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Program Announcements / Forester Pro - 3D model tree generator

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GrumpyOne
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Posted: 29th Apr 2014 03:22
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Forester Version 1.26 Released - Flowers and Small Plants

We've just released version 1.26 of Forester which includes a load of new features to generate flowers and small plants. This has been worrying us for a while. Up until now Forester was great at creating trees, bushes and shrubs, and could make grass, but flowers and many small herbaceous plants were problematic.

The problem with flowering and herbaceous (fleshy) plants is they often have more regular structures than trees or shrubs which are much more random. Nettles, for example, have clusters of leaves in fours spaced regularly up the stem. Flowers are also often are located at the end of stems and have a reptical from which they bud. We've now added new properties to the branch and leaf properties menu that can simulate these more regular structures. They are also useful for prehistoric and alien trees. An image showing some flowers and plants made with Forester is shown below (rocks made with Medusa Pro):



Mesh small plants provide some nice detailed models for your applications and although detailed most have 200-300 faces so won't cripple framerate. If you'd prefer to use billboards, we've also updated the billboard editor so you can create billboards of clusters of plants in Forester, then export them as a billboard image with an alpha channel.

To go along with the new release we've revamped the Free Grass Pack, Meadow Grass Pack, Wild Flower Pack 1 and Temperate Plant Pack 1 to include mesh flowers and small plants. If you've already bought these packs (the first one is free as the name suggests) then just reinstall. All our upgrades are always free. Each plant pack provides new textures and structures to build in Forester and is $10 each.

Forester Pro is available for download from our website and includes a free version that can make an unlimited number of trees from 7 different templates. The registered version is only $30 and can make virtually any plant.

http://www.hptware.co.uk/forester.php

If you've already installed Forester you can upgrade to the latest version with this installer (including the free version).

http://www.hptware.co.uk/downloads/f...rupdate126.zip

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Clonkex
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Posted: 1st May 2014 16:51
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Wow, looks really awesome!!


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LBFN
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Posted: 4th May 2014 07:17 Edited at: 6th May 2014 23:16
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Just got Forester Pro the other day. It seems to be a nice program. I noticed the .dbo files still export as a 'squished' version of the tree as opposed to .x format, which works ok. I noticed that this problem was reported by JosephB in May 2013, but it still exists. I tried scaling the trees to fix them, but it doesn't correct it. Not a huge problem, but it is a little bit of a hassle to mess with converting .x to .dbo in code.

EDIT: The .x files will not load into my 3D modeling program (Milkshape) at all, so I have to import .fbx instead which does not bring the tree trunk and branches along with it. This program's appeal is waning.

So many games to code.....so little time.
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JHA
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Posted: 16th May 2014 17:37 Edited at: 16th May 2014 17:38
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This is truly an awesome tool!! Don't know why I am just now finding it.

I created a test tree and exported it in the Collada format, to open in Blender 2.70a.

It imports fine, but I can't, for the life of me, figure out how to get the transparency working on the leaves.

I realize this is probably a Blender issue and not a Forester issue, but if you have any suggestions, I would really appreciate it.

Image:


Thank you,
JHA

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Clonkex
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Posted: 17th May 2014 17:23 Edited at: 17th May 2014 17:24
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@JHA:

I can't believe I downloaded the latest version of Forester and exported a tree just to help you. No wonder I have no free time

Anyway I figured out how to do it (I've used Blender for years and I know it can be a bit...obscure). After importing the Collada file, select the leaves, go to Properties, select the Texture tab, open the Influence dropdown and tick Alpha. Then go to the Material tab and tick the Transparency dropdown. That should do it


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JHA
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Posted: 20th May 2014 17:34 Edited at: 20th May 2014 17:34
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Thank you Clonkex!

Slight variation to your solution. In the Material tab, the Alpha setting, using Z Transparency, should be at 0.00. In the Texture tab, under Influence, the Alpha setting should be at 1.00, in order to make it come out right.

See working image below: (Yeah!)


Thanks again,
JHA

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Clonkex
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Posted: 17th Jun 2014 10:13
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Sorry for the very late reply - been really lazy and mostly ignoring all mailback from the TGC forums.

Quote: "Thank you Clonkex!"


No problem, glad you got it sorted out

Quote: "Slight variation to your solution. In the Material tab, the Alpha setting, using Z Transparency, should be at 0.00. In the Texture tab, under Influence, the Alpha setting should be at 1.00, in order to make it come out right."


Ah, that's probably the better way of doing it. Nice helpful picture too, I should have done that.

