These are used only for billboards in Mental Ray and if needed, you can modify them from Maxscript as: fastopac, tracedepth, opaclevel, selfillum, irradiance.
  • Appended source name to Library objects imported in the "forest_templates" layer (i.e. "_forest_library_H4AXKAQ_birch_01").
  • "Tree Editor" is renamed to "Items Editor". Replaced other references from "trees" to "items"
  • Added Display->Point-cloud Style: Small or Large Dot. Value is global to all Max scenes.
  • "Camera->Limit to Visibility" and "Look-at->On" are off by default.
  • Main Forest folder is moved from "C:\Program Files (x86)\Itoo Software\Forest Pack Pro" to "C:\Program Files\Itoo Software\Forest Pack Pro"
  • 32 bit versions and legacy plugins (Forest Pro 2.x) are removed.

Fixes
  • Fixed: items dissapear when using Undo/Redo in Custom Edit mode
  • Fixed: Items are not visible on viewport while using Interactive Render (both V-Ray and Corona).
  • Fixed: "XRef Material->Override" option is ignored when building the Forest automaterial.
  • Fixed: Changes in the Geometry List don't modify existing items in Custom Edit mode.
  • Fixed updating issue with Color Swatch controls in PBStore.
  • Fixed behaviour of Forest Lister when rollups order is changed.
  • Fixed several issues of General->Presets. Now Areas, Surfaces and Effects are not saved with the preset.
  • Fixed: Geometry->Color ID doesn't support Copy/Paste.
  • Fixed crash loading nested library objects.
  • Fixed: Items with high values of random Translation are placed outside of its area.
  • Fixed: Effects Editor cannot load JPG thumbnails.
  • Fixed: Both Point-cloud and mesh are drawn on viewport when Display->Render->Mode is set to "Meshes".
  • Fixed: Tree Editor->Add inserts multiple items for LOD objects.
  • Fixed: User toolbars using Forest actions are reset when Max is loaded.
  • Fixed crash loading scenes with LOD linked to a XRef.
  • Fixed: Camera in Deadline render jobs is not updated, when using "Camera->Auto assign to active view".
    NOTE: to make it work, be sure to select a Camera as current view, when render job is submitted to Deadline. It WILL FAIL if current view is a not a camera (as perspective, top view, etc.)
  • Fixed issue with missing references when a library item is used both in the main and a XRef scene.
  • Effects
    • Fixed "controller returns invalid type" warning when a Controller Parameter is linked to a rotation control.
    • Fixed: Error reading constant values in expressions with regional settings which not use "." as decimal point.
    • Fixed: Z value of fpItem.areaIncNearest and fpItem.areaExcNearest now matches with item's Z position. 
    • Fixed: Parameter->Default range is limited to 0-100 for real and integer types.
Carlos Quintero
iToo Software