Ben Garney's Forest Pack Status?
by Jay Barnson · in General Discussion · 05/22/2005 (4:49 pm) · 146 replies
I know Ben has been swamped with higher-priority things lately, but I've been anxiously awaiting news of the forest pack that he was working on way back when. Is that one going to see the light of day anytime soon, or is it in a pretty back-burnered state?
If it's pretty much dead, is there any chance that what was done on it might get released to the community in its existing state?
If it's pretty much dead, is there any chance that what was done on it might get released to the community in its existing state?
About the author
Jay has been a mainstream and indie game developer for a... uh, long time. His professional start came in 1994 developing titles for the then-unknown and upcoming Sony Playstation. He runs Rampant Games and blogs at Tales of the Rampant Coyote.
#43
04/18/2007 (8:56 pm)
Just out of curiosity what is the difference between the Forest Pack and the Sharp Tree pack. Doe's the forest pack have wind or something or is it a bunch of trees like the Sharp Tree Pack.
#44
04/18/2007 (9:43 pm)
Its not really an art resource, its a code resource... for more efficient replication of trees and foliage. Supposed to be better than the fx*Replicators. 
#45
And it's highly unlikely that wind movement will be available in any version of this kit except for SpeedTree. I quote Tom from above:
"Advanced features like dynamic wind effects and deformation are not possible with DTS."
By the way, it's semi-officially called the "Forest Kit" at this point. :)
04/19/2007 (8:48 am)
Right, it's not as much an art content pack as a code pack, though it will contain a handful of starter trees. Basically the Forest Kit will be a tool for distributing large fields of foliage (or any DTS shapes for that matter) by setting down "forest" objects and tweaking their parameters based on tree selection, density, ratios of trees, altitude settings, limitations on size variation, etc... as well as objects to add clearings.And it's highly unlikely that wind movement will be available in any version of this kit except for SpeedTree. I quote Tom from above:
"Advanced features like dynamic wind effects and deformation are not possible with DTS."
By the way, it's semi-officially called the "Forest Kit" at this point. :)
#46
If one was crazy enough to bone, skin and animate the dts trees (i.e. fake wind sway) would the replicated shapes be able to play the animations stored on them?
04/19/2007 (8:58 am)
Russell a hypothetical question: If one was crazy enough to bone, skin and animate the dts trees (i.e. fake wind sway) would the replicated shapes be able to play the animations stored on them?
#48
Bank has a point... I'm sure Tom may have something to add.
04/19/2007 (9:12 am)
Thak, you're trying to get me to do a lot more work on these starter trees, aren't you. ;)Bank has a point... I'm sure Tom may have something to add.
#49
04/19/2007 (9:39 am)
Hah, he's onto m... *coughs* - I mean: No... not at all. *shifty eyes* 
#50
Not to mention that since trees are typically rotated to provide variation in the scene... your wind would be going the wrong direction in some cases. This may or may not be ok depending on the effect your trying to get.
I do call animate() on each full resolution tree... but i think in order to do this effectively you'll need tricks. Like throttling down animation updates based on distance and sharing the same animation state for multiple trees in the scene. None of this is on my plate for Forest Kit 1.0, but it is something i've thought about for a future release.
04/19/2007 (12:09 pm)
@Thak - Technically yes... although with the density we're talking about (think 40,000 to 100,000 trees in the scene) the performance would kill you. Not to mention that since trees are typically rotated to provide variation in the scene... your wind would be going the wrong direction in some cases. This may or may not be ok depending on the effect your trying to get.
I do call animate() on each full resolution tree... but i think in order to do this effectively you'll need tricks. Like throttling down animation updates based on distance and sharing the same animation state for multiple trees in the scene. None of this is on my plate for Forest Kit 1.0, but it is something i've thought about for a future release.
#51
04/19/2007 (12:18 pm)
Thanks Tom, yep I see thats not going to work very well. Was just curious, but good to know that animation would be possible. Theres other effects that could be achieved with it, say one could make a pool of 50 tentacles that all squirm about randomly. ;)
#52
05/17/2007 (7:31 am)
Any news on this? ;-)
#53
05/17/2007 (8:30 am)
I'm ready to buy a SpeedTree license as soon as this is released =)
#54
@Peter - Really? You know those are like $9K and are only good for one title on one platform? I'm just saying... you better really need those trees. :)
But if you do... it's freaking excellent stuff.
05/17/2007 (10:00 am)
Working on it... i think to meet the deadline i set gonna have to be TGEA only on release day, but i'll work on a TGE port... with less features... after that.@Peter - Really? You know those are like $9K and are only good for one title on one platform? I'm just saying... you better really need those trees. :)
But if you do... it's freaking excellent stuff.
#55
05/23/2007 (12:48 pm)
@Tom - Yup, we are planning on starting out with the $1000 eval license and eventually buying the full one when we are ready to release. Since we are developing an MMO, trees are a vital part of the landscape. The eye-candy alone from screenshots should bring in enough new players to cover the cost. 
#56
*Looks at calendar*
I hope that original statement holds. *prays*
05/24/2007 (12:28 pm)
Quote:May 2007.... it will be done and ready to buy.
*Looks at calendar*
I hope that original statement holds. *prays*
#57
Really? Praying? People pray for things like world peace and good health.... praying for a release of a code pack? It's funny to me how people tend to blow up anything Torque into some major earth shattering event.
Which brings up another question... who answers the Torque prayers?
Oh... and yea i'm working on it. :)
05/25/2007 (12:49 pm)
Quote:*Looks at calendar*
I hope that original statement holds. *prays*
Really? Praying? People pray for things like world peace and good health.... praying for a release of a code pack? It's funny to me how people tend to blow up anything Torque into some major earth shattering event.
Which brings up another question... who answers the Torque prayers?
Oh... and yea i'm working on it. :)
#58
05/25/2007 (3:54 pm)
^ Lol.
#59
*whips Tom*
No coke until it's done!
05/26/2007 (4:54 am)
I pray for small things 'cause those are more likely to happen.*whips Tom*
No coke until it's done!
#60
Melv May, who's been conspicuously absent lately.
05/26/2007 (9:31 am)
Quote:who answers the Torque prayers?
Melv May, who's been conspicuously absent lately.
Torque Owner Thak
Even better! Sounds totally sweet.