Forest Pack & Balcony Plants

[KD4391]

Hi team

What is the best method/practice to use forest pack when the plans to be distributed, are on top of each other on different levels - see attached.
What i am currently doing, is detaching each surface for each balcony as its own mesh and then adding all these meshes individually within the surfaces rollout - is this the best way to do it?  it feels a bit clumsy

[Michal Karmazín]

Hi,

Even if you prefer using Surface Area over Spline Area(s), which is often more flexible, there’s still no need to detach them. Instead, you can use the UV mode and adjust the UV mapping slightly for each level to differentiate them. I hope this helps.

Best regards,

[KD4391]

Thanks - & this is what i was after.  So you think adding splines instead is better?  why?
As for the UV mode, so youre saying to make the UVs bigger/Smaller (ie randomness to scale and rotation?)?    Would it matter if its in real world units?

When you said the surface area and it not mattering, well it does.  Because unless you detach it, it WONT add the plants to anything beneath the upmost (highest) surface if that makes sense.

Hi,

Even if you prefer using Surface Area over Spline Area(s), which is often more flexible, there’s still no need to detach them. Instead, you can use the UV mode and adjust the UV mapping slightly for each level to differentiate them. I hope this helps.

Best regards,

[Michal Karmazín]

In most cases, everything works just fine for any area type. However, I mentioned Spline Area(s) because even when using Surface Area, the plug-in internally generates a virtual spline from the closed edges of the mesh. This virtual spline is used for several operations, including boundary checking, falloffs, and more. Sometimes—especially when there are issues in the surface topology (such as overlapping faces)—this virtual spline may not behave as expected, which can lead to problems like self-intersections. Using Spline Areas gives you direct and precise control over these splines used in the distribution.

While detaching "stacked surfaces" is currently required when using the default XY mode, this is not necessary when using the previously mentioned UV mode. If you encounter any issues, please feel free to send us your scene and we will be happy to take a look. Thanks in advance.

Best regards,

[KD4391]

Thanks so much

In most cases, everything works just fine for any area type. However, I mentioned Spline Area(s) because even when using Surface Area, the plug-in internally generates a virtual spline from the closed edges of the mesh. This virtual spline is used for several operations, including boundary checking, falloffs, and more. Sometimes—especially when there are issues in the surface topology (such as overlapping faces)—this virtual spline may not behave as expected, which can lead to problems like self-intersections. Using Spline Areas gives you direct and precise control over these splines used in the distribution.

While detaching "stacked surfaces" is currently required when using the default XY mode, this is not necessary when using the previously mentioned UV mode. If you encounter any issues, please feel free to send us your scene and we will be happy to take a look. Thanks in advance.

Best regards,

[KD4391]

The thing im confused about, is i just added a spline to the AREA (include spline).  The UV is within the surface area is it not?  However if i am doing this via spline and NOT surface then how is this done?  sorry mate i am confused.

[Michal Karmazín]

My apologies for the confusion regarding the use of Spline Area(s). Since your initial question was about the best approach for this type of setup, I mentioned it as an alternative worth considering. That said, if you're already using a Surface Area, the UV mode should work just fine. If necessary, you can adjust the UV mapping to help avoid repetition.

As mentioned previously, if you encounter any trouble with it, please feel free to send us your scene and we will be happy to take a look. Thanks in advance.

Best regards,