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Author Topic: Forest Pack Pro 5.0.4 beta  (Read 8180 times)

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Forest Pack Pro 5.0.4 beta
« on: March 28, 2016, 11:28:55 AM »
Note 1: Forest 5.0.4b requires a license upgrade. See this post for details.

Note 2: 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.

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.

Forest Pro 5.0.4 beta

- Added toolbar with shortcuts to: add FP object, add Forest LOD, Forest Tools and Forest Lister.
- Added Effects Library Browser.
- ForestEdge works properly with new Corona 1.3 materials.
- Forest Lister shows number of estimated render items, instead number of viewport items as before.
- Fixed crash with VRayClipper.
- Fixed 'Zoom extent' behaviour with selected items in Custom Edit mode.
- Fixed: Forest LOD using Look-At target doesn't work without a camera assigned.
- Fixed: Distribution->Collision->Radius affects to Edge mode, even with collision checking disabled.
- Fixed continuous rebuild when using nested Forests with "Consolidate Materials" off.


Forest Pro 5.0.3 beta

- Forest Lister:

    * This new tool simplifies the management of scenes that contain multiple Forest Pack objects.
    * It comprises a simplified interface allowing you to rename, enable/disable, hide/unhide, and select Forest objects, display useful information, and speed up editing properties.
    * See details in the documentation.


- Max 9 to 2009 are not longer supported. Minimum version supported is Max 2010.
- Added support for V-Ray motion blur and velocity channel with animated objects (both proxies and meshes).
- Fixed Forest Color map names in Slate Editor.
- ForestEdge's opacity texture is applied correctly in Corona Renderer.
- Fixed distribution on Cluster using multiple items with same Color ID (new feature in FP 5, but bugged in previous version).
- Fixed: 'F' icon cannot be selected from the viewport.
- (*) Added "copyMaterialFromObjects" parameter to forestpack.ini. Set it to zero to avoid that material is copied to Geometry->Material when picking Custom Objects.

(*) forestpack.ini can be found at C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Local\Autodesk\3dsmax\<max version>\ENU\en-US\plugcfg folder.


Forest Pro 5.0.2 beta

- Improved hit-test viewport performance for mesh modes.
- Fixed Forest Color and Edge mode with Corona Renderer.
- Fixed Mental Ray error using Animation->Frame from Map.
- Fixed crash bug on Forest objects that use only billboards only (FP 5 bug).
- Fixed: First face on UV surfaces is skipped from scattering (FP 5 bug).


Forest Pro 5.0.1 beta

- Fixed random crash bug.


Forest Pro 5.0.0 beta

Effects:

  - This new feature lets you to extend the functionality of Forest Pack by adding endless possibilities for animation, random transform, colouring, etc.
  - Similar to a scripting engine, it's based on mathematical expressions which are applied to the Forest items.
  - Effects can be loaded from a from a library (not available yet), importing them from individual files, or creating your own using expressions.
  - Exportable parameters and references are allowed, letting you to create an easy interface for end users.
  - See the documentation for full reference and examples.
  - Note: the "Library" button in the Effects rollup has no effect yet, but the Effects editor (clicking the "Edit" button) is fully functional.

  

Library:

  - Added new presets: Mulch and Rugs.

 

  - Library presets can use nested Forest objects, but with several restrictions:
      * Nested objects must use only area splines, not surfaces or exclusion objects.
      * Be sure there are no duplicate names in custom objects or areas.

  - Added "Render quality" option to the library presets. Enables you to select simplified materials for faster render times.
      * Actually this option is available only for V-Ray materials.
      * It works by modifying standard materials using Maxscript. For example, in V-Ray it replaces VRay2sidedMtl by VRayMtl.
      * You can add your own materials procedures by editing the function "updateLibMaterial" in forestlib.ms. Ask us in the forum for more details.

  - Areas->Falloff global parameters and Transform->Probability curves are imported from library presets.
  - Added Maxwell materials for Lawns, Leaves, Meadows and Stones presets.
  - Auto generated materials are optimized, removing unused and duplicated materials. This is particularly useful for nested Forest objects.
      * If your materials require the previous behaviour, this feature can be disabled by setting optimizeAutomaterial=0 in forestpack.ini.


Other features:

- Added support for V-Ray 3.3.
  * Forest Pack 5 benefits of the render performance improvements of V-Ray 3.2 and 3.x. In our tests speed gains were between 40% to 100% depending of the scene.
  * V-Ray 1.5 and 3.0 are not longer supported. Currently supported V-Ray versions are 2.x, 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3.

- Added Areas->Edge mode for Mental Ray and Corona renderer.
      * These renderers require to use "Forest Edge" (a new procedural texture map) in the opacity slot of ALL materials used by the Forest Object.
      * Forest Edge has no effect when used with other render engines.
      * Added support for "Forest Edge" in the Material Optimizer, so it can be applied with a single click in your scene or material library.


- Distribution->Diversity Map and Clusters now recognize multiple models with the same color ID, handling them as a group with their own Probability values.
      * To keep compatibility with existing scenes, this feature is applied only on new FP objects.
      * This feature is not compatible with Areas->Select models. In this case, the previous behaviour is applied (using only the first color ID match).

- Added support of V-Ray Velocity channel for animated proxies.
- Distribution->Max.Density range is raised to 999.
- All scattering limits (Distribution->Max.Density, Display->Max Items/Faces) can be disabled by setting the value to zero.
- Default Distribution Map is changed to "dense".
- Optimize Materials automatically replaces "Normal Bump" maps with VRayNormalMap.
- Improved memory usage rendering animations with Mental Ray.


Fixes:

- Fixed random crashing bug rendering with Mental Ray in Max 2016.
- Fixed solid color screen after cancelling a Corona render. 
- Fixed crash when navigating in viewport while Corona is rendering.
- Fixed crash using Corona interactive with Forest Color.
- Fixed duplicated IDs on Geometry list with Copy/Paste operations.
- Geometry List->Copy/Paste now copies the color ID correctly.
- Fixed bug with Areas->Object exclude->Top limit.

Carlos Quintero
iToo Software