Unrelated: I often wish I'd joined these forums a bit sooner; I sometimes feel like one of the "elders" of the forum, but I can't really claim it because I've only been here since 2010. And then I saw your join date. WOW. It's pretty rare to see someone from before about 2008 still active on here! And I really like it, too, as it helps keep the spirit of these forums alive


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GrumpyOne
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Posted: 29th Jun 2014 15:36
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Hi All,

Sorry for the lack of replies. We will look into issues with the DBO, we hadn't encountered any "squishing", but we will see if we can duplicate this. The X file version does import nicely into Dark Basic.

We try and support as many editors as possible, but the quality of importers in some editors is quite poor. Models import as collada into Blender very well, although Blender will not import vertex colours (this facility isn't available in Blender's importer). As highlighted above, Blender needs transparency to be set-up.

3DMax and Maya will import either collada or FBX. This works well and we haven't encountered any issues.

It has been a long-time since we used Milkshape, we will download a version and try and import into it. Our experience is that importers often can be a little tempramental, especially older ones. We'll see if we can figure out what Milkshape objects to in the FBX format and do a specific export for Milkshape.

We are currently working on a new release for Forester Pro with new collision mesh options.

Best,
Grumpyone

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GrumpyOne
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Posted: 2nd Jul 2014 04:07
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Version 1.27 Released

We've just released version 1.27 of Forester Pro which features lots of new options....for other game engines...sorry. However, there are one or two minor bug fixes that will affect TGC users.

Best,
Grumpyone

p.s. Clonkex...yep I've been around a long time.

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Clonkex
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Posted: 6th Jul 2014 10:39
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Quote: "p.s. Clonkex...yep I've been around a long time."


Awkwaaaard. Wasn't talking to you at that point, was replying to JHA Haha 2007 is still considerably longer than me, though


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GrumpyOne
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Posted: 13th Jul 2014 23:48
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Prehistoric Tree Pack 1 for Forester Pro

We've just released Prehistoric Tree Pack 1 for Forester Pro featuring a range of prehistoric trees dating back to the Palaeozoic Era, some are still alive today as living fossils and are common in jungles. Templates include tree ferns, cyclads, horsetail ferns, sigillaria trees and scale trees (Lepidodendron). Each template in the pack can generate a wide range of randomized models. Templates are shown below:




Some scenes created with plants generated from this template pack are shown below:




There are now 18 tree and plant packs available for Forester Pro that can produce a huge number of models of over 120 different plant and tree species. Each template pack costs $10. Tree Packs require the registered version of Forester Pro.

Forester Pro, including a free version that comes with 7 different templates, can be downloaded from our website. the registered version costs $30.

http://www.hptware.co.uk/forester.php

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Clonkex
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Posted: 14th Jul 2014 02:32
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Quote: "dating back to the Palaeozoic Era"


I don't agree with that, but I don't mind - makes for some awesome fiction

The trees look amazing, as always


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Seditious
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Posted: 27th Jul 2014 13:50
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I have to say, this stuff looks amazing!

Quote: "I don't agree with that, but I don't mind - makes for some awesome fiction"


Luckily science is based on evidence rather than the opinion of brainwashed religious people.
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Clonkex
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Posted: 28th Jul 2014 04:20 Edited at: 28th Jul 2014 04:26
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Quote: "Luckily science is based on evidence rather than the opinion of brainwashed religious people. "


Actually I believe science and (my) "religion" (I dislike that word) go hand in hand. There's nothing in the Bible that contradicts science in any way, shape or form.

Additionally, evolution is a dogma. People are not being taught how it works, only that it does. THAT is brainwashing.


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GrumpyOne
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Posted: 10th Aug 2014 22:51
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Conifer Tree Pack 3 Released

We've just released Conifer Tree Pack 3 for Forester Pro featuring a range of conifer trees. Each template can be used in Forester Pro to make a wide range of different models and are easily customized. Templates are shown below:



A scene created with plants generated from this template pack are shown below, flowers in this scene were also generated using Forester Pro. Rock models were generated with Medusa Pro.



There are now 19 tree and plant packs available for Forester Pro that can produce a huge number of models of over 120 different plant and tree species. Each template pack costs $10. Tree Packs require the registered version of Forester Pro.

Forester Pro, including a free version that comes with 7 different templates, can be downloaded from our website. the registered version costs $30.

http://www.hptware.co.uk/forester.php

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Green Gandalf
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Posted: 11th Aug 2014 00:15 Edited at: 24th Aug 2014 14:56
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Hi GrumpyOne,

Just been reminded of this by your signature on another thread.

