2019 IS GOING TO BE A BUSY YEAR….

The release of SpeedTree 8 marked the biggest step forward for our procedural modeling toolset in the past 8 years, completely reevaluating our geometry and material workflow to meet the increased demands of modern game, movie, and industrial rendering.

These changes are important not just because they provide valuable updates to artists’ toolkits, but because they provide a foundation for what’s next.

So, without further ado, here’s what’s coming next:

SpeedTree Engine for Clarisse

Built on technology we developed for MPC’s work on The Jungle Book, SpeedTree Engine takes the procedural elements of SpeedTree and integrates them directly into a DCC app or renderer.

Think of it as a SpeedTree Games SDK for VFX rather more than a simple plugin or importer. By deferring geometry creation until run-time, SpeedTree Engine allows users to access procedural elements of the SpeedTree as well as generate unique per-instance wind and interactive wind elements.  

While also available as an SDK for custom pipeline development, our first released integration is for Isotropix’s Clarisse, allowing users to import the new lightweight .STE file directly into Clarisse.

SpeedTree Engine is now available for purchase!

Photogrammetry

Capturing vegetation via photogrammetry methods is antithetical to procedural creation methods. It’s rigid and inflexible but is capable of producing incredible levels of detail and realism in game and VFX production.

We decided to tackle merging the worlds of photogrammetry and procedural vegetation by creating a tool to extend and blend meshes and materials into photogrammetry creations.

This allows artists to create multiple variations of a tree using a single mesh, or blend multiple photogrammetry meshes together, and then deform or add wind to the branch levels.

With automatically generated seams and blend materials, we’re thrilled to see what artists are already using it for in both highly realistic and heavily stylized environments.

Available now for SpeedTree Cinema and SpeedTree Games full licensees. (Not included in subscription licenses).



SpeedTree for Games: Unity Integration

With the release of Unity 2018.3 we are happy to announce the impending release of SpeedTree 8 for Unity on January 22nd. Featuring top down billboards, PBR materials, updated geometry, and new one draw call packing options, SpeedTree 8 brings a much-needed update to the SpeedTree Unity integration.

This also opens up our SpeedTree 8 Library for Unity artists who want drop-in ready trees without a modeler subscription. With the new free export only mode, developers can take any tree from the Games 8 Library and export it to the new .ST Unity compatible format.

The SpeedTree 8 for Unity modeler will be a free update for any user with an active subscription alongside the SpeedTree 7 modeler for developers working in earlier versions of Unity than 2018.3.

Important Note: Due to the in-progress development of the SRP, the current SpeedTree shaders are only compatible with the standard Unity pipeline. We look forward to working with Unity to develop shaders specific to the HDRP and LWRP in the future.


SpeedTree Games: New Indie License option

Currently, a full license of SpeedTree for Games 8 is the only way to access the new photogrammetry tools, but this is changing next week.

We’re introducing some of the most requested features (including FBX and OBJ export) from the full version of SpeedTree 8 as well as photogrammetry tools to a yearly license geared towards indie developers and serious hobbyists.

Starting next week, SpeedTree for Games will be available to license with three options for developers with new revenue caps:

Subscription License (Revenue under $100,000): A single subscription seat of the SpeedTree modeler for $19 a month, with a direct pipeline into one of our three integrations. Does not include photogrammetry tools or FBX/OBJ export.

SpeedTree Games UE4: $19/Month 
SpeedTree Games Lumberyard: $19/Month
SpeedTree Games Unity: $19/Month

Indie License (Revenue under $1M): With the ability to export to FBX/OBJ as well as to all three of our partner integrations (Unity, UE4, and Lumberyard), the new SpeedTree Games Indie License offers the full power of SpeedTree for Games outside of a per-title license for the first time.

Use the new photogrammetry tools to extend stylized or scanned meshes into full procedural vegetation, artists have free range to use SpeedTree across a number of projects.

Available as a node-locked 1-year license.

SpeedTree Games Indie: $999/Year (Available Jan 23, 2019)

Full License (Per title/Per Platform): A studio license with premium support, access to beta and alpha versions of new features, unlimited seats, and access to the SpeedTree Games SDK.

Our powerful SDK has been featured in hundreds of titles providing instancing, vertex-wind animation, and our smooth LOD transitions and billboard support.

Contact for Pricing

We’ll have more in-depth articles and tutorials over the next few weeks about these new products and features.

As always keep an eye on our Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for updates, tutorials, and artist highlights!

-The SpeedTree Team