Implementing SpeedtreeRT

#41 Xavier,
I think Dormant was asking about Ben's solution.

Yes, fixed function. Yes, they sway. No idea on cost yet. With the right models it would probably work reasonably well as a grass solution.

#42 Matt, do you know if the trees can grow given the right dynamic properties(variables).

#43 @Matt: I was actually replying on Ben's solution, last time I saw it it didn't sway? Maybe I'm wrong, but doesn't it use DTS? From what I knew you can't animate trees with DTS because of that exporter feature you have to use to make trees look right... I can't recall the name now, I'm kinda asleep.

#44 Robert,
It uses prebuilt dts's with random scales.

Xavier,
Ben was playing with perturbing the z-axis of the transform and getting good results. I'm not sure if this is in the current build yet.

#45 TreeMagic looks ok, heres some of the better pictures.







Edit: Wrong tags.

#46 TreeMagik looks good... but don't you have to spend time making LOD's for each tree?

#47 Wow, Chris that last screenshot looks awesome! So is TGE or TSE?

#48 I haven't seen it mentioned here yet, but for those that didn't know: the license fee for SpeedTree is roughly 50 times the license fee of TGE (Indie)......

#49 TreeMagick is a totally different thing, it's a modelling program for creating trees.

SpeedTreeRT is a library that GENERATES tree data on the fly (based on model info that specifies basic generation parameters, like textures, collision, etc).

You can easily use TreeMagick with TGE, just create a model, export it to 3ds and then export it to dts from 3dsmax, or some other combination of modelling formats/programs.

SpeedTreeRT on the other hand needs to be coded into the engine so you render them in the world. You also have to do occlusion/frustum culling to sort them, because being a single object they are considered a whole to TGE. (Unless you rendered one SpeedTree for each object but that would quickly sum up and go over the ghosting limit, not to mention that reduces the changes for SpeedTreeRT to do sorting/optimization).

@Matt: That sounds good, would have to see how it looks :)

#50 @Stephen Zepp: Read the 6th post.

#51 Ouch, guess I went right by it!

I just see this topic come up every couple of months, and everyone gets excited about "TGE-SpeedTree" implementations, but once the price is known it normally dies out.

#52 @Stephen: Yeah, I agree. I just worked with it because the guys that contracted me where going to buy a license. Not that *I* would buy one :)

#53 I think if I get my funding I'm just have to buy SpeedTree. It just looks too professional.

#54 If you've got the money to burn on it (and you can give up the royalty points), SpeedTree gives good results. The forest renderer I'm working on is not meant to compete with SpeedTree - but it's also several orders of magnitude cheaper. ;)

#55 @Digi/Xavier: TreeMagic looks awesome in those shots and merits further investigation. I'd like to see how it performs and what it is capable of. Is it comercially for sale? How do i get a hold of the developers?

#56
Teaser, anyone?

#57 Adam you are such a tease =p

#58 @Stephen, sorry to burst your bubble but they are PR for treemagic.

@Dormant, http://www.aliencodec.com/products/treemagik/index.php -- But i believe Exodus is right its just models.

@Adam, you are a tease.

@Everyone, has anyone thought of revamping the LG Tree system or whatever that was on here? It worked pretty good, crashed a bit tho.

#59 Still to steep for me...

From the SpeedTree web site:

One Time Fee:

$5,995 per title (no royalties)

Alternate Lease Pricing:

$695 fee + $5,995, due upon publication (source code restrictions apply before second payment)

$6K per title is allot of money for an Indie.

#60 I want the Torque tree thingy Ben is doin... :(

My game is going to be oh so much forest.. That'd be absolutley perfect for me.