I've got version 1.23 of Forester (probably the free version ). Do I have to uninstall it before upgrading to the latest version?

Will probably be buying this soon.

[Edit Nevermind. The answer is quite clear on your Download page.

Now about to try the other stuff. It all looks good. ]



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GrumpyOne
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Posted: 25th Oct 2014 17:30
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Hi GG,

Send me an email at support@hptware.co.uk and you can have a free license for Forester Pro, for all the help you've given over the years.

Best,
GrumpyOne

GrumpyOne - the natural state of the programmer - Forester Pro (Tree & Plant Creator), Medusa Pro (Rock Creator), Mr Normal (Normal Map Generator) http://www.hptware.co.uk

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GrumpyOne
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Posted: 25th Oct 2014 17:33
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Desert Plant Pack 1

We've just released our 20th template pack, Desert Plant Pack 1. Each template can be used to generate a wide range of randomized models. The textures provided with this pack were all collected in the Moroccan Sahara but are appropriate for common desert plants worldwide. The templates are shown below:



A scene created using models made with the template pack is shown below. Rock models were created using Medusa Pro.



Template packs can be downloaded from our website and cost $10. They required the registered version of Forester Pro (a free version of Forester is also available.

http://www.hptware.co.uk/forester.php

GrumpyOne - the natural state of the programmer - Forester Pro (Tree & Plant Creator), Medusa Pro (Rock Creator), Mr Normal (Normal Map Generator) http://www.hptware.co.uk

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Clonkex
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Posted: 26th Oct 2014 03:42
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NOICE. Very high-quality models. Love this program, can't wait to start using it properly in my current project!


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GrumpyOne
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Posted: 26th Nov 2014 14:07 Edited at: 26th Nov 2014 14:09
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Version 1.28 of Forester Pro Released

We've just released version 1.28 of Forester Pro which features specific export support for FPSCR. Forester Pro will export plant models in a format ready to be directly imported into FPSC. Exports include a model in X format, an atlas texture in DDS format, a preview image as a bitmap, and a fpe definition file. Forester can also automatically generate 3 different levels of LOD which can be exported into a single X file.

An example of a scene using some of the standard pine models that come with Forester Pro is shown below:



This version also features normal bending, which can be used to automatically adjust leaf normals to the over all geometry of the model, and interactive editing of leaves.

Forester Pro can be downloaded from our website

http://www.hptware.co.uk/forester.php

GrumpyOne - the natural state of the programmer - Forester Pro (Tree & Plant Creator), Medusa Pro (Rock Creator), Mr Normal (Normal Map Generator) http://www.hptware.co.uk

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GrumpyOne
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Posted: 29th Nov 2014 18:55
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Bug Fix Released

We've just ironed out a couple of wrinkles in version 1.28 to fix a couple of bugs. If you've already installed Forester Pro then you can update using the following file:

http://www.hptware.co.uk/downloads/foresterupdate128.zip

The bugs fixes are:
(i) Fixed an error when exporting atlas textures at 2048x2048.
(ii) Fixed an error when exporting some atlas textures at 1024x1024 in the cartoon tree pack.

The one remaining issue that we are aware of is that models having leaves with wrapped UVs cannot be exported to FPSC due to the need for a single texture. There are is only two templates within one pack (the cartoon pack) which have wrapped UVs and we will be reworking these packs soon to make them compatible.



We may in the future add animation to leaves but currently this is not a feature of Forester Pro.

Best,
GrumpyOne

GrumpyOne - the natural state of the programmer - Forester Pro (Tree & Plant Creator), Medusa Pro (Rock Creator), Mr Normal (Normal Map Generator) http://www.hptware.co.uk

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jncfowler
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Posted: 14th Dec 2014 06:28
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I found this tool and immediately decided to get the full version, with one or two packs to start! I use Blender quite a bit, and was curious: does anyone know which versions of Blender one can use with this? For some reason, I was able to import a tree as a collada file with the lite version, just to see if it worked. I purchased the pro version, and when I import the file to Blender, I get the message "ValueError: month must be in 1..12". This is probably a Blender compatability issue, because I can import the file in later versions. But, I wanted to see if I could export it to a .nif file, and the later versions of Blender are hard to set up with nif exporting. If there is a fix for this please let me know. I would love to use this tool.
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jncfowler
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Just to clarify, I meant that I was able to EXPORT as a collada file (in the lite version, w/out editing the model) and IMPORT it into Blender. I didn't get an error in Blender until I purchased the Pro version though. Also, I'm using Blender 2.49b w/ Python 2.6.6, PyFFI 2.1.10, and the Blender nif scripts plugin. My laptop is an 8GB 64 bit Alienware 14 laptop with Windows 8.1, if that helps anyone.
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Clonkex
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Posted: 15th Dec 2014 12:26
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Quote: "Just to clarify, I meant that I was able to EXPORT as a collada file (in the lite version, w/out editing the model) and IMPORT it into Blender. I didn't get an error in Blender until I purchased the Pro version though. Also, I'm using Blender 2.49b w/ Python 2.6.6, PyFFI 2.1.10, and the Blender nif scripts plugin."


My only suggestion would be to try importing in the latest version of Blender. I don't know what .nif is, and I realise 2.49b tends to import a whole heaps of formats better than 2.5+ (and, IMO, looks tonnes better than the newer versions), but in my experience Collada works best on 2.7+.


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jncfowler
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Posted: 15th Dec 2014 16:04
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Clonkex

Actually, I did just that. After I posted and fooled around with it a little, I decided to import it in Blender 2.72b (I think that's the version), and export it as a collada file. Then I imported that file into blender 2.49b, and exported to the .nif file. That worked great, it was just a little work.

The nif file is a file that can be edited with a program called Nifskope, as well as blender 2.49b. It's mainly used for games like Fallout, The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, and Skyrim. I've tried to find nif plugins for later versions of blender, but you're right about that, the later versions practically don't have them. I thought that it was kind of weird that I managed to import a collada with blender 2.49b when using the lite version. I emailed support, and they are trying to help me I think. I like how these people ACTUALLY get back with you about problems, and attempt to fix them.
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Clonkex
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Posted: 16th Dec 2014 00:49
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Quote: "I decided to import it in Blender 2.72b (I think that's the version), and export it as a collada file. Then I imported that file into blender 2.49b, and exported to the .nif file. That worked great, it was just a little work. "


Glad you got it working, even if it requires a fiddly pipeline.

Quote: "It's mainly used for games like Fallout, The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, and Skyrim."


Ah, it's a Bethesda-proprietary format.


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jncfowler
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Yep. It's Bethesda. Is that good or bad? Their games can be buggy, but I like their tools (as well as games), even though they take some getting used to.

But, in regards to Forester Pro, it would be neat to see more tree and plant packs more specific to certain regions. I myself would like to see a tree and plant pack dedicated to the Middle East, I have an adenium arabicum Yak Saudi (Desert Rose) sapling, grown from seed, and a few pomegranates also grown from seed. The adenium would be cool to see, because of it's trunk and roots.
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Clonkex
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Posted: 16th Dec 2014 11:48
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Quote: "Yep. It's Bethesda. Is that good or bad? Their games can be buggy, but I like their tools (as well as games), even though they take some getting used to."


Skyrim's flying mammoths FTW!


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Ha! If only they were supposed to do that! I think that the dragons would have some competiton.... but not really.
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GrumpyOne
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Posted: 22nd Dec 2014 16:46 Edited at: 22nd Dec 2014 16:46
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To celebrate the christmas season we'll give you two free tree packs with Forester Pro (Temperate Tree Pack 1 and Conifer Tree Pack 1) and two free rock packs (Mountain Rock Pack 1 and Volcanic Rock Pack 1) with Medusa Pro. These packs add new types of model that can be generated automatically.




Medusa and Forester Pro are $30 each. A free version of both applications is available.

http://www.hptware.co.uk/forester.php
http://www.hptware.co.uk/medusa.php

GrumpyOne - the natural state of the programmer - Forester Pro (Tree & Plant Creator), Medusa Pro (Rock Creator), Mr Normal (Normal Map Generator) http://www.hptware.co.uk

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GrumpyOne
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Posted: 16th Mar 2015 20:27
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Wild Flower Pack 2 released for Forester Pro

We've just released our latest template pack - Wild Flower Pack 2 which includes templates for Camomiles, Anenomes, Buttercups, Indian Blankets and Violets. Each template can randomly generate a wide range of models. Templates can also be easily customised. A scene created with models generated from the pack are shown below:



One hundred and thirty different tree and plant templates are now available for Forester Pro. Each template pack contains at least five templates to generate models of five different types of plants. Template packs cost $10 and require the registered version of Forester Pro.

A free version of Forester Pro is available from our website. The registered version is $30.

http://www.hptware.co.uk/forester.php

GrumpyOne - the natural state of the programmer - Forester Pro (Tree & Plant Creator), Medusa Pro (Rock Creator), Mr Normal (Normal Map Generator) http://www.hptware.co.uk

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